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Cherry Chocolate Chip Cookies {and other threats to your thighs}

June 15, 2012 by Edie Wadsworth 22 Comments

I blame this all on Sara.

She brought these cookies to our house on the 3rd of June and I’ll never forget the look in her eyes.

She knew what she was doing to me and she did it in cold blood.

And I was skeptical at first. Cherry? In my chocolate chip cookies? I don’t know about that right there.

And sprinkled with salt? (okay, fleur de sol but whatevs)

Where I come from we don’t sprinkle our cookies with salt.

But I’m here to tell you that this cookie connoisseur didn’t know what hit her.

I haven’t been quite the same since.

Whatever you do and for the love of all things toned and slim, do not, and I repeat DO NOT make these cookies under any circumstances.

If you ever hope to wear a swimsuit in the full light of day, you’ll take me at my word.

Now, for the rest of you, here’s the recipe. Make at your own risk.
I don’t want to hear your sad stories of how your husband found you in your closet hunkered down with a plate full of these.

I’ve got my own cherry chocolate chip cookie problems to deal with.

Thanks a lot Sara 🙂

(The recipe is apparently from Metropolitan Bakery in Philly!)

Ingredients

1 Cup Rolled oats

3 Cups All-purpose flour

1 3/4 tsp Baking powder

1 1/2 tsp Baking soda

1 1/4 tsp Salt

1 1/2 Cups Butter

1 1/4 Cups Sugar

1 3/4 Cups Brown sugar

3 Eggs

1 1/2 tsp Vanilla

3 1/2 Cups Chocolate chunks

1 1/4 Cups Dried tart cherries

1 1/4 Sea salt

Directions

Grind oats into fine flour (food processor)

Sift flour, baking soda,and baking powder.

Add oats and salt.

Using mixer, cream butter and sugars until light in color and texture (about 3 minutes).

Add eggs one at a time.

Stir in vanilla.

Add flour mixture until combined.

Fold in chocolate and cherries.

Sprinkle each cookie with sea salt.

Bake @ 350 for 15 – 18 minutes.

Take a little journey to cookie heaven on first bite.

Hey girl…..

June 12, 2012 by Edie Wadsworth 55 Comments

Edited to add: I joined my friend Rhoda’s summer porch party and added a few pics of my screened porch to this post!

In case you’re on the fence about homeschooling this year, I thought this might help push you right over the edge.
You’re welcome.

Homeschoolers? Bringing sexy back. One over due library book at a time.

And btw, Ryan Gosling? Homeschooled.

🙂

xoxo

Here’s more where those came from!

Our (slightly nerdy) Summer Plans

June 8, 2012 by Edie Wadsworth 37 Comments

My girls just finished 5th grade. That means I’ve homeschooled them for 4 years—-even through a family tragedy—–and somehow managed to keep us all alive. I was hanging on by a thread at the end of this school year. I wanted it to be over. I wanted to do anything but finish. But we plowed through and we did it. Can I get an amen? Can someone do a hitchkick for me?

In most subjects, we finished our 5th grade books in March and started new books. Even so, I think I was done in March. But then summer quickly comes to the rescue with her water sports and lazy garden mornings and perfect June nights. It took 2 days for me to realize that I don’t do free time very well. So, I’ve got a (slightly nerdy) plan.

We will be studying the ancients next year in history (the Isrealites, Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans) so to prepare for it I enrolled the girls and I in a Greek Mythology class offered online by Duke University. (Thank you for the recommendation Miss Kimmy!) We started it this week along with reading the Odyssey. We try to do our reading/mythology along with our house chores in the mornings and then we have the rest of the day to play. The Odyssey may in fact be the greatest piece of literature in the Western tradition. I’m gonna highly encourage you to read it this summer. I sweet talked my book club into reading it with me too. C’mon, you know you want to.

Well, to my girls’ great delight, the course we’re taking deMANded that we watch My Big Fat Greek Wedding as part of one of the lessons this week. And as much as I loathe tv, we did. LOVED it all over again.

To prepare myself for this years’ teaching, I’m taking some online courses myself. The web site is called The Great Courses and offers lectures in almost any area of specialty you can think of—taught at the college level and self-paced. I’m currently taking Ancient Egyptians, The Odyssey, The Night Sky (the girls and I are doing astronomy next semester!) and Classical Mythology. I stayed up until midnight last night (which is UNHEARD of for me) to finish my 2nd astronomy lecture and gaze longingly at the night sky. The lectures are fantastic and I’m giddy about all this scintillating information.

But then again I’m nerdy like that. I hope we can still be friends.

To balance it all out, I listened to Pink on my run this morning and ate cherry chocolate chip cookies for breakfast.

We’re also listening to the Hobbit when we jump in the car to run errands in preparation for its December 2012 movie debut.

Besides that, we’re doing a lot of free styling in the arts, crafts and water sports categories.

We’ve also taken to some serious popsicle eating.

And when we can’t be found on the screened porch reading or eating popsicles, we’ll be down at the basement porch in one of the rocking chairs. I’ve got it set up all Cracker Barrel style down there with the rockers all in a country row. Come on over and sit awhile!

I could talk Odysseus all day long, baby 🙂

xoxo,

your geekiest friend ever,

edie

p.s. I’m registered for the Circe Conference in July (in Louisville, KY) and wondered if any of you are going? It’s 8 tickets away from being sold out. I think it’s going to be epic. This talk by Andrew Kern called “You Are What You Behold” is so inspiring and pushed me over the edge of wanting to hear more of this same life/educational philosophy. Hurry and register!

Around the House, summer edition

June 7, 2012 by Edie Wadsworth 68 Comments

Did I mention I love summer? I’m working on a post to tell you all about what we’re doing this summer but in case I never finish it, you should know that I love summer with all my southern soul. In fact, this house is really at its peak in summer. It’s a summer house extraordinaire. I love it in spring and fall and even in winter but this house has summer written all over it.
I thought I’d share some of its summer glory with you.
We had company this weekend and my outdoor table has the most gorgeous piece of driftwood for a centerpiece, that came right out of our own lake.

If you come over to eat, be careful not to impale yourself on it–but other than that, it’s pretty cool.

And how could I withhold this image from you? Stevie meets me here every night for a little wine and some chitty chat. When the sun sets over the lake, the back side of our house is toasty. But this side? All kinds of heavenly. And we talk about gardens and flowers and chickens and kids and how in the world we ever got this lucky.

And this is what we see if we look to our left.

The screen porch is so pretty and peaceful this time of night too. The girls and I sat out here for our reading time last night.
And in the full light of day….

On the inside, I’ve been working like mad trying to finish all the details of the house. My house has been lacking the final touches that only fabric can give so I’m finally getting there. Fabric is so hard for me. I’ve been hamstrung trying to decide how many different colors and patterns one person is allowed in their house. And then do more than that. 🙂
Here’s a peek at the window treatments in the master bedroom. You’ll have to excuse the fact that the headboard and side tables aren’t here yet.

I did simple pinch pleat white linen, which I love against the charcoal walls.

I’ve been getting a few things framed and setting up my summer cocktail bar!

Here it is from farther back……

The living room panels and blinds were installed this week too.
And I’ve had a few things reupholstered.

This cute little stool in a fabric I bought on OKL about a year ago.

Then there’s this chair……

And this ottoman in the lovely Schumacher dragon fabric….

I’m still waiting for a chair to be delivered in here and a few pillows to be added.

After such a long, stressful year, it’s so good to see it all come together.

And kept in its proper perspective, it’s beautiful to enjoy the good gifts from God, whether they be a delicious meal, a gorgeous fabric, or a night on the screen porch reading The Odyssey with the girls.

This brick and mortar is temporary but what we do behind these walls is eternal.

May He grant us the wisdom to live well.

To not take it for granted—but instead to relish it, drink it in deep and then share the overflow of that joy with others.

*****************************

I love Pearl Jam and Stevie’s been taking me out on the boat for short night rides while he plays my favorite PJ tunes.

This one is our summer song.

It’s a good reminder when life gets hard—and it always gets hard.

Just Breathe.

Welcome, summer. I hope you stay a good long while.

Dance Recital 2012

June 4, 2012 by Edie Wadsworth 25 Comments

This is our 7th dance recital. I’ve been wondering all these years if my girls would REALLY ever be able to dance. I can tell you without hesitation that their performances were so inspiring that I could barely believe it. We finally see the fruits of all those years of practice. They’re really good. Stevie got verklempt more than once during the recital and the only reason I didn’t get verklempt was because I was running back and forth between backstage and the auditorium helping them change costumes and forcing them to breathe and drink water—-all the while, trying to capture the moments on camera and video. I still haven’t recovered. 🙂

Emme is 11 and takes ballet (mostly with 14 and 15 year olds), jazz, irish, tap, clogging and progressions. She has blossomed this year and has such grace while she dances, making it look effortless. She’s always had a certain purposeful restraint in her dancing but is full of poise and has natural perfect posture. We are so proud of her for all her hard work and practice. She is such a joy to watch!

She’s also amazing with hair and makeup and though I can claim no credit for her dancing ability, I like to think she gets her knack for the girlish arts from her mother.

The girls are in several classes together—which makes recitals fun and a little stressful. I think I’m gonna hire a clone of myself next year so I can just sit in the audience and enjoy.

This clogging number is soooo fast, hence the flying ponytails!

It was probably my favorite dance of the night. So high energy and such fast foot work.

This is their 3rd year to take Irish and it’s so much fun to watch.

I love the traditional costumes.

And the traditional Irish music.

And then there’s my little Elea, the hip-hopper. Girl has some moves and does not lack in the spirit department.

Taylor and Caiti got such a kick out of watching this one. She’s got it going on.

That we have such high quality instruction in such a small town is nothing short of amazing. Stevie came to the 2p show and called me later that afternoon to say how wonderful he thought it was. He sometimes grumbles about the time they spend away from home in the evenings but I think after seeing their skill level and their deepening commitment and passion, he sees the value. Teaching them to do something difficult, over months and years, to the point of excellence is a great gift to give a child. They have persevered and their/our investment is now paying off. I love that they are doing one thing and learning to do it well. I love that they love it so much. They can’t NOT dance. They dance every waking hour of the day. They sashay to the kitchen and jete to the schoolroom and releve nearly everywhere. They are dancers, in the fullest sense of the word. But, I think having passion and pursuing excellence in something is most certainly worth the sacrifice of time and money.
They make one proud momma outta me!

A big heartfelt thank you to the teachers at Lakeway School of Ballet and Dance. You are such a blessing to our family!

‘Dance for Life’ clogging video—my girls start out on the ends!

Garden Update, week 4

May 30, 2012 by Edie Wadsworth 20 Comments

Right after planting:

Week 2
Week 4

I head out with my coffee to spend my early mornings in the garden: pulling little weeds, listening to the birds, harvesting the herbs. It may well be my favorite time of day. Then again, in the evenings, when the sun has moved around to the back of the house, the garden is so peaceful and serene. It’s growing so fast and we’re already enjoying lots of herbs, arugula and baby lettuce.
Pretty soon, there’ll be jalapeños. It’s nothing short of a miracle. And perhaps my favorite project to date.
I’ve also been crazy busy with testing the girls, dance recital, fun reupholstering projects for the house, window treatments, summer plans, etc. Hope to show you some fun stuff soon. For now, I borrow peace and sanity from my little garden. Hope all is well at your house too!

Visit Lifeingracegirls today for a great story about how Heather became an accidental beekeeper!

Also, several people have asked about my turquoise kitchen so I added a link to the sidebar!