Breakfast Lovers

I’ve said it before and I will say it again – we are major breakfast people in our home! There is just something about the smell of bacon in the morning. Or in the afternoon. Or for dinner. Let’s face it, all things that end with bacon end well. With my picky toddler tummy, it’s always a constant guessing game as to what Hallie will eat today. This week there is a mild obsession with mini mandarin oranges. Last week it was cheese. The minute you feel confident that she loves a certain type of food (for examples, bananas), she will change her mood so fast that you won’t even get home from the grocery store with it and she has decided it’s gross. Bananas are now a mushy form of lotion that she likes to massage into her own hands. Thank the lord I can still get her into a high chair or bananas would be my new living room rug. One consistency Hallie has always remained true to though is toast. Sometimes she just likes to suck the butter off and discard it but 7 times out of 10 she will eat it. Which is why I am a huge fan of French Toast! Bit of protein from the eggs and a dash of fun with cinnamon, nutmeg and pumpkin spice. What kid doesn’t love it?! I am a huge fan too so it’s a win for everyone. Not to mention the massive side of bacon we can easily pile up on the plate next to it! There is something about the cooler weather & Fall that makes me feel like cooking up a warm breakfast on the daily. No wonder everyone gets a little chubbier this time of year! I am currently on the hunt for some new breakfast recipes too so if you have any to share, please do. Pinterest is such a fantastic resource for such things but these days I don’t exactly have two hours to get lost in the pinning world. Hope you are all having a great Friday and that the weekend ahead is full of bacon and smiles!

I have had people asking me lately about my dish & coffee mug obsession on Instagram! Majority of my dishes and items styled in photographs are from Anthropologie and my favourite mixing bowl shown above here is from Homesense.

Just because I can’t resist…. (‘Stop taking my picture mom!’)

Valentines Day Fun

Valentines Day is this weekend! The holiday of looooooooove! I have always loved this holiday. Not that I have ever had an over-the-top, full of romance day…. Before I met my husband this day was definitely NOT one to look forward to. In fact, I would often make a cocktail date with other single girlfriends and get way too intoxicated on wine. But Henry and I have had a few good ones now for sure. For the life of me, I cannot remember last year’s Valentines Day. Hallie would have been four months old so perhaps I was still in sleep deprivation HELL and not able to recall all, or many for that matter, moments. It’s also very close to my birthday so perhaps it was overshadowed by that. Who knows?! One thing I do know that it was a day where we celebrated our commitment to each other in our marriage, something we try to remember to do as often as we possibly can! I would say daily but life gets in the way, let’s be honest. This year, we will be visiting family in Grand Forks for the weekend so we will be spending Valentines Day there. Won’t be a very romantic day between hubby and wife but I am determined to make it a great day for everyone, babies included. Hallie is still too young but she has noticed the abundance of hearts in our home, and even assisted in making Valentines this afternoon. Girlfriend definitely has a thing for arts & crafts, just like her momma! Now if she would just behave on our shopping excursions to Michaels…

Have you taken a look on Pinterest for Valentines related pins? So many cute ideas! This Reeces Pieces idea would be perfect for my husband as he LOVES those chocolates to bits and pieces (see what I did there?!). I am also LOVING this decor idea with the branches and tiny pink hearts. Bit late now and I do not have any spare branches on hand, believe it or not, but a next year craft for sure! Lastly, these hearts are just cute to boot. I don’t know what I would do with them (maybe assemble a garland over the fireplace?) but I think they would be super fun and easy to make. Aside from a few heart garlands and some festive bouquets, my house is on the minimalist side for V-Day decor. Shame on me, better luck next holiday! What sort of decor have you selected to celebrate the loooooove?

Though today was supposed to involve road trip prep and packing, Hallie and I spent most of the day cuddling, trying to get rid of our annoying colds. Hers more than mine unfortunately. FYI, when your child is not feeling well, maybe avoid giving them milk… It’s a real treat to have a curdled, cottage-cheese like liquid hurtled all over you as soon as you change out of the last shirt she spread her breakfast all over. So much for avoiding doing laundry before we leave! Poor kid… Despite that incident, she was mostly all smiles for the day. It’s amazing what Curious George can do. Between cuddles, I managed to get some serious baking and card making done. We made DELICIOUS strawberry shortcake cookies with chocolate chips (recipe here), home-cooked sweet potato for Hallie’s dinners this weekend, and cheese and chive scones with a melted butter glaze. YUM! They were intended for the drive up but I promise you they won’t last. As far as card making went, Hallie and I made Valentines for daddy! She contributed by ripping up pieces of pink paper for hers. It was so much fun! I think we have definitely started a new tradition of making our own Valentines versus buying them. Which also makes me curious about Valentines Day traditions. Do you have any that you repeat every year with your husband or family? I would love to start a few! Looks like I have something else to search for on Pinterest….. !!!!
Have a wonderfully romantic Valentines Day weekend everyone!

COOKIES!!

First time @ making scones…. Filing under easy and delicious!

Valentines Day Card Making – courtesy of Pinterest ideas of course!

Those Cookies Though

Okay! So about those delicious cookies. This bad boy came out of my mother’s handwritten recipe book so as for where it initially came from, not a clue. One thing I do know is that they are EASY PEASY and yummy to boot. The only difficult part is not eating them all in one go.

Enjoy!

What You Will Need:
1 cup of Peanut Butter (To try and keep things in a healthy direction, I opted for Adam’s All Natural)
1/2 cup of butter, softened
1 egg
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
3 tbsp Milk
1 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 cups chocolate chips

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Combine peanut butter, both sugars and butter in a mixing bowl and cream until blended. Beat in milk, egg and vanilla. In a separate bowl combine flour, salt and baking powder. Combine and mix with the peanut butter mixture and mix until smooth. On an ungreased baking sheet (or use parchment paper) spoon out tablespoons of the cookie mixture and roll into balls. Place them two inches apart as the baking powder will make them rise and expand. I safely with between 6 and 8 balls on a making sheet, depending on the sheets size. Oh and word to the wise, the better the baking sheet, the less likely it is the bottoms of your cookies will burn. Press each ball down with a fork and bake for 10 minutes. I recommend baking each sheet separately, on its own. This takes more time and obviously more energy from your oven having it on longer, but it will result in a better quality cookie, I promise you! Remove from oven and allow to cool on cooling rack for ten minutes. These babies are best when they are soft and warm so do not let them sit too long without a quality taste test!

 

 

What To Do With Bread Ends

We go through a lot of bread in our house. Hubby takes a sandwich everyday for lunch. I am a carb whore so not a day goes by when I don’t have a couple pieces of toast. Bagels are my weakness – my doctor actually cut me off of bagels at my seventh month mark in my pregnancy.

Favourites From The Kitchen In My 29th Week

Before I got pregnant I always thought it would be the same for me as it is in the movies – craving odd combinations like pickles and peanut butter, weird flavoured ice cream in the middle of the night, and all the other baffling snack demands you hear about from preggo ladies.