My PB + J

goodbye 2012, hello 2013.

2012 has been a great year for my family and I. It has been a true testament to God that when you put your mind to something you can achieve it. I made one simple resolution for 2012; to find the old me and get to a weight that I was happy with. I had also prayed for the past five years that we could move out of our old house and that also came into fruition this year. I turned thirty, had an amazing celebration in Vegas with my bestie and my sister. Threw a few pool parties and look forward to throwing more this upcoming year. We rekindled our friendship with our oldest friends and spent the weekend before Christmas with them in Vegas. 2012 was a year about getting back to the basics, finding the old me, continue raising our beautiful and healthy children and finding balance. It truly was a great year, I am blessed, we are blessed. I open the door wide open for 2013 and the possibilities that lie ahead. Happy New Year. 

Holiday Recap

The fam and I hope that you had a very Merry Christmas. We just got home from being away since last Friday. The hubby and I dropped the kids off at grandma and papa’s house for the weekend as we headed to Last Vegas for some holiday shopping, a wrapping party in our room at the Mandalay Bay and time with our friends, Jen and Jerome. We headed back early Sunday and began four days of relaxation in the San Bernardino mountains. On Christmas Eve, we made a trip to Lake Arrowhead for a visit with Santa (no tears, score!) and then it was prep time and a yummy dinner. Christmas morning was magical, Payton loved that our elf, lollipop, communicated with Santa and that she got the bike she requested. After opening presents she so sweetly asked, “mommy, do I get to keep all these toys?” So cute! The day after we were given a blanket of fresh snow and headed to Big Bear to play at the aunt and uncle’s cabin. We dodged an accident by what seemed like a half an inch, I will never understand people who drive crazy in the snow, luckily, my inherited defensive driving skills aided as the black suburban came sliding into us. This season was magical and honestly the best Christmas since Payton was born. Spending time with family and relaxing is what it’s all about. 
Celebrating that the world did not end at midnight on the 21st.
Making snowballs in Grandma & Papa’s driveway. 

Wearing the jammies Lollipop brought Christmas Eve. A quick photo sesh before falling asleep. 

Christmas morning playing with his handmade wooden toys from Grandmom Julie. 
At the cabin wearing cousin Amanda’s snowsuit from when she was Payton’s age. Can we say, soooo 1995!?

Sledding fun for hours. 

Our future Hurley model.

How was your holiday? Go anywhere fun? 

Simple Apple Tart {recipe}

As the holidays soon approach so can unexpected house guests. Don’t fall short on a last minute meal, please your guests with my simple apple tart. It’s buttery, flaky and slightly sweet. Perfect to curb an apple pie craving and to wow those relatives that you haven’t seen since last year. 

You will need:
One sheet of puff pastry, at room temperature
2 granny smith apples
2 TB butter, melted
2 TB brown sugar

Preheat your oven to 350º. Lightly roll out our pastry on parchment paper. Take a medium sized bowl to trim edges. Slightly crimp the edges, not necessary but it looks pretty pre-bake.

Peel and slice your apples. I sliced each wedge into four slices.

Arrange apple slices, start with the middle and work outward.

Drizzle butter over the apples and then sprinkle the sugar. Bake on a cookie sheet for 45-60 minutes. Just watch for burning edges.

Let the tart cool for a few minutes, cut into wedges and serve by itself or with cinnamon ice cream and whipped cream.

You could also add to a dessert buffet or bring as a pot luck dessert. Just double the recipe. Enjoy!

bright future.

This past week we closed escrow on our first house. It is such a relief that it is off of our hands. The past six months have been rough in terms of managing bills for two properties. But, we made it and now we can start to focus on our new house. I say new, despite living here for almost six months. It truly didn’t feel like ours because we were still holding onto the other address. Hell, I never officially   forwarded our address (besides important bills) until the day before we were supposed to close. It feels weird. I stopped driving by the house for the longest time because I felt like it was punishment, further pain of what we experienced last year with all the repairs. I was angry at the house. The only time I could make myself happy was reliving the happy moments like our housewarming, a game night with friends sipping wine by the tree, Jim’s 30th birthday when friends hugged the toilet all night long, my Grandma staying with us, bringing our babies home and finally loving it after being displaced last year for four months. In the final weeks we finally cleaned out the remaining trash from the garage, some holiday remnants that were still tucked away up above in the rafters were brought down and our garage door openers were removed from our cars. The house that I couldn’t drive by for the longest time now gets driven by a few times a week just to see a light on. I am happy for the young couple who purchased our home. I hope they can love and appreciate what we did to the house, despite not knowing what we truly made it, but it’s now theirs to call home. Our future is truly bright in our new home and now it’s time to start making it “ours” with one memory at a time.

behind.

Yeah…so you remember those days where I actually blogged about what’s going on in our neck of the woods? Yeah, me neither. Not that life hasn’t been fun with two cray cray kids running around and talking all day long. I am recovering from my toe surgery which isn’t very exciting except for the pretty pin aka green thumb tack that is protruding out of my third toe. So, while gimping around like a one-legged pirate after the two crazy babes I have been decorating, resting and cooking. Really sounds like a lot of resting, huh? Once the clock strikes midnight I do get to relax…foot is up and begin catching up on all my trashy tv, a nice break from pinky pie and Sophia the first shenanigans.  If you don’t follow me on instagram you should, that seems to be the only place I update as of late. I leave you with a snippet of our family photo session taken in early October before Brayden’s birthday. Enjoy.

Photos by Oopsy Daisy Photography by Emily Tingley