Family Photos 2022

We got back our annual family photos. The ones of the girls are just precious. I'm sure I'm posting WAY too many but it's my blog and what I say goes! Enjoy! And Merry Christmas :) 

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Cookie Teacher Gift

Love these little gifts I put together this year. I grabbed some cookie mix, an oven mitt, adorable little spatula and a cute cookie cutter. Tied together with ribbon and perfect for Kate's little CARE teachers! XOXO

 

Johnston Family Christmas 2022

We hosted the Johnston family this past weekend for an early Christmas celebration! We were all together including Nene! Fun was had by all and these little cousins get cuter every single time! 

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Christmas Chex

I made this for the program at church a couple weeks ago and it was SO GOOD. I had multiple people ask for the recipe. I really just kind of rolled with a couple recipes and made it my own. I didn't measure, just dump! I used corn chex, chocolate chex, m&ms, holiday sprinkles, bugles, pretzels, chocolate chips, (forgot the peanuts but wish i had them!). Melt some almond bark-- I used white chocolate, toss and bam! I'd highly recommend using these foil trays because the clean up was so much better! 

Cocoa and Carols

We went to cocoa and carols the first week of December. It was hosted at Trapnall Hall and so sweet for these little girls! Plenty of sweet treats, hot cocoa, carols and fun! 

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Homemade French Bread

I love bread! I absolutely love bread! When I found this recipe, I knew I had to make it. I've tried twice. The first tasted better than it looked. Everything was absolutely perfect on the second try but I undercooked it some and figured it out too late. The parts that were cooked right were so amazing though. Third times a charm?

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Capitol Lighting 2022

One of our new traditions is right here-- the lighting at the Capitol! I loved this growing up and we would come to Little Rock from time to time to watch. It's so fun to share with the girls! 

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My Day in a Blackhawk

A couple weeks ago, we were invited out to the Dept of Military for a fun ride in a blackhawk! It was really neat and I put together this fun video if you want to CHECK IT OUT. Keep going for the rest of the pictures. 

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Cupchertie

Not a lot to see here except these cute little cups I put together for a Christmas gathering a couple weeks ago. I just love having a little cup to hand and each person gets their own. I packed these with lots of meat, cheese, nuts, olives, and a cute little fragrant sprig of rosemary! XOXO

 

Thanksgiving 2022

We traveled to Calico Rock for Thanksgiving this year. Had a great time with family and enjoyed the beautiful views this house had to offer! Brian's uncle has a house here and so graciously invited us to join. Can't believe that I've been in this family for 11 years and just made it here! 

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Let the Holidays Begin!

We had a fun little weekend in mid-November! Kate sang in church, we joined friends for Holidays in the Heights and picked up daddy after a long five days away! 

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Halloween Fun

We had, what felt like weeks worth of Halloween fun! School parties, church parties, birthday parties and plenty of trick of treating! It was a fun couple weeks and I just always love October! 

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Proud to be an American!

We took the girls with us to vote the Saturday before Election Day. Figured we could vote and then work in a trip to the library since they are connected. Obviously we have the second children goofing off and the serious first kids taking this well, very seriously. 

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Kate's First Field Trip

Kate took her first field trip in October and parents got to join! It was so fun to watch her with all her little friends. And it was precious to see 200 little kiddos all running around having so much fun! 

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25 Minute Black Pepper Basil Chicken

I was looking to meal prep a few weeks back and this recipe just kind of all fell together. I couldn't remember what I was actually going to cook and while searching for the recipe, I found this one. I added some chopped peppers in since I had them and then charred the others for a nice little side item. It was fantastic and I've actually made it again since! That rice... yum! 

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DIY: Name Sweatshirts

I love these little name sweatshirts! Emmy has refused to wear hers thus far.. which is pretty much par for the course. I saw some similar on instagram last year and knew I had to try making my own. I ordered the letters from Etsy. I think the sent me "w" for "m." It takes up wayy too much space so I waited another year to go up a size and provide more room on the chest. It's tight on Em's but still so adorable! Kate looks so precious in hers! Super easy DIY. Try it! XOXO

 

Saturday at the Pumpkin Patch

These little cuties had such a fun time at the pumpkin patch back in October. We went with the Gattins and Smiths and had so much fun! Watching these little girlies pull their wagons of pumpkins was precious. Give me allll the fall things! 

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Blistered mini Peppers

Oh I love these! We actually had these for dinner tonight. We've cooked these a few times but popping them in a pan and letting them blister is our new fav way. We had some just like this in NYC. A little EVOO, peppers, salt + pepper and yum. Brian even tossed some balsamic vinegar on ours tonight and they were excellent! Enjoy! XOXO

 

Trip to the Zoo

The first weekend in October, we hit the zoo for fun day with friends! Perfect weather and the kiddos way outnumbered the adults. Lots of fun to spend time with our buddies and tons of animals too :) 

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Kate is FIVE!

Kate had a really wonderful birthday celebration back in September! That's how far I am behind here :) oops. We explored a million different options for birthday parties and still somehow ended up at home. It turned out so perfect and she had the sweetest day. 

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Baby Girl Door Hanger

I am so behind on blogging but I had so much to share! Like this fun little baby door hanger. I made two door hangers this year for little ones. I've been out of the game for so long, it was super fun to be creative again. Love how this one turned out and can't wait to meet that sweet baby girl! XOXO

 

Spider Halloween Cookie Cake

I saw this fun little cake on a instagram reel back in October and knew I had to make it. It was super easy. I actually used premade cookie dough, smushed to the edges of my pan. It was kind of hard to cook, the consistency of the cook here was not good but smothered with icing, you really didn't know. I learned a trick here, heat up your icing can for a bit and pour it on. Loop around some black icing, use a toothpick for the web, sprinkles and enjoy! XOXO

 

In New York you can be a new (wo)man!

Hello and welcome back! To my third and final blog post on NYC. I started working on a reel for our trip--still brushing up my reel skills. Stay tuned! But anyway-- our second to last morning, we started by heading over to Brooklyn for brunch. 

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New York Part 2

 

Not sure why I like this picture so much but I do. I think it's all the nostalgia surrounding it. We really just walked the block like three times before we stopped in this place for a drink. And it was so great. But I'm jumping ahead. I'm here (in this post) to talk about day 3 in NYC. Proceed :)

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In The Greatest City.. NYC Part 1

I know.. you are probably thinking we just took a solo trip to New York. We did but then the world shut down and we did nothing for a really long time. We longed for the wonderful food, drink and entertainment that NYC had to offer and lucky us--on the week after the mask mandate was finally lifted, we were smack dab in the middle of New York! Any guesses our very first stop?

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Fall Teacher Gifts

I love putting together little gifts for everyone! Especially my kiddos teachers. I'm always hunting fun little things at Target. I grabbed these little towels a month or so ago. Last week while browsing I found the spatula/cookie cutter combo and knew they would all work perfectly together! I tied them with some black/tab twine and now I just need to create the perfect little tag! Love this! 

 

Labor Day at the Lake

We had a fun little Labor Day weekend earlier this month. We made a quick trip down to the lake to visit family and the girls finally, FINALLY love the water! Which makes me so happy!! 

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Chicken Adobo, Version 2

A couple months ago, I picked out a recipe to cook, got all the ingredients and when it was time to cook.. I totally forgot what it was. Couldn't find anything similar and then stumbled on this recipe which would work with my ingredients. It was a happy accidents and I've made it three times since! 

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Living Room FLIP

Version number million of our living room since moving in. Kidding.. kind of. I've blogged (i think) all the pervious versions but have taken forever putting this one together. We actually ordered a new couch in December 2020. It took until May of 2021 to come in. Then the rest of the room was kind of slow to build. Until one day-- it was done! 

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Encanto Sisters

Dying over these silly pictures of these little sisters. They have been planning outfits for Kate's birthday party. Kate needed a flower for her hair and Emmy requested glasses and a bag. Everything came in last weekend and they had a blast playing! 

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The Perfect Pancake

This past weekend, Brian tried a new pancake recipe that was fantastic. I don't know that we'll ever be boxed pancake kind of people again after this. We also joined Costco over the weekend and grabbed a big ole handle of maple syrup! This will be on rotation from here on out-- the crisp edges, the fluffy middle-- perfection! 

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First Day of School 2022

Our girls went "back to school" last week and for Kate-- she started "real" school! She entered PreK and is LOVING it!! 

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Sweetest Little Weekend at Home

We had the best little weekend in Little Rock. Each year before school starts, school closes for a few days to reset. We usually end up taking a day or so off to keep the kiddos. This year we reserved Friday for fun with the girls and some friends! 

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Artichoke Chicken and Orzo Goodness

I made this for dinner this past weekend and it was delish! Sign me up for anything with artichokes-- and orzo, always forget that I love that! It looks a little wonky in my picture but I swear to you that was easy, tasty and something you are going to want in your life! 

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Kate's Last Day at ECEP

Kate has attended the Early Childhood Education Program at Trinity Episcopal since she was 10 months old! She's spent 4 years, the majority of her life at this place! It's bittersweet to move on but I know we're all excited about her jump to "real" school!

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On The Go End of Year Party

Emily had her first end of the year party! Thanks to COVID, we haven't had these little fun things in a while! Emily had such a great year with her teachers and friends! God bless Sabrina and Niecey-- they are angels! 

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Roasted Tomato Ricotta Pasta with Crispy Prosciutto

I didn't get a good picture of the finished product because I was too busy killing my bowl. It was so fantastic! That crispy prosciutto was amazing-- it made this whole dish. I absolutely recommend you trying this! 

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The very best cookie sandwich :)

Brian claims that the are THE BEST YET! I had mu doubts and worried a fair amount. I tasted one of the cookies and they weren't that fantastic. I was pretty bummed until I added the icing and OMG.. they were perfection. 

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Weekend at the Lake

We had a nice little weekend at the lake a couple weekends ago. Brian and I got to spend some quality time together during naptime-- we even took the little convertible out for a spin. The kiddos joined us that evening and the next morning-- they had a blast and have come SO FAR in the water this year. 

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Kate's End of the Year Party, 2022

Kate's time at ECEP is coming to a close. It's bittersweet. We've made so many good friends and I'm sad she won't be moving on with the majority of them. They had a fun little going away party a week or so ago-- love these sweet little friends! 

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Mushroom Ravioli with Spinach

It's wild how easy and tasty this dish was. We made one a couple weeks ago that was similar-- it's actually only two posts back. I loaded up on ravioli on my last trader joe's run, stumbled on this new, different version and the rest is delicious history.

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Destin Family Vacation 2022

After three years away, we took a trip to the beach last month with Brian's family. The girls enjoyed the beach and had so much fun with our family. We actually got to see the entire side of one family and it was great being together! 

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Chicken Ravioli with Pesto and Veggies

I cooked a lot a few weekends ago-- and everything was fantastic and bloggable. This one was so delish that we did a variation of it last night and that version/picture is coming so soon! This was easy and packed with flavor. I used my left over sun dried tomatoes from the couscous accident the day prior and anything with a basil pesto is something I absolutely want. 

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My kind of "salad."

Not a salad fan here. But I'll eat couscous "salad" all day long! When I saw this recipe, I knew we needed to make it ASAP. Last weekend we grabbed a rotisserie chicken from Edwards and added this. I loved it! Would def recommend cutting back the amount of couscous unless you are cooking for a crowd. The artichokes and feta were the perfect additions! Make this! 

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Thai Basil Beef and Lemongrass Rice Bowls

I've made plenty of variations of beef rice bowls. This one is my favorite! That lemongrass coconut rice is the bomb. It's so fantastic that I want it with every meal. I was worried it could be overpowering but it was not in the slightest. Perfect meal for any night of the week! 

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PreK Registration

Took my big girl to her new big girl school to register last week. She's excited and I think I'm really excited too.. pause... yes, I am! She was incredibly quiet but I think she's really going to love all the things PreK has to offer. Maybe not the school lunch... 

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DIY: You're ex-STRAW Special!

Freaked out the day of when I realized it was Kate's end of the year party and I had no end of the year gifts. Quick run to Target for these crazy straws. Grabbed an ADORABLE tag from Etsy that I altered from Valentines to ..I'll miss you-- called it a day. XOXO

 

Spicy Corn and Shishito Salad

Just prepare to love this. It's so summer in a bowl. It's so fantastic. And light and just really good! We got a ton of fresh corn and I used that-- ready to make this one again! 

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4th of July in Pictures

We had such a wonderful little 4th of July weekend! We had already planned to go to NWA for the holiday weekend and just spent even more time since we were up for my Nonno's funeral. We were able to hit all the family members and spend time with our friends too :) 

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Tuna Poke Bowl

Loved this so much, I've already made it a second time! So fantastic and if you live near a Fresh Market, they have great deals on sushi grade tuna on Sunday! Enjoy! 

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