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Roasted Zucchini & Tomato Pasta

September 15, 2015 By Chelsia Rief Leave a Comment

You can't go wrong with this hearty, tasty roasted zucchini & tomato pasta. It's full of fall flavors and gets your kids their veggies incognito!

I think I have a problem you guys. I don't know how to not be a mom of three kids and just be me. Now, I happen to think this is a great thing (...though I know I just said it was a problem. Keep reading.), because I adore my kids. I love their happy noise that fills my house and often our backyard. I love running a full dishwasher, and I even love Christian running up to me telling me he needs to use the potty chair.

Even though I don't exactly enjoy potty training, I am not above getting down on my son's level and celebrating his little victories with a booming, "Great job," a high five, and a green M&M. (Green is his favorite, because they it's the color of The Hulk.) [Read more...]

Tuesday's Tidings for September 15, 2015

September 15, 2015 By Chelsia Rief Leave a Comment

Hers

So you guys know how I love sharing good deals with you? A few weeks ago I talked about my love for Thred Up which quite a few of you signed up for and by now, you've probably gotten your purchases. Do you love it? This week, I want to talk to you about Zulily. You may have heard of this online retailer as well. But this is like on online yard sale...but for brand name (brand new) from a bunch of different vendors, like Toms, Tory Burch, Jessica Simpson, etc. Last week, I purchased two pairs of Toms for Christian (for Christmas) and for myself. I got them for like $15-20 cheaper than I would of paid at Nordstrom. If you refer friends and they make purchases, you can also gain credits for future purchases. Just like with Thred Up.
I know I shared this blog, Bless'er House with you last week. But this week, I wanted to share a post I read from the blog that I've been finding particularly helpful. It's called "18 Tips for Better Craigslisting." I'm currently on the hunt for a China Hutch for our dining room and I don't want to spend an arm and a leg. This post has been really helpful to help me track down what I'm looking for in my price range without going crazy.
Our movie watching this weekend wasn't as crazy as last weekend. Avengers: Age of Ultron was finally available to stream so we watched that movie on Friday night with the kids. I think I'm not only going to need to watch it again (because it was kind of confusing), but also watch the other Avengers movie again because I couldn't remember what happened last time.

[Read more...]

Weekly Menu Sept 14 - Sept 20

September 14, 2015 By Chelsia Rief Leave a Comment

You guys, this week! This is the week when my fall decor is going up! Josh got the bin out of the garage for me out of the bedroom and it's in the spare bedroom and I even got a pumpkin at Trader Joe's for outside!

"It's the most wonderful time, of the year..."

Okay, I know that's a Christmas song, but...I firmly am of the opinion that from September to Christmas, it is indeed the most wonderful time of the year.

It's getting chilly this week and it is forecasted to rain! Whoop Whoop! [Read more...]

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

September 9, 2015 By Chelsia Rief 7 Comments

You know that pumpkin-flavored everything is coming (resistance is futile), so just jump right in with these easy, delicious pumpkin chocolate chip muffins!

So...here we are, the second week of September, and I'm sharing my first pumpkin recipe with you! Are you excited? Are you pumped? I am! Do you know how impatiently I've been waiting to start whipping up pumpkin goodies?

I would have started my pumpkin baking in August. You know, to get an early start on fall baking. But, I held off for my husband. He loves summer with all of his heart and though he knows how much I love fall, I've been trying to be careful about how much I push fall on him.

Which is why I also haven't decorated the house for fall yet. I am trying so so so hard to wait until the first day of fall. Which happens to be September 23rd. (Editor's note: It's usually Sep 1. I come home from work unsuspectingly only to discover pumpkins...everywhere.) [Read more...]

Tuesday's Tidings for September 8, 2015

September 8, 2015 By Chelsia Rief Leave a Comment

Hers

Trolling through Pinterest last night, I came across this blog called Bless'er House and I'm kind of in love with it and quickly became a subscriber. Through her decorating and DIY'ing, I think Josh and I were kind of inspired on how to go about finding ways to decorate our own house.
Last week I finished reading Enchantment - a biography about the life of Audrey Hepburn and it was amazing! Loved it and I learned so much, too. I've now begun reading In the Garden of Beasts, by one of Josh's favorite authors, Erik Larson. I was going to read Larson's The Devil in the White City, but Josh's copy seems to have vanished. Since I love learning and reading about World War II-related history, I thought I would give In the Garden of Beasts a try, and so far, I'm really enjoying it!
Josh and I are big film buffs who have not watched a movie in what seems a long, long time. It's been even longer since we were at a movie theater. But over the holiday weekend we were able to cram in The Age of Adeline and Mad Max: Fury Road. I wasn't as excited about Mad Max, but I was surprised at how entertaining it was.

[Read more...]

Weekly Menu Sept 7 - Sept 13

September 7, 2015 By Chelsia Rief Leave a Comment

Happy Labor Day!!!! I hope you all enjoy a "day off" and you know, having a four day work week isn't to dang bad either! So this is the week for all the remaining bunches of kids that haven't yet started school. Come Tuesday or Wednesday, everyone is back in school. Except for my kids. Because we homeschool. We won't be starting school until October.

I've resisted so far on the fall decorating. It's hard. You guys, I've been to Jo-ann Fabrics twice in the past week and all of the fall decor is just so beautiful, and everything smells so good. We even got rain over the weekend and I busted out some fall-like clothes and Josh even surprised me with Pumpkin Spice Latter from Starbucks and boy did it taste good. Better than I remembered. #PSL [Read more...]

Meatless Breakfast Tacos

September 3, 2015 By Chelsia Rief 3 Comments

If you are looking for something a little different & lot fun for your weekend breakfast, you're going to want to give these Meatless Breakfast Tacos a try!

I have a thing for cookbooks. In fact, I have a whole bookcase completely devoted to cookbooks. Or, I guess, I hope for it to be a cookbook-only bookcase. At the moment, it is mostly cookbooks with other works of lesser literary importance dispersed throughout it (you know, like The Illiad, for example).

When I was approached by Waldorph Publishing to review Kristin Sollenne's Domestic Chic cookbook, I jumped at the chance because A) it was a cookbook, B) I loved the name of it, and C) it's a cookbook that plays off entertaining through the seasons! [Read more...]

Roasted Zucchini Lasagna

September 2, 2015 By Chelsia Rief Leave a Comment

This flavorful, healthy, vegetarian roasted zucchini lasagna is a great way to use up all those extra late summer veggies you have lying around!

I was just talking to my dad on the phone today (he lives in Las Vegas) and he informed me that in addition to not liking peaches (like, what?) he also doesn't like bell peppers! What? I don't understand? Who doesn't like bell peppers? Who doesn't like peaches? How am I related to this man?

Of course, you know what this means right? I'm going to have to make something with bell peppers when he comes to visit me next summer (perhaps this lasagna) to win him over! I think it's a fair exchange for the cheesecake I bake for him every time he visits me, don't you? I told him, I don't allow picky eaters into my house, so he's just going to have to deal with it! (In all fairness, when he goes to visit my stepmom's family in Beijing, he eats a number of things I might not be adventurous enough to try...) [Read more...]

Tuesday's Tidings for September 1, 2015

September 1, 2015 By Chelsia Rief 2 Comments

Hers

1. We went to Jo-ann Fabrics over the weekend and they were closing out these Tuscany Candle Outlet Warmers for super cheap, so we bought one on a whim. Now I know this is probably nothing new for you Scentsy people, lol! It was our lucky day, because also on clearance were the Food Network fragrance melts. We nabbed Red Velvet Cupcake, Vanilla Birthday Cake Frosting, and Southern Peach Cobbler - which is the one I've been using in the sitting room downstairs and it smells heavenly! I'm addicted!

2. Not only did we have to buy Eden shoes this week, but once the rain came in, we discovered that Christian had outgrown all of his shoes over the summer as well. Thank goodness I had some coupons for Payless Shoe Source. We were able to find Christian a pair of Captain America tennis shoes and great looking pair of grey sneakers.

3. Not sure how many of you are members of the Disney Movie Club. I think we've been a member for just a hair over a year now. But, we love it because we've really been able to fill our Disney movie selection quite a bit since joining. We've pre-ordered Maleficent in the past, we've pre-ordered Cinderella. We found out last week that the next movie to be released from the Disney vault is Aladdin! Such a family favorite and so darn funny! [Read more...]

Weekly Menu Aug 31 - Sept 6

August 31, 2015 By Chelsia Rief Leave a Comment

Oh my gosh-this was a busy weekend for us. How was yours? Thankfully, I got pretty much everything done on my "to do" list, like buying new shoes for Christian. Somehow, he outgrew all of his old shoes over the summer. Eden got 3 new pairs of jeans because she only had one pair-and those were slightly high-water when she tried them on earlier this week. And I, finally found a kitchen mat for in front of my sink! Only took four months, lol!

Sooo...you guys, September 1st is tomorrow (Happy Birthday Jewelissa, aka my sweet SIL) and I'm going full throttle pumpkin this week. I'm working on (as long as everything goes to plan) 3 different pumpkin recipes this week! [Read more...]