This is the Nintendo game announcements we watched this week in anticipation of new Switch games.
This is J checking out his first set of summer books from the library:
This is me trying to visualize the rug I bought for in our bedroom once we get hardwood in there:
This is B checking out the boys’ Father’s Day Cards….that they made with scented markers:
This is J helping me make snickerdoodles for Father’s Day lunch:
And finally, this was Sunday dinner:
Happy Monday, friends!
School’s out, summer vacation is here, and we’re feeling fine!
I mentioned having a few items on my list for the Vineyard Vines for Target Collection. After the big release, here are my actual purchases:
If you’re wondering if I got up super early to get these items, the answer is yes. I randomly woke up at 2:00 a.m. (B and I have being trading off with different medical issues, yay for mid-thirties), and couldn’t go back to sleep. I had a favorites list saved, and I just opened my iPad and ordered it all. The quality of the pullover and pants was heavier weight than I expected, which I appreciated for the price. I’ll probably be more likely to wear the pants in fall/winter here. The swimsuit is adorable, definitely my favorite. The shorts are great quality, but I was very glad I got the XS, because I saw an early review online. The sunnies were a wild fable purchase, and they are super fun. Anyway, now that I’ve shopped that collection, we are headed to the beach soon to have family time, beach time, and some outlet shopping time!
Every year, I make a list for outlet shopping at JCrew Factory. I typically try to find some things at the outlets for Under Armour, Aacis, Gap, and Kate Spade as well, but for JCrew Factory I make a list! JCrew Factory carries some of my favorite basics, and I like to stock up while we are there.
First up, is graphic tees. I love a good graphic tee!
Second, is the teddie sweater. Made of lighter weight cotton than JCrew’s typical merino sweater, these are wearable summer through mid-fall.
Next, low wedges. Great for trekking across campus, or going out to dinner, these are low enough you I can wear them with shorts, jeans, or some of my work pants.
Its already 95 degrees here and in the summer I love my easy pajama shorts. These come in a variety of pattens and are perfect for mixing and matching with cotton sleep tees.
I’m so excited they’ve kept their scalloped shorts! These are some of my favorites.
My old white pants are super stretched, so I’m on the hunt for a new pair.
Some of B’s favorite tees we pick up from JCrew Factory including striped and henley’s.
And finally, the boys and I always pick up fun socks for B for Father’s Day.
We are definitely all looking forward to our beach vacation! Until then the cousins are making do with trying to create an impromptu slip and slide:
This is my new Summer tea towel that I picked up online on sale from Anthropologie (it’s the cutest):
This is our redwood that we planted in the ground this fall and it is flourishing!
This is J playing catcher in his last game of the season:
He has grown so much in his playing ability this year! By the end of the season he was hitting at every at bat, and got multiple runs! Most importantly he loved playing and is excited about next season.
This is the boys with their fresh haircuts that they got at our local barbershop. They look handsome and are ready for summer vacation now!
After their haircuts we headed over to the food trucks that are set-up in our downtown during the weekends for May-August, A most enjoyed the milkshake for dessert:
Then on Saturday I ran to Costco with my sister and got one of my favorite stress free dinners:
Chicken alfredo pasta, French bread, and frozen corn. Sooooo simple, and the boys eat it up!
This is the adorable eagle J made at school:
And finally, this is J entering into the toothless club! He lost his first tooth this weekend:
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!
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!
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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B and I started out our weekend with a Friday lunch at a local pizza place:
Earth and Stone pizza. Y’all. Their pizza is so good! Check it out:
And I indulged and got a Piper and Leaf sweet front porch tea:
Then we headed to The Deep and picked up graphic novels for B and then to Ulta so I could pick up some items I had run out of and I got shade matched for the new NARS sheer glow I’ve been wanting to try:
It’s even better than I was expecting it to be! It matches my skin flawlessly and stayed on all day (note: I was also wearing Beneft 15 hour primer).
On Saturday, J had a birthday party at Spirited Art:
Which has an awesome color wall:
Then we headed to the library to pick up some books we had on hold:
And find a couple of extra ones as well:
And then on Sunday the sun finally came out and we spent as much time outside as we could:
And now it’s back to school and one more week until Spring Break!
This is B teaching the boys how to play Go:
These are my picks from our new (very close, eek!) Ulta:
Cotton swabs, NARS Bettina lip pencil, NYX creme brûlée butter gloss, MAC soft ochre painterly pot, Revlon Not Just Nudes creme palette.
These are all of our little duckling friends that we made this week:
We have thoroughly enjoyed these sweet babies:
This is the Museum of Ice Cream vanilla with rainbow sprinkles that the boys and I had for dessert:
This is how the boys spent their first time of no rain in a WEEK:
And lastly this is my favorite Sunday dinner, so easy!
Salmon from Costco, baked potatoes, pre-sliced Italian bread from Publix. Cook it all at 400 degrees, put the potatoes in for thirty minutes, then add the salmon, then in the last ten minutes of cooking add the bread wrapped in foil.
This is my Target order haul from the past week:
Since it’s been a pain-ish to get to Target right now, I’ve been adding things to my cart throughout the week and then I order it all at the beginning of the next week. I also may need to stop following so many blogs that I keep discovering new things to try.
J is reading Sarah, Plain, and Tall out loud with his reading group at school and at home to me:
This was one of my favorite books when I was his age, so I love that he’s reading it and that I get to hear it all over again!
My Mom had baby chicks hatch in her classroom this past week, and J really loved them so:
This kiddo has a heart for animals!
On Friday we braved the rain to pick up new baseball equipment for J, and for the boys to spend their Christmas and birthday money at Target:
These are the newest Elite Trainer Pokémon boxes. They were excited about them, I was excited there were two boxes!
This is the salmon sheet pan supper that is so, so easy:
Salmon, asparagus, lemon. Drizzle with a little olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper and cook at 400 degrees until done (about 12-15 minutes).
And finally, this podcast got me intrigued by A Color Story App, which I promptly downloaded and have had fun trying out!
My first in-app purchase was At Home and I love it! It creates amazing filters that look natural, but just a tad brighter, truer, better. I definitely recommend it! Have a great Monday!
This dress arrived on my doorstep this week and I’m in love! It fits perfectly, and can easily be worn for work or that date night that people talk about.
J and I finished the puzzle we’ve been working on…
And so I found him the next day with all of his imaginext items out, now that he isn’t getting up to work on the puzzle. I guess he hasn’t outgrown them quite yet:
My favorite blood orange margarita is in season at our favorite taco place:
And like everyone else in America, I’m currently finding the joy of organizing in my house (although let’s be honest, I’ve always found joy in organizing):
While I didn’t pile all my clothes on my bed, I’ve gone through all of my items in my closet and drawers, and I’m slowly dealing with the other clutter drawers in our house. I’ve also got the boys cleaning their drawers out as well! By the end of the year our house is going to be at a super organized level.
And finally, I put up our Valentines decorations, so our house feels very festive!
