The Perfect Gift for that Special Someone

I need to back up a few weeks. While everyone is excited and talking about Valentines Day, I'm still stuck on Christmas. Specifically, the gift I gave Mr. T this year...I called it the "Bucket of Fun" and it is what the name says...a bucket filled with fun things for us to do! After 16 years, two kids, a mortgage, a dog, work and everything else, it can be hard to carve time out of the day week month for each other. Mr. T loves to go out...dinner, movies, anything! It's not that easy to coordinate his call schedule with baseball, dance, school activities, and life. By putting this together, dates are planned and paid for...all we have to do is schedule the babysitter.

Here's the breakdown of what was in the bucket:

The Bucket...a refillable movie theatre popcorn bucket. We can take it to the movies and have it filled for $3.50 every time we go.

Movie Tickets...a booklet of $25 in coupons that are good for movie tickets and snacks. This should give us two movie dates.

Bowling Gift Card...I know its hokey, but we like to go bowling. This gift card will pay for our shoes and four games.

Dinner Gift Cards times Two...I included two gift cards to two different restaurants. We can add this with something else or just go out for a nice dinner.

Theatre Tickets I...I am excited about this. It is one of two things that had a specific date. Next weekend we get to see Frost/Nixon. He made sure to ask for the weekend off and the babysitter is already lined up...yay!

Theatre Tickets II...I'm even more excited about this date. In March we have tickets to see Damn Yankees. Friends of ours have tickets for the same night, so it will be a fun double date!

Zip lining...You read that right...Mr. T's favorite thing to do! While he is super excited, my palms are already sweaty!! I bought these from Groupon in the fall and they don't expire until the end of April. A few friends purchased them as well, so it will be a scary but fun group date.

Mr. T was thrilled with this! It was all about him and what he likes to do. When it comes to gifts there is always something we want or need for the house and let's face it, while 7 pallets of sod for your anniversary or new wiring in the living room for Christmas are great...this year it was about him. With a birthday in May, the bucket might need to be refilled then. Something tells me I might have started a new tradition!

Fill a bucket and give it to your loved one...

Rachel :)

The Best (Vegetarian) Tacos Ever...

The Smurfs winter break was three weeks this year, so a few days after New Years we packed up and headed for warmer weather...the beach? Florida? California? Nope...Texas! We definitely don't take your run of the mill family vacations...the kids have never been to Disney and we don't go to the beach all that much. My theory is that there are a lot of places I want to see in this great, big world of ours and it's not going to happen if we run to the beach or Orlando every chance we get. Last year for spring break, when all of our friends were packing their swimsuits, we packed our snow bibs and headed out west for a week of skiing and snow...

Our return trip didn't go exactly as planned when our airline overbooked our flight. While most people complain and groan when this happens, we took the bump, and were rewarded with another day in Colorado and eight round trip tickets to ANYWHERE they fly...oh yeah...Mr T. was fretting if we had made the right decision, and I was doing my happy dance. Everyone knows how expensive it is for a family of four to fly.

Fast forward eight months, and we were on our way to San Antonio, excited to catch up with old friends and soak up some wonderful culture. We walked a ton, saw even more, and ate our way through this great city.

Peas and Thank You



And while I know I will never eat guacamole as good as Boudros, I did come home and find a great recipe for Roasted Chic Pea Tacos. One of the BEST recipes I have ever made, it's a must have for the recipe book. I'm not a huge fan of meat (blah) and generally use black beans on my tacos, so I was super excited to have something new to try. Check these out...they are the best things you will ever put in your mouth!!

Rachel :)

Roasted Chic Pea Tacos via Peas and Thank You:

Our favorite way to eat chickpeas and quite possibly the best tacos ever.

Ingredients (8 tacos)

• 2 t. chili powder
• 1/4 t. garlic powder
• 1/4 t. onion powder
• 1/4 t. dried oregano
• 1 1/2 t. ground cumin
• 1 t. sea salt
• 1 T. lime juice
• 2 T. water
• One 14 oz. can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 8 organic taco shells (i.e. Trader Joe’s brand)
• Taco trimmings: shredded cabbage, tomato, guacamole, non-dairy (i.e. Daiya) or organic cheese, etc.

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a large bowl, combine chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder, oregano, cumin, salt, lime juice and water.
• Add chickpeas and marinate for at least 30 minutes.
• Place chickpeas on a baking sheet that has been sprayed with cooking spray.
• Bake for 20-30 minutes, stirring once during cooking, until chickpeas are slightly crispy.
• Prepare taco shells according to package directions. Fill with chickpeas and desired toppings.

Legos and Smiles :)

My little man loves Legos...as in really LOVES Legos. And while they are a wonderful and educational way to learn and grow, they are everywhere. I step on them, suck them up with the vacuum cleaner, kick them across wood floors, and silently say bad words in the middle of the night when they crunch under my bare feet. After Brainy Smurf's birthday, Christmas, and Hanukkah...I had a minor meltdown because the Legos in his room were out of control. I was never quite sure how to handle the growing amount until I saw this...

What can I say? I'm a sucker for good advertising. And this was great! It's called a Swoop Bag and it was designed for little ones that love legos. I immediately went to their web site to check them out. About five minutes later I was convinced that this would be the best way to keep all those Legos in one spot. He picked out a bag in Star Dust Blue and a few days later it arrived at our doorstep.

If you have kids, and your kids have Legos...go ahead and buy one. Fabulous. Wonderful. Well-Made. Easy. It is everything it says it is. We now have Legos in one place. And they stay in one place. This bag rocks my socks. Seriously.

But the smiles part of this isn't about the smile this bag brought to my face...it's about the smiles it brings to everyone else's face. A percentage of every sale goes to Operation Smile, a nonprofit organization that gives smiles to children born with birth defects. This is such an important charity to my family that this year Brainy Smurf didn't get Legos from his grandparents. Instead, he got this...

Sometimes, life is all about legos and smiles...

Rachel :)

These are a few of my favorite things...

Before we sent 2011 off, here are a few of my favorite projects from the past year...

Smurfettes Lemonade Stand...this was by far my favorite!! I learned it is a pain in the a$$ to take apart pallets, but we had such a fun time as a family making this!

Budget Breakfast Nook...It is so incredibly awesome to NOT have the washer and dryer in the kitchen anymore! And we were able to create this on a super slim budget after finding a great piece at our Habitat ReStore!

Kids Outdoor Chalkboard...I learned that making outdoor chalkboard paint is harder than it looks, but the kids LOVE this! Neighbours comment on it when they drive by and after 6 months it is still in perfect condition...yay!

Jules Back Deck...My very first total design project where I got to spend someone else's money and do what I wanted. This was a fun, stressful, learning experience. They love the end result, as do I, and I hope to be able to do this again!

via The Lettered Cottage

Spackle Can Change Your Life...In September I went to Atlanta to help Layla and Kevin and the people from HGTV shoot a TV pilot. Seriously. I learned so much...about Spackle and about myself. Hopefully January will bring great things for this sweet couple...I'll keep you posted.

Of course there are other projects I loved like making homemade vanilla,  our wonderful new laundry closet, and the kids homework area.

The past year I fell in love with old windows, wood pallets, and chalkboards.

We grew as a family and the Smurfs proved that they are old enough to help with projects and make design decisions. :) I grew as a person by taking my first big solo trip to Boston and realizing they would survive without me.

Marlene decided she didn't want to blog anymore because she didn't have anything to say, but I'm still trying to convince her to come back because she is by far the funniest person I know. And she's my best friend. And I love her.

Overall, it was a great eye opening, learning, wonderful year and I am so looking forward to 2012...

Happy, Happy New Year!

Rachel :)