Birthday: My Mom is 55

This last weekend we celebrated my mom turning 55! She loves this age because now she can say she is as old as the speed limit. I hosted a little luncheon with some of my moms best friends. Friends she's had ever since moving to Oregon around 20 years ago. These woman have known me since I was 5! We shared lots of old memories, went around and told my mom things we loved about her, and just laughed and laughed until our stomachs hurt. We also played a little jeopardy of who knows Linda best. That was fun.

I kept the decorations simple. Lots of red and white, my moms favorite colors. I had some new and old photos dispersed around the table. The photo above is circa 1989 on my mom's 29th birthday with one of her favorite presents, her chocolate lab Bashia. 

We made her feel like a birthday princess complete with a flower crown. (Later on she told me how she wore it all day, even out to dinner that night. That's my mother.) For lunch I made a simple sandwich bar, spinach and artichoke dip, with a fruit salad. It just so happened to be 100 degrees outside so it was good I decided on something cool. 

Happy Happy Birthday Mom! So happy you are my mother and that I got to celebrate you in such a fantastic way! May your birthdays always be special, may you never loose that zest for life, and may your friends always be close! We love you mom and happiest of birthdays. 

xo // leah

A Sweet and Simple Galentine's Brunch

My friend Stephie and I hosted a little Galentine's Brunch this past weekend. This was the first time I've heard of the term Galentine and I was so excited to have a little brunch with our friends. We had been planning for a little while, with the help of Pinterest, as to what we wanted the space to look like and what we wanted to do for our friends. I'm pretty happy with how it all turned out. 

We made everyone little flower crowns to wear. Those were not only a blast to make but so pretty on all the girls.  

We had a mimosa bar and served heart-shaped pancakes, fruit, and doughnuts. 

We chatted, sipped, and laughed the morning away.  All the girls that were able to attend were so sweet, so beautiful, and so wonderful to be around. 

A Galentine's brunch is not complete without a little photo-booth action. 

Every gal left with a flower crown on her head and a little goody bag filled with some sweet little gifts. 

See here, here, or here for some of the little gifts that were given. 

 

Friends that brunch together, stay together // xo leah

Photos taken by my ever talented friend, Pamela. See her work here.

{Belated} Friends-Giving 2013

This last weekend was filled with friends, laughter, good food, and lots of Holiday Spirit. On Friday night I hosted a little {belated} Friends-Giving. I saw others having an evening with their friends to celebrate all the blessings of the year and I thought it was such a wonderful idea! My friends all couldn't get together till this weekend so it was a combined Thanksgiving/Christmas party.

We started the evening with some simple appetizers of cheese, salami, crackers and spread. I had each woman bring a bottle of wine. We did a little "wine tasting" before dinner. I'm not a huge wine drinker, specifically I only like sweet dessert wines, but it was so fun trying out some new bottles. A favorite of the night was a Cranberry Wine. Yes. Sweet. What can I say? 

After a couple hours of chatting and laughing we had a lasagna dinner followed by some home-made desserts. 

This type of gathering I hope to have every year. Connecting with my friends is so important. They are the other sisters that God has blessed me with. Their friendships are so dear and important to me. This type of get together is perfect for reconnecting with old friends that you don't get to see often while at the same time bringing them together with new friends. 

One of my friends Pam is a photographer and snapped a few photos of the night. 

This gathering made my heart so full of joy and love. I have friends that are amazing, talented, kind, and beautiful (inside and out). And I am so incredibly blessed by them all.

Everyone left with a little Christmas ornament.

Parties and Friends,

xo leah

Recipe: Spring Rolls

Last night I was inspired to try out a new recipe of Spring Rolls with a Rice Noodle stir-fry. It turned out really good and super easy. One thing I like about the Spring Rolls is that you can make the filling a head of time and then make the rolls when your ready. The rolling and frying part doesn't take long at all. 

The Stir-Fry was a simple recipe of Rice Noodles, chopped Carrots, Water Chestnuts, Cilantro, Garlic, and about 1/2 c. of Peanut Sauce (store-bought for me).  You can add more veggies to it if you prefer. 

For the Spring Rolls you'll need 

1 lb. package of Hot Italian Sausage 

(you can get medium or mild for your spice level preference)

1 cup Sliced Carrots

1 cup Chopped Cilantro

2 Tablespoons Soy Sauce

2 Tablespoons Minced Garlic

Directions

1. Add all ingredients to a hot oiled skillet

2. Ground meat very finely

3. Once cooked thoroughly place in fridge to cool off completely. 

*** Make sure your filling mixture is completely cooled off before rolling.

 If not, it could cause holes in the spring rolls ***

Once your ready to start making the rolls grab a little cup of water along with a Tablespoon and the bowl of filling.

  Place your oil into a large pot and turn on med-high heat. 

1. Place 1- 1 1/2 Tablespoons of filling in corner of roll. 

2. Fold up bottom and spread filling out like a hot dog. 

3. Place a small amount of water on the folded up side (I just dip my fingers in the cup of water and run them along the side) and fold in the edges.

4. Place more water along the top of the newly made triangle section and roll the spring roll up from bottom to top of the triangle. 

5. Set aside and keep rolling. Once your finished and the oil is starting to crackle, place the rolls into pot. It should take about 5-10 minutes to get to golden brown. Once golden brown, take out and let sit for a few minutes. They will be hot inside! 

These are a perfect compliment to any stir-fry or as a snack by themselves.

Enjoy!

xo leah