0 This Little Girl

Makes me laugh every single second. 

Would you believe me if I told you I found her that way? No. Good, because I didn't. But she is always going over to the fridge and begging for food. So I put her in the fridge and let her pick out what she wants. It's usually cheese or strawberries. She eats more than me most days and still maintains her 18lb figure. How she does it I'd sure like to know!

1 Meatless Monday: Ratatouille

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• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 teaspoons dried parsley
• 1 eggplant, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
• salt to taste
• 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 zucchini, sliced
• 1 large onion, sliced into rings
• 2 cups sliced fresh mushrooms
• 1 green bell pepper, sliced
• 2 large tomatoes, chopped
• 
  
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Coat bottom and sides of a 1 1/2 quart casserole dish with 1 tablespoon olive oil. Heat remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Saute garlic until lightly browned. Mix in parsley and eggplant. Saute until eggplant is soft, about 10 minutes. Season with salt to taste. Spread eggplant mixture evenly across bottom of prepared casserole dish. Sprinkle with a few tablespoons of Parmesan cheese. Spread zucchini in an even layer over top. Lightly salt and sprinkle with a little more cheese. Continue layering in this fashion, with onion, mushrooms, bell pepper, and tomatoes, covering each layer with a sprinkling of salt and cheese. Bake in preheated oven for 45 minutes.

4 The Next 2 Years

Nick starts his Masters in Public Administration at BYU on Monday. We're all very excited and nervous. 

It means I'll never see him. 

It means I'll be a single mom for awhile.

It means I'll have to eat dinner without him.

It means I can't complain.

It means I need to come up with a lot of project ideas. 

In order to survive the next 2 years I've decided to never complain about not getting to see Nick. He is going to be extremely busy and stressed and I don't want to add to that stress. 

I'm going to make lists.

 I'm going to stay busy.

I'm going to get out of the house.

I'm going to sign up for fun classes.

 I'm going to exercise.

I'm going to make friends.

I'm going to cook.

I'm going to sew. 

I'm going to crochet.

I'm going to create. 

Yep. That should keep me busy for the next 2 years at least.

(on the list for tonight: make banana bread and rice pudding, yum!)

2 Meatless Monday: Thai Style Curry

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Serves 5-6

1 cup carrot, diced

1 onion, diced

1/2 cup green bell pepper

1/2 cup red bell pepper

2 garlic cloves

4-5 small zucchini

1 cup tomato sauce

2 Tbls peanut butter

1-2 Tbls soy sauce

1 Tbls curry powder

1 cup garbanzo beans or lentils

1 cup frozen peas

salt to taste

1/2 cup cilantro (optional)

Place diced carrots, onion, peppers, and garlic (not the peas yet) in a kettle with a small amount of water and curry powder. Simmer about 5 minutes until tender.

Add zucchini, cover, and simmer 5 more minutes.

Blend all the remaining ingredients, except the peas and garboanzos or lentils, in a blender until smooth.

Add the blended ingredients, the peas, and the garbanzos or lentils to the rest of the vegetables. Heat and serve over rice.

Warning: If you don't like spicy food, half the curry powder or leave it out, because this dish is hot! I loved all the vegetables in it and we used our fresh farmers market zucchini. Yum!

1 Jumping on the Bandwagon

{shirt: target, skirt: thrifted, shoes: thrifted (steve madden), necklace: UO}

I've been obsessing lately with thrift stores and garage sales. This weekend I dragged Nick around to D.I. and early Saturday morning garage sales. By the end of our thrifting Nick was more excited about it then I was! He found some great books and I found some great skirts. We also hit up the Farmer's Market here in Provo and got some yummy peaches and zucchini. After watching Food, Inc. I think we'll be shopping there more often. And I'm excited to announce that Meatless Mondays are back and tomorrow will be a good one. 

1 DIY Kitchen Chairs

You know, this project took all of 30 minutes, a staple gun, and fabric to complete but it only took me about 2 years to get around to actually doing it. I love the results and I think I might be in love with my new staple gun.  We moved into a much bigger place and I have lots of projects in mind. Next project in mind: window valences. Me and my staple gun can hardly wait. 

2 How to Paint Baby Toes

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These dry in seconds. It's amazing and the only way to paint baby toes. I stuck cookies in both of Kenzie's hands, put on her favorite Elmo movie and painted her toes as fast as I could. I added a cute little sticker and her toes are ready for summer! Aren't baby toes the cutest?

0 I'm not a soda drinker, but...

I think I'll make an exception for these:

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Italian Soda Recipe

Fill a glass about an inch with one of the above Italian syrups. 

Add ice, a little bit of cream, then fill the rest of your glass with club soda.

Mix with straw and sit outside on a porch swing and enjoy it!

My favorite so far has been Strawberry. I don't think I'll ever drink store bought soda ever again.

1 It's been crazy

Where to start? 

We got the flu for a week right before we moved. 

Yep, that about sums up what we've been up to the past couple of weeks!