West Point

Last week I was able to run down to West Point for two nights to hang out with Thomas' parents and three of his four sisters (Jenn, I can't wait until you live on the mainland!) I also got to hang out with our niece Skylar and sweet little chunky Finley (who was born on my birthday 4 months ago.) We had a fun time making food, going on a hike to nearby Bear Mountain, watching YouTube videos, Skyping with Josh, and counting the adorable rolls of fat on Finley. 

I may or may not have thrown my nephew-dog Jack into an icy cold lake. It may or may not have done my heart good to see the look of panic on his face. Seeing the look of horror on Skylar's face as she screamed "I will miss him!" did not do my heart good. You can read more of that story here.  Keri also made an amazing dish that reminded me of Chicken Pad Thai from our favorite Thai place in Foxboro. If you like Chicken or Shrimp Pad Thai, you should definitely give this recipe a try. I'm drooling remembering it. 

Thomas has Uggs

Thomas now owns his very first pair of Uggs. He'd been begging and begging me for a pair of his own, and I finally gave in to his desires and sacrificed a whole week's paycheck to buy him some. 

Actually, Tom Brady gave all of the players a pair because he is part of their men's marketing initiative. I actually think Thomas will get a lot of wear out of these in the cold months, and he says they feel like "walking on soft clouds of cotton." And I don't think they are quite as hideous as the standard Uggs that make people's legs look like they are the size of large tree stumps. 

And I assure you, Thomas has NEVER asked me for Uggs. But he did beg me for that Soli Deo Gloria t-shirt, which you can purchase here. 

And I took this picture of his playbook last week just so y'all can see how big it really is and how hard he has to study. We decided to put a bottle of G2 next to it, partly to show the epic proportions and partly because every time Thomas stops by to see me, he leaves a trail of empty G2 bottles in his path. I'm so glad when I get to see him, but those bottles....

Oh! I almost forgot to say that he'll be starting at Left Guard tonight in the pre-season game and be playing back-up Center. Tune in if you can!

Sister Time

I got to go see my sister and her little brood this past weekend. I haven't gotten to spend much one-on-one time with her since I lived there for a month last summer (during training camp, imagine that!) We had a wonderful time together and rearranged most of the rooms in her home. My brother-in-law would walk in the door, look horrified, and walk back out. 

 I got to spend some quality time with my namesake, MJ. She is a hilarious mess. I didn't take any photos of her porker of a 3.5 month old brother, but he is a little doll as well. (I actually didn't take many photos at all, I leave that for my sister.)

 We got to dine at Proof, where we became best friends with our waitress. She happens to be in wine school, so we drilled her with questions throughout dinner. She loved us.

 I can't visit DC without driving to Lucketts Store and The Wine Kitchen.  We brought along two of Jeannie's sweet friends, so it made everything twice as nice. We split 4 entrees between us and loved every.single.bite of The Wine Kitchen. And here are some scenes from around Lucketts.

 That floor! I must have it someday. And I thought this chalkboard door was genius.

And of course we stopped at Mom's Apple Pie Company for Buckeyes. Thanks for a wonderful weekend, Sister! (And thanks to Jesse for putting up with us for 3 days.) 

New Favorite Cookbook

I have a new favorite cookbook. I know, I know, I have a new favorite cookbook every week. But this one will really rank up there in my top 5. 

 

Yes, amid the slew of glowing and not-so-glowing reviews, I gave in to my desires and bought My Father's Daughter.  And I'm loving just reading it. I made two of her recipes tonight and am officially obsessed. I proceeded to put a star by every recipe that looked as good as the ones I made tonight, in hopes that I'll get in the kitchen and create all of the yummy goodness. 

 I'm currently spending the weekend at my sister's house (hello last minute super-cheap Southwest flight!) and we all were pleased with our dinner of Chicken Milanese (very similar to Ina Garten's Chicken Parmesan ) with Slow Roasted Tomatoes on top. People, Slow Roasted Tomatoes have turned my world upside down, backwards, sideways, and right side up again. My friend Margaret (love her name!) of The Savory Sister told me about roasting tomatoes for 8 hours on 250 degrees, and I thought it was revolutionary. The fact that Gwyneth Paltrow agreed with her put me over the edge, and we tried them tonight. I only roasted for about 3 hours on 275 (she calls for 3-5 hours in the book) and they were perfectly juicy to go with the greens. She uses them in many of her other recipes in the book and rest assured, I will be trying all of them.

So, if you love yourself and you'd love perfectly roasted tomatoes of your own, go buy the book. And Gwyneth, you can pass some of the proceeds my way if you feel so inclined.

Pictures From the Cellular

This post is mostly for the entertainment of Caroline.  She always begs me to post more photos from my cell phone. This time I don't have any shots that I've secretly taken of folks who weren't looking, but I do have some other things that I've been doing with my time that may or may not interest you.

Last week, I was eating a chicken melt that I'd created at home. I used a piece of pre-sliced cheddar cheese. I took a few bites and first thought "wow, I sure can make a mean melt," then thought "wow, I knew this bread was stale and I figured toasting it would help, but I can barely chew this." I took another bite and realized the paper that separates each cheese slice was melted into my melt. And part of it was running through my digestive system. Am I losing my mind? Probably. So I snapped a photo to send to Thomas, who is needing some laughs while he is working hard at football camp. 

Have I ever told y'all how much I love the town square that is within walking distance to our house? There was a community yard sale the other day and it just made me happy. I think it reminds me of the gym lawn at Camp Desoto, one of my favorite places in the whole wide world. 

My friend Stacia and I spend most of our time together these days since our husbands are enslaved to football. We were at Kohl's last week buying some last minute baby items (for her) and I decided we should put these awful nightgowns on and take a picture to make our husbands laugh. It worked. We looked ridiculous. 

Stac seems to have found the perfect outfit to wear in the hospital after she delivers Baby W. It even has pockets. 

Stac and I also ran out to Cape Cod yesterday for the afternoon. I just love it there. We met up with my sister's mother-in-law and sister-in-law and had a late lunch at Sesuit Harbor Cafe. Their lobster rolls are to die for. 

This used to be one of my favorite things to cook for breakfast (Stella, are you reading this? CANADIAN BACON!) It is so simple and I've been revisiting it a lot lately. And it only has about 280 calories. I just heat a non-stick skillet for 2-ish minutes, spray with PAM, throw in one medium egg (I break the yolk because I don't like runny eggs), a slice of Canadian Bacon, and one of those Arnold sandwich thins with a slice of cheese. And I now double-check to make sure the cheese doesn't have paper attached to it. 

And I just had to throw this picture in for good measure. This is me with my grandparents when we were in York a few weeks ago. They'd come over for dinner and I needed a ride to my cousin's house. Papa said "well, jump in the truck and drive us Marg." So, my Granny was smooshed in the middle (giggling of course) while I drove. They are pretty darn cute!