Calm and Cool: Gray, Navy Blue and White Nursery

I know that it's been a very long time since I've posted anything. We've been busy with our new sweet little boy. The time I might have spent sharing with all of you on the blog here was spent growing a little one, writing many thank you notes for all of the wonderful generous shower gifts, and preparing the nursery for his debut. I appreciate your understanding while I've been gone. 

I'm excited to share with you our newest room, Richard's nursery! I chose to go with navy blue and white as the basic theme because it is gender neutral with some coral accents for a girl if we should have one in the future. But for now, Richard and I are enjoying a lot of time in this calming room. My favorite part is the chair we got from Babies R Us, and I'm pretty sure that his favorite part are the curtains, lots of high contrast that he can focus on. :) 

The curtains are from Home Goods. The night stand is from Amazon and the lamp from Lowe's.

I found this crib after months of searching on Craigslist. It's 4-in-1 convertible crib that can transition into a toddler bed and ultimately a full bed. 

The center cross-stitch is a prayer that was done by my godmother and aunt for me when I was born, and I was very excited to reframe it and use it for our children. I found the other large prints through this website Little Gold Pixel, and the small print is a card from Trader Joe's.

I found this changing table on Craigslist. I spent even more time watching for the right changing table. I love this one because it's tall and has drawers. I only paid $50 for it and put on one quick coat of white paint to freshen it up.

Winter Wonderland

There are some truly picturesque spots in our town of Beavercreek that I've noticed over the months driving around our new town. It's been on my mind to take pictures of these spots during each season. Winter hit yesterday with 5-6 inches of snow around here. It seemed like now or next winter to get my winter pictures. Can you sense that I'm hopeful that this is our last snowstorm of the season? I'll just let you enjoy!

Navy Nursery Ideas for Little Boys

I haven't been blogging much in the past few months, somewhat because work has been busy, but mainly because I'm now 29 weeks pregnant with our first little guy! It's been a lot more tiring than I had expected. So I am sorry that I haven't been around, but it's all been for a good cause. :)

It's now time to focus on getting the nursery ready, because woah, where have the last 28 weeks gone, and how do I have so little time left? I decided very early on that I wanted to go with navy and grey even before we knew we were having a little boy because really, it's pretty gender neutral and with a few pops of coral, you can rock an adorable little girl nursery. Don't believe me? The following picture will be the only one specifically girl themed, but it'll prove my point.

Source: http://www.homedit.com/coral-and-navy-a-match-made-in-heaven/

And now onto some of my favorite ideas for little boys...

I love the rocker and the sheet! 

Source: http://www.landofnod.com/make-a-splash-crib-bedding/f12279 

I need to make some pennants. 

Source: http://projectnursery.com/projects/dentons-vintage-airplanetravel-nursery/ 

I love the use of the dresser for the changing table and the hanging baskets. 

Source: http://newlywoodwards.com/2013/01/update-classic-boy-nursery-at-almost-8.html?utm_medium=referral&utm_source=pulsenews

Pops of red? And the rocker is great too.

Source: http://www.babble.com/baby/14-oh-so-trendy-nurseries/

I appreciate the relative simplicity of this room. Not so sure on the giraffe though.

Source: http://projectnursery.com/projects/beckhams-preppy-modern-nursery/

Again with the giraffe? But I do adore the map!

Source: http://www.babble.com/baby/10-simple-steal-worthy-ideas-for-your-nursery/

Realistically, I know that our little guys nursery will not be as amazingly picture worthy as most of these, and I'm completely okay with that. But it's fun to browse the ideas. You just never know when you might find a little idea you can implement easily. 

Two things are for sure, he will have more than he needs, and more importantly, he'll be loved dearly!

Baby, It's Cold Outside Baby Shower!

Last weekend was a lovely treat for me! Many of my family members traveled down to Ohio from 5 different states for a baby shower thrown for me. All I can say is, wow, I am beyond blessed. Our little boy has more than he could want or need. It was also just wonderful to have so many people here to help us celebrate the coming of our little one. 

My sister threw the shower for me. The theme was so cute: Baby, It's Cold Outside. She had snowmen straws and snowmen diaper guys, snowflakes and and little bare tree with tiny socks. I wish I had gotten more pictures. And I apologize, the pictures I did get turned out a bit fuzzy. :( 

If you are someone who attended the shower and have any better pictures, please either post them in the comments here or send them to me so I can post them!

My sister and sister-in-law both came with their new little guys. This is the first picture of the three boy cousins together. :)

This photo came from my mother-in-law (thanks). It's a picture with mom, and I'm holding the article written about a cradle that my Grandpa made for me when I was born. My mom brought the cradle along for me to use with our little guy!

Isn't this sign just too cute. I was trying to get it all in one shot and focused, but I just wasn't having any luck.

The tree with the socks and outfits. I love tiny socks.

This one is so fuzzy, but it shows all of the cute stuff: Oreos dipped in white chocolate to look like snowmen, snowmen diapers rolled and finished with little baby hats and wash clothes, and the sparkly snowflakes.

Yay! Another picture from my mother-in-law! This was one that I wasn't able to get since it was all set up during the shower. This was the amazing carrot cake my mom made, the thank you cards and the shower gift of hot chocolate. 

There was other cute stuff, but I didn't get a chance to take the pictures before it was all over. Thanks for the awesome shower though. And to all who gave our little guy something, we are truly thankful!

The Best Stuffing Ever! No, Seriously...

My mouth is watering right now!

If you are looking for a fabulous wonderful best stuffing ever, congratulations. You have found it! This comes from my Aunt Marsha's kitchen, and even if you are not a stuffing lover, I promise, you'll love this. Joe isn't really a big stuffing eater, but he agrees that this is the best stuffing out there. Most Thanksgivings he doesn't even eat the stuffing, but at Marsha's Thanksgiving, he ranks this as the second best item just after the turkey (or maybe even before the turkey). I just don't know how to rave about this enough to impress upon you the wonderfulness of this dish. It is great for any holiday meal, but it can also stand alone as a tasty post-holiday snack. It's even been known to be breakfast on an occasion or three. 

So without further ado, thank you Marsha for sharing your "famous" recipe with me and agreeing to let me share it with all of you. 

Best Stuffing Ever:

1 1/2 pounds sweet Italian sausage cooked and drained

2 Tbsp olive oil

4-6 ounces pancetta diced 

1 extra large yellow onion, chopped

7 large celery ribs, chopped

4 garlic cloves, minced

6 cups, day old, finely diced French bread (this is where I used Foccaccia)

3 cups crumbled corn bread

1  cup toasted pine nuts (3/4 c. for dressing, 1/4 c. for top)

1 cup  shredded mozzarella cheese

1 cup Parmesan cheese

1 Tbsp ground sage

2 Tbsp chopped fresh sage

1 1/2 Tbsp poultry seasoning

1 tsp salt

4-5 cups chicken or turkey broth

1/2 cup butter, cubed, cold 

large Parmesan shavings

Directions:

Heat oil in large skillet on Medium. Saute Pancetta for 2 minutes.

Add onion and celery and cook until translucent. Add garlic and cook another 3 minutes.

Mix together breads and 3/4 c. toasted pine nuts in a large mixing bowl, Add cheeses and cooked sausage to the breads. Mix together with the dried seasonings 

Add sauteed veggies with any pan drippings.

Slowly add broth and stir until mixed thoroughly. The consistency should not be soupy. but very moist, If not, add more broth.

Test for saltiness and add a dash more if needed.

Place in an extra deep 9 x 13 " greased pan. (I don't have an extra deep pan, so I ended up with a regular 9" x 13" pan and an 8" x 8" pan too.)

Dot the top with cubed butter and cover with foil. Bake at 375* for 45 min. (350 for 1 hr)

Remove foil and bake another 15 minutes or until slightly crusted on the edges.

Top with remaining pine nuts..Add shaved cheese just before serving.

I made my rustic French bread the night before. 

All mixed up!

Ready to bake.

Mmmm! Doesn't it look so delicious?

Rosemary Garlic Buttermilk Biscuits

I made some awesome Southern Buttermilk Biscuits last week, and I had some buttermilk in the fridge that I needed to use up tonight. We also had some very tasty rosemary bread at Macaroni Grill a few weeks ago that I had in mind still. And of course the garlic cheddar biscuits at Red Lobster are amazing! So, I decided to combine some elements of all three.

Ingredients:

2 cups flour

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 teaspoon kosher salt

2 teaspoons garlic powder

1 tablespoon fresh diced rosemary

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, very cold cut into small pieces

1 cup buttermilk (approx)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 450˚.

Place all dry ingredients in a bowl or food processor. Add the butter and cut in or blend until it resembles a coarse meal. Add the buttermilk and mix until just combined. It should be fairly wet.

Spoon 7-8 mounds of dough on a greased baking sheet. Place in oven for 10-12 minutes.