Quick and Easy Pasta

I love making this quick and easy pasta dish on weeknights. It's easy to make when you don't feel like making a big dinner... or when you want to ease back into making your own dinner after a week of dining out on vacation! I was spoiled! 

Martha Stewart One Pan Pasta 

Ingredients

• • 12 ounces linguine
  • 12 ounces cherry or grape tomatoes, halved or quartered if large
  • 1 onion, thinly sliced (about 2 cups)
  • 4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
  • 1/2 teaspoon red-pepper flakes
  • 2 sprigs basil, plus torn leaves for garnish
  • 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for serving
  • Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
  • 4 1/2 cups water
  • Freshly grated Parmesan cheese, for serving

Directions

1. Combine pasta, tomatoes, onion, garlic, red-pepper flakes, basil, oil, 2 teaspoons salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, and water in a large straight-sided skillet. Bring to a boil over high heat. Boil mixture, stirring and turning pasta frequently with tongs, until pasta is al dente and water has nearly evaporated, about 9 minutes.
2. Season to taste with salt and pepper, divide among 4 bowls, and garnish with basil. Serve with oil and Parmesan.

Snapshots from Vacation

We're back from the beach! This is our third year in a row of taking a late summer vacation to "30-A" (the nickname for the string of beaches along highway 30-A) and we always have so much fun. It's an easy drive from Atlanta, the water is gorgeous and it's still plenty warm out. Plus, we usually go back after school is back in session so there are hardly any crowds. Every year just gets more and more fun as Shelby gets more active and more into enjoying the beach, water and building castles! Here are a few snaps from my iPhone. I will post some of Scott's more profesh photos later.

We are here! It rained on us all the way down, but cleared up in time for us to make a quick walk to the beach on our first night there. 

The donut days of summer continue! We LOVE Charlie's Donut Truck in Alys Beach and went there way too much! Luckily you have to walk a little ways to get there and there's a playground nearby, so we didn't feel too guilty indulging in our sugary treats. 

The doggy playground in Alys Beach! We love this place! It was so fun to get a donut, iced coffee and sit outdoors and enjoy the early morning cool while Shelby played. 

We ventured into Seaside one evening and had so much fun. Every one of these little beach towns has a cute toy shop and Shelby had fun sitting on the giant duck at Duckie's. This dress... we could not get her to wear anything else. 

Swimming! Shelby was a fish at the pool. We could hardly get her away from it the entire vacation. She had so much fun practicing her new jumping, paddling and swimming skills.

I surprised her with this giant donut float one day while we were there. It was massive. Scott was such a good dad to spend all his energy and lung power to inflate it!

Sparkers on the beach at sunset. They burned out way too quickly... we will have to invest in some giant sparklers next time. 

Scott took this with his good camera - fun with long exposure! 

Good morning from the top of Fonville Hill! You can see the water from the top of this manmade play hill. Shelby had a good time running up and down the hill and playing on the playground.

One last sunset on our last evening there. We got some afternoon showers, but overall the weather was pretty good. We are already planning our next visit!

Here are some of our 30-A favorites:
Villas at Sunset Beach - we've stayed here three times in different units and love the easy beach access, free chair and umbrella set up, gulf front pool and proximity to so many restaurants.
Charlie's Donut Truck - a morning must. Homemade donuts are just a quick stroll away in scenic Alys Beach.
Fonville Press - we were addicted to their iced mocha and loved sitting at their chic outdoor seating area while we watched Shelby play.
Seacrest Sundries - I dream about their tuna melt and sweet potato fries all year. We got takeout a few times and had a sunny picnic at the pool. But it's just as much fun to eat in this cute mini-grocery/dining establishment because the owner's cute dogs Louie and Lucy come by to say hello.
Orange Leaf - we are frozen yogurt fans, no matter the place or brand.
La Cocina - loud, boisterous and perfect for dining with kids. I love their giant fish tacos - one entree is enough to feed two people!
Wild Olives - yummy outdoor dining in Rosemary Beach. They custom made my fried green tomato sandwich even though it had been taken off the menu since last year!
Shades 30A - this unassuming sports bar actually has pretty terrific food! I got my fried shrimp fix there and it did not disappoint. Lots of beer selection on tap, too.
Cowgirl Kitchen - we like to get a selection of their thin crust pizzas and take advantage of their sidewalk dining in the heart of Rosemary.
Crabby Steve's - you can only get there from walking on the beach, but the views and drinks at this fun beachy dive are worth it! I loved the crab cake sandwich and "crabby punch" cocktail.
Running and biking - to counteract my fried food indulgences, I ran about 17 miles while down there. I ran to the gorgeous WaterSound neighborhood and also ran all over Rosemary and Alys Beach. It's so pretty and scenic and you can always find some shade among the many nature paths. We rented bikes one day from Peddlers 30A and had a great experience. They had a very cool "WeeHoo" bike seat for little kids that Shelby loved.
Seaside - we ate at the food trucks and I had a delicious gourmet grilled pimiento cheese at The Meltdown. Scott tried the barbecue from Barefoot BBQ. After dinner we enjoyed a really fun outdoor improv performance from Seaside REP and got some dessert at Heavenly's. The key lime pie on a stick was to die for!
WaterColor - it rained one afternoon so we took a drive down to WaterColor and had a fantastic time at a children's art workshop making a piece of folk art to take home with us at the Blue Giraffe art gallery.

Vacation Treats

Here's another short video from vacation - Shelby and I enjoying some ice cream for dessert in Seaside.  She wore that sundress nearly every evening.  It was decorated with a nautical print of fish, crabs and shells and it twirled... a perfect beachy sundress! Seaside is so much fun. We ate dinner at their food trucks and enjoyed some after dinner entertainment from the Seaside REP - an improv show for children! Shelby thought it was great!

Shelby Swimming!

Sorry for the lack of updates lately - we were on vacation for a week at the gulf! More updates and pictures coming soon, but for now, here is a video of Shelby's big accomplishment from vacation: learning to swim! She finally built up the bravery, confidence and skill to let go and tread water. She also started jumping off the side of the pool and swimming back to the edge. We are so very proud of her!

This and That

We went to a "touch a truck" event Saturday morning. It's basically a parking lot full of all kinds of parked municipal trucks and cars that kids can climb in and out of - fire truck, mail truck, police car, school bus, etc. I thought Shelby would be really into the big trucks, but she liked the school bus and tiny mail truck the best. Here she is sitting in the firetruck. Beep beep!

Saturday night was another cruise in night, aka an excuse to eat at Local 7 and get a cupcake afterwards. Shelby liked this vintage convertible and its passengers the best, of course! 

Sunday funday at Lake Lanier - practice for our upcoming beach trip! It was gorgeous and sunny out, and the water was the perfect temperature. We accidentally left her floaty at home so we bought this $2 pink float at Publix when we stopped to pick up subs for our picnic lunch. She doesn't really like to wear floaties anymore, instead she likes to say, "I want to practice swimming!" It's kind of terrifying, but she's growing  her water skills and confidence each time we get in the water. I hope we have a confident, ready swimmer next summer! 

I love her spindly little limbs! 

Scott took this picture. I love it. It screams summer. She picked out that outfit herself - she's really into T-shirts and skorts and won't wear much of anything else. After Fourth of July, she's really into American flag everything - she loves to point them out while we're driving.

First Haircut Video

Scott shot a short video from Shelby's first haircut. She's so glamorous, don't you think? ;)

Savory Summer Pie

I made this squash and zucchini pie for dinner tonight and it was so easy and delicious! I love eating savory pies in the summer. Abundant summer vegetables like tomatoes, squash and zucchini taste so good baked up in a crust with some cheese and spices. You can find the recipe here. I also absolutely love this tomato pie recipe. The homemade crust is easy and delicious!

Slow Mo Shelby

Here's a little video Scott shot today while Shelby played outside. I love her crazy, curly hair and her chipped front tooth.