Find Your Happiness

The past couple of weeks (especially the weekends) have been quite full. But definitely one of the highlights is my husband running the Augusta Half Marathon yesterday. Unfortunately (fortunately, maybe?), Dean finished sooner than we anticipated so Nathaniel and I didn't see him at the finish line! Dean finished at the top half of his age group and 300-something out of 1100+ runners. I don't have the exact specifics but I hope to update this once he comes home from work today. And then we went to grab greasy, fattening burgers for lunch afterwards, which seems to be becoming a marathon tradition. When Dean ran the Big Sur International Marathon last May, we went to Phat Burger in Monterey, CA. I am not a burger fan but I could eat their Mushroom-Swiss burger every week.  The boys fighting over chocolate milk Linking up to:   Mellow Yellow Monday Smiling Sally: Blue Monday Communal Global: Tuesdays Around the World

We had a very lovely, low key Valentine's Day dinner at our house as a family. We ate a home-cooked meal, rented two Redbox movies, and enjoyed this very sweet dessert. Ever since I saw this cover recipe on Southern Living last September (but it is an older magazine), it has been on my mind and I knew I just had to make it. It's easy to make and I love that it incorporates real strawberries both inside the cake and with the icing. But like I said, this cake is sweet. Very sweet. I have sweet teeth and yet I still had to scrape off most of the strawberry buttercream. I love how the frosting turns into this lovely pink because of the fresh strawberries! Adapted from Southern Living Ingredients: Cake 1 (18.25 oz) package white cake mix 1 (3 oz) package strawberry-flavored gelatin mix 4 large eggs 1/2 cup white sugar 1/2 cup fresh strawberries, finely chopped 1/2 cup milk 1/2 cup vegetable oil 1/3 cup all purpose flour  Strawberry Buttercream 1 cup butter...

I found out about Tea Collection over the holidays and I have been in love with their clothing ever since. Their collection of boy clothes go beyond the typical boring plain shirts and pants. It is because for inspiration behind their collection, they travel to different destinations around the world. And they just released this season's collection. They went to Bali! I purchased the Modern Mexico inspired Holiday collection (3 tops, 2 pants) last December and Nathaniel receives plenty of compliments every time he wears Tea Collection. He loves the animals prints and the quality is superb. They have been worn and wash many, many times and yet they still look brand new. And as you can see from the following photos, he has no problem being his typical always-on-the-go self. They really are very comfortable! And Tea Collection is not only a children's clothing! They also have women's collection and I am personally drooling over this Batik Floral Top . So now on to the ...

My relationship with the military remains to be love-hate. For example, what are we doing living in Georgia when all the Super Bowl festivities are going on in our hometown? But then opportunities like last Saturday happens and I am so thankful we are a military family.   This past Saturday, I had the pleasure of meeting Hannah (at Life As Is ) and her adorable little boy in person. I have been following her blog for more than two years now and "witness" little Aiden grow up from when he was still in his mommy's tummy to now when he is about to turn two years old. We got together at a beautiful little town of Greensboro, GA where I also took Aiden's two year old pictures. He's a typical toddler where you have to run to keep up with him but we all know I have plenty of practice from my own little toddler. And with those be-a-uuuuu-ti-ful blue eyes? I'll gladly chase him all day. And Hannah is also as lovely as she seems in her blog. I forgot t...

I love that both my husband and our little two year old boy are adventurous in the kitchen because I am able to try recipes like this. It was so easy to prepare and we all enjoyed this Vietnamese dish. However, I will warn you that if you do not like oyster or fish sauce, you will not enjoy this recipe. It tasted very fishy. I marinated the beef overnight so maybe cutting it down to 1-2 hours may help lessen the fishy flavor. Adapted from SkinnyTaste.com Serves 4-6 Ingredients: Marinade 1 1/2 lbs beef top sirloin, cut into 1″ cubes 5 cloves crushed garlic 1 tbsp sugar 1 tbsp oyster sauce 1 tbsp fish sauce 1 tsp sesame oil 1 tsp soy sauce Dipping sauce juice of 1 lime 1/2 tsp salt 1/2 tsp pepper Directions: Combine garlic, oyster sauce, sugar, fish sauce, soy sauce and sesame oil with the beef. Marinate steak at least one hour or overnight for best results. Heat a large wok or large pan over high heat and when very hot add 1/2 tbsp oil. When ...

A few days ago, during our morning reading time, Nathaniel pointed to the crocodile and kept saying, "Bird!" I corrected him but he kept insisting it was a bird. Then he moved his tiny little finger and sure enough, he was right. Do not question this two year old's ability to name animals. He knows his animals. Do you see the bird? Linking up to: Smiling Sally: Blue Monday     Mellow Yellow Monday

Nathaniel is really fascinated with pirates right now. He likes to pretend he is one and can often be found in our house with one eye covered and chasing our dog while screaming, "Arrgh! I pi-yette!" To combine his new found interest with pirates and love for books, I borrowed plenty of pirate books at the library. If it is even possible, Nathaniel now enjoys bedtime story with his Dada even more. He is yelling "pi-yette" while reading one of the books. And yes, he is wearing Christmas pajamas :) He has outgrown most of his pajamas and this was on clearance. Why past a great deal, right? Also, you can see his "hurt" on his right wrist. He tripped while we were doing yard work this past weekend. And here he is during breakfast: He covered his eye with a spoon and said, "I pi-yette!" He is such a silly boy :) Linking up to: Supermon: Wordish Wednesday   The Paper Mama: Wordless{ish} Wednesday and then, she {snapped}: W...