{week 35}

I cooked a lot this week. I mean, I cook a lot every week, but this week I photographed it. And by photographed, I mean grabbed my phone with a greasy hand to take a picture. It was pretty yummy stuff. Warm pasta salad with summer squash, eggs in hash brown nests for make ahead breakfasts and stir-fry (that one I totally made up, so there's no link to a recipe). In addition, I ate one of the best peaches I've ever had. Good gracious. It tasted like summer.

We also "camped" in the backyard on Sunday afternoon, complete with bathing suits, bubbles, lawn chairs and koozies. The rest of the week was a blur of school, chocolate smeared all over our faces, dance moves, camouflage hats with flash lights in them, upside-down playground madness, a Fancy Nancy dinner all dressed up by our two fabulous daughters, a Lumpkin family reunion and gearing up for the first Georgia game of the year - complete with a new rhinestone enhanced baseball cap for Mommy. Priorities, you know?

We're settled in to the school year schedule. Up early and to bed early, which suits me just fine. Cassidy is still l-o-v-i-n-g kindergarten, Kalea comes home with a handful of crazy three year old stories every day and Cade seems to enjoy the peace & quiet that comes when his big sisters are at school. I'm enjoying the time with just my little guy & scheming up projects, recipes, birthday parties and other crazy things to occupy my time while Michael is looking forward to football season &, well, football season. What a great way to end August.

project 365 photo: 02.06.2011

SuperBowl cuties.

project 365 photo: 02.05.2011 {chocolate covered strawberry footballs}

I'm stealing this idea from a fellow blogger. Unfortunately, I didn't bookmark the page & am sorry not to give credit. However, this is a fun, fast, yummy treat for tomorrow's SuperBowl party.

Ingredients 

• strawberrries
• bark chocolate chopped in small pieces
• tube of white decorating icing with a small tip

Instructions

• Place the chocolate in a double boiler. Stir occasionally, until melted, 3 to 5 minutes. Remove from heat. If you’re using the microwave instead of a double boiler heat the chocolate in 20 second intervals, stirring each time.
• Line a baking sheet with waxed paper. Pick a strawberry up by its stem and hold the leaves back. One at a time, dip each strawberry in the chocolate all the way up to the top and twirl to coat. Place coated berries on the waxed paper.
• Chill the chocolate dipped strawberries at for a few minutes to set the chocolate. 
• Decorate the strawberries to look like footballs! Draw a line down the center & another few horizontal lines in the middle.

go dawgs!

1st game of the season & we're ready!

(additionally I want add a "We are! Penn State! to the end of this post! xoxo to my family in PA!)