Wednesday, September 8, 2010

Affogato

According to Wikipedia: An affogato (Italian, "drowned") is a coffee-based beverage or dessert. It usually takes the form of a scoop of vanilla gelato or ice cream topped with a shot of hot espresso. Some variations also include a shot of Amaretto or other liqueur. Yum. 

I know this because one of my favorite Starbucks drinks is a coffee frappuccino with an extra shot of espresso (this is my splurge). The other day, the barista asked if I wanted the espresso blended in, or poured on top, 'affogato'.  I tried it affogato for the first time and - oh my gosh - it's wonderful.  The hot shot of espresso melts the frappuccino and then falls to the bottom and forms a very pretty puddle of caffeinated, sugary goodness. Try it.

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

First Steps

William took his first steps today!  We went to visit my grandparents, and it occured at their house!  William was sitting in a little rocking chair they have that is just his size. My parents have one too, and he likes to rock himself. Today he figured out that he can get out of the chair by himself. His feet don't reach the ground when he's sitting in it, so in order to get out, he has to hold on to the arms, lean forward and let his feet drop to the ground. Once he does that, he has just enough momentum going to take a few steps. 

All I had to do was move back a couple of feet so that he had to step (or fall... and that happened too) in order to get to me.  Sweet boy.  I am so proud of him!  I tried to take a video on my iPhone, but of course, the time I was focused on getting a video was the time he fell... and I felt too bad to keep trying.  I know this picture is blurry and only captures part of him, but it seems to capture the moment and his excitement!