Meaghan Barry

Meaghan is a former finance professional, turned stay-at-home mom.

Posted by Meaghan Barry on December 6, 2013

Christmas Snickerdoodles (from 2 Sisters 2 Cities)

For my first Christmas cookie recipe of the season, I decided to turn a traditional year-round cookie into a Christmas version of itself. I used red and green sugar crystals in the recipe to turn these Snickerdoodles into Christmas Snickerdoodles!

This recipe was super simple and it was the perfect cookie recipe to make with a 3-year old and 5-month old. After I formed a ball of cookie dough, I handed it to T and he would roll it in either the red or green sugar & cinnamon mixture, then place it on the pan. We got a good laugh as Baby N sat in his Bumbo chair and kept trying to grab for the red cookies…you can have cookies soon baby! I hope you have as much fun as I did making these Christmas Snickerdoodles this holiday season. (Just keep in mind that the dough needs to be refrigerated for one hour before baking- the perfect amount of time to grab a quick afternoon nap or watch a Christmas movie by the fire!)

Christmas Snickerdoodles (from 2 Sisters 2 Cities)

11 Christmas Snickerdoodles

Prep time: 1 hour 30 mins

Cook time: 10 mins

Total time: 1 hour 40 mins

Turn this classic cookie recipe into a Christmas one by using green and red-colored sugars.

Ingredients

1 cup butter, softened
1 and ½ cups sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
¼ teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons red sanding sugar or sugar crystals
2 tablespoons green sanding sugar or sugar crystals
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Instructions

Add the softened butter to a mixing bowl and use an electric mixer to beat butter on high for 30 seconds. Add the 1 and ½ cups sugar, baking soda, cream of tartar, and salt and mix until combined. Use a spatula to scrape the side of the mixing bowl if necessary. Turn off mixer and add in eggs and vanilla- mix for 30 more seconds until combined. Turn off mixer and add 1 cup of flour at a time, beating after each addition until flour is incorporated. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and chill for 1 hour or more.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F and prepare cookie sheets with parchment paper. Add the red sugar into a small bowl and the green sugar into a second small bowl. Add 1 teaspoon cinnamon into each bowl and mix. Shape dough into ~1 balls (you can make the balls smaller or larger based on how what size cookie you prefer. I ended up making 36 cookies from this batch of dough.)
Roll balls in either the red or green sugar mixture until dough is coated. Place 2 inches apart on the parchment paper.
Bake for 12-13 minutes or until bottoms are light brown. Transfer to wire racks and allow to cool.

Source: BHG.com

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Posted by Meaghan Barry on November 26, 2013

I know K has already touched on this, but seriously, how is it already late November already? I am really trying to enjoy Thanksgiving as it’s own holiday, but with December 1st right around the corner, it’s hard not to start thinking about Christmas. But first, we must keep our focus on a truly great holiday- Thanksgiving. And I have a truly special dish to commemorate this holiday, Chorizo Cornbread Stuffing.

While I always enjoy a serving of regular stuffing on Thanksgiving, I think I could enjoy this chorizo cornbread version year-round. A local restaurant has a version of this recipe on it’s menu and my husband and I order it as a side dish every time we go. I was so pleased that I was able to recreate a very similar version in my own kitchen!

If you are looking to mix it up with some non-traditional Thanksgiving recipes this year, I highly recommend making this version. Or, if you wanted to go all out for the stuffing lovers out there, you could make traditional stuffing and Chorizo Cornbread Stuffing…just let me know what time to stop by!

Chorizo Cornbread Stuffing

Prep time: 20 mins

Cook time: 35 mins

Total time: 55 mins

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil
6 oz. dried Spanish chorizo (I used a smoked version), cut into small cubes
1 medium white onion, chopped
1 medium carrot, peeled and finely chopped
1 celery stalk, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, pressed or minced
3 cups cornbread, cut into cubes (you can buy it from pre-made or try this recipe for cornbread)
¼ cup parsley, chopped (plus more for garnish if desired)
cooking spray
¼ cup parsley, chopped
½ cup low-sodium chicken broth or stock

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Heat a large skillet on medium heat and heat the olive oil. Once hot, sauté the chopped chorizo for a few minutes. Add the onion, carrot, celery, and garlic and cook until the vegetables start to brown (8-10 minutes.) Add the cut-up cornbread pieces and chopped parsley (reserving some for garnish if you like.) Stir well to combine. Stir in ½ cup of chicken broth (add more if the stuffing appears too dry.)
Meanwhile, use the cooking spray to prepare a medium-sized casserole dish. Add the stuffing to the dish and bake for about 20 minutes (look for it to be lightly golden on top.) Garnish with additional parsley before serving.

Source: Adapted from Aaron Sanchez for Food Network Magazine

Posted by Meaghan Barry on November 22, 2013

rosemary parmesan popcorn

It’s time to discuss Thanksgiving Day eating strategies! While you want to be hungry for the big meal, you don’t want to be ravenous and cranky leading up to the main event. I like to have a variety of light appetizers available for my guests so they can pick and nibble at snacks throughout the day.

Popcorn is such an easy treat to prepare and I decided to create a savory recipe for Thanksgiving: Rosemary Parmesan Popcorn. I usually like my butter/salt popcorn combo so much that I rarely make any other popcorn recipes, but I had a very difficult time removing my hand from the vicinity of the popcorn bowl with this version. I highly recommend investing in a Whirley Pop* if you don’t know own already. It makes popping popcorn a cinch.

Rosemary Parmesan Popcorn

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Rosemary Parmesan Popcorn

Prep time: 5 mins

Cook time: 3 mins

Total time: 8 mins

A savory popcorn recipe

Ingredients

1 tablespoon coconut oil (you could also use canola or vegetable oil, but coconut is a healthier oil)
½ cup popcorn kernels, popped (yields 14-16 cups popped popcorn)
5 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons grated Parmigiano Reggiano
1 tablespoon rosemary, finely chopped
½ teaspoon fine sea salt

Instructions

Use the coconut oil and popcorn kernels to pop 14-16 cups popcorn (I recommend using a Whirley Pop*.) Pour popped popcorn into a large serving bowl.
Whisk together olive oil, grated cheese, rosemary and sea salt in a small bowl.
Pour olive oil mixture over popcorn and stir well to combine.

If you prefer a sweeter popcorn recipe for an appetizer or snack, I highly recommend K’s Lightened-Up Caramel Corn:

What’s your favorite appetizer to eat/serve before the big Thanksgiving meal?

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Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links, but all opinions are my own.

Posted by Meaghan Barry on November 12, 2013

At my book club the other evening, I was discussing how baby N received so many personalized gifts with his name on it. I really cherish these customized gifts because they are unique keepsakes. It’s such a fun trend and there are so many different, creative options out there.

I also love that you can have these items made with any name. The spelling of my name is somewhat unique and it was very hard to find personalized items with the spelling of my name growing up. These days, any child can easily have personalized items with their name made on it!

With the holiday season quickly approaching, Bright Star Kids asked me to pull together a list of some of my favorite personalized gifts that I have seen lately.

Personalized clothing- Bright Star Kids offers so many adorable personalized baby & kid clothes. I love that you can order any of their customized designs and have it printed on a onesie, t-shirt, or bib (and it is 100% organic cotton.) I am totally swooning over this Christmas Truck design…it’s so sweet! I also love the big and little brother t-shirt designs. One of my only complaints about having boys is the lack of cute boy clothing out there…Bright Star Kids may be changing my mind on that one! I think T and N may be getting a few of these fun clothing items under our Christmas tree this year.
Custom labels for kids- I ordered some of these for T as his nursery school teachers recommend that all kids label their coats, shoes, mittens, hats, cups, etc. so they don’t get mixed up. I love that they don’t come off in the washing machine or dishwasher. Bright Star kid also offers their own line of name labels. These would make a great stocking stuffer for all your favorite preschoolers.
Baby & toddler books- I recently ordered this baby book for N and this toddler memory book for T. I love the customized front covers of these books. It’s so much more personable that just some generic baby book from a store. The inside pages are really nice as well.
Customized name burp clothes- We go through a lot of burp clothes in our household and one of my favorites is a personalized one from Moonbeam Baby. It’s basically a monogrammed diaper cloth embellished with some decorative fabric. Who knew spitting up could be so cute?
Name Puzzle Step Stool- Another gift that Baby N received was a personalized name puzzle step stool. Right now only T uses it, but it’s such a cute gift idea. Plus, T has already learned how to spell N’s name since he has put the puzzle together so many times. T uses it to brush his teeth, wash his hands, and whenever he needs a little boost to get to counter height.

If you are looking for more personalized gift ideas for kids this holiday season, be sure to also check out my Pinterest board on the topic! What are some of your favorite personalized gifts to give kids?

Be different this Christmas & get the kids a super cute gift personalized especially for them! Save 15% when you use the code “GIFT” in the shopping cart. Min spend $30. Expires December 15, 2013.

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Bright Star Kids. The opinions and text are all mine.

Posted by Meaghan Barry on November 5, 2013

Campbell's Dinner Sauces

K and I are always on the look-out for easy to prepare dinner ideas. K is usually tired when she gets home from her long workday and commute. I am also looking for easy dinner solutions when 5:00 rolls along after taking care of my two crazy boys all day. We were recently asked to try Campbell’s line of skillet sauces and slow cooker sauces. I was excited about the prospect of an easy dinner idea to add to our weekly menu!

Campbell’s has an entire line of skillet sauces, in addition to a line of slow cooker sauces. They include:

Campbell’s Skillet Sauces

Marsala
Toasted Sesame
Scampi
Thai Green Curry

Campbell’s Slow Cooker Sauces

Tavern Style Pot Roast
Sweet Korean BBQ
Apple Bourbon BBQ
Hawaiian Luau
Mexican Red Chile Taco
Moroccan Spiced Stew

Campbell's Marsala Skillet Sauce

I decided to try the Campbell’s Marsala Skillet Sauce as I have not had chicken marsala in quite awhile. It was extremely easy to pull together. I heated up a little vegetable oil in my skillet, browned the chicken for a few minutes, added the Marsala Skillet Sauce, and then allowed the chicken to finish cooking in the sauce. I paired it with steamed green beans and some egg noodles. So easy! I usually try to pull together dinner during the boys’ naptime, but this meal was easy enough to make with both of them up.

Campbell's Marsala Skillet Sauce

The final result: so delicious! I’m so happy to have come across an easy and satisfying dinner option to feed our family. Sometimes I feel such pressure to pull a nice dinner together and it’s nice to know that I will always have Campbell’s dinner sauces as an option in my back pocket.

I’m looking forward to trying more of the Campbell’s dinner sauces…next up I plan to try the Sweet Korean BBQ Slow Cooker Sauce. The back of the pouch features Korean Tacos- shredded beef, cabbage, and spicy sour cream rolled up in a flour tortilla…sign me up!

Which of the Campbell’s dinner sauces sound appealing to you?

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Disclosure: This post brought to you by Campbell’s Dinner Sauces. Weekend-worthy dinners with only weekday-level effort needed! Learn more at http://www.campbellsauces.com/.

Posted by Meaghan Barry on November 4, 2013

pumpkin bread

I have been attempting to start this post for pumpkin bread the entire month of October, but it just didn’t happen. Our laptop computer keyboard is currently out of commission for the letters r, f, v, and the number 4 (and also the hyphen key, but that’s a bit more manageable.) You never realize how often the letter r comes up in the English language! It definitely makes writing posts more challenging. Here’s hoping Santa brings me a new laptop this Christmas.

Even though Halloween is now in the past, it’s never too late for pumpkin recipes in my opinion. I came across this recipe for pumpkin bread on Pinterest and the pin claimed it was Starbucks’ recipe for pumpkin bread. I don’t know if that’s true, but I think it tastes pretty close!

Pumpkin Bread

Prep time: 10 mins

Cook time: 65 mins

Total time: 1 hour 15 mins

Ingredients

cooking spray
1 and ½ cups all purpose flour
½ tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp salt
½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp baking powder
¼ tsp ground cloves
¼ tsp ground nutmeg
⅔ cup sugar
⅔ cup brown sugar
¼ cup milk
3 egg whites
1 cup canned pumpkin

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 Fahrenheit. Grease a glass loaf pan with cooking spray and set aside.
Whisk together the flour, cinnamon, salt, baking soda, baking powder, cloves, and nutmeg in a medium-sized bowl.
Then, mix the sugar, brown sugar, milk, egg whites, and pumpkin together in a large bowl. Stir ingredients together until fully mixed.
Add the dry ingredients to the pumpkin mixture. Stir until completely incorporated.
Pour into loaf pan and bake for 65 minutes or until center is set. Allow to cool on a wire rack.

Source: Slightly adapted from The First Year Blog

If you are like us and can’t get enough pumpkin recipes this fall, here are a few more from the 2 Sisters 2 Cities archives:

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Posted by Meaghan Barry on October 14, 2013

britax contest

I realize that at 2 Sisters 2 Cities, we usually focus on recipe posts and DIY projects. However, I was recently asked to review the Britax Advocate 70-G3 car seat and I agreed to it as car seats are a major part of our life now! There would be no trips to the grocery store or craft store without our trusty carseats! And the best part is that Britax is also giving away a Britax Advocate 70-G3 convertible car seat to one lucky 2S2C reader (keep reading this post for more details…)

As an owner of two other Britax car seats (the Britax Advocate 70-CS and the Britax Marathon 70), I was excited to try the latest and greatest product from Britax. In addition, baby N Hates (with a capital H!) his infant bucket carseat. He cries almost non-stop whenever we are in the car…it is torture to listen to my poor little guy cry his heart out. It’s funny to hear about people taking their babies for car rides to get them to sleep. That would never happen in our household! I was thinking about moving him to a convertible car seat to see if he tolerated the car better. The timing could not have been better to try out the Advocate 70-G3!

When the car seat arrived, T ran out the front door to check it out. What can I say…we get really excited about safety in our house!

britax_delivery

After watching an episode of Curious George in the new car seat, T agreed to let baby N have a try. Both 3-year old T and 3-month old N are able to use this car seat as Britax convertible car seats can be used rear-facing from 5 to 40 pounds and forward-facing from 1 year and 20 pounds, up to 70 pounds. With the Quick-Adjust Harness system, it’s super easy to adjust the shoulder height for each kid (no re-threading of straps necessary!) Everyone seemed to be a fan of the Britax Advocate 70-G3 during our dry run in the house.

britax advocate 70g3

Next up was installing the Advocate 70-G3 in the car. While admittedly this is not my favorite task in the world, it was actually pretty easy to install with the LATCH system. I had the bucket seat out and the new convertible car seat installed in less than five minutes.

The real trial was up taking baby N on his first car ride in the new convertible car seat. The result: definite improvement! While he still cries about 50% of car trips we take, he seems to like the new seat a lot better. And the best result (besides a safe car ride,) a sleeping baby!

britax_sleeping_baby

The best part of the Britax Advocate 70-G3 are all the amazing safety features that are incorporated into the seat. One of Britax’s car seat taglines is “Safety You Can See” as all of their safety features are in plain sight. They include:

True Side Impact Protection is deep side walls with energy-absorbing EPP foam along with a head restraint which offers a double layer of EPP foam to distribute crash forces, shield from vehicle intrusion, and contain the head, neck and body while keeping them “in true” or aligned
HUGS Chest Pads with SafeCell Technology are affixed to the seat shell to ensure proper positioning while SafeCells compress to manage energy and provide resistance to the forward movement of your child in a crash, reducing the risk of head injury
Base with SafeCell Technology features SafeCells designed to compress in a crash, significantly lowering the center of gravity and counteracting the forward rotation of the child seat which normally propels the child toward the front seat
Integrated Steel Bars strengthen the connection to the vehicle and reduce forward flexing of the child seat during a crash
Energy-Absorbing Versa-Tether features a staged-release tether webbing to slow the forward movement, reducing the crash forces reaching the child, and a two-point attachment to minimize forward rotation while anchoring the top of the child seat
Click & Safe® Snug Harness Indicator is an audible aid that provides extra assurance when the harness is within range of appropriate snugness
Tangle-Free, Five-Point Harness distributes crash forces across the strongest parts of the body and provides a secure fit

britax advocate 70g3 safety features

I was especially impressed with the new HUGS Chest Pads. T has a tendency to pull the chest clip down and remove the straps from his shoulders when he gets bored in the car. This new feature would definitely prevent (or at least make it more difficult) to lower the chest clip. I also definitely like the True Side Impact Protection that would provide extra protection if we ever got into a car accident.

One of the drawbacks of switching baby N to the Advocate 70-G3 is that I can’t simply unlatch the seat and carry him in it if he falls asleep. I usually have to transfer him to his bassinet or the Moby Wrap if we are out and about and he usually wakes up. This is more of an issue of an infant bucket seat vs. a convertible car seat however.

Another limitation is that the seat is pretty bulky and wide. If you have a small car, this carseat might be a tight squeeze. Traveling with the Advocate 70-G3 might be a bit cumbersome for airline travel. In the past, we have used the Britax Car Seat Travel Cart to tote T and his car seat around the airport. It’s always a bit tricky then installing a large convertible car seat into a tiny airplane seat. I have not yet attempted it with this car seat, but I imagine it would also be a bit tight on certain airline carriers. However, all of the great safety features greatly outweigh these drawbacks in my opinion.

Now it’s your chance to try the Britax Advocate 70-G3…enter this giveaway through the Rafflecopter widget below. Good luck and safe travels!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Safety matters when it comes to car seats. I want one that will protect my child. And Britax convertible car seats have so many safety features — and knowing that makes me feel like my child is safe while in the car. Click here to learn more about Britax safety features.

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Britax. The opinions and text are 100% mine.

Posted by Meaghan Barry on September 23, 2013

So I started this post in early June and had hoped to finish it before Baby’s N’s arrival. Fast forward three and a half months later and I am just getting to it! I was still finalizing some of the details when Baby N decided to come a week early. It took me up until this point to finally pull together the remaining elements of his gray and green-themed nursery.

While with T, I had a very specific theme in mind for his airplane-themed nursery. However, for N, I really only had a color palette in mind…dark gray and green. I spent a lot of time perusing the web to come up with this Pinterest board with this color scheme in mind.

gray nursery

We ended up using furniture that we already owned to make up most of the nursery. Since T is (hopefully) nearing the end of his diaper stage, we moved the diaper changing bureau to the nursery. We also got T a “big-boy” bed and moved his crib to N’s room. We also had a mahogany dresser from our old master bedroom that we were no longer using. Our one furniture splurge was the new white glider from Land of Nod.

white glider

This room was previously our guest room and was painted a light green. I wanted something a bit more dramatic for the nursery and I fell in love with a color called Kendall Charcoal (Benjamin Moore HC 166.) I was a bit worried that it would be a little too dark, especially for a nursery, but I love the way the walls turned out. It contrasts so nicely with the white and green.

quilt

My favorite addition to the room is the beautiful gray and green quilt that K made for Baby N. It’s stunning and perfectly matches the room even though she had never seen it in person until her recent visit. I love all the fabric she used, especially the cute little elephant. It truly makes the room feel complete. K took pictures of her progress on the quilt as she was making it and will be writing up a post soon with her tutorial. I am so impressed with how it turned out and it puts a smile on my face every time I enter the room!

dots

My second favorite part of the room are the white and silver dot decals (also from the Land of Nod.) I can attest that they are very easy to remove and reuse…I ended up changing it up three times before I was fully satisfied with the results (a big shout-out to sister M, K, and my husband who helped me adjust them and made sure they were random enough!)

you are getting very sleepy

I also spent some time on Etsy looking for wall art for the nursery. I still want to buy one with Baby N’s birth info (weight, date, etc.), but I love the ones I have hanging up so far. My favorite one is the letterpress print above the bed that says “You are getting very sleepy.” It’s a family joke that my father always used to tell me that I looked sleepy when I was a baby and would just put me down and I would fall asleep. Wishful thinking that my kids would be like that…Baby N is a pretty terrible sleeper thus far. Hopefully that will change in the near future!

Gray and Green-Themed Nursery Source List:

Crib and Changing Bureau- Romina Charisma
Dresser- Pottery Barn
Glider- Land of Nod
Side Table- Target
Book Caddy- Land of Nod
Knit Pouf- Land of Nod
Crib Sheets & Skirt- Pottery Barn
Roman Shades- Pottery Barn
Green Lamp- Target
Dot Decals- Land of Nod
You are getting very sleepy” print- Etsy
“ABC/I Love You” print- Etsy
“Climb Trees” print- Etsy
Paint Color- Benjamin Moore Kendall Charcoal (HC 166)

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Posted by Meaghan Barry on July 17, 2013

caprese pasta salad

I’ve been too caught up in newborn/toddlerland to post for the past few weeks, but I’ve finally decided to hop back on the blogging train. I haven’t been cooking too much lately as we’ve also been fortunate to have had a lot of meals brought to us each evening. Baby N is pretty relaxed during the day, but things get a bit chaotic around dinnertime each night with him and T. Yesterday, I had big plans to make this caprese pasta salad right after lunch today while both boys were sleeping. However, T fought his nap big time, N woke up earlier than expected, and I spent any downtime I had trying to make our house look a little less like a scene from Hoarders.

I finally got a chance to start making this caprese pasta salad around 5 last night, but didn’t get a chance to start taking photos until 7 and I was losing natural light fast. Baby N was a bit fussy so I had him in the Moby wrap while I was photographing. Hence, these are not the most stylized or perfectly lit/focused photos. But, I promise what my photos lack, this recipe makes up for in taste!

caprese pasta salad

This recipe combines two of my favorite types of summer salads: a good pasta salad made with fusilli and a caprese salad. I love the bright flavor that the white balsamic vinegar brings to this recipe as well. While I was making it, I was a bit concerned about using a half a cup of vinegar, but I think this is the ingredient that really makes this recipe shine. This caprese pasta salad would be a delicious summer dish on its own or served on a side with a piece of grilled chicken or steak.

Caprese Pasta Salad

Prep time: 15 mins

Cook time: 10 mins

Total time: 25 mins

Ingredients

4 cups fresh basil leaves
1 pound fusilli pasta
½ cup white balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon sea salt
¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
½ cup good quality extra virgin olive oil
8 ounces fresh mozzarella, chopped into bite size pieces (you could also use small mozzarella balls)
1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved or 2 medium heirloom tomatoes, chopped (I used a combination of the two)
2 tablespoons capers, drained

Instructions

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and prepare an ice bath in a separate bowl Once water is boiling, blanche basil leaves for 30 seconds. Once they turn bright green, use a slotted spoon to add them to the ice bath. Drain well, squeezing out any excess liquid. Add basil to the bowl of a food processor.
Using the same pot of boiling water, cook pasta according to package directions until al dente. Drain pasta and rinse with cold water until cool. Add drained pasta to a large bowl.
Meanwhile, in the food processor, add the vinegar, salt, red pepper flakes, and pepper to the basil. Process for a few seconds. Continue to process and drizzle in the olive oil slowly through the top of the food processor until fully combined.
Pour dressing over the top of the pasta. Add mozzarella, tomatoes, and capers. Stir together all ingredients until fully combines. Can be served immediately or refrigerated for up to 3 days.

Source: Slightly adapted from Love and Olive Oil

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P.S. Happy, happy birthday to my favorite co‐blogger of all time! That glass of rosé is for you!

Posted by Meaghan Barry on July 3, 2013

I’ve been a little quiet on the blogging front lately and just wanted to share why. Baby N decided to grace us with his presence a week before his due date! We’ve been happily adjusting to our new family of four over the past couple of weeks. We don’t normally share photos of ourselves or our family on 2 Sisters 2 Cities, but like with Baby T, I wanted to share one snugly newborn photo. This photo was taken the morning after he was born.

baby n

I think he looks pretty much just like his older brother did when he was born! N is a chill little guy and his older brother has been really great with him (for the most part anyway.)

Hope you have a great Fourth of July weekend! Just in case you were looking for any last minute recipes, here are ten 2S2C recipes perfect for your summer cookout:

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