Family | Mommie Cooks!

Happy Thanksgiving!

November 24, 2010 By Julie 29 Comments

One of my favorite aspects of Thanksgiving is taking the time to remember how truly lucky and blessed we are. We all have so much to be grateful for. Friends, family, ample food, warm clothing, and a roof over our heads. These are just some of the blessings we have been given in our lives.

I, for one, am truly thankful to be a part such an amazing blogging community. I can’t even begin to name all the bloggers that I am thankful for, but I’d like to try and name out a few that have really made a difference in my life over the course of this first year. These women are so much more than bloggers; they are beautiful women on both the inside and out that work to make a difference not only in their lives, but in the lives of others. I am thrilled to call them friends. Without further ado.

I am thankful for…

Cooper & Emily of The Motherhood – These are most simply put, the two most amazing women you’ll ever meet. Their kindness and generosity are something I have yet to see matched in the blogging world. They truly care about those around them and it shows.

Holly over at 504 Main – I love this girl. Holly is constantly thinking about others and opening up her doors and her heart to help out those that need it. She has been there for me numerous times throughout the year and for that I am truly grateful.

Alex from Ma What’s for Dinner – Alex is my oldest and best blogging buddy. She started supporting me waaaay back in the day when I only had a few posts to my name. She’s been there from the beginning and over that time we’ve formed a friendship that I know will continue to grow.

Maranda from Jolts and Jollies – Maranda and I found each other through our blogs and haven’t looked back. This girl makes me laugh till I cry, she supports me through and through, and darn if she doesn’t throw out some of the tastiest recipes this side of the Mississippi.

There are sooo many more wonderful food bloggers out there, who all deserve to be recognized. Thank you to all those who touch us in our lives. You are all beautiful!

To wrap this up, I will be taking the day off on Friday to spend time with my family on this Thanksgiving weekend, but will be back on Monday with another tasty recipe to share.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday! I’m leaving you with a send off from my three little men (notice the tail on the back of the smallest; it didn’t last much longer than the length of this video).

New York, New York!

August 9, 2010 By Julie 28 Comments

As I write this post I can almost hear Frank Sinatra crooning New York, New York from the back corner of the room. What an amazing weekend we had! I can’t remember the last time Scott and I were able to sneak away for a night without kids and thoroughly enjoy each others company; no interruptions, no whining and no early bedtimes – in such an amazing city to boot!
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A Special Anniversary Wish

August 5, 2010 By Julie 28 Comments

I’m taking a rare day off from recipe sharing today to send a shout out to my one and only husband of 10 years. Yep, that’s right, we’ve been married 10 years today.

We met 14 years ago through the internet back before it was the “cool” place to meet people. I had just graduated from college and moved to a new city far away from friends and family. I created a friend page hoping it would help me to meet people and make a few new friends. It definitely lived up to it’s purpose. I met all levels of people; some became friends, others not so much. But the one that had a lasting impact above all others was my now husband Scott.

I remember it as clear as if it was yesterday. He emailed me to tell me found my page and was coming to Phoenix (where I lived at the time) for a business trip and would I like to show him around the area a bit. It sounded like fun to me, so I said absolutely. One week later, we met for the first time and I knew right then and there. There is just something about his smile that drew me in from the first moment I laid eyes on him. And the rest, as they say, is history. We spent every free moment together while he was on his trip and one and a half months later I was accepted to graduate school in Colorado Springs where he lived, so I packed up my things and headed north.

Four years from the day we met, we were married at a beautiful little church in Annandale, VA. The ceremony was an intimate affair with only our closest friends and family and it was absolutely perfect.

Scott, I love you with all my heart and I love the life we have made together. The first 10 years have been amazing and I know that the best is yet to come. Thank you for choosing me. I look forward to walking through this life with you for many years to come.

Do you remember me?

July 5, 2010 By Julie 14 Comments

I’m back! Well, almost back, that is. We pulled into Scott’s parent’s house in Ocean City last evening around 10pm. We will be here through Monday and drive home for good on Tuesday. Yes, yes, we decided to stay an extra day. What can I say? Our family does vacation right.

I can’t believe how busy the blog has been while we’ve been away; you guys rock! Especially, Alex, Sarah, Anne, Monet, and Bella who helped to keep the content rolling while I was off gallivanting around the East Coast. I logged in to find 140 comments posted this past week – thank you soooo much girls for keeping things exciting! (Oh, and Alex, sorry to confuse you with the pavlova post; I was definitely still on vacation. I had that one finished and scheduled in the few days before we left for vacation!!)
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Shopping for your Masterpiece; Making the Most out of your Shopping Trip

July 4, 2010 By Julie 6 Comments

Your host for today is Bella from Cupy Cakey! If you want to learn a bit more about her, be sure to check yesterday’s post where we asked Bella to tell us something about herself that we might not expect. Ok, on with the show. Bella, the stage is yours!

Preparation: For me that beautiful masterpiece that you plan on making starts way before you take out a skillet. I need to be prepared! Prepared to not spend a ton of money and prepared so that I’m not making more than one trip to the store. To prepare me for my shopping trip, I do two things:

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Goodbye Delaware, Hello Vermont

June 26, 2010 By Julie 8 Comments

First off, I’ve had some access to internet this week so I’ve been able to stop by the blog on and off and see what’s going on (No, I can’t stay away, even on vacation!) and it seems as though the party is in full swing since I left! Anne and Sarah, thank you sooooo much for doing such a great job of hosting the past two days. You all are welcome back anytime to my kitchen!

Second, to all those that have commented and visited even though I haven’t been around as much as I’d like to return the love, THANK YOU! We survived Delaware and tomorrow we leave for Vermont. So far the trip has been a blast! The Delaware portion of the trip has become somewhat of a tradition for my kids and I these past couple years. The destination, in case you’re wondering is one of my closest friends home, Camilla. She and I met back in 2001 at the University of Chicago and haven’t looked back. She’s the friend that tells it to you like it is, never forgets a birthday and has your back no matter what (and believe me, I’ve had a few “no matter whats” in my time). We talk on the phone at least three times a week and make a point to visit every summer with our kids; of which we both have three. There’s two of us and six children, so it’s always an adventure and never a dull moment, but we wouldn’t have it any other way.

Our next stop is Northern Vermont where I really will be unavailable through Saturday; there’s no internet where we’re going which is a good thing (at least that’s what I keep telling myself). I promise to take lots of pictures though and will be sure to share them here once we back to Ocean City next weekend.

Here are a few pictures to date of our trip North to Delaware:

Cherry Picking with the Kids (Alex, my middle child is in the blue hat, Nicholas my oldest is in the orange hat, and Camilla with two of her three are in the lead):

Juliet (Camilla’s youngest), Nicholas and Camilla

A picture of the cherries for picking; aren’t they delicious looking?!

After picking cherries we headed back to the petting farm portion of the farm:

And a picture of all six kids after a fun day at the farm:

And I would be remiss if I didn’t include a few pictures from our trip to the beach. We all managed to squeeze into one car for this one; yes the Honda Odyssey really does seat eight. Here’s the group getting ready to head out:

And a few shots from the beach:

I couldn’t resist getting a shot of my four year old looking a bit “buff” (and yes his swimsuit is on backwards. We’re in a phase, I can’t explain it other than that).

And lastly, I’m going to leave you with the after shot from the car. I loved how different it looks from the first shot. Definitely a sign of a successful beach day!

Tomorrow I’ll be showing off my Daring Baker’s Challenge and then on Monday I’ll welcome Monet over, so please be sure to give her a warm welcome. Have a great week and I’ll be back to normally scheduled programming next week!