Looking for the best breakfast casserole? This ham & cheese brunch bake from is the perfect dish, made with a sourdough baguette. TIP: I buy baguette at Trader Joe’s and cut into pieces and freeze so I always have on hand.

Baguette Ham Overnight Breakfast Casserole

You can also take leftover holiday ham; chop into small pieces and freeze!

This is delicious served for any holiday breakfast, or if you have a special occasion, like out of town guests for breakfast! (more…)

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Friends, I hope you had a great weekend. And enjoyed a delicious summer dessert, like this Ricotta Gnocchi with Berry Compote!

Ricotta Gnocchi with Berry Compote

Grab the recipe for the berry compote, and make these little gnocchi pillows. Such a treat. For a savory dish, try this Summer Crispy Gnocchi Salad recipe made with fresh corn, radish, green beans, and garden herbs!

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I recently saw this somewhere, and it stuck in my mind: Your kitchen is your canvas … make something of it.

Sometimes I get into a funk with my kitchen, because we’re a busy household and it can get cluttery – fast! I hate cooking in clutter, and since the kitchen is the most popular room in our house, it’s very lived in.

Your kitchen is a canvas.

Today I’m sharing a few tips that have helped me regain my love for the kitchen and desire to cook more meals, and create a sanctuary for me and my family. I do love the thought of my kitchen being a beautiful, big canvas, with so much opportunity and ways to spread love to others with food!

So why not make it pretty? We were recently up in Seattle and I bought a couple things at World Market and {one} splurge at Anthropologie (those pretty salad servers). (more…)

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This is a repeat post from last year that got so much attention, I just had to share it again for those who never saw it. And also to inspire those who may have a New Year’s goal of keeping your kid’s stuff organized this year!

For many people, part of their reluctance to invite others into their home is because of their disorganization. And I know first hand with 3 kids how the paperwork piles up! It can really get discouraging.

I’ve shared this easy system with many of my friends. Years ago my friend Anne got me started with this simple organizational system for saving my kids’ memories over the years, by filing them into a binder.

I do not have time to scrapbook so this method gets the job done!

Now my kids spend hours looking through their books! It’s worth the extra effort to be organized! I’d rather my kids’ thumb through their books than watch a mindless T.V. show!

Supplies

• 2″ white binders from Costco (4 in a pack)
• Scrapbook paper (or plain colored paper)
• 1 box sheet protectors

Starting with Pre-K, I have saved art, special memories, class pictures, sports awards, first book report, every report card, articles their dad has written – you name it, and have filed these papers into these books.

Thank you notes from special people

A letter to a teacher

What to wear on a field trip

Moving up to high school

Congrats on driver’s license

10-day backpack trip

Abby’s fist time away to camp

Sports pictures

Accomplishments

Special school speeches

Annual family Christmas letters

Abby’s first post right here on RE

You get the idea …

How to make a memory binder book:

Start with younger years and move forward (Pre-K is when I started)
Create a binder for every 2 years (depending on how much you need to file)
Slip memories into sheet protectors, sometimes folding in ½ or however you can preserve it

Slip artwork into the front cover, or use a fun piece of scrapbook paper
Make a side label with child’s name and year(s)

When my kids get old enough, these books will become their memories to keep!

For now, they are mine, and I find myself occasionally thumbing through them too. Of course I get a bit sentimental!

What’s the secret to this easy system? Have your books ready, so when the stuff comes home you can slip it right into the book!

Do you have an organized system for keeping your kids’ memories? Or, if you saw this post last year and implemented it, I’d love to hear how it’s working for you?

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