Thanks to...

Pinterest, the fam and I have been enjoying heaps of delicious new recipes lately. Like this Chicken Gyros recipe from my new favorite food blog, Annie's Eats. I made them a few nights ago and oh my were they good! A word of advice though, I added three whole cloves of pressed garlic to my tzatziki and I don't know if I bought some kind of super-garlic but it was a little too spicy, and believe me I don't usually shy away from spicy/garlicy goodness! Also, I used the most delicious Greek Yogurt (Athenos) instead of regular plain yogurt which eliminated the need for straining as the recipe suggests and I poured the marinade over the chicken when I broiled it and then tossed the chicken in the same marinade that was left in the pan after cooking. My new favorite dinner!

Image via Annie's Eats.

Very much...

looking forward to this.

On tonights...

menu, Baked Eggplant Parmesan! I'm so excited to eat this that I dreamt about it last night. No seriously, I did.

Image via marthastewart.com.

**Update: This was THE BEST Eggplant Parmesan recipe I've ever made! I used fresh mozzarella and added a little extra garlic, and it was amazing! Thanks for another winning recipe Martha!

One of...

the things I miss most about L.A. is the museums and one of my biggest complaints about Colorado Springs is its extremely limited supply of them. Lucky for us, Denver is only an hour away and has some pretty fantastic museums. Including The Denver Art Museum which starting March 25th through July 8, 2012 will be the only U.S. venue for Yves Saint Laurent, "A Retrospective". It will feature a selection of 200 haute couture garments, along with photographs, drawings and films that illustrate the development of Saint Laurent's style. I cannot wait!

Image Credits.

I have a confession...

I've never cooked with pumpkin or squash. Never. Ever. Shameful, right? That was until a few nights ago when I made Pumpkin, Chickpea and Red Lentil Stew. I had to substitute the pumpkin with butternut squash since there was not a pumpkin in site at our local market. I think I was always intimidated by the thick skin and sticky seeds but now I realize that it's so worth the extra effort. Not only was the stew delish, I'm ready to conquer more gourd-related recipes in the coming weeks. These are at the top of my list:

Butternut Squash Pizza

Image and recipe via Real Simple

Butternut Squash Lasagna w/ Sage and Lemon Butter

(this looks insanely good!)

Image and recipe via Design Sponge

Cinnamon Roasted Chicken with Pumpkin-Sage Grits

Image and recipe via Better Homes and Gardens

Charlie's Birthday!...

Last Friday, January 6th, my little guy turned 3! I know every parent out there says this, but where does the time go? This last year in particular, Charlie has gone from three word sentences to telling me entire stories about rocket ships blasting off into space to deliver cheese to the aliens on other planets! He has the best imagination!
We had a very casual celebration this year since most of our friends and family are back in California. I made a cake, ordered pizza, got a few balloons, C opened presents and we had my in-laws over. Charlie got tons of phone calls, love on facebook, and prezzies and he spent half the day jumping on the bed yelling, "I'm three, I'm three, I'm three!", so all in all I think he had a pretty great day.

 The VERY happy birthday boy.

Birthday cake!

After writing...

this post today, a friend of mine sent me a link to this gorgeous Bon Iver video:

I'd heard the song a million times (it's so beautiful!) but I hadn't seen the video. Now it's become quite clear to me that my family and I need to move to Iceland. I can just imagine Charlie blissfully enjoying day after day like the boy in this video. Amazing.

Posting here...

has been rather sporadic lately. There are a million reasons why but I won't bore you with the details (although I will share some over the coming weeks). But now that the holidays and CB's birthday (more on that later) have come and gone, I've found my way back with a ton of things I'd love to share. Like this video I spotted recently over on Black Eiffel:

MADE IN ICELAND from Klara Harden on Vimeo.

This girl reminds me of my dearest Dana and her many adventures around the globe. I think this would be the perfect next stop for her. I only have one question...Can I come too?

Happy Holidays!

Image via Google.

And the Grinch, with his Grinch-feet ice cold in the snow, stood puzzling and puzzling, how could it be so? It came without ribbons. It came without tags. It came without packages, boxes or bags. And he puzzled and puzzled 'till his puzzler was sore. Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before. What if Christmas, he thought, doesn't come from a store. What if Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more."

-Dr. Seuss

May your holiday be filled with friends, family and food! xo-Sara

Please forgive...

my lack of a {this moment} post today. I must say I have a very good (and sad) excuse. You see, my beloved Nikon D3100 was left on the airplane when we headed to Los Angeles last friday. I had it in my tote and after Charlie got restless and started riffling through my bag, it must have fallen beneath the seat, perhaps never to be seen again. I am beyond sad but trying to remind myself that it's just a thing and it can (eventually) be replaced. In the mean time, I'll go back to using my Nikon Coolpix and hope that by some miracle my dear friend is found and returned to me.

The new...

issue of Covet Garden has arrived! It features the family home of artist Cybele Young who in addition to working in printmaking and sculpture, has written and beautifully illustrated a children's counting book called "Ten Birds" that I've just added to Charlie's holiday wish list. Check out her site and check out the new issue!

{this moment}

A ritual started by SouleMama, a single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the past week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see.

This weekend...

We're heading into the mountains to cut down our Christmas tree! I have some mixed feelings about cutting down a tree in the wilderness, but since we have a permit from the U.S. Forest Service and they say that cutting trees helps prevent forest fires, I'm going to do my best to enjoy our Clark Griswold moment. We're also going to brave the cold and snow (it's supposed to be 15 degrees!) to see the Colorado Springs Festival of Lights Parade in downtown tomorrow night. Then Sunday we'll get the holiday decorating underway assuming we haven't lost our fingers to frostbite!

Enjoy your weekend!

Let it...

snow, let it snow, let it snow! I'm so happy to be enjoying a snowy day with my two little guys and although I've managed to stay warm so far, it occurred to me today that it isn't even officially winter yet and I have at least four more months to get by on my minimal winter wardrobe. That means it's time for some sweater hunting. Here's a few that I'm currently plotting over...

Striped Sweaterknit Hoodie from Madewell.

Spotdot Sweater from Madewell.

Wynter V-Neck in Retro Orange (I love the Roasted Cider too!) from J Crew.

Hallowell Cowlneck from Anthropologie.

We had...

the best time during awesome Auntie Dana's visit last week! We hiked at Garden of the Gods, went to Cheyenne Mountain Zoo (our favorite place in Co. Springs!), baked pies for Thanksgiving, ate the best burger and shake ever at Crave Real Burgers and had an overall fantastic time.

 Charlie and Dana "hold up" Balance Rock.

 Happy hikers.

 We saw almost every animal at the zoo but these mountain lions were so cool!

This was taken just before this giraffe tried to lick Dana's face. I was too busy laughing to get a photo.

{this moment}

A ritual started by SouleMama, a single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the past week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see.