dinner by pinterest v. 4

after our back to back trips i was glad to get back home and into the kitchen to cook!  although we had a pretty mild winter here, spring has been very slow coming around- this week finally seems to be the beginning of our true spring.  i sadly missed a gorgeous day inside the office at work- but such is life for most people.

here are a couple yummy recipes that i want to pass along to you...

cream cheese chicken chili

another simple recipe with only a few ingredients that cooks in the crockpot all day while you are free to do whatever you'd like!  can easily be vegetarian by omitting the chicken & added more veggies +  you can add spices to your taste.  my only complaint- it was a little salty for me (my taste buds can be sensitive to salty things), but next time i'll fix that by not adding the entire pack of ranch dressing mix.  overall- very tasty and a different take on chili.  pinned from here.

mongolian beef

 

yum yum.  this might be one of my favorite pinterest recipes ever!  it was super easy to make & really yummy!  we did some uncle ben's 90 second white rice with ours & some veggies & it was perfect!  we don't eat chinese out or in hardly ever & this was a perfect way to have some chinese food at home.  i might throw in a little broccoli next time for some extra veggie goodness!  make this!  pinned from here.

have you made either of these ?

steppin' out saturday: mother's day weekend

 on ian: top- target, jeans- sonoma, shoes- nike.  on me:  top- trinity (via zulily), jeans- old navy, sandals- urban outfitters, earrings- modcloth.

we took it easy this weekend.  we decided to have our mother's day dinner saturday night to avoid the crowds on sunday.  and while i named off about 50 places i really wanted to go- we decided to put those on a "date night" list & go somewhere family friendly so that ian would enjoy himself, which means we would enjoy ourselves.  sunday we all had breakfast in bed & i got to open my mother's day gifts- chocolates, a gift card to ulta (new makeup!!) a cd and some hello kitty workout headbands.  we lazed around for a while and then decided to head out for the day.  we had lunch at panera, took ian to target to get him a new car, played for a while at the neighborhood playground & then headed out for ice cream (sorbet for him, of course).  when we got home, ian napped while dave & i just relaxed.  when everyone was awake again we headed to dave's parent's house to have dinner.  i made sure to give my mom a call (they're in florida)!   after spending time with them we came home & crashed.  perfect days spending lots of meaningful time with my boys.

how was your mother's day?

tomorrow is a big day for us...  i am going back to work!  it's only 1 day a week, but i think it will be nice to have a few hours out of the house to get my work done and ian will make some new friends & have lots of fun.  we found a great place for him which i'm sure i'll talk more about later.  i'm so nervous, and a little sad.  as much as i want time to get my work done, i don't want to leave my boy this long.  so keep us in your thoughts tomorrow- but i'm sure everyone will be just fine!!

happy birthday

to you!

reviews: nuvia cafe instant coffee

i am a fair weather coffee fan.  i will drink it daily for weeks straight and then hardly touch it for months.  this drives dave crazy.  he hates coming home from work and seeing coffee still sitting in the pot, or even worse: half a cup of coffee or more in a mug.  the only time i will drink coffee it seems is when i buy it (probably something about paying for it) & if we're at a dinner or something.  instant coffee is more up my alley- but the taste leaves a lot to be desired.  with that being said- i was a little skeptical about nuvia cafe when i found out it was instant coffee- that's how i used to drink my coffee when i lived in my apartment without a coffee maker.  it. was. awful.  however- nuvia cafe doesn't taste like instant coffee- and it actually tastes better than the coffee we've been brewing at home (sorry dear)!  i was pleasantly surprised!  dave & i are both fans of strong-flavored coffee- and nuvia has a delicious bold taste- just the way i like it.

made up of only 4 ingredients: sumatran arabica coffee that is infused with african mango seed, pomegranate &  ganoderma (all certified 100% organic).  so you're probably wondering what those ingredients are, especially since nuvia cafe says they're instant healthy coffee.  ganoderma is an ancient asian mushroom that's been used in traditional chinese medicine.  the ganoderma mushroom is thought to have many healing benefits- immunity booster, anti-tumor effects, blood pressure lowering.  nuvia cafe also is a premium appetite suppressant & supports healthy energy.  i can't really speak for the appetite suppressant- since i work out during the day, i find myself pretty hungry throughout, but i do feel like it gives me good energy without an afternoon crash- and I can still sleep at night without feeling wired!

i'm sold on the taste of nuvia cafe alone, but add in these health benefits, and i'm hooked.  i'll definitely be carrying some nuvia cafe with me when i go back to work next week! 

nuvia cafe can be ordered online, ships the next day and comes with a 30 day money back guarantee!  also be sure to check them on out on twitter or facebook! 

I received a sample of the above product to try for free and keep in exchange for a review.  I received no further compensation.  All opinions are honest & my own.

wish list friday: mother's day

oh, how i love random holidays where i can get a present... not that mother's day is a random holiday- it's a tough job.  it's nice to feel appreciated about once a year too!  here's what i'm wishing for- holding out hopes for one thing!

a gift card, of course.

while we're on the subject of gift cards, i wouldn't mind one to ulta or to a salon so i could actually have someone cut my hair that doesn't' work at "great" clips- i wouldn't mind a salon coloring either!  ooh, or birch box (do they do gift cards?)

monogrammed necklace.  super sweet.

always, this mixer.  yes, still the mixer.

or this cookware.  love the blue. 

a concert would be fun too.  fiona apple, jason mraz, florence + the machine & the avett brothers are all playing relatively close to here.

or i could just snuggle with my little boy all day... but he won't let that happen!  moms (or not) what do you like to get or give for mother's day.  that reminds me that i need to send my mom's gift out too!!

mommy reads: drowning ruth

drowning ruth

lately i've kind of been coming & going with reading.  if i get involved in something too intense, i usually need to take a breather.  this happened after twilight and happened again after reading the hunger games (i guess i never reviewed those either).  i finished this book pretty quickly too, but life hasn't slowed down, therefore i haven't read since i finished it....

drowning ruth was picked for oprah's book club in 2000.  i honestly couldn't care less about what oprah thinks is a good book, but i was still drawn to the storyline.

drowning ruth takes place during wwi.  older sister amanda has just had a nervous breakdown & left her job as a nurse to head home to rural wisconsin for a break.  she goes to live with her sister mathilda & her daughter ruth (malthida's husband carl is fighting in france).  less than a year after amanda's arrival, mathilda is dead- she is found under the ice in a pond on their property.  when carl arrives home from france he finds ruth under amanda's tight grip.  the story is told by 2 narrators- amanda & ruth.  amanda alternates between past & present while ruth mostly tells about the present, but every now & then brings up the night she drowns.

i don't really want to go into too much detail b\c it would totally give the book away, but the entire time you're reading you're trying to figure out how mathilda drowns and the secrets that are uncovered along the way are pretty crazy- and will lead to the shocking truth about the night mathilda drowns.  i remember several times just stopping and saying "omg!"  it was an easy read & an enjoyable read.  i'd recommend it (i actually left it for my mom to read).

4/5!

anyone else read this?  thoughts?

easter weekend

we spent our 3rd easter week in atlanta in a few weeks ago and we had a blast, per usual.  our drive down went pretty well- it was actually the best ian has ever done on one of our trips.  there was minimal crying & screaming.  he was pretty content watching his movies ("monsers" (monsters, inc), "cool cars" (cars), "twains" (the little engine that could), gabba & george).  we made it in about 13 hours with 2 big stops, and ian took 2 really good naps.  on our last big stop, we turned off the dvd player, got him a little snack & told him it was time to rest & he could listen to the brothers and rest.  he actually fell asleep for a few hours- if it weren't for a stop for gas, he probably would've slept until we were at my mom & dad's house.

i was really excited to visit with my grandparents while we were in town.  they were hoping to make it up to visit us at my parent's house, but my grandmother ended up having to have surgery a couple weeks before and she was staying in a rehabilitation house.  ian was excited to see his "pop & gigi" too, although he had a hard time b\c he wasn't allowed to just run around and do whatever he wanted.

 ian and gigi (look at that sweet face)

 mommy, ian, pop & gigi

frustrated mommy, crying baby, pop & gigi.  my face is so full of concern.


that evening we took ian to see the easter bunny.  the photo speaks for itself.

ian likes the idea of the easter bunny- in fact, every time he sees the picture he gets all excited and says "bunny!!"  the bunny himself, not so much.

then we met friends for dinner at gladys & ron's chicken n waffles.  omg- delish.

love you heatha 4eva!

jacket: loft
top: modcloth bonbon voyage top
jeans: old navy rockstar jeggings (love them)
sandals: seychelles

since i already talked about coloring eggs and the hours of throwing the football, i'll skip right ahead to easter.  the easter bunny came to visit our family, and we headed to church at the horsepark for an easter egg hunt and the easter service.  

easter is so fun... but exhausting.

 little easter stud!

lots of easter egg hunting fun!

family photo time- notice how everyone is looking in the full family photo- it's an easter miracle!

 ian's easter outfit:  blazer, polo, pants, tie- target.  sandals- old navy

my outfit (i love, love, love this dress):  dress- modcloth (swapped).  belt- forever 21. wedges- seychelles

fun with uncles

my dad set the backyard on fire in the middle of the last round of the masters, much to everyone's dismay.  luckily, it went to a playoff and we didn't miss anything.

ian tried to learn how to escape from the packnplay.  he didn't.  thank goodness.  i'll have none of that back at home. 

there's always time for coffee, donuts, and wedding talk with a friend!

whew, atlanta trips are fun.. but exhausting.  we got back & were home for less than 24 hours before we were off on our next adventure... more on that to come later!