happy memorial day

from our watermelon lovers to yours.

A humble thank you to all the men and women who fought for our USA!

update

{charles river - cambridge, ma}

hi friends!
well, the spring is coming to an end and summer is almost upon us. that means one thing again for us this year: change. kevin's program in st. andrews is completed (except for the dissertation he'll write from the states over the summer), and with that, our wonderful adventure abroad has come to an end. ivy and i arrived safely in houston last week while kevin is finishing up some odds and ends. there is so much i could write about our experience, but i think i will just say here that it was everything i hoped our year would be. kevin pursued this particular spot mainly for his professional path, but i know it was also partly for me. i really loved it and will forever be thanking him. so many people and places will be greatly missed! especially our friends - the taits, the hays, the buchanans and gibbs in particular. they made our year a million times more meaningful and fun and we're already planning a reunion- somewhere, somehow!

we are now "home" in texas for june (except for a few little trips), and then we'll head up to charleston to be beach bums for the rest of summer! my body is itching to get there! it has become home away from home for us and i can't wait to get on the beach, watch kevin take ivy in the ocean, walk to the lost dog, go to harris teeter, have a date downtown... but mostly to start getting ready for our second babe. i'm getting so excited! i've got my OB all lined up and for some reason am really excited to meet her. haha... maybe because i haven't met a doctor yet during this pregnancy (you only see midwives in scotland) or maybe because she just looks so nice in her picture! either way, i'm looking forward to it and the rest of the summer. (who isn't?)

come early fall, we'll be moving our little family to cambridge, massachussettes! kevin will be a student (again? again.) in the education school at harvard. HGSE if you want to be official. i'm so proud of him and am really excited to live in a new part of the country with him and our two littles. i've never visited boston, but you can bet i'm loading up on books, websites, guides etc. i kinda enjoy the process of familiarizing myself with a new place and noting things that look fun to see and do (and eat). in fact, the first thing kevin did when we decided on harvard was place an amazon order for me so i could read and research to my heart's content. haha...

life is so bright right now. thank you all for your friendship and love. it means so much to me!
love, chaiss

SUMMER ADDRESS: {july & august}
the mcconnells
po box 581
folly beach, south carolina
29439

packages/deliveries to:
1207 e. arctic avenue
folly beach, south carolina
29439

cocoa brownies

i have only made brownies from one recipe in my big long life, and it's the same recipe my mom uses and her mom uses... the bakers one bowl brownies. but i ran out of bakers chocolate squares the other day (an american ingredient) and had to find another way! i looked at dozens of recipes and thought this one would do the trick. these were really good and just as easy too. i made a mexican version for cinco de mayo with a pinch of cinnamon and cayenne, served up with praline ice cream (yum!). but i wanted to try out a purely chocolate batch this time. so good - big and dense and very chocolately. the bakers recipe will probably always remain my go-to since it's such a sweet part of my childhood, but this is a great alternative if you find yourself in another country - or just out of bakers squares :)

4 eggs

1 cup sugar

1 cup brown sugar

8 ounces butter, melted

2 tsp pure vanilla

1 cup cocoa powder

1/2 cup flour

1/2 tsp salt

preheat oven to 300.

in a large bowl, beat the eggs. add the sugar, butter + vanilla and beat again. add the dry ingredients and mix well with a wooden spoon until just combined. pour batter into an 8x8 baking dish (buttered or lined with parchment) and bake for 45 minutes. let cool, sprinkle with powdered sugar and cut into squares. serve with vanilla ice cream and share with a girl named ivy :)

recipe adapted from alton brown

original recipe: here

enjoy!

27 wks

and counting!

royal wedding

This was soo last week, ha - but just wanted to record it in our St. Andrews file. Our town took enormous pride in the whole affair and it was a big, celebratory day! It was a national holiday after all, no school or work! Although it was kinda strange hearing people declare this "the best day of my life!" (really??) it was definitely exciting to be a part of all the buzz. All the shops around town have had Will & Kate pictures, mugs, plates, dolls, cakes, books etc displayed in their storefronts - maybe a little friendly competition :) On Friday morning, the Fairmont Hotel hosted a huge breakfast for 1500 in the center of town at St. Salvator's Quad with giant screens to broadcast the wedding. And afterwards, it was kind of a big fair with activities and people selling food etc. I'm not exactly sure what all it entailed since I wasn't there but you can check out Emily's blog post here. A few days before, the Botanical Gardens had a little special tree planting - an apple tree for Kate, a pear tree for Will. Emily also posted on that here. (Thanks, Emily!)

My friend Kendall hosted a Royal Brunch at her house for us gals to all watch the wedding together and eat of course. It was really fun getting to watch with about 10 of us (especially since we don't have TV in our flat) and hear everyone's comments. We were all in agreement that Kate's dress was beautiful (although I didn't love it), that Princess Beatrice's hat was ridiculous, that Harry is definitely the life of the party, and that we (I) miss Princess Di. It was also kinda fun to have an idea of some of the details - such as Will's groom's cake being made with McVitie's biscuits (cookies) which have been a staple in our flat since we moved here (yum), and reading that bacon butties were served to guests late night at the reception - which is a super common snack with students here... just little things like that :)

Congrats to the happy couple!