Look at me! I’m finally early! I have always love St. Patrick’s Day and it is also my sister’s birthday!
Want to have some fun with your kids or with the grown ups in your life? I have traditionally done a meal of green mashed potatoes, green butter on rolls, sausage, and broccoli. I have also given my kids Skittles for the rainbow and Rolos for the pot of gold. Easy and lots of bang for your buck. They loved it! Last year I made Jen’s Irish soda bread and OMG – you need to make it! You can make her corned beef and cabbage, too.
Here are some fun ideas I found on Pinterest…
I think I would just do the food coloring in the bowl and not do the leprechaun footprints. Hey, I think I will do this to Tom and see if he calls the doctor to find out what is wrong with him. I have to get my laughs where I can.
How cute are these Lucky Charms rice krispie treats? Oh, yeah, I always bought Lucky Charms for my kids’ breakfast on St. Patrick’s Day, too. This is a big treat if you don’t normally do sugary cereals!
Look how cute this centerpiece is:
I do have tons of gold coins I bought at Dollar Tree a few years ago!
Happy 2/22/22! Pretty cool, right? Today we have a teacher work day which means meetings, meetings, meetings! Sigh.
Have you heard of decision fatigue?
According to the American Medical Association, it is “the idea that after making many decisions, your ability to make more and more decisions over the course of a day becomes worse“
Do you know how many decisions that we, as humans, make in any given day? It’s insane! It’s exhausting! And, we are all just.so.tired.of.everything right now!
I used to get kinda mad when I would ask Tom what he wanted for dinner and he would basically say in a fairly nice way that he just didn’t want to be asked. He was telling me that anything was fine and he just couldn’t make another decision. Now I appreciate that he really doesn’t care. Sometimes I will give him two choices like I used to do with my kids. Two choices is easier than an infinity of choices! Moms that meal plan and post the meals on a board in the kitchen – this is why you do that, right? It’s one less decision to make at the end of a long day.
Here is what I have done over the last several years to help improve my decision fatigue:
First, let’s talk about my job as a teacher. I read that teachers make an insane amount of decisions in a school day (I’m sure there are lots of decisions to be made in any given occupation, but teaching is the one I know best, so forgive me!). Teachers have lesson planning, how to best approach different standards in your subject or grade, how to respond to that email from a student or parent, how to handle a request to leave the classroom, how to deal with a certain behavior, what to assign for homework, when to schedule that test, and the list goes on…
Several years ago, I decided to create a routine that would help me and my students. Every Monday we get a new list of vocabulary and every Friday we quiz over that vocabulary. Every Thursday we play a game with the vocabulary. Every Wednesday we incorporate music into the lesson. I have had students tell me they love knowing what to expect and that they love this structure. I take this one step further in my AP class. Our AP Spanish exam is based on four skills so we do reading skills on Monday, listening on Tuesday, writing on Wednesday, speaking on Thursday, and then tie up loose ends on Friday and review the week. This is also the exact order of the actual exam.
I got to thinking…why am I just doing this at work? What can I automate in my person life? I highly recommend The Lazy Genius by the way. There is a podcast, her website, and her books, by the way. One of her principles is “Decide Once”. Every Friday night is pizza. Everyone gets a new swimsuit in their Easter basket. Make a decision one time and then it is done. It makes a lot of sense to me.
A former blogger, Mel Larson, who is also a teacher and who you can follow on Instagram now, decreases decision fatigue in her wardrobe by having a weekly clothing routine. She always wears black pants on Mondays because the weekend is over, she wears another type of pant on Tuesdays, etc.
I have often thought about a dinner routine like this: Sundays for leftovers or soup, Mondays are for pasta, Tuesdays are for Mexican, etc.
Here are some of my routines:
-I do meal prep. I make all my breakfasts for the school week on Sundays. I also make my share of lunches (I split lunch prep with my co-worker) on Sundays most of the time. Done.
-I take my shower every night after dinner is cleaned up.
-I order my groceries every Wednesday or Thursday for a Wednesday or Thursday pick up. I go into the weekend with a stocked kitchen and my weekend isn’t just about running errands.
-I do my laundry once a week when my hamper gets full. I do the household sheets and towels once a week separately. I usually try to do this on Thursday so that my weekend isn’t spent doing laundry. Tom does his own laundry and J and M do theirs at college or when they come home. This also keeps the washer and dryer free for them on the weekends if they need it.
Now, obviously my routines will look different from yours. You have to do what makes sense in your life and at this stage. My routines looked very different when I had infant, toddler, elementary twins, worked full time, etc. My routines changed in the summers when I was home with them. You can periodically ask yourself if you systems are still working for you and adjust as needed.
Am I doing this perfectly now? No! There are many more things I could automate to decrease my decision fatigue. I am a work in progress.
And, can you break from these routines? Of course! Do not become so rigidly tied to them that you miss out on opportunities, but let them work for you to make your life easier!
Don’t you hate it when you finally have a chance to go out to eat and you and your husband have the age old “where should we go?” conversation?
Use your phone memo!
Here are some ideas of the lists I keep:
You always have your phone with you! I also take screenshots when I see new restaurants pop up in my social media feed. I try to remember to transfer them to my memo list.
What do you do to eliminate decision fatigue in your life?
I may post your tips if that is ok with you! Leave me a tip in the comments and I will assume it’s ok to post unless you tell me otherwise!
Today is our Parent Teacher Conference Day. We get an hour for lunch today, so Erica and I are going to try to walk for 30 minutes of it and then eat our normal meal prepped lunch for the other 30 minutes. “Hi, parents – sorry I’m a bit sweaty.” Parents had the option for in-person or virtual, by the way.
Friday after school, Erica, Elizabeth, and I had plans to go to Ulta and Martini’s for their $6 martini special.
You know the cult favorite Essence mascara on Amazon? They have more than just mascara. Some of these little palettes were so cool! I only bought a mascara primer for now.
Then, we walked over to Martini’s. Ulta and Martini’s are both in a little outdoor shopping area called The Paddock. I’m kinda embarrassed. My blog name has both Coffee and Cocktails in it and I had never had an espresso martini!!!! It was sooooo good! It was slightly frosty and I can’t wait to have another one!
We also had some crostini and goat cheese.
We said good-bye and I headed home. I heated up Tom’s lunch pot pie from a restaurant Wednesday and I made myself a Spanish tortilla (omelette) with an aioli dipping sauce.
Then, I made the funfetti dip that Kellyann mentioned in her blog from Living with Landyn. OMG! I used Greek non-fat yogurt and it worked just fine. I had to run to Kroger to get something to dip in it and … J and M surprised us by saying they were coming home around 7:00 so I also had to get some chips and snack foods that I had forgotten to order.
Kroger is an explosion of Easter! If Valentine’s is any indication, start your Easter basket shopping now.
J and M hadn’t had dinner so we had taco leftovers and Kraft mac and cheese leftovers in the fridge for them. Tacos and mac and cheese? Sounds pretty good for a college student. We watched a show – all four of us – that Tom had found and thought they would like called Murderville on Netflix. I went to bed and they headed to the basement to play a game.
Saturday morning was hair day!
I was hungry for lunch when I got home so I made myself (and Mason wanted it, too) a teriyaki chicken bowl. I tried to re-create the one I had at a restaurant recently.
It was really good and I had it again for dinner!
The funfetti dip for dessert:
J and M had to return to campus for play rehearsal. They are both in the same play in March!
I went to Hobby Lobby, Homegoods, and Home Depot on a mission to look for plant stands and plants.
Then, Tom and I walked Ernie and ate dinner.
My new trailing elephant beads plant:
My new bambino ficus:
New stool:
Sunday morning was meal prep, blog work, taking down Valentine’s decor and adding a few St. Patrick’s Day touches, and then Tom and I went to see Uncharted. I really liked it. I made my own popcorn:
Oh, Friday, how I love thee! It’s time to link up with Andrea and Erica for Friday Favorites.
How was your week? It was a lot with Superbowl on Sunday and Valentine’s Day on Monday, right?
An empty nester Valentine’s on a Monday:
Enjoy the rotting bananas in my photo? A sweet student gave me the yellow rose at school (he gave them to all of his teachers) and then I laid out our wedding china for us to use in front of the tv!
I made meatloaf, mashed potatoes, and brussels sprouts:
I put a card and chocolate in Tom’s car in the morning and he brought me a Star Wars card and a Magnolia Journal, which I love.
Our shower tile was done on Monday…
I wasn’t sure…
And, the final tile work! I think I’m gonna like it! My picture wouldn’t edit, fyi…
This is our vanity inspo and I think we are going to have to have it custom made…
We have looked everywhere in our price range and we can have it made to our specifications for a decent price from someone Tom works with.
One of our lunches this week was a favorite – AmyLu apple gouda chicken sausage, broccoli, and potatoes.
My breakfast burritos this week really were a favorite. I think I should do them again next week!
I am still loving my frother each morning!
I had a dinner out this week and had a glass of prosecco and some veggie sushi. I saw my friend Dee for the first time in maybe 8 months.
We had some warm weather this week for walking and then some patio sitting before I started dinner! I know we will get more winter, but I am enjoying these little breaks when I can. I don’t really hate winter, but I think it just makes everything more difficult.
I picked up a $15 Black and Decker brand steamer at Target and I am loving it!
Our new washer and dryer arrived! Yay! Again, I couldn’t edit this photo for some reason.
And, if you are looking for a fun, good old fashioned rom-com, watch this on Prime this weekend. I really enjoyed it!
Our students have a four day weekend, but teachers don’t. We have parent/teacher conferences on Monday and a teacher work day on Tuesday.
It’s time for another Fashion Files! I am linking up with Kellyann and Jill. Click on their blogs and also check out some others if fashion floats your boat!
I have a few school outfits for you and a weekend outfit for you. I also have a little Loft order to share.
We had a pretty warm day last week and I wore my Umgee dress from the fall (ordered from Amazon) with old J.Jill capri leggings and my Amazon sneakers. Umgee is a favorite brand of mine.
Another day I wore my new Anthropologie blouse. I received a gift card from my friend for my birthday and I hadn’t found just the right thing yet. I went into the store at my mall a few weeks ago and was happy to pick out a new spring blouse.
And, one day I wore my old Hue black jean jeggings and my new Loft blouse.
I bought a steamer and now my wrinkles are out. Can you believe I didn’t own one? Why didn’t you all tell me how great they are? It will be one of my Friday Favorites tomorrow for sure! I’ve been looking for things to steam…
On Saturday night I wore my Amazon blouse, jeans, and these white booties I bought last year. I wore this to meet up with high school friends for dinner out and a live band. I think I will retire the white booties. I like them when I see them on others or on Pinterest, but I think black would have been much better for this outfit. I look like a drum major. If you know what a drum major is, you are probably too old for white booties? Oh well. The Amazon blouse has been a winner. It is a waffle weave in the body and the sleeves are lace cutouts. That white you see on the sleeves is my vampire skin. I thought it coordinated with the booties and tied it all together. Plus, I have my white alcohol earrings on.
Let’s talk about Loft. I have shopped Loft for years, but it kinda fell off my radar when I was heavier. Now, I can pretty much order an XL and know that it will fit if it is a blouse and even order a smaller size if it’s a sweater. I think you get better deals online and I always order enough to meet the free shipping minimum. I return what I don’t like to the brick and mortar store that is about 8 minutes away.
Here is what I ordered…
This is the blouse from above:
This blouse:
This blouse:
And, this blouse is 3/4 length sleeves:
I am really into the blouse and jeans look right now. I plan to wear a blouse and a skirt when it gets warmer. I think I will keep all four pieces but I will try to put them with outfits in the next few weeks and show you. If anything isn’t perfect, I will return it. I’m really trying to do a better job with this.
It is so important to have some black and white blouse options in your wardrobe for spring, I think. Also, I really love a pattern, but solids are also super important. I have a lot of print pants and skirts. I find myself dipping into my spring stuff a bit right now. I love moving my spring and summer to a different closet so that it feels new again each season. I have room to house everything I own in my closet, but I borrowed Mason’s second closet a few months ago to separate the seasons. Are you like that, too? I just have a hard time when I see too much at once!
If you read my post yesterday, I mentioned a trip to Trader Joe’s. I really enjoy getting out early on a Saturday morning around 8:00 and getting my errands knocked out. Trader Joe’s is a fun errand for me! But, I hadn’t been since maybe December because I didn’t want to be too tempted by treats.
Do you see a big increase in grocery prices? I had gotten our grocery bill down to about $400 – $500 a month for just Tom and I last fall. I am doing weekly grocery pick ups from Kroger and spending around $150-$170 a week now. Now, I will say that sometimes eating healthy can cost a bit more which seems kind of weird, but I have found it to be true.
I felt a bit bad spending $70 on this trip after just spending $150 at Kroger on Wednesday, but I knew the kids were coming home and that I was making a Valentine’s dinner for Monday – and it was my turn to make 3 lunches for Erica and I. Plus, we are eating out/getting take out less than ever before, I think.
So, here we go…
I am loving sparkling waters. These are good! I think they have a cocktail feel and they are good for the afternoons.
I love the produce at Trader Joe’s. Is it cheaper than the supermarket? Probably not.
These are one of my favorite things from TJ’s – these mini baguettes are 3 WW points each and they are amazing. I like to keep some in the freezer to go with pasta or just to have with some olive oil, salt, and pepper.
I love to keep this baguette in my freezer, too. This makes a great hot sub sandwich bread.
cilantro, carrots, apples, cucumber, onion, broccoli, and salad mix:
I like these for nachos because they are very sturdy, but to be honest – I do not love Trader Joe’s chips and crackers. The only think I really, really like are their plantain chips. My family is very discriminating about their snack foods and are very brand loyal.
This is a new discovery and I love it! I have been using regular instant coffee crystals for my iced coffee/protein shake. This really blends well because it is made especially for cold brew.
TJ’s spice prices can’t be beat. I needed pepper and I have learned that not all everything but the bagel seasonings are created equally. TJ has the best blend!
I had plans to do a weekend and Valentine’s charcuterie board. The wine soaked cheese is a longtime favorite.
I had plans to make chocolate chip pancakes for a early Valentine for J and M.
This rice is soooo good and it is often out of stock because it is so popular. It contains 3 microwave pouches and you keep it in the freezer. You will never make rice again.
I love these giant macaroni noodles for homemade mac and cheese.
Their olive oil prices can’t be beat.
These giant soft pretzels are great to keep in the freezer. The air fryer makes these taste amazing!
And, I got Tom’s card and candy at TJs. Their cards are soooo cute! I am a big believer in Dollar Tree cards that are 2 for $1, but the cards at TJ’s are only $1 and they look much more expensive. The dark chocolate peanut butter cups kept in the freezer and amazing.
If you have a Trader Joe’s near you, what are your faves?
Amy
PS – I’m taking a break tomorrow but I will back on Thursday for Fashion Files and Friday for Friday Faves!
Happy Valentine’s Day! I will be wearing my Care Bear heart sweater today in case you were wondering!
It’s time to link up with Sarah and Holly for Hello Monday!
How was your weekend? Mine was pretty great after two verrrryyyyyy borrrringggg weekends – the first was my Covid weekend and the second was the snow/ice weekend.
I made it through a 5 day in person teaching week, ya’ll! I will consider that a major win! It was actually a really great week. I love my students. It’s time to take the masks off very soon, though. This is my opinion and I’m sticking with it. My sister in Indiana has been mask-less and my sister in Ohio gets to take off the mask today! I’m so stinking sick of talking about Covid but I also think it odd when bloggers don’t address it (again – just my opinion). I need to see smiles and they need to see mine. I have way more reasons, but that’s all I’m gonna say.
After school, Erica, Elizabeth and I went to happy hour. It had been about 3 weeks since the last time we got together for a happy hour. We picked an upscale pizza place near school that has really great apps and cocktails and a happy hour discount.
I got a really good lemon basil cocktail that just sounded good.
These are homemade potato chip nachos!
And, pretzels and beer cheese!
We only stayed for about an hour and then I went home and sat outside for a bit.
Dinner was tomato soup and grilled cheese for Tom and a frittata and salad for me. My dinner was very close to zero WW points after the indulgent happy hour. I went to bed at 9!
Saturday morning I finished this:
I really enjoyed it! I have enjoyed all of this duos’ books.
Ok – follow up… some of you sent me this information and I saw it a couple of other places. The sweater I ordered from Target was quite controversial because it would have had to have been made in a sweat shop for the price they were charging (and I’m sure that is not the only piece of fast fashion and that’s why I really do want to do better with this). I had already ordered it when I heard that. Then, my order was on the way and then it wasn’t so I figured it was out of stock, which was fine. Then, it mysteriously appeared on my doorstep.
It is really short and the sleeves are really long. It was kinda scratchy material. Anyway, I was gonna return it anyway after all of that. So, I went to Target Saturday morning.
I came home with Pixi brand eye patches and I’m in love. Why haven’t I known about these?
They are kinda hard to get in the exact right place but I really saw a difference! Love! I can’t wait to find some less expensive options. Leave me a rec if you have one. They Pixi brand costs $24 and maybe I will only use if I’m going out? So, I love the texture and the feel and they really made a difference so maybe that’s not a bad price.
I also went through the car wash which was much needed!
I was just so happy to be out on a Saturday morning running errands! Isn’t that weird? I think because Monday through Friday were like groundhog day it was such a treat. I get up at 5:00, leave the house at 6:45, get home between 2:45-4:00 depending on meetings and other stuff.
So, Target, car wash, and then Trader Joe’s and I was home by like 9:00 a.m.!
Tomorrow I will show you what I picked at Trader Joe’s! I hadn’t been since maybe December? I have kinda been avoiding it because there are so many temptations there. I want to buy all the fun treats.
So, I unloaded, cleaned, made my breakfast, took a shower, and then sat down to watch a movie and paint my nails. I did three coats of Essie marshmallow.
I watched most of the movie on Amazon Prime called I Want You Back. Oh my gosh – I don’t know if it was just my mood but I laughed out loud multiple times in my house alone. Let me know if you watched it and what you thought. I ran out of time to finish it because Tom and Ernie got home and I didn’t get back to it, but I can’t wait.
Our washer died Friday and Tom took one for the team and went hunting for a replacement that was in stock. He only had luck at a locally owned place (that’s better in my book anyway!) and even though our dryer still works, we decided to buy a new set for the new(ish) mudroom. They said that these appliances only last about 8 years now! So, we went with LG stainless front loaders and they will be delivered Thursday.
Jack and Mason came home together around 3:00! I made snacks and we watched some t.v. and chatted. I hadn’t had both of them home together in quite awhile.
We had reservations at the Irish restaurant The Raven with my high school friends that had come to town. These people all graduated together!
I had the leek and potato soup and
a decomposed salad – yum!
The occasion was that one of the friends was playing in his band but it didn’t start until 9:00 which means later than that!
It was sooooooo loud and soooooo packed. I didn’t make it very long. I was also anxious to get home to my kids and spend more time with them.
Sunday morning meal prep! I decided to do 2 point breakfast burritos this week:
It is just a bit of cheese, egg, and roasted potato. I forgot to get turkey sausage crumbles to add.
All read to grab and go!
I roasted broccoli along with more potatoes:
I made my mushroom and onion mixture:
I made a couple of scrambled eggs with this mixture for breakfast:
And, I started this book:
There was a lot of excitement about the Superbowl around here as the home of the Cincinnati Bengals are pretty close to here. Why does the game have to be on a Sunday? We always have lots of tired students on the Monday after Superbowl and combined with Valentine’s Day?!?!?!? Send positive thoughts to teachers everywhere!
What was the highlight of your weekend? I hope you had a great one!
It is time once again to link up with Jill and Kellyann for Fashion Files!
First of all, say hello to my new earrings! Are these popular where you live? They are in all of our little locally owned boutiques. They have White Claw, a mojito, a mint julep (Kentucky Derby drink), and more. They are lightweight (that is the only kind of earring I wear) and I think they will be so cute all spring and summer.
Monday was a Monday so I chose to wear black hearts! I added the red clogs! These clogs are surprisingly comfortable.
Tuesday I took a bad tripod photo but I wore my Loft floral with my Target Universal Thread cardigan and my gold clogs. I got a lot of teen compliments on my gold clogs (but sadly no one liked my red ones).
We don’t have a dress code and I used to never wear jeans. But, this year seems very jeans worthy. I really don’t have many pants and I am looking forward to dresses and skirts as soon as it warms a bit and I can get my self tanner routine going.
Yesterday I wore my trusty Chico’s pants, a black shell, and my very old pink faux Burberry from Amazon. I wasn’t sure about the booties with this outfit. I’m still not.
I plan to wear all of my pink and red until Monday is over!
Next week we have spirit week for basketball homecoming so my outfits should be very interesting… ha!
What have you been wearing lately? Any favorites from above?
I really want to be a plant lady! It doesn’t come naturally to me. My issue has always been that I water too much. I also didn’t know a thing about a thing called drainage – ya gotta have it. Now I try to neglect my plants a little. I am a recovering helicopter plant mom.
Let me introduce you to my plant family:
I have a monster peace lily and a smaller peace lily from my Dad’s funeral. These live in the mudroom where they get lots of sunlight and I really think they like the noise of the washer and dryer.
I love my spider plant and he lives in my bedroom which currently has construction materials in it.
I don’t know what this is called but I bought him at the flea market at the end of the summer. I liked the neon green color of the leaves.
This was a birthday gift from a friend and it is called “Mother-in-law’s Tongue” I think. I love, love, love the white planter it came in, too.
This pothos is my pride and joy. I ordered one from Amazon and my former student tried to revive it to no avail. She has a little plant biz and I bought this replacement one from her. She put rocks in with the soil for drainage I think she said. I love watching it get longer and longer and I really covet those who have crazy long ones!
This tropical-ish guy lived outside and I have had him for maybe 2 years? I brought him in and honestly I think he looks sad inside, but it’s just too cold. He is sitting next to the Covid testing kits – maybe that’s why.
I bought my first air plant this fall. You spritz them and give them a full on bath every now and again, but they have no dirt. I want to get one of those cute plant spray bottles that look old-timey.
I also have a few artificial plants (mostly really small) sitting in various places. I like a good fake and I don’t think it’s bad to mix a few in.
Now, I know nothing about re-potting! Do I need to? Any suggestions on plants to add to my collection? I have a problem. I am running out of things to set them on. I would love to have a row of plants somewhere. Maybe a bench? I love to look at plant decor on Pinterest.
Are you a plant lady? Or a plant man? Plant person?
It is time to link up with Whitney and others – we can talk about whatever suits our fancy!
I want to talk about hot rollers! Did you know they are back in style? I never got rid of my last set – until last month. They were the really big size and all the same size and they didn’t give me much curl. I have really fine hair but a lot of it.
I want to apologize if you think I have been talking about this topic too much. This is the last time – I promise!
So, I went to Amazon to get a new set with multiple sizes.
The final product:
I bought this set. I don’t love it. I was trying to save money so I went with a cheaper option. I don’t like the clips and I don’t like the way the rollers are stored on a metal bar. I guess I will get used to it if I use it a lot.
Pros:
It is super quick to roll up your hair and then do your makeup while the curl is setting. You really only have to remove them and go.
It looks very natural – maybe she didn’t do anything to her hair and just woke up like that?
Cons:
I like the curls that I achieve with my 1 inch barrel traditional curling iron better.
Start with clean, straight hair.
I like to dirty it up a bit with the dry shampoo so that the curl holds better. I also like to use this heat spray.
Roll it up!
Take it down and spray with hairspray before doing anything else. Or, at least that is what I do.
Style with comb or fingers.
I could have added a few tweaks with my curling iron but I didn’t.
Curling iron hair:
I guess there is not a huge difference now that I look at the photos.
So, I think hot rollers are a great option and might be all the curl that some of you all might want in your life.
Coffee and Cocktails at the Casa 