Santa visited Kate's school earlier this month and we just got the pictures back. I'm so proud of my big girl, no tears and we even got a (somewhat) smile!
Fall Family Photos
09 December 2018
Last month we had family pictures taken by Kara Johnson Photography in Little Rock. I actually went to high school with Kara, she lives in NWA now but was in town visiting her parents so we scored while she was in town! She did such a good job.
Thanksgiving 2018
07 December 2018
This year we celebrated Thanksgiving in Wynne with the Johnston Family. This picture was taken on Thanksgiving Day with our sweet little girl.
Clark's Birthday + Visit from Grandma & Nonno
06 December 2018
Kate's school was closed the day before Thanksgiving so I got to stay home and spend a day with her. It worked out perfectly since my brother was coming through with my grandparents from NWA. We haven't seen them since April so I enjoyed getting to visit for a bit!
Friendsgiving / Opening Weekend
28 November 2018
Do you know how hard it is to get 5 littles to take a picture? It's pretty darn hard. I should really try to share the video of what was going on behind the camera when this was taken. Mamas jumping around like crazy ladies.
Shortcut Vietnamese Chicken Pho
15 November 2018
OMG. We loved this. I seriously can't wait to make it again. It was so good. So full of flavor and you'd never know how quick it cooked. This is from the new Skinnytaste One and Done Cookbook. If you've been around for long, you know I love Skinnytaste!!
Halloween + Fall Fun Week
08 November 2018
Hey cutie pie!! Last week, Kate's school had fall fun week. And let me just say-- she rocked it. She was so adorable. I was semi stressed about it because, well.. she's 1 and she does not have a favorite Disney character and she does not have a favorite superhero and to be 100% honest... I couldn't even think of a superhero.
Baby Chicken Pot Pies
07 November 2018
I've been having the hardest time figuring out what to send for lunch with Kate. I had it all figured out and then I didn't. It's so much easier when she's with me. Like will this be good cold? What if all this runs together and gets soggy? I hate to just send a pouch BUT it's so easy!!! Will they judge me if I send peas and carrots every single day? When will Kate stop liking peas and carrots?! So many thoughts.
Kate - 12 Months
06 November 2018
I can't believe the first year has passed. Kate has been such a joy! I love to watch her grow and learn. She's the sweetest little girl and I'm so thankful she is ours!
Photo Personalized Christmas Cards with Basic Invite
04 November 2018
I'm here today with an Alex Lately first. My first sponsored post. Which is really cool, exciting and fun since it's about something I love so much!
I think handwritten cards are the best. My mom has always required that we write thank you notes for everything! I love stationary, I love cards and I really love designing our Christmas cards each year. So when BasicInvite.com contacted me about this post, I was a little beside myself. Turns out the answer was easy, of course I'll post about something I love!
Kate - Month 11
11 October 2018
Hello month when you finally started sleeping through the night! If I had to read one more post from people with 3 months old talking about how their babies slept 11 hours a night... I might have puked. But my sweet, sweet, cuddly, lovable baby finally did it on her own!!
Gnocchi with Sun-Dried Tomatoes, Pancetta and Roquefort Cheese
10 October 2018
Yumm!! I made this dish one night last week and really loved it. It's nothing like I've ever made before. But we've eaten gnocchi a few times with some kind of red sauce and really liked it. I saw this online like a year ago and keep forgetting to make it.
Small Guest Bath Updates
09 October 2018
This bathroom seemed to have been just updated when we moved in our house. I love the pretty white sink, but if I were doing the renovating, I would have put in something more functional! Call me practical but bathrooms need a little counter top space and a little storage.
Big HUGE Kate Print
08 October 2018
I've seen these really neat kid pictures all over the internet. It looks like people have just taken the background out, blown up the picture and framed it. Couldn't be that hard, right??
Sunday with Kate
07 October 2018
As I've previously mentioned, photos are so hard these days!! I had Kate's daddy standing behind me to make her smile and the following is what I got.
Kate turns 1!!!
06 October 2018
Kate Johnston is ONE!! I can't believe my baby girl is growing so fast!
We had her party last month, the day before her actual birthday and it was so fun! We are so thankful to all our friends and family members who made it such a special day.
Huevos Rancheros
05 October 2018
Hello! Today is a good day. Why? Because we got a new cookbook! And it's our favorite, Rick Bayless, second Mexican cookbook, More Mexican Everyday. (You know the ONE I SCREAM at you to buy all the time!) *updated with new photo on 3/13
Peter Rabbit Banner
04 October 2018
Kate turned ONE last month! We hosted a Peter Rabbit themed party for her.. let me say the theme was "lose." I didn't go all out PR everything but I had some touches here and there.
Happy Labor Day!
03 October 2018
I'm just a touch late in posting about Labor Day! But here I am so happy belated :)
Kate - 10 Months
12 September 2018
Something I realized while preparing pictures for Kate's 10 month update-- she spent much of this month in only a diaper. It's kind of funny how many pictures I have with no shirt on!
I love this one at the top. She really has quite the personality. And it's kind of weird writing this so many months after the fact. I've got to keep up!! I think this was around the time her personality was really starting to come out in photos. The face is SUCH a Kate face. And the next one too!
Seared Salmon with Spinach and Creamy Roasted Peppers
31 August 2018
I don't even know how to start recipe posts anymore. I'm obviously posting them because we loved it. It's obvious that I'm either posting Asian or Mexican at this point. And I'm more than likely posting one from Rick Bayless and Mexican Everyday.
Mexican Chicken Bowl - Meal Prep
30 August 2018
I'm really getting creative with my meal prep these days. I was doing great with it... then not so great and I'm trying again. But I'm trying to incorporate really good, easy things and make lunch out of them.
Jalapeno-Baked Fish with Roasted Tomatoes and Potatoes
29 August 2018
I AM GOING TO SCREAM AT YOU AND TELL YOU HOW MUCH WE LOVE THE MEXICAN EVERYDAY COOKBOOK AGAIN. BECAUSE I'VE TOLD YOU SO MANY TIMES THAT I FEEL LIKE THIS IS THE ONLY WAY TO GET MY POINT ACROSS. IT'S SO GOOD. DO YOU HEAR ME?
Johnston Family Takes the Beach
28 August 2018
Raise your hand if you love the beach! My hand is raised, even though you can't see me... or my hand.
Sunday with Kate + The Day The Bows Died
24 August 2018
I'm so obsessed with this sweet, funny, adorable baby girl. Something happened this particular Sunday. I got Kate dressed and ready for church, sat her down to take pictures, put her bow in and suddenly.....
Kitchen + Nook = Finally.
12 August 2018
I can't tell you how long I've been working on this room. When we moved in, we (Brian) had no idea what we wanted to do with it. It seemed silly to just stick another table in it and have two places to eat.
From the beginning, I said we needed to build a banquette and make it comfy. We also tossed around the idea of a mudroom, office, "lounge" with a small couch and tv. What if we put in a window on the blank wall for some sunlight? No? French doors leading out to a deck? No? The ideas were endless.
Slow Cooker Poached Salmon
11 August 2018
We always say that we're going to cook more fish and then we don't. I don't always love the selection of fish at Kroger and I haven't found a good market yet.
Last week, as we were meal planning, I came across this recipe from the Skinnytaste Fast and Slow Cookbook and we collectively said YES! I love cooking with white wine, lemons and capers. I knew this would be good.
Lemon Dill Chicken
10 August 2018
Another day, another recipe, another win from Skinnytaste. She techinically calls this Chicken Salad with Lemon and Dill but it's not chicken-salad-ish to me.
I made this a few weeks ago on a Saturday afternoon with a tomato and cucumber salad. It was the perfect summer lunch. So we doubled the recipe and made it again at the beach last week. This time we added the Greek Chickpea Salad as a side.
Bathroom Refresh
09 August 2018
The majority of our house had been updated when we moved in. It was built in 1953 so you can imagine that it was time. Our house appears to be one story when looking at it from the street. But it's on a hill and has a walkout basement. So when I say upstairs people think it's weird that our kitchen is on the second floor, but it's actually the main level.
Roasted Tomatoes + Spaghetti
03 August 2018
If you've been following my blog for a while, like I know so many of you have been! Then you will know I blogged a couple years ago about all the ways I cooked Bradley Co tomatoes one summer. Well, three years later- I've done it again. Except I only cooked them one way this time. And I basically did the same thing I did last time with a few edits.
Chicken in Tangy Escabeche
02 August 2018
Hello! I'm back with ANOTHER recipe from Rick Bayless and Mexican Everyday. The only reason I can find for why you haven't bought this book by now is that you are just stealing all the recipes from me. Which is fine. But gracious- this cookbook is good, ya'll.
Baby Food Meal Prep
01 August 2018
I never really had that much of a desire to make baby food. Purees really. I work five days a week and the thought of steaming, blending, cooling, packaging, etc, etc didn't appeal to me. So I bought food and then I felt bad. And then I researched said purchased food and realized it wasn't that great. And then I felt worse. AND then I researched and found good options and then I didn't feel bad at all.
Living Room Update
31 July 2018
I posted out living room about 6/7 months after we moved into our (new) home. Can I still call it new? We've almost been here for 2 years- which is crazy! But today I'm back with an update!
Baby ISH - 3rd Installment
30 July 2018
1. Sit-to-Stand Learning Walker | 2. Happy Baby Puffs | 3. CeraVe Baby Wash/Shampoo | 4. Food Storage Cups
5. Building Blocks | 6. Sippy Cup | 7. Summer Baby 3D Lite Stroller | 8. Boon Snack Cups | 9. Pampers Pure Wipes
10. Stacking Buckets | 11. Copper Pearl Bibs
This is my most colorful baby update to date! It's like I could only keep my calm, cool, neutral color palette around for so long until we really couldn't control it!
Sunday with Kate
29 July 2018
Look at that sweet, laughing baby girl! She's so fun! Ya'll... I know I say this all the time but she is just such a good, happy baby.
Breakfast Meal Prep
28 July 2018
Another homerun with Skinnytaste! I made this for breakfast this week and it was so good! Funny thing, I actually only ate it for breakfast once. It turns out that this was way too much food for me at breakfast time. Brian skipped breakfast and ended up eating it for lunch on the first day so I joined him on the second and enjoyed it much more for lunch!
Kate's Baptism
27 July 2018
We baptized sweet baby Kate a couple weeks ago and it was a really great weekend. We had so many family members join us and it made the weekend that much more special.
Happy 4th!!
26 July 2018
We spent the 4th of July at the lake this year. It was strange since it fell on a Wednesday. Brian and I ended up taking Thursday off and then I had Friday off too. So it was a super nice long weekend.
We went down to the lake Tuesday after work and Brian's brother David joined us. We had a really fun time!
Guajillo-Spiced Pork + Potatoes
25 July 2018
HELLO! I took a couple week break but I'm back with another amazing recipe. I've had a few people tell me in the past couple weeks that they are trying the recipes I blog and that makes me so happy! They are generally easy and delish. Every meal should be so good! IMO
Sunday with Kate
02 July 2018
Have I ever mentioned how much I love spending the weekend with this sweet baby and her daddy? And how precious does she look in this sweet lavender dress? PRECIOUS.
Fresh Veggies + Chicken Escabeche
30 June 2018
Mexican Everyday strikes again! We actually cooked from it twice last weekend and both were SO good. We've made this dish before but used Chicken Breasts... and it was good but not great. We tried again, this time using thighs, and it was a home run!
Kate Goes to Target
29 June 2018
I'm really worried that my child doesn't like Target. Sure we went twice in one week. And she was probably getting close to hungry when these pictures were taken. And SURE we had been there for almost 45 minutes at this point. The look on that face above isn't a look of enjoying a fun weekly trip to Target. Which mama ENJOYS!
Homemade Spaghetti + Bread
28 June 2018
I FINALLY converted Brian to an Italian lover. Okay, maybe a liker. We don't eat a whole lot of Italian in our house and he's never been that big of a fan of spaghetti. Mainly because, I've been trying to explain to him, spaghetti sauce doesn't come from a jar. To be good, it's got to be homemade!
Not All Skincare is Created Equally...
27 June 2018
I've never been that in to my skincare or makeup routine. I use things that work well-ish and call it a day. I've never spent a lot of money and we all know, I love a good sale.
Kate - 9 Months
26 June 2018
Happy 9 Months to our baby girl! I say this every month but this month was so fun! You are coming alive and have the best little personality. You are such a happy baby and that makes mom and dad so happy! You are the sunshine in our every single day and we love you more than words can say.
Greek Chickpea Salad
25 June 2018
A couple weeks ago, Brian and I were menu planning.. had just about finished everything up when he asked the dreaded question.. "What's for lunch?" NOOO. I hate this question. I never have good lunch ideas. So we decide on a smoked chicken from the grocery store (that doesn't sound delish but I can use the chicken for Kate too) and then Brian says, "grab a salad."
Sunday with Kate
24 June 2018
I'm going to do something crazy this week. I'm going to post "Sunday with Kate" this week on an actual Sunday! I know, right.
Phase 2 - Baby ISH
23 June 2018
7 . Skip Hop Activity Table | 8. Baby Scooties | 9. Boogie Wipes
In a strange way, making these little lists are fun and kind of like a walk down memory lane. By the time I completed the FIRST list, we had already moved on to half of the things on this list. And now that I'm wrapping this list, I'm already making notes of what to put on Phase 3!
Kate - Month 8
22 June 2018
Happy belated 8 months to our fun, sweet, chatty girl! You are officially in to everything!!! And suddenly our house is the most dangerous place, ever. Okay.. I'm being a little dramatic. But half true ;)
