love mr. and mrs. smith...

thank you halligan and adam for your adorable and perfect wedding present!

our first package to our new home, and how sweet it is!

halligan and adam have a knack for celebrating life and all of it's small details. look at those tee-tiny flowers! and she even glittered the sewing needle! i should have taken pictures of the way everything was wrapped, but i was too excited to remember! they also just celebrated their one year anniversary of their phenomenal circus-themed wedding. thank you for this special treat and i love you both. we all do.

glory to ole georgia...

today i am grateful for...

newly acquired, family-owned vintage UGA gear, courtesy of pop(ed's grandfather). we've decided to turn the main bathroom into the total manly man WC. we even have a knowshon moreno painting that i have to um, work around.

i don't know if y'all know this, but college football really is not a sport in the south. it is a religion. people even have to plan their weddings around football season. no joke. glory, glory to ole georgia.

may showers and may flowers...

a new birthday and a new home. last year we moved to brooklyn on the 4th of july. this year we moved in the torrential downpour at 7 am on my birthday.

both my husband and the langleys brought over birthday flowers, which i promptly distributed all over the apartment in my bottle beach findings.

having a house feel like a home is the best birthday present of them all.

horse play...

i hope y'all will be watching the kentucky derby tonight! i myself am fixin' to wear an outrageous hat and drink a mint julep. i can almost bet money that the cooney/hassler household will be on the edge of their seats tonight.

if only my horse ribbons weren't all packed away in moving boxes. shoot.

*also, for a ridiculously cute photo editorial of miniature ponies wearing darling hats and quilts, peek on over here. maura grace ambrose+ halligan norris+ josh goleman=magic.

as american as...

today i am grateful for...

making my first(successful) apple pie!

momma branch schooled me a little in pie-making 101. we were short on time so we improvised with store-bought crust, but that isn't too terrible is it? and i'm sure you won't scoff too heartily at my wonky lattice work...

i played T.I for my mom while we peeled and sliced apples. nothin' like a little atlanta hip hop to set the pie-making mood ;) it feels good to be back in the ATL.

i love simple recipes! i can't wait to try out more this spring and summer. if y'all have any suggestions, i am all ears!

*easiest recipe ever*

ingredients:

3 winesap apples(or any other baking apples you like)

1/4 cup of flour

1 cup of sugar

6 pats of butter

store-bought pie crust

directions for momma branch's easy peasy apple pie...

*preheat oven to bake(or to 350 degrees).

*while the oven is heating up, and you're preparing the pie, remove the pie crusts from the freezer and let thaw.

1. peel and cut apples( a paring knife works best) into thin slices( i cut each slice to be about the size of chicklet gum, but you don't have to be super precise).

2. in a mixing bowl, combine the apples, sugar, and flour. mix thoroughly.

3. spoon filling into one of the pie crusts. pat down evenly with the back of the spoon.

4. with the 2nd pie crust take a butter knife and cut 1/2 inch strips from the softened crust.

5. i ended up placing three strips lengthwise across the top of the apple pie.

6. next i took strips and began weaving them over and under the lengthwise strips. this builds the foundation for the latticework.

7. fill in with remaining strips as needed.

8. dot the pie with the 6 pats of butter.

9.(this is optional) but i dusted the entire pie liberally with a cinnamon and sugar mix.

10. bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes. this worked best for our oven. check on your pie after 30, just to be safe.

*serve with vanilla bean icecream.

sweet georgia brown...

oh georgia, girl, you have been a warm welcome and an old sweet song since we came home. i feel like i am being re-acquainted with a long lost friend.

i have been enjoying lots of nature walks with my mother-in-law, husband and my mother around all the lovely little streets. folks smile and wave as we stroll on by, even if they have never seen us before. we've been greeted with warm air and some nice thunderstorms too.

we came back just in time to catch the last gasp of the dogwoods.

we don't have cherry blossoms in these here parts, but we do have some mighty fine azaleas.

today we went to ed's grandfather's house and devoured our fair share of tangy pulled pork, salty collard greens, and buttermilk biscuits. and of course, sweet tea and peach cobbler. pop even let me play in his basement and "relieve" him of some old, rusty hardware hooks, nails, burlap and the like.

this old medicine jar made its way home with us as well.

tomorrow my mother is going to teach me about gardening. she even already potted a little chamomile for me. i hope her green thumb is part of my genetic makeup. we shall see...

i must say, it feels pretty good to be a georgia peach again.

bon voyage...

tonight was our last night in the big apple, and my heart definitely hurts.

we said our final goodbyes to the city as we rode the staten island ferry.

we finally got a little closer to our nation's leading lady of liberty. and saw the sun set behind her.

the city's skyline. i can't believe so many buildings and people can fit on that tiny little island.

goodbye emerald city. i will miss you. and all of the wonderful people who get to call you home.