Outfit: Friday Night in PDX

After a long week of work and a quick recovery from a nasty cold, I am certainly ready for a cocktail and some yummy food with friends! Regardless of my excitement for the night ahead I always seem to run into the same problem when picking an outfit. How can I look cute, fashionable, and also comfortable outside? Living in Portland, you quickly find out that a dress is only as cute as it is appropriate for the outing. Although I would love to wear a mini skirt and heels... my legs haven't seen the light of sun since september and honestly, I would prefer not to blind anyone.

My answer is: layer. Skip the skirt and find some festive pants. A long-sleeve blouse with some fun jewelry and a cute jacket is both playful and warm. 

Jeans: Anthropologie (Similar)

Jacket: Levi's

Blouse: Forever 21

Boots: Nordstroms (Similar)

Purse: Vintage Coach

Food: Lamb Stew

While most families fight over the last decadent cupcake or buttery roll, our family has a tendency to fight over vegtables. To make everyone happy and to curb our cravings we make big stews with a high veggie ratio. One of our favorites: Lamb stew!

Ingredients: 

• 1 sweet onion
• 6 cloves of garlic
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 4 lamb kebabs preferably seasoned with rosemary and garlic. 
• 4 yellow potatoes
• 28 oz crushed tomatoes 
• 4 cups vegetable broth
• 4 carrots chopped
• 4 stocks of celery chopped with tops for flavor
• any other additional vegetables, we added broccoli, zucchini,  and squash 
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp pepper
• 1 tsp thyme
• 1 tsp oregano
• 1 tsp rosemary 
• 1 10 oz box of couscous 

Directions:

• Heat olive oil in a pot over medium heat until heated.  Add chopped onions and garlic, cook for about 3 minutes until they starts to brown. Add lamb and saute until it browns. 
• Add carrots and celery cook for about 5 minutes until they have softened. Then add any additional vegetables and potatoes. 
• Stir in crushed tomatoes and 4 cups broth. Bring to a simmer, covered for 30 minutes. 
• Add spices to taste and serve over couscous.

Ellie & Maddie 

Outfit: Weekend Orange

This past weekend we went on a family outing to the Keller Auditorium to see, The Book of Mormon. The play was funny, but part of the excitement of the day was getting dressed up and spending some extra time together as a family. Inadvertently, we both ended up wearing orange! Ellie is headed back to school on Monday and this is the end of Maddie's birthday weekend, so it was nice to have a final celebration before it is back to reality.

Maddie's Outfit:

Dress: Forever 21 (Similar)

Boots:Nordstroms

Necklace: Free People

Coat: Prana

Ellie's Outfit: 

Skirt: Mod Cloth

Top: Banana Republic (Similar)

Boots: Clark's (Similar) 

Coat: Nordstroms (Similar) 

Do you have favorite family outings? We have really enjoyed going to a few musicals this past year. 

Ellie & Maddie

Happy Birthday Maddie!!

This weekend was Maddie's birthday and we had lots of opportunities to dress up! It was great to hang out with the family and friends and celebrate another great year of Maddie's life! On friday night we went to a delicious dinner at Laurelhurst Market and then had a little surprise party. Saturday we went to the Dragon Tree Spa and got massages and facials!

Ellie & Maddie 

Food: Peanut Butter and Chocolate

In my house, there is nothing more important than peanut butter and chocolate. Every weekend, Jay and I indulge in a special dessert. We only eat dessert on the weekends, as a way to curb our sugar consumption, so the dessert we choose is paramount. This week I read Jay a list of cookie recipes from my new cook book, Smitten Kitchen, and he obviously chose the cookies with peanut butter and chocolate!

The cookbook is so easy to follow and Smitten Kitchen's recipes are delicious. The most challenging part of this recipe was forming the dough into rolls to chill. The dough was fairly dry and it did not stick together easily. Otherwise everything went smoothly.

What are your favorite dessert recipes? Any great recipes with peanut butter and chocolate? We are always eager to try new ones.

Ellie

Craft: Slouchy Star Hat

To get back to Portland from Northern Idaho, we had to drive nine hours in the car! Sounds pretty painful but actually wasn't too bad. My husband drove the whole way, he rocks, and my sister, mom and I road along and knitted! It was fun. We all are working on new and exciting projects. I found my hat pattern on Ravelry, and thought it was stylish and wouldn't be too challenging to knit.

In Idaho, I was lucky enough to catch up with a good friend from college, Taylor. She is an excellent knitter, and a great friend, check out these baby hats she knit.  Taylor taught me a knitting stitch which is used on my hat. It is a simple and clean way of casting on, which works great for a hat where the edge is very visible. I also used a new method for making a new stitch called M1.

What craft projects have your completed in the new year? Have you tried anything new?

Ellie

Fitness: New Years Goals

Happy New Year! This year is starting off with lots of great beginnings. We have our blog off the ground, Maddie has entered the post-college world, and we are all in great health.

It's time to set some realistic goals to keep the momentum up! Our goal for this year is to challenge ourselves to try new things. Here are some of our goals:

What are some of your goals for the year?