Cooking and baking all day... hopefully!

I have been terrible at managing my time the last few weeks... 

and a few of my favorite things have had to sacrifice, cooking/baking and blogging.

AND... I am soooo sorry!

So to get back in to the swing of things I will be spending the next few hours cooking and baking

{ yay! }

And I'm sure you would all { LOVE } to know what I will be creating in the kitchen, right?!

Well here you go, a glimpse into my culinary exploration for this Sunday morning...

Soups

Only like the best Fall and Winter food EVER. 

Homemade Mushroom Soup, recipe & { amazing } photo courtesy of Season with Spicehere, get the yummy recipe here.

Vegetable Chowder, recipe and photo courtesy of MarthaStewart.com, get the recipe here if you would like to try it for yourself.

I'm hoping that both of these will freeze well, seeing as they are for my lunches for the next couple of weeks.

Along with making some soups, I'll also be baking up a batch of these...

Whole Wheat Pita Bread, recipe and photo courtesy of Annie's Eats, get it here.

{ I'm hoping they're as amazing as the Greek pitas I get at Metropolitan Market }

And I couldn't make some pitas without planning for a meal of Chicken Gyros...

recipe and photo also courtesy of Annie's Eats, get it here.

In case you need some inspiration for your weekly meals, check out my  Pinterest boards 

for some yummy recipes...

for vegetarian recipes

for all other yummy, delicious recipes

Have you tried any new recipes lately?  

I've been doing quite well at this since the new year, we generally have 2-3 meals a week 

that are new recipes for our family...

it's so much more fun cooking when you get to experiment with new recipes { smile }

Have a WONDERFUL Sunday, lovelies!  On top of cooking and blogging, I'll also be doing a ton few loads of laundry.  { yippee... not so much }

We braved a snowstorm { pictures }

It was only a week ago that the Seattle area was covered/blanketed in cold/crisp white snow... 

I am not exactly a hater of snow... I just prefer for it to not be on the roads because when it is it makes for a treacherous commute to work for me and all of the other Seattle drivers.

But... 

it is A LOT of fun watching my little 2 2/3 year old prince play in the cold-white-stuff.

See...

Mommy and the prince took the doggies out to play in the snow...  so of course he had to throw some snowballs.

And more snowballs... 

Cooper didn't care for the snow as much as Roxy and the prince... so since there was still some uncovered grass he decided this would be his spot.

Roxy on the other hand loves the snow... she especially loves trying to catch snowballs.

{ I only wish I could have gotten a pic of the prince throwing them for her }

Then came the sledding adventures at the end of the storm when we had the most snow!

The prince { LOVED } riding on the sled...  he even enjoyed going down a hill on it...  

but walking back up the hill { only the worst part of sledding in my opinion } he didn't like so much.

Next it was the hubby's turn to go for a ride on the sled.

{ Don't worry. No hubbies were actually hurt in our sledding adventures.  

The truck seems a lot closer than it actually was. }

Cooper & Roxy { our fur-babies }

She wanted to be a part of the fun, but when we finally put her on the sled with the prince she couldn't get off fast enough { smile }

And last, but not least throwing snowballs at Mommy { I heart him }

So are you a fan of snow?

Until next time, lovelies...  have a wonderful Tuesday!

A week in { instagram }

To say the least, this week has been anything but normal.

The Seattle area/PNW was blanketed in snow almost this entire week...  luckily it has now been raining since yesterday so that yucky stuff called snow is now melting { yay }

Anywho...  here's a quickie post with my instagram photos for the week while I work on a few other posts

{ like... playing in the snow, update on how the prince and I are doing with our new lifestyle,

and a recap on some of the culinary masterpieces I've been making }

the prince driving Papa's school bus { could he be any cuter }

fire roasted green chiles for our dinner { see next pic for finished product }

chicken enchiladas in green chile sour cream sauce { the hubby LOVES these }

met up with Papa for lunch while he was on a trip with the wrestling team

pepsi. enough said. because it's like only the best pop EVER.

the prince and his Roxy { he really does love his puppies even though he terrorizes them }

the prince eating some almonds from Grandma { he LOVES those things }

my new FAVE magazine. ShopSmart by Consumer Reports { you must read it }

Oh and a little treat for all of you...  

the recipe for the chicken enchiladas pictured above { smile }

courtesy of Joyful Momma's Kitchen... FYI it's the same recipe that I ranted and raved out here.

We like to have cilantro lime rice with ours...  here's the recipe for it too... enjoy!

BTW I recommend using 1 cup chicken or vegetable stock and 1 cup water...

and both times I've made the rice I've never used the vegetable oil and it's still been AMAZING!

Have a wonderful Saturday, lovelies!

Choo-choos... perfect for the prince!

hello lovelies!

It is now less than 4 months until the prince's 3rd birthday...

and that means that I am now officially in planning mode! 

{ I love this stuff }

This year I knew automatically that trains/choo-choos, specifically "Thomas and Friends", 

would be my inspiration...  

Photo courtesy of thomasandfriends.com

Seriously, what little boy doesn't { LOVE } choo-choos?!?!  Mine sure does!
We watch Thomas daily and usually { ALL } morning...
I am not exaggerating.

So here are all of the goodies/inspiration that I've found { so far} for the prince's b-day, seeing as I have 3 months surely I will find more...

choo-choo party fit for the prince

{ as usual many of my finds are from the fabulous shops on Etsy }

invitations. invites. "tickets".

{ BONUS!  All of the invitations I'm considering are sent in a digital file to your email after purchase, so you can print them yourself }

These three are the current front-runners...

1.  I love the train ticket look of this one and the addition of Thomas is perfect, 

designed and created by Olive Press Paper.  

2.  Another take on the train ticket style, but this time it's also a tad traditional, 

designed and created by Dazzle Expressions.

3.  Lastly, an invitation showcasing the birthday boy with a touch of choo-choo fun, 

designed and created by Scriptiva Paper Studio.  I love the contemporary feel

and that the prince would be the main focus of this one.

{ If you hadn't noticed by this point yet...  the colors are likely to be red and sky blue, 

maybe with a touch of GREY- my fave color }

4.  Peace train sign/art:.  I absolutely { LOVE } using decorations for the party that can be repurposed as decor for the childs bedroom.  This cool license plate art was created by Rural Originals, check out their other pieces in their Etsy shop.

5.  Paper straw sunburst:.  Seeing as how I might be a tad obsessed with the striped paper straws, this tutorial for making a "Straw-burst" from Woman's Day will be perfect for the party...  and again it can be used in the prince's bedroom after the party.  { I will definitely be doing this! }

6.  Paper suitcase set:.  These cute and functional suitcase can be found in so many different places, I found these online at Shop Sweet Lulu.  They can be used for displaying party favors or just stacked on the table for decoration.  I think they go fabulous with the choo-choo theme and the colors are spot-on for this party!

7.  Paper straws:.  Both for the "Straw-burst" and for drinks...  added color and so very fun.  I am in love with the different shades of blue that they used in this package.  Get them or other colors at CupcakeSocial, but be careful because there are lots of tempting lovelies in this shop...  { you have been warned }

8.  Cookies:. I found these amazingly-perfect train cookies on Pinterest, thank-goodness for Hostess with the Mostess and Landon's Plaid Train Birthday.  I will be attempting to duplicate these cookies for the prince's party, I seriously couldn't have dreamed of a better cookie... down to the color and pattern!  First things first, finding the cookie cutter... I want my cookies to be as close to this train shape as possible.  So with the help of the internet I found the { perfect } cookie cutter on Wilton's website...  that I will be buying soon, very soon!

{ BONUS:   Check out Sweetopia for the perfect sugar cookie recipe...  and The Sweet Adventures of Sugarbelle for the supplies you'll need for making beautiful sugar cookies like the trains. }

9.  Cupcake toppers:.  This adorable set that I found on Etsy at Lora Lang Designs can be customized to the colors for your party { perfect } and it's digital like all of the invitations I found... so you can print them yourself { saving you both time & money } 

10.  Cupcake liners:.  I { LOVE } Sweet Estelle and all of the pretty liners she sells in her Etsy shop!  I found these blue and red ones that are perfect for this party, but she seriously has hundreds to choose from... even mini ones.

11.  Glass apothecary jars:.  This set of three can be used for candy, like the light blue M&Ms pictured above or maybe some saltwater taffy, jelly beans { Jelly Belly's are my fave }, Swedish Fish or whatever candy you or your child desires.  Candy buffets are a huge hit right now and if you don't already have a huge collection of pretty glass jars { I know I don't } then check out Save on Crafts for some amazing deals...  this set of 3 jars is currently only $19.99...  there are many other great deals too so check them out!

12.  Lollipop tree/bush/topiary:.  I saw this and thought it would go perfect on the dessert/candy table.  This wonderful creation is from Meet the Dubiens, you can get the tutorial here!  { love this }

Well that's it for now, but like I said I have just over 3 months to find more inspiration { smile }

I'll keep you posted on more of the specifics as they come up.

Have a wonderful Tuesday lovelies!  

I'm thinking that I'm going to get to stay home today from work...  afterall it's snowing!

And when that happens here in the Seattle area it's not worth trying to drive the 20+ miles to work just to get stuck in the traffic that comes when everyone leaves at the first sign of snow.  

Last year it took me 3 hours { for what is normally 40 minutes commute } to get home and there were a few times that I thought I might not even make it home.