Recipe // how to cook salmon

March 25, 2014

Salmon is a weekly staple at our house.  My kids love it, we love it, so it’s a win win!   I often get asked how I cook my salmon, and this is pretty much the way I cook it every time because usually I’m in such a hurry to get dinner on the table, and this is the easiest method, and fail proof every time!
How to Cook Salmon
This is the easiest way to me to cook salmon!
I buy the wild sockeye salmon.  I get out a baking dish a a large piece of foil.  Place the Salmon on the foil and drizzle with a little olive oil.  I sprinkle sea salt, dill, garlic powder, and fresh lemon pepper (the Trader Joe’s kind is my favorite, you grind it up right onto the fish, be careful of some lemon peppers, they have all sorts of additives and preservatives in the ingredients)  Then, I top it with a fresh lemon slices.  I then wrap the salmon up in the foil and put it in the oven on the BROIL setting.
Depending on the thickness of the salmon, I broil it wrapped in foil for about 20-25 minutes.  Then I open up the foil to expose the salmon, and broil another 5-10 minutes until it browns a little on the top and finished cooking.
It’s as easy as that!  It usually turns out perfectly moist, and tasty!
So, how do you like to cook your Salmon?
{photos by me}

Recipe // Lentil and vegetable soup

March 15, 2014

I wanted to pop in and share a favorite soup recipe!  I usually make this with red lentils, but all I had was green, and I think I almost like it better with green lentils!  They seem more chewy to me, and I like chewy!
This recipe has a lot of amazing spices and I love the blend of flavors with lots of vegetables!  You can easily make this vegetarian or vegan depending on what kind of broth or cream you use.
Enjoy!
Lentil and Vegetable Soup
2 tablespoons coconut oil
1 large yellow onion, diced
1 cup celery, diced
1 cup carrots, peeled and diced
8 cups chicken stock (or vegetable stock)
2 14 oz cans diced tomatoes, keep juice
3 oz tomato paste (1/2 can)
2 cups cream (or coconut cream/milk for vegan) – I like the heavy coconut cream from Trader Joe’s
1 3/4 cups green lentils (I like the trader joe’s green lentils that come in a bag)
2-3 tablespoons agave nectar
1 tsp sea salt
2 tablespoons garlic powder
3 tablespoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
1 bay leaf
In a large pot, saute onions, celery, and carrots with all of the dry spices until tender, about 10-15 minutes. 
Add the remaining ingredients except for the cream, still well, and bring to a boil over medium heat.  Once it starts to bubble turn down to medium and simmer for about 45 minutes mixing every so often, and simmer until the vegetables and lentils are cooked.  Remove from heat, stir in cream, then taste for seasonings.
Enjoy!
{Photo by me}

Home Decor // the boy’s room tour

February 15, 2014

I wanted to share with you my boys room for a while, but we finally got some pictures together when we were selling our house.  Ha! Of course that is how things go..  
It makes me a little sad to look at these pictures now that we have moved, but I’m excited for our new house to be built and to design another fun room for the boys to share!  I’m thinking bunk beds this time around!
When I put together a room, I like to start with a color pallet.  This is the one I made for the boys room. I like to chose at least 4-6 colors and shades of those colors as a jumping off point.  I also like to print off this color pallet and bring it along with me when I am selecting fabrics or pieces for the room.
My boys, who are now six and two, having been sharing this room the past two years.  We were able to fit the crib in the corner, and the big boy bed on the other side.
Remember the Ikea Hack we shared of Ezra’s Malm Ikea bed that we painted gray?  It has held up really well! Only a few chips here and there, but they play pretty rough in there.
The bedtime roll poster is from Etsy shop My Sweet Prints.  I had her customize it according to our bedtime routine.
We were able to find a vintage dresser, and night stand in the classifieds and paint them the same color grey as the bed.  (The color is Mark Twain House Ombra grey from Valspar, click here for my no sanding painting process I swear by!)
I love the mid-century dresser and night stand I was able to bring together with the painted Ikea Malm bed!  It is neat what a few coats of paint will do!
I made the colorful striped quilt for my little Thomas when he was a teeny tiny little guy.
I also made the gray crib mattress sheet from some grey fabric from Jo Anns. 
I had the crib bumper made from some Ikea striped fabric that I loved, and had etsy shop owner Sally Jensen Interiors custom sew it for me.
The darling leather triangle mobile was gifted to me from my friend Alison, of the Alison show.  Her leather mobiles are so cute!
I wanted to do a Mini-Gallery wall in the boys room.  Looking back, I probably shouldn’t have done it so close to their basketball hoop.  We went through a few frames in their time in that room.  As you can see a few of them in these pictures are different than the others, ha!  
But, they sure did have fun shooting hoops in there!
One of my favorite closet organization tips for my kids is to hang a clear shoe organizer.  It really helps to have them all in one spot, and my kids knew where to put their shoes away everyday.  I also loved having a place for them in their closet to hang their backpacks when they got home from school!
Looking over these pictures is making me excited to have a house again!  It can be crazy being in between!  
More Resources:
Sheepskin rug- Sams Club
Basketball hoop- Target
White Crib- Sears
Closet colorful hooks- Hip and Humble
Gallery Wall Prints- Birds of Ashmae, Sarah Jane Studios, and Heather Mildenstein, Kantan prints
Colorful Clock- George Nelson
Globe- Vintage, thrifted
Frames- Ikea
Striped Sheets- West Elm
Yellow Comforter- Target
Striped Yellow Pillows- Annie Blake
Junior Classics Books- Thrifted
White Bed Lamp- Walmart
Blue Book Bin- Orla Kiely for Target
Bedroom Color- Benjamin Moore- A custom mix between Gray Owl and White Whisp.