Lesson Learned

So obviously I am not a big fan of blog challenges. 


I'm not really sure why I didn't keep up with it, maybe I wasn't interested in all the topics; but more than likely it's that I am too busy. Being a mother of two, one still an infant, my days are crazy. We literally are on the run, even if we are at home. By the end of the day all I want to do is make a club soda using my sodastream and watch at least one DVR'd show before I snooze. 


My philosophy is that if I get to stay at home with my kiddos then it should be an enriching environment. So we do craft activities, reading activities, writing activities, counting activities, lots of activities. Not all in one day, but definitely throughout the week we cover all those areas and more. 


Don't get me wrong, we have tons of fun and there is lots of time for baby boy's favorite show-Mickey Mouse Clubhouse-and time for the park with Daddy. 


But enough of that, today is the day to show your love how much you love them...well more than you do on a daily basis. Because YOU DO show them everyday, right? 


Today we will give Daddy his handmade card from the babies and then give him the brownies that we will make sometime this afternoon. 




These are the sweet treats we've already made...

For some reason cake pops and I don't get along too well, so cake BALLS and I are great friends. 

These are the sugar cookies with royal icing we made because Mommy needs all the practice she can get when it comes to working with royal icing.

And the greatest cookie of them all is this cookie that baby boy made at school. If I could save that cookie, yknow without all the mold and stuff, I would save it forever.

Hope your day is filled with lots of love (and gifts)....

Blog Challenge Day 3: Your Favorite Store

Today.Is.A.Doozy.


How can you ask someone who could shop as their profession what their favorite store is?


I mean, cmon.


Look, I have many, many, many favorites. Some for crafting, some for the kids, some for makeup, some for household goods, some online stores. I can shop EV-EH-REY-DAY. 


That should read...I DO shop everyday.


Here are some of my favorites in no particular order....


Urban Outfitters

One of my all-time favs is Urban Outfitters. What's not to like about a store that sells women's, men's and home goods? They also have great sales. GASP. In fact the one pictured is the one on Melrose; sister and I spent LOTS of time and LOTS of cash in THAT UO right there. I even worked at a UO while in college (yes their discount is pretty terrific.) Some of my favorite outfits and home accessories, to this day, have been and are from UO.




Michaels

My name is Elena. And I'm a craftaholic. Since I no longer have to do crazy Google searches that look like {blog about crafts; blogging crafts; crafty blogs} because of that great website you might have heard of? Pinterest? 
Yeah that one. 
My crafting has been taken to a new level because I don't spend all day looking for blogs that have craft tutorials. It's fantastic. And so now Michael's is a frequently frequented store. 


*I should add, that JoAnn Fabrics is also a fav. I browse and gawk at all the pretty fabric wishing I could do more with all the pretties I see.




Goodwill

I love thrift stores, not just the Goodwill. Thrifting, junking, whatever you call it, there are some gems out there. Back before retro and vintage were on the forefront of every woman's mind you could find some really awesome frocks from yesteryear, if for nothing else than a dress pattern. You can go to a vintage resale shop and pay like $100 bucks for what you can find on your own {with some elbow grease} for a buck.

*Speaking of vintage....Modcloth, Unique Vintage, Trashy Diva are some of the greatest sites for the vintage inspired shopper...

Pumpkin Patch

When I became a momma my love for finding cute clothing and stuff almost completely transferred to baby stuff. And this was the store that provided almost all of the items I clothed my kids with. 
WAS.
Yep. WAS. 
As of January 2012 they closed all of their American stores and will now only be found online or in Nordstrom. Now, let me tell you, shopping at Nordys isn't a problem, but I will sorely miss going to PP. Please come back and open just ONE store! Please????




Nordstrom

Did you see what I did right there? Smooth transition huh? 
Thank you college.
Well what more is there to say about Nordstrom? Lifelong shopper, since Dad used to take us to reward us for rewardable things, like, yknow, doing stuff. He instilled a love for fashion that sister and I have a love-love-hate relationship with. 




ETSY

Then there are those days where I'm looking for something specific or crafty or it's late and what do you do when it's late? 
ETSY.
That's what you do. Is there something that you can't find on ETSY? I'm not quite sure. 
Printable invitations, household goods, kids clothing too cute to stand, supplies. I'm getting dizzy just thinking about it all.
As a matter of facttttttt....I think I'll wrap this post up for now I have, ughhhh, stuff to do.




See you tomorrow for DAY 4!

Blog Challenge Day 2...No pictures but lots of Jalapeno Popper Dip.

Day 2 - Something You Ate Today

BlogFail. 

I didn't bother to check what Day 2 was all about so I didn't take a picture of anything I ate today. I DID take a picture of something I made yesterday. 

But before I get to that, I'll just quickly list what I made today. We started the day with Strawberry Stuffed French Toast which, by the way, I totally plan on sharing with you because it IS amazing. Since breakfast was so elaborate (for us at least) we had a simple Caprese Salad for lunch made with some of the tastiest heirloom tomatoes I've had recently.

But since you can't taste see any of the yummies we had today, let's get to what I DID take a picture of. And that is...

This Jalapeno Popper Dip is LISHUS! 

Baby boy's words not mine.

I made it for the first time a couple weeks ago for a little get together and let's just say people were helping themselves to heaping plates of this stuff before it was all gone. 

THAT GOOD!

I first saw this as a pin on that great site we all love...

http://pinterest.com/pin/268738302734174990/

(Follow me)

I followed his link to the site where he got his inspiration from and from there I made my own mods. Here is my recipe...

Jalapeno Popper Dip

FOR THE FILLING:

2 - 8 oz packages of cream cheese

3/4 cup mayo

1 - 4 oz can of diced green chilies

4 oz DRAINED jalapenos 

     (note: I get a good jar of jalapenos 

      so they are still crisp...no one like 

      a mushy pepper)

PLUS 1 tablespoon of the jalapeno juice

1 cup mexican blend shredded cheese

1/2 cup parmigiano reggiano

2 1/2 fresh jalapenos seeded and deveined*

FOR THE TOPPING:

1 cup panko bread crumbs

1/2 cup parmigiano reggiano

3/4 stick butter

Take all of the filling ingredients, toss them in a bowl, mash them up with a fork. 

Pour into a casserole dish.

Melt the butter for the topping, add the panko and cheese and then crumble it on top of the filling.

Place in a preheated 375 degree oven and bake for 30 minutes or until the crust is nice and golden.

*(If you like your stuff REALLY spicy leave them be, but for myself, I WEAR GLOVES (you don't want to touch your eyes after handling these...TRUST ME) and then I cut the peppers in half scoop out the seeds and veins because ALL of the heat in a pepper resides right there. )

*(P.S.S. or was it P.P.S (?)the reason I'm being a little bit on the obsessive side over draining the jarred peppers and then adding 1 tablespoon, is so that you don't have a runny dip. It has happened. True story.) 

Rip open a bag of tortilla chips (we like Trader Joe's tortilla rounds) and >>>>>

ENJOY!

OH! And tell me what you think!

30 Day Challenge

So while I ready some pictures of crafts and baking recipes I want to share with you, I thought to myself that I'd do one of those blog challenges. I figure it'll give me a great way to break the ice, so to speak. So here goes nothing....

So the first part of the challenge is to post a recent picture of myself.


After scouring my laptop I just could not find a picture of JUST myself. All of my pictures have at least one member of my family, immediate and the (more immediate) extended. And you know what? I am totally fine with that. I LOVE my family. I get to stay work at home with my kids and watch their little changes every single day. Sure some days it can get crazy and it can get hard, but there has never been a day that ended without me looking forward to the next day.
Anyways, enough of that sweet stuff...


I suppose it's a little early to discuss how my day has been so far...But it's 9 am and when I woke up at 7 I felt like I had slept in til 10. But it is Saturday and that means busy days here in our household; between playing with our kiddos, family time, husband time, work time, business time, mix that in with a healthy dose of Pinterest and officially-turning-this-house-upside-down-in-hopes-of-finding-my-D&G-eyeglasses time, our day is definitely going to be FULL, but I have no doubt that there will be lots of laughter and fun all throughout our day. 


See you tomorrow for Day 2 of this 30 Day Challenge! 

Pause.Rewind.StartOver.

So here goes, attempt number 5? number 6?


Whatever, this isn't my first attempt at reentry into bloglandia. Each time, I'll sit in front of my laptop, coffee in hand and as I start contemplating what I want to focus on (motherhood, life as a military wife, crafting, baking), what will be the first few blogs, and all sorts of questions, well in that time that I spend pondering those things I'll slowly close my laptop and decide I need a focus before I continue any further.


Yes, I overthink things.


But here's what struck me. Why do I need a focus?


Because in reality, when you're a mother and a Marine wife, you learn to be many things-sometimes all at once. If my blog is supposed to be a microcosm of all the things that make me, well ME, then this blog will have to deal with motherhood, life as a Marine wife, crafting, baking and whatever else strikes my fancy at the moment.


First and foremost, I am a mother. My children are the 2 things that I never realized how much I needed, until I had them. Now, I could not imagine my life without them, I can not imagine a morning without being woken up at hours I used to despise, but hours that are fun now because of these 2 little beings. They are singlehandedly the greatest things I have ever done.


I am a Marine wife. This Fall we welcomed my husband home from another Afghanistan deployment. A patient man, I am lucky that I found one who can deal with the craziness that is me. We've been to almost every state in the country and with any luck will check all 50 off sooner rather than later. And the best part about being a crafty gal is getting married to a handy dude. Really, is there anything sexier than a man ankles deep in sawdust, making things with big power tools? Well there are men that carry big guns....I'm a lucky gal, I know.

This is us welcoming Daddy home and introducing him to BabyGirl.

I craft and bake. Religiously. Almost daily-well at least I craft everyday. I've always enjoyed to bake, but I've never baked from scratch and with as many different recipes as I have over the past couple years. Crafting is a relatively new hobby. I used to be a craft-envier. I would browse the isles of Michael's and secretly curse those who could do something with all this stuff. Now I'm on the other side of the mirror, so to speak, and I love it. One thing about my husband and myself is that we can't sit idly by, even at the end of a long day. So my release is grabbing a craft after the kids are in bed and relaxing.


Anyways, long story....long. I hope that you will enjoy this ride with me as I explore all the things that make me, me.


Tootles!