My Latest Obsessions

1st day of school pics for MMC (3rd grade) and CMC (5th grade) = time flies! 

1st day of preschool pic for GMC

Kinnikinnick Farm trip

Cowgirl Cate enjoying her homemade pizza at the Farm

Miss Margaret hanging w/ the chickens!

Taking in the gorgeous scenery at the Farm

Truly relaxed. When does that happen?! 

Farmer Dave taking some of the kiddos to help w/ chores

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My pizza =
AH-MAZING (olive oil, fresh mozarella, cheery tomatoes, arugula and basil)
= ate the ENTIRE pizza (myself)!

Happy Friday! Hope everyone had a fabulous long weekend. Most kids everywhere are back in school (even though the temps here seem to appear otherwise). Somehow we had a really mild summer w/ low temps and now are getting our indian summer. Over the long weekend we headed to Caledonia, IL and stayed at Kinnikinnick Farm. We had a BLAST! This was our 3rd trip out there and it is something that we looked forward to all summer. Check out our 1st trip there and then last year's trip. Rarely do we get a chance as a family to just do nothing and be and not have a schedule. I even snuck in some reading time and started the book, The Traitor's Wife, by Allison Pataki.

This weekend we are getting back into the groove schedule wise - MMC has her first soccer game of the season and CMC has a cross country meet. Last night we booked our flights to CA for Thanksgiving - wahoo! How is Thanksgiving around the corner?! And now we need to start thinking about halloween too!

Cheers to a great weekend! XO - D2


Some of my latest faves:

• We were spoiled this past weekend w/ fresh produce and amazing local meats on the farm. I'm still dreaming about our big breakfasts of pancakes, bacon, eggs and homemade bread (w/ yummy honey). Speaking of pancakes don't these sour cream pancakes look DIVINE?! Yum. Sour cream seems to be the key ingredient! 
• And speaking of breakfast, I FINALLY got to the Little Goat Diner for breakfast. A dear friend was in town from London w/ her husband and we met up for a little catch up session over breakfast. The parathas burrito (indian flatbread, sunny side eggs, avocado-bean salad, chili pepper sauce, sheep's milk cheddar) was super tasty and I tried some of G's yummy pancakes. 
• All of this food talk is making me hungry! Take a peek at this awesome Berkeley kitchen! Love it! And I was happy to discover this gal's blog, Yummy Supper. Don't these baked eggs and cherry tomatoes look awesome?! 
• Okay, how to eat clean all day long. I've gotta say that I'm really trying to make more of an effort to eat/drink more cleanly. I WILL NOT give up my coffee but I haven't had a diet soda in months. Baby steps. And I've been doing warm water w/ lemon in the morning (not everyday but adding it into the mix). And sadly, I think I need to say goodbye to my fall treat = pumpkin spice lattes from Starbucks. 
• I thought this was a great and interesting read = Share This With All the Schools, Please. PFC and I were just talking about teachers (past and present) our kids have had the other day. Our kids have been blessed with some pretty amazing teachers/mentors thus far on their educational journey. I cannot say enough about them! And 40 Things I Want to Tell My Kids Before They are Too Cool to Listen = a great list. 
• I'm a huge fan of the book, The Five Love Languages, by Gary Chapman. You have to get past the cover - cheesy = yes. The book though = extremely insightful and helpful with a multitude of relationships. I read the book years ago and it truly helped me understand the many layered and different relationships in my life. Cupcakes & Cashmere gal appreciates the book too. Take the test! Words of Affirmation = my primary love language. 
• Do or did you have a "If we're not married by..." pact w/ someone? I had one w/ my good buddy from college! Here are 10 pacts that actually worked out! 
• Okay, so it definitely doesn't feel like fall yet. But I would love to hang out in this blanket coat (pricey = yes) and make some amazing soup. How about this squash and bean minestrone soup, arugula salsa verde, and old school garlic bread?! 
• PFC and I are coming up on our 5th year anniversary this fall. I LOVED Joanna Goddard's post on 8 things she has learned about marriage. All SO true. 
• I've added 2 places to my Milwaukee trip file = the new restaurant All Purpose and Bavette La Boucherie. Fun! 
• We're all busy, right?! And we all seem to humblebrag about it! So true. I appreciate the article's #4 on the list of simple steps of being more of an essentialist = say no to a good opportunity every week. 
• And I'll leave you w/ this = the Friends Reunion on Jimmy Kimmel. Love that show. Next month marks the 20th anniversary of the show's premiere!