A little project

When I was pregnant with my little mister, I was reading through the Karen Kingsbury, Baxter family series. A verse that kept coming up over and over was: Jeremiah 29:11- For I know the plans that I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
I couldn't help think about this tiny life that I had growing inside of me, and how the Lord has a perfect plan for him. No one except for God knows this plan, and of course it will be scary at times, but I can put my faith in God, because he will not harm my child and promises to give him a beautiful life.
One day, I was thinking about how I would incorporate this verse into his nursery...the room is very small, and I wasn't sure that I wanted to write it on the wall. So instead, I chose to write it on his crib. Here's how it turned out.

All I did was write the verse in pencil, that way I made sure that it fit and I liked how the writing looked. After that, I took a small paint brush and some paint that was close to the color of his room and traced over it. SO simple!

Tator Tot Hot Dish

Here is our house, we love comfort foods. You know, those foods that make you feel all warm and fuzzy? Things that your mom used to make when it was cold outside...or Thanksgiving foods! I had completely forgotten about this post, until I saw it when I uploaded pictures! Today, I'm sharing my super simple, one pot meal...tator tot hotdish!

Here's what you need:
ground beef (1-2 lbs)
1 bag of frozen mixed veggies
1 bag of tator tots
1/4 C Butter (or oil)
1/4 C Flour
3-4 C chicken stock (you could also use beef!)

 See how yummy that looks?

First, you want to brown the hamburger in a cast iron skillet. Then, drain off the grease. Add in your butter, and let it melt. Then add in the flour. Stir this until it's combined and then let it cook for a minute or two longer. Next, slowly stir in the chicken broth, until you get the consistency that you like. Add in the frozen veggies. At this point, you may need to add in some more chicken stock, because the veggies will make the gravy thicken up a bit. After that, you can throw on the tator tots...OR you can arrange them in a nice, and pretty way like I did.

:) The design could also be because I have a small amount of OCD in me...

Now, I did not realize how the lighting was on EITHER of these pictures was until I put them on here...but I suppose they will still work! I love this recipe...mainly because it's so easy, and I don't have to use cream of anything soup. I hope you enjoy it as much as we do!

Slump.

I've been in a slump-y mood when it comes to food lately. Mostly I just want to eat junk food, and baked goods, and carbs...but this week that is going to change! We're going to be finishing up our leftovers from Thanksgiving, and here's what I plan to eat this week:

Guacamole
fresh pineapple
hummus
quinoa for lunch AND breakfast!
kiwi
apples
carrots with dip
homemade yogurt
chicken tacos, loaded with veggies
salads
bean and cheese, whole wheat quesadillas (I'm totally going to make my own tortillas...I will fill you in later!)
Roasted chickpeas
bananas
sweet potatoes
squash
and a few bags of frozen veggies

I'm working on planning my weekly meal list...throw some suggestions my way!

Busy couple of months...

I'm back! It's been a busy couple of months here. Since the last time I was on we've:
-moved
-gotten sick
-bought a puppy!
-had birthdays
-been tired
-worked at my new job
-has "regulars" at work!
-become slightly addicted to starbucks/caffeine
        (these last four...can you tell I started at Starbucks?)
-started making Christmas decorations!
-"scolded" friends about putting their Christmas decorations out already....before Thanksgiving!)
-watched The Office
-done regular household duties
-changed diapers
-washed clothes
-gotten used to getting up early! (Ok, well...sort of.)

Here's a picture of our sweet Katie

It's been a busy couple of months, but we're loving life. Hopefully I'll be back soon!

Life

Life has been busy lately! We celebrated our little guy's first birthday, and now that he's one he seems a lot older. Since he started crawling, he has slimmed down a bit, and his chubby cheeks aren't quite as chubby! I started a new job, I'm now a barista at Starbucks. I'm learning how to make all of the drinks, and am finally making them for customers! It's actually a little more nerve wracking than I thought! I've been doing a little bit of organizing...more on that later! And I'm trying to figure out how I want to decorate our little mister's room. I've been thinking about Fall lately, and I can hardly wait to start making fall-ish foods. You know, anything with pumpkin, apples, squash...etc. I have a whole board on pinterest dedicated just to fall! Not only do I have the itch to bake, I also want to start decorating. Again, I've looked to pinterest for ideas, since I'm not very creative on my own. What did I ever do without that site?? I hope you are all enjoying this weather!

Getting messy at a birthday party!

Birthday Boy!

Our little mister is ONE today! I don't know how that happened so quickly, but it did. I told myself for awhile that I was not going to allow him to have a birthday this year...maybe next year. Just to keep him a baby for a little while longer. Unfortunately, that's not how it goes, and here it is. His first birthday!
Here's how were going to celebrate:

Pancakes for breakfast, with a candle of course!
Snuggle time with mommy
Opening a present
Watching a favorite show
Looking at pictures of this past year
Looking through his baby book, and his "box" of things that I've kept.
Eating dinner together
Having dessert. I will even let him have a few bites!

We have to celebrate a little less, because our little mister is sick. But, it's a celebration nonetheless! I'm looking forward to remembering this past year, even though I'm a bit sad too. I'm guessing that this will happen with every birthday to come.

My brand new little guy!

Doubletree Chocolate chip cookies

A few weeks ago, I stayed at the Doubletree hotel with some friends and all of the girls in my family! It was so nice to get away, and to relax and to catch up with some old friends. On top of that, I had, for the first time, one of Doubletrees famous chocolate chip walnut cookies. They were awesome! At the front desk, the attendant pulled them out of a cupboard that kept them nice and warm...and so gooey. So, I had to look up the recipe. Guess what! I found it! I made them up right away, and they were almost exactly like the real thing! This is the recipe that I found. I changed it up, just a TEENY tiny bit.

 

Here's the recipe:
1/2 cup oats (the original recipe says to grind it up, but I didn't do that.)
2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cinnamon
2 sticks of butter, softened. (I was a little bit short on butter, so I cut mine back by a few tablespoons.  It didn't affect the recipe at all)
3/4 c brown sugar
3/4 c granulated sugar
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp lemon juice (I didn't measure, just poured. I don't know what in the world this small of an amount of lemon juice would do.)
2 eggs
1 bag of chocolate chips
1/2 cup of walnuts, chopped

Mix together the oats, flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Set aside. Cream together butter and sugars, for a few minutes so that it gets light and fluffy. Add in the vanilla and lemon juice. mix together. Slowly add in the flour mixture, and beat just until mixed. Add in the chocolate chips and the walnuts. Drop about 1/4 cup of dough onto a cookie sheet (I didn't measure here either). Put the dough about 2 inches apart. Bake at 350 degrees for 15-18 minutes, just until golden on top.
Please, please, PLEASE eat these warm with a glass of milk. You will not be disappointed!