"green chips"

kale is one of the healthiest leafy green vegetables you can eat. with all of the vitamins, antioxidants and cancer risk reducing properties these leafy greens should be a must in your diet 2-3 times per week. it can be added and disguised in many things like smoothies, marinara or pizza sauce, fresh vegetable/fruit juice or even most spinach based recipes kale may be substituted.

i was excited to hear that while on a date night (ethan was with nannie naenae) my mom made kale chips for ethan...and he loved them. this recipe has everything ethan loves...green, crunchy and salty. my mom came up with "green chips" as the name so in our house and hers that's what we call them and honestly he is a picky eater but loves these. asks for them almost daily.

this recipe is super easy and may cost all of about 2.00

ingredients
1 bunch of kale
olive oil
sea salt

1. wash kale and spread out on paper towels to dry. the longer you let it dry the more successful it will roast without burning. turn oven temp to 250 degrees.

2. tear  into chip size pieces add to a large bowl. drizzle the kale with olive oil and toss with hands to ensure even coating.

3. place onto foil in a single layer for even cooking. sprinkle with sea salt and place in the 250 degree oven. i keep a close eye on them and let them roast till crispy sometimes turning once. approximately 10 minutes and this can depend on how wet they are so cooking times will vary.

these pics are the 

the end result...crispy crunchy goodness...

disney wall decal

i am a big fan of wall decals. so when our three year old FINALLY decided on a mickey bedroom of course my wheels started turning. i am more of a classic simple type person not so much cartoony type stuff. so after deciding that wall decals were the way to go, off i went to etsy and google!!

i came across a fun little shop on etsy called "imprinted living". they are a husband and wife team (jeremy & kylie) and they are fabulous to work with. (connect with them on facebook as well) they do custom canvas and will work with you on what you are looking for.

check out what they created for me...they made the mickey ears and ethan in disney writing.

cilantro lime shrimp pasta

some of my best meals have been my own creations and this one was a success. i wanted to use up about a pound and a half of frozen cooked shrimp before we reached the freezer burnt throw away stage.i searched the fridge cupboards and started throwing things together. here is what i came up with and what i already had. the olive oil, garlic, lemons, pasta and cilantro so all i had to pick up was green onions and a pablano pepper.I am a texture girl so i needed the crunch...peppers and onions : )

so here it is in all of its healthy glory...

1 1/2 pounds of cooked, peeled, deveined jumbo shrimp

1 pound of pasta i used rotini

2 cloves of pressed garlic

1/4 cup olive oil (add more or less based on preference)

1 lemon juiced

1 bunch of green onions chopped

1 pablano pepper

salt 

1. boil pasta as directed on package. rinse with cold water to cool the pasta. 

2. measure olive oil and poor the lemon juice into the olive oil along with the pressed garlic let the flavors sit while cutting all of the shrimp and veggies so that the flavors mix together.

3. pour all of the ingredients into a large bowl and mix.. then add the olive oil mixture and mix again. add salt and its ready to serve. just like anything more of the flavors come out as it sits. this was great for lunches the next couple of days too. 

feeling a little fa "mouse"...

she's flirty. she's stylish. she's totally fa"mouse"

so i am lovin the new vintage minnie mouse collection from opi! have you seen it yet? it offers 4 great girlie colors including a sparkly heart glitter ("nothing mousy about it") and this super fun bubble gum pink which is my favorite one and is pictured below on my nails...chic from ears to tail. and the polka dots? yes those were a must for two reasons...one i adore polka dots and 2 its soooo minnie.

which one is your favorite? and really the pictures do not do the other colors complete justice

polka-dot washi tape

so i am a little gitty after finding polka-dot washi tape today!! who new a google search would lead to such a find of polka-dot amazingness. if you haven't heard of this newer found wonder you must take a look. washi tape is a japanese masking tape that is easily removable. its a crafters dream as you can make anything from home made cards, personal touch party decor, gift wrap accents, planner highlighting and so much more! I see an entire pinterest board starting for me. there are a ton of cute colors, prints and styles. pictured below is my favorite and i found it on cutetape.com. who knew...an entire site dedicated to mostly tape..

my favorite is obviously polka dot and coming in second the chevron. whats are your favorite uses and colors/prints?

my new inspiration

Soooo, I have been wanting to re-launch my blog for a while now actually. This is such a fun creative outlet...I really missed it. So actually while wide awake at my sisters at about 2 am I started feeling inspired. The inspiration was to completely rename and redesign my blog. The next morning when i woke up I was all about hopping on Go Daddy and designing my header...lol. I think my sister thought I was going nuts. I really started working on the design this week  taa-dah!  Although the blog itself is not finished, I could not wait to get started again. I will likely keep most of the same elements of my previous blog and you may see some duplicates as well of some of my favorites. I am sure you will still see a lot of these ... and these : ) probably a few typos. but if you enjoyed all of that before you will certainly enjoy it again : )

Please join me on this journey of love...life...laughter

a great book for little boys

in one of our recent library trips I stumbled upon one of my new favorite children's books. "what little boys are made of" by robert neubecker. 

this book puts a new spin to the poem that also has been around for quite a while. while the poems about little girls talk about sugar and spice, things that are nice, princesses and such, this book is so true of boys. 

"moons and stars, snakes and rats, ships and sails", are all lines from the book. which describe little boys to a t. all in the end wrapping up boys with a cuddly and cute side. this is a must read for anyone really but for sure moms with boys. our son enjoyed the rhyming and really loved the pictures.

the rhyming keeps him attentive and the illustrations are very eye catching. plus I think he can totally relate. i am actually ordering a copy of this one from amazon!