Weeknight Dinner Round Up

Here is last weeks dinner round up. I'm glad we had a pretty healthy week, because we totally went bonkers eating this past weekend.

Monday: Chicken Kale Ceaser Salad


I make this a lot, and I did it on Monday so that I could make a ton of quinoa to use for the week. I often end up throwing whatever we have in this salad (this week I had craisns and carrots)


Tuesday: Mushroom & Cauliflower Quiona Salad

This was Joel's favorite of the week. I served over a bed of arugula and added chicken (I had made extra on Monday). 

 
Wednesday: Stuffed Pepper Bowls

I follow the linked recipe, but then I don't stuff peppers. I end up putting the mix into a large baking dish (9x13), top it with shredded cheese and cilantro, and bake for 25 minutes at 350. I don't love peppers, so I turned it more into a casserole.

 
Thursday: Cabernet Burgers 

My favorite of the week, and a real treat since I very rarely use ground beef during the week.

  

 I spent some time this morning meal planning for this week, so I should be back again next week with a few other meal ideas. I also took a picture of my receipt, because I'm curious how much groceries run most households. More on that later! 

 

New Friends & Old Friends

This past weekend one of my college roomies, Lauren, and her boyfriend Max, came to visit us this weekend from Colorado. We had such a great time showing them around LA...and giving them a glimpse into life with Leo. 

When Joel got home from work on Friday, we took them to our favorite spot for dinner, Milo & Olive. We had Leo with us, so we got to the restaurant by 5:15 and quickly got seated. 

As soon as we sat down, Chris Martin (from Coldplay), walked right by our table with his son. I whispered to the group about the sighting, Chris came back in, I got a picture of his back (right behind my friends, in the blue baseball tee), and we went on with our dinner.

About thirty minutes later, he walks right by us again to leave, but this time, behind him was Gwenyth Paltrow. She and her son were ogling over Leo. Thankfully Leo was putting his charm on, so they came up to us and started playing with him. I kid you not, the words out of Gwenyth Paltrow's mouth were "Well, isn't he just the cutest baby I've ever seen".

She then asked me if I wanted to come to her house later for martinis and we've been best friends ever since.

No, not that part....but she was adorable. I freaked out and called my mom from the bathroom, and then we went on with our dinner. We were home by 7, after we picked up SusieCakes cupcakes, had a bunch of wine, and just caught up with Lauren and Max.

Saturday morning we got up early and took a long hike up Westridge Canyon. The weather was spectacular and we got in a pretty solid workout. 

 We had brunch at Coraltree afterwards and then when we got home, Lauren and I snuck away to get massages which were heavenly. 

Saturday night was my girlfriend Beth's birthday party. It was at the beach in Playa Del Rey, and her husband had made a huge spread for everyone to enjoy.

 

Unfortunately it was really windy and cold, so we took some pictures, guzzled a beer, and left after about thirty minutes.

We gave Leo a bath and then ordered in Thai food and played games which turned out to be a perfect way to spend the chilly evening.

Sunday was a little overcast, but we had an early lunch at M Street Cafe in Santa Monica and then went for a long walk along the ocean. We took them to the end of the Santa Monica Pier and then came home and just hung at home the rest of the evening.

We listened to music, Joel made pizzas, and we capped the night off with the most hilarious game of Scattegories I think I've ever played. 

We had such a good weekend with Lauren and Max....old friends are such treasures...even more so than being new besties with Gwen....and we will seriously miss them.  

Five on Friday

::: 1 :::

I was obsessed with Full House growing up - and even into college, we would often have Full House re-runs playing in our dorm room. I'm going to preface what I'm going to say with the fact that I'm not the best TV or Movie critic. I like happy, light-hearted, funny stuff....and that's about it. So, when I say that I'm "obsessed" with Fuller House....know that it will not win any awards. But it's cute, and funny, and I've been watching a few episodes every night and really, really enjoying it.

::: 2 :::

 

This week was pretty exciting in the world of strollers for Leo. Not only did he start riding around in the uppababy seat (vs. the carseat), I also took him on a run in the Bob stroller. 

 

Side note.....It's really hard to run with the stroller! We just did a mile and I was huffing and puffing like we had gone five! Any tips?

::: 3 :::

We have been trying to spend as much time outdoors as we can. I feel like everyone is happier if we get to a park or just spend a little time out on our patio. Leo is mesmerized by the world right now so, this week I've been setting up a little makeshift backyard on our patio. We have a great park a few blocks away, but this has been making life a lot easier.

::: 4 :::

 

I feel like St. Patrick's Day is a much bigger celebration in Chicago than it is in California, but I really want to celebrate it at home this year and try my hand and corned beef. This crockpot recipe seems like it couldn't be easier! And....I'm also going to have to these mint bars and take them into Joel's office.....I've been looking for an excuse to make them for months!

::: 5 :::

My friends Lauren and Max are coming in from Colorado this weekend to stay with us and meet Leo! It's going to be a different visit since we now have a baby in the mix, but I can't wait to spend time catching up. We're hoping to fit in a few hikes, beach time, restaurants and plenty of wine!  

Easter Basket Goodies

 

With an Easter basket that cute, it cannot just make one appearance on Easter morning, so our new tradition is going to be that the basket is magically filled with goodies come Easter morning!

I'm anxiously waiting to capitalize on Leo as an excuse for buying Reese's Easter Eggs....but until then, I'm going to try and fill his basket with a few things he actually "needs". 

1. Leeman needs some summer clothes! I like these linen rompers from Carters because they're darling, easy to wear, and inexpensive so I'm going to stock up on a few.

2. I've heard this is the best teether out there. A few mom's in our story time every week have said that its literally their number one "must have", and since Leo sticks his hands in his mouth every 12 seconds, this might be a nice change of pace for him! 

3. I have a Holiday book obsession. I've got an entire box filled with goodies, and I like adding a few to the collection every chance I get. I remember as a kid the special books that would come out only at the holidays, so I want to try and build up Leo's holiday library too.

4. Right now, Leo's favorite toy is the activity laptop-y thing that came with his V-Tech sit-to-stand pusher. It lights up, makes noises and has a bunch of different things he can play or press. I'm almost tempted to bring that big old thing on the plane ride since it keeps his attention so well, but my girlfriend said this travel toy does a good job too. It's a lot smaller and pretty cheap, so I'm going to give it a whirl.

5. I think we get back from Chicago, Leo is going to start solids (he'll be 6.5 months!), and I'm going to introduce the sippy cup then too. I've read good reviews about this one, but I'm open to suggestions if you have a favorite.

6. And.....since we are going to be doing Baby Led Weaning, we need full coverage. This bib is by Bumpkins, and hopefully will eliminate the need to do laundry three times a day.

Weeknight Meals & Thoughts on Dinner

I'm going to try and keep up with and share the meals we're cooking. It took me three solid months to start cooking actual dinners again with any sort of frequency. We lived on freezer meals my mom stocked for us, and then once we were solo we would spend every Sunday making meals for the week ahead.

Now that we're out of that fog (!!yay!!), I'm really enjoying being back in the kitchen. Grocery shopping, meal planning, and cooking dinner look much different than they did pre-Leo, but the importance of it all has been greatly increased.

Not only do I feel like it's part of my contribution since I'm home during the day (and I enjoy it), but when I'm cooking five or six days a week, we are eating healthier, saving money, and getting into the habit of sitting at the table as a family every single night. Plus, I try and make dinners that serve 4-6 so that Joel and I have leftovers for lunch most days of the week.

Both Joel and I grew up having dinner as a family at the table every night and its something that is really important to us. We've always been good about this, but now its one of our more special times of the day. *We use the Phil & Teds Lobster travel seat or a space saver high-chair so everyone is eye level and at the same table. The lobster chair is one of my current "cant live without" items.

 Leo is going to be eating "human food" soon, so I'm trying to stock up my recipes so that he will be getting a diverse amount of foods that are nutritious.

Most of the recipes I use are from Pintrest but here are my pictures from our menu last week.  

**also, we/I am trying to keep low carb

Sunday: Black Bean Lentil Soup

 

Monday: Crock Pot Taco Salad

This one was my favorite of the week. Crock pot makes life so easy, and it was a really filling and delish salad. I don't typically use ranch dressing, but I found a jarred version of a Jalapeno Ranch that was ammmmmazing.  

Tuesday - Zuppa Toscana Soup

 This was Joel's favorite of the week. It was my second favorite, and not only because it only required 7 ingredients!

Wednesday- Oven Fajitas

I make these all the time, easy as pie and good.

Friday- Red Curry

 

I use the recipe as a base, but follow it really loosely. No two curries of mine every taste exactly the same.

Hopefully I'll be back next week with another batch!

Weekend Report

Our weekend started Thursday in a big, big way.

If you've followed here for a while, you probably know that Joel and I are big tennis fans. We both played in high school, Joel played in college on a full ride, and we love to get to tournaments when we have the ability to do so. 

A few weeks back, Joel found out his company was hosting a private dinner with tennis great Roger Federer and I was lucky enough to tag along! We have literally been excited about this dinner two weeks. It was hosted at Cecconi's, which is one of my favorite restaurants in West Hollywood.  

  

This also marked Leo's first night with an actual babysitter! She got to our house at 5pm, and she did so great with Leo....she sent me pictures like every 30 minutes and totally allowed Joel and I to fully enjoy our night away.

 

 

We got to the restaurant at six, had a few glasses of champagne before the guests arrived, and before I knew it, we were sharing air with Mr. Federer himself.

 

The night was for Joel's clients, so I did take a backseat even though I reallllly wanted to fan girl out. 

 

 Thankfully the champagne was flowing QUITE heavily. He did a Q&A with Mary Jo Fernadez (another former tennis player), and then everyone sat down for dinner. 

 

 

Dinner wasn't served until 9pm, so by the time 10:45 rolled around, I had to sneak out to let the babysitter go home. I was really bummed that I missed my chance at a selfie with Roger, but Joel got his 5 minutes with him, so its kind of like I did....right?

 

Either way, it was an amazing night out, one that I definitely paid for the next day (this girl can NOT hang like she used to).

Friday night was pizza, tea, and a lot of episodes of Fuller House for me! 

   

 

Saturday morning I had a much needed hair appointment. If you watch my snaps (tshields622), you'll know that I used to dread going to get my hair done. I felt way to antsy to sit in that chair for two or three hours, but now, it's the epitome of luxury.

I had a mimosa, read magazines, listened to music, and totally zen-ed out.

 

Unfortunately, I'm not jazzed by the color, so I have to go back on Wednesday for her to fix it a bit.

Saturday night Joel made chili and we hung around at home lounging and playing with the baby. Leo started sitting up this week which has been really fun to watch! Cutting a tooth has not been as much fun....

 

 Sunday, Joel got in a long run in the morning, and during nap time I did four miles, which is the longest I've done since before I was pregnant. To think that I ran a half marathon last fall.....I've lost those miles fast!

We did break out the Bob stroller this weekend, so I'm really hoping that I can take Leo on a few runs during the week to help bring up my mileage. 

I snuck away to the grocery store in the afternoon, Joel worked and I read, and then Joel whipped up some amazing Cabernet red wine burgers and a caprese salad.

We put a cap on the weekend and are ready to start a fresh week around here!