#Summerdays2013 Week 6

Day 36: After running errands with mama, we stopped by the pet store for a new bone. ;) I love my little car buddy!

Day 37: 10 Year High School Reunion. Hard to believe that much time has passed already... more to come on that next week. 

Day 38: Tally likes to have someone sit next to him while he falls asleep- so we totally enable it. ;)

Day 39: Baby sitting, pet sitting, teaching come, teaching no, and a glass of wine for me while Matt worked out, Tally napped, and I cooked dinner. Good day. :)

Day 40: Enjoying a summer afternoon with two sweet friends, trying out Anna's amazing products! If you missed out on ordering when she was doing her giveaway, you should totally give this foot scrub a try! All of the money earned goes directly to the adoption of their son who is waiting for them in Uganda. If you didn't get to read her story, definitely check it out.

Day 41: Our guard dog. He's ferocious. ;)

Day 42: Cheering on my sister, papa, and nonna at the Peachtree Road Race!

Extra Pics from the Week:

Where he sits while I get ready- this doesn't last for long, so I've gotten pretty good at getting ready quickly. ;)

Double date night with Tanner and Caroline meant lots of extra lovin' for Mr. Tally!

Driving on daddy's lap- not the safest, we know... but SO hard to resist! (Don't worry, this was at a red light- he moved his head right when we started going again.)

There's an ice cube in front of him in this shot- he loves hitting them with his paw and watching them fly across the floor.

Tuckered out ;)

Petting "Pup Pup"

Buddy decided he needed a break in our neighbors' ivy after we left their house. ;)

I love when he plays with his toys with a leg wrapped around mine- he's a snuggler. ;)

New toy!

About to watch daddy wash the car and playing with a pine cone while he waits ;)

hmmm... wonder what this bubbly water tastes like?

Whatcha doin there?!

If you missed my Maggiano's contest recipe, click here.

Have a great weekend! Matt, Tally, and I will be off on a little adventure that I'll share all about next week!

Maggiano's Contest Recipe

I am so excited to finally share this recipe on here! Months ago, I took part in a Maggiano's cooking contest and created this recipe as my entry. It was really the first time I made something from scratch and actually measured and wrote down what I did for each step. Or, I should say, my sweet mom wrote down as I added ingredients and said out loud what I was doing. It was such a fun afternoon for the two of us! I didn't document the day quite as well as I did when we made our Pinterest inspired recipes, but we were able to create a yummy new meal! And since my mama is my cooking inspiration, I loved getting to have her there for some great suggestions to the ideas that were in my head.

For the contest, I had to submit the ingredients, step-by-step directions, a 250 word essay about the inspiration behind the dish, and pictures of the finished product.

Essay:

I have always loved cooking and have dreamed of concocting a recipe from scratch that would somehow have the chance to be tasted by thousands. I've imagined myself on cooking shows, in magazines, on The Today Show's cooking segment- you name it, I've pictured it! So when this opportunity presented itself, I knew I had to jump on it!

My inspiration for cooking great dishes comes from my mom, who has taught me just about everything I know in the kitchen. When I shared my plan to enter the Maggiano's Best Italian Cook Contest with her, she squealed with joy and said without hesitation that she would love to be my sous chef!

Together, we worked to perfect the recipe that I had generated in my head on a long drive back from South Carolina one weekend. We measured and mixed, documented and diced, and tasted and tweaked until we came up with the perfect finished product. And while I am still unsure about the name, I am certain about the taste.

I hope you enjoy it as much as we did!

Ingredients:

2T butter, divided

2T Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO), divided

1/4 cup minced shallots

1/4 cup white balsamic vinegar

8 oz. baby bella mushrooms, sliced

1/2 cup diced tomatoes, drained

3T fresh sage, cut chiffonade, divided

1.5 tsp finely chopped elephant ear garlic

1 cup heavy cream

1/2 cup chicken stock

1/2 lb. fettucini

1/4 cup pasta water

Directions:
Add 1T butter and 1T EVOO to pan. Saute shallots, garlic, and 2T sage for five minutes. Add heavy cream and chicken stock, and bring to a slow boil. Simmer for five minutes over medium heat. 

In a separate pan, combine remaining butter, EVOO, and balsamic vinegar. Bring to a slow boil. Add mushrooms, and tomatoes. Simmer on medium heat for five minutes, or until vinegar mixture is completely reduced. Once reduced, add to cream sauce.

In a separate pot, boil salted water and cook fettucini to al dente. Before draining the pasta, add 1/4 cup of pasta water to the cream sauce. 

Add drained pasta and remaining sage to the cream sauce and mix.

Garnish with sage leaf and fresh parmesan.

Individual Serving

Family Serving

So now the big question- Did I win?!

No.

Was I a good sport about it?

Nope, can't say that I was.

In fact, when I opened the email that displayed the six recipe finalists, I said to Matt in total shock and disappointment, "Those don't even look good!"

Yeah, not my best moment.

However, I did come away with some great cooking memories with my mom and a yummy new recipe to add to the rotation. Plus, since then, I've started measuring and writing down some other impromptu creations, so I've learned the value of being able to recreate a good meal. So, all in all, I'm glad I participated- even if I didn't win. ;) 

The only thing its still missing is a name! Can you help me come up with one?!

Bloglovin' and Blog Design

So I don't entirely understand the whole Google-reader-is-no-longer thing, but apparently, the people that read blogs through this method:

can't anymore. Or at least that's what I've gathered through other people's posts. I like to keep up with my favorite blogs through the sidebar on my own blog that looks like this:

There are about 25 on there, but I only show 5 at a time. ;)

But now that GFC, or Google Reader, is gone, most people are using Bloglovin' to keep up with their fave blogs. It sends you an email whenever blogs you follow are updated. Most people, like me, have a button that looks like this:

If you're already getting emails when this blog is updated, you probably signed up for emails awhile ago through this link on my sidebar:

which also works just fine. The biggest difference is that Bloglovin' shows the posts just like they appear on the blog, whereas the RSS feed ("the get-updates-by-email version) doesn't allow videos or the blog HTML to come through in the emails.

The other easy option for updates is through Facebook. If you "like" the blog page, then you'll see the new post links on your newsfeed whenever you check FB.

All that to say, I figure if you want to read what's going on around here, you will. But that's my understanding on GFC disappearing and what people are doing to follow blogs instead.

You can also find me a few other places too- I love to keep up with readers and make new blogger friends, so feel free to email me (notesftn@gmail.com), comment, or reach out through twitter or IG (@hmnelsen for both). I'm totally a blog stalker myself and don't think it's weird at all, so don't be shy about saying hello! ;)

Blog Design

On a different note, I've been wanting to change the look around here. If you know of anyone who does great blog design and doesn't cost a fortune, I'd love for you to pass along their info to me! Or, if YOU are a blog designer and would like to spread the word about your business, shoot me an email or leave a comment below, and we can chat. :)

Hope your week is off to a great start! I'll be back later this week with my Maggiano's contest recipe and some more Tally pics. Here's a little teaser for now:

Can't wait to share it with you!

#Summerdays2013 Week 5 + some extra Tally pics

Day 29: Double date with Kemble and Ashley at a new restaurant by our house- delicious! We're so thankful for these two!

Day 30: The start of our camping weekend!

Day 31: Early morning by the campfire

Day 32: My first taste of the new Caramel Crunch Frappuccino- oh. my. So good.

Day 33: Painting classrooms with my two sidekicks- getting ready for our 5th graders to arrive in August!

Day 34: First solo car ride- he went straight for my lap. ;) He's gotten better about riding in the passenger seat, but the minute I pull in the driveway, he jumps right over to my lap again. Such a snuggler.

Day 35: Double date with Matt and Katie in downtown Roswell- great time with sweet friends!

Extra Tally Pics from the Week:

Sound asleep on the way to tennis :)

Buddy played for the first two sets and then passed out. The top right pic is him still sound asleep even after Matt got up. ;)

Learning how to ride in the passenger's seat- love that little face :)

He snuck on the courts with me after one of my matches :)

Pictures from Jackson and Tally's second visit together- Jackson shared his milk cup and Tally shared his cage. ;)

For pics of our first week with the little guy, click here. He has been the best puppy! We're pretty obsessed. :)

You can find me on Instagram @hmnelsen.

For the other places you can find me, click here.

Hope you guys have a great week!