what's for dinner tonight {spaghetti squash}.

spaghetti squash. ever had it? so so good. i became a huge fan of it while i did weight watchers for a few months to get rid of excess poundage i put on while in seminary... you know, staying up until 3 am to finish papers and eating to stay awake.

enter: spaghetti squash.

i know some of you may be thinking: what the heck is she talking about?! well, let me tell you. a spaghetti squash is a long oval-shaped yellow squash that when cooked becomes stringy almost like noodles. you should be able to find spaghetti squash at any local grocery store... nick and i just bought ours from an orchard where we picked apples recently. they are a staple at farm stands and farmers markets this time of year... a perfect fall meal :) it is a great substitute for pasta for the health conscious or for those who are trying to lose weight. a bunch of my girlfriends and i got on a spaghetti-squash-kick once we discovered it's goodness. we made it alllll the time. it's a fairly easy cooking process, and kind of fun to watch it turn into a spaghetti consistency.

the first time i made it for nick (who thinks anything without meat is just not a meal), i was a bit nervous. i offset it a bit by making a meat sauce to serve it with... and thankfully my not-picky-likes-to-eat-healthy-husband loved it. it's one of our favs. here's a step by step post on how to cook a spaghetti squash. we serve ours with tomato sauce, but that is entirely up to you.

{disclaimer: i desperately wish i had thought to take pictures of each step to share with you... but alas, i did not. this process is really easy, so don't be intimidated!}

spaghetti squash

* 1 spaghetti squash
* 1 jar of your favorite pasta sauce
* ground turkey, fresh garlic or veggies to add to the sauce, if desired
* 9x13 pan filled halfway with water

- preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
- begin by slicing the spaghetti squash in half, lengthwise.
- using a large spoon (i use an ice cream scoop), remove seeds and "guts" from inside the squash.
- place each half in your 9x13 pan, face down in the water.
- bake for close to an hour, depending on the size of your squash and how hot your oven gets. the outer skin may brown, but it won't burn your squash. periodically you can pull your pan out (be careful of the hot water!), flip one half over and check to see how tender your squash is.
- by taking a fork, you can start to pull at the squash until spaghetti-like-strings form... if it pulls easily away from the rind and is tender, it's ready to serve.
- serve topped with your fav tomato sauce. sometimes i sautee ground turkey with some onion and garlic and add that to the sauce... sometimes i add spinach or mushrooms for an extra serving of veggies!

serve with a salad and some bread and you've got one healthy (and delicious) meal. yum.

enjoy!

chandelier makeover.

so i'm finally getting around to posting some of my latest projects (and by latest, i mean projects i've been working on since this summer)... geesh. they say my baby is the size of a lime but that little sucker zaps so much of my energy! ;)

as i've written about previously, nick&i moved into our first home about a month ago! we are loving it. it's a lot of work getting it where we want it, and will be a continual work in progress for a while... but it's been so fun making it into a home. our home.

one of the first things i couldn't wait to tackle in our house was this:

the not-so-cute brass chandelier in our dining room. i absolutely *adore* chandeliers. love them. it's a lil dream of mine to have one in every single room of our house one day. but for now, we'll just start at square one :) we spent several weeks before we moved in, painting and getting things ready... i took some time to give a little love to this chandelier. here's what i did:

- removed glass globes, tape off exposed electrical parts.

- took a can of krylon white gloss spray paint and went to town. yep, we had nothing moved in yet, so i just spread a drop cloth over the floor and sprayed away. i did get some spray paint on the ceiling when i got to the top, but it's all white so it doesn't show. perfect.

- on a trip to my favorite antique store, i found these beautiful vintage prisms and bought one for each arm of my chandelier. they were attached to some long, stick-like prisms, so i just deconstructed them and used the wire loops to create the crystal look i wanted.

- attached my crystals to the chandelier, and voila. done. the whole update cost me less than five bucks since i already had the spraypaint on hand.

still would love to find some more crystals to embellish a bit more, but i like the classic simplicity of it, too. an easy, instant update that's even easier on your wallet ;)

oh, the wonder of spraypaint... which will be using it's magic again sometime in the near future on the hutch and dining room set we inherited from my grandparents; love it, just not a fan of the oak.

stay tuned... although that one will be after baby ;)

this post was linked to these *lovely* blogs:
southern lovely
newlyweds on a budget
tatertots and jello

today i loved...

snuggling with bella while she watched her favorite baby einstein video this morning in our bed. nick having the day off. walking to tim hortons for breakfast this morning, and watching bella excitedly eat her donut; her teeth brown with chocolate, hands sticky with sugar. the crunch of leaves under our feet as we walked, the warmth of the sun and the crispness of the autumn air. putting my hand on my pregnant belly, my heart warming at the thought that we are now a family of four. a day trip to the coast, seeing the sights from a bridge observatory and exploring an old fort from the civil war. watching bella prance about and realizing how she never just walks. her smiles and wide-eyed-wonder as she rides on nick's shoulders. holding hands with nick as we drive, taking in the beautiful fall leaves that have started turning. nick and i laughing at something bella does and looking at each other knowingly because we are the only ones in the whole world that love her this much. spending time with my grandparents, and watching them laugh at their great-granddaughter. homecooked food at a hole-in-the-wall family restaurant; i love how many of those there are in maine. hearing bella's voice sing and mumble from the backseat. putting her in her pajamas and watching her run down the hallway to say goodnight to daddy.

it's been a good day.

what's for breakfast this morning {apple pie muffins}.

yes, you read that right.

apple

pie

muffins.

i devised a baking plan this weekend in order to use up all of the apples that we picked last sunday. there's not many things i love more than fall baking. it just makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside. saturday morning i was craving an apple-y, struesel-y muffin and i stumbled upon this recipe on one of my favorite cooking websites, allrecipes.com.

oh-my-deliciousness.

my whole family (including myself) were big fans of these muffins. and they were relatively easy to make, which made me an even bigger fan.

apple pie muffins

* 2 1/4 c. all purpose flour

* 1 t. baking soda

* 1/2 t. salt

* 1 egg

* 1 c. buttermilk (a good buttermilk substitute i use: 1 c. regular milk and add a splash of vinegar)

* 1/2 c. butter, melted

* 1 t. vanilla

* 1 1/2 c. brown sugar

* 2 c. diced apples

topping:

* 1/2 c. brown sugar

* 1/3 c. flour

* 1 t. cinnamon

* 2 T. butter, melted

- preheat oven to 375 and prepare a 12 c. muffin tin.

- in a large bowl, mix together flour, baking soda and salt. in a smaller bowl, combine egg, buttermilk, butter, vanilla and brown sugar. add to flour mixture and stir in apples. blend just until everything is combined. fill muffin cups.

- in a small bowl, mix ingredients for topping. sprinkle over tops of muffins.

- bake for about 25 minutes. enjoy!

it's a rainy fall day here and i am curled up on my couch with a mug of coffee and a warmed apple pie muffin. these make for yummy afternoon snacks aaaand delicious breakfasts :)

are you making them yet??

this post was linked to these *lovely* blogs:
southern lovely

a fall wreath.

i've been waiting and waiting and waiting to get some of my energy back so i could decorate my house for fall! a week shy of my second trimester and i'm starting to get a little back, slowly but surely. this weekend i had enough with-it-ness to get little touches here and there of autumn decor. a bowl of apples in the kitchen. cute mini pumpkins on the dining room hutch and kitchen windowsill. big, beautiful berry branches in the white vase on my kitchen table. and of course, some fall candles.

and i did manage to make a fall wreath. still need to hang it on our front door, but i made it. and that's an accomplishment these days!

here's a quick how-to.

materials:

* pretty yarn (i chose a fluffly white yarn with a bit of shine to it)

* felt squares (i used three... you can get them for about 30 cents at michaels or joanns)

* a sprig of berries or another fall floral piece

* scissors

* glue gun

* a stryofoam wreath

* 1/4 yd or less of fall-ish fabric

- first, with the help of your glue gun, wrap your entire wreath with yarn. let me just say i was so thankful i chose white so that even if there were gaps in the wrapping, you couldn't tell. perfect. also, make sure you put your dots of glue on the back of the yarn because it will show!

- next, make your flowers. you can look all over the internet for felt flower tutorials if you don't know how to make them. super easy and oh-so-cute.

- using a couple dabs of hot glue, fasten your sprig/branch onto your wreath wherever you desire. cluster flowers as you wish and secure in place with the help of your trusty glue gun. i don't know what i would do without mine.

- lastly, create a long loop out of your material, tying in a knot at the top. glue along the bottom of the top inside of your wreath to secure. voila.

i'm sure this was all very self explanatory, but thought i'd include a tutorial anyway! have any of you made wreaths for the fall? i would love to see your handiwork!

happy fall decorating :)

this post is linked to the following *wonderful* blogs:

centsational girl

faith, trust, & a little pixie dust

homemaker in heels

newlyweds on a budget

tatertots&jello

dyi by design
my girlish whims
southern lovely

multitude monday.

280. getting to drink coffee (decaf, of course) again. just makes my mornings better.
281. bacon, egg and cheese biscuits from mcdonalds.
282. having lunch with my dad and bel... she loves to see her "bampie"!
283. getting to hang out on mondays with my sis and my awesome nephew. even if it just includes target runs. still fun.
284. time with nick after bella goes to bed.
285. watching bella dance... she *loves* music and holds nothing back. adorable.
286. god's word. and how it refreshes my heart.
287. good chats with good friends.
288. seeing baby #2 wiggling and kicking and that sweet heart beating. so special. god's handiwork is amazing.

these are the moments.

{exhale}.

bella is in bed. the house is quiet.

it's been a long day. actually, a long weekend. nick has been sick so it's been mama and bel most of the weekend. which, i *always* look forward to weekends with my sweet girl. but this weekend it was rainy. alllll weekend. so we couldn't walk. we couldn't go to the park. we couldn't go outside.

my pumpkin was cranky (another molar coming in), napping for only an hour (when she has spoiled me with at least one three hour nap since she was born), and into everything.

and i mean everything.

standing on her rocking horse, trying to get china out of the hutch, pushing our dining room chairs across the floor, emptying her toy baskets and book chest alllll over the living room floor. i *love* her fun and active spirit. we are just in a stage of trying to teach her boundaries and being consistent in our discipline so that she will learn obedience.

which usually results in us praying for patience.

tonight i was just so tired. she threw her spaghetti on the floor, and only ate her applesauce for dinner. she asked for more applesauce, and when i got her another helping, she refused to eat it. and there went more spaghetti over the edge of the high chair. and there went her sippy cup flying to the floor as well. aaaaaand finally, there went mama's patience. after cleaning up, i sat with her on the couch and we read books and i started singing songs to her. she looooves singing songs. after we finished up with "itsy bitsy spider", she came out with this:

how much do i love that sweet little voice?! we've been singing our abc's a lot lately... and watching lots of sesame street videos that are about the alphabet. she has been walking around the house saying "abc, abc" but this was the first time she sang it on her own.

i know i'm biased, but how adorable.

i know it may sound silly, but it was just the little pick-me-up that i needed after a long weekend. being a mama is the hardest job i have ever had... but by far the most rewarding thing i have ever done (that and being a wife to my nick). and these little moments remind me of that. after reading our usual bedtime stories, i took her into the bathroom to brush her teeth. i brushed them for a bit and then handed her the toothbrush like i always do; she is obsessed with brushing them these days, and likes to do it by herself. her tiny little fingers took it from mine, she swung her arm around my neck and pulled me in close for a hug.

my cup runneth over.

i love these little moments. these are all the simple things that make my life so full. good talks with my husband, sharing our hearts with one another. time in my kitchen baking and cooking food to share with my family. the sound of falling rain. bella's unprompted kisses. sitting on the couch with nick, holding hands as we watch bella play. the smell of homemade applesauce simmering on the stove. hearing bella say "mama, mama!" when she wakes up, and seeing her face light up when i go in to lift her from her crib.

these are the moments that reflect why i feel so truly blessed. even when life is crazy. even when i feel impatient. even when i feel exhausted. god is good, i am reminded of that in new ways every single day.

"every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the father of heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows."

james 1:17

thank you, jesus, for being so patient and loving with me... even when i don't listen, even when i disobey. help me to do the same with my daughter. and to treasure these days.