Around These Parts...

Happy Fall! Can you believe it will be October this week?! Crazy. There's been a huge rain and wind storm here in Portland so we've been housebound the last couple of days. Seeley has also decided she doesn't want to nap, making the last three or four days interesting to say the least. What is it about babies changing their schedules randomly? I know we're really lucky to have a baby that falls asleep on her own and sleeps through the night no problem. But lately she refuses to nap and has a huge cry before she'll sleep in her crib! I know it will pass, but it sure is hard spending an hour or two on bedtime! We think she might be fighting a cold and hopefully we can get her better before her birthday (in 14 days!) so we don't have a repeat of the epic birthday cold of 2012.

Despite her lack of sleep, Seeley is still super active. In October one of our favorite activities for littles, The Southwest Community Center Indoor Park, opens and I couldn't be more excited. Imagine a huge gym full of toys, a bunch of wild kids running off their energy for an hour and a half, and a bunch of parents sipping coffee and enjoying their bit of time to space out. Sounds great. Enjoy some pictures of our indoor adventures!

Fall stomping shoes!

She's all about climbing, tumbling and rolling lately.

Fantastic vegetarian cookbook I'm reading. Super Natural Everyday by Heidi Swanson.

Wes making his favorite Thai pie pizza. I cannot get enough of that pizza.

Us

Seeley always giggles and smiles when we kiss. How long will that last?!

We found a break in the rain!!

Singing/yelling girl.

I attempted to make coconut curry with tofu...it did not work.

 

But the banana bread turned out great!!

Lunch at Seeley's tea table.

Girl time.

And we can't forget football time with papa.

A fall backpack for all her travels.

Second pair of shoes: Nike Air Maxs. Yes, we know she's spoiled.

And we can't forget the newest member of the family, Seeley's beta fish Elmo!

Dinner at the Food Carts

The weather here today was amazing so Wes left work a little early so we could spend the evening walking downtown. I love how beautiful downtown Portland is in the spring. There were tons of people out which was really fun for us, especially Seeley, who hasn't got the whole subtlety aspect of people watching. Today was also perfect for eating at one of the downtown food carts Portland is known for. There is a reason they are well known. The food is beyond delicious. I took a million pictures (I always do; my iphone's camera is awesome) so enjoy a little photo journey :)

Weekend Pics and Morning Glory

Forts and muffins, baths and giant beds to sleep in. I have to say, having a kid gives us an excuse to do some pretty fun stuff. Seeley and her papa had some great quality time these last couple of days; he made her an awesome fort and last night they had the cutest bathtime I think I've ever seen. Seeley's been hilarious as she shows us how much she understands. A couple nights ago she hoped up in our bed and tucked herself in and was ready for bed! And then she woke up 500 times through the night, but that's okay :) This morning I decided to try my hand at one of my favorite goodies: morning glory muffins. Of course Seeley took this as her cue to destroy the kitchen, which she did successfully. Oh well, homes are meant to be lived in!

Secret fort hideaway!

Pigtails! I'm beyond excited for pigtails:)

Scoping out the fort, courtesy of papa.

Ready for bed!

bathtime! Love those two.

Morning glory muffins. Raisins, coconut, carrots, pinapple, yummm!

All that in little muffins!

Seeley "helping" mama

Ta da!

Yummy yummy

Not to toot my own horn, but, toot toot!

Missoula Trip (Part 2): Pickling!

I love family traditions, especially ones that involve food! The Dickinson clan has some fantastic recipes from Molasses Cream cookies during Christmas, strawberry rhubarb pie in the summer and spicy dill pickles for Thanksgiving. During my last couple summers in Missoula I've been lucky enough to learn from the pickle-making master herself: my grandma. She has this thing down to a science. She knows that the Hutterites grow the best cucumbers and when to get them at Patty Creek Market. Her neighbor Jane has the best dill in town and brings it over in huge trash bags! All of the ingredients are laid out in a little assembly line and she knows that if we can them now they will be at their prime for turkey day. I think I've almost got the recipe down, but my grandma will always be able to add that extra touch.

Lined up and ready to create garic-y, spicy, crunchy perfection.

The whole house smelled like dill. I loved it.

Fresh cucs in ice water.

Let's can!

Packed and ready for brine.

I'll be seeing you in November.

Good Eats: Veggie Pie

Let us take a moment to appreciate the wonderfulness of ingredients thrown together in containers and cooked. Slow cooker meals like chili and soup? Fantastic. Casseroles and baked mac and cheese? Perfection. We must not forget the potential of the pie plate.

I received a batch of vegetarian recipes from my mother-in-law, one of which was for a veggie quiche-type thing. It called for frozen asian veggies and ricotta cheese. I chucked most of that recipe but flew with the idea (which I think is the best way to cook). A bunch of veggies, eggs, herbs, how 'bout potatoes? And it was sooooo good. I've included the recipe and pictures in case you want to experience this goodness for yourself. So preheat your oven to 350 and let's go!

Cut up whatever veggetables you think would go well with eggs and potatoes.
We recommend zucchini, broccoli, red onion, bell pepper and tomatoes.

In a bowl mix four eggs, a 1/2 cup of milk and sage (and/or basil and rosemary)

Pie crust: 1 3/4 cup flour, 3/4 veg. shortening, 4-5 ttablespoons water and a pinch of salt.
Mix together with a fork, knead and roll.

Cut up potatoes, add olive oil and salt and pepper (we like a lot!)

 Cook the veggies and potatoes on the stove top. Put pie crust, veggies, potatoes in pie plate and pour egg mixture on top. Cook for 50 minutes and....

Good Eats!