A Mexican Fiesta

It’s been a fiesta at Casa de Havens!

It’s no secret my family loves Mexican. Baileigh only eats a handful of things, but she loves quesadillas. That may or may not be from the copious amount of Pancheros I ate while pregnant with her. My mom loves Mexican food too. Every time her and my dad come up to Dubuque to visit us, we will go to Los Aztecas or Salsas. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree...

We make some sort of Mexican food on a weekly basis. Enchiladas, fajitas, quesadillas, etc. Lately I have also been pretty obsessed with avocados, which feeds into my obsession with making Mexican food. 

The last 2 weeks we have made 3 new Mexican meals. Two for dinner and one for breakfast.  I already posted the Chicken + Black Bean Enchiladas recipe, so here are the other two!

The real reason I keep up with the blog is to post recipes we loved, so I can remember them, and go back to them in the future. My Pinterest boards are overflowing with recipes, as are my recipes books at home. I need a place to throw all my favorites so I can come back and search for them. (I do need to work on “tagging” my posts more if I want to make this easier!)

 First off, a recipe I developed myself!

Southwest Chorizo Breakfast Hash

Serves 2

1 small russet potato

1 small sweet potato

1-2 cloves of garlic

Montreal Seasoning

salt + pepper

1 ½ tbsp olive or canola oil

¼ c chopped onion

½ small jalapeno (seeds removed)

5 oz ground pork chorizo (Hy-Vee sells it in a 10oz roll. We used half and froze the rest)

4 eggs

2-3 oz pepper jack cheese (shredded)
Optional toppings: salsa, pico de gallo, sour cream + avocado

Using my new favorite skillet from Pampered Chef. Amazing! Look how delicious those potatoes look!

1. Wash and dice up the potatoes (with skin) Heat up a large skillet to medium. Saute the onions and jalapeno in the oil for 3 minutes or until soft. Add the fresh garlic and the potatoes. Cook uncovered for 15-20 minutes (until soft and crispy), stirring every so often. Season with salt, pepper and Montreal seasoning.
2. In a small skillet, brown the chorizo on med-high heat until cooked thoroughly. Set aside.
3. Once the potatoes and chorizo are done, cook the eggs, two at a time, to your preference. (We like our eggs cooked over easy)
4. Assemble the hash! Place the potatoes down first, then half of the chorizo, top with shredded cheese and finish with the eggs on top! I like to throw it all in the microwave for a couple minutes to melt the cheese, but the hot eggs may do that too!
5. Finish with your toppings!

Doesn't it look delicious!?

Thoughts—This was DELICIOUS! The potatoes were a little crispy, the chorizo was flavorful and the eggs made it breakfast-y! (Ha!) It was delicious and easy to make.  We will certainly make it again!

The next recipe was a pinterest find, from the blog Peas and Crayons. Something about the recipe completely intrigued me. I don’t cook vegetarian meals very often. My husband loves meat and it takes the right vegetarian meal for him to “feel full.” Personally, I think it’s all in his head! (I’m pretty sure he doesn't read this, so I’m in the clear!) Nonetheless, this recipes lived up to what I thought it could be. Delicious, full of flavor + texture, and filling! I wonder how often I can sneak in more vegetarian meals like this?

Black Bean + Sweet Potato FlautasSlightly adapted from Peas and Crayons

​11-12 corn tortillas

1 can black beans

1 can jalapeno-corn 

1 small/medium sweet potato

1 small red pepper, diced

1/2 tsp chili powder

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp dried or fresh cilantro

1/2 tsp cumin

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

2oz  cream cheese

4-6 ounces of pepper jack cheese (grated)

3 tbsp of enchilada sauce

olive oil

Optional toppings: 

cilantro, salsa, guacamole avocado, jalapenos + sour cream

1. Pre-heat your oven to 425F.  
2. Poke a few holes in your sweet potato, wrap it in a slightly damp paper towel, and microwave on high for about 6-8 minutes.
3. While the potato is cooking, mix together the veggies, black beans and garlic powder, chili powder, cumin, cilantro, cayenne, and enchilada sauce
4. Scoop out the inside of the potato and add it to your veggies. Mix in the cream cheese. Season with salt and pepper.
5. Next wrap your corn tortillas in a damp paper towel and microwave on high for 30 seconds. I usually do about 4-5 at a time.This softens the tortilla so it's easier to roll.
6. Spray or rub one side of the tortilla with oil and add veggie filling to the center of the "dry side" of the tortilla.
7. Top it off with a layer of cheese and roll the tortilla. 
8. Place on a wire baking/cooling rack and seal with a toothpick. Place the baking rack on top of a cookie sheet lined with foil. (This helps the fautas crisp up on both sides.)
9. Repeat these steps until you have used all of the filling. Use a silicone brush to brush just a little more oil onto the rolled flauta.
10. Bake on the middle rack, at 425F, for 15-20 minutes.
11. Finish with your optional toppings!

This is the only photo I took. I was too anxious to EAT! Check out Peas and Crayons post for much better photos!

Thoughts: These were incredible! So flavor and SO filling! I ate leftovers the next day for lunch too. They didn't stay crispy because I microwaved them, but then were still tasty! Make these today!

I have one more Mexican recipe but I'll save it for another post. This post is already getting pretty long!

Shamrock Sugar Cookies with Royal Icing

I have a small collection of cookie cutters. They are cute and hang under a shelf in our kitchen. However, I’ll admit, I rarely bake sugar cookies. I never wanted to make up a bunch of colored frosting  pipe designs on them and have a cookie with way too much frosting. Recently I read a post at one of my favorite blogs, Annie’s Eats, that had a tutorial on royal icing. It looked pretty simple. You whip up the frosting in the mixer, pour some into a piping bag, pipe around the edges of the cookie and let it harden. Then, you water down some of the icing, pour it onto the cookie, and use a tooth pick to help it spread out.  It looked easy enough, but you never know! I tested it out back in February when I made the heart sugar cookies. Surprisingly enough, they were pretty easy! The end result was a pretty cookie with a thin layer of royal frosting that hardened as it cooled. It is nice because you can stack or wrap up the cookies without the frosting getting all messy. 

Since the first attempt went pretty well, I decided to try again. This time, with cookie cutters that celebrate my heritage and my husband’s name-sake, St. Patrick’s Day. Shamrock cookies! I couldn’t find my shamrock cookie cutter, so I took Baileigh and headed to my favorite local baking shop,The Calico Bean Market. They have an entire room in the back dedicated to baking! Cookie cutters, food coloring, flours, misc. baking ingredients and an ENTIRE wall dedicated to sprinkles. If you ever need baking ingredients, check it out! It’s on Bluff Street, by the 4^th street elevator. The owner is super friendly and helpful, too! While at Calico Bean I picked up meringue powder (for the icing), shamrock and butterfly cookie cutters, green food coloring and green and purple sprinkles. I baked the cookies on Saturday night, let them cool and then Baileigh and I got to work Sunday frosting the cookies! I baked shamrocks for me to decorate and the butterflies for her. She did an excellent job frosting using my new decorator bottles (via Pampered Chef) and enjoyed using lots of sprinkles!

My Shamrock cookies!

Baileigh's butterfly cookies!

Hard at work!

Cookie Recipe:

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/The-Best-Rolled-Sugar-Cookies/Detail.aspx

(The only thing I changed was using Almond extract for the vanilla. I like almond flavoring better in sugar cookies for some reason!)

Icing Recipe:
http://www.sweetsugarbelle.com/2011/04/royal-icing-101-or-all-roads-lead-to-rome/

The cookies looked and tasted delicious! I made way too much frosting, so I have plenty to use when I made Easter cookies in a couple weeks!

Here are two blogs that have beautiful sugar cookies! Both have tutorials too which help beginners like me!

Annie's Eats

Sweet Sugar Belle

The Best of 2013 -- February Edition

Tomorrow is the last day of February, so I may be jumping the gun writing the “Best of 2013” post, but that’s okay! Like I mentioned in the Best of 2013-- January post, 2013 have started off great! There were several small things that happened, and one VERY exciting thing as well. Let’s get started, shall we?

Birthdays
February was jam packed! Both of my parents had birthdays! Mom’s was the 7th (I won’t disclose her age..somewhere around 39?) and my Dad turned 60! (He will tomorrow, actually!) Birthday’s are fun. We picked up cupcakes from my favorite local bakery, Candle Ready Cakes and enjoyed lunch in Davenport the weekend after! In addition to my parents, there was another very special birthday. My neighbor and her family welcomed the birth of their son, Owen. He’s adorable and I’m so happy for their family!

Date Night
We didn't do much for valentine’s day, so instead Patrick & I had a day date/date night and went to Brew Fest on Ice! It was a fun event down at the Mystique Ice Area. There were tons of Iowa and national brewers there and we were able to try lots of beers, as well as sample meats and cheeses from local shops. It was a great event and we ran into a lot of people we knew, which is always fun. After Brew Fest, we stopped at one of our favorite restaurants to dine for one last time, as they closed that weekend. We loved Star Brewery. Some people thought it was pricey  but to be honest, it cost the same for burgers and sandwiches at our local Applebee’s, and I thought the food was better at Star. The owner is opening a new restaurant soon, so we’ll have to check that out! After dinner we bounced around a few different bars, met ups with friends, drank swamp waters, and almost sang karaoke. Instead of singing, we grabs some late night snacks and headed home after a looonnnng (but fun) day!

Date night!

Kitchen Projects 
I didn't make a new year’s resolution this year. Well, I did the whole “try to be healthier” bit, but nothing drastic. I did make note I would try to cook a lot of new recipes February was no exception.

Here are a few of my creations: 

Homemade Chicken Parmesan. Recipe post to come!
 Made with homemade marinara too.

Biscuits + Gravy. Pat wanted to run to the store to get the ingredients, and
 I challenged him that we already had everything to make them from scratch. It was a success!

My new favorite pasta meal. Another recipe post maybe?
Tomatoes, green olives + artichokes in a light, spicy sauce

Valentine's cookies! I tried my hand at royal icing for the first time.
Not bad for an amateur! can't wait to make more for other holidays!

ADDYs
I mentioned above that one VERY exciting this happened. I won an ADDY! Not just an ADDY, but a GOLD one. To top that, I placed in the Final 15!

My Gold ADDY award & my Final 15 award. Love the golden popcorn!

Me & the awards by the ADDY banner. Wasn't the theme adorable?

A little background about the ADDY awards.

 "The ADDYs are the advertising industry's largest and most representative competition, attracting over 50,000 entries every year in local ADDY competitions. The mission of the ADDY competition is to recognize and reward creative excellence in the art of advertising. Conducted annually by the American Advertising Federation (AAF), the local AAF Dubuque ADDY Awards are the first of a three-tiered, national competition. Concurrently, all across the country, local entrants vie for recognition as the very best in their markets. At the second tier, AAF Dubuque winners compete against other winners in one of 15 District competitions. District winners are then forwarded to the third tier, the National ADDY Awards competition. Entry in your local ADDY competition is the first step toward winning a National ADDY."
(Source: AAF Dubuque) 

There were over 200 Professional entries submitted. Judges then reviewed each entry, ranked it and gave pieces they liked either a silver or gold award. After that, they gathered all the gold awards and decided which made it to the final 15. Now you understand my excitement! Out of all those entries, my piece was in the Final 15! Since I won gold, my piece is automatically entered to the District competition to be judged. Our district is made up of Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska & Kansas. After, if I place there, my entry will go to Nationals to be judged. I'm not getting my hopes up! Winning at our local event was awesome enough!This was the first year have submitted to the awards and I didn't leave empty handed! The entire event was an amazing success! The “vintage circus” theme was great and everything went off without a hitch! I have volunteered to help co-chair the event, so I have some pretty big shoes to fill! Luckily, one of the co-chairs from this year is staying on to show me the ropes for next year.

 Here was my award winning piece:

I created this as a unique way to stand out in a pile of resumes when I was job searching. It was so fun to create and I am really proud of it! 

That was my month of February. Great month, don’t you think? I’m not sure if I will always have such big things to mention each month, but it will be nice to have something to look back on too!

The Best of 2013—January Edition

2012 was a fine year. It had its ups… and it’s downs…

2013 has only graced us with its presence for less than 2 months, but so far, they have been two very good months! I want to use this blog to remember things. Remember the great moments, the great meals and recipes we made and the great things we accomplished. I’ll start with January. I’ll write up on February in another week or two.

New Job!

After 6 years with Hy-Vee, Patrick got a new job as a Digital Success Consultant at McGraw-Hill! Hy-Vee was good to him and our family for the last 6 years, but he was ready for something new. Being a retail establishment, Patrick worked weekends (usually only Saturday though) and holidays were always chaotic. The only day Hy-Vee ever is closed is on Christmas. That’s it! In his new position, Patrick has the usually Monday-Friday hours, weekends off and paid Holidays. He started towards the end of January and he really likes it so far. We may or may not have had a few late night publishing debates after a few beers/glasses of wine. By the way, custom, online publications is the way to go. Go GRT!

My 15-Minutes of Fame

I’m thrifty. REALLY thrifty most of the time. Unless it’s something made by Kate Spade. I have a tendency to indulge on KS. Even on sale, it’s still very much indulging! Nonetheless, my thrifty self was VERY excited when Hy-Vee rolled out their Fuel Saver program in December. Long story, short, each week the grocery ad will have several items that when  you purchase will give you pennies off per gallon. Every time you buy these items, you can bank the cents up on your card and eventually redeem them for cents off per gallon of gas. I started banking up in December and was able to fill up our Subaru for $26 dollars, saving $1.20/PER GALLON and $17 that trip! How can you not be excited about that? Well, while visiting the Hy-Vee website, there was a form asking for feedback from customers about the new fuel saver program. Being the dork that I am, I filled out the survey and even included a photo I took at the pump!

That's right! $1.95 per gallon! I can't remember the last time it was that cheap!

About an hour later I was emailed by a marketing person at Hy-Vee corporate, asking if I would be in a Fuel Saver commercial. I laughed out loud, but agreed to do it. One week later I was at the Locust Street Hy-Vee with a camera crew filming my testimonial. I felt like a huge dork, especially since two ladies I know who work there witnessed the entire ordeal! The marketing person just asked me a few questions, and they filmed my answers. It was pretty candid and not scripted. After it was done, I was informed they had filmed 30 people or so the last few days and they would use about 15 in the commercials and they handed me a $100 giftcard to thank me for my time.

Two weeks later the emails, texts, facebook messages and calls started pouring in. They used my testimonial in an ad!

I just tried to pull the link up on youtube so I could link to it from here, and it’s gone! The other 3 are still there but not mine! Hmm! Nonetheless, I had my 15 minutes of fame!

Other than the two things above, most of January was spent hanging out with friends, trying out new recipes in the kitchen and trying to stay warm with all the snow storms! Below are some instagram photos from Jan & Feb so far!

Chicken + Black Bean Enchiladas

Dinner last night was a “happy accident.” I had an art instructor in college who referred to mistakes as happy accidents. This seemed to make sense in the class, printmaking, because it is hard to always be exact. That phrase has stuck with me since that day.

Last night the dinner plan was Chicken Fajitas. I was excited. I loooooove fajitas and have been kind of obsessed with avocado lately. Pat calls me as I’m about to leave work that the bell peppers were kind of going bad. Fajitas were out. However, we had black beans, rice, chicken, salsa and avocado, so we could still make chicken burrito bowls. I arrive home and he had opened the avocado, it was bad too. I was ticked. Originally I planned to make the fajitas earlier in the week, but changed things up and the fresh produce didn't last.  I didn't want burrito bowls anymore because the avocado had gone bad. I know, that doesn't make sense, but I was annoyed and stubborn at this point. Pat mentioned enchiladas. We had corn tortillas, chicken, pepper jack cheese and black beans, but we don’t have enchilada sauce. After a quick Google search, I found a 10 minute enchilada sauce recipe! Dinner was back on!

The chicken has been marinated in Trader Joe’s Soyaki marinade. It’s a great marinade that we use a lot for fajitas. I wasn't sure how the flavors would do with the enchilada sauce, but I wasn't too worried. Turns out the random ingredients we had at home made some of the best enchiladas I have ever had! Sometimes it’s fun to try out new recipes in the kitchen.

iPhone photo of the enchiladas.

Chicken + Black Bean Enchiladas

(Recipe created by me, enchilada sauce adapted from: AllRecipes)

Serves 3 (3 enchiladas each)

For the sauce:

¼ cup vegetable oil

2 TBSP self-rising flour

¼ cup chili powder

8 oz tomato sauce

1 ½ cup water

¼ tsp cumin

½ tsp garlic powder

¼ tsp onion salt

Salt + pepper

For the enchiladas:

9-10 white corn tortillas

1 lb chicken breast (I used the Just Bare Breast Filets

½ cup Trader Joe’s Soyaki Marinade (or your favorite marinade)

8 oz block of pepper jack cheese, shredded (or 2 cups pre-shredded)

1 ½ c of black beans

Optional toppings: sour cream, avocado, lettuce, tomato, salsa

Instructions:

1. Toss the chicken with the marinade and let it sit for 30 minutes or more.
2. Preheat and bake the chicken in a covered casserole dish at 375 degrees for 25-30 minutes, until done. Cool then shred the chicken.
3. Start making the sauce by heating the oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Stir in flour + chili powder, reduce the heat to medium and cook for about 3-4 minutes, stirring constantly to prevent burning.
4. Gradually stir in tomato sauce, water and remaining ingredients, stirring until smooth. Cook over medium-low heat for about 10 minutes, or until the sauce thickens. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
5. Add 1c of enchilada sauce to the shredded chicken. Add in the black beans. Stir till combined.
6. Add ½ cup of the enchilada sauce to a 9x13 pan. Spread it out so there is a thin layer of sauce in the dish.
7. Microwave corn tortillas, about 3 at a time, for about 25 seconds to soften. Fill the middle of each corn tortilla with the chicken + black bean mixture, roll and place seam side down in the casserole dish. Continue filling until the mixture is complete. Make sure to line up the enchiladas close to each other.
8. Top enchiladas with more sauce and the pepper jack cheese. (You will have enchilada sauce left, so use as much as you’d like)
9. Bake at 375 degrees for 25 minutes, or until the cheese is hot and bubbly!
10. Let cool about 5 minutes and serve topped with your favorite toppings!

My Thoughts: These turned out awesome! The marinade, pepper jack and enchilada sauce worked so well together! Since this was whipped up last minute, all I had for toppings was sour cream, but they were great! Happy accident!

I know, this is the first blog post in like 6 months. I haven’t decided if I would keep up with it or not. I do like posting recipes we make, because it’s easy to go back and reference them. Even if I’m the only reader + it’s my personal recipe collection!

Happy cooking!

Molly got married!

Molly got married! Yay! Molly is one of my closest friends and Baileigh's godmother. We went to Loras together, but for most of college we were just "class friends" we were both IVA majors and since the major only has 8 people or so in our class, we shared most of our major classes together.  We never spent much time outside of class hanging out except for the quick trips to Wendy's between classes and the occasional run in out at parties and the bars. After college we both still lived in Dubuque and we started to hang out a lot more. Molls has been there for me through a lot of crazy things. She helped me do all the busy projects for our wedding, helped remove wallpaper and paint our house and even helped a lot while I was pregnant with Baileigh. I asked her to be Baileigh's god mother as well because I think she's awesome!

Molly started dating Matt summer of 2010. They got engaged a year later and they got married on September 1st! Matt is an awesome guy and treats Molly wonderfully! I am so happy for them! Both Baileigh and I were in the wedding. Baileigh even debuted her first wedding as the flower girl! The wedding was a success and one of the most fun nights I can think of. Here are a few pictures! Congrats Mr. & Mrs. Kennedy!!!

A few of Molly's bridesmaids & the beautiful bride! Rachel & Tara

action photo!

Molly & her little flower girl!

Baileigh and Logan walking down the aisle. They were adorable and did a great job!

The adorable couple!

Yay, they're married!

Molly with her little attendants-- Baileigh & Logan

She looked beautiful and was such a good girl all day!

My Spirited Child

My daughter, Baileigh, is the joy of my life. She is so full of life and energy. Sometimes, however, too much energy. From the moment she was born and Patrick exclaimed, "She has red hair!" I knew I was in for trouble. Trouble she is!

The day she was born the nurse came up to us and said "Boy, that little girl was not too happy about her shots! You are going to have your hands full with her! She has quite the temper!" 

Baileigh, ANGRY at one of her first baths.

Of course I was thinking:
1) What baby enjoys getting shots? Of course she's not happy!
2) Can a nurse REALLY tell the temperament of my newborn?

Well, she was right! Baileigh is very strong-willed and sticks to her guns. I have no idea where she got those characteristics She's just like me. That is why I think we butt heads so much. She wants me to carry her down the stairs, I know she can walk so I refuse. She's angry and I get annoyed. Sometimes I need to just give in, and do something little, like carry her down the stairs, if I know it will prevent the infamous toddler meltdown.

This past weekend truly was a test in parenting for Patrick and I. Saturday afternoon was great. We attended the first birthday party of our friend's daughter. Baileigh just loved her. Spent a lot of the party helping her walk and playing with her. Saturday evening, however, was not as delightful. Let's just say the breaking point was when was found Baileigh eating sugar out of the sugar bowl BY THE HANDFUL! She freaked out when we put her in timeout and refused to eat dinner that night complaining that "her belly hurt" (from the sugar I assume!) and that all she wanted to eat was a cupcake. Bedtime is always a disaster right now. She stalls and stalls and stalls. You name it. She has made an excuse about it. The author of Go the F* to Sleep OBVIOUSLY had a toddler JUST LIKE MINE.  She wears us out and I'm only 27 and Pat is only 29 but I swear she sucks the energy out of us!

Sunday was another rough day. Is rained almost all day, so we couldn't go outside and play. I decide to clean but as usual our curious little one was making messes just after we cleaned other messes up. She refuses to nap during the weekends at home, so we can't even get a moment to down several glasses of wine breath. By Sunday night I was exhausted. I posted this status on facebook: 

I had 13 friends/family comment that yes, 3's and 4's are tough years but we will get through it. I couldn't help but wonder, Will we get through it? I know, I know, I'm being a bit melodramatic, but still! I decided to look online for some advice, maybe a book that has some insight into my strong-willed daughter. I'm not usually the "self help book" kinda gal, but I can't be the only person who's toddler is this stubborn.

Cue the "Evil eye"...

Thanks to Amazon I found a book, Raising Your Spirited Child byMary Sheeda Kurchinka. I liked it initially because of the phrase "spirited", which isn't as negative as other books mentioning "difficult" children. Baileigh is very much spirited. Like I said, she's SO full of life and so happy (when she's NOT having a temper tantrum at Hobby Lobby and I'm having to carry her football style out of the store!) I read the preface of the book online and realized it is very much my daughter. The book has 4 1/2 stars online w/ 72 reviews. Here is some basic info:

The spirited child—often called "difficult" or "strong-willed"—possesses traits we value in adults yet find challenging in children. Research shows that spirited kids are wired to be "more"—by temperament, they are more intense, sensitive, perceptive, persistent, and uncomfortable with change than the average child. In this revised edition of the award-winning classic, voted one of the top twenty books for parents, Kurcinka provides vivid examples and a refreshingly positive viewpoint. Raising Your Spirited Child will help you:

• understand your child's­—and your own—temperamental traits
• discover the power of positive—rather than negative—labels
• cope with the tantrums and power struggles when they do occur
• plan for success with a simple four-step program
• develop strategies for handling mealtimes, sibling rivalry, bedtimes, holidays, and school, among other situations

I downloaded the kindle book and have been reading it on our ipad. Which, by the way, is so easy and convenient! I downloaded it, and a minute later I was reading Part one! I have only made it through Part one, but I do think the author is brilliant. She raised two "spirited" children and understands them to a T. I feel like already I am beginning to understand my daughter better and why she is the way she is. She is such a loving, nurturing, smart sweet little girl and I'm glad to have found this book to help me learn to appreciate her just as she is. Maybe there is hope that she will get a sibling someday! haha!

Project 24 {UPDATE}

Back in February, I created a list called Project 24. 24 projects I wanted to accomplish by the end of the year. I am behind, that is for sure, but I have successfully fulfilled a few of them. Below is the list with annotated updates.


Project 24
1. Replace the awful light in our kitchen.
2. Hang curtains in Baileigh's room. I decided against this. She already have blinds and with the furniture by the windows it doesn't seem to make sense.
3. Make or find cheap (& adorable) chevron curtains for our dining room. {Note: I already made curtains for our dining room, a couple years ago, with less than great results. This time I plan to use Kristin's "no-sew" method!} I completed this, sorta. I replaced the curtains, but I went with a simple linen looking curtain, instead of chevron. I've decide to keep my walls/curtains neutral and use color/pattern on the table and furniture.
4. Either paint or stain the old dresser in our dining room & add new hardware.  Complete! Painted it "Oxford Blue"
5. Fix our dining room ceiling
5. Create a mixed-media gallery wall in Baileigh's room. Not done. I have all the frames/pieces, just haven't put them up yet!
6. Add ceiling fans to our room, the front screened porch & possibly Baileigh's. Not yet, soon I hope!
7. Potty train our 2 1/2 year old. {Okay, not technically a project, but anyone who has a toddler knows this is a big undertaking!} Complete! (Well, not at night, she's in pull ups, but for the most part, done!)
8. Re-paint my eames chair. Grey isn't working for me. Hmm... trying to decide what color!
9. Paint the built in shelving in my closet something other than the lime green it currently it. Not too worried about this. No one sees the closet but me! Focusing on the rooms in our house that people DO see.
10. Get the awesome "Dubuque" print I got from the Dubuque Museum of Art matted, frame and hung.  I should do this... I have the perfect place for it!
11.Make a cute monogrammed wreath to hang on our front door. Not yet...maybe for our "Pinterest Challenge" with Kristin and Stephanie!
12. Power wash the outside of our home. White siding is such a pain!  Not yet...oops!
13. Landscape the retaining wall by our garage. (I think this will be Pat's summer project) This didn't happen and summer is almost over. Maybe next summer?
14. Make or find simple shades for our screened in porch. Not yet!
15 Organize all the cabinets and drawers in our kitchen. Complete! I did this back in the spring when we rented the large dumpster...however, things are getting a bit messy again!
16. Make homemade laundry soap, glass cleaner and all purpose cleaner. Hopefully this weekend!
17. Try a new recipe a week- for all 52 weeks. (This won't be able to get checked off until the last week of December!)
18. Create a jewelry holder for our room.
19. Create silhouettes of all three of our profiles.
20.  Create a chalkboard wall, or area in B's room for her to color on.
21. Organize all my craft supplies. (I have a ton!) Complete! They are located nicely in drawers in my newly painted "oxford blue" dresser!
22. Add an outside railing to our new front steps.  Not done.
23. Replace the make-shift railing for our back steps. Not done.
24. Paint our bathroom a new color. Not done.

There you have it! 9 out of 24 are complete! I'm behind on 7 of them, and there are a few that I don't think will happen before 2013, but I'm okay with it. 

Homemade Laundry Detergent?

Lately we had a laundry issue. No, not the usual issue of having too much laundry laying on the basement floor BEGGING to be washed. And no, not the issue of my husband seeing the aforementioned piles of laundry, and then only washing one shirt and one pair of pants for work the next day. That really annoys me, however, that is not the issue at hand. The issue is that because we use free & clear laundry detergent, I don't feel like it smells good once cleaned. For example, Pat and I have been running a combined 6 days a week. That means 6 pairs of shorts, 6 tops and 3 sports bras (obviously only I wear those) that are being laundered each week. Anyone that works out knows that running makes you sweat (especially in 100 degree weather like we were having) and sweat makes things stink. Because the free & clear detergent is unscented, I don't feel like the stink truly gets out of the clothes.  Pat likes to use fabric softener, but I don't really and I know it's full of crazy chemicals that are really hard on the dry and the clothes. We have been using it lately though because it is scented helps with the smell issue.

We haven't always used free & clear detergents. Back when i was pregnant we used something else, Tide, maybe, but I had sensitive skin and it used to make my skin itch. When you're pregnant and having so many changes you can't control, having itchy skin from your detergent isn't cool. We switched then and haven't looked back. We never used dreft when Baileigh was a baby because the free & clear worked well on her sensitive baby skin. Detergent isn't cheap, and between laundry, towels and your daughter wetting the bed twice in 3 nights (fantastic...) we do a lot of laundry. I'm looking for a new detergent option that will provide the following:

1) Clean our clothes (obviously!)
2) Make them smell good
3) Not make my skin itchy
4) Easy on the wallet (chaaaa-ching! I'd like to have more money, you know, for craft supplies!)

My friend Michelle made her own detergent a few months ago and even blogged about it at her blog Makin' and Bakin' Memories She mentioned that it cost about $20 for all the ingredients and she estimates it will last for 9 months or so since you only use 1-2 tablespoons a load! She washes a lot of laundry too with a two- year-old and an 8 month old!

This weekend I don't have any plans so I think I am going to go out and get the ingredients! Pat is a bit skeptical, but he doesn't like his workout clothes smelling either, so hopefully he just lets me "do my thing"

Hopefully I love it! Then maybe I'll move onto creating my own cleaning supplies...something I have been planning to do since Earth day- 2010! (Kristin, do you remember me printing out the Homemade Cleaning Supplies handout and distributing it around NICC on earth day?)

Anyways, I'll eventually post back and let you know if it was successful! Don't expect a nice tutorial like Michelle did though. Why must I reinvent the wheel? :)

Ready to Run-- Training for my first half-marathon

A few months ago I started running again. I decided on a whim that I wanted to run the Grandview Gallop, which at the time was about a month away. When I decided this, I had not ran more than a mile in the last year. Some say that "muscles have memory" and because I was a runner in high school, I was able to get back into it fairly quick. 


To be honest, it's funny that I ever started to run. In junior high, I hated running. I was a bit chatty in gym class and my gym teacher would make me run laps if I wouldn't quit talking. We also had to run a timed mile in gym class once a year. I hated it and would whine and complain the entire 15 minutes. (Yes, back then running a mile took me 15 minutes, and no, I didn't walk it...) It wasn't until a high school crush (awww....) got me to join cross country. Okay, to be honest, he didn't ask me to run, I pretty much did it so I could stalk him spend time with him. Turns out, after I quit complaining, I wasn't too bad of a runner. I managed to run varsity cross country sophomore and junior year, and most of senior year. I did develop "senioritis" that year and didn't really care much for running.  I was "recruited" to run at Loras College after I attended XC camp there for two years. Take "recruited" with a grain of salt. They pretty much recruit anyone with an interest in the sport, especially if they have contact info from XC camp. I almost ran college XC but last minute, about a month before I was to move into the dorms at Loras, I decided against it. I didn't really love to run, and I knew it would take a lot of time away from partying meeting new people and partying my studies. I would go through running spurts during my 4 years of college, but nothing regular. Incase you are't aware, Dubuque is HILLY and running up hills isn't my cup of tea.


Fast forward to now. After 2 1/2 months of consistant running (averaging 25-35 miles/month) i decided to be crazy and train for a half marathon. In May, a  few of our friends mentioned on facebook they were training for the Quad Cities Marathon and I never really thought much of it. At that point, I had run only run a few times and only a couple miles each time. I finally made it up to 4 miles a couple weeks before the Grandview Gallop. I ended up doing really well in that race, finishing the 4-miles in 33:43, and placing 11th in my age group! That gave me the confidence to keep running and see how I would do! After I was able to run about 6 1/2 miles, I decided that I was going to train for the half-marathon, which is 13.1 miles. I'm on week 2 of my official training schedule and it is going really well! My husband, who has NEVER been a runner (he was a swimmer in high school) started training for the 5k race at the QC Marathon. I am super proud of him for going out and training for the race. because of his new training, he has also started eating healthier. It feels good getting back into running and into shape!


If you follow my on facebook, you will probably see my runs several times a week. I enjoy the app and keeps the motivation going so I keep running!


Is there anything new you are trying to achieve?

I'm not a good blogger

Oh hello again. Forgive me father readers, for I have sinned been a slacker, it has been 4 months since my last confession blog post. (Can you tell I went to Catholic school for 13 years... 17 years if you count college?)


I've been busy. Very busy, indeed. I think part of the reason I hasn't blogged is because I don't have much to say. I think part of me got so wrapped up trying to create pretty blog posts, full of cute, edited pictures; recipe tutorials and crafts I have made, that I quit blogging when I wasn't being successful at that. I'm not sure how some of the amazing bloggers that I follow do it. Some are stay-at-home moms, but that is not easy task either. I'm a pretty busy lady. I work full time as a graphic designer where I spend my days designing, managing freelance designers and attempting to hit all my deadlines so textbooks are published on time. Evenings are spent cooking dinner, trying to get a run in (i'm training for a half marathon in September), working on freelance design projects (designing two wedding invites now... programs, tables numbers, ect. to come soon), attempting to keep a tidy home and most of all, trying to be a good wife and mom. Boy, i'm exhausted just reading that! In addition to all that, I'm obsessed with crafting and making out house a home. 


Summer has been busy too. We are attending 5 wedding this summer. I'm in two of them. Plus, baby showers, bridal showers, bachelorettes and bbqs! I love summer because I love all of these kind of things, but having something every weekend makes it hard to get things done for the week. Last summer, we went to Florida for a week vacation. That was amazing. This summer, no such vacation. However, we are going up to Minneapolis in a few weeks with some friends and I am VERY much looking forward to that.


I'm not making excuses for why I haven't blogged, but saying more that things more important to be came up. To be honest, I have a tendency to jump into thing really fast. For example, my etsy shop, hello little whimsy. I go through spurts of exploring etsy for hours on end. I would see all these adorable hair accessories and think, "hey, I can do that!" and so I did. I spent several evenings hot gluing felt, making bows and creating hair accessories. I photographed everything, edited them in photoshop and then set up a shop. All this from conception, to reality, in about a week. Another thing I do is get bored with things...fast. This is what happened to my shop. I sold a few items, and then, I wasn't really in the mood to keep up with it. I started a facebook page, but I never posted on it. After 3 months the items I had posted on my page expired, and I never posted them again. I make rash decisions. I guess I kind of get wrapped up in what others are doing, and want to do that too, like the etsy shop.


Oh well! Most of the time my sporadic obsessions aren't a big deal, so I'm okay with that.


Well  to wrap it up. I may try to post more often, but don't expect much out of the posts in regards to design. I'm not a professional blogger and I'm, okay with that. I just want to have this blog to write about things going on in my life. Even if I only post once in 4 months!


cheers!