My PB + J

one day getaway

Last week just minutes after I had hung up the phone to make an upholstery cleaning appointment Jim broke the news to me that he was surprising me by taking me to Palm Springs over the weekend with our friends, Geoff and Jinger. This trip was something we had wanted to do and had planned on it earlier in the Summer but with our house and other issues we blew it off. After our appointment on Monday with the cleft doctor Jim knew it was time for us to getaway even if it was for an evening so he called Jinger up and we booked our room for Saturday evening at Palm Springs’ Riveria Resort & Spa. My Mom and Dad took Payton and the pup for the evening and we were off to the desert. As we drove we kept laughing as the thermometer in my car went up to 116 seeing as though we were traveling with two pregnant women and spending an afternoon in the heat when your already baking is quite comical. I have to back up to that last sentence and squeal with excitement that I can actually type and announce that my dear friend is pregnant and expecting a baby girl at the end of January. I still jump up and down with excitement that they are expecting…yay! Thank you Jinger for allowing me to finally announce. 🙂 Okay, back to PS. When we arrived I was so excited because the hotel was gorgeous and swanky, I loved the orange lights, the gorgeous chandeliers and the overall vibe. I did have a moment as we walked to our room past the pool, which on Saturdays has a mini Hard Rock Rehab vibe to it noticing that I officially feel old. Or, maybe it’s because I am knocked up, fat and sweatier than ever that I did not feel attractive next to a young twenty-year-old. Once we got to our rooms we changed and headed to the pool I dubbed as the mommy pool where they still had a DJ but it was way more relaxed. The hubby’s bought the wifey’s virgin drinks, I opted for a creamy pina colada which made my afternoon. I laid out for about an hour and then went to our room to cool off. After the pool and some relaxation we headed to the strip and chose to dine at lulu’s, which offered way more than our scrumptious 3-course meal but a woman who capped off our dining experience that looked like a lion/pomeranian, a complete look with black eyes, red lips, a mini dress, corn rows which went past her buttocks and were frayed at the end. I mean a complete lioness look. Only in Palm Springs, I tell you. We ended the night by heading to Albertsons for some water and frozen treats and then headed back to our rooms where Jim and I got to watch a movie without any interruption…bliss! Jim let me sleep in until 11 am the next day which I cannot even remember the last time that happened, truly why we took the getaway. We packed up, made a pit stop at the outlets and then headed down to good ‘ole San Berdoo where we picked Miss P & D up and chowed down at 5 Guys. We got back in the car, a/c fully blasting and made our way down the I-215, taking a short cut to Leonesse Winery to pick-up some of their white Merlot, a celebratory bottle was purchased for us to indulge upon as soon as our bundle of joy arrives! Whew! Recap much? Anyway, it was a great weekend and my hubby got to see two places in California he had never been: Palm Springs and Temecula Wine country both of which have been added to the list for my 30th Birthday celebrations. Muah!

Our room 

Guy talk…boring. 

The best a preggo can get. . . a virgin drink. 

The main chandelier at lulus.

Geoff, it’s only overnight!

But, it’s because of the baby. duh!

love all the little lounge areas. 

thank you hubster!

Roasted Pepper, Sausage & Summer Gnocchi

Gnocchi is one of our favorite pastas so when we scout out an Italian restaurant we tend to look for these delicate potato dumplings on the menu. When you go to an Italian restaurant you will usually see gnocchi served in a heavy white, pesto or a blush sauce. My favorite all time is a gorgonzola cream with sun dried tomatoes but I will take these little babies any way they come. A while ago as I was perusing one of my fav foodie blogs, Cheeky Kitchen, I came across a recipe for roasted pepper, sausage and summer squash gnocchi. I pinned it right away and had it on my weekly menu for some time before I finally looked for mini peppers. Earlier this week we were at Costco and I went into the produce area and they actually carry them, I know they always have but I forgot so I knew right away I would be making this as the following evenings meal. I picked up some dried gnocchi and got it all ready, except I didn’t have any squash and since I am not a fan of Italian sausage I used a Hillshire Farm Smoked Turkey Kielbasa and man oh! man was it tasty. Unlike all the dishes with the heavy sauces this one was a light, barely there sauce packed with a ton of flavor and perfect for a hot Summer’s evening. Yum! I wish hubby wouldn’t have taken the leftovers to work because my mouth is seriously watering for another helping! I don’t have a picture because we were in a hurry to eat dinner to get out the door to return something but visit the original post to see how scrumptious is looks.

What I changed to the recipe in pink.

2 cups mini summer squash – Omitted 
2 cups mini sweet peppers
1 large shallot, peeled and sliced – Omitted 
salt to taste
2 (17 ounce) packages gnocchi – 1 package 
1/3 cup olive oil
1 pound Italian turkey sausage, cooked – Hillshire Farms Smoked Turkey Kielbasa 
1/4 tablespoons white vinegar – 2 Tablespoons White Balsamic Vinegar 
1/4 tablespoons pure maple syrup – 1 Tablespoon 
1 1/2 teaspoons dried Italian seasoning 
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
salt & pepper to taste
1/2 cup parmesan or feta cheese – I used Feta 

directions:

Clean peppers and squash. Snip the top of each pepper and squash off. Slice the squash in half. Place all veggies on a baking sheet. Sprinkle shallot slices over the veggies. Drizzle 3 tablespoons of olive oil over the veggies. Place in an oven preheated to 500 degrees. Allow veggies to roast for 20-25 minutes, stirring them every 5-10 minutes.
Cook gnocchi according to package directions. Spoon 1/4 of the pasta water from the pot before draining the gnocchi. In a large bowl, combine the pasta water, sausage, vinegar, maple syrup, seasonings, red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper. Add the cooked gnocchi, then toss in the cooked veggies. After I cooked the sausage I added the peppers, vinegar and maple syrup and let it caramelize a little. I then added in the seasonings, water and pasta. 
Sprinkle Parmesan or feta on top (Parmesan will give your dish a nice, classic taste. Feta offers an earthy touch of Mediterranean flavor to the meal).
Eat and enjoy!

Toddler Groupie

 A few weeks ago Jim’s aunt and uncle threw their annual end of the Summer bash at their house. I have to tell you this ain’t your small house party with burgers, hot dogs and beer. When the Schack’s throw a party, they throw a party and that usually means a fly and shine by from a police helicopter, cops at the gate by 9 PM and the occasional piss off the cops get when they do arrive. I was very skeptical this year since they changed the day to Friday instead of Saturday and mostly because I am pregnant once again. Al and I actually looked at eachother around 6:45 and said it might just be us this year (meaning the twenty or so people already there, family & friends). A lot of help goes into their parties as far as food goes, there’s always Bruce’s Deli with his amazing table long sandwiches, artful veggie and fruit platters, the amazing taco cart, my cupcakes, and Oggi’s supplies the entire bar and it’s a full bar folks. In year’s past we have never seen a line at the taco cart for the entire party, from the time the guys got there until 10 PM when they actually ran out of meat. The bar ran out of liquor which is craziness considering in the previous years I was in charge of monitoring what we had and we always brought stock back to the restaurant. My cupcakes were gone by the time the sun went down and the party started at 6:30. I was in complete awe sitting at one of the main tables by the stage as we listened to the yearly entertainment of San Diego’s own Liquid Blue Band watching streams of people coming up the long driveway. You may not get where I am going but we hit an all time record with guests at the Schack’s party, we guesstimated around 350 people in attendance, I told you this wasn’t your normal Summer party. Payton got the party started and I am not just saying that because she is my kid but the little toddler was out on that checkered dance floor and didn’t care how silly she looked. She and her little friend, Cody, we’re Liquid Blue’s groupies. They would stand right next to the speakers at the stage shaking what their mama’s gave them and bobbed their heads to songs from Fleetwood Mac to Britney Spears. I wish I was as carefree as my daughter and could just get out there while having the entire party’s eyes on me. She really made the night that much more fun! Now your probably asking yourself how you score an invite to next years extravaganza…

I only baked 100 cupcakes as I have done the past three years. I guess next year I need to up the amount and add in some other yummy treats. 

Pay on stage while they were doing their sound check. 

Love this photo, love her expression, love her daddy for giving me her. 
A sign of our future, except when water is replaced with other beverages. She chugged almost half that bottle. 

Dancing the night away. 

A view from the crowd looking down from the bar. This does not include all of the tables lining the driveway or the basketball court. 

Screaming “yay” as they finished a set. Maybe she gets this because I attended so many concerts when she was in my belly. I mean she did hear Britney Spears and NKOTB while in utero. 

P and Cody. 
Daddy snapped a shot while we were dancing or rather, Mommy waddling.

The video below is of P, sorry the orientation is off. Must remember when using my phone to turn the phone around..


Untitled from melissa on Vimeo.

and video for my mama and I of the band covering ABBA. They did a whole montage but ya know..


Untitled from melissa on Vimeo.

30 Weeks

Wholly Moley! I am 30 weeks, I honestly do not know where the time is slipping away to. In less than two months and one week we will be welcoming our baby boy into our family. I know my last post wasn’t the happiest of them all but I had to get it out there and honestly the next day I stumbled upon a great blog of a mother who was documenting her son’s cleft journey and it allowed the sun to shine through those dark clouds. There is hope, I have a great family standing behind me and I know he is going to be the most precious little man ever. The pregnancy is still going well, I finally started feeling pregnant, pregnant and the joys it brings with it about a month ago. I guess I cannot complain seeing as though I made it nearly six months feeling fabulous, I know. . . shoot me. Around twenty-seven weeks I took my glucose test and failed. I don’t know why, really. I had seen Dr. Pacquido that morning for our 4D and decided to call our babysitter around noon and headed over at 1:30 I hadn’t eaten or anything but I failed, miserably. I headed back that Friday for the three hour, which sucked! I think the glucose drink is thicker or something and having each arm pricked twice over three hours made for some fun times. Thank God for Soleil Moon-Frye’s Happy Chaos  to help move the time along. I went in last week for my 29-week checkup and everything is still right on track. I still have a ninja kicking like crazy, my blood pressure is great and I have managed to keep my weight at a healthy level…Go ME! We still have a ton to do around our house to get everything ready, and honestly we have been concentrating more on turning Payton’s room into a big girls room vs. setting up the nursery. Luckily, we have a blank canvas going on in our office now turned nursery. The walls have a coat of primer and the carpet (remember our new carpet) is being cleaned for a second time to get out dye on Thursday. The crib will be picked up one day this week from my sister and I am still debating whether or not we should paint the furniture white or if we should keep it cherry. The bedding arrived two weeks ago and I am so in love. I cannot wait for y’all to see how great Katrina from Katrina’s Creations did on our custom set. Here is where our inspiration came from and it looks almost similar so let me know what you think as far as furniture color goes. The walls will be grey and one wall will have white and grey horizontal stripes like this. 

Anyway…rambling as usual. 
  • How many Weeks: 30 weeks 
  • Weight Gain: 10 pounds according to my Dr. I think it’s more like 15. 
  • How big is baby?: the size of a squash and roughly 2.5-3.8 pounds
  • Maternity clothes?: yeppers. But I am still wearing regular shirts and dresses. 
  • Stretch marks?: a few that have revisited from Payton.  
  • Sleep?: is a joke. I sleep from 4-7 am like a rock. I have the ever so lovely insomnia back.  
  • Movement?: he is a kung-foo ninja. I have a knee, foot or hand lodged into my hip at all times. 
  • Food cravings?: I am just finally hungry all the time now. Just normal yummy foods sound so good at anytime!
  • Labor signs?: I had contractions for a while a week ago and almost went to the hospital. Once I started timing them they were 4 minutes a part for 30 minutes and then I just went to bed praying it would go away. 
  • Belly button in or out?: just chillin’ like a crater. 
  • What I miss: today we went to a winery and we purchased some white Merlot as my celebratory bottle once he arrives…I would love a glass or two or three. 
  • What I’m looking forward to: Our 4D on the 7th. 
  • Milestone: Entering the third and final trimester! yahoo!
  • Big Sister: Gives my tummy kisses everyday while waving and screaming “Hi! Baby, Hi!”. It kills me. She is going to be a great big sister. 

Evi Luna Boutique Pettiskirt Winner

Thank you to everyone who entered this giveaway! I hope that you browsed my shop to see what 

I have to offer. In the upcoming week I will have holiday clips available so keep your eye posted

 for the new arrivals! 
The winner chosen via Random.org was comment #15 

Blogger Laura said..
I now like Evi Luna Boutique on facebook.
August 18, 2011 9:25 AM
You are the winner of the Leopard Pettiskirt. Please e-mail me your address at melissaatkinson07@gmail.com. You have 48 hours to respond.