I can rarely pass up an occasion to bake a cake and this is a cake I’ve been looking forward to making for many, many months!
We’re blessed to have most of our family in town. So we gathered them together for the big gender reveal. We let Nana cut the cake….
It’s a …
Posted by Erin on April 6, 2013
http://thirdrowseat.wordpress.com/2013/04/06/its-a/
Two years ago today my best friend asked me to be his wife. I didn’t sleep for days because I couldn’t stop grinning.
Posted by Erin on February 4, 2013
http://thirdrowseat.wordpress.com/2013/02/04/two-years/
Have yourself a merry little Christmas!
Let your heart be light.
Here we are as in olden days,
Happy golden days of yore.
Faithful friends who are dear to us
Gather near to us once more.
The people who walked in darkness
have seen a great light;
those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness,
on them has light shone.
(Isaiah 9:2 ESV)
Posted by Erin on December 25, 2012
http://thirdrowseat.wordpress.com/2012/12/25/joyeux-noel/
A year ago today I married the most amazing man I know.
What a year it’s been. I cannot imagine my life without my best friend, wisest confidant, and most gracious partner.
Thank you, love, for being an ever-present reminder to me that our God is good. I am delighted to be your wife and look forward to the next sixty years with joy.
Posted by Erin on October 21, 2012
http://thirdrowseat.wordpress.com/2012/10/21/happy-anniversary/
Last Friday was yard work day. Not usually my favorite day, but at least we had some lovely cool weather for it. A light sprinkle of rain in the morning helped soften the ground and loosen the roots of all those weeds that had snuck into our front garden bed. We spent hours trimming hedges, cutting back boxwoods, ripping out flowers that had seen better days, and shaping up our maple tree. Tomatillos and eggplants were pulled out of the garden boxes. The monster tomato plant that was overtaking our little lilac tree was chopped down. We dug carrots out of cool black dirt. We filled an entire dumpster with yard waste.
It felt good. Good to work with our hands. Good to be dirty. Good to rip out the old and make space for the new.
Good to celebrate the coming of a new season in the garden and in life.
This summer had it’s highs and lows. And the low points often felt like they won. We experienced a lot of change and loss this summer. It wasn’t fun. In fact it was not fun at all. The good news is that wasn’t our whole story. Our kitchen was filled with pie and our table shared with friends. Our friends laughed and cried with us, made us dinner, and prayed for us. We celebrated new marriages, toasted to the life of dear friends, and snuck away for weekends of rest.
I’ve been thinking a lot recently about the turning over from one season to the next and I’m hoping that this next season will be one full of joy. I’m so glad that even though the last few months have been hard on my heart, I’m still walking into the fall with a bountiful harvest behind me and plenty of good earth in front of me. My hope is not foolish because I know that my God is faithful, he calls me to live a full life here on earth, and he promises that when I seek him, I will find him. He promises to restore what is broken.
Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat their produce. Take wives and have sons and daughters; take wives for your sons, and give your daughters in marriage, that they may bear sons and daughters; multiply there, and do not decrease. But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the LORD on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare.
(Jeremiah 29:5-7 ESV)For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you, declares the LORD, and I will restore your fortunes and gather you from all the nations and all the places where I have driven you, declares the LORD, and I will bring you back to the place from which I sent you into exile.
(Jeremiah 29:11-14 ESV)
Posted by Erin on September 20, 2012
http://thirdrowseat.wordpress.com/2012/09/20/late-summer-harvest/
Last week I celebrated my thirty first birthday. Thirty. One. Dang. My darling husband took me away for a two day stay-cation to celebrate. To step back from life and breathe.
We enjoyed some fine cocktails at the rooftop bar. We sat in the sunshine and read books for hours. We browsed the record shop until we found just enough Yacht Rock to go home with.
Then we went home and eased our way back into real life. A slow birthday breakfast at my favorite local diner. Snuggling with the boys. Flowers, presents, and a home-made dinner with the man I love.
Blessed be the LORD,
for he has wondrously shown his steadfast love to me
when I was in a besieged city.
I had said in my alarm,
“I am cut off from your sight.”
But you heard the voice of my pleas for mercy
when I cried to you for help.
Love the LORD, all you his saints!
The LORD preserves the faithful
but abundantly repays the one who acts in pride.
Be strong, and let your heart take courage,
all you who wait for the LORD!
(Psalm 31:21-24 ESV)
Posted by Erin on August 15, 2012
http://thirdrowseat.wordpress.com/2012/08/15/turning-31/
Summertime is birthday time in our house. Mr. Thirdrow seat and I celebrate our birthdays just two and a half weeks apart from each other. While we enjoy a night on the town and a restaurant meal (especially the part where someone else does that dishes), we often choose to celebrate around our own kitchen table. Since we both enjoy cooking so much it is a fabulous treat to throw the grocery budget by the wayside and tackle something extraordinary for one another.
My man loves lamb. He can’t get enough of it. If it’s on the menu he’s almost sure to order it. When Gordon Ramsey serves it up on The F Word or MasterChef he can’t stop talking about it. Clearly it was time for some lamb to find it’s way into our own kitchen.
First stop, you guessed it, Costco. Their meat selection is always surprisingly lovely – good for the belly and the wallet. Next, I had to find the perfect recipe and it was good old Gordon to the rescue. We watched Gordon make his Herb Crusted Rack of Lamb on The F Word earlier this summer and it seemed both fancy enough for a birthday and simple enough for a novice lamb chef like me.
The recipe was easy to follow, not overly complicated, and quite delicious. I followed the directions exactly, save one point – I ran out of fresh parsley. Our plant had burned to a crisp in the mid-summer heat wave and I hadn’t noticed until it was too late (as in, my lamb was on the stove). So, I used dried parsley in my breading. Although it was delicious, I’m certain it would have been better with fresh parsley (and prettier, too!).
Happy birthday to my favorite man on the planet. I’m delighted to be called your wife, thankful for who you are, and looking forward to celebrating many more birthdays with you! Next year… lobster?
Posted by Erin on August 7, 2012
http://thirdrowseat.wordpress.com/2012/08/07/fancy-pants-dinner-part-one/
My friend Kim is an amazing lady. Her and her husband are a constant example to us of what it means to be generous – with our time, our money, and our hearts. It was our pleasure to host Kim and some friends for her birthday dinner on our patio last Friday and I was thrilled when I learned that crème brûlée is her favorite dessert.
I’ve been making crème brûlée for years, but only on special occasions. Don’t be intimidated though, it’s simple dish to make. It just takes some time and extra care … and a lot of cream, eggs, and sugar!
Special supplies: 6-8 oven safe ramekins and a small kitchen torch (Note: I once used my dad’s regular torch from the garage. It worked but I think my mom almost had a heart attack when she saw me using the blow torch in the kitchen.)
1 quart heavy whipping cream
1 (juicy!) mexican vanilla bean (I find the best deal and quality of vanilla beans to be at Penzy’s Spices.)
1 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
6 egg yolks
berries of choice for garnish
Carefully slice your vanilla bean in half, lengthwise and scrape out the center. Add the bean shell and insides to the cream in a heavy saucepan. Bring the mixture to a broil slowly over medium heat stirring often. Once it has reached a boil, remove it from the heat, cover, and let rest for ten minutes to cool slightly.
Preheat your oven to 325 degrees.
While the cream is cooling, make your vanilla sugar. Combine the sugar and vanilla extract. Fluff with a fork until well combined and homogenous in color. Whisk together the egg yolks and 1/2 cup of the vanilla sugar.
Next, prepare your baking dishes. Place ramekins into a 9×13 baking dish (I needed 2 dishes for all of my ramekins, 4 in each 9×13 pan).
Once the cream has cooled slightly, whisk a generous ladle of the cream mixture into the egg yolks. Add one ladle at a time until the entire mixture is incorporated. Pour the mixture into the waiting ramekins. Fill the surrounding 9×13 pan with hot water until the water comes about halfway up the sides of the ramekins holding the cream. Bake in the oven for about 40 minutes. The cream should be just set and still a bit jiggly, barely starting to brown on top if at all.
Once removed from the oven, store in the refrigerator for a minimum of three hours before serving. When ready to serve, top each ramekin with a thin, even layer of the remaining vanilla sugar. Gently torch until a nice golden brown shell covers the top. Garnish with berries and serve immediately.
(If you, by some miracle, have leftovers, wait to torch them until you are ready to eat them!)
Posted by Erin on June 13, 2012
http://thirdrowseat.wordpress.com/2012/06/13/creme-brulee-for-kim/
Our beautiful wedding album arrived in the mail yesterday. I barely did anything else before I tore open the package and went through it page by page. It’s only been seven months since that wonderful day and looking through the pictures helped me remember the moments I’ve already forgotten. I’m such a blessed girl.
Click on the album cover to view.
A huge thank you to our photographers, Jim and Matt Britton, who did such a great job capturing our special day.
I designed our wedding album using mixbook.com and have been incredibly pleased with the experience. I’m sure I’ll use them again!
Posted by Erin on June 6, 2012
http://thirdrowseat.wordpress.com/2012/06/06/wedding-album/
Posted by Erin on May 23, 2012
http://thirdrowseat.wordpress.com/2012/05/23/vacation-story/
