Where the heck have I been?

I've been scarce around here lately.  The reason is that my maternity leave is wrapping up, and I've been soaking up every last minute I can with my little girl.  A very tiny part of me is excited to return to the "real world", but most of me is sooooo sad to be leaving her.  

We have been making the most of our time though! 

Here's what we have been up to lately: 

We took a plane flight to my hometown... (Just the two of us! Happy to report we made it!) 

Where we visited family...

4 generations! 

...and friends.  

Mia has been a busy girl: 

She stuck her little foot in the Pacific Ocean for the first time. 

She went to her first movie.  (Hunger Games -- soo good!)

She's been on about a million walks and hikes.  (Photo by  Morgan McGinn)

And she even went to our favorite brewery! 

I have been so blessed with a long leave, mostly sunny weather, and lots of new-mommy friends to spend my days with.  But most importantly I have been blessed with this amazing baby girl whom I just can't get enough of! 

Pretty please, won't you click on over here. You'll find some fun recipes and some of my favorite songs!

Make these: Pops for St Patrick's Day!

Are you looking for some treat-inspiration for St Patty's Day? You'll never guess what's inside these pops! Hint: they are healthier and easier to make then cake pops.

Head over here to get all the details. 

These are seriously sooooo tasty! My husband and I keep gobbling them up! Yum, yum!

Recipe Round Up!

I've been busy busy over at Tablespoon. I've been sharing lots of my favorite recipes over there. And there's something for everyone!

 

If you are looking for my favorite healthy recipes (including these tasty cookies!), see this post.

If you are into spicy, see this post. 

If you are looking for tons of appetizer ideas, see this post.  

Real Party: "Full House" Sip & See

My friend Deb has 2 boys, which I introduced to you here and here. 

And now they've added a girl to the mix. The family is complete, with 3 Kings and 2 Queens, aka a Full House. 

Combining this with Deb's love of Vegas, we had the perfect theme for her Sip & See!

We had so much fun with this theme! 

 Drea made several huge red and black party poms. 

Lindsay sewed cards together to make a long banner that we strung around the room. 

 We had several full house hands displayed on little stands throughout the room. 

(These stands have been busy lately: they were originally used at my wedding, and more recently at the pinwheel 1st birthday party).

And I made a few little signs with the new baby girl's photo to put in my favorite Ikea frames. 

One said: "Deb & Daniel have a full house!"

The other said: "Watch out Deb, there's a new Queen in town!" 

 I made napkin rings out of playing cards, which we displayed in embellished vases.  Lindsay found the perfect paper plates at a Diddam's.

Lunch was simple. We had several different kinds of sandwiches. 

And we gave them fun poker-themed names! Drea made the mini card picks with a dab of glue and a toothpick. 

On the side we had chips and a few salads.  

I thought about making some kind of cute stickers to seal the bags of chips, but decided to use a playing card instead. So easy!

Desserts were Lindsay's cherry cheesecake layered treats (stay tuned for a recipe!), and Drea's red velvet cupcakes (aka Queen of Hearts Cupcakes). Yum Yum!

We bagged up some red licorice for party favors. Lindsay folded and punched cards to seal the bags. 

Thanks to the party crew: Lindsay, Drea, Leslie, & Jeani. 

And congrats to Deb on another baby. ;)

What a fun day! 

Photos by Lindsay Little and me.