Table Food

Spring veggie pasta with chicken

My most favorite part of being home bound after a series of busy events and short vacay is being able to cook for Lukas again.  He's eating table food now but I'm still hesitant to just give him grown up food because I worry that "our" food has too much sodium for him so I try and cook for him most of the time.  I put together this dish that is so easy to make and balanced with protein, smart carbs, and veggies.  Here's what I did.

Spring Veggie Pasta w/ Chicken
1 cup of uncooked whole wheat organic small pasta (cook as directed in packaging) I like to cook mine till it's really soft
1 medium carrots diced
1/2 of organic chicken breast diced
1 zucchini diced
1 handful of green beans diced
1/2 small onion diced
2 tbsp of olive oil
a pinch of salt (in addition to the salt you flavor your pasta with)

In a large skillet heat the olive oil then saute the onions till translucent.  Add chicken breast and let it cook (make sure that the chicken is WELL DONE) then add the carrots till tender.  Then add zucchini and green beans and the cook pasta.  Add a pinch of salt.  Scoop in a little bit of the pasta water (this will add more flavor plus the salt in the water to the dish and the pasta won't stick to each other).  Then cook all together for a few more minutes until all flavors and ingredients are combined.   Serve room temperature and store the rest for future meals.

*chopped all your veggies and chicken according to your child's standard*

Date Night

Mark and I went for a MUCH needed date night last night and it turned out to be fun.  It has been a stressful week for us because both of us have been tired and so focused on what needs to get done that we are on the edge all of the time.   It's hard to have an alone time or romance when both of us are exhausted but we both want to make an effort to squeeze some time for our marriage.  Mark even bought some flowers for me!  Thank god for my mom who agreed to babysit for us that we got to go to the movies.  I didn't have much time to get ready as you can see in my chosen hairstyle but I did feel special wearing my new kate spade leopard pointy flats :)

Happy Friday everyone! Hopefully you guys are having a date night today!

Space Inspirations

Whenever I am having a bad or exhausting day the only thing that could bring me back to happy place is a couple of inspiring pages of a decorating magazine.  The recent Veranda magazine had beautiful photos and here are a few of my favorite spaces:

I would never think of an all pink seating set but this decor definitely changed my mind. The pink furniture is a soul mate to the bleached white walls. The yellow accents is just the right touch.  It's the perfect summer living room space wouldn't you say?

Love Love the pink leopard pillows, colorful stripped curtains, and gold frames against the white furniture.  This screams GIRLY to me..

Blue is something I've always wanted to use as a major color in our house but I can't seem to get it right. I always chicken out and go for something neutral but this is definitely a good starting point if ever I decide to try it out.  AND check out the delicate yet grand chandelier and luxurious drapes!  Doesn't it scream decadence?

*All photos are from Veranda Magazine*

Some So-Cal fun

After  4 days of some San Diego fun I was finally happy to be back at home and back to Lukas' schedule.  We had a lot of excitement this past 2 weeks that I actually miss the mundane life at home.   Mark had to work in San Diego so I tagged my mom along to keep me company but mainly to help us with Lukas at night while Mark and I go out.  It was full on geek fest on steroids but Lukas and my mom seems to enjoy all the sightings.  We ate a lot of good food and walked a lot and did  a little shopping too.  I have to say this trip was a little tense for my hubby and I because we are both very tired from the week before but we made the most out of it by eating at good restaurants.  I mean, don't you solve everything by eating yummy food?

At Cafe Seville

 Anchovies with citrus - that is to die for!

 Some goat cheese and sun dried tomatoes and crusty bread

Green Mussels Escabeche

The good thing is Mark and I had a little bit of time together and had a little fun at a company event and had some celebrity sightings that I actually care about so it's not all stressful.  

We go to Comicon every year (except last year, I was busy giving birth) and every year we party all night and relax all day so this year is definitely very very different.  Even though we had my mom to baby sit I just didn't feel like drinking too much.  The idea of having a hang over the next day is beyond to what I can prepare myself for so we called each night an early one.   I think next vacations should be exclusive for not doing anything but discover and have fun at a new place.  No convention chaos and no work.  Just 100% bumming around doing nothing except to be with each other. 

Glorious 365 days

So it came and we celebrated!  I still can't believe that we have celebrated Lukas' first birthday and it was such a happy moment.  My in laws came in from New York and spent a few days with us.  We had an intimate gathering of just family at our house the actual day of Lukas' birthday and had some traditional filipino food and tres leches cake that was so yummy. Lukas had a great time interacting with everyone and showed off his walking skills.  The next day, we went to eat the yummy Sam's Chowder house before heading to the zoo with his grandparents and boy did he love the Giraffes!  I think he was just shocked and thought his toy Sophie was real.  It's mind blowing to me how he's walking in the zoo looking at animals.  I can't believe how much he's developed in such short period of time.

Then over the weekend we had the party with everyone at Buca di Beppo to celebrate with friends and family.  We ate and had too much food and the slideshow I have been working on was a great success.  Lukas loved all the attention and socialized with everyone.  Its such a good feeling to be in a room filled with love.  The Elmo cake turned out to be a fat Elmo cake but it added extra fun to the party and definitely became a conversational piece.   Cutting it was definitely a painful process as it involves a head :)..

Leading up to the special day I couldn't help but to be nostalgic of the first days and the changes we had in our lives.  The friends I've lost since then that made me appreciate the friends I do have now but most importantly the lesson I've learned from everything especially that family is the most important thing in the world and a permanent one so that is the relationship worth working for and keeping. BUT the lesson I carry every day is that I am a mommy now and that come first and foremost!  The life before Lukas' now only serves as experiences I had to prepare me to the most significant role I took a year ago.  Yes, I miss date night and free schedules and weekends with nothing to do but to sit in a Cafe but would I change anything? Absolutely NOT because life without him is no life at ALL.    

My little car lover...

Untitled from Lianna Vitello on Vimeo.

I want you music by: The Beatles

Kick Kick Kick!!

We finally took Lukas to his first swimming lesson last Sunday and it turned out great!  Lukas wasn't scared of the water and keep wanting to go in the water on his own and doesn't realized that it isn't a huge tub. Since Lukas is so young and doesn't really know how to follow directions yet, his lessons is just to get him used to the water by mimicking different swimming positions. The instructor just kept telling all the kids "kick, kick, kick" and Lukas just kept splashing. So cute and funny!  I'm happy to be starting all of the classes and give him life outside of home.  I think it's really helping him with confidence and socializing (not that he has problem with being social).  I also think it's good for me to see other parents with their kids and realize that the parent world is much much bigger and that I am part of it.

Happy 4th of July!!

It was exciting to spend 4th of July for the first time with Lukas.  We went to my moms and celebrated there and watched the fireworks from her balcony.  It was so much fun!  Lukas swam with Da Da and we ate tons of good food.

I made baked Mac and Cheese and some Bruscetta but the popular dish was my friend Raegan's spinach dip.  We also sipped some bubblies and I even tried the sparkling wine in a can (keeping it classy!) from Francis Ford Coppola winery that my friend brought, Yummy!  Overall, it was good fun and exciting to watch Lukas so fixated with the fireworks then falling asleep before the finale.  Poor guy had too much fun :)..Pure Bliss!

A very lazy saturday

We finally got a new couch which I'm so excited about but for 10 days we will be lounging on our floor which Lukas is pretty happy about because he has more room to play around.  He has been learning to walk lately and he tries so hard everyday all day.  He doesn't mind falling - he is a determined baby and makes me even more proud of him everyday but at the same time I'm kind of sad how fast this whole year has been and that's just it - It is simply TOO fast!!  We are also starting a new project on our patio and making it pretty before my in-laws come for Lukas' first birthday.  I feel kind of overwhelmed and numb at the same time of all the stuff that needs to get done.  I have about three thousand photos to go through for a slide show I want to put together for his birthday party.  Lately, I just have been reminiscing about the last days of my pregnancy and reminding myself how annoying my carpal tunnel was during that time so that I don't get the urge to get pregnant again :)..Lukas is starting to look like a toddler and no longer an infant and I'm already missing those days when I was his whole world.

Even with my crippling nostalgia and laziness I somehow unconsciously made some peanut butter cupcakes with chocolate ganache for my hubby the ganache is supposed to be just the icing but I decided to dip the entire cupcake into the ganache since I made so much. It's kind of my cupcake spin to his favorite peanut butter cups...I have to say I like these kind of days doing nothing but house stuff and just hanging out with my boys.  I once heard that if you have your health and your family then you have everything...WORD!