snow day: in the kitchen

words that are becoming all too familiar in our neck of the woods.

breakfast has become one of my favorite meals to cook.

normally I pack my breakfast & eat with my kids at work...

so these days are rare, especially for mr. mack & me to eat together.

I decided to try this sweet potato hash brown with dippy eggs

I've seen/pinned a few times on pinterest.

I can see this super easy breakfast becoming a family favorite.

[the cast iron skillet made this dish even tastier.]

love being across the table from this guy. <3

it's always a sign of a good day..

as you can see this pup would stay out all day if we'd let him.

snow days are his absolute FAVORITE! 

& as per usual he is always covered in white. 

 with the snowfall means= baking!

Am i right?

Well I'm currently doing the WHOLE30.

Essentially it's a 30 day kick start to better eating & choices

by eating clean & healthy foods.

I'm on day #9,

and today has been tough.

I really want to bake cookies & drink hot cocoa!

But my self control has surprised me! WOO HOO!

So with that being said,

I decided to bake but not for me..for Blue.

He was running low on treats.. so I found a recipe

and luckily, we had all the ingredients here!

(I don't think I could've made it to the store otherwise)

original recipe found here

                Ingredients:

• ⅔ cups Pureed Pumpkin
• 2-½ Tablespoons Vegetable Oil*
• ½ teaspoons Cinnamon
• ½ cups Instant Oatmeal
• 1 cup Whole Wheat Flour
• ½ cups Water*

               Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together pumpkin, vegetable oil, and cinnamon.
3. Slowly add in oatmeal and flour until combined. Using your hands may be required as this does get very sticky.
4. Finally add in the 1/2 cup of water.*
5. Roll dough to 1/3″ thickness and cut into doggie bone shapes or whatever is easiest for you.
6. Place on a greased pan and bake for 30 minutes.* Monitor to make sure they don’t burn. Every oven is different, so they can burn quickly if you’re not looking.
7. Brush top of treat with bacon fat.
8. Let cool on wire rack and then toss one to your faithful four legged friend

I made a few edits(*) to the recipe:

*used coconut oil instead of vegetable oil

*didn't use the water it called for..the mix was the right consistency

*only baked for 20 minutes

*AND brushed bacon fat on top for some extra flavor

[I found this heart cookie cutter thrifting with A the other day!<3]

All in all--Blue loves them

& that's what matters!

I even let him lick the spoon ;)

What a lucky dog.

Oh & then there is THIS GUY!

He's the best.

It always amazes me all the ways he cares for me..

even if it is shoveling the sidewalks & cleaning off my snowy car

for my early morning drive.

I'M A LUCKY GAL.

[chief frozen beard]

Hope those of you who also had a snow day...

had an excellent one!

P.S:

 for dinner I'm making ribs with roasted veggies! :) YUM!

mack christmas: 2013

whoa. was christmas a blur or what?!

our christmas was so fun & special for many reasons..

it's hard to believe its our
second married christmas!

 

Adam & I were able to spend some much needed time together
with our numerous holiday vacation days! :)
it was awesome!

we celebrated a few of our christmas eve traditions..

breakfast & gifts with family:

[my sweet grandparents]

    kiddo gifts were on point this year.               that vw bus in on my list for next year ;)

she LOVED her new scooter!

 

[my great aunt cindy always gives the best handmade gifts]


candlelit service with family:

caroling at midnight with friends & some old school carolers

in Glen Rock, PA:

                                                                                                [let me tell you, we were frozen as per usual.]    

 

           we even unwrapped christmas pj's before bed!

this year we, meaning I, made a ton of food gifts:
(Adam mostly taste-tested as they were coming out of the oven)

 were the majority & they were delicious!

[click for recipes]

I also made some
homemade dark chocolate peanut butter cups..
yeah, they didn't last long either.

 

I made this little market basket out of felt

for my sweet baby cousin, Ana.

 

It turned out super cute & she loved it! :)

onto Christmas Day:

it was baby blue's first christmas.

he loved all his squeaky wrapped goodies,

& chewing the paper of course.

 

        

my cousin shawna, got ENGAGED! yay!

and we realized we have way similar rings (both from the 50's)

 

we got to spend time with my brother,
Collin, which is always eventful.

He's a cool kid.

 

Adam & I recieved a bunch of homesteading &

canning goodies that will be put to great use! ;)

 

^^the aftermath^^

 

And Adam spoiled me with some new lovins for our bed!

 

[my man loves some flannel]

 

the day ended with a beautiful christmas sunset

happy birthday, Jesus. <3

 

Overall christmas was seriously one of the best yet! <3

We are beyond blessed by our family and the love that surrounds us.

Hope you had a beautiful christmastime with your loved ones.

our 2013 review in 15 seconds! http://fgr.am/f/hVSHH9ET4t
 

XOXO,



weekend project: fridge makeover

happy wednesday. :)

 

as you might've seen on instagram I did a little project this weekend.

I decided to finally paint our fridge!
(like I had been talking/pinning about for months)
 

 
 

I quickly gathered up my supplies from the hardware store &

celebrated my last afternoon off (until june) with all things paint.

 

Currently, we have random chalkboards throughout our home,

but I really loved the idea of making our fridge into one.
(mainly for little notes + lists of every sort)
i dream in lists...weird.

 

here are some photos from this project..

[before]

who knew you can get chalkboard paint in a variety of different colors?

i chose classic chalkboard green, to be bold!

you can find black chalkboard paint HERE

or colored chalkboard paint to be mixed at your local hardware store.

 

next step was removing the handles &

taping this beast

in all the cracks & crevices

primer time!

& obviously a painting selfie gram was a must!

#morepaintonmethanthefridge

 

 

the fridge needed three coats of paint &

then 3 (LONG) days to dry completely.

 

so with that being the case, i filled the weekend up fast!

 

 

my brother was in town bowling in a tournament for penn state.

i finally got the opportunity to see him bowl live & meet his pals.

this kid makes me proud.

 

& these two fellas consumed the rest of my weekend.
(they're by far my favorite part)

(i'm a lucky lucky lady.)

 

 

 three days later:
back to the grind.

when you're using chalkboard paint,
you MUST "season" your surface.
this prevents the first markings you make
to not be burned into your board.
..make sense?

trust me, it works
and its incredibly messy to say the least.

the home stretch...

so thankful for this man & his helpfulness.

told ya, pretty messy ;)

 final step was wiping the surface clean
with a dry then damp rag.

there you go, folks.
that's how I spent my weekend.

it was a fairly easy project to complete,
you just have to be patient..
(which can be a stuggle, if you're anything like me)

if you decide to try this,

i'd love to know! :)

 

Oh and I made my first ever youtube video
..haha! (don't laugh too hard)
 

apparently my fridge is a SHE &
it surprisingly only took me one try for each clip.

wooohooo!!
watch out world, more videos to come! :)

have a really awesome day!