Back in the saddle

Now that the kids are back in school it is time to get myself back to the gym. During the summer, every weekday morning, I get up at 6 am to go on a 2 mile run. This morning was my first day back at the gym since May. I drop my 2 older kids off at school at 8:15 then head over to the gym for a workout/shower. I have just enough time to run an errand before I need to get home for lunch and a nap for Scarlett.
I am also a huge fan of crock pot dinners. This appliance is a life saver!! I feel like during the school year once 3 pm rolls around it is non stop craziness with homework and after school activities. I have no time to think about what's for dinner. My all time favorite dinner made in the crock pot is "Crock Pot Turkey" it is so yummy and even my kids will eat it. Here is the recipe, if you know you are going to have a crazy day, this is the perfect mealCrock Pot Turkey

3-4 pd frozen turkey breast (thawed)

2 T butter

1 block cream cheese (I use reduced fat)

1T soy sauce

1T minced parsley

1/2 tsp basil

1/2 tsp sage

1/2 tsp pepper

1/2 tsp garlic powder

Toss everything in crock pot and cook on low 10-12 hours or high 5-6 hours

The juice from the turkey added with all the ingredients makes a gravy that is so yummy!!

On a side note, my hubby came home from work last night and told me that MTV is filming an episode of "16 and pregnant" at the hospital where he works. If you ever watch that show and see the episode where they follow a girl from STL, look for a crazy man in the background making funny faces, that Dan

Indian Summer

I was out and about this weekend and saw this sign, which means one thing....Fall is almost here. With Fall, comes some of my favorite things.
My annual attempt to make the perfect apple pie.
Going to the pumpkin patch to find our pumpkins for Halloween.
Sitting in front of the fire.....
drinking my red wine. My absolute favorite is CakeBread pinot noir. I would walk to Napa Valley just to go back to their winery!

And she's off!

Thursday was Scarlett's first day of "school." Let's go mom!

She could of cared less if I left so...

I then went and got a mani/pedi in this color, "metro chic." I was in the mood for a fall color but I am not quite ready to go completely dark. After a quick stop at our Lilly store to pick up a few things it was time to pick up Scarlett. Those were the fastest 5 hours of my life!

Sweet tooth

Whenever I have a sweet tooth, I like to whip up a batch of these chocolate chip muffins. I think the fact that it says 100% whole grain on the box has convinced me these are actually good for me!!

On a side not check out this blog "It's the world I know" for a chance to win some roll on perfume. I am a big fan of roll on perfume, they are the perfect size to toss in your purse and they are small enough to get through security at the airports!!

Over the top

My latest obsession is the over the knee boot. This is not a new obsession, this time every year I fall madly in love with these boots. I bought this pair in July at Nordstrom's Anniversary Sale. These babies are resting quietly in my closet until they make their big debut.

I bought this pair last year at Nordstroms. I wore these boots all the time. They are so comfy, and they look so cute with leggings and with dresses!

I am in love with this pair from Banana Republic. I have a 40% off coupon good tomorrow only. I am thinking a little trip to BR might be a great way to start off the school year!!

My sister thinks I am a borderline shoe hoarder.

And they're off!

These little munchkins were up, dressed, had breakfast, and ready to go by 6:30 am. School doesn't start until 8:30!!
Matthew, Libby, me and Scarlett in the hallway of school. Everyone is sooo excited!
We spent our last night of summer making pizzas! Yummy

Scarlett starts a moms day out on Thursdays, what am I going to do with all my free time? Good thing Nordstrom Rack is opening Septmeber 16th.

The end of summer

My quiet and relaxing weekend has quickly turned into a crazy, running around, getting stuff done weekend. Friday night while out to dinner with some friends, Dan decided that we should have a Labor Day weekend party. We have been in our house for about 5 months and still have many, many boxes to unpack, hundreds of pictures to hang, walls to paint, oh yeah and furniture to buy. One of my friends has always said the only way to get things done around your house is to send out an invitation. If you know you are having a party, you will do all those little projects that you keep putting off. I will say, we did more on Saturday then I have done this entire summer. I have been asking Dan since April to hang some pictures and they are now hung. Hmm maybe I am on to something, maybe I need to have a party every weekend!

Black or with cream?

I can fully admit it, I have become a coffee snob. Last year we got a Keurig coffee maker which guarantees the perfect cup of coffee every time. All you do is put the pod into the machine, fill it with water and turn it on, its that easy. Over the past year I have found the best selection of pods at Bed, Bath and Beyond. I guess coffee is under the "beyond" part of the store. My favorite pods are

1. Gloria Jean's Butter Toffee coffee

2. chai tea latte

3. cafe mocha

The only coffee I might possibly like more is Starbucks, and part of their allure is that someone else makes it for me. When you have a child that doesn't sleep through the night until she is 15 months all the sudden coffee becomes very, very important.

SWAGGER WAGON Official Toyota Music Video HD

I just love this!!

A day late and a dollar short

With school starting on Monday, I realized it was time to go Target and get ready for the new year. I guess I got a really late start this year, I couldn't find any of these......
but I found plenty of these!!

Tag, you're it!

So I have been tagged by Cool Gal over at "Its The World I Know". If you don't know her, go check out her blog. Her posts are funny and touching and warm. She is one of my daily reads!!

1. What is your signature color?I think I would have to say blue. I am always drawn to blues. My brides maids wore a platinum blue, my bedroom is blue and growing up I always had the blue name Easter egg.

2. What is your most embarrassing moment?

I like to block embarrassing moments out of my mind totally, but my first one as an adult would probably have to be when I was in college. One fall break I went home with my college boyfriend, this was the first time I was going to meet his parents. We flew to New York, met his parents, had a lovely evening, sent his parents home, then we met up with his friends. Things started to go down hill from there. After many many many long island iced teas I found myself very drunk and then very sick. Not only did I manage to get sick in front of all his friends but I also managed to get sick in his parents brand new car. At one point my boyfriend was begging me not to throw up in his parents car but in his hands. The next morning I was mortified to face his parents and explain what happened. I wonder why they never liked me!!

3. Would you ever get anything pierced other than your ears, if so what?

Well in my 20's I did get my belly button pierced. I know, kind of trashy, anyway there is nothing attractive about an 8 month pregnant belly with a gold hoop just hanging on for dear life. So out it came never to be seen of again!!

4. Are you a social butterfly or a homebody?
I can honestly say I am a little bit of both. Some weekends I am ready to get dressed up and go all out and then some weekends hanging out at home sounds divine!!

5. Are you done having babies or do you want more?Done and done!

6. Are you loyal to your hairstylist or do you try every salon in town?I laugh at this question because my sister used to call me a "hair whore" because I was going to a different stylist every time I needed a cut or highlights. The problem was I never found anyone I loved. I now have found my "hairmate" and I will never leave her!!!

7. How many times have you moved in your life?I have moved 9 times, the 9th being just 6 months ago. My plan is to never move again!!

8. If you could plan your vacation just you and your love, where would it be?
Oh I know I have mentioned this before, but my ultimate dream vacation is an African safari. Not the kind where you sleep in a mud hut in the jungle, but the kind where you go to a beautiful resort where a tour guide will take you on a day or night safari. After your safari you return to your 5 star room and take a dip in your personal plunge pool. A girl can dream!

Now I have to tag some people. I tag

Heather at New Mom in the City

Erin at HuddyP

Miss Southern Prep at Preppy Southerner

The wife at Cobia Family

Wacie's Way

Tara at Juleps and Jon Jons

He's the man

A couple weeks ago, I dropped Matthew off at overnight camp. This is how he was before I dropped him off....
And here he is after I picked him up!
Since camp I have had the following requests from him

1. He would like an e-mail account so he can talk with all his friends from camp

2. He would like an e-mail account to keep in touch with his new girlfriend, who lives in Michigan.

3. He would like to grow his hair long so he can "flip it"

4. He would like 6 pack (I swear those are his exact words) abs

5. He would like to get a job where he can make lots of money so he can buy his girlfriend a Gucci purse (nice)

6. He thinks he is old enough to start saying the word crap.

He actually sat me down with his list of requests, I literally had to bite my tongue to keep from laughing. What the hell kind of camp did I send him too? I am so not ready for this stage. I think I like it much better when they throw a fit when Dora is over or when we are out of apple juice. Lord help me!!

Last Days of Summer

Our official last week of Summer begins today. School starts Monday August 23. My plan is to just have fun with the kids before we start the rat race of sports, homework, and more homework!!

Best Face Forward

Every summer while in Holland Michigan for family week, my sisters in law and I have a spa day at a little boutique spa called Smooch. We go to lunch then head over to Smooch for facials. At smooch you can also get make-overs and buy many products, it is like a mini Sephora. Last week I discovered a new product from Stila, "one step correct" this is a moisturizer, corrector, primer, and brightener all in one extremely cute package. I also bought some dry shampoo. I am a big fan of dry shampoo. I have long, thick hair so every time I wash, I have to blow dry my hair until it is completely dry or else I have swampy, stringy hair. This start to finish process can take up to an hour and a half, seriously who has that kind of time. Stila to the rescue, sprinkle some of the sweet smelling powder right on your roots, give your hair a toss, then head out the door.

Michigan, weeks 2 and 3

Kids swimming in my sister's lake
Matt caught the big one! (with a little help from Uncle Ben)
So happy when this man showed up!
Dinner, our first night in Holland overlooking the beautiful Lake Michigan.
Scarlett on Lake Michigan's beach.
Matt is learning how to kayak.
All 3 of my kids playing on the beach.....heaven!!

To wrap up my tour of Michigan, after Mackinac I went back to Holland to grab Matthew from camp then headed cross state to Detroit to spend the week at my sister's house. My sister lives on a lake so we spent our days tubing, wake boarding and fishing. She is lucky enough to live about 5 miles from an incredible mall with everything from Barneys to Tory Burch so I definitely got in a little "me time". Towards the end of the week my husband flew up to Detroit then drove back to Holland with me where we spent another week at his parent's place. I got to spend some time with both of my sisters in law (and their hubbies) and the kids got to play with their cousins. It was a great vacation and the big bonus was that I got 3 weeks away from this God awful STL heat. It is so hot I can't even attempt to dress cute, right now the focus is not melt! Come on Fall!!

Michigan, week 1

Getting on the Mackinac Island ferry
Playing around in Lake Huron

Libby at the playground
Mackinac Island
Our hotel
Our hotel again

Horse and carriage on Main Street in front of a fudge shop
A stop at the butterfly house

My favorite restaurant on the island
bike riding
next time I am flying to the island
A rainbow for our last night
The 5 mile Mackinac bridge the connects Michigan to the Upper Peninsula

Our Michigan tour began in Holland. I dropped my son and his friend off at camp for the week then took my girls and headed up to Mackinac Island. One of my sisters live in Detroit so she went to Mackinac with us. It has been 20 years since I have been to Mackinac and it is just as fun as I remembered. You leave your car on the main land then take the ferry to the Island. It really is a picturesque place. We swam in Lake Huron, took a horse and carriage ride, rode bikes around the island and of coarse the #1 thing to do on the island... bought fudge. I think the entire state of Michigan has a thing for fudge. There are 17 fudge shops on Mackinac Island, this is an 8 mile island and 80% of it is an undeveloped state park, that a lot of fudge! It was a great week and I am so glad we decided to head "Up North"