The first glimpses of Fall

The temperatures are finally making their long-awaited dip downwards around these parts and the days are getting shorter, which means that fall is almost here.  I don't know about you guys, but fall is my favorite season of all; there's just something about that crisp feel to the air that I can't help but love.  We don't get a lot of fall love here in El Paso--it's a very short season and it won't be long before things have transitioned completely from summer to winter, so I'm trying to make the very best of the short window of gorgeous fall days that we have (though to be perfectly honest, the winters are pretty nice, too).

The cooler temperatures means breaking out the warm footie pajamas for the boys and spending most of the morning lounging about in them while the house slowly warms up from the previous night's chill.

The rose bush in the backyard is making one last colorful hurrah before it hibernates for the winter.

And of course there's an abundance of fall produce, like these Granny Smith apples that a sweet friend was kind enough to share with us.  I tried my hand at making apple crisp from scratch last night and while it was a bit labor intensive (I definitely need to invest in an apple peeler and corer if I ever want to make it again), it was definitely worth every minute spent slaving in the kitchen.  Has fall arrived in your neck of the woods?

Up, up & away: Sammy's second birthday

{Sammy's been obsessed with airplanes for about the last six months, so when it came time to choose a theme for his second birthday party, it was pretty much a no-brainer.  I decided to use the same color scheme as last year because 1. I like it and 2. I could re-use some of the party supplies and decor that I had saved from Sammy's first birthday.  The invites are actually do-it-yourself stickers that I designed and cut out; the scalloped cards were leftovers from the big wedding that Captain Husband and I started planning for but wound up never having.}

{I also designed and cut out stickers to be used as cupcake toppers and tags on the party favors.  Believe it or not, I did everything using free software like Pixlr and PicMonkey; the airplane is based on a photo that I took of an airplane that's currently "flying" over a junkyard about ten miles from our house.}

{Using this tutorial, I made a dozen airplanes from craft sticks and wooden clothespins that I spray painted in the birthday boy's colors; I then stuck them on my ubiquitous yarn wreath hanging on our front door and made a mini banner using cloud stickers that I found for 50% off at the Hobby Lobby.}

{Since Sammy had several toy planes in his collection, I used them as decorative anchors for the helium balloons that were leftovers from last year's party.  I also made a banner out of some adorable gingham fabric that I had thrifted a few months back following this tutorial.  My mom was kind enough to fold a bunch of the giant paper airplanes that I then hung throughout the house the day of the party.}

(The Happy Birthday banner is another decoration that I made leftover from last year; I used the rest of the clothespin planes to make a mobile that I hung in front of the kitchen window.  I plan to re-hang the mobile in the boys' bedroom, but for now I'm still enjoying it's cheerful colors in the kitchen.}

{It's like déjà vu all over again: I used the same vanilla and vanilla buttercream frosting recipe that I used for Sammy's party last year and I honestly think they were even better the second time around.  I had scored an airplane cookie cutter at the thrift store a few weeks ago so I (and by I, I mean my mom) made citrus sugar cookies for this party as well--they were pretty darn good, too!}

{And last but not least, the party favors--since Sammy and his friends all seem to be of the age that really enjoys coloring, I decided to make some crayon rolls following this tutorial.  You can just toss them in your diaper bag or purse--no more scrambling for loose crayons while your kid throws a fit at your local restaurant--the perfect party favor for today's toddlers.  To save you all from photo overload, I'll be sharing some of the candid photos from the party tomorrow, so be sure to stop back!}

Whip it, whip it good

It's officially summer, which means one thing here in El Paso--temperatures in the low 100s (on a good day). As a result, the thought of spending any time in the kitchen, even if it's to make something delightfully delicious, has me breaking out into a sweat.  I'm beginning to understand why outdoor grilling is so popular around these parts.  I've always had a bit of a sweet tooth and being pregnant has only exacerbated things, so you can imagine my delight when I stumbled upon a no-bake strawberry cheesecake recipe appropriately named "Strawberry Delight Dessert."  It had so many of my (and Sammy's) favorites--cream cheese, graham crackers, fresh strawberries and COOL WHIP Whipped Topping (which has been on my mind ever since it appeared on Mad Men a few weeks back)--plus the refrigerator does the bulk of the work, and what's not to like about that?

I mixed everything up while Sammy entertained himself with some toys in the living room for a bit--the most labor intensive part was cutting up all of the strawberries, which took all of 10 minutes to do...I probably could have done it a little faster, but I kept taking breaks to eat a strawberry slice here and there.  Once Sammy figured out what I was up to in the kitchen, he discovered the best part that comes with making anything with COOL WHIP (short of the actual dessert itself)--licking the spoon.

After a gourmet dinner of pizza (it was a long day and have I mentioned just how hot is is down here?) the Strawberry Delight was set and ready to eat.  In all actuality, it was ready before the pizza arrived and I had to exercise some serious restraint to keep myself from enjoying dessert before dinner.  I mean, just look at it--can you blame me?

It tasted just as good as it looked, but it was missing a little something something and then I had one of those d'oh moments and realized that all it needed was some COOL WHIP on top and BOOM--my everyday dessert was taken to the next level.  Even Captain Husband, who is not the world's biggest cheesecake fan, dug in for not one, but two helpings.

As for Sammy, well, I think he has himself a new favorite dessert.  He also had seconds and when I informed him that thirds were out of the question (the kid had to go to bed at some point) he spent a good five minutes licking each and every one of his fingers.

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Sponsored posts are purely editorial content that we are pleased to have presented by a participating sponsor. Advertisers do not produce the content. I was compensated for this post as a member of Clever Girls Collective, but the content is all my own.

Happiness is a Hello Kitty blanket (and leftover cake)

 

I was going to try and do another "Let's get real" post today, but I just couldn't get it right no matter how many times I attempted it.   So here's a cute photo of Sammy loving on his new fuzzy Hello Kitty blanket, which is actually bath wrap of some kind that my mother-in-law got me for my birthday (but was made for someone about 6" shorter than me--not that I'm all that modest, but that thing left nothing to the imagination).  In other news, Captain Husband turned 34 years young on Friday, so I baked him a cake:

It was my first time making pineapple upside down cake, but I was determined to do it, especially as CH had informed me that it was one of his favorite cakes a few years ago.  Unfortunately, due to deployments and other separations, I haven't really had the opportunity to actually make him a cake for his birthday so I thought that this would be a good way to celebrate being in the same zip code and all.  I have to admit that I cheated a bit and used a yellow cake mix rather than making the whole thing from scratch, but CH didn't seem to mind at all (here's the recipe I used if you're interested).  What's your favorite kind of cake?

Texture Thursday: Sweet

I attended my very first FRG meeting last night (Family Readiness Group for those of you military-acronym-challenged, like myself), which was going to be a family-style potluck affair.  Being that this was going to be the first time that many of the soldiers and spouses of Captain Husband's battery were meeting me, I definitely didn't want to show up empty-handed.

CH insisted that I didn't have to make anything, but I didn't need much excuse to make my current go-to favorite dessert--strawberry cream cake (you may recall that I made this a few weeks back, but here's a link to the recipe again because seriously, it's awesome.  You should make one immediately if not sooner; you'll thank me.)

The cake turned out fabulously and apparently CH's battery thought it was pretty tasty, too--only one piece was left by the time the meeting came to a close.  Yeah, I totally called dibs on that last piece--it was in my belly about two hours after we got home last night.  Do you have a go-to dessert?

Wordless{ish} Wednesday: A piece of cake

{We had a very special guest over to our house for dinner this past weekend--Captain Husband's friend from his year abroad in South Korea, Colonel Glass.  Col. Glass flew all the way in from Kansas so he could attend CH's change of command ceremony so we though the least we could do was invite him over for a nice home-cooked meal before he had to head back.  I made baked rigatoni and meatballs and for desert I decided to try something new and different--strawberry cream cake:}

{I can attest to the fact that it tasted as good as it looked and it was relatively easy to make, too.  It was a hit with the dinner crowd, especially Sammy.  And in what is probably an entirely unrelated coincidence, Sammy's most recent new word is "cake."}

This post has been kid-tested and zombie-approved

This post is sponsored by Country Crock. I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls Collective, and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own. 

I don't know about you guys, but I often feel as though I'm stuck in the middle of a huge rut when it comes to meal planning.  I know there are so many new and different things out there to try, but it seems like I keep coming back to the same old tried and true recipes.  Of course, it's not easy experimenting with dinner when you have a somewhat picky toddler (and husband) on your hands.

I'm always on the lookout for healthy family-friendly recipes that are made from ingredients that I already know Sammy and Captain Husband enjoy; I was recently sent a link to a free cookbook by Clare Crespo that's filled with twenty-five veggie recipes sure to entice even the most picky of eaters and found something that I, as a huge lover of all things creepy and zombie-related, just had to make--hashbrains.

Captain Husband and I had decided earlier on in the week that we were going to have grilled salmon for dinner last night, so I thought hashbrains would be the perfect side to go along with them.  They were super simple to make and I already had most of the ingredients on hand--they smelled so good while they were baking that I could hardly wait to have CH and Sammy try them out, even if they did look more like squashed footballs than brains (I think I need to practice my free-hand brain-molding skills).

CH eagerly agreed to taste-test the hashbrains fresh out of the oven and gave them two very big thumbs up (and then went back for seconds); now we just had to see how they went over with Sammy.  I watched him as he eyeballed his plate--I had added a tiny bit of ketchup to his hashbrains as enticement--and it wasn't long before Sammy was chowing down, even going so far as to lick his fingers between bites.  I think we have ourselves a winner!

Are you looking for quick and simple tips and recipes to make serving veggies more fun? Download the free Clare Crespo Cookbook here for fun and whimsical recipes your family is sure to love!

A recipe recap

I've been slacking off to the extreme in regards to meal making around here; food has just not been doing it for me lately.  But that doesn't stop me from perusing some of my favorite web sites in the hopes that something, anything, will actually entice me.  And then I saw it--a beef stew chock full of yummy veggies and egg noodles.  I looked the recipe over and it seemed pretty straight forward, so Sammy and I headed off to the grocery store to get all of the needed supplies.  I made it for dinner last night and it turned out pretty well, although I may try making it again with some slight modifications so that the stew turns out a little thicker (I bet it's going to be even better as leftovers for lunch).  Sammy's favorite part was the noodles and potatoes--he's a kid after my own heart.

I decided to strike while the iron was hot and picked up the necessary ingredients to make a few smoothie recipes that I've had my eye on for a while now, too.  Sammy and I taste-tested a blueberry-cucumber smoothie yesterday (I know, I know, it sounds gross, but it was actually pretty good) and we've also got all of the ingredients to make a peach, berry and spinach smoothie, so that's going to be on the menu at some point today.  I've been trying to find a way to get more greens into our diet, so I'm hoping that this unusual smoothie will be a winner--especially since Captain Husband can't stand spinach on its own.  Have you tried any new recipes in the kitchen lately?



Oh, and before I forget, if you have a moment please go on over to Ramblings and Photos where you can vote for Sandy Cat's love letter to Kitty Paw--she's listed as number 10. Sandy Cat and I thank you!

Wordless{ish} Wednesday: Oreo truffles

{I hosted a crafty get-together over the weekend and wanted to make something that was 1. delicious and 2. relatively easy to make.  I poked around Pinterest a bit and stumbled upon what may quite easily be the most delicious cookie confection ever known to man--oreo truffles.   I'm not kidding.  You can find the full recipe by clicking here.  After a few of these bad boys and some Merry Mimosas, it's no wonder that we never really go around to doing much actual crafting that evening--we were too busy luxuriating in all of the yummy goodness.}

Wordless{ish} Wednesday: That's a good meatball!

{I've invited a few friends and their kids over for an Italian dinner tonight--on the menu is homemade meatballs and baked rigatoni.  I decided to make things easier on myself and made the meatballs last night.  They're super easy to make; you just have to be sure to give them enough time to simmer in the sauce--I recommend 35-40 minutes at the very least.}

{The recipe is my grandmother's; according to my dad, she got it from an old Italian woman in our church years and years ago.  I tested them out on Captain Husband, who promptly informed me that they were just as good, if not better, than the ones his grandmother makes.  If that's not a ringing endorsement, I don't know what is!}