.thank you 2012, it's been swell.

i just wanted to pop in and say 'thank you 2012, you've treated me to one of my most favorite years yet' [minus a very close 2010 when i married my best friend].

*we got pregnant and then 10 months later welcomed our sweet little boy into the world [we love you jack bugg!], we toured europe for a month, watched our best friends marry, had many fun dinners with my sister and her boyfriend in their new townhouse, and snuggled my fathers new puppy.
we have also had the pleasure of watching all of our family and friends send nothing but good vibes to our new little family of three. the support and love has been incredible.
yes, 2012 has indeed been a good year.

so good bye 2012 and welcome 2013! i can't wait to see what you have in store for us! cheers!

.kale and brussels sprout salad.

To be honest, this salad sounded rather 'interesting' the first time my husband suggested we make it. And I admit it, I was skeptical.
But after trying it, it has quickly become my newest favorite salad. So incredibly delicious. I highly urge you to think of this recipe the next time you want a new side dish with dinner. Especially when feeding a large group......I'm thinking easter, christmas, thanksgiving perhaps?
Healthy, Easy and a total crowd pleaser!!

Kale & Brussels Sprout Salad

[original recipe found here]

ingredients:

1/4 cup fresh Lemon Juice

2 tbsp Dijon Mustard

1 tbsp minced Shallot

1 small Garlic Clove, finely grated

1/4 tsp Salt, plus more for seasoning

freshly Ground Pepper

2 large bunches of Kale [about 1 1/2 pounds total], center stem discarded, leaves thinly sliced [yes, raw]

12 ounces Brussels Spouts, trimmed, finely grated or shredded with a knife [and yes, believe it or not, RAW!]
1/2 cup Purple Cabbage, finely chopped or grated [OPTIONAL]

1/2 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil, divided

1/3 cup Almonds with skins, coarsely chopped

1 cup finely grated Pecorino or Parmesan cheese

directions:

1] Combine lemon juice, dijon mustard, shallot, garlic, 1/4 tsp salt, and a pinch of pepper in a small bowl. Stir to blend; set aside to let flavors meld. This can be made way ahead of time and actually tastes better the longer it sits.

2] Mix thinly sliced kale and shredded brussels sprouts in a large bowl. I also thought that it would be nice if you wanted to add some purple cabbage for color, but this is totally optional.

3] Measure 1/2 cup oil into a cup. Spoon 1 tbsp oil from cup into a small skillet; heat oil over medium-high heat. Add almonds to skillet and stir frequently until golden brown in spots, about 2 minutes. Transfer nuts to a paper towel-lined plate. Sprinkle almonds lightly with salt.

4] Slowly whisk remaining olive oil in cup into lemon-juice mixture. Season dressing to taste with salt and pepper. 

5] Add dressing and cheese to kale mixture; toss to coat. Season lightly with salt and pepper. Garnish with almonds.

DO AHEAD: Dressing, Kale mixture, and Toasted Almonds can be prepared 8 hours ahead. Cover dressing and kale mixture separately and chill. Cover almonds and let stand at room temperature.

.well, hello there santa.

Since today is friday and I still have sooooo much to get done before the crazy christmas shananigans begin, I thought I'd share with you jack's first picture with good ol' jolly st. nick.

3 wonderful things about this picture:

1] santa sure doesn't know how to hold a 2 month old, however has great posture.

2] jack's bow tie is the same size of his face. 

3] this picture may go down in my books as the cutest picture in the universe. but then again, i am completely biased.

So whatever you believe in at this time of year, we here at the trebaczkiewicz household, want to wish you all a very Merry Chritsmas. One that's filled with peace, love and happiness. 

xo, 

The Trebaczkiewicz's 

[erinn + peter + baby jack]

.a weekend round-up in b&w.

my tuckered out sleeping angel

Well yes, it's thursday and I am finally getting around to posting this weekend roundup from our past weekend, but it was an eventful couple days and I feel like sharing. Or rather an eventful three days as Pete took off monday to help me take the wee mr in for his immunizations [i knew that this new momma wouldn't be able to go by herself and do the dirty work], which sucked by the way. It was bad watching your husband hold down your little one while your 2 month old baby screams in pain as some stranger gives him 3 needles and knowing you can't help in that moment. Gosh, It was hard. The emotions involved were intense! And i am so happy that it's over!!
But I digress......
So as the pictures with show you, we had some friends over for food and games, got dressed up all fancy and attended my work christmas party [it felt great to throw on some heels and do my hair for a change!], finished wrapping gifts, made some fresh home-made burgers [yes, peter finally got his meat grinder!], finished setting up the x.mas decorations, met my fathers new puppy - Lincoln, got our immunizations as a family [as per above. *cringe], sat on santa's lap, crafted new stockings for our mantel, and even completed a deer pillow.

We also fell in love with our new light-up gym, had some grandma and grandpa snuggles and played so hard that we fell asleep while doing so. Well, the little guy may have done these last few, but we all watched.

And tuesday was my husband's birthday.

All in all, an excellent weekend. Don'tcha just love christmas season!?

food, friends, and some games.

dressed up for a night out.

making some medium-rare burg's.

x.mas decorating.

mr. lincoln.

smiles reserved for his new light-up play gym.

new stockings to hang on the mantel.

grandma snuggles.

And amidst all the busyness, my most favourite moment of the weekend was coming home to this sleeping chubby angel right here. Best thing ever.

.happy birthday sweet man of mine.

my sweet husband's birthday is today. he is one year older and within that one year, i have fallen even that much more in love with him. he has matured into this caring, amazing father that i knew he would be and it just kills me every time i watch him interact with his son. it is the most precious thing in the world. 

he is gentle. kind. supportive. loving. patient. and even a tad bit adorable [especially with that cutie in his arms]. 

and those two. they are like two little peas-in-a-pod. jack is a complete mini peter with his mannerisms, his easy going attitude, his temper [contradiction, i know. but the temper only flairs occasionally just like his poppa's], and even with his bodily functions ;) ha.! and i am so incredibly happy about all of it. i couldn't wish for a better man for jack to follow after.

peter, you have made me and jack two incredibly lucky people to be in your life. to be your family and we both love you with all our hearts. so happy birthday sweet husband of mine. i hope you feel smothered in love, today and always. xo.

holiday wish list: the peter edition

[SHOP: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 ]

Still trying to decide what to get the men in your life for christmas? Be it a husband, brother, father, boyfriend or just a special someone, here's some very cool items that I'm sure would suit their fancy [except perhaps the meat grinder or pasta maker....that may just be something my weird wanna-be-chef husband wants ;) ]. And if your "male" doesn't like any of these, you can just re-package them up and  send it to my husband as he most certainly will accept any and all of these with pleasure.

1 | my husband is tall. like 6.2 ft tall. and the majority of that is all legs so he usually looks like he's preparing for a flood if you know what i mean. all his pj's are ankle biters so he could really use a new pair of lounge pants that fit. these are really nice and look damn comfy.

2 | these shoes are the most sexy thing i've seen in a while. i love the uniqueness of them and the element of class they bring to the table [or 'look', i should say]. a tad pricey, but will probably last the test of time. love them.

3 | my hubby has been looking for a great pair of dark washed jeans. we saw these at club monaco and decided they may just be the perfect jean. super cool stitching too!

4 | in paris, we decided to take a peek inside the burberry store. big mistake. the clothes in there are spectacular, in particular this classic burberry trench coat. my husband can't seem to get it out of his mind and has been drooling over it ever since. wouldn't this gift make me wife of the year? i think yes.

5 | yes, you see that correctly. that, my friends, is a meat grinder and peter is ridiculously excited about it. he wants to make homemade sausages, ground beef, etc....yep.

6 | my honey loves his music loud. like real loud. these noise-cancelling ear-blasting headphones would be just the ticket.
7 | a pocket flask. perfect for a little warm up while skiing.
8 | even though pete enjoys a trimmed beard [okay, i enjoy the beard and won't let him shave it] i love to spoil him with good quality skin products. especially from one of my favourite brands, biotherm. this after shave cream is heavenly when he actually does shave and he loves it.
9 | moccasins are becoming a must have in this house and the hubby needs a pair. simple as that.
10 | a pasta maker. again, peter wants to make his own pasta and well, quite frankly, this actually has me excited as well. fresh pasta?! yes please!

holiday wish list: the erinn edition.

[SHOP: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 ]

Since becoming a mommy, I really haven't bought myself anything or even thought about it much. I just keep spending my extra funds on our wee man as it's what brings me joy. Spoiling him rotten [yes, i am aware that i am slowly creating a monster!]. So when my family started asking what I'd like for Christmas, I was at a loss. I really hadn't looked at what's out this season, so this wish list of mine took a little more time than usual. That being said, here's some items that I'm totally lusting over and hoping to find under the tree.

1 | this cookbook has been on my radar for the past couple weeks. something about these two chefs and brothers screams 'interesting' to me and i really can't wait to try something from it. even the name, this is a cookbook: recipes for real life, appeals to me.

2 | isn't this sweater cute? the colors, the pattern, and the material would make for the perfect sweater. you could dress it up for work or play on the casual side. it would also be great for layering. and it reminds me of a skiing sweater, which i think is the coolest.

3 | okay, these boots i have loved pretty much since i was born. straight out the womb and i wanted a pair. and i'm not even kidding. might be time to make the purchase. black or brown?

4 | i really love this wash of denim and this cut, making this a perfect denim shirt. 

5 | such a gorgeous blanket. such a quality company. such a classic investment. i need one and this is my favourite print. 

6 | while i was worried that i would tire of the fur vest trend from last year, i find myself still drawn to a few awesome and unique cuts, like this vest.

7 | pretty much the perfect carry-all bag. 

8 | so many awesome trends going on with this sweater: military, aztec print, wool arms and simply oozing coolness. i adore it.

9 | i adore neil young. he's in my favourite top 5 musicians list. and this is his self-written auto-biography. i bet it's one hell-of-a-cool read.
10 | classic and old school, these runners are a major go-to for a new mommy. and jack has the same pair in white, so we could match! brilliant!

.smiles and a video for daddy.

our little man was full of little smiles and chatter this morning. such a little sweetie. i just can't get over his little squeal. it gets especially cute around the 1:20 mark.

yes, the video moves around a bunch, but i was a little more interested in playing with jack bugg than holding still. and please forgive all the baby talk. he just seems to love the high-pitches that his raspy-voiced momma can hardly produce.

.daryl, i think i love you.

via

want to know two little secrets about me? 

1] i am addicted to The Walking Dead.

2] and it's probably because i am utterly in love with Daryl. have been since the beginning. he is just so damn dirty sexy.

after watching the mid-season finale last night, i am quite certain i may go crazy waiting till february and wondering if my hunk will escape. i'm sure he will, but if not, i am also sure i will join the riot above.

and ps. how will i fill my sunday nights now?

**don't worry. my husband is completely aware of this issue of mine.