2 Years of Love & A Bright Future...

It's been a busy couple of weeks and my posting has become sporadic, but believe me when I tell you that lots of fun and exciting things are happening here in my household.

Yesterday hubby and I celebrated 2 whole years of marriage - TWO years!  I cannot believe how fast time has passed.  These truly have been the most amazing two years of my little life.  My husband is beyond amazing and our future is bright - we're looking forward to what's ahead.  To celebrate, last night we had date night at home with homemade Lemon Thyme Roasted Chicken and Potatoes and yummy homemade Chocolate Mousse with Strawberries.  I got hubby a wii (he's been wanting one for a while) and he wrote me beautiful vows (since we didn't write our own for our wedding), and gave me beautiful flowers and a ticket to the December Beth Moore conference.  I'd say it was a pretty special evening.  :)

Here are a few photos from our wedding.  Jeremy and Hara Cook from Cook Images were our photographers - they did an amazing job.  It truly was the most beautiful day of my life...take a look.

So speaking of the future - we have some news to share.  Are you ready for this??  This southern belle is packing her house (with yorkie in tow) and moving to Monterey, California!  It feels as if it's all happened so fast, I'm still trying to catch my breath, but it's an exciting season for sure.  Hubby has been offered a Creative Arts position at Calvary Montery and we couldn't be more thrilled.  I'm especially looking forward to exploring a new place, enjoying the great outdoors a bit more and making new friends.  And while I'm excited, I do have to say that it's all a bit bittersweet.  Family, friends and this little beach town are all so close to my heart, I know homesickness is on the horizon.  I'm sure you'll be seeing a lot more posts once we get settled into our new home come January 2012 - I'll need something aside from what I miss to distract me in those first few months.    

I'm thrilled we'll be home to celebrate the holidays one last time, I'm trying to soak up every moment of it.  I know it will be over before we know it.  However, if anyone has any advice on moving cross country (pods vs moving van, shipping car companies, where to find boxes, etc.) I would LOVE to know.  I'm a newbie at long distance moving.  

To celebrate our happy 2 years and to take a few days together before the packing/holiday madness begins, we're skipping town and road tripping it to either New Orleans or Atlanta this weekend - we'll decide tonight.  Thanks for all of the Happy Anniversary wishes we received yesterday & thanks for all of the support friends and family have given to our big change.  Looking forward to what's ahead.

Lots of love....

Apple Cobbler

Hallelujah - we have ac again!  In Florida, you can NEVER take your working ac unit for granted.  Sure, it racks up the power bill, but oh my goodness, it keeps this girl in a good mood.

What a crazy week it's been.  Hubby and I are preparing to head to Monterey, California (yay!) Sat to lead worship for a church on Sun.  We're so looking forward to being on the West Coast, taking in "mountains" & ocean (anything larger than a sand dune is a mountain to me :), breathing in the fresh air and scoping out the fun local places.  Any suggestions as to what we should do/see while we're there?

As I mentioned a few posts ago, my sister was recently in town and as usual, her visit was far too short.  For her last night home we made a big g-free dinner - it was delish!  We made one of my new favorite meals from a recent Martha Stewart magazine, Braised Chicken with Potatoes, Olives & Lemon, and it's naturally g-free (& oh so beautiful)! (The only substitution I make is swapping out the cornstarch for arrowroot pwdr.)  It was a hit.  To wash down the chicken, we had Apple Cobbler & topped it with vanilla ice cream - can you say yummy??  You can bet this Apple Cobbler will be making a Thanksgiving appearance.  It was so fantastic, I decided to share.  Would love to hear your thoughts, if you give it a try.

Gluten Free Apple Cobbler

Filling
5-6 Green Apples, peeled & sliced
3/4 Cup White Sugar
2 T Brown Sugar
1/4 Cup Almond Flour
1 t Cinnamon
1/2 t Nutmeg
1 t Vanilla Extract
1/4 Cup Hot Water
2 T Butter, Softened

Topping
1/2 Cup Almond Flour
1/2 Cup Arrowroot Powder
1/4 Cup White Sugar
1/4 Cup Brown Sugar
1/4 t Salt
2 T Butter, Softened
1 Egg

Directions
Serves 6

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. In a large bowl, combine all filling ingredients, leaving out the butter.  Toss gently and pour into a lightly greased square baking dish.
3. With a teaspoon, spoon softened butter in several rows on top of filling.
4. Combine topping ingredients and mix until batter is smooth.  Drop batter on top of filling in spoonfulls, evenly (I like to use an ice cream scoop).
5. Bake for 35 minutes or until top is golden and filling is bubbly.
6. Serve with vanilla ice cream or whipped topping.

{Prepared and ready to bake}

{Baked to crispy, flakey, gooey-apple perfection!}

{I'm pretty sure it's safe to say we licked the dish clean}

Okay, I'm off to do some packing & sneak in a few bites of the sushi my hubby just walked in with!  Lots of love...