The Great Fig Adventure

Thanks to Bountiful Baskets, I had the challenge of figuring out something to do with a basket of figs.  To show you how familiar I was with figs...I thought they were tomatillos.  Good thing I didn't try to make any Cafe Rio salad dressing with them!  The only encounter with figs I'd ever had was eating Fig Newton cookies, which I'm sure is 100% "real" fig filling.

I scoured the internet to figure out what to do with these cute little figs and found a recipe for bacon-wrapped figs.  I figured if I'm going to try something new and different, wrapping it in bacon is the way to go!


So, here's what I did:

My cute little figs!

Sliced in half.  I think they look just beautiful on the inside!  I never knew what figs looked like until now.

Slather some yummy goat cheese on top (the more the better in my opinion)

Cut bacon slices in half so they are short.  The figs weren't big and cutting the bacon in half still allowed me to wrap it all the way around.

Broil for 5 minutes or until bacon is brown and crispy!

Man, were these delicious!  I added a small dab of honey on top of each of mine which really made them yummy.  I like that these could be dessert (use nuts instead of bacon) or an appetizer!  I think its so fun that with Bountiful Baskets we are trying things we normally wouldn't get to.  Figs are pretty darn expensive, but included in my basket they were a really good price.

Yay for trying new foods!

Spidey Senses

Today Audrey woke up from her nap just shrieking like I've never heard before.  Nothing I was doing was comforting her, and she wouldn't eat.  She kept rubbing one side of her head against my chest as I held her and she kept grabbing her ear.  My first thought was that she might have an ear infection, but she had no fever (I thought that was a main symptom).  I knew something was wrong, I could just feel it in my gut.  I can't explain it.  I sent Tony a text saying that I was taking her to after hours care.  He was home when I sent it and came in to help me assess the situation.  As soon as Tony grabbed Audrey she was completely fine. She acted happy, and when he touched her ear she didn't flinch.  (When I touched it she freaked out.)

I was pretty insistent that we go to the doctor but Tony was hesitant, probably thinking I was just being a nervous first-time mom.  We ended up going at 8pm and come to find out, my mom instincts were right.  DOUBLE ear infection.  I'm not going to say that I'm *glad* Audrey is sick, but it's nice to be able to say that I'm not just a crazy first-time mom that panics at every whimper.  I know a lot of people must think this about me, some have even told me they think I worry too much.  I feel like I know my baby pretty well now, and I could tell that she wasn't comfortable.  It's a good feeling.

Shopping Champion

Before today Audrey had very few fall outfits.  My mom sent about four the other day, but other than that, this girl was so not ready for the cooler weather that's coming our way.  I saw a commercial for buy one, get one 75% EVERYTHING at Old Navy so I decided it was time to go shopping.  I ended up going to the mall as well, and a lot of stores are having some amazing deals right now!  I'm going to brag and show you what I got. :)

First stop, Old Navy:

This adorable sweater

4 long-sleeved body suits

Two pairs of pants

Old Navy total: $40!!

Next, Baby Gap.  Usually I don't even set foot in this store because I get sad at how expensive the adorable clothes are.  I only ventured in because I saw the "take an extra 40% off sale items" sign in the entrance.

Three cute shirts!  I was really digging the patterns, apparently.

Baby Gap total (get ready for this): $12!

I ended my shopping spree at The Children's Place, another store I don't usually go in due to their high prices.  They, too, were having an amazing "take an extra 40% off" sale, so I scored a few items there:

3 shirts

The Children's Place total: $18!

Needless to say, I am pretty stinkin' proud of myself.  This girl is gonna be stylin' and I didn't have to pay a fortune for these high-end places (well, high-end to me at least).  I saved over $100 with all of my sale deals.  Then, to end the night, I found a killer deal on pizza for dinner!  What a great day for shopping.

Growing Up

Last night we moved Audrey to her own room.  She had been sleeping in a bassinet by our bed since the day she was born, and I gotta be honest...I was sad.  Tony kept saying that I'm going to be a basket case when Audrey goes to college, and he's right!  I loved having her right there beside me for several reasons.  Middle-of-the night feedings were easier (we don't have those anymore though), I could constantly check to see if she was breathing without getting up, and I just like being close to her.  She did a fantastic job in her own room.  She slept ten hours with only one feeding.  It's nice to have her be so cooperative, but I missed her!  Luckily she let me know everything was okay by greeting me this morning with a big, goofy grin.

I can't believe she'll be 4 months in a couple of weeks.  This is going so fast!

With her trusty seahorse, she made it through the night!  What a big girl.

Birthday Cake

Today is Tony's birthday (Happy Birthday!!) but we celebrated with his family this weekend.  They all came over and we had dinner and games and he opened lots of presents.  I put my self in charge of the cake and the only request I got from Tony was chocolate.  I wanted to get creative so I found a recipe for a giant Hostess cupcake birthday cake and went for it.  It seemed so simple but it ended up being pretty intense.  It just took forever!  It was one of my finer birthday cakes, if I do say so.  Tony was really pleased with it and we were both really excited to slice it up and see if it really looked like a Hostess cupcake.

Here's what it looked like!

I kind of cheated and didn't make the cake layers myself but the cream filling, chocolate frosting, and signature Hostess swirl on top were all made from scratch.  That vanilla cream in the middle was so good I was eating it by itself as I baked!  Tony and I were worried that having a big cream filling middle would be a bit over-powering but it wasn't at all. This was one of the best cakes I think I've ever made, and Tony loved it.

Happy Birthday, Tony!

Bountiful Basket

This morning I headed to Vineyard Elementary to take part in my share of a food co-op called Bountiful Baskets.  I hadn't done it before, and Tony's mom recommended I try it.  I was a bit late, but I got there in time to get my haul.  I didn't know what to expect but man, was it worth it!

I forgot to take a picture before I put all of the food away (and I'm much too lazy to go get it back out) but here's what I got:

-this is all fresh food from gardens and restaurant suppliers-

2 bundles of spinach
1 head lettuce
4 tomatoes
4 peaches
2 of the biggest mangoes I've ever seen in my life
10-ish pears
10-ish adorable little plums
1 huge bunch of bananas
1 stalk celery
1 head cauliflower
15-20 yellow potatoes
1 bag of green grapes

All for 19 bucks!! And it's all fresh, too, which is important to me.  I'm SO going back next week.

If you're interested, its way easy to sign up.  In Utah contributions are taken from Monday morning at 10am to Tuesday evening at 8pm.  I think hey also do the co-ops in Arizona, California, and other Western sates. You just pay online with a credit card, pick your location and time, and (this was the hard part for me) remember to go get your goodies on Saturday!  You have to pay a first-time fee to pay for your basket that holds your produce, but after that you don't have to pay for the actual basket.

www.bountifulbaskets.org

It's fun because you never know whats going to be there when you show up.  I'm excited to try to plan my meals around what I get in my basket each week.