This week there weren’t too many new things being made. Ben and I are busy de-cluttering our respective spaces, him the garage and me various parts of the house, so new meals have been last on our list. 

Monday we did have more Dumplings, since we had tons leftover from our dinner party…

Tuesday we made Shrimp and Oven Baked Sopes…

This recipe for the sopes was so delicious. The masa came out so good and we had the whole family involved in the process. It was Soul’s first time in the kitchen and I am sure it won’t be her last. The only thing we might change from the sopes recipe next time is to use less oil. Other than, easy and delicious, which make good combos in this house. We topped ours with queso fresco, shrimp sauteed in chili oil, avocado and cilantro. I want more just thinking about it!

Wednesday, Ben and I went on a date and Thursday we had Trader Joe’s frozen pizza because Ben and I were in the zone cleaning that we just needed something quick to throw in.

With all the cleaning going on over here, it is time to move these vintage reproduction Jung Koch-Quentall Botanical Charts to another loving home. They were originally $198.00 from Anthropologie and had them up in our house for a little bit, but not too long and I have kept them nice and safe since then. If interested, send me an email. They look nice together, but they don’t have to go as a pair.

*****cherry one is sold, so tulip one is the only one left*****

First off, I apologize to those of you who have boys that things here are always so girly. I have four girls, so girly stuff is what goes around all day, everyday for me. Promise to have some projects soon that will be more gender friendly.

Back to the project at hand… my girls are always losing their hair clips and I am find them in the nooks and crannies all over the house. There really isn’t a designated space for them, so I can understand why they can get lost. My motto is as long as everything has a place, the easier it is to clean up. I decided then that their hair baubles needed a place and this is what we came up with. The girls chose which fabrics they wanted, painted their sticks, and just like that they had something to hold all their hair pretties in one place.

The photos for this project are all pinned here, so if you want to repin, you can do so. Happy Thursday everyone! I have tons of stuff to do today. Wish me luck…

Soul. Very much still our baby, but slowly evolving into a little girl. Though I must emphasize the really slowly party because though her vocabulary is growing, it still all sounds like little mumbles and half the time we still don’t understand her. And don’t let that sweet little face fool you… that face is a mixture of sweetness and mischief all rolled into one. This girl here is our feisty one. Oh and she is deathly afraid of animals, especially stuffed ones.

We had some friends (BFF and her husband, and Taylor, but we call him Sexytay, and his wife) over Sunday night and I decided to turn our dinner into a dumpling party. I used these recipes: Gyoza, Shrimp & Chive Dumplings, and Steamed Dumplings. The BFF and her other half were here to help with the wrapping and let me boss them around a bit in the kitchen, while we let Sexytay and his wife entertain the kids (thanks guys!).

After our first attempt at making dumplings, I am convinced it is much better to make them than buy. Ours didn’t come out as pretty and we didn’t get too fancy with the wrapping style, but the flavors in all the recipes came out fantastic and it really is quite simple to make. Of course, I didn’t make the wrap from scratch, which did help a bit, but maybe I will be adventurous next time to try those too. We already ate another bunch on Monday night for dinner and I froze a bunch more and those are ready for when we get that next dumpling itch.

We have an Asian Market not too far from us that we go to often for groceries, though looking at the recipes you should be able to find most of them at your regular market. Also, if you want to figure out a good substitute for an ingredient you are missing, go to Food Subs. I love that site. For example, I didn’t want to buy shaoxing wine (don’t know what that is either), but Food Subs told me that dry sherry was a substitute and I already had that. That site becomes your best friend in the kitchen! Seriously.

We had three April birthdays in the house, so we celebrated with a little song and Strawberry & Blackberry Shortcake for each celebrant. I use this recipe, but just added blackberries.

It was a good night with good food and best of all, good company. Not only were our guests our friends, but also part of our church family, and while we don’t get to hang out with them often, it was good to be able to share life together Sunday evening. We don’t have people over for meals often enough, but when we do, we always have so much fun! Having more people over for a meal is a goal of ours that we are slowly working on

p.s. kimchi fried rice made by the bff and pretty disposable plates were from wasara.

I have been coveting some flatstack shoes, definitely prefer that word over flatform (*shudder*), for awhile now and so when Gee Wawa sent these over, it sealed it… I love flatstack shoes and Gee Wawa! The shoes are high, but not too high, and since they are pretty level no pain on the feet at all. The best part is they are really cushiony. I feel fancy, casual, and comfy all at the same time. Love it!

Gee Wawa is a new to me brand, but I am already loving their daisy shoes too. I will now be keeping my eye on Gee Wawa to see what shoes they crank out each season. I am sure it will be good. Follow Geewawa’s facebook and twitter for more update and news…

What I’m wearing… top from anthropologie (seen here), vintage skirt from pomp & pride (seen here), flatstacks c/o gee wawa.