Baked Tortellini

Ever think to yourself  "I would really love to have tortellini tonight, but gosh darn it all to heck, it doesn't have enough cheese in it"?

Don't act like you haven't.  

Well fear not, for I have the answer!

Ingredients:

• 20 oz. of tortellini, cheese-filled, cooked
• 15 oz. of Alfredo sauce
• 4 oz. of prosciutto, minced
• 8 oz. mozzarella cheese, shredded

Prepare the tortellini according to package directions and drain. Cut the Prosciutto into small ½” pieces. Spread ¼  cup of the Alfredo sauce evenly on the bottom of a 1” deep ceramic or Pyrex dish. 

In a large bowl, mix together the tortellini, Prosciutto and the remaining Alfredo sauce then place mixture into the 1” deep dish and spread evenly. 

Next, sprinkle mozzarella cheese over the top of the tortellini, making sure to cover all of the tortellini.  Bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until the sauce bubbles and cheese is melted. 

Take an extra cholesterol pill, 'cause your gonna need it. 

Always & Forever,

  ME

I Turned 30... and celebrated 368 days later.

Last year I wanted to celebrate my 30th birthday like a rock star-  tight pants, excessive booze, party bus and maybe a trashed hotel room.

Those plans were smashed when a month before I found out I was all kinds of pregnant.

So I decided I wanted a 30th birthday do-over.  However, I knew with my bestie getting married in July, and a bambino on my hip, I was not going to have the time or energy to plan any of this myself.  I turned to Shannon from Bottle Pop Party Company and asked her to plan everything from soup to nuts.  I believe my exact phrase was " I just want to show up and get drunk".

When it came to a theme I am pretty sure I gave her the most vague description of super girly with touches of pink and gold.  From that my friends, she spun perfection.

                           


To begin with, Shannon created an invitation



For the record 123 Bottle Pop Place is not my address, and don't act like you didn't think about Google Mapping that.  Nice try, stalkasaurus.

The food was set up in the kitchen.  Since it was an afternoon bash, we set up sandwiches and pasta salad.  These weren't just any sandwiches- oh no my friends.  We went highfalutin with smoked turkey and gouda, mozzarella and tomato and chicken salad on a croissant.  Because everyone knows everything tastes better on a croissant.

(most pictures taken from Shannigans)

                    



The desk in the kitchen was turned into a drink station with Sangria and pink lemonade



Yes, those are gold dots stamped on the bottles.  Seriously, this girl is into details.

Guests were welcomed to take home gold-stamp bags of pink salt water taffy.  Noms.

                                   

The rest of the party was held in our backyard.  Did you guys know I have a backyard?  I do.  It's huge and there is nothing out there but holes and lone tree.  But Shannon made it look awesome.

Pink lemonade cupcakes were set up outside on DIY cake stands with gold liners.

                                     

                                     

The weather was a perfect 80 degrees and not a cloud in the sky.  Two tents were set up for guests to sit and chat or dine alfresco.  The tables were covered with pink linens with Kate Spade sayings and a single pink carnation.

It's true, I am a fantastic dancer.

A photo booth with props was availible for everyone to take a second and act a little silly

Meg assists with taking someone picture

  

my nieces and nephew

me with my two besties, Jamie and Connie

Even my dad got in on the props



There were horse shoe pits for the adults



and toys outside for Hunter's future in-laws the kids



Around 5:00 pm the party started to fizzle out, and friends of ours who were not able to make it during the day showed up with more beer, hamburgers and fire crackers for round two.

When the sun went down, we busted out the fire pit the previous owners left behind.  We drank beer, and roasted marshmallows.

                     

It was the best birthday I could have ever asked for.

                     

From the bottom of my heart, I want to thank all of my friends and family who showed up to share this day with me.  A very special thanks to Shannon for all your hard work to make this day special for me.  There are no words to describe how much I appreciate all you did.

Always & Forever,
  ME

I Prefer Chicken or Turkey in a Kitchen

We did it.  

We finally painted the kitchen. 

To refresh your memory, it was the most insane lime green and brown, or Alpaca Brown and Gecko according to the paint cans left by the previous owners.  I don't know about you, but that's a whole lotta exotic animal running around in a kitchen.  

Paired with the grey tile floor, it made our very spacious kitchen feel small and cave-like.

Ever since we painted the living room, I have been eyeing up the kitchen, counting down the days till I could paint it.  Now that we had a beautiful soft color in the living room, it made the lime green seem that much worse to me.  I even asked JEGs if I could just slap on a coat of primer until we decided on a color.

He said no.  Ugh.  Whatever.

So my hate for the green festered.  Every time we were in Home Depot or Lowes I would beeline mosey by the paint section and pull samples. Originally I was leaning towards blues and greys, but then I thought 'what about yellow'?

When I was a kid, we had a yellow kitchen.  Ok, technically it was "Harvest Gold", but when you are 6, you don't know the difference between that and yellow.  Anyway, I always loved that yellow kitchen.  The kitchen in my parent's shore house is yellow, and I have painted my bedroom yellow.. twice.   It's such a cheerful, energizing color-- which is exactly what I wanted to feel when I came into this room;  happy, energetic and awake.

So, I went yellow.  Benjamin Moore's Weston Flax, to be exact:

(don't you love the pile of laundry in the mudroom and the dishes in the drying rack?  This is real life, people)

The room looks and feels bigger and yet cozier.  JEGs and I are toying with the idea of adding a backsplash behind the sink/stove area, but we haven't made a decision yet.

Originally, I was worried that the black shelves in the desk area would look too bumble bee-esque, but after it was all said and done, I think the darker color helps to ground the space.

I took this opportinity to rearrange the shelving area too.  I kept some of the original bins, but I also displayed some of my favorite things including my spray painted thrift store bird, JEGs $1 scale,  cake stands from our wedding registry, a sweet painting from my blog friend Bethany, and my sewing mason jar from Always Crafty.

I also finally picked up a filing system for our bills with this hanging letter holder from Target.  I also added some cork behind an IKEA from for a pin board to hold recipts, addresses, color swatches, or any other little thing that would have otherwise just been floating around the kitchen.

We also added hooks to hang our keys.   I wish I could say that this is a piece of  reclaimed wood from an old barn that I meticulously painted after finding it at a thrift store and it has so much meaning, blah blah blah pinterest.  Nope.  It is from Lowes.  But if this $7 set of hooks keeps me from going "WHERE THE EFFFFF ARE MY KEYS???" then boom.  I am happy.

It was really important to me that the living room and kitchen colors played off each other because you can see both rooms as soon as you walk through the front door.  I think they do quite nicely.



   To help with the cohesiveness, I brought in a fabric that had pops of both colors and used it for a roman shade



Although I feel like I just crossed off a huge task on my house to do list, I am not done with this kitchen.  Oh no no, there are so man more thing I want to do.  Like add even more storage.

That's right too-small-for-the-space-buffet.  Your days are numbered.



Always & Forever,
  ME

Hunter: 9 Months

This month's picture is a little different because we were on vacation.  More on that later.

Happy 9 months Bubbers!

Your collection of teeth is growing.  You have had your bottom two teeth for a couple months now, but your top two are starting to poke through as well!

You went on your first nature hike..

..and did your old man proud by picking up a cute chick in a hot car

I introduced you to new foods this month including broccoli, mango, zucchini and avacado. You aren't thrilled with the zucchini, but everything else you chow down on.

You are right on the cusp of so many things.  You haven't started crawling yet, but you can push yourself up from your belly into a sitting position.  You can also kind of feed yourself- as long as I hand the food to you. The 'pincher grip' hasn't quite come to you yet.


 We took you to your first trip to the beach in preparation for our upcoming vacation to OBX.  I was worried how you were going to do in the car, but youslept most of the ride.  When you did wake up, you didn't cry or fuss.  We heard you softly babbling, so we used a cellphone to see if you were indeed awake.

You were totally cool.

We walked up to the beach and you seemed a little hesitant about the waves

so we decided to the bay beach instead, and you friggin LOVED it.  We set you up in a float with a toy and you were happier then a pig in poop.

You also discovered sand...

what is this stuff?

..it feels weird..

..and it sticks to my hand!

 You seemed a little skeptical about it at first, but by the time we left, you were practically covered in the stuff

During our trip to the shore, Hunter woke up screaming in the middle of the night.  We thought he might be hungry, but he wouldn't take a bottle or the breast.  He wouldn't chew on a teething ring either, so we had no idea what was wrong.  After over an hour of trying to calm him down, he finally went back to sleep.  The next day he was a little fussier then normal, so I decided to call the pediatrician just in case.  Two hours later I was getting the diagnosis that he had an ear infection.  My poor baby!  We got him a prescription of antibiotics and within the week it was all cleared up.

Little dude, you continue to be the sweetest, most amazing thing in our lives.  We love you so much.

Always & forever,
   Mommy.

Color My World: Toast the Couple

My nails are a damn mess.  

I let them grow too long and a bunch broke.  So I decided to just start over by cutting them down.  But I cut them too short and I didn't want to bring attention to my man-like hands.

Clearly the logical answer would have been not to wear nail polish, but let's be honest, that's not going to happen.  I have an image to uphold.  

I found the perfect don't-look-at-me color while they regrow in Orly's Toast the Couple.  It's a nude color without being too sheer 

...and what better way to divert attention from my nails then to take a picture and post it on the internet.  Good plan Lizzie, good plan.

I was a bridesmaid in a wedding over the weekend, and since my nails were too short for a french manicure, this was the perfect stand in for both my fingers and my toes.  I was able to truly 'toast the couple' with style!

Always & Forever,
  ME

It's Conniepalooza!

My best friend is getting married.  Tomorrow.  

This is epic news because Connie has said she never wanted to get married.  Then, in December, she and her boyfriend of 12 years, Joey, announced their engagement.  She asked me to be a bridesmaid, and of course I accepted.  After all, she was my maid of honor.

Two of the other bridesmaids, Erin and Jamie and I got started planning her bridal shower.  After much searching (and fighting with the owner), we got a fantastic deal at the Brick Hotel in Newtown, PA.

 (before I continue, I need to mention that I forgot my camera.  All of the bridal shower pictures are 100% stolen from Jamie's facebook page)

When it came time to plan the details, I knew I wanted to make things pretty:  soft peaches, pinks and yellows.  I figured if I could make this look like a Pinterest board, pin-happy Connie would be pleased.

Our dear friend, Erin, flew in from Atlanta and helped us with the plans

For favors, we went with cake pops.  Everyone loves an edible favor, and they looked like fun to make.  And believe me, after killing three bottles of moscato between the three of us, they were a lot of fun to make.

Beside the favors we had a scrap booking area.  Connie loves to scrap book, so we felt it was appropriate for everyone to write down a memory of Connie or Joe.  We provided stickers, markers and other crafty accessories

We played three games:  The first was a simple game of as the guest arrived, we had the write down their birthdays and wedding anniversaries.  The guests with the date closest to Connie's birthday, Joey's birthday and their impending wedding date one a prize.  The second game was a He Said/She Said that I blatantly stole from here.  The top two guest with the most correct answers got prizes.  The third game everyone was given a clothes pin, and if you said the word "wedding" "groom" or "bride", some was allowed to steal your clothes pin.  The final prize was awarded to Erin's mom, who was mighty cut throat with this game.

In an attempt to save money, I ransacked my mason jar collection and made two different prizes.  The jars marked "Love Yourself" included miniature hand lotions, body sprays, nail file, nail polish and cozy socks.  The "Grow Love" jars had gardening gloves, a packet of flower seeds and some top soil to start.

Our centerpieces were smaller mason jars wrapped in twine filled with fresh cut flowers.  A game card was set at each chair, along with pencils in a baby food jar wrapped in twine.

Joe's family celebrates with cocktails

the excited bride enters

 All in all the shower was a great success and Connie was  showered with lovely gifts and wonderful company

 ...and Jamie and I celebrated that we pulled the whole thing off.   

For the bachelorette party, I hosted a small cocktail party before we headed out to Woody's in Philadelphia.

damn the fuzzy picture!

 Went with a theme of fabulousity by pairing turquoise and gold.  I set out a light fare of roasted red pepper hummus, bake brie and chicken bites with a merlot ranch dipping sauce.

 I set up a martini bar with all the fixings and included the recipes for three popular martinis:  dirty, cosmo and apple martini.

 Among our group of friends, we don't really do all the bachelorette paraphernalia;  no lighted penis earrings, or shot glasses, or t shirts with check lists.  We do, however, require a penis cake.

 Everyone mingled and got to know each other for about an hour or so, and then Connie preformed the penis cake bris

Not gonna lie, that was damn good cake.  Funfetti for the win.

The rest of the night was filled with  drunken debauchery.  There are pictures floating around, but I don't need the world to see.  Just know that there was dancing, vodka and a very sexy shot guy I kept calling Clark Kent walking around in his skivvies.  It was a good night.


So here we are Ms. Chung, it's the night before you wedding.  A day that I never thought I would see, and I am still getting used to the fact it is happening.  I am so excited for tomorrow to see all your planning come to fruition.

Many happy years to you and Joey,

xoxo
  Amerbutt.