Home Sweet Hanna has been on hiatus lately - it has been a busy month! Wanted to update with a few pictures from Halloween (yes I know we are on to Thanksgiving) and George's 1st Bday - see below...
First there was Ginny's 30th Birthday Party - my DIY (see post here) Kate Middleton costume was a hit...
Ginny "Black Swan", Elizabeth "Kate" and Claire "i-Phone"
iPhone and Steve Jobs
White and Black Swan getting down
Me and my handsome fighter pilot William...I mean Maverick
Next up was Halloween at Home Sweet Hanna - we carved our pumpkin and had lots of cute trick-or-treaters...
Berkley as a pumpkin and Bridget as Yo Gaba Gaba's Brobee - too cute!
George checking out our visitors
Yo Gaba Gaba and DJ Lance - look how much big Bridget has gotten since last year - here
Trick or Treat!
2011 Jack-Hanna-Lantern...creepy
George's Birthday was on November 1st - our sweet boy turned 1 on the 1st (golden bday!)- he got extra ball tossing in the backyard and a few presents to celebrate the milestone....
What a crazy summer it has been - I am few weeks behind on my updates but wanted to share a few pictures of the Hamner Family Reunion at our river house in Surry, VA. Fun was had by all - and at its peak we had 19 in attendance...20 with George...
Highlights -
Dad, Funky Aunt Susan, and Uncle Rob
The boys shooting - Rob was home from the Navy (yeah R!)
Delicious Meals - grilled out every night
Porch Time - Card Games with the cousins
The pier at night
Pork Pine and Peanut Festival - Tilly had her own booth
Bananas/Chocolate/Marshmellow - cooked to perfection in the fire by Jack and Thibaut (French Friend)
Hanging by the fire
Lots of Pier Sitting
George had a blast playing catch
my sweet puppy
Jump George? Yeah Right!
Can't wait till the next one! Hopefully our missing members (Katharine, Mark/Liz/Lucy) will be able to make it next time....they were missed!
First we took George to the river for the first time - he was pooped on the way home and fell asleep instantly
Next, I went to NYC and Bermuda for work
Valerie and Betty at the TV Land Hot In Cleveland/Happily Divorced Premiere Party
Sunset over Hamilton Harbor in Bermuda (delicious dinner at Blu with the client)
Upon returning from Bermuda, we cleared out the kitchen for our mini-renovation
(new floor, counter, and appliances)
Michael was awesome and helped us move the range and fridge - he can be bribed with Oreos
So empty - and ready for tiling
After some heavy lifting, The Hanna House went south to Duck, NC for a week of Hanna-cation...such a fun relaxing trip and we had a blast hanging with our adorable nieces....pics below...
Whole Gang - minus Michael who couldnt get away from the hospital
Kate playing the ring game and Kill Devil Grill
Sophia driving the tractor during GoCarts
Bridget watching the race
Can you believe next weekend is the 4th of July? What Happened to June?
Busy week...in NYC for the Hot In Cleveland and Happily Divorced premiere party for TV Land and then flying to Bermuda for a presentation....rough life I know...
Be sure to tune in on Wednesday....
I will be tuning in from Bermuda and hopefully sampling the local delicacies...
DarkNStormy
Of course missing my boys....
Me and Briguy - I wore this dress to the premiere party too!
To celebrate we spent last weekend at Keswick Hall - a beautiful old mansion/hotel near Charlottesville, VA. We spent the weekend dining on delicious food (Fossetts at Keswick and Duners in Ivy), drinking amazing wine, riding bikes through the beautiful Keswick Blue Ridge mountain neighborhood, playing pool (not very well mind you), and just enjoying a weekend away with an amazing husband. Keswick allows pets; but we decided to leave George at home (first time since we got him) with The Grammers - he got an excellent report card (such a good boy)!
Amazing Dinner - Tuna for E, Steak for B, Calamari to share...yummm
Room 14 - Hanna
The Hannas - married one year!
We came home from Keswick on our actual anniversary to torrential downpours, an afternoon of DVR catchup, lots of puppy love, and tons of wedding cake....that's right - we pulled the 3/6/10 cake out of the freezer and enjoyed a large slice (instead of dinner - wups!)....We were very pleasantly surprised at how well the cake withstood a year in the freezer - no freezer burn and although it lost it's smooth white buttercream frosted perfection... it actually tasted even better than I remembered....see pics below....
Today is my Dad's Birthday...and Justin Biebers...more on that later...
To celebrate we are having dinner at The Hanna House - mom is making her signature lasagna and I am in charge of the cake. Dad's favorite is Chocolate - so when assigned to cake duty, my mind immediately went to this incredible looking old fashioned cake recipe from Ina....Beatty's Chocolate Cake...
The recipe was easy (labeled as intermediate) but time intensive. The big cake cutting is tonight and I will report back on the final product - I must say that the Chocolate Buttercream icing is possibly the best thing I have tasted in 2011 - the secret is the coffee flavoring - it adds tons of depth to the flavor and intensifies the buttery chocolate goodness...
Notes:
- I did not have instant coffee powder for the icing - so used my coffee grinder to grind the beans extra fine and added only about 1/2 of a tablespoon (as opposed to the recipes full tablespoon) to the hot tap water
- Of course I assumed that I had plenty of semi sweet chocolate left over from Oreo cake I made for my brother's Bon Voyage party (see post here) - but only had 4 oz instead of the 6 ounces required for the frosting - as a substitute I added two teaspoons of shortening, two teaspoons of coco powder, six tablespoons of sugar, and two extra tablespoons of butter (the chocolate turned out perfect - I also microwaved it and stirred every 30 seconds instead of heating on the oven over simmering water)
- A few folks commented on the frosting and indicated that there was not enough for the full cake - which made me nervous, therefore, I skimped on the middle layer - these comments are false - there is plenty of frosting for both the cake and hungry bakers/husbands to have a taste
Check out my work in progress pics below...
Love the old fashioned homemade look of this cake
Will take pictures of the flaming (59 candles?!?) cake and report back on the flavor - can't wait to dig in tonight!
Now - back to Bieber Birthday Fever (he turns 17 today!) - Check out his Birthday Remix with Usher below - (on behalf of The American Cancer Society - MORE BIRTHDAYS!)
