Firecracker - Ryan Adams

Well, everybody wants to go forever

I just wanna burn up hard and bright

I just wanna be your firecracker...

BJ turned 30 last week. We celebrated. A lot. {Set an impossible standard for him to live up to on MY 30th!} 

Ahem. First, we had a party. 

Obviously, I blocked out my phone number on the large likelihood that my blog goes viral and I get super-famous overnight. I'm a very practical person. 

I'm a bit of a theme-whore. Pinterest has not done good things for my hostessing-related OCD. 

But if you're a party guest of mine, it has done good things for you. Unless, of course, you're my husband and these giant images of you were plastered everywhere:

Is that remote irritating {driving batsh*t crazy} anyone else?

You'll have to forgive me, a recent trip to Mexico has turned me into Yoda. English is not currently my first language, due to the thinking of how to be saying the things in Spanish. 

Like I said, lots with the celebrating. More on that later. 

Sidenote: I'm getting soooo much better with photoshop, don't you think? Ha.

All the best people were there, {except those of you who weren't} our whole family (who were a HUGE help! Thank you ALL!), lots of coworkers/friends, and even little Matty! He and BJ have been best friends since high school and hadn't seen each other in 3.5 years. 

Sidenote II: He's the genius {balls out amazing artist} behind Rogue Crow and I can't wait for him to make it big so I can say I know him and stuff. Check him out here.

Also, I suck at getting pictures of people together so here is a very complicated {definitely wrong} math equation to make me feel better about sucking at getting pictures of people together:

(Emily + Matt) + (Sarah + Dahl + Emily + Christian) + (Sarah + BJ + Me x Lorax mustache on my eyebrows?) = Matt & BJ forever!

Three conclusions - 1. Sarah had the best {most terrifying} mustache by far. 2. The fact that I used "math" to make myself feel better empirically proves that I need more social occasions such as this. 3. The look on my face empirically proves that I needed less wine than I had had at this point in the evening...

It was a wonderful night and lots of fun was had. You should have been there. 

And finally, Sarah for the win. What a babe.

You can download the song here.

The Wild Hunt - Tallest Man on Earth

I left my heart to the wild hunt a-comin'

I live until the call

And I plan to be forgotten when I'm gone

Yes I'll be leavin' in the fall...

The delicious smell of Autumn is here, it is as crisp as fresh-picked apples and as cool as a clear-running stream. It is the scent of seasons turning over as people start to burn things in their fireplaces and pack away their sandals. The farmers' markets are bursting at the seams with enormous squash and pumpkins. Soon I'll make butternut apple soup and pumpkin risotto cakes. I'll drink hot chocolate in the mornings instead of tea, and wear BJ's sweaters so I can joyfully gain my "hibernation weight". Back home, the fields will start to turn gold and the horses will kick and buck and run for no apparent reason. They are invigorated, as I am, with this delectable, drinkable air.  


Midwestern Fall is the thing I missed most in California {except for YOU, dear Family Member or Friend reading this...} Yes, October in San Francisco is beautiful in an entirely different Indian Summer sort of way, and eventually the leaves turn yellowish and fall off the trees, but when stepping on them one can't get a proper "crunch". That's a deal-breaker for me. And they often didn't turn until January. It threw off my internal clock in all sorts of ways... This year, Kansas just feels right and my body soul knows I'm home. 

The other night BJ and I built a fire, turned on some music, and relaxed in our backyard. It is the simplest of things that are always the best for me. 

Life just feels richer this time of year, don't you think?

I snapped this in a CVS parking lot the other day. The trees are bursting into glorious flames and beauty is everywhere. If I could choose any month for any thing to happen it would be October. Good things are made better, hell, bad things are made better by the wonder of this season. 

It is fitting that JoAnn Bennett Ida was born on this day. Every year on October 22 I celebrate her life with a few ice-cubes and some cheap Chardonnay. I suppose I should also have a few potato sticks and some mayonnaise, but I like to think Noni is having enough for both of us. 

I found this photo of her in a book. On the back in my grandfather's handwriting is simply written: JoAnn. On her face is simply written: happiness. 

You can download the song here. 

Ellie Goulding - How Long Will I Love You?

"How long will I love you?
As long as stars are above you
And longer if I can..."

Look what I got to help with {twice!} in the last month - Twinnies! 

Tara of Tara Miesner Photography is my favorite photographer and best friend in the whole wide world. She is amazing with these little ones and I am constantly in awe of her knowledge and skill. 

In the world of digital photography it would seem that anyone can grab a DSLR, a copy of photoshop and voilà: have the perfect photo! In reality, a tremendous amount of skill and hard work  goes into creating those beautiful images. Here is a tiny peek at what goes on behind the scenes...

 

All four little guys were so fun to snuggle, {my ovaries are aaaaaching!} and watching Tara work never ceases to amaze me. 

Check out my instagram {@caitlinashworth} for a video from the first shoot. 

Tara is truly a professional, no quotation marks required. She soothes, wiggles, and {when necessary} composites these little darlings into the beautiful poses you can see on her website. Link above.) Above all, she keeps the babes safe and comfy!

I am so fortunate to have life-long friends, I know a lot of people never get to experience that and sometimes I take it for granted. Tara and I have been friends for {almost} 25 years, and there's no doubt that we'll be friends for {at least!} 25 more. 

I am grateful for our friendship every. single. day. 

Tara is a wonderful example of how to follow your dreams. I don't think it ever occurred to her not to, and she makes it look so easy! She gives the best advice, and has this amazing way of helping you see the up-side without making you want to slap her... I still haven't figured out her secret to that! She's a sweet, loving mother, and a wonderful patient wife - but she's also a REAL person. She's my person, and I love her so. 



Ahem... anywho... to see the finished product you can check her out on Facebook here, on her blog here, or click the link earlier in the post to view her full website. 

And, as always, you can download the song here.

Salvation Song - The Avett Brothers

"We came for salvation 
We came for family 
We came for all that's good that's how we'll walk away 
We came to break the bad 
We came to cheer the sad 
We came to leave behind the world a better way..." 

This is Joe. 

He's my brother. 

Worth adores him, his observational humor splits my sides on a daily basis, he's well on his way to hangin' out with Tiger and Phil, he's got the patience of Mother Theresa, he'll watch any movie and give it a rave review {27 Dresses; The Babysitter}, and bring you bagels or Chick-fil-A anytime you like. 

My brother turned 25 last week {6 weeks ago}. It's hard to believe he's {I'm} so old now. 

We celebrated this guy by eating at this place:

With these people:

 

 

We admired {were weirded out by} this art:

We ate some of these:

Only very slightly more cooked for most of us, except that Hartert kid...)

We also ate some beyond delicious mac & cheese. You should try it. Seriously. 

By the time it came to the table I had been given this look about my incessant photography:

Sooooo, that's it.  Love ya bud.

Download the song here.

Royals - Lorde

"Life is great without a care, we aren't caught up in your love affairand we'll never be royals, it don't run in our bloodthat kind of lux just ain't for us, we crave a different kind of buzz..."

You guuuyyyyysssss. Sorry I've been away. And sorry for being all "you guuuyyyyyssss." It's just really been that kinda day {/week/month/summer}. Been REAL busy. Check it out, yo.

My buses came to visit us!

Sorry for the crappy self-facing iPhone photo... It may or may not have been creeping up on 2am. We may or may not have had our daily recommended {very} healthy servings of wine.

Bus. Bus. Bus. I could write an entire blog about our {many} adventures, instead I'll just say that I love these girls more than Caramel Delights and Skinny Pop.

Zia had on some very concerning red lipstick.

When my bus Val comes, we pretty much center the whole visit around food. It's our buzz. {yeah... so my whole life is centered around food... but we'll use Val as an excuse.} Doesn't have to be fancy, just has to be good. 

Local Pig is relatively new on the KC food scene and BOY have they quickly become a contenda! I can't recommend them enough, whether you're after locally sourced meat {of almost any kind}, specialty food items {some I'd never heard of!}, or just a damn delicious lunch, Local Pig is your NEW BEST FRIEND. Check them out at 2618 Guinotte Ave, KCMO. (This post is not sponsored, I just seriously love this place like whoa.) 

We always wear our Freshly Picked Moccs when we go to the coolest places... duh.

We came, we played in the rocks, we ate. This. We almost forgot to take a picture of it before we devoured it. "It" was a delicious Cuban. I must have already eaten all the homemade chips. 

We did a fun photoshoot. {P.S. Don't do a photoshoot after you have stuffed your faces full.}  

We went inside so I could buy some sausages and beef and pork chops and eggs and honey and coffee and stuffed dates and shaving cream and spices and... this could go on for a while...

Locally made Oddly Correct Coffee 

Who doesn't like mason jars?

They butcher in-house. They teach classes. They have rad tattoos. They have a slightly scary cow poster. What's not to love?

Yayyyyyy Local Pig!

Stay tuned for more catching up... 

Download the song here.

Peaches - The Presidents of the United States of America

"I'm movin' to the country I'm gonna eat a lot of peaches 

Movin' to the country I'm gonna eat a lot of peaches.." 

A few years ago my dad planted some peach trees. This year they produced some crazy good fruit. Look how pretty they are!

They're all so juicy and fuzzy, and such a lovely shade of... peach!

Sometimes tiny stealer monkeys gank food from my photoshoots...

and make giant messes...

 

We have so many that I've been desperately trying to come up with ways to use them up before they go bad. Hot weather + yummy peaches + new ice cream maker = duh. 

Helloooo Homemade Peach Ice Cream. Get in my mouth. After I make you. Over the course of three days. 

Day 1: Peach Prep, sugar, and giant monkey mess clean-up.

Day 2: A photo-ruining (but otherwise heavenly) rainy day, 

Mixin' it up and coolin' it off.

(Certain ingredients not pictured. Because they were ugly.)

Day 3: Scoop. Eat. Enjoy.

Recipe

Ingredients:

Ripe Fresh Peaches - 4 cups sliced (peeled if desired)

Raw Sugar -          1/2 cup

Flour -              2 tbsp

Salt -               1 pinch

Eggs -               3 beaten

Whipping Cream -     1 cup

Vanilla -            1 tsp

Whole Milk -         4 & 1/2 cup

Instructions:

Slice peaches, sprinkle sugar sparingly and allow to sit at room temperature for several hours (or overnight) until they are nice and juicy.

Blend or mash (depending on desired consistency), set aside.

Over LOW heat, combine remaining sugar, flour, salt, and eggs. Cook VERY slowly, stirring frequently, until it begins to thicken. 

*Be very careful not to let the eggs scramble! (If they do, do not despair, simply strain through a mesh sieve and discard overcooked bits.)

Transfer to another container and cool to room temperature.

Once cool, add whipping cream and vanilla, whisk to combine.

Stir in milk and peaches.

Refrigerate until thoroughly cooled (several hours or overnight).

Freeze per ice-cream maker's instructions.

Enjoy!

Notes - I am not a big dessert eater, and tend to like mine a little less on the sweet side, so feel free to up the sugar content to satisfy your sweet-tooth. Next time, I'll leave my peaches a little more chunky, or add freshly cut peach pieces to the mixture before it goes in the ice cream maker. I thought that would have added something extra (and used up more peaches!). I was flying by the seat of my pants when I came up with this recipe, so I look forward to any suggestions you may have! 

Download the song here.