Elizabeth Hill Cottage

Hey!

What's happenin' friends? Whatchya up to today?

AAAAaaaargh! It's so rainy here. It was nice when I was snuggled up in our attic bedroom listening to the rain on the roof, but now that I'm downstairs in our playroom/office? It's much less cozy and more......I don't know.....wet.

I was hoping to take the Noodle tromping through the woods today, but that's not going to happen, I think. And we never got that cake made yesterday. Noodle was invited over to the Sparkplug residence for a play date.

Oooo! A long time ago, Sparkplug Mom shared a picture of what the tile work would look like in her bathroom! Well, they're almost done and it looks JUST like the picture! Wanna see the picture?

Their sink and mirror isn't the same, but Sparkplug Dad totally recreated the tile work (The photos you see are a display at the tile place.) Isn't it just a great-looking room? Sparkplug Dad totally gutted the bathroom and has done all the work himself. That's one handy dude. And Mom has such great taste. I tell ya, they are the greatest family!

I took Franklin over there to drop the Noodle off and he was oh-so-happy to see all of the Sparkplugs! Then I took him back to our house and fed him some carrots, banana and crackers. He loved it! He was kicking his little leggies and chatting to me.

Here's a gratuitious Franklin shot:

SIGH......isn't he just the cutest? Believe me - those cheekers got LOTS of smoochies yesterday.

So I made that soup. Deelish. Roasted Tomato Basil from The Barefoot Contessa cookbook. Soooooooo good.

I've been in such a cooking mood since the weather has turned, but believe you me, it hasn't been like this in a looooong time. The Noodle is such a picky eater that I end up feeling like a punching bag at meal time. In fact, she made a face at the potatoes the other day and I let her have it.

Here's the deal at our house: You take one bite of everything. Don't like something? Fine. Just find something on your plate that you like and eat it, dammit! I'm not fighting with you and I'm not making you a separate dinner! I got this tactic from my dear friend, MJ. And every other day or so, I serve something I know the Noodle will like. So why is it so hard for her to get this? Still! I get a scrunched up face coupled with a whiney voice! I let her know how rude this is (for the umpteenth time) and told her she'd better not react like this at someone else's house! I'm sure she does, though.

Oh! Speaking of which: Mrs. Jones, you had to have seen Oprah when Jessica Seinfeld went on there and gave Oprah a taste of YOUR SPINACH BROWNIES!!! I hope she BOUGHT that recipe from you!

Okay. Today? We need to make that cake. I have a chocolate cake mix on hand from Target - their Archer Farms brand. It's the best cake mix out there, people. Then, I'm going to make the scratch buttercream from The Barefoot Contessa.

Then? We are cleaning this playroom. I started the other day and then someone called me and invited me to go for a walk with them. And exercise is more important than cleaning, right? Right. Especially for ElChubbo here.

Oh! I will leave you with a picture of the Clematis from my garden!

Oh! And some chinese lanterns!

Question: Does anyone out there know if these dry well?

Have a great day!