I'm back with some twin pix!

I'm back! Finally! I know, I feel so bad to have previously blogged that I'd keep up with posts of the babies but it kind of got away from me. But since Adam got me a new computer and the girls are on *somewhat* of a schedule, I think I can find time to post a few times a week.

The twins, Claire and Eden, are already 14 weeks old! Below are some photos from their 2nd month of life. Eden is the bigger one, currently 13 pounds (6.9 at birth), and Claire is more petite - yet the older one by a few minutes - weighing in at 11 1/2 pounds (5.12 at birth).

Eden (left) & Claire (right)

I have a mushroom meatloaf recipe to post so stay tuned. I hope to post it very soon! :)

32 Weeks

 Here we are at 32 weeks on the nose! Bec took some photos for us yesterday and I just love them! She is so talented. The lighting is lovely.

Again, I look a lot bigger than I feel! Each baby weighs approximately 4 pounds.

About 6 more weeks til the girls are here!

And the man that made this all possible is looking mighty fine these days too!



30 Weeks

I know I've been MIA for awhile and I am very sad about that. I think about blogging a lot but I just never get to it. Plus, I haven't been cooking too many creative meals lately. Once the girls are here and we're on a schedule (sooo,  next Spring?!!), I will be back at it! Until then, I'll keep posting random updates.

Mom, Claire & Eden at 30 weeks.... growing big!

Our 1st Wedding Anniversary

On Monday Adam and I celebrated our 1 year anniversary.

Here is one of my favorite photos from our wedding day - our frist dance as husband and wife.

To celebrate, we went to Baltimore for the day. With the city only an hour away from our new house, it was a great getaway. We saw a lot of the city we had never seen before.

We started our day walking around Camden Yards and then visited Babe Ruth's birthplace.

Unfortunately, it rained the entire day so after our visit with Babe, we made our way to a nearby bar to wait out the rain. After 2 orders of fried pickles for me and some local brews for Adam at Pickles Pub, the rain held steady. So with our new Orioles umbrellas, we ventured to Little Italy.

We ate at a cute place called Chiapparelli's.

I had homemade manicotti and Adam had a caprese panini.

We will definitely visit this restaurant again!

After lunch we made our way to Inner Harbor for dessert.... 2 delectable pieces of cheesecake from where else than the Cheesecake Factory!

Next we headed to the National Aquarium. Even though it was a busy Saturday, we got to see everything, including our favorite - the sharks and sting rays. We even saw an enormous sea turtle who was missing his front left flipper, which made him all the more adorable!

Here I am on my wedding day and then... a little rounder... 1 year later, along Inner Harbor.

After a short rest at the hotel, we visited the neighborhood of Canton to feast on a dozen crabs at Bo Brooks. A great treat!

Adam picked his crabs and saved all the meat until the end. He had a big bowl of buttery crab to enjoy.

After dinner, we ventured to Fells Point. We wanted to visit America's oldest saloon, The Horse You Came In On. It was packed. We had to wait in line just to get in. Even though I felt awkward in a lively bar with my big belly, we had a good time (for the 20 minutes I lasted). There was a fun band and the girls liked the music. They were kicking away!

Before we headed back to the hotel, I had to have some gelato at Pitango - chocolate and pistachio. A great ending to a great day!

So when our official anniversay rolled around on Monday, we got the top tier of our wedding cake out of the freezer.

The gorgeous cake on our wedding day:

 And one year later:



Not as delicious as we remember, but it was fun to reminisce about our beautiful wedding day.

It was a wonderful anniversary! I can't wait to celebrate next year with our girls!

Sticky Orange Chicken Thighs

 My mom used to get the Everyday Food magazine and we'd always make lots of recipes from each edition. It's such a good magazine. Since we've moved, I have subscribed and I'm so excited to cook from it. Super easy and healthy recipes.

These sticky orange chicken thighs from the June 2012 edition of the magazine aren't too healthy but they are easy and tasty!

Here's the recipe with my changes/notes:
8 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
Coarse salt and ground pepper
1 cup thawed orange juice concentrate
1 cup ketchup
2 tablespoons light-brown sugar
4 teaspoons white-wine vinegar
4 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
2 teaspoons hot sauce

Preheat oven to 450 degrees (make sure your oven is clean or it will get very smokey in your kitchen with or without a smoke detector going off!), with rack in upper third. Season chicken with salt and pepper and arrange, skin side down, on a parchment paper covered rimmed baking sheet. Bake until deep golden brown and cooked through, 40 to 50 minutes, flipping halfway through (mine were done at 40 minutes).

Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan, combine 1 teaspoon salt, juice concentrate, ketchup, brown sugar, vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, and hot sauce. Bring to a simmer and cook until mixture has thickened, 15 minutes.

Heat broiler. Transfer chicken to a large bowl, add glaze, and toss to coat. Drain off fat from sheet, throw away parchment paper and replace with a new sheet (really helps with clean up). Return chicken to sheet and broil until sauce is bubbling and chicken is dark brown in spots, 1 to 2 minutes.


We ate our chicken with roasted sweet potatoes and cauliflower.

23 Weeks

Here I am at 23 weeks in front of our new house!

We've been moved in for 3 weeks now. We're really loving the house, neighborhood and the short drive to work. And the dogs love going for long walks.

We saw the Dr today and the girls and I are growing right on track, with Baby A weighing in at 1 lb 4 oz. and Baby B weighing in at 1 lb. 6 oz. And Mama weighing in at... well, let's just say the Dr said I'm right where I should be :)

I'm feeling really good but just tired when I get home from work. I keep telling myself this fatigue is nothing compared to what it will be like when I'm carrying around girls in my belly that are 4, 5 and 6 pounds each!

Who will they be?

 

Two girls!!

We are having twin girls! They are fraternal which means they aren't identical and will have their own unique look but still the special bond of being a twin!

We can't wait to meet them!

22 weeks down... over half way there!

Delicious, pink butter cream filled cakes by The Couture Cakery

Lovely images by Rebecca Sior Photography

Peanut Butter Cookies

I can never have too many sweets these days. So when I was wanting a cookie, I found a peanut butter version at the cafeteria and it was pretty good. Since I had that one cookies was wanting more!

Two days later I made these.

The basic, traditional peanut butter cookie.

They turned out so well. They are super simple to mix together too.

From a Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook

1/2 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup peanut butter

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 egg

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

Granulated sugar in a shallow bowl

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Prepare cookie sheets with a Silpat or parchment paper.

In a large mixing bowl beat butter and peanut butter with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Add the granulated sugar, brown sugar, baking soda and baking powder. Beat until combined, scraping sides of bowl occasionally. Beat in egg and vanilla until combined. Gradually beat in the flour.

Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Roll in additional granulated sugar to coat. Place 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Flatten by making crisscross marks with the tines of a fork.

Bake for about 7-8 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to let cool.



My 5th Year College Reunion

 Last Friday, Adam and I began our journey to Roanoke, VA for my 5th Year Reunion from Hollins University. It felt good to be back - the last 5 years flew by.

We stayed two nights at the beautiful Hotel Roanoke.

After checking in, I took Adam to the top of Mill Mountain to see the beautiful view of the Roanoke Valley. Hollins is to the right, about 11 miles away.

 I just love all the things that tell us we're in the south - like this huge magnolia blossom.

Adam took this picture of my 18 week belly. Those baby are getting big - and I just started feeling them move around!



 This is a photo of everyone from my class that attended reunion, taken right after the parade of classes.

Here Adam is chatting with some of my classmates during the Tinker Day Lunch.

The highlights of a traditional Tinker Day lunch is fried chicken and chocolate cake. Both were just as delicious as they were when I was a student.

For those of you who don't know, Tinker Day is a Hollins tradition that takes place in the fall. Students are surprised early in the morning by seniors banging pots and pans to wake everyone up. Then we all go to the dining hall in our PJs for Krispy Kremes, followed by getting dressed up in crazy costumes, hiking Tinker Mountain, having lunch and entertaining each other with skits. It's a special day that you have to see to believe!

This is me in front of a building on campus before dinner on Saturday night.

This was a beautiful spread for cocktail hour.

The tulip and lemon centerpiece for the dinner buffet was picture perfect.

And for our send off from the Star City, we had brunch at the First & Sixth Restaurant in the newly renovated Patrick Henry Hotel. It was delicious and I highly recommend it. I planned a spring cotillion in the Patrick Henry the year before it was renovated so it was fun to go back to see the changee. Below is Adam's Bloody Mary - green bean and all!

Adam and I are already looking forward to my 10 Year Reunion!

Balsamic Chicken Caprese

Last night we made one of our favorite dinners. This is only the second time we've made it but I'm sure we'll be making it a lot this summer - it's easy, quick, healthy and tastes super fresh. It comes from my friend, Jamie who shared it in Hope In The Kitchen Wedding Edition.

The recipe is not very specific - you can make it according to how many people you are serving.

Boneless, skinless chicken breast - I prepared 4 thinly sliced breasts for the 2 of us
Balsamic vinegar
Salt
Pepper
Tomato
Fresh mozzarella
Basil leaves
Olive oil

Season chicken with salt and pepper. Place chicken a large resealable plastic bag. Add balsamic vinegar - a few tablespoons just to coat the chicken. You can let the chicken sit at room temperature for 15 minutes to marinade or put in the refrigerator for an hour. You will be surprised how much great taste is infused into the chicken in such a short time.

Meanwhile, slice the tomato and mozzarella into rounds.

In a large skillet over medium heat, add some olive oil to the pan, then cook the chicken until done.

You can then stack the tomato, mozzarella, basil and chicken into the desired arrangement. Drizzle all with olive oil and serve.