life @ 1521

weekend in advance.

2012-02-24T21:14:00.000-08:00

Just popping in to say that I'm still alive!

(I'm sure all two of you were worried)

I had written a weekend in review post earlier this week, and when I went to post it I realized that it had been deleted somehow.

Super lame (especially since it was awesome and really long and funny) but I guess you'll never know...unless I feel like doing a double whammy weekend in review post.

We'll see.

Speaking of this weekend...

This is happening.

(well, really the tearing down walls/insulating/drywalling/making-a-new-doorway part is happening)

The fun stuff will come in a few weeks, but for right now I'm so thankful to have a handy bro-in-law and father-in-law who are willing to sweat a bit to give little brother a proper nursery.

Can't wait til it's finished!

Happy Weekend Friends!

nursery inspiration.

2012-02-17T08:00:00.000-08:00

So Little Brother will be here in approx. 11 weeks.

Right now his room is non-existient.

Well, it exists but it's more of a play room that's open to the rest of the house than an actual bedroom.

Somewhere between 1954 and July 18th, 2011 someone decided it would be a good idea to turn the 3rd bedroom

(which is in the front of the house)

into a tv room.

(we are assuming it was probably was an old man wanting one of those newfangled "man-caves")

When we bought the house, we knew we would be turning this room back into a bedroom once we had another little wiggly one around these parts.

The time has come to figure out what we want decor-wise and to do a little construction.

(with help of course. I love Chris, but have you met him?)

So this is what the room currently looks like from the dining room:

And standing in the room looking at the dining room:

(that whole opening is going to be walled off, and the new doorway will be moved to the

very left side of the wall so we will be able to close off all of the rooms in the hallway)

Yay!

We get to find homes for Bennett's toys and all of the other stuff we inadvertantly filled the space with! Not.

Goodbye fort.

(it's not you, it's me)

So once all of that is out of the way, we get to do the fun stuff.

That is where I come in.

The walls will be kept bright white to match the rest of the house.

(yes, I know we are boring...but it all flows together like a mid-century ranch should)

I present you:

( I don't know why Polyvore shrunk it all into the center. Hopefully you can still read the labels.)

We actually don't need to buy much since Bennett's room was/is so similar.

We are re-using his old crib and changing table/dresser.

We are also moving the cube lamp from B's room into the nursery.

(the soft glow is perfect for night time diaper changes and feedings)

The same green chair is being used.

We have already bought the rug and the pendant light.

All that is left is the shelf,

(I LOVE that IKEA came out with a lacqured version of this!)

and the artwork.

(one of which is just a piece of fancy wrapping paper...though I'm still trying to convince Chris that the map is awesome and kind of makes the room)

The inside of the closet will be painted the same gray color that we used in Bennett's room, for a little added interest.

I can't wait to see it all come together!

(thank you tax refund)

What do you guys think?

Happy Friday Friends!

weekend in review.

2012-02-13T16:23:00.000-08:00

Friday was grocery shopping day.

Pretty uneventful, but I did discover these:

(ridiculously good)

Also, I decided to try to put Bennett in Playland while I shopped at Fred Meyer.

I felt like I was doing something wrong by putting him in there, but he kind of loved it!

I think I may have loved my quiet hour sans noisy toddler even more...I was more focused on shopping which meant we were out of there sooner and back home before he got too wound up for nap.

Totally a win win!

Friday night, we met up with Craig and Lauren for dinner at Red Onion (yes I know, we go there a lot!) The food is always good, but services was definitely lacking this time. Such a bummer.

B has been getting a sticker each time he stays in bed for naptime/bed time.

He earned 7 stickers, which meant he got a big treat, so after dinner we grabbed gelato.

Bennett pretty much was in heaven.

(this was before he had a dance party...fueling up I guess)

so excited:

Saturday moring I had some time to make a crafty birthday card for my neice.

Pencil erasers and stamping ink pads are my favorite medium:

Lauren sent me this awesome picture of hipster B:

Saturday night we took a family trip to IKEA to grab stuff for some crafty organizing that needs to take place once we make the playroom into a nursery since we will be losing a closet.

This is being made!

Sunday morning consisted of peanut butter banana popovers, fruit and yogurt and lattes:

Happy Monday Friends!

how to: soft pretzels.

2012-02-09T14:42:00.000-08:00

I have been craving soft, chewy pretzels for a while, though I've never attempted them because they seemed so daunting. Now that I have a stand mixer at my fingertips I thought I'd give it a go.

(though it's not necessary to make these pretzels, just knead the dough by hand)

Recipes that require yeast usually intimidate me but this couldn't have been easier.

Added bonus: making them at home means you know exactly what goes in them!

Soft and Chewy Pretzels

adapted from Annie's Eats via Alton Brown

(makes 8 pretzels)

Ingredients:

1/2 cups warm water (110-115 degrees)

1 T sugar

2 tsp. kosher salt

2 1/4 tsp. instant yeast (or one packet)

about 4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

4 T unsalted butter, melted

vegetable oil for greasing the bowl and parchment paper

20 cups water

2/3 cup baking soda

parchment paper or silpat

For topping:

if you want an egg wash: 1 egg yolk beaten with 1 T water

if you want a butter wash: 3 T melted butter

pretzel, or coarse sea salt

cinnamon and sugar

Directions:

To make dough, combine the warm water, sugar, salt and yeast in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on low speed to dissolve the yeast. Once the yeast is foaming (after about 5 mins) add in the flour and melted butter and mix just until the dough comes together. Switch to the dough hook and knead on med/low speed until the dough is smooth and clears the sides of the bowl (about 5 mins).

Transfer the dough to a bowl lightly greased/sprayed with vegetable oil, turning once to coat.

Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place (I put mine in a somewhat sunny window), for about an hour or until dough has doubled in bulk (it took my dough about an hour and a half to double).

Bring the 20 cups of water and baking soda to a boil in a large stockpot.

Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and spray with cooking spray.

(I used my silpats which worked great)

Divide the dough into eight equal parts:

(just keep halving the parts until you get eight)

Working with one piece at a time, roll them out until you have a 24 inch rope:

(I found it much easier to roll once I cleared all the flour away)

To make the pretzel shape:

-start with the rope in a U-shape.

-holding the ends of the rope, cross them over (either once or twice, depending on how you want your pretzels to look) and bring them down to the bottom of the pretzel.

-press the ends lightly onto the pretzel to make sure they stick.

-once shaped, place onto the lined baking sheet.

Place the pretzels into the boiling water two at a time for 30 seconds.

Remove with a slotted skimmer/spoon.

Return to baking sheet.

Once pretzels have all been boiled, brush tops with egg wash or melted butter and sprinkle with coarse salt. If you are doing cinnamon and sugar, have c&s mixture ready in a pie dish and dip the tops of the pretzels in it after brushing them with butter.

(You can by all means choose to bake your pretzels at this point, but after reading comments on the Annie's Eats tutorial, I decided to freeze mine after boiling, but before baking in lieu of a more chewy texture. I'm not really sure if it would make that much of a difference if you didn't freeze before baking, so if you are tired and just want to get the pretzels into your belly then skip the freezing step and bake away!)

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

If you chose to stick it out and freeze your pretzels:

While your oven is preheating, let the pretzels thaw on top of the warm oven.

Once thawed, place in the preheated oven for 12-14 minutes or until golden brown.

When your pretzels are done, place on a cooling rack (very important so they don't get soggy) for 5 minutes and then eat those babies up!

These definitely taste best straight from the oven, so if you can't eat 8 right away (or at least within the day) then I would suggest only baking what you plan on eating and transfering the rest of the frozen, unbaked pretzels into a ziplock bag until you are ready for more.

Plan on setting aside a few hours to make these. They aren't difficult, but there are a lot of steps to follow. Totally worth all the effort though, I think I will be making another batch this weekend!

Let me know if you guys make them!

weekend in review.

2012-02-06T14:56:00.000-08:00

Friday, B and I met The Carter's at the park. It was super windy but it felt so good to be out in the sun!

For date night, we decided to do something a little different.

We grabbed some lattes, walked through Powell's and relaxed over some dessert and appetizers at Mcmenamins.

Probably our most relaxing/most needed date night ever.

this mocha marble cake was so good!

Saturday morning we met up with my mom at Bridgeport.

We had a tasty lunch and B got to run off some energy on the little playgound:

Chris and I also made our first nursery purchase for little brother!

We had been eyeing this grey and white striped rug for a while and finally bit the bullet:

via

Saturday evening the Carters joined us for some park time.

It was Avery's first time in a wagon and you'd think we were torturing her by the sound of her screams.

She finally warmed up to it once we were almost to the park!

best friends:

Sunday morning Chris and I made a double batch of my favorite scones to take over to The Hartmanns.

(unfortunately, these scones give me heartburn like none other right now. Things like water and scones are giving me heartburn but fries and burgers are totally no big deal. I only got heartburn at the very end when I was pregnant with Bennett. So not fun.)

Baby Fern has grown so much since we last saw her two weeks ago!

B pretty much is in love with her and kept giving her sweet little kisses on the head.

B has been choosing not to sleep at night and isn't really taking that great of naps anymore either.

He has always been an amazing sleeper, 12 hours at night and 1.5-3 hour naps.

Not anymore.

He has been functioning on virtually no sleep for two weeks.

(as have Chris and I)

I would like my champion sleeper back please and thank you.

It's pretty obvious he is exhausted because he's been passing out in the car everyday.

If I've seen you lately and been grumpy or out of it, I'm so sorry!

(I don't handle lack of sleep very well, especially since little brother gives me swift kicks all night long and the heartburn is super uncomfortable when I lay down)

Lastnight we went to take our bi-annual photobooth picture.

It's the first time that B has actually interacted and did the faces with us!

Afterwards we went to church and heard yet another amazing teaching from John Mark.

He just started a new series on 'work' and it's exactly what I needed to hear, even as a SAHM.

Can't wait to hear the rest!

Happy Monday friends!

weekend in review.

2012-01-30T17:37:00.000-08:00

I feel like its taking forever to feel back to 100%...this cold is lingering, that's for sure.

We definitely feel a ton better though!

Friday was grocery shopping day.

I do/see a lot on my bi-weekly grocery days, but seeing this was definitely the highlight:

I've been waiting (not so) patiently for Hanna Anderson pj's to make their way back to Costco after the long winter. These pj's are definitely one of my favorite kid's items (along with these and these) because they hold up incredibly well and when you buy them at Costco they are about half of the original Hanna Anderson price. I got the cute green striped ones for little brother.

For date night we went to get the best Thai in PDX at Red Onion and we saw The Grey.

Definitely do not see it, even if you've heard it's good.

It was lame and I was stressed out the whole time watching person after person getting eaten by killer wolves. Sounds exciting huh?

Saturday morning Bennett's best friend Avery came over.

They made a huge mess.

Then Saturday afternoon we decided to go to the zoo for a bit. Chris hasn't gone with us since we got our membership (besides to see Zoolights) and we wanted to take advantage of the non-rainy weather. It ended up that they closed an hour after we got there, but we saw everything we wanted to see. We even got to see the tigers and the lions, both of which are always sleeping out of view!

Sunday morning we went to our favorite breakfast place, Lovejoy Bakers.

We always get the same things and they never disappoint.

After breakfast, Chris had to head to work until he had to play at church later in the evening.

John Mark shared his final message in the My Name is Hope series which you can podcast here.

It was so good and I couldn't take notes fast enough!

This weekend I was also inspired to make a few new things:

(after finally watching Julie and Julia for the first time)

I used up some bbq pork from last week to make some calzones:

(TJ's honey wheat pizza crust, mozzarella, onions, cilantro, bbq pork)

I had also been wanting to make homemade pickles:

(how domestically pregnant of me)

They turned out amazing.

We've been eating them by the bowlful,

and I'm making burgers tonight just so we can put pickles on them.

I also created a lovely and healthy kid-friendly lunch consisting of all of The Hardesty's favorite things.

I like to call them banana burritos:

(TJ's whole wheat flour tortillas, peanut butter, honey, banana)

Kind of late for a post, but it's a weekend in review on a Monday so that counts for something right?

Have a great evening friends!

weekend in review.

2012-01-26T15:30:00.000-08:00

I'm a total blogging slacker, but when you've got a house full of sickies for two weeks something has to take the backseat right?

I really want this space to be more than just what we did on our weekends...kind of like it used to be...back when I had time to blog about pretty things and creative endeavors and good food. I fully intend to be more creative with my posts, some weeks will just be more creative than others.

Got it? Good.

Onto our weekend/week:

In the lull between the sicknesses, we got to meet sweet little Fern.

I was so smitten that I didn't get any pictures and this is the best one that Chris got:

(awesome.)

Bennett stole one of the blueberry muffins that we brought over for the very tired and hungry Hartmanns:

Friday night we went on date night with Abi and Josh.

We ate (a light) dinner at The Whole Bowl so we could fill precious stomach space with ice cream from Salt and Straw afterwards:

I said goodbye to facebook after 8 years and I don't miss it one bit.

Fb profiles used to state when you joined fb...I joined in Nov. 2004 back when it was a newfangled thing that only large university students got to be a part of, started by some dude as a class project.

A lot has changed.

My guilty-pleasure-time-wasters-of-choice are blogs, Pinterest and Instagram.

Facebook had to go since it was lame.

(no offense if it's totally your favorite, it just wasn't mine.)

B popped bubbles with a stick while Chris cleaned the gutters:

Chris made crepes for breakfast.

banana nutella and strawberries with lemon curd:

I took a picture of my ever-expanding belly...I'm 26 weeks!

(which means only 14 weeks to go, give or take a few)

I discovered that our milk contains milk.

Good to know.

Chris has been gone for a few days and B and I have been sick, so we have been watching more tv and movies than normal.

This was Bennett yesterday morning watching Word World:

(He was definitely in the zone.)

and I wanted Chris to come home to a clean house,

so I played Cinderella yesterday while Bennett napped.

(it kind of looks like I have a lazy eye in this picture, but I promise I don't. )

Today we are having amazing weather, so B and I went to the park so I could wear him out.

(lastnight he was awake from midnight to 5am because he wasn't tired. I just kept putting him back in his bed every time and he even got some spankings for being disobedient, but nothing phased him)

Has anyone else had this happen? Please tell me it's a one night thing!

Happy Beautiful Thursday!

weekend in review.

2012-01-17T16:59:00.000-08:00

We had a weekend that was packed full, but totally fun!

Thursday, Abi came over and helped me break in my new sewing machine by showing me how to do a few basic sewing projects I had picked out. She is such a great teacher and taught me how to do a zipper on my first project:

(I actually feel like I know what I'm doing...somewhat!)

(first project = this little zipper pouch, isn't it cute?)

(Have you seen the clothing she makes? Pretty amazing!)

Abi also helped me make a playdoh/coloring mat for B:

(I made a second one all by myself after she left too!)

Friday was grocery shopping day, and usually I make a very detailed shopping list for each of the 3 stores I go to with 2 weeks of meals on the back of it. I love my paper lists but I thought I would try to embrace the new and I tried out the Grocery IQ App.

It's awesome guys, and once you put prices in for items, it keeps a running total at the bottom so it's easier to stick to your budget. I may do a whole post on it once I use it a little more. Grocery IQ was super helpful and I didn't miss my paper list at all!

Bubs did a great job shopping (it's always a long morning) so he got some chocolate milk when we got home. He was excited for it, but I made him pose for a picture because he was so darn cute!

Friday night we went down to Bridgeport to try out Joe's Burgers and spend some Christmas giftcards.

We were pleasantly surprised with how good Joe's was, though since it's only a kiosk, you get to eat in a plastic enclosed area and only half of the propane heaters were working. It was literally in the low 30's but the food tasted so good we didn't even care. Chris even got a milkshake!

Saturday morning B woke up and promptly wanted to play playdoh:

We played while we waited for Chris to get home from his run...and he came bearing a latte from Barista. Mmm.

Then we made homemade egg mcmuffins:

and B took a super long bath:

Sunday morning we woke up to this:

Chris was playing at church, but B and I waited for my mom to come over

(so we could work on a few more sewing projects)

then we went out to play in the little snow we had before it melted:

I had been wanting to use up some ricotta so I made these muffins, but tweaked the recipe a bit.

(I left out the lemon zezt, added mini chocolate chips, doubled the vanilla and added some milk)

They turned out amazing, and it was a nice warm treat to eat after coming in from the snow!

One of the projects my mom helped me with was a bigger clutch to match my little zipper pouch.

B thinks I made it for him to keep his cars in:

Sunday night we went to church and heard an amazing message from John Mark on anxiety and depression...(it's the first in a short series, and I can't wait to hear the rest of them...podcast it here.)

I didn't really take any pictures on Monday, but I did make this:

(now I can finally use my poor abandoned scrapbook paper collection!)

and today we woke up to this (!):

so we played:

and built a snowman:

(and B gave it a third arm)

...which didn't seem to help much when he fell over:

And now we are going to get cozy, make some granola and have a family movie night!

Sorry for picture overload!

pregnancy wardrobe essentials.

2012-01-13T10:27:00.000-08:00

While I was browsing Target the other day, I was reminded why I don't bother with actual maternity clothes. I'm no fashion blogger, but I know when something isn't cute.

Case in point:

Drapey ugliness.

There's nothing more unflattering to a pregnant woman's body than something that makes her look even bigger than she is/feels.

Throughout my two pregnancies, I have learned that less is truly more.

Body hugging=body slimming.

When I was first pregnant with B I went out and bought all of the obligatory (and expensive) maternity clothes that I thought I needed. For the most part they ended up being frumpy, unflattering and uncomfortable...not to mention severly lacking any style whatsoever.

The only piece of maternity clothing that may be necessary depending on your job and time of year you are pregnant are some maternity jeans. I've never found any that are that stylish, so I decided to skip the pants all together this time around

(besides the pair I already own)

and stick to leggings and tights for keeping my legs warm.

So far so good.

These are the things I think about when I'm buying clothes for an expanding belly:

-all must be made of mostly cotton

(preferably with some spandex/lycra to make it stretchy and to hold it's shape).

-3 things I consider:

breathable? Crazy hormones means you never know if you'll be hot or cold.

machine washable? A limited wardrobe means that stuff gets washed a lot, not just because there is less to choose from but because food gets on your giant belly all the time.

comfort? The most important factor when you're already uncomfortable.

Cotton it is.

These are the items I am currently living in:

(I have multiple colors in each of these things so I don't feel so limited in my choices...

mixing and matching and layering is where it's at when you are with child.)

super long cotton tanks:

via

cotton dresses that can play the roll of shirts once you are bigger:

via

cardigans:
(since closing a jacket over a giant belly isn't an option

unless you want to spend a fortune on a maternity coat)

via

simple tees :

via

leggings:
(these are my absolute fave. Expensive, but worth every penny since I wear leggings every day.)
These are a great, and more affordable alternative...

via

tights:

via

flat shoes that you can slip on:

(once you get a belly it's next to impossible to tie your shoes, if you can even fit into them)
(these ones are great because I can always loosen the ties if my feet happen to swell towards the end.)

via

Since you guys have seen my wardrobe this time around, I thought I would post some pictures of my essentials when I was pregnant with B since it was the complete opposite time of year.

It was pretty much the same clothing-wise, just with much less of it since it was the hottest summer ever.

cotton shirt and skirt:

tunic top:

(Good to know: American Apparel has great stuff for pregnancy!)
( I'm actually wearing this shirt in my latest belly photo here.)

I lived in this versatile dress last time, doing the straps differently allowed me to feel like I had some variation in my wardrobe even when I didn't:

and once again, cotton tank tops:

(this picture was taken when I was 8 days overdue, 1 day before Bennett's birthday!)

Another great thing about buying non-maternity clothing is that you can still wear all of the items afterwards...even for subsequent pregnancies!

(especially if you stick to cotton basics while you are pregnant)

Say "no" to frumpiness ladies!

weekend in review.

2012-01-09T10:52:00.000-08:00

Friday night I got together with these lovely ladies for a kid-free girl night:

(well except for Poppy of course, you can see the top of her tiny head that was cut off).

(We wound up talking about our kids/future kids the whole time...go figure.)

Which means that these guys had bro-night:

(aren't they cute?)

Saturday morning the Carter's came over for playtime and coffee.

We had a nice Chipotle lunch afterwards.

I used my new washi tape on three different projects...

(When I said I wanted some washi tape over a year ago, Chris thought I was nuts for spending that much on tape that had no real purpose. I could never really justify it so I never bought it. I happened to come across some for super cheap and grabbed it for Chris to "put in my stocking" this year and I'd say I've already gotten my money's worth out of it!)

I repaired Bennett's beloved Dr. Seuss's ABC's:

(note that my finger nails are painted even a different color...I'm getting used to this girly stuff!)

I used it to attatch a giant cookie to my nephew's birthday present:

and I used it to finally make Bennett's long-awaited journal:

(I have been writing him notes since I found out I was pregnant with him but they were never in anything permanent...so now everthing is in one place and it will be easy for me to add more!)

I really want to get another roll so I can make a journal for little brother that doesn't look exactly like Bennett's.

(Look at how cute all of these patterns are!)

(It's also the same pace I got my small stamp set from...I still love it and use it all the time.)

Anyways, back to our weekend...

Saturday evening we went to my nephew's 6th birthday party at a party place with a ton of different bounce houses.

B loved it, though he doesn't really know "big boy party" ettiquite yet.

He partially opened one of Luke's presents and he kept trying to escape to go bounce more when he got bored in the party room. I don't blame him.

Afterwards, we went over to my sister and bro-inlaw's house for dinner and a little extra celebrating.

Chris tested out drinking glasses:

Chris played at church Sunday so we had a day of just hanging out with nothing much to do.

We took my week 22 picture:

Ember discovered the shelf that popped out last week:

and when Chris got home we played and read books and relaxed some more

before we all headed out to church together:

After church we stopped at two different stores to buy bananas to no avail:

(our family should really buy stock in bananas...and peanut butter.)

So that's where we are headed right now. Pray that they have been restocked!

Happy Monday!

weekend in review.

2012-01-05T16:20:00.000-08:00

Yes, I know it's Thursday and I haven't posted all week...

but that means you get a week in review with even more pictures!

(also, I've been more motivatied to nap and/or have a social life...not gonna lie.)

So this is what we have been up to this last week...

we said goodbye to our Christmas stuff:

I got humungo:

I painted my nails:

(I'm on a quest to be more girly with all the testosterone in this house!)

ate New Years Thai takeout:

crazy New Years partying it up with sparkling cider, cookies and homemade stove-popped popcorn:

(dill pickle, white cheddar, and kettle corn flavors...dill pickle was the best and we aren't even popcorn fans!)

Chris getting crazy with the organic pear sparkling cider:

chris did a little demolition in the garage:

Chris and his dad made B this pup tent:

had fun thrifting with the lovely Abi:

enjoyed the amazing weather by blowing bubbles in our great back yard:

(B saw the sunset before I did. He stopped, pointed and said "pink in the sky." Such a sweet boy.)

had fun getting books at Bennett's wonderland aka the library:

last night we had a mid-week date night that consisted of Koi Fusion for dinner and seeing The Descendants. Such a great movie!

A beef bulgogi rice bowl, a short rib burrito and sweet potato fries before the movie:

and this morning we woke up to crockpot overnight steelcut oats:

(sooo much easier than letting it cook for 45 minutes when you are starving!)

after breakfast B and I went on an amazingly hilly walk with our friends Kaitlynn and Truman:

(I snapped this picture on one of the only flat parts. I'm positive I won't be able to move tomorrow.)

And there you have our week in review! Hopefully I'm feeling motivated to post more next week...I don't want to make this a habit because I know I'll never get out of it.

Happy Thursday friends!

christmas diy gifts.

2011-12-30T08:00:00.000-08:00

Over the last few year, we have got into the habit of making our Christmas gifts instead of buying them. I don't know what exactly people want and I don't want to waste my money/time (or lack thereof) trying to figure it out.

But I really enjoy making things for people.

I think putting more time/thought than money into a gift makes it special.

I also really enjoy the packaging part as well.

This year I bought some paper tags and ended up making my own intentical ones when I ran out.

I stamped the names and tied on bakers twine.

The tags got tied to a string that was holding a branch onto the brown, paper-covered packages.

I also stamped a few packages all over to make a random pattern.

Easiest wrapping ever.

brown paper packages tied up with string:

Now onto the gifts...

For all of the guys, I try out special recipes I've been wating to attempt and then (after taste testing of course) I stuff bags full of the assorted yummy treats.

I only took one picture of said treats this year, and it just so happened to be a fave...

the TJ's Candy Cane Joe Joe bark.

(See all of the yummy treats I made this year here.)

and packaging them up:

I love being crafty for the ladies' gifts. It's really the only time of year that I get to craft and I totally enjoy it...but am so ready for it to be over once I'm done.

This year I made...

a wreath for my sister:

a chalkboard board book for my one year old niece:

necklace scarves for both moms and my sister in law:

I also used this to etch my mom's initals onto a casserole dish.

Hers always get sent home with other people after family gatherings, but not anymore!

I was hoping to be a little more original and give everyone a different gift, but I feel like Christmas kind of snuck up on me and I ended up making everything just days before Christmas!

Hopefully next year I will know some sewing basics so I can be extra creative ahead of time, which will be helpul, especially with two little muchkins running around!

Did you guys do any DIYs this year?

christmas 2011.

2011-12-28T15:28:00.000-08:00

This was the first Christmas that Bennett was really able to participate and he loved every second of it!

We hosted Christmas Eve with Chris' side of the family. I chose to do a brunch to keep it low key, and that it was. Not sure if I'd ever do it any other way, besides who doesn't like brunch?!

After eating we opened gifts, played games and got to kick back and relax for a bit.

B playing with gloves attatched to his hat:

mega blocks on his new table:

opening the quilt made for him by Chris' mom for his new bed:

It turned out so great!

(inspired by this one)

steelcut oats bar and hot chocolate bar for breakfast:

(along with a few other options of course)

In the evening we went to Gloria, our church's Christmas Eve service at the Schnitz.

It was amazing, just like last year.

I could stare at the architecture all day long:

After we got home, Benentt got to open up a pair of Christmas jammies to wear that night.

He was so excited:

Christmas morning came quickly and he ran out to the tree after we woke him up.

His big present this year was his new bed/mattress but we did get him a few other things that he could play with including a wooden train expansion pack and a Rody.

He asks for Rody every morning when he wakes up!

He had a blast opening presents (and helping everyone else open theirs) this year:

Chris and I actually opened eachother's gifts after B went to bed on Christmas Eve, since we had to be up at my sister's house bright and early.

Chris definitely beat out my wrapping this year:

(though they were similar, he added pinecones...what a crafty husband I have!)

He totally and completely surprised me with a Kitchen Aid mixer:

(I have already broken it in with my favorite cookie recipe)

I didn't really get him anything too fancy...just some new shirts and stuff for his espresso bar.

His parents got him a much needed ladder and now we can put stuff in our attic, clean the gutters, etc!.:

(we are dorky homeowners now, so we get excited over these things)

Christmas morning we went to my sister's house to spend time with my family.

Unfortunately I didn't get a picture of the massive amount of gifts around the tree but it pretty much went to where I was standing to take the picture below.

B and his cousins:

love his crossed legs:

B is so hot-blooded, his shirt came off pretty quickly:

my mom's fun wrapping:

which turned out to be:

(now I just need to learn how to use it, but I'm so excited!)

Chris putting together Barbie's dream house for my neice:

(what a nice uncle...I think it pretty much takes an engineer to put those things together anyways)

Later in the afternoon we all loaded up and headed down to my aunt and uncle's house to spend time with the extended family for a bit.

It was fun but we were so ready to be home at the end of the day!

This Christmas was great and I know that they are going to get even better from here on out with the brothers next year...having kids around really does make Christmas better!

from us to you.

2011-12-24T08:00:00.000-08:00

I hope you are spending it with people you love!

Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and we will call him Immanuel. Isaiah 7:14

Merry Christmas!

holiday sweets.

2011-12-22T08:00:00.000-08:00

The week before Christmas is always packed full of baking an assorment of cookies for the guys in our families.

I always DIY gifts for the ladies, but what would I DIY for a guy that could be better than a bunch of homemade cookies all to himself?!

These are the yummies I decided to make this year, just in case you need some ideas:

cookies and cream oreo bark

(but instead of oreos I'm using candy cane joe joes!)

via

chocolate chip pecan snowball cookies

via

chocolate gooey butter cookies

via

chocolate chip peanut butter biscotti

via

oatmeal scotchies

via

martha's cakey chocolate chip cookies

via

classic spritz cookies

via

I think cookies are definitely my favorite thing to bake.
Have you guys made any irresistible cookie recipes lately?

weekend in review...and a bump update.

2011-12-20T16:51:00.000-08:00

So I have a ton of baking to do but I'm taking a break to do a post.

Anyone else feel like Christmas snuck up on you this year?

Not really many pictures from our weekend because we didn't do much, so I included a bump update as well...it's a growin'!

I felt the need to go out and buy a few new things for the baby.

(eventhough it's a boy and we probably have most everything we need!)

Couldn't resist these mushrooms:

date-night-in complete with a Costco u-bake pizza and eggnog rice pudding:

(we sure know how to party it up on a Friday night)

Chris knew I wanted to modernize some pinecones,

so he dipped them for me while I was out running errands with my mom:

(isn't he sweet?)

Chris' parents came over on Sunday for a bit to play with B

while we finished up DIY gifts, baked, and wrapped.

Bennett especially had fun knocking down towers with his papa:

And that's that for our weekend...told ya it wasn't very exciting.

. . .

Since my bump was pretty much non existent the last time you all saw it, I thought I'd show it off a bit.

This little dude is growing quickly!

(I gave up on the chalk paint pens on week 17...it's a little harder to read but takes much less effort to erase.)

(And yes, that's a mango...don't judge.)

Okay back to baking!

Happy Tuesday (almost wednesday)!

POST EDIT: Chris just pointed out that we took two different week 17 pictures...oops!
No wonder I've been so confused on what week it is...blame it on the baby brain.

it's a...

2011-12-14T14:04:00.000-08:00

So I know all of you are waiting in suspense to find out what we are having right?

Well Craig and Lauren threw us a little shindig lastnight at a restaurant with all of our closest friends.

(sorry for the horrible lighting)

The party was complete with cupcakes that would reveal the little babe's gender!

(a la the colored center icing)

Instead of Chris and I biting into the cupcake ourselves (like what Craig and Lauren did at their party),

we had Bennett bite into it.

He took the smallest bites ever, without even touching the cupcake (he hates to be messy).

Eventually he got to the center, revealing that this sweet thing is a...

BOY!!!!!!!!!!

We are totally surprised and so excited to have another Bennett around these parts!

Brothers are so sweet (and it doesn't hurt that we can re-use clothes and toys as well)!

Now we just need to find the perfect name!

weekend in review.

2011-12-13T15:08:00.000-08:00

In an effort for me to fit in a nap today, I give you a quick rundown of our weekend...

cozy fire:

B checking out the tree:

a freezing morning walk:

mowing the frozen lawn:

Chris put lights up!:

my mom took B to her company Christmas party Saturday night while we said goodbye to the crib and hello to his new full-sized bed! Sad face.

we stayed up way too late:

(I'm totally jealous of Bennett's new "tick tock" aka clock)

Finished product:

this is only part of the amazing breakfast we enjoyed at Lovejoy Bakers Sunday morning:

after breakfast, we perused all of the super crafty booths at the Portland Bazaar:

people stared at me weirdly while I stopped to take a picture of the pretty moss on the ground:

Chris and I sampled jelly belly's at costco:

(that white one tasted like dirt... literally. I don't even know what flavor it was supposed to be.)

one last picture before picking B up:

first nap in his new bed:

(isn't he so cute and tiny?!)

The Peterson's came over Sunday night for nachos and cookie making/decorating.

We stayed up late and watched Christmas Vacation.

We are so wild and crazy starting a movie at 10pm!

our creativity abounds:

(they were eaten up in 15 minutes at Chris' work!)

and this morning we had our big ultrasound!

Everything looks good but we won't know if it's a girl or a boy until dinner tonight...

This lady is making cupcakes and we are getting together with friends and we will all find out together!

I totally could have opened up this envelope, but I didn't.

Sometimes it's no fun being honest!

stay tuned!

advent calendar.

2011-12-09T10:35:00.000-08:00

I wanted to share with you guys how I made my advent calendar in case you want to make one for yourself (yes I know it's too late for you to do one for the whole month...but you could do "the 12 days of christmas!")

I wanted our advent calendar to focus on activities, not things or candy.

I also didn't want to spend very much money to make it...I'd rather put that money towards the activities.

I only spent $1 on the envelopes and the rest was just paper I had laying aroud and I used my stamp set for the numbers.

This was so easy to make and I like that it's not horrible to look at like a lot of the ones in the stores.

The hardest part was coming up with all of the activities. I wanted to include things that our kids would look forward to doing each December. I looked around the blogosphere for ideas to put on the cards and I made some up myself. Since I had a hard time coming up with 24 ideas I thought I'd share mine with you guys, because chances are that you will too if you make one!

go christmas tree hunting

cut out snowflakes

go out to dinner

make a card for daddy and put it in his stocking

decorate the tree

wrap a toy and take to a charity tree

do a christmas craft

have a treat

read about the birth of Jesus

decorate christmas cookies

take cookies to friends

have some hot chocolate

unwrap a new book to read

drive around and look at christmas lights

watch "a charlie brown christmas"

take a silly family picture

go out for milkshakes

elf yourself

make a winter treat for the birds (cover a pinecone in pb and birdseed)

make a gingerbread house

turn up the christmas music and have a dance party

go to Zoolights

have a family christmas movie night

go to the library and check out christmas books

I put it on some baker's twine and hung it on our mantle. Truth be told we forget to check the envelope most days, but I still make it a point to do the activities. I'm sure next year B will be all over checking the envelopes.

Let me know if you guys make one, I'd love to see it!

weekend in review.

2011-12-05T15:38:00.000-08:00

Just some pictures from our awesome weekend filled with great friends, Zoolights, and Christmas tree getting and searching for snow at the base of Mt. Hood.

on the zoo train with Ryan, Kaitlynn and Truman:

Bennett's first time seeing snow:

(he wasn't too fond of it, and really didn't like walking in it, though he warmed up to it a bit towards the end)

He was totally pooped on the way home:

Truth be told, we didn't even end up finding a tree. We saw a lot of tiny trees and a lot of huge trees but nothing that would really fit well in our living room. We ended up stopping by Al's Garden Center to pick up a nice tree on our way home.

And tonight we decorate it!

Be sure to check out Lauren's video she made about our adventure here!

pumpkin ravioli.

2011-11-30T15:10:00.000-08:00

So I've been wanting to make this recipe that I've had stashed away in my recipe binder for a few years now.

A few weeks ago I gathered all of the ingredients and started cooking.

It was super simple and reminded me so much of my favorite butternut squash ravioli at Cafe Murrayhill.

Here is the recipe if you want to give it a go!

(trust me you won't regret it, and don't judge the pictures...it was dark!)

Pumpkin Ravioli

adapted from Rachael Ray's Pumpkin Ravioli with Toasted Pumpkin Seeds recipe

makes 4-5 servings, or dinner for 2 plus lunches for the next few days

Ingredients:

1 cup canned pumpkin puree (just buy the canned stuff...making your own never turns out the same anyways)

4oz. softened cream cheese (half of a brick)

1/4 cup parmesean + more to sprinkle on top

1 large egg

salt and pepper

32 wonton wrappers (I think my pack had way more than 32 and I ended up using all of them!)

6 tablespoons of butter

1/4 cup toasted walnuts (or any nut really) to sprinkle on top

balsalmic vinegar

1. In a large bowl, mash together pumpkin, softened cream cheese, parmesean, egg, and 2 pinches each of salt and pepper.

2. Roll out a bunch of wax paper on your counter and place 16 wonton wrapers on it. Spoon out pumpkin mixture into the center of each wonton wrapper and wet all of the edges (I just kept a little bowl of water nearby). Place a wonton wrapper on top and press to seal the edges really well (you'll have a mess if you don't!)

3. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil.

4. While you're waiting for the water to boil, melt the butter in a large skillet. Be sure to keep the butter warm, and if it gets to be browned butter, even better!

5. Working in batches, drop the ravioli in one and a time. You may need to turn down the heat if the water is boiling too hard because these guys are fragile! They will be done once they float to the surface (about 3 mins).

6. Use a slotted spoon to remove the ravioli from the water and add them to the butter. Turn to coat.

7. Divide the ravioli amongst yourselves. Top with parmesan, toasted nuts and a drizzle of balsalmic vinegar.

8. Enjoy!

The picture doesn't do it justice. Trust me on this one.

(when I got to the end of my wonton wrappers, I started to make triangles because I had so much filling left over)

Let me know if you try it, and I was intimidated at first...but making ravioli is actually super simple!

weekend in review.

2011-11-28T15:12:00.000-08:00

...well kind of more like a week in review, since I did one measly post last week.

Chris took all of last week off, and it was amazing to have him home! One of my best friends came all the way from Germany to visit family for a few weeks, and luckily wanted to spend 2 whole days with us!

Onto the pictures...

Jessica and I in a silly mood:

baking the crust to my cheesecake:

completed and piled high with homemade whipped cream:

not a great photo, but it tasted amazing...I love making cheesecakes!

I decided that I needed to make an advent calendar for Bennett:

(the pockets are filled with activities to do instead of sweets or toys)

an amazing breakfast at Lovejoy Bakers:

crazy family:

Saturday morning breakfast:

(homemade oatmeal brulee and a scramble)

finished advent calendar:

finally:

a new/warm coat:

and decorating for Christmas:

That's it!

Happy Monday!

weekend in review.

2011-11-23T08:00:00.000-08:00

Chris took the whole week off and one of my best friends

(we met eachother on the first day of first grade...21 years ago!)

is in town from Germany.

Needless to say, I don't want to spend a lot of time blogging so I leave you with mostly pictures from our busy weekend...

cozy after a bath:

snow on the way to date night dinner:

Por Que No...again:

our Bryan's bowls and agua fresca:

dessert at the always amazing Pudding on the Rice:

they have crepes and rice bowls too, but I can never go without getting rice pudding!

by the time we got there they were sold out of the seasonal Pumpkin and Eggnog flavors

(which are complete bliss)

so we settled for our non-season fave Patience Grasshopper with a big twirl of tart frozen yogurt on top:

(soo good)

monster feet:

Lauren and I went to a diy craft fair and got lots of great ideas for Christmas gifts...

though I was loving the decor:

Chris made me an amazing peppermint mocha, complete with crushed candy canes on top:

family dinner out for my bro's b-day:

Monday, Chris and I got up and went on a walk in 32 degree freezingness.

It made for awesome pictures and it felt good to get out:

Bubs all bundled up:

frozen:

while we were making dessert to take to my family's Thanksgiving on Sunday, Bennett entertained himself by reading books on the couch for almost an hour.

He's obsessed:

early family Thanksgiving at my sister's:

(I ended up making the pumpkin crunch cake and it was so easy and good!)

enjoying dinner:

my lovely Stumptown mocha:

(seconds before B ruining the pretty design by putting his hand right into it, yes his hand was fine)

I most likely won't post anymore this week so have a good Thanksgiving!

(oh and I'm making the cheesecake today, so I'll let you all know how it turns out. Pray that it doesn't giant crack down the middle!)

15 weeks.

2011-11-18T10:29:00.000-08:00

I always feel weird posting pictures of my awkward self, but you guys really seemed to enjoy the little preview of my weekly photos. Not sure if I'll post a picture every week but here is the one for week 15.

I'm actually officially 16 weeks but that picture has yet to be taken.

(I can only take pictures on the weekends when Chris is here since it's so dark out when he gets home these days)

I totally still don't look that pregnant, but it also depends on what I'm wearing.

They say you're supposed to show earlier with your second but I'm pretty sure it was a little more obvious at this point last time around. I have "gotten sick"(a nice way of describing throwing up) a large majority of the days since week 7...and it's still going! Ugh.

We are finding out what this sweet little thing is in four weeks and I can't wait!

Happy Friday Friends!

just desserts.

2011-11-16T15:40:00.000-08:00

It's time for the post where I ask you what dessert I should make for Thanksgiving!

I made pumpkin spice latte cheesecake last year which was a hit...and I definitely feel like sticking to something pumpkin-y again this year.

I LOVE making desserts for people and though it's kind of expected to show up with a plain old pumpkin pie, I like to mix it up a bit.

(pun fully intended)

Help me decide...what should I make this year?

pumpkin cream pie

via

pumpkin crunch cake

via

brown sugar pumpkin cheesecake with chocolate shortbread crust

via

pumpkin gooey butter cake

via

pumpkin lust cake

via

apple and buttermilk pie

via

weekend in review.

2011-11-14T14:10:00.000-08:00

So many pictures this week so I'm just going to get to it!

The only thing I've craved thus far into my pregnancy is juice, but not the store bought kind (thank goodness). At one of our favorite restaraunts, Por Que No, I love to get the agua fresca and after having it (and craving it for days afterwards) I decided to make my own.

It's incredibly easy to make, as there are no exact measurements. Everything is to taste and all you need is a blender! For this strawberry lime agua fresca I added a bunch of strawberries and the juice from two limes and about 1/2 cup sugar * then poured in water until it reached the top of the blender and blend! You can use any fruit combo you think sounds good...the possibilities are endless!

*our strawberries were very tart so we needed the whole 1/2 cup of sugar, though you may not!

made this mac 'n cheese for dinner:

(not so good for you but SO good!)

caught Ember being stoic:

finally got to make something with these:

decided on date night that I like thai iced tea way better than coffee:

while walking with Kaitlynn and Truman, we stopped (like dorks) to take a picture at 11:11 on 11/11:

another amazing tree:

We hung out with the Hartmanns Friday night but did a whole lot of nothing so I didn't think to take any pictures. We are that exciting when we get together.

B jumping on the bed Saturday morning:

visited the Children's museum with our friends The Carters and The Cliffs:

B checking out his groceries:

construction boy:

playing in the "dirt":

building:

he was incredibly exhausted after we left!:

family coffee date Sunday morning:

B loves his cold/no ice/no shot mocha aka chocolate milk.

(he likes to think it's coffee...we are raising a monster)

Off to get ready for our doctor's appt...can't wait to hear this baby's heartbeat again!

a shower for lauren.

2011-11-09T13:43:00.000-08:00

So besides forming a human (which has given me horrible ~~morning~~ all-day sickness and has made me super tired), another thing has been (happily) taking up my free time...

I've been busy putting together a baby shower for my dear friend Lauren!

(and her sweet baby Fern)

The theme was roughly "breakfast in the woods"and included lots of pinecones, sticks, moss, ferns (get it) and yarn (to warm it up a bit).

Last November Lauren, Kira, Lindsey and I went to a workshop at Anthropologie to help them get their Christmas displays ready. We chose the fingerknitting station and we've kind of been obsessed ever since. I thought it would be such a fun idea for a large impact shower decoration that is actually really cheap to do!

This was the first thing people saw when they pulled up to our house.

Kind of like a sneak peek of what's to come...

the living room:

(warning: no pink/purple was used in the making of this shower)

(can you handle it?)

the pom flower bouquet favors:

(I collected about 384750 sticks and pinecones for this party from around our neighborhood.

I totally looked like a crazy lady picking something up every five feet.)

Lauren loooves breakfast food so I knew I wanted to incorporate it into the day.

We planned the shower for 11am so we could pull it off!

The grub:

overnight french toast casserole

hashbrown and sweet apple sausage crockpot egg casserole

ultimate banana bread

best blueberry muffins ever

We also had fruit salad, sliced apples with peaut butter and nutella, pumpkin chocolate chip cookies and cinnamon oat scones.

(we totally overplanned in the food department, but that's better than running out!)

Unfortunately, I didn't get a good picture of the centerpiece but it was just jars filled with different kinds of pinecones and layered with moss from our backyard apple tree. We randomly placed a bunch of tealights around them for ambiance.

Lauren is also a big fan of ginger ale and I had pinned this tutorial for homemade ginger ale over the summer. Chris took charge of making the ginger syrup from scratch and it turned out really well!

my crockpot with the egg casserole in it.

This is the only thing that I wish I had doubled but didn't.

It was sooo good and so easy to just throw everything into the crockpot.

I think I'll be making this for Christmas morning!

Shower games are always cheesy and lame.

This non-game was not.

I made this calender (straight lines engineered by Chris) for people to guess Fern's birthday.

(Genius idea originally spotted on Bump Smitten.)

(I'm guessing Fern will be born Jan 24th at 12:30am.)

Random stuff always looks good when it's grouped together, so I just gathered all my clear/brown glass vessels and put pinecones/sticks/ferns/candles/nothing in them to decorate the mantle.

We finished it off with some yarn-wrapped "f's" for Lauren to take home to put in the nursery.

Of course we had a fire going to up the cozyness factor:

the guest(s) of honor:

the homemade hot chocolate bar:

I used this amazing recipe (multipied by 5 for 20 servings).

Guests were able to make their cocoa even more tasty by adding either french truffles, carmels, crushed candy canes, andes mints and homemade whipped cream.

This was definitely a hit!

Chris made some french press from his freshly roasted beans and we kept it toasty in our very appropriate Stanley thermoses:

To make present opening less awkward, we had people fingerknit if they wanted to. Lauren was able to take the garlands home to decorate the nursery with!

(here is a great tutorial if you'd like to learn how to fingerknit!)

Here is Jamie explaining how to do it:

Lauren got so many great things and we had a lot of fun planning this party for her!

Now sweet baby Fern just needs to get here!

And here are all of us with Lauren!

Thanks for putting up with my butt-long emails filled with ideas and more ideas for the shower ladies...everything turned out even better than I had imagined thanks to your help!

And also a big thanks to Chris for helping me out in so many ways and for not thinking I'm crazy for wanting to (and actually helping me) make 70 pom stick flower things!

weekend in review.

2011-11-07T15:41:00.000-08:00

This weekend was super crazy/busy but also completely fun!

Thursday it was cold but beautiful so Kaitlynn and Truman (our walking buddies) joined us for a really long/cold walk though Summerlake Park. Love that place.

We met a squirrel that was not afraid of us at all:

(it sat there and stared at us for so long!)

B spent the weekend at Chris' parent's house, so we prepared him for crib-less sleeping Thursday and Friday. He did great, though I like the idea of him being in his crib for a bit longer!

We got a new toilet seat and I was so excited about it.

Did I mention I'm a total dork and get excited about really lame things?

Friday night after dropping B off, Chris and I grabbed dinner at one of our favorite places, Por Que No:

A very dark picture of my carnitas Bryan's Bowl wth chips.

Soo good I could eat it everyday!

After dinner we went to OMSI for free thanks to a pass from Chris' work!

Here he is testing his reaction time whilst in a peacoat:

this is us experienceing a large earthquake in the earthquake machine:

figuring out how to get water to the house:

(can kids really figure this kind of stuff out?!)

Waiting in line for our omnimax movie:

Saturday morning, Lauren, Kira and I met up for a crafty time with some other Portland bloggers.

I ended up working on things that I needed for Sunday which was Lauren's baby shower!

Here's a little sneak peek:

(full post coming soon!)

Oh and also this has been happening...

#2 is on the way!

I realize that you probably can't see much of the pictures below but there really is nothing to see yet!

I'm almost 15 weeks and just started showing within

the last few days!

I've been super sick (way more so than the first time around) and also super tired which makes it even more difficult with a busy toddler running around.

I have had two normal-feeling days in a row so hopefully this means I'm on the road to feeling normal all the time since I'm in the 2nd trimester now!

Anyways, that's our happy news and what has been making me be such a lame blogger lately...most days I choose between a new blog post or a nap. I always choose the latter.

Happy Monday friends!

a ridiculously late friday post.

2011-11-04T16:09:00.000-07:00

The lovely Lisa Warninger featured me on Urban Weeds yesterday.

I don't know how she did it, but I don't look awkward for once!

(check out Bennett and Chris too!)

photos via urban weeds

Also, if you want to get into the holiday spirit, check out Emily Henderson's (Design Star winner and host of the super rad Secrets from a Stylist) ginormus holiday gift guide.

I have only made it halfway through, but it's amazing and awesome and huge.

I'm getting last minute things ready for Lauren's shower this weekend and Chris and I have a super fun date night at OMSI planned tonight!

Happy Friday!

weekend in review.

2011-11-01T11:52:00.000-07:00

This past weekend we did absolutely nothing...

and it was bliss!

We haven't had a weekend without Chris playing at church/working/other family commitments in months.

We pretty much stayed at home all weekend.

I even broke out the good ol' DSLR.

(I forgot how good that thing is!)

B is obsessed with Dr. Seuss books.

Every morning and evening he sifts through his bookshelf and pulls out every Dr. Seuss book.

He would be totally cool with it if we did nothing else all day, everyday.

Last night was Bennett's third Halloween, but it was the first one where we actually did anything.

I was excited to see all of the trick or treaters but I also was excited to take B out trick or treating...it's a delicate balance.

We handed out Play-Dough until about 7pm then turned all of the lights off while we trick or treated for about 45 minutes.

We pulled B in the wagon so he could sit under a blanket and stay warm between houses. I don't think he would have lasted as long if he had to walk the whole time.

our treats:

(I thought I was being lame for not handing out candy, but the kids seemed really excited about it)

first house:

last house:

here is a better picture of his costume from earlier in the week:

He definitely scored extra candy due to the "cuteness factor."

We practiced saying"trick or treat" over the last few weeks, but when we got up to the doors I would prompt him and say "what do you say Bennett" and he would respond with "please."

He stood there and smiled at the people as they kept putting more candy in his bag.

When they were done, he would say "thank you" and walk away.

Now he probably thinks that if you walk up to someone's house he'll get candy now.

Awesome.

I also don't know if I can bring myself to give my 2 year old any of the candy he got last night.

He thinks organic, fat free, Fig Newmans are cookies...and I'd kind of like to keep it that way.

(I'm talking to you mom!)

What's a mom to do?

Note to self for next year: get glow sticks for each of us so people don't pity us and give us theirs.

We are such amateurs.

happy friday.

2011-10-28T15:17:00.000-07:00

So I guess you guys wanted to see more of us in our 80's attire.

Unfortunately, I didn't even think to take a shot of my whole outfit.

(I'm not a fashion blogger. Cut me some slack!)

This is the best picture I have of us and (most of) our outfits.

There you have it.

Happy Weekend Friends!

weekend in review.

2011-10-26T14:37:00.000-07:00

So I'm getting really good a posting my weekend in review's mid-week.

I'm slacking a bit (though I promise I have a good reason!) but at least I'm keeping up with it right?

I've been working on something that's been taking all of my energy lately...but that's for another post.

Anyways, onto the week in review...

Friday B and I went to the zoo with our friend's The Carters.

Their daughter Avery is 3 months younger than Bennett and they are best friends

(their marriage has already been arranged.)

This is the best picture I took all day:

(fail)

Then for date night we met up with Daniel and Bonnie for a yummy dinner (our hubby's were roomies for a term in college in a house of 55 guys so there was a lot of talk about the random/interesting people they lived with) and ice cream (once again) at Salt & Straw.

I decided to try their salted carmel ice cream pie and it was so good!

We discovered that this makes the best pumpkin spiced lattes:

Bennett did a break dancing show/laid on the ground at church:

We played in the backyard in the sun!:

We went to my -bro-in-law's 80's themed b-day party:

(attempt one at picture)

attempt two:

B got a new hat:

(he forgot he was wearing it, that's why it was still on his head)

and we played at the park:

last night Chris and I made granola. It's been a long time, and oh how we've missed it.

Happy Wednesday friends!

sticky grams.

2011-10-21T14:45:00.000-07:00

I know I was late to the Instagram party since I've had an iphone for 2 months max but...

did you know that you can get magnets made of your instagrams?!

Sticky Gram is a little company just getting started, though I can see a lot of people ordering magnets from them.

Such a good idea right?!

photos via

How, you ask?

You just go onto their website and create your own pack of magnets from your Instagram feed.

They come in packs of 9 for $14.99 with free shipping anywhere in the world!

What a fun little gift idea as well!

Let me know if you order any, I'm curious to see how they turn out!

weekend in review.

2011-10-18T10:50:00.000-07:00

This last weekend was so fun and we had perfect weather!

Chris and I decided to try out Breakside Brewery for date night.

We split a burger (with waffle fries!) and a bowl of tortilla soup.

We definitely will be going back for the burger but will be upgrading to sweet potato waffle fries next time!

We left enough room to get some ice cream at Salt & Straw and I'm so glad we did!

I got a scoop of Toffee with Salted Chocolate Ganache ribbons and a scoop of pumpkin cheesecake.

Chris got a scoop of vanilla and a scoop of snickerdoodle.

Soo good!

then we rolled out of there.

...maybe two scoops was a bit of a stretch.

The shop is so cute:

You can even get a float with Pok Pok's drinking vinegar...of which they sell bottles of as well!

Saturday morning Chris got up at the crack of dawn to run, and once again surprised us with a treat from St. Honore, a cute little french bakery.

The chocolate almond crossaint went nicely with the breakfast he made us...

poached eggs, smashed black beans with avocado on an english muffin.

Oh and a latte of course.

Bennett throughly enjoyed his yogurt:

Getting ready:

Chris playing stand-up at church:

Sunday we went to the pumpkin patch with our friends the Cliffs (hi Kelli!)

B saying hi to the goats:

One of these years we will get him to look at the camera when we are doing this:

Annoyed that I was trying to get a picture by the cornstalks:

Putting him to work:

family photo:

Happy Tuesday!

We are off to enjoy this amazing weather!

dorky but awesome kid's halloween costumes.

2011-10-14T15:15:00.000-07:00

This will be Bennett's third Halloween, but his first one dressing up and trick or treating..

I never wanted to put money or effort into something that he would probably wear for five minutes then go right to bed.

Since this year he is actually aware of what is happening around him,

(and its probably also the last year I have a say in what he wears)

I wanted him to be something totally dorky but adorable and original at the same time.

I have a picture of his actual costume at the end of my post but just wanted to share some great and original ideas I've seen floating around.

*I don't have a source for any of these costumes, though I found them easily on Pinterest.

R2D2:

(and one of his many lady friends could be Princess Leia)

(isn't this the cutest picture you've ever seen?)

cardboard dragon:

(I first spotted this picture in the Anthro holiday catalog the year B was born and told

Bennett that we could totally make this happen a few years down the road.)

(It seems to be more suited for a 3 year old so maybe next year!)

oscar the grouch:

where's waldo:

edward scissorhands:

(a little on the creepy side for a 2 year old though)

nondescript superhero:

(love this idea. May take it and run if he ever asks to be batman/superman/spiderman)

Dwight K. Schrute:

(This was our runner up but I figured we would have to explain it to every house we went to. No thanks.)

our winner:

a gnome!

via

I always start out with intentions of DIYing things, but the prospect of buying a costume and not putting anymore effort into it sounded so nice. I caved and he's going as a gnome...but a dang cute one!

Also, when I was searching for costumes on Pinterest I came across this picture that made me laugh:

This kid looks so mad at his mom for making him squeeze into this noodle bowl costume just so she could get a good picture for her etsy shop. I love his expression!

Have you seen any awesome costumes out there?

weekend in review...on a thursday.

2011-10-13T13:03:00.000-07:00

I've been a total blog slacker all week but in my defense we all have been feeling under the weather, and really blogging is the last thing I want to do when I don't feel well.

We're finally on the mend now!

Here's what we did last weekend...

Chris and I went to Red Onion for date night and got some delicious Thai food.

I'm pretty sure I could eat Thai food everyday.

My fresh squeezed sparkling limeade and Chris' thai iced tea.

Amazing drinks and only $2 each!

my old standby pad see ew:

a little fun with picibooth:

Saturday at the park:

Sunday I went to a PDX blogger brunch at Tasty 'n Sons:

(most of the girls go to Solid Rock, which was funny since we had never met before)

my first time trying their famous chocolate potato doughnut:

(soo good!)

I never order fried chicken but I had to get the breakfast sandwich here.

Don't judge me.

(it was smaller than it looks)

I came home to a cozy fire and hang out time with the in-laws:

This weekend I also made my very first fritatta, which was improvised without a recipe.

I actually started out making a mexican soup and was sauteeing onions and potatoes but decided the soup was a doozie, so I added eggs to the onion/potato pan with some dollops of ricotta and a little parmasen and s&p.

I threw it in the oven to cook the top and to my surprise it turned out being pretty good!

Happy Thursday!

Maybe if I'm feeling ambitious I'll post tomorrow too,

two days in a row...can you handle it?!

west elm, you've done it again.

2011-10-07T08:00:00.000-07:00

I've always been a fan of West Elm, though sometimes they go through "global" phases which isn't really my style.

I love clean, simple lines, vintage, Scandanavian and mid century designs.

And white...lots of it.

West Elm's current new arrivals hit the nail on the head and had me drooling as I looked through the new catalog, so I thought I'd share!

dipped side tables

lacquer coat rack

finn chandelier

metal tipped coat rack

long arm chandelier

ryder rocking chair

(how cute would this be in a nursery?)

perpetual calendar

peggy mirror

tripod wood floor lamp

They also have started revealing this year's Christmas collection!

I'm so excited to decorate an actual house this year with outdoor Christmas lights and a real/normal sized tree! (our mini tree that we bought at Whole Foods and carried all the way back to our apartment last year only lasted a week or so. Read more here and here.)

The few Christmas decorations I've seen at West Elm this year have me excited to see the rest!

I am so getting this wreath to go over our fireplace:

and these cute felt snowflakes better find their way to my tree:

(though they may have to wait until the after Christmas sales hit to stock up for a whole tree full!)

I love you West Elm!

weekend in review.

2011-10-04T12:20:00.000-07:00

I know that Thursday doesn't really count as the weekend, but I'm counting it in for this post, otherwise you would only be seeing food pictures!

Thursday's weather was incredible so B and I met up with my friend

Kaitlynn and her sweet boy Truman.

We got up close and personal with mountain lions:

and orangutans:

once we got home, Bennett decided to share one of his stickers with Scout:

Saturday morning Chris got up early to go run with a friend and when he got home he made us our much loved and anticipated TJ's Pumpkin Pancakes!

They are back but stock up because they will for sure sell out!

(the mix makes pancakes and waffles, but the pancakes are far superior and don't even need syrup!)

we also shared a chocolate crossaint that Chris brought home after his run:

it was a good breakfast.

I decided we needed to balance out our breakfast with some brussel sprouts with lunch.

I'm not a big veggie fan unless they are cooked into something so I wanted to give these guys a try.

I sauteed them in a little olive oil with salt and pepper.

They were pretty tasty!

Saturday afternoon I helped Lauren navigate the ever daunting task of registering for baby gifts. It took us three hours and we were being efficient!

Since Chris was playing at church Sunday, we decided to just have a low key night at home Saturday night and go to church as a family on Sunday (we usually go Saturday nights).

Last night, we rented a movie and I made stacked roasted veggie enchiladas for dinner and these amazing pumpkin chocolate chip bars for dessert:

(straight out of the oven with a little vanilla Haagen Das of course)

Now the sun is peeking through the clouds so we may take this opportunity to go play outside before it disappears!

I have a screamer.

2011-09-30T08:00:00.000-07:00

Dear everyone who is ever at a craft/grocery/clothing/etc. store at the same time we are,

Yes my son is a screamer and he is ear-piercingly loud, but I don't feel the need to apologize because he is TWO and that is what two year olds do. Just because he is screaming doesn't mean I'm a bad mother it just means that he is tired, bored and/or hungry but most likely a combination of the three. I have already tried distracting him with food/water/stickers/a toy/the bananas in my cart but he is just going to scream. I am aware that he is screaming but I may not want to draw attention to it so please do not walk by and laugh, you are just making him want to scream more. Please don't say rude comments to other shoppers when I am one aisle away. I can hear you and your comments hurt my feelings. I am already embarassed and your stares aren't helping. Go on with your shopping and ignore us, I just want to get what I came for and get home. Remember when you had a two year old and you had stuff to get done?

Deal?

Becca

weekend in review.

2011-09-27T14:00:00.000-07:00

This weekend was the perfect introduction to fall...

windy, rainy and cold and I loved every second of it!

Chris got off early on Friday after working crazy hours all week, so we relaxed with some lattes before heading out for date night.

Friday it was actually still really nice out so we decided to grab some dinner at the Hawthorne food carts. I was so excited to get the pizza with camelized onions and pistashios from Pyro Pizza but was sad to see that they didn't have it. I settled for a burrito while Chris waited for his pizza.

(the pizzas are made to order and cooked in a wood fired oven inside the cart, so they take about 20mins but are worth the wait!)

We also split the smallest order of fries from Potato Champion with homemade honey mustard. Yum.

I was underwhelemed with my burrito (it had lettuce in it and I kept getting bites of tortilla and lettuce) though the horchata was one of the best I've had in a long time and they give you a ton!

Note to self: next time stick with pizza but get an horchata.

Best of both worlds, literally.

After dinner we headed downtown to walk around a bit before grabbing Pudding on the Rice.

downtown at dusk:

Have you guys ever been to Pudding on the Rice? If you live in Portland you must try it! Their shop was only 2 blocks up from us when we were living at the Ladd and we went all the time. It's not your grandma's rice pudding...I think there are about 20 flavors and they just started making their pumpkin flavor again! Whatever flavor we get, we always top it with tart frozen yogurt, it's amazing! Oh and they have crepes and rice bowls as well...maybe I just need to do a whole post on Pudding on the Rice sometime.

I guess I didn't take any pictures on Saturday but we didn't do much.

Chris played at church in the evening and Bennett made us some awesome artwork while he was in the nursery.

Sunday morning we had a family coffee date and watched people walking in the rain.

we came home and had grilled cheese and tomato soup with hot chais to stay warm:

I had been wanting to make blueberry muffins for a while, so during Bennett's nap we made this recipe and doubled it so we could take some to the Hartmanns. Definitely the best blueberry muffin recipe I've ever made!

While we were at the Hartmann's, Bennett got to ride Marly like a horse.

He throughly enjoyed it for like three seconds.

Lastnight Chris made us a fire (the first in our new house) and some delicious hot chocolate and we got caught up on The Office.

Not sure how I feel about this season with Michael Scott gone...

on the menu.

2011-09-22T12:11:00.000-07:00

Every other Thursday, you can find me scouring my Lovely Dinners Pinterest board for meal ideas for the next two weeks.

Since we've been sick, we have pretty much been sticking to the BRAT diet.

(bananas, rice, applesauce, toast)

Not fun.

Needless to say, I'm ready to start getting back in the kitchen with some real meals.

Here's what's on the menu for the next few weeks:

PS:

If you like Tastespotting and Foodgawker, check out the new Punchfork!

stacked roasted veggie enchiladas

via

crockpot bbq chicken

via

penne pasta with sundried tomato cream sauce

via

twice baked butternut squash

via

buffalo chicken grilled cheese

via

roasted fall veggies with quinoa

via

ham and cheese sliders

via

and on the menu for tonight:

balsalmic garlic crusted pork tenderloin

via

with these amazing smashed potatoes:

via

Have you guys tried any new recipes lately?

weekend in review.

2011-09-20T10:58:00.000-07:00

Bennett was sick for two weeks and right when he started feeling better, Chris and I got sick.

Not fun at all.

Now Chris is back to work and feelin good but it's taking forever for me to get back to normal.

Ugh.

Being sick with a toddler is not cool.

Friday we took it easy and watched Monsters Inc:

Saturday we felt a little better so we went to our friend Lucy's 2nd birthday party.

Kelli and her hubby Jordan made the cutest cupcakes:

(it was a Sesame Street party)

and they had some super cute decorations:

snacktime with friends:

Sunday was my birthday (the big 28), and while I wasn't feeling the best, I wanted to keep our plans and get out of the house.

We went out to breakfast with my mom, then after naptime was over we took Bennett over to our friend/lovely babysitter's house to play for the afternoon. Chris took me shopping downtown then we met up with Craig and Lauren for a Pok Pok picnic for dinner.

Lauren's lovely wrapping:

oh did I mention that Chris and Bennett left a super sweet message on our chalkboard:

The weather has been rainy the last few days, but yesterday it randomly decided to be the perfect fall afternoon, so we went on a walk to the park:

and we explored a trail through the forest:

and we (Chris) tried to knock down a few pears from the tree at the park:

success:

Happy Tuesday!

on painting your house white.

2011-09-15T12:08:00.000-07:00

Painting the entire interior of your house bright white is a huge commitment.

(see our all-white inspiration houses here)

When we bought the house, each room was a different color, which would work for a bungalow, but ranch houses are supposed to be open and each room flows into the next.

We used Behr Ultra Premium Plus Ultra White which is a paint and primer in one

(ie. its super thick...it's also the base of all the UPP paints).

Eventhough we used the thickest paint out there, it still took us 3 coats everywhere to get decent coverage.

(some spots could have even used 4 coats but we were so tired of painting and we just wanted to be done)

In our 1080 sq ft house, we painted 3 bedrooms, a dining room, hallway, living room, kitchen and mudroom plus the ceiling, trim, doors and some of the closets.

That added up to 11.5 gallons of white paint!

I would be lying if we didn't have moments of regretting ourselves more than a few times, BUT the more progress we made, the more we could see the house coming together and flowing together.

The house feels a lot bigger and more airy since there is no longer a distinct seperation between each room.

(we didn't take the best before pictures, but notice all of the different colors)

Bennett's room before:

Bennett's room after:

(this is the only room with a color on the wall, other than white)

our bedroom before:

our bedroom after:

hallway before:

hallway after:

dining room before:

dining room after:

kitchen before:

kitchen after:

3rd bedroom before:

3rd bedroom after:

(so far this room has been a tv room and now it's a playroom. We are planning on closing off the oepening and putting a door in the hallway next spring when we make improvements to the bathroom.)

living room before:

living room after:

(the coffee table is partially covering up the most drastic change, but we tore up the slate covering the hearth, exposed the brick and painted it white along with putting a fresh coat of white on the whole fireplace.)

The only room we didn't paint was the bathroom.

We figured it didn't make much sense since we will be redoing it soon.

Plus that would have been three more coats and we just didn't want to go there.

weekend in review.

2011-09-13T11:23:00.000-07:00

Our chairs finally came in on Friday:

(we picked white. are you really surprised?)

Chris and I went to Produce Row for date night:

and since we had giant boxes left over from the chairs, we made a fort:

There was lots of playing in the fort in the cool house while it was almost 100 degrees outside!

We also went to a birthday party for Chris' grandma's 75th birthday but I didn't get any pictures.

Now I'm off to take care of a little sickie.

Happy Tuesday!

pumpkiny goodness.

2011-09-08T09:51:00.000-07:00

Apparently Oregon hasn't recieved the memo about it being September.

(this is one of the hottest weeks we've had all summer)

I LOVE September (not just because it's my birthday month) but because it's normally the perfect temp outside and I love all the colorful leaves.

Oh and all the pumpkin goodies start to make their way around the blogosphere.

I typically go into a baking-with-pumkin-frenzy until I get so tired of it that I don't want to see another can of pumpkin for a year.

Perfect.

Here are some of the recipes I've seen floaing around Pinterest lately...

pumpkin spice pancakes

via

pumpkin chocolate chip brownies

via

pumpkin pie french toast

via

layered pumpkin chocolate cheesecake bars

via

pumpkin nutella muffins

via

pumpkin crunch cake

via

pumpkin cupcakes with maple frosting

via

pumpkin scones

via

pumpkin pie bites

via

Do you have any good pumpkin recipes I should try?

bennett is two.

2011-09-06T06:30:00.000-07:00

a birthday in instagram.

dos.

2011-09-01T10:58:00.000-07:00

We're preparing for a big birthday just around the corner.

via

How in the world has it been two years already?!
(all but the top image were found using google)

weekend in review.

2011-08-30T11:28:00.000-07:00

...on a Tuesday.

(go figure)

there were a lot of wagon rides to the park:

and lots of playing with Picibooth:

at Home Depot:

at Tasty 'n Sons for date night:

and Ruby Jewel:

Saturday morning lattes:

at my dad's surprise 60th birthday party:

(he really liked the nuts)

like father like son:

after running through the sprinklers for the first time:

Ember was a little relaxed:

working on the overgrown front yard with the in-laws:

and we got our new pendant light up and running:

(notice the white dining room as well!)

we got a sweet Edison style bulb for added interest:

I also joined this century and got an iphone!

Any favorite apps I should get?

grill girl.

2011-08-26T07:00:00.000-07:00

I'm loving our new bbq and pretty much use it every chance I get.

I can't grill a simple burger for the life of me, but I can do everything else!

This is what I have grilled lately...

grilled pesto chicken pizza

(follow this to grill the dough then top with pesto, mozzarella/parmasean, grilled chicken and sliced garlic)

cedar plank salmon and grilled potatoes and summer squash

(I soaked the plank in a hard pear cider)

grilled bbq chicken pizza

(red onions, cilantro, mozzeralla, grilled chicken, bbq sauce)

ginger-teriyaki salmon with grilled grean beans and quinoa salad

(get Fawn's amazing quinoa salad recipe here)

grilled chicken fajitas

(peppers, onions, chicken. duh.)

What's your favorite thing to grill?

I'm always looking for new recipes!