home goods goodies

tuesdays are my photography classes :)

after class i have a few hours before i pick my boys up from school.

 i usually go get some lunch {a brc burrito from el pollo loco, my favorite}

and then i stop by Home Goods and TJ Maxx that are conveniently next to each other.

here are some of the goodies i have acquired lately.

mr. owl, isn't he cute? i just loved the color, perfect for my laundry room.

this wire market basket, it was the only one there. it now holds my towels in the laundry room.

and this sign

this chicken and the sign were a gift from my sister from home goods.

i absolutely loved this cup with the sweet birdie to hold my jewelry.

as i am looking at all these pictures i realize there is a lot of blue and animal going on
hmm, is that my new trend?

i think i better not make it habit of going to home goods every tuesday.

i may go broke.

but it sure feels good to score a few nice things for the house.

where is your favorite place to shop?

lego birthday party

saturday was number one's birthday party

my boys love legos

 there was lots of lego building fun

i love the look on his face when he is building.

number two with his cousin

daddy was being the cupcake host

 homemade chocolate cake always tastes better

 

birthday parties are about spending time with family and friends



he was so cute giving his thank you speech

evidence that fun had been had and m &m's were eaten 

so much for my cute centerpieces

we had lots of fun.

we are so blessed to have such great family and friends.

it is my hope that as my children grow they will remember these special moments

and know that they are loved.

the day after

we had a birthday party for number one yesterday.

parties are so much fun. so much planning and effort goes into all the preparations.

we had lots of fun

but today all i wanted to do is spend time in my comfy place.

reading my new one year bible, sipping on my favorite tea, lounging on my conmfy bed.

not to mention i work tomorrow {my partner needed the day so we switched.}

i haven't worked a monday since last june.

hence this small post.

i will be back tomorrow to post pictures of the birthday party.

wishing you a blessed week.

a family favorite

yesterday we had these yummy tostadas for dinner.

they are one of our family favorites.

they are delish and really simple to make.

they are so easy to make and assemble.

i buy ready to eat tostadas, most markets here in california sell them.

i make them out of chicken.

 i used to boil chicken breasts and then shred the chicken.

what i found was that by boiling the chicken, it left it dry and a bit rubbery.

i like to make enough for left-overs the following day and the chicken would not taste as good.

Ina always recommends to roast chicken if you are making chicken salad,

so i started following her recipe.

 i oven roast two whole chicken breasts bone in.

if you have not tried roasting, i highly recommend it.

it really makes a world of a difference and the chicken remains tasty and juicy.

{i wasn't going to add the picture, because it looks a little gross, but illustrates my point so here you go, sorry}

to roast the chicken just sprinkle with olive oil, salt and pepper well.

i also leave the skin on, it keeps the chicken moist.

roast at 400 degrees for about 40 minutes.

once the chicken is cooked, cool, remove skin and shred.

i spread pinto beans on the tostada

 (hubby prefers the canned Rosarito beans, i use the spicy jalapeno kind)

 i know these aren't traditional mexican but they really taste good with the tostadas.

top with shredded chicken breasts,

chopped romaine lettuce

{ i use romaine because iceberg really has no nutritional value, i also like the texture of the romaine)

squeeze lime juice (totally optional, but yummy)

top with tomatoes, queso fresco {mexican cheese}

and  homemade salsa.

and you get this

one word, delish!

i am good with two.

i hope you enjoy them as well.

let me know if your family liked them as much as mine does.

my baby boy is nine today

I cant believe it was nine years ago today that my baby boy was born.

I am feeling very nostalgic today.

where does all the time go?

and to think that {as he told me not too long ago} in 10 years he will be a grown man{ sort of}

I only have ten years?

I promise to cherish them and make the most of my time with my sweet boy.

Happy Birthday!

lego birthday party

number one turns nine this wednesday.

nine...where have the years gone.

i have been busy in party mode planning for his big event.

this year he wants a lego ninjago theme.

the boy LOVES legos!

he can spend hours building and rebuilding with his legos.

they are the best invention for boys ever.

for christmas santa brought him the fire temple.

he worked on it all {mostly} by himself

i love this boy so much.

he is kind-hearted with such a gentle spirit.

i am definitely blessed to be his mom.

be back soon

source

i'll be back soon.

 this weekend i went on a women's retreat.

i will be back to share more this week.

hope you enjoyed a fabulous and blessed weekend!

best broccoli ever

best broccoli ever, seriously!

if you struggle to get your kids to eat their veggies, here is a recipe that you should try.

the recipe is super easy and very yummy!

i made this for dinner tonight and i loved it. the boys loved it too.

{i couldn't get hubby to try it though, he's not a fan of broccoli}

oven roasted broccoli

1. take a head of broccoli and cut it into florets with about an inch stem

2. place the florets on a sheet pan, toss in 2 thinly sliced garlic cloves and drizzle with about 2 -3 tablespoons of olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste, and mix all together

3. roast in a 425 degree oven for 20-25 minutes until the stalks are tender and crisp,

 some florets will be slightly browned

4. remove from oven and toss with lemon zest, lemon juice and 1 tablespoon of olive oil

5. sprinkle with freshly grated parmesan cheese



 hope you enjoy it as much as we did.

12 house to home goals

 the other day i was reading the nester's post on house goals.

i had never thought about house goals per say

 but i did have to do lists in my head of things that i would like to get done

 around the house to feather my nest.

as i walk around my house picking up and cleaning

i always hear that little voice saying "we need to" :

{notice how the little voice says we as in hubby and i}

1. paint the boy's bedrooms

update and add a little vintage items such as antique trucks
maybe new bedding too

especially number 2's room that still has a shelf that we used for his nursery

2. finally put up a gallery wall in my hallway

 like the ones that i have been drooling about on pinterest
 and add a new light fixture with more vintage character

3. change the light fixture in the mudroom

i really like this  moravian star pendant



source google images

4. add a new chandelier to the dining room

that one has been on my list for a while

 

5. organize my closet and finally try project 320

6. re-do my master bedroom

i still want to consult her

i am just recuperating from the lack of funds after the laundry room remodel

7. continue to work on making our backyard a beautiful retreat
adding more roses and a new water fountain

8. change the faucet in the boys bathroom 

 and have hubby build a new cabinet like this one

source

9. style the bookcases in the living room/dining room

hubby built these for me but i am stumped as to what i should put here

i can't seem to get it right

source

10. add more touches of vintage items to the living room

 i want to paint a sign like this one

11. infuse my home with more colorful accents

i love meg's use of color in her home.

12. create a craft room-sewing space in the laundry room

lastly, and more importantly, maintain a clean, organized, and functional home

that is a place of respite for our family.

if you are visiting from the nester's link party,
thanks for stopping by my cozy blog.


unless noted all images are from pinterest.

evolution of a laundry room

welcome to our new {old} laundry room

our laundry room is located outside our house in a separate room

kinda like a bonus room, a very spacious one.

this is what the room looked like before if you remember from this post

 wah la {picture me waving a little wand around}

 this is how it looks like now

 our laundry room is finally complete, at least the laundry side of this room.

it is a complete change from this yucky flooring

{kinda embarrassed to show this picture, but gotta keep it real}

 

new clean floors are soo nice

goodbye blue walls

 hello new paint, new washer and dryer, and check out that new light fixture that hubby

fitted with a spray painted medallion to make it beefier, it was a little wimpy.

 new cabinet hubby made, a sink and faucet from ikea were perfect for this utility sink.

detergent looks a lot prettier in a glass container.

my nanita gave me the little washboard.

hubby also made this shelf to cover pipes that were protruding from the wall.

i painted it and gave it a light sanding to look a bit distressed.

i made curtains for the utility sink to hide all the laundry necessities that are not so pretty.

i really liked the way the light fixture looks in this room.

eventually, on the other side of the room, i want to make it my sewing/craft area.
i bought an old desk at the goodwill that i want to refiinsh and paint to add.

 for now i have beautiful clean place where i can air my dirty laundry.
thanks for stopping by.