Family Room

Its been almost a year since we got our new Ikea section and we still love it! In this past year, I only washed the cushion slip covers twice. This is why I love gray slip covers so much! They hide all the stains, and believe me, we are not careful around this sofa, we watch TV, eat snacks and have drinks.

I ended up getting a new rug for this space. The rug I got last year was a pain to keep clean. You could see every stain and crumb on it, it drove me crazy. This is why I love jute rugs, they hide crumbs and little messes- a must have with little kids. 

I picked up a few new pillow covers from h&m (gotta love H&M prices) to freshen up the space for spring/summer and got a new palm plant for the corner. I love how bright and summery this space look now. 

-love this candle from h&m-

Thanks for visiting, 

Poppy Seed Muffins

There are two things I bake every week. Muffins and cookies. Muffins are quick and easy to make and they are something we can grab for a quick breakfast or as a snack.

 I have been alternating between my blueberry and strawberry muffins every week, which we all love, but I wanted to find a recipe for the perfect poppy seed muffin.   I have a tried a few and was always disappointed until I found this one. These muffins are delicious, moist and full of flavor. 

Recipe makes 24 muffins 

( I always freeze half, to have later)

Click to print recipe HERE

Ingredients

3 eggs

1 cup vegetable oil

1 1/2 cups milk

2 1/2 cups white sugar

1 1/2 tsp salt

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

2 TB poppy seeds

1 tsp almond extract

3 cups flour

sliced almonds

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Directions

1. Beat together the wet ingredients: eggs, vegetable oil, milk and almond extract.

1. Add the dry ingredients: sugar, salt, baking powder, flour and mix together. 
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3. Line muffin tins with muffins liners. Fill 3/4 full and sprinkle with sliced almonds. 

      Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes. The tops should be golden brown a toothpick inserted in 

      the enter should come out clean. Remove from oven and cool on wire racks. 

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2. Thanks for visiting, 

Pasta with Chicken & Sundried Tomatoes

I like making pasta dishes for dinner, because they are fast, easy and filling, plus my picky kids love eating almost any kind of pasta.  This pasta with sun-dried tomatoes and asiago cheese is so so so good ( I am not exaggerating) I will be putting  this recipe into my monthly menu rotation.  

The chicken breast is sauteed with garlic and sun dried tomatoes, and a creamy sauce is made in the same pot with half & half and asiago cheese. You can use a ziti or a penne pasta, both are perfect for the creamy sauce. You can also use a gluten free pasta if you prefer.

Print Recipe Here

Ingredients

• 1 8oz jar of sun-dried tomatoes in oil (sliced)
• 2 TB olive oil
• 1 lb chicken breast, chopped into small pieces
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• salt/pepper 
• paprika
• 1 1/2 cups half and half 
• 1 cup Asiago cheese, grated
• 8 oz penne pasta
• 2 cups fresh spinach

Instructions

1. In a large non stick skillet, heat 2 TB of olive oil, and add the jar of sliced sun dried tomatoes and minced garlic.  
2. Sauté for about 3 minutes, add chopped chicken breast to the sun-dried tomatoes and oil - season the chicken in the skillet with approximately 1 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp pepper and 1/2 tsp paprika. Sauté chicken until golden brown.
3. To the same skillet, with chicken and sun-dried tomatoes, add 1 1/2 cup of half and half and bring to boil. Add grated Asiago cheese and stir to melt the cheese. Reduce the heat from boil to simmer and continue stirring to make sure all cheese melts.  Taste the sauce and adjust seasoning to your liking.
4. Cook pasta according to package instructions and drain.
5. Add cooked pasta to the sauce. Add spinach, toss everything together. 

Enjoy!

Thanks for visiting, 

Strawberry picking

Today was busy. Today was exhausting. Today was perfect. 

I had no intention of going anywhere but grocery shopping today, so when my cousin's wife texted me saying that there are U pick strawberries not far from my house, I had to go.  I always end up missing strawberry season, most farms say that they are available to pick in June, well by the time June comes around, all the berries are gone. So I told myself we would just see, maybe buy a box or two. I grabbed the kids buckets "just in case" and piled everyone into the car. 

The kids were more then happy about going to a farm, especially to pick some berries. 

Well, when I got the the field, turns out that they only opened yesterday, score! They had freshly picked strawberries at the stand,  Sure, I could have just bought a box at the stand, but did I? (well I bought a box to give to my neighbor) but no, I had to drag everyone one across the field on a hot, sunny day to get our own strawberries. 

Em and Nico had a contest going, which one would fill up their bucket faster. What is it about that age? Everything has to be a contest? Then someone always gets upset because they don't want to be the looser, and then fights start..... sigh..... yeah......this can go on all day long, but they can't stay mad at each other for more then a few minutes, they absolutely adore each other. Nico misses Em while she is at school, and asks me a few times during the day, when is Em going to be home. He adores her, and she loves that. 

My two year old was a sweetheart, he is a total mommy's boy, always by my side. Today was no exception. He had to be in the same row as I was at all times, if I hopped over a row, he would follow me. He would point at ripe berries and tell me where to pick. Once he picked one, he would carefully inspect it and if it suited his standards, it went into his bucket. If not, he flung it with all his might across the fields saying "ay yai yai" It his new thing. He got it from me, when I change his diaper I would say "ay yai yai" which basically means oh boy.  So if something is dirty, broken, or if he has a dirty diaper, he comes up to me and says "ay yai yai". I think it is the cutest thing ever. 

Well, we went, we saw, we picked, we ate.  The kids were so excited to surprise daddy with their strawberries, and take a box to our neighbor. We will most likely go again soon, I want to get more berries for freezing and for making freezer jam. I love this season. I love spring. I love summer. I love warm and sunny days. Today was perfect. 

How beautiful are those berries? 

Thanks for visiting, 

Half Bath - updated

So I recently painted the bathroom. With stripes. Again. 

It was already striped, I just repainted them to get a fresh look. I alternated the stripes. It used to start and end with white, so the trims did not pop, now they pop against the gray. 

This half bath is so small, it doesn't even have room for a regular door. No kidding, there is a pocket door, which I do not love, but oh well. 

I know that striped walls are not as popular as they were once. I originally painted the half bath in 2012! (what?! its been 4 years?!) But I still love them in this bathroom. If the whole bathroom was gray, it would feel like a cave. Trust me, I tried that. Didn't like it one bit. When it was all white, It was boring. So stripes it is. 

I also had hubby put up these ikea shelves for me. Perfect place to store extra toilet paper and clean towels. I love them! 

This bathroom came a long way from where it was before - Can you believe that is the same bathroom?!

Thanks for visiting, 

Gardening with the kids...

Emily goes back to school tomorrow after a wonderful spring break. Her backpack is hanging downstairs, her pencil box is filled with new sharpened pencils and a fresh new eraser. Lunch is packed, and the dress she chose to wear tomorrow is folded on her dresser. As think about our spring break, I can't help but smile. Although, we didn't get to go on a family vacation, as I hoped we would, we still managed to have a nice spring break, filled with memories. We went to the zoo, the tulip farm, family bike rides, parks, multiple frozen yogurt runs and so on.  We spent the rest of the time we had in our back yard, the kids came up with new games daily, they were pirates one day and pioneers the next. As I watch them play, I can't help but think back to my childhood. I was blessed to grow up in a large family, we didn't have a TV, so most of our time was spent in pretend play. I remember hauling tons of toys outside and setting out our "houses" or "stores".  

Since we have been spending so much time outside, it was time to spruce up the yard. I loaded the kids into the SUV this morning and headed not to one, but two home and garden stores in order to get everything on my list. While the kids and I planted our garden, hubby built shelves in the shed and organized it. We brought out all our patio things and set everything up. The yard looks so great now, and we are looking forward to spending a lot of time out here. 

 Thanks for visiting,