Weekend Recap & Menu Planner

Busy but good weekend! Friday night we had some friends over for Michael's birthday celebration part two....read about part one here. Saturday, I took the kids to Goochland Baptist Church for Trucks n Such. Got the tip from richmondbargains.com and it was great! It was not crowded and C&C had the best time getting in all the trucks, tractors etc and it was completely free!

Saturday night Michael's parents babysat and we saw Five Year Engagement at the Cinebistro!

Here goes with this week's menu planner....we are trying lots of new things this week.
Sunday: Turkey Bagel Burger with French Fries
Monday: Cajun Chicken Pasta
Tuesday: Tex Mex Rice Bowl
Wednesday: Cumin Spiced Fish Tacos
Thursday: Barbecue Chicken Sandwiches

Michael's Birthday

Weeks ago Camille decided she wanted to throw a surprise party for her daddy's upcoming birthday. She decided on the guest list and one morning we went to Michael's to pick out stickers and paper for the invitations. She kept it a huge secret and didn't give away the surprise. Here are some pictures from the event. I tried to take a video of the surprise moment but my camera died so I got a 5 second video in which poor Clyde is wearing shirt only - no underpants or pants (guess he was using the potty when it was time to yell surprise) so I will spare you that prize winning clip.

Camille helped with the decorations...I wrote the words in pencil and she traced with her paint brush. She did all the other decorating on the page.
I served this recipe for dinner and it was delicious...not a low calorie meal but a tasty one!

You can read about Michael's other birthday celebration here and here.

Weekend Recap & Menu Planner

Gorgeous weekend in RVA! Today, I have an open house at my listing on Wishart Court! Hoping for a good turnout...it is a great day and a great house.

Yesterday, we went to Belle Isle and walked around with C & C. Then last night we had dinner with friends at Portico, a new restaurant off River Road. It was delicious and I definitely recommend it.

Here are a few pics from our trip to Belle Isle....






And this week's menu planner.....

Sunday - Black Bean & Chicken Quesadillas & Homemade Pico de Gallo
Monday - Deep Dish Pizza Chicago Style from Casserole Queens
Tuesday - Kickin Mini Meatloafs with Yellow Rice & Corn
Wednesday - Elaine's Chicken Enchiladas (recipe below)
Thursday - leftovers
Friday - Dinner out

Elaine's Chicken Enchiladas
3/4 c. sour cream
1- 7 oz diced chilis
4 large green onions, chopped
1/2 cup cilantro (optional but I used it and it was great)
1 and 1/2  t. ground cumin
2 c. pulled chicken (could use rotisserie)
2 c. packed cheddar cheese
8- 8 in flour tortillas
1- 8 oz. package of light or reg. cream cheese . (cut this into 8 strips lengthwise...easier when its really cold)
16 oz. good quality salsa or picante
1 can enchilada sauce

Steps:
Butter 9 by 13 baking dish. Mix 3/4 cup sour cream, chilis, onions, cilantro and cumin.  Fold in chicken and  1 c. cheddar cheese. Season with Salt and Pepper. Spoon filling down each enchilada. Top filling with strip of cream cheese. Fold under into baking dish. Pour approx. 1/2 salsa with 1/2 can of enchilada sauce (to your taste) over enchiladas. Cover and Bake @ 350 for 45 min.
Uncover and add remaining cheese until melted and bubbly.

It's a bird, it's a plane, it's a hair dryer?

My hair has a lot of natural curl but I prefer to wear it straight. Last week, my hair dryer from Target died on me.  After years of owning drugstores hair dryers that last less than a year, I decided it was time to upgrade. I had a coupon for Sally Beauty Supply for 15% off your entire purchase so that is where I headed first. I ran across these "bird" hair dryers by Conair...there was gold bird (the cheapest), then yellow bird (next in line in terms of price), then silver bird (the most expensive). Silver bird was on sale and with my coupon it would come close to the price of yellow bird so I went for it.

This may sound completely ridiculous and I am sure most of you will laugh when you read this...but this hair dryer is life changing. It is really awesome!  Most days, I left the house with frizzy hair that I couldn't get smooth with products. And now it is so smooth and soft. The dryer comes with a straightening attachment that works really well after you have most of your hair dry. Maybe the products weren't the problem, it was the hair dryer. Now we haven't gone through the humid Richmond days of summer yet but I have faith in my silver bird.

I convinced my friend, Micah, to also purchase the dryer and she had the same results. In fact, she said she would be willing to go on infomercial to promote the Silver Bird. Can't believe I have done a whole post and a full three paragraphs on this dryer but I wanted to share. I hope this helps someone out there with frizzy hair like me! And please leave a comment if you purchase this dryer...I would love to hear what you think.

Weekend Recap

I had such a fun Easter weekend that included meeting up with friends from college at the playground, old co-workers from Circuit City for lunch at Can Can as well as two Easter egg hunts and celebrations with family. Oh and I can't forget today is day 5 of potty training Clyde. And I don't really think he has it mastered yet....this morning may have been the first time he actually screamed at me "I NEED TO GO POTTY." So maybe he is getting it! Cross your fingers.

It is spring break here and I was lucky enough to get a spot for Clyde & Clyde in FREE swimming lessons with the Morgan Swim School. They are training their instructors and I happened to be one of the first to respond to email announcing the promotion. So I am excited about that... yesterday was day one and it went better than expected especially with Clyde.

I woke up yesterday with a cold so I didn't get to the grocery store and I am half way through my menu planner so I am skipping that portion of the blog this week. I am not trying anything new this week...just some old standbys like store bought tortellini and tacos!

Here are a few pics from our weekend....Enjoy!

This looks like a good time but to keep it real Clyde cried through most of this exercise. Camille enjoyed herself.

Family Photo!

Clyde insisted on wearing his new Spiderman glasses. I am not sure the look reallys coordinates with my sweet Camille who wanted to hold a flower for the picture.

Egg Hunt #1...fun with cousins.

And they are off....

Egg Hunt #2...old pros at this point.

My mom's pretty backyard!

Baby Shower

My friend, Melissa and I hosted a baby shower for our friend Brooke over the weekend. I made this dip from my Southern Living Cookbook that turned out delicious. I left out the pine nut (honestly because I burned them trying to toast) but I don't think they were missed.


I also made peach melba mimosas that turned out well.

And one of our guests made this awesome cake...the entire thing was edible except the pearls. It was delicious and impressive!



And our guest of honor....

Weekend Recap & Menu Planner

Where do the weekends go...we had a fun one that involved a cookout with friends, a baby shower for my friend, Brooke, a trip to watch Michael play soccer, playground and what weekend would not be complete without cleaning, laundry and yard work!



Here is this week's menu planner....

Monday - Pork with Mango Salsa (carryover from last week)
Tuesday - OMG chicken, Green Beans
Wednesday - French Dip Sandwiches, Baked Beans, French Fries
Thursday - Turkey Salisbury Steaks with White Bean Mash
Friday - Homemade Pizza

We made these cute masks last week from the dollar bins at Target.









We are ready for Easter around here.

Random Updates....

Happy Sunday everyone!

I made the Southwestern Turkey Meatloaf and it was yummy. See below for the recipe. I served it with salsa which was a great addition.



We all love Pinterest.com. You can follow me here.  Last week, I ran across this recipe for cleaning your shower and I actually made it. Something I pinned and actually made. Woohoo! I think if you had a newer shower than I do it would work wonders. It was fabulous on the chrome fixtures.