Disneyland (Day 2)

On the second day of our Disneyland adventure, we had early admission to California Adventure. Basically we got in before everyone else!  I have to say - it is the way to go. We immediately got on all the rides without having to wait! After an hour we had ridden everything we wanted to (the Ladybug tea cups were AMAZING) and even saw the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse show. We spent our last few hours at Disneyland and rode the rides we weren't able to ride the day before. All in all it was a very fun trip and I can't wait to do it again!

Disneyland (Day 1)

For Olive's birthday we had planned to spend the night at the Grand Californian at Disneyland. Unfortunately, I wasn't feeling my best and we rescheduled. Then Andrew was too busy working so we had reschedule again. Finally we decided it was the best time to get out of dodge and spent Tuesday and Wednesday of this week at the Happiest Place on Earth. Let me just say this: I've never seen Olive happier.

Happy Thanksgiving Part 2

I normally take a zillion pictures to mark an occasion, but I didn't take as many as I would have liked this Thanksgiving. Here are a few from our celebration at my mom's house. Unfortunately, I can't take credit for the last two photos (which happen to be my favorites). My niece Alison seems to be a budding photographer - I need to have her take pictures more often!

Happy Thanksgiving (A Little Late)

Thanksgiving celebration at Ross & Ida's

When Bad Things Happen to Good People

I try not to advertise all the bad things that happen in the Cahn household. I try and keep the blog positive and upbeat, although every once in awhile I'll complain about not feeling well, or document one of Olive's temper tantrums. Thankfully we are very fortunate and have very few bad things to write about. However, on Thanksgiving morning we got a call that our house was broken into. Let me assure you - the feelings I felt when I heard the words were not good. Someone broke into our house? On Thanksgiving? WHO DOES THAT? Andrew had to fly home to assess the damage and Olive and I were left to celebrate without him. Although, if I'm being honest, what kind of celebrating were we really going to do? Our house was in disarray. Every single jewelry box had been emptied. And both computers were missing. But then I started thinking about how it could have been worse. Olive and I could have been home. They could have taken all my clothes and shoes. Or even burned down our house. At that moment I decided that I couldn't let it get to me. It was just "stuff". And even though I lost a lot of things that were important to me like pictures and my grandmothers emerald ring, the most important thing in my world is sleeping soundly in her room right now.

Shots on the Go

Baby Bump - 15 Weeks

Baby Bump - 15 Weeks

The Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookie

PERFECT CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

Makes 16 cookies. Published May 1, 2009. From Cook's Illustrated.
WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS:
Our perfect chocolate chip cookie recipe had to produce a cookie that would be moist and chewy on the inside and crisp at the edges, with deep notes of toffee and butterscotch to balance its sweetness. Melting the butter gave us the chewiness ...(more)
Avoid using a nonstick skillet to brown the butter; the dark color of the nonstick coating makes it difficult to gauge when the butter is browned. Use fresh, moist brown sugar instead of hardened brown sugar, which will make the cookies dry. This recipe works with light brown sugar, but the cookies will be less full-flavored. For our winning brand of chocolate chips, see related tasting.

INGREDIENTS

1 3/4
1/2 teaspoon baking soda

cups unbleached all-purpose flour (8 3/4 ounces)

14 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 3/4 sticks)
1/2 cup granulated sugar (3 1/2 ounces)
3/4 cups packed dark brown sugar (5 1/4 ounces) (see note)
1  teaspoon table salt
2  teaspoons vanilla extract
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk

1 1/4
3/4 cup chopped pecans or walnuts, toasted (optional)

cups semisweet chocolate chips or chunks (see note)

INSTRUCTIONS
1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 375 degrees. Line 2 large (18- by 12-inch) baking sheets with parchment paper. Whisk flour and baking soda together in medium bowl; set aside.
2. Heat 10 tablespoons butter in 10-inch skillet over medium-high heat until melted, about 2 minutes. Continue cooking, swirling pan constantly until butter is dark golden brown and has nutty aroma, 1 to 3 minutes. Remove skillet from heat and, using heatproof spatula, transfer browned butter to large heatproof bowl. Stir remaining 4 tablespoons butter into hot butter until completely melted.
3. Add both sugars, salt, and vanilla to bowl with butter and whisk until fully incorporated. Add egg and yolk and whisk until mixture is smooth with no sugar lumps remaining, about 30 seconds. Let mixture stand 3 minutes, then whisk for 30 seconds. Repeat process of resting and whisking 2 more times until mixture is thick, smooth, and shiny. Using rubber spatula or wooden spoon, stir in flour mixture until just combined, about 1 minute. Stir in chocolate chips and nuts (if using), giving dough final stir to ensure no flour pockets remain.

4. Divide dough into 16 portions, each about 3 tablespoons (or use #24 cookie scoop). Arrange 2 inches apart on prepared baking sheets, 8 dough balls per sheet. (Smaller baking sheets can be used, but will require 3 batches.)
5. Bake cookies 1 tray at a time until cookies are golden brown and still puffy, and edges have begun to set but centers are still soft, 10 to 14 minutes, rotating baking sheet halfway through baking. Transfer baking sheet to wire rack; cool cookies completely before serving. 

Baby Bump - 14 Weeks

14 weeks, 3 days (pic taken on Sunday)

Believe it or not - I'm FINALLY starting to feel better. The morning sickness this time around definitely seemed worse than when I was pregnant with Olive. But thankfully it seems to be subsiding. Now I'm just hoping the yucky cold/cough that I got from Olive last week will go away soon too.

This week the baby is 3.4 inches - the size of a lemon and weighs about 1.5 oz.

Here Comes Santa Claus!

I know it's probably a little early for Santa Claus pictures, but I couldn't resist. For the last few weeks Olive has been talking about him non-stop. One thing is for sure - she is going to LOVE Christmas this year!

Olive Loves the Moon

Olive is obsessed with the moon. Mars too. In fact, every night before bed we take her outside to find the moon and stars so she can say "Night-night" to them. Because of her fascination with our solar system, Andrew took her to the Griffith Observatory a few weeks ago. I used the opportunity to get some much needed rest while they were gone.