Home Touches

I thought you'd like some show and tell. So, today I snapped a couple of "home touches" around here that I love. These are just some of the things that I think my our house "our home"....making this bigger house feel warmer like our first home. ;)

Family portraits. I miss my beautiful Tita more everyday. There she is holding my incredible papi.

I chose this color for my dining room and it definitely makes this huge empty room feel warmer. It's "Spud" by Martha Stewart. I love it and the crown moulding. We are still working on the furniture. One thing at a time....

Mr.'s pepper plant. He thought it was cool and the more I water it, the more I think so, too!

Mr. has his pepper plant and I have my cactus. I'm so intrigued by these. I guess we have exotic taste in plants.

I love, love my glass door. And you know how much I love sunflowers. Perfect combo.

My beautiful best friend, Janelle, gifted this for me as a housewarming present. It goes with my decor perfectly. She knows me well!

I snagged this fabulous Martha Stewart round rug at Home Goods at an excellent price. It lays in our half bath downstairs. I can't tell you how obsessed I am with rugs. But I think I can pick them out good.

We also painted the coffered ceiling in the family to give the house a warmer feel. I think we picked a great color. It's not as dark as "Spud", but it is still in the family. This one is "Coffee" that we got at Lowes.

Finally, here is mother of rugs in our home. I couldn't resist this rug when I saw it at Target. It just suited our new wood floors nicely and it matches our love seat pattern nicely. I had to have it. Mr. made it happen.

Well, I hope you enjoyed my little tour around our home. It really is beginning to feel like we actually live here. We will really feel it once we get started on the gardening and planting in the fall. Mr. and I really enjoy that!

sunflowers.

I adore Sunflowers. I love having fresh ones at home. My bridal shower was sunflower themed, as well. They just make me smile looking at them. This weekend we drove passed a sunflower farm field. It was so beautiful! I hope to go back this coming weekend to pick fresh ones from the field. I'll blog about them if I am successful at picking out some nice ones. I don't think I will have trouble. :)

coca-cola brownies

One of my favorite treats to make at home are brownies. But I make them a little different by changing up 2 specifics ingredients. 1. use butter instead of oil and 2. use coke instead of water! sound crazy! But it's not. It was inspired by Cracker Barrel's Coca-Cola Cake, which I L♥VE! It is seasonal, so making the brownies this way helps when I have cravings for it. The coke makes the chocolate richer. The butter trick was suggested to me by my lovely bff Jackie. Butter just makes everything taste better! I picked up a box of Ghirardelli (the best in my opinion) to make as a weekend treat. Hope your weekend is just as sweet!

Full House ♥

I ♥ it when our home is a full house! Looks like these little guys will be dropped off very soon to spend a few days with us in Georgia. I can't wait. I am sure we will make cupcakes and cookies galore, per Nick's request, since we have 2 ovens! My life was complete when these guys entered it. So excited...and I am sure my dad and my step-mother appreciate a quiet house for a few days!

Banana Delight

*I forgot to take a picture of my creation, so Martha's version of it will have to do!*

This past weekend we hosted another BBQ get together. I decided I wanted to make Banana Pudding. I thought it would be an easy, sweet and refreshing summer dessert. And it was a hit. Everyone LOVED it! I can't tell you how simple it is to put together. And if you wanted it to be light on the calories, all you have to do is substitute some items with fat-free or light versions of the ingredients.

Ingredients:

2 pkgs. Jello instant vanilla pudding (You can go the sugar free route to make it easy on the calories)

Milk (for the pudding)

About 4 ripe bananas

1 box of Vanilla Wafers

Cool Whip (Again, you can get the fat-free version or just omit all together. It would still be delicious without the whipped cream topping)

Directions:

1. In a big bowl, prepare the vanilla pudding. After whipping it together, the pudding will be set in about 5 minutes.

2. Cut bananas into slices.

3. In a dish of your choice, prepare the dessert by layering the ingredients. I chose to layer the vanilla wafers first, then pour the pudding, then layer the bananas, and repeat!

4. After all the wafers, bananas, and pudding are layered, top with the cool whip.

5. Enjoy!

i'm a proud big sis!

So, if you happen to come across this magazine, Disney en Familia, (I know you probably won't), but, just so you know, a very special little guy is on the front and featured inside. This little boy was born on the same birthday as me and it was the BEST birthday present God has ever and probably will give me. I just wanted to share these because I am so proud. How could I not be? I will do ANYTHING for this little guy and he knows it, too! enjoy the cuteness!

Happy 55th Anniversary, Disneyland!

so far, so good

For those wondering, Georgia has been good to us. This transition has been a lot easier than the first time to NC. Having friends here has definitely been a part of it. Now if I can only snag up a job that is convenient, but also at a school where I continue to grow as a teacher...hmmm, that was hard in NC, but it worked out that way. I don't think I'll ever find another school like it, but I can come close... that is what I am praying for and hope you can help me with that, too!

Ok here is a list of the things I've gotten to love about GA!

♥ Publix ♥

♥ major league baseball (The Braves) We already went to one game. Turner Field is awesome!

♥ 7 hour drive to Walt Disney World! (Can't wait until our next trip!)

♥ Lake Lanier, wow! it is gorgeous. Mountains and water, never thought how much I would love it.

♥ Already found a great hair salon! This is always a challenge and I've grown to have the courage to try out different hair stylists and manicurists. I found both on the first try! And they did great work, for good prices! This was not easy in NC, but it's been super easy in GA!

♥ Shopping! NC was not that great for shopping. The nearest Crate and Barrel, Nordstrom's, and other specialty store etc were in Raleigh (1 hour from Greensboro). We have EVERYTHING near us. And super close, like within 15 miles. This is a relief.

♥ Restaurants! Ronnie and I are frequent restaurant eaters. So far, I've discovered PF Chang's, Bucca Di Peppo, Benihaha, Bahama Breeze, CHEESCAKE FACTORY (this was in Raleigh for us in NC), among my favorites.

♥ CUBAN FOOD! Most of you are aware that in NC, Cuban food was non-existent. We tried several places, but nothing came close. We've already tried 2 CUBAN restaurants and they are owned by REAL CUBANS! And the food was the real deal. This makes me very happy!

♥ The people. NC folks were REALLY good to us. We find the same here, which is so important. Makes life that much sweeter. And you really appreciate it if you are someone from Miami, where people are the pits, if you don't know them. So, we still get waved at, and thanked for if we open doors, etc. :)

That's most of the things I've grown to love. We are still exploring, so I will keep you updated!

Officially "Mrs. W"

It only took me almost 3 years... but I did it! I'm finally an official

"Mrs"!

All the emotions of that day came back to me.... and it felt so good! :) What an amazing feeling it is to be married.... there's just nothing like it! I'm so blessed!

Photo Credit: PS Photography

Mickey Mouse: A Hip Hop Dancer?

Mickey Mouse is a Hip Hop dancer? You judge for yourself! I love how Mickey is re-creating himself in all these new ways! Keep it up, yo. :)

i ♥ mickey.

window shopping at Pier 1

I went to Pier 1 last week and couldn't help but fall in love so many cute things! I am on a budget, so I didn't buy anything, but I decided I'd take pics of the items I thought were adorable and share them with you. I love going to Pier 1 for home decorating. And they usually have really good sales. Hope you like what I saw!

Ever since Ronnie brought me back an authentic tea set from China, I've been obsessed! I thought these were so cute! My favorite is the rose one in the front. It would be really pretty in a little girl's room as decoration.

I thought these jars would look so great in a kitchen because of the labels already on them. You can personally label them in your own handwriting in chalk. Fill it up with cookies, coffee beans, or even an office or craft room filled with ribbon and yarn! Super cute!

This cupcake jar is extremely charming! I almost took it home, but I am going to wait until it goes on sale. Hopefully I can snag it up! I just ♥ it!

This notepad just says it all!

This rug caught my eye. I thought it was a gorgeous!

I thought these cute owl wine toppers would make a great birthday present for a co-worker or neighbor. Or maybe even a hostess gift. Really unique and you can't have too many of these. Really fun!

And that's it. Hope you enjoyed my little virtual shopping tour at Pier 1! :)

Bruschetta Chicken and Spinach

I tweeted about this meal yesterday and got good feedback. Well, it was DELICIOUS! And I will be making it quite often. :)

♥

This recipe was influenced by a trip to Publix. I'm so happy that I am able to do my grocery shopping at Publix again. There is just nothing like it! Everyday there is a cook preparing an easy meal to taste. They even provide a recipe card and an ingredient list making it easy for you to buy the items needed to cook the meal. I love Bruschetta. And this meal was breaded chicken with bruschetta topping and risotto. But I changed it up a bit to make it a little healthier. Here is what you will need.

Ingredients:

Chicken Breasts

Classico Basil/Pesto Sauce

Spinach

1 Large Tomato

Fresh Mozzarella Cheese

Basil (About 4 leaves)

Olive Oil (about 3 tbs)

Balsamic Vinegar (1 tbs)

S/P

1. Prepare the chicken by coating with "Classico's Basil/Pesto Sauce" to marinate. Marinate for about 20 min.

2. Prepare the Bruschetta in a bowl. Cut the tomatoes and mozzarella into cubes and cut the basil leaves into small bits and throw into a small bowl. Add a little olive oil, Balsamic Vinegar, salt and pepper to taste. *You can also add oregano or any other spices you'd like to match*. Set bowl aside.

3. Cook the chicken until ready.

4. After chicken is done, take them out and set aside.

5. Throw in spinach in the same pan and cook for about 1 min. (This is a good way to get the flavor of the chicken into the spinach.)

6. Serve the chicken with bruschetta topping and side spinach.

7. Buen Provecho!

our first 4th BBQ!

Our 4th of July was so much fun! I've been planning it for months, since our best friends Jackie and Lino were going to be in town. We baked, cooked, and BBQ'ed. We had Ronnie's ribs, hot dogs, cole slaw, rosemary potatoes, corn, salad, baked beans, patriotic cupcakes and patriotic fruit kabobs. Total FEAST. Everyone was so hungry, that I forgot to take pics of the food! It was a lot of work, but in the end it was worth it. Here is our 4th in pictures!

Patriotic Cupcakes! They came out so cute!

Jackie making the cupcakes! Teamwork! We even added some cuban rum in the batter to make it a little different. We called them our "Cuban-American Cupcakes!" :)

My table setup!

Flag centerpieces! Martha inspired, of course! (colored sand and flags)

I picked up the patriotic buckets and red table cover at Target's dollar spot and the napkins, flags, and centerpiece items at Michael's. And the "Happy 4th" banner I picked up at the Target Dollar Spot, too. (pictured below)

Marshmallows stars were found at good ole' Wal-Mart.

Gels clings were found at Target's Dollar Spot, too! Cute touch!

This was taken after the end of a long day....tired!

Hope your day was filled with all things red, white, and blue, too! We are so blessed to be Americans!

♥

apple's ibooks app ♥

I'm LOVING apple's iBooks app! It's available on the iPad and it probably works and looks the best on it, too. But as I wait to get the iPad, I am currently enjoying it on the iPhone. You have a library at your fingertips. GENIUS. And it comes at a perfect time for me, so that I can catch up on summer reading. There are free books to download and the latest best-selling books. I want to download Tori Spelling's latest book, Uncharted Teri"Tori".

but before I do that I wanted to get your latest recommendations for summer readings. What are YOU currently reading?

Happy 4th!

We wish all of our family and friends a happy 4th of July! We wish we can all celebrate with you... Have a cupcake on us!


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