A Walk In The Park {A Note To You My Son}

I don't know what is going on in this world. Its so full of life yet filled with so much tragedy. My heart and prayers go out to Oklahoma City. Let this be a reminder to spend each day celebrating ourselves, our families and our friends. I thought about all of this today on my usual playground run with Aleksandar. Life is too precious to wait for special occasions to create special moments. Allow everyday to be a day of cherishing your loved ones quirks and all!

A note to you my son...

Today is an opportunity to celebrate you and all your silly splendor. A time to celebrate your big curls that just can not seem to follow the rules (they are quite unruly), your dimples that seem to sink into your right cheek more than your left cheek, even a time to celebrate the marker scribbles along your legs & lower arms (thank God for washable markers!). A time to celebrate your current obsession with all things Elmo, cars, and wheels on the bus. A time to celebrate the fact that you've mastered the art of "thank you", "gracias", and "God bless you" (still working on that "please"). You are the reason why today I am celebrating so cheers to you my lil monster! I love you...all 35 inches and 33 pounds of you!

xoxo

More things you are doing now:

-you have an extensive vocabulary and can almost form a sentence

-you haven't lost your very sweet and affectionate nature giving hugs & kisses to not only your "Mama" and "Tato" but to random children and doggies on the street or play ground.

-you are one of the youngest in your class yet the tallest making you the classroom's official light switcher on/off(er)

-you are learning to defend yourself against older kids yet you to do it with such style. With a sort of playful charm that is admirable, I hope you never lose that

-you love your baby sitter and even more than love her daughter. Actually probably kinda obsessed with her. {big pimpin :D}

-you love singing songs with your mama on the radio on your way to school and I'm slightly inclined so say you know Pink's "Just Give Me A Reason" better than I do, "uh oh" 

Quick & Delicious Spinach Sofrito Turkey Meatballs

I like doing my meal planning and food prepping for the week on Sundays before the start of an inevitably busy week. Now, there are those times where even on a Sunday not much time is left for any pre meal planning. On weeks like these, I rely on my old faithfuls! What are my old faithfuls? The meals I know I can prep, cook, and serve within 30-40 mins tops. No really I promise this recipe is super easy, healthy and best of all delish! Yay, for quick and easy turkey meatballs!

I adapted my recipe from this recipe I found on Food.com

Ingredients:

2 tbs olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped 
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground pepper
2 tbs Sofrito (original recipe called for dried spices. I like using fresh herbs and veggies to season and always have Sofrito on hand for quick seasoning. You can find the quick and easy Sofrito recipe here)
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1 tbs fresh parsley, reserving a few sprigs for garnishing 
4 cups fresh spinach
2 tbs Worcestershire Sauce    
1/3 cup low sodium chicken or vegetable broth
2 1/2 Ibs lean turkey ground meat
3/4 cup breadcrumbs 
2 large eggs

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Spray a baking pan with cooking spray.

2. In a pan on medium heat, heat olive oil. Add onion, garlic, salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, and Sofrito. Saute until onion is translucent.

3. Add spinach,  Worcestershire Sauce, and chicken broth to the onion mixture and mix it all up for 4-6 mins. Set aside and let cool.

4. In a large mixing bowl combine the turkey, breadcrumbs, and egg. Add the cooled mixture to the meat mixture already in the bowl.

5. Once mixed well, create meatballs to desired size. I usually make them about 2 1/2 inches in diameter but it does render less meatballs than the original recipe.

6. Bake for about 20-22 minutes. Garnish with remaining parsley and serve. 

Note, I usually double the recipe so that I can take half the batch of cooked meatballs and freeze for another meal later in the week, total time saver ;). I like to serve them with spaghetti and change it up by serving them with brown rice and green veggies later in the week. These are also great so serve as small bites when you have company over.

Happy Cooking!

Road Trippin

Last minute we've decided to take a road trip to Michigan and then to Niagara Falls for the upcoming Memorial Weekend. There's something to be said about hitting the highway, blasting some old school hip hop, exchanging high school war stories, and stopping at not so fancy diners along the way (I heart those eateries...note so self: research blogs that feature the best diners across America, you know in case it's useful one day :/). This is the best time to connect with people to hear their thoughts out loud, to sing to the top of your lungs and capture some great memories on your camera. Im really looking forward to packing up the baby, loading up on good-for-you snacks and just hitting that open air with my two favorite boys. For some strange reason Im not the least bit worried about taking a 10 hr road trip with a toddler, I must be losing my "new mom" badges. Im quite comfortable entering this new journey into toddler hood with baby A. What do you have planned for this Memorial Weekend?

Road Trippin by stylendetails featuring see through tops

Scotch & Soda see through top,/ Isabel Marant hi top / Vince shawl collar jacket / Ksubi distressed shorts,/ Brahmin handbag / Hermès leather jewelry / Black hat,/ Lets Go Off the Map, Wanderlust handwritten Graphic Print, Travel,... / Tom Ford Islay,

Dear Mom {HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY}

Now that Im a Mother I can understand the love of a Mother so much more. The sacrifices you make, the thoughts, hopes and ambitions you secretly hold for your children. By some divine right our hearts grow bigger, warmer, and our faith stronger. We are Mother's, and cooks, play mates and story tellers.  We are the vessel that holds our children's innocence and use it to filter out the good and the bad...We create the boundaries, set the rules, and pave the way. We are the mold and template from which our children will one day live their own lives by. And somehow the day comes after all the years of love, and hope, and need and care, we somehow have to find the strength to set them free. Ive just one question mom, one that I have not been able to quite yet figure out. If a love of a Mother trumps all else, how mom is the love of a grandmother???...I hope and pray I will one day know.

I love you...Chris and Carlitos love you...Stephen and JC love you...and undoubtedly your grandson loves you. You are the glue that holds us all together. You are our starting place and our ending point. You are everything including the place we call home.

You are loved our "Mom", our "Mami"...our heart 

Images: Gregory Paul Photography

A look back... {Birthday week}

I honestly can not believe that I've been responsible for a human being for 2 years now! Seriously shocks me...and I've absolutely loved every minute of it. This weekend we celebrated Aleksandar's 2nd birthday (look out for the birthday post coming soon!). We had a blast with close friends and family, beer and wine (of course a kid party wouldn't be a party without some of that, duh),  race cars and pizza, a guest appearance by a life size Elmo (I really thought he'd be much more excited about that...ce la vie), oh and cake lots and lots of cake!

I can not wait to share pics with you but while I wait for the photographer to edit the images here are some highlights of last years "Hoop Dreams" inspired 1st Birthday Party we had for our lil Baby A. You can also see the beautiful feature Amy Atlas did on the party on her blog here.

Thank you for allowing me to be a proud mommy and share and relive this special day with you :)

Happy Monday!




Event Planning, Design & Styling: Style In The Details
Custom Party Hats: Style In The Details
Photographer: Neil Britto
Cake & Cupcakes: Sophie and Sophia
Custom Party Printables: Green Beansie Ink
Entertainment: Over The Moon Entertainment
Catering: Five Guys

Sofrito-The Secret to Latin Cuisine

Have you ever been to a cuban restaurant and thought 'was is in this skirt steak'?. Or having a Puerto Rican meal and have licked your fingers clean after eating that fresh off the grill pork chop? No? Ok, well I guess that last part must only be me. I've definitely been guilty of that :/. The secret in latin cuisine is in the seasoning. We use something we call Sofrito. It's the base in many Latin Caribbean and Spanish influenced dishes. I use Sofrito for everything from poultry and meats, beans and rice to soups and casseroles. It definitely the go-to marinade and seasoning around these parts and the quint essential addition to most meals at our house because a) Im a very busy mom and its so easy to make and store, b) Its all made from only fresh veggies and c) it's versatile. But if I haven't  sold you yet the aromatic blend of tomatoes, peppers, cilantro, parsley, onion and garlic will, guaranteed! Mmm delicioso.



Prep Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 15 minutes

Yield: 1 quart

Ingredients:

• 2 medium green peppers, seeds removed
• 1 red sweet pepper, seeds removed
• 2 large tomatoes
• 2 medium onions, peeled
• 1 head of garlic, peeled
• 1 bunch cilantro leaves
• 1/2 bunch parsley leaves

Instructions:

• Rinse all produce well with water and place in a coriander or strainer to let the excess water out.
• Place all ingredients in a processor or blender, process or blend until you get a puree, and you're done.

What I love most is the amount it yields. I make it at the beginning of each week and if I store it in a glass container its stays fresh for the rest of the week, and always have more to store in freezer for later use. 

Baby Bump {Nurseries To Die For}

Aleksandar will be 2 yrs old in a couple of weeks-I know 2? Can you believe it? I can hardly believe my husband and I have been responsible for a human being for 2 yrs! I can hardly believe I gave birth to such a large human!...but I digress. With this monumental age fast approaching, I find myself nesting all over again. Maybe it has to do with the new Spring season and wanting to clear out clutter or maybe its my own way of dealing with my baby boy becoming my little boy, but for some reason my mind keeps racing with ideas on how I can transition Aleksandar's baby nursery to his very own big boy's room. In an effort to gather inspiration Ive been Pinning away! Here are some of the nurseries I am utterly in LOVE with.

Hollywood Regency Inspired Kids Room 

Wall Papered Baby Girls Nursery

Grey Orange and Baby Blue Baby Boys Room

Cool-Modern Grey and Yellow Nursery

All White Everything Kids Room

Precious Baby Girls Room

These rooms! I die! To see some more baby love check out my Baby Bump Pinterest board here.