All about Emery

If you're looking for a recipe or any inane details about my latest run to the grocery store, you won't find them in this post. Well, unless that trip to the store includes a shot of Emery:

Otherwise, this post is ALL about Emery.

She got baptized a few weeks ago! Here she is brushing her hair for the occasion:

And here's the happy family, well, happy mom and dad, less than enthused Emery:

Gotta love this shot, too:

And of course the actual baptism!  She did great, barely made a peep and really just wanted to play with my necklace the whole time.

Among Emery's favorite things to do are finding the diaper bag and trying to get into it and confiscate the wipes:

Lunging head first into her old car seat, as well as any other car seats she sees at the nursery or YMCA childcare:

Practicing standing:

Having tea parties (with our sweet neighbor Charis in this picture):

Showing everyone how big she is ("Sooo big!"):

And doing anything outside!  This weekend we took a quick trip to "Bugapalooza" and Emery had her eye on this sporty little ride:

She's also quite the dancer / mover - anytime she plays with any of her musical toys, her hips and/or shoulder start a rockin'. Not sure if this means she's destined for dance, music or perhaps neither because maybe all one-year-olds like to move to the music?

Being a first time parent I'm hesitant to exclaim too many of the ways in which Emery is unique because I have no idea of what's "normal" and more individual ... all I know is that she is a total delight and we marvel every day at how blessed we are to have her in our lives!

(even when she does manage to get into things she shouldn't be):

The only French Bistro in Chattanooga

was open for just one night. And it happened to be in my home!

Some friends and I have begun a cooking club and this month's theme was French Bistro cooking. I had the privilege of hosting, which meant all I needed to do was select some beverages and watch my mom set the table since she was in town for visit and just itching to get her hands a little dirty. Literally - she potted petunias in my fruit bowl!

And folded napkins into flowers, among many many many other things.

I will take credit for making the placecards, though, except that they weren't even my idea.

Like I said, it was really hard work picking out two bottles of French wine.

Our appetizer was a real treat - verrine avocat, fromage blanc, saumon fume - if you don't know what that means in French, well, it means DELICIOUS.

Then we sat down and feasted on sole meuniere, Potatoes Anna and beef with carrots and plums.

We ended on a light note with a mixed green salad with cherry tomatoes, thyme, toasted baguette with chevre and a balsamic reduction ...

Before deciding it would be better to end on a decadent note - Petit Pots du Chocolat. Bon Appetit indeed!

These days,

I am reading this

Eating this

Watching Emery do this

And of course cleaning, wiping a runny nose, preventing accidents with hazards like cords and, well, cords mainly, working during naps and in the evening, going to the Y and enjoying the visit of some wonderful MI friends that allowed for this adorable photo-op:

Attention lovers of garlic and olives

Last week at Publix I tossed a whole chicken in my grocery cart because it was on sale, but had no real plans for what I would do with it. Then, a few days later I watched an episode of America's Test Kitchen in which viewers were basically lambasted for roasting anything but free-range and/or kosher birds, because apparently the general supermarket variety will inevitably turn out dry and tasteless. I've had plenty of dry and poorly roasted chickens, and I'm not sure if that has more to do with the quality of the bird or the skill of whomever is roasting it, but I wasn't about to take my chances.

So, I immediately ran to the fridge to check my bird because I could have sworn the packaging had some "free-range-type" claims on it ... and I was wrong. There was nothing free or kosher about my bird, and after Christopher Kimball's tirade, there was no chance I was throwing my de-feathered friend in the oven.

I turned, then, to my copy of How to Cook Everything and found a recipe for Chicken and Garlic Stew that looked promising, mainly because it required very few ingredients and had one of my favorite foods (not chicken) in the recipe title.

It turned out to be FABULOUS. It was even worth the disgusting endeavor of cutting the raw chicken into parts before poaching. The chicken was so moist and absorbed all the flavors of garlic, parsley and cinnamon and the garlic cloves softened in form and flavor, easily eaten on their own or smeared on a piece of crusty bread.

Then, last night we had Smitten Kitchen's version of pasta puttanesca, bursting with all the splendid saltiness of olives, anchovies and capers. Even better, you wilt arugula into the sauce at the very end, adding just a little bit of pepperiness (is that a word?) to counter all the salty ingredients. YUM.

Sadly I did not photograph either dish, and I don't like blogging without photos, so I suppose a photograph of our happy eater will have to suffice.

Grocery love

I do a lot of grocery shopping. Sometimes I go to Greenlife Grocery three days in a row and in my embarrassment I avoid certain clerks who now know me and Emery well (yesterday one seemed surprised that Emery was wearing pink, because she said "doesn't she always wear green?" ...  as if she sees her every day!) because I don't want them to think I literally visit their store almost every single day.

I think I'm a little embarrassed because I don't want to be perceived as mindless shopper. This isn't just frivolous spending, this is serious work for me! I get a limited amount of cash in an envelope each month for groceries, and when that cash begins to dwindle, well, my visits to the store actually increase in frequency because I'm terribly afraid of the envelope being empty, so I only buy just what I need for the next meal or two, waiting for inspiration to hit me for what Thursday night's budget dinner will be.

But I realize that's only part of the reason why I go so often. Deep down, I think I really just need to own up to the fact that I love grocery stores. Some people like shopping malls, I like supermarkets. I really do. I would be so sad if I didn't get to do my own shopping or peruse sale fliers. I adore wandering around and look at the cheeses, meats, produce and baked goods, even if I have no intention of buying any of it. This means I'll often get a "can I help you with anything?" from whomever is restocking the dairy case, and my answer is always "no, I'm fine!" Can't a girl just window shop?

So I don't know where all this leaves me, which means I'll close with an adorable picture of our little ham (and no, not one I got at the grocery store!)

Good thing I didn't go all out

for Emery's birthday, because she seemed more mystified than interested in her birthday chocolate cake.

Then, when I put a few Cheerios in front of her, she warmed right up and got to working on those.

It's also a good thing we celebrated her birthday a day early so that Matt could participate.  That way, if she didn't have fun (and there were times when she most definitely didn't), no big deal, not her real birthday anyway!

She almost started crying for no apparent reason after opening Auntie Shannon's lovely gift.

While on the hike, she whined for almost an hour solid in the backpack before surrendering to her confinement and falling asleep.

Yesterday, though, brought more smiles and excitement. There was a new riding toy to sit on (and fall off of).

A tea set that talks - oh so fascinating!

New books and a very hungry caterpillar to devour.

A beautiful day to sit in the park and eat Cheerios.

And a trip to the toy store!

It's cliche, but it's so hard to believe that a year ago she was this small!

Happy, happy birthday Emery - we love you!

Life is good,

especially when you get a few days of vacation in Annapolis!  Sometimes I feel like all I do at home in Chattanooga is scurry around trying to create order (how come all of the child-rearing books say that at this stage, your child will be fascinated by taking things out of containers and putting them back into containers. Putting back does not seem to be a skill my child shows any signs of mastering or even being interested in), and so getting away and having no responsibilities other than consuming all things chocolate and getting out every once in a while for a walk, shopping excursion or jog is sublime.

Emery is having a pretty good time, too!