I Love Roses...

These are the last roses of the season.  I cut theses at my in-laws yesterday.  They have a beautiful rose garden.  There is nothing like fresh flowers in a home.  I love them and would have them in my home daily if possible.  I love the way they smell and the fact that they really bring a room to life.

I think they add a really nice touch to our entryway.

Charlotte and her Pink Room

Thought I would share a few photos of Charlotte's "Pink" room.  I love Charlotte's room and have never tired of all the pink.  Her room feels very happy and bright.  She loves for us to read her books and she also enjoys just being in her room.  Charlotte does not have a ton of toys and we like it that way.  I feel that some children have too many toys and are just overwhelmed by them.  Santa will be bringing her a table and two chairs for Christmas which will be a nice addition to her room.  We can do artwork there and have tea parties. 

 Pretty in pink.

 I think the table and chairs will go nicely by the window.  I will then move her Pottery Barn Kids Anywhere Chair to the corner.

 Charlotte is still in her crib for now and loves it.  We will probably switch her to a "big girl bed" in the spring.

 I love her green and pink hand painted table. This was my one big splurge for her room.  Oh, and the Pottery Barn Kids Rocker.  The most comfortable chair ever.  I would highly recommend it to you new moms out there.  You want it to be comfortable because you will spend many, many hours in it and it's slipcovered, so it can easily be cleaned.

Biltmore Village and a Birthday...

That's right!!  My sweet husband had a birthday on Monday.  We celebrated by spending the afternoon at Biltmore Village.  We had a delicious lunch and just enjoyed spending some alone time together.  Thanks GiGi for babysitting Miss Charlotte.  Of course we missed her, but it was nice to have a few hours alone.  We rarely ever leave Charlotte, she is usually always with us.  After a nice afternoon in Asheville it was back home for chinese food ( my husband's favorite) and cupcakes with Charlotte.    

The two of us as we were about to go for lunch.

Sorry for the lack of photos.  I was having too much fun to pull out my camera.

Minestrone Soup...

This is a wonderful and very healthy autumn soup.  My family loves this recipe.  It also freezes well.  With there just being three of us, I freeze half for a quick and easy dinner another night of the week.

Ingredients:

1 medium onion, chopped
1 tbsp. olive oil
32-oz box of low sodium chicken broth
1 cup of water
1 15-oz can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained ( I used navy beans this time as I was out of cannellini)
1 medium zucchini sliced
2 carrots sliced
3 cloves garlic, minced
3/4 cup dried elbow macaroni
1 tsp. dried oregano
8 cups packaged fresh baby spinach leaves
1 14-oz can no-salt-added diced tomatoes

In a large pot or dutch oven cook onion in hot oil over medium heat until tender, about ten minutes, stirring occasionally.  Add broth, water, beans, zucchini, carrots, and garlic.  Bring to a boil, then lower to medium heat for thirty minutes, stirring occasionally.  Return to boiling.  Add pasta and oregano, cook for seven minutes; reduce to medium heat.  Add tomatoes and spinach, cook for ten minutes. Season with salt and pepper (optional) and serve with a drizzle of olive oil and grated parmesan cheese.  Enjoy!

Serves: 6

Our Budding Artist

Here are a few photos of our little artist.  Charlotte loves to paint and will usually ask daily to do so.  She is a busy girl.

These are just a few of her many masterpieces on our refrigerator.  I am thinking of framing several pieces and doing a gallery wall in my hallway.  Her artwork makes me so happy.  Love that sweet girl.

Beautiful Fall Day

My sweet little one is napping, so I am out on our patio doing a bit of gardening and enjoying this beautiful Fall day.  It is around 75 degrees, and in my book it does not get much better than that. 

Hope you are enjoying this beautiful time of year.

My pansies are loving this warm weather.

Baked Potato Soup

On this chilly Saturday evening, I made one of our favorites for dinner, baked potato soup.  It's very easy to make and includes only a handful of ingredients.  It's great served with homemade bread.  Unfortunately, I didn't have time to make bread this evening.  Hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we do.

Enjoy!

Baked Potato Soup

Ingredients:

3 large russet baking potatoes

1/2 cup milk

1/2 stick butter

3 cups of Chicken Broth

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/3 cup cheddar cheese

1/4 teaspoon thyme

1/2 teaspoon salt (optional)

black pepper  (to taste)

Bake potatoes and cool to room temperature.  Remove the skins and coarsely chop.  Let the milk come to room temperature.  Place 3/4 cups of chopped potatoes in a separate bowl and mash with a little water to make them thin, yet creamy.  In a large, heavy pot, melt butter over medium-low heat.  While butter is melting heat the chicken broth to boiling.  Gradually mix the flour into the melted butter.  Continue stirring mixture for about 3 minutes.  While stirring the mixture, add the broth.  Next, add potato puree.  Mix well.  Lower the heat to simmer and add cheese, milk, thyme, salt, pepper, and remaining chopped potatoes.  Cover and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring often.  If soup is too thick, thin with more milk or broth. Serve garnished with cheddar cheese, a sprinkle of thyme and crumbled, cooked bacon ( if desired).

Serves: 4

Halloween Re-Cap....

Charlotte had a blast this Halloween.  She could not wait to get out and trick or treat.  Our neighborhood had a block party so there were lots of kids for her to hang out with.  We went out around 5:45 and by 7:00 she was pretty much done and ready to go in.  All in all it was a fun evening.  Charlotte is not a fan of sweets, which I am thankful for. I think her favorite part of trick or treating was getting to ring everyones doorbell.  She is really into doorbells now.  Oh, and I basically had everything for her hula girl costume except for the grass skirt.  We think it turned out really cute.   

All ready to go.

She did not want to let my camera go.  Thank goodness GiGi was there with her camera.

Love this sweet photo.

Mommy, Daddy and Charlotte ready for trick or treating.  Charlotte is 31 months.

I'm (finally) here!

After years of reading  blogs, I have finally started my own.  Thanks for stopping by and I hope you will follow me as I attempt to post as often as time allows.