Life is Peachy (in the kitchen)

     I follow a fun blog, an oklahoma girl in a colorado world.  The blogger is a sweet girl I went to college with.  She is an excellent cook who posts fun, easy, delish recipes! 

     My hubster didn't feel very good today so I tried her Peach Cake Bars to cheer him up.  GOOD CHOICE!  :)

    This recipe was taken straight from her blog website, I followed the directions exactly.  The end result was warm, rich, cheesecakey-peachy goodness!

Peach Cake Bars
Makes:  12 Large Bars

Ingredients:
1 box yellow cake mix
2 eggs
1/3 c butter-- room temperature
8 oz (1 pkg) of cream cheese-- room temperature
1/3 c. white (granulated) sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
4 large peaches (it said to slice them but I cut mine into 'smaller than bite size' pieces)

Directions:
Oven: 350 degrees
Spray 9x13 pan with nonstick spray.

• Combine:  ONE egg, cake mix, and butter in a bowl with a fork until crumbly.  Save 1 c. for topping; press the remaining dough into bottom of greased cake pan.  Bake for 10 minutes.
• While this is baking, combine the cream cheese, vanilla, sugar, and remaining egg with an electric mixer until smooth. 
• When dough has baked for 10 minutes, sprinkle peaches on top of partially baked dough, top with cream cheese mixture, and finally, crumble the remaining 1 c topping on top of everything, baking the whole thing for 30 more minutes.  Try to resist drooling!

This is the finished product!  Ooh la la!

 

Slice it up and enjoy!

 

Happy Friday my Friends!  Tomorrow is OU Football!  Wahoo!

 

Life is Peachy,

Summer

 

PS- To follow my friend's delicious blog, click here.  She is awesome!  :)

Dog Shaming

The dog-shaming website is absolute hystericalness!!! 


Laughing so hard it hurts,
Summer

Spice Girls!

    

     My Grandmother was an ah-mazing cook.  Luckily my father inherited that gene and I was able to latch on to his passion for making food taste great as well!  Spices are essential in making any dish even better!  Penzeys Spices is an amazing website that sells great spices and free recipes on how to best use them!  They have spice combo packs, gift packs, and sell by jars or bags (bulk) for reasonable prices.  I love receiving an order because they always ship their spices in cinnamon sticks, bay leaves, and whole nutmeg just to make it 'pretty'.  SOLD.

     Here are my favorite spices:

• Adobo-- I put this on EVERYTHING...it's so versatile and adds just the right amount of perfect to any dish.  The spice is not very strong so you can't really over-use it.  

   Adobo Seasoning :

A traditional and popular Mexican spice mix. Not hot, but spicy and rich in flavor, and salt-free. Rub on chicken, fish and pork...Hand-mixed from: garlic, onion, Tellicherry black pepper, Mexican oregano, cumin and cayenne red pepper.

 

Not sure what has happened to my font at this point...oh well...

• Grill and Broil 4 Jar Gift Pack-- A great variety of spices! We use ours all summer long and during football season when we are charcoaling hamburgers, chicken, or steak. 

• Apple Pie Spice-- This bad boy speaks for himself...mmmm.mmmmm.mmmm!  (Also exceptional addition to apple cider....)

                      Penzey's says it is hand-mixed from: China and Korintjie Cinnamon, nutmeg, mace and cloves.

 

 

You can get online and order a free spice catalogue, which I recommend anyways because they always include awesome cooking tips and delish recipes you can use even if you don't have the spices! 

 

How many times can I say spices?!

Summer



Color Block

 

     I'm not gonna lie, I haven't exactly been the poster chick for style these past two years.  Spandex leggings and forgiving tunic type tops have been my go to for a while now (my poor closet!!).  My project this week is to weed through my closet and donate everything that does not fit or looks ridiculous.  Hopefully I will be able to donate the REST of my hideous attire as soon as Zacharia weight is shed!  (While on vacation in Dallas a few months ago,  I purchased some darling clothes at Banana Republic which I will save because I am super pumped to be able to wear them to work when I go back!)

     So after some web window shopping, I have discovered a few things about this fall:

• Bright colors are IN.
• Geometric shapes-- squares especially! (Which might be questionable on my body shape...ha!)

• Colored jeans-- (maybe I'll find something to accent my...curves?!)
• Layering involves floaty pieces, which I LOVE; I truly despise a bulky outfit that makes me look 10 pounds heavier!

 

 

Date night?

 

 

 

 

Casual Friday?

 

Interesting color...I was steered toward the 'boat neck' neckline.
 

Oh my goodness, so fresh looking! 
 
And lastly, amazing accessories!

 
Wishing I had a ginormous shopping fund,
Summer
 
 
My window shopping took place (and pics) from:
• Gap
• Banana Republic
• Ann Taylor LOFT
• New York and Co.
• Piperlime
   

Muffin Tops...not the blueberry kind...

     Call me anxious but I am ready to have my body back!  Two babies, two years of being pregnant, too much weight gain!  As you already know I am much more conscious about what I am eating and writing it down, but I am so self conscious to be in public right now with a 'post baby belly'.  Lucky me, I discovered something MARVELOUS while on a mini shopping excursion with little man today:

     I had always been curious about the "BeBand" that you can wear throughout your pregnancy (and after)... but I want tummy control not pants control.  Ha ha ha... but seriously...

     The Trendy Top was $7 cheaper than the BeBand at Target and you get two- a black and a white band.  They can also be used as cami tops!  *The BeBand package sells you one for $16.99.*  The TrendyTop is made mostly of cotton so even with 'layers' under your clothes you will be able to stay cool and breathe!  (BeBand is made of spandex and nylon= sweat city!)

     As soon as I came home I tried on of the Trendy Top bands and I fell in love!  You can't see a single line from my pants, and it held in my tummy perfectly!  It's not too tight and it doesn't roll up or down when I sit or crawl around with Rylie!  The best part: my hubster came in when I was cooking lunch and commented on how much my body had bounced back from pregnancy.  I didn't have the heart to tell him I was wearing a band!  (But KUDOS to him for noticing!!!!)  LOVE HIM.

     Pricing:

• Amazon unfortunately failed me this time!  They want $19.99 for the pack I bought at Target for $10.99!
• Walmart is about 10 cents cheaper...
• I weirdly could NOT find it on Target's website but I bought mine from a Target store?! (I should tell you I found it on a random aisle, where they have their "Seen on TV" products, sort of by decor/home goods/kitchen stuff...NOT in the clothing area!
• The Trendy Top website has a special right now with assorted colors!

     We are relaxing and enjoying quiet family time today...Chaos will commence tomorrow, hubby goes back to work, I will be left to battle the day with two children under the age of one...  man oh man...  Too bad I don't drink coffee....

Happy Banding!
Summer
PS- Couldn't leave ya'll without an updated family pic!

 

Oh Baby!

     We are officially a family of four!  I went in for my routine check up this past Monday and when my doctor checked to see how dilated I was, he accidentally broke my water!  14 hours later, our precious son arrived.  Needless to say, both of my labors were very different from each other!

     I am proud of myself-- my first meal at the hospital was full of whatever I wanted (I hadn't eaten in TWO and a HALF DAYS!)  but after that I tried very hard to balance out everything I ate.  No soda, and I upped my dairy/calcium intake.

     It's been almost four days and I'm still going strong!  I am writing everything down that I eat and really trying to be health conscious since I am nursing!  I just pray I can keep it up.  My amazing hubby has been quite the Dad, running around and helping me and our littles adjust to our new life...he goes back to work tomorrow, however.  Oh goody....

Zacharia Andrew Bass

August 21, 2012

7 lbs, 15 oz.

Shattered Mirror

     Last night I watched..no I attempted to watch Mirror Mirror with Julia Roberts and Lily Collins (Phil Collins' daughter).  I have heard such rave reviews about it and enjoyed watching all the exposure Julia Roberts gave it on talk shows.  Sadly, I was quite disappointed.  The special effects were super cool and the 7 dwarfs were amusing.  The story line was majorly lacking in a decent plot (it took quite a while to 'get to the point') and I was totally bored by that point.  Sad face.

     "Like most of Tarsem Singh's films, Mirror Mirror is undeniably beautiful -- but its treatment of the age-old Snow White fable lacks enough depth or originality to set it apart from the countless other adaptations of the tale." -Rotten Tomatoes

     How did it end?  I couldn't tell ya, I turned it off after Snow White eluded the Queen over something that had to do with her wedding?  Blah whatever...

     On a happy side note, I finally was able to finish Twilight's Breaking Dawn I and it. was. mind. blowing.  Can't wait for the finale in November!! 

     Hope ya'll had a fun day on Sunday.  We enjoyed the awesome weather and took Bee to her cousin's birthday (they are only a month apart!) at Braden Park and then she 'swam' at home.  Ah it's good to be a kiddo. 

xoxo

Summer

Beautilicious Birchbox!

     I found out about Birchbox thru a blogger/teacher, Eberhart's Explorers(GREAT classroom ideas, btw).  It is a website company that delivers a monthly package straight to your door full of cosmetic goodies!!  The best part is the price!  $10!  I buy some makeup at Sephora or Ulta and the quality you expect is definitely there from Birchbox.

     "Birchbox is monthly deliveries of deluxe samples from both well known brands and emerging gems. It's the smart way to try and buy new products."  Their goal is to help beauty conscious women and men discover fun products out there that are exceptional grade. When you sign up, you fill out a profile with your skin type, color, eye color, etc. so they can tailor the box to you!  At first I was skeptical-- $10 for a few samples?!  But once I received my first box, I was hooked. 

     Last month's included a beautiful gel stain for lips/cheeks.  I LOVE it!  So I was able to go to Birchbox's website and order the full size product and receive FREE shipping because it was part of the monthly theme.  (I did price the stain at Amazon, Sephora, and Ulta...Amazon was the only place that carried it and it was the same price but I would have had to pay shipping...)  (They also have a points program similar to Sephora and Ulta-- and yes, the measly $10 a month goes towards your points!)

 

Here's August's box: (I just got it yesterday and man-oh-man was I a happy camper!

Can you guess August's Theme? 

Once you open that box, you get down to the goodies:

  

To name a few goodies: 

• beauty tips (the Beauty School pamphlet-- which was surprisingly informative!)
• Juicy Couture perfume
• a new lip gloss
• stretch mark cream (it's like Birchbox knew I was about to have another baby!!)

 Who knew a little box of sunshine could really make a person's week?

     I'll keep the rest a secret, you simply MUST try this company out!  Once you are on their website, you are put on a waiting list for a few days and then they contact you via email to begin your beauty journey! 

Birchbox

Happy Grooming,

Summer

*Several people have asked me about how the pricing goes...there are several options:

• $10/month subscription-- they take out the money and ship your box on the 10th of every month, you can cancel at any time-- no penalties--I chose this option.
• You can also do 3, 6, or 12 month gifts for $30; $60, or $110.  FUN STUFF!
• They have a Birchbox Men, which is the identical concept but $20/month-- dont' ask me why.

Thrifty Thursday!

     Living in Tulsa can subject one to interesting shopping experiences at the grocery store.  We live in Midtown so our grocery stores get a 'varitey' of people...Zach and I decided to go to Warehouse Market even though it has a reputation for being scary and I was hesitant...I learned to not judge a book by its cover...or reputation...

     We were super happy when we got there!  (I would like to point out we went to the Warehouse Market on 31st and Sheridan). 

     It wasn't very busy and the people working there were refreshingly helpful!  We made a deal before we went that we would only buy what was on sale...we spent $65.00-- if we had gone to Walmart we would have spent at least $100!  The produce was fresh and Zach picked out yummy fresh pork chops and ground beef.  Ha, in fact, I think the most expensive thing we bought was Dr. Pepper and Pepsi (3 for $10)...Zach was pumped!

     Needless to say, we will be going back!  Yay Warehouse Market! 

    

Whoa!

So sorry it's been a few days!  This past weekend was full of super intense contractions, baby showers, and family time.  The past few weekdays I haven't felt very good-- Dr. said he would schedule my induction next Monday.  Praise Jesus!!!

Where should I begin with this mega over-due post?

        How 'bout randomness...

1.  My daughter never ceases to amaze me.  She has reached a stage in her (only) 11 months of life where she is much more independent.  Seeing as I am about to have another baby, this is a blessing but it still breaks my heart! 

Miss Independent taking a bottle break...

2.  Not being able to cook up a storm like I normally do is hard!  Luckily, my husband has seen me in the kitchen a few times and has picked up a skill or two.  He cooked a delicious Hamburger Helper (something I NEVER make, but keep on hand for situations like me being on bed rest).  I ate every bite and so did Rylie!  Yay Zach!  :)

Us literally a year ago (9 mos pregnant with Rylie!)

Busting a move at his sister's wedding in Florida.  My life would be so dull without him! :)

3.  School has officially started for my teacher friends at Tulsa Schools....it is bittersweet to be at home during this time, I always loved a fresh start and meeting my new darlings every August.  Thankfully this is my FINAL maternity leave!!  It has been so hard to not plan all of these fun activities I have seen on blogs or Pinterest.  Next year!!

"If You Give a Cat a Cupcake" shaving cream art activity! LOVE!

4.  I have finally organized all my Pinterest Teaching Boards.  I am quite proud of myself-- I have lots of followers on the teaching pins and I hope I have made it more 'user friendly' and organized.

Click here to check me out:  My Pinterest Page

5.  Fall cannot get here soon enough!  I am looking forward to exercising again and it is so much more enjoyable outside!  That and I am needing an excuse to whip up a batch of these bad boys:

  

Pumpkin Cookies with Cream Cheese Icing

That's it for now.  I have spent the latter part of my evening collaborating with my principal, maternity sub, and fantastic (really she is AMAZING!) aide on the phone...even I'M sick of hearing my voice! 

I'll try to get back on track with my posts!  I miss writing them!

xoxo

Summer

Flower Power

Flower prints with vegetables?  That's right!  What a fun, cheap, easy idea for a Pre-K art project!!!

Here are some pictures I have found:

LOVE it!  :)  Do you have any other flower print ideas? 

Hope you had a great weekend!

xoxo
Summer

Doggone It!

My parents had a lab, Scooter.  He was the BEST dog ever-- but at times naughty when he was a puppy.  I'm sure many of you have already seen this video, but I cannot get enough of it.  Ironically, the lab in the video reminds me of Scooter.  SO funny!
Here is the link to the video:

Denver the Dog

Yay for Thursday!  Tomorrow is Friday, Ya'll!!

xoxo Summer

Life on the wild side...of rice!

I saw a recipe this summer that intrigued me because everything could be made on the stove top.  Basically it's a long grain rice dish with a meat and whatever vegetables are in season.  You chop everything up and cook it with the rice.  YUMMY!  I never add a lot of spices of my own because the meat and veggies take on the flavors of the rice. 

Here's what you need:

• 1 box of Wild Long Grain rice mix.  I have tried both the 'ready made' rices (Uncle Ben's) and the traditional cook for 30 minutes rice (rices?).  The best one thus far is Uncle Ben's (yes it takes a while to cook but worth it!).

I found it at Walmart and Food Pyramid.  I'm sure it's available anywhere.

• Meat- I buy what is on sale.  You will cut the meat up into bite sized pieces to cook it, chicken or cubed steak works well with the rice.  My favorite thing to do is buy marinated or pre-seasoned chicken in the fresh meat area of my grocery store (like behind the meat counter where you have to ASK the guy for meat).  I ask for 3 chicken breasts.  If it's cubed steak, I just buy the smallest package which normally has three steaks in it MAX. 
• Veggies- Since it's summer and squash and zucchini squash is on sale a lot, I always throw one or two in.  Baby carrots, green peas...possibilities are endless.  (I have even thrown in a can of diced tomatoes for a punch of color).

Once you have everything:
1.  Saute the veggies and meat in a bit of EVOO.  Give it about 7-10 minutes on a medium heat.
2.  Prepare the rice according to directions in the same skillet as your veggies and meat.  I almost always have to add extra water (like a 1/2 a cup at times) towards the end of the cooking process.  The box normally says it takes about 20 minutes to cook...I always end up cooking it for 30 or more...
3.  You will know when it is done because the rice will be chewy but not hard.  (If it feels funny in your mouth, it probably needs another 5 minutes!)

It's really an easy dish and so dynamic.  The flavor possibilities are endless!  My favorite part is it only takes a few ingredients.  My 11 month old also loves it...then again...Rylie loves any type of food.  HA!

My disclaimer: Although I am not currently on WW and I'm not sure the points plus values of long grain, wild rice, I'm sure it's better for you than plain ol' white rice... When I googled it, the closest thing I got was 5 points for half a 'pouch' of "Uncle Ben's Long Grain and Wild Ready Rice". That's not that bad!

I hope you try the Wild Rice recipe.  Let me know what you think! 

Happy Cooking!
Summer

Keter Cart

   For Mother's Day this year, my sweet husband (and baby girl) gave me such a fun surprise!  I LOVE to lay out and enjoy the sun and garden when I am able.  So Zach bought me a very fancy chaise lounge chair for our deck outside and a plastic garden 'wheelbarrow' type cart for my gardening things.  Little did he know how much I would use the cart!

     It is all black (very streamlined!) and durable! The sticker on it says:  Keter Easy Go Cart.   I use it to haul around things I'm too pregnant to carry (laundry, Rylie's toys, etc.)  When school ended in May, I used it in my classroom to move things to my car to take home for the summer.  Zach has made his 'own' use of it:

He has even taken the cart disc golfing to lug around their water and discs! 

At Sam's Club, right now, they are about $14.  I googled "Keter cart" and Kmart sells them for $19.99; Sears $18.99...

All of the reviews have said the carts are very durable, can carry heavy loads easily, and rinse out with a hose.  Now that Sam's has them cheap, I may go buy another to use solely for gardening and keep my original cart nice and clean for errands and Zach's rendition of a redneck stroller/wagon.  HA!

Hope you had a great Tuesday.  We ended ours with another trip to the hospital.  In both of my pregnancies, high blood pressure has reared it's ugly head and I'm ready for it to be over!

xoxo

Summer

Blotches vs Blessings

I'm not going to lie. I'm so pregnant that I am miserable. I don't even feel like mixing water and angel food cake mix for angel food cake I've been craving. Blah. I do believe I've hit the end of this preggo tunnel. It's humbling to realize how much God has blessed us (4 miscarriages before Rylie and a SUPER easy conception with Zacharia. But I have been pregnant for two years! In Oklahoma summers! (notorious for miserable heat and relentless sun).

On the plus side, I am almost ready for school to start for my maternity leave substitute. My principal and I spoke on the phone last night and the woman taking my place is super competent and so sweet. My new batch of kiddos will be lucky!

I should also be grateful for my amazing husband. I was just thinking today, "He is so good to me and our family. I'll bet he never thought he would be a husband and daddy of two babies at the age of 25!?" (Zach is younger than me...). He is patient, helpful, and still maintains his sexy sense of humor after I have flipped out about something stupid. God bless him!!!

I am also so blessed to have amazing parents who have been über helpful and the sweetest in-laws that-thankfully- only live 10 minutes away!!!

So despite these horrendous contractions that will not let up or the fact that my bladder has turned into a squeeze toy, I am smiling. My Grandmother was right. Doughty women are strong!

Pop the bubbly, life is lovely!

     I love beverages!  Especially carbonated ones.  Being pregnant has been a challenge because my doctor strictly told me to avoid artificial sweeteners (diet sodas) and limited my 'Coca Cola obsession' down to one can a day.  I had to find another drink option-- fast! 

     I did realize that the caffeine is a much appreciated boost in my day, but it's not very healthy for me or my baby and I discovered the carbonation is what I truly enjoyed.  I tried club soda and juice (which is alright but juice has sugar in it) and several carbonated, flavored waters.  My big success was when I discovered La Croix at Whole Foods.  The only reason I tried it was because it was on sale...I'm glad I did!

     La Croix is literally sparkling (carbonated) spring water and natural fruit essence (flavoring).  Zero:  sodium, sweeteners {sugars or artificial}, and obviously free of fat and calories.  LOVE!  I have tried the Berry flavor and Grapefruit flavor so far..grapefruit being my fav.  I squeezed a quarter of a lime in with the water and drink it ice cold.  It's so refreshing!  But I must say, it is not sweet and has a 'required taste' to enjoy.  (My husband drank some of mine one day and made quite a face...not a fan...)

      They make a variety of flavors and upon doing 'shopping research', I have found select Walmarts carry the waters, Target might...the best options to find La Croix is Whole Foods (they have the biggest selection of flavors as well), Food Pyramid, and Reasors (a local Tulsa area grocery chain).  It's about $4.50 for a 12 pack (there are also 8 packs).  (Hence me fortunate for finding them on sale!)  Oh, Amazon.com also sells the carbonated goodness!

Here are the flavors:

• Lime
• Lemon
• Grapefruit
• Berry
• Pure (no flavoring, just sparkling water)
• Orange
• Cranraspberry
• Coconut
• Lemon Lime
• Peach Pear

Happy Sipping!

Summer



Bueno is Bueno!

     One of the great benefits (ok, one of the few benefits....) of living in Oklahoma is Taco Bueno.  Being on bed rest = Zach doesn't get dinner so we chose to Bueno it up.  I deterred from my normal "muchaco and bean burrito with sour cream' and chose a new menu item:  Southwest Empanadas.  They were yummy!

     I ordered mine with the cilantro rice (as in the pic) but I ordered refried beans instead because Rylie (my 10 month old daughter) would much rather gum those down.  Ha!

     The empanadas had great flavor and the rice was tasty also.  I had the option to add 'jalapeno ranch' to my order for 39 cents and I'm glad I did!  It was so delish and a great dip for the empanadas.  (It wasn't spicy, but a comfortable warmness...)  As for the beans? 

BIG hit :)

     Happy Saturday, Ya'll!  Hope you are being safe if you are in the way of the wild fires!  We currently have 15 people in our house...they were evacuated from their houses because of the fires and no power (which means no a/c!)

xoxo

Summer

Teachers Pay Teachers!!

   Teachers Pay Teachers?  WHAT?  LOVE the website I discovered (apparently it's been around for a while but I am quite new to it and so addicted!) 

    For those of you who don't know what it is, it is a website created for teachers to create and sell electronic packets/units they have made and you print them off (Christmas, Beginning of the Year, Phonemic Awareness, etc.)  They have everything from pre-k to high school. 

   The neat thing is once you find something you like or a seller you like, you can download certain things they have created for free (it's all on Adobe Acrobat) to see if you like it.  Most of the units are $3-5 and the BIG ones (some are month long units!!) are $10.  I would say 90% of the ones I have downloaded were completely worth every penny!

   My favorite person I have downloaded things from is Julie Lee.  Here is the link to follow her on TPT: TPT Julie Lee

    She is primarily a kinder teacher but I can tailor her things to meet most of my student's needs. I love her centers she creates (her Brown Bear, Brown Bear unit has rave reviews on several blogs that I have read and I have seen her products posted on Pinterest more than once.

    Erin Eberhart is another fav:  (also kinder)  TPT Erin Eberhart

Have fun exploring!  I hope you find a plethora of goodies!  :)

TGIF
Summer

Road Rage

Ever have days like that?  I feel this way often driving in Tulsa...  Hope it made you chuckle!

xoxo
Summer

Motivation Marbles

I'm a visual person.  So glad I found Motivation Marbles!

This weight loss tactic is a great way for me to get healthy.  It's easy to make and pretty wallet friendly.

Motivation Marbles:

• 2 vases (Hobby Lobby has them for a low price, even better when they are marked down 1/2 off!)
• Stickers (Dontcha just love the pink?)
• Marbles/pebbles/bling of some sort (I will use clear ones for 1 pound increments, pink for 5 pounds.)

When on the WW program, you weigh in every week and when you first start, you set your 5% and 10% goals (5% is 5% of your initial body weight, 10% is 10% of your initial weight).  That's when I will fill my vase.  I will start with my 5%.  When I meet that goal, 10%.  Then I will be able to set my lifetime goal. 

Judging by how much weight I gained with Rylie, this pregnancy will give me around 35 extra pounds...UGH.  It may be more.  I will really have to stay positive and try to keep my goals in mind!  Hopefully these vases will do the trick!

xoxo
Summer

**I got my idea from Pinterest.  This is the blog it was sited from:Motivation Marbles**