blessed and thankful

i'm blessed. 

with thanksgiving around the corner, i'm thinking about things i'm thankful for.  most of all, i'm thankful for having the sweetest little family. i'm thankful for my loving husband who values spending as much family and together time as possible. he reminds me to pull away from the minutia and to experience life and all it has to offer. i must remember to never take that for granted.

i'm thankful for my little guy. he reminds me of what's important in life - family. he makes me want to be a better person - for him, for the hubby, for our family and for myself. i've realized that this is what life is all about - i can't quite fully describe what 'this' is, but i'm living it and can't imagine what it was i was living before. this. this is beauty. yes, i'm definitely blessed. what are you thankful for? 

P.S. these pictures of my sweet little family were taken @ lake balboa on 8/15/10 by my talented photog brother, brandon olimpiada.  isn't he the awesomest?!

 

small food//breakfast sandwiches

well good morning yummy! around here, we've been eating pancakes, muffins and french toast for weekend breakfast. the lil guy loves it but i know the hubby prefers the savory.  when my friend, christina, mentioned she had breakfast sandwiches the other day i knew the hubby would be into it. here's  the easy recipe.  

ingredients (for 3 servings): 

3 whole wheat english muffins (regular ones work too!)

3 x 6 thin slices of ham &/or turkey

3 slices of provolone cheese

2 eggs

a lil butter

the easy steps: 

1. toast the english muffins.
2. while they're toasting, prepare the rest of the sandwich. 
3. scramble the eggs.
4. cook eggs in a skillet. i used one meant for mini pancakes. they made the perfect sized scrambled egg portions for the sandwich. 
5. set aside the cooked eggs. 
6. cook the turkey and/or ham until lightly brown. use the same pan = less dishes!
7. melt the cheese on top of the turkey/ham.
8. assemble the sandwich: 

isn't this egg the perfect little size?

cheese looks yummo!

we're almost there. just need some garnishing. 

perfect! around here, we're inspired by our lil guy to eat more fresh fruits and veggies. yay for checking one of those off of our list for today!

wasn't that the easiest? 

Tokyo's Home

our dabs myla piece is home! see my previous post for the background story. before I show you all the piece we picked up, here are a few images from the tokyo deluxe show. 

aren't the colors so pretty? 

i'm usually a scaredy cat when it comes to things like this, but the characters are just too cUUuUte!

isn't this one so much fun? i'm lovin' the freeway signs!

And now, here's the little piece of tokyo we took home....

it's hard to tell, but it's 3-dimensional. i have a soft spot for paintings of city buildings and this one of tokyo makes me *eeeek!* with delight. :) 

a close up of one of the buildings, which reminds me of atari and of the crazy arcades in tokyo.

here's what it looked like @ the art show. welcome home lil tokyo! 

Tokyo Lovin'

paul, chase and i went to dabs myla's tokyo deluxe art show a couple of months back over @ thinkspace. the adorable mr & mrs behind dabs myla are hands down 2 of my favorite artists (tied with blaine fontana of course!). 

paul and i were lucky enough to purchase a small piece from the show, which we picked up today. my camera is charging so i'll have to share pictures tomorrow. eeeeeek! the piece is soOoOOo cute. :)

for now, i'll share the first dabs myla piece we picked up last october, right before chase was born! :)

isn't it just too cute to be scary? can't wait to show you our dabs myla#2

small food//french toast bites

around here, weekend breakfasts are special. they give us time to connect as a family and get ready for a fun saturday or sunday.  today, we had mini french toast bites before heading out to the zoo.  the recipe was adapted from this book. chase loved them! here's the recipe: 

ingredients: 

1 large egg

1 tbsp organic whole milk 

1/4 tsp vanilla extract

2 tbsp soy nut butter (peanut or almond works too!)

2 slices of lightly toasted whole wheat bread

1 tbsp unsalted butter

1 tbsp organic raspberry jam

directions

1. in a shallow bowl, beat the egg. stir in the milk & vanilla & set aside.

2. spread nut butter on one slice of bread and press the bread slices together to make a sandwich. 

3. melt the butter in a small pan over medium heat.  while the butter is melting, dip the sandwich in the egg mixture, turning it to soak both sides. 

4. when the butter foams, put the sandwich in the pan and cook until nicely browned on the underside, 3 to 4 minutes. turn and cook until the second side is browned, 3 minutes more. 

5. cut the sandwich crosswise into squares. 

6. dabble with some jam & enjoy!

small fashion//pumpkin patch threads

we spent the day at the halloween harvest festival @ pierce college. lotsa fun, lotsa memories - chase took his first steps! *sigh* and lotsa fashion! chase wore his checkered beanie from h&m, striped long sleeve from old navy, paul frank sweater from target, stella mccartney jeans from gap, and nike air max's from daddy. we think boy clothes are so much fun! what do you love about fall fashion?

Park Explorations

these days are often accompanied by park exploration.  fitting in ample 'special' time after work with my little guy is important to me.  these days, his little personality is becoming more evident. he's definitely the analytical type, like his mama. in a new space, he takes his time soaking it all in before he decides what he wants to do in said new space.  this silent observation can last quite a while @ a park with so many things to look at. 

these days, he loves exploring grass and what it feels like between his fingers, though he doesn't quite know how he feels about it under his feet.  he's a total boy and the idea of 'being gentle' doesn't come easily, but always remembers to be gentle with nature - from grass to leaves to flowers. i never get tired of seeing him explore these things. it's sweet.  these days, he loves ducks and dogs so any encounters bring lots of excitement.

we were lucky enough to have lizzi, a good friend and an amazing photographer, capture these precious moments for us.  thanks lizzi! :)

        

 

 

 

 

what is your little one into these days?