dutch oven tri tip sandos

this recipe is a favorite in the marks house. i make it frequently because it's super duper easy and super duper delish.

you'll need:

1 tri tip
1 yellow onion
pepper plant seasoning & bbq sauce
s & p
dutch oven
ciabatta rolls


pre heat oven 325.
brown the tri tip in a very hot iron skillet.
chop the onion and place in bottom of dutch oven.
season the meat generously with pepper plant seasoning, s & p, place on top of onion.

cook for 3-4 hours.
shred and serve on grilled ciabatta rolls with bbq sauce

i slice and butter the rolls then grill them on the cast iron skillet. they are seriously divine.

you can add cheese. serve with coleslaw, salad, beans. whatever you want. the leftovers are still amazing. so go. get this stuff and make it tomorrow!!! you won't regret it :)

a crazy calendar

a crazy calendar gives me anxiety. stresses me out. makes me feel out of control. really. as lame as it sounds it's true. and let me tell you, our calendar is nuts with a capitol N. i'm turning 28 on the 20th, plans with a girlfriend, plans with boss, family pictures, 4 halloween events plus finishing M's costume, praying we close escrow on time, packing my parents house, moving, Thanksgiving, Disneyland immediately after, baby shower two days after we get home, M is turning 3!!!! and then it's Christmas.

whoa. that is seriously crazy. all wonderful happy things that i know we will enjoy but…yeah.

i pictured moving into the new house before halloween, having carved pumpkins on our new porch, decorating and settling in. celebrating the holidays. celebrating 3 years of Mila. now that that isn't reality stinks but we will do the best we can to make the transition smooth and easy. i still can't wait to the holidays!! and i'm really looking forward to sleeping in a bedroom.

this boy. in his great uncles (what?!) cowboy hat. he is seriously to die for.

 we went to the pumpkin patch and let m fill the wagon as high as she wanted. we left with probably one of each kind of pumpkin and that's ok. 

 he's such a good daddy. m has been really in to crafts lately and i love it. it keeps her busy and she creates beauty.

we've been working on colors and counting and matching and shapes. it's so much fun to see her try so hard and succeed. she loves to learn. she is so bright. 

ikea

we are heading to the bay area this afternoon to visit family and go to ikea. seriously. i'm like a kid the night before christmas. i can't wait for tomorrow at 9:30. IKEAAAAAAA! i love it. they have great stuff for great prices and another bonus: not very many people where we live have it because the closest ikea is 3+ hours away. woop!

we sign contract for the new house next thursday which means we are like 30 days from moving in. yessssss. i am more excited about this news than i am about ikea. i cannot wait to see the finished product. we picked all of the interior finishes, bought our own hardware, are buying all new furniture for the dining and living, we get a playroom for the kids and the list goes on. it's going to be amazing. the perfect start to 2015!

here's a little peak into what we've chosen for the new digs:

flooring will be wood throughout, tile in the bathrooms, carpet in the bedrooms. granite on all countertops. we will be ripping out the island granite for butcher block with a different sink and faucet. also the backsplash will be removed and subway tile put in its place. (we are changing things after escrow because of the prices. what the builder is charging is seriously outrageous)

the new dining table is West Elm, white modern mid-century. the chairs are Restoration Hardware mid-century danish design; wood with metal bases. we bought an elk horn chandelier for the living space and a farm house light for the dining room. i am going to remove all of the lights they provided and sell them. not my style, but very nice. 

seriously can't wait!!!!

kiddos are great. i think they are ready to get back into our norm routine. i think we all our. including my parents. 

last week i worked Sunset's Savor the Central Coast put on by visit san luis obispo and sunset magazine. my friend jolie is the head of the Vision Team and i got to be apart for the second year. it was SO much work but so awesome. we spent 4 days at santa margarita ranch and one day working at Hearst Castle which was amazing. so cool to be behind the scenes in such a historic place that is sought upon by millions of people traveling through. awesome experience.