Pinned It, Did It: Penne with Balsamic Butter

Pinned It, Did It: Penne with Balsamic Butter

 

 

I pinned this recipe tonight in search of something for dinner.  I have to say it turned out pretty good. I took advice from the comments and added just half a stick of butter and substituted green beans for the asparagus.  I also only had Romano cheese on hand, but I think Romano and Parmesan are pretty interchangeable.   

This was a super easy pasta recipe when you are looking for something a little different.  Wes liked it too :)

 

 

 

 

 

We're Back!

This summer was a nice break from blogging and gave me extra time to spend with my family and work on some projects around the house.  I am excited to be back and want to share with you a sneak peek of the 3rd and final party i threw this summer.  My parents celebrated their 35th anniversary today and my brothers and I threw them a big party over the weekend.  It was a beautiful event for my parents who are always doing something for other people.   I had so much fun working on the details for this party and can't wait to share with you.

 

 

In other news, Wesley turned 15 months old today! Whoa, where does the time go?  My little toddler is climbing on everything, talking up a storm, throwing impressive mini-tantrums, and loves to read.  The cutest thing he does is when we ask him to say something (he'll try to repeat almost anything) and if he can't say it right, he giggles at himself afterward.  I love it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

He is such a big boy!

Blogging Break

I never mentioned it, but I went on a blogging break this summer.   I love blogging, but as a full-time working mom, it takes up a lot of time.  This summer has been crazy busy.  We have been able to have a lot of fun on family vacations, but my work load has been extremely intense and I have filled my blogging time with catching up on work time. I also have some personal (professional) things going on right now that need my attention, plus Jeff and I continue to create and build and party.  All that to say, I will be back and lots of projects are in the works, but its gonna take me a little more time to get back in the swing of thingas.  So stick with me and enjoy this music video my family made on our last vacation:

Back to reality...

We had an amazing long weekend being spoiled at the lake AND the beach but now it's back to the grind. Here are a few pics of our beach trip.

Happy Independence Day!

Hope you are having a great day celebrating our freedom!
We are at the lake watching fireworks over the water!

What Jeff Did Made for Dinner: Pretzel Bun BBQ Burgers

Just let your mouth water as you stare at these pictures of the most delicious little burger. Burger patties seasoned with garlic and onion powder, onions carmelized in soy sauce, gooey cheddar cheese and sweet BBQ sauce stacked between a soft pretzel bun. mmmmm mmmm so good.

Wesley's Nautical/Fishing Birthday Party

Here are the pictures from Wesley's 1st birthday party.  I am so thankful for our family and friends who were able to join us.  We had a great time and felt so loved.

I had a fun time preparing for the party and all the little details.  I decided to go with a nautical/fishing theme because Jeff's favorite thing to do is fish, and I've been obsessed with red and blue stripes.  We also incorporated lots of Sweedish Fish since they are Jeff's favorite candy and after all, he is 1/2 Sweedish. :) 

This is the invitation I designed.  I got a lot of inspiration from THIS blogger's inviations to her son's birthday party.

I love the way the birthday banner turned out.  This was the food table, eventually. My friend Kerri cut out red fish with her cricut and I taped them to Jute string to drape across the table.  The table cloth is actually just some fabric that I picked up at a gargae sale a while back.  All the linens are actually.

This white board is usually an art piece I painted, but since it was green, I just turned it around to display the monthy pictures of Wesley.  I just printed out my favorite pictures of him, added a number in the corner and strung them on some jute.  This was everyones favorite thing at the party.

The dessert table! I had Jeff make me a custom cupcake stand to display the cupcakes that his mom made for the party.  The "W" cupcake toppers were made using the font "Backspacer Tribute".  Its an awesome font because it somes with the circle frame around the letter.

We also put out jars of red candy, including Sweedish Fish.

Jeff also made several signs that we painted with chalkboard paint.  Jeff drew the desserts and drinks signs.  He is quite the artist!

In this next picture, you can see the labels I made for the food that matched the invitations.

Wesley wasnt so sure about the cupcake, but he loved the frosting!

We served blueberry and strawberry lemonade along with old fashion coke and Dad's rootbeer.

I saw these huge balloons at Party City and just knew I had to get some for Wesley's party.  They are so whimsical and fun.

I cleaned and reused some orange crush bottles that we originally bought from Sam's Club and then tied a ribon around them for guests to drink the lemonade.

the red straws were from Ikea.

The tabe decor was simple with cans of gold fish and red vines to snack on. 

These white frames are simple, cute, and cheap from Ikea.  I printed tons of my favorite pictures of Wesley and put these double sided frames all over the party.

For activities we had Wesley's sandbox, a water fight area, a fishing station, and a photo booth in the sail boat.  The kids' favorite was the fishing station.

The party favors were more Sweedish Fish and white chocolate fish in tiny fishing buckets we found at the Dollar Tree.  We mde the chocolate fish using an ice cube mold from Ikea.

Thanks to everyone who joined us and made it a truly special day!

***All pictures taken by THIS awesome lady.