My summer love affair

It's Hatch Chile season!

Last year, Kyle and I ventured to Santa Fe for our first "away from baby" vacation.  I had heard of Hatch chiles before, as our local gourmet grocer has a Hatch Festival every year, but had never understood the appeal.  A chile is a chile is a chile, right?  WRONG!

Towards the end of the summer in Santa Fe, you can't walk outside without the mouth-watering smell of roasting hatch chiles smacking you in the face.  You can get them anywhere form a street roaster to the nicest restaurants in town.  I don't know if it's all of the marketing hype that has sucked me in, or the fact that they just aren't available fresh for more than a few weeks.  But, like a fleeting summer fling, the are hot and sassy and gone by the fall!

When roasted, the skin gets almost buttery.  I like the flavor because it's more of a slow heat, not quite as hot as a jalepeno and more meaty.  Kyle roasted them with onions on the grill last night and served them on top of a burger, smothered in Mexican cheese.  It doesn't get much better than that!

I haven't tried but think they'd be great on pizza, eggs or in pimento cheese!  Here are some more fun recipes from Central Market.  Hatch brownies anyone?

A creature of habit!

I'm not an anxious traveler...once I make it to the airport on time that is! However, I have three distinct in-flight items that I do not enjoy anywhere but on a plane!

1. Neon green Wrigley's gum (like my mom used to give me so my ears wouldn't hurt)
2. National Geographic - I have no interest unless I'm flying, then, I can't put it down.
3. Ginger Ale - I never intend to order this but somehow whenever the stewardess comes by that's what comes out of my mouth. What?!

Any other strange in-flight rituals out there?

Fly the friendly skies

Tomorrow I am headed out of town for a friend’s wedding.  Alone.  While I will miss my boys terribly, I find myself laughing at the things that I am getting the most excited about.

1. I don’t have to watch Yo Gabba Gabba ad nauseam on the plane.  In fact, I get to read the book that I started 3 months ago.  Good book? Bad book? Who cares?! 
2. I am taking 1 suitcase. 1!!!
3. There is no fear of forgetting some gadget that will prevent my sleeping through the night.
4.  I will not have to plan my eating / showering / LIFE around nap time.
5. I don’t have to worry about someone else’s poop.  (For all of you non-Mommas out there, this is a big deal when you are traveling.  Well, actually it’s a big deal all the time!  Who would have thought?!)

Hope these two behave while the cat's away!

For the birds

I have been on the hunt for some art for a couple of walls in my dining room lately.  I’ve noticed a lot of places are carrying framed vintage botanical and bird prints and I love the look. (Ballard, Restoration Hardware, BHG)

I will admit I’m not the craftiest person out there.  I can’t draw, or paint, or sculpt but I’m damn good with a pair of scissors!  Plus, I have zero time and zero patience for tasks that can’t be accomplished in 30 minutes or less…unless they involve food, um, or wine.

I bought this vintage book of Audubon bird prints and went to work.  A few frames and matting from Michael’s later and Voila! 

Quick update for the dining room on a dime!  I think these would also be great in a kitchen or breakfast nook with white washed or grey frames.

Roomie Reunion

What do you get when you put together 5 former college roommates, 4 babies, a 3 day lake trip and 2 condos? 1 really crazy weekend filled with diaper talks, laughing, crying, no sleep and wayyyyyy to many margaritas!

I’ve been friends with this group of girls for 10 years since meeting at brand new Kappa pledges at Texas A&M.  No matter how much time has passed, when we get together we still act like brand new Kappa pledges at Texas A&M.  Oh the shenanigans! 


Here’s a recap of the weekend from my friend Chelsea’s blog:



The Life We Love

First Annual IKPi Family Vacay

This weekend we took our first family trip! We went to Lake Conroe outside of Houston and met up with my college BFFs for the first annual "IKPi Family Vacation." 

The seven of us have been friends for TEN years now (!), and last summer sitting on the porch of Natalie's aunt's lake house, we decided it was high time for an annual family get together. 

We chose the first weekend of August as the official weekend and decided each year that's when it was, whoever could come would come. Otherwise it just gets too hard to coordinate schedules! This year Jill and Liz's families weren't able to make it, but everyone else was there. 

Nine adults. Four babies. Two smallish condos. Lots of diapers, pack & plays, baby monitors and margaritas! Ample time spent rehashing old stories, rocking babies, LAUGHING, feeding babies, watching the Olympics and playing with babies. 

There was a game of golf played by the guys and a game of 42 that went late into the night. There were baby bottles, half drank water bottles, the occasional empty beer bottle... wet pool towels, and singing, squeaking baby toys as far as the eye could see. What can I say? It's just the stage of life we're at.

The only thing lacking were space for all of our GEAR and sleep! Four babies on four different schedules make sleeping a little tricky. 

"Oh! It's you again."

Reunited and it feels so good!!!

Natalie and David brought a baby pool.

And the community pool was also frequented.

It goes without saying that Erin and I acted like.... well Erin and I.

Like we were going to show up without the horse heads! And thank goodness we didn't, otherwise how would we have posed with this amazing wolf statue?

 Morning walk

Feeding the ducks

"Giving kisses"

We were there from Thursday until Sunday. Each night after all the babies went to sleep we would eat dinner and talk and laugh, and try to remember to keep our voices down and David would blend margaritas outside on the patio so we didn't wake the sleeping babies. 

"Foiled again" was the caption I believe we thought up for this one. Ha.

Terrifying flying roaches.

And then there was that...

We tried our best to get a picture of all the babies together in their Aggie gear...

And that resulted in four of us clapping and dancing and making fools

 of ourselves singing "Oooh baby, baby... ooooh baby, baby" in unison (which we later realized may not be the most child friendly song we could have chosen).

And this is how the babies responded.

Their faces say it all. 

SKEPTICAL/ AMUSED/TERRIFIED/MOM YOU'RE CRAZY

 "How you doin?"

Later that night we tried to take a "good group pic" with the adults, and somehow- we had basically the same result.

 Guess it's true what they say about apples and trees. Funny how that works!

What a fun, fun, FUN weekend! I am so blessed to have such a great group of friends that has stuck together. I love these people dearly!

We missed you Jill and Liz!!!!!