5 {sweet} things

1. Sweet baby boy.

2. New earrings.

3. New locket I made

4. Pears in my window ripening up to eat.

5. Melt....

I'm linking up over at:

Aunt Karna's Angel Hair Pasta

My aunt and uncle are missionaries overseas. For a while they were stationed in Italy and during that time my mom asked my aunt, "Can you please give me some authentic Italian recipes?" And this was one she sent. I've made a few changes, like adding garlic and onion.

You'll need:

2 Chicken breasts

2 cloves garlic

1/2 onion

2 T. olive/canola oil

1-2 small zucchini

1 head of broccoli

2-3 medium carrots

1 container grape/cherry tomatoes

2/3 cup chicken broth

1 t. basil (dry or 1/2 t. fresh)

 salt to taste 

Chop chicken and onion. Add minced garlic and oil. Saute in a large pan until chicken is cooked. 

 While that's cooking, chop carrots, zucchini, and broccoli.

(Broccoli not pictures because I used frozen.)

Add carrots to chicken and cook til carrots are just starting to get tender.

Then add the broccoli and cook until tender

.

 

Add zucchini and cook until tender. (Seeing a pattern here? :)

Add your basil to the chicken broth. Pour over veggie/chicken mixture and bring to a boil.

 

Chop tomatoes in half and add to the veggies and chicken.

Cook tomatoes down till they look like this:

 

Serve over angel hair pasta (I used whole wheat spaghetti) and top with parmesan cheese if desired.

More recipes to come soon! I had some requests for the ones found in my recent post about autumn.

Autumn favorites.

This week my 5 things are autumn themed! I love that the weather is getting chillier!

I like this idea to take a few minutes each week to think of 5 things I'm thankful for that have brightened my week.

1.I've been in a baking mood lately. First it was an apple pie because we got some apples from my parent's tree.

2. Then I made an apple cake with cream cheese frosting. 

3. Cherry Cake bars!

4. I joined the Scentsy band wagon yesterday. Love.

I got the Hampton warmer and Black Raspberry Vanilla scent. Mmmm...
Here it is on my piano.

5. One of my favorite things about fall; apple cider!

I'm linking up over at:

C's 13 month update

C turned 13 months just a few days ago. He is doing so many new things now! One of the things he does all the time is when he sees something he likes (Cell, phone, ceiling fan, dog, bottle, etc..) he smiles, points at it and makes a happy 'Ah! Ah!' noise.

Climbing is a new favorite. We have a park near our house and we're going there pretty often.

Climbing is not limited to the playground.

Currently anything is a toy. The less conventional the better.

The straightener is NOT plugged in, in case you were wondering.

C is eating all sorts of foods and is eating at regular mealtimes with snacks in between. Some of his favorite foods right now are goldfish crackers, grapes, pears, and yogurt bites.

Eating a rainbow.

C is now quite adept at opening cupboards, drawers, and doors and takes every available opportunity to show off his prowess. I'm also discovering he likes to put things 'in.'  This week I found a baseball in with the pots and pans, a maraca in with my dish towels, my blush brush in the toilet, and a measuring cup in the washing machine. Yeah.

He still likes to put all of his toys up on the coffee table, but is also enjoying walking around with things too. Speaking of walking, C is doing a lot more of it, and it's starting to turn into running now too. 

I'm bustin' outta here!

C has learned a few body parts; belly, head, and nose. He will perform selectively. He's also learning the names for things. If I say, "Where's  your tiger/giraffe/fire truck?" he'll go find it. He also likes to play hide and seek and peek around corners and furniture.

Playing with Daddy!

C loves playing with other kids! He is starting to get a bit more assertive though if he doesn't want something taken away from him.

"So big!"

This is such a fun age! He is so happy and life is a big adventure. There's always something to check out and explore. I love watching him toddle around.

 With Uncle Joe.

 Tigger's stuck, Mom!

The little things

I took C on a walk to our local library a couple days ago. It's about a mile away from our house. I was kind of in a hurry, wanting to make it 'exercise' and all the sudden I looked down at C and noticed how much he was looking around and taking in all in. Smiling when the wind blew his hair and pointing at dogs and cars. 

It made me smile. I suddenly noticed colorful leaves on the ground. I stopped the stroller and picked one up and handed it to C. He got the biggest smile on his face and waved it around like a flag.

I suddenly was taken back to my childhood. I had a dad that would take us on walks on a local nature trail every weekend that we had nice weather

. We would stop and cross a creek, explore a 'secret' meadow, collect leaves while he would explain to us how to tell the difference between an oak and maple, he would show us the 'Queen' Ant in Queen Ann's Lace, and teach us how to open up Sycamore pods and find the seeds that you could plant and actually grow a tree. We would collect cicada shells, make grass whistles, collect and press leaves and flowers, and plant vegetable seeds. 

Not only did my dad teach me an appreciation for nature and the God that created it, but he taught me to enjoy the little things in life, to pay attention to small details. 

This is the type of parent I want to be. I want to celebrate and encourage my children's child-like awe and wonder of the world around them. I want them to imagine, create, and explore. 

I never want to be so busy and preoccupied that I don't notice the beauty of the world around and take the time to share that beauty with my children.

A saying that is a motto for my husband and I is: "The little things are really the big things." What it means to us is that the little things (grocery shopping together, evening walks, taking C to the park, sitting on the couch drinking hot cocoa and talking, working on the yard together, etc...) are really the things that make life special. They are the things that really matter.

5 Things

5 things that made me smile this week:

1) Norwex enviro cloth and window polishing cloth

These are wonderful. All you do is add water and they clean windows and mirrors streak free. You can also use the enviro cloth to dust and sanitize because it is embedded with silver which eliminates 99.94 % of germs. (Gosh! You'd think I sell these! I don't, I just am a huge fan!!!)

2. Paula Dean ladle.

Notice how it is pointed at one end?? Genius! It doesn't drip or spill.

3. New smart phone with fun cover.

It makes life so much easier! When we were at the store the sales lady asked if we wanted covers. My hubby found a nice plain black one, but I didn't like any of the other colors (bubble gum pink, cherry red, and hunter green.) so I said I might keep looking.

The lady smiled and said, "Check out the mall. They have more fun designs." 

I found this baby and I likey! My hubby saw it and smiled. "I wouldn't have expected anything different." He knows I like colorful and punchy things!

4. Hard salami from Target

Made grilled sandwiches with this and smoked gouda. So yummy!

5. Sweet and salty trail mix

Just. Addicting.

Salted and roasted almonds

Walnuts

White chocolate chips

Raisins

PB2 powder

Cocoa powder

Vi-Shake mix powder

I can't keep away from this stuff! I just sent the rest of it to work with the hubby to get it out of the house!

I'm linking up over at:

New Bedroom Art

I decided it was time to mix it up in the hubs and my bedroom. I had purchased some art work when we were first married, but I was ready for something new.

Here's the old art work:

I won a giveaway on a blog for a credit to the etsy shop of  Two Broads Design. They make all sorts of fun wedding things (chalk boards, favor bags, wedding dress hangers, etc...) I ended up choosing some small chalk boards that have two holes drilled in the top that can be used as tags. At first I thought I would use them as labels, but then I got the idea to make a pennant banner with them.

I love how it turned out!

The night stands are IKEA.
All the decorative pillows except for the cream 'fluffy' one I made myself.

The mirror was a Goodwill find that I painted black.

Awesome bench: My dad made this out of old barn boards a couple of Christmases ago.

I wrote little sayings that mean a lot to us or just general things to do with marriage.

***Update***

Here's the room with a couple of new lamps I found at Target. The bases were $6.75 and the burlap shades were $3.75!!!

Also,

Have you checked out my jewelry giveaway yet??

Here it is!

  Linking up at:

Thrift Decor Chick