One more Moore

We made it

We pulled into Boston around midnight on Sunday night. The trip was great- had such a fun time. A few minor hiccups towards the end, but we made it. I can't believe we are here. Honestly.  I'll tell you more about the trip soon; we've mostly loved being out of the car and are trying to soak up every ounce of Summer. Monday we went to the market, did heaps of laundry and went to the Minute Man Museum (I love that place.) They show an awesome movie about Paul Revere and the Revolutionary War. We are slowly teaching the children about the history here. It's really just one of the absolute best parts of Boston. We topped the day off with ice-cream for dinner, as one would.And night swimming. There has been swimming every single night. My children have turned into little fish! They have spent more time swimming the past 5 weeks then they have in their entire lives. I keep thinking they need lessons, then keep thinking we can teach them ourselves. I need to look into that and see what we need to do. The more time they spend in the water, the better and more comfortable they are getting. We should have this swimming thing down in no time!  Yesterday, I hopped on the T with the 3 children while Chris braved parking at the Public Garden. I have been wanting to bring the children here for years. I can't believe we are here.  We moved from Boston almost exactly 7 years ago when Henry was only 5 weeks old. Being here reminds me of being pregnant, expecting my first baby, doctors appointments and Brigham & Women's hospital (to name a few.) So many amazing & wonderful memories. Now he's 7 and we are back and get to share this incredible city he was born in. This city that we fell hard in love with 12 years ago. And I mean hard. When we left California, we didn't really explain to the children that we would more than likely never be coming back. I knew it would be too much for my sensitive Henry to bear and mostly because we didn't really know what the future held. We couldn't give definite answers. We told them we were going to Utah for a month and then driving cross-country to Boston. And here we are, trying to figure it all out, trying to make it work. And it's very, very slowly coming together.  I haven't missed L.A. for one second. 

(but desperately miss our friends!) 

Goodbye, Utah!

2nd Leg of the 2012 Moore Cross Country Extravaganza starts now! Follow the trip on Instgram if you wish! Username: MorgsMoore

 See you soon!

XOXO

Guacamole

Last weekend I took a very last minute trip and by last minute, I mean I told Chris I wanted to see my Aunt and an hour later I was out the door. By.Myself.Yeah! to Boise, ID. It was one of the things I really wanted to do during our stay here and since we aren't going to be here much longer, I seized the moment. I've been to Idaho once before when I was a teenager and on our way home from that trip, we were in a nasty car accident (read: the car rolled 3x off the road and down a hill.) I'd kind of forgotten about it until I was driving up there on Sunday. At this point, I'm sure you are wondering what guacamole & car accidents have to do with each other. Just wait for it (they have nothing to do with eachother.) So I made it to my Aunt & Uncles house about 5 1/2 hours later. We stayed up till 3 a.m. looking at all the "nailed it" cooking disaters and cried from laughing so hard. Anyway, the next night she made tacos for dinner. In our 14 years of marriage, I think I've made tacos once and I'm pretty sure they were fish tacos. There have been no tacos since. Here's the deal- everyone makes tacos for dinner- I have friends who make tacos once a week. Why have I not jumped on the taco train? Am I a deep-down taco hater (no). I have nothing against tacos. They are so easy and even easier to make kid friendly. What's my prob? Did living in Los Angeles for 7 years teach me nothing? My point is, I came home on Tuesday and have made chicken taco's twice. I know, right? Apparently someone has jumped on the taco train and it has left the station! Anyway, I was also making a second batch of guacamole tonight, doubling the recipe this time because there just wasn't nearly enough last time. If you like guac, you should try this. It's pretty delicious and this makes a good amount.

Guacamole 

4 ripe avocados, roughly chopped

1/2 large onion, diced

1/2 large tomato (I love beefsteak), diced

1/2 bunch cilantro, roughly chopped 

Juice from 1-2 limes (we use 2 but that might be too limey for you) 

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp salt

dash of pepper 

Directions

Mix all ingredients together in a bowl, mashing up the avocados while you stir. Get into your belly immediately.  

p.s Someone just learned how to insert text onto a photo via iPhoto. Only took me 6 years.

Perfect Summer Hostess Gift

We've been catching up with a lot of old friends on this visit to Utah and have been bringing them mason jars filled with homemade magic shell.  It only takes about 2 minutes to make, it doesn't require refrigeration (which is a good thing because it has been so blasted hot here!) and hey- it's magic shell! Who doesn't love magic shell? A quick pop into the market for some vanilla bean ice cream makes this a great gift for family and friends. I use between 1 1/4-1 1/2 C of semi-sweet chocolate chips and about 1/2 C Coconut Oil. Combine & melt in microwave (or on stovetop) for about 1 minute. Stir until smooth & pour into jars. If you are feeling fancy, you can also add 1 tsp of vanilla or peppermint extract and  you can try dark or milk choco chips to see which you like best. I'm not really ever feeling fancy, so I omit it- but hey, by all means, if you are up for the challenge... This can be stored in your pantry or in the fridge. If you keep it in the refridgerator, you'll need to warm it up before you serve it again because it will solidify. To re-heat, place it back into the microwave for anywhere between 30 seconds-1 minute, give it a good stir and you are good to go. 

Here's to ice-cream days & magic shell!

p.s. We are leaving Utah next week so if you are thinking about ordering vintage quilt squares, you have until Friday. You can order them here. I'll put them back up in the shop in the Fall. 

XOXO

Happy 4th!

Kate was the only one I could convince to get up with me at 5:45 a.m. this morning (after a 1:00 a.m bedtime- darn you, Downton Abbey- still no love confession BTW) to go and see the hot air balloons take off. It's been at least 15 years since I've been and was so glad that we just happened to be in UT over the 4th so we could see them again. They were amazing, even if I did have to bribe the little darling in my life: 

Happy 4th!

XOXO

So tired...

We started this whole series when we got to Utah. Chris & I had never seen it before. And now, we go to bed every night/morning at 2 a.m. trying to cram in as many episodes as humanly possible (yawn). When oh WHEN will Mary tell Matthew of her undying love?? How many more episodes do I have to watch??

(Currently on season 2; starting episode 4 right.this.second)