Cupcakes and Commentary |

Stuffed peppers

April 16, 2019 No Comments

Our mid-week meal from last week, these stuffed peppers are healthy and delicious! Super simple to throw together and I had enough left over mix to freeze for another meal down the road. The boys both ate it really well (J better than A), and an extra stuffed pepper reheated well the next for leftovers. I served it with jasmine rice (yes the frozen kind from Whole Foods) and that was it! The peppers themselves are loaded with ground turkey, beans, corn, and tomatoes, so you don’t really need anything else:

One last note, I cut the simmering time down by about half, and they still turned out fine. I hadn’t planned for an extra thirty minutes before the oven cooking time, and so I sped up a lot of the simmering, but they ended up delicious anyway!

How was your weekend?, Philosophical Cupcakes

This and That

April 15, 2019 2 Comments

This is me midweek after getting knocked out by all the pollen.

The pollen is so bad, y’all. I’m one bronchiole spasm away from moving to the beach.

This is my new favorite coffee:

Vanilla turmeric iced latte from Arsenal coffee. It is so good!

And while our semester is winding down, I’m gearing up for future courses by testing out a new speech practice game.

And after some long work days, this is what our weekends look like:

However, our Saturday was a complete washout so the boys worked on flip books:

And then we ended the weekend setting up our new washer, since our third washer in ten years died last weekend. Being an adult is fun! Ha! Happy Monday!

Mini Cupcakes, Philosophical Cupcakes

Easter Baskets

April 11, 2019 No Comments

I kept it really simple this year for Easter baskets. Honestly, in part because the boys are getting older and I’m running out of ideas! Here is a quick breakdown of what I have in their baskets (more like buckets):

1. Kids read truth Hebrews Bible Study, for the boys to work on (with my help).

2. Summer pajamas.

3. Star Wars t-shirt.

4. Tenzi dice game.

5. Easter bunnies. These bunnies are adorable and I got them from one of our local shops (Sweet Pineapple):

6. Pokémon cards, lined sticky notes, jelly bellies, and a chocolate bunny.

We also filled the boys’ eggs with Easter Tsum Tsums and candy:

We also had to fill six eggs for an egg hunt at J’s school:

Usually we wait until the last minute to fill baskets and eggs, but this year we filled everything ahead! The boys are going to be quite excited!

Favorite Recipes, Recipes

Low carb garlic parmesan chicken bake

April 10, 2019 No Comments

On Tuesday, J’s baseball game got moved to Friday, which means we needed to move our “quick meal” of the week to Friday, and I was left without a meal for Tuesday dinner. Thanks to my following numerous bloggers on Instagram, a meal popped up that I had everything for, except the chicken. I ran by Wal-Mart on a work break and picked up a package of thin sliced chicken breast, and we were good to go. J loved this meal, A liked it only okay, but it was quick to put together and also low carb! Here’s the recipe:

Here is my collection of supplies:

I did spray the pan first with canola oil, then layered in the chicken:

Then I mixed the remaining ingredients together and topped the chicken:

In the last six minutes of baking I prepped the sides:

If you haven’t tried the frozen rice from Whole Foods it is life changing. Seriously. It’s so fluffy! Then the chicken was ready to go:

It was creamy and delicious, perfect with the rice and broccoli. It’s hard to find a casserole type meal in our house that everyone can eat, and this was a great take on a casserole!

Disney Eats, Traveling Disney Style

Disney Dining Plan Comparison

April 9, 2019 No Comments

If you didn’t know how crazy organized we are, you’re about to. When we first went to Disney as a family of four in 2016 we got the dining plan. Then for our next trip in 2017, we decided to see if the dining plan was actually worth the cost. We got the dining plan and wrote down everything we spent. Everything. All snacks, quick service, and table service. Then in 2018 we decided to not do the dining plan, and see if we ate “normally” (i.e. not trying to meet the quota of snacks and meals) what the comparison would be. B wrote down everything in an excel document and I’m happy to share our results with you!

Before we get started a few things to note. First, the price of the dining plan has changed, so always check what their latest prices are. Second, this is for two adults and two kids on the standard dining plan (2 snacks, 1 quick service, and 1 table service per night of stay).

First up, our 2017 on the dining plan table:

So on the dining plan we actually came out 223.50 ahead of the plan cost (essentially we spent more than the plan cost). And we spent everything. No quick service unused, all snacks accounted for, and plenty of character meals (always a higher cost).

Second up is our 2018 not on the dining plan table:

This time around we ate how we wanted. We didn’t always get quick service, sometimes we had snacks for lunch, and we only did one character meal (Ohana breakfast). If we had gotten the dining plan we actually would have lost $88.63. Not a big difference, but still close to $100.

So, what did we conclude? If you are planning to eat at least a quick service, table service, and two snacks per person per day the plan is a good choice. If you are planning to do a bunch of character meals the plan is a great choice. If you want to be able to pay for your food in advance and not have to worry about it when you get there the plan is an excellent choice. However, if you are doing more quick service, don’t want to worry about keeping up with how many snacks you have left to spend, and aren’t doing hardly any character meals then you may find the plan is not for you. This, obviously, is only one example, but hopefully it provides some insight into the dining plan and it’s cost!

Friday Favorites

April 5, 2019 No Comments

Even if it’s super late in the day it’s still Friday, right? The flowers are in full bloom around here, which means I took this picture before quickly going inside to avoid all the pollen. We have a full, and I mean full, day of baseball this weekend, so I’m currently mentally preparing for that. Here are some of our favorites from the week!

The home office of my dreams.

A new tee for our next Disney trip.

These penny ankle sandals are the sweetest.

Best quad exercises, to mix into my weekend workout.

The next book on my reading list.

Remedies for inflammation.

Romper, bracelet, and hat for our beach vacay.

One being a better listener.

We’re taking the train!

And finally, making this simple and delicious meal next week.

Family travels

One suitcase packing

April 4, 2019 No Comments

For our weekend trip to Nashville, I used our new Marie Kondo style of folding and managed to get all of our items in one suitcase. That’s right, four people, three sets of clothes, pajamas, and toiletries all in one spot. Here is how I arranged it:

The bottom layer was all of our clothes, then extra shoes, our noise machine, and my jewelry bag.

Then on top of that I placed our large toiletries bag, a smaller bag for hair items, my cosmetics bag, tissue box, and the pajamas I almost forgot for A. That plus a snack bag, and the boys’ backpacks were the only things we brought, and it was amazing! It was great to take a trip where it didn’t feel like we were taking half the house with us when we went!

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Family travels, How was your weekend?

Fire Tower Trail

April 1, 2019 No Comments

This is an easy incline trail on Monte Sano that we have connected through several times, but we’ve never done the entire trail on its own. Over Spring Break we headed up one afternoon to hike the trail, and roast hot dogs and marshmallows back at the State Park when we were finished. The trail is about 2.4 miles (that’s round trip), and as I said it’s a fairly easy hike. At the end of the trail (before you walk back out) is the impressive fire tower, that was used for spotters to look for fires, way back in the day. Unfortunately, we couldn’t walk all the way up because someone had graffitied inappropriate symbols all over the bunkers surrounding it. Luckily, B noticed that before the boys did and turned them around to head back out. Overall, it was a fun hike and a great way to spend the day with the boys!

Friday Favorites

March 29, 2019 No Comments

Usually the week back from Summer vacation is a tough week, but this after Spring Break has been brutal! The best part of our week was getting A out of bed to watch the nail biter Tennessee/Perdue game. Grateful for a slow weekend with one baseball practice, dinner with friends, and lots more basketball watching. Happy weekend, friends!

I love a good rainbow.

Time really does fly as you age.

One of my favorite summer shorts in railroad stripe.

And a summer top to wear with my shorts.

My favorite yoga routine of the week.

Biscuits for breakfast thus weekend.

Women make the home.

Stranger Things 3 is what we will be binge watching this summer.

Waiting for these Minnie ears to come back in stock.

And finally, styling spring wardrobe basics.

Family Style, Favorite Recipes, How was your weekend?, Philosophical Cupcakes, Seriously. Fashion. Love.

What’s Up Wednesday

March 27, 2019 No Comments

I always enjoy these monthly check-ins on my favorite blogs to follow, so I thought I’d join in on the fun!

1. What we’re eating this week:

S- freezer white chicken chili with corn bread

M- tomato soup and grilled cheese

T- freezer pork chops with sweet potatoes

W – cilantro lime chicken with brown rice

Th- penne with marinara and salad

And these AMAZING cookies:

2. What I’m reminiscing about:

Painting class with my Mom! I can’t wait to go again.

3. What I’m loving:

My new lamp in our reading corner

And my one tulip that survived the cold snap and winds out front:

4. What we’ve been up to:

Work, school, baseball

5. What I’m dreading:

The pile of papers that is about to flood my grading inbox.

6. What I’m working on:

My new Crisis Communication course I’m teaching this fall, and grading all those papers I just mentioned. I’m happiest when my inbox looks like this:

7. What I’m excited about:

Heading to the beach in just a few months!

8: What I’m watching/reading:

I’m binge watching Schitt’s Creek and it is hilarious and my new favorite show.

I’m finishing up reading A Bite Sized History of France:

And I’m really enjoying the daily study on She Reads Truth.

9. What I’m listening to:

Forver 35 Podcast & Matt Goulding’s interview on Milk Street Radio Podcast

10. What I’m wearing:

My current favorite Spring sweatshirt and jean skirt.

And my trio of Nordstrom sandals (beige, striped-updated version here, orange):

11. What I’m doing this weekend:

Dinner with friends! We’re making penne alla Betsy, salad, and crusty bread.

And we’re probably sitting at a baseball practice at some point.

12. What I’m looking forward to next month:

Easter! I’m already working on the boys’ Easter baskets and I’m particularly excited about these devotional studies I found for them (and one for me).

Bonus Question: what’s my favorite Easter side dish:

Deviled eggs, no question!

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