on the Harvest Table {Gooseberry Patch giveaway!}

There's pumpkin loaf cooling on the countertop. A vanilla candle is flickering downstairs, while I pour a cup of apple cider. James Taylors October Road is playing, and oooh, the coziness.

No, it's not November - it's what I'm doing right now! I am a sucker for autumn any time of year, and when given the chance to review the new Gooseberry Patch The Harvest Table cookbook, the warmth and cozy started spreading in my heart! Gooseberry Patch is the epitome of the cozy, country living that I love, and anything harvest-y is icing. Let's take a peek inside!

The chapters speak for themselves - Hearty Autumn Brunch, Soup Supper with Friends, Simple Harvest Supper, Thanksgiving with All the Trimmings, Festive Fall Flavors, and Save Room for Dessert. In true GBP style, the pages are chock full of sweet illustrations and helpful tips & tricks. A few favorite tidbits from the pages:

 Serve your favorite yummy hot or cold dip spooned into crisp wonton cups!

Coat a muffin tin with a non-stick vegetable spray, then press a wonton wrapper gently into each cup. Spritz with a little more spray and bake at 350*  for 8 minutes, then fill.

Drop unpeeled cloves of garlic into a cup of cold water for a few minutes...

the garlic will pop right out of its skin.

As always, there are a zillion recipes I want to try. I'll be sharing a few of the ones that I did make, but know that there are SO many more. Honest to pete. But even better than the recipes are the stories behind them. Each one belonged to a grandma or auntie, was a long-standing family tradition, kept friendships close, and filled kitchens and homes with aromas of autumn. Can't you just picture a farmhouse kitchen, warm and welcoming, bursting with the smell of Country Harvest Pie, Brown Sugar Bacon Squash, Creamy Turkey Soup, Slow Cooked Stadium Beans, Parmesan Potatoes, Harvest Cider, Cranberry Orange Drops... mmmm.

The first thing I made from the Harvest Table was Brown Sugar Muffins. They were super tasty and super crumbly. But it was a good excuse to just eat the tops, since that was the only part that came out of the pan {wink}

Brown Sugar Muffins
from the Harvest Table
Gooseberry Patch

1 c. quick cooking oats, uncooked
1/2 c. milk
3/4 c. brown sugar, packed
1/4 c. butter, melted and slightly cooled
1 egg, beaten
1 c. all purpose flour
1/2 c. chopped walnuts (I left these out)
2 t. baking powder


Mix oats, milk and brown sugar in a large bowl; let stand for 5 minutes.

Smooch those cheekers.

Add butter and egg; blend well. Stir in remaining ingredients just until moistened. Fill greased muffin cups 2/3 full.

Make at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes clean.

Makes one dozen.

The sweet ladies at Gooseberry Patch sent me a copy of the Harvest Table to give to one of YOU! Hooray! Entry is easy:

• MANDATORY ENTRY: leave a comment on this post sharing one of your favorite things about Harvest season! I can't wait to hear about your favorite autumn traditions, stories, smells and foods!

Optional extra entries (leave an additional comment for each):

• Subscribe to Girl with Blog via google friend connect or feedburner (available in the sidebar)
• Like Girl with Blog on Facebook (you can just click 'like' in the sidebar)
• Follow me (@anna_r) on Twitter

That's a total of 4 possible entries. Be sure to leave your email in your comment(s) so I can contact you. The giveaway will be open until Friday, June 8th. I'll use random.org to select a winner from the comments. I'll email the winner, who then has 48 hours to reply before drawing another winner. Giveaway only open to US residents.

I'll be posting several more recipes from this new book, and keep your eyes open for another Early Bird Review soon! Like next week soon. Seriously soon. =)
-anna
{girlwithblog}

*I received free product from Gooseberry Patch for review purposes - as always, opinions are my own.

on finding balance {& giveaway winner!}

WINNER!!!

of the (in)courage I Am His jewelery set is...

celdridge May 22, 2012 10:58 PM

I follow you on twitter (like a lost puppy)

Cassie!!!! Yayhoooo!! Cassie is one of my dearest Twitter friends, Relevant11 roomie, sister of my heart. Thanks to all who entered - this was fun! I wish I could gift you all with what you said your favorite item was from the Redeemed line, but stay tuned for a Gooseberry Patch early bird review and giveaway - I have TWO coming up in the next few weeks (and they.are.good)!!

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I've wanted to do a 'day in the life' post where I document most of what The Boy and I do over the course of a day. I think would look all chunked together, like this:

4:00 - wake, nurse the Boy, fall back asleep
7:30 - get up, nurse, change & dress The Boy, change Boy's outfit due to spitup, put Boy in bouncy seat and take 6 minute shower, get dressed & brush wet hair while wearing Boy
9:30 - change my outfit due to spitup, put Boy down for tummy play, wash diapers, do compy work, read some Bible on my phone app while nursing, change Boy's dipe
11:00 - dry diapers, turn on local news show, host webinar while nursing Boy to sleep, let him pass out on me/the boppy pillow, carefully move boppy pillow over and pray he stays asleep, run upstairs and grab sleep sheep and pacifier and blanket, run downstairs and use all three to help keep him sleeping, creep away
12:30 - shovel leftovers into mah belleh, do dishes, return emails, check Facebook/Twitter/Pinterest for work, clunk away on papers piling up on my desk, all while watching video monitor like a hawk for movement
2:00 (if I'm lucky) - change The Boy's diaper, nurse him, move out to screen porch and give him nakey pack-n-play time (ooh yes. this is his new favorite thing. I think it's hilarious - he's happy for-ev-er all nakey, playing with some toys in his pnp in the breeze!) Husby comes home sometime in here and we all rejoice.
4:00 - walk to the mailbox wearing my Boy.
5:00ish - we all make supper together, eat at the table by candlelight (we've done this for a long time - it's a great dinnertime tradition), clean up and then try to get some more work done. The baby eats, and then we pass him back and forth, give him time in his exersaucer/bouncer thing, and snuggle a lot while we finish up compy work.
8:00ish - give baby Boy a bath or shower (he LOVES taking a shower with one of us!), pj's, stories, prayers, guitar time with daddy, bouncy ball time, and nursing to sleep.
10:00 - try to get everything else done, then collapse.

Well. Guess I just went and did a day in the life post, there. =)
My work and home life are completely intertwined and I love it. I have the Baby on me, with laptop and my phone in the other hand. Yes, it's wonderful to be home with my Boy, and yes, I know how 'lucky' I am to be working from home. But the thing is that it's really hard and can be stressful! I don't get a break unless Husby kicks me out, which he does from time to time - he'll give me some cash money and tell me to take a hike to a coffee shop or something.

Work and mommy-ing never stop, they keep going and colliding and it's a beautiful mess =) I love that my little Boy will see his mommy doing something that feeds her heart and soul and serves the world, and I love that I will be home with him while I'm doing it. While it is hard to balance, we keep striving for the elusive mix of work and play, all at once and all in the same space, and I would not give it up for anything.
Tell me - what are your secrets to finding that tricky balance?

-anna
{girlwithblog}


*This post is inspired by the novel Julia's Child: A Novel by Sarah Pinneo. Worried about what her kids eat, Julia Bailey starts a prepared organic toddler meals business. With names like Gentil Lentil, can Julia balance work and family and still save the world? Join From Left to Write on May 24 as we discuss Julia's Child. As a member, I received a copy of the book for review purposes.

on our fifth anniversary

We celebrated quietly, with grandma babysitting we slipped out to a bookstore, perusing the shelves then coming together for a piece of cheesecake.

We laughed throughout the day as we remembered what we were doing at that very time on that very day 5 years earlier: gathering at a local coffee shop with family & friends to start the day, arriving 5 minutes late to my nail appointment and being turned away, my bridesmaids and attendants coming together to give me a dyi manicure, gathering with our closest friends for prayer, waiting in the back of the church for an extra minute because you were so caught up that you forgot to go get our mothers, finally walking down the aisle to meet you, you leaving the stage mid-ceremony only to surprise me with a song that you penned, our first pronounciation as man and wife... What a day indeed.

These last five years we have traveled through much. Joy, pain, growth... We've come together in those travels in a way that is miraculous. We've moved away then back again, and away and back again once more. We've both started and quit and started new jobs. We've lived in an apartment, another apartment, my mom's hallway, and finally our own house. We've spent four of those years trying to make a baby, and darling, we made the best baby =) He is all the best parts of both of us.

I love you. I would meet you in that aisle everyday.

yours,
wifey

redeemed {a DaySpring / (in)courage giveaway!!}

**this giveaway is now closed**

I've been feeling a bit out of shape lately - what with having a baby, then not being able to work out walk for the last 5 months. This makes me feel not awesome about my body - even though my body is marvelous. I mean, God made a p.e.r.s.o.n. in my body! That's amazing. None the less...

I have a few tactics that I pull out when I need a pick-me-up. First, my rockin haircut - I chopped it a last month and LOVE it. When I'm able to, I blow dry it, use a dab of pomade, and I'm good. Next is simple makeup. I never ever leave without lipgloss on. I actually sort of collect them. They're in every purse I own, the car, the bathroom, probably in the couch... =)

Finally, accessories. I try to buy things that I adore, then I wear them all the time. And you know, when my pants size isn't quite what I want it to be, sparkly vintagey pretties help. Enter DaySpring.

They have a brand new line of gorgeousness that I'm a little obsessed with. The Redeemed collection features vintage inspired pieces of jewelery, home decor, outside decor, stationary and mugs, and purses. Each is sprinkled with tiny reminders of who we belong to - our great God.

Redeemed - Treasured - Bracelet

This is just as lovely as it looks. It's my new can't-leave-the-house-unless-I'm-wearing-it item. I love love love it. On the back of the medallion thingie (that's actually the technical term) it says 'treasured, II thes 2:14. It's got a really nice weight to it, and I love that the charms dangle just the right amount off my wrist - enough to feel super girly but not long enough to be annoying.

Redeemed - I Am His Necklace

And this necklace. I love it. It's a really nice adjustable length, and is super easy to wear - it goes with everything. I am grateful when I glimpse the reminder inscribed on the back - 'I am His. II thes 2:13'

here it is on me... this is the longest setting. just right!

There are SO many more lovely items in the collection - I want this and this to come live with me, and I would happily gift these to a girlfriend... A girl can dream. =)

But guess what. I do get to gift one of my girlfriends. Thanks to this months (in)spired deals, one of you will WIN the necklace and bracelet featured above!!! Yep, one 'I am His jewelery set' is up for grabs!

Here's how to enter:

• MANDATORY ENTRY: visit the Redeemed collection on DaySpring, then leave a comment on this post sharing what your favorite item is!

Optional extra entries (leave an additional comment for each entry):

• Subscribe to girlwithblog via google friend connect or feedburner in the sidebar
• Like girlwithblog on Facebook (also available in the sidebar)
• Follow me (@anna_r) on Twitter
• Visit the DaySpring Facebook page and leave some love - tell them girlwithblog sent you! =)
• Do the same for our friends at the (in)courage Facebook page - they're such a blessing!

That's a total of 6 possible entries. Be sure to leave your email in your comment(s) so I can contact you. The giveaway will be open until Tuesday, May 22nd. Random.org will select a winner from the comments. I'll email the winner who has 24 hours to reply before drawing another winner. Giveaway only open to US residents.

Isn't it lovely that we are able to wear beautiful reminders of this sweet truth? That it doesn't matter our dress size or how many pairs of jeans we can't fit into anymore but keep anyway {tell me I'm not the only one who hangs on to a lost cause}... we are lovely and redeemed and His.
-anna
{girlwithblog}
*I received free product from DaySpring for review purposes - as always, opinions are my own. Affiliate links used in this post.

on Mother's Day 2012

In lots of ways, it was a typical Sunday. We went to church, got a coffee treat on the way home, made brunch, took naps, grilled outside, had bath and bed... But today was a little different.

morning snuggles.

Today I was a mom on Mother's Day.

my babies =)

Now it's all over the web - people who don't think Mother's Day is cool. They say it's just a ploy from Hallmark and florists, and that it makes moms look greedy, and causes seperation and sadness, and is unnecessary.



pretty sure this is the face he'll make when he's a big boy and I try to steal a smooch =)

But I love Hallmark {I even worked there at two different points in my life!}. I like to think I'm not greedy. The seperation and sadness I can see, because I've been there. I'm still there, in a way. That could be it's own post. But unnecessary? What's unnecessary about celebrating people? I think it's all kinds of wonderful that there are celebrations built right into the calendar.

So today, we celebrated the extraordinary. We celebrated Sam, this lovely charming little boy who made me a mommy. There were cards and pink tulips and donuts. There were gifts of a CD Husby knew I'd love, and sweet little daisy earrings 'from' Sam. Husby wrote me a song {i. know. Swoon...} that he'll add a verse to each Mother's Day {swoon again...} Pictures were taken of our precious family and we loved our moms hard. We remembered the baby we lost, the pregnancy tests with only one line, the four years we waited...

Today we celebrated our journey.

-anna
{girlwithblog}

on identity: five minute friday

Sweet Lisa-Jo hosts a weekly linkup at the Gypsy Mama called 5 minute Friday. That's exactly what you do - write for 'five minutes flat {on the given topic} - no editing, no over thinking, no backtracking'.

And right now, Sam is asleep so five minutes is just about what I've got =)

This week Lisa-Jo's Facebook friends chose the topic of identity.

Go:

For years I wanted my identity to be mama. Even after pokes and prods and loss and grief and aches and tears, I longed for a new identity. A new name. A new purpose. And maybe that's ok, to want to change or add to your identity. Because it propels us along to (often) better things, to (often) better versions of ourselves.

But sisters, let's remember our deeper identity. We are first daughters of a great big God. We are first loved - beloved - warrior princesses. Our identities may include mama, wifey, sister, friend, employee, homemaker... but there is a primary aspect to who we are in our core.

We are His.

And if that is our only identity, it is enough.

stop

-anna
{girlwithblog}

Just Write: on loving over fear

My sweet Sam,I am a mother - your mama. I waited years to become your mother, did you know that? I worried that I would never become your mama, but I chose to love the hope of you more than I feared that worry, and endured countless finger pokes and vials of blood collected and swabs and doctor visits and vitamins and hormones and tears.

You were worth every. one.

It's 10:00 and the news is on. Your daddy wanted to see the stadium update and we didn't change the channel. You know that we don't watch the news because it makes mommy cry. There's a story right now about a 13 year old who took her own life because she was the victim of bullying and when her parents come on crying, sure enough my own tears stream.

Hers is a story I pray against being yours, and this is when it gets hard. This is when I choose love over fear. Because there are so many unknowns and horror stories that have given me nightmares and heartache, and I have to believe with all my fibers that the God who gave us you adores you and protects you and thought that your daddy and I could do the same. But when I hear of awful things happening to children, your darling face fills my mind and fear fills my heart and I can barely breathe. Then I hold you extra close or place my hand on your chest as you slumber in your cradle or smooch your cheeks and I relax, and breathe, and choose loving you over fear.

When you are bigger, my precious baby Samuel, you will run and play with your doggie and get dirty and bring bugs home and you will stay out late and play sports and go on dates and you will move away and love other people and I will still choose loving you over fear.

I would do anything for you, my dear baby boy. I would do finger pokes and medical procedures and I think my latest surgery is a little bit of proof =) and I would do no sleep and I will cry when you cry and do diapers and late nights and worries and dirty floors and love you right down to when it hurts.

I adore you,
mama
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This post is linked up with my friend Heather. Take a moment to read other freely written posts at her Just Write link-up.