Blueberry Cobbler

Our neighbors went blueberry picking last weekend and brought us over a few pints of blueberries afterwards (Thanks-we loved them!). I've been eating them most of the week-adding them to my cereal or yogurt, etc. Last night Gabe finally dug into them and was raving how good they were. (And they are the hugest berries I've ever seen) He suggested that I make a blueberry cobbler. So, I began the search online-yes a royal pain! I only had one pint left and most recipes called either for pie filling or for a huge amount of berries. I gave up looking last night and tried again this morning. I found 2 recipes that were very similar so I combined the two to create my own.
(Side note-it's been FOREVER since I tried a new recipe or baked anything!!)

Blueberry Cobbler
4 tbsp butter, creamed
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp salt
1/2 cup milk
2-3 cups berries (I'm sure any fruit would work-I used a pint which was a little over 2 cups)
Another 1/2 cup sugar (the others called for a full cup which I thought was way too much so I cut it down a bit)
3/4 cup hot water (one said 1 cup, one said 1/2 cup so I went halfway)

Mix together butter, 1/2 cup sugar, flour, baking powder, salt and milk. Grease or spray a baking dish (I used a 1-1/2 qt casserole dish) with nonstick spray. Pour berries into dish.

Top berries with batter and spread out evenly. Pour 1/2 cup sugar over the batter. Pour hot water on top-do not mix! (Yes it'll look bizarre-don't worry!)

Bake at 350 for an hour or until top gets browned. (one recipe said 375-I baked it at 350 for about 40min then bumped it up to 375 for the last 20min)


The verdict? The batter/cake part tasted really good-just what I was looking for. The disappointing part was that the blueberry part came out like soup! I have no idea why or how, but they were so liquidy! So you basically had a cake on top with blueberry liquid underneath. It tasted fine, but I wish it would have been a little thicker.

Anyone have any suggestions or another cobbler recipe I could try?

A Piece of Me is Gone

You may remember this post about my belly button ring. Well that was 2 months ago...since Avery arrived, I've been debating if I should put the ring back in or not. I was still undecided but decided to see if the hole was still open last night. I figured it would be since I got it pierced 11 years ago. I mean my earring holes stay open so why wouldn't this?! It's the same thing, just a different body part. So before I went to bed last night, I grabbed the ring and went to put it in....only....it.didn't.go.in. WHAT?! Yeah, you heard me, it did NOT go in! Somehow the hole closed up! I can't believe it! So, it looks like my decision was made for me. There's no way I'd go get it pierced again and I highly doubt I could push it through (and the pain-oh the pain that would cause!). So, looks like I have to say goodbye to that chapter of my life.

(Sigh)

I Found....

my thumb!

One Month Old!

My baby girl is one month old today-I can't believe it! She's already getting so big-out of her newborn clothes and growing like a weed! Her eyes are starting to change color already too. They're getting lighter and one of her eyes I think is starting to get some brown/green in it. It's fun to see her growing, but sad to see the baby leaving her already!

Open House For Avery

Since this was our first trip to Buffalo since Avery has arrived (we haven't been in 2 months), my Mom decided to hold an open house so that people could come and meet the little peanut. Of course my Mom and Aunt Pat made wonderful food and we had a lot of people come and visit which was very nice. It was great seeing so many people...most of whom I haven't seen since my baby shower a few months ago. We had a wonderful time and I think everyone was happy they got to meet our new addition! Here are a few photos from the day:

Avery in her cute dress and sunhat:

My cousin Cayden sporting a new mohawk:

Gabe, Avery and I:

My friend Kristin and her daugher Phoebe (8mos), Megan and Noah (3mos), Avery (1mo) and I:

Jessica's son Connor:

Connor laughing at Gabe:

Jessica and Connor (5mos), Avery and I:


Thanks everyone for coming to see us-it was great to see you all!

Erin and Paul

Today we drove into Buffalo for our first trip since having Avery. My friend Erin was having her wedding reception so we were attending for our first big night out. We've gone out twice for dinner without Avery, but this was a big night since we would be gone several hours without her. (All went well by the way!)

Erin and I met in high school while working at Putt-Putt. When I transferred to Buffalo State, we were both going for a Biology degree so we ended up taking a lot of science classes together and being lab partners. We had some good times. While at Putt-Putt, she was dating a guy named Paul, who I went to middle school with-yeah, small world. Anyways, her and Paul are still together-yes, 13 years later and they finally tied the knot!

They officially got married on July 17th down in the Bahamas so this was their at home wedding reception. It was held at Banchetti's banquet hall in their outdoor grove. I had been there before because I used to work at Rizzo's but I had never been for a wedding. It was very nice. Erin and Paul had everything island themed-they had blender drinks, tiki torches, etc. It was very nice! Gabe and I had a good time and it was nice having a night out as well!

Here are a few photos from the reception...
Erin and Paul before getting announced:



Cutting their cake-I was in a really bad spot:

First dance:

Congratulations Erin and Paul! May you have many years of happiness!

I Caught A Smile

I was out and about with Avery today and when I got home I had her in her car seat on the dining room table. I went up to her and said "Hi Avery!" and she put her hand up like she was waving and got a HUGE smile on her face! I ran to get my camera and tried to get her to do it again...and this is what I got! Too precious!

Catching Up

I haven't had a chance to post yet this week so I'm sort of catching up today while little one is (sort of) sleeping.

Monday I took Avery out a little bit to do some running around-we went to Target to get a few things and to JC Penney's to pick up her pictures (which are so darn cute!) and to the pet store to get Jerri some more food. Avery did great-she slept pretty much the entire time so it made running around pretty easy....although she is quite heavy in that car seat already! I have no idea how I'm going to pick her up when she gets bigger-yikes!
This is a cute picture I took Monday of Jerri and her "buddy" that comes to visit frequently. I came in the back room and they were both lying there looking at each other-it was so cute!

And here's Avery looking cute as always that day!


Tuesday Avery had her doctors appointment. She was awake all morning starting at 8:30am. Her appointment was at 1 so I thought she would nap by then-nope! She was awake when we got to the doctors and of course started screaming when he came in! Luckily I had her pacifier with me and it worked like a charm! Anyways, Avery is up to 9lbs. 4.5oz already! Everything looks great so we're set for another month!!

Yesterday and today we've been home-trying to get a few things done around here. Just getting myself showered and dressed before 1 seems to be a chore most days. Today Avery's been pretty fussy everytime she's tired so I've been quite busy entertaining her and trying to get her settled. I had a little sad moment today-I packed away all of her newborn sized clothing! Most of them are very tight on her and she has a TON of 0-3month and 3month sized clothing she needs to get wearing. So the newborn stuff is put away-which makes me sad that she's getting big already! Well, I hear little peanut waking up...time for her to eat!

12 Months = 1 year!

Today is our one year anniversary! I know I say this all of the time, but I don't know where that year went! It's hard to believe it has been that long-it definitely doesn't feel like it! And my how our lives have changed in a year-we went on an amazing honeymoon in Aruba, did tons of work on our house, and had our first child. It's definitely been an eventful year!

Today I pulled out our wedding cake from last year and we enjoyed it for dessert tonight. We had it wrapped up in numerous layers of saran wrap and foil and it held up pretty well. For a cake that's a year old?! Not too shabby. Although I have a feeling I'll be eating most of it (I don't think Gabe is too hot on year old cake) and it's a pretty large cake for me to eat myself!
Here are a few pics of the cake we enjoyed tonight:


Since I usually do pics of our wedding day to celebrate our monthly "anniversary", I decided that since this is the big day, I'd show some of my favorite shots from the day. Of course there are a lot more than I thought so sorry this may be long!


Love this pic of my Dad on the porch-I was inside getting dressed:








Love this one:


Waiting in the limo with Megan (Matron of Honor) right before heading into church:

Getting ready!

One of my faves of my Dad and I-just before walking down the aisle:

Gabe waiting for me:


Saying our vows:





With my cousin, the flower girl:



Love the black and white with the red flowers:


Sexy!


Mr GQ:

They told me to twirl in my dress:

Doesn't this look like an album cover?!

Yes it was raining!


At the reception hall:




Love this one-you can see us in the mirror:

This reminds me of something you would see in a magazine:


Holding hands during the toasts:






With my Grandpa:

Happy One Year Anniversary Gabe! I love you very much!