Friday Fun

Have a lovely weekend!  Wrapping up week 2 back at school and hitting 35 weeks pregnant today, woot, woot!  Baby is coming soon!!  Now if we could only come agree on names...  

+ this airbnb looks a-mazing!!

+ Mindy Kaling's new book!

+ a stylish fishtail updo tutorial

+ chic lego decor

+ back to school picture books

+ an ikea hack we may try...

+ helpful laundry tip I used this week (it works!)

+ green goddess quinoa salad - yum!

+ ever had a rose spritzer?

+ Turks and Caicos for a next vacay?

image/bbb

Dinner Last Night: Summer Skillet Gnocchi

With back to school starting this week, I was looking for relatively easy dinners to make at home to help simplify the dinner hour, as I knew I'd be more tired that usual.  This dish - summer skillet gnocchi - was a pleasant, filling dinner followed by decent leftovers.  We didn't have shiitake mushroom on hand, so I subbed in some zucchini from our garden.  The grilled corn adds a lovely element of sweetness to the dish, and thank goodness for Trader Joe's boil-for-3-minutes gnocchi to save the day.  Yum!

image/yummly

Friday Fun

+ spot on description of a sudden onset, have-to-have-it pregnancy craving

+ check out this crazy cliff house on the Aegean Sea

+ loving this motherhood series, back for its third year

+ a summer fruit spin on the caprese

+ the cutest cats pajamas

+ pretty abode in San Francisco

+ would you stay in a hostel with your kids?

+ healthy and easy eggplant parmesan

+ what you didn't already know about laundry

Have a great weekend!

Weekday Baking: Jacked Up Banana Bread

My girl and I did another baking project today - Smitten Kitchen's Jacked Up Banana Bread, except in muffin form.  Part of what makes it "jacked up" is the addition of bourbon, which I was lacking, but I added all the other spices which I haven't often include in other banana bread/muffin recipes - such as cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves.  Just for good measure we added a heaping handful of chocolate chips - because who doesn't love a little extra chocolate in their life? 

image/bbb

Weekday Baking: Blackberry Scones

Tis the season for blackberries - at least in the Pacific Northwest, as the blackberries are plentiful this August due to our dry, hot summer.  We live within walking distance of a huge crop of blackberries, so our late night evening stroller walks have also become blackberry picking opportunities.

Since she has shown the slightest interest in baking, I've been trying to incorporate baking into our mornings once a week.  She enjoys mixing the best, but tends to lose interest after all the ingredients are combined.  Luckily, the product is almost always enjoyable. :)  I made these blackberry scones (without lavender as the recipe calls for - because who has dried lavender lying around?).  They were delicious, pretty sure I ate most of the batch... Oh well!

image/joythebaker

Friday Fun

+ shiny wine pearls (in lieu of ice) for your white wine spritzer

+ the cutest place cards

+ nutella smores puff pastry pop tarts - wow!

+ how to curl your hair with a curling wand (I always need help in this department)

+ printable kiwi coasters

+ soft, cozy shirt for fall

+ top 10 cold summer dinners

+ absolutely LOVE this dress

+ google tells you when places are the busiest - genius!

+ can you identify local produce?

+ psyched to try these

image/iamblessed

Quote of the Week

"Live, travel, adventure, bless, and don't be sorry."

~ Jack Kerouac

image/weheartit