I'm No Barefoot Contessa {V}

I haven't posted one of these in forever, but I've been meal planning really well and trying out some new recipes on my clan.  I've had some really good recommendations from friends and great pinterest luck, enjoy!

Beef, Cheddar, and Potato Pie

This Rachael Ray recipe came from a friend who said this went over really well with her young family.  It was a big hit here too!  It does make a ton, so if you aren't a leftover person, invite some friends over to share.

The Pioneer Woman's Enchiladas

I've been making the same enchilada recipe for years, it's on the back of a can and has never disappointed. But I saw this recipe and decided to try it over the weekend.  It's not a week night meal, as the prep and assemble took awhile.  But OMG, they were the best enchiladas I've ever had.  The effort was 100% worth it.  Restaurant quality, and don't skip the black olives.  I was going to, but read that it's the olives that really bring the flavor.  I even had enough left to make a small casserole dish and freeze.  I hope they are just as good.

Chicken Piccata

This recipe came from a local lady who recently started a food blog.  The pictures on her blog made this dish look so delicious, not to mention that Billy is a huge fan of capers.  We all loved and even picky William had two helpings.  I did pass on the side of pasta and just got rolls to soak up extra sauce.

I don't have pictures of these last two recipes but they were very light dishes:

Blackened Chicken and Cilantro Lime Quinoa

Spinach salad with chicken, avocado and goat cheese

To find more inspiration, visit my previous posts...here, here, here, and here!

XOXO

Aubrey

Ice Skating

Growing up my mom had us trying a lot of different activities.  I often say now that I dabbled in swimming, tennis, calligraphy (yep, I took a few classes) and we had a good run at ice skating.  It made sense living in Michigan that we would learn how to skate, but the real push for my mom was most likely her love of figure skating.

I hadn't been on skates since before Lauren was born, but got an itch to get the whole family suited up just before Christmas.  The itch mainly came from driving by our local park where kids skate on the reflecting pool turned ice rink.  The park is less than a five minute walk from the house.  After a few phone calls and some bargain shopping, the family was ready to go.

It was the first time on ice skates for both kids and while they were both a joy to watch, William was quite the sight.  Check out the video of Wills on skates!

Lauren and I went out again just after Christmas for an evening skate.  The only thing missing from our outdoor rink are some tunes.  That is always a highlight at a rink's open skate:)

Not only did William like ice skating, but he has a LOVE for eating snow.  Yes, snow.  Probably yellow snow or motor oil snow, the kid will just sit down and eat.  There isn't much I have been able to do to convince him otherwise.

XOXO

Aubrey

New Year Memories

We're trying to get back into our regular routine around here, but the midwest has been dumped with over a foot of snow and we are now dealing with arctic temperatures.  I have a major case of cabin fever and may have developed a slight twitch from being stuck at home for almost 48 hours!

But looking back to just a week ago, we were ringing in the new year with dinner at my mom's.  We had family visiting between the holidays and NYE was the only night we could all see each other.  My mom cooked a wonderful dinner, it was lovely to have everyone together!

Jocelyn has known my aunt and uncle from Richmond for a long time, even joining us on two family vacations.  They joined us for a New Year's drink and some good laughs!

The kids got to enjoy a little "bubbly" to celebrate too!

We headed home early to get the kids to bed and for the first time ever I was asleep for the big ball drop...in my defense I was resting up for the bigger celebration the next day!

THE ROSE BOWL

 We were back on the party train the next day to celebrate the big game with friends.  Again, we enjoyed another wonderful dinner and a VICTORY!

 In anticipation for this big game I ordered us Rose Bowl t-shirts...upon arrival I decided they were a little dorky.  What was even dorkier was that Billy and I were matching head to toe.  MSU tshirt, white long sleeve shirt, and dark skinny jeans (yes, he rocks the skinny jeans)...I made him keep his coat on the entire time!  But the glasses, they were perfect!

Our half time show was an official P family dance party!  Much fun and thanks for hosting us!

XOXO

Aubrey

Christmas Highlights

 I took a good break from blogging for the holidays and enjoyed what felt like a nice little staycation.  Normally, there seems to be a lot of plans and places to go but we somehow escaped that this year.  I hope everyone enjoyed their holiday, here are a few highlights from ours.

Lauren's Christmas Concert

Her school put on a holiday concert after drop off right before their break.  Billy couldn't get away from work, so grandpa stepped in for the fun.  It was adorable to see the kids performing.  A few parents even said what a nice voice Lauren had:)

Christmas Eve

We always spend Christmas Eve with Robin and Bill, usually heading to church first and then right to the party.  Not everyone had arrived when we took this family picture, but it's usually pretty crazy when the whole gang arrives so I tried to capture most of us.  (I apologize to anyone we missed.)  It was a fun night...best gift goes to my inlaws who surprised me with a costco membership!  I can't wait to get there!

Christmas Day

We all slept in Christmas morning and since we didn't have to be to my mom's until 3pm, we were able to relax and the kids got to enjoy all their new toys.  We got some great video of their first reactions that had came.  As corny as it sounds, it really is magical.

I love this picture of them under the tree.  They hadn't opened any gifts yet and you can see all the excitement on their faces.

This was by far his favorite gift from Santa, even sleeping with it a few nights this past week.

And this was Lauren's, an Ariel robe.  She wears it every morning and every night...pretty much any and every chance she gets.

And this was Billy's favorite gift...we drank out of them last night!  Go Green!

My mom had a big surprise waiting for Lauren and William.  She sent them on a scavenger hunt throughout the house and at the end of a long string was a power wheels truck!  William couldn't be bothered with the hunt because of his new batman toys (you can see him holding his  batmobile in the bottom left)

Each Christmas seems to get better and better as they get older, but being in our new home also made it feel extra special.  This all seems like it happened months ago, especially since our tree is down and the house is back to feeling bare.  I'm hoping to get back into blogging in 2014...share projects and more of the little moments that I love looking back on.  Hoping being the key word:)

XOXO

Aubrey