December // Tired & Happy

December has been a month of wakeful nights for at least two of us. Sleep has been a luxury for me since just before Thanksgiving (who knows why?). There's been some improvement in the past few days, but before then was a time to try for small happy things in life instead of grand success in general. And there has been a great deal to be thankful for, indeed...

 Top of the list is our little Howard, who is continually more happy, wild, and wonderful.

He's getting more and more like Dillon, which delights me.

 After lazying around all summer because their routine was disturbed, our chickens are finally laying again in the bitter cold. It seems quite unreasonable, but I have no complaints against the abundant, delicious, still deep yellow eggs.

We were able to order big sacks of organic wheat and rolled oats, and we love them. We have a gorgeous old-fashioned hand grain grinder, which Dillon has been running for me until we get it motorized. :) Doing wheat this way has been wonderful for both cost and quality. The fresh flour ends up about the same price as any old flour from the store, and has the most delicious rich, nutty flavor... I never imagined flour could taste so good!

 Here's a bowl of oats that I actually sprouted! At this point I wasn't quite sure how they would turn out, but I was so fascinated by the soft, soaked oats that I couldn't stop playing with them. They sprouted perfectly, and now to dehydrate and grind them. (Also, this picture rather sums up my life currently.)

Ever since I realized I need to oil my cast iron skillet every time I use it, I have started to love it so much. After a couple of months of that, it's almost as nonstick as ceramic, and it's difficult to burn anything with it, which is very helpful since our burners heat a bit askew. I plan to replace all our nonstick pans with cast iron as they wear out.

 Bonus: everything looks better in cast iron.

 Howard is sitting with us at meals and eating finger foods, and loving it. He spends a lot of his time hitting his tray in excitement, although he still manages to gobble up plenty of egg yolks and vegetables (squash are his favorite!). True to character, he's the messiest eater ever.

 I got to go coffee-ing with Abby a few weeks ago in the big city, and of course my little friend came along. He had a little more sitting still ability then.

 Here's how he spends a lot of his time...

 We spent Thanksgiving at the ranch... an exhuasting trip, but it gave us lots of time with Dillon's family (and lots of deer meat).

Here's our precious little one finally asleep... he certainly makes it all worth it. ♥

Homemade Pumpkin Spice Latte

It takes me 20 minutes to get to the nearest Wal-Mart. It takes me 45 minutes to get to the nearest Starbucks. And the nearest real, cozy, unique coffee shop? I haven't found one less than an hour away.

An hour away.

But, lest you feel sorry for me, this is a good thing. A very good thing. Because, you see, Allison loves coffee. And Allison adores coffee shops. Allison could be the girl in the corner with her Moby-wrapped baby, her thick framed glasses, and her swirly-foam latte, every single day. Or twice a day. So this is really yet another benefit to living far away from most things -- I'm far from the temptation of such a delicious waste of money and time, and I'm forced into creativity.

I found this recipe on Pinterest a couple of years ago, and I've made it at least once a year since then, tweaking it a bit to suit me even better. It takes only a few minutes and a few ingredients to make a pumpkin spice latte better than any other I've had. So since it's almost November, and it feels like summer outside, go make a scrumptious pumpkin coffee so you can pretend it's cold.

Better-Than-Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte

Serves 2

2 tablespoons pumpkin puree
1/2 teaspoon allspice
Pinch of black pepper (don't skip this!)
1 tablespoon maple syrup
2 tablespoons pure vanilla extract (I know this sounds extreme, but in my experience it's perfectly balanced)
2 cups whole milk
2 shots espresso or 1/2 cup regular double-strength coffee

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
Pinch of nutmeg

Make your coffee. I get to use this wonderful little espresso maker that Dillon had lying around, but it tastes just as good with any style of coffeemaker. Just make sure it's way too strong to be drunk alone.

Heat the pumpkin, allspice, cinnamon, pepper, and cloves in a small saucepan over medium heat. You only need to heat until the delicious, strong fragrance fills the air. Mix in the maple syrup, then the milk and vanilla, and keep cooking until the mixture is quite hot, but not bubbling.

Divide the coffee between two cups, and use any kind of blender or whisk to mix the hot milk mixture at as high a speed as you can achieve, until it's thoroughly foamy but still hot. Pour it into the cups, and give each one a sprinkle of nutmeg.

You can also cool the milk and save it in a jar for even faster, easier deliciousness later!

Spinach Pizza

Soon after I got married, my mom (bless her) gave me a deep dish pie crust pan, and with it a pizza crust recipe on a cute giraffe card. I've made pizza many times since then, and a few weeks ago, Dillon and I accidentally made the best pizza I'd ever tasted. It's a quick last-minute dinner, and too good not to share.

Grammy's Easy Pizza Crust

2-3 cups all purpose flour (whole wheat doesn't work well)
2 1/2 teaspoons yeast (one package)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup very warm water
1 tablespoon olive oil

In a mixing bowl, combine 2 cups flour, yeast, and salt. Add water and oil. Mix until smooth. Turn out onto clean counter and add enough flour to form a soft dough. Knead until smooth and elastic (5-7 minutes). Return to bowl, cover, and let stand until doubled (about 10 minutes). Punch down and press or roll onto a pan. Bake at 425 for 12-16 minutes before topping.

Allison's Spinach Pizza

1/2 jar alfredo sauce
Mozzarella cheese (the amount depends on your preference - enough to cover the pizza)
2 tablespoons olive oil
2-3 generous handfuls fresh spinach
Salt
1 generous handful fresh basil leaves
3-4 cloves garlic, minced or crushed
1/2 cup cooked ground sausage
Thinly sliced mushrooms

Heat oil in a skillet over medium high heat. Add spinach with a sprinkle of salt and cook just a few seconds, until wilted but not limp. Set aside. Spread a good layer of alfredo sauce over the crust, followed by 3/4 of the cheese. Top with spinach, whole basil leaves, plenty of garlic (a bit more than you think you will like), sausage, and mushrooms. Sprinkle on the rest of the cheese and bake at 425 until the cheese is nicely browned, about 10 minutes.

The Little One

The last few weeks of pregnancy were long, giving birth was incredible, and the first six weeks with a newborn were exhausting and time-consuming. There you have it -- my experiences in a nutshell. It would certainly be worthwhile to blog about it all in detail, but I won't promise anything, since only this week have I really been keeping up with laundry and dishes and making dinner (almost) every night. I do hope to write out a non-graphic birth story for the blog, but it might be a while. I've been blessed with a little darling who sleeps really well at night, which means my time during the day is limited to basic housekeeping and hopefully a spare couple of hours for some baking or a nap. (I certainly wouldn't have it the other way around!) But today is a good day, so I finally get to share some pictures of my precious boy.

wedding pictures part II

 I should probably hurry and finish posting my own wedding pictures before I have to be blogging about my sister Amy's wedding, which is happening this Saturday. She had just started talking to her fiance, Jordan, when I was getting married in July, and now it hasn't even been a year and we're doing another wedding. Life is pretty exciting.
 I didn't get to see Dillon's pictures with his groomsmen until a few weeks later, but I love how they turned out. I hadn't met any of these gentlemen before.

 Can I say handsome?

 In fact, Dillon looks so stunning in this picture that I had to cut it down to just his amazing face.

 *faints

 It was amazing how beautiful and handsome everyone looked. I had never seen Andrew and Aaron in ties before!

wedding pictures part I

I was planning to write some thoughts to go along with all these lovely pictures, but I found it was too much to ask of myself. How could I articulate anything of what I was thinking and experiencing that day? So I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.