the farm wife post: January 2012

Sunday, January 29, 2012

how to ruin sunday dinner: clam chowder edition

1) Saute bacon and onion and garlic

2) Add clams, clam juice,water, potatoes

3) simmer until potatoes are cooked

3.5) sing some ace of base as you do a little kitchen dance putting ingredients together

4) not check the date on the cream you are about to dump in and ruin the entire pot instantly. one word: EXPIRED.

5) Have husband call his family ( because you are too ashamed) to tell them that they are on their own for dinner, sorry.

6) lay down defeated on the couch and talk about your feelings to your dog, they are more sympathetic than husbands.

7) when you have mustered up motivation, go feed ruined clam chowder to random animals of the farm, and clean up the giant mess you made trying to make a yummy meal for your in laws.

8) laugh about it 5 years from now? I hope so.

xo,

kayla

Thursday, January 26, 2012

"investments"

first and foremost my mexican sweater arrived this week in all of it's bulky knitted glory. i used my birthday moneys from my sweet momma and bought a few of the things off of my pretend shopping spree. Elliott hates the thing, but I ADORE it. It's like a blanket that you can wear in public.

Since Elliott and I have been married we have purchased a number of "investments"... such as a commercial size freezer that I could seriously walk around in (we got a good deal, and it will be nice to store fruit and vegetables before the farmers market, or for canning or jam making), our grill, which I really wanted for us, and this huge food dehydrator. Elliott also tries to sneak his insano gun into the "investment" category, but I think it fits better as a "frivolous toy"... ha ha. Anywhoo, meet food dehydrator. Currently we are drying a costco load of bananas. This summer it will be like dried fruit heaven at the goodrich residence between apples and plums and pears and fruit leather.. mmmmm i am excited. I hope these bananas taste as yummy as they are making our house smell.

xo,

kayla

Monday, January 23, 2012

wolves.

Husband and I slept terribley last night. He blames me, I blame the horrifying wolves that were chasing me around in my dream. We have separate comforters because one of us tends to be a blanket hog ( can you guess?) , and i have to sleep with mine from college, because it is THE most snuggley thing in the entire world. I woke up cuddled next to him sneaking his blanket, and mine was kicked down to the bottom of the bed in a pile. On the bright side, I kicked around so much last night I didn't even need to work out this morning, ha ha. I tell Hubs we always need to see the positive.

For dinner I made ( Elliott helped : D ) spaghetti with white clam sauce. For all those who love butter and garlic, make this. SO easy ( we are talking 10 minutes easy) . So fantastic. Recipe here. The picture is wrong on the website, but the recipe is right.

xo,

kayla

Sunday, January 22, 2012

sunbeams

On Sundays, Elliott and I teach the 3 year olds at church. We got a new group in January, and it has been quite the adjustment for the little ones, and Elliott and I's different management styles in the kiddo department have become apparent. I am the coddler. I will admit it. It brings me as much joy to comfort the kiddos as it does for them to be comforted. If the little tot wants to sit on my lap the entire time, and cries when I sit them in their own little chair, then that tot will sit on my lap the whole time. Elliott is the discipline. And I shouldn't even say that, because the kids love him. He just takes the whole, just let them cry it out approach. And that works, too. The kid cries for a little bit, cheers up, and then is as happy as a clam in a matter of minutes. He gave them a pep talk at the end of class today for next Sunday, about how we are big kids now, and big kids don't cry, and how we can have a lot of fun (and eat lots of teddy grahams) if we listen to teacher and raise our hand. The man is going to be a great father. They have a lot of potential, our little sunbeam class.

We are also trying to train Mel to stay in the laundry room without the baby gait up. We tried it for the first time today. I gave her two minutes. It took one for her to sneak out into the living room all stealth like, and another five for Elliott to give in and let her in his office. She is the best behaved dog, and also the smartest. And very cute.

xo,

kayla

Thursday, January 19, 2012

cozy

It was time to bust out my trusty sorel boots today. Not only do they keep my feet dry, but when I wear them I feel the need to tromp through the largest snow drifts just because I can. That is how intense they are.

Work was pretty slow seeing how most people still busy digging themselves out of their driveways, so it gave me time to devour a book. Sarah's Key. It's heart wrenching. And quite good.

I got home and Hubs was using the ice cream maker that I got him for christmas to make a divine custard ice cream with candied pecans. Oh my. So creamy. A good investment I would say, that ice cream maker.

xo,

kayla

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

I'm 21!

Elliott had a alfalfa seed conference in Las Vegas over the weekend! I decided it would be a nice little getaway for the two of us. And it was. We had a great time roller coaster riding, looking at all of the cool hotels and seeing all the little attractions along the way. Like the little baby lions in the MGM, so cute! We celebrated my birthday with a massive sushi meal and flew back last night. We had a wonderful time but it is good to be home!! And it looks like I will get to build a snowman after all. Let it snoww!!

xo,

kayla

Saturday, January 14, 2012

pretend shopping spree.

it's like 5% as gratifying as pressing the " add to bag" and "checkout" buttons. Like not gratifying at all. Anyways, if I weren't saving for school, these beauties would be in my closet.
chant with me now, bachelors degree, bachelors degree...
education is beautiful... and stuff...

1) ruche
2)ruche
3) pinterest..
4)urban outfitters
5) old navy
6) old navy
7)ruche

Friday, January 13, 2012

chocolate chip failure

I made cookies last week and they turned out..... well they didn't turn out... One batch was sunken in and the next was too puffy. It was an anomaly ( i swear!). It has become clear that I have walked under a ladder that has given me 7 years of bad cookie luck. There are lots of ladders around the farm.

Anywhoo, I decided that I would bake cookies until I had the perfect batch. No such luck. So tonight, husband made cookies. He even followed the recipe all wrong and had to improvise, and they still turned out to be a standard chocolate chip cookie without major flaw. What is this!? The same happened with snickerdoodles months ago. Which really isn't fair. He's the man. He can't be good at my job. Yet the evidence remains. The husband reigns as top baker in our household.

Did he force me to write this post? Yes. Maybe he should start a blog called " The Smug Baker"....nobake cookies have always been my favorite anyway.

resentfully,

kayla

you might be a new wife if

-this is still true

(I hope someday to be good at both)

-you've worn an apron over your pj's, and proceeded to forget about it and climb in bed with it on.

- you wake up each morning still surprised that there is a man in your bed

- when you are taking a bath you can't completely relax because you see spots you missed last time you gave the tub a good scrubbing

- realizing that you are so concerned that your significant other has clean clothes that you wake up and realize you are out of clean pants. dress up day at work it is!

- you still hate knowing he can hear you go pee so you sing to cover it up

-you've thought.. oh man what's for dinner...and then realized, "oh no! that's my job!!"

-you miss just making out

- every gift you get is a cook book

-you're life has never been better : )

xo,

kayla

pics are my kitchen decor. that i love.

Thursday, January 12, 2012

my kitties

This is mr. squeeky... snowbeast... or just the wild cat that came to our shop one day that Elliott tamed. Now he is my cuddle buddy. He has a grey face and paws and a huge white polar bear body.

This is our princess cat Cocoa Chanel Goodrich. In truth she is a daddy's girl. She LOVES Elliott. But she loves me too. Just slightly less. Us working women don't have much time to spend with our furry children. I put her in my jacket in the evenings and we go get the chicken eggs together.

Aren't you horrifically allergic to cats you say?

Mainly, yes. But it has actually gotten a lot better than it used to be. Also I just can't resist their furry purring faces. That's what claratin is for.

xo,

kayla

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

my day off

My day off was so great. I had forgotten what stay at home wife life was like. I slept in and went for a little jog about the ditch roads in the sunshine. I have missed the sunshine. And jogging. I even brought little Coco Chanel kitty out to play and frolic around in our frozen garden. I love my kitty. I even made my husband lunch. Love that man.

Also I love my new iphone. I am amazed by it's every function. And istagram. Which possessed me to take a pictures of myself in the car like I haven't done since I was 16. Ohhh yeah. Me in the hondaaaa.

I went to visit my sisser. Good thing too, because she hasn't quite gotten the hang of being a kitty owner yet, and she had given hers a bath. The poor soaked thing was hiding under the bed. I lured her out and Chels and I blow dryed her back to fuzzy perfection. Don't worry Chels. I gotcho back.

Theennn I got home and made dinner and a PIE of the lemon meringue sort. For Brenda, my beloved mother in law. HAPPY BIRTHDAY BRENDA!!!

xo,

Kayla

Monday, January 9, 2012

2012

I can already feel that 2012 is going to be a wonderful year! My little brother will get his mission call, my sister in law will get married, and one of my favorite ladies will be having a baby!! I am starting to get the ball rolling to head back to school in March and finish my bachelors degree. I am so excited to FINISH!!