Remembering 2015

It's incredible looking back at 2014 and reflecting on all of the great memories and moments that we had and that we shared with friends and family, along with the personal achievements that we had in 2014.
For 2015, I'm trying something new! 

I came across this idea earlier this summer and I wish that I would have started it then
(but at the time I had decided that it should probably be something for New Years,
so that you could do it for an entire calendar year). 

I made this mason jar for 2015. For all our favorite memories, positive moments, celebrations, achievements, etc., we will write them down on a little piece of paper and place it in the mason jar. You could also put pictures or other memorabilia in the jar too (ticket stubs, concert tickets, etc.) 

On New Years Day 2016, it will be so much fun to open the jar and pull out all of the pieces of paper with our favorite memories on them and reading over each of them together. 

I think it'll be a great and fun way to reflect on the year! :)

Happy New Year!!

Happy New Year - Welcome 2015!

2014 has been such an amazing year full of family, friends, beautiful memories, 
celebrations, additions, great health and lots of love... 
I'm definitely counting our blessings this year and I can't wait to see what 2015 has in store for us! 

Wishing all of my friends and family a very Happy New Year, 

I hope that you are ringing it in surrounded by those that you love!
Be sure to take some time to reflect on your year and 
remind yourself of all that you are thankful for!

To all of our First Responders working today/tonight (including my husband) - 

I'm thinking of each of you and praying that everyone returns safely 

to their families after their shifts tonight! <3 

Maximizing Small Closet Space

I want to kick myself for not taking a before picture of this closet! In one of our guest bathrooms, we have a small closet behind the door where we like to keep our bath towels, beach towels, sheets and extra bath products/toiletries that we've stocked up on. With little space in a guest bathroom and in an area that we rarely use, it's easy to throw things in the closet or on the shelves, without taking the extra few seconds to neatly place them - and then walking away. Over time, it definitely adds up! Also - with such a small space to begin with, a lack of organization really eats up the space quickly.

I feel like I'm always finding new ways or things to organize and I actually enjoy it! I organized this closet one morning while looking for new shower gel. I was in an organization mood (which has been happening a lot lately actually) and I decided to take the extra 20 minutes to tackle the closet! (And with organizing the closet, I wouldn't be sorting through a million things when looking for a product I need in the future). Now if only we could train our significant others to keep them so clean! ;)

Here are a few recommendations/tips that I have to maximize small spaces:

1. Folding Towels - Rolling towels as seen in the picture, takes up so much less space than before when I had the towels folded regularly into squares. Once we did the same with our beach towels too, it's amazing how much space was freed up! Also - it's so easy to just grab the roll and go!
2. Toiletries/Bottles/Packages - To organize bottles and smaller packages of products, I use smaller tubs to place on the shelves to put the items in. This keeps everything tightly together, and you can stack them easier to maximize the shelf space (our shelving is wire, so this was extremely helpful with the smaller bottles that would typically slide right through the wire shelving). 
3. Travel Size Toiletries - I use to keep a nice glass vase on the bathroom sink full of different toiletries for guests to use if they needed them (shampoos, shower gels, face washes, tooth brushes, etc.) I'd pick them up from hotels we've stayed in, or kept and never used the free sample sized products that come attached to regular sized products. Now, to make things less cluttered in the bathroom, I used a zipper pouch that sheets came in, to place all of the little bottles in there and neatly stack it on the shelf.
4. Consolidate - Do you have half used bottles or packages of certain things? Sunscreen? Cotton balls? Shampoo? Consolidate those items into one bottle/package/bag to avoid the additional room those products are taking up.
5. Location of Items - I placed each of the items on the certain shelves depending on how often we use or need to access them: 

Beach towels are all the way at the top - because those are only used during the summer months. 

Next, sheets and bath towels. I wash and replace all bedding weekly, and shower towels twice/week, so those I use more often than other items in the closet, and I placed those in the easiest place to grab (the middle!). 

Next, are the toiletries - those are on the lower two shelves/sections, as we only really use those items when we're looking to replace something that we've already used up, plus - some of those packages can be larger to store, so the bottom area has the most height to the storage area which is extremely helpful for taller products.

Next up on my organization to-do list is my pantry and the storage area under our master bathroom sinks! :)

Maryland Crab Soup

This has forever been one of my favorite soups! When I came across this recipe last summer, I became obsessed with making it! I've tried multiple versions and put my own twist on each, but I was never happy with any of the recipes that I had found until I came across this one. 

It's extremely easy and so yummy - I hope that you enjoy! :)

Maryland Crab Soup

Ingredients:

1 can (28 oz) of diced tomatoes

3 cups water

2 cups beef broth

1 bag of frozen soup vegetables

2 potatoes, cubed

1 onion, cubed

1 lb crab meat 

(claw meat is best to use for soup - and, it's the cheapest too!)

1 tbsp of Worcestershire Sauce

Old Bay Seasoning

Directions:

Combine all ingredients except for the crab meat and Worcestershire Sauce in a large pot on your stove top, and bring to a boil on medium heat. (Note - I quadrupled  this recipe so that I would have a lot to freeze, so if you follow the ingredient list above - your pot will not look as full as this one).

Once your soup is at a boil, reduce to low heat, cover and simmer for 5 minutes. Add your crab meat and Worcestershire Sauce. (Note - I like to wash and drain my crab meat before cooking with it). 

Cover and simmer for 10 more minutes and it's done! (If you have extra time, I'd recommend letting your soup simmer for more time - the longer the better!)

When it's done, you're ready to serve!

I mentioned that I quadrupled my recipe so that I could freeze a bunch, and give some as gifts - here is what my end result was! :)

Chicken Rollatini with Prosciutto & Cheese

I made this recipe last year with my girlfriend, Alison and we loved it! 

I came across the recipe again a couple of weekends ago while browsing through my recipe box, and wanted to make it again when I had time later in the week. It's delicious! 

This recipe was from Skinny Taste. I love their website - they have so many recipes to choose from and they're all primarily healthy! 

An added bonus - it gives you the nutritional breakdown for each recipe as well! :)

Chicken Rollatini with Prosciutto & Cheese

Servings: 8 • Serving Size: 1 chicken • Old Points: 4 pts • Points+: 4 pts

Calories: 168.6 • Fat: 6.4 g • Protein: 22.1 g • Carb: 4.6 g • Fiber: 0.7 g • Sugar: 0.0 g

Ingredients:

8 thin chicken cutlets

4 slices of thin prosciutto, sliced in half

4 slices of provolone cheese, sliced in half

1/2 cup breadcrumbs

1/4 cup parmesan cheese

1 lemon (juice)

1 tbsp of olive oil

1/4 onion, sliced

fresh pepper

Wash and dry your chicken pieces well. I had mini chicken cutlets (smaller than normal size) in the freezer and used those instead - so I had 11 smaller rolls in total (instead of 8 per the recipe). Combine the breadcrumbs and parmesan cheese in one bowl, and the lemon juice, olive oil and pepper in another bowl. I cut the prosciutto and cheese into halves, and sliced the onion so that all of my ingredients were ready for my rolls.

Once everything is prepped, you're ready to begin!

Start by dipping your chicken cutlet in the lemon juice/olive oil/pepper mixture.

Next, roll the cutlet in the breadcrumbs/parmesan cheese mixture.

I repeated these steps until all of my cutlets were coated and breaded. 

Once you have all of the cutlets ready, you're ready to begin your "rolling". Start by laying a piece flat, and place the small piece of cheese, prosciutto and a few onion slices on one end of the chicken.

Because my cutlets were smaller than normal, I had to fold mine in half, instead of rolling them like the recipe calls for with regular sized cutlets. 

Once you're finished rolling your cutlets, place them in a greased oven dish.

Sprinkle the tops of the rolls with any left over lemon/olive oil/pepper juice and sprinkle some of the remaining breadcrumbs and cheese on top.

Bake for 25 minutes at 350 degrees, and serve immediately.

Delicious! :)