clementine was not the biggest fan of santa claus!

– ryan & gub

for the second year in a row, we went to kinsey family farms in search of the sterritt family christmas tree! it’s about an hour outside of atlanta and offers some great winter agritourism. besides picking out a tree, there’s plenty of holiday fun to be had! they have tractor rides, a petting zoo, and even hot cocoa & s’mores by a bonfire.

kinsey farms offers lots of christmas tree options as well. there are pre-cut firs, living trees, cut-your-own trees, as well as small charlie brown style ones and various wreaths. we went with a cut-your-own leyland cyprus like last year. clementine was a big help cutting down the tree, as you can see in the photos.

check out our post from last winter when we first discovered kinsey family farms. we are glad we’ve made it an annual family holiday tradition!

– ryan & gub

kinsey family farms

7170 jot-em down road
gainesville, ga 30506
770-887-6028

the 2012 batdorf & bronson holiday blend is now available at dancing goats! it’s a great dark, spicy coffee for those cold winter mornings.

– ryan

dancing goats coffee bar

419 west ponce de leon ave
decatur, ga 30030
404-687-1100

happy thanksgiving! we decided to stay in atlanta and spend our first thanksgiving with just the four of us at home this year. this also meant we had to come up with a thanksgiving meal! to make things a little easier, we ordered an oven-roased turkey from the mercantile, which was amazing! mercantile is a local sandwich/prepared meal spot right down the road. our friends were super generous and made tasty sides for us (and delivered them). we made our own gravy and mashed potatoes, but other than that, we just enjoyed a fun day with grey and clem. we were definitely pampered!

we started the day with some coffee, our traditional breakfast casserole and the macys day parade! we thought it was pretty cool to see a maces commissioned kaws float in the parade! coincidentally, both of our families have been making the same breakfast casserole on holidays since we were kids. clementine was a big fan as well!

happy holidays!

– ryan & gub

the mercantile

1660 deKalb avenue northeast #150
atlanta, ga 30307
404-378-0096

breakfast casserole recipe:

ingredients:
6-8 slices bread
1 lb sausage (ground or link)
8 oz shredded cheese
6 eggs beaten
2 cups milk (or half ‘n half)

directions:
– preheat oven to 350 and grease 9″ x 13″ baking dish
– break up bread (remove crust if desired) and spread throughout baking dish
– brown sausage, drain well and spoon over bread slices
– spread shredded cheese over sausage & bread
– combine eggs & milk, mix well and pour over cheese
– cover and chill over night
– remove from fridge 15 minutes before baking
– bake uncovered @350 for 45 minutes or until golden brown
– serves eight

happy halloween! we had quite the hectic halloween for sure. it was our first full day back from the hospital with grey and we still had to finish costumes and carve our enormous 30 lb pumpkin. gub made clementine a bubble’s costume, which she mainly wanted to pull pieces off of. there was also a short-lived blowing wand to go with the bubble’s costume, we have a blurry photo to prove it. none the less, it was great being home with the kids for halloween!

be sure to check out our spooky jack-o-lantern tv! we bought an old thrift store tv a few years ago and spray painted it pumpkin orange. we just cut out blue painters tape for the mouth and eyes on the screen, which we peeled off after the paint dried. viola, a great reusable halloween decoration for under $10!

you should also check out photos from clementine’s 1st halloween last year!

– gub & ryan

we took clementine to washington farms this weekend for some fall festivities and had a blast! there was a pumpkin patch, a huge corn maze, a petting zoo, pig races, slides and plenty more. clementine loved all of the outdoor space to run around and being able to pet the goats, bunnies, chicken, horses, donkeys, peacocks & more. she also enjoyed trying to lift the pumpkins, although they were mostly too heavy.

the patch still had ripe pumpkins on the vine, which was exciting! we grabbed a wheel barrow and headed out in the field to pick our favorites. we ended up getting 3 pumpkins, including a huge 30 lb pumpkin!

if you are looking for some fall festivities that are close to atlanta (about an hour away), definitely consider washington farms. we had a lot of fun and will be heading back next year!

be sure to also check out our fall outing post from last year to see how much clementine has grown.

– ryan & gub

washington farms

5691 hog mountain road
watkinsville, ga 30677
706-769-0627

happy 4th! we just got back from visiting maine, so expect lots of fun travel posts to come!

– ryan & gub

i enjoyed a relaxing father’s day hanging out with gub and clementine! we relaxed by the kiddie pool and made some ice cream with this awesome wooden ice cream maker gub got me! it’s crazy what a difference a year makes.

– ryan

happy mother’s day! clementine and i made this cut-out card for gub (from clementine’s handprints) and we also got her a sorbet peony and a visit to the jeju sauna!

it feels like it’s been ages since my first father’s day.

– ryan & clementine

happy easter! clementine had a blast playing with her first easter basket of goodies. afterwards we dyed some eggs, although they weren’t nearly as crafty as our stenciled eggs a couple of years ago.

– ryan & gub