Erin, Author at The Sunny Side Up Blog

Food and Cooking...or lack thereof

04.24.12

Recipe Round-Up

I knew this week was going to be a busy one so I did something I normally never do. I sat down Sunday night to make a meal plan. I may be organized when it comes to my home and time management, but you all know I have never had it together when it comes to cooking. I wanted to just make a couple of my easy stand-by recipes so I went to my blog to look a few up. It took me too long to find what I was looking for so I decided I’d make a post with links to all of my recipes. Hopefully this will help me the next time I’m in the mood to whip up something in the kitchen. I’ll put this post on my sidebar and update it every time I share a recipe. These recipes are far from gourmet, but if it’s a favorite of mine you can count on it being kid friendly and easy to make. So maybe this post will help one or two of you as well! Just click on the link to see the full recipe.

BTW – tomorrow we are meeting with our builder and cabinet guy to start planning the kitchen layout! I’m so excited about it. I feel like a kid on Christmas Eve! Our cabinet guy sent over a sketch of my kitchen with what he thinks would work in the space. He has included three ovens and a warmer.

Clearly we need to get to know each other a bit better. :)

{WHITE BEAN CHILI}

{EASY FRUIT DIP}

{CREAMY PASTA}

{BANANA BREAD MUFFINS}

{SALAD IN A TORTILLA}

{CHRISTMAS PRETZEL HUGS}

{HALLOWEEN TREAT}

{SUMMER SALAD}

{TRI-COLOR PASTA}

BON – APPETIT!

xoxo, Erin

Leave A Comment

home decor 2

04.23.12

Spring picture frames (3rd times a charm)

Popping in to share a quick picture frame update!

Since it is currently Kole’s turn for the birthday spotlight, we are seeing plenty of this little guy when you walk in my house.

So I decided I’d use pictures of the girls to update my dining room frames for Spring. Fun. :)

In December I replaced the yellow frames with white frames and scrapbook paper for more of a wintery look. Which I loved because we don’t get much of a winter here. Changing around my home decor is the only way to feel the seasons! But now for Spring I’ve gone back to the yellow frames.

I chose some of my favorite pictures I took a few years ago of the girls…

The yellow/aqua combo is making me so happy and while the winter theme was a fun change, this definitely feels a little more… sunny. :)

And now. For your viewing pleasure. I present. A look back at the frame switch around. I call it “tour through the seasons.” Oh yes. You are THAT lucky. (And I am that sarcastic.)

{THE “BEFORE”}

{FALL}

{WINTER}

{SPRING/SUMMER}

Sometimes little changes make a big difference. And sometimes little changes make a little difference.

I’m not sure where I’m going with this, but either way, change is good.

Enjoy your day!

xoxo, Erin

Leave A Comment

fashion2

04.20.12

Fashion Friday

I know. Can you believe it!? I actually managed to pull together a Fashion Friday post. Nothing too exciting. Just what I wore this week. I’m going to have to make this a quick post since I went to dinner with friends tonight (got home at 10:00 because we can’t stop gabbing) and then caught up on American Idol with Kenny (listening to his ever so witty commentary the entire show). Now it’s after midnight and I’m getting an “I had a crazy day and then talked too much with girl friends and then humored my husband for the rest of the evening” headache. Do you ever get those? Tylenol just doesn’t cut it.

Simple navy tee from Banana Republic. The roses near the right shoulder turn it from a wear around the house tee to a wear out and about tee.

I think I’ve shared this Forever 21 top before. Have I? It’s super short so I wear a black tee underneath it. My fancy up-do is becoming a staple lately. And by fancy I mean not fancy.

Purple top is from Banana Republic. I bought it when I was pregnant with Kole. It’s maybe not the most flattering top post baby, but I like the sleeves and it’s comfortable. You can tell from the three tops I’ve shared so far that comfort was on my mind this week. You can also tell that our weather hasn’t been as humid since I’m sporting straight hair. Ok. This is a fun game. What else can you tell from the picture? I can tell from my rambling that I need to go to bed.

I bought this blue top a couple of weeks ago. Forever 21 for 10 bucks!

I love it for Spring. It’s so lightweight and feminine.

I wore it for the first time to Kole’s first Easter Egg hunt. Funny now I’ll probably always think of that when I wear this shirt. Or I won’t. But now that I typed that I for sure will. Can you tell it’s late and I’m tired tonight? Have I mentioned that already? When ever I get overly tired I start to ramble and laugh a lot. It’s like I can’t talk enough and suddenly everything is SO funny. My sister does the same thing. We think we are HILARIOUS when we stay up late together. Then we wake up the next morning and wonder what in the world was so funny the night before. I wish my sister was here right now. Kenny is asleep on the couch and he just isn’t cutting it.

Here’s a newish dress I wore to church last Sunday –

Whoa! Time to adjust the camera settings. :) But isn’t this picture cool and ghost like?

Ok. Now I’ve got the lighting figured out, but what in the world was I doing with my hand? I look like I’m about to curtsy for y’all. I said “y’all” because Kenny and I are going to take a little trip back to Virginia next month so I’m practicing up on my “y’alls”. I said this was a “newish” dress because I bought it last summer in Utah and Sunday was the first time I’ve worn it! I sort of forgot I had it and re-discovered it when I cleaned out my closet. Yea for an upcoming trip and a re-discovered dress! :)

It’s just a simple peasant dress. Fun detail on the top and gathers above the waist.

I want to find a belt to wear over the gather above the skirt but haven’t found the right one yet.

The shoes I wore with it are from Nordstrom Rack. A neutral wedge! How very predictable of me.

I am literally falling asleep mid-sentence with my laptop on my lap. (My mom will not be impressed.) Enough rambling for one night. I’m off to bed! But I’m going to take some Tylenol first.

Even though I know it just won’t cut it.

Have a great weekend everyone!

xoxo, Erin

Leave A Comment

organization2

04.19.12

Master Closet Organization (take two)

On to the rest of my master closet re-do! To truly appreciate this minor turned major project you first need to witness the sad state my closet was living in. I now present to you the before and after!

(drum roll please…)

{BEFORE}

{AFTER}

Ahhhhh. Like I’ve said before, all is right in the world when all is right with your closet. :)

Couple things that were driving me crazy about this closet:

1) It’s the only place that I have to store extra home decor which always makes it look like a cluttered mess. I don’t handle clutter well.

2) THE HANGERS! I began hating my big brown hangers two weeks after I bought them. They took up SO much room and they were total dust collectors. I don’t handle dust well either. I was running out of room and couldn’t squeeze one more shirt in this closet. Kenny’s solution was to buy less clothes. Silly man. My solution (the right and only solution) was to buy new hangers.

And that’s exactly what I did. :)

After researching a variety of hangers I finally decided to get these Huggable Hangers because my main goal was to save space. I bought these at The Container Store, but you can also find them at Target. My Target didn’t have the grey ones and I wanted grey. I also wanted an excuse to go to The Container Store. :) They aren’t too expensive ($1 a hanger so $10 for a pack of ten) but when you are buying over 200 hangers it gets a bit costly! I justified this little purchase to my husband by swearing that these hangers are coming with us to the new house and I won’t buy new hangers again for a long time. And let me tell you – I really meant it! I LOVE these hangers! LOVE LOVE LOVE them. Nothing slips off of them, they are so thin and lightweight, and they seriously doubled my closet space!!

The baskets I shared in my first closet post hold hats, belts, scarves, and travel bags.

They fit perfectly on my side of the closet. And don’t they add a nice pop of color!? They make me smile every morning when I waltz in to get dressed. :)

I mentioned that I majorly cleaned out my clothes. Three huge black garbage bags to Goodwill. I can honestly say that I only kept what I really love and wear. When I’m sorting through clothes I always ask myself two questions: Is this something I love to put on? Did I wear this last season? If the answer to either of those questions is no then I toss it! I also organized my tops by color (aside from the extra warm stuff I keep at the far right). I do this often because it makes it easier for me to find and put away my clothes. And because let’s face it. I suffer from OCD. Just a tad. :)

Next to my tops are my jackets and coats.

Next to my jackets and coats are my skirts and dresses. (Jeans were relocated to my dresser.)

Here’s another thing I love about these hangers.

They come with clips you can attach for skirts and slacks. Perfect!

You may remember when I shared my bathroom drawers that I mentioned my curling irons and blow dryer have been moved because the drawer that used to hold them now looks like this:

To solve that little problem I bought this fun Chevron basket to hold my curling irons.
Up high and away from little hands!

Some of my shoes are located in our little make-shift mudroom in the garage, but most of them stay in the closet. Lined up nice and neat until a certain someone gets her hands on them…

So that’s it for my side of the closet!

Kenny’s clothes got a makeover too. :) I organized all of his slacks, dress shirts, collared shirts, and long sleeved shirts together.

His belts and ties are organized on this little tie holder I’ve had for years from Bed Bath and Beyond.

I moved some of my home decor to my laundry room cabinets, but still store most of it in this closet…

I’m excited that in my next house I’ll actually have a place for home decor.

But this works for now.

Remember how I said my new hangers saved me so much space?

Check it out! I fit all of my clothes and still have SO much room! Looks like it’s time to go shopping!

So that’s it! Master closet is completely organized. A project I was thrilled to check off my list!

Thanks for hanging in there with me! I hope I didn’t crash any computers with picture overload.

I got a little excited about this one. :)

Enjoy your day!

xoxo, Erin

Leave A Comment

organization2

04.17.12

Master Closet Organization (take one)

Well. I was hoping to share my complete master closet makeover with you today but I’m going to have to break it up into two posts because I took TOO MANY pictures. Not the first time. Certainly won’t be the last. This closet ended up being a major undertaking. I started it in January and didn’t completely finish it until March. And it’s not that it’s that amazing of a makeover or anything. It just took forever because I went through every. single. article of clothing I own to decide if I should keep it or toss it. And I tossed a lot. Several bags went to Goodwill. New organizers were bought. Lots of organizing took place. And now everything is right in the world. Because everything is right with my closet. :)

Aside from my clothes, I also needed to organize some accessories.

So I bought these fun baskets from Target. (Ten bucks each baby!)

Then I made some fun labels for them. A lot of fun was going on at this point.

I decided to just use the same labels I made for my linen closet. Quick and easy. (I just circle punched some scrapbook paper.) Plus I have a thing for clothes pins. And for the color yellow.

It’s hard to see my handwriting in these pictures (click on the pic if you want to see it closer.)
Or instead I’ll just make it easy for you and tell you that these baskets hold HATS, BELTS, SCARVES, and TRAVEL BAGS.

My belts.

Kenny’s hats.

My scarves.

Our travel bags.

Before my closet makeover most of this was dumped together in an over crowded plastic bin.

Now everything has a place.

In my closet, not on my hutch. :)

I’ll show you their real location and the rest of this little project tomorrow!

But aren’t we off to a lovely start!?

xoxo, Erin

Leave A Comment

Ellie

04.13.12

Ellie’s dream house

Such sweet comments from my last post! I know I’m sounding like a broken record…thank you for your comments…you’re all the best… but seriously, thank you for your comments…you’re all the best! Your kind words really do mean so much to me and I am completely convinced that I have the best blog friends out there. I’m sorry I didn’t get a chance to respond to a lot of you today. We spent the last four days in Palm Springs and drove home today. I’m exhausted! It wasn’t a vacation, it was a family trip. And let me tell you – there is a big difference between the two! A vacation includes some relaxing and with my two year old along for the ride, there wasn’t much of that going on. But we did have a great time. We somehow always do, despite the fact that a great amount of craziness accompanies traveling with three little ones!

Sharing a quick picture of Ellie’s dream house today…

This is Ellie’s dream house. It is a cookie. Everyone in her 2nd grade class was supposed to draw a picture of their dream house. Now you would think with all of the “new house” talk that has been going on around here that her dream house would have included Nantucket elements along with rock, peaked roofs, white moldings, and a porch. But nope. That would be her mom’s dream house. Ellie’s dream house is a cookie. Because she likes cookies and she thinks it would be cool to eat her house.

I love 2nd grade. And I especially love my 2nd grader.

What was I thinking spending a fortune on our architect when I could have just hired my daughter!?

Speaking of our “new house” we submitted our plans into the city this week!! YEA! I’m excited.

It will most likely be three months before they are approved. The fees you have to pay and the hoops you have to jump through to build in California are just plain crazy! This state definitely plays by its own rules. But I am SO excited about how my house is turning out! It’s just so very… Erin. :) It has been so fun seeing all of the elements and styles I love come together to make my home. We are meeting with our builder tomorrow to discuss next steps. He has been getting bids and also wants to give us an estimate of what my “dream home” is going to cost us to build. I’m thinking tomorrow will either be a very good day or a very bad day for my husband. So cross your fingers for me that we get good news and Kenny doesn’t blow! ;) We are also getting ready to meet with our cabinet guy to start designing the kitchen! BRING. IT. ON. I have been dreaming about this kitchen for years now. You know. The one I’m going to organize and decorate and bask in its glory while I cook in it as little as possible. Of course, with my Ellie around, we will be baking plenty of cookies.

Have a great weekend everyone!

xoxo, Erin

Leave A Comment

Ellie and Addison

04.12.12

So happy to be here

Yesterday, April 10th, was a special day for me. In Kole’s birthday letter I mentioned a scare we had soon after he was born. On April 10th two years ago I came awfully close to losing my life. A little too close if you ask me. :) I know many of you were reading my blog during that experience and your kind words and support were a big part of what helped me through it all. Last year on April 10th, one year later, I was extremely emotional. In fact, I was surprised that the anniversary of the experience was affecting me as much as it was. Our family was on a vacation in Maui at the time (April 10th always falls during my kids’ Spring Break) and I couldn’t stop crying. I stayed up really late on the night of the 10th writing down all of my thoughts and feelings – sort of just remembering and reliving it all. I titled the post “I remember” and with butterflies in my stomach I hit publish. All of the sudden I felt so much better. A wave of calm swept over me. Like I had to remember and write and cry and get it all out so that I could move on. I spent the rest of that vacation with my family with a full heart, truly living in the moment and so grateful to be there. The experience I had two years ago changed me. It made me realize how things can change in an instant. How precious our time is here. What a gift every day life is. You realize this quickly when you are suddenly in danger of losing that gift. I wasn’t as emotional yesterday on April 10th. Time has a way of easing the pain of certain memories. This week my kids are out for Spring Break and just like last year, I spent April 10th vacationing and swimming with my family. And remembering. Several times throughout the day – when Kenny was so quick to help with the kids, when Ellie laughed going down the water slide, when Addison hugged me, when I was chasing Kole and he looked back and smiled (checking in to make sure I was far enough away not to catch him but close enough not to leave him) I sent a little prayer of thanks up to my Heavenly Father. I’m so happy to be here.

Then at the end of the day I uploaded my most recent pictures from my camera. They are pictures from our every day life. More reminders of the precious gift I’ve been given.

Grocery shopping with my buddy (thank goodness for the seat strap on grocery carts and for bagels from the bakery – the only way we make it through the store). Happy in the produce section…

over it by isle 9.

Parent Day in my girls’ classrooms.

Dinner with girl friends.

Heading to Kindergarten. I love age 5.

My little camera man – always ready to assist.

My girls – always acting silly.

My man. Holding our baby in one arm and a pink barbie purse in the other. Lucky me.

Little explorer.

Open House. The girls love showing off all they are doing at school.

No training wheels! WOOT WOOT! I don’t know who is more excited – the girls or their parents.

Actually I do know. Parents hands down.

Thick as thieves.

Fly little man!

A quick dance to start the day.

It doesn’t get much better than this.

So happy to be here.

xoxo, Erin

Leave A Comment

organization2

04.10.12

Under the bathroom sink…dun dun dun…

Crossed another organizing to-do off of my list the other day! Slowly but surely that list will be finished this year. I was on a roll after taking pics of my bathroom drawers so I decided it was time to finally tackle under the bathroom sink. This is a spot that usually makes me cringe. Such a major catch all, isn’t it!? I set a little challenge for myself to use organizers I already had instead of heading straight to The Container Store. As you may remember from this post, I’m now at a place where I’m organizing my organizers. Ha! :)

I used to have the girls’ doll clothes organized like the above picture, but when I re-did Ellie’s closet I included the doll shoes and accessories with all of the other toys. Now this whole drawer is just for doll clothes – makes it much easier for the girls to put things back where they belong. So I took the yellow doll shoe bin and and an extra green matching bin I had on hand, grabbed a few other organizers, and finally went to town under my bathroom sink.

SO much better. I cleaned out a whole garbage sack full of products! Isn’t it silly!? How much stuff we keep that we don’t ever use.

Now my larger, most used products are all together – easy to spot and grab when I need them.

In the yellow container I have all of my travel size stuff. I’m loving this! I used to hunt all over my bathroom when it was time to pack for a trip. Now everything travel related is all together in one spot. Makes me want to vacation. :)

I’ve had my nail polish caddy for years now and it fits nicely in between the other containers under the sink. Perfect for when the girls are begging for a pedicure party.

Nothing matches and this isn’t anything revolutionary, but I cleaned and organized this baby in under an hour and it feels great! I no longer cringe when I open this cupboard. And the really nice thing is that since I have a childproof lock on this cupboard it should actually stay this way. Always an added bonus around my house. :)

Happy Organizing!

xoxo, Erin

Leave A Comment

Ellie and Addison

04.09.12

Happy Easter!

Check it out bud! The eggs have candy in them!

Now that I know about the candy, I’m not taking my eyes off of it.

Regardless of the crazy faces dad is pulling behind the camera.

No Kole! We don’t keep dumping the basket out!

Watch and learn from the master buddy. You’ll have this figured out in no time…

Happy Easter!
From our chicks to yours. :)

xoxo, Erin

Leave A Comment

Food and Cooking...or lack thereof

04.05.12

Banana bread muffins

I’m sharing a recipe today! Woot woot!! I know. Try to contain your excitement. ;) I may not be much of a chef and you may already have a great banana bread recipe, but I’m sharing this recipe anyway because, well I am just SO proud of myself. I have finally mastered these babies and let me tell you – for me to have mastered anything in the kitchen is reason to celebrate! :)

This is my mom’s recipe and it is simple (for most people, me not included) and they are delicious. My mom always makes loaves of bread. I tried making loaves of bread multiple times and couldn’t ever get the inside cooked right without burning the outside. So I finally said – forget that, I’m making muffins. I love the muffins because aside from the fact that they are easier for me to cook, they are also easier to eat. Just grab and go! Perfect with OJ for a quick breakfast or to pack in school lunches.

So after making these only around 300 times I finally went from this…

{Exhibit A – proof that I have not always had these muffins mastered}

To this. :)

3 crushed bananas

1 cup sugar

2 cups flour

1/2 cup shortening

2 beaten eggs

1 tbsp sour cream

1 tsp baking soda

1 tbsp vanilla

dash of salt

Bake for 25 minutes @ 350

Couple things to remember: Use bananas that are just starting to go bad. Mushy bananas always taste the best. I like to crush the bananas first before I add the rest of the ingredients. I also like to double this recipe because my family loves them (they’re gone before I know it) and it’s always fun to take a plate to a friend (a double batch makes around 33 muffins). Don’t forget the dash of salt like I did once (really does make a difference). Don’t use 1 tsp sour cream instead of 1 tbsp sour cream like I did once (also makes a difference). Don’t forget the flour like I did once (makes a big difference). Don’t under cook them. Don’t over cook them. (Been there, done that, makes a difference.) I think I’ve made every mistake possible with these muffins.

But not anymore!

That’s right. You’re feeling my excitement now. :)

Enjoy!

xoxo, Erin

Leave A Comment

home decor 2

04.04.12

Kitchen cupboard (Spring update!)

Sharing pics of one of my kitchen cupboards today! I updated it a bit for Spring. I have been slowly changing the colors in my kitchen and I’m only half way there. My kitchen right now is making me laugh! I’m bringing in more of the blues but I still have a lot of the reds and greens. It’s just a really colorful space. I call it the RAINBOW kitchen. I’m kind of using this house to experiment with different looks and colors so I know exactly how I want to decorate my new house. But let’s face it. I change my decor around about as often as I visit Pottery Barn. I’m sure whatever I start with in my new house won’t last for too long. :)

I can’t find a “before pic” of this cupboard but here is what it looks like (for now).

Same dishes I had before, but I re-arranged things and added some pops of blue.

The left side…

and the right. Do you recognize the aqua letter R?

It’s the one I painted for my Fall wreath. It was just hanging out once December hit and I took my Fall wreath down. It’s happy to have a home again (for now).

My favorite part of the shelf is this butterfly plate I recently bought at Pier One. Isn’t she beautiful!? LOVE this for Spring. I bought it to go on my Spring mantel but it just didn’t look right. Actually nothing is looking right on my mantel. I’ve had it about ten different ways and still haven’t found the winning combination. Part of the problem might be that I only have 3 minutes here and 2 minutes there to actually play around with it. Oh well! As long as I have it done before next Fall I’ll be happy. I’m so busy right now. Expectations are being set pretty low these days! As long as kids are fed and we all have clean clothes to wear I label the day a success. :)

So even though my kitchen cupboard has a lot of the old mixed in with the new, at least it sort of ties in with the rest of my kitchen…

A rainbow cupboard for a rainbow kitchen!

Works for me (for now). :)

xoxo, Erin

Leave A Comment

Kole

04.02.12

Random Monday

Thank you so much to everyone who commented or e-mailed me after Kole’s birthday post. I was so touched. Some of you mentioned the post made you cry…well some of your sweet words made me tear up so now we’re even! :) I really appreciated your thoughtful words and the way so many of you openly shared your experiences with your own children. Hopefully Kole is just a late talker and will speak when he is ready and everything will be fine. He is the third and he is totally spoiled and he does have two older sisters who do everything for him. Fingers crossed that is the reason for the speech delay. However, we do know that if it is something more, early intervention is key which is why we have started some therapy with him. He is too little for a formal assessment – we will know more next year when he turns three – so until then we are just going to work as hard as we can with him. There have been several nights that I have stayed up way too late researching possible causes for the delay and it has done nothing but make me emotional and stressed. So my current plan is to ignore the Internet (aside from blogging of course!), focus on working with Kole, and take it one day at a time. :) Again, thank you for your support. It really does mean so much to me. I read your comments and e-mails several times over the weekend. They always bring a smile to my face! I am continually grateful that I have so many wonderful and kind people reading this blog.

Kole wants to thank you all too. He was sick on his birthday (spent the morning at the doctors because of an ear infection and cough) and your comments seemed to cheer him up as well. :) He was a little bummed we had to cancel his birthday get together at the park with his buddies, but perked up in the afternoon for some cake. Even though he didn’t eat a bite he sure enjoyed destroying it. And clapping because all of us were standing around cheering him on. :)

In other random news I spent Saturday afternoon at one of my favorite malls because Ellie had a birthday party there. Kenny had our other two kiddos and it felt so nice to have a little down time wandering around my favorite stores. I saw so many fun things that I almost bought! Things that I may still go back and buy because I’m still thinking about them. And if I’m still thinking about them it’s probably because they were meant to be mine!

How fun are these spice jars from Anthro!? LOVE the colors and the chalk labels. So fun for Spring! I didn’t buy them because I really don’t need them. I’d love to use them to decorate with but I have NO place to put them. See why I need a new house? I’m ready to start over! :)

I’m really loving these pillows from Z Gallerie and I have been looking for new pillows for my red couches (they would go so well with my yellow hutch!). But they are over $60 bucks each and I keep thinking do I really want to spend that much on pillows that I’ll most likely replace as soon as we move and I have different couches? I am going to be in this house over a year still though…hmm…I may need them after all.

Fun lanterns are popping up everywhere this Spring and I LOVE them! These are from Z Gallerie and like the Anthro spice jars, if I had a spot for them they would be home with me right now. Aren’t they fun!? Pottery Barn has some black ones I have my eye on also.

I’m still debating purchasing these items, but in case I talk myself out of them (for the second time) I am sharing them in hopes that some of you will buy them! They are all too cute to just sit in the store!!

Wanna see what I did buy?