Hazel turns ONE

It's been close to a year since I have written on here so it seemed only fitting to "get back into it" with a post on Hazel's 1st Birthday. Not quite sure how a whole year has flown by but here I am a year later and ready to get back to it. That being said i'm excited to start with Hazel's first birthday.

We had our family over for a "Woodlands Brunch" to celebrate. Mimosas and Bloody Mary's for the adults, hot chocolate for the kids. Lot's of yummy brunch foods on the table including deviled eggs, smoked salmon, quiche, a blueberry strata and a winter salad. For dessert I made "s'mores on a stick, Magnolia's famous banana pudding,  a "woodlands" birthday cake and fresh berries.  I also made a "bear hugs" trail mix for everyone to take home with them. 

And of course the celebration wouldn't be complete without cute "fox socks" on Hazel's cute chubby legs. I could kiss those "foxy" legs all day!

Below are some pictures from the special day. 

                         

Hazel's Nursery

We welcomed little Hazel into the world in January and I wanted to share a peek inside her nursery. As soon as I found out I was having another girl my mind starting automatically brainstorming what I wanted her room to look like. I'm excited to share the finished product with you below.

Since Harper was no longer sleeping in her crib I was able to pass that down to Hazel, as well as her rocker and changing table. They're all white so I pretty much had a blank canvas to work with. I found this rug at anthropologie and knew right away that I wanted that to be the focal point of the room. Ironically I found this turkish throw pillow on etsy that just happen to be a perfect match to the rug! I worked the rest of the colors of the room around the rug; pops of fuchsia, coral and accents of gold.

Most of the little trinkets and personalized decor I found on etsy.com 

The adorable moccasins are by freshly picked and were a gift from a good friend.

The bed sheet is from aden and anais and the bed skirt is from Restoration Hardware Baby

The silver star and gold heart throw pillows are also from Restoration Hardware Baby.

The cloud with hearts mobile is by Baby Jives Co.

I had this framed baby lamb print over the crib when it was in Harper's room. I loved it so much I ordered four more baby animal prints from The Animal Print Shop that I hung over the rocking chair.

These gold and white book shelves were exactly what I was looking for to display family pictures, books and other trinkets. I found them at the land of nod

This gold sunburst mirror that sits over the changing table is also from anthropologie. 

We painted the wall Benjamin Moore Pale Almond. It's the perfect neutral shade to compliment the rest of the room.

Memorial Day BBQ

This was a perfect first weekend to kick off summer. We spent time upstate with my family which consisted of a lot of time by the lake; boating, bon fires and of course, making s'mores. Then on Monday we had friends over for a BBQ. After a long and busy winter (which included having my second daughter in January... Hence why I haven't been on here very much in the past few months) 

I'm so looking forward to the warm summer days ahead and getting back into cooking and entertaining. 

For our BBQ today we served ribs and burgers and kept it simple for sides; tomato & mozzarella, Cole slaw and a deconstructed Mexican street corn salad. It was so delicious and really simple to make. I'm sharing the recipe below. I insist you try it for your next BBQ, or even for dinner tonight.

Your guests will thank you!

Deconstructed Mexican Street Corn 

What you'll need:

6 ears of corn, husked 

4 tablespoons mayo

3 tablespoons fresh squeezed lime juice

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1/4 teaspoon paprika, plus more for garnish

3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro, plus more for garnish

salt & pepper

Directions:

Husk and boil corn for about 12 minutes. 

Prepare the grill and grill corn, turning occasionally, until charred. (about 10-15 minutes). Take off and let cool. Cut the kernels from the cob and transfer to a bowl.

In a separate bowl whisk together the mayo, lime juice, paprika, Parmesan cheese and cilantro. Season with salt & pepper to taste. Add this mixture to the corn and toss. Top with a sprinkle of paprika and cilantro. You can also add a few extra pinches of Parmesan cheese on top.

Enjoy!

Minted.

Some of the art I ordered from minted arrived today. I'm so excited to get these framed and up in our bedroom. If you haven't already I highly recommend checking out the site.

By shopping Minted, you support a community of thousands of artists.  Artists from all over the world enter their competitive design challenges. Every limited edition art print has been voted on by artists, designers and shoppers.

Right now they have a promotion going on; 20% off Art with promo code GIFT20 and free 2-day shipping (on order over $75) with promo code GIFTFS2

Stay tuned for these framed and hung!

Harper's 3rd Birthday

My daughter Harper turned 3 in November. 

She loves all arts and crafts so we decided to do an "Art Studio" theme. I was a little nervous that the arts and crafts wouldn't hold the attention of 30 three year olds but it ended up working out perfectly.  Everyone not only had a blast but got to take home their own painted canvas. 

I purchased individual canvas's for each kid at Michael's to decorate with washable paint, glitter pens and foam letter stickers. So the parent's wouldn't totally kill me for their kids making a mess I got each kid their own smock to wear while painting.

I wrapped a smock around each canvas and a little custom tag that read "Paint, Glitter & Stickers too, Create your own canvas to bring home with you".

In addition to the canvas painting I set up a table with play doh and play doh accessories. This happened to be a huge hit!

I also got a bunch of boxes of noodles and died them the colors of the rainbow. Each kid made a "noodle necklace" to take home with them as well.

To tie in with the "Painting" theme I hired Maria Rocco to do face painting. She did an amazing job. Each kid left looking like a princess or super hero.

 For dessert we had a paint palette birthday cake, paintbrush pretzels, mini rainbow cupcakes and paint dipped strawberries. All of them home made.

As a give out I ordered a water color paint set for each kid and wrapped it with a paint palette lollipop and custom tag that said "Thank you for making my birthday a masterpiece".

The party was a huge hit! Harper had a blast and we now have enough paint supplies to get us through a very long winter ahead!

Invitation

Swanky Press

Custom signage
Invitation Celebration

&
Larkspur Studios

Canvas's

Michael's

Smocks

amazon

Face Painting

Maria Rocco

Water color paint palette

shindigz

Rainbow Table Cloths 

shindigz

Paper goods

shindigz

All desserts were home made 

Friday I'm in Love

I'm always keeping an eye out for cute & unique clothing for Harper. I came across mamacase prints on etsy.com.
Kacie is based out of Austin, TX, where all of her items are designed and printed in her home studio.

All her materials - shirts, screens and ink are made in the USA.

It was hard choosing which Tee to order as they are all so adorable. 

Ultimately I choose the "Friday I'm in Love" tee. I mean really, does it get any cuter?

It's super soft and comfy - I will definitely be ordering more! 

I think "oh grow up" may need to be my next purchase.

Tees are $22 and onsies are $20.

Mention ShabouShari in your notes section at check out!

mamacase prints etsy shop

Easy weeknight dinner, Pasta alla Norma

Weeknight dinners are hard. With everything that needs to get done during the day sometimes making dinner is the last thing you have time for, or feel like doing. 

The below pasta dish you can whip up quickly. You probably have most of the ingredients in your cabinet already. And the eggplant is a great way to get your serving of veggies in. 

Pasta alla Norma

What you'll need:

- 2 firm eggplants, peeled and cubed

- Extra virgin olive oil as needed

- 1 tablespoon dried oregano (or 1 teaspoon fresh)

- Pinch of red pepper flakes (this is optional)

- 4 garlic cloves, minced

- Handful of fresh basil, finely chopped

- (2) 14-ounce cans good quality chopped tomatoes (I like San Marzano)

- Salt and pepper to taste

- 1 pound pasta

- 6 ounces salted ricotta salata (you can substitute with feta)

Directions:

Remove skin from eggplants and cut into cubes.

In a nonstick pan heat oil. Fry the eggplant cubes in batches, adding extra oil if needed. Sprinkle with a pinch of salt & pepper and the oregano. Keep turning the eggplant cubes until browned on all sides. 

Turn the heat down to medium and add the minced garlic and half of the basil. Add in the pinch of red pepper flakes (if you want a little spice). Toss everything well and add the 2 cans of tomatoes. Simmer about 15-20 minutes. 

While the sauce simmers cook the pasta in salted boiling water. When it is al dente drain it, reserving about 1/4 cup of the cooking water. Toss the pasta straight in pan with the sauce and add in the reserved cooking water.

Toss & cook for an additional 5 minutes.

Take off heat and add in the rest of the basil and a drizzle of olive oil. Sprinkle cheese on top and serve immediately.