Mary Poppins Remix

For about a year, our sweet girl was obsessed with the Mary Poppins movie, and would want to watch it at least once a day. I very much enjoy the movie, but after the 365th time of watching it, it starts to get old. This remix gives a new sound to an old favorite.

Mini Turkey Meatballs

These mini Turkey meatballs are a huge hit at our house, and are so easy to make.

Click here for the full recipe.

Sunny Side Up Finds

1. A 2 Z
2. found here (can't remember where I first saw this image, but it seems to be a popular one)
3. C+S
4. decor pad (love the giant photo on the back wall!)
5. Lee Kleinhelter
6. found here (how cool is this?!)

Italian Quesadillas

Keeping up with our new family menu, next on the list is this fast and easy Italian take on the quesadilla.

Simple Ingredient list (click here for the full recipe)

• 4 tablespoons olive oil, plus more as needed
• 2 large onions, thinly sliced
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 9 (8-inch-diameter) flour tortillas
• 3 cups shredded Fontina
• 3/4 cup jarred roasted red bell peppers, drained well and patted dry
• 1/3 cup finely chopped fresh Italian parsley leaves, plus sprigs for garnish
• 1/3 cup freshly shredded Parmesan, plus 3 tablespoons for garnish

 

Family Menu Revamp

Recently our weekly family menu has been repetitive and lacking interest, so I am on mission to create a menu plan that is fast, easy, interesting, and above all healthy. To get the ball rolling I found my way over to the food network, specifically Giada's Everyday Italian page. This lady knows how to cook fast, easy, interesting and above all healthy meals! Her videos are easy to follow and cook along with, especially if you prep your ingredients before hand.

Giada De Laurentiis needs no introduction, but just in case you are asking who is Giada, check out her Food Network page here. 

The hardest part, as you know, will be to create a family friendly menu that both toddler, mom, and dad will enjoy. With this in mind I will be posting a new menu item each week, so check back to see how the menu revamp project is going.

First on our new menu is Giada's Light and Healthy Penne Pasta dish. It's whole grain, has two types of kid friendly cheese, and spinach. Click here for the recipe, and check out the video below.

Light and Healthy Penne

Happy Mother's Day

I hope you have a happy Mother's Day!

Toddler Bag

 image found here

What to do when the changing mat and diapers have been replaced by a travel Lysol spray and potty seat covers!

We have been out of diapers for about 3 months now, and it is very freeing in many ways, but has opened up a few unforeseen obstacles.  Before, the diaper change could happen most anywhere, anytime, thanks to the trusty changing mat and/or back of the car (we’ve all been there). Now, the hunt is on for the nearest public restroom. The rush of making it in time, and then the germ phobic, gut wrenching reaction to the unkempt toilet! Out comes the trusty travel Lysol can, and potty seat cover (the Princess or Dora print somehow brightens the mood, you know?), and hold on for dear life as that tiny little hiney hovers dangerously close to falling in said toilet. ARGH!! Next is the grand exit strategy, followed by the ever popular statements, “Don’t touch that”, “don’t crawl under the stall door”, and the balancing act of helping a three foot little one wash their hands without wallering all over the cruddy sink. OH! And remember to pray (seriously) for there to be pink soap when you do make it to the sink, because if it’s not pink, we’re in trouble!

So, we’ve graduated from diapers to big kid undies, and don’t find the need to carry the old diaper bag around anymore, but still find a need for a few essentials while out-and-about.

Enter the toddler bag! Here is what I find helpful to have on hand.

• wipes
• potty seat covers
• change of clothes or two depending on where you are at with the newly discovered potty
• hand sanitizer
• plastic baggie to store wet clothes
  

Note: Keep the bag compact! Better yet, fit it in your purse, though I find it hard to do still. You will be squeezing into a one person stall most often, as someone has occupied the largest stall. A tip to getting in and out of said small stall: Pick up toddler, turn sideways and slide into the tiny crack of the stall door without running into the toilet paper dispenser, trash can, and of course the toilet, put toddler down and remember the famous statement “don’t touch anything!” close door and begin prepping the toilet, all the while reminding toddler “don’t touch anything!”.

Royal

Friday morning is the big Royal wedding! How many of you have been following the Will and Kate fairytale, and will watch/record the big event tomorrow? For unknown reasons I have become interested, and in recent days excited about the young Royals. It must be the amazingly fun hats like this one from Annalisa Maria!

Or maybe it all started with this plate from my Mema. It has found a home on our kitchen island in honor of the big event.

Here is my "look alike" Royal ring, that my dad gave me years back. It is not intended to be a look alike, it just somewhat reminded me of it (on a much smaller scale!).

Our sweet girl even got into the royal fun as we played tea party with one of her new Barbie dolls.

 And this fork set found here is a must for the cake table!

Click here for a complete Royal wedding rundown and join in the fun!

Image found here.

Mini bunny cakes

I hope you all had a blessed and happy Easter!

For our Easter celebration I wanted to bake up something sweet and of course cute, so I decided on mini bunny carrot cakes. 

Using the old whoopie pie pan, I baked a bunch of small round carrot cakes.

Each completed bunny cake used two round cakes, one of which is cut to form the ears and bow tie shown below.

Then, like a puzzle, place the cake pieces to form a bunny shape.

 Icing is next and I chose to make a cream cheese icing.

Top it all off with sweetened coconut, chocolate chips, fresh matchstick carrots, and a little strawberry cream cheese icing for the little bunny nose, and you have this.

Bubble Recipe

Bubble Recipe

12 Cups of Water

3 Cups of Liquid Soap

3/4 Cup of Corn Syrup

Mix together is a large container

Makes 1 gallon of bubble solution

You may notice in the photo above that my bubble solution looks like milk, well that is because I read Corn Starch, when the recipe called for Corn Syrup! Oh well, it still worked beautifully and we had a blast creating giant bubbles.

Spring Must Haves From Pier 1

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Pier 1 for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

Spring has sprung at Pier 1 with a wide variety of products to spruce up the patio and more.

Sit pretty with one of these beauties!

The crisp White chairs are a perfect starting point to add splashes of color. Best of all these could find their way indoor as well.

Featured above:Jardin De Marie Armchair, Jardin de Marie Outdoor Armchair, Santa Barbara White Outdoor Chair, White Outdoor Wicker Armchair

Switch out the white for a pop of color with a sunny yellow or vibrant blue. Pier 1 has a wide variety of accessories right now and a price that is easy on the budget.

Featured above: Outdoor Wicker Stacking Armchair, Metal Lanterns

Set the table with the Tasting Party collection. Dessert buffets and bite size portions are popular for parties, and with so many dish options, Pier 1 has something for every occasion. Don't miss the yummy recipes found here. Featured above: Banana Cream Delight, Classic Cheesecake, and Chocolate Peanut Butter Parfait.

Jardin De Marie End Table, Santa Barbara White Outdoor Table, Jardin de Marie Outdoor Table

Move over porch swing and make way for the Swingasan! Or go for an iconic Papasan paired with a whimsical cushion.  The Papasan chair would transition nicely indoor when the weather changes, making it a budget friendly spring addition.

Be sure to check out Pier 1 Tweetups

Happy shopping!

Fun Finds for the Weekend

Tudor Garden Bench

Birds White Linen Pillow Cover

Kite Pillow Cover

Silverware Keychain

Bear

Patch Pillow

Storage Sac

Have a fabulous Weekend!

Weeds

March has been one busy month! Truth be told January to present has been absolutely insane, with an abundance of birthday parties, illness, and life in general. Through it all I have felt the stress building...you know what happened next right? Bit by bit, I started to get a little more of God's perspective and a little less of my own.
We have been trying to tame some weeds in our backyard flower bed, and nothing seemed to work. Finally, we just gave up and left them alone. Weeks went by and our sweet girl decided to pluck at some of those pesky weeds, and what she pulled up was not a weed, as we had thought, it was a carrot! Carrots are growing in our backyard, seemingly out of no where! Come to find out, our little one had dumped the entire Veggie Tales carrot seed pack out into the garden, months back...

This got me thinking about all the times I fret over things that are blessings in disguise. The so called weeds, invading our little flower bed, turned out to be a positive, which lead to a sweet after school story time.

Thank you Becky, for the fun oversize copy of The Carrot Seed!

Frilly Little Finds

I found this lovely image over at Hostess With The Mostess Coco Chanel inspired baby shower.

Which lead me to this sweet little incognito diaper bag:
Juniper Berry Crumb Cake Cameo Clutch from Petunia Pickle Bottom

And got me thinking of the lovely layering Maryam Tank at Anthropologie.

Don't you think this is perfect for adding a little something extra to layering?

To top it all off, I found my way over to Etsy and discovered this beautiful photograph (Paris is a feeling) from isphotography.