House Tour: Sissy Belle's Room

 

 

It was a year ago this time that I was obsessing over my baby girl's room. Yes- it is pink, pink, pink and I love, love, love it. The bedding is Caden Lane and the muse for her room is cupcakes (which I need to expand). She loves her room and is starting to really play in there too. She has baby dolls that she loves and books that she loves to pull off the shelves. It is very girly and very appropriate for the sister. I love that there are so many things in this room that were handmade for her by me, friends and family. I love all the personalization too! This baby girl deserves to be surrounded by all that sweetness!

More din-din

 

Sunday night's meal. An actual table that is set!
Menu:
Cesar Salad
Chilled broiled shrimp
Rice
Artichokes

Note to self: Buy 3 artichokes next time, 2 is no longer enough. Doodle bug ate 1.5 by himself.

 

Monday night's dinner...back to the work week.
Menu:

Grilled blue cheese burgers (this is a good place to use ground turkey)
Pasta Salad in creamy Parmesan
Cream Cheese filled jalapenos
Fixings for the burgers

Morning giggles

*Make sure you have your speakers on!

Untitled from Dee Wallis on Vimeo.

Peach Cobbler

 

These peaches are perfect!

 

Slice up 8 peaches and put in the bottom of a greased 8x8 dish. The crust is actually a crumble that you mix up and sprinkle on top. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

 

Gotta put the ice cream on top!

I got off track with the dinner/room posts. Doodle bug had a performance at church thursday night and Friday night is always our dinner out night. So, I'll stretch it out.... I just threw together a quick dinner Saturday since we were tired from being in Fredericksburg all day but I did have to use some of our fresh peaches that night! I made peach cobbler with vanilla ice cream on top. Yummy! I love the recipe because it is super easy and not too sweet! The peaches were delicious! Sissy belle is really enjoying them too!

And there goes his first tooth...

 

 

 

Doodle bug woke up Saturday morning and came into our room. An announcement was made that his tooth was wiggly. Half awake I reached over to feel the wiggly tooth. I expected a tooth that maybe at the very best had a little wiggle to it. I had to do a retake after feeling that tooth. It was hanging on by a thread! It literally went from nothing to almost about to fall out. We spent the day in Fredericksburg cutting up all his food and treats into tiny bites to protect the wiggly tooth. I told stories of how my dad would tie dental floss to my loose tooth and the other end to a door knob and then close the door. We talked up the tooth fairy and wagered on how much money she would leave. We came home and I was making dinner and doodle was sitting in the middle of the kitchen floor. He looked up and in a very surprised and slightly panic voice exclaimed, "my tooth fell out!" Low and behold it sure did. Only doodle looses his tooth in one day.

A letter was written to the tooth fairy proclaiming that "My mom wants to keep the tooth", "I have a baby sister...you can go look at her", "She has 7 teeth." Sweetness!! The tooth was placed under his pillow and off to dreamland he went.

The tooth fairy did come. She left fairy dust, a twenty spot and a reply letter that checked the "yes" box that mom could keep the tooth and that she would bring it back.

So....we have one kiddo loosing teeth and one just getting them!

House Tour: Part 3

This is the most lived in room in our house. These pictures will probably not accurately capture the size of our bedroom. It is huge! Because of the size, it is the central room upstairs. Over time, it has become our tv room, computer room and craft room. As we added each of you into our lives we lost a room that served another purpose (i.e. doodle's room used to be my craft room and Camy's room used to be our office.) So, we do alot of living in our bedroom. It is such a hard room to decorate because of it's multipurposeness. I keep bedding and curtains basic and then change out the accessories with the seasons. There is not a theme in here...mostly things that make us happy or that are here out of necessity. There is hot glue stuck to the carpet in multiple spots, wrapping paper peeks out from under our bed and the old hope chest (given to my grandmother when she turned 15 by her father that she passed down to me)really deserves an update. I spent weeks up here when I was on bed rest with doodle's pregnancy and recovering from camy's c-section. If someone brings me food, I really never have to leave up here. I have my crafts, my computer, my bed and most of the time all 3 of my loves are right here too.

 

 

Wednesday's Menu

A couple of months ago daddy and I went to dinner at Roaring Fork. I am not sure what tickled my fancy and made me order the carnitas. It was so delicious. I have been thinking about it since then and came across a recipe to make it. The meat had to marinate overnight in a mixture of stuff like orange peels, Pepsi and soy sauce. It then had to simmer all afternoon. I went ahead and made a pot of beans to simmer right along next to it. I must admit it was pretty yummy!

Tonight's Menu
Carnitas in fresh flour tortillas (thank you bakery)
Pinto Beans
Spanish rice
sliced avocado and tomatoes

*No picture of Camarita tonight, she had the squash left over from last night.

 

Does not look to yummy sitting there simmering. However, it was sure nice just to let the beans and meat simmer all afternoon while we were swimming

 

I love to make rice. I always use organic brown and white rice and Texmati is the best! Spanish rice is a fun one to make! The bell pepper was from our garden. Sadly, only the peppers, 2 lemons and 3 peaches remain in the garden besides all the herbs in the herb garden.

 

The finished meal!

House tour: Part 2

Let's tour our dining room and living room. First up is the dining room. New color....doodle and I just painted this on our spring break this year. Before, it was a rustic red/orange. It was dark and I was tired of the color. I wanted something that popped in this little space. The evening sun pours into this area and I wanted a color that was bright, fun and opened up the room. Because daddy let's me do whatever I want, I picked this color. It is fun, a little crazy and blends in with the others. The furniture is a hand-me-down from momene. It used to be brown but I repainted it a couple of years ago.

 

We celebrate holidays, birthdays and other momentous meals in here. Our every day eating happens at the kitchen table.

 

The living area is mostly doodle's domain. We thought about buying new sofas but opted until the kiddos are older. doodle, you have destroyed this couch. There are marker stains, food and everything else under the cushions. If you open any cabinet you will find toys, markers, balls, etc...

 

I am working on an idea of what to put over the fireplace??? The whole room used to be a Noah's Ark theme and this painting is all that remains. Hmmm...I am thinking a personalized decal or another piece of art.

 

One might think that I am egocentric with all the family photos that hang in this room. For me photography is art and there is nothing that makes me happier than the faces of those that I love. Over kill? Possibly but I will never be convinced that I have too many family pictures in this room!

The stories behind this room that you cannot see....The corner of my marble top coffee table is hot glued together. Only doodle could be capable of breaking a marble table! This room has celebrated bridal showers, baby showers, birthdays and entertaining friends. It holds so many memories of welcoming family and friends into our home. It has been transformed into a dining area during Thanksgiving and often serves as our dance floor.

Tuesday's Menu

Another grilling night! I try to serve fish at least once a week. We prefer salmon, mahi-mahi or ahi tuna. I always grill or bake/broil our fish. Another tip tonight is to always use Olive oil in your cooking. Olive oil is good for you and I don't think you can find a better tasting oil. So, on tonight's menu....

Caesar salad
Grilled ahi tuna marinated in olive oil and lime
Steamed brocollini
Roasted zucchini seasoned with olive oil, lemon and garlic
Parmesan and spinach pasta

 

A couple notes on the veggies for tonight. I love to use the steam bags. Steaming vegetables is the best way to cook them. When you boil, you loose nutrients in the water and chance them becoming rubbery. These bags are super easy and great to use! I mostly make all of our salad dressings. I enjoy making them and I appreciate the fact that I am not serving a processed dressing. I picked up this little salad dressing book when we were in Sonoma Valley...it is Divine!!!

 

Grilling is fast, easy and is my favorite way to cook our fish.

 

Dinner is served!

 

Camy's dinner is served. Tonight was more avocado, fresh banana and some of the pasta I made for dinner. She had a ball "playing" with her food tonight. She looked so cute and had so much fun I just let her play. I consider this her nightly facial...hey, isn't avocado good for the skin???

Your first home: Part 1

To my little loves,

I was thinking today how much I have enjoyed you both this summer. I love spending every day, all day with you. I reflected on the trips, the pool time, etc...But, I also thought about the "everdayness" of our lives too. I think it is safe to say that our home is filled with love and good times. And that got me thinking....Will you remember your first home? Do I have pictures that appropriately document this precious space of ours? Will you have a visual of the rooms that were filled with so much laughter and love? Thus, the inspiration for this series of "Tour of your first Home." And because it is easier to do it all at once, I thought it would also be fun to also include a post of our dinner each night along with some of my cooking tips for you to have. Maybe, just maybe is 20 years you will look at this and reflect back to who we were in July 2010. Because, darlings this is our real life.....

A little back story. We bought this house, our first home almost 10 years ago. Our move from Houston to here happened really fast. I think I looked at 3 houses and just felt right about this one. Daddy only looked at this one. And the deal was done just as quickly. At the time, it was huge to us after living in an apartment for so long. We had big dreams about all the home projects we would do and yard work too. Truthfully, we have done almost all of those early dreams to this house. We made it our home. It is not the biggest, or nicest, or most expensive house by no means but it is ours. Each room has been made into space that makes us smile. We thought we would be here,4 maybe 5 years max but 10 years later we are still here. We have outgrown this house in so many ways but something holds us here. The truth of the matter is that we have made it into a space that we feel comfortable and love. One day we will probably move on but it will be so bittersweet. I attach myself to things and how can I ever leave the home that I brought my two babies home to?

Up first, the kitchen. Ironically it is probably the most used room in the house but also the most under loved. However, it was the first room I painted 10 years ago and the same paint is still up on the walls. It remains our least favorite room and was the only hesitation we had in buying this house. It looks a little better today but the pink counter tops still remain. We always said, "Since we are going to only be here a few years let's not put any money into the kitchen." And, we didn't until the last couple of months (mostly from necessity.)

 

Daddy and ampa put all the flooring in and I still love it after all these years. I decided to take it into the kitchen even though I was not thrilled with the brown cabinets against a brown floor. Ideally, the cabinets would be white and the counter tops granite. That fancy stove/microwave and dishwasher have not always been the case. In fact, the dishwasher arrived a couple of months ago after the other one stopped working and we just got the stove and microwave last week. You have no idea how a little appliance update helped! We should have done it years and years ago and had we projected how long we would live here, we would have.

 

Here in lies my current problem. See that large white fridge. Yep, that does not belong here anymore. I want a new one. Daddy says soon as I make room in the garage for this one he will get me a new one. Have you seen our garage?!?

 

 

Not another dish will fit in the cabinets or on the counter top but this kitchen has served me well. I have made so many meals for us, family and friends in here. Every evening about 5, the ipod clicks on, the stove heats up, Camy sits in her highchair and doodle either assists me or does homework at the table. We have laughed and cried in this kitchen....

Monday's Menu

I love cooking. I love the process of creating a healthy and delicious meal. I hope that you both inherit my love for cooking. Hopefully, you will look back on this years down the road and pick up some ideas or maybe even be inspired. First things first....have a plan. I sit down every weekend and plan the menu for the week ahead. Everyone gets a chance to make a request (Camy your turn will come too). I have tons and tons of recipes that I like to go through too. I then make the grocery list. The fastest way to ruin a cooking mood is not to have everything you need on hand when you are ready to start dinner. We go as a family, usually on Sunday afternoons. Because daddy works for the grocery company, we hold nothing back at the ol' HEB. So, planning ahead accomplishes two things....1.) you are committed to cooking because you have stuff you need to use up before it goes bad (which is always a healthier choice than eating out) and 2.)you are set for the week and ready to go when dinner time comes around. No having to decide that day what to eat and then having to go to the store to buy everything and then come home and cook.

So Monday night's Menu:

Cucumber, Tomato and Red Onion Salad
Grilled Flank Steak
Baked Potato
Steamed Asparagus
Steamed corn

Some tips....Remember this order when it comes to choosing veggies: 1.) Fresh is always best! They are healthier and will always taste better They 2.) If you cannot get them fresh, frozen is your next best option 3.) Canned...avoid canned veggies if you can. They are left with little to no nutrients and they are usually lacking flavor and texture. I almost always start each of our meals with a salad. The more color and more vegetables you can incorporate into every meal, the better! Organic is always the way to go but I will save my tips on how to actually choose true organic foods and how to interpret those coded little stickers found on fresh fruits and vegetables.

 

Pretty Vegetables

 

Camy-at 8 months you are doing very well with your eating. You love, love, love to eat and prefer fresh fruits and veggies to anything that comes in a jar. I try to make all of your food that I possibly can. You love fresh avocados and this was part of what you had for dinner tonight. You are beginning to work on self-feeding and though it is a little messy you are doing marvelous! You finished your meal off with a fresh peach that I first poached and then mushed up fo ryou.

 

I have just recently became confident enough to grill by myself. I was sure that I was going to blow myself up the first few times doing it. Grilling has opened up so many more cooking choices for me!

 

The finished meal. Aesthetically, it would have looked nicer on serving plates, etc...But, where I fall short is having an actual set dinner every night. I start dinner at 5pm almost always. Dinner is served at 6pm. Doodle and I are usually the only two eating together. Camy eats her dinner while I am cooking and I then make a plate for the Mr. to eat when he gets home. He gets home much later than I would like to eat so we make it work. So, I have learned to serve everything directly to our plates rather than setting a serving table. It is not my preference. I wish all four of us sat at the table together every night but this only happens Friday-Sunday. The work week brings hectic schedules.

Girl's Weekend

What a weekend! So much to say but the pictures do a good job of telling the story, I think. We have all been friends since college. TLU not only gave me a great education but also friends for a lifetime. I am so glad we made this happen and I am excited about the plan for next year.

Girl's Weekend in Fredericksburg from Dee Wallis on Vimeo.

Florida 2010

 

Appendectomy, Blood Disorder testing, oil spill, nor Hurricane Alex could keep us away. The trip had been planned since the first of the year. At one point, it seemed like so much was telling us not to go. We actually even called to cancel our reservations. With a great incentive to keep them and no other place sounding good to us, we thought "What the heck!" Everything about this trip was perfect. We truly had the best time. To be able to spend 6 nights and 7 days with our little family was incredible. Just the four of us. We loved it so much that we have already planned next year's trip and decided to stay twice as long. I HIGHLY recommend Sandestin to everyone! The place is perfect and so much fun!

The oil stayed away as did the rain from the storm. We played hard and had a big time! I am covered with bruises and my bones crack and pop when I wake up in the mornings. Too much boogie boarding and marco polo in the pool for this 34 year old body :) I don't regret it a bit.

The beach baby

 

 

 

 

She was so patient with all my wardrobe changes and poses. She loved the sand. She loved to eat the sand. She played, napped at snuggled us at the beach.

Some of my favorites