A New Addition to our Family

Now don't get too excited! It's just a fish ☺ Another baby will come, but not quite yet.

Over the weekend we showed Jack Finding Nemo for the first time and now he's OBSESSED with that movie as well as all fish. This morning Jack and I headed over to Peggy Wood's Pet Emporium up the street from our house. As you may see from their website, they have reptiles as well but I figured I'd brave the risk of seeing a snake for my boy's happiness. You may not know this about me yet, but I am terrified of snakes. So much so that if I watch Aladdin I have such a hard time when Jafar turns into a snake I have to look down. I can't even look at a  picture of a snake in a book without getting the chills. When I parked in the back I met a man that worked there (possibly the owner?) and he assured me that I would only see a snake if I went to a specific part of the store, not where the fish are luckily. Jack and I walked around looking at all of the pretty fish and then a dog caught his eye in a room beyond the fish. The gentleman told me that that's also the room where the snakes are, but if I didn't look to the right I wouldn't see them. He was even so nice to block my view walking into the room so that I wouldn't accidentally get a peek. We looked at the dogs for 2 minutes before I couldn't handle it. I was sweating and felt like I couldn't breathe, just knowing that there was a snake (or possibly more than one) in the same room as me. Ughh, just thinking about it freaks me out right now.

We picked out this beautiful and very lively blue beta fish and brought him home. Jack was fascinated watching me put him into his new bowl and kept saying "fii fii" and "waa waa" (fish and water... he doubles every word he says) ☺ I put the fish on the kitchen table so Jack could get a good look at him and he tried to put his hand in the water to touch him! What a stinker! Luckily he didn't get his hand in the water more than this picture captured and he won't have an opportunity to do that again since the fish will kept be out of his reach. We still need to name him. Any suggestions?

Happy Valentine's Day! ♥

Hope you all have a wonderful Valentine's Day with those you love! We're going to have a quiet night at home that I'm actually really looking forward to. I'm making seared ahi tuna, cold soba noodles and some asparagus for dinner. Jack and I colored cards for Tom earlier, and I have a little Valentine and some Bob the Builder stickers for Jack which I know he'll love :) By the way, I found this adorable vintage Valentine over at vintageholidaycrafts and they have this as well as some other really cute ones for free download! Below is the one that Jack colored for Tom ♥

Homemade Sweet Potato Fries

I found this recipe over at www.theartofdoingstuff.com via Pinterest and knew I had to try it out asap! Yesterday for lunch I whipped up a pretty large batch of these sweet potato fries and Sriracha Mayo Dip. They were delicious! I loved that they were baked, with a little bit of olive oil, so much healthier than the deep-fried sweet potato fries you'd get at a restaurant! I gave some to Jack and he couldn't get enough of them. :)

Don't these look yummy! The thin layer of corn starch really gives it a light crispiness that I'd really only expect from frying. I also made the dip but didn't get any pictures of it , oops! The recipe didn't call for any salt on the fries, but after they were done baking I sprinkled a tad of salt on them and tossed them around a bit. Also, I added a bit more sriracha to the dip because I like things spicy. ;) If you give it a go let me know how you like them too! Enjoy!

Stuffed Mushrooms Recipe and My Finished Tester Bag

So last Sunday was the Super Bowl and we went over to Tom's aunt's house. I wanted to make something to bring but they always have so many goodies already so it's tough to think of something that won't already be brought by someone else. In my family my aunt always makes stuffed mushrooms, and then it dawned on me, that usually nobody in Tom's family makes those! My aunt's recipe is super easy, so I thought I'd share it here! This recipe makes a lot of stuffed mushrooms, but for a big party they're perfect. You can always halve the recipe if you don't as many :) Also, apparently you can make these up to 2 days in advance without baking them. Then, when party-time rolls around pop them in the oven and add a few extra minutes of cook time. Yummy!

Ingredients:  

1 lb of spicy Italian sausage removed from casings

4 crates of mushrooms (about 4 dozen total)

block of cream cheese

1 Tbsp of Worcestershire Sauce

Directions:

1.  Carefully remove stems from mushrooms and trim off the woody part and throw it away. Chop the non-woody part of the stem.

2.  In a large saucepan, start cooking the sausage over medium heat. Break up the sausage so it's in pretty small chunks as it cooks.  Add the chopped up mushroom stems to the pan of sausage as it cooks.

3.  Add the Worcestershire Sauce to the sausage and mushroom stems.

4.  Once the sausage is cooked and the chopped stems are tender turn off heat. 

5.  Add the block of cream cheese and stir in completely. The heat remaining in the saucepan should help to melt the cream cheese a bit and make it easier to stir. 

6. Lay all of the mushroom tops upside down on a cookie sheet that has a lip so the juices won't run off of the pan. ( I also tried using muffin tins to prevent the mushrooms from tipping over

7.  Use a teaspoon to put a bit of the mushroom/sausage mixture into the mushrooms. 

8.  Bake at 350° for 30 minutes.

9.  Serve hot and enjoy!

 Waiting to be put into the oven!

All cooked and ready to serve!

I finished the tester for my mom's bag yesterday! Halleluiah! I love a good challenge, but trying to figure out how to construct this thing was tough for me! I know the fabrics/colors are not the greatest but keep in mind it was just a tester so I could figure out how to make it. Below are a few pictures of it.

Being displayed by my car. Outer pocket and straps are as long as she wanted. I don't know why the sides stick out a little like that, I think I'll need to interface those in the final bag I guess. :-/

Inside with dividers. My Mom wanted a skinny side (bottom part in picture) to put her laptop. Then 3 compartments for her water, papers to sit upright, and her coffee thermos. She gave me exact dimensions and I have to brag that it turned out exactly as she requested! :) Also there are two flaps that can be snapped on the top in case it rains or something, but when not in use just fold into the bag.

The bag sitting up on it's own.

What do you think of it? Any feedback/ suggestions are always welcome!

Chip it!

 I just saw that Sherwin Williams has a new online tool where you can upload any photo and it automatically gives you a color palette for that photo and even includes the Sherman Williams paint colors too! What a great tool! I just did a couple of examples to see how I liked it. You can see the first photo just has 5, but for the other photos I opted for "More Colors", I found that I liked seeing more of the colors. :) Pretty cool huh!

Wandering Wednesday

Listening to this song by Johnny Cash and U2 called The Wanderer from Zooropa. It's so freakin' good, I just had to share it with you. How can you not love Johnny Cash's voice? The lyrics are very poignant too, no surprise since it's Johnny and U2. Enjoy on this sunny Wednesday afternoon.

 

Pickin'

So I guess I wasn't technically picking, but I've been inspired by watching American Pickers! I love the history and information in the show, but I especially love when they get a good deal on something and can make some money on it. Last weekend Tom and I took the boy on a walk to some of the shops up the street. There are quite a few antique shops that we like to wander around. In one of them, Tom saw something that caught his attention. It's a wall-hanging that has 3 instruments on it, a thermometer, a barometer and a hygrometer. Tom didn't end up getting it since he wasn't sure if it worked or not. After talking to his Grandpa I decided I would go back and buy it for him. Tom's grandpa has all sorts of cool old tools  and he assured me that if it's in good shape and in working order, it would be worth it. Sure enough when I went back it was still there and from what I could tell it works! Also, I found a plate stand that I'm going to use to store our produce. One little bowl doesn't hold it all, so hopefully this will! I still have to get some plates to go in it and possible paint it, so I'll have to post updated pictures once I do. The plate stand was $10 and the instrument was $15. I asked for both for $20 and she agreed! I was so nervous to even ask, but I felt like a regular negotiator after all the hours of watching American Pickers and Pawn Stars :) A very successful antiquing trip!

This is the barometer 

This is the hygrometer

 The thermometer

 My plate stand/produce storage

Yummy Modified Thai Fried Rice Recipe

So I had some leftover rice I was trying to figure out what to do with. I was talking to my sis-in-law and she told me I should look up a recipe for Thai fried rice. After searching around online a bit I found this recipe over at realthairecipes.com After reading some of the comments under their recipe it seems as though maybe it's not 100% authentic since it doesn't have fish sauce in it. Well, I didn't have fish sauce on hand anyways, so I went for it. I made some changes so I thought I'd share my recipe with you here. Warning, this recipe isn't super specific as far as measurements. I usually just gauge how I make food depending on how it looks, smells and tastes as I go, so bear with me I'm not a cookbook author. :) 

Ingredients:

• 3 T. Olive oil (divided 2T. and 1T.)
• 1 cup sliced onion
• 2 minced garlic cloves
• 1 lb. of uncooked chicken breasts
• 2 1/2 cups cooked rice (About a day old is good since it's better if it's a little dry apparently)
• 4 diced roma tomatoes
• 2 T. Soy Sauce
• 3 T. Sriracha chili sauce
• 2 eggs cracked into a bowl but not stirred
• about 1/2 cup chopped cilantro
• 5 chopped green onions
• 1/2 cucumber chopped
• 1 lime quartered

Directions:

1. Prep all ingredients. Chop, mince, slice and dice all of the veggies. Cut the raw chicken breasts into bite-size, thin slices. If the rice is cold from being refrigerated heat it up a bit in the microwave so it's closer to room temperature.
2. Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil on high until hot. Add the sliced onion (don't add the green onion yet). Stir well and when it’s softened add the garlic. When the garlic is slightly browned add the chicken. Stir well. Keep flipping the chicken until it’s white on all sides.
3. Stir in the rice and tomatoes.
4. Add the soy sauce and Sriracha and stir well.
5. Push the rice to the outside side of the pan so that there's an open hole in the middle. Add the remaining 1 T. of olive oil into the hole and drop the 2 eggs into the hot oil. Let set for a minute or two then stir it all together. Make sure that the eggs are fully cooked as you continue to stir everything together.
6. Stir in the cilantro and green onions. Turn off heat.
7. Serve with a quarter of the lime and some cucumbers on top. 

This recipe made 4 entree servings. Also, I'm not completely sure how much of the olive oil, soy sauce and Sriracha I actually used since I just added it as I went, so you may want to use your better judgement depending on your tastes.

I hope you enjoy it! I know I'll be making it again soon. :) Please feel free to comment or ask questions if there's anything you'd like to me to clarify.


And for good measure here's a video of my sweetie :)