Polka Dot Pillow

I came across this tutorial a little while ago and really wanted to make Lila some poufs.



They will eventually go in her reading nook in her big girl room.

But right now she just likes to lie on it...or lick it.

 

Johnny Turns Twenty-Six

Johnny's birthday was on Saturday, and to celebrate his birthday and the first day of fall, we went to the Louisburg Cider Mill!



The weather was beautiful.  We were apparently fortunate to miss the Cider Festival because there was a giant electric sign on the road warning of slow traffic due to the Cider Festival next weekend...in a town of what seemed like fifty people.  Phew.

We ate apple cider doughnuts-Johnny's favorite.

And I took this picture right before I saved some children from sticking twigs into outdoor electrical sockets. The mom said, "Oh! I couldn't see because they were behind the pole!"  or she was just playing with her iPhone.

Johnny's big present was a beer making kit.  He is very excited about it.  

Now the "wort" just has to sit in the basement for two weeks, then get bottled and sit for two more weeks.  Come on over in a month for some good beer.  I'm trying to convince Johnny to use chalkboard paint on the bottles so everyone can write their names on their bottles...but I think it might be a little too Pinteresty for him.

On Sunday we got to sit outside and enjoy the weather.  And by "sit outside and enjoy the weather" I mean trade off sleeping on the quilt because Lila hasn't been sleeping through the night.

But we still love her.

Lila's Half Birthday

Lila's six month birthday was yesterday!  This whole growing up thing has gotten out of control.  Nobody ever told me that my baby would stop being a baby so quickly.



Weight: 18lbs (85%)                 Height: 26 3/4 in (85%)

 

 She's allowed to eat all kinds of solids now.  We started her on green beans this morning; she waited very patiently for me to make them for her.



One of the best things about being a parent so far has been getting to know Johnny as a daddy.  He has so much fun with Lila.  I like when he reads her books and points out all the things that are incorrect (ie. the purple cat in Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?).

In honor of her half birthday, Lila sat up by herself for the first time yesterday!  She still is a little wobbly, but she loves to sit up like a big girl.  It gives her more ability to yell and throw things.

Homecoming 2012

It's that time of year again!  That time when I live vicariously through my little brother as he goes to high school dances.

Austin and Mitchell have a good group of friends that they like to go with.

Mitchell and his date, Allison.

Austin with his date...who I believe is also named Allison.

Lila really wanted to go to the dance with Uncle Mitchell, but it didn't start until 8:00!  Way past her bedtime. 

Caramel Ice Cream

Because of my continued trials and tribulations with the unattainable macaron, I have had a large supply of egg yolks on hand.  I decided to make some ice cream, but since the weather is so nice and cool here these days (even Johnny keeps saying how much he loves the weather!), I needed to find a flavor that would be considered fall-ish.


After looking around on the world wide web for a bit, I found this recipe for caramel ice cream.

It required the exact number of egg yolks that I had.  This recipe was extremely easy to make.  In fact, I made the whole thing while holding Lila because she wanted to see what was going on.

As usual, forgive the amateur photos, but the ice cream was absolutely fabulous!  We have already eaten almost all of it.  I have to make another batch of it soon because Johnny has asked for an ice cream pie for his birthday on Saturday.

If you are in the mood for other ice cream recipes, look at my Pinterest "Dessert Night" board.  I've made both of the ice cream recipes in there; the peanut butter cup is particularly good and even easier than the caramel.

Leg Warmers

Now that Lila is getting close to crawling (if only she could figure out how to get her tum tum off the floor), I really wanted to get her some leg warmers to protect her little knees.  I've looked at Target and Zullily and have been surprised with how much baby leg warmers are ($10...psh).  So I went looking around Pinterest and found this AMAZING tutorial.  Once you get the hang of them, these leg warmers only take five minutes to make and only cost $2.50.

We have polka dot ones...



 And cheetah ones...

And stripey ones!

Pay no attention to the dead plants behind the curtain.

 

The Attack of the Macarons

Ever since Johnny and I went to France last year, I have been in love with macarons.

I ate them all over Paris.

In Philadelphia, we had a great French pastry shop called Miel Patisserie that was a block and a half from my school.  I went there for macarons and coffee about once a week.  After our miscarriage, some of my students even went out at lunch time and brought me back a few.  Since living in Kansas, I have been pleasantly surprised with how macarons are catching on.

I posted here about how Johnny got me macarons for Valentine's Day from Bloom Bakery in the River Market. 

I have also enjoyed Milk & Honey macarons sold at The Roasterie.  But darn it, they are expensive!  With tax, you end up shelling out almost $2.50 for each tiny cookie.  That's fine for vacation or holidays but not for a random Wednesday when I feel like I want a few.  So I have decided to try to make my own.

Macarons are notorious for being extremely temperamental and difficult to make even though they are only made up of four ingredients.  I tried to make some using a Martha Stewart recipe a year ago and failed miserably.  It almost scared me away permanently.  But this time, armed with a cookbook (thanks Melissa Clemmens!) and Mrs. Humble's tutorial, I felt a bit more prepared.

So far I have tried to make plain macarons with lemon curd, chocolate macarons with peanut butter filling, and lime macarons with lemon curd.

Some have turned out...most of them haven't.  They all taste good; it's just that some of them collapse or don't have the crinkly bottoms called "feet."  I want to keep trying, but it is a very frustrating endeavor.  I am not usually a fan of working hard at something until I get it right.  I kind of like to just do things that I'm good at the first time...that's why I don't do sports, of any kind....except for that time I coached lacrosse.  Maybe macarons can be my new lacrosse.

What the Hutsons are Watching

Our Netflix queue has been popping lately with some really great choices that Johnny has made.

en.wikipedia.org

Bernie is a black comedy based on a true story about an assistant funeral director in a small Texas town.  The main character, played by one of my favorites-Jack Black, befriends a mean old woman and pretty much ruins his life doing it.  The characters are absolutely fabulous, especially the random townspeople.  I really really enjoyed this movie: A+.

imdb.com

Melancholia is kind of like Tree of Life where there isn't a lot of dialogue and not a lot happens (until the very end), but it's an extremely beautiful movie.  The movie is based around the idea that a planet, Melancholia, is coming very close to earth.  Kirsten Dunst plays a young woman struggling with depression as she faces the possible end of the world.  I usually find her to be kind of annoying, but she was absolutely stunning in this movie and did a great job playing her character: A-.

en.wikipedia.org

The Company Men is a story about three men who work for a company that lays them off at the beginning of the recession.  It's an interesting window into how losing a job affects these three different men.  Ben Affleck usually seems to be second in my mind to guys like Matt Damon, but he did a really good job playing a husband and father trying to figure out how to care for his family when his life is ripped out from beneath him: B.

Where The Wind Comes Sweeping Down the Plain

For Labor Day weekend, my whole family went down to Oklahoma City to visit my grandparents.  I used to go down there two or three times a year, but since college and living in Philadelphia, I realized that I hadn't been down in almost five years.

I have a lot of fun memories of riding my purple and white Big Wheel around their driveway and eating sugar-free ice cream sandwiches.  I can't fit on the big wheel anymore, but it was fun to show Lila around all of the stuff that I enjoyed as a little kid.

We also got to visit with Johnny's cousin Jack Ryan who just moved to Oklahoma City to work at their friend Neill's brewery, The Belle Isle.  Jack Ryan's dad, Uncle Jack, was there too, so we got to have a little McDonald family reunion.  Jack Ryan just finished crafting a Pilsner in honor of their grandpa, Grampie, who passed away last year.  They used one of Grampie's old Navy emblems as the label, and they have his flight jacket displayed in the bar.

It turns out that Johnny's grandparents were married in a house just a few minutes away from my grandparents' house.  The older I get, the smaller the world feels.