Matt and Hailee's Wedding

My brother-in-law, Matt the Marine, got married this weekend. Strings of lights, burlap and lace, and gorgeous flowers adorned a rustic barn transforming it into a breathtaking venue for a wedding. 

Here are a few glimpses from Matt and Hailee's special day.

 

Seth was the ring bearer.

 Bryan was the best man.

 

 They had a super cool groom's cake.

 

 

Keeping up with two kids proved to hurt my ability to take a lot of quality photos, 

but believe me when I say the wedding was beautiful.

Congratulations, Matt and Hailee!

 

Dr. Seuss Fun

On Friday, my friend Lara invited us over for some

 Dr. Seuss fun in honor of his birthday (which was Saturday).

 

Lara read the kids The Cat in the Hat.

All the kids got to make their own "cat in the hat" masks.

The kids lined up to throw rice-filled balloons into a hat.

You can kind of see the hat sitting on the floor in this photo.

The kids got to drink "cat in the hat" smoothies and 

eat fruit on a stick (bananas and strawberries to resemble the hat).

I would just like to say that I'm so thankful for friends that love us 

and go out of their way to accommodate the way we eat.

We played pin the hat on the cat.

 

The kids got to pretend they were various Dr. Seuss characters 

using some fun homemade accessories.

  
Then we finished off our morning of fun with a "Cat in the Hat"
craft which involved painting feet. 

Aren't they adorable?

What a fun celebration!!!

Making Beeswax Candles

When I saw local beeswax for sale at the Farmers' Market, 

I knew I wanted to try making some candles. The process wasn't difficult, 

and in fact it was kind of therapeutic.

Once my finished candle was burning, and the sweet smells of honey were filling the room, I knew it was something that I would like to do often. I might even take inspiration from some of these. I'm on the hunt for vintage bottles for sure.

Local Bounty: Shiitake Mushrooms

Look what showed up at the market this week! Shiitake mushrooms!!! I almost can't believe it. Mushrooms are difficult to grow, so I have a whole new level of respect for Tim and Meg. After attempting to grow some of our own food, I think it has made us appreciate these precious farmers and the rest of the Community Farmers' Market community even more. I asked Tim his favorite way to eat the shiitake mushrooms. He recommended venison with onions and mushrooms. So that's exactly how we ate them. They were mighty fine!

Maple Syrup Festival 2013

Today we headed to Auburn, KY for the annual 

Maple Syrup Festival at the Federal Grove Bed and Breakfast. 

We love some maple syrup around here so it was fascinating to see how it is produced.

 

There were buckets hanging on maple trees all around the bed and breakfast. 

Every so often you would see a drip.

 Once the sap is collected, it goes to the sugar house and gets boiled down for quite some time. It takes 35-50 gallons of sap to produce one gallon of maple syrup.

 Then all of that deliciousness is bottled up for all to enjoy...

and we definitely enjoy it!

Where We Stand with Food

 

a typical picnic lunch from the summer...

meatballs, steamed broccoli, strawberries, beets, kale, and summer squash 

It's been almost 10 months since we started a Paleo lifestyle. I'm not sure why it is so intriguing, but I get more questions about the way we eat than just about anything. So I thought it might be time for another update. You can read why we started Paleo here and how it has affected our lives here.
Because we still included raw dairy in our diets, we were technically eating a Primal diet. In November, after talking with Dr. F, we decided to give up raw dairy. We sold back our cow shares and gave up cheese, butter, sour cream, milk, yogurt, etc. I admit, I was a little sad because we had such great sources for local milk and cheeses.
Within a couple of weeks of being dairy-free, the bumps that I've had on my upper arms MY ENTIRE LIFE started to go away. The tiny bumps that had shown up on the boys' cheeks and arms started to go away, too. I learned very quickly how to use coconut milk as a dairy replacement in many of my recipes. We also found a couple good sources for dairy-free chocolate.

My biggest fear of going dairy-free was that the boys weren't going to be getting enough calcium. They don't drink a lot of bone broth (actually none) and they would have to eat lots and lots of cruciferous veggies to get adequate amounts of Calcium. They can only drink so many smoothies and juiced veggies a day after all. So we started the boys on a chewable Calcium supplement and they try to drink two glasses per day of orange juice fortified with Calcium. After being reassured by our pediatrician that the boys would be perfectly fine, we embraced the dairy free lifestyle.
So we were truly Paleo. But, after that same November visit with Dr. F and with his guidance, we slacked up a bit on being totally grain and legume free. The new priority was avoiding gluten, dairy, corn, and sugar. I avoid gluten like it is the plague. While the selections are limited especially in BG, I simply adore restaurants that have gluten-free menus.

We still avoid most grains, but have slowly introduced gluten-free oats.
(Oats are gluten free, but I prefer this brand because they can guarantee the oats are manufactured in a gluten free environment.)
 

oatmeal casserole (with a few modifications as noted)

I will eat white rice and gluten-free pasta (if it is made with rice), but that's only happened a handful of times in the last ten months. We have also tried black and pinto beans and they just might stick around in moderation. I have still stayed away from gluten-free baking mixes and gluten-free breads. We seem to be doing fine without them and some of the ingredients on the prepackaged gluten-free stuff scares me. You can bet on me searching for a gluten-free bakery (like this one) though whenever we venture away from Bowling Green.
We still only use local honey and maple syrup for sweeteners. They work just fine and it's amazing how quickly your palate can adjust.

So that's where we stand with food right now. I said it before and I will say it again. I’m sure things will change over time, but we know we definitely aren’t going back to our old food lifestyle. We are in this for the long haul.

Adventures in Louisville

Saturday morning, we headed north to spend our day

 in Louisville. Our day was full of fun adventures.

lunch at Bluegrass Burgers

 

 visiting the oldest ornamental water tower in the world

(Visiting water towers is just kind of our thing.)

 a gluten free, nut free, dairy free treat at Annie May's Sweet Cafe

 

Be still, my heart.

 We couldn't resist bringing some sweet treats home with us.

 

some fun at the Louisville Science Center

(We took advantage of the $5 admission after 5pm deal that they offer

 for those of you thinking about visiting.)

 

 It was simply a splendid day!