that is all.

new years eve, after cleaning up the mess we’ve called our home, we took a forty minute road trip up the canyon to park city. the awful smog and continuous red air days have forced us to spend all day indoors and was really putting us in a funk. so, we wanted to spend our last day in the year 2013 walking around, breathing fresh air, and enjoying ourselves outside. a spontaneous day trip up to park city ended up being just the trick. even with the snow flurries and brisk air we quickly felt ourselves both becoming in better moods with the smog slowly leaving our fogged heads. we walked the streets, ate delicious pizza and root beer floats at main street pizza and noodle, and really just enjoyed each others company and relaxed. honestly, i feel it was the best day we both have had in weeks and the perfect way to bring in the new year. thanks park city, we love you.

p.s. there was a problem with the comment button underneath the blog posts not appearing … it should now be fixed … thanks! 

thank you all for helping make our past year so fabulous! all your sweet comments and supportive emails have brightened our every day and filled our year with love and cheer … thank you. i’m so excited to see what this next year will bring. many changes are in store for this little family and i’m excited to include you all in on our journey. so from camden, kramer, and i, happy new year to you! 

between people i’ve met over the years, there has always been a slight disagreement on whether these are actually yams or sweet potatoes. by no means am i bringing up the subject of yams and sweet potatoes in regular day to day conversation … but i just mean i have heard them referred to as both and have never yet come to a conclusion on either or. however, growing up we called them yams so to me yams they will be. in fact, these are the very yams my mom made for us when we were little and they are still the very best i’ve ever had … the absolute best, in my opinion. actually, i think this recipe turns what seems to be an otherwise slightly disliked vegetable into this thing i sometimes crave and becomes something that resembles more of a dessert than a side dish to a meal. i made these yams for camden and i saturday and then took the extra … what i can only describe as a caramel sauce and drizzled it over ice cream for dessert. seriously … try it.


yield: will serve 3 to 5 people.

you will need:
2 – yams
1 – stick of butter
1 1/2 cups – brown sugar
a few tablespoons of water

preheat your oven to 400 degrees. cook the yams, with their skins on for about 30-45 minutes depending on the size of the yam. once the yams are cooked and cooled, carefully remove their skins and slice into about one-fourth inch thick round sections. in a medium saucepan combine the butter and sugar until just melted and mixed together. make sure to stir frequently, then add a few tablespoons of water, about three. once that caramel starts to simmer, add all the yams and cook until the mixture becomes slightly thick but not to hard … enjoy. drizzle vanilla ice cream with the extra sauce for dessert … you won’t be disappointed. 

this past week has been hectic … long … but good. i’ve gotten home later in the evenings than usual making it very hard to get any photos since the sun has already set. this mostly explains my absence here the past few days. however, things are starting to calm down now that the holidays have passed and i have a handful of posts planned for the next week. so here is what you’ve missed …
-my sister and i have started taking a bar method class also known as the hardest workout i’ve done since my ballet years (i got approval from my doctor first) . last saturday was our first class and i literally could not walk for the next few days. we just got done with our second class and i can tell things are heading in that same direction.
-i had my second doctors appointment since i’ve been pregnant and we got to hear the baby’s heart beat which was really amazing.
-camden and i went to the ballet west production of the nutcracker on christmas eve. i hadn’t been in years and we both had so much fun.
-camden, unfortunately, came down with the flu today. i’m hoping i’ll stay clear of it since i had the flu shot about two months ago but i’m still being extra careful just in case.
now for christmas …






we always let kramer open his presents first so he can have something to keep him busy while we open ours. 






we spent our christmas at our home in the morning then traveling to see family and friends the rest of the day. our christmas loot included: a few new baby accessories and toys, camden got a really nice record player, and i got a new camera that i’ve just started to play around with and the coolest book of all wes anderson’s movies that i can’t wait to share with you more. how were all of your christmases??