I cannot believe it, but my little girl, Elia, is two years old! It's insane how quickly the time has gone. I remember planning her first birthday party last year and couldn't believe how big she was then. Looking at her now, it honestly feels like a lifetime ago. Elia's first birthday was tough because I had NO idea what she liked. I took an educated guess (aka I picked what I loved) and had a magical unicorn theme. This year though, my little toddler has thoughts, ideas, dreams and ... [ Read More ]
Archives for July 2018
My Family’s 5 BBQ MUST Haves Dishes
One thing I love about the summertime is a good ol' BBQ. There's honestly nothing I love more than hanging out with my family on my deck, cooking/grilling up amazing food and soaking in that summer sun. I have so many fun memories doing this with my family and I love continuing these traditions into my life as a Mom. Since my parents bought a condo in Chicago recently, I thought it would be fun to have a BBQ and ask them (and my sister) to bring their favorite nostalgic BBQ food. Basically, ... [ Read More ]
5 Reasons You NEED to Host a Pampered Chef Party
Everything changes when you have a kid. I braced myself for the body changes, the house changes, and the relationship changes, but I've also fancied myself a good multi-tasker and kind of figured that balancing social life with motherhood would just mean bringing Elia with me or finding a sitter. Oh how wrong I was. When you have a child, all your priorities shift and what you enjoy doing changes. Now in days, I find myself in the kitchen more cooking for my family or sprawled out on the ... [ Read More ]
Sticky Mandarin Orange Meatballs
I love takeout Chinese food. My hips unfortunately do not. Because of this, I'm always trying to recreate my favorite naughty, to-go foods at home for a less guilt and less gut. One of my favorites to make at home is orange chicken. I can use all the freshest ingredients and avoid overly processed nonsense without sacrificing any of the flavor. it always turns out delicious. Since I love my homemade orange sauce so much, I decided to throw it over some meatballs and the result was even ... [ Read More ]