Loving Lately

I haven't done a loving lately post in such a long time! I am loving several things lately that I think you all will love as well:


Bindle. Delicious coffee and baked goods. Lately I have been loving their peppermint mocha with their homemade almond milk. So delicious and not sickeningly sweet. I'm usually not a fan of flavored coffee drinks but this one has made me a believer

 This tea. I first started drinking this tea a few years ago when we lived in Washington. Lately it has made a huge comeback in the Odell household and I have at least one cup a day. It is naturally sweet and spicy because of the cinnamon. Perfect for this season

 I am a HUGE Christmas candle fan. Every year I have to buy new, huge candles because I burn them down in the span of a month. Diffused, these two oils smell better than any Christmas candle I've had and both oils also promote a calm, relaxing environment, win win in my book!

 This dressing is so so delicious. I bought it for the first time last month while I was on my whole 30. It's one of the few dressings that doesn't have any added sugar or weird oils in it. I put it on everything! My eggs and veggies in the morning, burrito bowls, salads, etc.

What are some things you are loving lately?

Bathtime for diggers & Kale soda

We started doing this a few months ago when Lewis was playing in the dirt all.day.long. This is an awesome activity for toddlers on a chilly day (or a sunny day) if you need time to cook dinner or do dishes. Lewis loves giving his diggers a bath. I lay a towel down on the kitchen floor and give him a bowl of soapy water for washing and a bowl of warm clean water for rinsing. I usually throw in a cup too. Water definitely gets on the floor but it actually ends up being a bonus for me because I feel like the floors are a little more clean after I clean up. Lewis loves helping me wash the dishes too! I'll give him utensils and small things to wash, its great.

On a completely different and random note, I saw this crime against humanity in the grocery store the other day...I mean, I know kale is totally "in" right now but soda, really?? I enjoy a good kale salad or some leaves of kale thrown into a fruit smoothie but a leaf of kale by itself it tastes so gross. 

Adventures of late

Its about time for an update over here at the ol' blog. We have had some absolutely fantastic weather here for the past week or so. It has been unseasonably warm and sunny. Usually we don't get "summer" weather until well after the Fourth of July (last year not until August) so we are enjoying the sun as much as possible.
This past Saturday we spend the day with our friends Ian and Karin at their cabin up north. Lew had so much fun exploring and investigating the new scenery and playing with rocks

I've been making sun tea like a maniac. Brewing in the sun gives the tea a much much better flavor than when brewed with boiling water, never tastes burnt. I use decaf English Breakfast for mine and add 1.5 Tbs sugar to the jar before putting it in the sun. Such a perfect summer drink

Lots of afternoon & morning walks going on around here. Lewis is in full on toddler mode and hates being strapped into the stroller for walks. Its so fun to watch him explore. He points with his little finger when he wants to know the name for something or when he wants to show us something

Zoo time! We have a season pass at the Woodland Park Zoo here in Seattle and have been trying to take advantage as much as possible. Its super close and such a huge/beautiful zoo. This was our third time going and we got to see so many animals!

We are loving life with this little guy

On another note - if you have been missing the weekly meal plan/loving lately posts head on over to Mothers Mouthful. I post a new menu each Sunday!

Adventures lately

With the busyness of life I've gotten out of the habit of posting about our daily lives (riveting) so I thought an update would be nice!
This past week my mom flew in from AZ for a visit. She came at the perfect time, we've had the best week of weather so far this year. Here are some of the things we did this past week:

We went to Juanita bay park in Kirkland and had an amazing time looking at wildlife (turtles!) and playing in the grass. Afterwards we grabbed lunch downtown and got more paint for our little project

I've been wanting to repaint my old dresser for Lewis for quite a while now. It was so great to have my mom here to help! We also painted a night stand and a little stool. Can't wait to put them in his room!

Date night! Jeff surprised me with a romantic date night on the space needle. It was a gorgeous day and we could see forever in all directions from where we ate and the observation deck. If you look really closely you can see Mt. Rainier behind us. Such a perfect night!

Shopping at University Village in Seattle (such an awesome outdoor mall!). Lewis had so much fun walking around and playing by the fountain.

It was such a fun week with good company and beautiful weather. Not pictured: the massive amount of cleaning and re-arranging that took place in our new home! Pictures soon to come

A weekend to write home about

This past weekend was perfect; a weekend to write home about

Watching the ducks on our morning walk

The blossoms appeared in the span of only 1 day! They are in full bloom right now and each tree branch looks like it has fluffy pink clouds on it

 On Saturday we took advantage of the clear skies and warm weather and headed down to eat some lunch at Greenlake. We grabbed some sandwiches in Fremont at Paseo and headed over to the lake for some people watching. Lewis had so much fun crawling around in the grass

 Easter morning was bright and sunny. Lewis has been loving his sunglasses and wears them around the house

 Opening his Easter present (sitting on his little chick haha)

Sunday was absolutely gorgeous with clear skies as far as the eye could see and temps around 70!

 View of Rainier on our way home from Easter dinner with friends

A beautiful day here in Washington is worth more than pure gold. Spring here is like magic and it makes you feel so alive and free! I have never enjoyed the sunshine or the outdoors more

The warmth of the sun & a day at the pool

Lately Lewis has just been wanting to climb up onto the couch and then stand on the windowsill looking out into the great beyond. He does this pretty much every morning (with my help of course). This morning the sun was warm and bright

Love

Yesterday we had a fun day with friends at the pool in Lynnwood! There were tons of little fountains and water toys to play with. Even a miniature lazy river. Lewis was a little overwhelmed but enjoyed splashing around and watching the bigger kids play

A lazy day + the best chicken stir fry ever

Its a rainy day in the neighborhood...
This morning we played in bed for a little while, Lewis was rocking his new Lion pjs:)

When he woke up from his nap we went to Whole Foods to pick up some essentials

And made it back in time to eat some delicious lunch! Lewis feasted like a madman 

Lunch consisted of leftover stir fry that we had for dinner last night. The key to a great stir fry is all in the method people. Here is the recipe that I like best:

Ingredients:

Chicken

• 1.5-2 lbs chicken breasts, cut into 1 inch strips
• 1tsp baking soda
• 2Tbs water
• Marinade: 1/3 cup soy sauce, 3 Tbs rice vinegar, 1-2Tbs garlic chili paste

Veggies

• 1 head broccoli
• 2 large carrots
• 1 zucchini
• 1/2 head cauliflower
• 1 small onion
• 4 stalks celery
• 1 handful hericot verts/sugar snap peas 
• 1 red bell pepper

Method:

Chicken

• I first saw this method for preparing chicken in an issue of Cooks Magazine. I have been doing it ever since and my chicken turns out absolutely perfect every time. My main problem with sauteing chicken breasts is that they always get dry and rubbery. Not with this method! Your meat will be deliciously tender 
• Begin by cutting your chicken into strips and placing in a small bowl. Add 2Tbs water and 1tsp baking soda to the chicken and mix to coat. Let sit for 15 - 20 minutes
• In the meantime prepare your marinade by mixing your soy sauce, rice vinegar, and garlic chili paste
• Rinse and drain chicken well, put back into the bowl and pour the marinade over the chicken
• Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes 

Veggies

• The key to crispy not overdone veggies is to make sure they aren't too wet and that there is ample room in your pan when you fry them. If there are too many veggies or your pan is too small they will end up steaming, resulting in squishy, smooshie vegetables. I don't have a pan big enough to hold all of my veggies so I generally either cook them in two batches or use two different pans.
• While the chicken is marinating prep your veggies. Cut them all into 1 inch chunks

Fry it up!

• When your chicken is done marinating heat some oil in a large wok or pan. When the oil is hot dump the chicken in and cook on high heat until the liquid has evaporated, flipping every couple of minutes. This will ensure a nice caramelized finish on the outside of the chicken. Delish. Turn the heat down to medium and continue cooking until the chicken is no longer pink in the center
• While the chicken is cooking heat a little oil in another pan for the veggies. Again, you want the pan to be hot so that the veggies stay crispy! Alternatively, if you only want to use 1 pan for this, you can wait until the chicken is done cooking to begin the veggies 
• Begin by cooking the hard vegetables first: carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, etc. Cook on med-high heat for 10 minutes then turn the heat to medium and throw in the rest of the veggies along with a little soy sauce and some garlic chili paste, cook for 5-10 more minutes 

Serve it

• When your chicken and veggies are all done mix them together and serve with rice, noodles, or kelp noodles

enjoy!

Weekend adventures

This past weekend went too quickly, like they all do, but we had such a good time together! Saturday we took a long Walk at a park on the Sound. Lewis loves his new carrier, now he can see where we are going!

Sunday was pizza night so we walked over to Papa Murphey's and picked this little guy up

Lewis is getting so big and has such a spirit of adventure. I left him alone for less than a minute and found him here...Just standing on the blender looking out of the guest room window. So funny

Playing the day away. Our favorite thing to do during the day (especially during these winter months) is to just sit and play together inside. Such a big boy!

 Did some grocery shopping. Normally I put Lewis in the baby carrier and shop that way but this time I decided to let him sit in the cart. He LOVED it! He was holding on like he was on a fun ride the entire time

 This boy is turning 1 next Friday and got his first birthday present from Uncle Ryan, Aunt Jenn, and his cousins Conner and Graham! He has been having so much fun bouncing it around the apartment

Loving Lately

Here are some things I have been loving lately!

The Les Miserables sound track. I have loved the music for as long as I can remember and after seeing the newest remake I can't seem to stop listening to the sound track. The story and the passion in the music will change your life.I get my fix from the Les Miserables 2010 cast radio station on Pandora. Check it out!

source

7th Generation multipurpose cleaner. This stuff is the best because it is non toxic and all botanical so I feel comfortable using it on surfaces that the babe comes in contact with during the day. It acts as a cleaner or as a disinfecting agent (just spray it on and let it dry). A great every day cleaner!

The Fitnessista's baked breakfast cookies. These have been the perfect go to snack for me the past few weeks. Make a double batch on Sunday and have some for the whole week. I put shredded coconut, raisins, chocolate chips, and peanut butter in my latest batch and they are delicious!

Peanut butter. 'Nuff said. Not really though. I have an unhealthy obsession with peanut butter. I'm pretty sure I eat it at least once a day, like by the spoonful, not on celery or a sandwich. I know what you are thinking, and no, I didn't eat the whole container in 1 day...

Ahh, raisins, they get me every time. My (second) greatest weakness. These giant raisins from Trader Joe's are soft, juicy, and a little tart: everything raisins should be. I love the golden raisins best. They taste awesome in baked breakfast cookies and, coincidentally enough, on peanut butter. Easy snack idea: giant spoonful of peanut butter with a handful of raisins thrown on top. I have problems.

Colorado trip

We recently took a trip to Colorado to meet our sweet niece Sophie and to spend time with family and friends. We took about a gazillion pictures so I can't put them all up but here are a few

Baby Sophie, so beautiful and cuddly!

2 mommies and their babies!

Beautiful snowy Colorado

Baby lew lew (& Mr. Panda) and Great Grandmother Hines

sweet baby Sophie and uncle Jeff

home again home again