eating ice cream in the winter

On Sat we took the boys to Dairy Queen.
I won't lie, we pretty much had ice cream for dinner.

Highly recommend. 
Highly.

#1 enjoyed his first ice cream cone - he ate it so fast there was no time for it to make a melted mess.
#2 was so cold from his ice cream he could hardly get the spoon into his mouth.

Somehow he soldiered through ;)








I'm thinking movies on Mon might be fun.
Not always of the boys (although, they are pretty entertaining)...what do you think?

a pinterest menu

We had a relaxing weekend.
We played.
Moved toys around.
Moved furniture around.
Cleaned.

It was good.
The week ahead looks exciting.
St. Valentine's Day and Grammy and Papa (my parents) are coming to visit!

YAYYYYY!!!!! So Happy!

But I was a bit stuck while planning this week's menu...and Duh! I remembered all of the noms I have saved on Pinterest.

A few new additions to our food repertoire for this week:

Breakfast:

Source: savoringthethyme.com via alannarose on Pinterest

Source: simplyscratch.com via alannarose on Pinterest

Source: plainchicken.com via alannarose on Pinterest

Dinner:

Source: skinnytaste.com via alannarose on Pinterest

Source: recipekitchen.net via alannarose on Pinterest

Source: cinnamonspiceandeverythingnice.com via alannarose on Pinterest

Source: marthastewart.com via alannarose on Pinterest

Source: tasteofhome.com via alannarose on Pinterest

Source: canyoustayfordinner.com via alannarose on Pinterest

A little Baking:

Source: rfgblog.maryjanesfarm.org via alannarose on Pinterest

Source: recipetips.com via alannarose on Pinterest

Looks like we have a yummy week!

And, if you are like me, and couldn't figure out how everyone makes such cute Pinterest posts...here's the tutorial.

Are you following me on Pinterest?

Any really excellent boards I should be following?

stress and clutter

This week has been a bit chaotic and stressful.
Last week was peaceful.
I can only find one difference...last Mon Hubs came home with beautiful flowers for me.
It set the tone for the week.
Things were pretty great.

I think it had something to do with the lack of clutter on my kitchen island.

The flowers were on the island (because #2 is in that incredibly dangerous 20 month old stage - he enjoys climbing, sticking things in electrical sockets, eating soap), basically nothing on the kitchen table is safe.
So I kept the island clean, because there was this pretty vase of flowers that my sweet husband picked out just for me.

The flowers lasted until Mon morning.
Bye bye flowers.
Hello clutter.

real life

How does the island get this cluttered in just two days?

And why does this induce so much stress?

I'm off to detox the island.
And then finish off a fashion post (because you love to see what I wear!).

Do you have a clutter hot spot that turns you into a massive stress-ball?

my silly boys

Sometimes Mondays are a real drag.
We've had a good day at our house, and I just found this silly video...I figured I should share it.
It's a little grainy, and slow at the beginning, the real action starts around 0:24...I think the actors are adorable ;)

Enjoy :)

why you should always make your bed

I've mentioned before that I generally make the beds everyday. At the end of the day, I just really like to climb into a nicely made bed.

The real reason you should make your bed everyday?
You just never know when the police will stop by to inspect your home.

Wait, what?!

Oh yes, nap time last Tuesday turned into a three ring circus.
I had just tucked #1 in and heard my cell phone ringing.
It was my sister, letting me know that my alarm company had just called my dad because a silent distress alarm went out from my house.

Confused yet?
Me too. I'm still unsure why my dad didn't call me, I guess he hung up the phone (after speaking with the alarm company), looked at my sister and said "the cops are headed to Alanna's house, maybe you should call her."
DAD, if you are reading...the answer is YES. If police officers, firemen, ambulances or Jehovah's Witnesses are headed towards my house, you should always call and let me know. Thanks.

Anyway.
I tried to call the police department and let them know I didn't send a distress call, but if officers are dispatched they check on you no matter what (actually that sounds pretty reassuring, carry on officers). So I kept an eye on the front door to avoid them ringing the doorbell and waking up my happy nappers.
(please tell me you are now singing the happy nappers jingle)

And two really nice and professional officers checked on me to make sure everything was okay.
And because I was a wee bit freaked out, they swept my house just to make sure...

You haven't lived until you've seen cops go down your basement steps with their guns drawn.
Alright, their guns weren't drawn, but they did have their hands on them, and they didn't turn on the lights, they used flashlights...very CSI. Creepy and cool at the same time.

Also, they checked upstairs where the boys were napping, and we must have ninja cops around here because they went into the kids bedrooms and opened their closet doors and both boys.stayed.asleep.
I know!
I can barely sneeze and they wake up.

But getting back to the nicely made beds...the family room was a shambles, Legos, duplos, dinosaurs, #2 has been carrying a Thomas coloring book around and shredding it nonstop. I thought about this for two seconds, then I realized my bedroom was clean, the bed was made and everything was tidy so I didn't care about toymaggedon, I figured if they would judge me, they would see that I make the beds (even though 2 were occupied at the time) and that little bit of effort would go a long way towards my clean house credentials.

So make your beds!

a week of outfits!

I did it!
Last week I promised to try harder to look human cute, and I was successful.
And I also promised to take a pic everyday.
I did that, too!

I tried.
I thought I came up with a cute-ish outfit for each day.
I really thought I had this.
Then I made a collage...

weds, thurs, fri, tues, and yes, i took these pics in my garage

Is it just me, or am I wearing the same outfit?
I think I need to break out of the gray-with-a-few-bits-of-pink formula for buying clothes.
I also enjoy my purple flats - and this mild weather means I can wear them without losing toes!

And the Tigers cap is me hiding my crazy, slept-on hair.
And representin. Word.

My favorite outfit for the week was on Sunday.

the sparkle shoes and blingie cuff? totally making up for the flat hair.

The kimono jacket is new. I hit up my favorite boutique downtown and found it on Sat.
It was a splurge.
Four women complimented me after church.
I count that as money well spent.

My favorite accessories were on Saturday.

these pics were not taken in my garage! but, what is up with the sun?

I love those earrings.
I thought the necklace was cute when I got dressed.
I think it looks a bit anemic in these pics, next time I'll layer it for more punch.
I still like it.

And I tried on Monday.
In fact I sort of like my leggings and button down combo.
Comfy and easy to run around with the kids.
But the pic is awful.
And really...more grey?
Next week I'll try mixing it up!

hubs snapped this while we were watching hoarders

Linking up at The Pleated Poppy for What I Wore Wednesday

and Momma Go Round for Real Momma. Real Style.

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cute hair, yucky outfits

I left you hanging after I fretted over my new hair cut.

I got bangs!
I love them!

I have been doing my hair everyday (some days it's cuter than others), but I definitely feel more put together than I did just running around with a ponytail everyday.

Last night I experimented with going to bed with wet hair...honestly it was less an experiment and more me being too tired to properly dry my hair.

This is how I woke up:

Yikes.

And then I added a hat...hand-knits from Mom tend to make life better.

Not really an improvement.

Then I just really needed some coffee, and home brew was not going to cut it. So I actually left the house looking like this:

attention Walmart shoppers...

I assume you are all denying having a friendship with me. I totally understand.
(At least it was just the Starbucks drive thru, if I was actually going to get out of the car I would have put a bra** on.)

This is unacceptable; I feel awful when I look like this. So this week I'm going to put in more effort when getting dressed, and I'm going to take some more grainy pics (perhaps they'll all be in the old mirrored closet doors living in my garage), and then I will have a cute What I Wore Wednesday post to share next week :)



** I have been completely sucked into ads for the Genie Bra. I'm beginning to believe in its magical properties (the ability to lift and separate all). I swear I saw a display at Target...

Linking up at The Pleated Poppy.

PS - I meant to publish this yesterday, but my internet connection has a mind of its own...