Homemade Hamburger Buns

On our anniversary, I felt badly that I didn't really plan a special meal.  I knew Rory would be happy with hamburgers on the grill but I decided to bake hamburger buns just to add a little more effort to the meal.  It's not surprising that I saw this recipe on pinterest (buns) and have been wanting to bake them for awhile.  Typically when I bake bread it doesn't turn out well.  It is usually dense or hard on the outside and soggy on the inside.  Tommy also joined us for dinner so we could celebrate his first day of work (woo hoo! and the little king George that was born...) so we were all very skeptical as to how they would turn out.  The men were patient as I started prepping the buns at 6:30, I read the directions wrong a few times, but they were out of the oven by 8:00.  I slid them in the fridge for a few minutes to cool down so I could cut them.  Looking back, it is a really easy recipe and it'll definitely be faster and easier the next time I make them.  So I hate when the bun is bigger than the burger! These buns were perfect because they were bigger than dinner rolls but the perfect size for burgers or sandwiches.  They were slightly crispy on the outside and soft and chewy on the inside.  I will definitely be making these again!!

(Our neighbor gave us delicious tomatoes from their garden...wish I had a green thumb!!)

Dining Room Complete!

One room is finally 100% complete!  Remember this old gem?

Let's just say the chandelier in the dining room has been my nemesis.  Rory and I have gone back and forth a lot about what our decorating style is (yes, he actually cares...maybe).  "We" have decided that we like the rustic, shabby chic country look.  Well, the original chandelier was brass with huge hurricanes = not our style.

I am always looking for a project and refused to spend money on a new chandelier.  I used my handy dandy Annie Sloan paint to create a white chandelier.  I ripped out the prongs and hid the brass chain with burlap, which drives Rory crazy but I really didn't want to paint the chain and I wanted it covered.  At Walmart, I purchased new lights since the old ones were quite long and pointy and I also found some cheap white shades.  It drove me crazy that the chandelier, rods, and shades were all three different shades of white so I spray painted the rods brown to give some contrast but I didn't like that either.  After a few weeks of staring at an 80% finished chandelier, I decided to wrap each rod with twine to give a rustic look and to compliment the wall color.  Sometime in the future, I do want to buy or make a cushion for the window seat but I settled for pillows for now. I threw together a "guest basket" so when we have people over, we can quickly grab place mats, cloth napkins, trivets, the gurgling cod, etc. Oh, and the walls are a mocha, tan color...not baby poo gold like some of the lighting makes it seem...

Cape Cod

Last summer, Rory and I drove to Cape Cod so we figured driving was the best option for this year's first Brannan Family Vacation.  If I could do it when I was 8 months pregnant, we could do it with a 9 month old, right?  We left on Thursday night in hopes that Deaglan would sleep for most of the trip.  We hit the worst storm a few hours into the drive and drove with the storm for the remaining six hours. The rain was so hard at times, we could only drive about 30 mph. I kept watching the storm on radar and it was not budging!  Rory and I took shifts with driving but we made it safe and sound to his uncle's house at around 2:30 in the morning.  We were exhausted and did not find it amusing that Deaglan thought it was time to play when we put him in his pack n play to fall asleep.  But, how could you be mad at this face?  He was just ready for his vacation!  

The weather was cloudy/drizzly/rainy the first few days on the Cape but I actually enjoyed it.  It gave me time to read an entire book (I haven't read a book since last summer...), complete a puzzle, and gave us reason to sit inside and catch up with family.  On Wednesday, we were quite thankful though to see the sun and we were ready to enjoy the beach.  Deaglan was excited to eat his first fist-full of sand and sadly enjoyed it.  I kept thinking "oh, he will have a taste and realize it is disgusting" but NO! He kept trying to sneak in bites whenever we weren't watching.  He also loved picking up the stones on the beach and tried eating a few of those, too.  Rory took him out in the ocean a few times and D loved the big bathtub.  Days were filled with bocce ball, walks, ice cream, cocktails, and good food.  It was also fun to watch Deaglan interact with his older cousin, Stoy.  He was definitely jealous of his walking and talking ability.  It was adorable to watch them play together and sometimes give each other kisses.  It is amazing how six months at this age can make a big difference in ability.  In another year though this age gap won't make a difference!  I hardly took any pictures to document vacation but I guess that just means I was too busy relaxing (aka chasing a baby all over the place). 

In short, it was nice to have the whole Brannan family together because Thanksgiving is the only time of year we see everyone.  The rental house was really nice and equipped with a lot of kitchen and baby items.  The yard looked onto a port and we were a short walk to the beach.  I think it is safe to say that the Brannan's may have started a new tradition...

On our drive back home, we stopped by Rory's grandparents so they could visit with Deaglan.  I know they were surprised by our last minute call that we were stopping by and I know it meant a lot for them to watch D crawl and play around.  It is impossible though to get babies and elderly people to look at the camera at the same time!  

Dr. Oz 3 Day Cleanse Review

My somewhat accidental 3 day cleanse:

I have never tried to detox/cleanse before but recently I had in my head that it would be a great idea.  I still have extra baby weight that's been making me feel "blah" even though I have been exercising and eating well.  Not fitting into any of my old summer clothes is a huge bummer every day!  My sinuses have also been making my eyes quite puffy at times so I figured it couldn't hurt to do a little detox.  The original Dr. Oz detox I had found and planned on doing had regular meals but they were rich in fiber, such as quinoa and prunes for breakfast.  When I was at the grocery store to gather the ingredients, I quickly searched on my phone "Dr. Oz detox diet" and bought all of the food items on the list.  On my way home, I realized neither quinoa nor prunes were purchased....oops!  In my quick search, I bought ingredients for a drink cleanse rather than the food cleanse.  

I was up for the challenge of not chewing food for 3 days; how hard could it be? This is what my next three days looked like:

Day 1: I woke up ready to go!  I was excited to make the healthy smoothie concoction and it turned out to be delicious!  A few hours later, I was getting pretty hungry so I cheated a little and had a few bites of watermelon.  I couldn't believe I felt guilty nibbling on some watermelon!  

Around noon, I started prepping for the lunch smoothie.  I was watching Rory make a chicken caesar salad wrap while I was cutting pineapple, apple and celery.  I was cursing him & his food in my head, but it wasn't his fault I decided to do this!  I happily blended all of the lunch ingredients together and it looked colorful and smelled pretty good!  I poured it into my glass and oh my gosh.... 

Let me first start by saying, I despise pulp.  I cannot eat raw oysters either because I can't stand thick, nasty strands of something going down my throat.  Well, Dr. Oz needs to warn people about his lunch "drink."  Now I know why it isn't called a "smoothie" cleanse because there is nothing smooth about this drink at all!!!  I was still trying to stay positive so I decided to act like the drink was gazpacho and I ate it with a spoon.  After 1 1/2 hours, I choked down about 3/4 of it and cringed after every gulp.  

A few hours later, I had my choice of a drink to have.  My stomach was still twisted from lunch, but since I enjoyed the breakfast smoothie I decided to have that again and it was still enjoyable!  I was hesitant to make the dinner drink because I was worried it would turn out like lunch.  The ingredients didn't seem that bad but I decided not to put in the cayenne pepper because I didn't want to ruin the taste and hate another meal.  Overall, the dinner drink had good flavor but it was warm which I really didn't like.  It took me close to an hour to drink but I think that was also due to the fact that I was cleaning and doing dishes while drinking it.

In the evening, I started getting a slight headache that wouldn't go away.  I am not sure if it was from the lack of caffeine, toxins leaving the body, or Deaglan banging his rattle on the coffee table but it wouldn't go away.  I was looking forward to quiet time in the bath!  I wasn't able to buy lavender oil, so I just sprinkled in some lavender bath salts and I am sure it worked out just as well.   Later that night, I read reviews on the lunch drink and found some good changes that people made to the drink and got some good tips! I also measured out my fruit for the next two days and put them baggies in the freezer so I could enjoy cold drinks.  It was so hard not to have my bite of chocolate with a glass of milk before bed but I did it!!  I started falling asleep on the couch that night by 8:30 so I finally went upstairs, exhausted with my headache still, and fell asleep by 9:30.  

Day 2:  I woke up feeling good!  No headache and I was looking forward to my hot tea even though I could smell Rory's coffee brewing.  I enjoyed my breakfast smoothie and it filled me up for a lot longer than the day before.   I was looking forward to lunch because I wanted to experiment with the drink some.  I warmed up the coconut oil, only put in half of the cucumber and eliminated the celery altogether. The drink was much more enjoyable and it gave me a chance to nibble on some cucumber & celery--it was awesome to finally chew on something.  The lunch drink was refreshing, still a little thick, but I got over it quickly.  By the afternoon, I was looking forward to snack and I had the breakfast smoothie again.  Having the fruit frozen makes the drinks so much better!  I enjoyed dinner and never got a headache which was great.  I had a lot of energy by the afternoon and was running around the house getting a lot of stuff accomplished.

Day 3:  I woke up missing my coffee routine but I still enjoyed the green tea.  Even though I was tired of the smoothies, it was easy to get through them knowing it was the last day.  I was surprised at how well the drinks were filling me up!  That afternoon, I was out and about, so I didn't have my snack drink until around 4:30.  I was feeling great though!  I decided to try on some of my old summer clothes and they fit!  I was the happiest girl!!  Rory and I had plans to go out that night so I intended to bring my dinner with me in the car but I was still full from the snack so I skipped dinner. I was able to wear an old summer dress to the bars which was awesome since I've been stuck wearing jeans the past few months.  While we were out, wings were ordered so I picked at some of the celery...and may have snuck one piece of calamari.  Since it was our first time out in awhile, I decided some red wine would be a good drink choice.  Hey, it was my last day of detox so I pretty much finished and it's full of antioxidants, right?  

It has now been a few days since I finished the detox and I am still feeling really good!  I honestly felt really weird eating food again.  I felt guilty having my first mug of coffee so I used milk & stevia instead of my usual flavored creamer.  I am going to now stick to this as my routine because the creamers & sugar always sit so heavy in my stomach.  I have noticed that my appetite has curbed some because my meals are smaller and I don't feel the need to snack during the day.  It's been a great mental game for me too because I know that I can get full from just fruits and vegetables and I don't need breads/carbs to complete a meal.  I will definitely do this detox again, especially after a vacation or football season.  I also talked Rory into doing it with me next time which will make it easier.  I will also continue using these smoothies as meal replacements or snacks during the day.  I weighed myself a few days after the detox, and I was down 8 pounds from when I started.  I am sure I will gain some back from water weight and vacation coming up, but I am just so happy to feel like myself again!!

I also love that our fruit basket & fridge look like this:

Little D is 9 months!

The time has finally come...Deaglan is crawling all over the place, even though now he'd rather be trying to walk.  He quickly went from army crawling backwards then after a few weeks he woke up one morning and was able to army crawl forward.  Well, after about a day, he had enough of that nonsense and he just started full on crawling.  He has such a new world to explore and he'd so much rather be playing with the steps or specks of dirt on the ground instead of his toys.  He loves walking laps and pulling himself up on things.  He falls all the time, cries, and is now learning to quickly get over it because it's just what happens when you're a boy on the move. Oh yes, and diaper changes are often an impossible feat since he can't sit still! As you can tell by his cute chubby cheeks & thighs, he loves eating!  He is obsessed with blueberries and raspberries but will still eat anything I put in front of him.  I've enjoyed making his own food and freezing leftovers in ice cube trays.  He'd rather feed himself than be spoon fed so I find myself mashing all of his food into little balls for him to pick up and eat.  All meals are quite messy!  Since he is a Brannan, he loves the water so hopefully he will spend a lot of time in the pool this summer.  For now, our days are filled with food, naps, and lots of walking/crawling inside and outside!  I see his first haircut in the near future so we can prevent the mullet from making an appearance :-) 

I've slowly been painting/fixing some rooms but I still don't have one room that is 100% complete so that drives me a little nuts.  I start a project and then get distracted with another so this week I hope to finish the dining room and possibly his room.

When we moved in, the dining room looked like this...

Expect an update soon on the new room!

Father's Favorite Fare

Sorry for that corny alliteration....since it's Father's Day, I figured I needed to bring Rory into my post somehow!  Last year, a student of mine was shocked that I had never been to the restaurant Cafe Rio.  As you probably know, Rory and I are obsessed with mexican food (some were surprised Deaglan's middle name was John instead of Juan). We hadn't even heard of the restaurant chain so we tried it out as soon as we could and we are so glad we did!  We are now obsessed with the Cafe Rio salad dressing.  It is a new household staple that we use for salad dressing, dip, sauce on tacos...or just lick out of the jar....

(baked avocado~ soooo delicious- good for dipping or salad topping!)

Cafe Rio Dressing:

• Mix the following ingredients in a food processor.  I refrigerate for a few hours before serving.
• 
  
• 1 packet Hidden Valley Ranch Mix 
• 1 cup mayonnaise
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 2 tomatillos, remove husk
• 1/2 bunch fresh cilantro
• 1 clove garlic
• juice of 1 lime
• 1 jalapeno (I try to leave some seeds in)

hmm bacon!

I feel like such a nagging mom when Rory doesn't eat breakfast.  The only thing he will take the time to eat is a bagel from the bakery but after a few weeks of bagels with cream cheese he went back to his routine of not eating breakfast.  I was determined to find something quick and "nutritious" for him to eat in the morning as he is running out the door.  I went to my handy dandy Pinterest food board (my new best friend) and I decided to make him egg casserole muffins.  Everything taste better with bacon so I knew I couldn't mess up the recipe!  They didn't turn out picture perfect but they taste really good!  Now, they can stay in the fridge or freezer and he can pop them in the microwave as he rushes around in the morning!