Wednesday, December 31, 2014

New Years Eve 2014

Hello friends!  I can't believe the Christmas season is over and a brand new year starts tomorrow!  I always tend to get a little nostalgic when New Years Eve rolls around.  I love looking back and seeing how much has happened throughout the year.  Our little one, Olivia, turned one in April and that was one of our biggest highlights of the year.   She's grown so much and I can't wait to see what the new year brings.  Keeping this short and sweet, I'll leave you with a few of my hopes for the new year...


CREATE HEALTHY MEALS - I'm really excited to try new recipes to create healthy, delicious meals for our family.   Pinterest is my go to for new recipes.  You can follow my Pinterest boards here. 


STAY ORGANIZED - I love the idea of organizing and I was always pretty good at it, then along came a husband, a baby, and animals.  This is one of my biggest goals for the year.  Having an organized home creates peace in my mind and its also visually pleasing to know everything has a place to go and our home can look neat and tidy.


CREATE STYLISH, ACCESSORIZED OUTFITS - Being a stay at home mom, I tend to wear comfy clothes that I can play, cook, clean and run errands in.  I make sure to get dressed everyday, but a goal of mine is to accessorize more and put a little more thought into my outfits.  Something as simple as remembering to put on a necklace or earrings can make the difference between stylish and stay-at-home.  Again, Pinterest has a ton of great outfit inspiration.  


BE PRESENT - It's hard to just be present sometimes.  Avoiding distractions is hard.  I'm guilty of thinking of other things, doing other things, scrolling through Instagram, blogging, etc when sometimes the most important things are right in front of me.  I try to make a conscience effort to be present and be in the moment.  "Unplugging" is so important to really nurture your relationships, whether it be with your spouse, child, family or friends.  I love the quote above..."wherever you are, be all there."  That's one of my top resolutions for this coming year.   

What are some of your hopes for the new year?  I'd love to hear!  Happy New Year!

Linking up to the Lavish Lemon Link Up here at Let's Dazzle Darlings.



Tuesday, December 16, 2014

Holiday Home Tour 2014

Welcome to my holiday home tour!  Most of the decorations are from Home Goods, TJMaxx, Target, and local shops.  There is also a mix of fresh and faux greens throughout the house. Hope you enjoy a glimpse into our home during the holidays!

The first stop is our living room...




















Next up is our dining room...




















Next is our kitchen...








And just a few special touches in Olivia's room...



I hope you enjoyed a peek into our home this Christmas! I'd love to know your thoughts! Now leaving you with our Santa visit picture this;)...Definitely a keeper for when she's 16.


And my favorite holiday picture of her... I just love the wonder in her eyes...





Tuesday, December 9, 2014

The BYOImagination Winner Is...

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Congratulations, Ashley M! Please check your email!! Thank you all so much for entering...check back during the week for a great "mommy" giveaway!

Sunday, December 7, 2014

Sunday Supper || Creamy Meatball Casserole

After a busy day, it's always nice to have an easy dinner recipe that can be thrown together quickly and tastes delicious.  I adapted this recipe from different recipes on Pinterest and it was so good!  I used homemade meatballs and sauce, but you can certainly use frozen meatballs and jarred sauce to save even more time!


Ingredients:
1 loaf of crusty bread cut into cubes(I used Italian)
1 lb (or more) of cooked meatballs
1 jar, or about 4 cups of homemade sauce
1 block of cream cheese
1/2 cup of mayonnaise
1/2 cup of Greek yogurt
2 cups of shredded mozzarella cheese
1 tsp. of Italian seasoning (basil, oregano, thyme)

Preheat oven to 350. Mix together the cream cheese, yogurt, mayo and about 1/2 cup of mozzarella cheese.  Sprinkle in the Italian seasoning and set to the side.  Place bread cubes in the bottom of a casserole dish and place in the oven to toast slightly for a few minutes.  After bread cubes have toasted, spread the cream cheese mixture over the bread and then layer with meatballs.  Spread sauce over the meatballs and sprinkle with shredded cheese.  Cook for about 20 minutes or until lightly browned and bubbly. 

Easy, right?  I served mine with a green salad.  It was a quick and easy recipe that my whole family loved.  Here is how I make my meatballs, if you'd like to try with homemade meatballs:

1 lb. of ground beef (I use certified Angus)
1 egg
1 slice of bread soaked in milk
1/2 cup bread crumbs
Fresh parsley
Parmesan cheese
Salt & Pepper

Mix together milk soaked bread (squeeze excess milk out if needed), bread crumbs, salt, pepper, cheese.  Add egg and ground beef, mix together until all ingredients are incorporated.  Add fresh chopped parsley.  Form meat mixture into small meatballs - I use a mini cookie scoop for even sizes. Bake at 350 for about 35-45 minutes depending on size, or until golden brown and cooked through.  

I hope you enjoy this recipe!  Let me know if you try it! 

**Don't forget to enter the current giveaway to BYOImagination going on here: Wooden Toy Giveaway!

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