Birthday Post: 31 Favorite Things + a $31 Amazon GIVEAWAY!

Today I turn

Ooh- that last one hurts.

Since I'm not a huge fan of odd numbers, and since 31 seems like a generally uneventful age (I felt the same way about 29 and 26... although at least 26 was even and still "mid-twenties"), I thought it would be fun to share some of my favorite things with y'all and do a little giveaway- because who doesn't love winning things?!

This list of favorites spans a lot of years- 31 to be exact.

Some of them are all-time favorites, and some are more recent.

If you're new around here, consider this a getting-to-know-me list... a little peek into the quirkiness that is- me.

And maybe you'll even find a thing or two that you need to try for yourself!

1. Book- Same Kind of Different as Me (although For the Love may beat this by the time I’m through!)

2. Movie- Dirty Dancing or Pretty Woman

3. Song- Bryan Adams’ "Summer of ‘69"

4. TV Series- Friday Night Lights & Parenthood

5. Adult Beverage- Red wine or a margarita on the rocks

6. Kid Beverage- Yoo-Hoo

7. Face Product- Clarisonic Mia 2

8. Cleaning Product- Roomba for Pets

9. Baby Product- Solly Baby Wrap

10. Place to Buy Clothes- Loft, BR Factory, J.Crew Factory

11. Candle- Bath & Body Works Eucalyptus Spearmint

12. Me-Time Activity: Bath & a book or Cooking with a glass of wine & pandora

13. Date Night- Cooking class or exploring a new place

14. Family Time Activity- Playing in the backyard or hiking

15. Music- Country or 80s-90s

16. Food- Pasta anything

17. City- London (I need to share this post one day!)

18. Flying Vacation- Our Honeymoon & Turks and Caicos Trip

19. Driving Vacation- The Inn at Palmetto Bluff

20. Day- Wedding Day & The day Ryan was born

21. Starbucks Coffee- Cinnamon Dolce Latte

22. Form of Exercise- Pilates

23. Ice-cream- Mayfield Moosetracks

24. Board Game- Scrabble

25. Game Show- Wheel of Fortune

26. Piece of Jewelry- My “R” Necklace from here

27. Season- Fall

28. Holiday- Christmas

29. Sport to Watch- Football & Tennis

30. Sport to Play- Tennis

31. Verse- Proverbs 3:5-6 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart; lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways, acknowledge Him, and He will direct your path.”

And now for the giveaway!

I didn't work this into my list, but I buy just about everything on Amazon these days. Why drive to a store when what I need can be at my doorstep in two days or less?!

So in honor of the big 3-1, today I'm giving away a $31 gift card to Amazon.

To enter, just complete the Rafflecopter below:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good luck!

Chicken & Corn Enchiladas

I made these the other day for our neighbors across the street who just had a baby and love Mexican food. It made enough for two dishes (16-18 total enchiladas), so Matt and I got to enjoy them also.

I used all mild ingredients, so this could definitely be spicier, but it did still have a little kick to it. If you like more of a spice in your enchiladas, you can use the "hot" rotel, spicy enchilada sauce (or mix in some hot sauce with the can of enchilada sauce), and trade out the cheddar cheese for pepperjack.

I also think some diced sweet onion would be great in these, but I didn't have any on hand when I made them. I know, I still can't believe it... there's a first time for everything. ;) But I'm thinking I would put it in raw before filling the tortillas so there's a little crunch with each bite, rather than tossing them in with the crockpot ingredients.

Recipe adapted from Mix & Match Mama's Beef Enchiladas

Ingredients:

2-3 chickens breasts

1 can mild rotel (10oz)

1 can green chilies (4oz)

1 can corn, drained

1 can cheddar cheese soup (10oz)

1 packet taco seasoning

1tsp minced garlic

1/2 cup chicken stock

10 flour tortillas

1 can red enchilada sauce (15oz)

2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Directions:

Dump the first 8 ingredients in the crock pot. Cook on low for 7-8 hours or on high for 5-6 hours. Shred chicken and mix all ingredients together until well blended.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease 9x11 baking dish.

Fill tortillas with chicken mixture and place inside the baking dish, seem side down. Pour enchilada sauce overtop of the tortillas. Sprinkle with cheese.

Bake for 8-10 minutes until cheese is melted and bubbly.

Serve with a side of sour cream and/or salsa.

Don't forget to come back Friday for my list of 31 favorites and a fun little giveaway! 

And if you missed Monday's post, I shared our beach week menu with links to a few of my favorite recipes. You can check that out here.

I love sharing pictures of our vacations while we're away, so if you want to follow along, you can find us @hmnelsen on Instagram, or click the camera icon below.

See you Friday!

Beach Week Menu!

We are heading out for the beach this morning! 

Matt, Ryan, Tally and I are driving down to Seagrove Beach in Florida and meeting my sister's family and my parents there for the week, and we. can't. WAIT!

The last time we were all together at the beach was on our last trip to Ortley Beach, NJ (a few block from Seaside Heights- where Jersey Shore was filmed... solid representation of my family's homestate... but I digress).

Noah wasn't even 3, Maddox wasn't born yet, Matt was wearing cargo shorts, and I had really short hair.

We just celebrated Maddox's 7th birthday, so here's to hoping we can begin a new tradition once again... because it's been way to long.

This will be Ryan's first beach experience as a walker, and Tal's first beach experience ever. ;)

We McKenzie's (my maiden name) tend to over-prepare for things, and we all like to save a dime where we can, so we have planned all of the meals and divvied up the groceries between the three of us so that they all fit in our cars.

We're basically ready for life on a deserted island.

Here's what we have planned for our dinners each night.

Night 1:

Baked Ziti with Homemade Marinara

We have our own recipe we make that I have yet to share on here, but here's a yummy one from Pioneer Woman.

I've made the sauce and have it frozen in two large ziplock bags to bring down for the trip. That way there's minimal prep once we get there.

Night 2:

Pizza & Salad

We're thinking Pizza by the Sea based on reviews from Trip Advisor, but if anyone has any other pizza spots in the Seaside, Seagrove, Watercolor area, we'd love to hear them!

Night 3:

Fig Balsamic Pork Tenderloin by Skinny Taste

This is the easiest, yummiest pork tenderloin recipe ever. It is our go-to in our house and perfect for the beach because it's only 3 ingredients! In fact, my sis already fixed the marinade, and I already have the pork trimmed and frozen for the drive down, so it will be real easy. Yeah, there's that over-prepared thing again. ;)

Night 4:

Crunchy BBQ Brisket Tacos by Mix & Match Mama

These are SO good! And the best part is it's a crock-pot meal so it can cook all day while we're at the beach/pool and make the house smell amazing when we walk back in for the night. Mmm Mmm- can't wait to share this recipe with my fam.

Night 5:

Out to Eat

As much as we all love to cook and eat in at the beach, it is fun to go out at least one night. So we picked a place (Seagrove Village MarketCafe) we found on Trip Advisor, but again, we'd love to hear other suggestions if you have any to share!

There is an ice-cream shop within walking/biking distance from our house, so you can bet we'll visit that little place every night at least a few times.

And it wouldn't be a McKenzie vacation without lots of appetizers, so we've packed our favorite crackers and cheese, balsamic glaze, honey mustard, french bread and dipping sauce, homemade pimento cheese, port wine spreadable cheese, & chips, salsa and cheese dip for our taco night.

What can I say, we all love to cook and love to eat.

Since I can't enjoy my favorite red wine or fun beach drink on this trip, I'm bringing these fancy "cocktail" waters. ;)

Thank you, La Croix.

On Wednesday of this week, I'll be sharing a recipe for some delicious crock-pot enchiladas I made the other night. It's been a minute since I've shared a new recipe on here (or have had the energy or creative drive to make one up... bless you second trimester), so I'm excited to share these with y'all!

And on Friday, in celebration of my birthday, I'll be sharing 31 of my favorite things with a fun little giveaway! So be sure to stop by and check it out.

Hope you guys have a great week!

Life Lately

Matt got home early one day last week so we could all go on a hike before dinner. And please check out Ryan's hair. I can't help but picture Dwight from The Office when it falls that way. hah.

Sweet Tal laying by Ryan's crib while he naps

Our day trip to Serenbe!

Milkshake treat at Burger 21. He loves watching them make the shakes and I'm pretty sure he would down an entire one if we let him.

How he rides in the cart at Costco. Buddy doesn't want to miss a thing. :)

Airplane park!

Ryan's mouth used to be open constantly (which is exactly how Matt was as a baby/toddler), but lately he has been closing his mouth and we feel like it makes him look like less of a baby. So Matt and I keep saying jokingly, "Open your mouth, buddy!"

Helping Nonna paint his sister's room!

This is our everyday lately

Ryan laughs to himself when he walks barefoot on the grass. I guess it tickles his feet :)

Both boys peeking at Nonna through the window while she painted. She is the BEST! At one point she came over to give kisses through the window and both Ryan and Tally started kissing/licking the window. They love their Nonna!

Books before bed. Love them.

OUT!

Ryan was determined to figure out how to pull up on this step ladder and sit by himself and then get back down... by himself. Sweet buddy made it work and managed to do it all without falling. I love watching him try to figure things out!

Papa time :)

Airplane! "pa.. pa"

:)

Ryan and Tally working on their escape plan

Hey!

Playdate at the Fickle Pickle in downtown Roswell. Their outdoor eating area is so great!

This was after that little play date. Ryan and Grant found a puddle and had a big time getting soaking wet in it. So we opted to strip before the ride home and soon after we got in the car, this sweet boy passed out. :)

Can't wait to see this sweet buddy as a big brother!

Water party in the backyard. Who knew a hose could be this much fun?!

Trying on some new denim. ;)

While on a little shopping excursion for his sister's room, I gave Ryan this candle (with a twist top lid) to hold and tap like a drum. While I was busy experimenting with some gallery wall ideas right behind the stroller, Ryan figured out how to take off the lid and had a big time exploring the inside of the candle. And of course this was a trip where I didn't stick the wipes in the bottom of the stroller. Hah. We made a quick trip to the front of the store for some paper towels and obviously ended up adding the candle to our purchases. #momfail but a funny memory.

Reynolds turns ONE! Love these two buddies!

All my people. One of my favorite parts about our house is being able to see the backyard from the kitchen window. And sometimes I have to run outside and snap a pic because I don't want to forget the sweetness.

Last Sunday, it was cool enough to wear a sweater shirt, jeans, and closed-toed shoes to church! Ahhhh, Fall. And I'm loving the fun bar bracelet we got from MOPs this year that has our theme "flourish" written on it. 

About twenty minutes into the service, we saw Ryan's number flash across the big screen. Sweet buddy was having a hard time settling in to his little class and just wanted his mama and daddy. Almost immediately after we picked him up, he was smiling and being silly again. That boo does not like to be left right now! And Matt and I laughed that we got called out of the service- our church is huge, so seeing your number come across the screen is kind of a big deal.

Lunch after church! At least we beat the lunch crowds. ;)

Nap after 1/2 church and lunch. Love watching this buddy sleep.

Fire pit and trampoline fun at Karen and Jay's! More pics from the night here

The next morning when I went to get Ryan out of his crib, he was jibber jabbering and bouncing in his crib, like he was trying to tell me all about the fun he had the night before. :)

Nonna's little meatball lighting up when Nonna came to see us

First "ball" for Ryan. Tal tried to chew the top while Ryan pounded on it. The pumpkin survived and moved to our front door.

Watching Nonna go bye bye

These two. Poor Tal gets crawled on all day and doesn't even get phased by it.

Ryan got his first pair of shoes and suddenly looked 13. He thinks they are so cool and gets excited when it's time to put them on. "shh, shh" :)

#momsquad at the park. Love these girls!

If there's water, this boy will be in it. I feel like winter might not be his favorite season. ;)

Making music with his buddy Reynolds! This was the first day that Ryan really "played" on the playground... crawling and walking all over and sliding down the slides. It was so fun to see the two of them playing together and looking so big!

"Nack" time in the "rock rock rock" chair. And Tal ever patient and hopeful for some dropped (or shared) treats

Playing with his legos after a looong morning nap. He has taken two 2+ hour morning naps in his life. One was for my mom, and the other was for Matt's mom. It's like he knows in his sleep whether I'm  home or not. ;)

Sweet Maddox wrote the cutest thank you after we celebrated his birthday. Look at who he addressed it to- love that boy!

Outside time with my buddy

Yay for FRIDAY!

Hope you guys have a great weekend!