Go shorty, it's your birthday.

Yesterday, was this guy's birthday...

...he's pretty much the best sport I know...

...because he happily unwrapped 30 presents...

... and wore that crown-- all with a smile on his face.                          

     Way to get through all that tissue paper, baby!

Happy 30th, Amwilli! ♡

Birthday Boy

Mr. Willi turned the big 2-8 yesterday and we had a low key dinner at home to celebrate. Lovely sister-in-law gifted me with an awesome new cook book for Christmas and this was the perfect occasion to try it out!

The recipe was "Baked Shrimp with Tomatoes and Feta." Sounds simple enough-- and it was pretty much the only thing I could put together with the limited planning time I had (about an hour). The best thing about it is it's completely clean and healthy. Only 303 calories a serving (including the pasta)!

Here's what it was supposed to look like:

So I got to chopping. [A quick aside-- meals like this would not be possible without quality cutlery. I would die without my Wusthof knives-- although maybe not if I had some sweet Japanese knives, but I digress!]

Back to the good stuff-- mountain of onions, check!

Garlic, check!

Flat leaf parsley, check!

No salt-added diced tomatoes, check! (Only 15mg of sodium-- amazing for something out of a can)

OK, so basically throw varying amounts of those ingredients in a big pan, over medium high heat til it boils-- then let it simmer for a little so the juices can thicken.

Shell and toss in a few of these babies...

Season to taste-- I hit it with some basil, salt, pepper and a little cayenne to bring out the flavor of the tomatoes.

Into the oven on 425º until the shrimp were cooked through-- then I finished it off in the broiler because I really wanted the cheese to brown and the shrimp to sport those blackened edges (I just think it's pretty).

Et voila!

Didn't look exactly like the photo, but the true test is the taste... I served the dish with whole wheat angel hair pasta.

I would say judging by Amwilli's THREE helpings-- and the amount that's missing-- it was a hit.

After dinner, we had cake (naturally). We're still de-chubbifying from the holidays, so I kind of skimped in that department (which, if you know me, is kind of big deal).

Ridiculously charming though, right?

And pretty delicious-- thanks, Smith Island Cake Shop!

To top off the fabulous dinner and dessert portion of the evening, my kiddos made sure to extend their birthday wishes to their "favoritest" classroom volunteer... here's the best card out of the 20 I hand-delivered yesterday:

Cover: "By Dallas Happy Birthday!! Mr. Willi"

Inside: "Your wife is a great teacher you should be proud. Happy Birthday!! Mr. Willi"

(I have them trained well, don't I?)

WELLLL... Another birthday in the books-- between the two of us we've celebrated 15 of them together. Where oh where does the time go?! Who knows-- who caaaaares-- just thrilled to be spending it with people I love.

♡ Happy Birthday, Babe! ♡

As Promised...

The birthday meal extravaganza!

So apparently, Mr. Willi searched high and low for an equal parts healthy and satisfying meal for my birthday dinner. [Isn't he great?] He pretty much hit it out of the park with the meal he planned—drum roll, please...

Seafood Couscous Paella

A deliciously quick meal from the folks over at Eating Well. The name alone screams "hours in the kitchen," but it was quite the contrary. And thank goodness, because by the time he got home from the grocery store with the ingredients, I was starving. In the end, my belly and I were quite pleased. The paella was light yet hearty, smooth with a little tang, and the textures were just great!

There are few things more attractive than this...

Turns out all the frazzled nerves and stomping around (see tail end of last post) were on account of a lost container of saffron... he actually went out and bought a whole new container. After dinner I found the "lost" saffron on the floor under the sink, pesky little thing...

After the saffron incident, it only took another 20ish minutes for dinner. Paired with a delicious salad, this meal was pretty perfect.

Thanks babe!

They say it's your birthday...

It's my birthday too!

That's right... another year older, and hopefully wiser, but I suppose only time will tell with that one :)

So far, 27 is treating me well...

I got to spend Friday with the hubster, Miss C and Mr. D, three of my most favorite people in all of the land. We traipsed around Bethesda til the wee hours, and literally left the bar with our ears ringing.

Saturday was quite an interesting day– it started with Netflix and then progressed to getting up and getting out so as not to waste the entire day. I was instructed to grab my camera, and told I could wear a t-shirt and jeans to dinner (awesome). We set out around 3:30 and drove on some back roads through the MD countryside. Before long we were in PA, which isn't unusual for how close we live to border— but by that point, my spidey senses were tingling and I was pretty sure the Mister was up to something.

After about another 30 minutes of the scenic route, it dawned on me where we could possibly be going... rewind to Philly Weekend... the first night we were there, a few of us hit up Geno's for an authentic cheesesteak. The name, glitz and glam of Geno's were just undeniable. All the while, competitor Pat's King of Steaks was across the street with noticeably less pizzazz. After we came home, I saw a Travel Channel showdown on Pat's and realized it's THE original cheesesteak place. How in the world did I NOT know that?! Needless to say, I was disappointed in my serious faux pas... so I've been ruminating on this whole Pat's thing since then.

And don't you know it— that's exactly where we ended up!

And yes, how appropriate that I was wearing my Jucy Lucy shirt while I was scarfing Pat's and cheeeeese fries!

Sunday was a much less eventful day, although we did finally venture in to a bakery/deli we've meaning to check out. Turns out it's the very same bakery I've been RAVING about that's catered a bunch of events I've been to over the past few months. What luck! Although now that we've unleashed this little beast, I'm sure we'll be buying larger pants before long (womp womp)!

Oh Royal Bakery, how I love you.

As I type, a very perplexed man (Amwilli) is making me a birthday meal... right about now he's stomping around the apartment searching furiously for the recipe or his keys or both. OK, he just stormed out the door on a mission.

I'll definitely have photos of this sure-to-be-lovely birthday meal :)

Happy Birthday to the Baaaabe...

The Teeb is FOUR! I can't believe it... feels like only yesterday since we've had her. In honor of her birthday, here are some oh-so-adorable pics of our favorite pooch:

Her BFF, Marley (as in Bob... not Marley & Me)

Happy Birthday Tiegan! We couldn't ask for a better pup!

♡♡♡♡