Movie Time

M and I don't get to spend enough alone time together so I enjoyed every second of our free afternoon yesterday. She had a rough morning at the playground. Wood chips + nose = a bloody nose. Those darn wood chips always win! We snuggled in the movie theater and that made all things better (well, that probably had something to do with the bright blue Icee). We saw The Secret World of Arrietty. A beautiful animation and story by the legendary Hayao Miyazaki. And, the music was especially beautiful. Highly recommended!

Chicago Bulls

Yesterday, M and I saw our first Bulls game. Chris and I have lived in Chicago for over a decade now...and we haven't gone for some reason. Sad, I know! One of her little school buddies (who has a crush on M.....yep, not ready for this) invited her to the game. He even wanted to buy her a souvenir. It was so much fun....nachos, hot dog, cheesy pretzels and ice cream....oh my!

Winter Blues

I've gotten a few calls this week asking me if everything is OK. Then I realized I've taken a bit longer break from blogging than I planned. I guess it's that time of year for me. The winter blues. I mean, I am definitely not complaining. This has been the best winter...it hit the 50's a couple of days this week. Nice and all but I am still yearning for sunny, warm crystal blue waters.

We've been having lots of fun though.

The Picture Starry Night

M's first poem....

The picture starry night is beautiful.
The picture starry night is windy.
The picture starry night is peaceful.
The picture starry night is big.

Snow Play

An ARose Icey

A Chicago Sunset

A view from the El. I love this city!!!

Best of Friends

So sweet!

The Comfort of Fresh Pasta

My comfort food is chicken n’ dumplins’, biscuit and gravy and coconut cake—shocking, I know, for a Southern girl!  The rest of my family’s comfort food is pasta.   My family simply LOVES pasta—any shape, size, filling, sauce (well, the kids have some limitations on the fillings and sauces).    It is no secret that both Chris and I are very sentimental about where we come from, our relatives, etc.  One of Chris’ childhood stories from his Philly days that he often shares with me and the kids is his memory of making fresh pasta with his grandmother (MomMom) and her sisters on Mom Mom’s kitchen table.  Over the years, he has carried on many of those types of traditions, but for some reason he has only made fresh pasta a handful of times.   Time involvement, ease, whatever the reason.  As I am sure you can understand, I’ve never, ever attempted to make fresh pasta.   I would be setting myself up for disaster, I thought.   How can I live up to that memory and MomMom’s pasta?!

Well, I decided this was crazy talk.  Over the weekend I gave pasta a whirl and made tagliatelle.    

    

I felt sort of silly at first.  How do you drape the pasta over your forearm, crank the machine and pull the dough from the machine---all at the same time?  Doesn’t seem possible!  Thankfully, Chris was there to guide me through this foreign process. 

And, success.  Isn't this beautiful?

While it was definitely time consuming as compared to opening up a bag and poring into water, it was worth every bit of effort.  Fresh pasta really does make a difference.  The pasta was pretty darn good, if I do say so myself.  Chris (and this could be ---definitely is—him being a good husband) thought it was awesome.  I used Lidia Bastianich's recipe (love her!).     Eventually I may even graduate to stuffed pastas….but let’s not get carried away!