South of the Boarder Smothered Corn on the Cob

I can't even!  This is absolutely the tasty thing ever, and here's the

recipe just in time for your Cinco de Mayo celebrations 

and backyard picnics and cookouts. 

What you need:

cooked corn on the cob, set to room temperature (make in advance, chill)

Hellman's mayonnaise 

chipotle chili powder (sub chili powder, if you want flavor but no heat)

queso fresco (a chunk that can crumble)

On a prep surface, crumble queso fresco.

Mix the mayonnaise with the chipotle chili powder (make it

as spicy as you want.  I did 1/4 cup mayonnaise to 1 & 1/2 tsp powder)

Spread the mayonnaise onto the cooled corn (1-2 Tablespoons),

covering the surface.  Then roll in the crumbled cheese. 

Messy, but worth it. 

Seriously, this is ridiculous!  The sweet of the corn balances so 

nicely with the tang and spice of the chipotle mayonnaise and

the crumble cheese coating brings it all together!

xo.

Favorite Children's Books

I co-hosted a baby shower this weekend.  In lieu of a greeting card, we asked the attendees to write a message to soon-to-be mom, dad and baby in the front cover of their favorite children's book. That got me thinking about a few of the favorites around this house, that we love to read, during our bedtime reading rituals.

 Have you read this one?  I feel like it flies

way under the radar, but it is such a fun

read, with a great message about being humble.

 It is sooo good!

This has been a favorite of mine since I was a

little kid.  I remember going to a book store in

Minnesota to meet the author and illustrator,

and we still read the copy that was signed 

to me, as a kid. 

An honorable mention by this writing and illustrating 

duo is, King Bidgood's in the Bathtub. I also have

the signed copy of this book from my 

childhood that we often pull out. 

I had never heard of this book or the author, until

we received a small stack of her books when Logi

was born.  This quickly became our favorite and we

still read our copy of this tattered little board book often. 

Honorable mention by this same author is Barnyard Dance. 

It is still a favorite to read allowed to the kids

(I dig deep and put a little twang in my voice when I read this one!)

This is such a fun and clever read!  This was

introduced into our reading rotation just last

year and it is absolutely a favorite! 

This is MY absolute favorite!  I learned to recite it

when Logi was just a few weeks old and it is still

one that I tell them when rocking them back to sleep in the night.

Our taped up board book shows just how much we love this one.

I am so thankful for the joy of books as the four of us pile into our 

bed every night to read.  It has been such fun, this last year to have 

Logi take on some of the reading aloud. Although, she still much prefers 

us to read to her at bedtime, so she can snuggle in with Benny.

Oh, and I can't sign off without a big, huge shout out to the Berenstain Bear books.

They are a forever favorite.  I remember sitting in my childhood bedroom, on the

phone with Zac (who was back in his childhood bedroom), before we got married,

going through our stacks or Berenstain Bears books, creating one pile of books without

doubles, for our future kids.  A week has not passed, since we had our kiddos, that 

hasn't included the adventures of this fun loving bear family!

xo.

Dining Room, A Rug Update, part 2

So...early this year, yes like 2 months ago, I excitedly
replaced out dining room rug with a navy and white
herringbone rug (see post). Sadly, a week in I realized
the quality was cheap and it would not hold up to the traffic of the 

dining room. I quickly rolled that bad boy up and sold it to a local lady for 

what I paid (score) and began the search...again.

I settled on this gorgeous,  handmade rug out of Pakistan.  

It cost a lot more than I originally budgeted, but sometimes you have to 

pull the design trigger, when a one of a kind piece screams your name.

I'm in love!