Monday, December 20, 2010

look alikes

me and my mom, 1977
little o and mr. bear, 2010

I tend to think little o looks more like Nat, which I don't mind. She changes so much from day to day, its hard to tell who she resembles more. At least she SORT of has my eye color....Me: blue/green, little o:blue (secretly hoping a touch of green may appear one day!) I also figure maybe she'll have my hair color-who knows-I'll love her any way, shape, form. My mom sent this pic to me today of when I was a baby and she thought we looked alike! What do you think?

PS-mom, I love your cool bangs:)

Sunday, December 12, 2010

Holiday Spirit










This weekend was full of holiday shopping, decorating and baking-it is really starting to feel like Christmas time (well besides the fact that it was 75 degrees today). We started out shopping at the Santa Monica farmer's market and the new outdoor mall. The best thing about the mall is the beautiful rooftop deck-there are a bunch of great restaurants, a food court and has amazing views of the ocean. It was a clear sunny day, and it felt great to sit out and bask in the sun for a bit. Later that evening, we pulled out our ornaments and stockings and decorated the tree, which we couldnt do without freshly baked chocolate chip cookies! This recipe is my favorite. This time we added some peanut m&m's into the mix-it was super yummy!






Today, I caught a peek of little o sharing her secrets with her new found bear friend, while Nat and I hung cranberry and popcorn around the tree.

Then I attempted to make an ornament out of her footprints-but it didnt come out quite as expected. When I placed her feet into the plaster (eiwww!) she wouldn't keep her feet still. She kept wiggling her toes and this is what we ended up with.
 

Monday, December 6, 2010

Saturday, November 27, 2010

First Snow




We just got back from a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday up at my dad's house in Big Bear. It was little o's first thanksgiving and also her first time to see snow! Growing up in NY, I have so many memories of making snowballs, snow angels, snowmen, etc...and it is hard for me to believe that many kids in LA don't get to have this experience - but the thing I love about LA is that you can see snow if you want, it's just a 2 hour drive.












I bought little o a snow suit in preperation for the visit and my dad bought her her 1st pair of shearling boots. I think she really enjoyed the crisp cold air and the long nature walks with her Daddy:)

Thanks again to my sis, who completely outdid herself with creating one of the most amazing Thanksgiving meals ever!!

Saturday, November 20, 2010

Monday, November 15, 2010

First Taste




This has been a long time waiting...giving little o a taste of her first real food! Granted it's not a healthy nutritious home cooked meal-just some bland baby cereal to start with- but thinking of all of the yummy foods I can make for her is very exciting! I don't think she loved the cereal-but she did like playing with the spoon, so maybe its a sign that she will be feeding herself in no time! We also did a video i chat with Nana Kathy, so that she was able to see her lovely granddaughter take her first bite...er slurp!

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Hysterics!




I keep thinking how amazing it is to see little o's developments and notice how her daily changes slowly reveal her true personality. It seems like so long ago, (but at the same time feels like just yesterday) that she could barely stare into my eyes and could hardly crack a smile.

Words could not express how lovely it was to see her finally smile for the first time. A real full on smile, letting me know she was a happy little baby bean. But this video shows one of the moments that I've been waiting for for a while now-a great big bout of laughter! Granted she gives us a bunch of giggles every now and then, but this one tops the cake!

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

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!

Monday, October 25, 2010

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

Monday, October 18, 2010

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?

Friday, October 1, 2010

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!

Thursday, September 23, 2010

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!

Friday, September 17, 2010

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.

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Say wha?






little o is trying to communicate!

Sunday, September 12, 2010

Weekly Dinner Roundup #3



This week we celebrated our 4th wedding anniversary, so we treated ourselves to a nice dinner out at The Upper West. Here is one of our dishes up above, Alaskan Halibut with mint-pear salsa on top of steamed pea shoots-it was delish!



Our dinners this week were inspired by what was available at the farmer's market. Lots and Lots of zucchini and squash-which I adore, and since there are so many varieties, it makes for an exciting meal every time.
Up above, we grilled some summer squash, and roasted some tomatoes, potatoes and cauliflower.

Sauteed Mushrooms and spinach on top of tri-color pearl couscous.

Corn, yellow squash, celery bisque

Veggie Fajitas including zucchini, red peppers, onions and mushrooms

Thursday, September 9, 2010

Happy Anniversary!


Four years ago today...I love you my darling


Photo: Suzanne Karp Photography