Weekend Recap: Arizona Edition

Happy monday folks! I'm feeling particularly lovely this Monday because I was able to catch two full nights of sleep along with a whole lot of Vitamin D this weekend!

I headed down to Phoenix on Friday to visit one of my besties for her birthday and we had so much fun sipping cocktails, doing "girly" things like pedicaures, hair and makeup and just hanging out. Phoenix was in the upper 80s and the sun felt so good on my pale pale PNW skin.

I landed in Phoenix on Friday and we headed to lunch and get pedicures done before deciding we wanted a cozy night in, lounging on the couch, drinking wine, eating good food and watching movies!

Saturday we slept in and when we finally decided to get moving with headed to The Farm at South Mountain. An awesome organic farm that had three different restaurants on it serving food from the farm and other local ingredients. We had brunch at Morning Glory and then wandered through the stores and farm grounds before heading home for a bit.

My girlfriend's birthday was Sunday so went out Saturday evening to celebrate and I wanted to make sure she felt fabulous for her big day so we made appointments to get hair and makeup done, including big fabulous fake eyelashes. Needless to say we were feeling pretty good. After meeting up with a few of her friends and heading to a few different locations, we made our way back home to her apartment to pass out.

Sunday morning we lounged, watched movies and made our way to In N' Out for the best burgers ever! You better believe  I had both my cheeseburger and my fries done up "animal style."

All in all it was a wonderful weekend with my girlfriend. Now I'm back home with my boys ready to take on the week.

Hope you all have a fabulous Monday!

Weekend Recap #7

This weekend recap is coming to you a day late because, honestly, I just didn't feel like writing anything yesterday and my Easter style post had been typed up last week and was just waiting for me to hit the "publish" button on.

So here we go...

Friday night was a date night in and after we put the little guy to bed, husband and I watched Mockingjay Part. 1. We got halfway through the movie before we realized we'd already seen it. Woops! It didn't matter though, because we had enjoyed it the first time and did so again the second time.

After the movie was over, I crashed hard and went straight to bed, at 10 PM, on a Friday. Party. Animal.

Saturday I was up early with my little man and we whipped up a batch of blueberry greek yogurt muffins. They were so good and good for you too! Then we were off to the store to pick up snacks for a little ladies + babies action. I've mentioned this a time or two before, but essentially its a group of mama's who get together with our little ones (all around the same age for the most part) and the mom's get to drink wine and chat/catch up while the little ones play. It's a win! win! for all involved.

That evening was dedicated to a little mommy/Lincoln time while dad got some much needed time off to go hang out at our local brewery. Lincoln and I made dinner and watched some shows before heading to bed early!

Sunday Funday has a whole new meaning these days and we made our way over to the park for some fresh air and play time. Lincoln is quite the explorer and hiked up a HUGE hill all by himself. He is so in love with doggies these days and gets so excited when he sees one in the park. He then proceeded to get down on all fours and "woof woof" like a doggy through the park. Kids. They are hysterical!

After we got back from the park, we made some home-made pizza and curled up on the couch for a Sunday family movie. I was pretty proud of my new pizza concoction - saute'd broccoli and leeks in a little butter and thyme and topped off with burrata. So good! (Oh and ever since our car accident, I've been right back on the dairy wagon eating all of the comfort food I can get my hands on....bring on all the cheese! Maybe next Lent I'll be better ;0/).

Because Lincoln is so into dogs these days, we downloaded Lady and the Tramp (I had no idea it's from 1955!) and he was mesmerized by it! Then it was bath time and off to bed. We're a pretty exciting bunch these days :)

Easter Style: Mama Edition

I started posting some little man style posts a few months back, but with spring coming and more importantly Easter, I thought it would be fun to put together a post on some Spring favorites that would work well for an Easter brunch too. And this time it's all about the mama's.

First things first...I'll admit I tend to be drawn to black and white and more neutral colors so if you're looking for something with more color, these picks are not for you!

Black and White Strips - I love stripes! So much so, that they are quickly taking over my closet. Some might think that stripes aren't that flattering, but I would disagree. I absolutely love this dress, but it's a tad bit dressy for our Easter happenings. 

Paper Crown Dress -I think this dress is so fun and is definitely something you could dress up or down. Put it on with a pair of wedges and you're good to go or dress it down with some leggings and boots and it'd be a fun fall outfit (so also very versatile!). I also really like that it has long sleeves since I'm not the biggest fan of my arms. 

Gap Tie Stripe Dress - I mentioned I love stripes above so it's not surprising that two of the four dresses I picked have stripes in them! This is a another fun option I think you could dress up or down. Put on a pair of wedges to dress it up, or throw on some white tennis shoes for a fun day dress to run errands in. 

Kate Spade Polka Dot Dress - I feel like Kate Spade has been on a roll the past few years. Everything she does lately I absolutely love! This polka dot dress is so fun and because it's black (and white) I don't feel like the polka dots are too overwhelming. Love love love this dress! 

Friday Faves

It's time for some Friday Favorites!

First off...I'm loving the "Born Lucky" jammies I picked up at the Gap for little man to serve as both his St. Paddy's Day and Easter jammies! They are seriously the cutest and everything is 40% off at the Gap if you use the code SWEET.

I'm also loving this photo that you already saw if you follow me on instagram (meghan_alexander) of my two favorite boys twinning in their striped sweaters and blue khakis! I have the two most adorable men in my life!

We're having a little mommy and me play-date this weekend at my house and I get to meet my girlfriend's newest little bundle of joy! I can't wait to have a newborn in my arms again and I'm sure it will send my ovaries into overdrive ;0p

Image via

Finally, I'm heading to Arizona next week to visit one of my besties for her birthday and I cannot wait to get some SUNSHINE on my pale pale skin. I wouldn't be mad if I came back with a sunburn, not even a little bit!

Happy Friday friends!

Little Man Style: Easter Edition

I mentioned on Friday, that Lent started this past week, so you know I'm already thinking about Easter! But, before we get to Easter we have another fun holiday in the mix...St. Paddy's Day! I will most definitely be feeding my child green pancakes for breakfast and corn beef and cabbage for dinner and hopefully we'll make it to the St. Paddy's Day parade in our town, so as we prepare for both St. Paddy's Day and Easter...here's a little style guide for the littlest man in my life.

See below for this month's little man style: Easter (and St. Paddy's) edition!

1. Pink Oxford Shirt - Old Navy actually had the most adorable mint green Oxford with a Paisley bow tie so I ended up skipping the pink and going with that one. I couldn't find the same one online, but this one is similar. I cannot wait to see my little guy all dressed up on Easter Sunday!

2. Navy Twill Pants -  We have these navy pants and they will be the pants of choice for his Easter Sunday outfit!

3. Boat Shoes - I am in love with these boat shoes! I've mentioned before that shoes are not necessarily something Lincoln currently needs, but I might try and sneak this pair into his collection because they will be perfect for his Easter Sunday outfit!

4. Chambray Bow Tie - We have the most adorable navy and green anchor bow tie for Lincoln that he wore for Easter last year. It still fits him so we'll most likely use that again this year, but i'm in love with this chambray bow tie too.

5. Chick's Dig Me Graphic T - We're planning on hitting up my high school's alumni Easter egg hunt with Lincoln this year. They put out plastic eggs all over the football field and all the little kids collect Easter eggs the Saturday before Easter. Little man NEEDS this shirt for that hunt.

6. Striped Rugby Shirt - I mentioned i'd be including a few "st. paddy's day" items on this post and I'm loving this green striped rugby shirt. little man needs to sport this on St. Paddy's day so he doesn't get pinched!

7. Spring Bunny PJs - Easter jammies! I am all about the festive jammies for any holiday, so i'm hoping to snag these jammies for little man.

8. "Born Lucky" PJs - Bunnies + motor cycles + 4 leaf clovers....i'm in love! These festive St. Paddy's day jammies are so cute and they'd work for easter too! I scooped these up from the Gap at the same time I purchased the adorable robot heart PJ set for Valentine's day last month!

Check out past "little man style" posts here and here.

Weekend Recap #6

I'm recapping our weekend a day late, but that's because this weekend was a long one!

It started off with a fun little Valentine's Day party at Lincoln's school where we watched the littles decorate and eat heart shaped cookies and play their sugar loaded hearts out.

Saturday I had a "Galentine" Brunch at my girlfriend's house. We ate delicious food, drank mimosas (grapefruit mimosas are the best!) and sat around and chit chatted while our little ones played away. I went sans little man, so I got a little mama break and it was so much fun!

After brunch, we ran some errands and headed home to relax before making kibbee for dinner! I get so excited anytime I get to make or eat Lebanese food so dinner Saturday night was an event within itself.

Sunday is when everything went south. Lincoln and I were up early and headed out to pick up some surprise Valentine's Day donuts for Kevin. We were on our way back home, when a car ran a red light and we were in a pretty bad accident. Luckily, no one was seriously injured. Both airbags in our car deployed and since my hand had been on the horn, the airbag essentially blew up in my hand causing some bruising on both my hands and arms and a sprain in my right thumb and wrist.

I had never been in an accident like that and didn't realize that when airbags deploy it smells and looks like your car is on fire because of a powder that comes out with the airbags. I thought our car was on fire initially and couldn't get my car door open to get to Lincoln and get us safely away from the car. I was terrified and in complete panic mode until I was able to get my door wedged open enough to slide out and get Lincoln out of the car and onto the side of the road.

Our car was completely totaled. The entire front end was smashed in and there was fluid leaking everywhere. I forgot my cell phone that morning, so I was so grateful to the woman who stopped to see if we were ok, let me use her phone to call my husband and parents and stayed with us until the police, fire department and my family came. She also served as a witness to the accident as well.

After our car was towed away and the police were gone, we headed over to Urgent Care to get my hand x-rayed and make sure it wasn't broken. It wasn't. Just sprained, swollen and bruised and they sent me on my way with a splint and a prescription for some pain medication.

Needless to say our Valentine's got a little side-tracked, but once we made it home, I pulled out the little gift we had put together for Lincoln as well as a little something for Kevin and we opened our gifts before eating a very delayed breakfast and putting Lincoln down for nap.

Once the nap was over, we took Lincoln over to Nana and PopPop's so we could go purchase a new car seat (you have to replace car seats if you've been in an accident, even if the seat wasn't damaged because the plastic can be warped/damage internally), and head out for a little Valentine's dinner sans kiddo. After dinner, we picked Lincoln up and headed home to put him to bed and have a little date night/movie night in. It didn't last long and after a few minutes, Kevin and I had both fallen asleep. I think all of the excitement from the day had finally caught up to us.

Monday was an extra day off and we spent the day relaxing, getting ready for the week, talking with insurance companies about the accident and ended with homemade pizza with Nana and PopPop.

A pretty long, fun, terrifying and exhausting weekend if I do say so myself.

Hopefully this week and next weekend are better!

Red Velvet Chocolate Chip Cookies + Buttercream Icing

It's time for February's "cookie of the month!" I mentioned last month that one of my husband's stocking stuffers was a coupon book full of monthly cookie coupons. Last month I made Oreo Chocolate Chip cookies and they were delicious! 

February is "love" month with Valentine's Day and all so I knew this month's cookie had to be filled with love (I mean red food dye) because for some reason we all associate the color red with love, hearts and roses....so Red Velvet Chocolate Chip Cookies with Buttercream Icing had to be it! 

I adapted this recipe slightly from Sally's Baking Addiction and then added my own special touch by drizzling the cookies in a buttercream icing. They turned out delicious! 

I hope you enjoy them as much as Kevin did! (Maybe these will last longer than the 48 hours the oreo cookies did ;0p). 

Red Velvet Chocolate Chip Cookies + Buttercream Icing

adapted from Sally's Baking Addiction

For the cookies: 

1 and 1/2 cups
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 stick (1/2 cup) butter, softened
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1-2 Tablespoon milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1.5 Tablespoons red food coloring
1 cup milk chocolate chips

For the Icing

1/2 cup butter, room temp

1 tsp vanilla extract 

2-3 cups powdered sugar (depending on how you like the consistency of your frosting)

1-2 Tablespoons milk (again, depending on how you like the consistency of your frosting)

Directions

Mix together flour, cocoa powder and baking soda and set aside. 

In a large bowl, cream the butter until smooth. Add in the brown sugar and granulated sugar and mix well. Mix together the egg, milk and vanilla and add to your sugar/butter mixture. Cream together. 

Add in your red food coloring. It should be a bright red color. When you add the cocoa powder to the mix it will deepen the red. Don't feel shy about adding even more red food coloring after you add in the cocoa powder...as you can see from my photos above, they're more brown than red and that's because I didn't quite add enough food coloring. 

Slowly add in your dry ingredients and combine well. Stir in chocolate chips. 

Refrigerate dough for 1 hour. Roll dough into balls and place on a cookie sheet. 

Bake at 350 degrees for 10-11 minutes. Cookies may not have flattened out as much as you like. Simply press lightly on the warm cookies and they will flatten out. 

While cookies are cooling, make your frosting. 

I wanted my frosting to be more of a glaze so I made the consistency much wetter than usual for a buttercream. 

Combine your ingredients until you get the correct consistency. Put the frosting/icing into a ziplock bag and cut a small hole in one of the corners. Drizzle icing back and forth over your completely cooled cookie. 

Enjoy!!