Love my BOY!

Cafe Rio House Dressing Baybe!

 I found this Ah-mazing recipe. There is this super-delicious Mexican food chain called Cafe Rio, you can ask almost any Utahn, they'll tell ya' how good it is. It's practically a staple for any BYU kid. (I am just guessing, I went to The U, neener, neener.) I am not even a huge Mexican food fan, and I can tell you, this place is amazing. Anyway, I found a recipe for their sweet pork and their DELicious house dressing. Well I tried my hand at the house dressing recipe, and it's AWESOME! And incredibly easy. It's a matter of throwing everything into the blender and pushing liquify. I found it at Your Home Based Mom. Thanks for sharing Leigh Anne, you rock!

You will notice I used one of mah handy-dandy pasta jars. It held the whole recipe perfectly! Almost like they were made for each other...

P.S. I currently working on the sweet pork. It is marinading in Coca-Cola as I am typing.
(I guess it's not called sweet pork for nuthin')

Family Reunion

Ahh, family reunions are nice, aren't they? It's always a long drive and includes mostly hanging out in the hot summer heat. Mine was no exception, but was still a fun time. Most of my family live in a different state, so a lot of them hadn't met my Boy yet. My husband unfortunately couldn't make it due to last minute work changes, so Baby and I rode with my younger sister and her husband who live about 2 hours from us.

The reunion was at my Dad's farm. He has animals and gardens, but he also built amenities such as an outhouse, cabins, and fun ride called the Flying Jenny, which is, in essence, a giant teeter-totter that spins in a big circle as well as goes up and down. The kids and adults alike loved it.

Baby Boy was having issues and wouldn't allow himself to be held for very long by relatives, which made me feel a bit bad, but I am glad we were able to make it.

My Dad and uncle on the Flying Jenny.

My Mom playing with her Grandson.

 




My sis Caitlin and hubby Kyle eatin' some grub.

Boy is so Interested in Grandpa's  beard!
(The focus wasn't quite right. ) :(

My Dad's "puppy" Victor. He is HUGE, and he is only EIGHT months! He is the farm bouncer, keeping it safe during the night.

Caitlin and her nephew.

 All in all, it was a good time. Lots of driving for a short weekend, but it was very nice to see everyone and get to spend a little time with my immediate family as well. Grammi and Grandpa don't get to see their grandbaby as often as they would like!

Little Loves

I decided to show off my adorable boy! A friend of mine is a talented photographer and she did a session for me. She did an amazing job!

Cookie Shapes and Colors & Sandcastle Quietbook Pages

I have started making a quiet book for my busy bee. He is not quiet old enough (he is coming up on 8 month soon), but I figure at the rate I am going, it MIGHT be finished by the time he is old enough to enjoy it.

I have found some fun ideas online but one of my favorite places to get inspired is Imagine Our Life. Stephanie is SO talented, her quiet book pages are Amazing!

I decided to try her cookie shapes and colors page.

  Such a cute pattern! I surely did not do it justice, but I love the glass of milk, so adorable!
It's hard to tell but it's made with a piece of clear vinyl, and a cookie can be "dipped" into the glass. 

My next page, also one of Stephanie's patterns, is her sandcastle page.

  I am still working on the last tower and a few fun beach items to go with it. 
I decided to sew my pages onto fabric instead of felt, I hope it works out for me!

 I also embroidered a crab behind the castle door. Stephanie had a button that she used, but I decided to just use the 'ol needle and thread for my page.

Storage Solutions

We have recently moved to a much smaller apartment than what we are used to.

HELP!

I went from having a garage to store all my junk, to having nowhere to put anything. On top of that, no cupboards in the kitchen. I decided that to save space, I would display my canisters on the top of my shelves. But they needed to be beautified!

I did NOT, however, take "before" pictures :( , so I will try to paint a picture for you.They were sitting there, a little set all lonely in the thrift shop, and I needed some storage for my WinCo bulk foods.  The lids looked like cheap plastic of a dusty baby blue color, a color that I did not love, but I knew I could help them find their beautiful selves. To make them displayable, I went to my local fabric shop and modpodged cute fabric to the lids. 

I also LOVE reusing old pasta jars.
Glass is wonderful. No leaching chemicals into food or whatever is inside it. I feel very safe using glass, so I love reusing glass pasta bottles. I decided to cover a few of those lids as well. 
If you decide to start reusing your old pasta bottles, be warned. They MUST be washed thoroughly. Twice through the dishwasher usually works. And I have found modpodging the inside of the lid will keep any "saucy" smells or flavors from getting into your stored food.