Easy and Simple St. Patricks Day.

We like celebrating. If you haven't guessed, big or small we like to party. And St. Patrick's Day is no exception. Each year a leprechaun sneaks in, colors our milk green, sends us on a little chase, and leaves us some yummy treats. Here is a couple years ago's visit, look how little the kids were?!?

This year St. Patrick's Day is on Saturday which means the celebration can be a little more spread out and lavish as you want.

If all the amazing things on pinterest have overwhelmed you and made you decide not to do anything, I have put together some super SUPER easy ways to celebrate.

I promise they are super easy and yummy! Ready?

Shamrock Popcorn

2 cups unpopped popcorn seed

3 cups green chocolate

1 cup white chocolate

Using a hot air popper, pop your seed. Gygi's has this amazing seed that is made for this. It doesn't have the little sides that poke off and break when coating. It's amazing. Just trust me. Go get it.

But since I promised this would be easy, you can use microwave popcorn, it will be a little soggy (if there is butter on the popcorn) but it will work.

Pop into a large mixing bowl.

While your seed is popping, melt your green chocolate in the microwave. 1/2 power for one minute, stir. Repeat. Continue until 90% melted. Take out and stir until fully melted.

Pour all the melted green chocolate into your bowl of popped popcorn. Gently toss, coating all the pieces.

Yep. Get them all.

After it has been coated line a cookie sheet with parchment, (For this recipe you will need two cookie sheets).

Pour your coated chocolate onto the cookie sheet and spread into a single layer and allow it it harden.

Melt some of the white chocolate the same way you melted the green, once melted drizzle across making yummy swirls of white chocolate goodness.

Allow that to harden all the way, break into pieces and put into the cutest bags I have ever seen.

Now you have the gold at the end of the rainbow!!

Mint Shamrock Shakes

2 cups vanilla ice cream

1 cup milk

1/4 tsp peppermint extract

Green food coloring

This is a yummy, but rich shake. I recommend smaller portions especially for kids! Gygi's had the cutest mini mugs that were perfect for serving this treat.

Gather your almost empty cartons of ice cream, does anyone else do this? It's a great way to use it up.

Drop into your blender. Add your milk.

I used whole milk, skim or 2% is great, and would probably make it not as rich and make you feel better about not drinking whole milk and ice cream together (hehe).

Add your extract and food color. Color to your liking.

Mix it all together and that's it!! Flavor and color as much or as little as you would like. Chocolate chips would be fun to add in as well.

Since presentation is everything and we had some melted white chocolate from our popcorn we decorated our mugs before pouring our shake in.

Press the rim of the glass into the melted chocolate.

Allow to cool just a second, then dip into sprinkles, sanding sugars, crushed oreos, whatever you want!

Grab a paper straw, fill your mug up, and enjoy a yummy festive shamrock shake!

Easy right? Hopefully you have all these things already at your house.

Even if it is dying your eggs or milk green for your breakfast, or leaving a little note throughout the house- your family will love to celebrate this Holiday! My kids are already counting down the days and trying to find a way to catch the leprechaun!

Have a great St. Patrick's Day! And please if you have fun traditions I would love to hear them, I'm all about adding more!

My life

It's insane how quickly life catches up. I could have sworn that Saige was just barely born, Matt and I have only been married a year or two, and Milo is a newborn too. Okay I know it's really not possible for all of those things to be right, but in my mind I still have two brand new babies that are now 4 and 5. I am getting old. I do turn 30 this year.

This is about the age I think they are. Glad that they are now pretty much self sufficient though. But in my eyes I still have babies. 

Our lives are still pretty hectic, I am pretty sure it's safe to say that everyone in this stage of life is very busy. Raising kids, working, and school consume our daily life. Our kids have been amazing when it comes to coming up to Gygi's with me randomly, allowing me to get caught up on things at home, and the endless phone calls that I get while I am at home, interrupting our stories, playtime or movie. They still love coming to Gygi's and if you ask Saige she still wants to be a Gygi girl. So I must not have ruined them yet. I have a huge support system- My mom, Sister Staci, and amazing neighbor Jen, who all help me so that I know my kids are being well taken care of while I work. Thank you a million times you 3! You help me in more ways than I could ever tell you, and the things you teach my kids makes me so happy. 

I get a lot of satisfaction from my job. I enjoy the adult interaction, the tasks, trials and accomplishments that push me each day. I have a lot on my plate there, but somehow I seem to take on more and more. I  love the challenge. January and February were pretty busy months for me for cooking classes. There were a few times in there where I (and those around me) questioned my thinking-scheduling a WEEK full of classes!!- and so with some help from my husband I chose to slow things down a little. 

In the back of my head, I thought I was going to have so many people upset with me. All the loyal students that sign up for our classes, those that have never been but have been waiting for the right class, and those who have been saving up for a class but each time they check out March's schedule they are terrible disappointed by the lack of classes. There have been some calls about what is going on and if we are doing anything else in March, but a switch has been flipped in my mind. They will still be there. Our classes are amazing, I have nothing to worry about, they will still come! 

But these moments with my kids will not still be there. Like the impromptu nail painting with my Saige.

 

Or the trips to Costco for hot dogs, dressed as french painters. 

And outdoors men that beg for more Rootbeer. 

Or discovering Saige's love and adoration for Selena Gomez, she dances her little heart out to her music and gets so excited over her songs. It reminded me of when I was little and loved New Kids on The Block. I loved them, my Dad told me they would never last and I was going to prove him wrong! Glad that he was right there is only so much "Right Stuff" the world can handle. 

Being able to call up some of my favorite girl friends and go out for a night together. Become inspired with some hanging paper doilies, which I am going to totally recreate.

Spending time with these two, that have put up with my countless "Sorry, I can't hang out today, I have to work...." comments, and still wanted to be my friend. I promise they were not excuses, I really did have to and wanted more than anything to bail out and come play!

And my darling sister in law, Shana, who I was able to chat with and get to know even more. She is wonderfully talented hairstylist and I am going to hold her to holding some classes for us! Shan- I am serious. 

And overall, just becoming inspired. Who isn't inspired by a cherry tomato topiary? 

Getting myself out out the little Gygi hole that I created has allowed me to live again. I have been having family dinner, eating at the dinner table with all 4 of us. Hanging out with the man of my dreams, who won't ever let me take his picture, hence no photos of him, and just being able to be me. I am inspired to do my job in a new way, much more creativity is back in my head. And there are some serious fun changes that might take place and I am excited for what the year will bring. Gygi's is a wonderful place to be. It has opened my eyes to so many culinary dreams, creative people that use Gygi's to execute their dreams, and even the opportunity to work with my husband, Dad, Grandma, Uncles, cousins, sisters, friends, and the amazing customers that come in. 

But I hope this new Heather sticks around for a while. It has been fun painting, redoing, reading with my kids, being a mom, friend and most importantly a wife to my amazing husband who really is on the top of my list now, and will stay there forever. You hear that Matt, you are stuck with me FOREVER. 

Simple joys

There are simple joys in life that often times I over look.



Being able to ride our bikes out in the sun.



Enjoying the fresh air, some much needed sun, and the sound of my kiddos laughter is honestly about as good as it gets.



Especially when wearing cowboy boots



Saige was taught the amazing joy of getting ice out of a frozen water bottle. Growing up my mom always gave us frozen water in our lunches. I loved getting it slushy and digging out the ice with my tongue. Saige had her first experience today and I hope she is hooked.



And some side walk art to show our artistic sides today.




Saige.



Milo.



Mama.



Milo even spelled out my name perfectly. I have always wanted my A upside down.



Thank you mother nature for a perfect day, with my perfect kids, in this perfect weather.




Bullio thanks you too.

How did you celebrate this beautiful day?

Our New House!!!

Scared you didn't I? Really we aren't planning on leaving our current house anytime soon, you will see some updates as we are in the process of changing a few things but love our house and plan on being here for a while. {Plans for the finishing part of the basement are in the works, and I couldn't be more excited!! To have an actual play room would be amazing and I dream about it!}

For Christmas my sister, Bonnie, gave our kids this cardboard house. It looks like a great time in a box, and we are all about forts at our house. Many times blankets are used more for roofs than for warmth. So when Staci and the kids pulled this out the other day I knew we were  in for a treat. 

The kids wasted no time when coloring this house, and Saige told Staci that she was planning on finishing this in one day.

To say that this thing is big is an understatement. It barely fits in Saige's room and takes over the living room. 

Saige and Milo have spent several nights together in this house, even one night on the hardwood floors. Good thing they are 4 and 5. 

Saige chose one side and Milo chose the other. She colored all of her side with crayon and did everything by herself. She is so particular with details and really enjoys coloring. She honestly would have done this all day long and been the happiest girl!

I am so proud of her skills and her persistence, I helped Milo with his and couldn't last as long as her! 

Milo and I colored his together, he is all about coloring where he shouldn't and we did not want to have the traditional house! Multi-colored picket fence anyone? I would do it in a heartbeat! Although Saige would constantly tell me that it doesn't look like a real house! 

With a little graffiti to add our finishing touch, Milo was finished up! 

We still have lots of empty spaces, and I am excited to finish it all up! We have plans for the inside, maybe some hanging elements and some picture and frames inside! 

Come on over, there is plenty of room inside! The more the merrier! And we could use some extra hands for the coloring! 

Thank you so much Bonnie! We love love love it!