what's for dinner?

Wishing I lived in Portland so I could be a part of this CookingThyme class!

Sounds tasty, doesn't it? 

xoxo.

last week...

...was amazing. I went back to Portland, and while the trip was short, the days were full and rich with all the things I love. I went to help with CookingThyme's part in the Happy Valley 4th of July Family Festival, which was a blast. A full day with the fam sharing something I'm passionate about? Sign me up. Plus, in just 72 hours, I saw my entire family and Landon's, saw a couple of close friends, and scarfed down everything my mom put in front of me. 

I am blessed beyond words, and my heart is full.

xoxo.

come see us!

CookingThyme will be at the Happy Valley 4th of July Family Festival in Happy Valley Park tomorrow. Stop by our booth for a tasty cupcake and lots of fun!

xoxo.

P.S. A very happy 24th birthday to my dearest friend Maryn!! Love you!

in the press.

Check out this great little write-up about my mom's latest CookingThyme series (Conquer the Kitchen) in this week's FOODday from the Oregonian!

CTK FTW (conquer the kitchen for the win).

Check out this killer program my mom is starting at CookingThyme. SERIOUSLY wishing I lived in Portland, or had the cold hard cash for a few trips back there this summer. This program is going to be AMAZING.

Happy week!

xoxo.

spring break!

I had no idea why Landon told me to stand where I did when he took this picture. Now I know...can I have a kiss?

Eek! I've been missing for a few days, but I'm officially on my little 4-day weekend of a spring break (perks of working for a university)! Thanks for all the lovely comments on Monday's post...I guess that means you're ready for spring too? 

I thought I'd give a quick update on some things that my family is involved in back in Portland! I get the pleasure of helping out with both of these on an ongoing basis, and I love it!

My sister is the director of a preschool in SE Portland, and she created a day camp program called Camp Sprout last summer. She's now gearing up for the 2nd year of Camp Sprout, and it's going to be awesome! If you (or someone you know) has kids going into grades 1-5 in the Portland area, let them know about Camp Sprout! You can also download the registration form (created by yours truly!) here.

photo by red couch photography

Lots of fun new things are going on at CookingThyme, the cooking school (and so much more) that my mom started in Happy Valley, Ore., 3 years ago. The aforementioned sister and I help out with CookingThyme, and this week we announced the first-ever CookingThyme after school classes at two local elementary schools! 

She also has a lot of fun classes coming up this spring, including couples classes, how-to classes for adults (I wish desperately that I could go to one of these!), and plenty of spring-themed classes for kids.

Check them out here.

I'm blessed to be part of a family that helps others life live more abundantly. 

xoxo.

P.S. I'm finally getting my haircut today! Can you guess which cut I chose?

the weekend.

 How was your weekend? Landon was in San Antonio for a track meet on Friday and Saturday, so it was just me and Snook. Most weekends when Landon is gone I sustain myself with cereal, toasted bagels and pasta. This weekend was no different as you can see from the photo! Also, did you know that pasta is approximately 20,000 times better with a dollop of sour cream on top? I thought everyone put sour cream on their pasta until I went to college and noticed that our cafeteria didn't set out sour cream with the marinara sauce. Anyways, it's golden. But then, I put sour cream on a lot of things. So much that Landon has started asking at most meals, "Do we put sour cream on this?" Charming. 

 Aside from carbohydrates, my weekend was also filled with getting some work done, planning for CookingThyme (check out the latest email here! so many fun classes!) and watching Snook try to open the window...

This is 100% unposed. I'm worried that he'll get too smart for us. 

Have a great week!

xoxo.

christmas eve cinnamon rolls [the best in the world]

 I'm making cinnamon rolls today with my mom, sisters, cousins, and aunts. We started this tradition last year, and it's becoming one of my favorites. Here are some photos from last year:

 My mom said to punch the dough, and I took it too literally...and cracked all of the knuckles in my hand...

It's gonna be a good day.

xoxo.

inspired: cookingthyme.

 CookingThyme, my mom's cooking school, has some super fun holiday classes coming up, and I just couldn't help but share. If you're in Portland, you (or your kids) should definitely try one out! And if you're not in Portland, you can drool over the class listings below like I'm prone to do. I can say as her daughter and as her former student that my mom knows her stuff. Sometimes I call her the Chicken Hotline (i.e. I'm still not confident in my chicken-cooking skills so I call her when I'm having a poultry panic). Anyways, back to the classes. How fun do these sound?

For more info, visit the CookingThyme website.

xoxo.

portfolio: table talk.

 I created a few designs for a CookingThyme event that my mom hosted a couple weeks ago, including placecards, recipe cards and a thank you card (below). What do you think?

xoxo.

P.S. More CookingThyme posts here.

portfolio: flyers for CookingThyme.

Oh hey, Tuesday! And hey, friends! I've been knee-deep in designy-ness, a lot of which I haven't shared on here yet. As many of you know, I help with my mom's business, CookingThyme, which offers cooking classes for kids + adults in the Portland area (if you're in Portland, stop reading this post right now and head over to the CookingThyme website to check out the sweet classes on there! And then sign up for one! Or twelve!). This is a flyer I created for our upcoming Cook Through the Alphabet Mommy & Me series (cute idea, right? I didn't come up with it, but yes, I am biased...)

 I have developed such a huge passion for this business, because it's not just about food, and it's not just about cooking. My mom is all about the idea of the family meal, and how powerful and important it is for families to sit down to a meal together on a regular basis and share life together. In the end, we might not remember the exact meal we ate (with the exception of my mom, who rarely forgets a meal, and has been known to keep herself up at night planning them...), but we will remember who we ate with, what was said, and what it meant to us. And what I love about this idea is that it has endless implications for the way we live our lives. Here's just a few:

Regular, family meals are now considered a major factor in preventing childhood obesity. 

Food breaks down barriers, and allows us to share in conversations we might not have had otherwise (a simple spaghetti meal was integral in Landon and I joining the church we now call our home). 

Cooking is a form of self-expression that is beautiful, forgiving, purposeful and so rewarding (I'm remembering the pat-on-the-back feelings I had after I roasted my very first chicken only a year ago!).

And food is something we can all relate to. We may not all find the fine arts to be accessible, we may not find sports to be enjoyable, but we all need food, so we might as well make it GOOD (who's with me?).

Food has power, there's just no denying it. And until someone convinces me otherwise, I'll be knee deep in this CookingThyme thing, and loving every minute.

xoxo.

New Fall Classes at CookingThyme

Happy happy Monday, friends! Most of you know that my mom teaches cooking classes in the Portland, Ore., area. She just announced her classes coming up this fall, and I wanted to share them on here for any Portland readers!

For more info on CookingThyme, check out our website or facebook page.

xoxo.

friday love: cookingthyme.

I've mentioned my involvement with CookingThyme before, but I'd love to reintroduce it in honor of their awesome camp coming up. In 2008, my mom had the idea to start a cooking school for kids, and CookingThyme was born. She's now expanded to offer classes for adults, and five-day cooking camps for kids.  She's planning a killer camp at the end of this month, with an American roadtrip theme. How great is that? The recipes include California Kabobs, Mississippi mud pie, Boston baked beans (are you hungry yet?) and more. 

If you're in the Portland area and know of any 6-12 year olds who might enjoy a day or week of learning basic cooking skills with other great kids, pass this info on to their parents. Registration is open for individual days, as well as a discounted rate for those who sign up for the entire week. You can register here. 

Happy Friday!

xoxo.

get your planning on [free printable]

Looking for a weekly meal planner? Check out this one [designed by yours truly], free for download on the CookingThyme blog! 

xoxo

a cookingthyme baby shower.

click here to check out more photos of the "oh baby" baby shower hosted by CookingThyme this weekend!

xoxo

CookingThyme website + giveaway.

It's launch day! CookingThyme, my mom's business of super fun and tasty cooking classes for kids + adults, launched its new website today!

In honor of the launch, we're hosting a giveaway on the CookingThyme blog! Head on over to check it out!

xoxo

sunday lovin: that's amore.

Check out the photos from CookingThyme's Italian Cooking Dinner Party here. 

xoxo

new year's day breakfast.

we had a delicious breakfast of dutch babies and hot cocoa this morning. check out the CookingThyme blog for more. [for those who don't know, CookingThyme is my mom's business of cooking classes for kids + adults. we're launching a new website soon, but for now, head on over to the blog!]

xoxo.

hey hey saturday.

my mom had a "mommy and me" cookingthyme class today, and they made the sweetest treats!

hot cocoa mix, chocolate dipped pretzels, thumbprint cookies, and, my favorite, marshmallow straws for sipping and dipping in the hot cocoa! 

hope you had a sweet saturday, too.

xoxo.

party time.

 cookingthyme [my mom's business of cooking classes and parties] hosted a sweet little strawberry shortcake birthday party today! i may be biased, but i think my mom did an excellent job with the activities, decorations and overall party-creating! i'll have more pictures soon, but aren't these sweet?