Dinner on Hand {Goat Cheese & Spinach Pasta with Lemon Garlic Shrimp and Burst Tomatoes}

Last night's dinner was all about what I had on hand. I literally went to the refrigerator and pulled out what I had. 

It turned out really well, so I decided to share!

For shrimp:

2 T EVOO

1 T lemon juice 

6 garlic cloves (minced) 

¼ tsp cumin 

¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes 

¼ teaspoon kosher salt 

¼ teaspoon black pepper 

1 pound large shrimp, shelled and deveined (I use frozen)

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Mix all ingredients in a medium bowl. 

If using frozen shrimp, thaw in a colander under cool running water. Pour marinade over shrimp and set aside for 20 minutes. 

Cook shrimp at 425 degrees for 10-12 minutes or until shrimp are done.

Boil pasta water. Add pasta and cook according to package directions. Reserve pasta water. 

*Helpful hint: place colander on a bowl so when pasta water drains it catches in the bowl.

For pasta:

3 T EVOO

6 cloves garlic (minced)

Baby Spinach (5 oz.)

Cherub tomatoes (10.5 oz.)

1/2 cup sour cream (I used light)

Goat Cheese (I used Garlic Herb because that's what I had on hand)

Salt & Pepper to taste

Rotini Pasta

Reserved pasta water

Parmesan Reggiano Cheese

While shrimp marinates and pasta cooks, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add garlic and sauté just until you can smell it, about 30 seconds.

Add spinach. I added the entire package. It looks like a lot, but it will wilt down to nothing. Add a big pinch of kosher salt and fresh cracked black pepper.

Once spinach is cooked, add tomatoes. 

Lower heat to medium and let tomatoes cook while pasta finishes. The tomatoes will begin to soften and will burst when you gently push on them with your spoon. Add 1/2-3/4 cup pasta water, sour cream, and goat cheese (I had about half of a 4 oz. package left, so that's what I used).  Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Once the goat cheese is melted, lower the heat to simmer and cover. Sauce will thicken slightly. Add pasta and 1/3 cup Parmesan Reggiano.

To serve, plate pasta and top with shrimp. I had some parsley on hand, so I prettied it up with a garnish.

Enjoy!

XOXO,

Lemon Dijon Tilapia

I found this recipe on Pinterest for salmon and I decided to adapt it a little for tilapia. It's super easy and delicious (and in my opinion tastes much better with tilapia ~ tilapia is usually a thinner cut than salmon so it absorbs the flavored of the marinade much more, even when cooked from frozen).

Ingredients:

• 4 tilapia filets (I use frozen)
• 2-3 garlic cloves (minced)
• 2 T fresh parsley (finely chopped)
• 1/2 T Dijon mustard
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/8 tsp pepper
• 2 T lemon juice
• 1/8 cup EVOO 

Mix garlic, parsley, mustard, salt, pepper, lemon juice, and olive oil in a small bowl. 

Line a sheet pan with foil and brush marinade on both sides of tilapia filets. Top with lemon slices. 

Bake at 400 degrees for 14-18 minutes or until tilapia is opaque and flakes when cut. I cook mine from frozen so it takes a little longer. 

Serve with rice pilaf or couscous and your favorite vegetable for a healthy and delicious meal! Enjoy!

XOXO,

Our Home {Kitchen)

My plan was to do a home tour, but I've been changing things up a little, so I want to finish that before I do the full tour. For now I'll start with the kitchen! Here are a few in progress shots because those are always fun!

It makes sense to start here since it's one of my favorite rooms in the house! When we built this house we got to design our dream kitchen! It's not that I didn't love the kitchens we designed in our last two houses, but we were a little more limited in the choices that our builders offered, so I couldn't get everything I wanted. In this house we got it all: double oven, pot filler (not as awesome as I thought it would be, by the way ~ it's only cold water so the water takes FOREVER to boil!), beautiful granite, white cabinets with a coffee glaze, no farmhouse sink, but it will come eventually and I love it as is!

When you pick the standard granite, which we did for our bathrooms, you don't get to pick the slab, but we got to pick out the slabs for our kitchen because we upgraded a little (easy to do when the builder is offering 50% off upgrades). Here is the slab we chose for the island - the tape represents where they were going to cut and where we wanted the sink placed. The granite is called Alaska. I'm so glad we got to choose, because the newer Alaska slabs don't look anything like this. We had to  visit two or three warehouses to find slabs that resembled what we'd chosen in the design gallery.

Here is a picture of the kitchen right before we moved in.

I'm going to back up a little to explain why our kitchen counters stayed bare for the first 11 months we lived here. When we decided to sell our last house, my mom suggested I remove everything from the counters (toaster oven, coffee pot, etc) for a cleaner look. I even went so far as to throw out our toaster oven (in my defense, it was old and didn't work that well, so it's not like I threw away a perfectly good appliance)! Now when we want to make toast or Eggo waffles we just turn the oven to broil and throw the food in right away for one minute per side. It works great and there is no mess on our counters ~ try it, you'll never go back! I got used to the look, and was in love with my new counters and backsplash, so when we moved in I kept the minimalist look.

My desire to decorate actually started when we moved our entertainment center (actually a sideboard with a wine rack built in) out of the family room and into the kitchen nook. I added an EAT sign that I'd painted along with a decorative platter, but it looked pretty barren. That's about the time I discovered the #WWYDdecor hashtag on Instagram. I posted this picture and asked for advice.

Someone suggested I move the stuff down from the walls and layer it on the sideboard, but then I'd be left with empty walls with holes that I needed to fill and paint so that wasn't an option. Another hashtag I had seen on Instagram a lot was #TuesdayDecorParade which was all about tiered trays, so when someone suggested I get a tiered tray I knew it was meant to be! I picked up a wood and metal tray from World Market along with a cute little lavender nest and a succulent and brought them home. I had a collection of tea cups and saucers in my cabinet, so I added one along with the blue and white elephant we purchased in Amsterdam last year and it was finished! I also picked up a cute sign and framed chicken wire (I can't think of any other way to describe it, that's what it is) from Hobby Lobby and a decorative sphere and topiary at Home Goods. I love how it turned out! Now I just need the Magnolia Farms tray I ordered on sale from Magnolia Market to arrive (and for it to fit!) for the bottom shelf.

After I finished the nook I decided I needed to work on the rest of the kitchen. We do a lot of entertaining, but I've recently realized that I am severely lacking in serving pieces. Because of this I ordered a Lazy Susan from The Signature Swag. When it arrived I knew that it would be perfect on display, and when we are entertaining I have easy access to it! I used a metal basket and ampersand from Hobby Lobby, a topiary from Home Goods, and the family cookbook Michael's aunt and uncle gave us for our wedding to complete the vignette.

I just changed out our wooden kitchen utensil holder to a silver wine bucket I found while unpacking at my parent's new house this past weekend. They had four of them, so I decided they wouldn't miss one. :) I kind of love the look!

I already had the milk jug measuring cups from Anthropologie (mine is a little shorter because the 1/3 cup broke in our move) and our knife block on the other side of the counter, but I decided to add a mason jar cookie jar and vintage breadbox as well. When adding items to your kitchen counters, try to get things that can serve a double purpose - the bread box and cookie jar look adorable sitting on the counter, but they're also holding two loaves of bread and the chocolate chip cookies I baked with my niece yesterday.

Isn't the farmer's market pillow adorable? I ordered it from Peek Pillow Originals.

The island is still pretty empty other than our paper towel holder and soap dispenser. I had gotten a cake stand at Home Goods several months back, and it was just sitting in the cabinet, so I decided to put our soap on "display" to pretty it up a little.

I made the Bakery sign and added the Fresh Baked Pies sign from World Market to the counter in our Butler's Pantry where I keep my canisters and Kitchenaid mixer. Again, use items that can serve a double purpose (I'm obviously not talking about the signs here) ~ the canisters hold flour, sugar, and candy (yes, you read that right), and the ceramic egg crate is perfect when I get fresh eggs from my friend!

The bar counter in the Butler's Pantry was begging for something. At first I was going to do a coffee bar, but since I don't drink coffee unless it tastes like chocolate (Starbucks White Mocha - yum!) I decided that didn't make much sense. I love to make sparkling lemonade (use one can of frozen pink lemonade and sparkling water), so I searched Pinterest for a cute printable and created a mini lemonade stand. 

Here is a view of the kitchen from the Butler's Pantry. We used to have a runner that matched the rug in the nook, but it started to get dirty so I replaced it with a bio-foam rug from Bed Bath & Beyond. So much comfier to stand on when I'm washing dishes!

Here are a couple shots of the kitchen from the family room. You may have noticed that I rearranged a few things after I took these pictures (I think I'll forever be doing that). :)

I hope you enjoyed my kitchen tour! I tried to link either identical or similar items if you're looking to add anything to your kitchen!

I'll be back soon to share another room! 

XOXO,

Wear it Wednesday {Spring Fashion}

When I was teaching, I used to live for "Wear it Wednesday" ~ each week we had a different theme and as long as we wore something that fit the theme we got to wear jeans! I know, that's probably not that exciting to everyone, but for a teacher. jeans are EVERYTHING!

With Spring fast approaching (okay, I know it's only February, but the forecast here in Texas for the next several days calls for temperatures in the 70s, so to me it's Spring) I thought it would be fun to do a little shopping. And yes, jeans are always on my list, so I'll start there!

I have been living in my 7 for all Mankind skinnies (probably because they finally fit again - it's amazing what a difference 5 pounds makes!) so I decided to pick up another pair. I wanted to get a pair that is a little more distressed, so I went with these. My other pairs are a much darker wash, so I'm excited for these. Something about a lighter wash jean just says Spring to me. My jeans last me years, so I feel okay spending a little more money on them, but I linked similar pairs below that aren't quite as pricey (has me rethinking this purchase, but I ordered them from Nordstrom which has free shipping both ways so if I decide to return them it's easy).

Spring is all about layers, so I ordered some v-neck tees from Gap. They're vintage wash so I'm hoping the fabric is soft.  Don't get the ones from Gap. I stopped in the store and tried one on since I was out ~ they're really short, and I'm not at all long-waisted. I also found a few on Target's website (linked below), so I'm going to run there this weekend to see if those are any better. I'll let you know what I find!

I went to grab a cardigan from my closet the other day and noticed that I didn't have a navy one, so when I saw that JCrew was having a sale I snapped one up!

That's all I've gotten so far, but I have my eye on a few other things so I thought I'd share those for fun!

Journey Home {Our Adoption Story}

For as long as I can remember, I wanted to be a mom.  And before I wanted to be a mom, I wanted to be a big sister. I was the baby in the family. Growing up, I always wanted my mom to have another baby. When I realized that wasn’t going to happen, I focused all of my attention on being the best mom I could be to my doll Susie Q.

Fast forward to June 1, 2002. My wedding day. Michael and I had been together since November of 1996. We graduated from high school together, went away to college together, and now were ready to start our adult lives together. Shortly after getting married, we packed up our belongings and moved 1600 miles from home. Michael had been offered a one year internship at the FASB that we couldn't pass up. We said goodbye to our friends and family and began married life in a new state. It was summer when we arrived and I had yet to find a teaching job, so when Michael was at work, I was home by myself. I was lonely. I began hoping and wishing for a baby, but this time it wasn’t a brother or sister I was wishing for, it was a son or daughter. Michael wasn't ready (what 22 year old guy is?), so I had to settle for a puppy.

In November of 2002, we began looking for a dog. In December, we traveled home to Texas for Christmas and came back to Connecticut with a 6 week old Golden Retriever we'd named Bailey. The first few months we got to experience what it might be like to have a new baby. She would wake us up in the middle of the night and we’d have to trek outside in the snow so she could use the restroom, and then she’d cry when we tried to put her back to bed. One of my good friends who had two kids would listen to my stories and tell me it was just like having a baby. Well, almost.

We stayed in Connecticut for a year and then it was back to Texas. We built our first house, I got a teaching job at the same school as my sister, and Michael began his job at E&Y. In 2006 we finally decided we were settled enough to try to have a baby. I had been taking birth control pills for several years to regulate my periods, so when I stopped taking them it was a bit of an adjustment. After we started trying I did what every girl does, I went out and bought pregnancy tests. Month after month the results came back negative. My sister and her husband had struggled to get pregnant, so they were able to share their experiences and advice with us. We called the fertility specialist they'd used and made an appointment. We tried clomid. It didn't work. Michael went in for tests. Before we got the results of his tests we started talking about adoption. My sister and her husband had researched adoption prior to getting pregnant with twins, so we were once again armed with information. I had submitted our initial application to the Gladney Center for Adoption prior to Michael's appointment, and we received confirmation that we were approved to attend their information seminar before we went in to get the results of Michael's tests. We talked and kind of felt like God was leading us in the direction of adoption, that our path to a family would be different than most, but still ours. When we went to Michael's appointment we found out that he would need to have a procedure done at the same time I was going through in vitro. There was no guarantee it would work, but that was the route we were offered. This only served to confirm the decision we'd already made: we were going to adopt! 

In November of 2006, we attended an all day adoption seminar at the Gladney Center. At the end of the day we left feeling confident that we were meant to adopt, and we knew everything that went along with it. We were pretty sure we wanted to adopt through Gladney, but we decided to attend another adoption seminar to see what other options there were. A few weeks after attending the Gladney seminar we attended a seminar at Catholic Charities. We came in full of adoption knowledge because of all that we had learned at the Gladney seminar, and we left feeling like we knew more than the ladies who were facilitating the seminar at Catholic Charities. Don't get me wrong, Catholic Charities does amazing things, it just wasn't the agency for us. We immediately began filling out our application to adopt through Gladney. It was a long process filled with home visits, trainings, and lots of paperwork, but finally in July of 2007 we found out that we had been approved to adopt! Once you're officially approved it's like you're officially expecting! Except in the case of adoption, you don't know how long you'll have to wait to hold your precious baby in your arms! At the Gladney seminar we went to, they said the average wait for domestic adoption is anywhere from 4-14 months.

Once we were approved, we began working on our adoption profile. It's basically a scrapbook of your life to share with potential birthmoms. In early August we handed copies of our profile to our caseworker. We decided it was time to start getting a nursery ready (again, when you're adopting you never know when the baby will be coming, so it makes sense to at least have furniture in the nursery). We ordered the furniture and it was delivered on September 8, 2007. 

On September 12th I received a call from my caseworker. There had been what's called a "drop in" ~ a birthmother who says she has chosen adoption after giving birth. A baby girl was born on September 9, 2007. Did we want our profile shown? Um, yes!! Try as I might not to get my hopes up, I hung up and told a colleague, "My daughter was born on September 9th!" I knew it didn't make sense for her to pick us since it had only been a month since we'd given our profile to Gladney, but my heart was telling me she was ours! We waited nine days for the call. Finally, on September 21st when I was a Red Robin for happy hour after work I received a phone call. I squealed, "Are you serious?" and quickly dashed for the exit (Michael wasn't with me, my sister and friends were, and I wanted him to be the first one to know). Our caseworker gave me all of the information I needed and I called Michael. Since the birthfather was not around to sign away his rights, they had to put him on a paternity registry, which meant we had to wait thirty days before we could meet her and bring her home. Torture! They did send us one picture of us that night. Look at those cheeks! 

We decided that even though we had a few weeks to get ready we needed to get to Babies 'R Us that night to register, buy bedding, etc (my sister and friends immediately started planning a baby shower). I called my parents and they met my sister, Michael, and I at BRU to start shopping! We bought bedding and other essentials and registered for the rest. 

The next day our caseworker called with the name and number of the transitional care home that she would be staying in while we waited. Momma Angela and her husband Kevin were amazing! She called me daily with updates and sent plenty of pictures. It made the wait a little easier knowing she was in good hands.

As hard as it was for us not to bring her home right away, the thirty day waiting period allowed us to have three baby showers (one with Michael's coworkers, one at the school I taught at, and one with family and friends). We were overwhelmed by the outpouring of love and generosity of our friends and family, and were ready to bring our baby girl home! 

On October 15, 2007, we went to the Gladney Center for placement. Both sets of grandparents and Michael's sister joined us at Gladney. When we arrived they brought us to one of the placement rooms. We sat down and waited for what seemed like forever (in reality it was probably only 15-20 minutes). Finally Kevin walked in with Sophia. It was love at first sight! He handed her to me and Michael and I just stood there staring at our beautiful daughter, Sophia Renee.

We finally moved to the couch so she could eat, and after spending some time with Momma Angela and Kevin we took a family picture and headed home. 

When we arrived home she was ready for a nap, and of course Michael was too! This soon became her favorite place to sleep!

Fast forward a year to her first birthday. We started to talk about adopting again. Cost was a factor, and we were pretty content with our little family of three (four if you count Bailey!). We knew we eventually would want to adopt again, but we were having too much fun with our little toddler and it just wasn't the right time. We decided to wait to resubmit our application.

On July 5, 2009 I received a call from our caseworker at Gladney that changed everything! Sophia's birthmother had given birth to a baby boy on April 8th. Did we want to bring him home? We were in the car and Michael was only hearing my end of the conversation, so I told her I'd talk to him and call her back. It took about three minutes for us to call her back and say yes! We had a son! 

Because we hadn't submitted an application to adopt a second time we had to go through background checks, fingerprinting, trainings, home visits, etc before we could bring him home. Again! This time we got to meet him before placement. It was love at first sight!

We were also provided with lots of pictures of our sweet boy!

On July 21st we did placement at our house. Sophia was in love with her baby brother, Carter Michael. We all were! 

I truly believe that everything leading up to the moment we brought them both home was all part of God's plan. We are their parents because He wanted us to be. We are truly blessed! We often get asked if we will adopt again, and our answer always is, "It just depends if the phone rings!" If it's in His plan, then we will. But we leave it in His hands.

XOXO,