happy 4th of july!

Our 4th of July was pretty low key this year. With it falling in the middle of the week and Ryan having to work the following day (and me that evening) we couldn't really leave town. So, we made the most of it right here in Pittsburgh!

We decided to check out the Three Rivers Regatta, which is an annual event here in town. We got down there early (before some of the vendors were even set up!), which was probably a good idea. It was already 80+ degrees with serious humidity, so we didn't spend a ton of time down there. None of us are a fan of the heat..we are A/C people ;) We went down the the Point Park fountain, and Audrey loved it. She even threw a public fit (see photo below) because we wouldn't let her play in the dirty fountain water! She enjoyed running around the grassy area, saying "hi!" to everyone and even stealing goldfish crackers from strangers.

Holidays are always a good opportunity to sneak in some family photos. We are usually dressed somewhat appropriately (ha!) and we don't get photos together very often (read: I rarely get photos with my daughter because I am always the one behind the camera). Of course we didn't get any of the three of us, you know, together, but what can you do? Handing your camera to a stranger often ends in an unfocused, blurry disaster. And, I may or may not be a serious critic when it comes to photo composition :p

After we got tired of the Regatta, we decided to go to the PPG Place fountain to let her run around and cool off. I wasn't sure if she'd even like it since we've taken her to the spray park once this year and she was less than impressed. Wrong. She LOVED it! She was running in and out of the streams and got braver by the minute. Every time the streams would disappear she would say "Oh no!" There is nothing better in this world than watching the world through a child's eyes, experiencing things as they do, for the first time. No words.

After the fountain adventure, it was nearing lunch time and we were all getting hungry. We decided to walk through Market Square and grab some lunch. We had a few open choices, and decided to get Moe's. Because really, whats more American on the 4th of July than Mexican food? Audrey was hungry and devoured almost her entire quesadilla! Guess it was all that energy she burned off in the fountain ;) We finished eating and went home for nap time.

Later than evening, I had to work so Ryan took Audrey up to Mt. Washington to see the fireworks. Despite it being past her bedtime, she loved them! I wasn't there to see it (sadly) but he took video. She was clapping during the booms and generally enjoying them :)

We hope everyone else had a safe, happy and enjoyable holiday!!

creamy cajun chicken pasta

I'm bringing you another delicious recipe! This time, I found it on another blog and it looked so good, I had to try it. Remember, I'm a sucker for pasta?

This meal was a hit with the whole family (minus the wee one, as I was afraid it may be just a little too spicy for her) and was requested again by my husband. When that happens, I know its good!

I also managed to take a photo of the ingredients (go me!) So without further ado, here is what you will need:


- 3 boneless skinless chicken breasts
- jar of julienne sun dried tomatoes
- pasta (I went with linguine, you can use any kind, really)
- 2 cups heavy whipping cream
- 3 tbsp cajun seasoning
- 2 tbsp butter
- 1 tbsp minced garlic (I'm lazy, I used the kind in a jar)
- 4 green onions
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp pepper
- 1/2 tsp basil
- shredded parmesan cheese for topping

Take your chicken breasts and cut them up into bite sized cubes. I think next time though, I will cut them into strips instead. Next, you'll toss the chicken in a ziploc bag with the cajun seasoning, shaking well to coat.



Meanwhile, melt your butter and garlic in a pan before adding the chicken. Once the chicken is added, allow it to saute until chicken is no longer pink.


While the chicken is cooking, you can chop up your green onions. I love slicing green onions. They cut so easily and do not leave that onion smell on your hands for days!


Once the chicken is cooked, add in your green onions, basil, pepper, salt and sun dried tomatoes. With the tomatoes, I drained most of the oil out of the jar. Not sure if you're supposed to, but I didn't want a really oily sauce. Oh! And do NOT do what I did and accidentally add a full teaspoon of salt instead of half. It made the dish really salty :/ After everything is added, stir it all together!


Next, you'll add in the whipping cream, stir it all up and allow it to simmer on the stove while your pasta finishes boiling.


When the sauce is warmed up and the noodles are done, its time to eat, so sprinkle a bit of parmesan cheese on top! I served this round with garlic toast and steamed asparagus. Normally, I'd prefer a fresh salad with this type of meal, but I had a bunch of asparagus that needed used.


Bon appetit!

Scooter Spaghetti

A lot of times when I'm cooking a dinner that I just know is going to be good, I think to myself that "darn, I should have taken photos of this to blog"..especially since I am so bad with posting in here, and something..anything would make a good post!

I like to think I am pretty good with mixing it up and making new things for my family for dinner. Sure, there are the staple meals that are in rotation (you know, the no fail, easy meals that you know everyone likes?) but its always nice to make a new meal we haven't tried before. Thanks to Pinterest, I'm always finding delicious new recipes!

Since I we love spaghetti around here, I recently found a new recipe that looked yummy, and I had to try it! You can never go wrong with Italian, and I am always down for a comfort meal consisting of pasta and sauce :)

Of course, I was midway through chopping my vegetables when it hit me again that I should blog this. Since I wasn't very far into the preparation, I ran to grab my camera (go me!) so I apologize, but you won't be getting the obligatory "ingredient" photo (but I would hope, my dear few readers, that you can manage to gather your own ingredients without needing to see them ;)

What you'll need:

- 1 lb ground beef (I used that plus about 1/4 lb ground turkey I needed to use up)
- 8 oz. uncooked spaghetti noodles
- 1 jar of spaghetti sauce (I used a 32 oz. jar..anything smaller and the meat soaks it all up)
- 8 oz. softened cream cheese
- 1/2 c. chopped green peppers
- 1/2 c. chopped onions
- 1 tbl. butter
- 2 tbl. milk
- french fried onions
- parmesan cheese (there is no amount, you decide)



Start off by pre-heating your oven to 350 degrees. Then, start boiling your water for your noodles, and browning your ground beef. I always add a little seasoning to the meat while its cooking (usually salt, pepper and garlic powder) Once the meat is browned, drain all the grease and set aside for now.


Your water should be boiled by now, so drop those noodles in and let 'em cook! But not too much, only till al dente. Drain those when done, also set aside.


Meanwhile, start chopping your vegetables. Next, put them in a bowl & add 1 tbl of butter. Microwave for a couple minutes or so (until they are soft)


You'll want to put the sauce in with the browned meat at this point (leave about 1/4 c. in the jar). Let it simmer on the stove while you finish up the rest of the preps. I also like to add a little "flair" to my sauce in the form of some Tastefully Simple seasoning. It's yummy..get some!


Next, you will add in your cream cheese and 2 tablespoons of milk to your bowl of peppers & onions. Mix 'em all up until its a nice, creamy mixture.


Lastly, you will begin the layering process. Start by spreading a thin layer of sauce on the bottom of a 9x13 pan. And, because I am paranoid of food sticking and burning the crap out of my pans, I always spray a little Pam on the bottom first! After the sauce, you will layer the spaghetti noodles, the cream cheese mixture, followed by the meat/sauce. Next, you will sprinkle the parmesan cheese on top (this is where you can put as much or as little as you want!) Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. Remove pan from oven, sprinkle a (generous) layer of the french fried onions (the best part!!) and bake for about 5 more minutes, being careful not to burn them. Sadly, I did not take any photos of the cheese or onion layers :(



Next -- enjoy! I served ours with a crisp salad and some garlic bread. It was a hit! My brother in law had three helpings! Even the little one (who can be quite picky!) seemed to like it. I will definitely be making this again as its a nice twist from your regular spaghetti, and something about the creamy, cheesy center is mmm mmm good :)

a sesame street inspired 1st birthday party

Once fall time hit, I realized I should probably start thinking of ideas for themes for Audrey's first birthday party. Of course I still had a handful of months left until she turned 1, but thanks to Pinterest, I felt the pressure to plan a cute party that I would be proud of. Pinterest is both a blessing AND a curse in my book. It has SO MANY awesome ideas, that you can use..but then, you also want to make everything in your life as cute as it is on Pinterest!

Initially, I was going to go with a Ladybug theme. Ryan was pushing for something involving Valentine's Day (and he calls ME cliche), but I was against that. I also thought that I should probably make it girly, but I just wasn't impressed with any of the princess or Minnie Mouse type themes. One day while perusing Pinterest, I came across some ideas with Sesame Street that were adorable! I also really like the bright color scheme, and just went with it! Audrey does like Sesame Street and really seems to enjoy Elmo, so the theme was born!

After the holidays, I began my quest to start party prepping. I had explored some Etsy shops for decorations and as cute as they were, I was not about to spend $30+ on one birthday banner I would be using once..not happening. So, I decided to make my own. I also wanted Audrey to have a tutu to go along with her outfit (which I had a friend make) and after checking out prices of those, decided again, I'd make my own. With this party, I certainly tested my creativity limits! And I must say, I am pretty proud of how everything turned out!

I started crafting back in January because I knew it would take awhile to get everything done (with a very active baby running around its near impossible during the day!!) and I did not want to be rushed. I decided to make a birthday banner, a high chair banner and a monthly banner. I went to Joann Fabrics and purchased all of my supplies. A lot of things were on sale, so I was able to get all the supplies I needed for all of these for less than $30. This also included my supplies for the tutu. As for the invitation, I made that as well through Photoshop. It took a little time to get it just right as I'm quite rusty in PS. I use it to edit photos, but hadn't done any design work in it for quite some time. I based the design off of some ideas I found, and I think it turned out pretty cute. My only complaint was the priting quality. I probably shouldn't have taken it to a 1-hour place, but oh well. Next time, I'll go more "professional" quality. But, I paid $5 for 55 invites + envelopes. Can't beat that!


When it came to menu planning, I had all kinds of ideas in my head, but ultimately, decided to go the simple route -- pizza & salad. I figured that hey, Elmo's favorite food is pizza, so its sticking to the theme..right?! Of course I had all these grand plans to incorporate the characters names into all the food (Murray's meatballs, Bert's banana wands, etc etc) but lets face it, I simply did not have enough time. I am a stay at home mom, yes, but I also work part time five nights a week. Time is money! Plus, people like pizza and salad. I know I do! And, the birthday girl loves pizza..so, problem solved ;)


I also was going to make the cupcakes myself and order a smash cake. Of course, I found adorable character faced cupcakes that I so badly wanted to try my hand at. But then I ran into the problem with time. You obviously can't make cupcakes more than a day or two in advance and there was no way I was going to be able to bake & decorate cupcakes the day before the party because of course, I had to work that night. So, I ended up ordering them and was pleased with how they turned out. I went with Sam's Club. 30 cupcakes for $14 plus they threw in a free smash cake! Sold.

I also came across a DIY cupcake tower on Pinterest and wanted to make one. I have those little metal cupcake stands, but they just weren't as cute to me, and so I decided to make my own, which was actually quite easy. All it took was some ribbon, poster board, soup cans and some hot glue. Easy enough!


The rest of the decorations were simple. I bought some crepe paper & balloons in primary colors and added some strands here and there. I also bought the plates, napkins and utensils in primary/rainbow colors too. Loved all of the colors!! I was very happy with how everything came together.


The party was a hit. We had a great turn out and were so happy to see so many people come to celebrate our little girl's milestone day. I got a lot of compliments on my decorations and the party in general, so that made ME feel good. My Aunt even mentioned I should do party planning (HA!) but that made me smile.



And this little sugar faced sweetie had a blast, loved all the attention she got and really, thats all that mattered to me in the end :)