Coffee and Cocktails at the Casa

Wednesday, March 2, 2022

It’s time for another edition of Eating Lately; it’s been awhile! Feel free to check out other food posts here, here, and here.

This time I will basically be doing a photo dump of my meals from my iphone. You will see some repetition and I’m very obviously not a food stylist! My goal in doing these posts is to maybe give you some ideas. I know I love looking at others’ food photos so that I can do the same. I usually post my meals from my weekends, so you have probably seen some of these there, too.

Quick recap…I am doing WW Personal Points. My goal is to fill up on vegetables and lean proteins but allow myself to live life and enjoy treats from time to time. I try to get 30 grams of protein at each meal if I can. I have been kind of stalled lately, but I am staying consistent and trying to move more.

By the way, my sister has lost 30 pounds, my co-worker Erica has lost 25 pounds, and now my friend Victoria has lost 12 pounds all on WW. It really does work! I am so proud of these people and I can talk recipes with all of them, too!

I am really craving salads and I am so happy about it. I had really been gravitating toward cooked vegetables so this has been a nice change of pace for me.

I really don’t buy salad dressing anymore – I make a simple olive oil, lemon juice, salt, and pepper dressing. Sometimes I smush some hard boiled egg and avocado to make it more creamy. I also make my family’s favorite homemade honey mustard and I eat that, too. I really don’t worry too much about these dressings because I use so little.

Baby arugula salad:

My Bizzy Kitchen’s skinny pizza dough recipe. You can also make bagels and breadsticks and a whole bunch of other stuff with this amazing dough.

Burrito Bowl – with homemade corn tortilla chips from the air fryer that I made out of corn tortillas.

Breakfast burritos on low carb tortillas. My favorite brand is La Banderita.

Restaurant salad:

I have a post coming up about how I have been ordering in restaurants.

Spanish omelette wth baby arugula salad with radishes. I have a new radish love and I really enjoy using my new mandolin slicer. But, I did slice my thumb. This was arugula, radish, and thumb skin salad. Just kidding!

More skinny pizza! I make a garlic butter from the spray butter and a few dashes of garlic powder – akin to the Papa John’s garlic butter.

Taco Bell Mexican Pizza by me:

Lasagna soup for a school lunch made by Erica:

Amy’s Salad:

Greek bowl with lots of tzatziki this time:

Terikyaki chicken bowl with cauliflower rice and broccoli: I had some corn so I had that on the side.

Another salad but on my patio so even better:

I want to make Mix and Match Mama’s buffalo chicken salad soon:

And, I want to make Natalie’s turkey sub bowls:

In addition to breakfast, lunch, and dinner, I have two cups of coffee in the morning, a half of a Premier or Fairlife protein shake with iced coffee, and lots and lots of water and sparkling seltzer water. My snacks are string cheese, avocado toast, popcorn, and dum dum suckers usually.

What have you been eating lately?

Amy

Tuesday, March 1, 2022

Happy March 1st and Happy Mardi Gras! Today is the popular link up with Tanya where we share the month’s Amazon purchases.

Spoiler: I can’t believe how little I bought. But, don’t pat me on the back because I bought things from other places this month!

I shared these on Friday, but I am really loving my new hoops! They are super lightweight – I don’t wear heavy earrings. They look like they cost a lot more than they did!

I am also really loving my new frother. It sits in a little stand, too!

This was January, but I want to share it again as you might be buying for spring. This top is a nice quality and it’s like an elevated t-shirt.

I am seriously thinking about getting a couple more colors.

I can’t wait to see what you’ve bought!

Amy

Monday, February 28, 2022

It’s the last day of February, y’all! Tomorrow is March 1st! Tomorrow is also Mardi Gras! Daylight Savings Time starts March 12th! Is winter over? I thought we would have one more weather event here in Kentucky, but now…I’m not so sure. Our temps are supposed to be 50s and 60s this week!

It is time to link up with Sarah for Hello Monday while Holly is on vacation.

Basically, I am going to show you lots of food photos and a few things I bought this weekend. It’s riveting content – I’m sure.

Friday was the start of Spring Break for my college kids. Crazy early, right? But, I think it is based on the fact that it is exactly half way through second semester. They had midterms last week. Jack was supposed to leave at 4:30 a.m. for a college music department trip to NYC, but it was delayed due to a winter weather advisory there. He ended up leaving about 13 hours late and lost a whole day, sadly. But that’s ok. He returns Wednesday night and then will still have some time at home before Spring Break ends.

Mason came home Friday afternoon and we got coffee from Heine Brothers – a local place. He also got sweatpants that say Heine on the backside. Ha!

Then, he and I had skinny pizza and Tom had a Totino’s frozen pizza for dinner. Tom doesn’t like the skinny dough and he is crazy! It’s so good!

Then, Mason left to go to a party.

Saturday morning I was up and at ’em and made my cold brew with foam and it was amazing! I then added my Premier Protein.

I made my typical weekend veggie scramble.

Then, I was on a mission. I had seen an Aldi ad for this stool.

I wanted it for my plants! I also saw and bought two candles –

this cute cloche candle:

and this stoneware:

I did not get this one, but there were some pretty designs.

There is no way I could exclusively food shop there but I was happy to get these goodies!

I had fun doing an old fashioned in person shopping trip and I also popped in to Meijer, DSW, and Versona while I was out. All that shopping made me tired and hungry, so…

I went home and made myself and Tom and Mason lunch. They had ham and swiss sliders, fries, and salad, and I had:

salad, baked potato, and Boca fake chicken patty sandwich.

Then, Mason and I went shopping for a birthday gift for his friend and he left to go to this friend’s birthday dinner.

I told Tom I needed some entertainment for Saturday evening and he said, “puppet show?”. If you know Tom, you can hear him saying this. I replied that I was thinking more along the lines of me taking a break from cooking/heating up/putting stuff on plates for people.

On second thought I would have really liked to have seen what kind of puppet show Tom was prepared to put on for me.

So, we decided to go to Cultured, the charcuterie place that is super cute.

Sangria!

Tom wanted ice cream after so we went to Comfy Cow (a local place) and I had a kid size scoop of salted caramel.

Mason came home around 10 and then we were both really tired and went to bed.

Sunday morning meal prep! Don’t pay attention to the loose change – I guess I got a tip.

Meanwhile, the only pictures I have gotten from Jack in NYC are these…

I am having trouble editing and cropping photos and WordPress has not been helpful. Sorry!

So, Jack has been to a jazz museum, the Met, Wicked at the Gershwin Theatre, and singing in St. Patrick’s Cathedral. He has sent photos of pigeons. Welcome to the life of a teen boy mom.

Mason has been enjoying my cooking.

French Toast for breakfast:

So, that was a lot of food!

The weekend flew by and really, so did February. I can’t even believe it.

2022 has been hard. Winter, Covid/Omicron, flip flopping between in person and virtual school, masking, and now the news from Ukraine is…heartbreaking.

I hope you had a rejuvenating weekend and I hope that that state of the world improves.

Amy

Friday, February 25, 2022

It’s time to link up with Andrea and Erika for Friday Favorites!

This will be rather short and sweet this week because the week simply flew by…

Here are my favorites:

I took down my Valentine’s Decor and moved some things around and here is my current mantel decor:

Coffee table decor:

I am loving the white and green minimalism.

I will put this flag out front this weekend:

I am on a breakfast burrito kick again this week. I could add some meat or salsa, but I am enjoying this basic version:

I use a low carb tortilla (this time it was whole wheat), an egg fried or scrambled, a tiny bit of shredded Mexican cheese, and a few pieces of diced potato. I heat in my classroom microwave for about 30 seconds. This is 2 WW points.

I am really loving sparkling water and I tried a new one this week. This tastes like suntan lotion – in a good way. I also put it in a glass with some Crystal Light lemonade powder and it tastes like a piña colada! Also, isn’t the can pretty?

We had a special visitor Monday at school. Elizabeth got a new puppy and her fiancé brought her during lunch.

We went out to eat during our teacher work day and felt like normal people who get more than 20 minutes to both eat and use the restroom! We did breakfast at lunchtime at a place called Con Huevos – kind of a Mexican/Cuban breakfast place.

I ordered an omelette:

These earrings look so much more expensive and are super lightweight. They were a Melanie Shankle/Big Boo Cast recommendation. I am really enjoying wearing them!

I am so grateful that I am finally craving salad! I have said many a time that I prefer cooked vegetables, but lately I am on a salad kick. Join me in hoping it sticks around for a while because I feel like I’ve gained some weight back. I haven’t weighed yet, but I just feel bloated lately and like I’ve lost some motivation. So, anyway, I have enjoyed a few salads with baby arugula. I love doing a light dressing of olive oil, lemon juice, salt, pepper, and a bit of mashed up avocado. I also plan to do this with hard boiled egg instead of the avocado.

And, those are my favorites! What were yours this week?

If you missed any posts, here is my Hello Monday, here is my weekly Fashion Files – I have a new love of blazers!, and this week I also found and shared some St. Patrick’s Day ideas here and I talked about Decision Fatigue here. Hopefully there is a little something for everyone? Ha!

Wishing you a happy, happy Friday and a wonderfully relaxing weekend,

Amy

Thursday, February 24, 2022

I’m linking up with Kellyann and Jill today for Fashion Files!

Speaking of Kellyann, she has been talking about her blazers and looks so put together in them. But, I knew that her blazers wouldn’t work for me. I really wanted one, but I didn’t want a boxy cut or super structured shoulders. I didn’t really even want buttons. I wanted a stretchy comfortable fabric that wouldn’t wrinkle, too. Sounds like a tall order, right? And, why didn’t I want any of those things? I just didn’t think those would be flattering on me and I didn’t want to look like a linebacker.

Last Friday, Alli featured a light grey blazer from Walmart. I have been quite vocal that I am not a huge fan of Walmart. I have been burned many a time when I have shopped there. Plus, I don’t have one very close to my house. I have a Target very nearby and always leave happy. I always leave Walmart angry – maybe it’s just me. So, anyway, back to the blazer…it was a pretty high price point for Walmart and the brand was Scoop, which has intrigued me before.

You guys…the fabric is better than anything I could have dreamed up. They call it “scuba”. I don’t even know what to make of that, but this is really, really good. It has scrunched sleeves, which I also like. It seems like it would be very hard to wrinkle.

I wore it Monday for parent teacher confereces:

I wore it again yesterday for “favorite artist” day:

I ordered mine on Walmart.com and I couldn’t believe how speedy their shipping was.

And, a couple of days later, I ordered the hot pink! OMG! How cute for spring, right?

I hope it looks as good on me as it feels on me, but that’s probably not possible. I didn’t think the blazer trend would work for me.

Are you a blazer person? This would be a great way to try the trend if you are like me!

Amy

Wednesday, February 23, 2022

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!

People are so stinkin’ creative! You could do this with my sister Molly’s sun dried tomato cheese ball!

You grew up in the 80s if this punch was at every party. I could go for some of this punch right now!

How cute would a green charcuterie board be?

How cool is this – take a pack of Oreos and use edible gold spray paint on them?

Easy, but so cute. My childhood fave cereal was Golden Grahams! Anyone?

Do you have any St. Patrick’s Day traditions?

Would you try any of these ideas?

Amy

Tuesday, February 22, 2022

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!

Amy

Monday, February 21, 2022

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:

After the movie we went to a Mexican restaurant…

I ordered a really good salad:

And, that was basically my weekend!

What was the highlight of yours?

Amy

Friday, February 18, 2022

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.

What were your faves this week?

Amy

Thursday, February 17, 2022

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!

So, any favorites from above?

What have you been wearing lately?

Amy