I'm a Californian again!

After surviving a wind/sand storm, rain downpour, interstate closures, a blizzard at 9000 ft elevation, and hail, Gabriel and I made it into California in one piece last week! Since then we found and signed papers for a beautiful renovated house in the redwood forest and are getting ready to start our post-pilot training life....finally :) Here are some pics from our road trip and house hunting adventures!

sunshine, the zoo, and ice cream.

 picnic in the sunshine @ the zoo :)

 how many more years months will he love kisses from Mama?

 ticket in hand, waiting patiently for the train...

 and how many more years months will he love holding his Mama's hand? :(

 a little ice cream to end our beautiful day..

G-Style: Harajuku Mini longsleeve t-shirt, Target boys blazer, GAP boys skinny denim, and Harajuku Mini "Ahoy Matey" slip-ons.  :)

The last week or so has been stressful...to say the least.  But this week, the wind stopped gusting, the sun is out, and I'm feeling better everyday.  Starting the week out with a trip to our local zoo was just what Gabriel and I needed...it was crowded (totally forgot it is spring break for all the public school kids) but the weather was SO nice (a rare thing around here) that nothing else mattered.  We had a picnic on the grass, rode the train, saw our favorite animals, and had a little ice cream and cheers'd to having a better week. :) xo

sunday supper...

march 11th...

I found this recipe in Real Simple magazaine...and it is SO so good.  I used pepper jack cheese instead of monterey and next time I think I would substitute the ground beef for ground turkey and try to sneak in brown rice (husband hates it). :)  This one is definitely going in the recipe box!

 

Ingredients

• 1 cup long-grain white rice
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 6 scallions, thinly sliced, white and green parts separated
• 1/2 pound ground beef chuck
• 1 cup frozen corn
• 1 4.5-ounce can chopped green chilies
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 4 ounces Monterey Jack, grated (1 cup)
• kosher salt and black pepper
• 4 large bell peppers, halved lengthwise, ribs and seeds removed
• 1/2 cup plain low-fat Greek yogurt
• salsa, for serving

Directions

1. Heat oven to 375° F. Cook the rice according to the package directions.
2. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the scallion whites and beef and cook, breaking the beef up with a spoon, until no longer pink, 3 to 5 minutes. Stir in the corn, chilies, cumin, cooked rice, ½ cup of the Monterey Jack, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon black pepper.
3. Arrange the bell peppers, cut-side up, in a 9-by-13-inch baking dish or pan. Divide the beef mixture among the bell peppers, add ½ cup water to the dish, tightly cover the dish with foil, and bake until the bell peppers are soft, 30 to 40 minutes. Uncover, sprinkle with the remaining ½ cup of Monterey Jack, and bake until browned, 5 to 7 minutes more.
4. In a small bowl, whisk together the yogurt and ¼ cup water. Drizzle over the bell peppers and top with the salsa and scallion greens.

Gabriel does chevron :)

I've had this blank canvas laying around for a long time and thanks to Gabriel it is now a beautiful piece of chevron art for our living room :)



 Use painters tape to lay out your chevron stripes...

 Paint in the white with a color of choice...I used my favorite mint green!

 After the first stripes have dried, cover them with painters tape so you have only white showing...

 Gabriel used his creative eye for this part, alternating colors and filling in the white...

After the paint has sat for an hour, peel off the painters tap and you have a lovely piece of chevron art for your home :) LOVE!

a day in the life...

 chocolate chip pancakes for a special little boy...I love randomly suprising him with these every once in a while :)

 an early morning run to the drive-thru starbucks down the street and some stolen time reading the Hunger Games series (which is so absolutely addicting fyi.)

 I don't think there has ever been a kid who loves jeeps as much as this one...

 green monster smoothie homemade popcicles :)

 picnic and park on this VERY windy day...

 french lessons with Little Pim...

 made Husband some freezer breakfast burritos for his early mornings off to work...a knock off of his favorite local new mexican ones:

{eggs, diced potatoes with onions and peppers, small can of green chilies, turkey sausage crumbles, mexican cheese blend, local homemade flour tortillas}

 swim lessons! love that curly fro :)

 pasta necklaces...working on those fine gross motor skills!

and a little "kid yoga" to end the day...it seriously mellows him out...everyone should try this with your kids!

I hope everyone is having a lovely week!

xo

etsy finds:seeing chevron!

I am so addicted to chevron right now and I know I'm not alone. :)  It's slowly taking over my world (loving my new chevron blog backround!)! These are a few chevron print items that are inspiring me for my own projects (coming soon)!

1. 1980's chevron summer dress    2.vintage chevron blanket    3. cobalt blue chevron pitcher   

4. chevron serving tray    5. triple chevron military arrow necklace    6. personalized chevron phone cover  7. chevron kitchen art prints    8. reclaimed chevron herringbone table

sunday supper...

March 5th...

For the Pierogi Dough

 

Ingredients

 

Source: Martha Stewart

 

• 1 large egg
• 2 tablespoons sour cream
• 1 cup milk
• 1 cup water
• 4 1/2 to 5 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting

 

Directions

 

 

Make the dough: In a medium bowl, whisk egg. Add sour cream, and whisk until smooth. Add milk and 1 cup water, and whisk until combined. Slowly add about 3 cups flour, and stir with a wooden spoon to combine.

 

Turn dough out onto a well-floured surface and work in about 1 cup flour as you knead. Use a plastic scraper to lift dough as it will stick to the counter before flour is worked in. Continue kneading for 8 to 10 minutes, working in another 1/2 cup flour. The dough should be elastic in texture and no longer sticky. Be careful not to add too much flour, as this will toughen dough. Place dough in a lightly floured bowl and cover with plastic wrap and let rest while you prepare filling.

 

 

Butternut Squash Filling

(source: Le Petite Pierogi)

 

(Note - this will make about 30 or so pierogi, which is about half of the pierogi from the recipe above. I made 1/2 butternut squash and 1/2 potato, but if you want to make all butternut squash, I'd recommend doubling this recipe)

 

Ingredients

 

1 medium to large Butternut squash

4-6 large, fresh sage leaves

1/2 - 1 tsp cinnamon

pinch of ground ginger

1/8 - 1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg

salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

 

Directions

 

 

 

Preheat oven to 400 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Cut the butternut squash in half lengthwise and scoop out the seeds and discard. Place on the prepared baking sheet, cut side down, and bake until very soft with pierced with he top of a knife, about 35-45 minutes. Let cool to the touch. Peel the squash and place the flesh into a medium bowl. Add remaining ingredients to the bowl, and stir well until very smooth.

 

To assemble pierogi:

 

On a floured surface, roll out dough to about 1/8 inch thick. Using a glass or cookie cutter measuring 2 1/2 inches in diameter, cut out as many circles as possible. Gather dough scraps together, rolling them out again, and continue cutting.

 

Scoop a teaspoon of filling and place a ball in the center of each dough circle. Moisten the edges with water, fold over, and press together with a fork to seal. Repeat procedure with the remaining dough.

 

 

You can now freeze your Pierogi if you choose to do so. I put them on wax paper on a baking sheet and freeze for about 20 minutes or so. Then I put them in a larger air-tight container and layer them between wax paper. They freeze very well.

 

 

 

To cook pierogi (frozen or not) Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add perogies and cook for 3 to 5 minutes or until pierogi float to the top. Remove with a slotted spoon. In a separate pan, melt about 1/2 stick of butter. Add about 1/2-1 cup of chopped onions and cook until translucent. Add boiled pierogi to pan and fry until golden brown on each side.

 

 

glitter wine glasses!

I recommend doing this project, drink a couple bottles of wine with your friends (using your new sparkle glasses of course), and then do my wine bottle vase project! :) 

 This is such an easy way to add a little sparkle to your lifeless wine glasses/drinking glasses!  All I used was some stolen glitter from Gabriel's arts and crafts supply, a little tape, and some mod podge...

 Use painters tape (or masking tape if that's all you have) and form tight seal around the top of the glass (you don't want to have glitter IN your merlot obviously).

 Using  Mod Podge, do a nice even layer all around the area of the wine glass you would like "glittered".

 Glitter thoroughly! Do a thick enough layer so none of the glass shows through.  Let dry for about an hour.

 After drying for an hour, do another layer of Mod Podge right over the glitter. It will dry clear so don't worry about how it looks at this stage.

After the Mod Podge has dried and turned clear take the painters tape off and viola! A little flair for your wine :)

 



wine bottle vases!

I know most of you have seen some version of this floating around on Pinterest....this is mine!

I chose two different wine bottles and a small Perrier bottle (I have at least 30 of these...I drink one a day and I'm starting to feel very non-ecofriendly!).

Gabriel helped with the painting of course :)

I used a gloss acrylic paint in my favorite mint color.  You want to do at least 3 coats and do a sealer after it has dried (I just used mod podge since that was all I had on hand).

Using a glue gun and twine, start at the top of the bottle and do a small dot of glue about every inch or so pulling the twine tightly around the bottle. Continue going as far down with the twine as you want (doing just the bottom half would look cute too).

and there you go! Super easy, and cheap decorative vases! Now get to drinking some wine :)