Weekend Wrap Up

We had a full, quick weekend. 

Saturday, Hubby took down Christmas lights.

Belle had a friend over for a playdate.

Peanut & I made scrumptious chocolate chip cookies.

And we all headed over the YiaYia Terry and Papou Yiannis' house to celebrate the New Year once again with another Vasilopita cutting. I'm delighted to report that the B family (along with YiaYia, Bopi, Theo N & Thea L…we we're all lumped together) won another coin this year.

After a marathon church service on Sunday for Epiphany, we crafted play-doh

Perused the aisles at Target & returned home to make a simple and satisfying broccoli cheddar soup.

This recipe comes from Hubby's late Godfather/ Uncle who was a fantastic cook & wine enthusiast. 

Simply bring chicken stock to a boil. Then add potatoes and broccoli.

Boil those puppies for a good 20 minutes until fork tender.

Puree with your immersion blender (or regular blender).

Stir in shredded cheddar cheese. Top with cheese & dash of salt if desired…absolutely divine on a cold January night.

 For Sunday dinner I paired the soup with hot turkey & swiss melts…needless to say plates were empty and bellies full.

Unfortunately this weekend brought sad news,  my Grandma (Gma as we affectionately refer to her) had to have emergency hip surgery. She is in the hospital now & has a long recovery in front of her. As she approaches the beautiful age of 94, such a task is quite arduous. Please keep her in your prayers.

Here she is with Bopi & Bear at the F family's annual reunion. Sending lots of love your way Gma xoxo

Kiddies are back to school tomorrow and to be honest, I'm quite sad about it. Night everyone.

DIY by Default in 2013

PhotoSource

I am not one who enjoys DIY projects. They sound romantic, but unlike a classic love story the deeper you get the more disastrous DIY becomes. Things look easier, simpler, and quicker than they really are. Hours roll into days and then weeks (or months in some cases). And there is this strange DIY phenomenon, the chaos of a project in one room spreads to the rest of the house… the mess permutes until it has touch every room in the home. It is an ugly truth.

So then why DIY you ask? For starters, Hubby & I have 3 beautiful blessings who manage to occupy not only every waking hour, but also every spare cent. Between ballet, swimming, piano, gymnastics, greek lessons, and montessori pre-k the home decor budget is empty.  Couple that bare bones budget with an innate desire to recreate and re-purpose our family home & you've got the makings of a DIY Diva (minus quite a bit of know how or talent--yikes). So roll up your sleeves ladies & gentlemen it is going to be a messy 2013. Get ready for loads of paint, my first attempt at sewing since middle school, some heavy duty re-purposing and even some furniture building. I'll be back tomorrow with a run down of our 2013 project goals. (See goals here.)

Preschool Happy Hour

Winter is upon us. Even though we haven't much snow to speak of, it is cold! So if it isn't the necessary trek out to school, classes (Lord, do we have way too many of those), or shopping (Target anyone?) I'll happily remain held up inside the house until May. So to keep ourselves entertained, we've had loads of fun with a roll of painter's tape.

I taped out a grid on the kitchen floor and with a sharpie wrote the numbers 0-21 (they were not in linear order). Peanut then took his favorite buldozer and followed the road moving in numerical order. Sometimes he confuses numbers (21 vs. 12) so saying the number out loud while driving over them helps to make the abstract name concrete. (FYI-I did not come up with this idea…say it on pinterest I believe…sorry I don't have the original link).

When we were done driving, we added buildings to our street. We worked together to build landmarks around our neighborhood like Peanut's school, Starbucks (yes that is a landmark in this house), the library & Grandparents' homes. We worked on grasping the concept of distance & direction by making sure YiaYia and Bopi's house was further from our house than his school & one was south while the other north.

Eventually all good things get crushed. Caught ya huh? Thought I was going to say, "come to an end". Well they do, but in a house with a preschool boy that end is in the form of crushing/ plowing/ smashing. So we spend the remained of our playtime building & destroying.

Anyone else have some creative ways to disguise learning through play? We've got several more months of indoor captivity so please share your secrets. And if it involves crushing, smashing, or plowing all the better! We are enjoying the last few days of winter break…sad to see it end!

Linked up to Tatertots & Jello

New Year's Day

New Year's Day was full of family fun & a bit of stress, but the later sort of comes with the territory. Three little party animals who rang in the new year aren't always on their best behavior the next day. Eventually (after the bubbly was flowing again--lol), we settled back into our routine & enjoyed an easy going day watching football & hanging with family. Thank you to YiaYia, Bopi, Theo N & YiaYia Terry who graciously dined with us under less than ideal circumstances …. let's hope the whole year doesn't stay that way:)

Vasilopita is a sweet bread traditionally made for New Year's Day. You place a coin in the dough before baking & when cut, the person who's piece contains the coin is believed to have good luck for the year. Sweet lil Peanut won the first coin of the day.

We gathered in the dining room for a New Year's lunch & second cutting of a Vasilopita. YiaYia was the winner this round.

Our niece is a New Year's baby, so we spent a few hours celebrating her big 4th and then returned home to cheer on Hubby's alma mater in the Orange Bowl. Snuggling up with the fire blazing and Christmas lights twinkling was the perfect way to end the Holiday season. Happy New Year Everyone!

Farewell 2012

The day was full of hustle and bustle as we bid 2012 farewell and ushered in 2013. We began the day with Peanut's request of waffles and whipped cream…a sweet way to end the year.

Then Belle and I were off for mani/pedis.

Afterward squeeze in a trip to the eye doctor, re-maked our vasolipita & took naps before glamming ourselves up for a night on the town.

Finally the celebration commenced at a local hibachi restaurant, which did a great job of entertaining and corralling all 7 of our tiny dinners.

The party then moved to Bestie B's house where we noshed on delish desserts prepared by Bestie H (which shame on me I didn't photograph) , followed by an assortment of delightful beverages. The champagne jello shots were a bit tart, but were a nice paring with the desserts and went down even easier as the night went on.

Finally we rang in the New Year!

Hope you had a safe & festive NYE!
Happy 2013!!!

Quick 'n Easy New Year's Decor

This banner hangs over the china cabinet in the dining room.

I wanted to share our simple, easy New Year's decorations for those of you who might be looking for last minute inspiration. Almost everything I used I had on hand or quickly printed off on the computer.

On the kitchen table I filled glass pedestal cloches with gold & silver raffia purchased at the Dollar store. I then printed out the year 2013 on a sheet of paper, cut out each individual number and placed it on top of the raffia. It is an easy festive touch.

After I got the kiddos to bed, I came back and trimmed the excess raffia/ tinsel that was hanging out the sides of the domes….much better.

The dining room is ready for our New Year's lunch (read more here). It is going to be a tight squeeze as the table fits 8 comfortably & we will be a party of 10. I am making an effort to use the dining room as much as possible in hopes of convincing Hubby that we need a new dining table (I dream of a set that can sit at least 12). Over a cream & gold lattice tablecloth, I layered my china, monogrammed salad plates (for our Vasilopita cutting), white napkins, silver & crystal. Topped off with a champagne station and white roses, the room is sparkling & fresh….the perfect way to begin a new year.

The tray in the center will hold our Vasilopita.

While setting the table, I resolved to use my china, crystal & silver more often.
Looking at a it arranged on the table brings me so much joy.

This place setting is for Peanut…the shot glass will double as his mini champagne flute.

Champagne station: white roses are my favorite.

Champagne jello shots are chilling in the fridge, I need to pick up around here & then I'm off to bed. Tomorrow is going to be one jam packed day…can't believe it is the end of 2012!!

Linking up to: Jennifer Rizzo and Its Overflowing