Meow Monday

Molly asleep beside Emerson (I swear she isn't trying to claw his eyes out, lol)

She loves our heated blanket.  I wish I could relax as easily as she does.

Valentine's Day 2014

Homemade Almondine Sugar Cookies with Lemon Buttercream Icing

Clayton adores sugar cookies so I made sure to make a batch for V-day.  The icing was too hard to pipe though so I only decorated 3 cookies before giving up.  Clayton decorated mine for me but I didn't get a photo.

My boys munching down on our traditional chocolate fondue dessert

I made some homemade cracker-thin crust pizzas.  The boys didn't even notice that the pepperoni was placed in a heart shape before Clayton cut it.  I had to show them the photo to prove it, lol.

Snow Day (Well, Days)

The week of Valentine's was full of white stuff.  The kids had a half day on Tuesday and then got out of school for the rest of the week.  It was crazy!  Considering it was 75 degrees yesterday, it is hard to imagine that the ground looked like this just a week ago.  

We were one of the few homes in the 'hood to actually own a snow shovel, lol.  Clayton doesn't miss having to shovel the driveway in Colorado.

Hayden

This was measured while it was still snowing.  There was probably another inch of snow by the time it stopped.  I measured it on our backyard table and no, this wasn't in a snow drifted area.

New Recipes

Porter Caramelized Onion Dip, Jalapeno Bacon Stuffed Mushrooms, Chicken Enchilada Pinwheels

Clayton and his beer brewing buddies got together in our garage to brew a Kolsch style beer back on 2/9.  I  love when they brew because it gives me an opportunity to try new recipes on them.  I made an onion dip with the porter that they brewed together and it was pretty tasty.  The chicken enchilada pinwheels were really good too.  The real star of the show though was the mushrooms.  Ahhh, the mushrooms.  They were slighty spicy with a great smoky bacon undertone.  The cheese and buttery panko crumbs made it all come together so well.  I was afraid that they wouldn't eat them but they LOVED them.  Here are the tried-n-true (TNT) recipes if you want to give them a go:

Porter Caramelized Onion Dip

Jalapeno Bacon Stuffed Mushrooms

Chicken Enchilada Pinwheels

Random Stuff---Catching Up

My awesome friend and neighbor, Jessica, gave me this awesome monogrammed scarf for Christmas.  Her mom made it for me.  Love it!!

Emerson had a marketing PBL (project based learning) for school last month.  The kids had to make up a product, create a store sign, set the cost, and sell their goods at a market fair.  Big E sold out of his cute Fuzzy Buddies and was able to buy several products from his classmates.

I have been so slow in getting the house painted.  Hayden's back wall was my most recent project.  The other 3 walls will be painted a light blue and the curtains will be changed to orange or navy chevron ones.  Whenever I get it all done (which won't be anytime soon), I will post a completed pic.

This is how we found Emerson on the evening after the boys' recent sleepover.  Unfortunately, he got sick.  We suspect it was Norovirus.  He puked 6 times that night.  I got it the next night and puked 5 times.  Hayden got it the next night and he puked 7 times.  Clayton came home from work the next day and didn't feel good (though his lucky butt never threw up---so not fair!).  It was atrocious.  The bright side is that I lost a few pounds, though that is not my preferred method, lol. 

Stitch Fix #17 Review

I know, I know.  It has been a while since I did a Stitch Fix review.  The past few have been great but I was just too lazy to blog them.  Today was #17 and it was a lot of fun.  I was styled by Alexandra for some reason though.  Jackie is my regular stylist.  Anyway, I will go ahead and apologize for the mediocre photography but there is only so much I can do when using an iPhone and the mirror in the guest room.  

1. La Made-Weaver Mixed Knit Cowl Neck Top $28---{KEEPER}

This is the pretty blue top shown in the top photo.  It is super soft, cheap, and such a gorgeous shade of blue.  I paired it with my Lansome Houndstooth skirt from my last fix.  It also looks great with my black Banana Republic cardigan.  The arm holes are a little bit long (you can see my bra peeking out in the big photo) but I will likely wear a cardi anyway so it won't matter.

2. Loveappella-Baltimore Chevron Striped Knit Shirt $48---{KEEPER}

My favorite shirt EVER!!  I am sick of the chevron trend but this shirt was just too pretty to pass up.  It is so soft and the colors are gorgeous.  It perfectly matches the Kut From The Kloth purple cords that Clayton bought me for Christmas.

3. Pomelo-Westin Embroidered Henley Knit Shirt $58

While I adore the gorgeous colors of this top (and how well it matches my teal skinnies), I had to sadly send it back.  It was a bit big in the shoulders/underarm area.  It is hard to explain but the fabric would fold on the sides of my chest.  Bummer!

4. Under Skies-Marian Elephant Print Split-Neck Blouse $38

I have 2 elephant print shirts pinned on my Stitch Fix board on Pinterest, so it was no surprise that I got a shirt with elephants on it.  Unfortunately, this one is not even remotely close to being as pretty as the ones I want.  I want lots of color and this was a total miss for me.  The elephants are cute but I do not care for them in bright yellow on a black background.  The shirt was also HUGE.  It says it is a small but I have to wonder.

5. RD Style-Frenando Airy Knit Open Cardigan $68

This cardigan is nice but I have no need for it.  I have enough brown/neutral items in my closet.  I want color from now on.  Even if I was in the market for a brown cardi, this wouldn't be it due to how boxy it is.  It makes me look pregnant and that is not a look that I desire when I am indeed not carrying a child.

If you are interested in giving Stitch Fix a try, I would love for you to use this link so that I get a small credit to use towards my next box. Every little bit helps. Thanks!

https://www.stitchfix.com/referral/3056550

Hayden's 11th Birthday

Hayden got his birthday wish of not going to school.  On 1/28 (Tues.), they got out of school at 11:30am for an early dismissal.  A possible snow storm was in the forecast so the school system decided to go ahead and get the kids out before anything happened.  We ended up with about 1/2 inch of snow that evening.  Pathetic, I know.  That 1/2 inch of snow got school canceled for the next 2 days and a late start that Friday.  That is insane, in my opinion, but whatever.  My birthday boy was thrilled to wake up on Wednesday without the worry of going to school.

Hayden wanted some snow cream that morning, so I scraped up what I could and obliged.  I admit to making myself a bowl also.  That stuff is so good!

That night, we went out to Bonefish Grill for H's favorite, Bang Bang Shrimp.  My parents joined us.  After that, we went back home and let Hayden open up his gifts. 

That Friday, we had a little sleepover.  The boys had their best friends stay over.  Hayden had Tucker and Emerson had Jacob.  I reserved making cupcakes until that night so H blew out his candles then.  They had a great time with their friends.