happy new year everybody! we spent our new years eve at home, working on the new blog site and sipping on champagne. the new site was supposed to launch today but it looks like the export of this blog and all of it's posts and comments is going to take a couple more days to swap over. thank you for your patience while we work to get it up and running.
in the meantime let's talk about new years goal shall we? i made a few... i want to work harder, play harder, travel as much as possible this year with my family and focus more on the positive things in life and leave any negativity at the door. i also have two new and exciting business ventures that i am diving head first into that i want to grow, grow, grow and be successful. another fun goal that i have is to bake bread once a week. my friend robin is gifting me with some of her sour dough starter and i just bought this book
i would love to hear some of your new years goals. it's interesting how sharing just a few of our own ambitions can inspire someone else so heavily. feel free to join in on the discussion in the comments below.
happy new year my friends and thank you for your patience while the new blog platform is under construction. xx
photos above from prospect goods.
"a portrait of my children, once a week, every week, in 2013."
julian: this is his treasured hobbit sword that he received for christmas. by far the winning prize under the tree this year.
milla plum: my beautiful girl. so full of life. growing up so fast these days that i just want to push pause for a moment.
birdie: she rolls her eyes at me if she is not in the mood for pictures, haha.
sailor: i spy a tiny boy who has a thing for crawling under the table lately. i think he is copying frances the pug.
i did it. i completed my 52 weeks of photos. thank you all for joining me here each week. i am excited to continue the project again next year... next week. i am trying to think of a fun spin to put on it, but so far am coming up short with ideas. your suggestions are very much welcome.
have a happy new year my friends! please be safe. xx
footnote... we are finalists for the 2014 parents magazine social media awards, best instagram. if you would like to support us you can visit the voting page and cast your votes. thank you, we appreciate it.
happy holidays! we had a lovely christmas break over here. i can't believe how quickly it came and went. on christmas eve we invited some friends over and had a relaxing dinner. artichoke dip, honey roasted ham, beer cheese soup, along with plenty of christmas cookies and a giant present shaped cake that our friends so thoughtfully made for us. after opening up our christmas jammies and watching christmas movies, we tucked the kids into bed and popped a bottle of champagne for santa duty.
the next morning the kids were up by 6:30 and rushing down the stairs to see if santa had come. good news... he did. i made a delicious soup inspired by the big kids grandmother. she makes a ham and bean soup with the leftover ham from the night before. i made a few changes, but it was easy and delicious. this is what i did...
you will need:
1lb white beans
3 quarts chicken broth
the ham hock or shank
2 1/2 teaspoons herbs de provence
1 small diced onion
1 cup diced celery
1 diced carrot
2 cloves garlic diced
tabasco or cholula hot sauce to taste
salt and pepper to taste
fresh parsley or fresh chopped onion as a garnish
in a medium sized pot, cover beans with water. bring to a boil and then turn heat off. let beans soak for 2-2.5 hours.
meanwhile put the ham hock/shank in another large pot, cover with 2 quarts chicken broth. add herbs de provence. bring to a slow boil and then simmer for one hour. add vegetables, beans and half a quart of chicken broth. cook for another hour and a half adding more broth as needed. afterwards the meat should pull away from the bone easily. discard bones. add hot sauce and salt and pepper to taste. enjoy! it's really good.
i hope you are all enjoying the holidays. we need to take down our christmas tree and decorations which is always a little bit sad. i can't believe the year is almost over. i am excited though, my new blog site will be launching in just a few days. i will no longer be using typepad. may this little space rest in peace. i will keep you posted on the change.
have a good weekend. i will be back on monday! xx