Cherella

I recently purchased a Cherella purse similar to the one above and I love it! I was already familiar with the company, created by 2 Utah women, because my sister's company "Layla Grayce" used to sell some of their clothing. In fact, I was lucky enough to get this hoodie as a gift from my sis. It has been my fav for the past 2 years. I thought I would give the Utah entrepreneurs a shout out and if you like what you see you can find their clothing and accessories at boutiques nation wide or online at http://www.cherellausa.com/ . If you are local you can find their cute stuff at Whimsy, Lola Bella, Koo De Ker, and several other stores in the area.

Best Chicken Enchiladas Ever!

This recipe is from Gormet Magazine and it is awesome!

Ingredients
4 oz. cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup sour cream
2 cups prepared salsa
2 cups grated Cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese
2 cups shredded cooked chicken
1 cup frozen corn kernels, thawed
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
salt and pepper
4 scallions, thinly sliced
12 to 14 soft round 6 to 8 inch flour tortillas

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
In a medium bowl cream together the cream cheese and the sour cream. Stir in 1/2 cup of the salsa. Stir in 1 cup of the grated cheese. In a second bowl toss together the chicken, corn, cumin, cayenne, salt, pepper, and 1/2 of the scallions. Add the chicken mixture to the cheese mixture and stir to combine. In a baking dish spread a 1/2 cup of the salsa over the bottom. Place about a 1/3 cup of the filling on a tortilla, roll up and transfer to the baking dish with the seam side down. Repeat process for remaining tortillas. Put remaining salsa over enchiladas, spreading to coat all of them. Sprinkle remaining grated cheese over the top. Enchiladas may be prepared up to this point 12 hours in advance. Transfer to preheated oven and bake for 20 to 25 minutes until hot and bubbly. Sprinkle with the remaining scallions and serve warm.
Yields 6 to 7 servings.

Deceptively Delicious

This post is for all my friends with children who are trying to get them to eat more veggies. My sister-in-law gave me this cookbook, Deceptively Delicious, for Christmas and I've recently had the chance to try several of the recipes and they were in fact, "delicious". The cookbook is by Jessica Seinfeld (Jerry Seinfeld's wife) and the cool concept behind it is that she purees veggies and adds them into everyday meals. Your kids can't see the veggies so they don't even realize they are eating their vegetables. So far we have tried the following recipes: mac & cheese with cauliflower, couscous with yellow squash & carrot, grilled cheese with butternut squash, and apple muffins with carrot. They have all been wonderful. Tony, Gavin, and I have all enjoyed them. I would highly recommend this cookbook. They are selling it at Cost Co right now. If any of you already have it or end up buying it, let me know what you think.

New Years Eve

For the past several years Tony has participated in Solitude ski resort's torch light parade (because he works there every winter). It's a tradition there every New Year's eve. This year I finally went up there to see it. We ate dinner there at the resort, got all bundled up and waited to watch the "show". Many of the employees at the resort participate and head up the lifts after dark, light their torches and ski down in formation. It was quite a sight to see. However, on the drive back down the canyon my car said that it was -1 degree outside. Yikes!

The next day we dropped Gavin off at grandma and grandpa's for the day so that we could go back up to Solitude to ski/snowboard (Tony skis & I snowboard). It was a glorious, sunny day. It was such a treat because it was the first time I've been able to go snowboarding since I got pregnant with Gavin. I had so much fun! And by the end of the day I even rode on a black run (and did quite well I must say). When I complained about having to return to work on January 2nd Tony reminded me that I did quite a bit this winter break... I went to the beach and snowboarding in the same week. Life is good:)

Winter Break in California

Gavin and I flew to California the day after Christmas to spend time with my family in Ventura(Tony had to work). We had a great time as always. It was wonderful to spend time with my oldest friend, Cyndi, who I've known since I was about 3. She lives in Huntington Beach now and has 2 little boys (Gavin had a great time with them). I also got to spend a some time with my sister, Tiffany, who Gavin adores (as do I) and he calls her Aunt Bippy (Aunt Tiffy). We were able to put in a few hours at my favorite factory outlet stores in Camarillo (Barneys, Saks 5th, Max Azria, Ugg Austrailia). I had a lot of success finding some great stuff at great prices. And, of course, it's always great to see my parents. They always spoil us. I think we went out to dinner every night. We also went to the Santa Barbara zoo and the beach. It was a beautiful sunny day so the last couple of photos are just of the scenery there at Marina Beach. We had to pull Gavin away kicking and screaming because he did not want to leave the beach and he desperately wanted to go play in the ocean (I had hoped he would take after me as far as loving the beach).

Merry Christmas!

Sprinkles at William Sonoma

A few months ago I blogged about Sprinkles cupcakes in Beverly Hills. Well, I just discovered that they are now selling the actual Sprinkles cupcake mix at William Sonoma! Of course, I had to buy a few for xmas gifts (and for me). I haven't tried baking them yet, but I know they'll be delicious.

Santa Claus

Last night we took Gavin to see Santa. Apparently Santa Claus was hanging out in a festive little hut in Sugarhouse so we didn't have to deal with trying see him at a crowded mall. This was Gavin's first time sitting on Santa's lap and he did great. We prepared him by explaining that he would go visit Santa, sit on his lap, and tell him what he wanted for Christmas. So Gavin did exactly that. Gavin climbed right up and preceded to tell Santa the only thing that he wanted this Christmas... Thomas trains (particularly Henry or Edward). The only problem came when it was time to say goodbye to Santa and Gavin looked confused. He didn't want to get off of Santa's lap. He was waiting to get the trains he had just told Santa that he wanted. We realized that Gavin thought he was going to actually get the toys during his visit with Santa. It's pretty hard to explain to a 2 year old the concept of waiting till Christmas.

Favorite Dress

All the magazines say that a sweater dress is a must have this season. I found my new favorite sweater dress at Anthropologie. It looks like this photo, except that it's red. It's soooo comfy. I feel like I'm wearing a nighty. And it's so versatile. I can dress it up or down with tights, leggings, flats, boots or heels (esp. a cute pair of maryjane pumps). I can even wear a long sleeved tee under it (since it's been in the 20s & 30s here lately).

Kitchen Remodel

I am very excited to be able to post some photos of our new kitchen (finally). It's not completely finished, but it is now fully functional. We just got our new range and microwave yesterday. I have been without a stove/oven since August. I was so excited to have it back that I made sure to prepare every meal we ate today using our stove. Now I'm in the mood to bake. As you can see from the photos, we (by "we" I mean Tony) still need to install the microwave above the range, install the counter lighting, put on switch plates, and replace the window/trim & blinds. We love our cabinets. Our cabinet guy did a beautiful job. And I'm so glad that I was able to convince Tony to get granite counter tops. We both love them. Let me know what you think...

Halloween

Trick or treat (or as Gavin says, "Boo boo beet!")!

Gavin's Halloween Costume

Yesterday we went to a 2 year olds birthday/costume party. I was able to snap a few photos of Gavin playing in their yard in his green dragon costume. It was a big hit and Gavin seemed to enjoy wearing it. His costume should get lots of wear this year because he will be wearing it to his preschool Halloween party on Wednesday morning, as well as for a little trick or treating Halloween night.

A Must Read!

So I kept hearing about this incredible book series by Stephanie Meyer. I mean I've been hearing about how great it is from everyone (friends, family, coworkers). The books are about vampires and that kind of turned me off. It wasn't until my book club decided to read the first book, Twilight, for one of our meetings that I decided I needed to find out what all the fuss was about. It was incredible. There was so much suspense and anticipation that I literally could not put it down. Above all else, it is an beautiful love story. I would highly recommend it. In fact, I finished Twilight today and immediately called the local library to see if the 2nd book, New Moon, was in. The librarian chuckled and informed me that there are 91 people on the waiting list. I can't wait that long. I'm going to B & N today to buy it.

Pumpkin Patch

Here are a couple of pictures from a wonderful little trip Gavin and I took to a nearby pumpkin patch. It was a beautiful, cool fall day. I just love autumn.

New Do

It's Fall and I was in the mood for a hairstyle change. My hair was pretty long and I was getting kind of bored with it. I've been thinking about getting a longer version of the bob (by longer, I mean to the shoulders), but I got cold feet and decided to have my stylist cut my hair an inch or 2 below my shoulders. He ended up cutting off 4-5 inches. It's fun to have a change, but I'm thinking I should have either gone longer or shorter because it's kind of in that in between stage and I don't really like how it flips up (whether I want it to or not). However, the big benefit is that it feels really thick and healthy. So, what do you think? Do you prefer my hair longer or shorter? And should I cut another 1-2 inches so that it is just above my shoulders? And, yes, I did take this photo of myself... cheesy, huh.

Gavin Pic of the Week

Best Slippers Ever!

I recently purchased these Dearfoams Microfiber Terry Ballerina slippers. They are so adorable and comfortable. Plus, they are machine washable. You can buy them online at http://www.dearfoams.com/detail.aspx?ID=76 for $18. They'd make a great Christmas gift for a friend too.

Fun New Line of Beauty Products

Soap & Glory is a cool new line of beauty products from the founder of Bliss. The packaging really appealed to me. It's inspired by 1950s advertising and the products have really fun names like Calm One Calm All skin softening bubble bath, Great Shakes hand cream, and Sexy Mother Pucker lip-plumping gloss. Everything is under $10 and you can buy them at Target. I puchased the 3 items above. I really like the hand cream. It has a nice, subtle scent and it's nongreasy. I also tried out the lip plumping gloss and loved it! The color is beautiful and universal so that it should look great on lots of different skin types. For an added bonus it tastes like chocolate. Like many lip plumpers, it tingles when you put it on (even burns a little). But I really didn't mind because it made me feel like it was working. I've yet to try out the bubble bath... perhaps tonight.

Getting Dirty

Who new playing in the dirt could be so fun.

Sprinkles Cupcakes

I recently discovered a little piece of heaven on earth in the form of a cupcake. If you haven't heard of Sprinkles Cupcakes before I'm sure I won't be the only person you hear about it from; especially if you're lucky enough to live in one of the four cities where they have a bakery. Cyndi, June... listen up. Sprinkles has been getting a lot of press lately from celebrities, Oprah, The Today Show, etc. Last month while visiting my family in Ventura, California, my sister brought home a dozen of these incredible little cakes. I tried several different kinds (strawberry, milk chocolate, dark chocolate, pumpkin, and red velvet) and it was very hard to choose a favorite. There are 4 bakery locations so far: Beverly Hills, Newport Beach, Dallas and Phoenix (and more to come). Apparently they always have a line out the door. If you're smart you'll order in advance online http://www.sprinklescupcakes.com/ and curtail the line. They are $3.25 each (and worth every penny) or $36 for a dozen. I wonder if they can be shipped to Utah... No, I'm not that desperate.