Balloon Boy

Favorite photo of the week:

Andy has a sweet tooth. I bet he'd like them too.

Seems rather ironic (and unsettling) that Pastor Andy's sermon this past Sunday was about gluttony and this is what we had for dessert the night before:

 

In case you're wondering, that's a smores bar on the left, a red velvet cupcake with a rose petal on top in the middle, and a Hostess cupcake on the right.  All of them were made by this little bakery we visited when we explored South Pasadena on Saturday morning.  Yes, they make their own Hostess cupcakes.  It was divine.  BUT the red velvet cupcake was the big winner.  Seriously.  The.  Best.  Cupcake.  Ever.

What's behind the glass? I'll never tell.

Nate keeps pulling things out of drawers so we've had to come up with creative means of storage.  I decided that the glass-front china hutch in our dining room really doesn't need to display items -- when you're in a crunch, you gotta take all of the storage options you can get and forgo what appears to be wasted space.  So I tacked up some gray and purple fabric (thrift store find!) behind the glass and -- oh la la -- I now have a little extra nook to hide things in.  As an aside, I love how my Swell Season posters look on the wall!  I used wood trouser hangers instead of frames.  Cheap and artsy :)

Mommy Hearts Nate

For Valentine's Day, I made Nate a book using photos of familiar people, things, etc.  to help him learn words and identify things.  The photos came from Costco and the book & stickers came from BigLots so clearly this wasn't a craft that broke the bank ($5??)  It was fun to work on...especially since we didn't have a t.v. for 4 days (the roofers bumped our DirectTV dish -- oh yeah, we have a new roof.  Forgot to mention that.)  Anyway, here's the finished product.  Nate seems to like it a lot.  I imagine it'll have a lifespan of 6 months before he's torn it to shreds.

Joe 3, Julia 0

We just finished eating dinner and I decided I should share this recipe right away because 1) it's pretty darn good and 2) it's perfect for the rainy weekend we've got ahead of us here in Southern California.

(PS -- if you're keeping track, I'm really, really behind on my Trader Joe's-inspired cooking.  Note to self: future post needs to be done on how I procrastinate a lot and have a commitment problem.  Maybe.  I don't know that I'll get around to it....)

Creamy Tomato and Roasted Red Pepper Soup with Pesto Gnocchi

1 (32-oz.) container Trader Joe's Tomato and Roasted Red Pepper Soup
4 oz. mascarpone
1/3 (6.17-oz) package of potato gnocchi
roughly 4 Tblsp. Trader Giotto's Pesto alla Genovese
salt and pepper

I'm going to use that word again -- easy.  This recipe really is a piece of cake.  And because you'll have some left over ingredients, you can make the soup again at the end of the week (so buy 2 containers of the tomato soup).

Heat the soup, then stir in the mascarpone.  While the soup heats, bring a small pot of water to a boil.  Add the gnocchi and boil just until they bob to the surface, 3-4 minutes.  Scoop them out and set aside.  Season the soup to taste with salt and pepper, ladle into bowls, and add a few gnocchi to each serving.  Drizzle a little pesto into each serving (I love pesto so I drizzled more than a little).

I don't have a picture because I was too hungry to grab my camera.  We ate the soup with grilled cheese sandwiches and a salad.  Yum.

Wanted: The Desire to Blog

So I've lost my blogging mojo.  Don't know if it'll come back but I thought a new layout may give my creative juices a jumpstart.  I've got a few blog posting ideas but after that -- the well is dry.

It's become apparent....

that' I'm running out of things to say write.  Help.