Weekend (and Last Week) Recap

Wow! I missed you guys! Pardon my unannounced week off last week, but I was waist deep in cheesecake orders! 

This weekend recap is going to cover the weekend and some fun things we did last week! 

On Monday, Chan and I were busy busy! We had a play date at the zoo, followed by dinner at home and then a quick bath before going to watch Adam's basketball game. 

Chandler and her friend Caroline at the zoo...this play date was GREAT for the mamas...
and maybe a little underwhelming for the babies!

 I could not believe how much Chandler enjoyed Adam's basketball game. We got there early so we could see him and talk to him, in hopes that it would help her spot him on the court later. AND...it did! She watched him and got excited and squealed just about the whole time! We have a little basketball fan on our hands!

Basketball game selfie!

The rest of the week was filled with flu shots (she took it like a champ) and lots of new finger foods! Chan has become a fan of pretty much anything we put in front of her! Praise the Lord! BUT...spaghetti or really anything with a tomato sauce is her favorite...

I cannot get enough of that sweet spaghetti covered face! Obviously with the addition of spaghetti and solid foods in general, we've had to change up our routine and follow dinner with a bath...immediately! We're trying to get Chandler out of her baby tub and into the big tub but she is NOT into it. Anyone have any suggestions?

Adam and I are part of a supper club with my Sunday school class and we were supposed to meet this week, but it was cancelled...SOO we decided to celebrate anyway and go out on a little Tuesday night date. Y'all, sooo nice. It was just SO SO SO nice to go out together and talk about adult things and have adult conversation and laugh and eat and drink good wine. It just reminded us that we need to do it more often! Cheers to that!

The rest of the week was filled with lots of crawling (by the little one) and lots of cheesecake making (by me). I made my first sales this weekend and boy, it was busy! I sold five cheesecakes! The winer, by far, was the Heath Bar Cheesecake...feast your eyes on this...

After all of that cheesecake baking, we enjoyed a wonderful weekend with my parents. They arrived on Friday night and brought dinner (yes, they are saints) and we enjoyed dinner. Saturday morning, my parents took Chan on a walk and then brought her back home to play while Adam and I ran four miles...It felt so good! All of this training is paying off and I'm starting to feel a lot less nervous about running an 8K in just a few weeks!

We took a trip to the zoo and I must say, Chandler was a little more impressed this time! I'm sure that had something to do with the fact that a few minutes into the visit she pitched a fit and then was carried by one of her doting servants parents or grandparents for the rest of the trip. We were lucky to be there when you could feed the giraffes and I think Chandler was excited to see the life-sized version of Sophie le Giraffe.

She saw...and screeched at... an Alpaca. For the record, alpacas don't so much like being screeched at, even if it is the happiest and most excited screech of all.

And are these pictures not ridiculously adorable...

To say she loves her grandparents would be the understatement of the century...I mean she is STILL looking for them when I get her out of bed and they left yesterday...

We ended Saturday with some very quick Trick or Treating...that resulted in zero candy because she did not actually Trick or Treat...but she was the cutest little kitty I think I've ever seen...of course I am biased...

All in all last week and this weekend were just perfect. Lots of family time, lots of baby snuggles, lots of love. What more can you ask for?

How was your weekend?

Five on Friday

I'm linking up again today with some of my favorites: Katie, April, and Christina!

ONE

A HUGE shout out to Kate for designing my Keep Your Fork Cheesecakes logo! And a HUGE thank you to all of you who have been so supportive! I'm excited about this next step!

TWO

This little cutie is nine months old! I absolutely cannot believe it!

THREE

So looking forward to a little family treat tomorrow morning! We're taking Chandler out to breakfast for the first time. We will, of course, be ordering pancakes!

FOUR

I finally wore my new booties and I LOVE them! I am now pretty much wearing them everyday! This is probably my new go-to girls night outfit...comfy ponte leggings, mixed media tunic, and my booties!

Shop the look:

FIVE

It's Friday, y'all and that in itself is enough!

Exciting Announcement!

This month, I'm launching a little business! 

I'm excited to announce that Keep Your Fork Cheesecakes is up and running!!!!

This whole idea got started this summer when I decided to master the sour cream cheesecake with raspberry sauce from our favorite restaurant in St. Simons Island. The restaurant recently changed ownership and the cheesecake didn't make the cut (Umm...yes...they are insane for not putting it on the menu).

This sour cream cheesecake with a chocolate crust and raspberry sauce is my dad's FAVORITE, so I set out to make my own to surprise him for his birthday and it was a hit.

I'll be the first to admit that cheesecakes are notoriously difficult and this has not been an easy journey...though given we now have a cheesecake in the house just about all the time, I'd say it has been an enjoyable but tricky journey. And my waistline is ready to get this business up and running!!! I need to put a little space between the cheesecakes and my fork!

Why the name "Keep Your Fork"?

Well, Adam and I hosted a dinner party about a month ago and as we were clearing plates and asking our friends to "keep your fork" it just kind of happened. It was a group discussion for about .5 seconds before we all voted and decided that was definitely going to stick!

Where did the logo come from?

My amazing friend, fellow blogger, and sorority sister, Katie at Farm to Fête designed this logo and I am in LOVE! She is so talented and I enjoyed working with her so much that I've already signed her up to do Chandler's first birthday party invitations! Be sure to check out her Etsy shop!

I'm excited and very nervous, but I can't wait to share these desserts with you! 

For information on pricing, flavors, etc. visit the "Keep Your Fork Cheesecakes" page listed on the right side at the top of my blog. (Or just click here) 

Roasted Tomato Soup

This time of year is my favorite time of year for soup! I love the cozy feeling that a good soup gives you. And it seems to warm you from the inside out! We've been hit with a little cold snap here in South Carolina and Adam and I have spent the past few days being very cold! 

Those of you who know us very well will be shocked to hear that we have turned the heat on already! We normally wait until late November or even December, but for some reason, we've been cold lately. (Not to mention having a baby around does make you extra aware of the temperature!)

So one of my favorite soups for this time of year is my Roasted Tomato Soup. I have adapted a recipe from The Italian Dish. We made it this weekend and it did not disappoint. Nothing like a soup night! The best part is that this recipe makes enough for several meals, so we'll be eating tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches this week!

For Soup:

4 pounds tomatoes, cut in half lengthwise

5 garlic cloves, unpeeled

4 tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon kosher or sea salt

freshly ground black pepper

1 medium onion, chopped

2 teaspoon dried oregano

2 teaspoons sugar

3 cups chicken stock

1 tablespoon of butter

To Make Soup:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Arrange tomatoes, cut sides up, on a large baking sheet lined with heavy duty aluminum foil. Place the unpeeled garlic between the tomatoes.  Drizzle 3 tablespoons of the olive oil all over the tomatoes and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Roast tomatoes for 1 hour, let the tomatoes cool, and then peel the garlic.

While the tomatoes and garlic are roasting...I highly recommend pouring yourself a nice glass of wine and snacking on a little antipasto platter. Once you're sipping on that glass of wine, proceed to the next step!

Cook onion, oregano and sugar in 1 tablespoon of olive oil and the butter in a very heavy pot over medium heat, until onion is soft, about 7 minutes.  Add tomatoes, garlic and stock and bring to a boil. Then turn the heat down and let the soup simmer for about 15 minutes.

Place an immersion blender into the pot and puree the soup. If you do not have an immersion blender, puree the soup in batches in a blender. Once the soup is pureed, bring it back to a simmer and add salt and pepper to taste.

Serve soup with crusty bread (I like to top mine with cheese...).

Buon Appetito!

The Itch

This time of year, I get the itch to travel. I seriously think it's genetic...because my dad gets it too.

As soon as the weather starts to turn cooler, my thoughts slowly slip away to England. Starting when I was ten years old, my family traveled to England once a year for buying for our antique store. Now, once I got married things changed a little. I mean when you and your spouse have full time jobs it's hard to pick up and leave for two weeks in the middle of October or November...and now with a baby...woo! I can't imagine. But, that said, my thoughts are always there this time of year.

I want to stay at The George of Stamford and have tea on the patio or by the fire...

I want to wander through an antique fair...

I want to stay at the Manor House at Castle Combe...

Man, I've got the itch.

Where does your mind wander when you get the travel bug?