Butternut Squash Soup

Today I am linking up to Kelly's Korner and sharing one of my favorite soup recipes.  Perfect on a cool fall or winter night with french or sour dough bread and a salad.  Enjoy!

Butternut Squash Soup 

Ingredients
* 1 1/2 tablespoons butter
* 1/2 onion, sliced
* 2 cloves garlic
* 2 sprigs fresh thyme
* 1/2 butternut squash - peeled, seeded, and cut into 1-inch cubes
* 4 cups chicken stock
* 1/2 cube chicken bouillon
* 1 pinch ground cumin
* 1 pinch ground allspice
* salt and ground black pepper to taste
*1 stick of softened cream cheese (optional)

 Directions 
1. Melt the butter in a large pot over medium heat; cook the onion, garlic, and thyme in the hot butter until the onion has softened, about 5 minutes. Add the squash and chicken stock; bring to a simmer and cook until the squash is tender, 10 to 15 minutes. Crumble the bouillon into the soup; season with cumin, allspice, salt, and pepper; remove from heat.
2. Pour the soup (and softened cream cheese if you choose) into a blender, filling the pitcher no more than halfway. Hold the lid of the blender in place with a kitchen towel and carefully start the blender using a few quick pulses to get the soup moving before leaving it on to puree. Puree in batches until smooth and pour into a serving bowl. 

Reviving the Blog?

It's been about 3 years since I posted. Man time flies. I'm seriously considering reviving my blog and doing something more meaningful with it. Contemplating a name change as well. I'll be back soon!

BooMama's Christmas Tour of Homes

Welcome to our home! Sorry I am a little late getting this up, but Christmas has been keeping us busy. It's my favorite time of year and I tend to decorate a lot.

Come on in and make yourself at home.

This is our entry way and staircase when you first enter our home.





Here is a close up of one of our trees. This one is decorated in red and green fruits, balls and berries.



This is our mantle. Live greens with balls and berries and two new trees I got at Hobby Lobby this year.



This is our beautiful Nativity set given to us as a wedding gift from close family friends.



This was our dining room table ready for a party last weekend. You can see part of our silver tree in the background.

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I took greenery and stuck it in my kitchen light and hung red balls with ribbon from the fixture.



This is our main, family tree where we hang all our special family ornaments that we get each year from family, friends, godparents or purchase on vacation, etc.



I tried something new this year with a "brown" tree in our basement. I loved these brown ornaments, especially the polk a dot ones, that I found.



If you can't tell I love trees and collect them. Here are a few photos showing some of my trees.





Thanks for stopping by. Merry Christmas!




Visit more beautiful and festive homes at:

Remembering 9/11

It's been 7 years since that horrible, tragic day. It will be one of those days in my life that I will remember like it happened yesterday. It was a beautiful, sunny fall morning and I was on my way to take J to pre-school and then was heading into work when I heard the news. We gathered around the TV in the conference room completely stunned. Everyone went home early and we watched the coverage into the night. Dh was supposed to be on a business trip with two colleagues in New York that day, but because I was 8 months pregnant with our C his colleagues had told him to stay home. They were only blocks from the WTC when the planes hit and were then stuck in NYC for several days. Our C was born two weeks to the day later--a bright light during a very sad time.

We will never forget.

Back to School

Fall is here, hear the yell
back to school, ring the bell
brand new shoes, walking blues
climb the fence, books and pens
I can tell that we're going to be friends

We're Going to be Friends by The White Strips

Well it's not really fall, but we are back to school. Each new school year seems to come so quickly, which means my kids are growing up quickly. This will be the first time in 11 years that all of my children will be gone from me all day,5 days a week. C is in first grade, A is in third grade and J is in sixth grade. Ever since they have started school someone has been here with me at least for half a day. I know I will fill my days with many things related to PTO, volunteering, work, home improvements, etc but it is still bittersweet to know the days of toddlers, pre-schoolers at home everyday are gone.

Summer Fun!

We have enjoyed our weeks of summer vacation with no rigid schedules, homework or many extra activities.

Here are some of the highlights:

In June, we took two one night camping trips--one with several neighborhood families and one with A's Brownie troop. A enjoyed a drama camp, while J took some golf lessons. J went to boy scout camp the end of the month. We enjoyed our neighborhood 4th of July parade.

July kicked off with 4th of July parties and my grandma's birthday (on the 4th) and our annual viewing of the fireworks at a local country club. The next afternoon we got on an airplane and headed to California for our annual trip to see dh's family. We were gone 10 days and the kids had a blast. We visited our favorite beach went to Disney and California Adventure where I went on California Screamin! Wow, that was fast!








We spent lots of time playing and swimming with grandma, aunts, uncles and lots of cousins. Grandma also took us to the Long Beach Aquarium and we enjoyed the Laguna Beach Sawdust Festival.

We were able to see special neightbor friends who now live in San Diego and enjoyed a night watching dh's brother and SIL perform at a local taco restaurant in Dana Point. The time always goes much too fast and we miss our family a lot.

The end of July we took in two county fairs, pooltime, BBQs with friends. J enjoyed 3weeks of band camp to get ready for middle school band class and the two girls went to farm camp for 5 mornings one week. We also enjoyed lots of playdates and sleepovers with friends.

August brought a trip to a friend's lake house, trying to learn to waterski (J) for the first time, a beach day with a night-time beach bonfire, back-to-school shopping, more playdates and a last hurrah trip to Michigan Adventure.

Of course, we stayed up later at night, often playing with friends, the crickets and fireflies outside way past our usual bedtimes. We then "slept in" and cuddled all in bed in the mornings. We love summer and it went by way too fast.

Happy 11th Birthday JJW

Eleven years ago on a early spring morning in April he blessed us with the most precious gift of all--being parents. Our first born child and son. He took his time coming out, but we were so happy to finally see meet him once he was here. Our buddy boy. He was our guinea pig as we navigated the waters of parenthood for the first time. Those early days as a family of 3 in our little house will always be special (even with the colic :))

These years have flown by and he has changed and grown so much. This is the year he leaves elementary school. While he may be short in stature, his heart is big. He is sensitive and empathetic to others, yet moments later stubborn and challenging. However, always with so much love for his family. He loves adventure. Never scared, he will ride any rollarcoaster that he is tall enough for. And, funny, is that boy ever funny. He loves jokes, tricks, magic, etc.

We say he would make a great lawyer (for his strong debating skills) or a pediatrician (because he would never be in a hurry and parents would love him for that).

His mind is amazing and he amazes us each day with his thoughts, ideas, analogies. We can't wait to see what the future brings for you.

JJW, we love you so much our buddy boy. Even though you a pre-teen you are still our little guy. Happy, happy birthday to you!