Easter Weekend

Monday, Monday, Monday. I am not a fan of Monday's. They are really tough to get through.


Reflecting on the weekend is going to be great for my psyche.


This past weekend was Easter. I love Easter especially with a 5 year old. She was a blast to watch this year. More involved than I have ever seen her before.


Saturday we travelled to Butchies Pool to do a special egg hunt and take pictures with happy the Otter.

She ran all over the place looking for those eggs. It was just as fun for me to watch her as it was for her to look for them.


The evening was pretty relaxing. Luke came over and Brian took him fishing. I love where we live. Look how relaxing their little fishing spot is. Next time I run I think I am going to go this way. What great scenery to look at while running.

Sunday morning, Averie, Brian, Luke and I all woke up and got ready to go to my Mom and Dad's for Easter. Spending time with family here I come. We ate a yummy breakfast of eggs, bacon, potatoes, English muffins, and fruit. It was so good!!!

Next up was opening Easter baskets and an egg hunt. Ms. Averie's eggs we just put in the lawn and the adults eggs are hidden really well. They have to be, they are all filled with lottery tickets. I love that my Mom does this every year. It's a feel good time.



Then there was egg hunting. She did so well, until she realized that they had something in them. Then she slowed down a bit to explore the contents of the eggs. My little girl is so sweet.

That was Easter folks. Onto another week of work and meal planning. Which is a day behind by the way. I was so happy to be hanging out with family that I did not get any house stuff done. I will take care of that tonight though. Have a great Monday!

Things I am loving Friday #2

Good Morning, and it is FRIDAY! I am ready for the freakin weekend.


I am loving so many things lately that it is hard narrowing it down. But here it goes.

• Justin's Peanut Butter. This is what I have been eating as a midday snack. It's so good with apples or crackers. It is my favorite right now.

                

• Trader Joe's Mac and Cheese. I could eat 5 of these a week. Literally 5! They especially make a great work lunch. Warm and cheesy!

• Dirty Martini's. The Hubs and I went to Malabar last week for Happy Hour and this was a much needed cocktail and break for us both. I love our new routine on Thursdays. It is time for him and I to unwind and just talk. Which is nice. No audience and no little one. I miss connecting with  him. 

I hope everyone is ready for Easter weekend. It is this Sunday and that means that Averie, Brian and I  are going to be spending time with family. One of my favorite things in the world to do is spend time with family. I can't wait to see Averie in her easter dress, and egg hunt in my parents backyard.

Well I hope everyone else has a great Easter weekend. I have many things to plan and only 2 days left. So off I go.  



What I ate Wednesday 3/23/16

Happy Thursday, I hope everyone is ready for another installation of What I Ate Wednesday. I love these posts. I love following what I ate for a day. Maybe that has to do with the slight case of OCD that I have.


Breakfast was a delicious cup of coffee.

I had lunch with Leah at Chevy's and ordered Tortilla soup and a side salad. To the left there is a tall glass of Dos Equis Amber as well. A must when eating at Chevy's with friends.

Dinner was Caprese Lasagna Roll ups, and they were so yummers. Thanks to my meal planning I had everything ready to go and was able to throw dinner together with ease.



Well I am off to find other, What I ate Wednesday's. I love getting ideas from other bloggers.

Getting through Wednesday

I hope everyone is having a great Wednesday morning.


I am a busy lady today. There is work, yep I have to do that. Then I have lunch plans with Leah, a friend of mine from the softball team when I was on the Board at Sheldon. I am very much looking forward to lunch. We are going to Chevy's on the River, and this mama is ordering a drink.


Tonight I am making Caprese Lasagna Roll ups. This is one of my favorite recipes and it packs up well for work. If you want to give it a whirl, here is the recipe. Doesn't it look yummy.

Caprese Lasagna Roll Ups

  

Ingredients

• 8 lasagna noodles, uncooked
• 14 oz freshly shredded, low-moisture part skim Mozzarella cheese, divided
• 3/4 cup Ricotta cheese
• 1 large egg white
• 1/3 cup freshly, finely shredded Parmesan cheese (about 1 1/4 oz)
• freshly ground black pepper
• 3 - 4 medium Roma tomatoes, thinly sliced (about 1/6 inch thick slices)
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil, plus more for garnish
• 1 cup marinara sauce, recipe follows
Simple Marinara Sauce
• 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4 cup finely chopped yellow onion
• 2 cloves garlic finely minced
• 1 (28 oz) can crushed tomatoes
• salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Directions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cook pasta according to directions listed on package to al dente. Drain pasta (DO NOT rinse with water) and align lasagna noodles in a single layer on a large sheet of parchment or wax paper.
• For filling, in a large mixing bowl, whisk together ricotta cheese and egg white until well blended. Stir in Parmesan cheese. Mix in 12 oz. of the Mozzarella cheese and season with black pepper to taste (I wouldn't recommend seasoning with salt just because the cheeses already have plenty of salt).
• Place 1/4 cup of the cheese mixture over each lasagna noodle and spread into an even layer, going from one end of the lasagna to the other. Align 4 thin tomato slices over cheese mixture then sprinkle fresh basil over top. Snugly roll lasagna noodles to opposite end. Spread about 1/4 cup pasta sauce in the bottom of an 11 x 7 inch baking dish. Align lasagna roll ups, seam side down in dish. Top each roll up with about 2 Tbsp of the pasta sauce (covering edges of pasta so they don't dry out while baking). Sprinkle top with remaining 2 oz. shredded Mozzarella. Bake in preheated oven 30 minutes. Remove from oven, plate pasta and garnish with plenty of basil ribbons. Serve warm.

 Is anyone else ready for the weekend on a Wednesday. Oh man I have a long week ahead of me. Well I hope you all have a great rest of the day, and I can't wait to share my What I ate Wednesday with you all.

Country Crock and Influenster

This is a post for a product that I received from Influenster. They sent me a coupon in the mail for a free tub of Country Crock butter.

Now I don't normally use Country Crock, but why not give it a whirl. I opted for the Original and decided to use it for a day of baking craziness. So off I go.

First up. Bethenny Frankel's Boo Boo Banana Bread. This is my favorite Banana Bread recipe! It is easy and it's super healthy.

Ingredients

·  1 cup raw sugar
·  1 tablespoon butter (Country Crock)
·  1 cup mashed over ripe bananas (2 or 3)
·  1 egg
·  1 teaspoon real vanilla extract
·  1 cup oat flour
·  ¾ teaspoon baking powder
·  ½ teaspoon baking soda
·  ¼ teaspoon salt
·  ½ cup semisweet chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and mix well.
3. Cut a piece of parchment paper to fit the bottom of a loaf pan.
4. Put it in the bottom of the pan and spray it with cooking spray.
5. Pour in the batter and cover it loosely with foil. Bake for 30 minutes.
6. Cool completely, then slice and serve.

This bread does not last a day in my house. I guess I should invest in another loaf pan, and make two. Time to double the recipe. Next on my list is Brownie Cookies.  

Ingredients

– ½ cup butter (Country Crock)
– 1 ½ cups raw sugar
– ½ banana, mashed
– 2 teaspoons real vanilla extract
– 2 cups oat flour
– ⅔ cup cocoa powder
– ¾ teaspoon baking soda
– ¼ teaspoon salt
– 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
* Makes about 24 small or 12 large cookies

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. In a large bowl, beat the butter, sugar, banana, and vanilla extract with a hand mixer until light and fluffy.
2. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. Stir the flour mixture into the butter mixture until well blended. Stir in the chocolate chips. Drop by rounded teaspoonful's onto ungreased baking sheets.
3. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, or until set. Cool slightly on the baking sheets before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.


Try both of these recipes and use Country Crock, they are both moist and delicious.



Weekend recap

Happy Monday, and I hope that everyone had a terrific weekend.


I can honestly say mine was pretty uneventful. I won't say relaxing cause I don't feel relaxed at all, even now. On Saturday we ran around a little bit. Typical weekend stuff, the grocery store, the bank, Brian's parents house, and then back home. I cleaned on Saturday, and baked a little. I love cooking and baking. I wish I could do it more and under different circumstances. Having a toddler pull at you makes it just a smidge stressful. She has started to help, but for her to do that it requires a little more planning on my part.


Sunday was spent lounging around the house, and more cleaning. I did finish up my gallery wall. I love how it turned out, and there is still room to grow. The "K" really completes it right!?

Oh on Sunday I did clean out my car. I even had help. Isn't she the sweetest. She always wants to be my helper, and that is a quality I hope never goes away. However.......

I do hope that this quality goes away. This was not her finest moment. We spent ten minutes picking these goldfish up, while singing the clean up song. Why is it that this song motivates my child to clean up? I guess I shouldn't question it and just be grateful.

We did manage to go out in the evening, but that was just a quick run to the store to grab a couple of items that we missed on Saturday. One of which was another case of Guinness Blonde. They are so good, and I felt like I needed to be rewarded. During this car trip the little one fell asleep. She is so peaceful when she is sleeping.


Well we are ready for another week. Averie is on Spring Break and Brian and I are into another work week. That means we are onto Meal Plan #2. I am really enjoying this part of my weekend. It takes a lot of thinking off my plate during the week.

One Week Meal Plan:

Monday - Pesto Chicken with Zucchini

Tuesday - Slow Cooker Cilantro Lime Chicken

Wednesday - Hamburgers

Thursday - Caprese Lasagna Roll-ups
Friday - Pizza on Homemade dough

Things I am Loving Friday #1

Good Morning everyone, and I hope you all had a great St Patrick's Day. I managed to hunt down a Guinness that even I would enjoy drinking. The night was made complete with my Guinness Blonde and Lucky Shirt. There is a lot planned for the weekend, and I am excited to have a couple days off to spend with my family.


I am excited to share my first, "Things I am Loving Friday." I feel like it has been a long time coming, considering I love sharing the things I love especially on a Friday. Ready, Set, Go!

Things I am Loving!

• Influenster

I love getting things in the mail. Well, not bills, those I don't love. Influenster is the best. This specific envelope was a campaign for Country Crock butter. I know how lame I sound, but I was really excited to be apart of this campaign for butter. I am planning on making Banana bread this weekend with it. Should be all sorts of yummy!

• My Lilly Pulitzer Agenda

Where would I be without this thing. It is a mess inside ,that is why the photo is of the beautiful cover and not the contents. This specific one is a 2015/2016 calendar years, so it is a crazy mess inside.   

• Parenthood

I am addicted to this show. This is my second time watching the series. It will make you cry, smile till your cheeks hurt, and laugh! It's crazy home much of it I can relate to. I catch myself staying up until all hours of the night engrossed in episode after episode.

• My Keurig

I posted this on Instagram about a month back when I originally purchased it, and I have been in love since. I bought it cause I noticed that on the weekends I was only drinking a cup of coffee out of the pot that I would make. I thought it would be more economical to buy a Keurig, a cup of coffee would cost me $1.00. But... now I find that I make multiple cups of coffee with it. I am currently hooked on Starbucks Mocha pods. Yumm.


Well that's the end of my first, Things I am Loving Friday!!! How exciting and fun. I cannot wait until next Friday.

What I ate Wednesday 3/16/16

Happy St. Patrick's Day everyone. I hope that everyone's day started well, and you have a cup of coffee in hand. I am not sure how "What I ate Wednesday's" are suppose to work, but posting on Thursday seems to be the only way for me. Unless I post Wednesday night. CONFESSION: I eat until about 9-10 at night, so that would be tough.


Wednesday was not a great day for my diet. Meaning, I didn't eat a whole lot. But here it is....


Coffee of course!

No Breakfast for this girl. I am just not much of a breakfast person. I did have a before lunch snack.

Now this is only considered a snack if I have lunch. Which I did not. *sad face* Call it what you want, but I was just LAZY!

So I decided to snack for the rest of the work day.

They are all pretty healthy snacks. Not pictured cause I didn't want any evidence on the blog that these were actually consumed. Is a mini size bag of peanut M&M's. towards the end of the day I start to drag and so a chocolate boost is required!

For dinner Grammy took Brian, myself and Averie out. We went to the Elephant bar and it was so good. I had the soup and salad combo. Onion Soup, which was not my favorite, and a garden salad. I am picky about my onion soup. It has to be the perfect combination of salty and sweet. this one was a little on the too sweet side.

Well it is Saint Patrick's day and the inevitable is going to happen at some point today. I will cry, why you ask? Because this time last year I was in North Carolina visiting Amber and the babies. I miss them and wish I could be there again this year. Maybe I will reminisce with a post later. I have a pretty busy day ahead of me can't wait to share everything that is happening. Until then.

Have a great ST. Patty's day





Apps I am Lovin'

Good Morning and I hope that everyone's Wednesday is off to a good start. I have a cup of coffee in hand, so I am almost coherent. Let's get to straight to business.


I have noticed lately that I am specifically reading blogs with one thing in mind. I am looking for all the different kinds of applications that other bloggers use in their daily lives. Whether its a shopping app, or a photo editing app, it doesn't matter. I am just looking for those apps out there that are going to help me, and make life easier. Since this is something that I actively try to find on other blogs. I thought it might be a good idea to make a list of some of my favorite apps and share them with you all.

• INFLUENSTER - This is a free program where you take tiny surveys and obtain badges on their website in order to qualify to receive a free box of samples (sometimes even full sized products too!). I have only received one box so far, but I am on the short list for their next one. They also campaign for products. The current campaign is Country Crock. I should be receiving a coupon for a free one in the mail soon, you go pick it up at your local store and then provide reviews of the product on Influenster.

                           

•  SHOPKICK - Shopkick is a shopping app that shows you the best deals and popular products at stores like Macy's, Best Buy, American Eagle, JCPenney, Sports Authority, and many more. And it rewards you with kicks (like rewards points) just for walking in the door. Get even more kicks when you scan items and make purchases. Redeem your kicks for gift cards for your favorite stores. As you can see I have 4,026 kicks. I could cash those in now for a $10 gift card of my choosing. But I am holding out. The most you can get is $100, and that would mean I need 10,000 kicks. Patience is key with this one.

•  FLIPAGRAM - A sharing app that has one sole purpose, to help you make short movies out of your images. You can link up your Instagram account and pull directly from it, which makes for a neat way to rediscover old pictures you may have already forgotten about. I do this every year as a recap. Below is the one I did for 2015.

• BLOGLOVIN - How could you not love Bloglovin. Bloglovin is a tool for keeping up with blogs — a way to manage feeds. When you create an account, you can follow any blogger on any platform. This is my favorite way to browse.

• iWatermark - This is one of those apps that another fellow blogger turned me onto. I am trying to get in the habit of watermarking my p[pictures. Especially the ones of my little girl. It is taking some time to get used to, and I catch myself often inserting pictures into blogs and then having to go back and delete them cause they aren't watermarked.

• Last but certainly not least. PICLAB - Add beautiful typography & artwork, apply stunning filters and photo effects, and add an ever-growing collection of shapes, light FX, textures, borders, patterns, and more to your photos and share them to your favorite social networks! 

There are so many more apps that I use on a daily basis. I guess maybe this will have a part 2 at some point.


I hope everyone has a great Wednesday!

back to work and a weekend recap

Good Morning everyone! I hope y'all are ready for Monday. I am back to work and feeling pretty good. I am currently sorting through work emails, and drinking a large cup of coffee. There is something relaxing about being at work before everyone else and just going through the motions.

Let's recap on the weekend.

Saturday, Averie and I just hung around the house. I cleaned a lot, and we read books and played games, and of course watched cartoons. The rainy weather limits us, so we have to make do with inside activities. I made Averie tuna salad for lunch and we had a cupcake for dessert. Yummy right! Dinner was not planned, so Brian used the buy one get one Chipotle coupon we got in the mail last week. What a deal, I think he walked away paying 8 bucks for dinner for the three of us. STEAL! Then I planned my blogging for the week (applause), watched a little TV and off to bed we went.

Sunday was busy, busy. I woke up with Averie @ 5:30am, wait.... 6:30am. Time change is a stinker I tell you. I went to bed late on Saturday, so waking up at 6:30am meant I needed coffee, and lots of it.  I made breakfast, which we ate in the living room. Once the wave of breakfast ended and was cleaned up I gave Averie a bath.

Once we were dressed the day could begin. First stop Walmart for some necessities. Then back home to prep dinner, make Minestrone soup for the upcoming week, and organize our backpacks. I put Brian to work on hanging more pictures around the house, and cleaning out the garage. Things that have to get done eventually.

Averie and I read books late in the afternoon, and by golly she fell asleep. So what did I do..... funny you should ask. I relaxed for what seemed like hours, but really was only about 30 minutes. This is what happens when I relax. I snack and I watch television and read a magazine all at the same time. Just trying to fit it all in people. *laughs*

 

Later that evening my parents stopped by, and brought me flowers. I love when family visits. I love entertaining. I had made a lot of chicken for dinner so I invited them to stay. So we ate Teriyaki Chicken. I think they were impressed how good it looked and tasted. I guess they didn't know that I am not to shabby in the kitchen.

This recipe has been a staple in my rotation for months now. I think the sesame seeds and scallions make the dish. It just looks all fancy. It was nice to talk to my parents and catch up. I guess this is one perk of us living closer. Random drop-ins by loved ones. After my folks left, It was back to preparing for the week ahead. Meal planning, and finishing up laundry. 

One Week Meal Plan:

Monday - Pork Tenderloin with Fingerling Potatoes

Tuesday - Fajitas 

Wednesday - Slow Cooker Bruschetta Chicken 

Thursday - Tortellini with Sauteed Zucchini
Friday - Pizza on Homemade dough

I have to say that the only reason I got into meal planning is because of my best friend Amber. This time last year I went to visit her in North Carolina and every week she would meal plan and then shop for the things that she would need. I thought to myself, what a great idea, and a time saver. To this day I love it when she texts me her meal plan for the week. It is also a great way to share recipes, which we also do. Actually the Minestrone recipe that I used over the weekend is one that she passed down to me. It is easy and delicious. 

Well I think I covered everything that went on this past weekend plus some. 

Have a great Monday everyone!