Wordless Wednesday: Mama, let me in!

I'm in the mood for...

Menu Planning Monday

Last week was a rough one and nothing we planned actually made it to the table. We are gonna try again this week!

Monday: Spaghetti and Meatball Pot Pie (new recipe!)

Tuesday: Turkey Burgers

Wednesday: Chicken Parmesan

Thursday: Pizza night

Friday: Take out/going out

Weekend Recap

This weekend was a whirlwind. I feel like I haven't been home since Friday! After our lazy weekend last weekend it was good to be running around. On Friday after work we headed over to Rich and Tif's to hang out and grab some dinner. We headed to Famous Dave's. Jacob had fun coloring or maybe just trying to eat the crayons!

After dinner we headed back to Rich and Tif's to just hang out and once the little guy went to bed we headed home. 

On Saturday we were up and out early. We went to get some breakfast and then headed over to Rich and Tif's again because it was Fantasy Football Draft Day 2011. The boys all huddled up in the basement to select their picks for the start of the 2011 season. 

Tif and I hung out with a just woken up Jacob and watched some Dinosaur Train and Jake and the Neverland Pirates. He was just cuddled up on the couch in his jammies.

After the draft was over we hung out for a little while and then Liz and her daughter Lauren arrived. We couldn't agree on a place for lunch so the boys went one place and us girls went to another. We took the babies to Panera and had a yummy lunch. After lunch Jacob and Lauren needed naps so we brought them home and put them down for a nap. All of us girls then headed to get mani/pedis while the guys stayed home on baby duty. It was a nice couple of hour break for the two mommies!

By the time we left the salon it was time for dinner. We sat around for a while trying to decide what to do and finally at almost 8 o'clock went and got some dinner. We didn't get home until almost 10. Poor Porkchop was by himself all day. We made sure to give him lots of love when we got home and a few extra treats! It was a very full but fun day though!

Today we got up and Michael made some cinnamon rolls for breakfast. We had breakfast and just relaxed for a little bit before I had to shower and get ready for Arla and Teddy's baby shower. I was out the door and on  my way by 10 since I wanted to get there early to help my Mom set things up. My gift was very pink! We got Baby Lach her comforter, crib blanket, crib skirt, pillow and several books.

The shower was at Ruffled Feathers Golf Club where they had their bridal shower and also their wedding last June. The room looked really nice and the shower was a big success. Arla and Teddy left set for their little girl! I took lots of pictures of course.

The shower was really nice. It's always nice to see family and friends you don't get to see as often as you'd like. After the shower, I headed home and my husby was working like a busy bee. He was finishing hanging blinds upstairs. He got them installed in our bathroom and our bedroom. We need to move the curtain rod in our master so he's got to patch and paint where the holes were. The blinds look great though.

We really need to get our master painted and do some decorating in there. It's one of the last rooms that hasn't been touched in the house. After we relaxed for a while we realized we had pretty much nothing in the house for dinner so we headed to Whole Foods to do our grocery shopping for the week. We also ended up having dinner there. They have a huge cafe with all kinds of food to choose from at our store in Schaumburg, it was really good. 

After we checked out and ate dinner we headed home. We are just relaxing the rest of the night and watching some TV. I wish there was another day in the weekend, I'm exhausted! It was a great weekend though from start to finish. I hope all of you had a great weekend and have a speedy week ahead!

Our week in pictures: 8/21 - 8/27

Sunday, August 21: The weirdest midnight snack ever, but Michael's favorite. It's a peanut butter and Cheetos puff sandwich, gross!

Monday, August 22: Our tomatoes are officially done for the season and uprooted. The herbs are still going strong though!

Tuesday, August 23: I attended a training at work and won a prize. I got this hilarious USB powered aquarium to connect to my laptop.

Wednesday, August 24: I have a wonderful husby, he surprised me with an orchid and a card, just because.

Thursday, August 25: We had fun goofing off while doing some shopping for Halloween decor at Home Goods

Friday, August 26: Jacob doing some coloring at Famous Dave's

Saturday, August 27: Girls day! Mani/Pedis with Tif and Liz

This week I'm...

Loving: This weather, I hope it stays like this until November!

Disliking: All the crazy press Kim Kardashian is getting over her wedding. I know Kim thinks it was a royal wedding but, sorry you will never be as classy as Kate Middleton!

Craving: All things Fall, I can't wait to put up my decorations!

Hoping: Labor Day weekend gets here faster!
Reading: I started a new series this week. I'm reading Simply Irresistible by Jill Shalvis.

Watching: We are addicted to this new show, Buried Treasure. It's the brothers from Antiques Roadshow traveling around helping people find valuable objects in their homes.
Listening to: At the moment, my poor husby fixing drills at 9 pm, poor guy.

Looking forward to: Celebrating my soon to be born niece at my sister's baby shower this weekend!
Hearing buzz about: The end of an era at Apple, Steve Jobs says good-bye.

Product Review: Light Scoop

I rarely use flash when I take pictures. I try to only use the natural light outside or coming through the windows when inside. But now that the days are only going to get shorter and darker, using the flash becomes a necessity. Because I don't use flash very often, I didn't really want to shell out $300-$400 on a flash that I won't use very much. I had heard about the Lightscoop a while ago, but never really thought about buying it until I took my camera class last month. He showed us something similar that diffuses the flash so you don't get harsh shadows and unnatural coloring. For only $30, I thought it was worth a shot.

Well as soon as I played around with it, it made me a believer. The proof is really in the pictures.

Regular flash - the colors are off, it's dark and shadowy and you can see the white flash reflecting on the fridge in the background.

With the lightscoop - Looks like it's day time, no darkness or shadows, warm, natural tones.

Pretty amazing, huh? These images are straight out of the camera as well, no editing. They were taken at 8 at night so the kitchen was pretty dark and I didn't turn on any lights. I would definitely recommend picking this up if it's compatible with your camera, I was pretty impressed.

* I was in no way compensated for this review, these are strictly my opinions.

Wordless Wednesday: A USB Powered Aquarium?

Family Favorite Recipe: Chicken Pesto Pasta

This is one of our favorite things to have when our herb garden is growing out of control. We love fresh pesto and it's really easy to make. Combine your pesto along with some baked chicken and spaghetti, and you have a yummy week night meal.

Ingredients

Fresh pesto (recipe here) or jarred pesto

Boneless, skinless chicken

1 1/2 cups Bread Crumbs

Flour for breading

2 eggs

Spaghetti

Parmesan cheese 

Directions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Prepare your pesto mixture

Pound your chicken thin and season with some salt and pepper if desired

Coat the chicken pieces in flour, then egg, then breadcrumbs. Bake the chicken for 10-15 minutes per side. While chicken is baking, prepare your pasta.

Once the chicken is done, slice and add to cooked spaghetti. Toss the spaghetti with pesto and add Parmesan cheese to taste. Enjoy!

Menu Planning Monday

Monday: Spaghetti and Meatball Pot Pie (new recipe!)

Tuesday: Cheddar Cracker Chicken

Wednesday: BBQ Bacon Cheese Stuffed Chicken (new recipe!)

Thursday: Pizza night

Friday: Take out/going out

Weekend Recap

This is going to be a very short weekend recap. We had such a crazy week leading up to this weekend that we wanted to do absolutely nothing this weekend. We went out every night during the week since Michael's cousin was in town for a few days and then Michael's Great Uncle passed away so we had the wake and funeral on Thursday and Friday.

On Friday night we went over to Rich and Tif's to hang out with them and play with Mr. Jacob. We ordered some pizza and just relaxed.

On Saturday we just relaxed, we took a nap, and watched some movies. Michael made us a super yummy dinner of chicken pesto pasta.

Today we went out for breakfast and then headed home. I wanted to get our Oktoberfest invitations designed and ordered so I got those done. I also started my Christmas shopping, yes Christmas shopping! I am almost done with my two nieces who aren't even here yet and Jacob of course. I like to get my shopping done early and kids are so easy to buy for. I like to really enjoy Christmas and all of the fun things going on so I don't want to have spend my weekends fighting crowds shopping.

My parents also came out to visit us today and have lunch. It was nice to see them and just hang out for a few hours. After they left, Michael took a nap and I just relaxed. We are just relaxing the rest of the night and getting ready for the week ahead, I think it's going to be another busy one! I hope all of you have a great weekend and have a good week ahead.

Our week in pictures: 8/14 - 8/20

Sunday, August 14: A real live cream cheese face!

Monday, August 15: Manicure Monday, it's OPI's Lincoln Park after dark this week.

Tuesday, August 16: Food truck lunch today, I had buffalo chicken balls from the Meatyballs Mobile today. They were delicious, spicy chicken meatballs with celery and a little blue cheese.

Wednesday, August 17: Heading to the doctors

Thursday, August 18: Yum, Flirty Cupcakes!

Friday, August 19: Jacob playing with his duplos

Saturday, August 20: A lazy Saturday afternoon