Happy Halloween!!!

I should be putting away laundry, but I finished everything on my Thanksgiving to do list early so I couldn't resist a little post on how much I love Halloween. Olivia was up at 6:15 today jamming to spooky music, it was like Christmas, but the exact opposite. We got on our outfits and our spooky rings, I haven't seen her this excited to go to school in forever. The weather is cooperating, warm and very windy, so we have plenty of leaf rustling action. Jim arrived safe and sound so we are ready for the big day.

Don't worry, the camera is charging so the entire event will be completely over-documented.

It's my week

I have too much going on to post, but I am anyway, what a surprise. I do want to give a recap of Nickel Creek later because it was so fun, but right now I need to address the Fancy Simple challenge for this week. It is connections (presumably between people) and since this is the week that we cook dinner for pretty much everyone we know i am going to kick that challenge's ass this week! They are going to give me two prizes because in the course of the next week I have a meaningful connection with pretty much everyone.

Here's your quote Fancy Simple "This week I am going to be so connected you are going to name that F&#$ing prize after me. Connect that!"

Chad Guest Post - The Stuffing Fumes are Getting to Me

After a long night of cooking, Liz and I were surfing the web together (as all married couples do!), and we came upon my brother's wish list for Christmas. We decided to help him out, and posted a comment on his blog that went roughly as follows:

"After reviewing your wish list, we have decided to fulfill one of the items on your wish list. After much thought and debate, we have decided to buy you...


a wife.

She should clear Customs by Christmas, but with the Russian mob, you never know.

По-русски!"

and yes, we were on the Internet at 10:30 at night looking up the Russian translation for "Congratulations!"

Liz has been laughing non-stop for the last thirty minutes about the Russian bride waiting to meet Sean and get her green card. She's a little tired.

We love you, Sean!

EDITED TO ADD: It's amazing what thirty seconds of Googling will get you. Here she is, Sean! We have sent her flowers or gifts on your behalf, per the suggestion at the bottom of her stunning profile.

Seven Habits for Moderately Effective People

Fancy Simple today wants me to list the habits that make me "effective." So here it goes.

1) Hard work-I may spend a lot of time doing not much, but when it comes to things that are important to me or others it can never be said that I half-ass it. I believe that if it comes down to natural talent or hard work, hard work will win out every time.

2) Believe you can accomplish it-If I don't have confidence that I can complete the task, I won't.

3) Plan, plan and then plan some more-There are never too many lists and no one has ever been too organized. I plan for every possible contingency, because it is always what you think will never happen that does.

4) Catching flies with honey-My mother and husband, the attorney, dispute this principal, but it has never let me down. Be honest, but kill them with kindness and you will get further in my book.

5) Dress for success-Back when I did work, and even now, I believe dressing for an event needs to have professionalism, but more importantly, comfort and pockets. I used to work long performance days with children who always needed pencils, kleenex, paper clips and tape. Now I need to not look like a crazy bum, but i need to be able to be colored on, spilled on and yes, wiped on-nose and otherwise.

6) Firm handshake-This goes hand in hand with eye contact. Whether you are speaking to a three year-old or someone twice your age, give a firm handshake and look in their eyes when you introduce yourself. It shows you are interested in them and confident in yourself.

7) Be willing to make a fool of yourself-My work now requires a hell of a lot of creativity. Lots of times I need to act like an idiot, occasionally in public, to get what I need done. I also need to do a lot of things that I don't feel entirely comfortable with to experience a little give and take with Olivia and I am rewarded.

Of course, by following my path to success I can only gurantee that you will get your child to actually wash her hands before she touches everything in the bathroom, but it is the small things, right?

ta da!

Thanksgiving is exactly one week from today. i know i have some new people cheking my blog so this post will bring you up to speed. Because i posted on the blog about how much i hate Thankgiving Chad and I had a great talk and so far things have been going remarkably smoothly. He even bought me truffles to say thanks. So I have to decided to air all of our dirty marital laundry on the blog because, apparently, it works. But that is another post for another day. So below is the menu, try not to drool on the keyboard.

MENU

Slow-Roasted Tomato Tart

*

Baked Brie with Toasted Pecans

*

Roasted Turkey with
Maple Vanilla Gastrique

*

Apple Cinnamon Stuffing

*

Sweet Potato Puree With Hazelnut Oil

*

Peas and Carrot Ribbons

*

Potato Gratin with Gruyere
and Crème Fraiche

*

Asiago-Black Pepper Biscuits

*

Apple Napoleon &
Pumpkin Cake With Dark Chocolate Ganache

Happy Birthday Annie!

Yesterday was my Annie's 60th birthday (I know she doesn't look a day over forty). She was having a little trepidation about sixty which I don't understand at all, my God it's not like she was turning thirty. Thirty is brutal, sixty is graceful, right? So I thought I would do a post about why sixty years have been very kind to my fabulous aunt.

The first photo is of Annie, Olivia and my grandfather playing Chutes and Ladders. i am pretty sure that you need sixty years to gain enough patience to play the most annoying board game of all time with your impatient, cheating three-year-old niece and your deaf-as-a-doornail 86 year-old father. Seriously, the woman is a saint.

Picture two is of Annie's gorgeous home. Apparently, sixty years allows you to develop great taste. I'm sure the editors of Elle Decor check the blog daily and will be calling her soon. She is always impeccable and never makes fun of the fact that I never am. I am sure that she has high hopes now that I am a lawyer's wife I will clean up my act.

Picture three is Annie with Olivia the weekend of her baptism. This is actually a photo I have framed and hung in my home. If every mother has a soft spot in her heart for someone who loves her child then I would have to say that Annie makes my heart melt. Both Annie and her charming husband, Cary, treat Olivia like a princess. Literally. The child can do no wrong, and in their presence, generally doesn't because she enjoys being with them so much. Their home is a place where she feels genuinely comfortable and truly loved, which is a feat considering the collision between Hurricane Olivia and Elle Decor.

I am really proud of my aunt. Growing up, because she and my mom were both single mothers my cousin Alison and I probably both had an innate sense that women can accomplish anything on their own and when they work together. Even though my cousin and I ended up pursuing very traditionally female careers (my cousin finishes nursing school soon) I don't think that detracts from what my aunt and mother worked hard for at all. On the contrary, Alison and I always felt confident enough to pursue our own interests, whatever they were. We did not have to over-compensate to prove a point. Even though I would have to say that my mom and my aunt are polar opposites, they always found a middle ground and a way to get Alison and I what we needed (I don't think it is a real coincidence that my mom is a nurse too).


So, in short, what sixty gets you is building a beautiful life for yourself and the people you love. An ability to look back and realize your challenges made not just yourself stronger, but the all the next generations as well. Oh, and a pretty classy pad. Nice job Annie, but if anyone starts asking if we are sisters all this nice stuff is out the window.

I was Right

See Chad, I told you she didn't give me decaf.