Sometimes you feel like a nut....

My pantry!

11:52 AM by Almen, Almond, or Almendra

Isn't it gorgeous?! I am proud to show off my processed-food free, Azure stocked pantry! Sponsored by IKEA of course! I'm fully committed to cooking REAL food, in MY kitchen, and I needed a decked out pantry to encourage and inspire me! Some of my favorite items are : homemade croutons, my delicious almond-vanilla granola, and the Johnson family special trail mix! Lots of people have been asking me what sorts of things we've been eating lately and I've made an effort to take some pics (I need a better camera!) :

Vegetable Spring Rolls: Carrots, Peppers, Avocado, Soba noodles w/ Peanut dipping sauce

Spaghetti pie: Sausage, swiss chard, homemade marinara

Mahi Mahi tacos with black beans, and mexican brown rice

Mexican pizza: sauteed mushrooms, tomatoes, peppers, and beans on a crispy tortilla with cheese

Grilled chicken, and grilled veggie salad

Cornbread muffins with pinto beans (beans aren't so pretty in pics)

Mini quiches with CSA greens, kiwi, and applewood smoked bacon

It's a lot of work to eat this way, BUT I love my family and they're worth it! I'm looking forward to new recipes, new food challenges, and fresh from MY garden... veggies!

Happy Birthday to ME!

7:38 AM by Almen, Almond, or Almendra

Another year older, wiser, and happier! I have an amazing family to be grateful for, and I am, BUT after 4 days of being home with them while they were SICK and hubby was away on business, I needed to be ALONE! That day happened to be my birthday! I took some of my best gal pals and we did a turn around trip to California, to our favorite store, IKEA! Our energy was amazing!, our conversations hilarious!, and the shopping fabulous! Here are some fun pics from my day:

Of course, I thanked my hubby over and over again, both for watching the kids, and for my generous allowance! :0)

Happy Easter and Happy 9 months!

2:54 PM by Almen, Almond, or Almendra

It's been 9 month since the day Charlie graced us with his presence,

and we decided to celebrate with a ham and mashed potatoes!

It was almost impossible to get both boys to look at the camera at the same time, so here's the best I could do!

We are truly blessed with great friends who don't mind acting as family on holidays,

and here they are enjoying a little bit of 'green' on their plates!

Charlie is a GREAT crawler and is standing up with the help of furniture all over the house! He's repeating sounds and giggles that his brother makes! Still not a tooth, but plenty of drool to remind us one's on the way! His big trick for the month has been putting toys into baskets or blocks into slots. His hands are pretty steady and I forget how little he is when he plays like such a BIG boy! Food has been fun for him, he's a big fan of feeding himself! I'll have to get the camera dirty next month and share how that's going! Spring is here and we're ready for the outdoors!