Pictures from the weekend - Tour de Atlanta

This past weekend we celebrated our little man's 5th birthday... In the month of August our little family of 4 celebrates 3 birthdays, it's brutal... By the time we get to M's birthday we are so tired he always gets the short end of the stick. To celebrate his birthday we decided to make it fun and do a family outing to certain places we have yet to visit here in the ATL.

We started our day at the Georgia Aquarium:

At 12:30 exactly we made it to the Centennial Olympic Park to see the water spectacle... It was hot, so we let the kids run around in the fountain for a bit

After we cooled off a little we got in the car and headed to The Varsity for lunch. This place is not for those looking for a healthful meal. But it is an Atlanta Institution... A must visit for sure...

With our bellies full we headed home. Our neighbors come over to sing happy birthday, eat cake and ice cream, and of course open presents...

A happy, happy weekend indeed. Happy birthday sweet boy! We love you very much!

Letters

Inspired by an exibition in MoMA.

Did I mention we almost got kicked out of MoMA? Oh yeah! That was us... That's what you get when you bring a rowdy 4-year-old to a museum... Don't ask ...

For all of you out there with sweet babies... Just wait... You'll be there too...

Hair pins

Cute right?... And so easy to make. Here is a tutorial for you to follow and make your very own rosette with scrap fabric.

I made a few more and I have a couple more in the works... Making pretty things for little girls can be addictive sometimes...

Menu for the week

Black bean soup/Salad
Steaks wrapped in bacon/Caprese salad/Wild rice
Pasta Jambalaya/Salad
Steak and vegetable fajitas/Gallo Pinto

Breakdown:

Aldi $19
Kroger $31
Costco $19

Still very much summer around these parts. We are looking forward to a backyard soiree for a dear friend on Saturday, and on Sunday: a visit to the Aquarium, a walk in the park, a stop at a very famous local eatery and that is just the start of a very sweet boy 5th birthday celebration. We'll finish up at home with a few of the neighbors, cake and ice cream... A very busy but fun weekend ahead...

Have a good one...

More Hallgrímskirkja

Want a little tour of Hallgrímskirkja? Yes? OK, here we go...

Hallgrímskirkja was designed it to resemble the basalt lava flows of Iceland's landscape.

The kids played a little outside

The statue of explorer Leif Eriksson

The inside is very simple, yet beautiful

And a magnificient views from the top

Facts about Hallgrimskirkja:

1. The church is named after the Icelandic poet and clergyman Hallgrímur Pétursson.
2. Hallgrímskirkja means "Church of Hallgrímur".
3. It is the largest church and the sixth tallest architectural structure in Iceland.
4. It took 38 years to build it.

See other pictures of Hallgrímskirkja here.

Little Chef Party - The Aprons

For Miss V's Little Chef Party I made each of the girls a kid sized apron that they got to take home.

To make it easy on me I used a dishtowel (I bought mine in Target but you can find really cheap ones in Ikea) and follow this simple tutorial

Aren't they so cute?

With the apron I gave each of the girls a stack of recipe cards (including my recipe for a very simple pizza dough) so they can start writing their very own recipes.

Get the instructions how to make this very easy kid apron from here

Pictures from the weekend

Many thanks to all that made it to our little neighborhood fundraiser "Punch the Junk out of Cancer". It was an incredible afternoon of fun, food, mingling and of course punching (to the husband's gut...Ouch). I am happy to report the husband made it unharmed and very proud to have participated...

Here are some pictures from the event:

The afternoon started with a karate demonstration from the husband's Dojo. Here are the two V's doing their thing.

Everybody was paying close attention to it...

Then the punches starting pouring in...  

1,000 punches to the husband... He took them like a champ.

We received donations of items to raffle (Many thanks to our neighbor Barb for making beautiful key chains and to Sonic, Atlanta Fitness and Barkers Red Hots for all the donations received)

Also many thanks to Costco, Kroger and Shanes Rib Shack for donating all the meals... We love our local establishments!...

Many happy faces in attendance. Despite the heat, everybody had a good time...

Thanks friends for coming... We could not have done it without your support...

Hi Matt!

Is it me or the husband is looking more and more like Matt Damon?

My studly husband did so well this weekend on the "Punch the junk out of Cancer fundraiser" that even Matt Damon will be jealous... Pictures tomorrow!

Menu for the week

Thai vegetable soup/Salad
Butternut squash soup/Croutons/Salad
Roasted chicken breast with sundried tomatos, basil and goat cheese/Rice/Salad
Baked ziti with sausage, spinach and tomatoes - recipe from here/Salad

Breakdown:
Aldi $32
Kroger $10
Costco $7

It's party time friends... The long awaited "Punch the Junk out of Cancer" is this weekend! We are so looking forward to hanging out with friends, eating some burgers and raising some money for a great cause...

See you all on Monday!

Blueberry syrup and other blueberry goodies

With the 10 Lbs of blueberries we picked a couple of weeks ago, I have made the following:

Blueberry syrup

Ingredients:

4 cups fresh blueberries
1 cup honey
¼ cup flour
1 cup water
Lemon juice to taste

Directions:

1. In a saucepan, combine blueberries, honey, and enough water to just cover the berries. Bring berries to a boil and cook for 5 minutes.

2. In a bowl, mix flour and 1 c. water until smooth. Stir mixture into hot berries and cook until thickened.
Add a little lemon juice and serve either hot or cold over homemade whole wheat pancakes...

Ah, and if you want to indulge on something delicious...

In a blender add a couple of scoops of vanilla ice cream, some fresh blueberries and a splash of milk. Blend well for the most delicious blueberry milkshake...

The rest of the blueberries have been frozen to be used later for some other delicious desserts.

Loneliness

Lonely little churches in the middle of nowhere...

I can't help but wonder about the people that attend the services, in the endless darkness of the harsh winter, wearing their sunday best...

The breakfast project

Bagel with herb cream cheese and tomatoes... So simple

Mix cream cheese with chopped fresh herbs (I used parsley, basil and chives). Season with salt and pepper. Spread over a lightly toasted bagel and add a slice of tomato...

Pictures from the weekend

Hi friends! This weekend we celebrated Miss V's 8th birthday with a Little Chef Party. Here are some pictures from it:


The girls got to make they very own pizzas

After a delicious lunch the girls sang Happy Birthday

and got to make they very own ice cream sundaes

A fun day for sure

Happy, Happy Birthday Miss V

Menu for the week

Risotto Primavera/Salad
Pasta with spinach/lemon pesto and grilled chicken - Pesto recipe from here/Bruschettas
White bean chicken chilli/salad
Homemade Pizzas with all kinds of toppings/cookies/ice cream and cake

Breakdown:

Aldi $23
Kroger $30
Costco $13

This weekend we will be celebrating Miss V's birthday with a pizza party with 4 of her besties at home... Some giggles and messiness are ensured. A lot of prepping will be required to maximize the fun... I'll have all the pictures next week so make sure you come back for that...

On an unrelated subject...

This little blog of mine is my happy place where I like to share all the things we like to do, see, eat... I love my blog for that (and if in the process it gets somebody else inspired, even better). In these uncertain times we are all facing, it is hard to keep a positive outlook toward the future... But we are trying. It will get better, I am certain of it, we just need to hang tight...

There, I just needed to get that off my chest...

Have a happy weekend friends...

General Store

On our little outing to Social Circle, GA we walked into a 91 year old general store. A trip through time....