Homeowner Happiness

The Edwards' have moved! The move itself was pretty terrible (we WILL hire movers next time...), but we have had the best time settling in. I have even discovered that I enjoy yard work when it is my own yard that I am taking care of. I voluntarily whent to Home Depot three times last week! While I do NOT consider myself to have a green thumb (I scorched my basil three times last summer), I have turned over a new leaf and am determined to be attentive to the things we have planted. It is so much fun to watch all the pretty things coming up in our yard. We lucked into a house that was very well maintained and has some great features. It has been so neat to have a home to work on together that we take pride in and really enjoy. We love to have visitors and are obsessed with our fire pit outside... so come on over and burn some sticks with us!

Living Room

Dining Room


Study off the dining room
(my favorite room- vaulted ceiling + painted brick + lots of built ins on opposite wall)
Kitchen
Breakfast Room
Bathroom
Big Upstairs Room
(not worth showing because we have no furniture up there yet)
Our Bedroom

Guest Bedroom (a major work-in-progress...)

One of my favorite features... screened kitchen windows that crank open to the outside!
We love our backyard
A few gardening endeavors...
Snapdragons
Planters in the front
(Japanese holly + petunias)

Even our dog/child feels perfectly at home

Going Granola

If budget played no role in the formulating of my grocery lists, I think I would like to start shopping strictly at Whole foods and eating flax seed and almond butter and Greek yogurt and what not. But that is not what this post is about. I am not "going granola." This is actually a post about a homemade granola recipe that I tried, loved, and used for my homemade Christmas gifts.

I have never been a "granola muncher" (Urban Dictionary: someone who enjoys hiking on nature trails and bird watching. / Me: someone who likes granola) until I met Groovy Foods Granola at the Memphis Farmer's Market. At first, I would just grab a little sample bag each time I passed the booth... but then I started craving it... and it isn't cheap. While I still think Groovy Foods is better than this recipe I am about to post, and I know the ingredients they use are WAYYYY healthier (think safflower oil, cane juice crystals (?), brown rice syrup (?!?!), and carob)... I would argue that my granola achieves a flavor that is somewhat close... the key is salt. Try it out and see for yourself!
P.S. All of the ingredients for mine were purchased at Aldi (discount grocery store)... so it was super-duper cheap when I made it in bulk for Christmas gifts

French Chocolate Granola
(adapted from recipe by Orangette)

3 cups rolled oats
½ cup almonds, chopped (I used slivered b/c they are cheaper)
½ cup unsweetened shredded coconut
3 Tbsp. granulated sugar
1 Tbsp. unsweetened Cocoa powder
1 tsp. cinnamon
salt (to taste- but I like the salty and sweet flavor so I used about 1 Tbsp.)
6 Tbsp. honey
2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
1/4 cup, or more, finely chopped dark or bittersweet chocolate
1/4 cup chopped dried cranberries (optional)

Preheat the oven to 300°F.

In a large bowl, combine the oats, almonds, coconut, sugar, cocoa, cinnamon, and salt. Stir well to blend.

In a small saucepan, warm the honey and oil over low heat, whisking occasionally – watch out! the oil will want to splash - until the honey is loose. Pour over the dry ingredients, and stir to combine well. I added the cranberries and cooked them with the granola.

Spread the mixture evenly on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake for about 20-30 minutes, or until golden. Set a timer to go off halfway through the baking time, so that you can give the granola a good stir; this helps it to cook evenly. When it’s ready, remove the pan from the oven, stir well – this will keep it from cooling into a hard, solid sheet – and cool completely. While still warm, I put about 1/2 of the chocolate on top and stir it all up... this gave the granola kind of a chocolate coating that I thought was nice... but you don't have to do that.

When cool, transfer the granola to a large bowl, storage jar, or zipper-lock plastic bag. Add the rest of the chocolate chocolate, and stir (or shake, if using a jar or bag) to mix.

Notes: I substituted Molasses for 3 Tbsp. of the honey in one batch (b/c I ran out of honey) and it was delightful... try it if you have Molasses around.

Don't be shy to add more sugar and salt if needed. I played around with this, tasting it periodically to get the right flavor.

This stuff can be used at breakfast, but also makes an awesome dessert. Put it on top of ice cream and you will be in heaven.

Our Little Sled Dog

What a treat to have a snow day this morning! Having a husband on a snow day is fun, but having a doggie and a husband on a snow day is super fun... I can't imagine how much fun it is to have kiddos to play with on snow days... I will just go ahead and stop myself right now. So what did we do on our glorious day off...
- Got a sneak peak at the snow last night. Hank was not really a fan.

("save me")

- Started the morning with 30 Rock in bed... probably watched a total of 20 episodes this weekend. Can't get enough of that Liz Lemon.

- Snow walk #1... Hank wasn't ready to commit to a long walk, but we wanted to see our neighborhood before everyone got out and about and things got slushy.

(our snowy apt.)

(Hank kind of crept around for awhile... he really hates getting wet... too bad!)
(Price's idea)
(OUR FUTURE HOUSE!!!!! We move in Feb.)(Hank met two big friends... notice the tail between the legs)
Pretty houses in the Morningside Park neighborhood

- Breakfast time. Good thing Price's Christmas gift (4 lbs. of Benton's Bacon) arrived this week. There is no way to describe how deliciously smoky and salty this stuff is. Yum.

(can't you just hear it sizzle?)

(This bacon should be savored)

(Now time to add one more pair of socks for...)

- Snow walk #2... This time we hit up the beautiful Central Gardens. Hank got to wear his favorite dog fleece from Target. I don't know that it does much to keep him warm, but I kinda like to dress him up...!

(LOVED these berries)
... and that was about all Hank the sled dog could handle.

"Oh Brooklyn, Brooklyn, take me in"

We just got back from a trip to the Big Apple. This was the first trip Price and have taken since our glorious honeymoon, and the first time I have visited New York since the incredible summer I spent there in 2007. I was not going to stand for being tourists on this trip. So I did my research. It wasn't until I tripped and faceplanted over a tree planter in Greenwich Village, distracted by the pocket map I was so discreetly trying to study, that I realized no matter how many times I visit this fantastic city I will always be a tourist... there is just too much to see and do! We had an absolute blast avoiding the crowds and exploring the city together. Here are some highlights:

DAY 1:

- Plane landed. Beelined to the Shake Shack's Upper West Side location. Price ordered the double cheeseburger that was to-die-for, but the Gingerbread frozen custard was most definitely the highlight.

- Hit up the Columbus Circle Christmas Market. There are lots of these around the city this time of year. Helpful hint: they are alllll the same... just go to one.

- Made our way down 5th Avenue. Helpful hint: Unless you enjoy walking at a turtle's pace, being jostled, pushed, and poked... DO NOT walk down 5th (or try to see the tree) on a Saturday afternoon during the month of December.

Despite my minor meltdown, the store windows were incredible and I was able to jump in with the other tourists to get a few pics.

Inside Bendel's

Bergdorf's

(I linked this one to a gallery of their displays bc my camera didn't do them justice)

Anthro (I LOVED this pinecone made of scraps and such)

Had to get a pic in front of "the tree". I like to think that Liz, Tracy, and Kenneth were inside engaged in their usual shennanigans when we visited 3o Rock.

- After this "event" we went back to the quaint Hotel Elysee, where hot coffee and delicious cookies awaited us every afternoon.

(Keep reading... this is where the trip gets good)

- For dinner we hit up Roberta's, a pizza place located in an old garage in the Bushwick neighborhood of Brooklyn. This fantastic meal was in no part related to my meticulous planning. We were in the hands of our cool local Furman friends, Piper, Austin, Patton, and Edward. I am going through this brussels sprouts phase so naturally I enjoyed the "brusselmania" (pancetta, mozzerella, and brussels sprouts). But the "Cheeses Christ" (all kinds of cheeses with black pepper and honey on top) was also divine.

After dinner, the group decided to try out a new bar called "the Drink" in Williamsburg. I really enjoyed seeing the neighborhoods of Brooklyn. The Drink was AWESOME and unlike any bar I have been to. It is a "punch" bar with a nautical vibe. You order a bowl of punch (ours was called the Narwhal... it had gin, rosemary, lemon, and other stuff in it), it arrives in a crystal punch bowl with crystal cups straight from your grandma's dining room, and you share. It was not crowded at all AND they played an awesome selection of Otis Redding to make us feel right at home. After the Drink, we briefly crashed a random Christmas party, and I somehow got us home from Chelsea without a map.

Day 2

- Started the day off at Prune for brunch. Found out about this tiny East Village restaurant from the Amateur Gourmet and we HIGHLY reccomend it. We had to wait awhile to get a tiny spot at this tiny place, but it was so worth it. Price ordered the huevos rancheros. Delish. I ordered the spicy stewed chickpeas. Sounds weird, but it was heavenly. The eggs were poached and then "butter crumbed", which I think means rolled in crumbs and maybe flash-fried? Crunchy and soft all at once. The waitress called them "magic eggs". So great for a cold day.

- Next stop, the Brooklyn Flea Market. It's basically the Etsy store. All kinds of local vendors selling everything from vintage clothes to prints to bacon cupcakes (yum). We bought some really great prints from this lady.

- After the Flea (and lots of wandering around trying to find a train station), we headed to the Brooklyn Brewery. We drank some beer in their neat open space, watched a bit of the tragic Giants game, and took the tour. Enjoyed it so much, I even got over the fact that free beer was not a part of their tour. If you are ever there, we really enjoyed the citrussy IPA Blast.

- I am in LOVE with Brooklyn. I can't believe I spent 3 months in the city without properly exploring this part of town. If you are planning a trip any time soon, spend some time there.

- Dinner at Mesa Grill was good, so good that we ended up walking @30 blocks home to work it off. I love New York at night. I think the rolls they served and Price's chipotle beer were probably the highlights. We just love Bobby Flay and his take on southwestern cuisine.

Day 3

- Began our day in Greenwich Village, where the previously mentioned tree planter incident occured. It is my favorite part of town. Old buildings, pretty quiet, neat stores. We poked around and found my favorite paper store EVER (other than the Stovall Collection of course), Greenwich Letterpress.

- Lunch in Chinatown at the Excellent Porkchop House (also, thanks to the Amateur Gourmet's suggestions) was arguably our favorite meal of the trip. We got a porkchop, some stir-fried noodle dish, a huge bowl of wonton soup, and hot tea for the whopping price of $11. The wontons in the soup melted in my mouth. So good. Also stopped at a Chinese Bakery called Fay Da and enjoyed a delicious sweet potato roll.

(The soup was hot... that explains the weird face)
- The rest of the day was spent exploring and shopping. Ate guacamole and chips for dinner at Dos Caminos. In New York, calories don't count.

Day 4
- Tried to cram everything we didn't do in before reporting to the airport at 3. We were able to make it to ABC Carpet and Home so I could drool over everything I can't afford and found a more affordable home-goods store along the way called Fish's Eddy (I bought some great coasters that look like tree stumps.) We were even able to stop in Mario Batali's Eataly (amazing food store) for a brief minute just to peek. It is really really cool. Would love to have lunch there some day.

- Busted it back up town to the American Folk Art Museum (next to the MoMa). Glad we didn't have to pay to get in (they had water damage), because it was not that cool. However, if you are a quilter, weaver, or basket-maker you might think differently...

- Lunch was grabbed just outside the museum from the famous Halal cart at 56th and 6th. I have been wanting to try their food since my summer in the city, and Price demanded that we have at least one "street-meat" meal. It was fantastic. We ate it in the (very chilly) park. When I think back on this trip I will probably picture us shivering with runny noses in the park eating the steaming dish as quickly as possible. It was really a great meal.

There are some Halal imposters out there who pose as the "famous" halal guys... the trick is to look for the yellow sweatshirts and yellow plastic bags, then you know you are getting the famous stuff.

Pita, lamb, yellow rice, lettuce, white stuff, and hot sauce (YUM)
This trip was the perfect combination of relaxation and adventure. Price and I had a great time enjoying each others company after a busy semester. We love to travel and explore new places together and look forward to many more adventures together.

It was sad to leave the city, but exciting to come back home to Christmas with our families. It has been a great break with lots of fun surprises.

(I look forward to having some new blog material--- our new house (!!!!!!)--- in the future)