WE'RE GOIN' TO THE ZOO, ZOO, ZOO

We finally made it to take these two baby besties to the zoo! and aren't they just the cutest?!

This summer we had been trying to make a trip with some of our best friends (Jacob, Kaylani, & Aubrey) up to the Woodland Park Zoo (about an hour trip up north for us), and it finally happened! Amazing how much work it can be to plan for 4 adults and 2 one-year-olds to go on a day trip! I can only imagine when the day comes where we have more kids to tote along... I'm sure this will have seemed like a walk in the park. I'm sure all the veteran mamas would agree with that :)  

 We ended up having just the most beautiful day for the zoo! helllloooo Washington summers! they are just gorgeous (...and no, it doesn't rain everyday here in the W-A) However, as summer has been reaching its end, the weather has been hit and miss (the reason we had to cancel this trip once before), but we were so happy it worked in our favor and what a fun day it turned out to be!
As you can tell, Harper thought it was a great day! :)

 This girl just LOVED all of the animals! (calling each one of them, from the zebras to the bears, 'daw' - her word for 'dog'). There isn't anything quite like watching her take in all this 'new-ness' for the first time.

While the two girls truly loved all that the zoo had to offer, there were also moments where they could care less about the animals, but had quite the interest in each other :) Not a care in the world that there's a gorgeous jaguar just a foot away on the other side of the glass! but what can you expect when you're with your best friend. 

 Don't those 'da-das' push those strollers like pros?! I think Kaylani and I could get used to this :)

 Two of our favorite animals from the day. We couldn't get over just how stunning the giraffes were.

Walking the entire zoo (which is huge!) made for us all to be quite tired by the end of it. Rather than trucking these two babes out to a restaurant for dinner, we all readily agreed to hit it home and call in a pizza delivery :) 

To top off the day, right as we pulled up to the house, there the ice cream man was! That famous music playing loudly from his truck. Why is it that an ice cream bar tastes so much better when it comes from the ice cream man?! 

"I'll take a strawberry shortcake ice cream, please" :)

These two did so good with the events of the day. With missing their naps (other than a couple tiny cat-naps to and from the zoo), they still had it in them to keep on playing even well after we had eaten dinner.

How fun it has been watching these two (only 2 months apart) have a friendship right from birth :)

Xoxo

-Brittney

follow along on instagram @brittneyhjelseth

OUR TABLE || BBQ CHICKEN TOSTADAS

Mmm... Dinner time!

One of my favorite times of the day. Not only do I get to spend some time in the kitchen preparing our meal (which I love), but it's time to eat (really.. I mean who doesn't love to eat!). Sitting down at the dinner table as a family at the end of the day, enjoying our meal together while having family time.. to me, there's just not much better than that.

I just love trying new foods and recipes. Ok, that's only half true. I love trying new recipes where I'm preparing foods that I know I like, but in different ways :) The trying of new foods... well that's somewhere that I really fall short. and as a dietitian, I'm not proud. but I tell ya, that list of 'dislikes' really isn't too long! I'm working to shorten the list, but here it is as of today: fish, bananas, cooked fruit (except for in apple pie of course), and sweet potatoes. I know... all healthy foods that I should like. but there are so many other foods that I do like, that I find plenty of options.

Moving on... :) the bbq chicken tostadas we had for dinner just the other night. Goodness gracious, they were gooood! and the other bonus, they were oh so easy! Thank heavens for the good ol' crockpot.

I had seen a recipe on pinterest for some bbq chicken tostadas but made some modifications for my own creation. and I mean, just how delicious do they look?!

Ingredient List:

2 lbs chicken breast

1/2 cup BBQ sauce (Trader Joe's Carolina Gold BBQ Sauce - try it!)

1/2 cup fat-free refried beans

romaine lettuce

tomato

shredded sharp white cheddar cheese (Tillamook)

corn tortillas

--Place chicken in crockpot + evenly pour 1/4 cup of bbq sauce over chicken. Cook on LOW for 6-8 hours. Leaving in crockpot, shred chicken with two forks. Stir in remaining 1/4 cup of bbq sauce. Keep warm.

--Preheat oven to 350. Place tortillas on baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Lightly spray tortillas with olive oil (I use a Misto oil sprayer filled with olive oil). Bake in oven for 15 minutes. 

--Top the (now baked) tortillas with the refried beans, chicken, lettuce, tomato, cheese, and drizzle a little extra sauce on top.

Yummy in that tummy!

The flavor was just to.die.for.

and what's better?! We had enough for leftovers to have a second meal the next night. For me, a meal that provides enough for a second night, that's all the better! Although I do love cooking, to have a night of simple preparation.. I'm all for it.

This would also be great just prepared as tacos too, rather than the tostadas. The crunch from the tostadas was a great added texture though. Another great option would be to top the chicken over a bed of lettuce to make a great salad. or even, this chicken in a quesadilla. the possibilities are endless.

A meal this good and this easy, I don't know anyone who wouldn't sign right up.

This one will definitely be thrown into the rotation to be had again in our house!

Eat up!

xoxo

-Brittney

JUST US HJELSETHS

I am excited to be starting this blog and am looking forward to sharing what life is like for this little family of mine!

I'm the wife to the best man I know. Registered Dietitian, who has now put the career on hold to focus on my family as a stay at home mama. and I wouldn't have it any other way. Though I'm not currently in the workforce,  I absolutely love that I can use my nutrition education on a regular basis for my family. but I'll be truthful in telling you that it's not  a l w a y s  fruits, veggies, lean meats, and whole grains 100% of the time. I try hard for it though and I'd say we're that healthy side 85% of the time and the other 15% is spent on pizza, cookies, ice cream, and mac & cheese. because, well, we are still human :)

 

We recently had some family pictures taken with our favorite photographer Kristal and I couldn't be more please with how they turned out! She has such a gift! because I tell ya.. the way the pictures look (all peaceful, happy, and pleasant smiles all about), that's not quite how this mama was feeling during the shoot. Honestly, Harper was just not having it that evening! but thanks to the talented Kristal, she captured the most precious of moments that at the time, I didn't even realize we were having. I am so thankful for this beautiful family of mine and this little girl brings more joy to her mama's heart than she will ever know. I love you Harper Monaé!

 ...and so the blogging begins!

xoxo

-Brittney

follow along on instagram @brittneyhjelseth