I don't think I am in the place where I can say anything about this without wanting to cry, or without really feeling like it's my place to say something. See, I feel like here in Alabama, far away from Paris and New York and Brussels and London and all the "big cities" we're sheltered. No one is going to target us—for all they know, we are a bunch of hayseeds. Hell, we kinda are.
But my heart is still heavy, how could it not be?
I won't try to say anything except that I love this cartoon. I love everything it stands for, everything it means.
In an old house in Paris that is covered with vines, live twelve little girls whose country still shines.
I've made this recipe a few times and it is always delicious. Don't you love those? It is fairly easy—I wouldn't put it in the crock pot, dump it all and go category, but it is not highly labor intensive with seventy billion dirty pans and bowls either.
I like this recipe for a lot of reasons. In our house we love a good balsamic vinegar, the elevation of flavors you get from an infused balsamic cannot be matched, but with this recipe I go with just a high quality dark balsamic, no infusion needed and my husband pronounces it one of the best things he has ever eaten. Literally everything this recipe calls for is in my freezer or pantry at all times.
On the level of how much we love balsamics, I love white pepper. To me, it is just a better choice when cooking. While the original recipe from which this one was born calls for black pepper, I really think the tang of the balsamic braise is highlighted better with white pepper. I also like to use chicken thighs over chicken breasts here; the flavors are really better captured.
I have served this with everything from pasta to rice, but I think I like pasta the best. As a side bonus, I can make enough pasta for the adults to pair with the chicken AND for the kids to eat with some butter. #winning
Balsamic Braised Chicken Thighs
Forgive me, apparently I need to wax my dining room table. Oops.
Ingredients
2 lbs. boneless chicken thighs
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 chopped yellow onion
1 can (14.5 oz.) diced tomatoes
½ cup balsamic vinegar
½ tablespoon basil
½ tablespoon marjoram
1 teaspoon thyme
½ tablespoon oregano
Garlic salt and white pepper, for seasoning
Directions
Heat the olive oil in a fairly large sauté pan over medium high heat. Season the chicken thighs with garlic salt and white pepper. Add the chicken to the pan, browning on both sides, about 4 minutes. Add the onion to the chicken, browning it for about 3 minutes. Smother the chicken and onions with the tomatoes (and their juices) plus the balsamic vinegar; stir well. Add the herbs one at a time, stirring well, bringing to a boil. Cover and simmer for about 20 minutes.
Currently around the Johnson Anderson house we are...
Tired. I feel like every single Sunday and Monday all I feel is tired. Like deep in the bone tired. And I have no one to blame but myself.
Rolling with the Tide! At the very last minute Mark and I were able to get tickets to see Alabama play LSU in Tuscaloosa. It was one of those spur of the moment things that fell together perfectly. We rode a chartered RV from Montgomery to the game and home, eliminating the need to find a place to stay or worry about the late drive. We made it just in time for chicken wings at my old sorority house!
This was actually the first time Mark and I were in Bryant-Denny together and I loved it.
Probably helped that the Tide absolutely destroyed LSU. I am so fired up for the rest of the season and the CFP.
While Mark and I enjoyed the glory days, I forgot how absolutely putrid fraternity houses smell on rainy game days,Fitz and Alex enjoyed a weekend at their grandparents! It was nice to have a break, since most nights I feel like the "blood splattered" Halloween cupcakes we ate after dinner all last week—just completely destroyed.
This week proves to be nothing but crazy cold and then crazy hot—seriously enough with the 54° one day and 77° the next, but I don't even care. I'll just be watching this over and over and over again.
Yes that's a 312 lb. dude casually jumping over a person to block a kick. ROLL TIDE!
Update on 15 for 2015 during the month of October, and again, I'm always so excited when I look at these each month and realize all I have accomplished. It's crazy to think this year is almost over.
15 for 2015
Hit the Pure Barre Montgomery 250 Tuck Club (Accomplished in January)
Take an entire month and not buy a single piece of clothing (or accessory) for myself(Accomplished in May)
Finally re-decorate our living room (Accomplished in April)
Update my phone software(Not that it helped anything) I actually got a brand new iPhone 6S in September!
Visit Kimber, Gentry and Saylor at the farm in Pennsylvania(Accomplished in July!)
Go home for Alabama Homecoming This was the same weekend as Fitz and Alex's birthday party, so we let this one go.
Write my Nanny once a month January: yes, sort of. February: yes! March: yes! April: No. May: No. June: yes! July: I think so, but I can't remember, honestly. August: Mailed it on Aug 31st, but yes! September: yes! October: yes!
Every year in the middle of October a group of anywhere from three to four of us from Hatton-Brown pile into an extended cab Tahoe and head north to Louisville, Ky. for GIE+EXPO, the lawn and garden industry's biggest trade show. It is exactly as much fun as you might imagine.
We always stop at LawLers Barbecue in Athens, Ala., on the way there, not my favorite if I'm being honest.This plate was decent, but the mac and cheese left a lot to be desired.
And we always belly laugh way too much at The Boobie Bungalow off exit 6 on I-65 in Elkton, Tenn. I mean seriously, what kind of strippers work south of Nashville?
Anyway, the days are long, but somehow just fly by. There are press conferences every thirty minutes, there are beer and hospitality events every night and there's always a lot of "what ifs" for the coming season.
The outdoor demo area is always my favorite. I love getting to test out the products I otherwise never will get my hands on. Like this tree lift that put me 55 feet in the air. TALK ABOUT A RUSH! I don't think I will ever tire of looking at this pictures.
But the crown jewel of our trips each year to GIE+EXPO is the extensive video coverage. This year there are four videos you can catch yours truly in.
This is my personal favorite though. My stand up comedy act in a worn men's polo with a neon yellow logo really adds something extra, don't you think?
I am going to just ignore the fact that it has been nearly one month since Fitz and Alex's big birthday, and cut right to the details.
The Saturday after their birthday, Mark and I welcomed family and friends to our little space in the world to celebrate One Wild Year.
It was everything I thought it would be and more and nothing like I thought it would be. Isn't that how parties usually go?
The food was easy and fantastic. We leaned on local barbecue maestro Johnny Ryan for smoked chicken wings and Boston butts; pasta salad sides and coleslaw from The Fresh Market.
The dessert table was one of my favorite elements, local shop Cake Designs did both smash cakes and the large sheet cake for guests. My fabulous and favorite "cookie lady" Ellen Hamilton did the most adorable animal faces and monograms for the sugar cookies.
The Watering Hole offered bottled water, Coors Light and Jungle Juice. After all, it really has been a wild year for everyone so Jungle Juice seemed MIGHTY appropriate.
I originally stressed hardcore about this party but then ended up doing everything décor-wise super last minute. I ordered a obscene amount of inflatable animals, thanks Amazon!, and they were the main focus for the party, besides the birthday boys of course. Paper products were solid green for main course and giraffe print for dessert, also from Amazon.
At nearly midnight the Thursday before the party I was up giving myself glue gun burns so we had a wreath that matched the party, and knotting jute to make a banner for the mantle.
I am my mother's child, without question.
As a party favor, guests had their choice of lollipops and/or zoo animal shaped bubbles. "This year has really blown us away." I can't help myself, I'm a writer.
I wondered for months how the smash cake thing would go. In fact, I was extremely rigid in NOT giving the boys cake before their birthday. I wanted that picture. You know the one, with the glee on the kid's face as they dove head first into the icing.
Well, obviously, Fitz and Alex's plans always trump mine and we ended up with so many great pictures and videos. It warmed my heart.
I mean, these kids of mine? They really have a way of making sure you forget about the 5am wakeups or the constant stress on our budget or my constant worrying over Alex.
Or the fact that I about drove my super crafty mother crazy handing her a bag of remnants from Joann's four days before the party, saying, hey, you can do the highchair banners, right?
__________________________
Party details:
Invitations, menu cards, thank you cards: Shelby Berry
"Party Wares": Mantle banner, plastic ware, napkins, balloons, etc.: Amazon, Michaels, Dollar Tree
Fabric for tables and high chair banners: JoAnn's
Inflatable Animals: Amazon, Amazon, Amazon
Alligator Ring Toss: Amazon
Smash Cake, Sheet Cake: Cake Designs
Animal and Monogram cookies: Ellen Hamilton (she ships!)
No one can ever accuse me of not going all out for holidays, even if it is last minute. I really need to just realize that October for the foreseeable future is going to be crazy. With Fitz and Alex's birthday in the beginning and my huge week-long work show in Kentucky in mid-October every year, the Anderson house AT BEST is going to be Halloweenified in late October.
Nonetheless, I got it done. That's what counts right?
Here's my Friday Favorites for Halloween 2015:
I love this glittery eyeball garland I got last year at Michael's. I was worried it might not hold up, but I think it turned out super cute. Ignore the one dead sunflower. As Mark would say, any excuse for the glitter.
Originally I was disappointed I didn't have six matching placements, but I have to say, I like the funkiness it adds.
This year, Dollar Tree had the cutest monsters; you know the solar ones that dance in the windowsills? I saw them and had to grab them for our preschool teachers! I got up at 5am this morning and made pumpkin chocolate chip muffins for the director and her assistant. So easy and so delicious! Recipe to come next week, since they would be perfect for November gatherings as well.
Halloween week at school was so fun! Each day had a dress up theme and since they are still too little to pick out their own costumes, I got to splurge and get a costume for today and a different costume for trick or treating! Can't think of anything more perfect for my set of monsters than to dress up as Mike from Monsters, Inc.
I saw this on Insta last week and knew I had to do it for my friends. I'm not sure if it really took, but I loved getting the BOOOZED baskets together and sending "Dracula's Driver" out in the middle of the night. We took ours on Monday of this week, but I think next year I'm going to start the Friday before Halloween weekend? Dropped by Dollar Tree, grabbed a plastic pumpkin, some fun Halloween cups, and threw in a bottle of wine from our local wine shop.
We're heading to Zoo Boo today with all four kids, and then planning on doing Halloween crafts and decorating the wagon for trick or treating. Saturday forecast has rain at night, and I'm crossing my fingers, toes and sending prayers to St. Therese that it holds off until 8.
Happy Halloween from the fuzzy blur that is Fitz and Alex!
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And we always belly laugh way too much at The Boobie Bungalow off exit 6 on I-65 in Elkton, Tenn. I mean seriously, what kind of strippers work south of Nashville?
But the crown jewel of our trips each year to GIE+EXPO is the extensive video coverage. This year there are four videos you can catch yours truly in.
The Saturday after their birthday, Mark and I welcomed family and friends to our little space in the world to celebrate One Wild Year.
The Watering Hole offered bottled water, Coors Light and Jungle Juice. After all, it really has been a wild year for everyone so Jungle Juice seemed MIGHTY appropriate. 
I originally stressed hardcore about this party but then ended up doing everything décor-wise super last minute. I ordered a obscene amount of inflatable animals, thanks Amazon!, and they were the main focus for the party, besides the birthday boys of course. Paper products were solid green for main course and giraffe print for dessert, also from Amazon. 
At nearly midnight the Thursday before the party I was up giving myself glue gun burns so we had a wreath that matched the party, and knotting jute to make a banner for the mantle.
I am my mother's child, without question. 
I wondered for months how the smash cake thing would go. In fact, I was extremely rigid in NOT giving the boys cake before their birthday. I wanted that picture. You know the one, with the glee on the kid's face as they dove head first into the icing. 
Well, obviously, Fitz and Alex's plans always trump mine and we ended up with so many great pictures and videos. It warmed my heart.
I mean, these kids of mine? They really have a way of making sure you forget about the 5am wakeups or the constant stress on our budget or my constant worrying over Alex. 
Or the fact that I about drove my super crafty mother crazy handing her a bag of remnants from Joann's four days before the party, saying, hey, you can do the highchair banners, right?
Here's my Friday Favorites for Halloween 2015:
