What stinks in here?

Posted in Uncategorized by mszerwo

Alternative title: why do all of Michael’s favorite things focus on poop?

I’m hoping that it’s normal that a 4+ year old boy is obsessed with farting and poop. They are, right?

Whoopee cushion to computer: everything is flatulent.

Our most recent find comes from Nat Geo Kids: the Dung Beetle Derby game. He’s obsessed. Players have to solve a series of puzzles and games to allow the poop ball to reach the dung beetle who then takes it to the next level. Sounds great, right? We worked together and beat the game in a little more than an hour. The game is fun and tricky.

One of many great NatGeo games

Of course we discovered a great new book: F is for Fart. The alphabet AND animals AND farts? A winner.

It really rounds out our collection of poop books… Everybody Poops, What is Poop, and the classics Toot and Potty.

Our favorite books of late

So what great poop and fart “resources” have you found?

We’re familiar with the What’s inside your butthole? “music video” (thanks, Uncle James), but I’ve opted not to share it here.

Please tell us other books we should be reading and games we should be playing!

25Apr2018

Our current Instant Pot favorites {April 2018}

Posted in Food, Uncategorized by mszerwo

Even though we hauled our Instant Pot across the country with us on our big drive last summer, it took me a little bit of time to warm up to it.

While it’s nice to be able to saute, slow cook, pressure cook, etc in one dish, the time needed to get up to pressure (15+ minutes) is annoying and makes weeknight IP’ing (as the cool kids are saying) more difficult.

Nonetheless, I’ve persevered and have been actually enjoying our Instant Pot lately and found a few recipes I’d like to share here (and keep on record for quick reference):

Urvashi Pitre’s Instant Pot Butter Chicken from the New Yorker

We pair ours with naan, jasmine rice, and roasted cauliflower with slivered almonds and raisins.

Delicious, delicious IP butter chicken

Instant Pot Salisbury Steak With Mushroom Gravy by Live Simply

We nestle these Salisbury steaks in a bed of creamy, garlic mashed potatoes with a veggie on the side.

It’s not that photogenic of a dish and I always devour it right away, so no photos. Please use your imagination.

Instant Pot Beef and Broccoli by Savory Tooth

Michael has a soy sensitivity, so when we can avoid it, we do. Thankfully, coconut aminos exist and are delicious as a soy sauce substitute in this recipe. We sub them 1:1 and the sauce tastes so much like “normal” sauce!

IP Broccoli beef

I electronically hoard other Instant Pot tips, tricks, and recipes on Pinterest too. Check them out. And please share some of your IP favorites for me to try out!

23Nov2016

{Wine Wednesday} Pie & wine!

Posted in Drinky drinky, Food, Holidays, Uncategorized by mszerwo

WineWednesday

I appreciate the desire for a good pie this time of year, but personably I’m not a pie person. (I much prefer to drink my desserts!) When I found this pie and wine pairing guide from VinePair though, I knew I had to share with you and plan appropriately!

wines-and-pie

I’m pretty excited to make this pumpkin pecan baked brie on Sunday for our big feast. Have you made something similar? Did you love it? Any tips?

brie

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving! Check out photos of our day tomorrow on Instagram!

30Jul2015

50 days to go!

Posted in Around the house, Baby Michael, Crafts, DIY, Homemade, Photos, Uncategorized by mszerwo

About 50 days ago I blogged my master to-do list for the baby’s room.

Well, time has flown by and over the weekend we hit the 50 days until D-day mark. We also spent a lot of time wrapping up some of the nursery projects.

Here’s a update of where we are, and what we still have left to do before the little guy comes in just about seven weeks. (Or sooner?!)

UPDATED master to do list:

~~Remove the mattress and bed frame. Wrap for transport to the cabin.~~ Transported to the cabin over the Fourth, where I won an award for my quinoa salad!
~~Apologize to Maddie for stealing her favorite napping spot.~~ She still sleeps in there, and has made do with the bassinet. She’s in for a rude awakening when that bassinet is full with an infant!
~~Wash sheets, take comforter to dry cleaners.~~
~~Remove ball lights.~~
~~Clean out and remove the bookshelf side table.~~
~~Vacuum and dust thoroughly!~~
~~Buy paint and paint the room. We’re debating between Behr’s Sparrow and Anonymous. Which one is your favorite?~~ We went with Sparrow. It’s very pretty and so serene!
~~Secure baseboards. Touch up with paint if necessary.~~
~~Hang curtain rods and curtains.~~
~~Place the art on the shelves and think about where wall art will be placed~~ We still have some art to frame, but it’s we’re running out of space!
~~Empty Brandon’s clothes from the dresser.~~ He’s all moved into the master bedroom! It only took 5 years…
~~Replant and move Brandon’s terrarium.~~ It looks so good! I realized that I never posted about it. I’ll add that to the list of blogs to work on!
~~Assemble new rocking chair.~~ Assembled! And we’ve used it several times. We have this pouf on order to complete the look!
~~Grab crib from home-home and set it up.~~ It’s grabbed, but it turns out my sister busted one of the rungs when she was a kid. It’s in Dad’s shop now, getting repaired. We’ve got the mattress and lots of sheets for it!
Finish whale mobile. It’s almost ready. I just need to find the embroidery floss in my rather cluttered craft room. Maybe this weekend I’ll finish it!
~~Finish painting ceramic fish and lampshade.~~ Painted. Now I just have to find a spot for the fish and put the lampshade on the lamp.
~~Measure dresser, cut whitewood (or other kind of cheap wood) to create a top. (We’re making something like this, but only the top.)~~ We a went a different direction; one that I’m really pleased with the direction we went! See the photo of Michael’s new ombre dresser below!
~~Sand and paint dresser, replace drawer pulls.~~ Painted. Pulls replaced! See photo and let me know what you think!
Sand and stain ~~dresser top~~, elephant rocker, side table, ~~trophy bases and book boxes~~. Rocker and side table sanding/staining are still on the to do list, but the trophy bases and book boxes are done and look great.
~~Spray paint the ceramic animal heads~~, adhere them to the wood trophy bases. They’re painted and now they need to be adhered. I’m debating between using super glue and hot glue. Anyone have any recommendations?
~~Make rope basket “zoo” for stuffed animals.~~ It’s a great idea and project, but I could not find the rope anywhere. Then I went to Homegoods and found an adorable bin for far less than it would’ve been to make the rope basket.

Some new to do’s, in addition to the ones not crossed out above:

Get sun from home-home, hang in the corner of the room. Michael and I will grow up with the sun in our rooms, made by my Aunt Peggy!
Buy laundry hamper.
Clean out ‘candle drawer’ in the kitchen, so we have a place for all of his bottles and supplies. (Yes, we have a candle drawer.)
Clean out the bathroom a bit, making room for all of Michael’s new stuff.

And what you really came here for… updated photos!

Here's our super-sized rocker and the photo area. I imagine I'll be spending some quality time here soon!

Here’s our super-sized rocker and the photo area. I’ll be spending some quality time here soon!

Here’s the ombre dresser and changing table area.

A close up of the “zoo” bin for Michael’s stuffed animals.

Here is one of our rolling apple crates for books. Brandon did such a great job sanding and staining them! We both did a good job on the wheels.

Here’s the latest on the whale mobile. It’s looking great and will be finished soon!

I hope you enjoyed our nursery update. There will be more photos as we keep finishing projects in the next (less than!!) 50 days!

22May2015

{Gone Pinning} Memorial Day mocktails

Posted in Drinky drinky, Gone Pinning, Holidays, Uncategorized by mszerwo

I’m more than halfway through my pregnancy and as the weather warms up, I want nothing more than a refreshing cocktail. While I know that I CAN drink during pregnancy, I’m opting against it for the most part. I’ve had a few sips of wine but I’ll be sticking to the mocktails this weekend and into the summer months.

Here are some of the delicious-looking mocktails I’ve found Pinterest:

Blackberry fauxjito

Pear basil sipper

Ginger beer mojitos

Strawberry lemonade — a classic!

Blueberry mint lemonade

Dark invader

And these booze-filled cocktails also look good. I can just omit the booze and they’ll taste more-or-less the same, right!?

Blackberry margarita

Peach Mango Pineapple White Sangria

Strawberry and peach sangria

Strawberry and rhubarb sangria

Cheers to the long weekend and our expected Seattle sun!

14Mar2014

{Gone Pinning} Snacks for finals

Posted in Food, Gone Pinning, Uncategorized by mszerwo

School is not in my recent past or immediate future, but school is challenging for Brandon this quarter. Thankfully, he’s just finishing up the last week of the quarter and next week is FINALS week.

How can I help? With finals snacks! Where do I go to find some delicious, nutritious snacks for Brandon and his cohort? PINTEREST! In case you’re also supplying study treats over the next week, I’ve scoured the internet for some great ideas. Don’t worry, these are great for non-finals times too.

Snack combos

Chickpeas

No bake energy bites

Chocolate raspberries

Power snacks

And maybe some not-so-healthy options…(via my “Sweets for my sweets” board)

Funfetti cookies

S’more krispie treats

Happy snacking! And good luck on finals!

9Mar2014

{Gone Pinning} Luck ‘o the Irish

Posted in Gone Pinning, Holidays, Uncategorized by mszerwo

I can’t believe that St. Patty’s day is already next week, on Monday, March 17. This year is flying by, which is good because I’m over all of this rain we’ve been having. I’ve scoured the internet for some great ideas to make your St. Patrick’s day a golden success.

We’ll be enjoying corned beef (my favorite!), potatoes, and cabbage, and if you’re not a corned beef-aholic like I am, here are some other fun Irish ideas:

Irish beef stew

Shamrock tortilla chips

Maybe we’ll deviate a little bit and combine our two favorite things: corned beef (mine) and pot pie (Brandon’s):

Corned beef pot pie

Corned beef and cabbage soup

We’re always looking for desserts…

Sweet And Salty Guinness Chocolate Pie With Beer Marshmallow Meringue

St. Patty’s day bars

Baileys Irish Cream Cookies

Check out all of my ideas on my “Luck ‘o the Irish” Pinterest board. And have a wonderful St. Patty’s day!

1Mar2014

2014 Oscar party

Posted in Holidays, Parties!, Uncategorized by mszerwo

The Oscars are one of my favorite excuses for a party. Unfortunately, an Oscar party isn’t in our cards this year, so, you get the benefit of my creative mind and ideas. Here we go!

First, cocktails.

Champagne + Chambord + Raspberries = Hollywood Glam

Next, food. Let’s start with dessert.

My go-to is the popcorn cupcake. They’re pretty easy to make (although cutting all those marshmallows is a bit tedious…) and everyone loves them.

Megan’s Popcorn Cupcakes

Oscar popcorn cupcakes

However, these are some pretty amazing cupcakes too. These might be good for next year!

Oscar cupcakes | Party Pinching

Oscar statue cookies!? I own the cookie cutter and have used edible glitter to make flat cookies, but I haven’t made cookies that look nearly this good. These are exceptional.

Adorable and delicious cookies

And snacks! Last year we had a panini bar, with a variety of meats, cheeses and veggies.

Our 2013 Oscar panini bar

We also did a quinoa salad and truffle popcorn. I’ve seen a lot of ideas for popcorn bar, but I prefer to keep it more on the classic side.

These tux cheese and crackers are some cutest appetizers that I’ve ever seen. These will definitely be on the table next year!

Tux cheese and crackers

To put the finishing touches on the best Academy Awards/Oscar party ever, you’ll need to decorate like an award-winner! Gold is clutch when decorating, and if you want, you could bust out my favorite metallic spray paint and make your own trophies, like these Ken dolls…

Opportunity to spray paint? Yes, please!

Or keep it classy, keeping to the gold palette:

Our Oscar spread from 2013

Academy award party decor

And of course, you need an activity. I like completing ballots and “grading” them as the awards are presented. I give away past Oscar-winning films as prizes.

There are a lot of printable ballot options online right now and I’m really liking this one from Studio DIY:

Studio DIY 2014 Oscar ballot

Have a wonderful weekend and really enjoy those Academy Awards on Sunday!

2Feb2014

Yes, I supported the Broncos.

Posted in Uncategorized by mszerwo

Still love ’em. Denver Broncos

Yes, I love Seattle. Yes, I live in Seattle (for the most part). Yes, I work for the City of Seattle. No, Paul Allen doesn’t sign my paycheck. And, yes, I did it: I cheered for the Broncos.

Don’t get me wrong, this has been a very exciting time for Seattle. We finally have a Super Bowl win under our belts and leading up to it, everyone — seriously everyone — was behind the Seahawks. More power to them. My Facebook feed is blowing up with “12th man” photos and posts, even the Director of the County’s Public Health Department posted a photo with a Hawks sign. There are 12 flags flying everywhere. Boeing even painted a plane for them. And seriously 2/3 of my Facebook friends (or at least the ones who Facebook puts in my specific algorithm) are in New York/Jersey for the game.

I’m a Bronco’s fan by association. Brandon was born in Denver and attended his first Bronco game en utero. He’s been to many Bronco games since and follows them religiously. Our wedding was even a tribute to the Broncos, with an orange and navy color scheme. (My decision, but he did love it.)

Go Broncos! (side 1)

I was busy this past week getting ready for Sunday, and we had several people over for a Bronco party. We even had Skittles in honor of the opponents. We also had the best post roast sliders ever (on pretzel rolls!), a veggie tray, macaroni salad, potato salad, rice krispie treats and lots of beer and wine. Basically, a fantastic Sunday.

Go Broncos! (side 2)

Still love ’em. Denver Broncos

Sadly, it wasn’t much of a game. I’m a pretty mediocre fan, but because of Brandon’s fanatic status, I know more than most pseudo fans do. And that game was shit. It looked a lot like the pre-season game with against the Seahawks, a game in which Peyton Manning played for less than a quarter. I don’t think the Broncos even showed up. And worse, I couldn’t even really enjoy the commercials. Rather, the advertisers didn’t really show up either. I did enjoy the Budweiser ad with the puppy and the Clydesdales and it turns out Coca-Cola is a far better company overall than Pepsi, at least according to their ads.

Next season is another one and we’ll be cheering on the Broncos from our spot on Megan’s Island. In fact, Brandon will likely be cheering on the Broncos in a Super Bowl XLVIII re-match in Seattle next year.

Anyway, I’m looking forward to all of the upcoming Seahawk celebrations (riots, parades, etc.) and moving on to new sporting seasons. It’s been fun, but you know.

Happy Monday to you!

29Jan2014

{Wine Wednesday} NOLA cocktails

Posted in Adventures, Uncategorized, Wine Wednesdays by mszerwo

It’s Wine Wednesday again and things have slowed down enough that I’ve had time to write about it! (FINALLY.) I’m still working on my post about my recent excursion to New Orleans and as I work on it, I thought I’d share some of my favorite NOLA cocktails with you…along with some recipes!

Pimm’s Cup. Delicious.

Pimm’s Cup

I had quite a few of these on my long weekend (including my first and last drinks of the weekend) and each one was just different enough and all were refreshingly delicious. Here are the ingredients: Pimm’s liqueur, fresh lime juice, and ginger beer, with a cucumber. There are a ton of recipes out there, and I’d recommend getting those ingredients and getting to work. You really can’t go wrong. If you’re visiting New Orleans, definitely stop by the St. Lawrence bar for a Pimm’s daiquiri. It’s SO GOOD. It’s like a Slurpee but with booze. And if you’re in New Orleans and looking for ginger beer, visit the 12 Mile Limit and enjoy my friend Sam’s homemade ginger beer. I haven’t had the pleasure, but he speaks very highly of it and he’s pretty modest.

Here are some links to what I expect are fabulous Pimm’s Cup recipes. When in doubt, or if you’re being lazy, mix or pick up some lemonade and add some Pimm’s and ice. It’s easy and delicious and how I drank Pimm’s before I visited NOLA.

The Sazerac. Yes, please.

Sazerac

I used to think that Sazerac was a bar in Seattle with a really good happy hour. Turns out its an absinthe drink that originated in New Orleans and according to Wikipedia is “sometimes referred to as the oldest known American cocktail, with origins in pre-Civil War New Orleans.”

The Sazerac is a combination of cognac or rye whiskey, absinthe, and bitters; it is “distinguished by its preparation method.” (Wikipedia)

Thank you to my friend Brian for introducing me to the Sazerac’s history and enjoying several with me over the weekend!

When I wasn’t drinking Pimm’s Cups or Sazeracs, I was busy imbibing in Hurricane’s, Fireball and red wine (my favorite!). What a weekend!

Hurricanes at Pat O’Brien’s with my cousins

Fireball time with Jessi and Brian

Here are most of my ladies at the wedding. Such a fun weekend!!

Megan's Island

Welcome to my island!

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