about me.

I thought I should take some time to re introduce myself since I haven't in awhile. Instead of doing the typical first date questions, I thought I would share some fun facts about myself.

1. I feel really silly writing here. I have tons of posts I've written and never shared. I also NEVER EVER tell anyone I have a blog. I started it in 2010 (yeah I know) when I was planning our wedding and love writing here. I sit down to write here three times a week but then never hit post.

2. I am a twin. This used to be a well known fact (we were usually referred to as the twins ), we were in every class together through 8th grade and did all the same sports. My twin is a foot taller, a much better dancer, and flies fighter planes for the Air Force. We were born 30 minutes apart so my parents consider me the baby of the family.  He also married one of my really good friends from high school (she used me to get to him haha)

3. Craig is my older brother's best friend from high school. My older brother and I didn't get along at all growing up which makes this even funnier. My dad told my mom I was going to marry Craig as soon as he called to ask me on our first date. ( I also repeatedly tried to break up with Craig the first few months we dated and he wouldn't let me)

4. I left a post it note on the fridge telling Craig I had bought our dog (Nimitz). I bought him on Ebay and he was on sale.  My whole family names their dogs after famous military figures. Admiral Nimitz was in charge of the Pacific fleet during WWII.  Nimitz loves birthdays and we take him out for ice cream every year for his.

5. I genuinely like running. I ran until the day before I had Isla. I also have asthma so you can usually spy my inhaler in any running pictures.

6. I LOVED teaching middle school and coaching. I never thought I would become a middle school teacher.  I actually chose Auburn because it was a good vet school but I decided to teach at the end of my senior year of high school.

7. I hate online shopping. I almost never buy anything unless it's from Amazon, I much rather go to a store. We don't live close to any good shopping so I wish I was better at buying things online.

8. I have lived in 19 houses. My dad was in the Air Force and Craig is in the Navy so we move a lot. Charleston was hands down the best place we have ever lived while Seattle was the most interesting. I have also lived in Saudi Arabia, Rhode Island, and Germany. We are actually moving back to Seattle semi permanently in 2019.

9.Sunglasses are my favorite item to purchase and I have more pajamas than any one person should be allowed to have. I have gotten my pajamas hemmed and monogrammed because I love them that much.

10. I disliked being pregnant so much. I felt out of my element and crazy for the entire 9 months. I also didn't know Isla was a girl until 32 weeks when my Craig finally had to tell me. He found out at 18 weeks and kept it a secret! Thankfully, I love being a mom much more

Well, there you have it. I would love to know something fun about y'all! 

upgrade everyday: bedding

In the spirit with keeping resolutions we bought a new bed this weekend! Our bedding has seen better days, between age and a dog who sleeps in our bed, it is time to be replaced.  While I LOVE LOVE all white bedding, it's not practical for us. I have spent the last couple nights searching for new bedding and I think we have some winners. Drumrollllll please!

This Brooklinen has amazing reviews and I love how crisp the blue and white stripes look. Plus, the only colors Craig and I regularly agree on are blue, white, and grey. 

I am gonna have to sell the green quilt a little bit but I want a pop of color and this quilt reverses to a tamer light blue

and textured pillows! Because theres nothing like hearing "why do we have so many pillows?!"

What do you think? Do you layer your bedding?

meal plan

Here are two weeks of our meal plan in case you need some ideas. Sometimes it takes me forever to come up with ideas and I love asking other people what they are cooking. None of them are my original recipes but I added some notes of what I did. 

I won't attempt food photography. BUT I will give you a cute bridal shower gift idea. Get a Kate Spade apron and
have it monogrammed in the bride's new initials! The conversions on the bottom are an added bonus!

Monday: Quiche and salad(actually I don't use a recipe for this)
1 Trader Joe's frozen crust. They are so much better than pillsbury and I have a feeling if I look at the nutritional values I would know why.
 6 eggs
1/2 cup milk
salt
pepper
garlic
I usually vary my mix ins but our favorites are ham, cheese, onion, mushroom,and spinach.
  Pre heat the oven to 350 (you can bump this up a little if you are in a rush) and roll out crust in a pie tin. In a mixing bowl whisk together eggs and milk. I like it to be a little less milky so I usually use a 1/2 cup of milk or less. After this I season the mix with salt,pepper, and garlic. If I have time I love to sauté the mix in's in a skillet until the ingredients are soft. I add cheese and whatever mix in's I have to the eggs mixture, pour it in tin the pie crust, and bake for about 35-40 minutes or until the middle is set.

I love this as a Monday meal because it makes a great breakfast throughout the week. If I am really ambitious I make two!

Tuesday: Skinny Taste Bahn Mi Rice Bowls. I used the pre chopped crunch mix from Trader Joe's instead of cabbage. Way easier and still yummy!

Wednesday: Goop breakfast bowls. Quinoa + babies= mess.

Thursday: Slow cooker Turkey Chili. So easy and different than other chilis I make. It was also pretty thick so it wasn't too messy for Isla (she eats what we do)

Friday: Leftovers.

Saturday: We tried M Shack! Which is basically the southern version of Shake Shack, it was good!

Sunday: Brussel Sprout Pasta   So we didn't love this very much and I was so pumped for it. I think I would have double the amount of sprouts and halved the balsamic vinegar to make it better. We had a bacon spinach salad with dijon dressing and that made up for it!

Monday: Soulful Chicken noodle soup with cornbread.The prep took about 5 minutes. I substituted mushrooms for the celery, used boneless breast, seasoned progresso chicken broth, and grabbed a poultry seasoning package in the fresh herb section.  This is a crockpot soup!

Tuesday: Skinny Taste chicken tacos. I will not be making homemade pico de gallo and I will add rice to make bowls for Isla and I.

Wednesday: Turkey Burgers. Hopefully these are good and I don't miss my chuck burgers too much!

Thursday: Leftovers. I'm leaving for a weekend in Austin with friends so this makes it easy for Craig!

Friday: Spaghetti. This is a great recipe for husbands! I don't love spaghetti so I tend to make it when I am about to leave so he has a TON of leftovers. Its pretty straight forward for him to make it on his own (which he will be doing). I have made it without the ground beef so I could just toss in frozen meatballs (which later turned into meatball subs).

Saturday: Grilled Sausages, Sautéed Onions and Peppers with Fries.  This used to be a pretty standard Saturday meal around my house growing up. It was easy to make more of in case my brothers or I brought friends home.

So there you have it! What are some of your favorite week night meals? I am always on the hunt for new recipes and would love to hear!

things of note.

a collection of random things that I have taken note of. 

I got the Serena and Lily Catalog last night and it's timing happen to fall in line with us deciding we desperately need a new bed. We DIYed our headboard a few years ago but hasn't really been right since being moved and it's SO annoying. However, this cane headboard, not annoying in the most perfect way possible. What is annoying, it's price tag. A girl can dream right? 

Target's new line (and Nate Berkus Baby!) is killing me. I missed out on their Valentine's day stuff last year because I couldn't drive (c sections and manual cars don't work out) but you better believe this wreath is coming home with me. 

We are wrapping up house projects left and right lately; the front door and shutters is next on the list for a makeover! We decided on a pretty blue for the door and creamy white shutters. Isla and I are on a mission to get paint samples when she wakes up. 

Can you believe this baby shirt? I just scooped up a gingham button down from j.crew (for under 20, is this real life?!) and I think Isla and I need to be twins!

Oh beige nikes. I will be welcoming you with open arms tomorrow when the postman comes. I can't wait to wear these babies to the playground and beyond. 

1Canoe2 are releasing globes again! I am so pumped, I never scooped one up at Anthro years ago but these are going to be only 30! I don't think they are of the same quality but for that price tag who cares.

I love knick knacks. Isla loves collecting coins that she finds around the house from her dad's pockets. This snail wins for everyone.