Playtime outside

Finally........here is the debut of our backyard renovation. It has come along nicely and I will definitely keep you updated as things happen. Ok no more chatter and his is what we did!

When we purchased the house it only had the two foot slab for the patio and that's it! So we were trying to figure out what we wanted to do. Pavers it was. We are sooo happy with the way it came out. It only took two days and the workers were great! This was one project we are not capable of fully DiYing......yet ;)

Here is our little model with a progress update!

They had to use cement blocks to make the patio level. Which took longer than actually laying the pavers. 

And voila we have a patio!! So of course we had to run out and get some furniture. I wanted something natural looking and neutral toned. I found this table and seating at Ikea. I fell in LOVE!!! Chris and I ran out and bought it the day after the patio was finished. So this was our DIY portion of the patio because of course we had to put it together. I picked up those ceramic lanterns and starry string lights at target. They were on clearance so it made them an even better purchase. 

The first week we had the patio it was of course the RAINIEST week in about a month. This picture was before we put the umbrella up as I was searching long and hard for a base. Apparently, since it was September all outdoor furniture and accessories were removed from stores. Not cool people it's still 100° out!

Oh yeah then we had this "little" visitor. There are about 4-5 iguanas that live in my neighbors palms and sometimes they venture into my yard for a little lunch. I guess this guy needed some sunning after his feast......

We are only about 75% complete. There are still things that need to be competed:

- stain the original slab between the house and pavers

  (we are thinking the tan neutral color similar to the pavers)

- stain the cement blocks under the pavers

  (same color as slab)

- add shrubs to the edge of the pavers closest to the water and along the fence you see above

- change outdoor light fixtures

- add a nice barbecue section for our grill outs

- add a seating/lounge area with a firepit 

These things are coming soon so we can move on from the backyard project and on to the other thousands of things we have on our list. You know the never ending homeowner's list!

I think it's safe to say we are all loving this new added living space.  And it's exciting because we will be able to enjoy it all year long!

Oh to be little again ;)

Crockpot challenge with a bonus

I'm back!!!! Did not want you to think I forgot about you! Last week was a crazy week......so the blog got a one week vacation. Lots has been going on around here. I had party planning and prepping to do for the big Chris is thir-TEE party, one of my best friends came to visit and then actual party. I'm getting tired just being reminded of it. But I'm back now :)

Last month I did a crockpot challenge. For one week our meals needed to come from the crockpot. I really liked doing that because the prep time is really nothing! 

My one of my favorites from the challenge is........

MOJO SHREDDED PORK

Super easy, yet very flavorful. 

Ingredients:

1-2lbs. Pork ( I used boneless pork ribs)

2 yellow onions roughly chopped

3 bell pepper (whichever color you prefer...I loved how it added color to the dish)

5-6 garlic cloves smashed to release flavor

1 1/2 cups of Mojo marinade

I placed the pork in the crockpot along with my smashed garlic, chopped peppers and onion. I then poured the Mojo over the ribs and made sure they were all covered with marinade. The Mojo is so flavorful with seasonings and spices, I decided not to add anything else. Then I put the crockpot on low for 7 hours and let it do it's thing. 

The pork came out very tender. I shredded any large chunks that hadn't already in the Mojo. Then I poured the meat, veggies and marinade on top of Jasmine rice I made in the rice cooker. 

And dinner is served! This meal was nice because I only had two dishes to clean (crockpot and rice cooker) and it took me about 10 minutes of prep work. This recipe is a keeper!

I made enough meat to have leftovers. When it came time to eat dinner the next day I did not want the pork on top of rice again. So I decided to make pork sandwiches. 

And conveniently I had some sub rolls I needed to use up. I set the over to 350° and prepped my sandwich. After slicing the bread in half I added light mayo to moisten the bread, pork with veggies and then added some aged Swiss cheese. Then I cooked them in the oven for about 15-20 minutes. The bread got nice and toasted, the meat warmed up and cheese melted. Another meal that took less than 10 minute prep time and one dish!!

I paired the sandwich with some fruit to balance it out. And healthy too!

Perfecto!

Stay tuned for the rest of my challenge recipes :)

Mouth watering good

For the start of football season I thought it would be nice to have a football appropriate meal for dinner for the first Sunday night football game. I have also started trying to use my crock pot to cook more, so ribs it was!

I picked up some baby back rib portions for the first time last week, in hopes for them to come out just a tasty as a full rack. I had previously Pinterested, that is totally a word in my head, crockpot recipes. All of the recipes looked amazing and I did not know which one to pick. I wanted one that did not have a bunch of ingredients or too complex. So I pretty much took a bunch of tips from recipes and made my own. 

Since I had rib portions I decided to layer the ribs. All of the ingredients I used to my taste preference. And then drizzled with Sweet Baby Ray's sauce, this is the best sauce for any BBQ food!

This was about 3 pounds of ribs and made 3 layers. Cooked them on low for 7.5 hours. 

Now it was time to broil these puppies. Foil line a cookie cooling rack or cookie sheet, lay the ribs meat side up. And drizzle some of the sauce from the crockpot onto the ribs. 

After broiling for 5-7 minute at 500°........TOUCHDOWN!! Mouth watering, meat falling of the bone, finger licking good baby back ribs. 

I decided to make it all American with roasted potatoes and corn on the cob. Oh and a side salad too. ;)

You can look forward to seeing my crockpot challenge recipes very soon!

August.......

Before I can continue with all that we have going on in September, I thought a review would do!  Even though I still cannot believe we are into September. August really flew by with a lot of fun and firsts :)

Seeing as though they were starting school in a few weeks a shopping trip for new shoes was in order! This will become a fun little tradition for us for MANY more years. 

Remember when I told you about Warby Parker? Well we decided to order a trial for Chris as well! We had fun and found a pair he really liked. You will be seeing us rocking ours quite soon!

I can't get of enough of the beauty salon cuteness!

My Aunt and cousins came to town and we had lunch. The girls love them so much! It was a fun lunch. 

The girls had nice Daddy/ Daughters dates at the golf course practicing and playing at the playground. They love their Daddy to death!

Both of my parents celebrated their birthdays! Only a week apart, that's a very busy week. We had a birthday dinner for my Dad. I was busy having a Mom/ Daughter day I didn't get to take any pictures. But we had an awesome day!

School!

They just play so well together. Sometimes I feel as if they are twins because they are so close and similar. Yet they have different personalities. 

We went Gator Hunting, you know only to see them not actual hunt them ;)

My reasons for everything. 

And the last week of the month my girl learned how to swim. Then it was Labor Day. Have to go now and pick up some things for our big project from over the weekend before it's reveal!!

Swim Little Fish Take Two

Even though Labor Day came and went our summer is not anywhere near over!! 

So remember back in July the girls were taking swim lessons?? Yeah that was short lived. I was not pleased with the way the girls were progressing in the class. I have fish and they want to swim. At the rate they were going they would have hopefully been swimming by next summer. Don't get me wrong, it's a great school just not a fit for my girls. 

A few weeks went by and then a friend of mine found a private swim instructor. After checking her out and speaking with her I decided this class may be perfect for Nicolette. It's a 5 day program where at the end of the week the child should be swimming. I only put Nicolette in because Giada knows how to swim she just needs to do it more, while Nicolette knew nothing. I was able to get her into her week long lessons last week. Yes, my little "baby" had school and swim last week. I felt like she was a teen. 

Insert cute pre first day of swim lessons photo...

She was VERY EXCITED!! It was sweet. 

The main goal of the week was to focus on kicking, getting to the wall and putting all of that together if she were to fall in the pool. So a lot of repetition and singing. 

Nicolette loved Coach Jackie! She really did well. There were a few times that she was getting fussy, but mostly because she was not doing what she wanted. Typical little one ;)

Kick, kick, kick.....Nicolette!

Day 4 was a bit of a bumpy ride. This is the day that mommy gets in to learn the techniques to continue and practice at home. But that was not until the second half of the class. Well little lady wanted Mommy right away. So she was not pleased. 

See the grumpy face. Still a cutie!

On the last day I got in the water from the start of class. I really prefer this swim technique. As much as I did not want to get in, I was able to learn what to do and how to do the skills correctly. Which is huge for the future. And Giada can also benefit from these lessons #winning. Nicolette had a fun party with Mommy and Coach Jackie!!

Doesn't everyone hold their breath sticking their tongue out?!

So moral here is it's never too late to learn to swim, even if summer is "over."

Cauliflower Pesto Pizza

Hope everyone had a great Labor Day weekend. We had a nice relaxing weekend, so we did what was intended for this weekend ;)

This is a double post! I will give the recipe for my pesto and the cauliflower pizza :)

Chris LOVES pesto anything. So I tend to make it every so often to then use it in different recipes. I always switch up the pesto recipe.  And it's mostly what greens I have in the fridge that will go well together. I always use spinach, since it's a nutritious and a hearty addition, especially if it needs to be used ASAP. 

Pesto:

This time I had arugula, spinach, kale, garlic, Parmesan cheese, walnuts (not pictured) and olive oil

Ingredients:

Equal portions (handful at a time) of the three greens

1/4 cup Parmesan cheese

4 garlic gloves

1/2 cup walnuts

1/4 olive oil

I start the processing and slowly add additional ingredients to get it to my preferred taste. 

And voila!!

Chris would literally eat the pesto with a spoon. He actually did and then with some chips too!  I like to then come up with some ideas to use the pesto. Pizza is my go to, we prefer pesto to red sauce. I think it gives pizza a whole new dimension. Anyways.....

Cauliflower Pesto Pizza

Since the pesto is packed with flavor I do not use seasonings, maybe a little crushed red pepper or fresh ground black pepper if anything. 

Ingredients:

Pizza crust of choice (we like Mama Mary's thin crust)

Pesto

Shredded cheese

Cauliflower florets

Shaved Manchego cheese

Smooth out the pesto onto the crust. Then add some shredded cheese, then the cauliflower florets and finally with some shredded Manchego cheese. As you can see above I added the red pepper flakes, that is to satisfy Chris' need for heat ;)  If you do not care for cauliflower you can add whatever veggie you prefer. 

I baked them for 30 minutes at 400°. And done!!

Slice them up and add a side. 

Lunch is served for the hubby and I :)