Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Sewing Blog

So I've found a few of the things I've sewing over the past couple of years. I realized I haven't been as diligent in taking photos of them before giving them away. I'll try and do better from now on. For now, here's some of what I've made...

http://elysesewing.blogspot.com

Elyse

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Brunswick Stew and Savannah

I found a recipe for Brunswick Stew a few months ago and thought I would make the stew then. Well, I just got around to it this past weekend and boy was it a job! My advice to myself in the future is to pay closer attention to the amount of ingredients in the recipe. Thank goodness Brian helped but it included 6 lbs. of rump roast, 6lbs. whole chicken, 6 lbs. boston butt among the rest of the ingredients (veggies, etc.). I'll say it turned out delicious but we had to freeze a LOT! Check out the photo below of our left overs. If I was having a fundraiser, this would be the way to go. But, for a rainy weekend, it was perfect!

By the way, thank you to David Hennessey for helping peel, cut (I'm missing some meat also) and eat the meat.



Finally...here are some photos I took while we were in Savannah. I took most of them while riding the trolley so they're not of the best quality.



Elyse

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Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Here are a few photos. I'm now 16 weeks. I haven't posted that many. I enjoy taking animal/bird/insect and landscape photos so I only included a few of those. Also, I've only had one craving and the photo with the cinnamon rolls are those from Giada. Thanks Giada - I obsessed over these things for 3 days until I finally bought the ingredients to make them. I only needed 2 and I was done. I'm trying to eat healthy and I didn't want to eat anything real sweet but they kept speaking to me :o) Here's her recipe: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/hazelnut-cinnamon-rolls-recipe/index.html



Elyse



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Monday, March 23, 2009

Babymoon

No, not as in baby before honeymoon. A friend of mine told me that we were taking a "Babymoon", aka a trip before the baby comes. It's true. Unfortunately we've had to cancel a trip in which we were going to take to Oregon for the Pinot Noir festival. Sorry Gossetts! We've promised to make it up to them. And, if you haven't asked already (some of you have) about selling or giving away our wine we've accumulated from the last 2 trips to wine country....sorry about that, too. It's all okay to keep for a while. We're aging some of them and they won't be opened until this baby is at least in Kindergarten. We'll be glad to share some with you after this baby comes.

On to the trip: We spent a few days in Savannah which were wonderful. Brian had a work thing so I was lucky enough to just do my thing and explore the city. Thanks to some friends for giving me some tips on taking the trolley, how to get into Lady & the Sons and where to shop and eat...I had a great time just figuring things out on my own. We checked in early at the resort in Hilton Head on Friday and were able to explore the island. Since it was our first trip there, we used the concierge for suggestions. Dinners and breakfast included the Old Fort Pub, Hudson's on the Docks, Palmetto Bay Sunrise Cafe, Signe's and Salty Dog Cafe. The first four were wonderful! I'm so grateful that I can still eat seafood being pregnant. .The beach was not like what I expected. I have only been to the Atlantic Coast once before and I'm amazed that you can actually ride bikes on that beach! Not going to happen on the Gulf Coast!

I took over 300 photos between the two cities and I've got to go through those and find a handful to post. The sunset at Old Fort Pub was breathtaking. I just hope I was able to capture the moment on film. Sunrise yesterday morning was also gorgeous and hopefully those will turn out to be decent. Brian took a shot of me at 4 months (or 16 weeks) and I'll post that also. I don't look much different since the last photo a couple of weeks ago. I've been smocking and am not going to put the plates on any outfits until I find out what we're going to have. I cannot say in words how excited I am to start making some little clothes for this sweet pea (I sure hope he/she is sweet). By the way, yes, crazily I do talk to the baby. I tell him/her to be good :o) I feel like I have a lot more to say to this one some day. We have 11 days until we find out; I have heard of some babies not "cooperating" when trying to find out the sex. I'm on the fence about whether to drink a caffeinated beverage before the ultrasound. I've given up on any sodas since I found out I was pregnant so perhaps I'll have a coffee.

By the way, does anyone know if I should be posting every 4 weeks a photo of me or what I think is every month? One of my baby books says I'm nearing the end of my 4th month. However, I usually count months as 4 weeks in a month which would mean I'm at the beginning of the 4th month. Way too confusing!

Lastly, I forgot to post that I made the bedding for the baby's room. I might post a conglomerate of the fabrics I've used as well. I just love bright, vibrant, primary colors for babies. After working at a specialty toy store for about a year, I learned that bright colors were stimulating. I also love bright colors. You'd probably argue this with me if you saw the rest of my house...it's very warm in the color choices, but I've thrown a bit of color in there. Enough of this post for today....I'll post the photos this week. Another goal...


Elyse

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Sunday, March 15, 2009

Nine, Nine in 'Oh Nine!

So Brian and I will be married 9 years and are expecting our first child the ninth month of 2009 (September 5th). I don't believe in luck but if I did, I'd say that our lucky number is NINE! We are very excited to announce this wonderful blessing. We thank God every day for his perfect timing and for our exciting addition to our family in the future. I've attached a current photo of me at 14 weeks. I've created this blog for our friends and family to keep up with us. I'll do my best to update as often as possible. We're leaving for Savannah and Hilton Head next week so hopefully I'll have some new photos to post then. I'll also start an update of the baby growing. Next week will be 4 months so I'll keep up with the progress according to months. I fully expect to balloon but as long as I feel great (and I have so far), I don't care; well, not too much anyway.