Jumbo Gumbo

Inspired by our trip to NOLA, the last of the rapidly freeze-burning okra (from our garden), the chilly day, and my somewhat new found love for sausage. I decided to try making some gumbo last Sunday.

The frozen okra I just spoke of.

The sausage (I think this part is self explanatory)

The beginning of my roux.

Onions, tomatoes, etc. together and ready to simmer.

A big bowl of delicious! Jerod loved this and it was pretty easy, I think I will be making variations of it again.

oh-the recipe is from here. I tend to use the same cook books a lot.

6th Anniversary Trip: New Orleans, LA

With our anniversary being so close to Christmas (two weeks after) and no need to buy each other an additional present Jerod and I typically try to take a few days off of work to get away and relax. This year (a few weeks after our anniversary proper) we drove to New Orleans, LA!!!!!!!!!!!!! The drive took about 11 hours and wasn't too bad, on the way there we went the back way through southeastern OK, the corner of AR, and into LA and the way home we went the more direct route of LA into TX and up into OK. We had a wonderful time, weather (except for small rain storms and a horrible rain storm on the drive home), food, everything! Here are some of the highlights.

We stayed a beautiful hotel (the Place De Armes) right by Jackson Square.

Did tons of walking and exploring during the day.

Went to the Marie Laveau museum

The aquarium

Rode the trolley (sorry!!! STREETCAR) through the Garden District. It was cool to see people starting to put up their Mardi Gras decorations.

Went on a National Parks Service tour of the river front. It was cold that morning but our tour guide was excellent! I would recommend this tour to anyone.

Ate and drank (or maybe it was the other way around?)

. . .and went for a night time Ghost Tour. Not that spooky but very informative. Supposedly, most people have "orbs" or abnormalities show up in the photos they take during the tour. . .we did not. Although, my friend Megan showed me pictures her brother took on the same tour and that had tons of orbs, so who knows.

Goodbye NOLA. . .the Belteau-Gerfen's had fun.

All You Can Eat Buffet

Over the weekend I got busy sanding, painting and otherwise revamping the hand-me-down buffet we have been using for the last five years. This little guy was my grandparents (I've mentioned their/our other dining room furniture here) and has been painted at least twice, once blue and once white with varnish over the paint. The white version, with aged and yellowing varnish, is what we had kept it as up until now.

Aside from the discoloration of the paint it had a few chips, cracks and problems, both from us and it's tenure in my grandparents attic.

After sanding, painting and new hardware it is looking fresh and lovely!!!!!

This buffet make-over is also making me realize I need to do some work on the dining chairs. I will take some complete shots of the dining room after I work on the chairs. . . but . . . one thing at a time.

End of Summer

The last two weekends have been beautiful! The oppressive heat of the summer broke (although we hear it is heating back up this coming week) and has led to open windows, walks, and a renewed interest in almost everything. . .including this blog.

I thought I would share a few of my favorite pictures from the last few weeks.

Enjoy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Miss Molly (A Secret Knitting Project)

On December 22nd my niece Molly was born! A few weeks before she was born I visited my family in Colorado and took some pre-birth presents to Molly. I have knitted a blanket and hat for both of my sister's other children (Owen and Wyatt) and was not about to stop for her third.

My sister and her husband choose not to find out the sex of their babies so I always try to pick gender neutral colors for these projects, since I complete them before they are born. I also use 100% cotton since I am never sure what type of allergies or skin sensitivities a kiddo might have. On top of feeling good cotton is easy to wash and dry which is nice for kids stuff. For Molly's blanket and hat I used white, yellow and two tones of grey (I have since become obsessed with this color combo. . . you all may see it crop up in a latter project). In my attempt to stay gender neutral I made a detachable flower for the hat, which has come in handy! I used a traditional log cabin pattern for the blanket. You can find a good explanation of this pattern in this book.

I have used a variation on this hat pattern more times than I can count . . . You can find it in this book. And of course I had to include a picture of the adorable Miss Molly Katherine Hobgood all dressed up!

Manly Aprons (A Suprise Sewing Project)

A while ago my sister suggested that I make my nephews (4 1/2 & almost 2) washable aprons with lots of pockets. I thought it was a great idea and made each of them kid sized, canvas aprons. On both aprons I used snaps to make the neck and waistband adjustable and easy for my older nephew to get on and off himself. Also, the large and long pocket combined with the tall pocket should provide room for tools, cooking utensils and or both!


Somehow I only ended up with a picture of one of the boys modeling his apron. . .I will have to try to get a shot of the other one later.