Shutterfly Holiday Cards

Ok, I have to confess…recently I have been obsessed with Shutterfly’s new holiday cards. They are adorable and make perfect gifts for extended family and friends! Because we have a new addition to our family, Miss Mazie Caroline, I am inspired more than ever to get these things in the mail soon to everyone we know! There are so many cute designs and above are three of my top favorites!

Now if you have already ordered your cards from Shutterfly , there are still plenty of other helpful products to complete your holiday gifts!
What about a picture calendar to send to your in-laws…a gift that keeps giving all year round!
Or some nice stationary for a friend who is getting married or pregnant and will soon have to write a ton of Thank You’s!
(I can’t tell you how expensive cute stationary was when I was looking for Thank You’s for my showers)

So whether you want Holiday Cards, Stationary, or Picture Calendars to send to family and friends this Christmas Season,
Shutterfly is the one stop shop for ALL of it!



Recipe- Shepherd's Pie

Rachael Ray's 30 minute Shepherd's Pie Recipe

Ingredients
2 pounds potatoes, such as russet, peeled and cubed
2 tablespoons sour cream or softened cream cheese
1 large egg yolk
1/2 cup cream, for a lighter version substitute vegetable or chicken broth
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, 1 turn of the pan
1 3/4 pounds ground beef or ground lamb
1 carrot, peeled and chopped
1 onion, chopped
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup beef stock or broth
2 teaspoons Worcestershire, eyeball it
1/2 cup frozen peas, a couple of handfuls
1 teaspoon sweet paprika
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves
Directions
Boil potatoes in salted water until tender, about 12 minutes. Drain potatoes and pour them into a bowl. Combine sour cream, egg yolk and cream. Add the cream mixture into potatoes and mash until potatoes are almost smooth.
While potatoes boil, preheat a large skillet over medium high heat. Add oil to hot pan with beef or lamb. Season meat with salt and pepper. Brown and crumble meat for 3 or 4 minutes. If you are using lamb and the pan is fatty, spoon away some of the drippings. Add chopped carrot and onion to the meat. Cook veggies with meat 5 minutes, stirring frequently. In a second small skillet over medium heat cook butter and flour together 2 minutes. Whisk in broth and Worcestershire sauce. Thicken gravy 1 minute. Add gravy to meat and vegetables. Stir in peas.
Preheat broiler to high. Fill a small rectangular casserole with meat and vegetable mixture. Spoon potatoes over meat evenly. Top potatoes with paprika and broil 6 to 8 inches from the heat until potatoes are evenly browned. Top casserole dish with chopped parsley and serve.

Mazie Caroline

Mazie Caroline was born in July 2010! We are so blessed to have a new baby girl! As you can tell, the first almost 5 months have been a complete blurr and I am just now blogging. I am posting some recent pictures of her and may go back track and post some older pictures...we shall see. In the past 5 months, our lives have literally been turned upside down...in a good way. We had a baby, started new jobs, moved to a new city, found a new church...I think that is it. It has been some of the most "trying" 5 months of my life (I think) but also some of the times have been the closest and dearest to my heart as I learn to unselfishly love and care for a helpless, beautiful baby girl. As she has started laughing, cooing, and giggling, I find myself feeling emotions that I didn't know I was capable of feeling. My heart and capacity to love has truly grown. I read a quote the other day...‎"Making the decision to have a child is momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body." ~Elizabeth Stone

I can honestly say that I relate to this. It is truly miraculous! I am going to use this blog to post about new things I am learning, as a mom, wife, and daughter of God. Thank you for coming along this journey with me :)