Friday, June 5, 2009

Summer Nights

The weather has truly been amazing! Not too hot. Not too cool. Just enough wind. Yum! Speaking of YUM…this is a must try summer recipe…

Steak Tostadas with Avacados, Tomatoes, and Olives

1 ½ lbs beef flank steak
2 tbsp olive oil, divided
2 tbsp Crushed Peppercorn & Garlic Rub
2 medium avocados
1 cup grape tomatoes
1 cup pitted kalamata olives
1 lemon
¼ cup chopped fresh parsley
¼ tsp salt
12 tostadas
¾ cup cotija cheese, crumbled

  1. Heat Grill Pan over med-high heat 5 min. Brush both sides of steak with 1 tbsp of oil and sprinkle with rub. Place steak into pan; top with Grill Press. Cook 4 min. Turn; top with press. Reduce heat to med.;cook an additional 4-6 min. Remove from pan. Let stand 5 min.
  2. Meanwhile, peel and dice avocados. Cut tomatoes in half and coarsely chop olives. Zest lemon to measure 1 tsp. Juice lemon to measure 1 tbsp juice. Combine avocados, tomatoes, olives, zest, juice, parsley, salt and remaining oil; mix well.
  3. Thinly slice steak diagnally against the grain. Cut slices into 1-inch pieces. Divide among tostadas; top with avocado mixture and cheese.

Serves 6

My take-I used lime juice and zest because I didn’t have a lemon. I used roma tomatoes. We left out cheese and olives (David hates olives). We also used tortillas because I didn’t have tostadas. And last, if you don’t have the rub you can press 3 cloves of garlic, 1tsp salt and 1 tsp pepper instead. YUMMY!!! Super easy, but fresh, fantastic taste in your mouth.

Here is a pic of our oh so short bicycle lessons.

Good bedtime books from the library-Charlie and Lola :)

Then morning comes and today she is off for a a fun day of Sprinklers and Splashing at school.

Thursday, June 4, 2009

Welcome To My Dressing Room

So, David (and Averi, of course) bought me a super cute dress for Mother’s Day, but it was a bit too big. By the time I took it back, they were all clearanced and did not have a smaller size. I was going to buy gym shorts instead (good intentions I have), but David really wanted me to have a new dress. So knowing me, I must try on every dress in town to make sure I get the right one at the right price. And on these journeys, here are a few thoughts from my precious little girl!

Dressing Room 1:

Averi- “Mom you have a baby in your tummy.”

Me- “No, Averi, I don’t. Why would you say something like that?”

Averi- “Because it’s big, mom.”

I knew I should have gone with the gym shorts instead of a dress! She’s so sweet, isn’t she?

Dressing Room 2:

Setting: We are in one of the front dressing rooms so the staff is right outside, 3 of them to be exact.

Averi- “Mom, why did you take your panties off?

Me- “Averi, I didn’t take my panties off. That’s not funny.”

Averi- “Yes you did mom. Why did you take your panties off?”

Me- “Averi Love, I am wearing my panties.”

Averi- “No you aren’t mommy. Why did you take them off?”

Clearly I look like I have totally taken off ALL of my clothing and am trying to cover up the fact that my sweet little girl is announcing it to the entire dressing room when in fact I NEVER took my panties off!!! She’s so funny, right!

The replacement dress...awful pictures, but they really are cute!

It's eggplant, empire waist and full length. Love it!


Perfect green, strapless and knee length!
I guess I'm ready for a summer night out now!:)

Wednesday, June 3, 2009

And the winner is...

This is for all 4 of my voters! Yes, that comment is to the millions of other blog readers I have that did not vote!

Well, I was torn, and I waited hoping the the votes would pour in and the decision would be clear. And this is how the votes fell…

Bag 1-3
Bag 2-2
Bag 3-1
Bag 4-0
Bag 5-1
Bag 6-0
Added Later
Bag 7-0
Bag 8-1
And I went with the winner.

Bag 1 is on its way to being mine! Oh I hope the delivery man comes soon! I can’t wait!

Bags 2 and 4 sold. All bags except the added ones were from Etsy. They were from Ebay. And Shelli did send me a few pics to consider too. Etsy is a great place to find vintage stuff. BUT since I really wanted to pay like $4 for a bag like I found at the garage sale, I have been frequenting thrift shops and garage sales. It is fun! And a bit addicting, so if I start posting finds like crazy, please tell me to STOP! This is one of my favorite finds…

A great addition to brighten the kitchen and add a bit of COLOR!

I have some new projects I am working on with some other finds. Can’t wait to show them to you soon!