Our Babymoon: Long Weekend in New Orleans

Since our baby is due in May, Kara and I thought it would be fun to take one last trip, a “babymoon”, before we got too close to the big day and our lives change forever.  We wanted to go somewhere a bit warmer than Boston, but we didn’t need to do the beach thing.  Since we have never been to New Orleans, we thought we’d give it a try.  Just the place to take a pregnant lady, right?

Kara and Baby in New Orleans!

We had planned the trip weeks in advance, and little did we know that the Saints would be playing in the NFC championship game the weekend we were in town!  It electrified the city and made a fun weekend even better.

Big News: We’re Pregnant!

Our regular readers (if we have any?!) may have noticed that we haven’t been posting much in the last few months.  This isn’t because we’re lazy (or at least not just because we’re lazy).  It’s because we’ve been busy preparing for the arrival of our new baby!  Kara is due in May, and we’re going to wait till the big day to find out whether it’s a boy or a girl. 

Adventures in Baking: Pomegranate and Cherry Mandelbrot

Last year, Kara took a class on Turkish cooking at the BCAE.  One of the new ingredients she learned about was pomegranate molasses.  She bought a bottle to make some of the recipes she learned at home, but didn’t end up using all of it.  I got sick of looking at it in the fridge, so this weekend I decided to use some of it.  After some googling, I found the recipe for these delicious cookies, Pomegranate and Sour Cherry Mandelbrot.  (Mandelbrot are a type of Jewish cookie that I have never heard of; they look like Biscotti to me.)

They were pretty easy to make and they taste great.  The pomegranate molasses add a sweet tangy flavor that is hard to put your finger on … but you like it. 

Our Daily Bread: New French Bread Pan

 

This Christmas, my brother and sister-in-law gave me a new french bread pan. My mother in-law also gave me a baking-related gift, a copy of “Kneadlessly Simple”, a great book full of delicious bread recipes.

I wanted to try the pan right away.  The book has a french bread recipe in it that even explained how to get the shape right, so I was in business.  The bread came out great – it browned perfectly, had a crispy crust and a moist, chewy center.  I definitely recommend both products if you’re interested in making your own bread.

Handy Switch = Fire Hazard

Do you remember seeing those infomercials for the “Handy Switch”? It’s a remote-control lightswitch that allows you to turn on any device that plugs into the wall outlet. There’s no lightswitch in our bedroom so we bought one to turn the lights on when you enter the room at night. It worked great and was really helpful. There was just one problem…

…the Handy Switch is a FIRE HAZARD!

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission recently issued a safety recall for the item since it has caused at least 9 fires so far!

Kara and I replaced ours right away. After some poking around online, I found a great replacement for the Handy Switch. The Heath Zenith Basic Solutions Wireless Switch and Plug-In Outlet sells for about $18 on amazon.com and works exactly like the Handy Switch. In fact, I’ve found it to be even more reliable. And since I know the Zenith brand (remember them?  we used to have a Zenith TV…) I trust the safety and quality of the item much more than the Handy Switch.

So if you, your friends or your family have a Handy Switch in the house – tell them to get rid of it! And if you or they still need something like it, consider the version from Heath/Zenith.

Candy Corn Ice Cream

Fall is my favorite season.  I love the crisp weather, fall colors, and candy corn!  After picking up several bags of the stuff when it was on mega-sale at CVS, I decided to turn some of it into homemade candy corn ice cream.  Here’s a picture of the results.

Want the recipe?

Great Giveaway at GardenMama

I’ve been reading the GardenMama blog for a while now. I love her wise words and absolutely beautiful photos.  She’s hosting a giveaway of Mothering magazine that you should all check out!

Etsy Love

I just love this poster by Sarah Gardner on Etsy. How true these words ring!
Unfortunately her shop is on vacation right now, so you’ll have to wait to buy it.

Flip Flop Boots

I’ve been wanting to share this story from our trip to Oregon and Washington for a while, but haven’t gotten around to it yet.

While at the Portland Saturday Market, we saw some interesting fashion: footwear that was a cross between boots and flip-flops. They were so interesting that we sneakily took a picture.

Towards the light

A gifted spider plant is finally perking up a little.