Just call me Julia...

Hold on to your apron strings. Yesterday some friends and I headed out to the new Viking Cooking School in Ridgeland to take a pasta-making class. 3 letters--F-U-N. The class lasted 3 hours, and by the time we finished, I FINALLY knew how to properly chop onions and tomatoes. I have had an epic struggle with my cutting board for years, so this was a huge accomplishment for me. I can also throw around terms like "chiffonade" like it's my job. Fancy schmancy, right?

Aprons on and ready to go

Knocking out some homemade farfalle pasta. That's bowtie pasta to all you culinary laymen.

Yes, it looks homemade. That's because it is.

Fresh mozzarella, basil, and tomato to go with our farfalle. Delish. (And I don't even like tomatoes.)

My friends showing off their knife skills.

Attempting to cut a tomato properly.

Isn't the kitchen gorgeous? I think I'll put it on my Christmas list.

Homemade ravioli with goat cheese and herb filling. I could have eaten the filling by itself.

The finished spread: Farfalle with Fresh Mozzarella, Basil, and Vine-Ripe Tomatoes

Linguine with Peas and Feta

Goat Cheese and Arugula Ravioli with Tomato-Pancetta Butter

My plating technique leaves something to be desired, but it's not like I'm on Top Chef or anything.

After cooking our meal, we sat down and enjoyed our food with a glass of wine. How very European of us. I know one thing--I will be going back. I want to take one of their cookie classes, and I'd love for a group to go to their date-night.

Bellissimo!

Looking for a house?

You can have ours. Well, you can't actually have it, but you can buy it. We're attempting to sell our house, so if any of you out there need a cute house or know someone who's looking, please send them our way. I'm not going to put our address up for obvious reasons, but leave a comment if you're interested or know someone who might be!

The stats: 1600 sq. ft., 3 bed, 2 bath, new roof and AC in 2007, open floor plan, formal living and dining, Viking ice-maker, and a fenced-in backyard.



Description: Charming 3 bedroom, 2 bath home in family-friendly neighborhood. Kitchen and baths completely renovated with new cabinetry, lighting, and tile floors. Great bar with built-in wine rack and Viking ice-maker. Hardwood floors throughout. Large, fenced-in backyard with fantastic deck. Open floor plan makes this house great for entertaining indoors and out.


I love my house. Really, I do. We'd just like to take advantage of current rates and move on to our 2nd, yet-to-be-found home. (And no, we're not moving from our present city.)


So that's it--my shameless plug to sell my house. The end.

Kitchen

Kitchen

Bar

The Mom Purse...

You know that scene in One Fine Day where Michelle Pfeiffer's character saves the day by whipping out her mom purse? At the time I thought that the scene was such a ridiculous exaggeration. I know better now. I was searching for my keys today, and I had trouble finding them...because they were buried in the bottom of a humongous tote that resembles Santa's gift sack more than a lady's handbag.

The contents: 1 wallet, 1 travel wipes case, 1 diaper, 1 Capri Sun, 1 bag of Pepperidge Farm Goldfish, 1 calendar, 3 lipsticks/glosses, 1 toy car, 2 children's books, 1 coupon organizer, 2 rubber bands, 4 bobby pins, 1 bracelet, 1 compact, 1 pack of gum, 1 bottle of perfume, 1 comb, and a cell phone.

I think I need an intervention.

One last summer trip...

First of all, thanks so much to all of you who answered my complaint and gave me some really good suggestions for cute boys play clothing. I'm definitely going to place an order with Make Mine Monogrammed. I also wanted to clarify that I'm not above Target or Wal-Mart for play-clothes. I just have to wade through the racks to find things that I like.

The fam and I just returned from our last official summer trip. We made a return trip to Point Clear, AL, for a 4 night stay at the Grand Hotel. I'm too lazy right now for a play-by-play, so I've summed things up by numbers.

10,000--the very lenient estimated number of calories I ingested. The diet and exercise program starts tomorrow.

1-ice cream sandwich for Sam

He liked it...a lot.

3-number of people on a two-seater bike. Sam was the third. It may have been the most-embarrassing parental situation Anthony and I have gotten into so far. Emphasis on the "may."

7-number of times we escorted Sam down the awesome waterslide.

6-number of times Anthony went down by himself.

31-Anthony's age.

9-fruity drinks consumed. (That number may be fudged a little.)

25-bedtime stories read to Sam.

A million-number of peanut butter and jelly/grilled cheese sandwiches eaten.

20-approximate number of hours spent poolside.

20-number of minutes Sam slept today. Not good.

120-number of minutes Sam cried on the way home today. Not fun, people. Not fun at all.

2-number of times Sam fed the ducks.

We had a great time, and I do really love the place. It makes your stay even better when you have a fabulous set of grandparents who will entertain your child so that you can rest. If I were you, I'd definitely invest in 2 good sets of grandparents. They're super handy.

I don't get it...

The chunk munk needed a new stroller, (since we were super smart and left the old one on our carport to mildew) so I headed out to buy him some new wheels this morning. I really do love places like Babies 'R' Us and Target. Even if I only need one item, I'll still check out all the gadgets, clothing, and toys their marketing geniuses dangle in front of me. However, these establishments seriously lack in one area--boys' play clothes. As my friend Laura stated--"all little boys' clothing is orange, brown, and green, and is usually adorned with a dinosaur playing basketball." She's right...quite literally, in fact. Anthony and I were in the Osh Kosh outlet and found a brown t-shirt with a dinosaur playing basketball on it. We had a good laugh over that one.

I know my child is male. I get it. He is supposed to like trucks, football, and frogs. But I don't think that he should automatically dress like he's a 13-year-old with serious fashion issues, nor do I think a 1-year-old looks cute in a t-shirt the color of mud with some sort of graffiti font splashed across it. We wear a lot of john-johns and appliqued stuff around here, but I hate to risk messing that sort of thing up with everyday wear. I would love to find some cute, age-appropriate play clothes that don't have monster trucks or some other heinousness all over them. Maybe I'm the one who's wrong here, but I want my little boy to look like a little boy. Am I nuts?

You girly moms have no idea how good you've got it--until she's 12 and wants to wear all that Hannah Montana crap. Have fun with that.

Don't you forget about me...

"Dear Mr. Vernon: We accept the fact that we had to sacrifice a whole Saturday in detention for whatever it was we did wrong. And what we did was wrong. But we think you're crazy to make us write an essay telling you who we think we are. What do you care? You see us as you want to see us."

I don't usually blog about current events, but I felt I would be remiss if I didn't talk about John Hughes' passing. This man wrote and directed some of my favorite movies of all time--Ferris Bueller's Day Off, The Breakfast Club, Sixteen Candles, and Pretty In Pink. His movies were always composed of hip, smart, and super-witty characters who did all the things that you wish you could have done in high school. Who wouldn't want to blow off school, "borrow" a fabulous car, and spend the day in Chicago with your best friends? Oh, and I forgot...completely take over some kind of an Octoberfest parade, hop on a float, and sing "Twist and Shout."

He was the original "teen movie" guy, and he did it right.

As a friend of mine said, "I hope he's entering heaven with a Judd Nelson fist pump to the air, and 'Don't You Forget About Me' playing in the background."

I couldn't agree more.

******

Last night the Sherman fam went to Fondren After Five. A friend of ours bought Brent's, the old-fashioned soda shop/drugstore that has been a Jackson establishment forever. The store was in danger of closing for good, so we were thrilled to hear he bought it.

They're doing a slight remodel, and the old cash register was set to the side. Guess who found it?

I have never in my life seen a kid who likes electronic devices as much as he does. Phones, computers, remotes, etc. He goes into a little trance and starts punching away, and he had a grand ole time with his very own scanner and register. If you go grab a milkshake and a Brent's burger any time soon, maybe Sam can ring you up.

Hodge Podge

I warn you--this post has no continuity or linear train of thought.


First of all, I appreciate all of you who stopped by the Holllywood Baby trunk show on Monday. I know that most people aren't as familiar with this line, but it is SERIOUSLY cute. The website and brochures don't do it justice. Every single piece is completely customizable, so it's a lot of fun to pick out stuff for little ones. I'm obsessed with the corduroy cuffed pant that they sell, so if you see Sam this fall, chances are he'll be wearing a pair.


Don't have a whole lot going on at our abode right now. We're squeezing in some last minute summer fun and getting ready for football season and fall. My mother did find Sam this cutesie Bailey Boys outfit, which I am also obsessed with:

It's a seersucker baseball uniform complete with pinstripes. Love it.

In other random news...when I was pregnant with Sam, one of my best friends gave me the best nursery/lullaby cds. They're called Rockabye Baby! This line takes popular bands and turns their songs into lullabies. They have saved my sanity. You can only listen to "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" so many times. Anyway, I had the U2, Beatles, Led Zeppelin, and Coldplay cds. Today, I discovered that iTunes now has all of them available for purchase. I spent a good 30 minutes putting together Sam's ultimate sleepytime cd--he now has lullaby renditions of The Beatles, The Cure, The Rolling Stones, George Strait, Garth Brooks, Johnny Cash, The Beach Boys, Radiohead, The Smashing Pumpkins, Queen, Dave Matthews Band, Pink Floyd and Journey.

Can you say awesome? If you are preggo, I highly recommend making this purchase.

Lastly, other blog friends have talked about using Blurb.com to turn their blogs into books. Well, I did it. I turned a year's worth of blogging into an awesome family yearbook. I chose the 8 x 10 hardcover with dust jacket, and I threw in the premium paper and 2 day shipping. (I'm not patient.) Total cost for 117 pages? $58. I am really proud of it. The book turned out great, and I've now earned the right to say I'm published.

In the future, I'll try my best to have an actual reason to post. I'm not promising, though.