I cannot believe it, but my little girl, Elia, is two years old! It's insane how quickly the time has gone. I remember planning her first birthday party last year and couldn't believe how big she was then. Looking at her now, it honestly feels like a lifetime ago. Elia's first birthday was tough because I had NO idea what she liked. I took an educated guess (aka I picked what I loved) and had a magical unicorn theme. This year though, my little toddler has thoughts, ideas, dreams and ... [ Read More ]
My Family’s 5 BBQ MUST Haves Dishes
One thing I love about the summertime is a good ol' BBQ. There's honestly nothing I love more than hanging out with my family on my deck, cooking/grilling up amazing food and soaking in that summer sun. I have so many fun memories doing this with my family and I love continuing these traditions into my life as a Mom. Since my parents bought a condo in Chicago recently, I thought it would be fun to have a BBQ and ask them (and my sister) to bring their favorite nostalgic BBQ food. Basically, ... [ Read More ]
5 Reasons You NEED to Host a Pampered Chef Party
Everything changes when you have a kid. I braced myself for the body changes, the house changes, and the relationship changes, but I've also fancied myself a good multi-tasker and kind of figured that balancing social life with motherhood would just mean bringing Elia with me or finding a sitter. Oh how wrong I was. When you have a child, all your priorities shift and what you enjoy doing changes. Now in days, I find myself in the kitchen more cooking for my family or sprawled out on the ... [ Read More ]
5 Cheesy Appetizers That’ll be a Hit Anytime
I love to host a good girls night or get together. It's what I live for. I love entertaining, I love cooking and I love seeing happy faces around the room when I watch people eat my food. I think the reason that I'm able to love it so much is I always keep things super simple. Over the years, I've learned that the number one reason people don't entertain is because they don't like to cook or feel stressed and overwhelmed. That's why I'm here! These 5 cheesy appetizers all have a wow ... [ Read More ]
5 Things you Need to Throw an Awesome Football Sunday Party
Let's be honest, watching football has never been my first choice Sunday activity. In fact, I don’t even think it would be in my top 10. However, with marriage comes compromise, so in our house it’s not just Sunday, it’s FOOTBALL Sunday. After fighting an uphill battle for years, I realized I should just give-in and try my best to have some fun with it. Since I'm a total hostess at heart, it's actually the perfect opportunity to flex my entertaining skills. Here are 5 things that I think ... [ Read More ]