Dinnertime // Pizza Night - easy, cheap, healthy

Like every family we have our favorite dinners that we love to make often. I don't really eat meat and am trying to cut out poultry all together but I want my boys to be able to still enjoy their meals so I try to find delicious vegetarian options without going to the extreme. Everyone loves pizza, including Koji-bear but I'm not a fan of ordering from the typical delivery spots and some of the local places can be expensive. This is one of the easiest/cheapest dinners and is well-balanced for all of us plus everything is found at the local Trader Joe's!

We mix up the toppings but this is our absolute fave. Everything can be bought at Trader Joe's (including cheap wine)...here's what you will need:

1 bag Trader Joe's Pizza Dough (I buy the wheat, it tastes better)
1 bag Quattro Formaggio cheese blend
1 bag Wild Arugula
1/2 Red Onion chopped
1 lemon
Olive oil
Shaved Parmesan
1 jar Traditional Marinara Sauce
1 bottle 2-Buck Chuck (optional)

You have to let the dough sit for 20 minutes per the directions then roll or stretch out. We like to keep ours thin so we use a large cookie sheet then top with sauce and cheese. It takes about 10-15 minutes in 450 degrees and it's done...

To make the salad we toss arugula, red onion, lemon, olive oil and some shaved parmesan plus salt/pepper. After the pizza is ready throw some of the arugula salad on top and enjoy! With less than $20, you can make a simple and healthier pizza everyone will love.

Lunchtime with Koji

Onigiri + Omlette

"Chicken + Waffles" w/Potato Tower

Owl Sandwich w/Veggie Bologna

Korean Noodles + Fruit & Veggie Dog

So I've been experimenting making Koji some lunches or "special lunches" as he calls them and it's been tons of fun! I found a bunch of little adorable cutters, lunch boxes and accessories at my favorite store Daiso...so kawaii. Koji gets excited each time I make him one and tends to eat most of it probably because its mini and cute.

The best part is that it's pretty easy and fast to make! I will share more as I make them but here are a few I've made lately.

Koji Daily // n a p t i m e

And thank goodness for naps! Nap time for Koji means quiet, get shit done time for me...

Koji just turned three and he has been seriously defying nap time for some weeks now. Unless he is in the car at around 3pm, I try to lay down with him in an effort to get him to sleep but he's smarter now and knows what I am up to. When he doesn't take a nap, he will fall asleep early for bedtime which is a great thing but he seems overly exhausted and simple issues can quickly turn into dramatic displays. So I wonder...is he done with naps? Because if he is, I'm gonna need more wine.

Crisp + Cool // A Day at The Getty

what we wore //

me: H&M blazer, Tank found @Marshall's, PacSun boyfriend jeans (similar here), Nike sneakers
michael: H&M cardigan, shirt, shorts, RayBan aviators
kojiro: H&M Kids everything!

Party Inspirations: Throwing a Mini Party

Last week was Michael's big 31st birthday. Since we planned on going out the weekend of, we didn't want to do anything big on his actual birthday so Koji and I threw him a mini party! I made some simple decorations out of scrapbook paper and Koji and I bought green balloons at Party City.

I don't usually cook meat since I don't really eat it but I thought for this occasion I would make Michael something he probably misses...I got the recipe for a Wasabi Flank Steak and Miso-Glazed Potatoes from Food and Wine (click here for recipe). I modified it a bit by adding truffle oil to the potatoes and serving it with an arugula/parmesan salad, not my finest cooking moments since I have no IDEA how to cook a steak but everyone ate. To keep it easy and quick, I bought a store bought Baum Baum cake from the Korean market, added blackberries and served it with green tea ice cream. YUM. Along with some cheese and crackers, the meal was super easy, cheap and quick to make!

Check out the Vine video I made taking pictures of the camera...

We celebrated the rest of the weekend with a rugby match and Korean karaoke, not a bad way to celebrate another year.

Stylish families // @style_kin

(photos via pinterest & max wagner)

I've become a little obsessed with finding cutie photos of stylish families online and on instagram and I started compiling all my finds on a new IG account @style_kin. We ourselves love to get dresses up and matchy-matchy whenever we can just for fun!

Here are a  couple tips on styling your cutie family:

• Coordinate Colors... Match up colors with different articles of clothing and include pattern so that there is a cohesive look without being too matchy. Some easy color families to try are blush tones, greys, red-white-blue, black & white.

• Shop Together... Stores like H&M, Zara & even Forever 21 offer like styles for mom, dad and kid at great prices.
• Go Basic...if all else fails throw on some basics like an all denim look and add a pop of color or pattern with an accessory.
• SMILE!

Kojiro's Samurai Birthday

The little samurai has turned 3! To celebrate we hosted, of course, a samurai/ninja party per his request.

I did all the invitations and signage myself from a cute samurai vector I found online and had them printed. To keep the kiddies entertained we built a small obstacle course complete with an army crawl, egg and spoon walk, "lazers" and a gauntlet where the kids competed for the "best time."

The menu consisted of Japanese style treats: onigiri, rice crackers, edamame, gyozas, japanese sodas & iced coffee and master ramen chef Michael topped us off some delicious traditional style ramen!

A couple days before the party we made candy "sushi" boxes for the kids to take home. It was actually pretty easy! We used rice crispy treats, candy and black fondant sheets to decorate. I also found some bubble katana swords at my local Daiso store (best store in the world) that kept the kids entertained for a while.

No mexijap party is out complete without a pinata of course, compliments of my mom. She couldn't find a samurai ninja so she got the best next thing...spiderman! Filled with mexican candy of course.

We had such a fun day and Koji had a great time surrounded by his friends and family including his Godmother who surprised us all the way from Boston and my mom who came for the weekend.

Time to plan for the big 4! 

Or maybe we will just take a trip....

More pics on my facebook soon!