The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

I don't know about your house, but the holidays are in full swing here. I love the holidays and this year it is even more special with the little man around. But this post isn't about the holiday instead its about the movies. I'm so hoping with the extra people in our house that I can steal away a few hours to go to the movies. I love going to the theater this time of the year. The studios put out the best movies in hopes of getting some Oscar nominations. Just a few of the movies I'm dying to see are: 


The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo


I read this book last year and I've seen the Swedish version of the movie. I really like Daniel Craig so I have a lot of high hopes for this movie. I so hope I'm not disappointed. 

The Descendants


Who doesn't love George Clooney? 

Young Adult


I've loved Jason Reitman's "Up in the Air" and "Thank You for Smoking" so I'm hoping to like this movie too. I'm not a big fan of Diablo Cody (the screenwriter of "Juno") but I'm willing to give this movie a chance. I just hope that they haven't shown all the funny scenes in the trailer. 

Hugo


A friend of mine went to an advanced screening of this movie and has been raving about it ever since. Martin Scorsese is behind it so I'm sure its a winner. 

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close


I'm predicting I will need a box of Kleenex to get through this movie, but I think it will be great movie. 

I just recently saw "The Help" on DVD and I loved it more than the book. If you haven't seen yet, add it to your list. The acting and directing were superb. I'm sure it will get a few nods during the award season. 


So are there any movies you will be seeing this holiday season? What else should I have on my list?

Happy Birthday Sweet Boy!

Today is my son's first birthday. We had a chance to celebrate last weekend with our family and friends so today was just for us. We had our first year check-up and then we went to the Georgia Aquarium. We haven't been the aquarium in a few months so it was fun to see how much W enjoyed our trip this time.  We ended the evening with W showing off his new walking skills. I think its only a matter of time before he's running all over the house. Lord help me!

Time is Flying By

I have a confession to make, I'm not exactly sure what happened to the last six weeks but they are gone. They just flew right by me. It started with a week vacation at the beach and then we had three sets of house guests within the course of a week. Then Halloween came, and then the first birthday party to end all birthday parties. And now here I am on the eve of my sweet boy's first birthday. I'm not sure where the time has gone. It just seems like yesterday that I was waddling around the house complaining about my back and now here he is almost one. 


It blows my mind to think that this time last year, I was in a hospital bed waiting to be induced the next morning. Waiting and waiting. You wait for those 40 long weeks to end and then when they do you don't know what to do. If you are like me you are terrified when they send you home from the hospital. I remember saying to the discharge nurse, "Are you sure you should be sending this baby home with us? You don't know if we are capable or qualified to care for an infant." She just laughed and said "You will do fine. You are capable of more than you think you are." Boy was she right. I had never changed a diaper until we got home from the hospital and I had never spent any real time with babies. 


In fact, during the pregnancy I called myself the reluctant mommy. Motherhood wasn't something I had ever planned for myself but it happened and I can't imagine my life without this sweet boy. Of course before he arrived, I couldn't imagine my life with a baby either. I guess the saying is true, "God never gives you more than you can handle." He sure knew what he was doing when he sent us this beautiful little boy. 

Our First Trip to the Pumpkin Patch

It seems that once you have a baby you start to do things that you never thought you would do. For us, we moved to a neighborhood last year that we probably would have never moved to if I wasn't pregnant. I've decorated my house with Halloween decorations - not only did I decorate but I had to buy the decorations!?! So last weekend, we were blessed with some great weather and we decided it was time to take the little man to North Georgia for his (and our) first trip to mecca of all things fall - Burt's Pumpkin Patch. Apparently, we weren't the only ones with this idea since the pumpkin patch was packed!


W had a great time people watching and playing around in the pumpkins. It also turned out to be a perfect photo opportunity too. I just love this Halloween-themed outfit from Beehave. But it must have looked girly because for the first time in 11 months, someone actually called my son a girl. I know it was an innocent mistake but still it hurt my feelings a little bit.

Kitchen Adventures: Bourbon Brown Sugar Steak

A few weeks ago, I committed to trying a new recipe a week. So far, some of the recipes have been a success and some have not. To start out my "Kitchen Adventures" series on a successful note. This recipe was a collaborative effort since my husband is the grillmaster around our house. 

We don't eat red meat that often so when we do its a real treat. We've been experimenting over the last year with flank steak and so far we've found a few great ways to make it but this might just be my favorite. You can find the recipe for the steak at food52. I just marinated the steak for about 2.5 hours before grilling it. We also through some asparagus on the grill with the steak and baked a few potatoes in the oven to finish off the meal. The steak had a slight bourbon flavor and smell so if you like bourbon this is a dish for you. 

I hope you enjoy it as much as we did. 

Happy Cooking!

The Queen of Butter is as Sweet as Sugar

Today, we got a chance to meet the quintessential Southern cook, the queen of butter herself - Ms. Paula Deen. The Savannah restauranteur is best known for her cooking shows on FoodTV network, "Paula's Best Dishes" and "Paula's Home Cooking." We've been lucky enough to eat at her restaurant, The Lady & Sons, a few times over the last couple of years and every recipe I have ever cooked of hers has been a big hit. Generally, I go to her site when I'm planning a special meal or entertaining. I always know that the dish will be great. Some of my favorite Paula Deen recipes are: Pumpkin Gooey Bars, Tomato, Corn and Avocado salad, Black Pepper Shrimp, and Baked French Toast Casserole with Maple Syrup.  Last week, Ms. Deen's new cookbook, Southern Cooking Bible, was released and she is currently on a book tour.

W and I got to her book signing today just as they were wrapping up so fortunately we didn't have to wait in line to meet Ms. Deen and her husband Michael Grover. They were gracious enough to pose for pictures with W. I wasn't really sure what to expect but Ms. Deen was just as nice and friendly in person as she appears on TV. Both her and Mr. Grover talked with me for a few minutes and asked me about my son. Having met her, it is obvious she is family-oriented and a boy mom (and boy grandma too). 

A European Dining Experience

The Swiss have are probably best known for bringing the world fondue. But these cheese loving people have also given the world another cook as you eat dining experience, Raclette. Earlier this year, my sister's friend introduced us raclette. I think the best way to describe it is a dining experience.


The raclette machine has eight trays to which you add your dinner ingredients and top with raclette cheese. Once you add the cheese, then you put your tray under the grill. There is a grill tray on top that you can use to toast your bread. When the cheese is melted, you can add your raclette ingredients to the bread and you start the process again. 


Since we have done raclette for both meat eaters and vegetarians, so we have used an assortment of deli meat, mushrooms, sun-dried tomatoes, roasted bell peppers, olives, and vegetables. The great thing about raclette is you can do it with lots of different fruit, vegetable, and meat combinations so each version you fix can be different from the one before.  Since you are "cooking" your dinner as you go, raclette is perfect for a small dinner party.

Have you had raclette or a similar dining experience?