Apple Crisp

What do you do when you pick 40 apples? I decided to make an apple crisp. It was so delicious and so easy to make. Took about 10 minutes to prep and 30 minutes to bake. When we went to Royal Oaks Orchard we bought a mix they had in their country store. The mix brand is called calhoun bend mill. I am sure you can pick it up at any store and if not there are plenty of other brands. For this particular brand all you had to do was wash and skin the apples. Then cut them into small slices and line the bottom of a 9in glass pan.

Once you have all the apples lined you need to melt 1/2 stick of butter and add the mix in a separate bowl. Stir until the mix and butter become crumbly. Spread the mix evenly over all the apples. Bake at 375 and in about 30 minutes you have.......

An Apple Crisp

Like i said before so easy and yummy! Your family will love something new. Try it out! 

Apple Picking

Liv picking apples for the first time!

    I love FALL! This last weekend in Chicago we had a fantastic taste of perfect fall whether! It was in the low 70's and beautiful out. Our good friends the Merks invited us to an Orchard about an hour north of our house. We were so excited because Liv is old enough to have fun and Whit is small enough to sleep on me the whole time. We has a blast to say the least.

    Brad and i have never done it before so we had no idea what to expect. The farm we went to was call Royal Oaks Orchard, it is in Harvard www.royaloakfarmorchard.com. It is worth the trip. Not only do they have apple picking, but they have Pumpkin picking as well. They have hay rides and tons of fun things for kids. They have train rides, a carousel, a bakery, restaurant with amazing food. The market they have has pie mixes and hot apple cider that you can purchase. We loved this place. 

Olivia & Mama on the Carousel

    Once we played with all the kids rides, we went onto the Orchard. The Orchard was huge. It was lined with tons and tons of different kinds of apples. Olivia would pick apples and if we didn't ask her to put it in the bag she would take a great big bite out of it. I didn't even know she knew how to eat apples like that, i always cut them up for her. She had a blast running up and down picking up apples and throwing them. The would pull the apples off with all her might. Whit was asleep the entire time we were there. She missed out on all the fun.

The Gierkes & The Merks 

I defiantly think everyone should take the time to go. It makes you feel like you aren't even in Illinois anymore. The Orchard is so beautiful and quiet. Its a little getaway not to far from home. Check them out!

Whitney was out the whole time, so i got this shot when we got home

Katie's Fall Must Haves

I decided to put together all my fall must haves. Here are a few things i think everyone should have. I have been reading some fashion magazines and it seems like the Indy colors are in this season, which i love because they are so rich and bright. 

I love the sparkle of the new OPI colors. The metallics and purples are fantastic!

You can never go wrong with a great pair of Hanky Panky underwear. They don't cut in your hips like most thongs do. They are sexy and will make you feel great. They are one size fits most. Hanky Panky thongs are more on the expensive side, but you can get them at places like Nordstom rack for close to nothing. 

Gold has made it's way back into the fashion scene, it's a classic of course it has. Speaking of classic you can never go wrong with the signet neckless. I love the big chunky cursive signet necklaces. Very in right now. 

Cow Girl boots are my absolute favorite this fall. They are comfortable and stylish. Being a mom of two, i am only into comfortable, but have to be stylish at the same time. These boots will accomplish both.

I never leave home without my lip gloss. Chanel has my favorite. It glides on nicely, smells good and they have fantastic colors. 

I like nothing better then a cute cotton long sleeve tee and you can pair it with a stylish long open sweater. Nothing chunky because it will make you look larger then you are. Get something like the Calvin Klein wrap above. It will fall along your curves and make you look more slimming. 

I love Joe's jean. I have a little booty and they hug my curves and are very stylish all at the same time. It's important for your jeans to fit correctly. It can make all the difference in how you look. Again these are kind of pricey, so you can find them also at places like Nordstrom Rack for $49 -$99 a pair. 

The trench coat is a great coat for fall, again they have some great rich colors out right now. This is a nice coat that can fit all body types. 

Last, but not least, the bag. LV just came out with a Alma Bag that comes in a very cool metallic blue. 

I love shopping and reading about all the new styles for the different seasons. These are my favorite for this season. Have fun shopping!

The New Mr. & Mrs. Goodman

The First Dance

It's Always Better When We're Together

On August 21st one of my best friends from high school married his soul mate. The wedding was held in Akron, OH and Brad and i jumped on the first flight out on Friday morning to celebrate this very special day with them! Can i just say, first class all the way! What a beautiful wedding. We had as much fun at this wedding as we did at our own! The band rocked, the dance floor was filled the entire night, the food was delicious and the Lindsay and Goody looked AMAZING!

I think what made this so fun was that Goody and Lindsay have surrounded themselves with the nicest people i have ever met. Everyone was so easy to get along with and so welcoming. We had a blast with all of them to say the least! 

I am so thrilled for the Lindsay and Goody they compliment each other so well. You could just see it in Goodys face when Lindsay was walking down the aisle. It was so beautiful.
Heres to the beautiful couple that we love so much! We wish you years of laughter, lots of little Lindays and Mikes and above all else happiness! Mozel Tov!

Goody's Face When Lindsay Walked In
"You know how the bride makes her entrance and everybody turns to look at her? That’s when I look at the groom. Cause his face says it all you know? The pure love there."

The Adorable couple getting their groove on:) 

Organic Food

I was so not a fan of Organic 3 years ago. It seemed way to expensive and more like a gimmick & a fad to me. I ignored all the studies linking non organic foods to health problems because i wasn't interested in the work needed to understand organic foods & farming. Once i had babies that all changed! My first child who is not 19 months has always eaten Organic. Organic formula, baby food and now regular food. I'm not saying that everything that goes into her body is Organic, but all her dairy, fruit and meat  are. Most of her snack foods are as well. If we are out to lunch and there isn't anything Organic on the menu she eats whatever they have, i'm not that crazy, yet:) Thanks to one of my best friend Jill (Founder of the Gan Project, www.theganproject.org ) she has done all the research and studies and has been informing me of the importance of Organic and buying locally for years now.

Unfortunately they have found that little girls are getting their periods earlier and developing at a much younger age because of all the hormones in the dairy they are eating and drinking. That was so disturbing to be. You are probably asking, that never happened to us when we were younger.The world is a faster place and there are far more people in the world to feed now a days. They grow the fruit bigger with lots of fertilizer &  and pump the animals full of many more hormones and antibiotics. Yes it is producing lots more food, but at what cost. Unfortunately the cost of our health and the health of our loved ones.

Did anyone see the egg recall just last week? They found out that aside from the inhumane ways they were treating the chickens, the eggs they laid were being kept in the same facility as thousands of maggots and flies and being washed with water that was contaminated with salmonella!!! Are you kidding me, that is disgusting. All to save $2.00?!?!? I understand the economy is bad, but please cut costs somewhere else and not on your food. This kind of thing happens all the time and we don't hear about it. Whats really going into our bodies???

Try going to the local farmers markets and finding delicious fruits & vegetables along with an array of other great tasting organic foods. They are usually a lot more affordable and you are supporting a local farmer. It very important to support the local farmers if you are able to. The more farmers that grow Organic the cheaper it will cost to eat the way we always should have. 

Organic eating has made me feel amazing. If your interested do some research for yourself or go out and buy some organic fruit or meat and see if you can tell the difference, i'm pretty sure it won't take long until you notice:) Happy eating!

Our baby girl is here!

Whitney Arnold Gierke

7-3-2010

Brad, Olivia and I are so happy to announce the birth of our 2nd daughter. She was born at 11:51pm right before the 4th of July. The Dr. asked me as i was about to start pushing if i wanted to hold off until the 4th and i believe i screamed in his face that i wanted her out NOW! 4 pushes and 3 minutes later she was born:) I'm happy she is going to have her own day on a fantastic holiday weekend! She has been such a great baby so far. She is a lot like Olivia, in terms of sleeping. She wakes up once a night and is a great sleeper. She only cries when she needs her diaper changed or shes hungry. We are so in love with her. 

Olivia is adjusting great. She loves to help out and gives Whitney tons and tons of kisses. She is a great big sister. Thank you everyone for all the love and support they have shown us, we are so blessed and thankful for all of you everyday. 

38 Weeks & Loving It!

So here we go! I am in the final stretch. I can not believe how fast the last 9 months have gone. I now have a 17 month old and i am so ready to meet this new little princess. I went in last week for my first weekly visit and it was great. I am 1cm dilated, which if you have had babies before you know that means nothing other then you only have 9 more cm to go. I know it doesn't mean i am going to go into labor tomorrow, but it makes me happy to know things are already getting started! 

This pregnancy has not been that much different then Olivia until now. I feel a lot better this time around. I am carrying her completely out in front and she has dropped which is amazing because i can breath again! Defiantly have the pregnancy mask, but it doesn't seem as bad since its summer. I feel so ready this time, physically and mentally. 

I keep trying to imagine what she is going to look like and all i picture is Olivia. I can't wait for this amazing journey! I have been walking a lot so heres to hoping she wants to meet all of us a little earlier then the 26th!