A month ago I purchased a beautiful bouquet of fresh lavender with the plan to dry and preserve it. Was hoping to leave it by my bedside so that the lingering lavender scent would lull me to sleep. My monkey, however, was not going to let this happen. He’d quietly climb onto my bed and one by one see to the demise of each sprig of lavender. To avoid a full on massacre, I took what was remaining of my dried bouquet and made a sachet using just the lavender buds.

The survivors

Gently removing buds from their stems and enjoying the aromatherapy in my kitchen. I had no use for the stems but if you have a fireplace, throw them in with your firewood, for they will release a sweet smell as they burn.

Can’t you just smell it?
Ideas raced through my mind – I could make lavender soap, sugar, candles….but the scent of it all relaxed me far too much to have any desire to work. 

It’s important to sift out tiny particles so all that remains are buds for your sachet.

I used a mesh bag some earrings came in.

Now I get my bedside aromatherapy without all the mess and destruction from my little one.

Growing up in Florida and Texas, all the Fall Festivals I attended always fell short of my expectations. Pumpkin patches, hay rides and most importantly the cool crisp air  were replaced by us Southerners trying to cool off in shorts with water guns. Don’t get me wrong; a great time was had by all but it just felt like another summer fair expect for the fact that we had school the next day!

Since summer has officially ended and the weather has cooled down considerably in NY,  what better way to kick off the season then to attend a fall festival and one that can provide my little monkey with autumn memories I had always longed for.

Not quite understanding sitting next to vs. on the pumpkin.

Not the expression I was hoping for with this beautiful photo op.

Little monkey concerned about the broken pumpkin stem.

There’s a smile!

So brave. He bypassed the babies and went straight to feed the one with the biggest horns.

Unforgettable moment!

Pumpkin Dark Chocolate bread! Don’t mind if I do!!

I pride myself on my cooking skills and experimenting with new recipes and for the most part, my extremely picky husband has been more than happy with what I serve up on the table. However, after our first year of marriage, I have been told to refrain from Asian cooking due to the numerous bouts of indigestion and discomfort my dishes have caused. As much as I love Chinese and Thai food, for some reason, I just can’t seem to make it work. But I’m no quitter and so on nights like this, when my husband is away watching the NFL Kickoff, I like to dabble a bit in the uncharted territories of my recipe collections.

Today I’m starting simple: Pioneer Woman’s Sesame Noodles. This is as basic as it gets and if I can’t do this right, I fear I’m a lost cause.

Ingredients

• 12 ounces, fluid Thin Noodles, Cooked And Drained
• 1/4 cup Soy Sauce
• 2 Tablespoons Sugar
• 4 cloves Garlic, Minced
• 2 Tablespoons Rice Vinegar
• 3 Tablespoons Pure Sesame Oil
• 1/2 teaspoon Hot Chili Oil
• 4 Tablespoons Canola Oil
• 4 whole Green Onions, Sliced Thin

Preparation Instructions

Overall, I am pleasantly surprised that such a simple recipe could make such a flavorful dish. It was salty, sweet and spicy and definitely quieted my carb craving. My only gripe is that it was a tad oily, which accurately reflects most chinese takeout in NYC but if you’re making it at home, it should be healthier than that. My suggestion is that when mixing all the ingredients for the sauce, you reserve the canola oil  and only add as needed after the rest of the ingredients have been mixed with the noodles. I didn’t do it this way but after struggling to keep the slippery noodles on my fork, I wish I had. Replacing chili oil with crushed chili flakes will also help. But like I said earlier, a great dish nonetheless and one that I won’t be nervous to serve at dinner.

Last week I had to take a much needed time out from blog writing to deal with a serious case of the Terrible Twos. My little monkey is in the thick of it and we have started to implement time out. Not really convinced it will work but at this point, I am desperate to find something that he will take seriously.

First time out and will surely not be the last

Strict parenting and disciplining is what our household was all about last week but of course he’s still my baby and we decided to treat him to a visit to Sesame Place over Labor Day weekend. He was a bit too young to really enjoy most of the rides but had a blast splashing around in the shallow water and watching the parade at night.

On our way to PA and grateful for the peaceful drive.

Splash Castle was his favorite!

Everyone bracing themselves for the large bucket of water to turn over.

Fun but a bit intense for little ones.

Parade excitement!

Elmo!!!!

Hey Elmo!!!!

Exhausted!