Springtime

It hasn't quite been a full year that we've lived in our home, so we are still experiencing the thrill of "firsts." Because of that, this first spring here is feeling particularly magical.

First Easter hosted at our home with Mom and Dad.

Spring is such a sign of hope, a reminder that life comes from death, what's old can be new again, and that for everything there is a season. Ok, I think I covered every cliche there, right? But seriously, the first spring in a new home and neighborhood is a special thing. Much like when the first leaves begin to change colors in the fall, seeing the first bulb push its stem up through the long frozen and barren ground is like a sigh of relief. Ah, we made it; change is here.

Since we moved into our house during the summer, we missed the blooming stage of most of the plants in our yard, so we didn't have a complete sense of what everything was. Because my judgment of plants goes a little like this: "Oh, pretty flowers, you're a keeper!" "Hmm, leaves and no flowers? You must be a weed." Case in point: while cleaning out some of our flower beds, we went a little hacking crazy and pulled out what to me seemed to be ugly weedy things, which in reality were beautiful hellebores past their blooming stage.

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Whoops. But hey, I'm learning! Don't judge a plant by its flowers (or lack thereof).

Spring sometimes feels like magic to me. How can something that experienced snow and freezing temperatures for months come back to life so beautifully, effortlessly and abundantly? We planted daffodil bulbs in the fall, and I swear when the first ones started peaking through I did a little happy dance like, "Oh my gosh, they worked!"

So here's to you, Spring, for doing what you do so well. 

This season brings even more excitement as we eagerly await the arrival of our first nephew. We'll be going to New York in two weeks to meet him. We can't wait to meet you, Baby Boy T, so come on out whenever you're ready!

Chickpea + Sausage Minestrone

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Can we all just agree that it is officially soup season? It's probably been soup season for a few months for most of us, but now that most days are too cold to bear, and cold/flu season is in full swing (I'm looking at you random achy feeling that took over me yesterday!) I could be content eating soup all day every day. But I don't think the man of the house would be quite as big of a fan of that. So I try to limit myself to one (maybe two...) soup dinners per week, with lots of leftovers for lunch. 

Lately this chickpea and sausage minestrone has become a fixture in my meal arsenal. I like that it packs a lot of veggies into one meal: chickpeas, tomatoes, carrots and celery, plus I like to throw in kale or spinach leaves depending on what's in the fridge. I also like that it includes meat and a nice subtle heat thanks to the red pepper flakes, so it keeps the men happy, too! Throw in a handful of small shell pasta and a sprinkle of parmesan cheese and you'll find me oh so happy to have this more than once per week.

What's your favorite soup recipe right now? 

Here I Go Again

Here I go again going months without a peep. Not a hello, how are ya, what's happening. Not a photo. Well, I won't search for excuses, cause we all know how it goes. I'll just do a roundup of sorts so that the most recent post to no longer say "July 6" and you aren't still learning how to move a walkway (you're all pros by now, right?)

Speaking of walkway, here's what surrounds it now. We planted some moss and beautiful hostas. This photo is from July when everything was fresh and green.

We took Clover camping for the first time, and she loved it. This girl would live in water if she could.

We made a fountain for our backyard. It was fun to figure out how to make one ourselves. Plus we just can't go very long these days without a project.

We celebrated Feast Magazine's fourth birthday at a little bash in Forest Park. With the magazine's recent regional expansion, it's been fun to expand my columns and articles to cover food and people outside of St. Louis, including Columbia. Stay tuned for a super fun feature I got to write for the November issue.

We got a new couch -- and Clover promptly called dibs.

We built a fence. I repeat: WE BUILT A FENCE. Jonathan and his dad built a fence, but I improved my drilling skills and can level and plumb with the best of them now. 

It's fall, so of course we went apple picking at Eckert's. This year we were more modest in our picking and stuck with just one bag (20-25 pounds, people!). I still have a list of goodies needing to be made, but apple pie and apple crisp have been checked off the list. 

At the end of September we participated in the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network PurpleStride 5K. I say participated because "ran" would be an overstatement for me (hey, what do you expect when six weeks of "training" only amounted to three or four evening jogs?). It was a great experience nonetheless. If you want to know more about supporting an organization newly dear to my heart, go here and learn how you can help "Know it. Fight it. End it."

Last but not least, the Turturros take St. Louis! This past weekend we got to host my family for the first time in our new home. It was so sweet to hold so many people we love under one roof. We spent plenty of time enjoying a perfectly fall weekend walking in Forest Park and making the rounds of the good food our fair city has to offer--breakfast at Kayak's, Pastaria for lunch, a shopping trip to Di Gregorio's market on The Hill for Italian necessities, a few sweets to go from Missouri Baking Company, Pappy's carryout for dinner, Cucina Pazzo for brunch and a final stop at Kaldi's to caffeinate before good-byes. We never go hungry, ok? But why are weekend visits always too short?

We're off to Steamboat Springs, CO, this weekend for a five-day getaway with Jonathan's family. So I need to go figure out how to pack for the possibility of snow in October...