Treats arrive by mail from Saratoga!

Ellie is thrilled everyday to go to the mailbox. Many, many days there are packages from Grammy with books, stickers and music cards. The latest package arrived from Aunt Mimi and contained a package with finger puppets and spider rings. This is just a sample!

Kids' Book Festival at UVA

Ellie becomes a 'fan' of Miss Rosa's

What a crowd for the PBS programs

She loved her 'fan'

Ellie getting a tatoo for jumping rope

Ellie and Mommy in the crowd

Ellie jumping rope

Making a book mark with foam stickers

Here's the tatoo

We spent the rainy morning with Miss Rosa and Elmo as did hundreds of other kids and parents at University Hall on the UVA grounds. The local PBS TV station sponsored this event. Ellie had lots of fun making crafts, watching Miss Rosa, and of course, seeing her friends! Everywhere she goes she sees people she knows ... today we saw Dante, Demaria and Kayla! They sponsored a free book giveaway for every child, free snacks and lots of tables to visit with giveaways. It was good use of a rainy morning, that's for sure!

Date Night

Bill and I enjoyed an evening out tonight, while Ellie had Miss Shannon to entertain at our house. Miss Shannon, as you may recall, was her summer session teacher before she moved to Miss Jamie's room. Miss Shannon is 19 and mom to Phillip, about a year old. Ellie just loves Phillip, but tonight had Miss Shannon all to herself!

Bill and I thought the best place to enjoy ourselves for a few hours was the downtown mall. We started our evening at Siips with a glass of wine and an assortment of cheese and fruit. I had this wonderful new wine that is a blend of Zinfandel (51%), Cabernet Sauvignon (23%), Syrah (12%), Petite Sirah (6%), Charbono (6%) and Grenache (2%) called The Prisioner. It was wonderful!

After that we made our way to Zo Ca Lo an eclatic restaurant on the mall. An amazing meal. Bill had Spicy Tuna Tartar salad and I had Spinach Salad with bacon vinegarette accompanied by fried oysters. As if things could get any better - Bill had grilled lamp loin with roasted green beans and corn salsa, while I had the black bean and corn relleno with smoked tomato grits. I wish I could tell you we had room for dessert, but we did not.

We were thrilled to come home and find Ellie and Miss Shannon happy together, watching a movie with the house completely picked up! Ahhh ...

Ellie's Camera

The 'mad' photographer!
Self portrait

Very cool leaf .. Daddy is holding it p

Great shot capturing Daddy grilling our dinner

The infamous taking your own picture shot

and then again!

Just a couple of frogs, hanging out ...

Great shot of the blinds

United Way Day of Caring

Here's the article on State Farm's participation.

http://livingunited.typepad.com/DayOfCaring/2009_Day_of_Caring_Daily_Pogress_Article.pdf

Here's the State Farm Gospel Choir!

United Way Day of Caring

We are "Living United"

Caroline, the UW Campaign Director (short red hair) and the 'head' to the left of Caroline, with the glasses is our State Farm VPO, Peggy Echols

State Farm Gospel Choir

As I mentioned in yesterday's post, Bill and I both participated in today Day of Caring through the United Way. Local Charlottesville organizations submit project requests and on certain days throughout the year the amass volunteers to take on the projects. There were over 1,000 UVA volunteers and over 200 State Farm volunteers to take part today. Our Vice President of Operations, Peggy Echols spoke and equated these volunteers to over 1,400 hours of volunteer hours!

Ellie's 3 1/2 Birthday

Happy 3 1/2!
The half birthday cake
Ellie with her cake!

Today is Ellie's 3 1/2 birthday! As you may know we chose to celebrate this day each year to make this Ellie's day of giving. We choose a charitable organization to donate to - and then we add a page to her Giving Book scrapbook to illustrate this year's organization.


This year is a bit different. As we our new to the area, Bill & I have decided to make a difference in our community. I have been selected through State Farm as an Executive Sponsor Volunteer for the United Way, and Bill has volunteered for State Farm's collaboration with United for their Day of Caring. Instead of deciding where a lump sum of money needs to go this year, we have our payroll deduction go to the United Way and they make the decision where the funds go, while we are focusing on volunteering our time this year!

Sunday night on UVA grounds

We decided after dinner to take a drive and ended up at UVA on a field with soccer nets. Ellie ran and ran and ran. She kicked the ball, she chased the ball, she threw the right at Bill! Our 'goal' was to tire her out! After the soccer fields, she and I round stairs to walk up and down .. about 5 sets of them!

Saturday morning ..

Ellie and I planted Batchelor Button seeds in our two pots in front of the house. She's thrilled to water them each afternoon, and even happier that they are sprouting!
Ellie's balloon dog she name Doodle.
Doodle appears to be getting away!

We loved the City Market so much last week we went back this morning for more tomatoes, cilantro, habanero & jalapeno peppers AND sweet white corn. We'll grill chicken later to go with our corn! We'll be sure to report back later. What a great surprise to run into Kathy Lombardi at the market while we were there. She 'parked' Vinny out front sitting on the rock ledge while she shopped all the fruits and veggies. We made plans to get together again. Also, while we were there we found the Balloon Man who made this wonderful pink dog on a leash for Ellie.

We also found this link with 25 Things to Do While in C'ville.
It's a bit tongue in cheek, and apparently many locals were upset by it.
But we thought it was funny!
We're happy to say we have 3 things down.

5. Visit the City Market
14. Volunteer (more details to come this week!)
20. Drop off recycling at McIntire's

Cupcake Time

As a special treat (BRIBE!) I told Ellie if she was good tonight in the grocery store we would make cupcakes because that's all she's been asking for since over the weekend. Here's the fruits of our labor!

Morning Walk

This morning was gorgeous again so we ventured out for a walk around the neighborhood. A neighbor mentioned a path to a playground about a block over from our house, but still within the neighborhood. We took our coffee, Ellie's waterbottle and a snack. Right there between two houses was a paved path down a hill that wound around and led to a little playground. At 9:30 on a Sunday morning it was empty! There's a covered picnic table and garbage/recycle bins for another time when we go and bring our lunch. Here's a few shots of Ellie enjoying the tire swing. We also were treated to song birds calling out to each other. I was able to capture one here as well. Not sure what kind of bird ... so I'm open to suggestions!

Gorgeous Sunflowers from the City Market
Bill's AWESOME salsa

Ellie enjoying her first dinner at the new table!

City Market Tomatoes

Our new kitchen table set!

Today was visit the Farmer's Market day!

Tremendous selections of tons of veggies, fruits, flowers, baked goods, eggs, pottery, jewelry ... several city blocks in a huge parking lot. The smells, the colors, the people. Ellie smelled donuts at one point and said, "Mommy I smell something that's my favorite!"

Our goal was to make fresh salsa this evening. We wanted to have a special treat at our new table - just delivered today!

Mini Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins
Recipe courtesy Emeril Lagasse, 2004

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, plus 1 tablespoon, softened
1 cup cake flour
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons poppy seeds
1 large egg
1/2 cup sugar
3/4 cup plain low-fat yogurt
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons finely grated lemon zest
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Directions
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Lightly grease 2 mini muffin tins (each with 12 (1 3/4-inch) wells) with 1 tablespoon softened butter and set aside.
In a large bowl, sift together cake flour, flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and poppy seeds.
In a medium bowl, combine the egg and sugar and beat with an electric mixer on high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Reduce the mixer speed to medium and beat in the yogurt, remaining 4 tablespoons of butter, lemon juice, zest and vanilla until well incorporated, about 30 seconds. Fold the wet ingredients into the dry just until moistened and being careful not to over-mix. Divide the batter among the prepared muffin tins, filling each halfway.
Bake until the muffins are set and golden brown and a tester comes out clean, 14 to 16 minutes. Remove from the oven and use a toothpick to poke several holes in the top of each muffin. Brush each muffin generously with the lemon glaze. Allow the muffins to cool for 10 minutes in the tin and then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.

Lemon Glaze:
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons powdered sugar
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, strained
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon almond extract
In a small bowl, combine ingredients and whisk to incorporate.

Ellie woke up this morning about 7am and came into our room. She didn't want to watch the normal Saturday morning shows, she wanted to make cupcakes. I convinced her that muffins are morning cupcakes, and she bought it. They were a great treat with our coffee this morning!

Child of the Week

Ellie was selected as Child of the Week at ABC Preschool. Her profile and all her family photos are displayed outside her classroom. She's very proud to be on the board!

Keith Urban's Kiss a Girl song

Roasted Chick Peas & Rosemary Biscuits

We had the pleasure of entertaining Krista and David on Friday night for dinner. It was a great opportunity to open a bottle of wine and try out some new recipes. They didn't mind! Bill made awesome ribs and BBQ chicken, while I did the apps and sides. Champagne cream, gouda and gruyere cheeses, crackers and fruit with veggies and spinach & artichoke hummus to start. Salads included: broccoli slaw with crunchy noodles, warm potato with bacon, shallots and green peas as well as mozzerela, tomato and basil. I also tried two new recipes ... crunchy chick peas and rosemary, hazelnut and gruyere biscuits. I'll include those two recipes.

Roasted Provencal Chickpeas
From The Provence Cookbook by Patricia Wells

These delightful roasted chickpeas are as crunchy as peanuts and make a marvelous appetizer or snack any time of the day. I particularly love to season them with ground cumin and freshly ground pepper, for a spicy hit. But feel free to vary the seasoning according to your mood: with curry powder, hot pepper flakes, or a blend of personal spices.

One 15-ounce can chickpeas, drained, rinsed, and dried with a towel
2 tsp fine sea salt
2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground pepper

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees
2. Place chickpeas in large bowl and toss with spices. Transfer seasoned chickpeas to baking sheet in a single layer. Place in center of the oven and bake until golden about 40 minutes. Toss from time to time to keep from burning.
3. Remove from baking sheet and transfer to shallow bowl. Store in sealed container at room temperature for up to a week.

Hazelnut, Gruyere, and Rosemary Biscuits
The Provence Cookbook by Patricia Wells

These warm and tidy little biscuits of herbs, cheese, and nuts and always receive a welcome smile from my guests. There’s something about the fragrant scone-like treats that make people feel at home. As the French would say, tant mieux, or all the better! That’s the purpose of inviting people into your home in the first place. While I like these best served warm from the oven, they can be made an hour or so ahead of time or if oven space poses a problem. Sometimes I turn them into little sandwiches, slicing the biscuits in half and stuffing them with a pitted olive, some black olive spread or even a bit of mustard.

1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
½ tsp fine sea salt
1 Tbsp unsalted butter, chilled
¼ cup chopped hazelnuts
½ cup fresh rosemary leaves, finely chopped
1 cup finely grated Swiss or Gruyere cheese
¾ cup nonfat milk

Egg wash: 1 egg yolk beaten with 1 tsp water

Preheat oven to 450. In a large bowl combine flour, baking powder and salt. With a fork, rub the butter into the mixture until it resembles bread crumbs. Add the hazelnuts, rosemary and 2/3 of the cheese, stir to combine. Add the milk and stir until a soft dough forms, adding additional milk as necessary.

In a small bowl, combine the egg yolk and water and stir to blend.

Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface until about ½ inch thick. Using the pastry cutter, cut our rounds of dough (2” round pastry cutter). Place rounds of dough on sheet side by side and brush tops with egg wash. Sprinkle with remaining cheese.

Bake until deep brown color – 10 minutes. Transfer to wire rack to cool. Serve warm or at room temp.

Blue Butterfly

This morning Bill, Ellie and I were outside ... Bill sorting through boxes in the garage, Ellie was folding up packing paper, finding treasures in the boxes we were unpacking and helping me plant seeds in our big planters out front. It's been an overcast morning, but not too hot to be outside moving around. In the midst off all our activity Ellie spotted a blue butterfly .. it kept flying and landing nearby her. It allowed her to get really close up. She was fascinated. This is exactly what it looked like!

Monticello ... Ellie's "favorite house"

Monticello - the one from the nickel!
Ellie loved the tram that took us to the top

Ellie overlooking the grounds

On Friday morning the temperature was about 65 degrees and the sun was shining. We decided with the perfect weather and it being a weekday - we would visit Monticello. Ellie was wonderful through all the rooms of the house .. we pointed out all the things on the tour we thought she'd understand .. She told us Monticello is her favorite house ... so I'm thinking that it won't be too long before she tells us Thomas Jefferson was her favorite President. After visiting his home, Bill and I were rather impressed with all his accomplishements as well.

Look how I've grown!!

August 2009
August 2008

August 2007