baby shower today
*the beautiful mother-to-be - picture taken by Stu, at their home in Utah*

today is Rachel's baby shower.

my heart is aching because i am 2000 miles away and can't go.
a new life, a brand new beginning, a new member coming into the family,
the thought makes me happy - it is truly a reason to celebrate.
i can't think of a better way to honor such an occasion -
all the women in the family gathering together
to 'shower' the mother-to-be with stories, advice, and gifts
to help her on her journey as she descends into the valley of 'motherhood'.


i am happy for you rachel. i know you are going to be a wonderful mother.
i wish i could have been there in person today to help you celebrate.
know that i was there in heart.

i think i may have found it...

the most delicious cornbread muffin recipe EVER!

If you are like me every once in a while you get cravings for cornbread muffins. And also, if your like me, when you eat a cornbread muffin, the romantic idea of that muffin is quickly replaced by the reality - that it's a little dry or a little bland and usually leaves you wanting.
Well - I think I found the perfect recipe for delicious cornbread muffins. I made it up, it's a hybrid of two recipes I found. This recipe is pretty simple, it's pretty healthy'ish, and I was able to make it with ingredients I already had in my kitchen - 3 things that make a dish A-ok in my book. And on top of all the other pluses, these muffins are full of flavor and taste REALLY good. I was so excited about it that I wanted to post the recipe, just in case there was someone else out there looking for the perfect cornbread muffin recipe.

*WARNING: the red pepper flakes give these muffins a kick, so if you can't handle the heat you best get out the kitchen dawg!* (translation: if you don't want your muffins to be spicy, cut back on the amount of the pepper flakes or omit them all together:))

Bestest Cornbread Muffins:
1 c. flour
1 c. yellow cornmeal
1/4 c. sugar (you can use a sugar substitute if you want)
1 T. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
1 egg
1/2 c. milk
1/4 c. oil
1 c. small curd cottage cheese
1 c. shredded cheese (you can use whatever cheese you want, i used havarti, cheddar would also be good)
1 tsp. dried thyme

in a large bowl mix together flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking, powder, salt and pepper flakes. Whisk together egg, milk, oil and cottage cheese in a separate bowl. Pour liquid mixture over dry ingredients and stir lightly, using no more than 15 to 20 strokes to mix. Coat 12 muffin cups with vegetable oil spray. Fill each muffin cup 1/2 full with batter. Bake in preheated oven at 375 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Let muffins rest in pan for 3 to 5 minutes then move to a wire rack.

--I paired the muffins with split pea soup because I already had the soup made when I invented the muffins, but I think a more perfect match would be something with a Southwestern flare like black bean soup or chili. You could also top these with jalapeno pepper jelly if you really want to blow your taste buds out of this world. I hope you like these as much as I did.


Happy Fall Baking!

Family in Pittsburgh~

On September 15th my cousin Madelyn and her husband Mike had their first baby girl - Marina O'Farrell. We are lucky because they live here in Pittsburgh so we got to spend some time with her. She is the sweetest most perfect little baby! You can't help but stare at her when you hold her, she is so beautiful. Marina is about 2 weeks old in these pictures.

*who is that handsome man holding Marina, and how do I get his number?!?*

*watching the Steelers game at Mike and Madelyn's, notice that Marina is wearing a Steelers Jersey*

My Aunt Maureen was in town for two weeks to help Madelyn so we got to see her as well. It was really nice to have her familiar face here in Pittsburgh, it almost made me feel like my mom was here with me:). Thanks Maureen for the delicious soup!

Congratulations on 3 years!!!

*picture was taken on Christmas Eve 2008 at Mama Sant's house*

Three years ago today, Rachel and Stu got married, and I am so glad they did! You two are perfect for each other. And Stu you are a wonderful addition to our family! Congratulations on 3 years you two!

Happy Birthday Calvin!

Today is my younger brother Calvin's 25th birthday. Calvin is a wonderful person. He is funny and smart and thoughtful of others. He is the kind of person you can open up to and he will listen and offer wonderfully helpful advice. He is a deep philosophical thinker - which makes for some great late night conversations. He is an outdoors man, a rock climber, backpacker, skier, and into Kung Fu. He's the kind of person that you want as a friend. I am proud that he is my brother. I love you Calvin and I wish I was in Utah today to help you celebrate!

- HAPPY BIRTHDAY FROM MARIE AND JOE!!!

{picture was taken on our Colorado river trip October 2007}

Honey Walnut Bread - Walnuts = Honey Bread

I made this honey walnut bread recipe, but since walnuts are super expensive and the budget is tight I improvised and omitted the walnuts. The result was honey bread...and it is delicious! You know when you have a slice of homemade bread, and its so good that you have one more slice, and then just one more, and before you know it you have eaten half the loaf in one sitting? Ya, it's that kind of bread. Homemade honey bread feels like the perfect way to kick off the fall:). Thank you to Mama Peck for giving me the Star Spangled Recipes Volume II cook book which is where I got the recipe.

Happy Birthday Dad!

If my dad were still with us he would be turning 59 today! It has been a little over three years since he died - it's weird to think it's been that long. I have missed him, some days more than others, but I have definitely missed him. I like to think of his friendly laugh, and I've been wondering what kind of cake he would have picked out today...probably chocolate with a bowl of maraschino cherries on the side:). It's too bad he had to go so soon. It seems like there is still so much time left, so much life left to live and he should be here with us. But we still have the memories, they are our forever. Today I want to honor his memory. I will think of him and smile and know he is my dad, and always will be. I love you dad - Happy birthday!

{From left to right: Simon, Calvin, Dallin, Alec, Abraam, Vanessa, Joe
Mom, Sadie, Dad, Heidi, Marie (not pictured Dax, Rachel, Stu)}

Summer days

We saw this horse on our bike ride at Hartwood Acres.

Yay for Joe!

Joe passed the boards!!! We got the letter in the mail today and are so happy about it. He has worked so hard and it is really paying off. GOOD JOB JOE!

Update...

So I feel like a million things have happened since I last posted. I will give you a mini update of the last month. Just a warning - this post will be long.

ANNIVERSARY:
On July 23rd Joe and I celebrated our 6th anniversary.

I woke up that morning to find a bouquet of balloons and a card (Joe had ordered the balloons the night before and picked them up at 6:30 am so they would be there when I woke up...how thoughtful is that!?!)

That night he surprised me with a single rose and some white potted mums and we enjoyed drinks and dessert at Lydia's (an Italian restaurant in the Strip District - BEST cheescake I have ever had!). After dessert we saw Transformers at the theater; it was quite romantic:)

UTAH TRIP:
On July 31st I flew to Utah for two weeks to visit family. Joe wasn't able to come and was greatly missed:(, but I had a great time playing and hanging out with family.

We started the trip off with an afternoon at the pool (Abe & Alec).

Me and Vanessa

It was a real treat to visit with my Grandma Maxine (my mom's mom). She is 88, and besides being weak she is in pretty good health. It's nice to talk with someone who has seen that many years; I hope I soaked up some of her wisdom just by being in her presence! I love you Grandma! (me, Grandma C, mom)

Much hanging out happened at Mama Sant's house....Calvin and Abe just chillaxin':)

One afternoon we had a girls lunch with all the girlies who could make it from the Sant family and the Peck family. It was so nice to be together and bask in our womaness...yay for women! (left to right: Madelyn (my mom), me, Dianne (Joe's mom), Mia, Rachel, Liz)

I spent an afternoon in South Weber visiting Jen and her cute family. (Jen, Dianne, Me)

It was great to see Eden, Jeremiah and Seth. They are all growing into such unique people.

Getting a tour of Jen's garden.

Seth was pretty happy about his chocolate from Grandama Peck.

We went camping in the Uintas for a few days. Besides the fact that it was FA-REEZING we had a wonderful time. It is such beautiful land - it feeds my soul to be in the mountains.

Making breakfast in the frosty morning. (Abe, Alec, Stu, Rachel, me)

Sadie getting her 'Camp' on.

-the weins came, well Sadie and Simon anyway, Heidi is way too ancient to go camping.

Simon posing, waiting for someone to throw his tennis ball. He seriously will sit like that for twenty minutes until someone throws his ball.

The men trying to make fire without matches.

it didn't work but they put in a good hour of effort.

The Grater family...cute parents to be! (Rachel, sweet potater Grater, Stu)

The trip was a mad success!

We celebrated Al's 60th birthday. Con grates Al on turning 60! In the words of Nacho Libre "You are the z-best!"

Mom and Al. Thanks mom and Al for throwing such nice parties at your house:).


We celebrated

my 30th birthday with another pool party:).

Thanks again to mom and everyone for a wonderful birthday! (Megan, Dallin, Abraam, Calvin, AJ, Rachel, Stu, Vanessa, Alec, Me....we missed you Joe!!!)

Saying goodbye super early at Cracker Barrell. Thanks families for a wonderful retreat to Utah. I love you all!

I was also able to visit with my good friend Mindy while I was in Utah but unfortunately I didn't get a picture - love you Mind!

BIRTHDAY PARTY WITH JOE:
As soon as I got home to Pittsburgh Joe and I celebrated my birthday. PART ONE: was the Sunday before my birthday.

We went shoe shopping (yay for shoes!)

And out to dinner at a cafe called Kiva Han.

PART TWO: on my birthday -

We had ice cream cake. Joe got me balloons and wrote me the sweetest birthday card that has ever been written in the history of sweet birthday cards:). Thanks love for a memorable b-day!

THE MOVE:
We moved the Saturday after I got home from Utah so I only had one week to pack our apartment. And it wasn't until the day before our scheduled move that we around to it. Good thing it only ended up taking us 2 1/2 hours to pack up everything. And it only took us 3 1/2 hours to move our stuff and unload it the next day. I think our move will go down in history as the fastest move that ever was. It pays to not have any stuff!

Packing up the bathroom.

Old living room...packing in progress.

Stopping to take apart the couch just long enough for a sweet pose!

Joe and Shawn unloading the moving truck.

the new living room.

Cleaning and filling the fridge.

Joe wanted to keep the kitchen arranged just like this - after much marital compromising we decided we would at least clear a larger walkway:).

It is so nice to have the move done and to be settling in - I love our new apartment. So that was the end of my summer in a quick overview, thanks for sticking through the whole post. I will post finished apartment pictures when I get around to taking them. Bye for now:).

6 years ago today.....

Picture taken April 2009 Salt City Big Cottonwood Canyon*

I did the best thing I have ever done and married the man of my dreams - Joseph Ward Peck. Thanks baby for six amazing years, I am looking forward to many more!

Big change :)

So thanks to Carlee - a talented stylist that cuts hair for only a fraction of what she is worth so poor student's wives can still get their hair cut - I have cute new hair! It's super short and super cute (if I do say so). I had 12 inches taken off and feel lighter in heart and head. I can now face the hot, muggy, sticky, wet, muggy Pittsburgh summer with a smile. (Did I mention that it gets muggy here?)

Front.

Side.

Back.

Thanks again Carlee - I love it, love it, love it!