On the Menu - {pinsperation}

I am quite certain that the majority of "My Seven" have heard of Pinterest, however, just in case you haven't I suggest you hop right on over and add "drooling over all of the creative and wonderful things other people have done or are planning to do" to your list of addictions. One of my favorite things about Pinterest is it inspires me to plan new and exciting meals for the family. As soon as I begin to peruse the food and drink boards I can't help but salivate over all of the deliciousness. Here are some of the pins who have won a spot on my weekly "Yummy Plan". Enjoy.

Pork, Kale, and White Bean Soup. I GREATLY overestimated the amount of Herb-Marinated Pork Tenderloin my family would eat last week. I cooked 2 tenderloins (totaling about 3lbs). Not only did we have them for dinner the night I made them, but again when I used left overs to make pork, caramelized onion, and provolone paninis and STILL we have an entire tenderloin left over!! So it's currently waiting in the freezer to be a part of this yummy winter soup.

Oven Baked Shrimp Scampi. We haven't had shrimp in a while and this sounds not only SUPER easy but SUPER yummy, so we'll give it a whirl. Served with a salad and some bread it should make a nice meal. :~) 

Creamy Southwest Chicken (for the crock-pot). I am going to really attempt to use my crock-pot at least once a week. Now that I have discovered the wonderfulness of crockpot liners, there is really no reason NOT to use it as much as possible. The recipe calls for serving this over rice, but I'm not a big fan of rice (unless wrapped in a nice sushi roll) so we are going to wrap it up in tortillas.

Catalina Taco Salad. This stuff is SO SO GOOD!!! I have Catalina dressing left over from the Catalina Chicken I made last week (not my favorite recipe), so that gave me an excuse to make this scrumptious salad. Yum! (Note: I use kidney beans instead of pinto and use no where NEAR the two onions called for in the recipe)

Now don't you want to head on over to pinterest and get some PINsperation?

18 Month Photos

I gotta tell you, Day 1 of the 18-month photo extravaganza did NOT go as planned! Does anything ever go as planned with three silly toddlers? Probably not. I expected the little ones to be nearly impossible to contain, to be looking everywhere but the camera and to run off a few thousand times, but I did NOT expect two of said silly toddlers to make the clever decision to dump water in their laps immediately prior to going out in the 40 degree weather for the photo shoot! Oh no, right? The sister-in-law and I were only able to muster up enough happy-boy-ness for a few pictures before the snot and tears (from MY boys) started flowing. Thank goodness cousin H is such a trooper! Here are the few decent shots from Day 1. The happy looking one, yeah, he's not mine. :~)

Turns out I didn't have time to get out for "Day 2" of the 18-month photo-shoot. Runny noses, low grade fevers and 18-month check-ups got in the way. Maybe we will get around to it this weekend, but in the meantime, how about some candid shots of some SMILEY boys!! Notice in one picture, E is sitting in the
dog food cabinet. It's apparently become a favorite hang-out spot for both boys. :~)

Burlap Flower Wreath and Family Bunting

I bet you thought I wasn't going to post today didn't you? Given my history, I can see why you would think this, but don't you feel just a teeny-tiny bit bad for doubting me? ;~) So, this week's project came about due to an excess of burlap laying around the house and my need to make a boring shelf a bit "prettier". I decided to use the burlap to make a hanging flower. I'm not going to post the tutorial, because it's been done a billion times and you can find it anywhere. I loosely used this no sew tutorial from Jones Design Company (LOVE!!!) but, I made the following changes: 1) I just cut out circles, no fancy flower shape, 2)I didn't put a pin on the back, and 3) I added the vintage button (really it was a clip-on earring I think) to the front. After hanging the flower, I felt that it looked a bit lonely just hanging there so I bought an embroidery hoop and wrapped it with twine and a bit of ribbon to make a skinny wreath. I then attached the flower (again with hot glue). Super easy.

The family bunting hanging below the shelf is kind of funny. I hung it up and decided I didn't really like the yellow color (because there was already yellow on the shelf). I didn't even notice that the Y was backwards until staring at it for a while and just feeling something else was "off". Nice. Anyway, I changed the colors and corrected my little mistake with the Y, and TADA!!!! If you so choose, you can get a free copy of the family bunting - here.

I still want to change a couple of things (read: the black podium thing and the copious amounts of dust on the mirror), but it's a start.  (PS - I know you are worried, but the home print is just taking a short break because I needed the frame.) ENJOY!

Monday Muchies - Meal Planning

I'll admit it. On any given week, you might find me in the grocery store three out of seven days. Prior to having "the littles" this wasn't really a big deal, nor was it a bad thing or a frustrating thing. I actually ENJOYED  going to the grocery store,  wandering through the isles, and searching for inspiration. Prior to the littles, you would find me, almost daily, salivating over recipes on my lunch break and envisioning dinner for the coming evening. We rarely ate the same thing twice, sure I had my favorites (coconut chicken, chicken parm, beef and bean chili....blah blah), but I truly loved love culinary experimentation. Since the boys have come along, it seems I am experimenting less and less (even though they will eat most things). I attribute this lack of kitchen creativity to a couple of things:

1) It just isn't easy or pleasurable to run to the store with twin toddlers, especially when there seems to be a shortage of carts which will accommodate TWO little guys who desperately need to be strapped in. Although, I am quite certain people revel in the comedic relief of watching me struggle through the isles with one baby in the Ergo and one in the cart, while BOTH are trying to thieve things off of the shelves, it would be nice if the experience were a bit more relaxed. :~)

2) I am horrible at meal planning. I actually LOOKED FORWARD to the daily meal planning and running to the store prior to preparing dinner for the evening. Unfortunately, that kind of spontaneity no longer has a place in our lives. Boooo.

So, I am going to try, like REALLY try, to make a weekly meal plan. A plan which allows for creativity AND helps us keep our collective family sanity. In addition to making meal time less stressful, planning ahead may also help to make meal time more healthy, which is good....I guess....if you like that kind of thing. :~) So far I am only planning for dinners (we can wing breakfast, lunch and snacks, right?), but maybe in the future I will become even MORE organized. I would like to present to you, my loyal followers, with this weeks meal plan, or "The Yummy Plan" if you will. Enjoy. (link to the blank plan and all main dish recipes follows the image)

If you would like to join me in meal planning, you can download the blank version of the Wordy Bird Designs "Yummy Plan" here. Our family's plan has been laminated and is proudly displayed on the fridge, where I can write/ erase to my heart's content.

This week's recipes: Pasta Bolognese, Catalina Chicken, Herb-Marinated Pork Tenderloin (left overs will be used for sandwiches, thanks Megan), and Beef Stroganoff.

Photo Friday - A Secret Revealed

In my attempt to become not only a better photographer, but to become better at processing my photos, I came across a little Photoshop secret, using action sets to "fix" photos. Action sets make it super simple to tweak your photos and bring out features that otherwise may have gone unnoticed with just the click of a button. A quick online search yields many many results for "photoshop actions" some are free, some are quite pricey. I actually have my eye set on this one, but I just can't justify paying for it quite yet. :~) I did, however find a really nice set through Bloom and Grow Photography which allows me to make my pictures look more refined and, well, pretty. Just to give you an example of what their actions can do, here are a couple of photos - first straight off the camera (SOTC - look at me using the "lingo") and then using some of the Bloom and Grow actions along with my own adjustments. I still have a lot to learn and even now I look at these pictures and I think, "hmmmm, I should have done....", but it's a start. Enjoy.

What I Made Wednesday - Thriftstore Purse Revival

In an attempt to keep up with blogging a bit more, I am really REALLY trying to find a way to become more organized (read: blog more) while still giving myself some breathing room. In addition, I would LOVE love LOVE to find a way to incorporate all of the activities that I, well, LOVE. I realized as of late that this space has become kind of a virtual mish-mash of all of the goings on in my life (recipes, photos, crafts, etc). It was seeming a bit disheveled, but I still liked it. I mean, who wants to have a one track mind, right? ;~) Any-whoo, here is what I am thinking: 

Monday - "Monday Munchies" - This is where I get to incorporate my love of cooking into the blog. Posts might include meal plans, recipes I like (or tried but didn't like), ways to organize family dinners, etc.

Wednesday - "What I Made Wednesday" - I loosely borrowed this idea from Lindsey over at The Pleated Poppy. She includes "What I WORE Wednesday" in her blog, BUT, since no one wants to see a photo collage of me in yoga pants every.single.week, this is where I am going to post about my latest "projects".

Friday - "Photo Friday" - I am NOT a photographer....at all, but, one of my goals for the year is to make the photos I do take BETTER and the best way to get better at anything is to practice, practice, practice. So, here is where I will share various photo snippets from our little world.

Now that the logistics are out of the way, I welcome you to read my FIRST "What I Made Wednesday". Enjoy

A while back, I picked up a sturdy, yet super 

ugly purse at the Salvation Army for right around

a dollar. When I saw the purse, I thought, "Hmm, I

think I may be able to do something with that!" 

So off I went to the fabric store (this is a no-sew

project, have I mentioned how much sewing scares me?). 

I purchased a quarter yard of jewel-toned fabric,

which I love, so warm and inviting, jewel-tones, and

promptly headed home.

This was really so easy. I laid the purse on the fabric,

traced around the edges with fabric marker, cut out the

fabric and then mod podged it to the purse with a

sponge brush. Yep, you heard me right I MOD-PODGED

the fabric straight onto the purse! Yay, no sewing!

I let the whole thing dry and VOILA, a "new" purse.

It really looks super cute with jeans, boots and a scarf

OR with yoga pants! (haha!)

  PS - I tend to enjoy ugly trendy purses, so you won't hurt my feelings if you are currently screaming "EWWWW!".   :~)

One of the Little Things I Love...

It's simple. I love pictures of my friends and family. I love seeing their smiling faces, if only for a moment, when I head into the kitchen or on my way up the stairs. THIS is why I just can't seem to make myself take down the holiday photo cards. They can be part of the year round decor, right?

Adventures in Cooking for Kids

I know this doesn't have much anything to do with design, but believe it or not, my days are spent mostly doing the normal stay at home mama activities (ie: cooking, cleaning, chasing kids, tripping over random toys, etc). Being that it is a new year, and most people jump on the "new year, new you" train I decided not only would I hop aboard, but I would drag my (mostly) willing family along with me. For me, this means the following: we joined the local community center and intend to use it and, maybe the most important change, we are planning meals and intend to actually cook them. :~) I'm not going to lie, not every.single.meal is going to be super healthy (read: Grandma's chicken spaghetti is tonight, which actually contains Velveeta, sorry all you "non-processed" people.), but they will be homemade and the hubs and I could use a little practice with portion control. So, just in case you want to jump on the healthy(er) train with us, I would like to share a bit of what I have already cooked or am planning to cook.

Veggie Muffins. Yum. I made these yesterday while the boys were napping. I halved the recipe except kept the broccoli the same (by accident). They turned out pretty well. I think they are delicious, the (little) boys, however, are not quite as impressed. They ate them, but with a definite "I know something is up with these" suspicion, which is strange considering they actually eat all of the ingredients under normal circumstances.

Baked Mozzarella Sticks. Again, yum. These were today's lunch. I thought there were QUITE yummy, but I do love me some fried baked cheese (who doesn't right?!). I changed the recipe a bit, in that I only used half of an eggroll wrapper for each stick (cut on the diagonal) and I brushed them with olive oil and sprinkled a bit of salt prior to baking. Yet again, these were more well received by yours truly than "the littles", granted little-E had been throwing a WHOPPER of a tantrum for a good 30 minutes prior to lunch, so he wasn't really in the eating mood. I was surprised by the lack of enthusiasm, normally cheese=good and dipping food=SUPER good!

Black Bean Burgers. These will be dinner tomorrow. Honestly, I don't make these enough. They are SO yummy and one of my all time favorite vegetarian recipes. I do absolutely nothing different with this recipe well, strike that, I think I have added corn a couple of times, but it's really quite good as is. I serve the burgers sans bun with sour cream, salsa and a side of store bought sweet potato fries, so SO good! Now, hopefully the littles will feel the same...sigh...toddlers.

A New Year, A New Design and A New Give Away

Much to the dismay of the Hubs, I have been spending a bit a lot of time today revamping my blog, you know, instead of cleaning up the piles of clothing and Legos which are currently decorating our space. I felt like the new year called for a new and exciting make-over (for the blog, although, I could use one as well). I am pretty happy with the initial changes, so we'll see how long it is before I feel the need to "redecorate". And, because I am still in the giving spirit, and because I want you to stick around, I am offering another print for download. The print fits in a standard 8 x 10 frame and will soon be adorning our mantle. Enjoy.

Download and Print Image Here

Project 12 - Resolution

Today, I am embarking on a new challenge. A challenge to take and edit photos fitting a given theme for each month in the year of 2012 (WOW! Did I just type 2012?!). I am by no means a photographer, but I have a desire to learn and grow, which has been inspired by the act of watching our boys learn and grow. This month's theme is "resolution" - which is to be interpreted any way I wish. Because it's January and the start of a new year, I chose to interpret resolution the old fashioned way, as a way of stating something I wish to do during the coming year. This month, my resolution is to take more time to PLAY. Enjoy.