After we had Solomon, we had so many family and friends bring us meals, which we were incredibly thankful for. I loved waiting to see what we were going to enjoy for dinner and not have to worry about what to make or what we needed to go shopping at the grocery store for. One of the meals we received from a friend definitely stuck out in our mind. It was a healthy twist on a mexican casserole and since we love anything with salsa and beans and corn, we were a big fan. I asked for the recipe and over the past several months I've tweaked it a bit to make it my own and I thought I'd share it here. 

cute little helper!! 

"finally, all done! Get me outta this thing and play with me, Momma!!"

This meal has become my go to for anyone that needs a meal. I normally double the recipe so I can have some for us and then deliver a large dish to whom ever I'm making it for. 

Chicken Quinoa Bake

- ingredients - 

6 chicken breasts

2 cups quinoa

1 jar of salsa

1 can of rotel

1 can of black beans

1 can of corn

1 tbs chili powder

1/2 tbs hot hungarian paprika

1/2 tbs cayenne pepper

1/2 tbs salt

1/2 tbs cumin 

1 cup greek yogurt

2 cups shredded mexican blend cheese

- directions - 

slice all the chicken into small equal size chunks and place them in a pot with all the spices while tossing them to keep them from sticking to the bottom of the pan. Once they start to cook and the spices are sticking a bit, add the jar of salsa. You can add more spice to the meal buy picking a spicier salsa or keep it tame with a mild salsa. Keep stirring the salsa and chicken until all the spices are mixed in and let the chicken cook. 

while the chicken is cooking place the 2 cups of quinoa with 4 cups of water in a pot and turn on high. Add a dash of salt to season. Once the quinoa is boiling turn to low and leave to simmer until the quinoa is light and fluffy. 

once the chicken and quinoa are both finished cooking (abut 15 minutes) add the quinoa to the pot of chicken and mix well. Then mix in the cans of rotel, black beans & corn. Once everything is combined, remove the pot from the heat and add in the cup of greek yogurt, folding it into the mixture. Lastly, add one cup of cheese and mix until the cheese is melted. 

pour the mixture into the dishes (FYI, a throw away is great for those families with a new baby!!) and then sprinkle on the remaining cup of cheese. 

reheat when ready to eat for 20-30 minutes at 375. ENJOY!

a fun saturday morning.

We were pretty excited to go to the Made South event at Taylors Mill on Saturday morning, and it was totally worth the $20 per person to attend. It was a beautiful, sunny morning, and Solomon woke up early enough to have his early morning nap around 9:30, so he was happy and ready to enjoy the day by 11 when he woke up. I love when his naps are timed perfectly, especially when I don't expect it! It was so fun to go and see all the makers and artisans from all over the south. We tasted moonshine, pimento cheese, bbq sauce, liquor and cookies from all the different booths, and after walking through the mill several times, we finally decided which items we wanted to purchase. It was like a Saturday morning market, just way yummier, with pretty creations all around. 

The live music outside was a lot of fun to listen to while we had our food truck lunch! Peter went to scout out the trucks while Solomon had some milk. He came back and told me the options but when he mentioned the hot dog with pimento cheese and bacon I was almost speechless. He said "I figured that's what you'd want!" Well, you figured right, husband! IT WAS SO GOOD. Thanks to the hot weather I also waited in the super long line for a Piper and Leaf tea! It was totally worth the wait and I could have drank a gallon of the amazing Briar Patch Brew. My mouth is watering right now just thinking about it, Blackberries, Blueberries, Currants, Hibiscus, Lemongrass, Sage, Raisins, Raspberries, Lemon Verbena..... YUM!!!

I'm super bummed we didn't get a picture in the Wunderbus... it was a really neat photobooth van but it was packed when we arrived, and Solomon was napping in his stroller when we were leaving, so we didn't have a chance to check it out. Below is a shot from a chef making food with a lot of the products you could purchase at the booths. The Geechie Grits were the incredible base for the peach chicken awesomeness he made! If my northern born hubby would eat grits I would have bought a bag! However, he did eat the chef demo meal and seemed to really like it so maybe I can sneak some grits into dinner one night! ;)

I can't wait for the next Made South event to come to the upstate, it was such a fun morning!!

Hope you all are enjoying your Memorial Day off! 

weekly three.

I can't believe it is Friday! I almost forgot to get this post ready last night, but while I was rocking Solomon to sleep I realized it was Thursday, and not Wednesday. It's clearly been a busy week but it has been a good one. We are ready for some holiday fun with Memorial Day weekend and a little more birthday celebrations for Peter & his mom. That's always our Memorial Day plans and I love having family time and celebrating two very sweet people! Hope you enjoy your weekend!!

Brownies and ice cream and gifts after taco night for my man's birthday! 

Such a great way to start the week on Monday!!

My new favorite breakfast!! Greek yogurt, granola, banana and honey!

So yummy and filling, I'm not starving an hour later, which is so awesome.

This cutie watching me cook... love him so much!

sweet family.

I'm so excited to share these sweet, sweet pictures from Mother's Day weekend!! As always, I'm so thankful for my friend Jocie sharing her talent with us and taking these shots! Peter's sister mentioned taking some family photos since the whole family would be in town and of course I was on board. I think everyone knows how much I love pictures around here... I can't help it. I love how these turned out and I'm so thankful for this family of ours!

Four Generations!!

This is definitely one of my favorites!!! The way he loves his Gigi makes my heart so happy.

I really don't know what I'd do without her, so, so thankful!

it's a special day.

Peter's Birthday is today!

I love birthdays and I really love him, so it is definitely a special day!! 

To celebrate his day, I thought I would share 11 Things that I'm thankful for and love about him.
I shared 11 Things a while ago, before we were married, and since I love him even deeper now, I wanted to share some more!

He loves the Lord and seeks Him & His will in everything.

I love that he never hides his faith and will openly share it with anyone. 

The fun we have when we travel together, it is one of my favorite things to do with him.

Seeing new places, eating amazing food and making memories!

He can make me laugh like no other!

I didn't just marry Peter, I got to marry into this crazy family!

Yes, they are crazy, but I love it for some reason?!?

He makes awesome coffee!!!

He taught me the love of great beer, Mmmm!!!

He always loves to dance with me! 

His dance skills are what made me notice him in the first place, after all.

The way he supported me during pregnancy and giving birth to Solomon is something

I will never forget. He was the best partner and the amount of strength that he gave me was unreal!

He made me a momma and helped me create our precious boy!

He is such a fun daddy and loves being a father so much! 

I'm so thankful for his heart and how hands on he is with everything, 

Solomon and I are so lucky!!

I would follow him anywhere! He makes being a submissive, helpful, & loving

wife easy and fun. I trust him because I know that he trusts the Lord and that is something

I will always love about him and be thankful for. 

Love you so much, babe!

& HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!

weekly three.

It has been such a sweet week! Peter has been home for a while now and I feel like we are getting into the spring time groove. It is so wonderful to have him home and not feel a pending work trip creeping up on us. Solomon is obsessed with his daddy and I love watching them together. My sweet guys, I'm excited for a laid back weekend with them, hiding from all the rain! Hope yours is great!!!

Gelato on a Monday afternoon, all is right in the world! 

& they had a peanut butter flavor for the first time.... Eeeep. 

I wish I read this book the second I had Solomon and realized that I didn't want to do the "training" type parenting style. My friend Laura said one time that Attachment Parenting should be called common sense parenting, and that is so true, but I think I would have questioned myself a lot less if I had this book to go by from the start. Oh well, add this to the list of things I will know for the next kid, ha!

Wearing my S necklace for the first time!! I misplaced this sweet Christmas gift from my cousin and recently found it, I love it and Solomon loves to play with it while he nurses. 

a day in our life // 002

I loved sharing our day back in January and I wanted to start this series because I thought it would be fun to remember the little parts of my day during the stages of being a stay at home mom. The days have changed quite a bit since Solomon is eating three meals a day and crawling everywhere now, so I thought it would be fun to write down and capture all the little details in our life at this moment. 

Wednesday // 05.18.16

Solomon wouldn't sleep in his crib last night so we cuddled most of the night in the bed. Thankfully he slept like a rock but drank a lot of milk and was attached to me almost every time I woke up. Sometimes I just have to be his passy and feed him all night. Last night was one of those nights. It is sweet to be needed and I love to cuddle with him as long as he's not fighting sleep and crying! ;)

9:00 - wake up for the morning
We lay in bed and cuddle some more and take some snapchat pictures because it is a fun way to start the day. He thinks it is funny to see his face change shapes and I personally loved the old lady face because I definitely feel this way when I first wake up! HA! 

9:20 - coffee and playtime
After a diaper change upstairs we come downstairs to start our morning routine. I'm so thankful that Solomon has started to love playing by himself the past few weeks. His morning always starts with him playing in his pack and play while I enjoy my coffee in the living room floor and do some blogging things. (aka, this.) 

10:10 - eat breakfast
I get him out of the pack and play and we eat a banana together while he plays with some toys and I watch The Voice from last night. Tuesday and Wednesday mornings are a favorite because of this reason!! I'm going to be so sad when the season is over.

10:35 - laundry

Time to fold laundry and wash diapers while Solomon is playing with toys in the living room beside me. 

10:45 - milk break

He was being super fussy and no toys would make him happy so I asked if he wanted some milk and he crawled over to me as fast as he could and crawled in my lap. I melted of course.... The sweetest boy alive! 

11:05 - get ready for nap

Head upstairs to change a dirty diaper and also change the crib sheets since they needed to be changed while I let him play on the floor with his toys in his room. The little stinker dirties his diaper AGAIN and I fight him to change it. He's not a fan of changing diapers recently! 

11:30 - naptime

He's tired and yawning so we rock and he drinks milk till he falls asleep. 

11:40  - busy time

Peanut is sleeping in the crib so I get ready for the day and start to clean the house since is a mess from the past two busy days. I also hang the diapers to dry & put in a load of laundry. Peter comes home for lunch so he heats up some pita bread for me so I can eat quickly while I clean and fold more laundry. I'm learning that parenthood pretty much means you never stop doing laundry. 


12:20 - finish lunch and relax
The folding is done for now and I finish eating my lunch and guzzle down some water since I haven't been drinking enough today. Peter and I hang out and watch some TV before he heads back to work. 

1:20 - wake up
Little man is awake so I run the folded laundry upstairs to put them away before going to grab him. We do the normal, diaper change, change him out of his PJs, and then I finally start organizing all the clothes that he doesn't fit in anymore since I got the vacuum bags for storage. 

2:40 - lunch

He is getting cranky and clingy so I change his diaper, take him downstairs and give him some milk. After he is finished sipping on some milk, I start to heat up his lunch, sweet potatoes (with cinnamon for the first time!) and some yogurt. He loves it!!! 

3:10 - playtime 

Solomon is back in the pack and play while I clean up after lunch and put the clothes in the dryer that I washed earlier today. I let him play while I'm vacuuming the living room and kitchen. 

3:40 - more playtime
He is tired of playing solo and wants some attention from momma. We sit on the living room floor together and play until naptime at 4. 

4:00 - naptime
Upstairs for diaper change and I sit down to rock him and nurse him till he's snoozing. It takes about 10 minutes and he's in the crib for his nap while I run downstairs to edit this blog post and add the photos I've taken so far. 



5:00 - workout 
While I'm watching the news I get in the living room floor and do some yoga/pilates until he wakes up. 


5:15 - bad dream

I'm guessing he had a bad dream since he woke up with a scared cry. I went to get him and nursed him on the couch till he was happy and awake again. We played with his toys waiting for daddy to get home from work!

6:00 - daddy is home

Our favorite time of day! Peter is home and he takes Solomon out in the yard (an everyday thing that he loves!) and I go upstairs to freshen up and get ready to go out for dinner. We decided to go to Brixx tonight for pizza since we had a BOGO pizza coupon! 

The rest of the night was normal family time, my favorite!!!