Date Night

Wow, we had a date night!!!  This is the second one since Carolina was born.  I'm not going to lie.  It was a little weird not having her with us.  

We had to get warmed up to each other again.  It was good because if we are already feeling a little isolated from each other, it's obvious that we need to make it a priority to do this more often.  I used to laugh when people told us to have date nights.  

 We went to a restaurant next to a grassy area so we could see the families playing and people walking around.  I thought I would be brave and order oysters because I just finished the book Shucked and she made them sound so dreamy.  I've only had oysters one other time and they were fresh out of the ocean in Puerto Rico.  See the above picture and how it looks so perfect?  The next picture would be of me spitting that oyster in my napkin.  The mushiness was not cool.  

We made the waiter eat one, his first one, and he was a trooper.  The real trooper was Gustavo though who finished them off.  He's a star like that.  No food left behind, as we say.

The most fantastic part of this story is that this date night was brought about by our friends who offered to babysit for us.  What a blessing!  Tonight they are going on a date and we are watching their little one.   It will be good to see what life with two kids is like for awhile.

xo-Jennifer

Boxes and Bags

I have always loved boxes- 

pretty boxes, useful boxes, little boxes, big boxes-

just try to pry them out of my hands.

And bags, oh the pretty ones from nice stores are my undoing.

But things are changing.  

Boxes are being emptied.  Bags are being filled with clothes to give away.

Boxes and bags are leaving this house.

Can you hear Gustavo cheering?

It feels good to let go.

It feels a little hard to let go.  

I send pretty old perfume boxes and shoe boxes to recycling.  

Organizing boxes can organize someone else's stuff.

I bet you didn't know I was a box and bag hoarder.

Here's a confession, as if the previous wasn't bad enough.

I keep makeup box packaging until I use them up.

I know.  

Weirdo.

What's your confession?  Do you keep strange things around your house?

xo-Jennifer

P.S.  Just for fun…Carolina's new car!

My Laid-back Cleaning Routine

After having Carolina I never got into a groove of taking care of her and the house.  I was feeling really overwhelmed anyway adjusting to a new baby, but when she started crawling and then walking, everything quickly changed.  I was getting frustrated because I felt I couldn't keep up.  My priority is taking care of her but I wanted to find a way to "do it all".  I'm not going to tell you that I figured that out, but I do feel better about the housework/Carolina balance these days.

I'm not someone who ever really had a "system".  If you know me, you would know I'm not that kind of person.  I have to make myself do schedules and then I learn to like them.  

At first I thought about getting someone to come and clean for me once a month.  It sounded like a good idea and I had friends who used that service.  I even had a lady come and quote me, but I just couldn't do it.  I thought that surely I can do this, I can clean my own house for goodness sake!  So I started googling, as I do, and found a system from another blogger that seemed like it might work for me.  I knew it had to be a little flexible or I would quickly abandon it.  I felt like this was a challenge that I wanted to conquer so I could feel proud of myself.

I modified what she did to make it work for me.  I printed hers out and used it until I established the rhythm of my own.  

 Laid-back Cleaning Routine

Everyday

Make the bed

Pick up the house

Clean the kitchen

Laundry (almost every day)

Monday

Vacuum all the floors

Clean the kitchen floor (with a rag and bucket! I feel like Cinderella!)

Tuesday

Clean the bathrooms

Wednesday

Clean surfaces-dusting and always picking up

Thursday

Special project like organizing or decluttering

Changing sheets, cleaning blinds, 

some deep cleaning item that needs to be done

Friday

Pick up house

Finish laundry

Get ready for weekend

Weekends

Make a mess!

I have been doing this schedule since July and it's really working for me.  I love that just vacuumed feeling every Monday and clean bathrooms on Tuesday.  It's something that makes me feel assured that any day of the week my house is going to be moderately to really clean.  

It's also progressively easier because you do the majority of the cleaning at the beginning of the week.  I don't usually spend more than an hour a day cleaning.  If I don't have time to do much that day, I will at least do part of it.  It's like I have to check the box because it makes me feel I accomplished something.  A few times I have done my cleaning the night before if I have a busy day the next day.  

I want to have people over at any moment and not worry about my house.  But let me tell you that my house is never perfect.  It doesn't have to be!  I'm not ashamed to have a few things in disarray or obvious life happening in my home.  To me it's more about being proactive than having a perfect house. 

What's your trick to keeping the house clean?  

xo-Jennifer

Minimize Makeup Clutter

Decluttering inspiration can come in many forms.  I've had an issue with my "potion bottles" and makeup for a long time.  I've come a long, long way since having an entire linen closet full of bottles to what I have now.  There is just something about the promise of what makeup and beauty products can do for you that draws you in.

Thankfully I do not fall into that trap anymore. I don't give in to the allure of the shiny packaging or that it can somehow make my life better.  I occasionally buy a lipstick or cosmetic that I don't need but just want, but since I wrote about Project 10 Pan here and here, I have continued to use up things without purchasing much, which in the end leads to less and less.  I want makeup to be fun and not the double burden of too much money spent and taking up too much space.

Even with my progress, I still try to whittle down to just what I love.  Believe it or not, I still have my little list from Project 10 Pan too.  I'm on part 9 which means 90 products used up.  My goal is still to have a small makeup bag with all my cosmetics in it.

With Carolina getting taller and taller, she can reach up into my drawer and pull out my makeup.  It's just more motivation to clean them out, or it could get very interesting in my house with some red lipstick in her hands.

I found this video on youtube a couple of weekends ago.  Gustavo was watching football with Carolina one Sunday afternoon and I watched a ridiculous amount of these videos with my free time.  They are really addicting and most importantly inspiring.  

If you are a little bit crazy like me and love to watch someone declutter anything, I invite you to watch these videos.  She has a little series called Less Stuff, Less Stress.   Here's some little nuggets I gleaned from her videos.

Be decisive

Have someone in mind to give things 

I got my use out of it

This is way too much for one person to have

It's a good thing to see space

Be honest about what you are using now

The money was wasted when you bought it, not when you get rid of it

You can bless someone else with your excess

I'll let someone else love it

Anyone else have trouble with decluttering makeup?  Who is still doing Project 10 Pan?  

What inspires you to let go of unloved products?

xo-Jennifer

Decluttering for a Cause

I'm always looking for incentives to pry more things out of my closets.  Why is it so hard to decide to let go of things that you know you don't wear?

Well...

I might need them later,

they could come back in style,

and I like having options.

Just to name a few little reasons.

When I pulled out my winter clothes, I discovered some dress pants that I used to wear to church but I know I won't be wearing this year.  They have a wide leg and I've fully transitioned to skinny jeans. (I never thought it would happen!)  I showed them to Gustavo and he agreed that they are nice pants so I put them back in the chest.

But later I got to thinking about it and then I read Janet's post.  It was just the motivation I needed to get those pants back out.  And then I had an idea since these could be work pants for someone.  I don't know anyone to give them to but I quickly googled Dress for Success and saw that Houston has a donation center.  They have a very strict list of acceptable donations.  Without too much analysis paralysis, I went through my clothes with a different mindset.

Now, I am helping someone less fortunate dress for their new job.  I can get on board with this!  It was just the motivation I needed.  I was able to dig deeper in my wardrobe and let go of things that I wasn't even going to part with, but I knew that I rarely wore those items.

I reasoned that if I held on these clothes too long eventually they won't be current at all and then no good to anyone.  Do I want to wish that fate on them?  No, they should be of use to someone if not me.  The waste would be in not giving them away and letting someone else use them.

When I came to a moment of indecision, I would text my Aunt Karen to help me decide.

If you need an honest opinion, I'll give you her cell phone number.

xo-Jennifer

Pizza Party & Pizza Crust Recipe

We've had a couple of pizza-making parties at our house lately.  They are so fun and I highly recommend that you do one too.  

The recipe is crust + toppings +  people + dash of creativity = great memories

It all started when I started making pizza crust again because I was inspired by a friend's kale and butternut squash pizza, I thought that this type of dinner would be an experience everyone could participate and be creative.  

The way we did it is to have everyone bring their favorite toppings.  I made the pizza crust, had the mozzarella cheese, sauce and a few toppings.

You can have the crust ready in cookie sheets or have them roll it out and form it themselves.

Some toppings ideas from our parties:

Pepperoni soaked in Frank's Red Hot Sauce
Black Olives
Roasted Butternut Squash
Sauteed Kale
Garlic
Roasted Onions
Pineapple
Bacon
Parmesan Cheese
Pesto

Prepare a big salad, some drinks and you're done.  It also helps if you have great friends who offer to bring dessert.  Ice creams works too though.

Easy and did I mention fun?

I tried a few different crust recipes and ya'll this is the best pizza crust I have ever made and maybe ever had.   I like to experiment with different recipes just because that's my idea of a good time, but I think I can say that the search is over.

It's not like Pioneer Woman needs any endorsement from me but if you are looking for an easy delicious recipe, here it is.  I would double it and save one crust for later.  She says it's even better when you put it in the fridge for at least 24 hours.  

However, I didn't do that and it was still wonderful.  I let it rise for 1 1/2 hours sitting out and covered before using it.

One Basic Pizza Crust

Prep Time:

 1 Hour

  

Cook Time:

Difficulty:

 Easy

  

Servings:

 12

Print Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 teaspoon (SCANT) Active Dry Yeast
• 3/4 cups Warm Water
• 2 cups All-purpose Flour
• 3/4 teaspoons Kosher Salt
• 3 Tablespoons Olive Oil

Preparation Instructions

Sprinkle yeast over 3/4 cups warm (not lukewarm) water. Let stand for a few minutes.

In a mixer, combine flour and salt. With the mixer running on low speed (with paddle attachment), drizzle in olive oil until combined with flour. Next, pour in yeast/water mixture and mix until just combined, and the dough comes together in a sticky mass.

Coat a separate mixing bowl with a light drizzle of olive oil, and form the dough into a ball. Toss to coat dough in olive oil, then cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and set it aside for 1 to 2 hours, or store in the fridge until you need it.

Note: it’s best to make the dough at least 24 hours in advance.

********************

Have you had a pizza making party?  What other Pioneer Woman recipes do you love?

xo-

Jennifer

P.S.  If you came to one of our parties, this crust is different than the one I made for those.  This one is better!

16 months of Carolina

Carolina just turned 16 months old.  I know that's not an official birthday but every 17th that comes it takes my breath away a little bit.  Just when I get used to ONE, two seems to be faster and faster approaching.

We did these monthly photos up until a year old.  If you are planning to do them just put them in the not easy but totally worth it category.  For the next baby, God willing, I'll just write in the months because once she realized that was a sticker on her belly it was all over!  You can use picmonkey or some other free editing software to write it on the photo.

We got a frame with 12 photo spots, the monthly stickers, and the onesies as a shower gift.  It was such a sweet idea!  

Celebrating the little milestones with photos is so precious.  I wish I were better about doing photo books but we do what we can!  I would love to establish some traditions in our family.  Besides celebrating birthdays and Christmas, I don't remember any growing up.  Wouldn't it be fun to have those moments that you share together that become the precious memories and history of your family?

What traditions do you incorporate into your family?  I'd love some ideas!

xoxo-Jennifer