Friday 4/29

Happy Birthday to my Aunt Cindy in Arizona!!

Friday was just beautiful here in CT. So, when I got home from work I just couldn't go inside the house. I grabbed my camera and took a few shots of what is starting to bloom around the yard. When the sun went down we had a late dinner and afterwards Mike told me to put on my comfy sneakers and we headed out. He stopped at this little ice cream place in Centerbrook. I had "Strawberry fields" Umm and then we went downtown Essex and walked the quiet, dark streets, through the shops and to the river. It was a beautiful night.

I want...

A little space like this in our bedroom for a vanity for me to sit and do my face....and I want a rack for just my shoes. Okay, so I might need 20 racks for just my shoes...but a girl can still dream!


Our bed, is the size of our bedroom. So, that's all I get for now-

This looks delicious!!

For everyone except for me who could enjoy such a beverage. Try this recipe and let me know how delicious it is. I LOVE blood oranges and I have been known to like a Margarita on occasion!

Stella wonders what is happening to mommy!!??

Almost 33 weeks along! 7 weeks and 1 day to go! I wonder how Stella will react once the baby finally arrives-

Big yellow spring belly!

Happily waiting for the Dr.

Stella in the morning

We are going to start getting Stella in the habit of NOT sleeping on the bed any longer. This is the little shit after we get out of bed in the morning. She moves herself right up to the pillows and acts like queen. Who does she think she is?

It's definitely...time!

Birthday 31

Yes, yes. I am now 31. Where has the time gone? Friday morning (Also Good Friday) Mike wakes me up around 6am to ask me how it feels to be 31. My reaction is simply that I wasn't actually born until 2:41pm that afternoon and I still had some time....to think about it. (Though, I am slowly catching up to him!)
When it was time to actually get out of bed and start the day he had picked all the fresh flowers from our yard and put them in a big vase on the counter with a card that gave me a heck of a morning laugh.
Kathleen took me out to lunch to the Black Seal where I enjoyed/inhaled a Cobb salad.
Work was over before I knew it. I went down for a nap & around 7 we met John and Kate to head to Cantina Cafe in Middletown. What a hoot! This restaurant is in the basement of the Italian Society. There are grapes painted on the cinderblock walls, with huge strands of garlic hanging from the ceiling and more than a dozen oversized b&w family photos thrown about the walls. The place was PACKED! Talk about overfeeding & overeating. The portions were borderline unappetizing, but I can't complain that I did not like the warm loaf of bread with garlic oil, the constant pitchers of water, the salad with a fresh orange and the fact that you fully digested your bread and salad well before dinner finally arrived at the table, cooked by the one person in the kitchen cooking for the whole place!!

I went with the Eggplant Rollatini, Mike chose Chicken Marsalaa. Kate went with Chicken Parm, which I should have picked and John chose Shrimp & Clams Fra Diavlo-

Easter Sunday

I started to come down with a cold on Saturday afternoon. Mike made me a french onion soup for dinner and I fell asleep very...very early. We awoke to sunny and 70's on Sunday which was a surprise. We had Gram's chocolate cake for breakfast and went about our morning. We headed to his parents for a 1:00pm dinner and then stopped at my parents on our way back home for Ricotta pie with strawberries for dessert. Mike was taking the photos yesterday, so here you go!

Beautiful Stella looking up at Mom's big belly!

 

Kathleen, me, Janet and Gramma Gillis

 

Mr. Cartwright's famous Jim Beam glazed Ham!

 

Roasted potatoes on the grill. Out of this world!!

 

& Yes. Here are my UGLY crocs I actually wore out in public because my feet are swollen:(

 

Gramma Gillis kicking back in Mr. C's leather chair!

A few years in the middle

We stopped at my parents for Dessert yesterday after having a delicious dinner at the Cartwrights. Afterwards, Mike, Dad and I went for a walk down to the brook. Mike took this photo of us- which made me remember a photo Mom took of Dad and I in the same spot about 5 years ago. Wow!!

Last Weeks...Enormous...Belly

Sunday visit at Mom & Dad's. At this stage, I feel like I constantly have a glass of water in my hands!

Thumbs are still....Up!

2 Pregnant Ladies & their Husbands

Sarah (my sister-in-law) is also pregnant. She is due in August. The four of us were relaxing at my parents house on her Birthday last month. These are good times!

Flounder stuffed with Scallop stuffing

I wasn't planning on making this dish last night. Mike roofed the whole weekend and had a craving for some fresh fish. So I stopped over to Saybrook Seafood yesterday to grab 4 filets, a handfull of scallops and a lemon. I never make stuffed fish dishes. In fact, I really don't "stuff" anything. That is definitely a specialty of his, stuffed clams, stuffed mushrooms, stuffed chicken....you get my point.

Anyhow, the guys worked a long day and well into the night so in order for us to eat some time before 10:00pm, I was going to have to "stuff" some flounder!

In the food processor I chopped 1 full carrot and 1/2 an onion. I sauteed both in a pan on medium heat with a 1/2 stick of butter, once tender, I added in chopped scallops and some fresh lemon. Once the scallops cooked almost through, about a minute or two, I added in 2 cups of breadcrumbs and mixed thoroughly, adding in a drizzle or two of olive oil. Once thoroughly mixed, I turned off the burner.
Meanwhile, I cleaned my 4 filets of Flounder making sure to check & remove any leftover bones. I patted dry the fish filets with paper towel. I then divided my stuffing into 4 piles and formed a lump in my hand as I wrapped the fish over the stuffing. I was sure to leave a few extra bits of stuffing to sprinkle over the top. I placed all 4 stuffed filets in a baking dish with a light drizzle of oil at the bottom.
Bake covered at 375 for just under 20 minutes. I uncovered for the last few minutes to get a nice golden brown to the exterior crumbs.


I served one filet for each of us with a 1/4 cup of basmati rice and steamed fresh broccoli. & if I do say so myself, it was pretty terrific!

Strawberry Cream Cheese Muffins

I tried this recipe yesterday:

http://www.jasonandshawnda.com/foodiebride/archives/4427

All, I can say is UMM. Not overly sweet, a perfect amount of tang with the fresh strawberries, light & moist. What a perfect breakfast treat or dessert with some vanilla ice cream.

I had to cook mine for an extra 10 minutes for them to turn golden brown. So my advice... is to keep an eye on your oven!!

My husband, the Cobbler

Perhaps not everyone here knows that my husband is a Cobbler. Here is a project he was working on the other day. A customer wanted her light brown FRYE boots, a dark brown instead. (I couldn't tell you the process but I can show you the beginning, middle and end results.)

Pretty nice, wouldn't you say!!

Weekend Nursery Progress

Dad came over on Sunday and he and Mike were able to sheetrock almost the entire nursery with the exception of the inside of the closet and part of the bathroom. As usual, this 1946 home doesn't exactly make it an easy process! Not a single wall would take 1 full piece of sheetrock, needless to say, there were more than several cuts to be made. But now...it is actually starting to look like a room!!!

30 weeks!

We are 30 weeks along today. This is Mike's second time using the iphone camera, so go easy on him!

Everything is right on track. Blood pressure was great, 114/66. Measuring 31 inches across. Heartbeat is around 140. 10 weeks to go!! I still cannot get over how fast this entire pregnancy has flown by so far. It's just unbelieveable. I feel like we just found out the morning of October 13th when I was only 5+ weeks along!!

Electrical Progress on Nursery

The electrician came by last week and re-wired our entire upstairs and new bathroom to run into a new panel separate from the downstairs. Things are looking great!! Dad and Mike will be sheetrocking on Sunday!!

Stuffed Peppers

I made stuffed peppers last night for dinner. They are the perfect meal or side dish!

Sautee 1/2 an onion until lightly golden brown, add 1 lb. of ground meat. (I say meat, because ground turkey or chicken would be just as delicious, I used ground beef.)
Cook meat until brown and add 1 can of diced tomatos- 1/2 cup of water and 1/2 cup of uncooked rice. Cover and simmer for about 20 minutes until rice is cooked. Uncover and turn up to medium heat to cook down any excess liquid for a nice consistency for scooping into peppers.

Meanwhile, using 4 large bell peppers (color is your choice), remove the tops by cutting out a circle. Remove seeds and membranes. Pre-cook by placing in boiling water for approx. 5 minutes.

Take each pepper and place two small cubes of cheese (your choice, I used sharp cheddar, sometimes I use Monterey Jack or Mozzerella, the cheddar gives a stronger flavor) at the bottom of each, fill with stuffing, once filled, press in 3 more cubes of cheese (1 on each side and 1 in the center) Add another scoop of stuffing on top and place pepper cap.

Bake on 375 for 30 minutes, & Enjoy!!

A few of my favorite things:

Breakfast for dinner- Scrambled Eggs, Ham Steak and yes...Mini-french toast from a fresh baguette with powdered sugar & syrup!

Wind chimes. This is an old frog I got for Mom years back.

 Flowers, just because, because any day is a special day! Mike came home with this beautiful boquet two weekends ago. (they are still alive)

 Chocolate cake. Gram made this for Sarah's Birthday. Ummm!