A Baby, A Dog & A Blog

Almost fat free blue cheese dip

noreply@blogger.com (Britt) — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 16:07:00 +0000

2 ingredients: blue cheese and fat free Greek yogurt.

You're welcome.

Christmas Pictures

noreply@blogger.com (Britt) — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 17:42:00 +0000

Sloan had a blast opening Christmas presents this year. But that's where it stopped. She could pretty much care less about what was in it after she opened it. She just loved opening all the presents. So much so that she now opens junk mail.

She loves loves loves her cousin Nicholas. She reads his book about when he went to Disney everyday so I'm pretty sure she thinks he is a celebrity.

Disney

noreply@blogger.com (Britt) — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 16:46:00 +0000

I am way behind on posting. Here are a few pictures from our trip to Disney last month.

People say I am crazy for taking a 15 month old to Disney because she won't remember it but we had the best time! Sloan loved it and so did we. So there.

Adopt a Christmas Family

noreply@blogger.com (Britt) — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 16:38:00 +0000

One of my good friends (Sasha) recently posted on Facebook asking people to help her friend, Natasha. She recently left her husband (bad situation) and started over with her two kids. If you have thought about helping out this Christmas, please consider helping Natasha.

Her story is below (told from Sasha).

Natasha was married to a man that did not work and did a lot of drugs. In May, she took her two wonderful kids and left him, her home and most everything she owned. Her ex husband took just about everything for himself except a few bags of clothes and some toys. She has had to start over from scratch! She is doing such a good job on her own but could defiently use some help. She moved into a condemned trailer and spent the summer replacing the roof, fixing rotted out walls and painting to make a clean and safe home for her children. She works 6 ½ days a week. She servers at Leo’s Coney Island in the morning and cleans houses in the afternoons (Sundays is her only afternoon off). Natasha is an extremely hard worker but this Christmas not all that hard work has added up to enough cash to make Christmas special (or even possible) for her and her children.

I am so very proud of Natasha and all of the positive steps she has taken to make her and her kids life better that I want to make life a little bit easier for her, and with your help, WE can do that.

Meet Lilly: She is 6 years old and a little bossy (lol)
She is in need of warm clothes, (size 10-12 on top and 10 bottoms), sheets and a comforter for her twin bed.
She would like WII and DS games that are Girley. She is more tween than little girl.

Meet Brody: He is 9 years old, really funny and so so sweet.
He needs warm clothes, (10 bottoms and 10-12 tops) and underpants.
He wants 3D DS (price$170.00)

Meet Natasha!!!! My favorite person ever!
She needs pots and pans, cups and sheets for a king size mattress (purple if possible)
I would also like to help her get caught up on her bills= $746.50 is overdue. I know this is a lot to ask for but every little bit adds up to a lot!

This is a wonderful, loving and giving family that has all the possibility in the world for success but just needs a little extra help laying the foundation.
Donations will be accepted in cash, check or gift certificates (Target, Wal-Mart, Kmart, Linens N Things etc).

Sasha will be collecting items to take back at Christmas. Please contact me if you would like to help: erinbritt (at) gmail (dot) com.

We moved!

noreply@blogger.com (Britt) — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 12:15:00 +0000

If you would like to send us gifts or probably just Christmas cards, email me for our new address.

How do you pack a junk drawer?

noreply@blogger.com (Britt) — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 18:05:00 +0000

In a junk box, of course.

I'm even more famous today!

noreply@blogger.com (Britt) — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 20:02:00 +0000

I was so excited when I discovered this morning that Charlotte Cupcake Cousins was featured on Cupcakes Take The Cake. It is one of my favorite cupcake sites so it is really an honor to be featured.

In case you missed the post yesterday, I was on TV! Check it out here. As my dad said in an e-mail he sent to his friends/family: watch Britt lose a pie contest on TV.

Amazingly delicious and fattening mac & cheese

noreply@blogger.com (Britt) — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 18:48:00 +0000

Giant pot of mac & cheese. I put the wine bottle there for scale.

Last week on The Chew, I saw Michael Symon make macaroni & cheese with butternut squash and it looked awesome. So I figured I would make it. But the way I follow recipes is to read the ingredients list and then make it up as I go along with food I have around the house.

Here is my version of Michael Symon's recipe.

1 pound of bacon, sliced thin
2 tablespoons butter
1 large onion, diced
5 cloves of garlic, minced
4 tablespoons flour
7 cups of half & half
2 cups cheddar, shredded
1 cup mozzarella, shredded
1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs
1 clamshell of the pre diced butternut squash
1.5 lbs of macaroni

Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Add squash & macaroni and cook according to the box. Drain.

In the meantime, heat a very large pot over medium high heat. Add the bacon & butter and let it brown for about 7 or so minutes. Then add the onion, let it sweat. Then add the garlic and stir for a minute or so. Sprinkle the flour over the mixture and let it cook out for a couple minutes. Add the half & half and bring it to a boil. When it starts boiling, turn it down to medium-low. Add your cheese and stir until it is melted.

Add your squash & pasta to the pot. Stir it until it is all coated. Sprinkle the top with the breadcrumbs and broil for a couple minutes until it is brown.

Your hips will thank me.

I'm famous now

noreply@blogger.com (Britt) — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 17:20:00 +0000

This morning I competed on a local talk show called Charlotte Today in an apple pie contest. Baking, not eating. I totally would have won a pie eating contest. But unfortunately I lost. It was lots of fun meeting all of the hosts as well as the other contestants.

Check me out here.

One of the contestants brought her "entourage" with her to take pictures so I will post some pictures later.

Travel tips welcome

noreply@blogger.com (Britt) — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 18:11:00 +0000

In the near future, we will be traveling to an undisclosed location at an undisclosed time. That's for any would-be robbers or stalkers.

How the heck am I supposed to keep a 14 month old entertained for hours and hours in the car? Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on who you are), she has absolutely no interest in watching tv. Unless its Little Richard or rock n roll elmo, that is.

Advice please.

Baking like its my job.

noreply@blogger.com (Britt) — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 15:55:00 +0000

I have been so so busy baking & decorating cupcakes. I am so thankful to all of my friends for being so supportive of the Charlotte Cupcake Cousins. We have grown exponentially over the last several months and its all through word of mouth.

Here are some of the cupcake creations we have made over the last few months.

Angry Birds Cupcakes by Charlotte Cupcake Cousins

Nautical Cupcakes by Charlotte Cupcake Cousins

Black & white cupcakes by Charlotte Cupcake Cousins

Pumpkin & fall cupcakes by Charlotte Cupcake Cousins

Purple chocolate flower cupcakes by Charlotte Cupcake Cousins

Chocolate cupcakes with a raspberry & chocolate garnish by Charlotte Cupcake Cousins

Garden cupcakes by Charlotte Cupcake Cousins

Hydrangea Cupcakes by Charlotte Cupcake Cousins

Eliz cupcakes by Charlotte Cupcake Cousins

Giraffe cake by Charlotte Cupcake Cousins

Zebra, monkey, lions & tigers cupcakes by Charlotte Cupcake Cousins

Bowling balls & pins cupcakes by Charlotte Cupcake Cousins

Cars cake by Charlotte Cupcake Cousins

Family Pictures 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Britt) — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 15:51:00 +0000

A while back, I asked for help on our family picture outfits. Well we didn't really end up wearing any of the outfits.

Up until we were walking out the door, I was still trying to pick out our outfits. We spent an hour trying to take pictures except Sloan was screaming the whole time. We ended up cutting the photo shoot short and rescheduling. I took Sloan to the doctor that morning and she had an ear infection.

A week later, after a shopping spree at Target, we met again and finally got some good pictures. The first time, the temperature was around 50 and the second time, the temperature was about 80. Kinda funny for a fall photo shoot.

Big thank you to Kristin Cole Photography for capturing our family.

Here are some of my favorites.

Credit - Kristin Cole Photography

My guide to looking at houses.

noreply@blogger.com (Britt) — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 11:41:00 +0000

Image credit

There are lots of tips out there on how to get your house ready to sell it. But not many people have tips on how to tour houses that are on the market.

I am extremely appreciative that we have had a lot of showings in this market so this is in no way complaining. This is just a humorous and frightening look at our experience.

1. If you call to make an appointment, you should probably consider showing up.

2. If you touch stuff, put it back where you found it. My drapes are in a certain place because that's where I wanted them. I don't want them all tangled up. And I don't want the shower curtain open.

3. Do not use other people's toilets. That's weird. Especially do not go #2.

4. If you decide to use other people's toilets and decide to go #2, make sure you flush the toilet. And then check to make sure its all gone. If necessary, flush again.

If you obey all of the rules above and are in the market for a steal of a townhouse in uptown Charlotte, check out our house, please.

I wasted my luck on a leash cozy

noreply@blogger.com (Britt) — Sat, 22 Oct 2011 00:24:00 +0000

Last week on Facebook, I saw that our local talk show Charlotte Today wanted people to send in pictures of their dogs. So I sent in a picture of the moose.

The Moose

Well apparently it was some sort of contest and I got an e-mail the next day saying I had won a pet prize. Yay, I won something! I don't enter contests unless I really want it because I don't want to waste my luck on something I don't want.

In college I won the first iPod to come to UNC and I could care less. I wasted my luck for the next 9 years on an iPod that I never used. That is until I won a pet prize. What was it going to be? Dog food? Dog treats?

So I spent the past week excited about what my pet prize was going to be. Last night I finally got it in the mail. It was in an envelope so before I opened it, I was already disappointed.

And then I found out it was a leash cozy. I know. What the heck is a leash cozy?

Yay, a leash cozy. What is a leash cozy?

Yay, the back of a leash cozy. What is a leash cozy?

Oh what is that you say, you still don't know what a leash cozy is? Don't worry, it came with instructions.

Directions for the leash cozy.

Um still don't know what it is? There is a website.

Picture of the leash cozy website.

You probably can't read that picture but I am too lazy to take another screen shot. It says "The website is being updated to include Leach Cozy for online orders within the week." There is no freaking information about the leash cozy on their website.

So to recap, I won a crappy prize that I don't even know what it is.

Side note: If you have very good eyes, you can see that I have 30k+ unread e-mails. This really bothers Nick and I don't understand why. Who has time to read all their e-mails?

Chocolate

noreply@blogger.com (Britt) — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 15:27:00 +0000

Sloan loves cupcakes and its all my fault. Well its the Charlotte Cupcake Cousins' fault. Every time she sees a cupcake she smacks her lips and whines until you give her some. We went out to dinner last night to celebrate my friend's birthday so she got a whole cupcake for the occasion. She loved every last bite.

This has to be one of my favorite pictures of her ever.

Did someone say chocolate?

Vacuum

noreply@blogger.com (Britt) — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 12:28:00 +0000

Me: I can't imagine if you had a baby and didn't have a dog. You would have to vacuum after every meal.

Nick: you are still supposed to vacuum after Sloan eats.

Me: um no.

New bedroom art

noreply@blogger.com (Britt) — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 12:15:00 +0000

I finally settled on some art for the bedroom and I'm actually not completely sold but I have someone coming to take a video for our listing. It's just scrapbook paper in IKEA frames. There is a pattern in real life that you can't tell in the picture.

Buy our house!

noreply@blogger.com (Britt) — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 12:15:00 +0000

Our house is officially on the market (again). Hopefully we will be able to sell it and quick. We are waiting until we sell our house to start building our next house. If you know of anyone who is looking for a 2 bedroom, 2.5 bath house in Uptown Charlotte with an unheard of 2 car garage, please contact me at ababyadogandablog@gmail.com.

Now to everyone who isn't interested in buying the house but has a good eye for design, please let me know what you think of the pictures. You won't hurt my feelings. And as a side note, the lamps in the bedroom are already gone. I was looking for white lamp shades with a harp for my old lamps but couldn't find one so I bought these lamps from Target so I could take the picture but they are already gone.

Check out pictures of our house below.

Master bedroom big enough for a king size bed.

Master bedroom with ensuite bathroom.

Double vanities in master bathroom.

Garden tub in master.

Open floor plan.

Spacious living room.

Open dining room.

Perfect for dinner parties.

I need to take down that thing over the door. I don't even see it anymore.

Accommodates 6 people at dining table. Rare find. Plus room for seating at the bar.

You can see the TV while you are cooking!

View from the kitchen.

Stainless steel, top of the line appliances, granite counter tops, cherry cabinets.

Help! It's family picture time.

noreply@blogger.com (Britt) — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 15:37:00 +0000

I don't understand why but I am extremely stressed out about picking outfits for our family pictures. Please help. Here are 3 options. Was thinking about exchanging the brown dress for a pink one.

If I wear a pink shirt, can Sloan wear a pink dress?

Bagging groceries is not difficult

noreply@blogger.com (Britt) — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 21:33:00 +0000

But apparently it is for the baggers I go to.

Why do all the bananas I buy get completely bruised in my five minute drive home?

Best prepared food?

noreply@blogger.com (Britt) — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 11:09:00 +0000

I cooked my last meal last night for a while (which was a very delicious butternut squash risotto with butternut squash from my mother-in-law's garden). Since we are putting our house on the market this weekend, I cannot handle cleaning up after Sloan, baking cupcakes and cooking dinner. I am officially boycotting cooking. I moved the Charlotte Cupcake Cousins headquarters to my parents' house and my kitchen is closed.

Yesterday, I went to Trader Joe's to stock up on pre-made meals that only need the microwave. I didn't even buy anything you put in the oven. Because that's one more thing I don't have time to clean.

So to all you non cooks out there, what do you eat? I need decently healthy pre-made meals that won't dirty a pan. Oh yeah and we are eating on paper plates. Nick thinks I went too far but after I told him that he could do the dishes, he hopped on to the paper plate bandwagon.

Coming soon: pictures of our house so you can give me feedback. We need all the help we can get.

Dear world, I apologize...

noreply@blogger.com (Britt) — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 19:09:00 +0000

If you meet me for the first time from now on. I used to be a nice person but now I'm over it. Gone are the days where I will go out of my way to help you.

RIP nice Britt. You will be missed.

Psst. Obviously this is written in jest. Don't worry, I will probably be nice to you. I am a slow learner.

A word on poop

noreply@blogger.com (Britt) — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 17:44:00 +0000

Dear Sloan,

We are in a recession, please do not poop in the diaper until after you have peed. Diapers are expensive.

Also, I am paying for you to go to preschool two days a week, perhaps you could think about pooping there instead of right after I pick you up. I would like to feel like I am getting my money's worth.

Love,
Mom

Happy Birthday to my Sloanie!

noreply@blogger.com (Britt) — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 16:25:00 +0000

One year ago today!

Happy Birthday to Sloan!

At 10:30 tonight, Sloan will officially be one year old. I cannot believe a year has gone by. My friend Jessica, says that the days go by slow but the years go by quickly. I cannot think of a better way to sum up the last year than that. Most days I am counting down until 5:30 when Nick gets home but now that a year has passed I feel like it has gone by so quickly.

Nick's birthday gift to Sloan.

Here are some of my favorite posts from the last year as I learn to be a mother.

What a difference a year makes...

noreply@blogger.com (Britt) — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 16:09:00 +0000

This time last year, I looked like this.

What a difference a year makes.

At the time, I thought I was huge but now looking at other mom's bellies, I guess I know now why everyone in the operating room was shocked that I had a 9.5 lb baby.

This is the only profile picture that I have of my 10 long months being pregnant. And that is no exaggeration, it was definitely 10 months since Sloan was so late.

365 days ago today, I checked in to the hospital for what ended up being a week's long stay. I have never really shared the details of Sloan's birth so as not to scare other moms but I will sum it up by saying there are very good reasons that she is an only child.