Korean BBQ Tacos with all the fixin’s are from this recipe. I also made chicken breast using the same marinade and this dish is so good and so easy! After Japanese food, Korean food is my next favorite. Oh man. Good thing I have a best friend who is Korean and introduces me to all these yummy Korean dishes. Well, in this case, a fusion dish.

The Lemon Thyme Chicken Breast was good and I made a separate marinade for the girls so it wouldn’t be so spicy, but if I were to do this one again, I would let it sit in the marinade overnight. The brown rice pilaf was something I was kind of just winging and it came out alright. Not the best, but it did the job. I threw in spinach for good measure.

I am glad to be back in the kitchen. I missed the challenge of cooking for my family. So after a couple months off due to house renovating and vacation, it’s time to get meal planning again.

Week of 7/23 – 7/27
Monday: A healthified version of Panda Express Orange Chicken
Tuesday: Chile Stuffed Burger
Wednesday: Cold Soba Salad with Dried Shiitake Dressing
Thursday: Left overs
Friday: Sushi Night!

What have you been cooking up lately?

If you are a s’mores fanatic like me, this is right up your alley. After I made the sandwich, I stuck all of them back in the freezer, which is good if you aren’t serving them right away, or just eat them right then and there. Either way, you’re in for a treat! It is so chocolatey and dangerously good.

I must also mention that my before bed snack of late has been that chocolate ice cream, which I first learned about from this sponsored post and I think it’s funny my own ads works on me, sprinkled with the marshmallow bits. Oh. My. Gosh. Wow! It’s kind of like Rite Aid Chocolate Malted Crunch ice cream, but without the hydrogenation. Anyone know that brand and flavor? It’s one of my faves.

Do you have a special snack before bedtime? Maybe now it will be a s’mores ice cream sandwich!

When we were in Texas, the girls went swimming with their Grandmama a lot. Ben and I joined in one day at the hotel pool before we made our way to the family reunion. Ben’s dad taught all of Ben’s cousins how to swim and was an avid water sports guy. He knew how to sail and even built his own sailboat! Our girls don’t know how to swim just yet, but to start off, Ben’s mom was doing some basic techniques she used to do with his dad to teach the girls. The girls had a blast and each time they would get a bit more confident in the water. Now, let’s just hope we can actually sign them up for some swim classes here in SoCal. Every summer I plan to, but then I am either pregnant or giving birth, so we never get around to it. Those aren’t in our plans this time around, so let’s hope we get around to it.

I didn’t learn to swim until I was 16, even then, not sure I would consider what I do as swimming. I am not that confident of a swimmer and can’t swim with my head under water. Partly because I wear contacts and don’t like opening my eyes under water and part because I don’t know how to hold my breath. I for sure don’t want my girls to have my lack of skill and want them to be completely comfortable in any body of water.

Besides learning how to swim late, I also learned how to ride a two-wheel bike at the age of 11. I guess you can say I am a late bloomer. Heck! I even joined facebook, twitter, and instagram much later than all my peers too. I guess it tends to be my theme. How old were you when you learned to swim or ride a bike? My friend Melody is learning how to swim late too (I probably should join in on those swim lessons too)!

on me: bathing suit top and bottom, c/o lime ricki. on ben: bathing suit shorts (and undershorts), c/o lime ricki. on true: bathing suit, target. on brave: bathing suit, target (last year). on soul: bathing suit, old navy (4 years ago). on glow: bathing suit, target.

So what did we ultimately decide to do this weekend to continue the anniversary celebrating going? Friday night we dropped off the girls at my parents’ house, went on a date, then went on a craigslist purchase pick up, came back to my mom’s to pick up Glow, then went back home to spend all day Saturday cleaning. That’s what we both really wanted to do and we are a-okay with that. We got alone time with each other (with little Glow nearby) and that’s what is most important.

Last year we did a stay-cation home-cation and I guess this year was a stay-cation clean-cation. I really like clean-cations. It is refreshing to get junk out of the house! Wouldn’t you agree?! What kinds of things do you typically do for anniversaries? Do you travel or plan a night out?

on me: shirt, thrifted and altered. denim cut offs, really old ones i’ve had for years. shoes, report (love these via modcloth). giant clutch (totally perfect for a date night when i didn’t need to lug diapers), c/o lovenell. on ben: shirt, vintage. jeans, diesel (his fave brand). shoes, nike.

We used the Kid Made Modern tape we got from Target, but I am sure you can use washi tape and probably get some fun patterns in there too. I just handed True and Brave the tape and asked them to make a picture that tells a story. Happily, they got to ripping up the tape and made a mosaic of sorts with it.

True’s (the bottom one) is about the car on the road trip and everything she saw… mountains, rivers, building, cacti, and the sky. I think if you look closely, you can even see her name in it, which I don’t think I noticed until now. Brave (the top one) says hers is a big cactus. I love how all the bold, bright colors came out and I just got the frames from Michael’s craft store.

I really do think kid art is just so rad. They don’t really think and just do and there is just something so natural about it. We have some blank walls that need filling and I am loving filling it up with the girls’ goods. I am a bit biased, but I do think they are quite good. And oh my!  You should totally see True when she is in the zone… she is quite a serious little artist and she takes her sweet ‘ole time.

p.s. in case you were wondering… the deer head is from uncommon goods and can be found here (mine is bucky sr.).

* my friend and designer misha lulu is having a good sale here.