Just a Monday
I think the Pilot loves being in Tucson as much as I do. After he got off work, he stopped by my mom’s house to say hi, and she was cooking a feast.
Baked gnocchi with vodka sauce and cheese
homemade meatballs
cheesy bread
and a Bundt cake.
You know, Monday night fare 😉
He came home and said “Did you make dinner yet? Your mom is making a feast… want to go over there?”
Of course I did.
So we got dressed, grabbed Bell and headed over to the madre’s.
[I enjoyed a goat cheese salad and veggie sandwich. Madre always makes enough food for an army, but I’ll usually bring a veggie or gluten-free option over. Pretty much everyone in the family has a key to her house, so you never know who will be there. I love it]
The fun part of the night was when she busted out a bunch of stockings and puffy paint for us to each decorate:
The Pilot made a stocking for the two of us:
He has mad skillz, and was covered in glitter a la Edward Cullen. I like that.
I decorated a stocking for the baby- here’s the top part of it:
The arts and crafts project gave me flashbacks of high school student council. I’ve used a lot of puffy paint in my day 😉
Holiday music, the boys being goofballs, belly rubs from the madre.. it was a very good night.
We actually have to cover our pipes and leave a little bit of water running tonight because there’s a freeze warning!
Brrrr.
See ya in the morning with 10 Ways to Make December Divine <3
xoxo
Gina
Workout quickie: Too cold to venture outdoors for a workout? Try this short at-home cardio routine, which I made exactly this time last year. Short and sweaty!
Post Navigation:
How my workouts have changed- 3rd trimester → ← 10 ways to make it a divine December67 Comments
Leave a Comment
This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
Look at that beautiful belly!!
Ah! Not a fan of the freeze warnings. Tom is a talented stocking decorator!
isn’t he? i was impressed! he’s artistic like that, though 🙂
Did you say… VODKA sauce? You did, right?
I can’t even imagine….
You can’t taste the vodka in any capacity. It’s a tomato cream sauce with vodka. The vodka is used to bring out the flavor of the tomatoes, it doesn’t really give any alcoholic taste.
I love those stockings! You look gorgeous, and the food looks delicious! Glad you had such a fun night!
Wowee! That feast looks amazing! I’ve never had gnocchi. Is it like a thick potato pasta or something like that? It looks delicious, whatever it is! And you and Pilot are so cute! Your stocking came out great!
it’s like a little pasta dumpling made out of potato, flour and egg 🙂
Aww that’s so sweet that you just hopped on over to your mama’s house…now THAT’S the ticket if you can score that kinda deal: mom cooks and you don’t have to but still get to see everyone. Sounds like a plan to me!
And I’ve used a lot of puffy paint in my day, too. Oh, the memories!
Your family seems very similar to mine. We all have a key to my grandma’s house and go over there often. My favorite is Thursdays because I know she is making homemade tacos! I love that feeling of being surrounded by family and being able to hangout with the ones you love at the drop of a hat!
there’s nothing like it 🙂
I love the stockings! That’s awesome! I cannot even believe the amount of food you Mom made. That is just way over the top.
Such cute stockings! I’d say both you and top are talented decorators – to think you did that all without a stencil, I’m impressed.
Your momma, food, holiday cheer, and a round belly with a darling girl counting down her days. I’d say your cup runneth over, my friend!
amen to that. i’m very thankful <3
“There’s a hole in this cake…”
what is it?
a bundt.
a bonk?
bundt. bundT.
it’s a cake….
oh, it’s a CAKE!
🙂
YESSSSSSSSS. “thas ok, i make lamb”
hahah!
and inside the lump they found teeth and a spinal cord. yes, inside the lump, was my twin.
bahahaha i am dying. i never used to think i liked that movie, but it is seriously one of the FUNNIEST ive ever seen.
me too- i watch it every time it’s on tv!
“Oh, Toula… EAT something.”
We told her the war was over but Grandma still slept with a knife under her pillow.
hahaha omg just thinking about the grandma makes me laugh. she was hilarious
“Give me a word, any word, and I will tell you that the root of that word is Greek”
Your shopping rut is definitely not showing in that pic – I think you look fab!
thanks girl- that’s sweet to hear when you feel kinda blah, ya know?
xoxox
LOVE the pic of you two !! You really are a gorgeous pregnant gal ! (:
I love that your mom had stockings for everyone to decorate with puffy paint. We used to have a huge beach bag full of puffy paint for crafts growing up. I have tons of crazy t-shirts I decorated with it. 🙂
Definitely going to try your at-home cardio routine this evening. Thanks lady.
Can you share your mom’s recipe? It looks fabulous!
i’ll ask her 🙂
You are looking so beautiful, just wanted to let you know!
thank you, friend <3
Oh my gosh, I can’t believe your mom just cooks up a feast like that on just an average Monday night! It looks amazing!
How fun! That’s so cute that you live close to your momma and can drop by at any time… Any type of arts and crafts, I’m sold!
P.S. Will your momma share her gnocchi recipe?! Looks delic 😀
i’ll definitely ask her!
Your belly is so cute! And that food looks amazing.
That sounds like an amazing Monday night! I love that workout quickie, by the way. I found it on Youtube a while ago and use it often when I don’t have the time (or the resolve) for a longer workout!
What a nice Monday. I also live really close to my family, and love being able to stop by my parents’ place for dinners. 🙂
Your mom seriously outdid herself. Dinner was quite the feast!
she is a cooking ninja 🙂
Geesh girl, indulge a little! That meal looks delicious!
it looked GLORIOUS! gluten and dairy upset my stomach, so i stay away from it for the most part, and it wasn’t worth it to me to be sick all night last night. if it were a special occasion, i would have had some cake, but really needed to get a full night’s sleep instead of tossing and turning from stomach ache.
madre is a sweetheart and will make gluten-free treats for me to have, too 🙂 last week she made… gluten-free peppermint espresso brownies. i love her 🙂
that really sounds like the most perfect evening ever. i love family get togethers, even when its random. your mom sounds a lot like my mom and grandmother- always cooking, baking, and feeding others ! i already do it too.. considering i made 13 things for thanksgiving and it wasn’t even at my house hahaha!
haha i think it’s a genetic trait that’s passed down
Nights like that make me wish that we lived closer to my family. We’re only eight hours away…but can’t do pop-ins!!
That’s probably the nicest stocking I’ve seen a man make lol. I wish I lived closer to my mom so that I could get in on a feast whenever I wanted.
I love how close your family is – reminds me a lot of mine!
You look absolutely GLOWING, Gina! Love the baby bump! 🙂
How cute is it that the pilot just stops by your mom’s to say hi?!?! Adorable. it sounds like he fits in perfectly with your fam!!
Cute stockings!! Love that you guys are so close to your fam…and thus always have 2 choices for dinner 🙂
The low last night here was around -7 before windchill…and it’s just the very beginning of winter, ugh!!
I think it’s crazy that you have a freeze warning and need to cover your pipes. I grew up in Iowa and we never really even worried about that till it was January and we hadn’t been above 0 in a few days. Maybe better insulation in houses there?
That is so great that the Pilot stops by your Mom’s house like that! Isn’t it wonderful that he is so close to your family? You look great! She will be here before you know it!
it’s awesome- the pilot has seriously been adopted into the family 🙂
thank you <3 yes, so soon!!
Wow, that stuff looks SO delicious (I love gnocchi)…. I’d be a little sad not to indulge in, or at least sample, my parents’ food. But then again, my parents are much older, and I don’t know how many more opportunities I will have.
Love the stockings! You have some great decorating skills! haha. Mine need a bit … I lied, a lot of help!
My mother always cooks too much as well, haha. But if she made a feast, I certainly wouldn’t choose a veggie sandwich and a salad over her meal!
i love how mom’s do that- mine cooks a feast for at least 12 people every night 🙂
it’s not like i didn’t want to eat it, i didn’t want to be sick from all the gluten and cheese. she knows how those foods make me feel, but didn’t know we were coming over until the last minute. instead of showing up hungry with no veggies or gf options for dinner, i just brought a little something along. nbd
if she would have made chicken meatballs instead of beef (which she does often) i would have been all over those 🙂
Excuse my ignorance, but what do chicken/beef have to do with gluten/dairy?
it would have been an option that i would have eaten, that’s all. they’re not related
Omigosh I can see why the pilot loves being close to your mom (for many reasons I’m sure) but that is quite the feast!!! I can’t believe that’s just an average night! And how fun that she gave you all stockings to decorate! I’m impressed with your puffy paint abilities though– I was always horrible with the stuff!
You have such a cute belly 🙂
Can you tell me where that tank you’re wearing is from? I am still in my regular tanks (thank goodness because I wear them under everything!), but I know I will need some that will fit over my belly as it keeps growing.
thank you!
it’s from target maternity. i wear it all the time because it’s nice and long 🙂
So lucky!! My parents live in town and my hubs would never just swing by my parents house. You’re moms’ is exactly how I want my home to be when my babies are older!!! Happy Holidays!!
we call it “the hub.” everyone knows just to go over there- i really love it, and like you, hope that our house is like that one day
Please please post the recipes for this feast!! I’ve been wanting to make baked gnocchi. And the cake recipe wouldn’t hurt either 🙂
i’ll definitely ask her, but no one in my family uses recipes. they just make things, so unless you watch, you never know how they did it
Best Monday ever! That dinner looks so good, and just being with family, doing Christmasy arts and crafts makes me very happy for you. I am 2,000 miles from my family, but hope one day I will be near enough for spontaneous Monday night dinners. I am so glad that you are finally near your family! 🙂