It’s been a LONG time coming, but now that our dream backyard is fully complete, we have been hosting some really fun parties! My husband loves to grill and so creating a beautiful and functional outdoor kitchen was something we’ve been wanting to do for way too long! RTA Outdoor Living is an amazing company and working with them was basically seamless! They partner you with a designer to help you create the perfect outdoor kitchen for your backyard. Our RTA designer came up with some ideas we hadn’t even thought of and was able to educate us on all the products they offer. The design tool is really fun to work with, and as you can see, the renderings were so spot on and really gave us an inside look into what the outdoor kitchen could be. We chose to go with the Coyote grill and the Solo pizza oven which has been a blast!

I’d have to say the best part about my husband being a master griller is I don’t have to cook in the kitchen! Kacy has gotten really creative with what he’s been grilling and I have to admit, I feel like I’m winning!! Again, because mama don’t have to cook!

Thank you, RTA from one happy family! Check them out Here!

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Working with Caesarstone for our kitchen countertops was a total dream! Our designer, Cynthia of Soda Pop Design Inc. loves their stone and when she introduced me to Caesarstone, I was instantly sold! We knew we wanted chic, white countertops and when we saw the final design (Cynthia had chosen Empira white) it’s like she had read my mind. The waterfall edge!!!! Omigoodness, it’s even more stunning in person! The veins in the stone are so unique. Some of them trail off on their own, and other veins clump into their own beautiful designs. CaesarStone slabs truly look like a piece of art. And bonus— they are easy to clean, maintain and are very durable! Thank you Cynthia and CaesarStone for making my dream kitchen come to true! ⭑⭑

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A few weeks ago I went to my first challah bake — a fundraiser for Lennox’s school. We made the dough in preparation to bake it at home. So fun getting together with some school moms, drinking a little vino and learning something new. The next morning after letting the “dough rise”, ha that makes me feel like a profesh baker Lennox and I rolled out the dough into three pieces and then braided it — such a fun experience with him! Our Verona range could not have baked the challah more perfectly! It was delish! The EZ Glide racks make it so easy to get whatever you’re baking or cooking in the range out QUICKLY and EASILY! Our old oven racks used to stick making it really difficult to remove a piping pan etc..! We put it on the ventilated cooking setting and the challah came out a perfect golden brown on the outside and soft and fluffy on the inside! I added the recipe we used below, but cannot take credit for it! You can check out this awesome range HERE!

Challah Recipe
1 1/3 cup water
1 tablespoon instant yeast
Generous 1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup oil
2 eggs
2 tsp table salt
4 1/4 cups high quality flour (bread flour preferred)

Mix all ingredients together in order listed above. This works in the bread machine on the dough cycle, or by hand. If kneading by hand, be sure to knead for 5 minutes!

After rising (overnight, or in the dough cycle, or around 90 minutes if doing it by hand) divide dough in half.

Lightly flour the work station/ strands. Divide each half into 4 strands and roll each piece into a snakey shape, then braid the strands together in a round challah shape.

Repeat with the other half.

Place on a lined cookie sheet or loaf pan. Let rise for another 20-30 minutes, egg wash, then bake at 350 for 30-40 minutes or until golden.

Makes 2 loaves. NOTE: If making one large challah it needs 40 min in the oven.

Cut! Eat! Enjoy!

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Now the question is, what are we going to bake today?

Hmmmm…

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It’s been along time since I’ve written a blog post and I can’t think of a better topic than being outside, splashing in a pool with Lennox and enjoying the beginning of summer! There’s just something about water! Do you agree?! Although our yard does not currently have a pool built in the ground, we are definitely enjoying our awesome Hyvigor pool to keep us cool and enjoying our summer together. I’m not a big fan of getting splashed! But since it will be in the 80’s/90’s this week, I am making an exception!

Best part– Hyvigor is giving my friends a special discount to keep you cool this summer, too!

Go to Amazon and get 15% Off your own Hyvigor Inflatable Swimming Pool with thiese codes!

This pool is 95x56x22 inches and perfect for a family of three! 
https://amzn.to/2SqhjzA — 15% Code: CZ49BFED

This pool is 120x72x22 inches and perfect for a family of four plus a furry friend
https://amzn.to/357h1jZ — 15% Code:  8TIK9SP9

You can also visit the Website and get 30% Off With Code: Hyvigor30 
https://www.hyvigor.com/  —

HAPPY SUMMER FRIENDS!! STAY COOL! SUMMER,

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(Insider tip: It works for kids, too! When I ask Lennox to put his toys away, he knows exactly where they go! Super big mom win here! )

Because this system has worked well for us, I wanted to bring some of these organization tactics to our refrigerator, too, which felt scary at first , but I did it!! To be honest, our fridge was starting to look like the drawers used to in our kitchen – i.e. random things stuffed in corners where they don’t belong. I wanted to open the fridge and freezer to see delicious food vs. reaching for my favorite salad dressing and realizing it expired in 2016! Truth. Plus, I wanted to make cooking meals fun again and not feel like such a chore. 

So, I finally did a complete overhaul on our refrigerator and I’m thrilled to report it’s looking so much better! One of my inspirations was our new Bosch French door bottom mount refrigerator. I had seen refrigerators with a middle drawer and was dying to get one for all of our fresh produce. We go to the farmers market weekly, and I always try to cook with as many fresh vegetables as possible, plus we eat a ton of fruit. The sad part is our produce was going bad faster than we could eat it. But let me tell you, the Bosch VitaFreshPro drawer is like magic!  It has a four-point FarmFresh System that is specifically designed to keep food fresh for longer. I swear, I can buy kale, clean it, chop it and it will stay fresh and crisp in that drawer for two weeks. I’ve already saved so much money on produce since the beginning of the year when we got our new Bosch refrigerator. Next up, color coordinating. As part of my mission to make cooking more fun and keep my family eating tons of fresh fruits and veggies, I took it a step further and organized my produce to form a rainbow! You can laugh, it’s ok! Does it always look like this? No, but it sure makes me excited to keep cooking with fresh, healthy ingredients. Now every time we open that drawer to grab a snack or make dinner, we’re excited to pick from our rainbow of bright, fresh fruits and veggies.

Question: have you felt like your freezer is an endless black hole? Before this new Bosch refrigerator and tackling my freezer, there was honestly zero organization. I didn’t know where anything was, and I got frustrated every time I tried to dig through it – even when trying to find bigger items like chicken or the bag of fruit I use to make smoothies. (Or the frozen spinach I secretly throw into Lennox‘s spaghetti sauce to get that extra vitamin C in his body!) Bosch’s three-tiered freezer system to the rescue! Now everything finally has a home and is easy to see. The meat is in the meat section, the fruits and veggies have their own section, as does any bread, rolls or buns I keep in the freezer. I even organized my frozen spices! I’m on a roll, clearly. 

Now, for the main part of the refrigerator… I don’t know about you, but for me, this was the part that was in such disarray. It was a massive mess before I tackled it. Thankfully, our new Bosch refrigerator has adjustable, split-glass shelving and door bins that made it easy for me to customize everything! I organized all the salad dressings in their own section of the door, then I put all the condiments together. Next, I decided I even wanted to organize it between Italian condiments and Asian condiments. LOL! I guess you could say I make a lot of different pastas and spaghetti’s, along with delicious stir-fry’s and curry’s. In my head, I’ve always wanted these condiments to be separated, and with my new refrigerator, I finally had the room to do it.

The new Bosch refrigerator also has this awesome FlexBar, which can be moved around and completely customized to maximize any unused space. It allowed me to separate Lennox’s vitamins, or as we like to call them, “liquid candy”, into their own section of the FlexBar. I also have the wine rack set up on the FlexBar because, you know, mama likes her wine! I also added my own bins to help keep nut butters and jellies together and put the breads by them. Next, I wanted all of the dairy together so our milk, oat milk and creamers were an easy reach, and then we have the bubbly and flat waters together, too. Organized

Our new Bosch refrigerator was too pretty to be such a mess and making these simple tweaks has really made cooking fun for me again. Now every time I open my fridge or freezer, I smile instead of grimace. And, the refrigerator perfectly complements our full Bosch kitchen suite, making this mama one happy woman!

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It took me about a month before I hit my breaking point. Saying thank you to the three different doctors who noticed my struggle and wanted to help is just not good enough. I owe these doctors so much more gratitude than I was capable of giving them at the time. I didn’t realize the severity of it, but I do now. I DO NOW. Postpartum depression, anxiety, the baby blues- it’s real. It’s debilitating and it’s isolating. But it doesn’t have to be. My goal is to open up the dialogue. To do my part to help eliminate the stigma of mental health “problems” and postpartum depression. Let’s start by supporting each other. Giving a shoulder to cry on and a non- judgmental ear to listen is the least we can do for our fellow mamas.

If you see a mama struggling, ask if she needs a hand.

If you see a mama crying, ask if she’d like to talk.

If you see a mama being mom shamed, support her with kind words.

If you see a mama laughing with her kids, allow it to warm your heart.

If you see a mama, any mama, know that she “gets” it. She knows what you’re going thru. She is a reminder that you are not alone…

We are not alone, lovelies.

Xoxo

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PS. Enjoy the goofy pics. No rhyme or reason! J

ust love my fab sweater! Unfortunately it’s sold out but I found some other cuties for ya You’re welcome

Xoxo

Amy

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