LATEST DINNER WINS

Like I have said before, I try different recipes all the time. Usually they are good, sometimes they are terrible, and once in a while they are fantastic. I love to share the fantastic ones with all of you. Here are three of my latest wins. You can enjoy them separately or make all together for a super yummy meal!

CRUSTY HOMEMADE BREAD

My sister-in-law was baking this in the oven one afternoon when I came to pick up E from daycare. It looked so amazingly crusty and delicious that I knew I had to try it. I have never made homemade bread and figured it was probably a lot of work and time consuming. WRONG. It is quite possibly the easiest thing ever. I pop it in the toaster for a few seconds to warm in up and eat it with butter and jelly in the morning. YUM!

* NOTE: It is advertised as 'no-knead', but I threw it in my KitchenAid mixer with the hook attachment for about two minutes. Also, if you do not have a dutch oven, think about getting one. 

SIMPLE GREEK SALAD

Easy. Healthy. Yummy.

Salad ingredients: baby spinach, cherry tomates (sliced), cucumber (sliced), kalamata  olives, and crumbled feta cheese. Toss them together.

Dressing ingrediants: equal parts balsamic and olive oil and some cracked black pepper. Shake and pour over your salad.

*NOTE: Substitute black olives for the kalamata olives if you prefer.

SPICY PARMESAN SHRIMP SKILLET

I made this the other night for dinner and it was fantastic. What I was super thrilled about was how easy it was. I thawed, de-tailed (is that a word?) and marinated the shrimp the night before so when I got home from work all I had to do was dump the bag of shrimp (with marinade) into a skillet, saute it for about 4 min, add the cooked pasta, sprinkle on some parmesan cheese,and green onions, and we had dinner! It literally took 15 min to pull dinner together.

*NOTE: I added a few teaspoons of cornstarch to the skillet at the very end to thicken up the marinade/sauce. Just add enough until it reaches your desired consistency.

2014: BRING IT ON

Hello everyone! I'm back. Probably back more here and there than every day or even every week, but never the less, I am back! I can't say the last month was pure bliss, but I can say it was good in its own way. Work was busy, the Holidays crept up faster than I was ready for (as they always do) and I got deathly ill with the flu for about a good week. Ehhh.

Anyways, 2013 was a good year for us. There were no new jobs or promotions, we didn't give birth to a child, build a new house or do any European vacations, but we still had a very solid year that we are more than thankful for. We enjoyed a family vacation to Florida with my family, I had the most amazing time in Ohio with my best friends, was part of our good friend's beautiful garden wedding, our nephew was born, we watched friends bring life into the world, get married, and announce pregnancies and engagements, we got to watch Ellis grow another year, and became even stronger as a family. For all of that we are more than grateful.

So that brings us to 2014. For some reason I think it is going to bring change. I am not sure exactly what kind of change, but I can just feel that 2014 is going to be a good year. Even though January 1st is really no different than any other day of the year and probably about 90% of us never follow through with our resolutions, there is just something comforting and exciting about the fresh start of a new year. I have been seeing this quote over and over lately and I love it. It is just so true.

A lot of people are not big on New Year's resolutions, but I always try and make at least one. Mine are never the typical 'work out more, eat better, and lose weight,' b/c I feel I do a pretty decent job at living a healthy lifestyle and do not believe in being overly obsessed in any of those areas. What I currently do is good enough for me.

Resolution #1: cut.out.all.swearing. Yes, it is kind of embarrassing, but I am a swearer. Not a horrible one, but never the less, it is not good to be any degree of a swearer when you have a 21 month old that will repeat pretty much any word you say. She hasn't repeated any bad words yet, but I cringe at the thought. So, if you hear me swear, remind me of how classless it is, ok? I will not get mad, I promise. If it wasn't for my Italian temper, I would probably be fine, but let's be real, my Italian temper probably isn't going anywhere. It is embedded in me.

Resolution #2: Cut our grocery bill from $700 to $500 a month. Quick question... Is it normal to spend $700 a month on groceries for a family with two adults and a toddler that eats breakfast and lunch at daycare four times a week???? I feel like that is really high. I am DETERMINED to get our bill down. I do not have time to coupon or sale shop, so don't ask me how I am going to do this, but I will. I will report back to you on how I do for January. 

Back burner resolutions: To make all of our own 'green' cleaning supplies and our own body lotion. We will see if that ever happens. ;)

And a little recap video of 2013 (and a little bit of 2012)

 

HAPPY 2014! I hope this year brings good health and happiness to all!

CHRISTMAS VACATION

Hello! Yes, I am alive. :) I am so sorry for not making this post earlier. Instead, I have just continued to neglect my blog for the past few weeks. I have decided to take a little blogging break for the month of December. I really love to blog. If I didn't love it, I wouldn't do it. I am also one of those "all or nothing" type people who believe if you are going to do something, then you better do it right. Let's just say I have not been "doing it right" when it comes to blogging the past few weeks. In all honestly, I have simply not had the time. The few months leading up to Christmas are my busiest at work. Besides that, I have taken on a few more freelance jobs, which cuts down my free time quite a bit. I really want to make sure any energy and time left over is given to my family. That being said, I will see you all in January when I hopefully have more time and energy for this blog. I hope you all have a fantastic holiday season!

STRAWBERRY APPLE FRUIT LEATHER

A few years ago my mom gave us her food dehydrator and I knew right away I wanted to make fruit leather (fruit roll-ups) like she used to make for us when we were kids. Well, it sat in our cupboard for years and we never used it for a darn thing. During our cleaning and organizing spree we came across the box it came in along with the recipe book, so we decided to not only use it to make fruit leather, but Logan made beef jerky as well! :) Both turned out amazing. Neither of us followed a recipe in the book. We both made up our own. Here is my recipe for (simple & healthy!) strawberry apple fruit leather. Now I understand not everyone has a dehydrator, so now is a good time to add it to the Christmas list! The one we have is an American Harvest Dehydrator.

RECIPE:

• 16 oz (1lb) frozen strawberries (I get mine from trader joes. Strawberries are one thing you should try and buy organic)

• 4 fuji apples - peeled and cut into 1 in pieces (any sweet apple will work)

• 1/2 cup water

• 1/4 cup lemon juice

• 1/4 cup honey

• shaved coconut - sweetened or unsweetened (optional)

Simmer the frozen strawberries and apples in a saucepan with the 1/2 cup water for about 15-20 minutes or until the apples are softened. Transfer the mixture to a blender and blend with the lemon juice and honey.  Lightly spray two of the fruit leather sheets (they come with the dehydrator) with pam and pour the mixture from the blender onto the sheets. Sprinkle the shaved coconut on top.  Set the dehydrator to 140°F and dehydrate for 4-8 hours. 

Note: Mine took way longer than that. It will depend on how thin or thick you pour your fruit puree. The recipe above makes either three thinner rolls or two thinker ones. I decided to pour mine thicker and made two and that is why my dehydrating time was longer. You just kind of have to watch it. Once you do it a few times and figure out how thick you want your fruit leather, you will know how long it takes. 

CAMERA PRACTICE: WELCOME ARCHER ROBERT

My friend Rochelle asked if I would take some newborn pictures of her adorable son, Archer. I told her I had never done them, but I would give it a shot. I found some things around the house that we could put him in and made a little "studio" in front of one of our windows. We do not have a great window with natural light, but we made it work. Next house we build, a big window with great natural light is a must! :)

Welcome to the world Archer Robert! You are just too sweet! :)

THANKFUL - ROUND 2

Look! It's a blog post for the first time all week! :) Believe it or not, I am actually thankful for more than just three things. ;) 

A little life update: The holiday season is upon us, which means work is crazy for my team. Besides work being busy, I have been working on a logo for a photographer friend of mine (can't wait to share!!!), I am taking my first newborn pictures this weekend, we have been deep cleaning and organizing our house from top to bottom, and I haven't bought a single Christmas gift. :)

Anyways, I am determined to continue on with my thankful list, so here is round 2. Again, in no particular order. 

MY FRIENDS. I could not image going through life without them - my family friends, high school friends, college roommates, cheerleading teammates, the friends I met bartending at the College Pub, my current coworkers, our neighbors, my two awesome carpoolers and my two best friends in the entire world, Jodie and Kate. I love them all. Most of them are over-the-top silly and slightly weird. My friends must be a little weird - it is a requirement. Life would be boring without weird people. :) I am so thankful for each and every one of them and our friendship. I feel so lucky to have met so many good people in my life and am so excited for all the ones I still have to meet.

By bachelorette party five years ago... where does the time go?!

MY TRAMERI FAMILY. Now those of you who know me on a personal level know that my family is anything, but perfect. (I won't go into details.) I am thankful for them anyways. I grew up knowing I was loved and they provided me with all of the necessary skills I needed to become a fully functioning human being. What more could you ask for?! :) I am thankful for them and every memory we created as a family. I am also thankful for a family that never pretended like we were perfect. That alone, has taught me so much.

MY JOB. It pays the bills, allows me to be creative almost every single day, and has connected me to some of the most amazing women. They are my second family.

VACATION. Who isn’t thankful for vacation? Better yet, who is isn’t thankful for paid vacation? (another reason I am thankful for my job) Like I said earlier, the gym keeps me sane on a day to day basis, but that one vacation a year (I wish it was more) keeps me sane all year long. I am so thankful for the places I have had the opportunity to see. I truly believe what everyone wants in life is to fall in love, travel, and be happy. If I had more money, I wouldn’t buy a bigger house, no sir. I would travel this great world.

(I couldn't pick just one vacation picture. We have so many! Here are a few of my favorites.)

Bormio, Itlay

Anne Maria Island, Florida

Switzerland

HOW I ORGANIZED MY CRAFT ROOM

Do not let the 'before' picture scare you. We are really quite clean and organized 99% of the time. Have you met my husband?! Cleaning tools are just as (if not more) important than power tools. We might as well buy stock in Dyson and Swiffer. Needless to say, my crafting space lacked organization and style and needed a face lift. I was an art major in college and a craft supply hoarder, so the outcome of that is a whole lot of art/crafting supplies. Something needed to be done! 

Now that the craft room is done, my goal is to hit a different area of our house each weekend and have the entire house decluttered and organized by Christmas.  I know this is weird, but the thought of getting out Christmas decorations and plopping a tree in the middle of our living room gives me the sweats thinking that we would just be adding more clutter. We plan on hitting the basement storage room this weekend and our closet the next. Then we will do the bathroom and kitchen drawers and cupboards. It is your lucky day St. Vinny's! The Buells are cleaning house!

Anyways, here is the craft room transformations and the tutorials I used to make it happen. We are clearly a DIY family! Good thing Logan is so handy!

TUTORIAL FOR THE FLOATING SHELVES

TUTORIAL FOR THE MASON JAR STORAGE

MY CRAFT ROOM PINTEREST INSPIRATION BOARD

Now here is why is pays to thrift, grab things off the side of the road, troll craigslist, hit up flea markets/antique stores and take hand-me-downs!

• Wooden barrel that is holding all my wrapping paper - found on the side of the road - FREE

• White storage cabinet - craig's list (used to be an American Eagle make-up storage fixture) - $90

• Sewing machine - my Grandma's (I love it b/c it is so simple it can't break) - FREE

• Green chair - My grandma's (hand me down) - FREE

• Wooden Plank used behind the mason jars - from our attic - left over from building our house - FREE

• Lotta cola wooden crate & tin can - Elkhorn flea market - $5 each

• Vintage Globe - Odana Antiques - $16

Things I bought form a conventional store:

• IKEA spice racks (on either side of the shelves) - $3.99 each

• The large piece of butcher block used to make the countertop - Menards (do not remember exact price, but it was under $200)

• Mason Jars (wide mouth quart) - Menards - 12 for $8.99

• Metal clamps for around Mason Jars (2 3/4 - 3 3/4 stainless steel) - Menards - $1.39 a piece

• Pegboard with spacer/mounting kit - $9.38

• 3 sets of different hooks for the peg board - $4.77 for all 3

I love to decorate spaces. Every time I decide to style (or restyle) a room, I make a pinterest board for inspiration. I then look at what we already own and how I might be able to use it or revamp it so I can use it. I love that we are saving money and up-cycling something we already have. Anyone can buy over-priced items from Pottery Barn and Crate and Barrel, but it takes creativity to make what you already have, work. Plus, I love the fact that many of the things I use are one of a kind pieces. Give me an up-cycled antique any day over a piece of furniture from Steinhafels. (puke) 

Here is Ellis' room that I also designed on a dime:

I cannot say it looks that good any more. It has somehow gotten cluttered and a little messy. I guess that is what happens when you actually live in a space! lol