This Weeks Menu

After putting the baby down, I finally had time to make my weekly grocery list! And let me tell you this week's meal plan looks AMAZING! I'm sure they will be just as delicious as all the other 100 recipes I've made. HEY! I just realized I've made over 100 recipes from Real Simple Magazine! YAY to that accomplishment!

So here is the menu for this week: click on the links for recipes

Creamy Broccoli Soup
Lamb Kebabs with lima bean  salad
Chicken Adobo with Bok Choy
Asian Steak Salad with Mango
and
Chili-Glazed Pork with Sweet Potato Hash

(:On weekends we usually have leftovers or I just add extra recipes to the list...up to you :)

To make things even easier for you, the shopping list can be found here =>  Shopping List. Just print out the pdf and head to the grocery store! How awesome is that!!!


I hope this blog finds busy people needing a fresh start or new ideas for dinners!


Please leave feedback on anything you find helpful or just to say "Hi".


Unit next time...

To All My Stay at Home Moms Out There- The Things Our Moms Didn't Tell Us.

I first want to say that a stay at home mom IS a working mom. We just work at home with our kids :) I had a hard time realizing this the first 6 months I was at home with our daughter. Feeling all I was good for was to nurse my daughter, change diapers, clean, and cooking was very hard and I didn't realize, at the time, that it IS an important job.  It's also very hard when society doesn't see it that way sometimes. I get comments from people, not trying to be rude, that don't count being at home "working" and it's really hard to hear, "oh you have the time to do that, I'm too busy I can't" Um... excuse me? please explain to me what time is and where I can get it??? lol.  We are nannies, maids, teachers, nurses, personal shoppers, cooks, and moms all rolled into one and we, or at least I, have the worst boss at times, ourselves. So give yourself the credit you deserve :)

Now, the point to writing this blog was that the past few weeks I've realized that I am having a hard time balancing being a stay at home mom with 2 jobs now that my craft shop is officially open. So I turned to some blogs to help me out and have found that there are a lot of women that are having a hard time going from working outside of the home to being a SAHM or just having a hard time in general finding themselves and being a SAHM which I can definitely  relate to. I don't claim to be an expert but I'd like to share the things I've felt that are helpful for me, and I'm still learning.

I've been a SAHM for about a year and a half now with our first child. It's not easy, not at all, but I really do love it more than I ever thought I would.

I only have one child so my life may not be as busy as some of yours but we also don't live anywhere close to our extended family so I've had to get a little creative when it comes to finding time to get things done. I've found that organization keeps me sane so I've found a couple really good tools to help me.

For one, a messy house can really make me feel out of control so I try to keep it as clean as possible. I've made monday-friday magnets and chore magnets for my frig and I give myself about three chores to complete while my daughter is taking her naps everyday so I don't feel overwhelmed with cleaning the house.

Monday's chores: Kitchen, Diapers (cloth diapers), laundry
Tues: living room, vacuum first floor
weds: bedrooms, vacuum second floor, diapers
thurs: bathrooms, laundry
Fri: office, kitchen, and diapers

I try to get all of it done within the week so sat and sun can be spent with family or my craft shop. If I don't I don't sweat it, also took me a while to get over lol, I can finish the things I didn't on the weekends while my husband either helps or watches my daughter or just leave it for next week. lol

I also found that planning weekly meals helps as well. See post before this one for more detail

I also make it a point to take a shower everyday and change out of my pjs, which sounds like a "duh" thing to do but you know how it goes when you are a SAHM. Showers are a lux and they  really help my attitude. I bought some really cute comfy sweats and shirts and they are my designated house clothes. I didn't spend much, just bought  3-5 pairs of bottoms and 3-5 pairs of shirts, but whatever your budget is you can find cute comfy house clothes that don't look like pjs but still feel comfy and you feel a lot better.  Cute undies also help a lot ;)

And schedule schedule schedule! even if you don't stay 100% to it you at least have something to go by and you don't feel scattered. Set a time for bath time, shopping/errands, dinner.. ect and it helps. I'm looking at my calendar right now and EVERYDAY is taken up by mommy and me groups, play dates, working on my business, recreational stuff, get togethers, not to mention the choirs and everyday things that need to get done from now till forever, so trust me when I say scheduling is key. :)

I also try to get out of the house at least once a day just to get fresh air

I go to a yoga class once a week around my daughter's bedtime. It gives me a break and also gives my hubby and daughter some one on one time.

AND find a hobby even if it's just once a week. I plan on joining a camera club that meets on weds. Cost is ZERO unless you want to compete. There are a ton of things you can do and hopefully you have a supportive husband/partner that would have no problem with you doing something for yourself.  My hubby does ju jitsu twice a week at night so we both get to do something by ourselves for ourselves mentally and physically and we also have the things we like to do together.

Once a month we try to go out on a date, very important ;)

Find a texting buddy. Someone you have something in common with, like another mom, who shares the same morals and values you do. Mine is my sister -in -law and even tho she works outside the home we both have common interests and we both trust each other and respect each other's opinion even when we don't agree. It really helps to have outside mommy support. We are both very busy but texting is the perfect way to still stay in contact on our own time.

Start a blog. Having little to no adult conversations during the week can get to you. Blogging is a way to get what you are feeling out there and maybe it can help someone else :)

I hope this post might help another  stay at home mom. Again, I'm not an expert and don't claim to be but I'm finding out that most SAHMs have felt in someway "trapped". Even though we may feel it is wrong, it's completely normal and  just know I've, along with many other women, have felt the same way. Why don't we just admit it, mommy life is crazy no matter  where you work and very tiring most the time but you gotta love it!

Please leave comments! I'd LOVE to hear any advise you can give on this topic, anything that helps to make my life easier is a plus especially if you have a home business.

Until next time...



***I support MOMS in general no matter if you are a work outside of the home mom or a work at home, aka stay at home, mom. Everyone of you is important to your family and I don't believe there is a right or a wrong to working outside or inside the home***

***also please excuse my typos and horrible grammar, I'm writing this as my daughter is napping. lol***

Easy and Good Cooking for Busy People

*sigh* Finally have a chance to blog!

 I've been dying to blog about my new found favorite thing that has absolutely made my life as a wife and mommy so much easier. I was getting so tired of the same 5 go to recipes every week. You know what I mean. The same recipes you go to every time you don't know what to make. I finally found the solution when I picked up Real Simple magazine October issue back in September. Right there in simple black and white was a whole month of meals planned already for me! Not only were these meals filled with yummy vegetables and juicy tasty meats and pastas, they were also not "boring" to say the least. Added bonus was EVERYTHING took, on average, 30 mins or less!  It's the easiest, freshest and tastiest cooking I've EVER done and I SO look forward to making my grocery list and heading to the grocery store every week.

***I shop weekly to avoid food waste which I was finding out was a MAJOR problem with our family if I shopped once a month or bi-weekly and I also feel like a trip to the grocery store is a lot faster and I enjoy it more. But of course every family is different :)***

I usually shop at Trader Joe's and the local Organic market, MOM's for you Marylanders, so my weekly bill is usually between $80-100. But keep in mind your bill may very. For all my friends in Cali keep in mind that veggies, which usually take up most of my list, are very expensive on the east coast compared to California so your bill could be even lower!!! LUCKY!!! Also for any vegetarians out there these recipes are VERY vegetarian friendly.

For any iPad, itouch, or Android owners there is now an app to get a weekly meal plan and grocery list!
I think it is around 5 bucks and SO worth it.

Here is a link to this week's recipe's  I have made. All of these were VERY yummy, even Z ate them!


FYI- Most  recipes make four "normal" sized portions of food, I found this out myself.  My husband and I are used to big portions of food but we have now gotten used to the "normal" sized portions and have no complaints. Very good for any family making a new years resolution to eat healthier :)


Let me know what you think; I hope someone finds this helpful. Until next time... :)











***Sorry! I tried to include a grocery list and was unsuccessful :( ***

It's Official!

My shop is open!

I decided I wanted to open an online craft shop in October when I picked up the book The Handmade Marketplace- How to Sell Your Crafts Locally, Globally and Online by Kari Chapin at Michael's and made it a goal to have it open by Jan 1st 2011. At 11:00pm EST Jan 1st my shop was officially up to browse and shop, just in time for my goal! WOW! what a great feeling it is to meet your goals isn't it?

When I first decided to open a shop I had absolutely no idea what I wanted to sell, I just knew I absolutely love making things for myself, my family and my home. So I took all those things and built on it.  My craft room started to look like a flea market full of crafts,  but I guess I'm a little random myself so it seemed to be very appropriate. This gave me the idea to give my official banner a flea market feel, the one you see at the top of this blog :). A little fyi all the items in this photo are very personal to me: my favorite books,  my mannequin and sewing machine that have been my best friends since I was 14, lady bugs, and the most personal is the time on the clock 3:05 the time our lives changed for the absolute best when our daughter was born.


Now the name of my business is a different story. This took a few days to figure out.


I love henna and paisley. So naturally "paisley" had to be apart of my business. I'm not really sure how "peepers" came into play other then it started with "p" and it reminded me of the cute marshmallow birds you eat for Easter, Peeps :), and I think that's where the bird logo came from as well.  A henna peacock! A Paisley Peeper of course!


I always love to look at how my favorite businesses or brands came to life so I thought I'd share a little about mine.


I also would like to take this time to thank my amazing husband for motivating me to stick to my goals and for being so patient these past few weeks and weeks to come as I'm locked up in my craft room like Rapunzel for hours. Thank you Boo! and I love you so much!


Thanks for visiting my blog friends. Look out for new stuff in my shop these next few weeks, I'm just getting started! Until next time...

Welcome, Bienvenidos, Merhaba, Bienvenue... a little about me

Hello friends! Well... where shall I start. 


I'd say I've always been a pretty creative person. I danced, I sang, played the violin in my youth, but being crafty is a hobby I've held since high school. I didn't have much of a social life, outside of school and sports (strict parents), so sewing and crafting became a passion. I remember making my bedroom sets, curtains, drawing up sketches on my drafting table, making clothes on my mannequin , sewing, making birthday cards, ect... Then into college the passion began to fade due to a busier life of course; boyfriend, school, my own business as an Esthetician and picking up a second job at a veterinarian hospital. Oh, did I mention I love animals too! 
Here comes 2007; this was a big and very exciting year. My, then, fiance and I travelled to India on a mission trip through our church which was a HUGE eye opener for me and I am SO grateful I got to experience that with him, I graduated with a BA in Business Marketing, I became a wife AND we adopted a dog all in the same year! My husband and I were married July 7, 2007. The planning was extra fun for me. It gave me the opportunity to use my creativity and craft skills again. We were able to do a little more traveling the following year, this time to Jordan, before moving from the West Coast to the East Coast due to a wonderful career opportunity for my hubby and three months later we found out we were expecting. The delivery of our daughter was the most amazing experience we had ever shared as a married couple, and she was truly a perfectly planned gift from God. 
I've been a stay at home mom for the past year and I never thought I'd enjoy it as much as I do. Not to say it is a breeze; planning meals, cleaning, organizing, caregiving, and managing a home isn't always easy. YES, somedays I've felt defeated, BUT when I see my household well-kept, happy, with full tummies of good food... it just puts a big smile on my face and joy in my heart. I feel proud to be able to say "hey, I did a good job today and I made it through" and it motivates me to want to keep it up the best way I can.  
My daughter has also inspired me to start crafting again. I was able to dust off my old sewing machine from high school to make HER first bedroom set, most of the decor in her room, and after making all the decorations for her first birthday I start falling in love with it all over again. I also thought of the possibiity that she might enjoy crafting with me. And so I decided to put myself out there; share my experiences of being a stay at home mommy, good and bad, and finally find out if my skills and reborn passion for crafting could turn into anything more than just a hobby. I've cleaned off my old drafting table, set up a little crafting corner in the office and started little by little.


And that's me in four paragraphs. I hope you enjoy and visit often. Until next time...