Living In The Moment

Family life over the past several months (more like year & a half) has been a hectic mix of juggling year # 2 of grad school, two full time jobs, marathon training, church, small group...and oh yes, a little thing called "raising a toddler".  This morning's snowfall was such a gift to wake up to.  With all of the leaves still on our front yard trees, today everything was white and powdery and beautiful with just a hint of gold peeking out.  I love mornings like this because they seem to always bring a sense of serenity and peace to an otherwise hectic world. I could have chosen to moan and groan over this premature winter storm but the smile on my little girl's face when she climbed out of bed this morning and ran to our balcony was enough to make my whole day.

An afternoon of playing in the snow!

 

Living in the moment.  So thankful for making these memories with my little family.

Do You Butter Cream?

Hi Friends,

I've decided to take a break from Little Mountain Momma for a while to focus on writing my book and to spend some extra time with our little family.  Before I go, I wanted to share an update to an older post I did from a few years back.

Tonight we celebrated JB's 30th birthday.

We were married at 20, so in a sense, this birthday seems like a pretty big deal.  We managed to pack a whole lot of living into the past 10 years.  

We've lived in two different states and 5 apartments before finally buying our first home. We've owned 4 vehicles.  We both beat our bodies into submission by running marathons, ha!

We've had...well...way too many pets.  I lost count after the last surprise litter of bunnies.  And we still don't know where that darn Belmont ran off to. 

We created life together 4 times -- two of those babies we have the privilege of raising here and two that we will meet in heaven. 

The past 10 years hasn't looked much like I ever would have pictured but it sure has been an amazing ride.

Tonight we celebrated with chocolate cake and my Grammy's out of this world butter cream frosting recipe.  It's too good not to share it with you.

Grammy's Butter Cream Frosting Recipe 

My grandma's handwritten recipes will always taste best to me.

Recipe

1 egg white

1/2 c. soft margarine

1/2 c. crisco (vegetable oil spread)

1 c. sugar

1/2 c. warm milk (make sure it isn't steaming so as to not curdle your recipe)

1 t. vanilla

Beat egg white till light & foamy 

Add margarine, shortening, sugar, milk & vanilla,

Beat for 8-10 minutes (until desired texture)

* I added a bit of cocoa powder to make a chocolate version but vanilla is wonderful too!

Refrigerate to thicken or until you want to frost your cake.  Or just eat it with a spoon straight from the mixing bowl.  That's probably the best way to do it.

Happy Birthday, my love.  I can hardly wait to see what the next decade holds for our little family. 

*Edited as of 3/31/16

All Things Fall

In light of last week's post, I thought I'd make this post a little more lighthearted.  

Here are my current favorite things for this fall season--

Last month, a friend and I went shopping at the Yankee Candle store and stocked up on seasonal tea light tarts...this new scent Pumpkin Buttercream is my favorite.  It is to die for. Your family will love you just a little more if you burn this in your home this season.

We love French Breakfast Puffs....better known in our family as "Duffins" or "Donut Muffins". 

We discovered this Pioneer Woman recipe last fall and they were a hit with all of our seasonal out of town guests. If you are going to make them I'll tell you that our family's secret ingredient is a 1/2 cup of pumpkin pie filling.  If you try making one new thing this fall MAKE THESE.  

I have Pinterest to thank for this next recipe.  We've made this Glazed Pork twice in the last two weeks.  It is a simple crock pot meal and absolutely delicious.   This meal is also fairly inexpensive because most of the ingredients are staple items you likely already have in your home.  However, if you feel the need to increase your grocery bill by say-- 10 or 15 extra bucks, you can add in the cloves that somehow mysteriously appeared in my parent's version of this recipe.  Love ya, mom ;)

Switching gears entirely-- 

Fall Fashion & Home Decor

My favorite fall fashion piece is this SimplyVera Vera Wang ruched scarf.  It is soft and looks classy and stylish under fall jackets or paired with a leather jacket and cute jeans.  

This is my final year to control what my daughter will be for Halloween.  Next year, I'm certain she'll be  insistent on choosing her own costume and like most stubborn, strong willed toddlers will want to be a princess or, (Lord, help me) some type of themed TV character like Dora or Barney or Sponge Bob.  With that future thought in mind--I'm going ultra creative this year.  Mack will be sporting this peacock getup.  I think it's adorable.  I'm also trying hard to ignore the fact that for weeks I'll be picking multicolored feathers off  my couch and out of my carpet.

I love these bright colors for fall.  Pam, if you're reading this...

I'm coming for your ugly couch pillows. 

I love this mantle.  I've been dying to recreate this look over our own fireplace.  
It may have to wait a few months until I can pull some budget friendly DIY pieces together but eventually I hope to create this look.


And, just for the heck of it ( because I'm on currently on a crochet kick)
Head to over to Hipknitized for a free pattern to make your own coffee cup holder.  I think my heart skipped a beat when I first saw this.  Come on Dad, you know you want one.

I'll leave you with some pictures of one of my favorite places to visit in the fall-- Estes Park, CO.

Last week we took our Seniors here for a scenic drive & a picnic to see the changing colors.  As we drove, I was overcome with memories of our engagement summer here just over 6 years ago.  Memories of snowball fights with our cousins in the middle of July and of our family devouring caramel apples on the side of an Estes Park hill. So much has changed since then-- a lot of life has been lived. Someday soon I hope that JB and I can bring Mack back and create some family memories of our own.

Happy fall everyone!  I hope you are enjoying this season as our family is.