Measuring Up

Thursdays have such a nice pace to them.  We have no scheduled activities beyond school so I always feel like it's a 'day off' of sorts for Sydney and I.  While Sydney was at school today I spent the morning getting a few groceries and hanging out at home, organizing a drawer here, tidying up something there, wandering through our glass-filled house with a bottle of Windex and some paper towel.  Very therapeutic, I have to say!

Sydney's class has been learning a lot about measuring things lately.  Each of the kids did an outline of their body and then measured it to see how tall they were.  Sydney has suddenly become interested in units of measurement and how tall or long things are.  Early this afternoon I had someone come to the house to take some measurements for some work that we are wanting to do on our kitchen.  As soon as Sydney saw the guy pull out his tape measure she ran to the drawer to get ours.

It was so funny watching her stretch them out over the floor all the while muttering to herself, "This is two inches, this is four inches."

This is the final result of Sydney's body tracing.  I'm thinking she didn't exactly sit still for the tracing part as the only body part I can make out on the entire thing is a hand and a dozen googly eyes glued to one end.  Either way it is another beautiful artistic creation made by the hands of Sydney!

This afternoon we decided to crack out a little craft kit that I had bought a while back and make some crepe flowers.  They were so beautiful!

We put the final result together in a vase and proudly displayed them in my office.

This week we received two Christmas cards in the mail.  I love that they arrived in March when there is typically no fun mail in our mailbox!  Both were beautiful photo cards with pictures of my friends' children, I love seeing them grow up year over year!

I bought myself a little bouquet of bright and cheery tulips today to brighten up my kitchen.  Feels like spring indeed!

Sydney decided that she wanted to take her little car out for a drive today so we strolled through the neighborhood for a little spin!

I ended the evening off by trying a fabulous new recipe for dinner, Roast Chicken with Kimchi Smashed Potatoes.

The main flavour in this dish is Kimchi, a spicy Korean cabbage.  It added so much flavour to the dish, it was so yummy!

Here's the recipe, courtesy of Epicurious,  if you want to give it a try, it's easy and quick, not too fussy and makes for a beautiful presentation on your plate! 

 Roast Chicken with Kimchi Smashed Potatoes

• 1 1/2 pounds fingerling or baby Yukon Gold potatoes
• 4 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
• Kosher salt, freshly ground pepper
• 4 large skin-on, bone-in chicken thighs (about 1 1/2 pounds total)
• 2 garlic cloves, grated
• 1 16-ounce jar Napa cabbage kimchi, drained, 1/4 cup liquid reserved
• 1 tablespoon unseasoned rice vinegar
• 4 cups trimmed bitter greens (such as mustard, mizuna, or arugula)

Preheat oven to 450°F. Toss potatoes and 1 tablespoon oil on a large rimmed baking sheet; season with salt and pepper. Roast, turning once, until browned in spots, 10-15 minutes.

Meanwhile, rub chicken with garlic and season with salt and pepper. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook chicken skin side down until golden brown and crisp, 8-10 minutes.

Arrange chicken skin side up on baking sheet among potatoes. Roast until chicken is cooked through and potatoes are tender, 15-20 minutes longer.

Using a large spoon, lightly smash potatoes. Scatter kimchi over; roast until kimchi is warm, about 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, whisk reserved kimchi liquid, vinegar, and 2 tablespoons oil in a small bowl.

Scatter greens over, drizzle with half of dressing, and toss gently. Divide among plates and drizzle with remaining dressing.

Enjoy!