my lovely lil pumpkin

Today we went to our mommy & me group, where all the babies dressed up for Halloween. little o was dressed up in a pumpkin outfit my mom bought for her!

Pumpkin Patch

Yesterday, little o and I went pumpkin picking in West Hollywood. My sister Lisa and Aunt Joanne joined us as well. Joanne was visiting from NY and this was her first time to meet little miss o. By the end of her stay, little o really seemed to be enjoying her company and we were all sad to see her leave-it was such a short trip! Here are some more photos of our day:

Aunt Joanne, little o, me

little o, her auntie Lisa

little o, Aunt Joanne

All Photos by Lisa Levine

Happy Birthday to me!

It is my first birthday as a mom-so exciting! Not so exciting was someone cooing to me at 3:30-4:30 am - hmmm I took it as little o's way of singing happy birthday mama:) Even though I was super tired, I couldn't help but smile.

To celebrate, Nat and I went out on a date to FIG restaurant. It was so yummy!
We started out with mussels and bread with Arugula butter.

I love how the fresh bread came out in individual paper bags with the FIG logo on it-so cute! It was hard to decide what to order-as there was so many veggie friendly dishes choose from, so I decided to get 2 small dishes:

Perogies and snap peas with mint and basil. Both were delish, although I think the perogies were a bit oily.

For dessert was apple tartin.
Thanks again to my sis Lisa for watching over little o!

Tonight I will enjoy a nice dinner at home with Nat and enjoy some cupcakes from my fave bakery, Vanilla Bakeshop!

Family Vacation

This week we flew to Sacramento for little o's Aunt Danielle and Uncle Chris' wedding. It was the first time little o met most of her daddy's side of the family. It was fun to see her interact with everyone (that is when she wasn't so overwhelmed by all of the new faces) especially her great-grandmother "Nonna".


She was a bit fussy with her at first but once she warmed up to her, she was full of smiles and I am sure made Nona extremely happy! This was also the first time she met her aunt Nicole, Uncle Adam and cousin Addison-they got a chance to spend a few days with us before we all traveled to Sacramento. Addison is 2 and super cute-her favorite program is Yo Gabba Gabba and I still get the tune "meet my family" suck in my head for hours!

We all got a chance to have an amazing dinner one evening at La Sandia at the Santa Monica Place. I ordered fish tacos-yum!
I have to say little o was such a good sport on the airplane - she slept the whole time on both flights. Even though it was only an hour flight, prior to boarding, I couldn't help but remember my pre-baby days in flight when I would give those moms with babies dirty looks, thinking "oh why me!" getting stuck sitting next to them...well now I am on the other side and I can sympathize with anyone traveling with kids. I used to be a minimalist while traveling-avoiding at all costs checking bags- trying to fit everything in an overhead bag. I guess those days are over, seeing that only for a weekend away, I had to bring my largest roller bag!

What would little o have done if she didn't have all of her cutest outfits to choose from?

Nana's Visit

We just spent a lovely visit with my mom, aka "Nana Kathy" who was in town from NY. little o was so happy to have her Nana read and sing to her each day!

Mom, little o and me by the fountain at The Getty Villa

Me and Lisa

One day we took a trip to The Getty Villa, which featured beautiful Greek and Roman sculptures, architecture and lush gardens. It was so much fun and little o seemed to enjoy it- that is when she wasn't napping!

Weekly dinner roundup #4

This week started off with one of my favorite dishes-tacos!! We decided to have shrimp and veggie tacos with black beans, cilantro and avocado. Since we didn't have any taco seasoning mix on hand to marinate the shrimp in, I simply mixed some paprika, garlic salt, oregano and a dash of thyme-it was yummy!

This was a simple pasta dish Nat made with broccoli rabe and potatoes. He made a fresh pesto sauce on the side, along with a steamed artichoke and roasted tomatoes.

Photo: Lisa Levine

This dish was compliments of my sister, Lisa, who is studying to be a personal chef. I feel so lucky that she likes to test out new recipes on us! This Poblano white bean chili was perfectly hearty with just a hint of heat. She paired it with chili cornbread in the background. Here is the recipe:

Poblano White Chili
from Oct 2010 Vegetarian Times magazine

3 c cooked white beans or 2 15 oz cans white beans, rinsed and drained
1 recipe Rajas (see below)
2 c low sodium vegetable broth
2 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp ground cumin
1 c fresh or frozen corn kernels
1/2 c chopped cilantro plus more for garnish
1 T lime juice
1/4 c low fat milk
3 oz goat cheese
1/4 roasted pumpkin seeds

Rajas:
Roast and peel six  poblano or Anaheim peppers, slice into 1/4 in strips and set aside.  Heat 2 tsp vegetable oil in a skillet over medium heat.  Add 1 large onion, sliced thin and two cloves of garlic, minced and cook 6-9 minutes or until onion is soft and golden brown.  Add 1 tsp dried oregano and poblano strips and cook 3 or 4 minutes more or until heated through.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Chili:
1.  Bring beans, Rajas, broth, oregano and cumin to a simmer in saucepan over medium heat.  Cook 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Stir in corn, cilantro and lime juice.  Season with salt and pepper if desired,  Cook 2 minutes more.

2.  Warm milk in a separate saucepan.  Add goat cheese and stir until smooth.  Serve chili with goat cheese sauce, pumpkin seeds and cilantro.

Although I consider myself a generally healthy eater, I do like some sweets every now and then. I love making this chocolate chip cookie recipe. I make half this amount, leave out the nuts and I don't miss the vanilla extract if I don't happen have it on hand. It is so simple and so yummy! Between me and Nat, an entire batch doesn't last more than a day or two!

Simple pleasures in the park

Aah, the fresh air, sitting under a tree in the shade, listening and watching as the older children play... I wonder if little o will like the seesaw as much as I did as a child.