just my opinion...

a mother with 2 1/2 year old twin boys shouldn't have to go through infertility treatments again to have more babies.  she shouldn't have to go twice a week for a year to a chinese acupuncturist, get her first natural cycle since she started her period, only to have it stop again once they switched the treatment plan to trying to get pregnant.  she shouldn't have to give herself injections every night for the first two weeks of her cycle, go in 3 or 4 times for labs and an ultrasound to monitor her follicles.  she shouldn't have to subject her husband and sweet boys to her awful mood swings, wondering why she's doing all of this in the first place.  but she does.  because when it's all said and done, all of this is nothing compared to how good those babies are.  in the words of her husband -- there isn't anything i see us doing or going through that isn't worth those boys.  and even though she had a really, really rough day, she knows he's right.

holy butter, batman.

image courtesy of smittenkitchen

i don't even know where to start with these... espresso-chocolate shortbread cookies.  seriously easy, seriously packed with butter, and before you know it, you've eaten 14 of them.  and you don't feel guilty about it.  deb, of smitten kitchen, adapted it from dorie greenspan, a baker extraodinaire.   the change that i would make is using salted butter instead of unsalted.  i know, i know, blasphemy in the baking world, but i need the little bit of salt to enhance the rest of the flavors.  look at me, acting like i know what i'm talking about.  i do know cookies, though.  plus, i usually hate rolling out cookies (because i'm no good at it), but in this recipe, she suggests putting the dough in a gallon ziplock, pressing it out until it's 1/4 inch thick, refrigerating it for a couple hours, then cut off the plastic and cut them into squares.  that's the seriously easy part.  i even used a ruler- anytime i can have that much control over how the cookies turn out looking, i'm happy.  enjoy :).

Makes 42 cookies


1 tablespoon instant espresso powder
1 tablespoon boiling water
2 sticks (8 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2/3 cup confectioners’ sugar
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate (plain, or a toffee variety), finely chopped, or 3/4 cup store-bought mini chocolate chips
Confectioners’ sugar, for dusting (optional)


1. Dissolve the espresso in the boiling water, and set aside to cool to tepid.
2. Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the butter and confectioners’ sugar together on medium speed for about 3 minutes, until the mixture is very smooth. Beat in the vanilla and espresso, then reduce the mixer speed to low and add the flour, mixing only until it disappears into the dough. Don’t work the dough much once the flour is incorporated. Fold in the chopped chocolate with a sturdy rubber spatula.
3. Using the spatula, transfer the soft, sticky dough to a gallon-size zipper-lock plastic bag. Put the bag on a flat surface, leaving the top open, and roll the dough into a 9 x 10 1/2 inch rectangle that’s 1/4 inch thick. As you roll, turn the bag occasionally and lift the plastic from the dough so it doesn’t cause creases. When you get the right size and thickness, seal the bag, pressing out as much air as possible, and refrigerate the dough for at least 2 hours, or for up to 2 days.
4. Position the racks to divide the oven into thirds and preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment or silicone mats.
5. Put the plastic bag on a cutting board and slit it open. Turn the firm dough out onto the board (discard the bag) and, using a ruler as a guide and a sharp knife, cut the dough into 1 1/2-inch squares. Transfer the squares to the baking sheets and carefully prick each one twice with a fork, gently pushing the tines through the cookies until they hit the sheet.
6. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes, rotating the sheets from top to bottom and front to back at the midway point. The shortbreads will be very pale–they shouldn’t take on much color. Transfer the cookies to a rack.
7. If you’d like, dust the cookies with confectioners’ sugar while they are still hot. Cool the cookies to room temperature before serving.

blanca gomez

i have to give an appropriate shout-out to the lovely jane for introducing me to this artist/website.  i've never really decorated a room from scratch, so i had a great time starting from square one and having a whole "look" in my head for our new room.  i haven't really deviated from that original look, except for the wall color.  logic won out in the battle of pink vs. yellow; i decided most people would probably rather see a yellow room rather than pink room when looking to buy.  not that we're selling anytime soon, just saving a step in the long run.  and, i was the only one who wanted pink. boo.  these prints were the inspiration for the whole color scheme, mostly the one on the left.  i love, love, love them and wish it would look ok to fill the whole room with her stuff.  and like jane said, it's always great to find affordable art!!

oh, for those wondering, the black and white painting in the background was done by my best friend, jen stirling.  yes, she's amazing.

a little catch-up

we've been in full-on summer mode at the stork house and it hasn't left much time for the blog.  plus, then that inevitable stretch of time in which nothing's been posted goes on and on and on and then nothing feels important enough to post.  but i know there are a few (2) people who do check in on a normal basis, so i'm going to try and oblige.  yes, i know this should just be for me, but sometimes i care what other people think.  sue me.  so as not to make this too long, a few pictures will do...

 our new room is finally finished and almost decorated!

(we are loving loving loving it)

 benbo and kate came to visit

 and we all wished we lived just a bit closer together...

 but, of course, couldn't be bothered to ever look at the camera at the same time

 this is the best we got :)

 one of the guys' favorite places- poppy's lap at the piano

 out to dinner

 missing sean

and back to the normal routine of wearing mama's shoes around the house.

woop woop!

it's for real.  it's actually happening.  so exciting!

let the countdown begin!

image via tumblr

one week from now, we will be en route to rome via philadelphia and boston.  i'm so overwhelmed as to how much needs to get done in the next week that i've resorted to blogging about it and looking at pretty pictures online of the places we get to visit.  and not to mention how much of a change it will be to be away from the guys for 10 days. and so far away!  i go back and forth between needing a break so badly to breaking down at how much we're going to miss them.  bryan's parents get the first shift over the weekend, my parents get the week, his again the next weekend, then mine to finish the last leg before we get home on tuesday.  they're all moving in, and i'm so grateful the boys don't have to be uprooted - they don't do well with that sort of thing.  

will try to update as we near the big day, but most likely my next post will be after we've returned and i have 487 pictures to post!

missing/almost finished!

sorry to be such an absentee blogger, but life has been hectic, to say the least.  in our last stage of closing in our screened-in porch, we decided to get our whole first floor re-finished.  they're amazing!! moving out for a loooong weekend to my parents, cramming all of the furniture into the kitchen, bathroom, garage and everywhere else that wasn't being worked on, not so amazing.  but the floors. beautiful!  we haven't let the dogs in because their nails need clipped, i want to sweep after every single meal, i love them.  

and we have reached our final stage of adding on: the built-ins.  yippee!!  a storage bench will line the back wall and the windows will be framed by bookshelves.  i took a few pictures just now because i had the time, but will definitely post the finished product (which hopefully will be done by tonight!).  our contractor is doing these himself and surprisingly, we let him kind of do what he thought would look the best.  turns out, he knows what he's doing.  enjoy!! we are...