Friday, October 29. 2021

Linking up with Andrea, etc. for everyones’ favorite link up!

I had another busy, but good week. Here are some faves from my camera roll with a bit of a re-cap of the week.

How was yours? I hope it was great! October sure went by too quickly for me. I love November, but I kinda dread the winter that comes after the holidays.

I usually get my hair highlighted every 8ish weeks on a Saturday morning. I love my stylist, Laura. This time I had to do a Tuesday afternoon after school and a meeting.

Before (See all those dark roots?):

After:

I still only have a few grey hairs, thankfully.

I received Pioneer Woman Christmas already!

Erica (my co-worker and lunch partner) made a fabulous stir fry meal this week.

I made sweet potato lasagna again!

I found this really motivating!

I forgot to tell you during my Hello Monday post that we went to a breast cancer fundraiser on Sunday where they catapult pumpkins into the river.

These are the targets.

It was a nice afternoon and we got to see some people, too!

I bought a charcuterie board on a lazy Susan! I found it at World Market and have been wanting one for forever! But, DO NOT spin it too fast. I spun it like I was on Wheel of Fortune the first time. Lesson learned.

Erica also made a stuffed acorn squash this week. She made homemade chicken sausage, rice, mushrooms, spices, and a bit of cheese. It was out of this world – restaurant quality. I’m starting to think I’m getting the better end of this lunch deal!

This is my sweet Spanish Club! I guess it’s not really mine but I am leading it this year. These kids are willing to hang out after school because they love Spanish? We met outside again because it is just safer and easier with Covid. Also, we got so lucky on the weather!

We have a student who is a real recording artist already. His family is from Puerto Rico. He agreed to sing 3 songs in Spanish for our club! It was so fun and the kids danced and showed him the love.

Then, one of our Spanish teachers did a live guacamole demo and we ate the fruits of his labor.

All the meetings I had last week did nothing to directly impact the kids. THIS is what directly impacts the kids!

Mason texted to see if I wanted to hang out and get a late lunch/early dinner after school. I kinda have a loose policy to always say YES when it comes to this kinda stuff!

Mason is a foodie and didn’t care where we went. I had talked and talked about Red Hog and finally got to show him. I ordered a ginger based mocktail for him and a really spicy cocktail for me.

Um… this ended up being my dinner. Their fries and curry mayo are good! I ate way too many so that was it for me for the rest of the day.

Mason ordered a Cuban sandwich and had lots left to take back.

Jack probably wouldn’t text me like this but he did a couple of times last year. Also, Jack is super busy this semester. I would like to hang with Jack soon and maybe I will ask him!

Leave me your highlight in the comments and thanks for reading!

Amy

Wednesday, October 27, 2021

Hello and happy Wednesday! I took off from posting yesterday and I am taking off on Thursday, too. Come back Friday for favorites!

Here are some recent outfits – some are out of order!

I was so happy to wear some normal clothes last Friday. I incorporated a school color (maroon) with my denim skirt and kimono. Two weeks of spirit is just too much spirit – whew!

Thursday was Generations Day – Seniors were senior citizens, juniors were working professionals, sophomores were kids, and freshmen were babies. Teachers decided to dress for retirement life. I debated doing a beach/travel look, but at the last minute I decided to be a trophy wife.

This would almost be an outfit I would wear – I would probably wear booties instead.

And, for my lewk I added a Starbucks cup, bee sunglasses, and a trophy. Yes, the trophy does say second place, but I was hoping no one would notice! Erica even had a bluetooth speaker playing Jimmy Buffet all day. We had a little too much fun with it!

The other spirit days were Mismatch, Holiday Day, Dress like a Teacher Day, and Character Day. They did some really creative themes this year. I think this helps toward building community in our schools again. It all may seem a bit silly but this is the stuff that kids remember and it ends up being these little things that are such a huge part of American high school life, if that makes sense.

Saturday I repeated the outfit below when Mason and I went to the outdoor flea market. Boy, have I gotten my money’s worth from some of my blouses, my gold clogs, my jeans, and my cross body purse! I love it when that happens. I want to feel that I make good fashion purchases!

Sunday I wore black leggings, my black New Balance, and this chambray popover with my new small black purse and Gucci-esque strap. Super easy to throw on!

Monday for school it was raining and storming and I always wear black when it rains. I wore my Tieks, my trusty Chicos pants, and my Umgee kimono. This black high necked and the maroon high necked are new Target purchases to wear under things. I don’t get so hot when I have a sleeveless top under a cardigan or kimono.

And, finally I wore these Hue leggings/jeggings that I bought at a consignment store, cognac Jack Rogers booties, my other most worn fall blouse, and an old Target lightweight cardigan.

Do you have a favorite outfit? I will be honest in that sometimes I use school as a training ground to see if I like an outfit and would wear it out in my “real life”. Ha! That is silly since I mainly go to school! Do you do that, too?

What have you been wearing lately? I would love to know!

Amy

Monday, October 25, 2021

How was your weekend? I am linking up today with Heather, etc. right here!

First… some business: I will only be posting Wednesday and Friday this week. This is another really busy week for me, so don’t be worried – lol.

Friday was a good day at school and Erica meal prepped curry lentil soup that was really good. I like our arrangement because she makes things I wouldn’t think to make. The variety is really good!

It was so cold when I got out of school. I broke out my 15 year old Uggs and my LulaRoe leggings. Yes, I said LulaRoe. They are really the warmest ones I own.

Tom had Totino’s frozen pizza and I had skinny pizza dough pizza and we really were living the empty nester dream Friday night. We watched some tv together and alone and I fell asleep very early.

Saturday morning I was pretty excited. I did my cleaning routine and then I set out for the grand opening of a cookie shop!

This is their creme brulee cookie. There are no words. If you are local, support this new business!

Mason had agreed to go to the last Paristown Flea with me! I am sad it’s the last one. They had Halloween candy at all of the booths.

This plant bus is the cutest.

Mason found a record and shirt for a birthday gift for his roommate and I found a cranberry mimosa! Yum!

We looked at the food trucks and were sad the giant pretzel one was not there. We decided to head to Ciao and get their breadsticks that we love.

We had some really nice one on one time and some great conversation. We said goodbye but he was coming home with Jack later in the afternoon.

They came home and we watched some Ted Lassos together while it started raining outside.

Then, Tom and I went back to Malone’s with our friends.

I got a really good old fashioned and

veggie sushi.

The chocolate cake was ordered again but I only had a tiny piece this time. The piece I had last time was too much.

Sunday morning I finished this book with my coffee. It was way darker than I normally read, but you might like it. I did enjoy it and now I feel like I can try the Netflix version of it.

I did meal prep and cleaned and then the whole fam went to see the movie Dune.

What was the highlight of your weekend?

See ya back here Wednesday – I hope!

Amy

Thursday, October 21, 2021

By popular demand, here is the Greek Bowl recipe I used. You could make so many variations! Do not skip the homemade tzatziki. You may be tempted to do a store bought version, but it was worth it to make my own. It was really easy.

You need:

Rice- I did instant brown rice but you could do rice, couscous, cauliflower rice, or no rice. You could also do orzo.

Chicken- You can use rotisserie or leftover. I did a crockpot of chicken tenders with chicken broth. I added a bit of Greek seasoning after it was cooked.

Cucumbers – dice some and grate some into paper towels and then squeeze out as much water as possible. Save the grated for the sauce. I peeled the cucumber for the diced but I left skin and seeds on for grating and it turned out perfectly!

Tomatoes – diced. I did grape tomatoes

Red onions – diced. Roasted would also be delish!

Olives (I don’t like them)

Feta cheese – I did the lower fat version.

Tzatziki Sauce:

Greek non fat plain yogurt – I used one individual container.

dill – I just used the dried spice

Lemon juice- 1 tsp.

EVOO- 1 tsp.

Salt, pepper, garlic powder- just a few dashes

Mix these ingredients together until smooth. Now add the drained, grated cucumber to the mix. You can let sit for a bit or refrigerate until ready.

I heated the rice and chicken just a little bit and added the remaining ingredients to a bowl with those.

Do you think you will try this? Any other ideas for variations?

Amy

Tuesday, October 19, 2021

Ummmmm, not sure about this title, but let’s go with it. This is what I ate last Thursday. My weekends look a little different so I wanted to do a weekday. This may be as interesting as watching paint dry; you have been warned!

I start the day with precisely two cups of coffee with one mini moo in each. Land O’Lakes half and half – I guess is the real name but I enjoy saying “mini moo”. I do not use any sweetener. I am not sure I could ever go with just black coffee. I think the coffee would have to be flavored for me to even attempt this?

I make my iced coffee/half of a Premier Protein to go. I drink it along with my water for the first couple of hours of work.

Around 8:00 am (still on my planning period), I put this breakfast mixture on a paper plate and heat it up and eat it. I am curious about intermittent fasting but I’m not sure I could do it. I stop eating around 7 or 8 p.m. and don’t eat until 8:00 a.m. Is that intermittent enough? I think so!

Around 10:30 am, I either eat a Built bar or a banana. I ran out of bananas on this day but wasn’t that hungry. I only had about 1/4 of it.

For lunch at 11:42, (Yes, I said 11:42) I have a fairly low carb meal. This particular day was cauliflower fried rice with egg roll in a bowl. If you are new around here, my co-worker Erica and I split up lunch duty each week. This has really been wonderful. We have seriously eaten better than we have ever eaten as teachers with a 20 minute lunch!

I can’t lie; most days I have a dessert. This was spice cake mixed with water and Greek non fat plain yogurt with a frosting of sugar free Cool Whip, pumpkin pie spice, sugar free vanilla pudding, and cinnamon. It was delicious and no one would call it a sub par “healthy cake”. It was fine to eat like a “bar” instead of cake, too.

At 2:20 when the final bell rang, I ate the rest of the Built bar and chugged as much water as I could. I started really trying to up my water intake which has me going to the restroom every 50 minutes.

I then walked for 30 minutes.

Normally I would have a snack, but I made a to-go cocktail instead because my friend and I were waiting in line to be one of the first 25 to win a free gift at a pop up shop.

I talked about it yesterday in Hello Monday. It was really fun. We drank my skinny margarita while waiting in line.

Dinner was really random. Tom wanted his soup from The Fresh Market and I wanted a very low point dinner. I had steamed broccoli, pickles, chicken sausage (apple Gouda by Amylu). I also made a mushroom frittata that wasn’t too pretty to look at.

This is what my app looked like at the end of Thursday.

At school I have a giant jug of water that I fill and at home I usually fill this big Tervis tumbler at least 4 times in the morning and after school.

So, that was my day. If you are thinking about WW, they are coming out with a new plan in November. I have no idea what it will be like but I do plan to adapt to it I think.

In other foods lately, here is my sheet pan of veg for the week.

I tried a ground turkey shepherd pie that I think will be a repeat!

I tried a Greek bowl that will also be a repeat!

It was fun to try 2 new recipes!

I had avocado toast on Keto bread for an after school snack. This never gets old!

The fam had Texas Toast and I made skinny pizza dough breadsticks. I do lots of little adaptations like this.

I have now lost 41.3 pounds. Yes, the last 1.3 has come off slowly, but I had Fall Break, Fall Break of my college kids, and I enjoyed life!

I am walking more, drinking more water, and trying to eat more protein.

This is my favorite time of year to walk! It just feels amazing outside!

Do you have any suggestions for me? Any foods or recipes you love? Any new finds at the grocery?

Happy Eating!

Amy

Monday, October 18, 2021

It’s time to link up with Heather, etc. for Hello Monday, where we share our weekends. I enjoy seeing how other people spend their time and sometimes I get inspiration.

I wasn’t ready for today; I will be honest. I have two pretty busy 5 day weeks ahead of me to finish out my October. I spent a lot of time planning yesterday and meal prepping, so that definitely helps. I don’t do well with a super full calendar.

What are your strategies when life gets extra busy? For me, I go into extra planning mode. I also plan for easier meals and leftovers. I also have a night where I know we can do takeout.

I have busy days at school and on top of that, I have meetings after school 3 days this week. Yes, we are back to in person meetings, meetings, meetings. Not to sound like a whiner, but I need my after school time to get my walks in and after teaching in a mask for 8 hours, it just feels harder to go meet in a mask. Most meetings could have been an email – amiright?

Let’s go back to Thursday afternoon for a brief moment. We have a shopping center called Westport Village with mostly locally owned boutiques and restaurants. There are some vacant spots and one of them is serving as a pop up for Work the Metal which has a bigger shop downtown.

They had an opening celebration where the first 25 people got a pair of earrings and they served prosecco and their own handmade chocolate. Elizabeth met me and we spent a fun hour there and in the other shops. I love to shop locally and plan to do that as much as I can for the holidays. If you are local, they have great gifts!

Friday at school was “country vs. country club” so I tried to do both. It was fun. We have another spirit week this week. It’s not distracting to our academics and it feels fun and “normal” to the kids that get into it.

It rained most of Friday and after school seemed apropos for a hot chocolate, candle, and my blogs that I failed to read Friday morning.

I was kinda bummed because we had plans for an outdoor concert – the last of the season – but the rain cancelled it. We still went out to eat in the neighborhood. We had hot and sour soup perfect for the rainy weather.

They give you a complimentary cookie from a local shop called Penny and Pearl’s that are the best! We got sea salt chocolate chip and red velvet.

My car rolled over to 100, 000 miles Friday night and Tom forgot to announce it. I had been anticipating it. So, Saturday morning I noticed it when I went to Kroger very early. I love my car and hope to keep it for a long time. It’s a 2012.

I braved the store for a big grocery haul for the first time in a long time. It was a lot of work and lots of stuff was not available. It seems we have another green chile shortage afoot. We also have a Jimmy Dean turkey sausage shortage in my store. There were several other items missing but I’m flexible and realize it is definitely a “first world problem”. I saw a student (when do I not? lol) working Clicklist and he told me he had to substitute so many things already that morning and he hoped he wouldn’t get yelled at by the customers.

People… PLEASE do not yell at the teenager that brings your groceries out. It is not their fault!

It took forever to unload and put everything away but Tom was around to help me unload. I don’t like him to help put things away. Then, I made myself a fancier breakfast with red potatoes, onions, and scrambled eggs.

I did try to go to the Paristown Flea by myself but realized it wasn’t this Saturday when I got there and there was nothing = ha! I thought about doing some other shopping but opted to come home and clean and relax until the 3:30 football game. I had a margarita. Casamigos tequila is my fave now – only 2 WW points. I had 22 Tostitos bite sized and salsa.

Tom brought the tv outside.

I started reading this and it is good but darker than I usually choose! Anyone read it? I’m really into it and it seems pretty good for October, too! It was leggings and sweatshirt cold. We had all been wanting it but it came as a shock to the system and I didn’t last that long in the shade.

J and M came home to do some laundry and hang out around 3. I made tacos for dinner but I forgot a picture. I had a low carb tortilla with chicken, salsa, lettuce, and beans instead.

Yesterday morning I had my coffee and quiet time and then started meal prep, laundry, cleaning, and school work. It just seems to work better for me to get stuff done in the morning when I have more energy! I also think it helps me relax after accomplishing those things, you know?

Before I wrap up this pretty boring recap…

From last weekend, I forgot to show you my “joke”. My sister, niece and I accompanied my mom to a miniature show because my mom is really into creating little miniature scenes for different holidays.

I tried to make a miniature charcuterie to go box. It really filled everyone up. It is a tiny fork, tiny salami, tiny cheese in two flavors, a pomegranate seed, an almond, an oyster cracker, a wheat thin, and a mini chocolate chip.

I’m weird and I will do lots of things for a laugh. I will even do lots of things for a mere chuckle.

My niece Lena laughed the most. She is a lot like me, poor thing.

How was your weekend? I hope it was wonderful!

Thanks for reading!

Amy

Friday, October 15, 2021

Happy Friday to all! I am linking up with Andrea, etc. right here to share what made me happy this week!

My number one favorite was having a FULL HOUSE while my kids were on fall break. They didn’t have class Monday or Tuesday so they stayed home Saturday through early Wednesday morning when they drove back to campus for Jack’s first class at 11:00. Mason’s 11:00 had been cancelled for some reason. Neither of them have a class before 11 a.m. on MWF! Nice schedule, huh?

We had some special snacks, of course! I cooked more and baked some brownies. I also found these and thought they would be funny. They are soooo good! We all commented on what we perceived to be a different ratio of the cream in the middle. They weren’t quite double stuffed but we agreed they were 1.5 stuffed, maybe? I found these at the end of the cookie aisle at Kroger. Jack and Mason used to be major Pokemon fans! Ask me how many WW points 3 Oreos is! 7 points!

We used my favorite fall plates from Target years ago. These just make me so happy!

We ordered take out Mediterranean food one night. We only order 3 entrees and then divide them up. We get two chicken kabob meals and one salmon kabob. I don’t eat the rice. They are very generous with their portions. I find it easier to split meals like this with takeout but I always feel so guilty about all of the take out containers required.

We noticed our rhododendron blooming again! We have had such warm weather and we feel like it’s confused. We hope this doesn’t mean bad news for next spring. It sure is beautiful to look at, though.

Last Saturday I visited a consignment store with my sister and niece. I had a $10 off of a $50 purchase and we combined purchases and really scored. I found only one thing but it is this orange Loft Lou & Grey sweater. I can’t wear it to teach in because I will get too hot, but I am anxious to wear it on the weekend if it cools down!

I was influenced by Melanie Shankle in her Fashion Friday last week. I love a Target poncho! I have several. This year’s version has the collar which I thought was so cute. Also, it is super soft! I wasn’t going to order it but I saw it and felt it in person and had to make it mine.

This week has been spirit week and next week is Homecoming week so we are doing two weeks of themes in a row! These girls did “dress like a teacher day” and did Erica and I and then also photo shopped us in their photo for reference. Never a dull moment!

Anyone seen White Claw Surge? I’m intrigued! What about Bud Light Seltzer Fall Flannel? It’s so cute and they knew just who they were marketing to when I received this flyer!

I am really enjoying this story! I came home for lunch on Parent Teacher Conference Day on Monday and read on the patio while eating lunch.

I also had coffee on the porch on a week day! These are little treats that really make me happy and I don’t want to only do on the weekends, you know? Every.single.day should have at least a small moment of special!

Sitting on the couch in our family’s “assigned seats” made me happy and I snuck a photo!

It’s a blurry picture but my Swedish friend and reader Tin-Tin wants Ernie at least once a week on the blog! I think he wanted me to fill up his Kong with peanut butter in this photo.

I love this shampoo and conditioner! I bought Olaplex twice but I just don’t think I need to spend that much because my hair isn’t super damaged. I do really like it, but $28 a bottle is a lot. As my hair has gotten longer I think I am having more trouble with tangles and I think this has really helped. It also smells really good to me.

Wednesday was pink day and I didn’t get a photo but I basically wore as many shades of pink as I could – including my pink nail polish.

Yesterday was “decades day” so we had to pick a favorite decade. Erica was 90s in her high school jacket and I was 70s because I have so much in my closet with a 70s vibe!

It seems so fun and so “normal” for our kids to do theme days!

What were your favorites this week? I hope you had many! I also hope that you have a wonderful weekend! Can you believe we are halfway through the month? It’s crazy!

Thanks for reading,

Amy

Thursday, October 14, 2021

Are you in a cooking rut? I am ready to switch to more cool weather dishes like soups, chili, and roasts while still making it fit my healthier eating plan. I use salt, pepper, and garlic powder the most in my cooking, I think, but today I want to tell you about my “spices” that really add the flavor.

Tom and I were big fans of Emeril Lagasse when we were dating. Super random, right? I have a couple of his cookbooks, too! I actually think what sealed the deal for Tom was me learning to make Emeril’s couscous jambalaya. Maybe I will surprise him with this dish soon!

That introduced us to this seasoning blend – Tony Cachere’s Original Creole Seasoning. Do not buy any other brand. This is the best. Funny side story: We have neighbors named Tony and Cheri and Jack and Mason called this “Tony Cheri’s” when they were little. Yes, we had our little twins eating cajun spiced veggies!

This makes every vegetable better. We love it on broccoli, green beans, potatoes, zucchini, and more. I put this in my eggs. I put this in my egg casserole.

It is widely available. I get it at my Kroger and one canister lasts quite a while.

The second seasoning I love is the “Everything but the Bagel” blend. I usually get it at Trader Joe’s, but it is so popular that you can find it at other stores, too.

I love this on eggs, avocado toast, green beans, broccoli, and potatoes. I also use it on the ham and swiss sliders that I make more as the weather cools down. I use it a lot!

If you are trying to get your kids to eat more veggies or you are trying to eat more, experiment with different spices and seasonings. LIfe is too short to eat bland vegetables, right?

Everything But the Bagel Potatoes Recipe:

These are great for breakfast or dinner or breakfast for dinner!

Use one or two baked potatoes from the night before or pierce and microwave your potatoes.

Slice into chunks and heat a bit of oil in your pan. I started using avocado oil for heat and olive oil for cold dishes.

Salt and pepper your potato chunks.

Put them in the pan on medium low and let them brown up.

When they are browned up, add your EBB seasoning and let them cook a bit more.

Let me know if you try this!

Do you have any favorite spices or seasoning blends? Do you have a Penzey’s Spices near you? I do, but I haven’t been! I really need to go!

Amy

Wednesday, October 13, 2021

Hello and happy hump day!

I have just a few outfits for you today and my thoughts on them.

We don’t have a teacher dress code so you can technically wear jeans every day if you want to. I typically wear them on Fridays and sometimes there is a “spirit theme” for that Friday’s game. I either wore this outfit on Thursday or Friday. I wore my new Target Universal Thread short jeans, my MIA clogs, and my Target Little House on the Prairie top. I don’t know if the light jeans (darker jeans are more slimming) and the high necked blouse do me any favors but I wanted to experiment. This top is really too short to do the “half tuck”.

My favorite outfit of the week is the next one. I just love the fabric of this dress – the design and the feel of the fabric. It is Umgee brand and I bought it on Amazon. I told you I was going to try it without leggings so I did. This is what I wore out to dinner Friday night. Tom did tell me not to bend over – meaning he thought it a bit short, but from this photo I don’t think it looks too short. I did wear my Jockey slip shorts under (very light biker style shorts).

Saturday I had an outing with my mom, sister, and niece. I wanted to have a fall look but it was in the 80s! I did my cut off Target Universal Thread jeans, my gold clogs, my fall TJ Maxx blouse, and my cross body with the leopard strap.

My sister wears the slip on tennies a lot for her job as a first grade teacher. These are snakeskin and she found some plain black ones at the consignment store we visited. She said she was lacking accessories but she looked very cute with the straw Amazon headband I gave her. She found and bought a cool necklace and earrings (they have new ones) at the consignment store, too, and put them on right away. I don’t have a photo, though.

If you want to look pulled together but don’t have much money to spend, a pair of well fitting jeans and a cute black top with interesting details is the way to go in my opinion. You can change the shoes to booties and this outfit can take you to school meetings, out for dinner, and more.

I gave my sister a big bag of stuff that no longer fits my style. I bought things for my pandemic virtual teaching life last year and I just don’t see myself wearing most of it. I hate that I only got one season out of some things, but I like passing it along and who doesn’t like going through a bag of hand me downs? It’s so fun! I generally ask myself if I’m excited to wear it this year and if the answer is no, I send it on. I think I do better with fewer pieces I really love.

What have you been wearing lately?

What is your favorite outfit and do you think I should try the high necked blouse with something different?

Amy

Tuesday, October 12, 2021

I am coming in a bit late with this post, but that is kind of par for the course with me!

I did a few tiny white pumpkins and my Day of the Dead pillow covers from Amazon. I also bought the pillow inserts. I take my cushions and pillows in every day because I learned the hard way how weathered everything gets.

I went with giant purple and yellow mums to fit the color scheme and do you see the Halloween and pumpkin tiny stakes in the mums? I had those from a long time ago.

My dining room is also Day of the Dead themed.

As the years go on I like more and more of a simple and clean look. My mantel has some burlap, tiny white pumpkins, and a leaf banner.

Last year I decided to frame some favorite fall photos.

I honestly don’t have a lot of surfaces to decorate. I keep it to the patio, dining room, and living room. I also have my favorite fall melamine plates from Target.

I will add some Thanksgiving touches after Halloween because I keep acquiring more Thanksgiving stuff and I think it has been more readily available in recent years.

How much do you decorate?

Amy