Here’s what you need to get started. The tortilla shell molds I bought at Bed Bath and Beyond years ago but I’m sure you can find them in other places too. I forgot to take a picture of the tortillas that go in them. You need tortillas to go in the tortilla molds. (You’ll notice I explain my recipes like I’m talking to a Kindergartner because that is how I like recipes explained to me. Addison and I are about on the same level when it comes to cooking so that actually makes sense.)
First steps:
Brown 1 lb ground beef
Drain ground beef (unless you splurge on the super healthy hamburger – not to be healthy but really just so you don’t have to drain it. That may or may not be exactly what I do.)
Then add:
2/3 cup water
1 tbsp chili powder
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp pepper
1 can red kidney beans
Put the hamburger mixture in the perfectly golden brown tortilla shell and then top with lettuce, olives, cheese, tomatoes, avocado, sour cream…whatever you like! Or whatever your kids will eat! Which in my case is the cheese. These also taste really good with a little ranch dressing. Not the healthiest recipe out there, but one we enjoy. And one that this mom and her Kindergartner can actually make.
So I’ve been out of town the past five days! On a little trip. Wondering where? I’ll give you a clue:
I went to sleep every night to the sound of ambulances and woke up each morning to the sound of construction. (Sounds heavenly, right?)
NEW YORK baby! Our get away to the big apple! When Kenny told me over the summer that he had partner meetings in October in NYC and asked if I’d want to come, I got excited. Then when he mentioned that we would be staying on Madison Avenue in a fancy hotel because of those meetings and that I would have to keep myself entertained for one full day, I got really excited. Keep myself entertained on 5th Avenue in Manhattan? REALLY!!?? A day all alone to do nothing but shop! By myself! On 5th Avenue! Yeah babe. I think I can handle that. And handle that I did! I spent one full day in the heart of downtown Manhattan. Shopping and taking in the sights:
But I wasn’t completely alone! A couple of days before we left on this trip my sister called and told me that she was heading to New York around the same time we were. Her boss was taking her and some co-workers on a quick trip (totally last minute) and they were staying in Manhattan… on Madison Avenue! We couldn’t believe it! Not only would we be in New York at the same time, but we were staying only blocks away from each other! The night before we flew out, we realized we were flying on the same plane! We could NOT believe our luck. We knew we had to meet up. My sister and I don’t live close to each other and it is so rare that we get to spend time together. Especially time WITHOUT our kids. We were totally giddy at the thought of shopping together in New York!
We were deliriously happy to be together – acting like the biggest dorks. Shopping in one amazing store after another. It was the best day. Later that evening when we were both back at our own rooms we texted all night long about our luxurious new life style and I got laughing so hard I almost cried. No one can make me laugh like my sister can. Whenever I’m with her my cheeks hurt from smiling and laughing so much. It was such a great way to kick off my trip and it couldn’t have worked out more perfectly if we had planned it!
After day one of the trip, Kenny had finished his meetings and I was so excited to spend some time with him. The first thing we did was head to the new 9/11 memorial. We really wanted to see it while we were there so Kenny got us tickets the week before our trip.
We ate lunch one afternoon at Lombardi’s Pizza. Kenny has wanted to take me to this place for a while now because he has eaten there before. Lombardi’s was America’s first Pizzeria and is known to have the best pizza around. It didn’t disappoint!
Taking in a few more sights:
And my husband who is 36 going on 12. Sorry. This is a G rated blog so I hesitated posting this picture, but couldn’t resist. Kenny and I had fun coming up with some great catch phrases to accompany this picture.
Time Square at night! What a circus this place is! Kenny called it “an assault to one’s senses” and I couldn’t agree more. All of the smells and lights and people. It’s hard to focus on simple tasks like walking because of everything going on around you.
When we randomly passed Minnie and Mickey I had to get a pic. I haven’t been to Disneyland since I had Kole and have had serious withdrawals. Although this Micky and Minnie didn’t speak English and were a bit odd.
Lion King was also incredible. In the opening “Circle of Life” scene when all of the animals started pouring on the stage I started to cry! I couldn’t help it! The music and costumes were that amazing.
This little getaway was just what I needed. Kenny and I were able to spend so much time together. Alone! We were able to have complete, uninterrupted conversations. Uninterrupted! Complete sentences! And sleep in! Even though the construction woke us, we went back to sleep! Even the plane ride was heavenly. I read a magazine, organized pics on my laptop, and gazed out the window fully enjoying the fact that I had no one to take care of but myself. And my kids had a blast with all of their grandparents. And by the end of the trip I was really missing them. And now if feels really good to be home again. With my kids. Taking care of everyone but myself.
Actually this pic was taken in my bedroom mirror. And I actually think I’ve posted pics of this shirt already. Have I? I seriously can’t remember. Sorry if it’s a repeat. Fun sleeves. From Forever 21.
After church attire. Game on!! Chargers were playing the Broncos. And you know I’m all about humoring my husband supporting our team. Pulled some of my hair back in a clip because this game was a serious one. And guess who won? Chargers — Barely!! Totally because of my lucky shirt. What would the Chargers do without me? {Funny side note: I’m all dressed up nice for church – hair done, cute outfit, and Kenny doesn’t say a word. Come home, pull my hair back and put on this jersey and I get a “Wow babe! You look hot!” Of course I do. Now that I’m covered in a lightning bolt and Philip Rivers’ football number. Of course now I look hot. Why am I not surprised….}
Ok. I give up.
**Linking up at The Pleated Poppy
Thanks for all of your sweet comments about my hutch! I have the decorating bug so bad right now. A few reasons why:
1) I have spent the past year walking through homes. Lots of beautiful homes. Nothing yet that has spoken to me and said “BUY ME! I’M THE ONE!!” – but beautiful homes nonetheless.
2) It has been over seven years since I re-did anything major in my house. Sure I’m always re-arranging and adding a little decor here and there, but up until this summer I have kept things basically the same. And as you’ve seen from so many of my “befores” things were looking a little out dated.
3) PINTEREST! I seriously think Pinterest is the best and worst thing that ever happened to me! :)
Did you all read Sarah’s post the other day? I’m assuming you all read Clover Lane. If you don’t, you need to start! One of the best blogs out there. Sarah and I have become good friends through blogging and we e-mail each other often about anything and everything. (I admire her so much. I’m pretty much to the point with Sarah where if she told me to walk off a cliff I would ask her which one.) Last week we were talking about a post she wrote that is one of my favorites. It’s about being content with your house and it really struck a cord with me. Partly because she wrote about cleaning your house to make you love it again (you know I’m all about cleaning!) and also because she wrote about how sometimes it is better to stop looking at things like Pinterest, home decor blogs, and magazines because it is TOO MUCH and leaves us feeling discontent with our own decor/lives. That was the problem I was having at the time she wrote that post. Every magazine and blog I looked at just made me hate my own house/decor even more. I’m usually so content in my cozy little home and I wasn’t liking that I was feeling so not-content all of the sudden. Her post made me take a good look at how much time I was spending looking at other homes and instead just focus on my home. I started thinking about what I loved about my little house and the parts that I didn’t love? What I could do to change that. So I’ve slowly started to update my house and I am falling in love with it all over again. If that annoying house envy/non-content feeling starts to creep up inside me, I read her post. And then I do some more cleaning and organizing. And then I feel better. :)
{Thank you Sarah! Don’t ask me to walk off a cliff ok? My family would miss me.}
Now – that being said. I’m not nearly as strong as Sarah and could never quit Pinterest! I love it too much. I don’t tweet and I don’t do facebook so I figure I’m allowed my guilty pinning pleasure. I give myself about 15-20 minutes a day to completely zone out and waste my time pinning beautiful things. And now that I have a more positive outlook about my own home situation, Pinterest is actually inspiring me vs. making me feel envious.
Today I’m sharing some of my favorite pictures I’ve pinned that inspired my kitchen shelf re-do and my hutch makeover.
The colors in this picture are my favorites right now. Whites, blues, greens. I LOVE these open shelves and LOVE the dish colors/arrangement even more!
K. How happy is this picture!? Love all of the white dishes/furniture and the way it pops against the green paint.
Beautiful rustic blue hutch. And yes. White pitchers.
More white dishes/pitchers. Are you sensing a theme here? :) My long time obsession with white pitchers has been validated!
Isn’t yellow such a happy color? I can’t look at this picture without smiling.
I love the randomness of the items displayed on these shelves. Everything is so unique, but comes together so nicely because of the similar color scheme.
Darling little built-in with white/cream dishes. I love the different cake stands used to hold fruit/decor.
And one of my favorite pictures I’ve pinned! I love this shelf and decor so much! I fell in love with the aqua bead board and immediately knew that I wanted to re-paint my kitchen shelf and do something similar.
So. The moral of my story is that for me, while Pinterest is no doubt dangerous (I urge you to proceed that site with caution!) it is also a wonderful place to help fuel your creativity and inspire all sorts of amazing things.
Or if nothing else, it will at least help when your mind set is “I so need a break from these kids! Zoning out in front of my computer and wasting time “pinning” anything and everything is a lot better alternative than some others I have in mind….”
Not that that has ever been my mind set.
:)
p.s. You can see what else I’m pinning here.
The clear milk jug belonged to my grandma. When I was a little girl she used to fill it with water for me and put it in her fridge because I always drink water and I love it really cold. We called it my “jug” and whenever I’d go visit the first thing I would ask her is if she had my jug in the fridge. She always did. It has been a treasured keepsake for me ever since she past away over 15 years ago and I’m so happy to have it out where I can see it everyday.
Set of six clear little bottles are from Pottery Barn (often used to hold flowers) and most of the other decor is from Home Goods and TJ Maxx.
I have some fun plans for the wall on the left side of the hutch if I can find the time to make it happen. Several of you have asked if I am going to replace my red and green couches to go along with the changes I’m making. Here’s the truth. If we weren’t looking to move into a bigger home I’d have wood floors and new couches in this house so fast Kenny’s head would spin! BUT. I just can’t justify spending the money on that right now because we are saving our pennies for our next house (have been since forever). And I know I will want new furniture in the new house and if I buy new couches now they most likely won’t look right in a new space. So for now I’m just going to have to work with what I’ve got! I bought slipcovers several months ago and tried them out, but with my cream carpet everything looked so bland (need those wood floors!) so I returned them. I’m currently hunting for some new couch pillows that incorporate the new colors but that will also go with my old couches. I’m really trying to make small, inexpensive changes that will make this house a happier space for me until we move into our next home. Which I hope to settle in and then never move again!
So there you go! Another space in my house that is on its way to becoming a little brighter, a little more current, and a little more me. :)
If you’re new to my blog (welcome!) you can see more of my home decor changes here:
Kitchen shelf re-do
Fall Mantel
Picture frame re-do
Other small changes/Halloween decor
Here’s another one I also wore this week. I’ll tell you why I have a love affair going on with sweaters like these. It’s rarely cold enough here to wear turtle necks so these are a great alternative. Top of the shirt says “it’s fall or winter!” But the sleeves say “in San Diego!”
I was running a lot of errands this day so I opted for my comfy worn out shoes and Silvers. BTW – several of you mentioned after my last FF post that several places other than Nordstroms carry Silvers and you also love them. Great tip! If you don’t own a pair and need new jeans, check them out! I have about worn a hole in the knee of this pair because I’ve worn them so much.
Sweater is from Banana Republic. When I tried to get a picture of it, Kole had other plans for me.
He kept pulling on my leg so I couldn’t hold the camera still. I finally I just gave up got down on his level!
{shoes at beginning of October…}
Couple lessons learned:
1) You get what you pay for
2) Girls play every bit as hard as boys
Ok. Let’s talk hair. I have been getting a lot of e-mails/comments about my hair lately. You are all incredibly kind and the reason I haven’t cut my hair in so long. Yes – I’m blaming the fact that I haven’t changed my hair in the past three years on my blog readers! I used to mix things up and get a new hairstyle every year. Lately whenever I decide I’m going to chop it all off and go for a new look I get a sweet e-mail or blog comment about my hair! And it makes me decide to keep it like this a little longer. So thanks for that. I think. ;) Seriously though – I have the nicest readers and I really want to answer your questions. So many of you have asked about how I style it, maintain it, what products I use and I just wanted to let you know that at some point I will do a post on my hair. I actually did a “let’s talk hair” post a year ago, but it probably wasn’t that helpful in really showing you how I style it so the plan is to do a better/updated one in the near future. I just need to figure out how! I can’t take pictures of myself doing my hair (although attempting that would be good for a laugh!) so I need to recruit a few friends to help and I need to find time during the day to make this happen. Not an easy feat with my current schedule, but I’ll figure something out! So if you have any specific “hair” questions you want answered, ask them in the comment section of this post and I’ll do my best to answer them.
I did want to take a minute to answer this question I received on last Friday’s post:
“I always read your blog comments too, and everyone always mentions your hair ALWAYS looking nice (they are right), it just dawned on me why your hair ALWAYS looks nice…you live in San Diego!!! I have vacationed in California a few times and both times that I went to San Diego, I noticed that all the women looked their best, even in Target. That is Hollywood/Celeb territory and maybe that is why? I would love to get your thoughts on this Erin, was it just my perception or do people that live in your area always put on their A game?
Well. This is a great question and I am more than happy to share my thoughts on this! Two parts to this question. First I’ll tell you why I always have my hair done and try to look my best. Then I’ll give you the scoop on San Diego! (If you’re sticking around for this long winded post now might be a good time to grab a snack… :)
I’m a hair girl. I care about my hair. I always have regardless of the city I’m living in. If I only have 10 minutes to get ready, I do my hair, not my make-up (then I stick on my sunglasses because it’s always sunny here and we wear them year round – best no make-up trick in the book! Of course you’re in trouble when you step inside…) My friend Darci and I always joke that we could talk “hair” for hours and we could! Products, styles, what we do to tame our thick hair. I enjoy doing my hair and I feel better about myself when it’s done. When I had my first baby and quit teaching school to stay home with her I fell into a bit of a depression. I was in a new city with no family around and all of my friends were working. Ellie was a fussy baby and motherhood was hard and not at all what I pictured. I stopped caring about what I looked like. I was packing around baby weight so I wore sweats a lot. Plus I was covered in baby spit up and who was going to see me anyway? My big outing of the day was down the street to the grocery store and I didn’t think the produce man really cared. I got stuck in a bad cycle. The less I cared, the more depressed I became and the more depressed I became, the less I cared. I remember walking past my bedroom mirror bouncing my fussy baby one morning. I saw my reflection in the mirror and started to cry. Who was that? I decided in that moment that I was going to get my life back. I was going to start exercising again. Start doing my hair and make-up again even if I only had 10 minutes to spend on it. Start wearing real clothes again – even if I had to buy a few things in bigger sizes until I lost the baby weight. So I did. I made myself a priority and I can’t tell you the difference it made. Even if my only outing for the day was a trip to the grocery store, I held my head up and smiled at people. If I ran into a neighbor I said hi and was friendly instead of ducking and heading down a different isle. And most importantly, I was a happier mom. I was a better person when I took care of myself. So I learned an important lesson: You have to take care of yourself for you, not for anybody else. Do it because of the way it makes you feel. I have made exercise a priority and taken at least 10 minutes each day to do my hair ever since!
Now – to really answer your question (sorry I’m so long winded today!)
Scoop on San Diego. Yes! San Diego is ABSOLUTELY a place where people care about their looks and put on their A game. Southern California — it is its own beast! Exercise is huge here. Driving down the street you will always see walkers/joggers/bikers. If you go to an outdoor mall, a restaruant, or even just to pick up your kids at school, you will see beautiful women everywhere. (Yes! Even at Target!) I love it because it motivates me to exercise and look my best, but it can also be hard because it’s easy to feel inadequate. I sometimes worry about raising my girls in a city where, especially in certain areas, so much emphasis is placed on looks. But that is true about our society in general regardless of where you live. I try really hard to teach my girls how beautiful they are on the inside and what true beauty is all about. In my opinion that is one of the most important things a mother can teach her daughter. So no, it was not just your perception! Women generally do try to look their best in my neck of the woods. :)
The best way for us to stay in touch! Sign up for my newsletter so you’ll never miss a post! You’ll also gain access to all of my home and organization printables.
