halloween & thanksgiving. together as one.

Better late than never?

Since all the trick-or-treating was held the evening of Connor's party, the boys never got to do anything "real."  We dressed them up and took them down to our neighbors' house (fortunately she had some candy!)

Connor is obsessed with puffs.  They kind of make me sick, so I only get them for special occasions...

Happy Halloween, two months late!

As I said in a previous post, I was really excited to host Thanksgiving for my family this year (not).  Even that morning I sent a text to my sister that said something like I don't want to host stupid Thanksgiving.  But much to my delight, it ended up working out great.  My mom, sister and grandma did most of the work - all I had to do was have a clean bathroom and have a table set for nine.

Once again, the TomKat studio came through with free printables which is where I found the banner and the framed picture.  Big Lots for the win on the acorns.

Rosemary-sprig place cards.

They love each other.

Happy Thanksgiving, one month late!

merry christmas!

From mine to yours!

it's happening: Whole30

As I stepped out of the shower and glanced at myself in the mirror that evening, a lightbulb went off.  Eh, more like a skillet over my head.  ::BAM!!!!!::  Then my inner voice...

What is wrong with you, woman?  GET A GRIP!  Just because you have birthed two children doesn't mean you are "allowed" to have a body like this!  Control yourself!  Get some self discipline!  Get that rocking body BACK!  What do you want to weigh?  That's right!  One hundred and SEXY.

The decision was made on a Friday, I prepared on Saturday and Sunday.  I started on Monday.

It's Tuesday.

This is the start of my journey down the path to healthy eating habits, self discipline, and a new perspective on food.

Have you heard of Whole30?  Thirty days of no dairy, no grain, no sugar, no preservatives, and no alcohol.  Sounds pleasant, right?

The "whole" point (haha) is not for weight loss, although people do lose weight (and numerous inches).  It's about giving yourself a nutritional "reset."  After reading through heaps of testimonials, people say it has changed their entire viewpoint on food.  It's changed their relationships.  It's changed their confidence.  It's even rectified issues such as diabetes, depression, anxiety, acne and other skin conditions.  And the people always seem so happy.  

So here's the skinny on my end.

Past challenges:  

• Drive thrus.  Hot chocolates, egg & cheese bagels, frappucinos, nuggets.  You name it, I picked it up (almost daily).
• Stress.  When I'd get to a breaking point with the boys I'd scarf a bowl of cereal and it made me feel better.  Until it didn't.  
• Feeding a family.  I have three other mouths to feed besides my own, so how will I manage self discipline at home?  Although I am a "well behaved" grocery shopper and my family eats fairly well, I refuse to stop giving the boys their few m&m's for dessert, so those items will still be in the cupboard.   

Reasons for implementing this program:  

• I want to feel comfortable in my skin.  
• I want to get back into a bikini.  
• I want to not feel three months preggo all the time.  
• I have terrible eczema on my arms and hands this fall (worst since I was 14!) - I want to see if it will clear up on it's own without medication.

Upsides:

• I got my hubby on board with me!  WOOT WOOT, RAISE THE ROOF, ALLELUIA.  Jeff's doing a "loose" Whole30.  Example:  He's using a low-carb Italian dressing instead of my homemade ones, and I didn't pay attention this morning but he probably put sugar and milk into his coffee...
• My amazing friend (and co-worker) Lori is also doing this with me!  Truly, if it weren't for her to bounce feelings/complaints/fears off of, I don't know that I could do it.  She's a vegetarian so our meal plans are quite a bit different - I actually enjoy our late-night texts about the dinners we made and the reality that she wants to cheat with a cookie and I want to cheat with a glass of wine.  

How did I get started?  

• I read and re-read practically every shopping list, testimonial, rule and recipe on the Whole30 website.  I was immensely excited and even more nervous all at the same time.
• I committed.
• I made a shopping list and a meal plan.  Little Coconutty has a really cute menu planner that I printed out on cardstock.  Trust me, really cute things matter when I'm unable to have pasta primavera.  
• Instagram has an astounding world of support.  My favorites so far are @littlecoconutty, @bitsofbbskitchen, @whole30, and #whole30recipes.  
• I went grocery shopping.  It sucked.  While keeping the boys from jumping out of the cart, I read every single label.  Everything has sugar.  Forget it with the processed salad dressings.  
• I cooked.  Sunday was spent chopping and preparing for the week and it was highly extensive.  Even Jeff commented that I had been in the kitchen for hours.  I made a paleo asparagus & egg strata for the week's breakfast, a homemade balsamic vinaigrette for the week's lunches at work, and put a roast in the crockpot for the week's dinners.  It was exhausting.
• Finally it was time for us to start!

My goal is to update the blog each week on my progress.  I already feel a difference and cannot wait to share!

all about yours truly

If you're a girl (born in the 80's), you know you remember those books we filled in for each other.

Who's your celebrity crush?  

If you could do any job in the world, what would you do?

They were s-o-m-u-c-h-f-u-n.  It was the perfect way to capitalize on our narcissistic ways, and to learn more about our friends and how weird they were.

As an adult, I thought this might help me remember that I'm still a girl.  That I still have a personality with likes and dislikes.  And that I'm still cool.

Without further ado, my reflections on teenage questions.

• Last person you talked to?  Patrick
• Last thing you ate?  #4 from Jimmy Johns
• Favorite clothing item you ever bought?  A gorgeous cream mini skirt with black stitching.  Ann Taylor Loft circa 2004.
• Favorite subject?  Right now, it's obviously science.  In high school?  Probably English because I was a boss at grammar.  In college?  Political Science, hands down.  My professor was so hawt. 
• How many times have you been to Disney?  Two.  
• Speaking of Disney, who is your favorite princess?  Cinderella.  Have you seen this trailer?  March can't come soon enough.
• Would you go to a Justin Bieber concert if you had free tickets?  Heck yes.
• Do you wake up with an alarm clock?  Yes, it's three foot tall and wears fleece footie pajamas.
• Ever cried in public?  Yep, at just about every commercial.  Also, my senior year on the opening night of our musical (March 21, 2003), the entire cast sang Happy Birthday to me and it was one of the happiest moments of my life.
• What do you hope your job is in ten years?  I want to work at a university teaching future teachers.  
• Would you ever wear flare jeans?  Okay this is hilarious.  It used to be: Would you ever wear skinny jeans?  And yes, I wear both. 
• Favorite store?  Target. 
• Do you google abbreviations you don't understand?  Oh yes.  My students say "TBH."  I guess it means "to be honest."
• Do you want to lose weight?  Sure, why not?  Is it on my mind a lot?  No.
• Anything on your body you're self conscious of?  Not really.  If I had to say something, it'd be my bumpy nails.  #heredityprobs
• Would you say you read into things too much?  Not at all.  If anything, I don't read into them enough.  I let things go easily.
• Ever liked someone WAY older than you?  Ummm...see "professor" above.
• Must-have beauty items:  eyebrow pencil & blush
• What body part do you wash first?  Hair
• What's something weird that you like?  Flossing, Jets
• Favorites...
• Ice cream flavor:  mint chocolate chip
• Instrument:  I used to play the flute, but to listen to?  Piano or violin.
• Animal:  Lion or Sloth
• Country you've been to:  Out of Canada, France and England...I'd have to say Canada.
• Actor:  Leonardo DiCaprio
• Actress:  Got to be Jennifer Lawrence.  But I just saw Mockingjay last night so I'm partial.
• Music video:  Ah!  There are so many.  I really love Shania Twain - Man! I feel like a woman, Taylor Swift - Mine,  Many Moore - Cry, Dierks Bentley - Come a Little Closer, Aerosmith - Cryin', the list goes on and on
• Drink at Starbucks:  Salted Caramel Frapp
• Time of day:  Dusk
• Restaurant:  Anything local.  Must have great food, beer on tap, and my husband next to me.
• TV Show:  Seldom watch, but either Jeopardy or Big Bang 
• Color:  Green

And just for good measure...

Celebrity crush:  Shia LaBeouf, Gerard Butler, either of the Hemsworth boys...

If you could do any job in the world, what would you do?  I'd be Cinderella at Disney.  Something about the blonde hair, the black headband and the blue dress.  Oh, and the prince.  Perfection.

connor's 1st birthday party

Have I mentioned that I'm sick of throwing parties?  Have I also mentioned that I'm the lucky host of Thanksgiving next week?

This one had me so stressed I almost ralphed before everyone got there.  

Apart from the negativity, though, it was a great party.  As always!  We have some amazing family and friends - my boys are always showered with so much love.

I pinter-est-ed it up with this party - just about everything you see has already been done by someone with much more time on their hands (not to mention much more imagination).

What better fall food than chili?  And two-fer-a-dollar fritos?

The only food it seems I'm able to make at parties is soup, something I can make ahead of time and throw in a crockpot.  I used an all-purpose chili recipe, nothing fancy at all...meat, beans, tomatoes, pre-made seasoning packet.  You guys, it was really really good.  I had all the fixings for chili dogs & chili nachos as well.

Check out the burlap around the appalling crockpot.  (Pinterest, not me.)  After thinking about where I was going to get all these dumb crafty things I headed over to Walmart, my archenemy.  Have you even been there lately?  They have it all!  Striped straws, rolls of burlap, chalkboard signs, errrrrthing.  I never thought I'd say "Walmart for the win" but there it is.

All the other paper products and such came from Target, obvi.

You know how I'm always trying to make a fabulous cake for my kids' parties?  This fluffy white cake with whipped vanilla bean frosting was pretty good, but a little....different?  I made the cakes ahead of time and had them in the fridge a couple of days - I really think that took away from the flavor, but the frosting was wonderful.  Did you know that one vanilla bean costs $4.98 at the grocery?  Being the scientist that I am, I did some light reading (yeah right, you know I printed out pages of research to present to my students) and found that it's the second most expensive spice after saffron because of how labor-intensive it is to grow the seed pods.  

For the mini cake bunting I used the same printable template from TomKat Studio that I used for Patrick's 2nd birthday party.  I mean, these people that give out free printables are like saints.

The white cake plate was a new purchase, and one I didn't want to make.

A couple days before the party the boys broke my absolute favorite glass cake plate AND the lid.  It was a wedding present, so I was pretty devastated.  And by pretty devastated I mean I finally broke down and bawled like a baby about all my nice stuff being ruined by these kids.  Dammmmmit.  In all fairness, though, I had the cake plate on the lowest shelf in our pantry...

This pallet display of monthlies was my inspiration for the entire party - isn't it the coolest?!  Jeff brought the pallet from the farm, I used basic poster paint and a square-tipped paintbrush for the "Connor Is One," I bought small squares of fabric from our local fabric store, cut them into triangles and taped them over with temporary sewing tape.  It probably took two hours total to construct.  And the next 48 hours to keep it from being torn apart by the birthday boy.

PS - Have you seen all the amazing things you can do with refurbished pallets?  Just search that up on Pinterest.  It's incredible.

Don't forget your balloons - those things keep kids entertained for like 30 minutes.

This is me being more excited than Connor about the blanket my sister sewed for him.  I am obsessed with the colors and everything else about it.  Thanks sooooooo much Aunt Linds!

This piece of crap airplane was the biggest hit for the boys.  The wings go up and down, the propeller spins and lights up, it talks to you - it was super fun until the batteries ran out one week later.  Way to go, Target.  (Has anyone else found that their toy section totally sucks?)

Crushed it.

Great baby boy, great party, great family.  Happiest of birthdays, my little super star!




//invitations via

wendy's bridal shower

My friend Wendy (from high school) got married a few weekends ago.  It was a freezing November 1st, but it was such a fun day!  Since I was a bridesmaid, I threw the bridal shower (with some help from Wendy's family).  

It turned out to be a great party full of laughs and family jokes.  It's so funny seeing how other families interact - this family's interactions were hilarious.  Wendy's cousins were so mean to each other, but no one got offended.  I love it when you don't have to step on eggshells around your family.  Amen, amiright?  (PS - I don't have that kind of family.  Everyone gets pissed and stomps out like a three year old.  Don't be jealous.)

Wendy's sister made these bride & groom pumpkins and I copied threw together a chalkboard sign.  I messed up the first time around and tried erasing, but gee whiz, why would a chalkboard erase?   I ended up having to use black construction paper.

I've said it before and I'll say it again:  alcohol is the key ingredient to a fun party, regardless of the type of party.  I made two versions of apple punch - one regular and one with champagne.  It was amazing and not super strong.  I didn't want people jumping off tables or saying how they really felt about the groom.

You can see I used rolls of packaging paper as my tablecloths.  Best.  Idea.  Ever.  I was then able to use a sharpie directly on the paper to label the food & drinks.  I hate labels.

Apple Orchard Punch

1 (32 fl oz) bottle of apple juice, chilled

1 (12 fl oz) frozen cranberry juice concentrate

1 cup orange juice

1 1/2 liters ginger ale

1 apple (sliced horizontally and placed on top)

(For the adult punch, use a bottle of champagne in place of the ginger ale.  Also, I totally would have doubled the punch with alcohol.  You can see in my punch bowl that the recipe doesn't yield a whole lot.)

My centerpieces were so simple and consisted of things I already had (bonus!).  Mason jars, field corn, twine and votives.  Next time I will use larger jars - these felt lost in the large room.

At each place setting I had a bag of this delicious trail mix.  All the guests were chowing down on it while Wendy opened her gifts, so they weren't bored and waiting around.

It doesn't look exceptionally appetizing, but this pumpkin pie was the highlight of the party.  I happened to be obsessed with pumpkin pie, so having these baking the whole day prior to the party pretty much made my day.  I did end up making the dough the weekend before the party and just put it in the freezer until a day before.  It only takes a few hours to thaw out.

My neighbor had cooked down pumpkin from Jeff's pie pumpkin patch, she added all the spices and canned it.  She gave me four cans of it - all I had to add was the evaporated milk and the sugar.

It seems easy, but ya'll.  This was tough.  Patrick helped me roll out the dough and mix all the ingredients.  My kitchen was an effing disaster.  Patrick's entire body was covered in flour.  But hey, we made memories right?

The only thing I'd do different next time would be to bake the pies in a ceramic pie plate rather than aluminum.  Each pie took almost two hours to bake (I did two at a time) but it seemed like an eternity.  Seriously, with the prep and the clean up, the pie baking took the entire day prior to the party.  I'd say it was worth it though!

I bowed out of making my own whipping cream (which I typically do) this time.  I bought a couple cans of Reddi-whip and set them out for the guests to use.

Wendy was a beautiful, blushing bride-to-be the whole time.  She was so thankful and grateful for all the hard work put into it, but gosh.  Don't ask me to throw another one ever for a couple years.


xoxo, love you girl!


//invitations via