Quick and easy being very much the key in our menu planning of course, it became a bit dull and uninspiring for awhile so in the interests of getting motivated to cook again, I hit up Pinterest.

I have something like 67 boards with a hundred pins each including a quite comprehensive 'Ready Steady Cook' board of recipes that I've never actually cooked from so I decided to  start giving them ago.

One of my absolute favourites so far would have to be the mushroom, rocket and walnut pesto pan fried gnocchi. Completely delicious and pretty simple too thanks to the Thermi.

I also tried out this Mongolian slow cooker beef served with fried rice. It was super easy and tasty plus handy for leftovers for lunches.
Ideal for a Sunday dinner as you can set it and forget.

Valentines Day has never really been a big deal in our home ... we always exchange small gifts and Scott always buys me roses but that's about it. This year is different however in that I have committed myself to making every holiday a fun one for E (and subsequently us) in 2014 and beyond so with that in mind, Valentines Day is about to become a big deal in our house. Not so much on the present/gifting front but more in the decorations, crafting and themeing.

I have bought Scott a canvas print of one of our favourite photos of us sailing on Tokyo Bay during the trip we took right before we found I was pregnant with E. I can see it hanging on the big bare wall facing our bed so hopefully he agrees. In return, I have 'suggested' he gift me with the new Glasshouse Limited Edition, Hong Kong. He bought me the Kyoto version last V-Day so its really not much of a stretch but I will certainly appreciate and enjoy it.

Presents aside, thanks to pinterest I intend to master the following special Valentines Day meals/treats for E. Its a kindy day for him so we will start it with heart shaped pancakes and then I thought I could send along a small heart shaped cake to share with his class as well as some Valentines fruit pops:




Ethan and I also got crafty on Sunday afternoon as the weather was so dreary and I 'helped' him make some Valentines cards to give to his grandmothers, cousins and beloved aunty 'Kaaaarrrr-keeeee'. They were pretty simple, I just stocked up on some pre-made red cards and let E go crazy with glitter, stickers and the like. We used mostly just double sided tape to stick everything down - safe and effective. On reflection, E is probably a little young for an intensive craft effort like the session we did but he had fun and next time I will stretch it out over a few days.