Fall Soup Challenge

For the next month or so, I decided to challenge myself with making one fall soup a week. Last week, Pete and I made a delicious veggie and rice soup. Today-even though it is sunny-I made a Spicy Sausage soup. The recipe is below...I will continue to share the best of the soup recipes in the coming weeks. Have a Souper weekend! ;0

Spicy Sausage Soup (for crock pot)

5 1/2 cups chicken broth

1/2 cup heavy cream

3 carrots (grated))

8-10 yukon gold potatoes (cubed)

1 lb. spicy Italian sausage (browned) (I used spicy italian chicken sausage from Trader Joe's)

3 cups kale (chopped)

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. crushed red chili pepper flakes

1.) Combine broth and cream

2.) Add potatoes, carrots, kale, and sausage

3.) Sprinkle spices over top.

4.) Cover and cook on high for 3-4 hours, stirring occasionally.

FALL FEVER

our front door! :)

I think I fell a little more in love with Pete when he came in to the kitchen today and said, "Man I love fall days!" This comment was music to my ears-even though-his love for fall stems from the never-ending football games that invade our TV 24-7. He recently set us up on direct TV (we now have a hideous dish attached to our deck rail). This new TV set up gives us "NFL SUNDAY TICKET" which basically (according to pete) lets him watch every football game known to man. He even can set it up so the TV will flip back and forth to multiple games at the same time. OH BOY!

Even though it is hard for me to admit it...football is one of the reasons I love fall. I love hearing football on TV while I burn fall-scented candles and make fallish meals or treats in the kitchen. I love the way the weather changes and the air feels. I love busting out new coats and boots and turning up the heat in my car. I love it that Pete just brought us home a pumpkin spice and gingerbread lattes from Peet's coffee. AND I love taking Nellie for walks in the park and watching the leaves change.

There are many times while living in the Pacific NorthWest that I say, "Man I miss the sunshine!" or "Ug I'm sick of this rain!" BUT when fall rolls around-I fall back in love with this area and all the seasons we get to experience. If you know me...you know I get fall fever BAD. It is here and I'm ready to indulge!

Cherries!

“Life is a bowl of cherries. Some cherries are rotten while others are good; its your job to throw out the rotten ones and forget about them while you enjoy eating the ones that are good! There are two kinds of people: those who choose to throw out the good cherries and wallow in all the rotten ones, and those who choose to throw out all the rotten ones and savor all the good ones.”

This past month-Pete and I have had a few "rotten cherries" show up in our bowl of life....a couple losses and some stressful weeks ended up leaving us feeling pretty down. This past week, we have the luxury of staying home together, relaxing, sleeping in, and catching up around the house... it has been rejuvenating and healing. We've had lots of time to talk, reflect and focus on the "good cherries" in our life. We've also realized again just how blessed we are with so many supportive family and friends. Your encouraging words and thoughts have meant so much to us!

I've always has a positive outlook on life. I guess I would say that I have always thought that "life really is a bowl of cherries!" and that the "glass is half full". As I've grown up, I have realized that life is not always a bowl of cherries and that nobody is immune to the hard times and sad moments of life. I believe it is a personal choice how you choose to face these challenging times. It is so easy to wallow in self-pity-I've been there. It is so easy to be angry and lose the skip in your step-I've been there too. IT takes work to get back on the saddle and trust that God does not give you more than you can handle. God makes sure our bowls are full of some pretty delicious cherries.

So as we prepare to start another week, I'm focusing on savoring all things good and promising in life. I encourage each one of you to pick out the plump cherries in your bowl and put those rotten ones right down the garbage disposal! :)

Sleep Tight

As you most of you know, I'm a planner. I plan out my days, my nights, my weekends, and my free time. I really can't help myself-it is just my nature. So you can imagine that when I came home Saturday am from work to find my parents sleeping in my guest bedroom-I was very SURPRISED! They decided to drive to see us last minute....we loved it!

It was a spontaneous weekend. They helped pete and I install shelves in our closet so that we could make the most of of our teeny tiny space-it was a huge success. Saturday night-we went out for a delicious dinner at Noble Rot and took in a stunning view of the city. AND today (sunday), My mom and I went to see a movie while my dad and pete golfed.

Last, but not least, my mom and I finished a house project. Awhile back, I blogged about our revamping on the guest bedroom. The finishing touch to this revamping was hanging letters to spell "SLEEP TIGHT" over the guest bed. My mom, my dear friend Wendi and I have been collecting letters since February in all shapes and sizes. My mom even painted some of the letters all cute and funky. So we got them all up on the wall and it looks exactly how I wanted it (pic)-thanks to my super creative mom.

I love a weekend that is planned and falls right in to place, but I also love it when things take you for a whirl and you fall asleep sunday night feeling satisfied by events that just took shape unexpectantly. It had been a long week for me and my parents "popping by" was just what I needed. Now.... I need a good night of zzzz's-Sleep tight everyone!