Cousins Fun

Nina and her cousin Evan just love to play together. They're exactly three months apart!

Nina likes to touch Evan's head and hold his hand. Evan likes to be held by Nina and have a tummy time partner!


Five Bits

1. There is nothing noble about being superior to some other person. The true nobility is in being superior to your previous self. - hindu proverb

2. To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people just exist. - oscar wilde

3. Walk by faith, not by sight. - 2 corinthians 5:7

4. The things you're scared of are usually the most worthwhile. - unknown

5. If you want to improve, be content to be thought foolish and stupid. - epictetus

Pink and Polka Dots

Just had to share these cute photos!

Happy Weekend!


Winter Roasted Salsa

Mr. Evans and I love to keep salsa in the fridge. In the summer, it's nothing but fresh, featuring the tastes of juicy homegrown tomatoes. However, since it's cold and the crop of tomatoes is not so lovely this time of year, I opt for the recipe below. It gives me a reason to run the stove (anything warm makes me happy) and it is a nice staple for us to snack on. It's as easy as 1, 2, 3. :)


1. Heat broiler, with rack in top position. Place 2 large tomatoes, 1 white onion, 1-2 jalapenos (I used half, and remember to remove the seeds if you like), and 3 garlic cloves (unpeeled) on a rimmed baking sheet.

2. Broil until vegetables are blistered. The number of minutes depends on your broiler. We have a gas stove, so mine took about 10 minutes or so.

3. Discard garlic skins. Put everything into a food processor and pulse until coarsely pureed. Add 3 tablespoons lime juice, season with coarse salt and pepper and pulse to combine. Then, add about 1/2 cup (or so, I don't measure) of cilantro. Pulse until combined.

Enjoy!

*This recipe is loosely adapted from Real Simple.

A beginner foodie

Yeah! Our little Nina is on her fourth day of eating rice cereal! Here is a photo from her first attempt. She did great! And, I'm pleased to say it is definitely helping with her reflux and spitting up.

This week, I plan to stock up and make lots of freezer baby food. Stay tuned for a post on what I'm making my little foodie.


P.S. Not to complain, but I have now had three stomach flu's and three colds in the past four months. Anyone have any remedies? Perhaps a warm weather vacation is in order!

Five Bits


1. Time does not change us. It unfolds us. - max frisch

2. Nothing has the strength of gentleness and nothing is so gentle as strength. - unknown

3. Be careful as crossing frozen water, alert as a warrior on enemy ground. Be courteous as a guest, as fluid as a stream. Be as shapeable as a block of wood, as receptive as glass. Don't seek and don't expect. Be patient and wait until your mud settles and the water is clear. Be patient and wait. Your mud will settle. You water will be clear. - tao te ching

4. The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes. - proust

5. For one human being to love another is perhaps the most difficult task of all, the epitome, the ultimate test. It is that striving for which all other is merely preparation. - rainer maria rilke

Cheese to Please

It's no secret. I love cheese. Not just ooey-gooey cheese, but rich, flavorful cheese. Gorgonzola, blue, Gouda, anything made by Sartori, extra sharp cheddar, Beechwood cheese in the summer. Yum.

Mr. Evans was recently in Madison and stopped at Fromagination (click here), located right across the street from the Capitol building. It's a great store. He picked up some 10 year aged Wisconsin cheddar and a jar of Quince. I love to top my cheese with something sweet... Quince or Fig spreads are my favorite.

Just thought I'd share. And, next time you're in Madison... check it out the store. :)


Four Months

As of January 13, Nina is four months old. This picture is of her giggling and talking. Her new favorite things to do.

We took her to the doctor yesterday... she's doing great! She's in the 50% for weight and 80-90% for height!


My two favorites


Life is good.

I was able to snap this cute photo about two seconds before Nina spit up. That's what happens with a reflux baby!

Five bits

1. Luck is just a matter of preparation meeting opportunity. - unknown

2. Your mind is stronger than any muscle. - unknown

3. Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could. Some blunders and absurdities may have crept it; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day. You shall begin it serenly and with too high a spirit to be encumbered with your old nonsense. - emerson

4. Class is an aura of confidence that is being sure without being cocky. Class has nothing to do with money. Class never runs scared. It is self-discipline and self-knowledge. It's the sure footedness that comes with having proved you can meet life. - ann landers

5. Don't cling to comfort and everything will be comfortable. - tao te ching

Could not resist this...

I usually cannot resist all things CostCo. This is no exception. Seriously, when they have a giant can of beautiful San Marzano tomatoes that happens to have the brand name "Nina"... could you pass it up?


I've been pinned!

I just had to share a fun piece of news. I recently discovered that I've been pinned... on Pinterest (only my fav website of the moment)! Click here to check it out. It features my Ikea Rast post (here).

Ok, that's all for now. Happy Thursday!

GP Salad

For Christmas, I received the Gwyneth Paltrow's cookbook, My Father's Daughter. I would pretty much eat every single recipe in the book. It's full of fresh, healthy and mainly meat free options. Since I don't eat chicken and Mr. Evans needs all the protein he can get (Ironman training, remember?), we get creative with our dinner options. This recipe isn't necessarily creative, but it is a good quick standby.

Gwyneth has a ton of salad and dressing recipes, which is right up my alley because I refuse to buy store bought salad dressing when it's so much easier (and healthier and cheaper) to make it myself. Disclaimer... I do love Hidden Valley Ranch with my pizza (lol), so I do keep that around.

Here's one of MANY dressings she makes. It's by far the most simplistic (and frankly, the most boring of those she presents).

Standby Vinaigrette:
2 tsp Dijon mustard
2 tsp real Vermont maple syrup
1/4 c. red wine vinegar
2 T vegetable or canola oil
1/2 c. evoo
coarse salt
freshly ground black pepper

My favorite salad ingredients are a protein (shrimp, salmon, or steak), crumbled goat or gorgonzola cheese, walnuts/pecans/almonds, tomatoes, chickpeas, blueberries, any type of berry, sliced pears, etc (although not necessarily together, of course). We prefer arugula, spinach, butter lettuce or a mesclun mix for salad.

Here we used salmon, butter lettuce, tomatoes and goat cheese. Super simple weeknight meal!


Blogoversary

It's official. I've been blogging for a year! To celebrate, I thought I'd make a subtle change to my blog's background. Have you noticed? It's nothing major, but is just something new.

What do you think?


Five bits for your consideration

Each Monday, I'll be starting off the week with mostly random thoughts and quotes ... for your consideration. The intention is to start off our week with a bit more purpose and inspiration. Enjoy!

1. A man's character is his fate. - heraclitus

2. Feelings are never wrong. It's the actions we take that cause our problems. - unknown

3. If you do what you've always done, you'll get what you've always gotten. - anthony robbins

4. Live with intention. We all have the same 24 hours. - anonymous

5. I count him braver who conquers his desires than him who conquers his enemies; for the hardest victory is victory over self. - aristotle


The New Year

Over the New Year's weekend, we were in Hudson, WI (near the Twin Cities) celebrating Christmas (and New Year's) with the Evans family.

My SIL Katie had a baby boy on December 13th (exactly three month's after Nina). Here is below. Isn't he handsome? Welcome to the world, Evan Brian... our latest godchild. Don't you love the name? I tribute to my SIL's maiden name!

Here is my wonderful family of in-laws. Since I am only child, I feel so blessed to have married into a family with three other girls! :)

Here are a few photos of sweet Evan and baby Nina. I cannot wait they can play together!

Some random photos of Ethan (another godchild, what a gentle giant), Elsa (full of spunk), and lovely Aunt Buh (Beth) who made the trek from Montana for the holidays. We missed her fiance Nick, but look forward to their wedding in a few months!

I hope everyone is having a great 2012, thus far. Anyone working on a resolution list? My cousin-in-law Kala started one of hers already... click here! I was happy to help her design the blog!

"App"-solutely Adorable

Seriously, don't you just love that babies can use an iPad? How cute is this? :)


Anyone have any recommendations for cute/educational apps for when she gets older?

Homemade Pizza

A few weekends ago we had our good friends John and Kayla over for homemade pizza night. It was a totally last minute get together. Sometimes, those are the best, don't you agree?

We bought dough mix packets - a few different varieties, but decided the cheaper the better. Jiffy Pizza Dough mix was the best! Read below for our yummy toppings!

For the pizza sauce, I whipped a thicker version of my family's pasta sauce recipe. I took one small can of tomato paste and added water, sugar, breadcrumbs, basil, oregano, salt and pepper.

Margherita Pizza (Fresh Mozzarella and Basil)

Caramelized Onion, Fresh Mozzarella and Prosciutto)

Pesto and Fresh Mozzarella (we topped it wish fresh arugula after it came out of the oven)

Kayla, Nina and I



LinkWithin

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...
 
Blogging tips