Meri Meri Party & Cupcake Fun

There is one problem with Meri Meri....
I can't decide which cupcake set I like more!  

There are too many cute decorations to choose from.

I think these cupcake kits are just too adorable.
I tried to get I-man to have a pirate party using these decorations and cupcake kit,
but he had his heart set on Star Wars.  

That's ok, because J-boy has a birthday coming up and he is still at the age 

where I can "influence" what kind of party he wants. :)

Don't you want to throw a party right now?  I almost do... almost.

Good Quotes

5 for Fighting Concert

One of my best friends LOVES 5 for fighting... 

well, let's say she is a great fan of the band and loves the lead singer! 

She wanted to enjoy another one of their concerts so much 

that she treated our friends to a fantastic girls night out.  What a sweetie!

Aren't girl nights out the best?! 

These pics are not the best. We all forgot our camera's, so these pics come from Stacy's phone.  

At least we had our phones though, since we were able to take a few pics with the band after the concert.  Yup! We are all groupie-mom's out on the town, taking pics with some band! 

Rock on!

Thanks for such an unforgettable night Kath! Love ya'll!

 

Three by Three: Organizing the Walls

You know I'm a sucker for organizational items.   

I fell in love with these the minute I laid my eyes on them... Love at first sight!

Bamboo dry erase wall panels.  Aren't these just fantastic?

Three by Three has such great organizing items.

The entry butler is pretty fabulous as well...

Do you agree?

Innovative and multifunctional this hook up strip also multi-tasks as a magnetic strip bulletin board with four powerful magnets to hold memos, photos, etc.

 

 

 and this is cute too!

Pinkalicious, Purplicious, and now... GOLDILICIOUS!

If you have a princess in your home, and you have yet to discover these three cute books, 

you might want to check them out. 

I wrote some time ago on my daughter's favorite books: Pinkalicious and Purplicious by Victoria Kann. 

Just wanted to inform those who may not know yet... Goldilicious is the new fave!
She loves Goldilicious because it involves a unicorn. Did you love unicorns when you were little?
I so remember loving unicorns, what is it about unicorns that is so enchanting?

 Another thing that is enchanting...
watching a child learn new skills.  I love to see how excited children get when they are
discovering and learning new-to-them things.
I think that is why I was a teacher, once upon a time.  The process of learning is just so exciting!
 A-girl has become quite the little reader lately.  She is one determined girl!  It is so cute to see her get frustrated, shut-down, find her determination, try again, succeed, and rejoice with excitement when she tackles another little reading book.  What a little spunk I have on my hands!
Thank heaven for little girls.  I love and adore my Ashy!

Happy Things~Guest: Simple Lovely

So, I usually have my Happy Things guest on Friday, but last week we went to Las Vegas for Spring break and I was busy entertaining my little ones.  The wait was worth it though! Because today my guest is Joslyn from Simple Lovely.  I'm not meaning to be too cheesy, but I'm going to say I love her blog because it is...Simple & Lovely.  Joslyn and I briefly met at the ALT Summit conference in January and she is quite a lovely person indeed.  It was great getting to know her better and I'm sure you'll just love her too (that is if you already don't)! 

What do you want to be when you grow up?

I used to think there was one (elusive) perfect job for me...but now I think it might be better to have sort of an agglomeration of interesting jobs that feed different parts of my personality.  I have a day job running the Web site for a Global software company, + I do some freelance writing on the side and have my personal Simple Lovely and food Raising Foodies blogs. It’s a good mix of the things I enjoy and seems pretty perfect for me right now.  I also think there’s something pretty powerful about embracing where you are in life rather than always searching for the next thing.

 Product you can't live without? 

My all time favorite product is Laura Mercier tinted moisturizer…but I’m also a huge fan of Kiehls Crème de Corps.  

Favorite place you've been?

Without a doubt, Big Sur…that entire stretch of the California coastline is pure magic.

Dream vacation?

It’s not exotic, but I’m dying to go on a family trip to Paris.  My oldest daughter is a total Francophile (truth be told I am too), and I’m so excited to experience that city with her.  I’m hoping to go in the next few years when my youngest is a smidge older…

 Favorite Restaurant/Food?

This tends to change based on my mood and the season, but I’m always up for great Thai food…especially green curry and fresh rolls.

Favorite TV show?

I don’t watch a lot of TV, but I’m addicted to 30 Rock and The Daily Show with Jon Stewart 

Favorite movie?

I love all of Wes Anderson’s movies.  The Royal Tenenbaums is at the tippy top of my list.

Favorite treat?

Dark chocolate gelato…

How do you like to relax or what is a hobby you enjoy?

I love to read (I always have a few books going at one time), but with the girlies it’s hard to find time, so I’m also a big fan of family bike rides. 

            5 LOVES:

1.       Family road trips (I get loads of reading done in the car, so it kills two birds with one stone)

2.       Riding my bike

3.       Taking the girlies to the museum

4.       Alice Waters – love her philosophy and the impact she’s made on the way we think about food

5.       Great music – currently Vampire Weekend, Sondre Lerche and Carla Bruni are on heavy rotation 

5 HATES: 

1.       Mean people

2.       Gossip

3.       Bad food (life’s too short to eat bad food…especially processed food.  I’m specifically thinking about  Twinkies)

4.       Texas summers -- I’ve lived here for over a decade, and I’m still not used to the crazy heat of August.

5.       Purposeful Ignorance – I love that we live in a country where everyone can have their own opinions and beliefs, but I think life is so much richer and more interesting when we take the time to find out what other people are about. 

Joslyn, thanks for being a guest.  We share many "favorite things."  I am a huge fan of Laura Mercier tinted moisturizer, love 30 Rock and Vampire Weekend, and Thai Food is my all time fave.  I'm so with you on bad food.  Why eat junk when there is such amazing yumminess out there? Oh, and the gelato thing...I could savor any flavor, as long as it is real gelato. ( I am now doing the Italian kiss of fingers and sending off the love)

Banquettes

Via Palmer Weiss

I love and adore this space.  Seriously LOVE.  

I really want to have a banquette built for our little breakfast nook.  Mr. D and I have been talking about doing this for quite some time now, but after collecting these pics over the past year, and I'm more determined than ever.  Now, I only need to get Mr. D to see how much we NEED to do this. :)

That kitchen below is just a dream! I think that banquette is such a great size and love the retro table!

via ElizabethKimberly Designs 

via Coastal Living

I really like the black and white stripes. Oh! And the floor. 

 

a bench on both sides is fun- just like a restaurant.

 

Love the wall gallery and love how long the bench is with the circular table.

Also, notice the storage.  I always love extra storage.

 

Just like the first photo, I'm loving the green and yellow. 

One of my must haves when we built our home was interior brick.  

The plan was to do the brick in the kitchen and breakfast nook.  By the end, the cost over-rode 

my dream and we never did it.  I still hope to someday.  

Why the story? Love the rock in this nook, however I would do my red brick.

Isn't that circular window fantastic?

via my design folder (but forgot to label where from. sorry)

New Additions

Here are a few pics of a new chair and basket/vase from Downeast (a local overstock store that I hunt at every now and then). These are in the library, but I am in the works of turning the library into my office too.  Still working on the organizing of the desk area.  Sigh.

Happy Easter

Hope you are all having a wonderful Easter!  

Did you get all the chocolate you wanted? 

Quinoa

Although technically a seed, quinoa (pronounced keen-wah) is commonly referred to and used most often as a grain. Quinoa is considered to be one of the most nutritious foods one can eat.  I buy my quinoa at Costco, but I'm sure you can find it in most stores now.  Especially, Health Food stores.

One cup (cooked) quinoa contains eight grams of protein, nearly twice the amount found in other grains. Quinoa is a complete protein, meaning it provides the body all nine essential amino acids. In addition to being a good source of protein, quinoa also contains: iron, calcium, potassium, zinc, vitamin E, fiber, and many other great nutritional ingredients.  Quinoa is also thought to be an antioxidant, to help protect the body of free radical damage.

I feel like the health benefits are outstanding, but I'm also a fan, just because I happen to like it.  I have never loved rice, so I now substitute quinoa in any recipe where I would use rice. My kids also enjoy eating quinoa and that is a HUGE bonus! I have heard it is good in salads and soups, however,  I still need to experiment with more recipes.  If you're interested, I'll share more recipes as I find them.

Some friends and I went to Moad, Utah a couple of weeks ago where we went to the fabulous, tiny, healthy cafe called The Love Muffin.  Yes, for reals that is the name, but I'm craving their food as I type! So yummy and so healthy! It is deserving of its name.  We got the idea to eat quinoa like oatmeal from The Love Muffin.  You just make quinoa following the package directions.  Then add ingredients like you would to your oatmeal.  For me that means: agave nectar (a yummy natural sweeter), cinnamon, blueberries, strawberries, and almond milk, soy milk, or milk (which ever you prefer).

If you have good quinoa recipes, I would love to know what they are!  Please share.

Curry Hawaiian Haystacks

Curry Hawaiian Haystacks

6 tablespoons butter

6 tablespoons flour

2 teaspoons curry

1 tablespoon lemon juice

2 teaspoons sugar

2 cups chicken broth

¼ teaspoon ginger

2 cups milk

1 teaspoon salt

2 chicken breasts cooked & diced

Melt butter and combine all the spices, cook for 2 minutes until aromatic. Take off the heat and add the flour then put back on the heat and add broth and milk until it thickens. Add the chicken after the gravy is made. Make 3 cups of long grain rice for this amount of gravy. Serve by placing a cup of rice on a plate covered by curry sauce and topped with your favorites.  Salt to taste.

Ideas: cheese, green onions, shredded carrots, Chinese noodles, frozen peas, pineapple, mandarin oranges, coconut, or edamame.

*This recipe comes from my fabulously talented sister-in-law Amy. 

**Instead of rice, I used Quinoa for some excellent nutrition.  Plus, I like quinoa more than rice...

More on that in another post.

***I enjoy this with chicken, however, I tried with  Shrimp, (since I love Shirmp) it was excellent!

Mother's Day Is Coming...

Need some ideas? Need something personalized especially for mom? 

Or how about some fun jewelry to wear on any occasion.  

Seriously, Stella & Dot is the perfect place to go for some Mother's Day LOVE!

Johnathan Adler Pens

How fantastic are these pens by Johnathan Adler?

La la love them! HELLO ZIG ZAG!

Red Super Hero

How is my little, loud, red super hero 14 months already? Where does time go? 

I know...chasing him, cleaning up after his disasters, and making sure he survives each crazy day.

Love you Baby G!