Traditionally Autumn

For the third year in a row we headed north to San Luis during the fall with our dear friends Andrew, Summer and Jack to appreciate some apple orchards, good bbq, world famous clam chowder and cheap happy hours.

It's interesting that all my favorite traditions involve food and drink...

Besides looking at my San Luis Obispo pictures, what are some of your favorite fall traditions?

What's your current love (obsession)?

I have been in love (obsessed) with Lisa Leonard jewelry and her beautiful blog for the last year and a half. Luckily (unfortunately), another blog I love loves her too and is offering readers a discount for the month of November. I'm not sure I can justify purchasing something for myself so close to Christmas, but maybe you can. Until then, I'll just have to be satisfied with adding it to my Christmas list for Santa (Evan).

What's on your list this year?

Halloween

If Miller is anything like his parents, it's only a matter of time before he's protesting what we want him to wear on Halloween and probably every other day of the year.

Luckily, we dressed him twice this year to make up for years to come.

Wondering what to call this hairstyle?

Mulhawk? Mollet? Mulstache?

(100) Days of Miller

Day 1:

Day 100:
What an awesome, exhausting, blessed, joyful, sometimes frustrating, amazing and beautiful past 100 days it has been! Never in 100 years would we have been able to predict how much we truly love this now 14 pound little man.

it's deep into autumn and it's 95 degrees outside

One of my younger sisters came up last weekend to visit and commented on (well, really poked fun at) my lack of Halloween decor. So last week as it became dreary and stormy outside, I wore a hoody 2 days in a row and nestled into the harvest season by setting out an orange and red tablecloth, a few orange/brown candles and made some chicken noodle soup. Two days later the sun washed away the gray clouds and it's back to tank tops and flip flops. Two days later we were still eating soup.


At the request of a few soup loving pals, here is my (what Evan and I consider DELICIOUS) chicken noodle soup recipe:

• Heat 1 tablespoon unsalted butter & 1 tablespoon light olive oil in a pot. (You can do one or the other; I think the butter and oil combo gives the soup broth a good overall texture in the end.)
• Add 1 cup each chopped carrots, celery and white onion; salt & pepper; minced garlic (portion depending on how little or how much you want.)
• Saute until onion begins to soften.
• Add diced cooked chicken- portion to your own liking (I used leftover meat from the night before's store bought rotisseried chicken).
• Mix in 1 tablespoon "Herbs de Provence" (my favorite poultry seasoning because it has a touch of lavendar. You can add oregano, parsley, basil, or whatever you want instead.)
• Add 4 cups of chicken broth or more depending on how brothy you want the soup to be. (I like the lower sodium broths best so I have control over how much salt the soup needs.)
• (Here's where you can add softer veggies if you feel like it. I sometimes add peas, corn and/or diced tomatoes. I also like to add about 1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil.)
• Salt & pepper to taste. Simmer until all veggies are cooked and flavorful. (At least 15 minutes.)
• Once cooked through, you can add your cooked pasta choice directly into the soup or you can portion noodles into the soup bowls and ladle soup over it. (I like keeping the noodles seperate since I usually have leftovers and it keeps the noodles from breaking up and getting overly soft.)

ENJOY!

I LOVE LOVE LOVE making soups and will most likely add more of my favorite soup recipes as autumn and winter progress. Hopefully this will start to happen soon...

This whole lack of lengthy sleep thing is really doing a number on my social skills and memory.

Perhaps it's the fact that I talk about myself in third person all day long to a three month old, but lately I feel I've lost the ability to hold a decent conversation with an adult. If you have spent time with me in the last few months and have been victim to my social awkwardness, I do truly and sincerely apologize.

In other news: The other day I spent at least 5 minutes trying to recall the name of "Project Runway". Once "Auf Wiedersehen" and "Top Fashion Designer" were rejected, I finally felt sane again. A half hour later I was humming Christmas carols while rocking Miller to sleep, because "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" was too difficult to recall.

I should seriously consider taking some extra vitamins.

Enjoy some more cuteness while I drown my (hopefully) temporary stupidity with some Zinfandel.

Looks like I'm not the only one procrastinating

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XWhUeAy35qc&feature=player_embedded#

p.s. who can teach me how to upload the actual video and not just cut and pasted weblinks?

It sure is fun procrastinating when I've got this to look at

Needless to say, the dishes, the laundry and my writing are slowly being processed. It's all in my effort to teach patience.

You're welcome.

"Helping the environment. You're welcome."

Just when I thought her acting was super annoying and vanilla in THE BOURNE ULTIMATUM, she does something like this and totally redeems herself.
http://www.juliastilesstyles.com/Styles_by_Stiles.html

Just the Beginning

It's only been two and a half months, but already Evan and I can barely remember our lives and who we were before Miller started creating memories with us. This parenting identity is both automatic and earned as we wake each new day and love on this little man. It's all new to us, to me, and my heart stretches every morning just to make room to soak it all in.

For myself, it almost brings me to tears each day when I watch Evan solidify his place as a Daddy for Miller. With just a simple shared smile, I melt.

I am learning.

I am loving.

I am melting.

Dreaming of sweaters...

Oh Anthropologie.com how you tease me so. Anyone want to go on a thrift store hunt with me to find knock offs 30 years older and 90% cheaper?

There are ants in my bathroom and I don't have the energy to hate them.

Enjoy some of Miller's latest strengths while I try to gather some of my own.

Productive tummy time:

Not hating his carseat... too much:

Vanity:

Using his words:

Being less of a bobble head:

Pretty soon it will be "Look at my latest Nobel Prize, Mom" and "Wow, another Peabody?!"

I'm loving all the tiny developments until then.

Welcome to the Newness

Welcome!

Technically, this is not a new blog.

But whatever is ahead is because of what was behind.

So welcome to today!

Welcome to the now!
Welcome to my adventure!

Enjoy it as much I do!

Currently, I am:

Tired

No longer puffy

In love

In one year...

It's been one year.
One year since I last typed into this.
One year since I last felt my heart break into a million pieces.
One year since I felt the most lost I ever want to feel or anyone should ever feel.
It's been one year.

This September 2009 Amy is...
Happy!
Challenged!
Loved!
Worthy!
In control!
and a Mother!
All things September 2008 Amy never saw possible.

I love proving her wrong.