June Menu Plan

1. Italian Turkey Cutlets
2. Avocado, Mozzarella and Bruschetta Chicken
3. Whole Wheat Linguine with Walnuts, Orange and Chile
4. Healthy Homemade Chili Mac
5. Curried Mango Chicken
6. Grilled Eggplant Parmesan
7. Chicken Rollatini with Spinach alla Parmagiana
8. Chicken Fajita Sizzling Salad
9. Caprese Ravioli with Roasted Tomato Pesto Sauce
10. Lamb Meatballs with Mint Pesto
11. Slow Cooker Chicken Philly Sandwiches
12. Orzo Pasta with Roasted Broccoli & Chickpeas
13. Cheeseburger Casserole
14. Warm Chicken BLT Salad
15. Roasted Red Pepper Sloppy Joes
16. Chorizo Mac & Cheese
17. Sweet Chili Chicken Quesadilla
18. Wasabi and Panko Crusted Pork
19. Huevos Rancheros
20. Chili Lime Chicken Kabobs
21. Smoky Mesquite BBQ Meatball Sliders
22. Italian Drunken Noodles
23. Monterey Chicken
24. Shepherds Pie
25. Buffalo Chicken Cupcakes
26. Jalapeno, Cilantro Chicken & Rice Casserole
27. Bang Bang Chicken
28. Bowtie Chicken Caesar Salad
29. Creamy Basil Chicken
30. Chicken Marsala Wraps

Gabe: 2Y9M

Dear Gabe,

Another month in your tiny little life has flown by...but this time BIG things have been happening! You've really embraced the big boy lifestyle :) While you've grown so much in some ways, we're always reminded that still, you're just a little guy. We get so used to you being our little tag-along and mostly behaving well that when you pull a typical baby/toddler move, like say waking up in the middle of the night screaming and joining us in bed, it throws us for a loop. We're like "oh. yeah. this is still happening, isn't it?" It's not fun to half-sleep on the very edge of the bed with about 6 inches of blanket but if it will help you get back to sleep then hey, I guess we'll deal :) But enough about that (can you tell it's way too fresh in my mind???) let's get on to what you've been up to.

- You started potty training! We are letting you lead the way and you've been doing a fantastic job. It's had it's moments of frustration and vommy smells but you're doing it bud, and we are super proud of you.

- You are embracing the whole being a boy thing. No longer timid or especially gentle, you love wrestling, climbing on Daddy, roughhousing (did I really just say that?) with your cousins and using your mom as a playground. Face squeezing and smushing is totally normal, although not encouraged AT ALL. I can't count how many times a day I have to remind you to be gentle! 

- You've found a big appreciation for the Pigeon books, as seen above. You love being read to and whenever you're not supposed to let the pigeon do something (like drive the bus) you always let him. Pigeon says "Hey, can I drive the bus?" and you say "Yeah!" and crack up laughing. You think it's the funniest thing. 

- Your new favorite phrase is "oh goodness!" Cue me dying of adorableness.

We've got so much love for you kiddo!

Love,

Mom (yes, you call me Mom now. Oy.)

Bottle Pop Parties: Dreadlock Rasta Party

I am beyond tardy in posting this party!  At the end of March, I put together this awesome Rasta themed party as a surprise for my client's husband. If you aren't in the know, Rasta is short for Rastafarian, a religious movement based in Jamaica. We took some of the best parts of Jamaica and the whole Rasta feeling and ran with it...the dancehall and reggae music, the free flowing drinks, the festive, island vibe.

Once again, my clients are the sweetest and let me run wild with my ideas. We focused on the bar, the food & desserts and just a bit of decor. Unfortunately, the party was indoors on a rainy, March night, so the lighting didn't really do it justice. But it turned out so fun! The birthday boy was surprised and word on the street is that everyone loved the details. Can't ask for anything more. Here's the pics...

How bout those insane cake pops? My cake pop girl, Jamie, handcrafts those babies down in Alabama and ships them to me and they are delicious and detailed and just ridic.

I sorta wanna throw a Rasta party for myself now. I do love me some Bob Marley. And rum-based drinks. 

What do you guys think??

I Like Big Books (But Not Too Big)

It's been a few months since I gave you the rundown on what I've been reading and took you for all of your book recommendations. Last time, a bunch of people suggested joining Goodreads so I did that. But man, I can't keep up with plucking my eyebrows, let alone another website to upkeep, ya know? And since I ain't too proud to beg, let me have all of your reading recommendations! Give em here!

I've been a regular at my local library lately, picking up books 5 at a time and racing through them every night. Here are some of my favorites...

Let's Explore Diabetes with Owls by David Sedaris - John picked this up for me for Mother's Day because he knows that I must own a copy of everything Sedaris writes. I will read it and re-read it and laugh out loud and love every single word. After going to see him live, I now ready everything in his delightfully adorable voice. I've only read the first few chapters but I've already chuckled out loud. He can do no wrong.

Where'd You Go, Bernadette: A Novel by Maria Semple - I'm pretty sure Jamie suggested this one and man, I just loved it. I loved Bernadette, the main character and her voice and her idiosyncracies. It's about this chick who used to be an architect, married to a Microsoft guy, mom to Bee, despiser of all the PTA moms and most people in general. For a perpetual eye-roller like myself, I definitely identified with her. Bernadette makes a big promise to her daughter but after a laughable and weird series of events, she disappears. Then Bee goes on the hunt. It's funny and sweet and just good.

This One Is Mine: A Novel by Maria Semple - I loved Bernadette so much, I immediately searched for more books by Semple. I learned she's a former Arrested Development writer, which is clearly why we clicked. But I also learned that she only has two books! Womp womp. Anyway, I grabbed this one and immediately got sucked in. She takes the typical "bored, privileged housewife cheats on husband with younger stud" story and actually makes it funny and interesting and you feel like you know these people.

Sweet Life by Mia King - I grabbed this one off the shelf one day because I was halfway through Tess of the D'Urbervilles and man, I needed something a bit lighter. This is definitely a beachy read about a couple who move to Hawaii for the husband's job and then everything falls apart.  It's a cheesy, cute story.

The Stolen Child by Keith Donohue - I grabbed this one based on the title and it was actually better and more interesting that I originally thought it would be. It's about children who are stolen by a faery pack of children, who then replace the children as changelings. It's creepy and sad and just good.

What else ya got?

btw, these are Amazon affiliate links. If you buy something, I get money. Yeah!

Adventures in Branding: Networking & Trade Shows

If you know me at all, you know I'd rather shove flaming skewers in my ears than "network". When I think network, I think of a roomful of people with nametags and weak cocktails, handing their business card out to anyone and everyone and participating in awkward conversations. This may or may not be the case. I've never networked on purpose. Even online, when it comes to the party world, I am hesitant to jump into Facebook threads and do much commenting. It's uncomfortable and it's not natural for me. But everyone knows that, in order to be even a tiny bit successful, you have to step out of your comfort zone. Sweat a little. Be nervous. You need to get out there and meet people. Especially in the event planning business, word of mouth is EVERYTHING. Sitting on my couch dreaming up cool dessert tables will only get me so far.

An opportunity popped up for me though and I grabbed it. A new business opened up near my house and I got to talking to the owner who mentioned that instead of a grand opening party, she wanted to do a block party type of thing and invite her neighbors to join her. So I told her what I do and she got excited. I'm now planning a chunk of this event. And in addition to being in charge of some of it, I'll also have a table there to showcase my talent. I'll be able to introduce myself and my company to my neighborhood, who only know me as the lady giving them dirty looks for speeding down the street when Gabe and I are out on our scooters.

I've obviously never done a trade show or anything like that before so this is all new for me. And dude, it's fun too. At first, I thought I'd come up with a cute theme and go crazy with it. Facebook fans suggested themes like County Fairs and Polka Dots and French Patisseries complete with live monkeys playing symbols (thanks for that one LB) but the more I thought about it, the more that was definitely the wrong way to go. I don't want to confuse people into thinking I'm any sort of business other than an event planning business. I'm not a bakery, not a candy store, not a monkey trainer.

I am Bottle Pop and that's what I'm going as. My table will have a Bottle Pop theme. My colors: hot pink, orange and midnight blue. A bit of gold, a bit of graphic stripes thrown in. Things that Pop. Things that resemble popping bubbles. All the things I love. This is me and this is my table. And since I love a good mock-up, here's my basic idea.

What do you think? Did I make the right decision? Isn't it fun? Should I get a monkey anyway?

Mother's Day and Me

We're really getting the hang of Mother's Day around here. I woke up to these two, spoiling me with cards and drawings and handmade wrapping paper and a new David Sedaris book. And coffee. Always the coffee.

Then we all dressed up and took my mom out to brunch, along with my brothers and their fams.

My mom looks like she's about to take flight here. It was really windy, she doesn't look like a loon on a regular basis.

After breakfast, we dropped my mom off and Gabe requested that I sit in the backseat with him. And although it's blurry, I sort of love this picture. Hand hugs. Love.

And now back to being a tween...

We came home, cleaned the place up and I got things cute for dinner with my in-laws. I found a bunch of cute pink and aqua paper products at Ikea the other day and threw em in my cart so fast. Luckily Mother's day was the perfect chance to use them or else they would have ended up in my box of unused party supplies. You know, because I can't stop buying things that I have no use for.

Of course, when faced with a giant platter of veggies, my son is the one with the fruit snacks. Or "blue blue" as he calls them on account of the bag color. If I make the mistake of buying Target brand with the red bag, he calls them "red blues". Also, this picture is where I going "say cheese!" So he looks away from me and says cheese. I'm telling you, he is d.o.n.e. with me and my camera.

Hope you all had a fantastic day celebrating the moms in your life.

ETA:  We made a family trip to Target mid-day and John told me to pick out a bonus present. I picked 3 for $20 tank tops. Something tells me I should have gone bigger.

Getting in Touch with Nature

If you hadn't figured it out by now, I'm not very outdoorsy. I don't like the following: bugs, sweat, dirt, sunburns and sensible shoes. But since we're trying to not raise a creeper who doesn't leave the couch, we get outside with Gabe as much as we can take. We're also trying to do a family friendly activity each weekend. Bonus if it's outdoors where he can run off his crazy toddler energy (of course, he still won't nap but whatev). So I strap on some sneakers (ew) and get in the game.

Last weekend, we headed to Tyler Arboretum in Media, PA. I've known about and driven by Tyler a thousand times in my life but I never really knew what the deal was. Of course, before I had a kid, I couldn't give a flip what went on there. Was there booze? No. Was there shopping? Not really. Ok, not interested. But now? Oh give me some kid friendly entertainment! And stat!

Anyway,  I kept hearing things about these awesome treehouses so we went to check them out. After paying our admission, we were free to wander around the 600+ acres of nature. In addition to all the cool treehouses, they had pretty flowers and trees, things for Gabe to climb on, a cute little pond, hiking trails and all the jazz that nature lovers tend to go gaga for. Me? Well I appreciated it.

This was right before he gave a big swift kick right to the pretty blue egg. And right before I shuffled him out of there with the quickness. Nothing to see here folks.

Does anyone watch Sofia the First? (Don't all raise your hands at once). Anyway, the episode with the trolls where they "make some noise!"  Yeah well we had a nice reenactment of that with these "boomwhackers". 

After traipsing through the Magical Path, I realize I should have just had Gabe's first birthday right there. And saved on gnome buying.

Adorableness everywhere.

Have you noticed Gabe doesn't pose for pictures anymore? Oy.

We spent a few hours exploring and we didn't even check out every corner. So we did what every suburban family does, we bought a membership (John sees tax deduction dollar signs). The clincher for me? The whole place is shady. So while we're planning on spending a lot of time there this summer, it won't be under the blaring sun, which me and my little pasty twin appreciate.