A showering of the woodland ones!

My sister is having another baby!!! I say this with all of the delight that a loving twin and proud aunt can   muster up. I also say this with a good dose of relief, in the fact that she is producing the children in our family so that I don't have to....(I love my daughter like a fat kid loves cake...but I'm way too crazy to procreate again...) 

This is their second child, so I wanted to do something simple for her. A small gathering of family and close friends to celebrate the new little critter, who is scurrying our way in January. The theme was "Woodland Baby Bash" and I didn't go overboard at all. And by "didn't go overboard at all" I mean "flung myself overboard with wreckless abandon". Thanks to some crafty friends and a beautiful apartment from the early 1900s (which used to be an old parachute factory, fun fact), the scene was set.

Enter beautiful friends.
Enter Celtic music.
Enter a table, spread with woodland delights of all shapes and sizes.
Enter my lovely sister and her cutest little baby bump.

In this case, I will let the pictures and captions speak for themselves. This post is rather picture heavy...(understatement- picture obese) I gathered inspiration from different sources (Pinterest, friends, the woodland wonderland living in my brain) and we came up with the following Earthy extravaganza!

My mom found the sweetest fabric at Ikea and these little stuffed hedgehogs! 
So naturally my friend Maddie and I turned them into the party banner!

"Hi. I'm the cutest squeaky hedgehog holding a strawberry you've ever seen in your life. You're welcome."

Terrariums housed little butterflies, courtesy of friends Laurel and Cassandra

Madeline and I finishing set-up. Her vintage home provided the perfect backdrop! 

The table is set!

Cupcakes were my personal project! (one of 4,000 projects??)

Just love toadstools. These are dark chocolate cake topped with a cream cheese icing 
and dusted with red sugar!

Stump from my backyard made the perfect cupcake stand!

 

Other delectable treats included......but not limited to....

Owl cake pops, thanks to Deanna

Bonnie came up with the sweetest little tree stump cake, topped with birds, bugs, and grass!

Tree stump flower arrangements

         

Beth and I made milk chocolate butterflies, ladybugs, and frogs. 
And peanut butter bear paw lollipops as favors.

My sister is literally the hardest person on the planet to surprise. So, naturally our scheming was all for naught because she figured out that this was her shower. But, she fakes a smile with the best of them (we have something in common there). "Guys...I'm SO. SURPRISED. I had NO. IDEA." -Lauren

Our friends all played along with headdresses of every sort! I'm obsessed with making hair garlands right now. I picked up some crafting wire from AC Moore and found the most natural floral arrangements I could. Mixed them with some feathers, boxwood from my own garden (a healthy dash of lunacy) and voila! 

"I will make a dainty garland for my head and sing"- Daria 
(via my friend Bethanee, who reminded me of this quote)

My sister and I in our homemade garlands

Many lovely friends sporting their own earthy garlands and hairpieces!

Bethy's handmade owl mask

Ironman is delighted with the flowers I adorned her with

(Yes, Ironman, the cat, is a girl)

Bon Bon <3

We made a tree of advice, where friends could leave quirky sayings, words of wisdom, or whatever their hearts desired. Some of them were quite funny...like my sister in law, Bonnie's helpful hint...

 Friends, music, laughs, feathers flowers, creatures, food, food, food, food food, and food...Our signature drink was simple spiced cider with rum (or without) and good old fashioned wine, which flows like water in our little corner of NJ. Gift opening and adorable friends/family...

Lolo enjoys these little MukLuks 

(mukluk catalog modeling in her future for sure)

Model Cassandra and a gaggle of adorable guests

Party cuties

My beautiful sister and my soon to be niece or nephew

Wooden toys!

Bathroom photo sesh

Bathroom confessionals

Sweetest gift from Sam and Maddie- handmade teepee! What every mom needs! 
(no seriously I'm jealous, I want one! Now!)

I am so happy for my sister and her already sweet little family. I can't wait to be an aunt once again. Oh, what fun we'll have!! I get my baby fix throughout the dead of winter...perfect timing! Can't wait to spoil this new child (meaning lots of food I'm not supposed to feed him/her, riling up, singing, dancing, playing, throwing in the air, trapeeze swinging, sword swallowing, flame throwing, fairy hunting, and the like...) with love. 

Congratulations Lolo!! 

All done....what now?

Read this! It's funner!

I apologize in advance if this post is not entirely grammatically correct. But, I just have to vent about grammar without worrying about whether I'm going to get called out for imperfection myself! After all, I'm only a blogger. I'm not a multi-million dollar company with access to major television networks, tv shows, and our children's impressionable minds.Therefore, I have much less responsibility when it comes to this subject. (With great power comes great responsibility, know what I mean?) "What the heck are you talking about, Lisa?", you might ask. Let me explain.

 I was going about my daily activities (over-documenting everything, under-cleaning everything...) and that was when I heard it. It was an uptempo jingle blaring from the glowing orb of brain-melting entertainment in the corner of the living room. "Everybody say cheese! It's funner!". So, (being the word nerd that I am) I had to stop, take pause, and listen again. And there it was again, like an enthusiastic anthem of stupidity... "Say cheese! It's funner!". This horrific abomination of proper grammar came from a Chuck E. Cheese's commercial. That's right. This is a commercial that targets children. The main character, a pizza loving mouse, has apparently morphed into an 80s rockstar with a penchant for murdering the English language. I had to stop for a second and shake my head side to side just to make sure I didn't somehow forget the word "funner" in my arsenal of adjectives, and adverbs, and pronouns (oh my!).... But, unfortunately it wasn't in my brain because the word doesn't exist. Now, I don't consider myself a Chuck E. Cheese's aficionado but I can tell you I do not have a fondness for their campaigns. The last one, "Where a kid can be a kid", was pretty much the marketing equivalent to "It is what it is" (Which happens to be simultaneously the dumbest and most frustrating phrase ever coined. But, I digress because that could be a whole post on its own...mental note...) Of course my kid can be a kid. Because my kid is a kid. And, although this frustrated me, I could see what they were trying to do with that one. There is a certain merit in letting a child flourish in an environment where they can be child-like. Heck, I'll take my kid for overpriced pizza and games for a day and walk away happy that I let her get her energy out and just "be a kid". I think they actually still use that catch phrase in their advertisements. But, "Say cheese, it's funner!" takes this company to a whole new level of frustration for me. It seriously makes me want to boycott the entire franchise. Now, I have to say, I may be the only person in the country who has never taken my child to a Chuck E. Cheese's establishment. I wish it was because we had some sort of moral dilemma against going, but seriously there isn't a place close enough to us and we have never had the desire to go. However, I may not want to ever visit after this marketing catastrophe. It's bad enough our kids think in "text speak". Do we really have to make up words in our advertisements too? We always talk about the "dumbing down of America" . Well, this is just another notch on the old  belt. And, while I understand that the television should not be responsible for teaching our children proper grammar, I'd like to think this company would feel mildly responsible for at least speaking correctly since their target audience is ready and willing to absorb whatever is thrown at them. (Apparently I was exposed to some marketing featuring "run on sentences" when I was in my formative years) I guess I'm giving them too much credit.

"Language murdering pizza land"  isn't the only company to frustrate me with their willy nilly use of words. In fact every time I see an Apple ad that says "Think Different." my brain automatically adds a "ly". I guess this is a bit of a paradox because if I'm thinking differently then I should be ok with "Think Different." but I'm not. So I guess I'm not such a different thinker after all. (If you followed that on the first read, you get a gold star.) If a company like Apple can get away with artistic license when it comes to grammar (And, yes...I own an iPhone...) I guess I can cut this mouse some slack. He just annoys me with his little guitar, catchy jingle, and money hungry ways. At least he could speak correctly. Is that too much to ask? Apparently so. "Fun" is a good enough word on it's own, isn't it? It happens to be the name of one of my favorite bands and also the title of the award winning (nope) Spongebob Squarepants hit "F.U.N." (F is for friends who do stuff together, U is for you and me...)

As I was typing out this blog post, the commercial just came on again. This conversation transpired:

Me: Lana, you know "funner" isn't a word, right?
Lana: "Say cheese, it's funner...umm...funner? Fun?"
Me: It should be "Say cheese, it's more fun!" or "It's fun!"
Lana: You're right. Funner doesn't sound that cool.

I agree wholeheartedly. You know what's the coolest? Not talking like an idiot. This whole mess has made me want to stay away from the cheesy mouse forever. (...or maybe just stop in and play Guitar Hero and run out real quick??) Although, I just found out that they serve beer and wine. And, while I don't make it a habit to drink before noon, an 11:00 AM Chuck E. Cheese's glass of  wine may be just what I need to get through that experience.

Now, excuse me while I go finish making dinner. Tonight it will be delicious-er and nutritious-er than ever. No tokens required!

(No mice or apples were harmed in the making of this post so I appreciate not being sued for my opinions. Thanks a fundle bundle! Making fun is funner than being serious.)

"I can't believe it's turkey" Beer Chili

This weather is the worst. I hate rainy days. The only thing that brings me comfort on days like today (other than boxed wine) is something simmering on the stove. I'm not really one to bang my own gong. But, I have to say...I make a pretty rad turkey chili. (Or so I've been told) My recipe is a result of years of tweaking, adding, omitting and rigorous field testing. (yes, I test on animals...and my dog approves) What I've come up with is a pot of goodness that would rival the finest cow-based chili recipes out there. Purists, beware! There are beans in this....and a slew of other things that would make some chili aficionados cringe. But, you know what? It's good. Quite a few people have asked for my recipe in the last month, which is a bit challenging for me because I kinda add and taste as I go along, so I've never really used a recipe. Because of that, the measurements may not be 100%. And I rarely use the same beer. I find I like the flavor best with a brown ale. Dogfish Head Indian Brown is my favorite in this. It adds a nutty flavor that I enjoy. But, Sam Adams works great, too. Pretty much, use whatever you have on hand. Any beer is better than no beer at all. (Except Coors Light...please don't put Coors Light in this...) Have fun with this recipe. It's all about layering flavors, and turkey is not an exceptionally flavorful meat to begin with. So, definitely season every step of the way. If you find it needs more of something to make it to your liking, go for it! It's perfectly acceptable to customize this. You officially have my permission. (I know, you can all breathe a collective sigh of relief. Whew.) This makes enough for a pretty big pot. I've fed 12 people with this recipe and had some left over. Alright, here we go:

"I can't believe it's turkey" Beer Chili


2 lbs. ground turkey
2 tbsp olive oil
1 large onion (or 2 medium), diced
5 cloves garlic (I've been known to throw a whole bulb in here), finely minced
2 green peppers, diced
2 cans crushed tomatos (the large cans)
2 cans diced tomatos with green chilis (14.5 oz cans)
1 can corn (when the corn is in season, I use fresh off the cob, 4 ears or so)
2 or 3 cans beans (depending on how much of a legume fan you are. Any combo is fine. my favorite combo is black beans and kidney, white is great too)
Good bit of fresh cilantro


Seasoning Mix- If it's not noted, I measure in half palm fulls, and then season to taste:
Chili Powder
Cumin
Garlic Powder
2 tbsp Sea Salt
1 tbsp black pepper
1 tbsp crushed red pepper (half if you're not into the spice...(also, what's wrong with you!? man up!))
1.5 bottles of beer (on the wall...)

Heat a large pot over medium and get some olive oil down in there. About two swirls of the bottom of the pot. Add your ground turkey and a good bit of cumin, sea salt, and black pepper. Cook until the turkey is about half done (brownish, not pinkish). Add the diced onion, pepper, and garlic. Cook about 5 minutes til the onions and pepper are tender and the turkey is cooked through. Add 1 bottle of beer. Cook down until the liquid reduces by about half...probably like 10 minutes. Now dump everything else in (crushed tomatos, diced tomatos with green chilis, corn, beans). Add the seasoning. (half palm full of chili powder, half palm full of cumin, half palm full of garlic powder, sea salt, black pepper, crushed red pepper). Stir. (You can take a shortcut here and use about 2.5 packets of your favorite Chili seasoning, like McCormick or Old El Paso, but I find that if you do that you still have to add more cumin, salt, and chili powder...Up to you!) Simmer everything for about 5 minutes and add the other half bottle of beer. Stir. Reduce heat to low, and let it go! 

Taste, and season as needed. This should cook together for about a half hour. After that, add a good bit of fresh cilantro. Stir together and remove from heat. 


Serve with shredded cheese, sour cream, diced raw onion, fresh cilantro, Sriracha, or whatever other toppings you can dream up! Pro tip- Make this the night before you plan on devouring it. Let it cool, throw it in the fridge, and reheat on the stove when you want it. I find it's even better the second day when all of the ingredients get to hang out and know each other a little bit better. But, for the impatient among us,  it's pretty amazing right out of the gate too. 

This doesn't skimp on flavor at all, but isn't bad on calories either! So feel free have as much as you want. If you try it out let me know what you think in the comments below!