Valentines Day Is On The Way!

I have been a busy bee helping Landon and Coco with their Valentines for class. For Landons, I had ordered these from Amy Adele.

They are beyond cute! His teacher had asked that he write the name of each of his classmates on each one. Let me tell you this has been like pulling teeth! He only wants to do about 2 before he is "soooo tiyurd." Me too buddy!

Coco's are more home made. Found this idea on Pinterest, the holy bible of creativity. (If you aren't on Pinterest you are missing out!)

Happy Valentines Day to all the Mama's and Mama's to be out there! Thanks to Jenna for all her help with my Valentines!

Pink Swap!

Hopsy over at Monograms and Manicures hosted a Pink Swap and I was only a little too excited to be a part of it! My partner was Summer Is A Verb, so I had to make it good!!!


Here are the goodies I found and sent to her!

Remember we had a budget of $30! I think I did pretty well! 
1) Pink Dish Towels with circles
2) Mojito soaps in pink and green bamboo pattern box
3) Golf Princess notes and post its
4) Pink gardening tools!
5) Pink flower note cards
and last but not least...


6) Lilly Pulitzer Lemon Notecards! (That was a serious find!)


Can't wait to open my box from her! It arrived yesterday and I am about to rip it open!

One Fabulous Husband- He's With The Band! Supporting your mates passion!

There's something that happens when you get married. At first it's cute. You get comfortable around each other, let loose a little...next thing you know you're wearing cotton undies and sweatpants.

For God Sakes Brit put on a bra...
No Bueno.

Thank God she is now engaged again and looking like this:

Anyhooo...

Remember when you were dating? Engaged? First married? Ooooh the diamond was sparkling and you were feeling sassy! That was before kids, bills, life....dragged you down!

One sure fire way to keep that spark alive is to make sure you cultivate and support each others passions. I mean that is what life is all about. Now you could be jealous of a passion, because that passion of your husbands could take him out of the house and leave you home with the kids! I know ladies, it's tough. Trust me though, in the end, this makes a better marriage.

Case and point:

One Fabulous Husband is a drummer. A good one. Now there was a time, not so long ago, where we were in a financial tailspin and Fab Hubby wanted to SELL those drums. I said "hell to the no". I knew he needed them one day. That day has come.

Husband has been playing with a band around town. Let me tell you not only is he good, it's HOT! Look at him back there. He is so cute!

What a blast to see everyone dancing and having the best time while One Fab Hubby was on the drums. Made both of us feel good. Keeping the spark alive! I am all for the drums. Or anything else that makes a man feel like I do when I've got a mani/pedi, a nice tan, and a fabulous Lilly Pulitzer dress on. It's good times I tell ya.


What's your husbands passion? Do you support it?

One Fabulous Mom Channels Kelly Wearstler- Our newest addition!

No, we didn't have another baby.


But baby this is fabulous!

I had seen the fabulous book cases at the Viceroy Hotel many times. 

I always loves the concept and the way the books we laying on their side! I asked The Mr. to build one, the preppy modern version, for our house. Guess what? He did!

I am loving it. Look closely and you can see I have even grouped the books.

Of course I have all the required reading. In The Pink, A Privileged Life, How We Lived Then, True Prep, and of course Social Climbers by the fabulous Beth Dunn!

Here let our model Coco step in to really do these shelves justice...

She's standing awfully close to "How To Be Rich".... she's a smart one that Coco.

Michael Jackson Cirque Du Soleil

Oh my goodness. 
If you have the chance to see this show GO!

I love Michael Jackson and I love Cirque Du Soleil so this was the perfect show for me! I found myself bawling through the entire thing because I can't believe he's gone! It was moving, gorgeous, creative, exciting and worth every penny!!! Here's the official preview:






The thing that really blew me away was how proud and happy the dancers seemed to be a part of this show. It was so moving!!! What's your favorite MJ song?

Psychic Fortune Cookies- The greatest dinner conversation starter!

I had heard about Kimberly Berg through a friend of mine. She had told me that she did Psychic Fortune Cookies. Not just fortune cookies like you get from your Chinese food delivery order, but real psychic readings in your own fortune cookie!

Since we were set to go away with friends for Hubby's birthday, I thought it would be a great surprise for hubby and our guests. Boy was it!!! Most of the fortunes were pretty spot on, leaving even a few skeptics to be slightly convinced...Mine was amazing. She had never met me but had figured out what was going on with me. Gave me some great advice which I took!!! It made for great conversation about what was going on in out lives, who we were and where we were headed!

I ordered them for my family for Christmas and it was a huge hit at our Christmas dinner.
Here's how it works: 

Go here: http://www.psychicfortunes.com/

Give your first and last name. You pay for the cookies and she ships them. You can do it for anyone. Would be so cute for a Chinese themed dinner! After all it's the year of the Dragon!

Don't Judge Me. I Bought A Bounce House!

I know what you're thinking.



One Fabulous Mom? What are you running a day care?


Who do you think you are Melissa Gorga from Real Housewives Of New Jersey? With a bounce house inside her house "on display, on display, on display...."

Trust me when I tell you this is the best money I have EVER SPENT.

Landon's playdates are now filled with kids laughing, sliding, jumping and having a ball. They are worn out at the end of the day and beg for me to blow it up starting at 6 am.

Now this is not a huge bouncey. It's for young kids and can only hold 3 or 4, but let me tell you:

1) It's a snap to set up and blow up, takes seconds.
2) Entertains the kids for hours
and
3) It's fun!


So don't judge me.

Get one here. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001EHJ7GG/ref=oh_o03_s00_i00_details

Fabulous Recipe! Seared Scallops over Wilted Spinach and Parmesan Risotto

I found this recipe on Pinterest (my new obsession) but it's from Skinnytaste.com which is my new favorite website!! It is amazing and soooooooo good!!! Try it!
Seared Scallops over Wilted Spinach and Parmesan Risotto

Parmesan Risotto
Gina's Weight Watcher Recipes
Servings: 3 • Size: 3/4 cup • Time: 30 minutes • Calories: 309 • Points: 6.5 pts

• 1 cup arborio rice
• 2 tsp butter
• 1 shallot, minced
• 1/2 cup white wine
• 4 cups fat free chicken stock
• salt and pepper
• 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
• 2 tbsp chopped parsley

Heat chicken stock in a small pot.

In a medium size heavy sauce pan, add butter on medium-low heat. Add shallots, sauté about 1 minute. Add rice mixing well until well coated and transluscent, about 2 minutes. Add wine, salt and pepper and mix well until it is absorbed into the rice. Ladle 1 cup stock into rice and mix until all stock is absorbed, add another ladle, and continue adding and stirring until all broth is absorbed, about 20-25 minutes. Add parmesan cheese and parsley, mix well and serve.

Seared Scallops over Wilted Spinach
Gina's Weight Watcher Recipes
Servings: 3 • Size: 5 oz • Time: 10 minutes • Calories: 172 • Points: 3.5 pts

• 16 oz (about 12-14) sea scallops
• salt and fresh pepper
• 2 tsp butter
• 1 tsp olive oil
  
• 1 shallot, minced
• 10 oz baby spinach, washed
  

Wash scallops and pat dry with a paper towel. Season with salt and pepper. Heat a medium size pan on a high flame. When pan is hot, melt 1 tsp butter and place half of the scallops in the pan. Sear without touching them for a few minutes until the bottom forms a nice caramel colored crust. Turn over and cook about another minute or 2, until the center is slightly translucent (you can check this by viewing them from the side) and the bottom is seared. Be careful not to overcook. Remove from the pan and set aside on a warm plate. Add addition tsp butter and cook remaining scallops.

Add olive oil to the pan and sauté shallots, add spinach, salt and pepper. Toss until spinach wilts.

Serve over spinach over risotto topped with scallops.

Back To The Gym- Dance With Me!

I went back to the gym yesterday, this was no small feat considering it had been MONTHS and MONTHS! There I was with two girlfriends ready to take my favorite class: Dance With Me. It's taught by these two sweethearts Billy Blanks Jr (Dad is Billy Blanks of Tae Bo fame) and his wife Katherine. 

These two are so positive, uplifting, and sweet you ALMOST forget you're sweating. They teach an aerobic class featuring all styles of dance. Yesterday was Country, African Jazz, and Balinese among others! I think dancing and having fun is a wonderful way to burn calories. We are all in there smiling out heads off.

Here's a little of what we do:

 

I really think if you are going to exercise it should be fun. Or something you have a passion for. Otherwise why would you invest that time! You can buy their DVD's on amazon if you like what you see!

I've heard Zumba is great too, going to check that out as well. How about you? Are you back at the gym? What's your workout?

A Perfect Day

I remember what my "perfect day" used to consist of.

Usually it would be a day in the week, when I had not much going on. I would lunch with the girls, shop, get my nails done, do some writing, and then maybe a great dinner out. That would be a perfect day. That still sounds pretty good...but funny how things shift.

I have my share of stress. There are many days when I am grinding my teeth at the thought of another day, or up all night worrying about something. I sometimes dream that my perfect day is back in Santorini with The Mr having lunch looking out over the ocean....but then back to the stress.

Last week, however, was a different story. Landon has been star of the week at school, and yesterday his Dad was his special guest. Since Landon loves the drums, Daddy brought his HUGE drum set.

Coco and I watched as the kids got a chance to play and Daddy told them all about how the drums worked. Landon was smiling, I was smiling, and Coco was full of joy as usual!

Then I went to drop Coco off at her class and she was already dressing up in animal costumes with her friends and laughing. I got in my car, and headed back to the house. I did two conference calls for work, cleaned my house, and came back to pick the kids up at noon.

We took a bunch of kids and their friends to CPK for lunch and riding the carousel there. It was the usual mahem, but the kids were having a blast and the moms are my good friends.

Back to the house for Landon's physical therapy with Tracy whom he LOVES. They laughed and played, I worked a little more. Coco did her puzzles. Then I realized I left my favorite sweater at the carousel. I called around to find it but nothing. Oh well....

Onto Landons first tennis lesson. He loved every second. He had a half hour lesson and wanted more. The head coach let him stay and play with the older kids. He kept hitting every shot over the net. Everyone was amazed. I called The Mr and had him come over to see. We stood there beaming with pride.

Landon rode home with his Dad, I got in my car to meet them there. As I started the car I thought: "This is my perfect day!" No stress, kids are healthy and happy, work is going well, 80 degree weather at the cute tennis courts in my neighborhood, and my son, even with one arm that doesn't work as well as the other, has a natural ability for tennis. I thanked God. I had to acknowledge when everything is going RIGHT. I had been caught in the groove of stress and worry and had to remind myself this is nowhere to hang out! This was a perfect day. I was enjoying every second.

That night I went back to the same area for dinner with The Mr. As he parked the car I was still reveling in my perfect day. Then I remembered my sweater. I was a little sad about it being gone, but I was not going to let it ruin my perfect day! I asked the parking attendant if he had seen it. He went into his office and came out with it. I squealed and hugged him. He was smiling too.

I felt lucky. I felt blessed. I felt grateful.


There may be more stressful days, but I am learning that the "perfect" ones are closer than you think.