Happy Leap Year! Isn't this day just an oddity of sorts and yet quite fun too? Hope you do something outrageously good and indulgent on this special day.
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Chili Rubbed Salmon and Mango Salsa
If you've never made a single recipe off my blog, that's fine. But I beg you to try this one. If you're not a seafood lover, you can easily substitute chicken. The sweetness of the fruit mixed with the subtle heat of the cumin and chili powder is a perfect combo.
This recipe was passed along to me from my friend who made the infamous chocolate peanut butter banana cream pie and I believe she got it from her mother in-law. I love a recipe that's been passed through several hands before it gets to you. It's a good sign.
I like to make the salsa earlier in the day when I'm marinating the salmon. Then when it's crunch time, all I have to do is bake the salmon and we're ready to go. Here's a shot of it getting ready to go into the fridge to rest for a while.
Chili-Rubbed Salmon
4 salmon fillets
1 tbsp. olive oil
1 tbsp. fresh lime juice
1 tbsp. paprika
1/2 tsp. salt and 1/2 tsp. pepper
1 tbsp. chili powder
Combine last five ingredients in a bowl and stir. Brush mixture on top of the fish. Spray baking sheet with non stick cooking spray and chill for 3 hours. Bake salmon at 350 degrees for 15 minutes.
Tropical Salsa
1 mango, peeled and diced
2 plums, washed and diced
1/4 cup washed and chopped cilantro
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
1 tsp. salt
1 cup diced fresh tomatoes
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. Thai chili sauce
Mix and serve over cooked fish.
Sunday, February 26, 2012
Friday, February 24, 2012
Life at its Finest
Can I tell you how much I love these shoes? I saw a woman weeks ago at wearing a similar cap toe flat with black tights, skirt and wool pea coat. Instant love. I spotted these at TJ Maxx and immediately claimed them as MINE for $30 bucks.
Luke loves Legos. I'm drowning in them. I found this fun Lego photo app that allows you to turn a photo into Legos. He loves it and most importantly, it's free.
Next week, I'll be sharing a recipe with you that involves the following ingredients. Mango, plum, paprika and cumin. It is absolutely one of my all time fav recipes on the planet. My bff passed it along to me. She's awesome. Please stay tuned.
Daffodils make me so happy. I've always considered myself a fall type of girl but the last two spring seasons have me reconsidering. The more I garden, the more I get so, so excited for spring. I moved a TON of bulbs last fall so I'm very anxious to see what comes up this year. I'm also considering sharing more of my garden experiences on the blog here. (Or what I refer to as trial and error.) Thoughts? Flowers are like children. They're so forgiving and resilient.
Speaking of resilient. This little guy has grown by leaps and bounds the last few weeks. No longer can I appease him with a topping-free Pinkberry treat. If big brother has toppings, Jett's getting toppings! He's become so independent and has learned how to say his big brother's name (Wuuuuke). It makes my heart smile.
Thursday, February 23, 2012
Toy Organization and Storage
Like many moms, I feel like I spend much of my time picking up and keeping our house somewhat orderly. If I'm not doing that, I'm on some treasure hunt to find a specific toy my kid's are searching for only to find it buried at the bottom of the toy box!
I spent the last week doing a major pre-spring cleaning and resolved to effectively organize our toy situation. And trust me, it's a situation. We don't have a designated playroom so our living space was becoming overrun with toys. Not good. I did donate a lot of things we weren't using which helped reduce a lot of the clutter.
Next up, the living room. We have a large storage ottoman that has a mixture of big boy toys and baby toys. It works well for large items that are hard to fit in the boy's rooms. One thing my son loves is all the Hot Wheels/Matchbox cars being in one exclusive basket.
Into Luke's room where we play a lot. Under his Lego table (former train table) we have a pull out bin that houses large trucks and all construction equipment.
Under his bed are kid's DVDs, puzzles and figures.
And that concludes our tour! It was a huge job for me but the boys seem much happier and even Luke said he "likes his toys neat." You can check back with me in six months and see if they're still that way.
Here's 5 helpful tips for successful toy organization and thanks for sticking around for this long post!
1. Throw away all toys that are broken and not fixable.
2. Toss the junk. You know, the "Happy Meal" toys. Your kids will never know.
3. Pack away or donate things they have outgrown. Do this when they are not around.
4. Organize by category. Kid's love to play this way so why not make it easy for them!
5. Utilize every nook and cranny for storage. Under beds, closets, drawers, wall shelves, bins, etc.
I spent the last week doing a major pre-spring cleaning and resolved to effectively organize our toy situation. And trust me, it's a situation. We don't have a designated playroom so our living space was becoming overrun with toys. Not good. I did donate a lot of things we weren't using which helped reduce a lot of the clutter.
I'm sharing this post with you for two reasons. First, I may never see our toys this organized again. Secondly, it's always nice to see how and where other people manage their toys. If you have any great tips, please, please share them in the comments for everyone to see.
Let me be the first to admit that my kids are very over indulged when it comes to toys. However, I assure you that much of what you see was given as gifts and we do enjoy playing with it all! Disclaimer done.
Let's start with the kitchen. I have two toy baskets that slide into a console. We have a cooking basket...
And another basket with blocks, flashcards and some odds and ends. I try to pull these out when the boys want to be in the kitchen with me while I'm cooking. Most of the time this doesn't work and I end up tripping over it instead but it's worth a try.
Next up, the living room. We have a large storage ottoman that has a mixture of big boy toys and baby toys. It works well for large items that are hard to fit in the boy's rooms. One thing my son loves is all the Hot Wheels/Matchbox cars being in one exclusive basket.
Into Luke's room where we play a lot. Under his Lego table (former train table) we have a pull out bin that houses large trucks and all construction equipment.
Under his bed are kid's DVDs, puzzles and figures.
This shelf has been a lifesaver. You can see here that it houses a lot of stuff neatly. I bought the plastic bins at Target and I love that they are clear. I may do a separate post on Lego organization in the future but for now we are using a fishing tackle box and a few stackable organizers also from Target. There are also a lot of Legos on his work table. I blame Santa for that. He never listens to me.
Here's a close up of each bin that's housed on the shelf above. I've broken them down into categories that my kids like but certainly if you have girls, you could do it differently :) I have nieces and grew up with two sisters so I know all about the pink stuff too!
We also have a pretty impressive set of toy tools which we keep in a Home Depot toolbox. It was only ten bucks and Luke likes that it's a REAL toolbox. We keep this in the bottom of his closet so that Jett can't use it as a stepping stool.
Jett's room is very small but he does have a second hand toy box with the farm, some baby tractors, his piano and some stuffed animals. Under his crib, we store our Thomas the Train stuff which I have separated into two baskets. One for trains and one for tracks. Sorry I didn't get a picture of that one. He also has quite a collection of books in his room which I'm working on organizing.
Here's 5 helpful tips for successful toy organization and thanks for sticking around for this long post!
1. Throw away all toys that are broken and not fixable.
2. Toss the junk. You know, the "Happy Meal" toys. Your kids will never know.
3. Pack away or donate things they have outgrown. Do this when they are not around.
4. Organize by category. Kid's love to play this way so why not make it easy for them!
5. Utilize every nook and cranny for storage. Under beds, closets, drawers, wall shelves, bins, etc.
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Grapefruit Love
You know those fashion bloggers that do the "day to night" ensembles? Well this is my version of "day to night" with grapefruit. Why? Well because February is National Grapefruit Month. Yeah, it was news to me too. But nonetheless, I really could eat grapefruit all.day.long.
Seriously, I love grapefruit. I love it's colors, it's taste, it's smell. I also love using a grapefruit spoon. It's dual purpose and efficiency make me happy.
And just in case you missed my grapefruit inspired cocktail, I shared it on the very stylish Society Social last month.
How about you? Are you a grapefruit fan? Do you like it plain or with a sprinkle of sugar? I like mine with a little sugar on top.
Monday, February 20, 2012
Black Eyed Pea and Quinoa Salad
This recipe was inspired by the historical Atlanta restaurant Mary Mac's Tea Room. Mary Mac's opened in 1945 and has been serving southern comfort food ever since.
My mother gifted me the Mary Mac's cookbook several years ago and slowly I'm getting around to trying more of the recipes other than the banana pudding. The Black Eyed Pea Salad is one of the healthier recipes so I decided to put my own twist on it by adding some quinoa.
The recipe served a large group and would be a good option for a potluck. As with many salads, it got better with time. You can see by my photo that tortilla chips eventually made an appearance.
So good....
Recipe: Blackeyed Pea and Quinoa Salad (adapted from Mary Mac's Tea Room)
Salad Ingredients
2 (15 oz.) cans Black Eyed Peas, drained
3 tbs. chopped fresh basil
2 red bell peppers, seeded and diced
2 green bell pepper, seeded and diced
1 cup quinoa, cooked
1/2 cup diced red onion
1 tsp. pepper
1/2 tsp. salt
For the dressing:
1/2 cup champagne vinegar
1/2 cup rice wine vinegar
1/3 cup vegetable oil
Instructions:
1. Combine vinegars and oil for the dressing and set aside.
2. In a separate large bowl, combine all the salad ingredients and toss.
3. Pour dressing over salad and stir. Chill for a minimum of 4 hours. Serve and enjoy.
Sunday, February 19, 2012
Friday, February 17, 2012
Life at its Finest
It's the simple things in life that make me happiest. A cup of hot tea, a good book and pretty notepad.
I made the boys a Valentine inspired bento box. I think my kids are the only ones on Earth who do not like strawberries. They're also not a fan of the fruit leather but I put it in there for festivities sake.
If there's one thing you do NOT want to happen while you're cooking dinner for your Valentine, it's setting off your fire alarm...twice. Maybe three times. The ole oven was due for a major cleaning and it got one this week.
I always love visiting my mom's house and watching the kids play with my old toys.
These Fashion Plates were one of my all time favorites! Did any of you discover an early love of fashion with this toy?
Hope y'all have a lovely weekend. I'm laying low while I continue to fight this little cold.
