another week, another edition of DIG, DREAM, DROOL.  this week there are lots and lots of things that are keeping me up at night.

i have a credit at neimans that i’ve been trying to use for months – i think with the changing season it might be time to invest in these.  the question is – do i want navy?  or black?  glossy?  or matte?  and what about these to keep my toes extra warm

now that i’m back to blogging, i’m thinking of getting in on this fall party blog hop – you should join in on the fun too!

as a girl who is contemplating getting some ink for the first time, i have found Danielle’s series, Tattoo Tuesday, to be super inspirational.  i love the stories behind the artwork and the tips for picking the right artist are really helpful

i’ve been sewing up a storm in preparation for EBN’s birthday party (just about 6 weeks away) but once that’s through i can’t wait to tackle a few new projects including piping - it makes everything look so pretty and finished

26 seasons later, and i’m still watching, embarrassing but true

yum

and finally

tonight ABN and i are celebrating our 4 year anniversary – CRAZY TIME.  my mom happens to be in town visiting which means we get a night out (this is big!).  JEN’s style is always so inspirational but this outfit made me super excited to get dressed up for my own date night

i bet you thought that due to celebrating rosh hashannah there wouldn’t be a post today – but that wouldn’t be a very good way to start off the new year, now would it?  so instead, to start the year off on the right foot, it seems appropriate to talk style – mama style to be exact.  this week i’ve got 3 outfits for you (I KNOW) and they prove that while i spent a bit of time in elastic, i also tucked my shirt in a put on “a bit” of lipgloss

last friday (okay, i cheated a bit) running errands around pacifica and shabbat dinner with my father-in-law

shirt – nani’s, skirt – OLD (like high school old, it might be the only item i have ever purchased at JC PENNY), belt – forever 21.  shoes didn’t quite make the cut but if you squint you might notice i did paint my nails yellow.

i was inspired by this outfit…considering she’s tall and skinny and i’m short and not, i think i did pretty well!

gotta include a little baby style too – please excuse the crusty face, we were still getting over our cold!

tuesday – baby playgroup and a long walk

black skinny jeans – SWAY, paisley top – Forever 21, shoes (!) – TOMS.  i’m really loving the flutter sleeves – often flutter sleeves are too short or flutter TOO much (i know you know) but these are pretty heavy and substantial, a nice detail

then this happened:

because this one was up to no good

“wasn’t me”

rosh hashannah dinner

on mama: dress – Forever 21 (loving lace), belt – SWAY, flats – GAP

on kiddo: mama’s dress!

don’t worry, i’ve got more

Happy New Year from all the BNs!

PS – because i know you’ve been waiting with bated breath – the German Apple Cake Bread Pudding was AMAZING!!!  even better than the German Apple Cake – now i’m thinking this week i’m going to turn it into German Apple Cake Bread Pudding French Toast – crazy?  probably – but i never said i wasn’t crazy!

today i not only wore pants with an elastic waist – i was in my pajamas until about 1:30 when i loaded up the babe and ran to the grocery store to buy more milk, orange juice and flour – and this was after sending ABN to the store at 7:45 this morning with a long list.  the holidays are upon us ya’ll – no we’re not prepping extra early for christmas – that’s not our scene.  we’re talking the holy days and food prep is in full swing.

today was all about Nani’s Cheese Souffle (to bring to a holiday dinner tonight) and then a kuggel and my Grandma’s German Apple Cake for a lunch we are hosting tomorrow.  tomorrow i’ll be serving bagels (and all the yumminess that goes with), mimosas (or just prosecco), and berries but the kuggel and cake take advance prep.

so, without further ado, below you will find the details on how to create everything you need for a delicious jewish simcha!

Nani’s Cheese Souffle:

ingredients:

• 6 eggs
• 1lb jack cheese
• 8oz cottage cheese
• 1/2 cup flour
• 4-6 drops Tobassco
• 1 cup milk
• 1 tsp baking powdered
• 6 Tb melted butter

start by beating the eggs, then cube the cheese (and just to be clear, a pound is about double what is pictured

the recipe actually says add “any other white cheese” that you have laying around, so i added some goat and some jarlsburg – which could be argued is more yellow than white but it seemed close enough

add all the ingredients to the bowl with eggs – i put in about three times as much tobassco (which, btw, is from avery island – good trivia fact!) as the recipe calls for to add a nice, but subtle kick

be sure to grease your casserole pan then cook at 350 for about an hour – if things start to get a bit too brown on top you can always cover it with foil – but the goal is for it to get super hot so that everything melts.

start out by beating the cream cheese and butter, add the sugar and mix it more – then stick your finger in and take a lick – yum!

add the eggs and beat the mixture again

while all of this is going on, you’ve been boiling the water to cook the egg noodles, they cook mighty fast so be sure to watch them

once the noodles are cooked and drained, add the cheesey, eggy mixture and stir.  this is when you can choose to add yellow raisins or nuts – personally, i enjoy it with raisins but we didn’t have any yellow ones, only black and that just didn’t seem right.  top with either corn flakes or graham crackers or nothing (the top noodles will get crispy in the oven).  cook at 350 for an hour and a quarter.  this one is also good cold!

mix 3 cups unsifted flour, 2 cups sugar, 1/2 tsp salt, 4 eggs, 1 cup oil, 2 tsp vanilla and 1/3 cup orange juice – mixture will be runny – or at least, my mixture was runny (maybe this is foreshadowing)….blend together with mixture on low speed for one minute, then 3 minutes at medium speed.  Add 1 1/2 tsp of baking soda and 1 1/2 tsp baking powder.  Mix for one minute more.

grease a 10″ tube pan (is this a tube pan?  hmmmm) and fill with alternating layers of batter and sliced apples, beginning and ending with batter.  Bake at 350 for 1 1/2 hours.

not quite the way grandma made it.

ever since i started digging through boxes to find a photo of my freshman year dorm room – i’ve been listening to a lot of the women-based folk-rock that i used to blast from my speakers.  from about 1995-2005, if your name was ani, sarah, dar, amy and emily or katryna and nerissa - i considered you my bestie (then i moved in with ABN and i began to listen to a lot more ben, bob and johnny).  when i lived at home my dad referred to my music as whining women.  i think that’s pretty funny because i’m fairly certain that if you called ani a whining woman to her face, she’d cut you – and then sing about it.  but the reality is, there’s a lot of whining out there.

i don’t buy a lot of music but for the most part, these days i’m buying the music that will make the best dance party for me and EBN (because we have epic dance parties).  there’s a lot of black-eyed peas and lady gaga and even a bit of katy perry (the kiddo loves teenage dreams – i don’t get it).  still, even though i don’t listen to it often, my music collection remains whining women heavy and these last few days of listening to some of my most favorite has really transported me to a different time and place.

and now for your listening pleasure – i’ve got a little playlist for ya – although you’ve been warned – this music might cause you to wear tank tops and heavy eye-liner. My playlist

disclaimer: i am wearing yoga pants today.  this is not an apology – just being me being upfront and honest.  i’m proud of myself for getting out of pajamas.  my hair is big and messy (which i’m sort of into these days) and i’m also rocking a stained nursing tank top.  some days i will try to *appear* to be put together.  today is not one of those days.  

moving on.

i am a stressed out person by nature.  i have always known this to be true but it’s not something that i say out-loud often.  okay, that’s bullshit.  i think i say, “i’m stressed,” as often as i say, “i have to pee – NOW,” which is about every other second.  but i don’t characterize myself as stressed-out to other people.  does that make sense?  a couple of weeks ago though, ABN said something, casually to me about my constant stress level, and i’ve been thinking about it ever since.  turns out, dude knows me pretty well.

i’m not someone who gets stressed out by specific challenges or specific people (okay, that’s also not true, there are a few people who totally stress me out but that’s as far as i’m going with that one – because what you put online is there FOREVER).  it’s time itself that makes me stressed.  i feel as if i never have enough time.  what do i consider to be the most stressful scenario?  getting to the airport in time for a flight.  have i ever missed a flight? – of course not, that would be incredibly irresponsible.  but still, days before my scheduled trip you’ll find me sitting in a corner, biting my nails as i try to calculate what time we should plan to leave the house, pulling my hair as i determine what route we should take and gritting my teeth as i moan over what plans are going to be ruined if somehow we don’t make the flight.  for years i’ve claimed to find flying so stressful but i realize being up in the air is the easy part (i still hate it), it’s the getting there that makes me bonkers.  same goes for big events like weddings and bat mitzvahs (truth: i have no idea when i last attended a bat mitzvah but at this very moment nothing sounds more fun – do they still do the cha cha slide?).  sure i care about getting my hair just right and if my dress makes me look fat but mostly i’m sweating because i’m worried we just won’t make it in time.  it’s possible i have a recurring nightmare that we arrive just as the bride is walking down the aisle.  i can imagine, um, nothing worse.  so i leave for the airport with like 5 hours to spare (so not exaggerating) and get to the wedding before the mother of the bride and drive ABN totally nuts.  to be fair, he’s one of the slowest moving people ever so really, a happy medium would be nice.  you can see why i’m stressed.

i’m someone who craves downtime.  it’s as important to me as checking something off my list – actually, downtime is something that i have on my checklist.  a glass of red wine and the latest episode of the good wife, with my laptop closed and tucked away in my office, sounds like a gift sent from heaven.  but finding time for this break – stress. reading at night before bed – STRESS.  i’m so into my book but as i watch the minutes tick by i get flustered over how late it is getting.  every minute of reading is a minute i could be sleeping (yes, i know i’m a bit cray-cray).  after my very busy weekend more than one adult in my life (adult now = 60+) told me i should take a nap.  first of all, when? and second of all, i find naps super stressful (my naps, not EBN’s naps.  EBN’s naps are not at all stressful).  i have to work and do laundry and do sewing projects for EBN’s birthday party and if i’m napping i’m not working or doing laundry or doing sewing projects for EBN’s birthday party.  also, hello, the high holy days are like tomorrow (okay wednesday) and i should probably cook something.  and sure, if i could nap i would probably have the energy to accomplish way more – i get that, in theory – but in order to nap i’d have to relax and are you getting that relaxing is just so.not.happening?

speaking of naps – EBN is currently napping and so i should probably get back to work and that check list of mine.  reality is writing a post was on my list so in crossing that off i’m one step closer to my glass of wine.  good thing i’m getting myself a life coach…right?