Hiya!!!!

With the summer quickly coming to a wrap I started signing the girls up for their activities. So we decided to have Giada try out tae kwon do and see if it was an interest for her. She loves it!! Giada and Chris are in the introductory class together so it is even cuter to see them do the tae kwon do together!

This is a great bonding experience for them to do this class together. They have already come home with some pretty cool moves. And hearing Giada say' "Hiya!" Is priceless. 

Nicolette isn't old enough to join yet and wants to BADLY!  Here are some pictures of them in actions.....

So now we are up to 2 activities and counting. This school year will be jam packed with fun.  Call me Super Mom!

"Charyeot!!" This is the attention stance, where you put your arms up in the air and move them down to your sides. As Giada would say it, chitty up. 

Day at the museum

This week we went to the museum with Grandma. The girls had a blast and it was a great way to spend a rainy summer morning. 

The way our morning started out I would have thought the museum was going to be a bust, but it was not! Of course the hurricane like rain and wind decided to start when we arrived at the museum and of course stop once we were inside. Typical summer weather. Needless to say I was DRENCHED!! Lucky I dried off quickly and the rest of our morning was awesome!!

I really love this children's museum because it is very hands on and incorporates arts, sensory play and allows the children's imaginations to run wild!  Here are a ton of pictures from our adventure. 

Nicolette loved this color wheel last time we were there too!

Water table fun

This room was Nicolette's favorite. She was enamored with everything glowing in the dark. Giada ran off with Grandma a bunch of times so I was not able to snap too many pictures of her ;)

The drums were her runner up for favorite areas. 

Artwork time with a few crafts. 

"This is heavier than I thought mommy!?"

My little Momma hen playing house and making food. 

Grandma and Giada have shared a bond since she was born and it is the most precious thing EVER!

The suspense of waiting for the other sides impressions to come through was exciting to her. 

As the summer is winding down I am trying to take in every precious moment we have. This day was filled with them that I will forever treasure. In a few weeks both of my babes will be in school and we will have less time together. So we are living every moment in the present!! Busy weekend ahead and I'm loving it :)

Eat your Brussels sprouts!!

These are most definitely in my top five side dishes of all times. I have always liked them as a kid, I know weird right?! But now we eat them even more often.....

Oven Roasted Brussels Sprouts

Here I paired them with mojo skirt steak. 

The recipe is super easy and the results are AMAZING!!

I wash them and cut off any ugly ends. Like some pictured above. Then cut them in half. I prefer horizontally but you could do vertically as well. Preheat your oven to 425°. 

Lightly drizzle olive oil on your baking pan. Then add the sprouts and toss them around to get a nice coat of the olive oil. Then sprinkle fresh ground black pepper, salt and garlic powder evenly on the sprouts. I use pink Himalayan salt and very little of it. We are not huge salt lovers so I use minimal amounts. It all depends on your preference. 

Place them in the oven for 15 minutes.

After the 15 minutes remove the sprouts from the oven and toss them with a spatula. This way they can be evenly crispy. Then place them back in the oven for another 8-10 minutes and you are DONE!!

The thing I love about these sprouts is that they are full of flavor and they pair well with all types of proteins. Hope you enjoy!

Swim little fish!

This weekend the girls started their swim lessons. This was a huge priority this summer since the girls are older and around water often, oh and fearless!  Giada has been in swim lessons for the past two summers so she remembers her basic skills. 

I was having a hard time finding a place that I liked and had great instructors. Then these lessons pretty much fell in my lap. Like I literally got an email from the school and it was meant to be. Everything worked to our favor and it is a very reputable school!! That calls for a #winning!

I think it is safe to say the girls absolutely LOVED their classes. They are not in the same class together which is nice because they can have their individuality. And Giada has past experience while Nicolette has none. 

Aren't those swim caps super cute!!

It was too cute when Nicolette kept holding her arms in the air toward the teacher saying, "my turn, my turn!"

Someone wanted to stay in the pool and continue her class!

I'm excited to see how well they progress since they are both little fish in the water!!

Happy Monday!

Take a seat, any seat

One of the things our old master bedroom struggled with was seating. Let's face it, we love to lie down but not all the time we may be in our room. We like to switch things up!

About a year ago my mom was getting new living room furniture and had a large oversized chair she wasn't using anymore. So we took it. 

Large and frumpy. But it was very comfortable and gave us another option to relax in our room rather than our bed. So when we started the master transformation the chair did not "go" anymore. It did not match the decor and when we got our new bed the space between the two was minimal. So we sent it off to its next home. 

I knew I wanted a sitting area type of feel but our space was limited. And all the chairs I liked were VERY large, too large for our small space. As I was loving all the different types of bold prints and patterns, I feared I would get sick of them quickly. Then I found this chair....

And instantly I knew these were the ones. They went well with my new color scheme but the pattern gave a lot of life. I was sold! It just so happens that they were on clearance on Target's website so I got a sweet deal. 

While sitting area chair shopping I was also on the hunt for a table to go in between the two. I found this table, also at Target (not on clearance though). 

It's the pewter table on the left. The only problem was that it was pewter and not gold. So an easy fix to that problem.....paint it. I picked up a can of metallic gold spray paint from Lowes and went to town. I was pleased with the results especially because hanging on the wall is a brushed gold decorative sunburst mirror. Time for the reveal......

I'm still on the hunt for decor for the table. The vintage books are a new addition from my Grandmother's house. Here is another angle.

Asif adding a seat for Chris and myself wasn't enough we got a bunch for the foot of our bed. Our last bed frame had a footboard so we had no need for seating there. But with this bed we only got a headboard so we needed something at the foot. 

Just a reminder of the bed before the bench. 

I also ordered the bench from Pier 1 to match the headboard. I wanted them to go together since the bench was acting as a footboard. And since the headboard is such a statement piece I was weary of adding a different design or texture. It too was on sale so I took advantage and ordered it!  His girl loves a sale. 

I could not be happier with the results. The bench was the perfect finishing touch to the bed. And the girls also love it because they can now climb onto the bench to get to the bed since they are too short to climb onto the bed from the floor!

So now we have plenty of places to rest our bums besides the bed. And with choices!!

Have a great weekend!!

Kale salad

I LOVE salads!!! I could eat them everyday. So I try to switch them up and get creative or sometimes I will stick with a classic Caesar and add some veggies. 

I had just gone to the store to pick up some veggies and decided to make a salad for lunch!  And with kale as my base :)

Here are the ingredients I used:

-raw chopped kale

-lightly steamed green beans 

-cucumber (sliced)

-peppered uncured turkey bacon

-blue cheese crumbles

-sesame sticks

-craisins

-balsamic vinaigrette (or which ever you prefer)

Chop up the bacon and sautée it until nicely browned. I'm normally not a huge fan of turkey bacon bc it can taste bland. My best friend recommended I buy this peppered turkey bacon from Trader Joe's, man I am sooo glad I listened to her! It was tasty and not greasy. Giada and Nicolette (my bacon lovers!) gobbled the bacon right up so it passed the test. 

Now it's time to build your salad. This is really such a quick salad to make yet very delicious. I made one salad today so I used my portions for one serving. So if making more than one salad set your portions accordingly. Here are pictures of building the salad one ingredient at a time. 

Cucumbers

Green beans. The girls love chilled, steamed green beans. So I often have them on hand which comes in handy for me to throw them on salads :)

Blue cheese crumbles

Craisins

Sesame sticks

Cooked turkey bacon

And finally a nice drizzle of your dressing!

This salad was very delicious and filling!!  Yet left me still feeling light and not all sluggish. Hope you enjoy :)