Our Week + Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween! I am off to Phoenix this weekend for sunshine, time with friends and lots of celebrating! But first, a photo of Mya looking festive and annoyed with me at the same time.

What do you think of my sister's costume? She is a bit of a whale fanatic and this photo gave me a good belly laugh this morning.

Other fun things that happened this week included a mini college reunion! I am so blessed to have 5 of my 6 college roommates live in Seattle now! We all lived together our Senior year and I could not have asked for a better group! We spent many of our senior nights laughing, throwing parties and doing crazy things. So of course we got together for margaritas and good Mexican food downtown Seattle. Up next on our agenda is a holiday girls get together! 

How was your week? What are your Halloween plans?

What I'm Reading

1) What Alive Forgot is my current bus read, excited to finish it up over the weekend!

2) A Productive To-Do List. Love the advice on the two minute rule and flexibility! Simple to apply to daily tasks.

3) 24 Surprising Things about Parenting in America. I read this a bit ago and loved it! Thought it was worth a share, especially since I have referenced it in many conversations! A good eye opener as well.

4) 8 Things Recruiters Notice About Your Resume. General, good to know information. I've learned that it is always important to keep your resume updated, especially as your role changes at work!

The Amazing Healing Powers of my Mom's Spaghetti

A few months ago, I read this article and couldn't help but think of mom's spaghetti recipe. My mom, albeit a great cook, never whipped up anything fancy. She relied on easy and simple recipes that tasted great, made everyone come back for seconds and always made mouth watering leftovers. Now, Dustin and I make this meal every Sunday night and devour our leftovers for Monday lunches.

When I think of comfort, I simply think of this recipe. I have great memories of walking through the door, after a long 5 hour drive home from college and finding her in the kitchen (wine in hand) and spaghetti sauce simmering over the stove. I think of friends coming into town, a regular Tuesday nights or any other event that called for a big pot of spaghetti. Perfection. Other memories that stem from this recipe are more recent, when my mom was battling cancer. She would text me during the week and would always convince me (although I needed no convincing) to make this recipe when I would visit her over the weekend. She knew I would always eat this with her and make it just they way she liked.

So here's what you'll need to make this recipe:

1. Meatballs. As many as you want, Dustin always laughs because I add way too many. (I love these the best)
2. One can of condensed Mushroom Soup
3. One jar of any pasta sauce
4. 1/2 cup vodka
5. One box of spaghetti noodles, whichever variety you like

Start with a large skillet on medium heat. Add enough meatballs to cover the bottom of the pan and cook until meatballs are browned, tossing occasionally. Lower the heat and add one can of condensed Mushroom Soup. Once the soup has "melted" (mom's words) a bit, you can add your jarred sauce. Then, I use a good amount of vodka to swish out the leftover sauce that is left in the jar. Every last bit counts! Allow the sauce to simmer a bit while you cook your spaghetti noodles. Drain your cooked spaghetti noodles and add directly into the large skillet and toss everything together. Serve with some parmesan cheese and enjoy!

Our Weekend

  

 

My weekend kicked off with dinner at the cutest restaurant in Burien, "913 The Place Next Door" with Deena! It's neighbor is 909 Coffee and Wine Bar and in between the two restaurants they created a outdoor patio that can be used all year round. There is nothing cozier than an outdoor patio on a Seattle rainy night with patio heaters and a blanket provided for each chair, brilliant! We sipped wine and ate yummy crab crepes, I can't wait to go back!

On Saturday morning, I woke up way too early for a free introductory class at our neighborhood CrossFit. The photo below shows that I was the only one who decided to get up on a Saturday morning for a workout. Free one hour training session for me! I really enjoyed the workout and am still sore. The biggest bummer is the price, I need to figure out if it makes sense financially to join.

On Sunday, I drove down to Federal Way to meet Becky because we had a full day of cleaning her new condo ahead of us, Becky is officially moving to Gig Harbor! We geared up and scrubbed the kitchen and two bathrooms. She then put me on contact paper duty for all the drawers in her condo (kitchen and bathroom) and linen closet shelves. Before we knew it, our job was done! We rewarded ourselves with a little Sunday shopping and a late teriyaki lunch. Afterwards, I decided that a night in on the couch watching Criminal Minds with Mya snuggled next to me sounded much better than late night grocery shopping and laundry. How was your weekend?

Good Reads for a Rainy Thursday

1) 10 Things To Do the First 10 Minutes of Your Day

2) 12 Words Even Smart People Get Wrong

3) 5 Essentials You Need in Your Pantry

4) Dustin designed a full chassis for a 1946 Lincoln and it was featured in this french magazine.

5) A glimpse of what's going on in my life, in my sister's words.

Weeknight Recipe: Yellow Curry

There is no better scent than a home that has a savory dinner simmering over the stove or roasting in the oven. After experimenting with several different curry recipes, I finally created one that is easy to prepare for and even easier to eat!

I start by adding a heaping tablespoon of coconut oil to a large skillet over medium heat. Then, I add two chicken breasts (thawed and cubed) and sauté until cooked. You could season the chicken here, if you choose. Once the chicken is cooked I add my chopped sweet onion, sweet potato and yellow pepper. While the flavors are combining, I add two jars of Trader Joe's Thai Yellow Curry Sauces. To make sure I get all of the sauce out of the jar, I will add a bit of milk, shake it up, and pour out the remaining of the sauce. I have found that the milk adds a touch of sweetness that I really enjoy. I let everything simmer for about 20 minutes, or until the sweet potatoes are tender.

The best way to serve this dish (in my opinion) is over brown rice. I also love to pick up some organic naan bread from Costco. Having a side of naan makes for scrumptious dipping and helps your clean out your bowl :).

Enjoy!

Kitchen Part 1.

I spent a good chunk of my weekend putting away leftover boxes from our recent move and new boxes that we brought home from my mom's house last weekend. With my mom's house selling much quicker than anticipated, the process of moving her items to our house has been extremely chaotic and makes me head hurt. For the record, our garage will most likely never actually have a car in it. Many storage bins and a pool table currently live in there.

However, I am starting to feel more confident to finalize the decor of our rooms, knowing that I don't anticipate another "load" of things to be dropped off :). I know what I have and what I need to buy.

Here is the direction I am leaning towards with our dining area. I currently have the lamps, basket, table and credenza. I am crossing my fingers that my Craigslist posting moves quickly with our current dining chairs, so I can justify the purchase of new ones.

To be budget friendly, I need to be creative with wedding gift cards and know that purchasing rugs will be the best use of our money at Crate and Barrel. The striped one will be a door mat and the jute rug I am thinking will be used underneath our kitchen table.

Still a work in progress, but it certainly helps to see it all come together on a mood board.

Opinions are welcomed!

Our Week

Another week flew past us and I accomplished nothing on my "to-do" list! That is what the weekends are for, right?

We celebrated Dustin's birthday on Wednesday, which meant I was up late on Tuesday night baking and prepping with decorations after Dustin headed to bed! We headed to one of our favorite spots, Elliot Bay Brewery for dinner with family. Afterwards, we all gathered at our house for one of my mom's infamous birthday cookie cakes!

Katie is in town so of course we planned to see each other as soon as she came into town. We took Mya for a walk to the park before getting our grub on at the Tin Room accompanied by some yummy margaritas.

We have a few plans for the weekend, but mainly I am hoping to get our house in order at some point! What are your plans?

Ireland

Our first day in Ireland was simply gorgeous! We were tired from traveling but enjoyed a late lunch. We decided to grab coffees and walk along the river.

We found brick alley and Temple Bar! My favorite parts of the city.

We stopped for a drink here.

Then we had dinner at The Old Mill Restaurant and it was one of the best meals we had during our vacation. Think pot roast and veggies marinated in red wine and Guinness!

The next day we were off to tour the Guinness factory!

We even became certified in pouring Guinness beer!

     

We met the nicest restaurant owner and had another great meal for dinner!

We had drinks with one of our college best friends!

We ended our trip with one more adorable breakfast cafe.

I loved everything about Ireland!

We strolled around enjoying the sunshine and everything that makes Ireland beautiful!

Thoughts for a Tuesday

Why I Love Oktoberfest

We celebrated Jim and Molly's engagement! 

You get to dress up!

 

Steins and pretzels!

Prost!

The BEST food.

Crazy beer gardens!

You get to wear cookies around your neck from your sweetheart!

You can play fun fair games like a kid again!

Simply put, we love Octoberfest!