5 years!

high fives all around for 5 years of marriage!

on september 1, dave & i celebrated our 5 year anniversary.  we decided not to go all out on anniversary gifts this year.  we were bummed out because my bff and her husband were going to mexico that week and invited us along- but we had no passports and most importantly no one to watch ian- so the trip was out of the question.  since we have not been on a real live vacation SINCE OUR HONEYMOON (so seriously stop talking about your 5th vacay of the summer everyone else), we decided that maybe we can save up for one...  but who are we kidding?  our priority is to get out of debt- and that means those student loans need to be paid off... so one day.  i also haven't seen aforementioned bff in, oh, 3.5 years.  we're not bitter...  ;)

so, of course, we say we aren't getting each other gifts and we do anyway...  i got dave a cd he wanted & he got me a new pepper grinder since the traditional 5 year anniversary gift is wood.  i told him his "wooden" gift would arrive on sept. 11 when the avett brothers' new album "the carpenter" come out... get it?

anyway, our friend offered to watch ian (which is perfect because they love each other dearly) so we could hit the town to celebrate our day.  we went to a local restaurant that we had never been to before that came highly recommended- and, man, was it good.  it was recommended because of it's crazy beer selection, but we fell in love with it because of the food/mission- everything is local- the meat, the bread, the veggies- heck, even the pickles.  all the food comes from farms located in various parts of illinois.  it's sustainable living at its best.  the food was amazing.  you could really tell everything was fresh.  yum.  if you live in this area- check it out!  dinner was amazing from start to finish & we were even feeling a little sentimental & split a piece of carrot cake for dessert (we had carrot cake as part of our wedding cake).  we then spent the rest of our evening at buy buy baby- so any cool points went out the window...

dress:  modcloth "good enough to premiere"

heels:  seychelles via amazon (can usually find a good deal there)!

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dinner by pinterest v. 3 aaand, winner winner.

dbp is back!  i'm ready to show a couple more delicious recipes that were made by yours truly.  

sweet chili lime chicken with cilantro couscous.

the mcfadden family loves couscous.  we are definitely fans.  this was so easy to make.  if you can boil liquid, you can make couscous.  the couscous cooks on its own while you cook the chicken, mix the glaze and then glaze the chicken.  very yummy and flavorful.  we served ours with szechuan green beans b\c we're eating more vegetables (successfully) this year!  can't wait to make this again!  pinned here.

slow cooker cilantro lime chicken

slow cookers are genius inventions.  they basically mean i don't have to do anything but throw a bunch of uncooked stuff in and then smell my dinner being cooked all day.  this one took 4 ingredients (5 if you want jalapenos) that you pour on top of chicken breasts.  plus, depending on what kind of salsa you choose- this could taste different every time you make it.  we used a corn & black bean salsa from archer farms.  the recipe suggested eating it alone, but we had leftover corn tortillas, so we made mini tacos.  pinned here.

 yummy tacos + a closer look!

and now for the moment you've all been waiting for (or at least 2 of you)... the winner of my sibu beauty giveaway is....  

congratulations julie!  you lucky girl!  email me!!!  

dinner by pinterest v. 2

so, my first edition of dbp seemed to be a hit, so i thought i'd do it again.  i'm always cooking- so much that i have a huge problem where i rarely make the same thing twice- even if there's something i make that i really love.  i've gotten a little better about pulling out the repeats- in fact, i've already made one of these meals twice, and i'll definitely be making it again...  bon appetit! 

crock pot buffalo chicken

if you have ever read the haps, you've probably seen mandy's post about making crock pot buffalo chicken.  this recipe is EVERYTHING it's been advertised as.  ah-maz-ing.  we've already made it twice, and each time we've made it, it's made so much food that it lasts us nearly a week!!!  it's only 3 ingredients...  chicken, a bottle of frank's red hot buffalo wing sauce, and hidden valley ranch dip mix.  the recipe calls for butter as well, but we've skipped that step both times and i've been really happy with it.  pinned from here...

so easy... 1.  add chicken (thawed or frozen) to crock pot and top with the sauce and dip mix.  crock on low for about 5-6 hours.  2.  with 30 minutes to go, remove chicken and shred.  3.  add back to the crock and let it absorb all the yumminess...  enjoy!  we had our sandwiches on filone bread- and i topped mine w\ crumbled bleu cheese.  one sandwich is usually enough- and i usually serve chips or a veggie as the side.  when we're all out of bread, we use the leftover meat to make a quesadilla with mozz & bleu cheese (for me).  the meat is a little spicy, but even ian enjoyed little bites of the chicken from our sandwiches.  

crock pot hawaiian bbq chicken

yet again another delicious recipe that i saw on the haps.  and again, so simple.  chicken, bottle of bbq sauce (any will do), a can of pineapple chunks and minute rice.  i don't normally buy minute rice, and i didn't feel like making regular rice, so we made sandwiches out of ours.  again, it's so easy- 1.  add the chicken, top with bbq sauce and the drained pineapple and cook on low 5-6 hours.  2.  with 30 minutes to go, remove the chicken, shred and add back to the crock to  soak up the sauce.  since i was too lazy to make rice, we had ours on hawaiian rolls (they have the buns).  the sweetness of  the rolls was just too much yummy.  we made the sandwiches until we were out of bread and then went the quesadilla route again- mozz cheese, bbq sauce mixed w\ a little ranch and the chicken... nom nom.  pinned from here!

and apparently i didn't take a photo of the deliciousness that was this sandwich... although i swear i did...  you'll just have to follow the links to deliciousness....  so you'll just have to imagine!

wish list friday: foods to make & bake

i love love love to cook.  there are a lot of things that i am mediocre at, but cooking is not one of them.  and while i have the occasional kitchen mishap, more times than not i am making something that makes me say, "dang, that is good."  i'll stop tooting my own baking/making horn and show you what's on my wish list of things that need to very quickly make their way to mah belly, or another reason pinterest should be called "fat-terest."

 looking at this list is causing me to gain weight

1.  homemade samoas - girl scout cookies are sold once a year so i don't eat a box week... but now you're telling me i can make them myself?  uh oh.
2.  buffalo chicken tacos - you had me at buffalo
3.  cilantro lime chickpea salad - i love salads like this.  it looks so fresh and yummy!!
4.  7-layer greek dip - welcome to the party in my mouth!
5.  christmas cake - a gorgeous, but simple cake from my friend maegan!!
6.  crockpot breakfast casserole - sounds like a great christmas morning meal
7.  malibu pina colada cupcakes with lime cream cheese frosting - love lime & coconut!
8.  creamy avocado salsa verde - combine 2 of my favorites + i love dips!
9.  gluten-free shirley temple cupcakes - these are just so pretty + they're gf!
10.  red velvet brownies with white chocolate buttercream - uh, yum.  love red velvet- although i used to despise it!

is your tummy growling yet... mine is...  : \  yummmm!

dinner by pinterest

so everyone else here loves pinterest, right?  right.  now that we have that cleared up.  i love pinterest.  i'm not full-on obsessed... yet, but there's a lot of love going on there.  pinterest is good for people like me who just aren't creative, even in the slightest.  i told my husband this weekend that the least southern thing about me was the fact that i couldn't diy to save my life.  i see a craft, or some cute project that is touted as "super easy" and i'll find a way to eff it up.  however, i can cook, and that tends to be something that has a 99% success rate in the mchousehold, and since pinterest is obviously plotting to make me a contestant on a future season of the biggest loser, i might as well start sharing the calories goods with the rest of you!

avocado grilled cheese (and i don't like grilled cheese sandwiches)!  pinned from here.

these were so simple.  bread, avocado, mozzarella & pepperoni.  i added sun dried tomatoes for an extra kick.  so yummy.  can't wait to have these again!

mexican chicken lime soup.  remember my 99% success rate?  this soup is the 1%. . .  i single-handedly ruined this soup by making it so spicy that my husband could hardly eat it (so that means, i couldn't even come close).  i make a lot of rachael ray meals (i do basically own every cookbook she has) & she uses chipotles in adobo sauce a lot.  i got sick of buying cans, using 1-2 peppers & having to throw the rest out.  so i started spooning the leftovers into ice cube trays, freezing them & taking a cube out each time i needed one.  it turns out i managed to pack 6 chipotles into 2 cubes.  the recipe called for 2 peppers + sauce.  i carelessly used both cubes.  i am still burning.  i ended up having to scrap the broth & just eat the chicken, veggies, chips & avocado (which was yummy, btw).  hot hot hot.  this can be easily fixed for next time!  pinned from here.

have you made anything (food or otherwise) that you've seen on pinterest?

catching up- mother's day & daddy's birthday

i'm proud to say that i'm only a week behind here!  hooray me.

last weekend was my 2nd mother's day!  it started out on thursday when i received beautiful flowers from my boys and it just kept getting better!  friday i got my gift since dave couldn't wait until sunday- i got a pair of havaianas fit- which brought a little bit of warm weather with them!  on saturday, ian was running a small temperature, so we gave him a light dose of tylenol & headed to see dave's sister & meet our new nephew, gavin who was born on may 4th! 

when we got home, we went out for mother's day dinner to beat the sunday crowds- i chose thai food again.  too bad ian still wasn't feeling great- and was pretty fussy @ dinner.  we ended up having to have our dinner boxed and to go since it's a pretty small restaurant and only had a few people in it.  i should probably get used to not seeing the inside of a restaurant for a while...  we took ian to dave's parent's house, finished our dinner and went to see a the wife of one of dave's friends sing with her band.  on the way home we stopped for a milkshake @ steak & shake- it was nice to have the time alone!  when we picked ian up, he was super hot.  he was running a temp around 103!  this time we gave him a full dose of tylenol and put him straight back to bed when we got home.  sunday morning my boys gave me a card and surprised me with pancakes in bed.  we then got ready & got cupcakes from the cupcake truck & headed to my in-law's house for lunch- ian seemed to be feeling much better, and had a good time playing around.  i got so many sweet texts and facebook messages- it was a nice, simple day.  here are a few mother's day themed photos.

 my mom & me

me with my mom & brother shortly after he is born.  seriously mom- how do you look this good.  i mean, seriously, you look amazing.  i need to know people's baby-havin' secrets...

me and my boy on mother's day.  love.

on tuesday we celebrated dave's 30th(!) birthday!  it was a bit of a crazy day for us- in the middle of the afternoon, i got a few frantic messages from various members of the family letting me know that dave's great aunt was stranded in chicago where she was connecting on her flight from seattle to visit dave's gma in ft. wayne.  she needed someone to pick her up & i was the only one available... and we've never met...  luckily, i found aunt connie quite easily and made it back to dave's parent's house with her.  we ended up having to skip the gym, but went out for our normal tuesday night dinner and back for cake- a cake made from scratch- by me!  we got home and gave dave his "gifts" (for the first time ever they had not arrived in time)- we went with the hard-to-find indians hat that he wanted from our cleveland trip, and a 3 month beer of the month club membership!  i even decorated the house and dave's car in honor of the big day!!

 delicious homemade carrot cake... and 2 sweet guys!

i've got it pretty good, even when i don't think i do.  ;)

happy monday!

mommy cooks: indian summer turkey chili

temperatures are getting colder here in the midwest.  it may be nearly 70 today, but it's not supposed to get over 40 as the week wears on, and i even heard the word "snow."  ::shudders::  to me, a perfect winter meal is a soup or chili- there's just something about the hot liquid that warms you right up.  to me, it's comfort food.  now, i make a mean chili, but we are trying to eat healthier, so we have been making a lot of meals with turkey meat instead of ground beef- turkey is a great replacement for beef in burgers, and it's the perfect meat for this awesome chili that's colorful and full of veggies!  enjoy!

indian summer turkey chili

courtesy of rachael ray's big orange book

3 T extra virgin olive oil

1 package ground turkey (i buy the leanest)

3 T dark chili powder

1 T grill seasoning

1 T cumin

2 T worcestershire sauce

2 T hot sauce

1 medium-large onion, chopped

2 large bell peppers, any color combination (orange, red, green, purple, yellow), ribs and seeds removed, chopped

3/4 cup of beer (alcohol cooks out)

1 28-oz can of tomato sauce

1/2 cup smoky bbq sauce

1 cups corn kernels

heat a pot over medium to medium-high heat.  add  evoo and the turkey.  season meat with chili powder, grill seasoning, cumin, worcestershire and hot sauce.  crumble up meat and let cook about 5 minutes.  chop the bell peppers and onion, reserving 1/4 of onion for topping chili, if desired.  add veggies to meat and cook 10 minutes more.  add beer and deglaze pan, scraping up drippings while the alcohol cooks off.  add tomato and bbq sauce, and bring to a bubble.  add corn.  let simmer for 10 minutes.  adjust to taste.  

chili toppers (use all or some according to what you like)

shredded cheese: white cheddar, colby jack, pepper jack

sliced jalapenos

salsas

sour cream

chopped onion

chopped green olives

chopped cilantro

diced tomato

(i love a little bit of cheese, sour cream, green olives and cilantro on mine)

awesome mom check-in

i'm not one for tooting my own horn, but i kicked some serious ass today/tonight. 

i'm on day 7 of the shred- and it's going well.  i'll admit, i didn't shred yesterday, as i had pregnancy-like tiredness.  btw, anytime i have a pregnancy like "symptom" i get really paranoid.  being pregnant is awesome- but this is neither the time or place.

after shredding and getting ready, we headed to the grocery store- we had been making just small trips while our friend was staying with us, and it was time for a real trip.  so we got our groceries, some new pillows for the bed, and a 5-piece patio set (in late august, yes).  after she had finished ringing everything up, the total was over $285- then we gave her our coupons... our new total- $202!!  we basically got the patio set for FREE!  The receipts at target always print what you saved and we saved $91!!  couponing = total pain in the butt that is so worth it!!

after we got home, i made dinner- which was pretty much a 6-dish meal!  coleslaw, shrimp tacos (husband grilled those for me), guacamole, mexican rice, black beans and apple bars w\ homemade whipped cream for dessert!!  i managed to do all of that in about an hour & 15 minutes.  it was awesome...  photo evidence:

in between all that i made baby food for ian:  plums and yellow squash- plus, i froze some canned pumpkin for him.  i had to put nectarines, peaches, and more peas & apples on hold for another day.  i can only do so much...

i'm off to pat myself on the back, and rest until tomorrow... which after all, is another day....

tra la, it's may (well, it was)

man, i love late spring/early summer.  there's always so much to do, and may didn't disappoint.  although it was crazier for us because of ian- and balancing schedules, we are just loving including him in the things we do in our lives!!

may is always the time for the mcfadden birthday blowout extravaganza!  we celebrate the birthday's in may (dave and his sister april), june (dave's sister shannon and me), father's day and mother's day.  everyone got their own cake this year (dave's mom makes everyone's favorite).  and i had a piece of each...  dirt cake, chocolate eclair cake, cheesecake and german chocolate cake (mmmm, now guess which cake is mine)

it's german chocolate!!!

as i had mentioned before, ian is in cloth diapers now, and he's in his crib!  his ability to move around has got him sleeping in some funny positions!

my family came up from georgia for memorial day weekend!  we had a really nice time with them, and they always enjoy seeing ian, of course!

we took a trip to the zoo

this guy was my favorite.  i sat by this exhibit for 10 minutes waiting on this, and he didn't disappoint!

we also had a family baby dedication for ian, and my niece, annabella.  it was really nice to share this great day with shannon and willie.  we also found out in may that shannon is expecting... again!  she is due in november... again!  1 year apart (or less).  i just couldn't do it!

we also introduced ian to the pool.  we're going to have to try that one again later...

on memorial day, we went to a little gem my sister in law kept telling me about, cantigny.  cantigny is 10 places in 1!  museums, botanical gardens, grilling and picnic areas, concerts, movies..  it was beautiful.  it definitely won't be the last trip we make there!  plus we have a new place to take guests that isn't a trek into the city.  we didn't even see half of it in the day we spent there!  i'm really glad we chose this place though because they have an amazing museum- the first division museum that goes through american history war by war.  i couldn't think of a better way to spend memorial day!

this flag was hanging in the stairwell of the museum.  i liked it because it has some familiar places stitched into it (notice kennesaw is incorrectly spelled)!

 

one of the many beautiful gardens of cantigny

i can only guess june is going to be just as spectacular as may was!!!

aww, shucks

aww, i received an award from a little green birdhouse! it's so nice to be thought of, and even nicer to know that people do read my blog! i also love her blog because she's a new mommy like me, and it's nice to know you aren't alone!

so you're supposed to post 7 fun facts about yourself. link back to the award giver. and give your own award(s). i really can't think of 7 fun facts about myself, but i'll try.

1. i love sports. pretty much all of them. i love watching baseball, college and pro football and hockey. i'm not really into basketball. i'm pretty sure i wooed my husband by having him name a city and the sport, and me naming the team mascot.

2. i have no idea what i want to do for a living. i have lots of interests, but nothing that i think i could do for the rest of my life- i guess i'm constantly craving changes. i've wanted to be about 100 different things. it makes me feel irresponsible.

3. i love to eat and i love trying new foods. before we moved to chicago, husband and i were on the "atlanta restaurant tour" with our friends jess & jay. we left too many restaurants on the list!

4. i love tcm, and i love classic movies. so much that i don't have much interest in movies that come out in the present. my favorite: gone with the wind, and audrey hepburn films.

5. i just saw on facebook that my former boss just participated in atlanta's great urban race. i checked it out, and now i'd really like to participate in chicago's race in july.

6. my mother-in-law got me hooked on vera bradley bags. i'm almost embarrassed to say that. i used to think they were hideous and now i love them. i'm going to the outlet sale for a 2nd time in 2 weeks.

7. my husband and i have been married for almost 3 years and together for 8 years. during the time we were dating we lived apart (me in atlanta, him in chicago) with the exception of 2 summers, and the last 2 months before we were married. we also split up twice- once initiated by him and then by me. we got back together for good after my grandfather died and he immediately flew down just for the funeral to be by my side. i realized then that he would always be there for me. thanks, granddaddy.

geez, it took forever to think of those things... so i'm tired as the funk now, and i'm going to nominate:

Wonderfully Random! K was in my 8th grade class with crazy mrs. cooper, so i've known her for quite a while. now she's expecting her first baby, a girl, in september. i think she'll be a wonderful mommy! she's also a wiener dog mommy, although i think her wd is much more behaved than ours.

easter sunday (trip to atlanta pt. 3)

last sunday was easter, and we were getting all gussied up for church. sadly, in the 11 weeks of my son's life we had not taken him to church once. in the beginning we were just too tired from waking up 2x or more a night, but he's been sleeping through the night now for going on 7 weeks (6 at easter). the one time we attempted to go to church (we usually went on saturday), we were never going to make it on time. plus, dave plays hockey on sunday, and they always have games at 9 AM (lame) or 2 PM. plus, with his gma being sick, we've spent a lot of sunday's in lincoln. i also don't really like the church we go to- i just can't get into the "mega-church" (come on, i already have about 2 friends up here, so like i want to go to a church with 10,000+ people where no one there knows that i even exist). these probably aren't good excuses, but that's what we have.

so, we finally made it to church. i woke, fed ian, got him dressed, and was forced to hand him over to my parents so he could go to sunday school. they just wanted to show him off, and i can't blame them because he is a cutie! he was quite dapper in his little easter outfit! this was nice, though, because it gave me time to eat, shower and dress myself without having to worry about what ian was doing, and whether he was going to wake up as soon as i turned the water on. we looked quite nice, husband and i. he gave me permission to buy a new easter dress because having a baby gives you a built-in excuse: "i can't wear any of my other dresses, so i need a new one." i got a pretty awesome dress, and then decided i needed a cardigan because i didn't realize they made strapless nursing bras until just now, and even still, i'm not sure that's a look that my boobs could really rock... i also got a belt, but a word to the post partum: you must even try on a belt before you buy it or you'll find yourself on easter morning trying to strap a s/m belt around your waist, when you really needed a l/xl, and then you want to cry because you're a fatty, but it's really because you just had a baby...

so we went to church (we were there early- omg). i don't remember much about the actual sermon. i had to take ian out halfway through the service to feed him, and then i attempted to get him to sleep the rest of the time. he made his way from my brother all the way down to my dad before it was over. afterward, i chatted with friends and people i knew, and listened to them tell me how cute my son is (duh), and i watched my brother's skank of an ex girlfriend like a hawk to make sure she didn't get her dirty mitts on my son (she didn't- she is probably afraid of me now because she hopefully knows how much i want to injure her for having her be in my wedding because she was like a sister to me, only to have her dump my brother a few months later- i have trouble letting things go).

after church, we headed home, had some family pictures made (it was a beautiful day, and the cherry trees in my parents' yard were amazing), and sat down to a delicious easter dinner. i napped for a bit, while dave worked on his school project (only 2 weeks left and he will have a masters degree- thank the Lord it'll be over). after we woke up, we were all trying to figure out what to do for dinner. my dad's cousin, jimmie has been staying with us, and as a former atlantan, she knows what's good, so we decided we'd head to the varsity for dinner. that place may kill me one day with its grease and whatnot, but it will be so worth it. chili dogs and frosted orange, i love you! once we got home it was sad time, which meant, time to start packing. i let everyone else have their cuddles with ian, and we got our suitcases packed, and put what we could in the car. i don't think ian could've had a better first easter!