It's GREAT to be eight!

My little man turned EIGHT! This is such a special age for him as he will be baptized this Friday!!! I can't believe we are hitting such a huge milestone, I feel like he was born just yesterday! 

Breakfast in bed for a special man on a special day!

His "great to be eight" cake 

Of course he requested homemade pizza! 

He got a box of boogers from his newest cousin, Kyla. She's only 6 months old lol 

A special book to help prepare for his special day! 

I didn't have birthday paper so Christmas it was... 

oohs and ahhhs over his shiny new scooter

Happy Birthday to my little man! 

9/11 memorial race in Sacramento

This morning we got up bright and early to attend the 9/11 memorial race in Downtown Sacramento. It was an honor to attend this event. 

My sister Heather came out with her baby, Kyla. 

See the Capitol in the background? 

This man ran with this flag the entire way! 

The most beautiful thing about this event was the flag ceremony. Each person who completed the race was given a flag and then led into a blocked off area to place our flag down for a person who had died on September 11, 2001. With over 3000 names it was quite difficult to walk in there and pick one name to dedicate your flag to. 

We saw firemen from all over the state who came out to show their support for their fallen brothers. We saw several from the Bay area and some even from Southern California. 

10 years later and seeing the footage still makes my heart ache.

 We will never forget. 

$5 find turned fabulous

I found this nightstand at a local thrift shop for only 5 bucks! Isn't she gorgeous? I walked by it several times and each time my eyes gravitated towards those curvy sides. I had to have it. 

I knew what I wanted to do from the moment I bought it. This required sanding the whole thing and sanding it bare on the top. The rest was just sanding enough to remove the varnish. 

I painted the body a creamy white. The paint color was called "Soft Brie". Isn't the top attractive naked? I think so. 

I wrapped the beautifully painted body with plastic then tackled the top. I applied a pre-stain conditioner then stained it with "Red Oak" stain. 

Lastly I applied the varnish and let it set. My final touch was adding new hardware from the Martha Stewart collection at Home Depot. 

I find this piece to be very attractive and can't wait to make a matching dresser. 

Can you say drab-to-fab? I can. ;) 

Spray paint obsession

Deke and I have a new obsession - spray paint. Its amazing how much easy and faster projects are with a spray can! Here is one of our latest projects - yes we did it together. After all, the couple that crafts together stays together :) 

Deke found this piano and although its cute it really lacked spunk. 

So we taped it up.... 

Spray painted it turquoise... 

And added plexiglass to the top so the kids can see the keys jump.

We're really happy with our results and I think it got the spunk I was looking for. 

Pumpkin Enchilada's

We got some pumpkins from a ward members garden and since its too early to keep them for Halloween we decided to puree them. So far I have only pureed one and it made a TON! I have been making pumpkin recipes all weekend and tonight's dinner was definitely blog worthy.


Pumpkin Enchilada's:

Ingredients:
1 large sweet onion thinly sliced
1 1/2 chicken, cooked and diced
2 tablespoons butter
1 cup pumpkin puree
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 chicken broth
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 cumin
dash of salt and pepper
8 flour tortillas
1 cup Queso Fresco, crumbled

Directions:
In a saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat, then add the onion slices. Saute until brown and caramelized, about 5 minutes. Add the chicken to the pan, stirring it to mix with the onions, then remove from the heat. In a large bowl, whisk together the pumpkin, cream, broth, cinnamon, nutmeg, cumin, salt and pepper. Spoon chicken mixture into the tortilla's, rolling them tightly and placing in a medium-sized baking dish. Once all enchiladas have been rolled, spread the pumpkin cream sauce over the top. Sprinkle generously with Queso Fresco, then bake in an oven preheated to 425 degrees for 20-25 minutes, or just until the tips of the cheese begins to brown.



Compliments of Cheeky Kitchen

Small desk for a small space

 I reorganized Tyler's room and decided we could fit a small desk in there for him. After looking on craigslist and searching a few garage sales this is what I found. Its the perfect size and in great shape. Best of all it was only 30 bucks! Not too shabby if you ask me. Oh how I love finding these little treasures. Perhaps this will even make homework time more enticing??? Maybe? 

Yes, I know - in my dreams.

Homemade goat cheese and what to do with it

First you'll need a goat. 

I am lucky enough to have a friend who owns goats and gave me some goat milk after goat-sitting while she was out of town. I decided to make the milk into delicious cheese. Yum Yum Yum. If you don't own a goat or have a friend with a goat you can buy goats milk here.

Aside from the goats milk these are my other ingredients: 

- Cheese cloth

- Lemon OR Lime juice

- Fresh garlic 

- Fresh parsley 

(or really just any other herbs that you desire, that's just what I have in my garden)

Step one: Boil milk on medium heat until it reaches 180 degrees farenheit

Step two: Remove from heat and stir in 1/4 cup of citrus juice (that was my measurement with 32 ounces of milk). It will begin to curdle. 

Step three: Layer your cheese cloth about 3 or 4 times and place in a strainer over a bowl.

Step four: Pour your milk into the cheese cloth

Step five: Tie up your cheese cloth and let it hang over the bowl

Step six: Drip, drip, drip... for about 1 hour. 

Step seven: Remove cheese from cloth and add in your desired ingredients. For me it was garlic and parsley

Step eight: Eat and enjoy. Eat and enjoy on everything :) 

I used the goat cheese to make some fantastic grilled goat cheese sandwiches. 

I used extra sour rye bread and placed spinach, ham, and horseradish mustard on one side - goat cheese on the other. I grilled them in a frying pan with light butter for about a minute on each side. It was a delightful combination. 

 I have decided that I need to buy a goat. 

Aside from mouthwatering grilled goat cheese sandwiches you can put goat cheese on a plethora of dishes. 

Ways To Enjoy Soft Goat Cheese:

• Spread on toast or bagels. 
  
• Substitute for cream cheese in dips. 
  
• Swirl or layer with pesto to spread on crackers.  
• Top green salads with crumbled cheese, or with slices briefly warmed in the oven.  
• Use goat cheese in lasagna.  
• For a simple pasta sauce, mix goat cheese with pesto.  
• Slice goat cheese, warm in the oven, arrange in a pool of chocolate sauce on a dessert plate, and sprinkle with chopped nuts. 
  
• Use in place of sour cream on baked potatoes. 
  
• Arrange whole or sliced plain goat cheese on a serving plate. Sprinkle with fresh or dried herbs of your choice and drizzle with extra-virgin olive oil or vinaigrette. Serve with crackers or bread. 
  
• Place two whole or split a 5-ounce goat cheese round in a pint jar. Add garlic, cloves, parsley, a few peppercorns, a spring of thyme, and 1/2 of a bay leaf. Cover all with extra-virgin olive oil and let sit for a few days. Serve with crackers or bread. 

My little 3rd grader!!!

Tyler's first day of the 3rd grade!!! He was so excited that morning that he was up and ready to go an hour early AND wouldn't eat breakfast - he was too nervous! I really wish that excitement would last all year long. 

I let him pick out his first day outfit as long as he let me gel his hair. I think he looked pretty snazzy. 

He wanted to show off his new backpack. 

New desk!