Happy Hearts Day Card

I only sent out a few Valentine's Day cards this year - and only to close relatives so I wanted to share it with you all as well!

I hope everyone has a wonderful and love-filled Hearts Day!

Mama's Valentine

I've never been a big Valentine's Day type person.

Weird, because I'm super girly, mushy and all lovey-dovey. Did I mention that Mr. Beach Bum and I have been together since we were 17? It's not like I've ever been alone on the holiday and Mr. Beach Bum has always done great with gifts/flowers/getaways/etc.

I have no reason to dislike the holiday. I just don't "get it".

I don't want flowers delivered that cost over $100 (I'd rather spend that money on clothes for Trey, his new car seat, baby gates... I know.. I'm pathetic.), I can't have chocolate right now because I ate too many cupcakes while I was pregnant. I don't want to go to some fancy, expensive restaurant because really, the whole outfit/babysitter/reservations thing gives me so much stress.

I am excited to spend time with both of my guys this weekend! We got Trey a bunch of little gifts and I picked up some things for the hubs that he wanted too, nothing big - but things I know he has wanted and will use. I want to go to the fro-yo place for a snack and maybe the park for a walk.

And, thanks to my sweet hubs we are actually headed to PF Changs one night next week that isn't Valentine's Day and the MIL will be looking after Trey.

This will be the first date we have gone on besides a birthday party that we attended in November. I know, I know, but it's hard to leave Trey.

Life is so different now.

He's just my little Valentine. And I love him with all of my heart!

Over the snow?

I've seen this floating around emails and some blogs and had to swipe it from my friend G's email she sent to share with those of you who haven't seen it!

We are by no means getting slammed like many of you are but we still woke up to 4 inches yesterday and in my mind, that was just 4 more inches too much!

How many days till Spring?

Current Baby Favorites

I thought I would share some things that are currently rocking my world in the baby category.

1. JJ Cole Bundle Me - I know that these are controversial with some but we love them. It's so much nicer than a blanket/jacket combo during this crazy snow. I'm very cautious to make sure Trey is snuggled into it as well as making sure the straps to the car seat are the correct tightness. This is a definite must-have in my book. (FYI I was able to find mine last summer at TJ Maxx for $16! A steal!)

2. You will notice that every picture that involves Trey and his car seat also has this cute little giraffe in it as well. If you're not a mom I'd like to introduce you to Sophie La Giraffe (aka your new go-to baby shower gift). And if you're already a mom, I'm sure you already know her and/or her friends. Trey has been obsessed with Sophie for what feels like forever now. And even though my husband wants to call her an extremely overpriced dog toy, I don't care. In this mom's eyes - she is worth every penny! I often consider ordering another one "just in case".

3. Consignment Shops - before I had Trey I didn't think twice about consignment stores. The one I had went to was messy, hard to navigate, and just didn't have anything I needed. Well turns out sometimes you need to look around. I've now found a few great ones close by. When the time came to get Trey a jumper I just couldn't justify $130+ after all the money we had spent on Christmas gifts. So I looked on Craigslist, didn't find what I needed. I then checked out a local consignment shop and was able to get this almost brand new jumper. (The tag says 2009 and it's in great shape) for - $30! He loves it and I won't feel bad that he will outgrow it soon and I'll throw it in the attic until our next little one needs it. (Which might I add, will be a very long time from now.)

See? He loves it!

4. Last but not least by any means. I am LOVING Plum Organics and the Boon spoon that attaches to them. I have a review of their products coming your way but I am so in love with this system I just couldn't wait any longer to share.

Is this not the coolest thing ever for on the go feedings? And just a little tip - ALL of the Plum Organics pouches are on sale at Babies R Us right now - 10 for $10! I went and stocked up for the second time yesterday!

Wordless Wednesday

Recipe: The Best Buffalo Chicken Dip

I had this dip for the first time at a friend's holiday party back in December. I immediately fell in love with it! I have had many variations of Buffalo Chicken dip and this is by far my favorite!

Buffalo Chicken Dip

Preheat oven to 350

Ingredients:
2 8oz packages of cream cheese, softened in a large bowl
2 packages of oven roasted flavored chicken strips (chopped up) (I actually like to use buffalo flavored ones)
1 -1 1/2 cups of celery (chopped up)(depends on your taste)
1 1/2 cup ranch
1/2 cup hot sauce (texas pete)
1 cup shredded sharp or mild cheddar cheese (don't use extra sharp) mix 1/2 into dip and use other half to top)

Mix everything together and put in a casserole dish, top with remaining cheddar. Bake at 350 for 30-45 mins until it bubbles. Let stand for 30 min before serving. I like to serve it with fritos scoops but you can also serve it with celery stalks.

(Sorry for such awful iPhone pics! I was making it Sunday for a Superbowl party and was in a huge rush!)

I'm linking up with Cole @ All The Small Stuff and her awesome weekly editions of Tuesdays at the Table. Head on over top check out all of the yummy recipes!

Recipe: Fast, Easy, Healthy & Cheap!?

Last week I was grocery shopping with J at Trader Joe's (cause we're nerds and we would much rather go grocery shopping with each other than alone, or worse, the husbands). While there, we went to the back to see what they had on sample.

Because really, isn't the best part of grocery shopping the samples? I personally think so. Sometimes I get home and I'm not even hungry for the next meal.

They were testing out a new Mexican soup and let me tell you it was delish! J and I immediately snatched up the necessary ingredients and we were on our way.

Fast forward to Tuesday night, we decide to have the Mom-in-law over for dinner. I realized that I didn't really have time to make anything fancy so I pulled out the crock pot and decided to make the Trader Joe's soup.

Seriously, easiest thing EVER!

Ingredients:

1 Box of Chicken Broth $1.99

1 Container of Black Bean & Corn Salsa $2.99

1 Bag of "Just Grilled" Chicken Strips $4.69

Total = $9.67 + tax

And it gave us *very* hearty helpings for dinner for 3 people & lunch for JD the next day! (I also crumbled some lime tortilla chips I had on hand as a topping. I bet it would be great with a little bit of Mexican cheese sprinkled on it too.)

All I did was throw the ingredients in the crock pot for about 2 hours on low.

Right before we ate, I scooped the chicken out and cut it into bite size pieces and threw it back in.

Easy peasy. This is my new official *go-to* recipe for cold nights when I don't feel like cooking!

p.s. I don't really even like soup... That's how good it was.