Tortellini Soup

This photo is an example. This is not my soup or my photo.

While Pinteresting (verb), I came across a recipe for a spinach tortellini soup. It involved using store-bought alfredo sauce, chicken broth, tortellini, mushrooms and spinach. It was pretty good. But it was really salty. And my husband wished it had some meat in it.

So tonight I made a version of this tortellini soup using ingredients I had on hand instead of what the recipe told me to do. (though I did purchase the tortellini at the grocery store last weekend in preparation for this meal). Cooking is all about improvising and using what you have, anyway.
I give to you, my recipe for fast and easy tortellini soup. In parentheses I put the brands and prices of what I actually used. But use whatever YOU like.

--TJ's = Trader Joe's--

TORTELLINI SOUP
Prep time: 5 minutes
Total Time: +/- 30 minutes

Chicken Broth (Better Than Bouillon chicken base, Costco, ~$5)
White Button Mushrooms (TJ's, < $2)
Squash of your choice (yellow squash, < $2)
Bag of Spinach (TJ's organic, ~$2)
Leftover cooked meat of your choice! (rotisserie chicken, Costco, $5)
1 bag dry tortellini (TJ's Mixed Cheese, $1.99)

Bring a few (or several) cups of water to a boil. Add chicken base. Amount is really up to you and your taste. Cook tortellini according to directions on packaging in the broth. While broth and tortellini are boiling, slice your vegetables. Toss all veggies and meat of your choice into the broth roughly 5 minutes before tortellini is to be finished. Once the tortellini is cooked, turn your stove on low or warm. The last step is to put a whole bunch of spinach into the soup. It will look like a TON for about 2 minutes. Then you will wonder where all the spinach went. Seriously, where did it go?

Et viola! You have a hearty delicious soup! And you can control the salt based on how strong you made your broth. If you buy prepared chicken broth, buy the low-sodium variety and add salt to taste. I think it would be really yummy with some leftover ground meat or meatballs!

Total price is roughly $8, I'd say. Since most of those items I have on hand, or are purchased mostly for other meals. It's like a leftover cleanup soup!

Enjoy.

Window Shopping @ Sephora

I walked over to Sephora with Oliver today to snoop around. I do not need any makeup. Seriously, I have three cardboard boxes full just sitting in the bedroom. I need to use what I've got. But I like to see what's new. So here's a few things I tested at Sephora that I would buy if I wasn't already a makeup hoarder (and if money were no object. Because this is crazy expensive)!

Tarte Cheek Stain in Awakening -- $30

Laura Mercier Stickgloss in Brown Sugar -- $22

Benefit 'They're Real' Mascara -- $23

Urban Decay All Nighter Makeup Setting Spray -- $29

Urban Decay Naked Skin Liquid Makeup -- $39

Sleep Training

Oliver has never been able to fall asleep on his own. We always had to do some rough & tumble snuggles and sways. This was fine... I really didn't mind. But then he started waking in the night. Not hungry. Not a dirty diaper. But unable to fall asleep on his own. At midnight, 2am, 4am, 6am...etc. We thought he was hungry for a bit. But we'd feed him at 8pm and he'd wake soon after. Cannot possibly be hungry! We reached a breaking point this past Friday night. Every two hours is simply unacceptable. I cannot walk around or safely drive while being a zombie mom!

An old friend from elementary school has a daughter one month older than Oli. She told me how she sleep trained her daughter at 3 months old using the "cry it out" method. (Closely related is the Ferber method, if you're interested). It's a controversial approach, no doubt. There are forums upon forums of moms & dads yelling at each other in CAPITAL LETTERS... "Crying is bad for your baby! He'll be traumatized! You'll ruin his childhood!" It is not for everyone. Hearing a baby cry is heartbreaking. Hearing your baby boy beg for help. You have to reassure yourself that he IS strong and capable! He can do this! He just doesn't know that it is possible yet.

But really... Quite simply, it's working!

Saturday night at 7:30pm we turned down the lights, fed him, sang some lullabies, and kissed him goodnight. He fussed. He cried. He screamed. But mostly cried. I didn't see any lights on in our neighbors apartments, so I think they missed the show. But I put an apologetic sign on our door just in case. "Sorry for the noise. We are sleep training our son. Please visit our front door if you have any concerns." Anyway, Oliver was clearly upset. My friend's baby girl cried for 2 hours & 20 minutes before she fell asleep! Thank goodness Oliver lasted 90 minutes. And he was a peaceful beautiful boy fast asleep. Meanwhile, I was a slightly nervous wreck. I started the evening with nail polish on, and by the time we went to bed I had picked ALL of it off. He woke up again at 2am and cried for another 30 minutes. Then woke again at 5am for maybe 5 minutes. And finally, at 7:30am, we all woke up and I said in my cheerful morning baby voice, "Good morning sweet boy!" and a sweet baby smile looked up at me.

Tonight is night #2. Same routine. Turned down some lights, drank a bottle, sang lullabies, kiss and loves. He cried for 18 minutes. Now he is sound asleep.

Now I can see a world where David, Oliver and I get some sleep. The world is seeming brighter, more beautiful!

Alright, give me some controversy! Did you "sleep train?" (side note: did anyone just sing, "sleep train: your ticket to a better night's sleep" jingle?) How do you feel about "cry it out?"

Mommy Make-Up & Ramble

Everyone says to sleep when your baby sleeps. Which is good solid advice. And we try to do this as often as possible. But more often than not, we have to do laundry, take a shower, eat something, brush our teeth, or check facebook/instagram/twitter when the little one is asleep. Once you finish and are able to sit down to catch some ZzZz's, your baby is likely to be screaming for food or a diaper change. At least that's how our Oliver is. He definitely doesn't like having wet diapers (though he hasn't minded the dirty ones so much).

I'm lucky enough to have my husband and mother-in-law at home with me. And though David is still looking for work, we're finding this time at home to be a blessing. If David had found something before O was born, he wouldn't be able to spend as much time with his new little family, getting to know O's little quirks and sounds. And since I have extra helpers around the house, I can squeeze in 10 minutes to comb my hair and put on make up. And that is a wonderful thing! It's almost always a mood-booster.

So I wanted to share my do-your-make-up-really-fast-so-you-can-hold-your-baby-and-snuggle-some-more-before-he-screams-and-you-feel-like-he-will-never-stop-crying. Oh and it's also a I-got-4-hours-of-sleep-last-night-and-need-some-concealer.

Which leads me to my first product recommendation! Concealer! To cover those dark circles that I never had before... Use whatever works for you. Right now I'm using a Maybelline one. It's quick and easy and works.

If time allows for it, use your foundation. My favorite is Nars Sheer Glow. It's expensive. But it's the best for my skin.

If time doesn't allow for it, blend your concealer in and go for your blush! Without it, you'll look a bit pale and tired. Blush really perks you up. That's why ladies in movies always pinch their cheeks before walking up to a cute guy. It really does make a difference. I like a lot of blushes. But the one I'm using right now is MAC's in Margin.

My eyes are huge. So I need to shape them a bit with some eyeliner on my eyelids. Doing a little flick at the outside corners makes them more almond-shaped. The easiest one I have in my collection of make up is Loreal Lineur Intense. But Maybelline Line Stiletto is the same thing.

And finally, mascara & chapstick! No time for eye shadow. Maybe tomorrow.

Want to see what I look like today from the other side of the computer screen? Hello! (It may look cute, but Oliver was in the middle of a I'm-so-tired-so-I'm-going-to-scream fit. It didn't last long, thankfully).

Three Things

I did this tag a few years ago, and am curious to see what has changed. Especially since now we have a little bebe. Here we go!

Three Things That Scare Me
-peacocks
-other drivers
-paranoid about my baby boy breathing

Three People Who Make Me Laugh
-Liz Lemon
-Leslie Knope
-Ron Swanson

Three Things That I Hate
-bad drivers
-kimchi breath
-humidity

Three Things I Don't Understand
-How babies are made. it's like science God magic!
-physics. like, how do our cars move? doesn't make sense to me at all.
- how fabric is made (even though I've watched that episode of "How It's Made" where they make fabric)

Three Things I'm Doing Right Now
- Watching "Hart of Dixie" on Netflix
- Talking to my husband
- Watching David burp Oliver after his feeding

Three Things I Want To Do Before I Die
- Live in or spend an extended amount of time in Germany
- Travel around Alaska
- Spoil my future grandchildren

Three Things I Can Do
- make a baby, apparently!
- deliver said baby without drugs! (though that's probably not the case next time)
- dance a little bit to the music at the grocery store

Three Ways To Describe My Personality -- as described by David
- genuine
- bossy (only to him!)
- silly

Three Things I Can't Do
- think of songs to sing to my baby
- drive a stick shift car
- sleep through the night

Three Things I Think You Should Listen To
- Mumford & Sons
- the weatherman
- your gut

Three Things You Should Never Listen To
- More than half of the music played on the radio
- mean-hearted individuals
- someone chewing on ice

Three Things I Would Like To Learn
- German
- how to drive a stick shift car
- idioms from different parts of the world

Three Favorite Foods
- blacks beans -- they make nearly everything taste better
- greek yogurt -- lifesaver breakfast for a pregnant woman or anyone who needs energy in the morning.
- macaroni & cheese -- because i am a child.

Three Shows I Watched As A Kid
- Sesame Street
- the simpsons (if the parents weren't home... and sometimes when they were)
- Arthur

Three Shows I Watch Now
- Pretty Little Liars
- Parks & Rec
- Mad Men

Random Question Tag

Oh, hi. I really DO exist! There's this random tag going around some places on the internet. And well, here I am, nothing to do (except clean the apartment), so let's do this!

#1. What's a nickname only your family calls you?
Nothing too fancy-- Megs.
#2. What's a weird habit of yours?
Quadruple checking to see if I locked the car or not. Luckily, my new car honks to let me know I did.
#3. Do you have any weird phobias?
Someone scaring me while I blow dry my hair. I always dry it with the bathroom door shut.
#4. What's a song you secretly LOVE to blast & belt out when you're alone?
Cascada dance music. Or silly things like Christmas music or the Fiddler on the Roof soundtrack.
#5. What's one of your biggest pet peeves?
Bad driving. Seriously. I try so hard to drive well. And others are just so completely careless. Drives me nuts in the Bay Area, especially.
#6. What's one of your nervous habits?
Avoiding eye contact. Nervous giggles. the usual.
#7. What side of the bed do you sleep on?
The right side
#8. What was your first stuffed animal & it's name?
Not a clue. But I had a giant doll that I think we called Megan. Fancy that!
#9. What's the drink you order at starbucks?
Well, I work there. So I get different things. But mostly, either iced or hot black tea. Or chai lattes. Lately, it's been hot Awake (black) tea every morning.
#10. What's the beauty rule you preach.. but never ACTUALLY practice?
Wearing SPF. I have tons of SPF products for my face/body to protect me. But only wear it 1/2 the time.
#11. Which way do you face in the shower?
Every which way. Except towards the back wall, I suppose.
#12. Do you have any 'weird' body 'skills'?
David thinks it's cool that I can raise each eyebrow, one at a time. But I don't think that is too unique. I can do that Elvis lip thing too.
#13. What's your favorite 'comfort food'/food thats 'bad' but you love to eat it anyways?
My name is Megan, and I like pizza.
#14. What's a phrase or exclamation you always say?
"My goodness!"
#15. Time to sleep- what are you ACTUALLY wearing?
Tank top & leggings, hair pulled atop me head.

Summer Uniform

Please excuse the fuzzy pixely photo. My first time doing this.

This Summer I've been wearing nearly the same thing every day. Comfortable shoes, breezy dresses & shirts, simple jewelry, and fitted blazers. Where I live in the Bay Area it is actually mostly sunny. And considering we're only about 10 minutes away from complete cloud cover it's been a pretty awesome sunshine-y Summer. Here's what I call my Summer Uniform:

1. I have a white cotton/linen dress I got from Target. Here is something similar.

Also, I've been wearing my Converse shoes non-stop.

2. Goodwill has treated me well and spoiled me with a perfect pinstripe blazer from a no-name brand. Here is an adorable one from Zara.

3. Remember that bow belt I was adoring awhile back? I found mine at Asos!

4. Forever21 has cheap jewelry that I just throw on with anything.

5. My new favorite shirt on clearance at Old Navy. I wore it 3x last week....

6. Any pair of old skinny jeans rolled up just a bit. Makes me feel like I should be camping or gardening. And I kind of love that.

What's your favorite thing to wear in the Summer?