Merry Christmas!

Wishing all our family, friends and blog readers a Merry Christmas!

First visit with Santa!

Okay, so we've been horrendously busy this Christmas season but I had to add these photos for your viewing pleasure. We visited Santa today and it went SO much better than I thought it would. Well, have a look for yourself!

And then the elf tried to tickle him...

Merry Christmas everyone!

Thanksgiving - Alaska style!

We had a great Thanksgiving! We made the turkey and all the trimmings. And we got to play in the snow! We ended up with about 6 inches and it was the first white Thanksgiving we've ever had. It was a lot of fun! Here are some photos from the day!

Pumpkin pancakes

Well, these were a hit around my house last weekend. Dominic loved them, Bill loved them, it was great! It's a perfect breakfast meal for the season!

Pumpkin Pancakes
2 cups Bisquick
2 large eggs
1 1/4 cups milk
1 cup pumpkin puree
2 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
a pinch of allspice


Preheat electric skillet to 375 degrees.

Whisk all ingredients together until well blended. Do not over mix. Let it rest for 10 minutes. If you prefer a thinner batter, add more milk to desired consistency.

Turn the skillet down to 350 degrees.

Ladle quarter cup portions onto the skillet. Once edges are firm and bubbles appear, flip them once and cook another 1-3 minutes.

Serve immediately with margarine and syrup!

Monkey in the Museum!

I took Dominic down to Anchorage Museum at Rasmuson Center for their first annual Fall Carnival! There were all sorts of activities for kids, snacks and spooky stories. It was so cute seeing all the kids in their costumes.

And of course, Dominic had a great time! Here are a few photos from today:

Flashback Friday!

Who doesn't love a good flashback? Well, this one's a doozy. This photo was taken two years ago (this upcoming weekend). My best friend Cara and I went as Robin-of-the-Hood and Tinkerbell. Who would have thought that one year from then we would be up to our ears in newborns? My son was born in August 2009 and her daughter arrived 6 weeks later. It's a great photo but it makes me miss my pre-baby body. *Sigh*

Anyway, for more flashbacks please visit The Adventures of Christopher and Tia

Time for autumn!

Infections, distractions and sunsets

We had quite a weekend. It started out with Dominic coming down with a double ear infection. After two trips to the ER, antibiotics and many sleepless nights I think he is finally on the mend. I don't think there is anything scarier than having baby who is running a 103.6 degree fever and feeling helpless. I was so busy taking care of him, that I barely had any time to take photos for class much less complete the photo challenge.

But in any case, here is at least one photo I took for the "sunset" portion of the challenge:

This is the sky just over our backyard looking West. The colors were amazing!

I hope everyone is having a great week!

The perfect autumn meal!

Okay, so as I've said before I love to try new recipes (new to me) and I stumbled across this recipe in my Rachael Ray cookbook. I made this last night and it was a hit!

Maple Mustard Barbecued Pork Chops and Grilled Apples

Ingredients:
1/2 cup dark amber apple syrup
4 tablespoons, 1/4 cup, spicy brown mustard
1/4 cup apple cider
1/4 medium onion, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon allspice, eyeball it in your hand
1 teaspoon ground cumin, 1/3 palm full
8 center cut boneless pork loin chops, 1-inch thick
Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling
Grill seasoning blend or salt and pepper (preferred brand McCormick Montreal Steak Seasoning)
3 golden delicious apples, sliced across into 1/2-thick inch disks
Preheat grill pan or nonstick griddle pan over medium high heat. Preheat electric table top grills to high. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Cooking directions:
Combine maple syrup, mustard, cider, onion, allspice and cumin in a small saucepan and cook together over moderate heat for 5 minutes until sauce begins to thicken a bit.

Coat chops lightly in oil and season with salt and pepper. Cook chops on hot grill pan or indoor grill 3 minutes on each side. Baste chops liberally with sauce, cook 2 or 3 minutes more. Transfer chops to a baking sheet. Baste again with sauce and transfer to a hot oven to finish cooking them. Bake 10 to 12 minutes, until your apples are ready to come off the grill pan.

Wash apples but do not core or peel. Coat apple slices with a drizzle of oil. Season with grill seasoning or salt and pepper. Cover grill pan or indoor tabletop grill with as many pieces of apple as possible. As the apples get tender, pull them off and replace with more slices. Apples should cook 3 minutes on each side, you don't want them too soft, just tender.

Platter chops with apples along side and serve.

I also made one of my favorite recipes from Giada De Laurentiis- Tomato Vegetable Casserole

Tomato Vegetable Casserole

Ingredients
1 medium potato, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 medium yam, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 red bell pepper, seeded and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
2 carrots, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
5 tablespoons olive oil
1 red onion, thinly sliced into rings
2 small or 1 large zucchini, cut crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick pieces
Salt and pepper
2 large ripe tomatoes, cut crosswise into 1/4-inch thick slices
1/2 cup grated Parmesan
2 tablespoons dried Italian-style bread crumbs
Fresh basil sprigs, for garnish

Directions
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Toss the potato, yam, bell pepper, carrots, and 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a 13 by 9 by 2-inch baking dish to coat. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and toss until coated. Spread vegetables evenly over the bottom of the pan.

Arrange the onion slices evenly over the vegetable mixture. Arrange the zucchini over the onion. Drizzle with 2 tablespoons of oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Arrange the tomato slices over the zucchini.

Stir the Parmesan and bread crumbs in a small bowl to blend. Sprinkle the Parmesan bread crumbs over the vegetables in the baking dish. Drizzle with the last tablespoon of olive oil.

Bake uncovered until the vegetables are tender, and the topping is golden brown, about 40 minutes. Garnish with fresh basil sprigs, if desired.


I've made the veggies before. They get yummier every time I make them! This pork chop will definitely return to our menu soon!

Scavenger Hunt Sunday!

Back on the bandwagon I go! Here are my entries:

1. Pink

This doesn't scream "PINK" but it's one of my favorite pink items in my jewelry box. I bought it years ago when I was participating in Race for the Cure and I think it's held up pretty well!

2. Books

My son's bookself in his nursery. A mix of some of my childhood books, my husband's and some I got at my baby shower.

3. Fall Colors

This is our scarecrow in our foyer. It's full of fall colors and he's just so cute!

4. Leaf

Fall foliage hit Anchorage about 3 weeks ago so as a result, there are leaves all over the place. It's not like a New England foliage, it's a little more dreary. These are the leaves outside our front door.

5. Orange

While taking Dom's fall photos in the backyard, he caught a glimpse of the chocolate lab next door. He loved the pumpkin but I think the dog was much more interesting!

Next week's scavenger hunt items are:

1. Side Lighting
2. Jack-O-Lantern
3. Faces formed in nature
4. Sunset
5. Warm

Love these themes! I just love this time of year!

Wordless Wednesday [father & son]

Apple Mania!

We've been baking a lot here lately. Mostly new recipes (new to me...with my own added twist) to celebrate the leaves falling and cooler weather. I recently went to Target and picked up some ramekins in the $1.00 isle ($2.50 for a set of 4....not bad at all!). I knew I wanted to make something with them especially for Thanksgiving. My husband came across this recipe this afternoon and we decided to give it a try!

Easy Apple Dumplings

4 apples - peeled, cored and sliced into wedges
1/2 cup of sugar (or Splenda)
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. brown sugar
1/2 cup of all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp. of baking powder
1/8 tsp. of salt
1 egg beaten
4 tbsp. melted butter (or margarine)
1 tsp. vanilla

1. Prepare apples and butter 4 ramekins.
2. Mix 1/4 cup of the sugar with the cinnamon and brown sugar. Roll the apples in the sugar/cinnamon/brown sugar mixture and place into ramekins. We were able to put 5 apple wedges into each ramekin. Sprinkle the remaining mixture over the apples.
3. Stir together 1/4 cup of the remaining sugar with the flour, baking powder and salt. In a separate bowl, mix the egg, butter and vanilla. (Since the butter will be hot, you will need to temper your eggs to keep them from scrambling. Add the egg mixture to the flour mixture. It should have a batter consistency.
4. Spoon batter over the apples and bake in a 375 degree oven for 35-40 minutes.
5 Serve with whipped cream or ice cream.

The end result (before the dab of whipped cream):

Scavenger Hunt Sunday!

I've been MIA regarding my photo challenges. With relatives visiting and life just being busy, I haven't even had much time to photograph anything (sad, huh?). Anyway, I'm jumping back on the bandwagon next week and here are the hunt items:

1. Pink
2. Books
3. Fall Colors
4. Leaf
5. Orange

Sounds like a lot of fun! For this past week's scavenger hunt items visit the link below:

And stay tuned for my interpretations next week!

One Filthy Child

Tonight we let Dominic feed himself some ravioli. Now normally we do allow him to feed himself snacks but never a messy entree. Mr. "I'm too cool to wear a bib" (he yanks it off every.single.time) decided to stuff his face, hair, nose and onesie with the pasta. I couldn't allow this moment to pass without taking a few photos.

About 10 minutes after these photos were taken, I just had to give him a bath. He was so incredibly sticky!

It's October! Think Pink!

I wanted to send out a reminder that today kicks off Breast Cancer Awareness Month! Please remind your mothers, sisters and friends to get their annual mammograms....yes, it's THAT important. It could just save your life.

And also remember to support your local chapter of Susan G. Komen foundation. Since my home state is Maryland and Alaska does not have a chapter (can you believe that?!), I have included the link for Race for the Cure Maryland below. It's this Sunday, October 3rd in Hunt Valley, Maryland. If you can't make it on Sunday, don't fret! There's another way to participate...Sleep in for the Cure! $35.00 gets you a Race for the Cure t-shirt - you supply the pajama pants and pillow in the comfort of your own home!

Click on the logo below for more details!

Special Announcement about Product Reviews!

I am happy to announce I am now accepting product reviews! If you have a product that needs reviewing (and free advertisement) please contact me and I would be more than happy to review your product. Here are a few things you should know about my product reviews:

1. I can review anything but I prefer to keep it family-friendly. Both handmade and commercially-made products are welcomed.
2. I can review either a sample or regular-sized product (whichever will give me the full impression of the product's function).
3. I will not return your product to you after I have reviewed it. So be prepared to restock your inventory for that one product.
4. I will never leave a negative product review on my blog. It's just poor form and doesn't benefit you or myself. If I do have a problem with the product, I will always contact you to discuss why and ask questions.
5. Turnaround time for the review is one month. This gives me enough time to use the product and write my review. If you have a deadline you need to meet, please let me know and we can probably work out something.

There's nothing I like more than to discover new products and help entrepreneurs with the marketing of their product. If you or someone you know is interested, please contact me at the top of this page!

And now for the disclosure policy:

This policy is valid from 26 September 2010

This blog is a personal blog written and edited by me. For questions about this blog, please contact me (thinsliceofparadise@yahoo.com).

This blog does not accept any form of cash advertising, sponsorship, or paid topic insertions. However, we will and do accept and keep free products, services, travel, event tickets, and other forms of compensation from companies and organizations.

The owner(s) of this blog will never receive compensation in any way from this blog.

The owner(s) of this blog is not compensated to provide opinion on products, services, websites and various other topics. The views and opinions expressed on this blog are purely the blog owners. If we claim or appear to be experts on a certain topic or product or service area, we will only endorse products or services that we believe, based on our expertise, are worthy of such endorsement. Any product claim, statistic, quote or other representation about a product or service should be verified with the manufacturer or provider.

This blog does not contain any content which might present a conflict of interest.

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Pop visits Alaska!

Bill's dad visited AK for two weeks! Here are some photos from our visit.

Visit from Nonna

Our Nonna came to visit from Annapolis! We had such a nice time hanging out with her. We visited Whittier and did some sightseeing along the Seward Highway. Here are some photos from our weekend with Nonna.

Happy 1st Birthday Dominic!

Today, our sweet boy turns 1! I just can't believe one year ago today I had this tiny little baby in my arms and now there's a rompin'-stompin' boy walking around the house. We are moving into toddlerhood at rapid speed! Here are some of his 1 year photos:

Wordless Wednesday [munching]

In A Yellow House Photo Challenge: Trees

Here is my entry:

I like this one too so I thought I'd share it anyway!

I have to say the most beautiful trees I've ever seen (besides palm trees in the Caribbean) are the Banyan trees in the Hawaiian islands. There is a banyan tree (the oldest in the islands) located in the middle of the terrace at the Westin Moana Surfrider on Oahu. It's the most amazing tree ever!