What's for dinner Wednesdays

What's for dinner Wednesdays is back! Summer is in full swing in southern Utah...we are hitting high nineties and it's only May! Whew! What is July going to be like? With such warm days, we've been spending lots of time outside in the pool, and not a lot of time cooking or baking. Meals have to be quick and simple, and our dessert of choice has been chocolate dipped strawberries! A great and quick dinner to make in the summer is meatball subs. I bought a package of frozen meatballs, a can of spaghetti sauce, and some buns. I sauteed onions and peppers, heated the meatballs and sauce, and quickly broiled the buns with some mozzerella cheese. Serve with some fresh fruit! Delish and quick!

A Cottage Tour

 I haven't posted any projects on here for a while, we have been on quite a journey this past month. We moved to a new state, delivered/lost our baby boy...and everything that goes in between. Things are settling down just a bit, and I thought I would post some pictures of our new home. I LOVE it! I call it our cottage.

Here is the view when you walk in...

And here is the living room to the right...

The stairs...

The powder room is just past the living room, on your way in to the kitchen/dining/family room

The family room is my favorite room. It is just off the kitchen and dining room feels very open and warm and inviting. The curtains I just made yesterday and they made my favorite room even more favorite!

Kitchen and dining room

Our last home had the washer/dryer hook ups in the garage. I am LOVING having a laundry room!

Master bedroom

Bryn's bathroom

I didn't get a picture of Bryn's room...she was napping, and our extra bedroom is still in the works. So this is our little cottage!

George Bradley Bird

On April 18, 2012, at 11:33 p.m. George Bradley Bird was born into His Heavenly Father's arms. He was 2 pounds, 12 ounches, 14 1/2 inches long. We were able to spend the day holding him, cherishing him, and memorizing his every detail. The veil was so thin in that hospital room. While we know we were only holding his body, we also know with as much surety that his spirit was there with us, and will continue to be with us. He was surrounded by his grandparents, his sister, as well as other dear family. We are so thankful to be near family during this time.

We are grateful for George, for all that he taught us, and know that he will continue to teach us through our lives if we let him. His work on this earth is complete, and we know his strong spirit is needed on the other side. We are grateful for our knowledge of the gospel, of the plan of salvation, of our Savior's atonement and ressurection, and we are especially grateful for the assurance that while some blessings don't come until heaven, they will come.

Jewelry Board

I saw this cute idea on 320 Sycamore and knew I had to make one! Moving twice in one year is really helping me get organized, and my jewelry is something that was NOT organized. So I used an old bulletin board I had bought at a yard sale last summer for 50 cents, sanded it and added a quick layer of paint, then started pinning all of my jewelry!

 Everything but my rings are on here, and I can hang it in my closet and have everything right there, easily accessible and totally organized!

S-S-S-Slacker

So someone has been completely slacking on the blogging around here...I have a million excuses..wanna hear 'em? How about instead I share a recipe? I honestly have not been cooking much lately...nothing's sounding good, and I'm getting a little tired of winter cooking--crockpots, soups, etc. Well, today was 70 degrees and BEAUTIFUL and inspired a little spring foods! I made pitas and they were delish! Well, I didn't actually make the pitas themselves, but I made the filling and it was so easy and so yummery and so light and tasty. It just felt like spring.

For the Pita Filling I chopped up veggies :
Lettuce, tomatoes, and I LOVE adding sprouts. You could grate carrots, add chopped spinach, anything you like!

 In a bowl, combine with the veggies:
shredded cheese, diced lunch meat (I used ham and chicken) sunflower seeds, sliced olives (these two ingredients are key!)

 If you are going to eat it now, go ahead and add mayonaise and mix it all together. If you are going to eat it later, or are only eating part of the filling, mix with mayonnaise in a separate bowl so that the leftovers don't get soggy.

Put filling in pita (the pitas at my grocery store didn't look too yummy so I just bought sandwich thins.

 I forgot to take a picture of the filling inside of the pita, because I was too darn hungry!

Just a little tip: if you buy those romaine hearts that come 3 in a bag, wash them all when you get them home, let them dry a little, wrap them in paper towels, and store them in a bag. They stay fresh and crisp much longer!

And coming soon... this lovely old filing cabinet is getting a facelift! Can't wait!

POP!

This week, my mom got to come and visit me!! The hubs was out of town, so it was a girl weekend...we did all our favorite things: baking, sewing, shopping, and watching chick flicks! I've been wanting to make some new pillows to add some POP to our now very beige couches and living room. Here are the finished products!

So springy and fun!! We tried some new recipes (mostly desserts of course) which I will share this week, including a sugar cookie sheet cake and a chocolate Texas sheet cake. So scrumptious!

Nutella Cookies

We made these cookies tonight and they turned out so darn good that we had to take them around and deliver them to our neighbors! (Rarely do things that I bake turn out good enough to want others to try them.) The secret weapon?? Nutella!!
Cream together:
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup nutella
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla

Add:
1 1/3 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt

Once combined, stir in 1 heaping cup of chocolate chips. Bake at 375 degrees for about ten minutes. They are SOOOOO tasty!

Oh, and my new favorite snack? Pretzel sticks dipped in Nutella. My daughter and I devoured a good cup of Nutella today dipping our pretzels into it...YUM!