Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Hello from Santa Cruz!



Hello friends. It's been awhile, a month exactly from my last post and that's because we moved! Scott my husband got a job with the city of Santa Cruz in the city managers office. For those of you who don't know, we both went to college here (which is nice that things are familiar) and Scott had been wanting to get back to the coast for awhile and the timing seemed just right! Over the years I had been reluctant to leave Denver. My family is there, we have so many wonderful friends there, and my job at the time was going well, I was dancing consistently and had opportunities to grow in the interior design field... It was alot for me to give up, pre-baby! But after having a little one your priorities shift, all that really matters is the happiness of your home and home truly is where your heart is, not your zip-code. Oddly enough, I had a psychic tell me that once years ago and I rolled my eyes at her and thought to myself  'girlfriend, you don't me.' Hahaha!

So here we are back in California, and let me tell you it's not the worst place to be. ;) It is absolutely beautiful here in Santa Cruz and our outdoor life will greatly expand throughout the year since we won't be having harsh winters! We also have wonderful friends here still, which has made this move SO MUCH EASIER for me. Without my friends here I think I would be having a much harder time, as leaving my family was really, really tough!! So thank you Santa Cruz/Bay Area/So Cal peeps, you're the best!

Moving with a baby is really tough and if you ever need advice, I'm your gal. Eli and I had our first flight together just the two of us on our way here (Scott and his dad drove a moving truck and pulled the Subaru, and spared Eli and I 28hrs. of driving, thank you!!!) And then two weeks later Eli and I flew again just the two of us to LA there and back for a family wedding. Let me tell you, traveling solo with a baby is really tough!! If you need advice there, I'm your gal again. ;) Eli did really well though on all flights and for the most part travels well. He doesn't like to be in the car for too long which is tough, and I'm hoping will improve when we get a front facing car-seat (this new 2 years old 'rear car-seat rule' won't work for us!) He also doesn't sleep that great in hotels, oh well, who does right?

So the family is adjusting. Eli is doing great despite some sleep troubles and tummy troubles in the beginning, things are more consistent now. The cats have adjusted, although the first week Olive had a herpes outbreak (she has feline herpes from her feral mama, slutty cat, haha) and had to have eye-drops and anti-viral meds for a week, but she is fine now. A little needy but in a cute way, she follows me everywhere and sleeps with me more now, sometimes face to face. :) Our house is coming together, I had a hard time adjusting to the newness of it all since it is only 2 years old, it had burned down before that I guess... But I am now starting to see a vision of sorts for it. We ordered a new couch and that should be here mid-June, so we're hoping to paint a little before then and work on the front yard and making it more 'homey.' I have the bedrooms 'done' (although my thinking is a home is never 'done') and the kitchen and bathroom too, but I am struggling with the kitchen. I don't like the wood color of the cabinets and since it's a rental there is not much I can do there...we'll see? I'll post pictures when I'm ready, perhaps room by room.

So I'm back and hope to continue blogging about our new beach life, and share pictures/stories of our itsy bitsy beach bum who is about to turn one! Oh my! I'll blog about the planning of his party too, as I am starting that process... Hopefully I'll get more vegetarian recipes up here as well, as another friend asked about those. Just bare with me as I continue to get settled, but it feels good just writing this! Thanks for listening, till next time. xoxo

Monday, April 25, 2011

Easter weekend!

Eli had a fun 1st Easter, despite the poor tummy troubles he was having. :( 
Grandma Cherry came to visit which was fun and then we had a quiet Easter morning at home before we went to my moms for brunch! I trust that you all had a wonderful Easter too!


Eli and Grandma Cherry, Eli looks like he had some whiskey in that bottle....

Easter Basket

For me?

Hey dad, did you see the Easter Bunny?

Eli and his little lamb

Pat the bunny!

Bubbles!

Ready to go in my Easter best!

Aunt Kelly and Rylee casting a spell



Passed out on the ride home!

'Risky Business' anyone?

Friday, April 22, 2011

Eli the chef

He has the crazy hair of a chef.


what are you making Eli?

Thursday, April 21, 2011

Avocado Smoothie

So I read about this Avocado smoothie over at Honest Fare via [simplesong] and thought it sounded yummy. Plus, I thought I could make it for Eli too. So here are my 2 versions...

For me:
Half an avocado
Almost a whole apple, peeled and sliced (I saved some for Elis smoothie)
Soymilk
dash of sugar (the recipe called for agave but I didn't have any and they said honey was too overpowering.)

Blend!

For Eli:
About half of half an avocado :)
A few apple slices
2 oz of formula (or breast milk,) and maybe next time I would add a little bit more...

and Blend!

Voila! Yummy, and filling too!

mommys.........................elis

elis.......................mommys

Monday, April 18, 2011

Big E, Little e - 9 months!






Eli turned 9 months yesterday! We had a celebratory breakfast at our favorite breakfast place here in Denver; Watercourse Foods. Yum! He is getting so big. We have our 9mo check up tomorrow so we will really see how big he is. He is definitely more tall than he is chubby, ha! Which is funny since Scott and I were both chubsters! I don't think I wrote anything when he turned 8 months so...

In the past 2 months Eli...

-Can sit on his own without support
-Is starting to side-sit and use his hands better for support which will help him to prop on all fours
-Can 'creep '
-Can get onto all fours with some assistance and occasionally on his own, but doesn't last too long (His gestational age is still 7mo, so we have some more time before crawling. ;)
-Is still the sweet, happy boy who loves to laugh and smile, everywhere we go people comment on how 'happy' he is!
-Likes to go for walks, ride on the swing at the park, listen to his new cd of nursery rhymes, play, shove everything into his mouth, talk to the cats, snuggle, pull mommys hair, visit museums, read books, visit with his family, stand up, and he loves to take baths!
-Still no teeth yet, but has the 'pockets' now
-Is still a good sleeper!
-And a good eater, he eats anything I give him, let's hope this holds true

Things we've discovered about Eli are:
-He has a curl to his hair, especially when wet (so cute)
-He is ticklish
-He is trying to stand in the bathtub, that's not so fun for mom and dad, hello scary!!!
-And he is beginning to show signs of waving

He is becoming more and more like a little boy, which is fun but also sad when you want them to stay little forever!

We love our 'Big E, little e' so much!!!

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Not a Meat Eater

Hi, I'm Eli and I'm not a meat eater. My parents are what you call 'vegetarians.'

'Listen, they take this stuff very seriously.'
Silly Head!

Hi again! So this onesie and my beautiful friend Kimiko over at I Like Ruffles have inspired a cooking series on the blog.  Recently I asked friends about any vegetarian cooking blogs they might know of, and I received very little response. Probably because very few people we know are vegetarian. But, some friends have asked me to give them recipes we use so that they can have more vegetarian meals in their diets. So here goes nothing! I'd like to call this series 'Not a Meat Eater,' and for the first addition I will share my version of a white chili recipe. Enjoy!


White Chili
*perfect for a cloudy/rainy day

This is Ellie Kriegers recipe that I got from the food network found here, with my vegetarian substitutions!

 

Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 medium onion, diced (about 1 1/2 cups)
  • 2 stalks celery, diced (about 1/2 cup)
  • 3 medium poblano peppers (about 4 ounces each), seeded and white ribs removed, finely diced (about 1 1/2 cups)
  • 1 clove garlic, minced * I used alot more garlic, since we LOVE garlic!
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
  • 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper, more to taste
  • * 1 package extra firm tofu, drained and rinsed
  • 2 (15.5-ounce) cans white beans such as cannelini, preferably low-sodium, drained and rinsed
  • *4 cups Veggie Broth
  • 3/4 teaspoon dried oregano * I used less, just a dash as I don't like a heavy oregano taste
  • 1 (15.5-ounce) can hominy, drained and rinsed
  • Salt
  • 1/4 cup nonfat plain Greek-style yogurt
  • 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro leaves
  • Lime wedges

 

Directions 

-'Heat the oil in large pot or Dutch oven over moderate heat. Add the onion, celery, poblanos, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are soft, about 8 minutes. Add the garlic, cumin, coriander and cayenne and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. 

-Add the * tofu and cook like ground turkey, breaking up the tofu with a spoon, about 2 minutes. Add the white beans, broth and oregano. Cook, partially covered, stirring occasionally, for 25 minutes.  

-Add the hominy and salt and more cayenne pepper, to taste, and continue cooking, partially covered, 10 minutes longer. Ladle into individual bowls and top each serving with 1 tablespoon of yogurt and 1 1/2 teaspoons of cilantro. Garnish with a lime wedge. '



I highly encourage you to add the yogurt and cilantro as it makes it even more yummy! We've made this twice now and it feeds Scott and I dinner for about 3 nights, less if you have it for lunch too! I think it would be great with some corn-bread as well. I apologize I have no picture of it, I forgot to take one. :(

Monday, April 4, 2011

hi!

Hi!

Hello.

whoa...how'd I get over here?

umm, is this a hat? from grandma?

Oye! Get this hat off of my head!

ohhh, this is how you wear it. phew! I'm drooling so much because my 2 front bottom teeth are going to pop up any second!