deviled eggs

i love eggs. i love any breakfast food really. i was excited to try the deviled eggs, but they were not my cup of tea. i think i will probably try this recipe again and simply sub one ingredient. it calls for white wine vinegar but its just too vinegary. i wanted to like them but i think simply substituting mustard for the vinegar will make them better. to each their own...

recipe count: 6

more collards

these collard recipes are one of the reasons i am glad to be doing this cooking challenge. i have always and only cooked and eaten collards the traditional southern way. i was skeptical that i would even like the gingered collards because sometimes i think ginger can be a bit much but they were great. we paired them with crock pot bbq (which is my favorite and easiest meat i make) and farro (my new favorite grain). i could eat this meal every week!

gingered collards

we also made a raw collard salad. again it was very good and packed full of nutrients since it contained raw collards and raw carrots. the texture almost reminded me of a kind of slaw.

recipe count: 5

5 1/2 {emma taylor}

bathtime curl

all bundled up

and ready for the farmer's market

ballet class

both girls started ballet class this week. emma taylor is a pro this time around, and macy did great at her very first ballet class!

january in sc

72* and doors wide open

super ladybug

jackson's tutu

emma taylor: "mom, look what i helped jackson put on!"

looks like we will be in need of some boy dress up in the near future!

snowflurries 2017

i was really anticipating a real snow a week ago. at least we got some flurries and of course the girls loved it for all 15 minutes. and of course we made our own snowflakes for inside!

ballet barre

for christmas the girls got a ballet barre for their room. i thrifted the mirror and glen built the barre. this was by far my favorite present!

say cheese

brody has gotten the hang of smiling when i say cheese. however, he has also succeeded in fake smiling and not looking at the camera.

truck watching

concentration

snuggler

jackson can get on the couch, the chairs, the coffee table, basically all furntiure by himself. i am sure the days of accidents are coming. he also has started plopping himself down in one of the girls' laps. thankfully emma taylor loves it. macy not so much.

OYSTERS

yall, we cooked oysters! we took the opportunity to have a couple of friends over to experience this with us. we learned a lot like oysters are sold by the bushel which is 100-150 oysters! clearly we were not going to buy a bushel. we also learned it doesnt hurt to ask and so we got oysters by the dozen. per the book we were told not to use a screwdriver to open the oysters, but we learned a screw driver is a great tool to open them. we shucked them before putting them on the grill with a hot sauce browned butter and garnished with bacon. we tried them raw which is ok but definitely prefer them cooked. we also found some crabs inside the oysters. i opened one that i was planning to eat raw and there was a crab INSIDE. it was frightening. with a little research we discovered they were pea crabs that sometimes live inside oysters and eat off their food. we learned they are apparently delicacies and so we fried them up in the leftover bacon grease to try. the end product was delicious, and i am sure we will make them again!

Recipe Count: 3 down

collards & black eyed peas

we started off my new years goal appropriately by cooking collards and black eyed peas. i bought my first ever ham hock, and conquered the first two recipes. although the flavor of the collards was spot on i will definitely cook them less next go round but it was the perfect new years lunch. the black eyed peas were great too. i have never used bay leaves before and now i think they are a must.

Recipe Count: 2 down

16 months {jackson & brody}

jackson is becoming much more adventurous since he has been walking. he likes to climb, dance, run, hide, throw balls, and make sure you're watching while he does all of these things. however, he is NOT adventurous in eating. he will not eat anything green and seems to prefer fried chicken. he loves interacting with his sisters and wants to be right in the middle of all of the excitement.

brody has made great strides just as he turned 16 months. before he may have taken a couple of steps while cruising furniture, but this last week has walked all over the house and around again and again with his push toy. i have no doubt that he will be walking before 18 months! he loves being held, driving cars, and watching people. he is more reserved than his brother and really does his own thing and is not concerned if anyone is watching.