Help Me Pick Out a Dress

Next month, I am reading scripture in a wedding. 

It's a special wedding, it's one of my former youth group girls.

(Did you know that before I was a teacher, my first job out of college was working at our church as the Assistant Director of Student Ministries? I worked there for almost 3 years)

Now a lot of our youth group kids are getting married, which is crazy because when I was working at our church, Kevin and I had just started dating, then 6 months later we got engaged & then 6 months after that we got married. Eleven years later, here we are going to their weddings. So fun! Time flies!

I am super excited about Brittany's wedding (She reads my blog...Hi, Britt!) because she was one of my favorite youth group girls and I am excited because her wedding is at Domaine Chandon in Napa (Hello, you know I love wine & Napa) AND, it is the first time since Luke was born that Kevin and I are having a weekend away! (Can I get a Woot, Woot!)

Her wedding is a formal black tie wedding, which means the guys need to wear a tux and all the ladies need to wear long dresses.  (I love any reason to dress up!)

 But, I don't have any long dresses, which means I get to go shopping & buy a new dress! (Yay!)

So, last week I loaded up all 3 kiddos and headed to the mall to go dress shopping.

First (and last) stop was Nordstrom.

What was I thinking taking 3 kids dress shopping. 

Am I crazy? (Don't answer that)

I only tried on 3 dresses and then I had to get my kids out of there. They were NOT interested in watching me try on dresses. The girls were trying to put on the dresses I had brought into the dressing room, Luke was screaming (so I let him out of the stroller), then he kept crawling around the dressing room & kept trying to crawl under the door to the other rooms. We were a freak show in there.

FAIL.

I am pretty sure I am on the black list at Nordstrom. 

They don't ever want to see me come in with my crazy kids again.

You can either laugh or cry during moments like this....I chose to laugh. 

I have decided to turn to the internet for my dress shopping. 

There is no way I am going to drag my 3 kids to the mall again. Ain't nobody got time for that.

Here is where you come in. 

Help me pick out which dresses to order! 

Most places have free shipping & free returns, so I am going to order some dresses online. 

Then I can try them on in the comfort of my home while my children are sleeping and decide which one to keep!

 

Here are the bridesmaids dresses for this wedding:

Bridesmaids dresses from {Here}  Aren't they pretty?

I also like this one from J.Crew, but way too pricey for me!

I don't want to be matchy-matchy with the bridesmaids, so here are some dresses that I have found. 

Bridesmaid dresses are dark navy, so I would like to avoid wearing the same color.

I would like to spend under $200.

 First round of dresses are from Macy's:

{1} {2} {3} {4}

Here are some I found at Nordstrom:

{1} {2} {3} {4} {5} {6} 

Some from Mod Cloth: (which is more affordable)

{1} {2} {3} {4} {5} {6}

Which ones should I order? Should I do strapless? Off the shoulder? Spaghetti straps?

What color?  So many choices! AHHHH! Help me decide!

Let me know which ones you like in the comments! 

(Or let me know which ones you don't like!)

Also,  if you see any other dresses you like, leave the links in the comments.

I am going to order 3 or 4 dresses early next week!

I am so indecisive, so I turn to the internet to help me make a decision :)

Help a sister out!

Very Berry Cobbler {and a chance to win a NEW OVEN!}

I don't know about you, but as soon as the weather starts warming up, I find myself longing & dreaming of Summer. For me, food goes hand in hand with the changing of the seasons. I have ANOTHER summer recipe for you today!  

When summer arrives, not only do I make lots of fresh salads, I always find myself making cobblers, crisps & pies for dessert. 

Nothing screams summer like a big piece of fruit cobbler topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. 

You are in for a treat today & I am excited to share my Very Berry Cobbler recipe with you. 

Like most of my recipes, it is totally easy to make!

Here is what you need:

TWO 12-ounce packages frozen mixed berries (such as blueberries, blackberries, strawberries and raspberries; about 6 cups), unthawed

1/4 cup sugar
1 cup all purpose flour
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
3/4 cup old-fashioned oats
2/3 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 stick of butter, chilled and diced into chunks

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375°F.  

Empty the 2 bags of frozen berries into a mixing bowl.

Combine frozen berries, 1/4 cup sugar, 1/4 cup flour and lemon juice in large bowl. Mix so they are all coated.

 Transfer berry mixture to 9-inch-diameter pie dish. 

***Side Note: You can use FRESH berries for this cobbler, but if you do, you need to double the amount of berries. So, instead of 6 cups of frozen berries, you will need 12 cups of fresh berries***

 Combine remaining 3/4 cup flour, oats, brown sugar, spices and salt in medium bowl. 

Mix together.

Cut up your stick of butter into chunks. Add the butter chunks to your topping. Mix together with a spoon or your hands.

 

 Sprinkle over berry mixture:

 Bake at 375 until berry mixture bubbles thickly and topping is golden brown, about 1 hour.

Because you cook it uncovered, the fruit will be bubbly & it might splatter in your oven.

But, it would be a much easier clean-up with the LG EasyClean™ Double Oven Range. 

EasyClean™: A Clean Oven in Minutes, Not Hours

 All LG double oven ranges provide a quick and convenient way to clean your oven, while still being able to use the conventional self-clean method. EasyClean works in three simple steps. Spray the oven interior with water, press the EasyClean button, then in just 20 minutes, wipe away any residual bits of grime*. No chemicals or high heat needed to keep your oven sparkling clean. (*Heavy build-up may require additional manual effort or use of the full self-clean feature). To learn more about LG EasyClean click here.

 After it's done cooking, pull it out & let stand 15 minutes. Your kitchen will smell of delicious very berry cobbler!

Serve warm or at room temperature with a scoop of Vanilla ice cream! 

Yum, Yum, Yum. 

A super easy recipe to make with very little clean up! 

Perfect for those warm summer nights hanging out as a family!

Now it’s your turn to tell me - what is YOUR favorite recipe that leaves your oven messy? Let me know in the comments for your chance to win... YOUR OWN LG EasyClean™ Double Oven Range!

Sweepstakes Rules:
No duplicate comments.
You may receive (2) total entries by selecting from the following entry methods:

1. Leave a comment in response to the sweepstakes prompt on this post
2. Tweet (public message) about this promotion; including exactly the following unique term in your tweet message: “#SweepstakesEntry”; and leave the URL to that tweet in a comment on this post
3. Blog about this promotion, including a disclosure that you are receiving a sweepstakes entry in exchange for writing the blog post, and leave the URL to that post in a comment on this post
4. For those with no Twitter or blog, read the official rules to learn about an alternate form of entry.

This giveaway is open to US Residents age 18 or older. Winner  will be selected via random draw, and will be notified by e-mail. You have 72 hours to get back to me, otherwise a new winner will be selected.

BlogHer will pool entries from participating blogs and select a sweepstakes winner at random and will contact the winner with details about fulfilling the prize.
The Official Rules are available here.
This sweepstakes runs from 5/22/13 - 7/15/13.

Tortellini Pasta Salad

Before I share this recipe, I just want to acknowledge what happened in Oklahoma yesterday.

I hope all my readers (or who have family) in Oklahoma are safe.

My thoughts & prayers are with you. 

Natural Disasters are scary, I live in California, where you never know when a big Quake is going to hit. I'll never forget the Big San Fran quake of 1989. I was 10 years old, but I remember it like it was yesterday.

Love & prayers to Oklahoma.

*************************

Memorial Day is this weekend, which means summer is almost here!

It also means it is BBQ & grilling weather. I love this time of year because we eat outside, use the grill and I make yummy side salads.

I made up this tortellini salad years ago and it is now one of my go-to salads during the summer. 

I have already made it 2 times in the last month. For Luke's Dedication & for our neighborhood block party last week. It is so easy to make and it makes a TON, which is great for big crowds!

Here is what you need:

 - 1 bag Frozen Cheese Tortellini

-  Bowtie Pasta (I use about 1/2 - 3/4 of the box, depending on how big the crowd is)

- 1 can of artichoke hearts

- 1 jar of Sun Dried Tomatoes,  Julienne cut

- Broccoli

- Yellow Bell Pepper

- Orange Bell Pepper

- 1 can sliced olives

- Grated & Shredded Parmeasan Cheese

- Balsamic Vinaigrette Salad Dressing (I use light)

Start off my boiling a pot of water for your Tortellini and Pasta.

While you are waiting for the water to boil, start chopping up your bell pepper & broccoli.

Chop. Chop. Chop.

Cook & Drain the Tortellini and Pasta according to your package directions.

(Frozen Tortellini is about 3 minutes, Bowtie Pasta is about 8 minutes)

After the tortellini & pasta is drained, put it in a big salad bowl & toss it with some of the balsamic vinaigrette, just enough to coat the pasta.

Now it's time to add the goodies to the pasta!

Dump in the sliced olives (drained), artichoke hearts (drained) & sun dried tomatoes (I partially drain these)  Add the chopped bell peppers & broccoli. 

I love colorful food. Isn't it pretty?

Then, I toss it all together. I cover it and keep it in the fridge 4-6 hours before I serve it.
(Often, I will make this salad the night before! This is a great make ahead salad!)
Right before I serve this salad, I sprinkle on some of the grated Parmesan AND the shredded Parmesan. I will add a little more of the balsamic vinaigrette dressing & then it's ready to eat!







 I love the flavor that the cheese tortellini give, It's a fun twist to pasta salad.
 I hope you like this salad, it is definitely a staple in this house during summertime & it's a real crowd pleaser...my kids even eat it (and, they are super picky!)
Going to a BBQ this weekend for Memorial Day? This is a perfect salad to bring!
Enjoy!

Weekend Fun

This weekend had me longing, dreaming and pinning for summer.
The weather was gorgeous (as it has been for the past 5 weeks)
We have been so spoiled in California this Spring.
The highlight of our weekend was celebrating Kevin's birthday!

Coffee & Presents in bed!

Cinammon Rolls for breakfast:

 Celebrating Daddy:

Trying out the new sandwich shop in town. I got a BBQ chicken sandwich. SO good.

 Cheering on Kate at her softball Game:

 Then it was date night! Kevin wanted to ride our bikes downtown for drinks & dinner.

(Also....LOVE my cropped jeans. Got them here)

SO much fun.

We are declaring this Summer the summer of bike riding. And we want to ride our bikes into town as much as possible.

After dinner, we picked up a movie (Silver Lining Playbook) and some gelato.

We also watched The Office Series Finale on Saturday night. I had Open House for School on Thursday Night, so didn't watch it then.
I thought the last episode was perfect. I laughed, I cried.
Great way to end it. (Unlike the Seinfled Series Finale...lamest finale in TV history and Friends was the BEST finale in TV history) 
The Office has been such a great show. I will miss watching it on Thursday nights.

Sunday was spent going to church, a little gardening...

And, then spending the afternoon by the pool.

It was such a great weekend and I am counting down the days until the lazy days of summer. It can't come soon enough!

Here are the THREE winners of the Totally Desperate Mom Book Giveaway!

Congrats Lisa,  Esther and Haley!

Leave me a comment with your email & I will get you hooked up with your books!

Hope you all had a great weekend!

Mel's Must Have Baby Products {3-6 months old}

It's time for another post about Mel's Must Have Baby Products.
I started this series because have gotten several emails from readers/friends who are pregnant with their first babies  (or just had their first babies) and they wanted my advice on baby items.
You can see my Newborn-3 month post here.
Luke is our 3rd (and final) baby and since he was born almost 4 years after Claire, I had given away ALL our baby stuff.  ALL of it.
I wanted to be mindful of what I got for Luke knowing that it would only be used for him & then given away/donated. I only wanted to get the absolute necessary things to avoid lots of clutter in my house. I just can't handle clutter.

Here are my 3-6 month must haves:

This little plush toy/pacifer holder is genius!!! One of my sister's (single) guy friends got this for my nephew Jack and I had never seen it before or even heard of it! Way to go, single guy!  It holds the pacifer and lays on the babies chest so that if your baby is in the car seat (or wherever) it helps keep the pacifer from falling out. They did not have these when I had the girls! Genius!
There are 3 styles: lamb, elephant or giraffe.

Sophie the Giraffe Teether

 Great teether/squeaker/toy. Luke loves sophie and attacks her daily. 

Conair Infant Sound Machine
You know babies love white noise, right? I got this clock/sound machine when Claire was born (because Kate was still using hers). The reason I like this one is because it is a clock/sound machine combo. Kate doesn't use the sound machine part of it anymore, but loves being able to tell time. Claire still likes having her "ocean" on and being able to tell time. There are a few different sounds, nature, rain, ocean, birds, but we only use the ocean :)

Taggie Lovey
 What is it with babies & tags? All my babies had/have little taggie lovies & love them.
They are perfect bring in the car and on walks in the stroller. I know you aren't supposed to put them in the crib with them yet, but I do once my babies can crawl. Luke loves holding this next to his face. Precious.

Stuffed Animal Lovey
 Can you have too many lovies? I don't think so! Luke also has this one because it has a stuffed animal with it. I rotate which one I bring in the car & which one I put in his crib. I don't want him to get too attached to just one of them, so I use a variety of lovies.  I did this with the girls also (Maybe I shouldn't have with Claire, she is now a blanket/lovey hoarder and sleeps with 10 blankies/lovies/stuffed animals. Ha!)


Baby Whoozit Plush Infant Toy
This toy was given to us by my sister in law one of my baby showers for Kate. She said it was all 3 of her kids favorite little toys. We have used it for each kid. I don't know what it about this thing, but all 3 kids loved it & still love it. I bring it car rides, walks, and also throw it in the crib.

Graco Baby Bumper Jumper
Santa brought this for Luke at Christmas and let me tell you....he LOVES it. 
What I love about doorway jumpers (rather than the stand up jumpers) is that they are easy to store and move around. Luke is mostly in his jumper in doorway of our master bathroom in the mornings 
as I shower/get ready for work. He squeals with delight as he jumps. Totally recommend this!


Halo SleepSack Wearable Fleece Blanket
Our babies stopped wearing the Swaddle Me blankets at around 2-3 months, so that is when I started using the sleep sacks. Perfect to keep baby warm at night since they can't have blankets yet!

Baby Einstein Ocean Adventure Play Gym
Love this play mat. Keeps the baby entertained with all the lights & toys. And, it is super, super easy to wash. I washed ours in the washer several times and the shape/colors held up so well. Luke loved this playmat. We used it from about 2 months until 6 months old, then we passed it on to my friend Becky to use for Baby Evan :)


Dr. Browns Bottles
I know there are TONS of bottles out there, but for all 3 of mine, I used Dr. Browns. I have never even tried another brand. When I had Kate, a girl I taught with said these were the best, so I trusted her & got them. They are the best because even though there are a few parts to the bottle, it helps reduce the amount of air that gets in which means less gas for baby. I am sure there are other good bottles out there, but these are the only ones we have ever used!
What I also love about them is that the bottle mouth fits perfectly with my breast pump, so I can just pump straight into those bottles!

Exersaucer
I love excersaucers! Yes, they are big & bulky, but sooooo worth it! We start using them when our babies are about 4 months old. There is a wide variety of excersaucers out there, but I like the Evenflow one because it isn't too expensive. Ours is similar to the one linked. And, it keeps those babies entertained while you get ready, make dinner, etc. It's a life saver! Our babies use them for over a year.


Bumbo & Bumbo Tray
 I really like the Bumbo. We start using it with our babies around 3 months. It is fun for them to be able to sit up. I like the tray because you can put puffs or toys on the tray to keep baby entertained. We used it as traveling high chair when we go over to my parents or in laws. But, here's the thing. Babies get too big for bumbos at about 6-7 months old, so you are really only using it for 3-4 months. Know where I bought my bumbo for Luke? Craigslist. I got the bumbo and the tray for $20. So, if you want a bumbo, I would check your local craigslist because you can get it for half the cost. It is SO easy to clean, so I don't mind buying it from a stranger. A few bleach wipes & some soapy water & it was good to go. I got it from a sweet grandma who had it her house for her grandkids. And, now that we are done with it, we are passing it on to friends who are having their first baby this summer!


Breathable Mesh Bumper
 Did you know that it isn't safe to have real bumpers in your babies crib? For the first 3 months, our babies sleep in our room in a pack n play. But after that, I move them to their own crib. Once I move them to their crib, I take off their cute fabric bumper & replace it with this breathable one. That way, if they roll over they aren't suffocated by the fabric bumper, but there is a mesh one instead. Is it cute? Nope. But it's only temporary. The mesh one is helpful so that they don't hit their head or get limbs stuck in the crib slats. I put the normal fabric bumper back in the crib around 9-10 months once my babies can crawl around & pull to a stand. 


A few other things that aren't in the collage that we love & I want to highlight:

Fisher-Price Precious Planet 2-in-1 Projection Mobile
Yes, this is not the cutest mobile out there and it doesn't match Luke's room, but when he was 4 months old I was DESPERATE for him to sleep at night. I am pretty sure this mobile is the reason he started sleeping through the night. I did A LOT of reasearch on mobiles. I wanted one that illuminated lights onto the ceiling & played music. This one does that AND it has a remote control & timer! It also has white noise! I love the remote control feature. As I was trying to get Luke to sleep at night, I would turn this one on & after 18 minutes if he wasn't asleep yet, I would quietly stand in his doorway with the remote & it would go back on without Luke seeing me. Genius!

Next up is high chairs..........


Chicco Polly Magic High Chair - Rattania
This is the one we got as a gift from our friends.
 I would have just gotten a Space Saver high chair  (see at the end of the post) that you attach to a chair,  BUT,  our kitchen table only sits 4 people and we have 5 in our family now, I had to get a free standing high chair.
(Side note: I will be needing a new kitchen table when Luke grows out of his high chair)
I give this high chair 5 stars. It has wheels, so it rolls (which is perfect on my hardwood) or you can lock it into place. You can adjust the height, so you can wheel them up to the table if you want. It has a tray & cover, so I just take the cover off, so easy to clean. It also fold up very narrow, so you can store it if you need to. My favorite thing about it is the mesh basket/storage behind the seat. This is where I keep Luke's container of puffs, container of Cheerios & bibs. That way, I can just put him in his high chair & toss some snacks on the tray, super easy & convenient!

I really like the Chicco high chairs, but if you want a less expensive version (with out the basket under) this is the one I had with Kate:



Chicco Polly High Chair, Foxy


This is the one I got with Claire (but a different color) We needed them both to be in high chairs, since they are only 19 months apart. But, I didn't want 2 high chairs, so I got one of these:


Fisher-Price - Space-Saver High Chair, Mocha Butterfly
I can't rave about this space saver enough. This is actually one of the baby items I did keep, we gave it to my mom to keep at her house after the girls were done using it. Once summer arrives, I am taking it back from her so that we can use for Luke when we eat dinner outside on those warm summer nights. I can keep his normal high chair inside, but use this for outside.

I also must mention baby socks. From 3-6 months, babies are finding their feet (adorable) and learning to scoot/crawl. With Kate, I just bought cheapy socks at first, but they always fell off (or she easily pulled them off) My favorite socks for babies at this age are Trumpette socks & socks from baby gap. They actually stay on!


Items that I don't think are necessary? Like I mentioned in the newborn-3 month post, I never used a wipes warmer, bottle warmer or diaper genie. Other items that I didn't use this time around that I had with the Kate: Bottle Sanitizer, Baby Robe,  lots of outfits.  Poor Luke spent the majority of his first 6 months in footie pj's. Boy clothes just aren't as cute as girl clothes. And, with the girls I totally over-bought clothes for their first year of life!

So there are my "Must Haves" for 3-6 months
 {The next part will be Must Have Baby Products for 6-9 Months}

  Is there anything you would add to this list?