Hello Pretty Eyes

Dana's Bakery

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda Smith) — Mon, 17 Mar 2014 13:09:00 +0000

If you didn't already know, or follow me on Instagram, I love macarons. I've tried my hand at making them some, but I still need to perfect that. I will one day. In the mean time, I buy them. I order them from Dana's Bakery. They are based in New York and they deliver nationwide. They are definitely worth every single penny.

Each month, they offer a new flavor. They also offer a Macron of the Month package where you can get a box a month with the new flavor. You can also build-a-box and order some other combinations. I've gotten two boxes so far. The first box I got a variety pack. I found out which flavors I love and which I could do without. They are all amazing, but I do have favorites.

These macarons are such a pick me up throughout the week. I keep them in the freezer and pull one or two out at a time. I keep them at room temperature for about 30 minutes or so before I eat them.

Pretty plates are optional. This month's flavor was Mallo-Mac. Homemade marshmallow, brown sugar shell, and covered in chocolate. Good. Real good.

My two favorites are Cookie Dough and Fruity Cereal. I could have a box of each a day... and then be real fat. But happy! Happy and fat.

If you were ever interested in macarons, or can't get them where you live, please order from here. They are really amazing and ship pretty quick.

SMILE.

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda Smith) — Sat, 15 Mar 2014 15:05:00 +0000

SMILE! Mason said so.

Happy weekend!

Week Fourteen

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda Smith) — Fri, 14 Mar 2014 14:22:00 +0000

Week fourteen: someone slept 7 hours straight! Only for one night, but yah! That's a win in my book. We ordered these amazing (AMAZING) Bobo Choses onesies....and well this dude is too long. 3-6 month sizing is too short for him. The buttons almost popped just taking these photos. Ha! Chubby guy. We moved up in feedings and hoping for longer nights sleep. He still loves in swing...a lot. But only once he's already asleep. So far, this three month thing is looking good. I'm hoping for a 4 month relief (FINALLY) from colic. It's getting a little better, but man. He's a screamer. S C R E A M E R. Let's go 4 months!

Dinner Idea // Stuffed Sweet Potato

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda Smith) — Thu, 13 Mar 2014 19:24:00 +0000

This is probably my new go-to meal. It's super east and a great way to get rid of stuff in the fridge. I used some of the compound butter I saved from the last dinner I had. I keep it in the freezer in case I need to use it. SO...

Find a nice sized sweet potato. Poke several holes in it and put it in the oven at 400* until it's soft. In the mean time, cut up whatever vegetables you have in the fridge. I used zucchini, squash, sweet peppers, kale and some sausage. Sauté all the vegetables and sausage if you use it. When the potato is done, cut it open and pour the mix on top. I topped it off with the butter. SO GOOD. And REALLY filling. (HOLY CAPS!)

Sandbox.

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda Smith) — Tue, 11 Mar 2014 21:19:00 +0000

This guy has been dying to get into his sandbox. We finally filled it up with some new sand and now I can't get him out of it!

We're learning to NOT throw sand at mom......

Today.

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda Smith) — Tue, 11 Mar 2014 04:06:00 +0000

Today was one of those days that by the end of it I needed a glass of wine. Yeesh.

Jack isn't feeling well so he tends to not be so happy. Mason was extra cry-y today because of the time change. Our landlord is coming by tomorrow, so I had to clean. My mom is coming Friday (yay!) so I'm trying to organize the house oh and clean it. We were all up last night a ton. Me more than anyone else since I was trying to keep everyone else asleep. I'm just tired. Wah. Wah. Wah.

Well, I just ate three macrons and drank my glass of wine and I don't even feel bad. Good night.

* Those macarons are from Dana's Bakery. Google them. They are the absolute best I've ever had.

Sunday Dinner Idea // Salmon

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda Smith) — Sun, 09 Mar 2014 15:34:00 +0000

Now that I am home all day, I have to schedule my time pretty well to get everything done. Nap time is my prime hustle time. During one of Mason's long naps, I prep everything for dinner. What I have figures out is that if we buy just random groceries, I can't make dinner. Meal planning is something that is too hard for me. I don't like having a meal schedule throughout the week. What usually happens is I make the plan, then don't follow-through and get stuck with groceries I waste. What we do is buy a bunch of different proteins, vegetables, and a few starches. With these groceries, I can put together dinner pretty easily.

Last night's dinner was, not to toot my own horn, but TOOOOT! I made baked salmon with herbed compound butter, steamed purple cauliflower, and sauteed zucchini and squash.

I love the way chopped herbs look and well, smell. Herbs are something that I always try to keep on hand. They can make a meal or dish much better. We usually buy parsley and cilantro. We have dill and mint plants.

Compound butter is my favorite. You can make so many different kinds for so many different dishes. This one had parsley and dill.

And this stuff. If you have a Melting Pot anywhere near you, get some. It's so worth it.

It's just so pretty.

Chopped parsley. I always chop extra in case I need some while I cook.

All done. So good!

Mason Must Have... (part two)

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda Smith) — Sat, 08 Mar 2014 18:09:00 +0000

1: SollyBaby Wrap // 2: Natural Rubber Pacifier // 3: Soundspa On-The-Go // 4: MamaRoo // 5: Hello Apparel Onesies // 6: Baby Jives Cloud Mobile // 7: Mustache Leggings // 8: Soundspa Sound Machine // 9: Haba Clutching Toy // 10: Lily Jade Designer Diaper Bag // 11: Bulb Syringe // 12: Skip Hop Activity Gym

* This post is not sponsored by any one of these companies. They are just things we love very much! Some of these product we don't own but would REALLY love to and definitely suggest them to new mommies and newborns.

Week Thirteen

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda Smith) — Fri, 07 Mar 2014 22:57:00 +0000

Week thirteen: This dude is 3 months old! 3. Three. Tres. HOW DID THAT HAPPEN??? Time is a bitch. He is still pretty colicy so that stinks. Hopefully month 4 will be a break for us. He laughs out loud now, which is AMAZING. Jack plays with him a little bit now because of that. He's also starting to sleep longer at night. Woot to 5 hours!

Details// BeauLoves one-piece and Freshly Picked mocs.

Mason Must Have... (part one)

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda Smith) — Tue, 04 Mar 2014 23:29:00 +0000

1: Gerber Soothe Colic Drops // 2: SwaddleMe Organic Adjustable Infant Wrap // 3: LifeFactory Glass Bottles // 4: Baby Home Dream Portable Baby Crib // 5: Mustela Products // 6: Gerber Organic Onesies // 7: Organic Cloud Blanket // 8: Striped Socks // 9: BEST Burp Cloths // 10: Puj Tub // 11: Freshly Picked Moccasins // 12: Bandana Bib

* This post is not sponsored by any one of these companies. They are just things we love very much!

My Boys & A Beautiful Mess Actions

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda Smith) — Tue, 04 Mar 2014 21:47:00 +0000

I took these photos of the littlest men in my life. I used the newest (and super amazing) actions from A Beautiful Mess. They launched their newest site yesterday and I cannot wait for the e-course and crash courses!

This is the only look I get these days when trying to take a photo of this too-cool-for-mom dude.

This guy... He can't move, so he doesn't get a choice. ((wink))

Monday, March 3, 2014

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda Smith) — Mon, 03 Mar 2014 22:05:00 +0000

Today is for:
- starting my workout over...again
- meal planning using ohdeardrea's new cleanse
- doing my ProjectLife pages for last week and March
- laundry
- ordering my new diaper bag
- entertaining a 4 year old and 3 month old
- begging my mom to come for a visit
- making dinner for my loving husband

Weekly Mason.

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda Smith) — Sun, 02 Mar 2014 20:30:00 +0000

Before Mason was born, I decided I would take a photo-a-week of him. I got the idea from my good friend, Alana (Mamainlalaland on IG). She used her weekly photos for her daughter's birthday party and I thought it was such an amazing way to showcase how much the baby had grown. I can't wait to see what this project looks like at the end. I plan on making a little book of all the photos.

Heyo!

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda Smith) — Sun, 02 Mar 2014 18:51:00 +0000

Heeeeyo! We had a baby!! (3 months ago). Yes, I have no been blogging in a LONG while... Duh. To be honest, I just didn't have the heart to. I had nothing positive to say. Work was beyond terrible, being away from my house and kid for 12+ hours a day was the worst, and pregnancy was definitely hard. Now that it's all changed, I'm BACK!

Mason was born on December 4 and weighed 8 pounds 2 ounces. He was (and continues to be) a big guy. He has the prettiest eyes and such a sweet demeanor when he isn't crying. Labor was...labor. I had a epidural but had to be on my left side for the majority of two days so I really only had the epi on half of my body.... the other half? You guessed it, could feel everything! Ouch. Props to those mama's who do it all natural. Yeesh.

We came home the next day because of some crazy weather. He definitely has colic, so there's that. I am currently living on coffee and very rare, 5+ hour stretches of sleep. Jack is a very good big brother. Most of the time, he ignores him. But there are those cute big brother moments that melt hearts.

We are still trying to figure out this colic thing.. I hope it ends soon. Poor Jack has a hard time with all the crying, who wouldn't really. We've tried pretty much all we can. Crazy formula, swaddles, gripe water, tummy drops, probiotics, and bubbles. Yes, bubbles. They can stop the crying for almost 10 minutes!! Mommy win!

So, yah. I'm back! And I'll be posting as regularly as I can. Ya know... 3 month old.

Hello....

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda Smith) — Wed, 12 Jun 2013 21:13:00 +0000

So, I'm here. I've been battling a bad case of the morning sickness crap that happens when you're pregnant. I never had this with Jack, so it's definitely hard to handle. When I'm not sick, I'm at work or home with Jack. Finding time to be here is hard, but I'm working on it.

I am now 14 weeks along and I can't wait to find out what we are having!!!! I'm getting so excited. I can't wait to start getting everything ready and set up. We don't have an extra room in this house, so baby will be parking it in our bedroom. We moved some stuff around and he/she will have a perfect little area with plenty of room. This house isn't big, but the rooms are. We are over the moon excited about this little baby... I just can't wait for the sickness to ease up some.

LAVENDER HONEY CUPCAKES

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda Smith) — Thu, 11 Apr 2013 01:16:00 +0000

I made these cupcakes a few weeks ago for a picnic we were going to have, but it got rained out. I had some high expectations for these babies. They....well.... were almost good. It's my own fault. I added the dried lavender AND lavender extract. It tasted like bathwater. Now don't think that this recipe will taste like that. I've tweeked it and made it 100% better. No extract.

Lavender Honey Cupcakes

1/2 cup of butter
1 cup of sugar
2 whole eggs
1-2 tablespoons of honey
1 teaspoon of vanilla
2 cups of flour
2 tablespoons of baking powder
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1-2 tablespoons of dried vanilla
2/3-1 cup of milk
- Vanilla buttercream
- Honey for garnish
- Dried lavender for garnish

1. In a mixer with the paddle attachment, cream the butter until a light yellow. Then add in the sugar and mix until light yellow.
2. Add the eggs one at a time, then add the vanilla and honey.
3. In a separate bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, salt, and dried lavender.
4. Add in the flour a little at a time, alternating with the milk. Ending with flour.
5. Bake at 350, until golden on top but not brown. You can also check to see if they are done by slightly touching the surface. If it's spongy like, then it's done. Please don't stick a toothpick in, unless you have to.

6. Make whatever vanilla buttercream icing you like. I like American Buttercream as it's the easiest and I can control the sugar. Cream cheese icing would also be awesome with this.
7. Use a little bit of honey on top and sprinkle a few lavender buds on top to garnish.
8. Enjoy! :]

TEN

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda Smith) — Mon, 08 Apr 2013 15:26:00 +0000

Soccer game! We had two this weekend.

Someone used the potty all by himself this weekend!

Bubbles and sandbox = heaven for a 3 1/2 year old.

Candyland for game night!

Favorite pizza... homemade.

Ice cream sundae!

Sunday morning donuts courtesy of my sweet husband.

Trying to get a ladybug friend to crawl on his finger.

My brussels look so good!

Hanging outside always touching mama.

PIZZA

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda Smith) — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 13:07:00 +0000

In our house, we have a love of pizza. A deep love. We could possibly eat it every single day and be ok with it. Of course, we don't or we'd be rolling to work in the mornings.

We try all different pizza. Homemade is our favorite. We can customize the toppings and the dough. We usually use Trader Joe's fresh pizza dough because it's the best tasting and most convienent for us. We love the garlic one the best. We get home from work pretty late, so dinner must be fast! We try to keep a few fresh vegetables around and we always have pepperonis or bacon.

This pizza (pictured above) has to be my favorite ever. We had made a whole chicken in the crock-pot the day before, so I used the leftover chicken, Classico pizza sauce (the best), baby bell peppers, parmesan cheese, kale, and a little olive oil on top (so the kale doesn't burn). So GOOD!

TEN FROM EASTER WEEKEND

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda Smith) — Wed, 03 Apr 2013 14:58:00 +0000

Taco Night

Babysitter night!

Colorful pancake breakfast for Jack!

Basket goodies.

He opened the one's with cars in them and then forgot the rest.

More eggs.

New sandbox.

Easter cupcakes.

Confetti eggs!

New flower garden!

Dessert!

Best photo of Jackson EVER.

TEN

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda Smith) — Thu, 28 Mar 2013 11:00:00 +0000

Jack's silly faces waiting for breakfast Saturday.

Soccer game was canceled so Target-time!

Curry plant (smells JUST LIKE CURRY)

Elfin thyme. So cool.

Bubbles in the bath!

Carts.

iPad time.

Dying time.

Eggs.

Lavender honey cupcakes (recipe soon!)

HELLO.

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda Smith) — Tue, 26 Mar 2013 13:33:00 +0000

This weekend was a cold one. Jack's soccer game was canceled. We got quite a bit of cabin fever. We bought a couple new plants. We had a picnic at my in-law's. It was a good weekend.

CURRENTLY

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda Smith) — Fri, 22 Mar 2013 11:30:00 +0000

Obsessing over: Our garden/backyard. We have planted so much! We have plans for more, but it'll have to wait until the weather gets even better. We have spent almost every day this week after work outside with Jack. He loves his watertable and his chalk. We got him a new bubblemachine, so that will be fun when we finally get batteries.
Working on: Spring cleaning!! We are ready for a Spring cleaning to happen. Now. Jack has a soccer game Saturday in the afternoon, so that morning will be for cleaning and cleaning out. I feel like there is just stuff everywhere. It's driving me bananas (did somebody say bananas? Sorry, mom-who-watches-too-many-episodes-of-the-Fresh-Beat-Band).
Thinking about: Oh, too many things to name at the moment. Maybe soon.
Watching: The Hobbit. It tooks us three nights, but we got through it! I so wish it had been the entire thing. It ended so ubruptly. It's a really good movie and so pretty. I am excited for the next one so I can watch both back-to-back.
Reading: I just finished The Silver Linings Playbook and well, it's amazing. It's a pretty fast read (it took me a few days) and it's an amazing story. I haven't seen the movie yet, but I definitly will.
Listening to: Um. Have you been living under a rock? Justin. Of course.
Wishing: It was Saturday :]

(Thank you to Danielle at Sometimes Sweet for this idea! I love it

TEN

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda Smith) — Thu, 21 Mar 2013 13:20:00 +0000

from our weekemd ( a little late )...

Pandora Disney station is awesome.

Jack's new windchime. He loves this thing.

First soccer game!!

More herbs.

Racing on a chalk track.

Jack's clovers.

Watertable weather!!!

Grass on a truck.

Bubbles!

More bubbles!!

SOCCER GAME 1

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda Smith) — Thu, 21 Mar 2013 05:00:00 +0000

This was Jack's first soccer game. He doesn't look super into it in this photo, but he was sort of into it at first.

Then.... one of his teammates kicked the ball when Jack was trying to. Jack is pretty sensitive, so that was the end of his play time!

We walked off the field and never went back on. The coach even carried him out and he walked right back. He's learning. :] It was pretty cute though. The uniform and the running and cheering.

We realized that this game was so early (for him) and he didn't get a chance to wake up and eat a good breakfast. After we had the after-game snack, he perked up and started to cry saying "I missed my chance." Of course, we explained that there is always next week. Now he's asking to go to soccer and hopefully will stay in the game!

HELLO.

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda Smith) — Sun, 17 Mar 2013 15:41:00 +0000

We are currently enjoying our amazing weekend number two. Last weekend was amazing and this one is just the same, although I woke up today feeling like I ate something horrible (queue the nausea). I hope everyone is having an equally awesome day (minus the blah).