I have moved...

I have moved...come visit me at my new blog
A Crazy Beautiful
Cheers!

Farewell

Well, it is the last day of being in my 2o's...tomorrow I enter my 30's...wow, I can't believe the day is here. I am excited and scared although everyone tells me the 30's are your best years...so I will embrace it! Turning 30 will bring new and exciting things into my life and with that, a new blog at a new address and a lot more fun! Currently it is in the works and once it is up and running I will be sure to let all of you know. Until then, I will be refocusing myself and my family and looking forward to this new venture! Thank you for supporting my Little Nest....xoxo

Yummy!

So, I have a fabulous recipe to share with you...

Fresh Tomato Soup
15-20 tomatoes (I used campari, but I'm sure you could use any kind)
1 head of garlic roasted
3 cups vegetable broth
1 onion diced
3 tablespoons organic tomato paste
2 tablespoons dried oregano
2 teaspoons dried rosemary
2 teaspoons dried basil
1 tablespoon dried parsley
1/8 teaspoon red chili flakes
1 packet stevia
salt & pepper to taste
Heat oven to 450 degrees. Cut tomatoes in half and bake in oven on jelly roll pan for 25 minutes. At the same time you can begin roasting garlic in oven wrapped in foil. Roast garlic for 45 minutes. While tomatoes and garlic are in oven begin sauteing onion until golden brown in dutch oven. Once color is golden brown, add tomato paste, vegetable broth and all spices and stevia. Once tomatoes and garlic are done put half of onion mixture and half of tomatoes in blender. Blend until smooth. Repeat with the rest of the onion mixture and the rest of the tomatoes and roasted garlic. Then combine both batches back in dutch oven and heat until warm. Enjoy!
To make it creamier, I added raw goat cheese to each bowl before serving.

This recipe is great! I am doing a detox from this book right now, so I am not eating any breads or crackers, but I'm sure this soup would be fabulous with some crusty bread or a grilled cheese sandwich.

A favorite of mine

I am loving my Tom's right now! I bought my daughter a pair for Christmas and they look so cute on her. It took me a while to decide which ones I wanted and finally went for the black glitter after seeing them on my cousin. They are so comfy and even better, every time you buy a pair, they donate a pair to a child...so COOL!!! I am trying to figure out what color I want next....as for now, I am walking around in comfort and style!!

2011

We had a fabulous Christmas, a wonderful trip to Colorado to visit my brother and sister in law and my sweet little niece and now we just arrived home to ring in the new year with some good friends! Welcome 2011, I have big plans for you and big dreams too!!! I welcome you with open arms....xoxo

Have a Happy New Year and please be safe!

Do you have any cans of pumpkin lying around that you need to get rid of? If you were like me and bought enough cans of pumpkin puree to feed an army, then you are going to need a recipe to finish them off...
I made this last week and it was so scrumptious...It is from the Gourgeously Green website. Her book is great too!(*Note, it says to use fresh pumpkin and I used canned pumpkin and it turned out great. Also, I would not use as much red chile flakes as it was pretty spicy. Maybe 1/4 teaspoon instead)....enjoy!!

Creamy Pumpkin Soup with Brown Rice and Swiss Chard

2 tbsp butter

1 onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 tsp ground cumin

1/2 tsp red chile flakes

7-ounce pumpkin, seeds and flesh removed, chopped into 1-inch cubes

3 cups chicken or vegetable stock

3 cups whole milk (vegan: soy silk)

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 cup chopped green Swiss chard, stalks removed

1 cup cooked brown rice

1 tsp ground cinnamon

Melt the butter in a heavy stockpot over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and sauté until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the cumin and red chile flakes and cook for 2 minutes. Add the pumpkin, stock, milk, and salt and pepper to taste, and bring to a boil. Turn down the heat and simmer for 20 minutes, or until the pumpkin is tender. Purée the soup with an immersion blender until smooth. Add the chard leaves and simmer for 5 minutes. Spoon into warmed soup bowls, add a mound of rice to each bowl, and dust with the cinnamon.

Ahh-mazing!

Sarah Bareilles rocked it! Such an amazing show. The venue was gorgeous, her voice was beautiful and she is a pretty funny gal. Can't wait to see her again someday. Raining Jane opened for her and they were pretty amazing too! Sarah (yes, we are on a first name basis now) did a cover of Radiohead's "Nice Dream"...it gave me chills...WOW! Well, now it's back to the mad week before Christmas rush!!

Excitement!

I get to see her tonight in San Francisco...I am soooo excited!!!

address please?

Here is the ole' Christmas card this year! I love getting Christmas cards in the mail everyday...it is the one thing that brightens my day. I especially love the ones with photos to see how people have changed over the year, especially the little ones! Merry Christmas!

I wish...

Here are a few of the items on my wishlist this year...

Maple Falls Bedding from Anthropologie
Vintage Thermoses from Nerdnest on Etsy
Shoes from Steve Madden
And media stand and record player from Urban Outfitters
Aren't they all so dreamy???
A girl can wish!
What's on your wishlist?

Cherish the moments

I know, it's been awhile, I do apologize. We actually had a family tragedy on Thanksgiving. My uncle had an anurism and then ended up dying the following Monday. It was a shock; completely sudden. I still can't believe he is gone. So with that, I have been feeling a little unmotivated. Not to mention that I have had a sinus infection for the past 2 weeks, had to throw my husband's company Christmas party and just dealing with the holiday bustle.....which really is nothing compared to the loss of family. I feel a little absent minded. I must say, if I have learned anything from these past 3 weeks, it is that LIFE needs to be taken seriously and that there is no room for useless relationships and that family truly is THE most important thing! You never know when someone could be taken from your life...so cherish those that you have and relish in the memories of those that now watch over you.

So, on another note, here is a picture of my hubby and I from a family photo shoot we did recently...mmm, I love him!
Oh and my son just threw up...lovely...it is going to be a long night, but it is okay because this is what being a mother is all about!!!

Sorry for the randomness, I'll get it together soon!

thankful

I am thankful for my healthy family...Happy Thanksgiving!

Pie

(source)
Tomorrow I will be baking delicious pies with my mom for Thanksgiving...I can't wait. I am thankful that I get to spend time with my momma!!

Today

Today I am thankful for being able to spend the whole week with my kids having fun, doing whatever we want...

What I wore...Disected

Here is the outfit I wore for a day of wine tasting this last weekend. As you can see, I am wearing a lot of stuff from Target...I was going to try and come up with an excuse or justification as to why everything I am wearing is from Target (because it is a little embarassing) but simply put, Target is easy and it is the one place I can stick my children in a shopping cart and bribe them with treats and toys so that I can try on clothes if only for 5 minutes...pure bliss!!! For now on I'll stick to buying stuff online....Oh and yes...I might also add, that my husband made a comment about my socks sticking out of my boots. He said, "is that the style these days?" "I'd like to see a picture of that from a magazine." I said,"ha, yes, it is, I'll show you." So I went and grabbed my latest Urban Oufitters catalog and showed him just who the stylish one is in this family....

Little Helper

I finally got my hubby to hang my clipboards in the dining room the other night
(inspired by this blog) and of course he couldn't do it without his little helper...so cute!!!

Thrifted

Look what I snagged today...only $4.00
I was just at Urban Outfitters earlier in the day and was looking at some similar for close to $50.00
When I saw this one at the thrift store I was so excited, especially after I saw the price. What made the purchase even sweeter was the little old woman that checked me out and how she said what a nice purse it was...she was adorable! Sitting on my new purchase is the current book I'm reading that my hubby bought me at the airport a few months ago. I will only be 29 for 2 more months and he thought of me when he saw the book....what a sweetie! Have you found any stellar thrifted items lately?

stay home

I can't tell you how much I love this poster...I don't actually own it, but have been dreaming about it for quite some time...I think I might have to get it for my hubby for Christmas, because really, there is nothing I love more than staying home with my family!

4 kids, 2 adults and a week in Tahoe

About two weeks ago, my girlfriend and I took our 4 kiddos up to Lake Tahoe for 5 days. We had an absolute blast and made some memories that we'll never forget....

.the fall colors
.looking for pinecones and sticks with our munchkins
.the girls deciding to do Rocco's hair with a bow (and him enjoying it)
.good talks
.glasses of wine

.good, fresh food
.hikes that only lasted 30 minutes
.the munchkins getting naked and going in the freezing lake and loving it

.cuddling with our kids
.drinking warm coffee every morning
.carving pumpkins

.my car breaking down and having to be towed
.everyone looking at us like we were crazy
It was a truly priceless trip...we can't wait to do it again!!

One last bit of Halloween

Here's a look at my kiddos costumes....I got to spend a night with Belle and Batman. They would only stop for a second so they could get their picture snapped. It was a fun night. I'm trying to decide what to do with all of this Halloween candy now, but the decorations are packed up and now I am ready to decorate for Christmas....