Gather: There is Always Room at Our Table

Moment of truth: as I photographed this space and scanned through the photos I was taking, the thought, "This is MY dining room???" went through my head. Y'all, I am in love. When I first walked through here, I was a little hesitant and doubted whether our eight foot farmhouse table would FIT. We've had this table for almost a year now, and it's one of our dearest household possessions. I don't know about you, but for us, the table is where memories are made. 

One of my favorite author's, Jen Hatmaker, said in her book For the Love, "Instead of waiting for community, provide it, and you’ll end up with it anyway.” If there is one thing my husband and I strive for, it IS community. We have had led small groups for years, hosted the past three Thanksgivings, and have people over for dinner weekly. The table is where our kids eat all of their meals, it's where we recap our full and busy days, it's the place that we laugh and come together. 

Well, my husband and I have been the king and queen of hand-me-downs and vintage furniture. When we got married (ahem, almost nine years ago!) we were blessed to have parents and friends who gifted us with pieces they no longer needed. But the last few years, and especially once we received this gorgeous table, we really longed for better seating. Seating that would actually match the space, and that looked like it FIT. 

When my friends at Walker Edison Furniture gave me the green light on collaborating for these chairs, I almost cried. Literally. I mean SERIOUSLY...what more perfect chair could GO with this table?!?! The dark wood and white seat backs are almost exact, it's like they were made for each other. See for yourself, just how amazing the dining room looks thanks to these beauties. 

Thank God for a beautiful new house, with an abundance of natural light, white trim throughout, and for a gorgeous place where I look forward to hosting SO MANY meals with friends and families. We are having so much fun decorating and styling this home, but I'm 99% sure that the dining room is complete. 

We are big on loving people. On helping others feel welcome. Inviting individuals in to our mess, because frankly, as pretty as this room looks, that doesn't mean we have it all together. Here is where the goodness happens. Around my husband's home cooked meals, fresh flowers (most days), and often on chairs that have remnants of our children's messy fingers. There is always room at our table, and it's with a very special thanks to Walker Edison Furniture, that I am even more excited to gather here. 

Spring and Easter M&M Cookies

Baking + holidays are my JAM, so with Easter soon approaching, you know I've been all over Pinterest. I figured someone had a great Easter or spring themed recipe and sure enough, I found one. On our first day back to 'normal,' (aka Dad went back to work!) the kids and I spent a long time at the park with our pups and the only way I happily got them to leave was by saying, "Well let's go make cookies!!" These kids LOVE to help in the kitchen. I measured out the ingredients and then same as they always do, turns were taken pouring into the mixing bowl, turning on the standing mixer, and finally the best part [duh]: licking the spatula and beater. Yummmm! These are SO soft and chewy, so don't miss the cornstarch part because it really helps!

INGREDIENTS:

3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon baking soda
pinch salt, optional and to taste
1 1/2 cups milk chocolate M&Ms (I used peanut because that's all our Kroger had at the time, they were DELICIOUS!]

DIRECTIONS:

1. To the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the butter, sugars, egg, vanilla, and beat on medium-high speed until well-creamed, light and fluffy, about 5 minutes (or use a hand mixer and beat for at least 7 minutes). 

2. Stop, scrape down the sides of the bowl, and add the flour, cornstarch, baking soda, optional salt, and mix until just combined, about 1 minute.

3. Add the M&Ms and fold in by hand.

4. Use a 2-inch cookie scoop, and make heaping mounds. 

5. Preheat oven to 350F, line a baking sheet with parchment, or spray with cooking spray. Place them on the baking sheet, spaced at least 2 inches apart. I baked mine for eight minutes total. Allow cookies to cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes before transferring to a rack to finish cooling.

6. Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to one week, and ENJOY! My lunch today may or may not have been mostly cookie dough.....;) 

Adapted from Averie Cooks

Making Meals FUN with Re-Play!

The kids have had the same old same old dinnerware since I can remember, so when Re-Play wanted to partner with me, offering their extremely colorful and durable products, not only was I ecstatic, so were Pierson and Reese! This is a family owned company who ensures that their employees are cared for, that the products are safe, and everything is created 100% with recycled material. 

You can check out their website for all of their amazing products, but a personal favorite of mine is the Sorbet Collection, with so many beautiful, pastel-like colors. They have no-spill cups, regular cups, snack stacks, utensils, and various plates. Basically everything you need for your little one's meals, this company has it!

My kids love to switch up the colors of plates and cups that they use, but if you know my daughter Reese, you KNOW that her favorite is the PURPLE! :) 

Lucky for you lovely readers, I am offering you a personal coupon for your OWN set from Re-Play! Use the code: AshleyGlass2017 and you will be given 15% off off a $20 or more purchase. This offer will expire 4/18/17 so place your order ASAP! 

A Week On Slowness, Holidays, and Double Ear Infections

HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY, Y'ALL! The teacher in me is obsessed with all things holiday, so every single month I seriously scour the calendar for what holiday I can focus on next. March is one of my favorite months, with this holiday, the beginning of official spring, and my birthday (next weekend) of course. Before I go too much further, I want to share these easy treats with you, so that if in the event you're like, "Oh shoot, I want to do something for St. Patty's Day with my kids but totally forgot!" these are beyond simple and quick to do with them. 

St. Patrick's Day Rice Krispy Treats
Inspired by Classy Clutter

Ingredients: 
1/4 cup of butter
4 cups of soft marshmallows
5 cups of Rice Krispie cereal
1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract
green food coloring
approximately 3/4 cup of Lucky Charm’s marshmallows – Reese was my helper in picking out the marshmallows from the Lucky Charms cereal box, and setting them aside in a bowl. She may or may not have snuck a few (or dozen...)

Directions: 
Melt the butter over low heat until completely melted. Slowly add marshmallows and stir often to avoid burning. When marshmallow/butter mixture is completely melted, add 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla and your green food coloring and mix well. Remove from heat and stir in your Rice Krispie cereal. Once mixture is mostly combined, stir in the Lucky Charm’s marshmallows.  

I forgot how much I like Rice Krispy Treats, making them St. Patrick's Day themed was so much fun! Now on to some more pictures from our week. It was overall pretty slow, and I didn't have a lot of motivation to do many lessons... but Pierson learned how to spell "me" and "the" and he recognizes them in books now, so that's a huge accomplishment! 

It was also the first week I've dreaded running.... such a bummer, I have been on such a high, that I always looked forward to trying to run further! I did 4 miles on the treadmill and got super discouraged from some knee/ankle pain, took the inserts out and ran 3 the next day, and that was the best post-run I've felt yet. So I'm going to attempt a short one today, and then I have a 10k TOMORROW. Yikes!! I'm telling myself I've ran 7 and didn't die, so surely I can do the 6.4 or whatever it is, right? 

And Pierson went to the doctor today. He hasn't been able to hear us well AT ALL (I'm talking, I have to be NEXT to his ear drum sometimes in order for him to hear!) and the doctor said he has a double ear infection. He's been in monthly since December with ear infections and bronchitis, so we were referred to an allergist. I had to have allergy shots monthly as a kid, so it wouldn't be a huge shocker if he's an allergy kid as well... just hoping for GOOD news, and that they won't say, "Oh yeah, he's allergic to ALL of your pets!" Prayers appreciated! 

PS: The beautiful table you see in 99% of my photos is by the incredibly talented Brent, with Louisville Farm Tables. It's been a dream of ours for a loong time to have a table such as this. It's 8-feet long, gorgeous, and we love hosting our friends and family around it!