first annual wine tour

Welcome to Friday again. Although I don't have a typical work schedule to where Friday is as exciting as it used to be, I still enjoy the weekend because it means the Jake doesn't have to go to work. So cheers to that! It has taken me some time to get this post up, so I apologize for the late report. Anyway, last weekend we held our first annual winery tour weekend! Eight family members joined us for a weekend of wine tasting and fun. We had such a wonderful time sharing our local wineries with them and I cannot wait to do it again next year!

Here are a few pictures from the weekend. Also, I did not take any of these beautiful pictures. My lovely cousin, Laura (the same one who designed the cookbook) did. So a big thanks to her for letting me show these on my blog and not requiring me to lug around my big camera all weekend. Without further ado, here are some photos.

 

As much as I enjoyed all three wineries we went to, the Round Barn has once again been my favorite. The ambiance is just so great and they have really great wine. There isn't a bad one in the bunch (at least that I have tasted). I think it was a family favorite too so I'm sure we'll return again soon.

Blake's Senior Pictures

Since it has already been a month, I thought I should finally share some of my recent photography adventures. I am in no way a professional photography. I just enjoy playing around with my camera, but my mom has the utmost confidence in my ability. As any good mom does. When it came time for my baby brother to have his senior pictures taken, mom asked if I would do it. So I did. And I was a bit nervous about it, since I don't really know what I'm doing. But when you have a great subject and a beautiful day, it makes it much easier.

Here are a few samples of Blake's senior pictures. I just cannot believe that he is a senior in high school. It seems like just a few years ago that we first visited at the hospital. Time really flies. I am so proud of the young man that he is and I know he will do lots of great things in the future. Love you peanut!

 

 

on finding peace

There is no hiding, or denying the fact, that I can be a bit of a control freak. When I feel stressed out or when there is a lot going on, my natural tendency is to grip tighter. Plan a little more. Make more lists. And while I think planning and lists are a great in moderation, it can be easy to fall into an exhausting trap.

I read once that excessive planning is our human reaction to trying to take control back from God and lacking faith in His goodness. And while that may not be our intent, there is some definite truth to that. But what a relief to know that God has it all under control. That regardless of what is going on in our lives, whatever mess we find ourselves in, we can find peace in knowing that God sees it all and far more than we are even capable of seeing.

So wherever your find yourself today, I hope you can find some peace in knowing that God has your back, so have a little faith.

what to do on a meatless monday

What do you do when you've got a giant zucchini, squash and extra carrots lying around on a meatless Monday? You make vegetable lasagna roll ups!

via Recipe Girl

Ok, so I haven't actually made this yet so I can't give you a full report of the recipe. However, I will be sure to provide a full report once we've tried it. But I assume when you combine any sort of pasta, cheese and roasted veggies, it's hard to imagine it not being delicious.

What are your favorite meatless Monday recipes?

five on friday: fall favorites

It's Friday. It's 65 degrees and I'm cozied up with a sweatshirt. Life is pretty good. Today I'm linking up with Christina, Darci, Liz and Natasha for Five on Friday. Since it s really starting to feel like fall, this weeks list is the five things I am looking forward to most this fall!

{ONE} Sweaters and boots season-- need I say more.

{TWO} Candy corn. I realize these are cookies with candy corn in them, but I have a minor obsession with these strange sugar candies. So anything that includes them is good in my book.

via Pinterest

{THREE} My Birthday. I'll turn the big 2-7 this October :) Birthdays are a big deal to me, so I always get excited when October rolls around.

{FOUR} Football season is here, which also means fantasy football is upon us. Last week was the first week of games and it wasn't a fabulous start to the season but that's ok. It's early.

{FIVE} Pumpkin flavored everything-- except coffee. I am not a PSL fan but I am a fan of pumpkin bread, scones, ice cream and pie. There will be lots of pumpkin cooking in our house this season.

via Pinterest

What are you looking forward to most this season?

Happy beginning of fall to you all and have a great weekend!

on slowing down

via Pinterest

We live in a society which demands a whole lot of us. We're constantly being asked to do more, to produce more, to make more money. We're addicted to busyness. And it's really easy to do. We're so connected all the time, between computers, tablets and phones. It's so easy to be always working or doing something. And frankly, I think that is one of the biggest mistakes of our generation. Don't get me wrong; I fall into the busyness trap often. Where I feel that if I am not doing something of value, something that can be measured, then I am not doing something of value. I found that especially while I was in college, that if my calendar wasn't chuck full of meetings, social events and activities then I wasn't achieving my full potential.

What would happen if we would all just slow down a little bit? I realized that can be asking a lot. But think about it for a minute. What if we sat down to dinner, around a table, at night with our family. No phones. Just people and conversation. Or what if we took a some time in the morning and picked up our Bibles or a book instead of our cell phones while we ate breakfast. Maybe, just maybe, things would slowly begin to change.

We weren't created to run ourselves dry. To be spread so thin that we don't have enough time to be in community with those around us. We were created to share in life with one another. I think if we all slowed down and disconnected ourselves a bit, that marriages would be stronger, relationships with children would grow and that community with friends and family would be more important. And I think that could make all the difference in the world.

homemade apple butter

Remember all those apples I told you about? Well, we finally got around to doing something with them this weekend. We spent Saturday afternoon peeling, slicing, cooking and canning applesauce and apple butter! To me, there is nothing better in the fall time than having homemade apple anything. Yum!

I love putting apple butter on a warm homemade buttermilk biscuit in the morning. It just warms my soul right up! Plus, it is so easy to make. It just take some time. I like the recipe from my handy dandy Betty Crocker cookbook. If you plan on canning it, you will need a solid 3 - 4 hours to time for it to cook. Other than that little detail, it is easy peasy! Start by peeling and cooring your apples. Cut them into fourths and put them in a dutch oven.

(Hint hint to Santa-- I would love an electric apple peeler. Just saying.)

 

Then come the easy part. Just dump the rest of the ingredients into the dutch oven with the apples. The full list of ingredients is below. Once all you ingredients are in your pan; heat it to boiling, stirring it occasionally. Once it has boiled, reduce the heat, cover and simmer it for one hour.

 

After an hour, mash the apples with a potato masher or large fork. I ended up using an immersion blender after I mashed it to get rid of the lumps. Then simmer it uncovered for another hour; stirring it occasionally. You want the mixture to get nice and thick. After an hour, let it cool for two hours.

This is where I altered it a bit-- I only waited about 30 minutes for it to cook because I was planning to can it and it was going to get heated back up anyway. If you don't plan on canning it, then just put it into a container and store it in the fridge for up to three weeks. And eat it as often as possible!

If you want to can it, you first need to clean and process your canning jars. It will typically tell you how to process your jars on the box or you can use this helpful guide. You will want to sterilize the lids; I boiled them in a pot of water. You will want to put another pot of water on to boil for the water bath canning. I have a big 12 qt. stock pot, which works well for me. 

Once your jars are ready to go, spoon your apple butter into the jars. Leave one inch of head room at the top of the jar. Be sure to remove any excess that may have dripped onto the rim. Carefully, remove the lids from the boiling water and place it on the jar. Screw on the metal band. When all your jars are ready and your water is boiling, place the jars in the water. Be very careful because the water may splash up and it is extremely hot! I have a strainer which came with my stock pot that is very handy, but you can also use rubber tipped tongs, which also work well. Let the cans boil for five minutes (as long as you are at sea level; if not, use the canning guide on the jar box). After five minutes, carefully remove the jars from the water and let them sit. Do not touch them for 24 hours. The jars need to seal. You will hear random popping noises, which is good, it means your jars are sealing. After 24 hours of sitting, you can store them or even open one right up and enjoy!

It really isn't too hard as long as you plan for enough time and read all the way through the directions before you start. I promise, it is well worth it when you can have homemade apple butter all season long!

Apple Butter 

via Betty Crocker Cookbook

12 medium cooking apples

1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar

1 1/4 cups apple juice

1 tbsp. ground cinnamon

1 tbsp. lemon juice

1 tsp. ground all spice

1 tsp. ground nutmeg

1/2 tsp. ground cloves