Friday, November 14, 2014

The last of the warm fall days.

I felt like fall came and went so quickly this year. The cold weather has already arrived and winter is right around the corner. These photos were taken just a few days ago. The weather was so warm (like 70 degrees warm!). No coats or jackets necessary! It was pure heaven. Today I am snuggled up inside with the heat on, wearing a sweater, and wool socks.

Photos taken by Siara Martin. Edited by me. 

Thursday, November 13, 2014

Leo the Lion Cub.

We dressed Leo up as a lion for Halloween this year (how fitting, right?). He was the cutest little lion cub we had ever seen. I was totally bummed that he didn't like his costume and wanted to rip it right off.  We did a pretty good job distracting him so he would smile for a few pictures! 

Tuesday, September 23, 2014

Pumpkin Bars.

It's that time of year again. It's pumpkin season! This is a wonderful recipe from the kitchen of the one and only Aunt Dianne. I knew this recipe would be amazing before I had even tried it! I'm adding this to my list of favorites for sure.

Aunt Dianne's Pumpkin Bars

2 cups sugar
3/4 cups butter
4 eggs
2 cups pumpkin puree
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon cloves
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ginger
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
2 cups flour

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Combine sugar, butter, and eggs -  mix well.
Add pumpkin puree, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, salt, ginger, nutmeg, and flour.
Mix all ingredients together then pour onto a greased cookie sheet.
Bake 20-25 minutes.

Icing:
8 oz cream cheese (softened)
4 tablespoons butter (softened)
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon milk
3-4 cups powdered sugar

Cream together in mixer.

Thursday, September 18, 2014

Zucchini Bread.

The first time I had this zucchini bread was when my sister-in-law, Sara, made it for me when I visited her in Hawaii. It pretty much knocked my socks off. She even added chocolate chips, which made it even better!

Recipe from allrecipes.com.

Zucchini Bread

3 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
3 eggs
1 cup vegetable oil
2 1/4 cups white sugar
3 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups grated zucchini
1 cup chopped walnuts
1 cup chocolate chips (optional)


Grease and flour two 8 x 4 inch pans. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

Sift flour, salt, baking powder, soda, and cinnamon together in a bowl.

Beat eggs, oil, vanilla, and sugar together in a large bowl. Add sifted ingredients to the creamed mixture, beat well. Stir in zucchini, nuts, and chocolate chips until well combined. Pour batter into prepared pans. 

Bake for 40-60 minutes, or until tester inserted in the center comes out clean.  Cool in pan on rack for 20 minutes. Remove bread from pan, completely cool.


Friday, August 22, 2014

Family Photos.

My dear friend Andrea, who I only met this summer, took these beautiful photos for our family. Andrea and I met through a photography group on FB and we've been following each other's blogs and IG for a couple years now. Its so fun to actually meet someone in person after only knowing about them through social media. We have a ton in common and we've become great friends in such a short time!  She and her family have only been here for the summer and are leaving next week to go back home to Utah.  :( We will miss them!

Photos by Andrea Mehner

Wednesday, August 13, 2014

Bridge Favorites.

Before I had even married into the Bridge family, I had already heard all about these amazing cookies.  When I finally tried them for myself I instantly realized what all the hype was about.  These cookies are delicious and there's a dang good reason why they're called Bridge Favorites!

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F

Cream together
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
1 cup butter softened

Add
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 tablespoons milk
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups oats
2 cups raisins
2 cups coconut
(raisins and coconut may be substituted for 2 cups chocolate chips)

Mix all ingredients together

Bake 8-10 minutes or until golden brown on top.

Saturday, July 26, 2014

Happy 1st Birthday Leo!

I can't believe my baby is one!  This past year has been the best one yet.  Leo brings so much joy and happiness to our family and I am so grateful to have him in our lives.  We love you so much Mr. Buttersworth!
My talented sister put her amazing graphic design skills to use and made this darling info-graph of Leo for his birthday.  I LOVE it!

Thursday, July 24, 2014

Leo's Birth Story.

I know this post is long over due. My baby is turning one on Saturday and I honestly can't believe how quickly time has flown. As I was putting together this blog post I was getting a bit emotional.  Reflecting back over the past year has made me realize that motherhood has changed me.  I have learned to love in a way that I never knew I could. Our lives now revolve around a tiny human who relies on us for everything. That's a big responsibility, people!  I'm proud to say that we somehow managed to take care of a baby for a whole year!  I remember coming home from the hospital with Leo thinking, "Now what do we do?!" But we survived!  Now we have the happiest, sweetest boy who is the center of our world.  Leo has blessed our lives so much and I can't imagine life without him.




Thursday, July 25 was another sleepless night.  This was pretty typical at this point.  I spent my nights getting up repeatedly to use the bathroom, eating several meals, sitting in front of the fan, and tossing and turning from side to side.  It's impossible to get comfortable when you're nine months pregnant in the middle of the summer.

I felt several contractions coming on throughout the night.  I thought nothing of it because I had been having contractions for several weeks now.  But these contractions continued to get stronger and stronger and also more frequent as the night went on.  By morning I knew that we were probably going to have a baby that day.  When Daniel woke up I told him that I was having contractions.  He helped me time them to see how frequent they were coming.  By the time they were five minutes apart we decided to head to the hospital.  We got there at about 10:00 am.

When I was admitted into the room I was 4 centimeters dialated.  My contractions were getting extremely painful.  I couldn't have been happier when they asked me if I wanted an epidural.  After getting the epidural I felt a million times better!  I finally felt comfortable enough to fall asleep.  It honestly felt like a miracle!  I was completely exhausted from staying up all night the night before, as well as many nights before that.


We spent the entire day waiting for the baby to come.  I took several naps, ate jello, and visited with Daniel as we waited.  I remember Daniel saying, "Man, labor really isn't all that bad!"  Ha.  Little did he know, the hard part hadn't even started yet.  It wasn't until about 9:30 pm that I finally started pushing.  I had really great nurses and a wonderful doctor who took really good care of me.  I am so grateful to have had a smooth labor and delivery.  Leo James Bridge was born at 11:28 pm on Friday, July 26.  He was 7 lbs 3oz and the sweetest little thing we had ever laid eyes on.  Holding him for the first time was the most surreal feeling.  I couldn't believe that this little human that had been growing inside of me for nine months was finally here.  He was absolutely perfect and we were completely in love.




Our first family picture. :)  ^^^







Leo, you are the best thing that has ever happened to us.  Dad and I love you very very much and we can't wait to celebrate your first birthday with you!

Thursday, June 19, 2014

Making Homemade Bread & Jam.

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Collaboration with Andrea Mehner and Siara Martin.
Model:  Brittany Lockie

I had such a great time doing this shoot with Andrea, Siara, and Brittany.  Its always fun when creative minds come together!  We spent the afternoon taking pictures and eating bread.  The best combo if you ask me!