Just Peachy: Making a house a home.

Seeing as a month has gone by since my last post, I figure it's about time to update you all on life again, since that's what this blog is all about, I suppose!

We have been slowly settling into the new house - arranging and rearraging furniture, hanging pictures, putting away boxes, etc. I am still so in love with our house and am so thankful that the Lord worked things out the way He did - we couldn't be happier with where we are! The house is still pretty barren, but things are starting to come together. I got a few house plants and decorated for fall, which always seems to help warm the place up. I also got 2 beautiful pictures from my sister (holler!) that go just perfectly in our living room. They are now hung up on the wall, but weren't when I took the picture, and I'm too lazy to take another one...

The baby's room is coming along, with a fresh coat of gray paint on the walls. I'm so glad to have her room painted so I can start decorating and decluttering it. My plan at this point is to do everything pink and gray, so if the next Armstrong baby is a boy we can just switch out the pink accents for yellow ones! I'm hoping I'll still love those colors when the next baby comes along. My plan is also to make as much of her stuff as I can, cause I am super cheap. (Those of you who know my husband know how proud he'd be to hear me say that - he's starting to rub off on me!) I made her crib skirt out of some adorable gray fabric I found at Hobby Lobby (LOVE that place) and a pink twin sheet I found at Home Goods (LOVE that place too). The measuring took forever, as did the cutting, but once everything was cut I was able to knock it out in just a few hours. I'd love to give you a tutorial, but sadly I hardly remember what I did because I was just wingin' it most of the time.

I also made her blackout curtains out of the same pink sheets and hung them on an adorable curtain rod from Lowes. I'll be honest - the first panel I made was alright, and was kinda my practice panel. Does it look homemade? Yes. Do I care? Eh. Will I remake them? A resounding "heck no!!" They weren't too difficult but these days it is way too hard to get in the floor to do all my measuring and ironing, and I just aint got the energy for that! The 2nd panel ended up doing much better, but I'm not sure why. Maybe I had more patience? Maybe I was more diligent in my ironing and pinning? I have no idea, but regardless I am fairly pleased with how they turned out. Eventually I'll get little gray or white ties to hold them back during they day.

All these little pink elephants I keep seeing are adorable, so I decided to make her some to go on her wall. I got a couple of canvases from Hobby Lobby ($3) and covered one with the same fabric as her crib sheets, and the other with pink fabric from H-L ($1.50). I cut out a couple of elephants, put some backing on them, and stuck them to the canvas. I love how simple they were and how they turned out - I can't wait to finally hang them on the walls!

Anyways, enough about that sweet little girl's room! This may be my only post with pictures of a recipe I made - I'll get to that in a minute. One thing Brad & I love to eat is homemade Ñoquis (gnocchis). My sweet friend Eve taught me how to make them while I lived in Argentina, and I taught Brad how to make them on our first date (insert "awwwww" here). The recipe makes a TON of dough, so we're always looking for ways to use it up. Then my old (former, not elderly) coworker, April, introduced me to a recipe that was just perfect - Olive Garden Chicken Gnocchi Soup. And boy was that stuff good. In case you're interested, I stuck the recipe underneath the picture below. If you're still wondering why this may end up being my only post about food that has a picture, it all started with this little picture right here:

So right after I took this picture of our yummy dinner, I may or may not have dropped Brad's new iPod touch directly into the soup. And then I may or may not have panicked and froze and just left it there to soak in. Thankfully Brad was sitting next to me and rushed to my aid, grabbing the iPod and saving it from what could have been its last picture. At least I know that he's quick to act when something important to him is suffering - this will come in handy with our daughter, I'm sure. Anyhoo, here's the recipe:

Ingredients:

- 1 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
- 4 Tbsp. butter
- 4 Tbsp. flour
- 1 Quart half and half
- 1/2 Cup celery, finely diced
- 1 Cup onion, finely diced
- 2 minced garlic cloves
- 2 14-ounce cans of chicken broth (if you enjoy thick soup, use one can)
- 1 Cup carrots, finely shredded
- 1 Cup chicken breasts, cooked and diced (or use rotisserie chicken)
- 1 package gnocchi, cooked
- 1 Cup fresh spinach, coarsely chopped
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1/2 tsp. thyme
- 1/2 tsp. parsley
- 1/4 tsp. nutmeg (optional)

Directions:
Sauté the onion, celery and garlic in the butter and olive oil over medium heat until the onion becomes translucent. Add the flour and make a roux. Let the butter and flour mixture cook for about a minute before adding 1 quart of half and half. Cook gnocchi according to package directions. Add the carrots and chicken to the roux. Once the mixture becomes thick, add the chicken broth. Once the mixture thickens again, add the cooked gnocchi, spinach and spices. Simmer until the soup is heated through. Before serving, season to taste by adding additional salt, if necessary.

Let me know if you try the recipe, I'd love to know how it turns out for you!

Ok friends, that is enough for this post! I'll leave you with the most recent belly pictures, since baby girl is really growing (and kicking)!! I'll post soon about my baby shower and our fun trip to downtown Atlanta and the famous people we ate dinner next to!