Olivia Kellenbenz

Ben really hates this outfit.  He says it looks like a costume.  While I might tend to agree, I think it is precious on Olivia and I wanted to have some poor-quality over-edited amateur pictures before she grows out of it.  Seventeen of the best months of our lives are all wrapped up in this little German-girl dress.

And one for the #highlightreal

Buffalo Chicken Salad

I am a major blue cheese lover.  Put blue cheese in dog treats and I'd eat em'.  Enter, Buffalo Chicken Salad.  

I'm sure this has been done a million times before, but this is just my thrown-together version.  It is so fast and easy, there is virtually zero prep, and can be adapted to any spice/heat preference.

Buffalo Chicken Salad

Disclaimer: We are MAJOR whimps when it comes to heat in our food.  This is a very very mild version, obviously just add more hot sauce to your liking.

- 2 Tbsp Butter
- 3-4 Tbsp Franks Hot Sauce
- One small red onion, chopped
- One pepper (any variety) chopped
- One pound chicken breast, chopped
- Loads of blue cheese
- Tortillas (if desired)
- Salad Greens
- Desired Dressing

1.  In a skillet, melt 2 tbsp of butter, and add desired amount of hot sauce.
2.  Saute garlic, onions, and peppers until soft, about five minutes.
3. Add chicken, cook thoroughly.  Allow to cool before placing on salad greens.
4.  Load up with blue cheese and enjoy!

*I coated my tortillas with oil before baking them.  It gave them a nice crunch.
*I made a quick homemade vinaigrette of vinegar, hot sauce, and olive oil.  It was pretty tasty!

Livi Lately

For all of you Aunties and Great Aunties who keep asking for an update :)

The bedtime trifecta: Blankee, binkie, Minnie. 

Very proud for putting on her bib all by herself! 

Many days she will spend almost 30 minutes "reading" to herself.

She loves playing up in her room!
In our tiny house it adds some variety :)

Waiting for Micah!

What was actually happing during Micah's photoshoot...

We are heading up to Maryland this week for my cousin Jennifer's wedding!  Ben will be holding down the fort while we're gone.  All four of the cousins on my (Kellenbenz) side of the family will be together for the first time, bringing lots of noise joy to their Great-Grandfather Bowen :)

Have a great week!

The Highlight Reel

I once heard Steven Furtick say, "Stop comparing your life to everyone else's highlight reel."

He of course, was referring to the slippery slope of today's social media platforms.  Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Blogs, etc. are all a part of our lives these days, no matter how routinely you check your notifications or scroll through the buzz.  This comparison thing can quickly turn into jealousy, dishonesty, gossiping, and a whole host of other ugly outcomes.  My observation is that women are especially vulnerable to this behavior, purely judging by how many times my husband has told me to chill out when browsing Instagram.

This "being all up in everybody's grill" is a relatively new phenomenon, I guess specific to our generation.  We are the first ones to know in real-time what everybody else made for dinner (guilty), what our kid is doing every five seconds (especially guilty), where we've gone on our "run" (yep), or what we look like in front of a Target dressing room mirror (not guilty, thankfully).

The most bizarre thing of all is that all of this occurs without much of a relational investment.  I may have not seen you since middle school, but if I bumped into you in real-life I would know everything that's happened to you in minute detail.  Do I pretend to not know that your dog just died?  Creepy.  Maybe it is my personality, but I am genuinely interested in what people are doing.  It's almost like a reality show, starring the people you've known throughout your life, minus (hopefully) much of the fake drama.  Or so we think.

The worst part of all, is that what you see isn't always what you get.  It is scary how much perception can be skewed, even of ourselves.  This came to my attention a few weeks ago, when after a friend's birthday party (Duck Dynasty themed), my friend texted me a picture that she had taken of Ben, Olivia, and I.

I actually wanted to fall out when I saw it.

There's at least a twenty-pound difference.  I look like a complete bozo.  That shirt does not fit the way I thought it did, (when my husband assured me it looked good at the thrift store).  I have bad posture.  And let's not even discuss the head piece.

Go ahead and scroll back up to Exhibit A, also known as the picture I posted on Instagram.  Major difference, huh?

Observations:

1.  People (obviously including myself) don't post ugly or unflattering photos of themselves.  They (we) just don't.  Which translates to this: nobody is as perfect as they seem on Facebook.

2.  Let's forge real relationships again.  This internet thing is great for connecting, encouraging, and a whole host of other wonderful things, but there is absolutely no substitute for actual 3-D friends living in community together.

3.  This one probably only applies to me.  Stop assuming things and relax.  No, really.  Comparison isn't helpful.  To anyone.  At all.  Especially when you're comparing true (what you see in the mirror) to false (what is intentionally or unintentionally portrayed on social media).

4.  Let's all start posting ugly pictures of ourselves so we're pleasantly surprised in real life.  A Highlight  REAL of sorts...

Blackberry Pie Soup & Things

How about this for a kitchen nightmare?  I followed a recipe that I picked up at the blackberry patch, and it was such a complete disaster, that I created a new thing.  And yes, Blackberry Pie Soup is a thing.

It is a thing you eat over ice cream.  It is a thing you can eat hot or cold.  Beware: It is a thing that is too sickingly sweet to eat by itself, like normal soup.  It is also a thing that would liven up any pound cake or shortbread.  It is a thing.

It is a thing it is a thing.

It is a thing that is so scientifically impossible to re-create, that I am writing it down and seeing if any others are brave enough to tell me what happens.

Blackberry Pie Soup

Adapted from Maple Ridge Farm Recipe for Fresh Blackberry Pie

6 cups fresh blackberries

2 T fresh lemon juice

3/4 c sugar

1/4 c cornstarch

dash of salt

2 T butter

1/2 c water

Recipe for one Pie Crust

Recipe for crumb topping (1/2 c each of butter, sugar, flour, blended together with pastry blender)

Prepare pie crust in deep dish pie plate.  Pre-bake crust for 15 minutes at 350 degrees.

Prepare crumb topping.  Set aside.

1.  Puree 2 c of the blackberries and set aside.

2.  Whisk together sugar, cornstarch, and salt.  Add water.  Stir in puree and lemon juice.  Add butter.

3.  Bring mixture to a summer and cook for one minute until thickened, stirring constantly.

4.  Place remaining berries in pie shell, and top with thickened mixture. 

5.  Top with crumb topping.

6.  Bake until the top is brown and crispy.

This will be a hot, soupy mess.  Be careful when you remove it from the oven!!  Let me know how this goes.  

I cannot wait ladle up this soup over homemade vanilla ice cream.  Happy Fourth everyone!  

The Blackberry Pie Soup monster.

The Blackberry Pie Soup pickers.

Olivia picked blues with her Grandparents!
Expect some delicious berry recipes (I hope) very soon!

Blast(s) From the Past

I finally had the time to sit down and figure out how to post a video to blog-land. 

I can't believe she was ever this little!  

18 Weeks, Yobe, & Aunt SeeBee

19 Weeks in Walker

My Other Best Friend's Wedding

2012 was the summer for weddings.  My other college BFF, Brianna, tied the knot with her high school prom date!  Her wedding was at the same church where her parents were wed, and the reception at a country club.  My sister-in-law bravely made the trek with Olivia and I.  Sadly, I ended up with no pictures of the bride in her dress and I didn't have the luxury of my "big camera", but here are a few others of things that happened over the weekend!

Trying on her new hat from Aunt SeeBee.

Just in case I lost the most important thing...

This girl has spent the majority of her little life traveling somewhere,
and it is safe to say it runs in her blood!

Because Peter Rabbit makes everything a little more fun.

More fascinated with the sticker than the view.

Sleeping beauty!

Liv having the best morning with her Auntie!

Plane hit the ground, we headed for G&M.
The BEST restaurant crabcakes in Maryland.
Literally the size of her head.

Aunt Anna literally feeding Olivia's face.  ha

After our crab binge, we headed up to Atlantic City for Bri's rehearsal dinner!
We stayed at the lovely Borgata Hotel & Casino.

Little girl loves some fancy hotel sheets!

                 

Baby and Auntie Bry-Bry before her big day!!!

                 

The morning of the wedding we woke up to this view.
 Bri's husband Tony works at the Water Club, so swanky!

Olivia in the portacrib at her Great Pop-Pop's.
Who couldn't tell me where it came from or who slept in it...ha!

He loves his greats!

I also took the opportunity to show Sarabeth around downtown Annapolis!
This is the house my dad grew up in, right across the street from the Navy Stadium!

We went down and saw the house we lived in while I was in high school,
and showed her all the old stomping grounds...

We capped the too-short weekend off with a get
together hosted by Aunt Amy and Uncle Bill!
Olivia was tuckered out by all the attention from her marvelous
Great Aunts, Uncles, cousins, and Pop-Pop, but Uncle Bob
 did a nice job of finally lulling her to sleep :)

Time Flies: Week 19

Week nineteen flew by, as they all seem to do nowadays.  We enjoyed a three-day weekend, and had the last of the easy feeding times for Olivia.  She is so aware of her surroundings, loves to stand in her walker and "space gym"...definitely does NOT enjoy laying down in our arms anymore!

Watching the chicks at Grammy and Grampy's house.

We had to break out her Halloween garb a little early, this six month outfit is for the birds!

Loving her new space gym, on loan from Ella.

Enjoying the front porch sittin' on her first Labor Day.

Olivia (4.5 months) and Lydia (11 months).  Who happen to be about the same size!

Hangin with Mommy on her day off.

Friday night family night at Target!  She would rather be at home..ha!

One of my favorite photos so far...Ben gets her chatty in a matter of seconds.