Jessie's Wedding

A good friend of mine got married today and we had the honor to attend the reception.  All day long I had been thinking about Jessie and nostalgically looking back on memories that belong to the two of us.  Some of them weren't very much appreciated in the making, like that one time when the washing machine flooded our apartment in Nanjing where we went on a study abroad.  Or that time when I got so violently sick that she had to basically carry me on her back to the hospital.  She also stayed the night with me sleeping on a flimsy made-in-China plastic chair and the following morning held my IV high in the air outside of the stall while I peed.  I love that girl.  She is one of the kindest people I've ever had the privilege to know, and I am so very happy for her to have found her other half and to be sealed to him for time and for all eternity.  Congratulations, woman!

p.s. If you're reading this, Jessie.  I'm terribly sorry about my handwriting on the card.  Um...  I kinda had to write it while we were on the road.  I had to choose between writing your card or changing a diaper in the car and decided to go with the former.  Please don't estimate the love that I have for you based on the readability of my handwriting on your wedding card.  I do love you very much.

Video: Ethan Laughing Hysterically

Is everyone as excited about the long weekend as we are?  We are pretty stoked about the weekend, and to celebrate I've decided to post this video of Ethan taken a few days ago.  Enjoy and happy memorial day weekend everyone!

Parmesan Crusted Chicken

I know it has only been a couple days since I last posted a recipe but this is so good I feel selfish not to share!  This parmesan crusted chicken took me less than five minutes to prepare which was amazing.  I love quick and easy recipes especially now that I have a cute mini man in the house who I'd rather play with than anything else.  Jake and I both love this dish.  The chicken was crispy on top and very moist and juicy on the inside.  Another great thing about this is that it only calls for four ingredients and I bet you already have all of them in your fridge and pantry.  Make this for dinner tonight.  You won't regret it.  Let's get cooking, shall we?

I just went back to the original website where I found the recipe and realized that she had green beans on the side too!  I swear I wasn't trying to copy her.

{Parmesan Crusted Chicken}

From the enchanted cook

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, about 1 1/4 lbs. total weight or about 5 ounces per breast

4 teaspoons Italian seasoned dry bread crumbs

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F

Place mayo and cheese in a small bowl and mix.

Lay chicken breasts on baking sheet (the enchanted cook lines her baking sheet with parchment paper to make clean up easy) and spread mayo mixture evenly atop each.

Next evenly sprinkle bread crumbs atop each.

Place in oven and bake for 20 minutes or until chicken is cooked thoroughly and juices run clear. Tops will be browned and chicken will be incredibly juicy. Season with a dash of fresh cracked pepper and sea salt, if desired.

The Fan

Does your spouse own something that you wish very much to hide at the bottom of your DI box so that you can rid it from your life?  I do.  Jake brought lots of wonderful things into our marriage but one thing I wasn't too excited about was a little black fan.

I never liked that fan ever since the first time I saw it.  It was dirty; and it was small.  I asked Jake about throwing it away once but he dismissed my idea.  I didn't understand why he was so fond of it.  It's not like it moves a lot of air anyway!  But we kept it and I dutifully pack it every time we moved.  My feeling of dislike towards the fan slowly turned into something much stronger.  I started to hate it and so I always put it in the far back corner of a closet or under the bed to make sure that I won't have to lay my eyes upon it until our next move.  To be fair, we did use it a lot when we were at Stanford because our student apartment had no air conditioner.  There were lots of nights in the summer when Ethan and I drifted off to sleep to the sound of the little black fan whirring in the background.

We were playing in Ethan's bedroom this afternoon and I accidentally saw the fan in the closet.  Urgh!  It was a ghastly sight. The fan had gotten abhorrently dusty and gross through our (almost) four years of marriage.  I couldn't stand it anymore so I leapt up from the floor, grabbed the fan, and started cleaning it like a mad woman.  If it is going to stay with us for the rest of our lives then it's better for it to be clean!

Man did I clean that fan.  I got into all those little gaps.  I even used q tips to clean the spots where my fingers couldn't fit into.  Jake was surprised, to say the least, when he came home and found that I had cleaned the fan.  He asked me what it was that had possessed me to do such a thing.  I have no idea either but it sure felt good to have finally made peace with the ugly fan that he brought into my life four years ago.

And since I didn't take any pictures of the fan, here are a few snapshots from the day.

These squeaky eggs are Ethan's newest toys.  Aren't they adorable?

New sole protectors.

I took a picture of this ugly earth dog because it is actually one of Ethan's favorite toys.

It makes a really loud and clear rattle noise but it's just so dang ugly!

This toy company needs a new product designer!  Or maybe not, since the child loves it so much.

We hope that you're having a good week!  We are very much looking forward to the long weekend!

Gourmet Mushroom Risotto

It's about time for a new recipe!  Ethan is taking his last nap of the day and I would like to give him all my attention once he wakes up so I don't have a lot of time.  Let's get straight to the point.


I really enjoyed this recipe.  It was rich, creamy, and filling.  I had never had risotto in my life before I made this so I have no idea how close it is to the real thing but it was very good.  Give it a try someday when you don't mind standing by the stove for thirty minutes, stirring rice continuously, and pondering about how good life really is.

Gourmet Mushroom Risotto

From allrecipes.com

6 cups chicken broth, divided

3 tablespoons olive oil, divided

1/2 pound portobello mushrooms, thinly sliced

1/2 pound white mushrooms, thinly sliced

2 shallots, diced

1 1/2 cups Arborio rice

1/2 cup dry white wine

sea salt to taste

freshly ground black pepper to taste

3 tablespoons finely chopped chives

4 tablespoons butter

1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

In a saucepan, warm the broth over low heat.

Warm 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Stir in the mushrooms, and cook until soft, about 3 minutes. Remove mushrooms and their liquid, and set aside.

Add 1 tablespoon olive oil to skillet, and stir in the shallots. Cook 1 minute. Add rice, stirring to coat with oil, about 2 minutes. When the rice has taken on a pale, golden color, pour in wine, stirring constantly until the wine is fully absorbed. Add 1/2 cup broth to the rice, and stir until the broth is absorbed. Continue adding broth 1/2 cup at a time, stirring continuously, until the liquid is absorbed and the rice is al dente, about 15 to 20 minutes.

Remove from heat, and stir in mushrooms with their liquid, butter, chives, and parmesan. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Just In Case I Get Famous Someday

Before I started this blog, I asked the spouse again and again if he wanted a web name.  You know--a nickname for the blog so that his privacy would be a little more protected.  He said no.  But then he told me today that yes he would actually like one.

HELLO?  You do realize that it means I'll have to go back and change his name every!  single!  time!  I had mentioned it on my blog, right?

I'm a tiny bit annoyed, but a nickname we shall give him if that's what he desires.  At first, I was thinking along the lines of Dracula, Charmin {NOT as in Prince Charmin' but as in the toilet paper brand}, or Dwarf, but they are just not good enough so I started googling Most Ridiculous Male Names and oh how I love the internet.  Some of my top favorites are Knight Sir Lancelot, Al Dente, Hugh Morris, Harry Chest, and Dan Druff.

BAHAHAHAHA!!!

All joking aside, I know that what he really wants to do is to protect our family so from now on he'll be referred to as Jake on this blog.  My name will be Claire and the little one should be called Ethan.  Most of you who have been following our blog already know our real names so you are our secret keepers.  Shhhh...  I know I can trust you to not reveal our real names in comments :)

A Lesson. Learned.

Everyday with the mini man is an adventure let me tell ya!  Yesterday was no exception.

We made it to church early.  Everyone's bellies were full.  We were all dressed in our Sunday bests {sans wrinkles!}.  An easy updo for mommy's hair, the same old part for daddy's, and a mohawk for baby's.  We were singing the opening hymn and I was feeling pretty good about myself.  You've done it, mama!  Great job!  But not too fast...

RRRIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIPP!!!!

The child tore a page from the hymn book in half!!!  I gasped the loudest gasp ever to have been emitted by a human as my jaw dropped onto the floor.  My eyes might have popped out three centimeters as well.  NOT THE HYMN BOOK!  At the same time, Ethan's little hand froze in mid air.  Perhaps his brain was still trying to process what he had done.  We pried his paws open and I tried to smooth out the page while Jake put the infamous daddy straight jacket on Ethan where he locks his arms around the child to stop him from moving.  After the meeting, we sneaked the hymn book into the diaper bag.  I will have to tape the page back together sometime this week and then bring it back to church next Sunday...  We are contributing extra tithing this month.  You can count on it.

Lesson learned: don't ever think too highly of yourself when sitting in a sacrament meeting.