Easter treats

Posted in Food, Gone Pinning, Holidays by mszerwo

Somehow it’s April and Easter is already this weekend. We’re not religious, but we are looking forward to celebrating with baskets of candy, great company and a wonderful meal.

Setting the tone for a day full of sweets, we’ll start the day with these festive cinnamon rolls:

Easter breakfast of champions

We’ve been assigned dessert for the main meal and I can’t decide what to make! There are too many great ideas! Maybe I’ll make a smorgasbord of items! Yes, that sounds like a great idea. Here are the front runners:

A platter of chocolate-covered strawberries

Bunny butt cookies

Cookie fruit cups

Coconut bunnies– How cute would candy eyes be on these!?

Oreos pudding cups with chocolate-covered strawberries, err, carrots

Nest cookies with eggs (and maybe Peeps?!)

I’ve compiled a lot of great Easter ideas over on Pinterest. Check them all out here. And have a wonderful weekend, however you plan to celebrate it!

31Mar2015

National Walking Day {2015}

Posted in Adventures, Holidays, Wine Wednesdays, Workouts by mszerwo

Tomorrow is a big day! In addition to Wine Wednesday and April Fool’s Day (prank ideas here!), it’s National Walking Day!

I’m a big proponent of walking and you know I’m going to celebrate this national holiday by tying up my shoes and strolling.

I’ve been a diligent FitBit wearer for nearly three years (I’m on my third iteration. The design keeps improving!) and I recently earned the Nile Badge for walking 4,132 total miles, the length of longest river in the world.

My much-deserved Nile badge for my thousands of steps

If you’re in downtown Seattle tomorrow, you should join me at the Union Bank on 5th and University from noon – 1 p.m. for a big, fun walk. KING5 is one of the event sponsors, so you might be able to get your 15 minutes of fame in at the same time as your physical fitness!

Date: Wednesday, April 1
Location: Union Bank on 5th & University, Downtown Seattle
Time: 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm

Happy walking!!

19Mar2015

Spring has sprung {2015}

Posted in Garden, Gone Pinning, Holidays by mszerwo

It’s here! It’s here! Happy spring to you!

Here on Megan’s Island and in the Pacific Northwest, we never really saw a winter (sorry to rub it in, east coast) so this spring transition isn’t as big as it is some years.

Look, this Magnolia tree is almost done with this round of blooming! It’s been spring for SO long here!

It’s raining flowers on Megan’s Island!

With the days getting longer and warmer, I’ve scoured the internet for some ideas to help spring shine inside and out.

Spring!

Tulip wreath

Flower cookie bowls

So many other great things about spring: Easter, baseball, tulips, the list goes on!

Here are some more signs of spring in our yard!

Signs of spring in the backyard

Flowers for days!!

For all of my finds, visit my “Sunshine-y days” Pinterest Board! And get out there and enjoy the warm sun-showers!

16Mar2015

Happy St. Patrick’s Day! {2015}

Posted in 2015 Resolutions, Food, Holidays by mszerwo

Between lots of work and pregnancy exhaustion, my blogging has really fallen down lately. Sorry about that!

I had grand plans of doing several blog posts leading up to today’s holiday, but then, I didn’t. I had plans of making all sorts of treats for my office buddies. Then, I didn’t.

Instead, I present my “Luck ‘o the Irish” Pinterest board full of great ideas for today’s holiday.

I also would like to present a new favorite side dish of ours that pairs REALLY well with corned beef. (We jumped the gun on our corned beef consumption and created this perfect dish a few weeks ago…)

Without further ado… our feast:

St. Patrick’s Day feast

I buy my corned beef at Costco, throw it in the crock pot, sprinkle on the packet of spices, pour in a couple of glasses of water and let it go for 8-10 hours on low.

The potatoes are cut, boiled, and seasoned. I leave the skins on.

The garlic-roasted cauliflower is from Ina Garten’s Barefoot Contessa: How easy is that? cookbook. (From week seven of our cookbook challenge… I’ll post them soon! I promise!)

Garlic-roasted cauliflower

1 head of garlic, cloves separated but not peeled (We used pre-minced garlic… turned out great!)
1 large head of cauliflower, trimmed, cut into large florets
4 1/2 tablespoons good olive oil, divided use
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup minced fresh parsley
3 tablespoons pine nuts, toasted
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed (or bottled) lemon juice

Procedure:

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

2. Bring a small pot of water to a boil and add the garlic cloves. Boil for 15 seconds. Drain, peel and cut off any brown parts. Cut the largest cloves in half lengthwise.

3. On a sheet pan, toss the cauliflower with garlic, 3 tablespoons olive oil, 2 teaspoons salt and 1 teaspoon pepper. Spread mixture out in a single layer and roast for 20 to 25 minutes, tossing twice, until the cauliflower is tender and garlic is lightly browned.

4. Scrape the cauliflower into a large bowl with garlic and pan juices. Add remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil, parsley, pine nuts and lemon juice. Sprinkle with another 1/2 teaspoon salt, toss and serve hot or warm.

We’re off to enjoy MORE corned beef tonight with some friends. I hope you have a wonderful St. Patrick’s Day and you don’t forget to wear green!

{Interesting fun fact–or fiction: According to the legends, leprechauns delighted in causing mischief, which included tripping, kicking or otherwise harming humans. Wearing green supposedly rendered the wearer invisible to leprechauns, and thus spared the wearer their attentions.)

10Mar2015

{Wine Wednesday} A new type of bottle

Posted in Drinky drinky, Wine Wednesdays by mszerwo

This Wine Wednesday I have a secret that I must confess: I miss wine. I haven’t had booze of any sort this year and won’t for awhile. Why you ask? Well, we’ve got an announcement for you…

Brandon is still drinking and I can still read tasting notes and attend winery release parties, even if I don’t drink anything, so this isn’t farewell for too long. More wine news and information coming soon!

9Mar2015

New planter boxes!

Posted in Garden by mszerwo

Or are they raised beds? I don’t really know the difference. What I do know, however, is that I love them!

Our new planter boxes/raised beds

I’ve been thinking about some iteration of these boxes for the past couple of years and other things (like the pizza oven) have taken priority… until now. Brandon and I took advantage of our early spring weather and the leftover cedar from the front fence to build these beauties.

Planting beet seeds

Each box is 4′ long x 2.5′ wide and is planted with all sorts of goodies: raspberries, strawberries, garlic bulbs, kale, carrots, snap peas, peppers, beets, and a couple of lettuces. (Letti?)

Raised bed #1: Raspberries, strawberries, kale, beets, garlic bulbs and carrots!

Raised bed #1: Raspberries, strawberries, kale, garlic bulbs and carrots!

Raised bed #2: Lettuces, sweet peppers, snap peas, and beets

Here are some of the in-progress photos for your enjoyment:

Before shot of our new garden area

Before photo: stocking up on soil, plants and seeds

Box construction

The boxes are Brandon-sized!

Lightweight!

Proud of his work!

Is it spring in your neck of the woods? Did you take advantage of the nice weather? Tell me all about it!

5Mar2015

2015 Oscar party

Posted in Crafts, DIY, Parties! by mszerwo

I’m a bit overdue in posting this, but it’s well worth it, so make sure you read on.

“Oscar goes to…”

While I rarely watch all (or any, for that matter) of the Academy Award-nominated films, I have friends over each year to watch the Oscars.

The menu is different every year– we’ve gone from elegant appetizers to a panini bar and this year everyone brought a dish, potluck-style. The potluck is definitely the way to go. It was so easy!

Our 2015 Oscar feast

We made a couple of dishes and both were total keepers!

First, these mushroom polenta bites. I basically followed my friend Kelsey’s recipe on her blog, A touch of lovely. I opted for the tomato sauce as the spread and the chubby polenta loaf from Trader Joe’s. I threw the polenta in the freezer while I cooked the mushrooms and after a few minutes of chilling it cut very easily into perfect rounds. I followed the instructions on the package for the polenta. Our “bites” were larger than bites and they were delicious!

Mushroom polenta bites

For dessert I made the Smitten Kitchen’s buttered popcorn chocolate chip cookies. I really had no idea what to expect with these — I love both buttered popcorn and chocolate chip cookies independently — and was pleasantly surprised. These cookies were delicious! I substituted Trader Joe’s gluten-free all-purpose flour and couldn’t even tell there wasn’t gluten in the cookies. Next time I would have made less popcorn and would’ve added more melted butter to the popcorn. Try out the recipe and let me know what you think!

Buttered popcorn cookies, uncooked

Buttered popcorn cookies, cooked

Each year I have guests fill out their ballots, and just like every other year, my friend Kimmy won the award for the most-properly-guessed winners. There are some great ballot designs out there and we chose this ballot design.

Brandon making his Oscar predictions

I basically have a party-in-a-box for the Oscars that lives in my storage room. It includes a banner, set of silver chargers, a gilded vase, a silver and gold ice bucket, and several movie-themed party plates and decor. This year I found some great ideas on Pinterest and acted on a couple of them: my own Oscar statue and gilded, glittered champagne flutes.

I’m calling my Oscar statue “Oskar” and he started off as a very unfortunate Ken doll from the Goodwill.

Oskar, as Ken

Oskar cost $1.99 (he came with a Barbie that looked like she had leprosy; she went in the garbage) and I super-glued his hip joints standing straight and then his feet to a wood base from Michael’s. After he was dried, I spray painted him gold. After several coats, here he is!

Our “Oskar”

I bought the champagne flutes at Target for $1 each and the Krylon gold glitter spray paint (which I wouldn’t recommend) for ~$7 from Michael’s. I had the gold spray paint on hand. On any given day I have at least 3 cannisters of this stuff in my basement!

Bottoms up! Oscar bubbles

I started by thoroughly washing the glasses with soap and water, taped the bottom at the stem with painters tape and sprayed, sprayed, and sprayed some more.

Champagne glass taping

I tried using just the glitter spray paint and it didn’t cover well, so I started with the solid gold. I added the glitter spray paint on the second coat. All in all I am very happy with how these turned out!

Half painted golden champagne glasses

It’s never too early to start planning for next year’s Academy Awards! Visit my Pinterest “parties” board for about a million ideas.

16Feb2015

Happy Valentine’s Day to us!

Posted in 2015 Resolutions, Adventures, Holidays by mszerwo

I hope you had a great weekend! I know I did! And how exciting… we have ANOTHER day off!

Selfie at the bottom of the Falls!

For Valentine’s Day, Brandon and I headed east of Megan’s Island to Snoqualmie Falls.

Snoqualmie Falls is one of Washington state’s most popular scenic attractions. More than 1.5 million visitors come to the Falls every year. At the Falls, you will find a two-acre park, gift shop, observation deck, the Salish Lodge and the famous 270 foot waterfall.

It was beautiful this weekend and the scenery and fresh air were so nice! So nice that I got a little photo-happy. Enjoy!

Snoqualmie Falls from the main viewing platform

Snoqualmie Falls from the bottom

The path to the lower viewing platform

The Snoqualmie River

My valentine, posing down by the river

Driving from Snoqualmie to North Bend

We stopped by Scott’s Dairy Freeze after our trip to the Falls and kept it pretty low-key for dinner. (Don’t worry. We have some great meals from the Barefoot Contessa’s How easy is that? cookbook. Remember that New Year’s resolution we have?)

We did celebrate a few days early with these delectable pink Rice Krispie treats. They were so good and easy to make! And I can’t stop munching on the leftover SweetHearts!

Special Valentine’s Day Rice Krispies treats

Our outdoor time didn’t stop there. With spring seemingly here (Punxsutawney Phil was WRONG!) we cleaned up the yard, washed the cars and explored Seattle and Megan’s Island. More on that later this week!

6Feb2015

Valentine’s Day desserts

Posted in Drinky drinky, Food, Holidays by mszerwo

I’ve been a bit preoccupied with my day job and Seattle’s run at the Super Bowl (here, here) so February sort of snuck up on me.

Luckily I still have a few days (eight to be exact) to get my “stuff” together and plan a special day for my one and only.

We’ll likely plan a fun adventure either around town or just out of town: think breakfast at the Market or a quick ferry ride west for some wine tasting or beach combing.

We’ll also likely plan a dinner at home. (We’re not much for the often jacked-up prices on Valentine’s Day…) And with dinner comes dessert. Here are some delicious-sounding desserts that would round out our (and your!) fancy dinner quite well!

Macarons