Coffee and Cocktails at the Casa

Monday, July 1, 2024

I can’t believe it’s July 1st! But, I had a really good and really full (or as full as I wanted it to be!) June if I look back on it. I have about a month left of summer before I start my professional development and classroom set up. I need to look at my Summer List and do a halfway post on the blog, too. And, of course, I need to get on those goals I haven’t yet accomplished.

I am happy to link up with Sarah and Holly to share my weekend with you all today!

Thursday was a great day and I already talked about it on Friday Favorites, but I like to include it in the weekend..

I went to Myriad Swim Club with my friend Victoria for free. They had a teacher promotion in June and we were lucky to snag a spot. It was so fun and relaxing. We really should have gotten PD credit, right?

I went home and that night we ordered pizza because I had cooked 4 nights in a row. I like to save my take out for when I need it and not a specific day of the week. Our favorite good (read expensive)pizza right now is Parlour and we Door Dash it. Look at me using my wedding china again.

Friday morning was simply beautiful and I took a picture to remember how happy summer mornings make me. This was a non-humid breezy morning and Eddie Otis was chill and let me do my blog reading! He is getting more independent in the yard which is great! But, don’t worry, the humidity came back in full force Saturday and Sunday mornings! I opened the door Saturday morning at 4:30 am and it hit me like you wouldn’t believe.

Friday morning I roasted one side of this sheet pan with sweet potatoes and red onions and just basic spices and the other side with taco seasoning for that night’s dinner.

I went into Kroger for a big (pretty big) shopping trip for the first time in about a month. In June, I used Kroger pick up once and Walmart Plus delivery the other times. They’ve moved things around and added higher shelves that I can’t reach and yeah, I’m not missing out by not shopping in person. I did see two students so that was nice!

It took forever to unload and put things away and then I was out of steam.

Eddie Otis and I went outside again and I think he winked at me?

My bestie when it gets hot. I even use it on my patio:

Since we had ordered pizza the night before, I made burrito bowls for dinner.

And, I tried the mint chocolate chip Yasso bar and it’s delightful, too!

I haven’t tried cookies and cream yet.

Saturday morning I had the puppy out of the house (Tom takes him to swim in the river most weekend mornings) and I cleaned and mopped. I guess I took this photo yesterday morning and it didn’t look as good anymore!

Then, we went to Costco on our way to our friends’ pool for a Class of 1990 pool party. There were four couples who were able to attend that all live in this area now from my high school class. This is the pool of my friend Beth from Host It Notes!

The bartender (Mike, Beth’s husband) with Beth’s beautiful charcuterie tray:

She has also started a side charcuterie business and makes grazing tables!

And, these are the only photos I took because it was so hot and I was in the pool the whole time!

We had catered bow tie pasta and sandwiches and I brought a lemon feta arugula orzo salad.

We were the first to arrive and the first to leave. You have to keep them wanting more! But, we were there for almost 5 hours and I was so tired on the way home and when we got home. We watched the first episode of Season 3 of The Bear with our kids while we had a dinner of leftovers and random things. The episode was weird and I didn’t love it. Also, I have started Our Lady Jane on Prime and Tom is getting caught up to me to see if he likes it. And, my kids are watching How I Met Your Mother while I sleep. They usually ask me if I want to watch it way too late and then I fall asleep!

Sunday morning I got to sleep in! It was really nice and I needed it! What does sleeping in look like? I think I made it to 6:45?

Then, Eddie Otis and I sweated on the patio through the humidity!

We went inside and I guess he put himself in timeout. He loves the cool tile but this time it looked like he was staring into the corner.

I am so proud of myself for cutting down on food waste! I cut up salad fixings and put them in Tom’s snackle box.

I always have to remind myself that my energy happens in the morning and I need to to do stuff like this when I have that energy.

Tom and I asked a few people to go out on the boat but they all rejected our offer so it was just us – and Eddie Otis!

Wet boy:

He is really filling out his life jacket now!

I picked up Jimmy John’s on the way to the boat:

Our boy swam quite a bit!

We had a nice few hours relaxing in the cove.

We got home around 3:00 and I showered and read my book. I’m really enjoying it! Boy, my summer reading requests better start coming in at the library or I may be forced to purchase some!

We watched The Bear Season 3 episode 2 with our kids and we ate dinner together. And, that’s a wrap on our weekend!

Ok, July…you need to go much slower, ok?

What was the highlight of your weekend?

Amy

Friday, June 27, 2024

It’s Friday and that means it’s time to link up with Andrea and Erika to share some things that made me happy this week!

I am working on decluttering – finally getting the motivation to start on this. One of the things I donated were our really old plastic Target plates and my Pioneer Woman plates that you’ve seen in so many photos. I plan to get some new plates, but in the mean time I am using our white Pottery Barn plates and our wedding china that is almost 24 years old and only been used a few times.

Tom and I chose this:

We knew that we didn’t want anything super fancy and I think we chose well. I still like it. It is dishwasher safe, too.

I really cooked a lot this week – Sunday night we had blackened fish tacos with mango salsa.

Monday we had Greek bowls with roasted vegetables:

Tuesday we had spaghetti:

Wednesday we had chicken, broccoli, and homemade potato wedges, but no photo.

I also did a chocolate Bundt cake with chocolate icing:

By Thursday night I was tired of cooking and we ordered pizza!

We got some amazing rain Tuesday and Wednesday. It poured and poured!

In getting ready for the 4th of July, I picked up these Waterloo – yum!

And, Kroger gave me a sample of this Liquid IV flavor in my last pick up and it was so good, so it was just a matter of finding it in a store – I found both of my red, white, and blue products at Walgreen’s!

My Amazon summer tote is doing just fine. I’m loving having a summer option now!

Things We Never Got Over started to drag for me. It’s a really long book and I feel like I know what’s going to happen, so…

I started the next one and it’s so good so far! It goes into detail of characters that played small roles in the first one.

So, here is my declutter plan:

This is hard to do with a puppy underfoot, but I’m trying to use the times he is asleep to tackle certain areas. He comes running when I open the kitchen towel drawer and steals a towel. He comes running when I open the aluminum foil/baggie drawer and grabs a baggie. He also steals things from the fridge when it’s open – he has tried to pull out a wine bottle and he has stolen a potato.

I usually lose interest and never finish the list, but so far I am being ruthless. I’m kind of using this rule – if I haven’t used it in 90 days and don’t see myself using it in the next 90 days it has to go.

I’m already enjoying the space I have now that certain drawers and areas aren’t so stuffed full.

Have you all tried Yasso bars? I tried my first in the cookie dough flavor and it is so good! I can’t wait to try some other flavors.

I had to laugh at Eddie Otis playing with his margarita and his chili pepper. You know you are the puppy of a Spanish teacher when…

He also has a giant taco dog toy!

This has been my uniform – bike shorts, t-shirt, sneakers for morning walks and working around the house.

And, yesterday I had a really fun day with my friend Victoria. The Myriad Hotel Swim Club has had free Wednesday and Thursday for teachers this month so we took advantage of the deal! Victoria is a French teacher.

It was a beautiful day and we enjoyed chatting for a few hours. We had a couple of drinks and lunch there.

And, Eddie Otis and I had nice morning walks this week, too!

What was a favorite of yours this week?

Happy Friday!

Amy

Thursday, June 27, 2024

It’s Thursday and the most fashionable day of the week! I’m linking up with Kellyann and Jill to share what I’ve worn over the last week.

I went to dinner with my girlfriends at a steakhouse that happens to be in my favorite outdoor mall and I went early to shop in Ulta and Loft.

I wore my new Walmart Free Assembly dress again! This time I paired it with my metallic gold wedge sandals. This dress has pockets and I found out they did some other styles of dresses in this print and a blouse, too. The Walmart website is seriously one of the worst so it’s quite hard to find things. But, the dresses I have gotten are seriously just as good quality as the dresses I see in my little local boutiques. I do want to support them, but their dresses start at $68 and go up to $200 plus.

Loft selfie:

I did not buy anything, but they had some great sales going on. There are so many teachers who shop at Loft that I’m getting worried about looking like every other teacher.

Saturday farmer’s market outfit:

I wore my Old Navy linen shorts with my East Coast graphic tee from Old Navy.

Saturday night brewery ‘fit:

I wore my other pair of Old Navy linen shorts, a consignment J. Crew blouse, my gold lace up sandals.

Sunday lazy day of reading ‘fit:

I wore my Aerie gauzy shorts with my Old Navy cityscape tee and my Target silver Birks. I did run out to do a return in the afternoon in this outfit, too.

My return was to Old Navy. I ordered a t-shirt and wanted it bigger (not sold in stores) so they re-ordered it for me – I will show it to you when it arrives and if I keep it. While I was there, they had a table of $8 graphic tees and I picked up this “Paradise” tee mainly because of the hot pink in it. Then, I wore it the next day.

Car Service Appointment ‘Fit:

Sorry I didn’t get a better photo, but I wore my long white gauzy skirt with my paradise tee, raffia sandals, and my new summer tote. I dropped off my car and walked to breakfast where I took this bathroom selfie.

While I was walking to breakfast, a lady rolled down her window to tell me how beachy I looked. Ha!

My mysterious fourth dress from Walmart showed up! I had originally ordered 4 dresses about 2 weeks ago. I kept the black and white from the first photo, returned the other two, and then I think I am keeping this one. I just love kelly green so much!

The reason why I say I “think” I’m keeping it is that I just need to try it on with proper underpinnings to make sure the fit is good.

This is kind of fashion? I picked up some summer nails in fun colors at Ulta and Walmart (neighborhood market – just the small store with mostly food):

Wish list item:

These are the Vejas I’m thinking about getting! They are super pricey but I plan to wear sneakers er’day as the kids say. Is the velcro controversial or infantile? I remember the first person who got velcro tennis shoes in my small hometown. It blew our minds. What is this sorcery? You mean you don’t have to tie your shoes anymore?

It’s the summer of the dress and graphic tee over here for me.

What do you think about my “fashion” this week?

Tell me what you have been wearing?

Amy

Wednesday, June 26, 2024

Today I am participating in a something new to me – Wednesday Hodgepodge with Joyce! She has a series of questions that we are going to answer.

Let’s go!

1. What do you think has remained the same about you your whole life? How has your perception of yourself changed over time? 

Oh gosh, I have always been creative with an imagination, I would say. I had not one but two imaginary friends- ha! – and was an only child until 3.5 years old. I am the oldest of 3 girls. I learned to read in kindergarten and read to my class so I guess I have also always liked being the center of attention. I have always been a reader and when my head was in a book the rest of the world faded away. I wrote songs and poetry as a child. I wrote short stories, too. Isn’t it funny that all of this is still true about me? I love to read and write and I use my creativity as a Spanish teacher making up songs, jingles, and sayings to help me teach, and this is my favorite part of my job, I think.

I have always gotten giddy about a trip to the library, too!

I have always been pretty confident and I attribute this to my Dad. He was such a cheerleader to me and I don’t think it was warranted, but he always was in awe of things I did up until I was 48. My last memory of his celebrating me was when I was the guest host on my friend’s podcast. My Dad thought I was the bee’s knees for doing that and for how he thought I did. The relationship between a father (or father figure and this could even be a female) and daughter is so important.

2. What was the first thing you learned how to cook? Do you prefer to cook or bake? 

My mom didn’t like me to make a mess in the kitchen but I first baked cookies or brownies and then probably got in trouble for the mess! I remember trying to make a broccoli casserole and my sisters told me it was horrible and tasted like grass. Soon after, my Grandma taught me how to make mashed potatoes because that was my favorite holiday food.

Who gets the last laugh now? Evil laugh and a photo of a gorgeous quiche.

I was always very relaxed about my kids in the kitchen. I also watched my nieces weekly and we almost always did a cooking project. I guess it helped that my kitchen was and still is in need of renovation. There is nothing too precious! We had so much fun helping one of my college kids cook and record results for the Chemistry of Cooking class this past year.

3. What are some of your current priorities in this season of life? Elaborate. 

I am in a stage of transition with my kids just having graduated from college. They are living at home for a year to get on their feet as adults. This will be something to navigate as they are adults now. I also am in the last years of my career and figuring out my next chapter. I want to keep my husband as a priority as we head into true empty nester years. So, I would say keeping a strong relationship with my family and career decisions are priorities right now. It’s also hard to believe that I no longer have kids in school and that I have been a teacher for 30 years. It blows my mind!

We really enjoy boating together and it’s nice when it’s just the two of us (and our little Eddie Otis puppy).

4. How much time do you spend on your hair each day or, put another way, what’s your hair care routine? Do you get it cut regularly or just whenever the mood strikes? Do you go to the same stylist every time? Do you tell your stylist everything? Any other beauty treatments you indulge in throughout the year? 

I spend very little time on my hair – eek! I make sure to never have wet hair in the morning because I hate a blow dryer. I’m really lazy in this regard. I start with a blank slate (stick straight hair) and curl my hair in the morning and it takes less than 10 minutes.

I have been going to my stylist (Hi Laura!) since my kids were in elementary school and yes, she knows everything about me and my extended family! I go once every 8-10 weeks and the only other beauty treatment I do is a pedicure about 4 times a year.

This is as good as it gets, baby!

5. What is the most awe-inspiring place you’ve visited? 

This is tough – probably Neuschwanstein Castle in Germany. This is the castle that inspired the Disneyworld castle. We got off of a train at the base and then walked up to the castle. Click on the red font above and you will see how high up it is.

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

Why is this hard today? I was in a couple of stores on Monday and found the music very distracting. If music is playing, I find it hard not to move to the music. I also love to snap. My kids hate when I snap to music. I used to do it in the car and drive them crazy. I’m a really good snapper – meaning really loud. Do you have trouble not dancing? Do you like to snap along to music? Maybe that is showing my age. Do young people even snap anymore?

A store with music – and cheese!

I’d love to hear your answer to one of these questions today!

Happy Hump Day!

Amy

June 25, 2024

Erica (fellow Spanish teacher, meal prep partner, friend) gave me a planner as a Christmas present. She also got one for herself. The cover has the “F” word! Ha! Do you use the “F” word? I use it very rarely but I do use it sometimes. I have noticed the high schoolers don’t think it’s a big deal to use in class anymore, but I do reprimand for using it. I took points off one team last year during a game because I had asked them to use classroom appropriate language.

The planner:

At the beginning of each month, there is a quote. Because I am a teacher, I have turned them PG-13 for my readers – ha! I think you can still figure out the original, though. Feel free to use the cuss word in your head as you are reading and I will not take any points off.

Isn’t this the truth? We have all faced so many trials in our lives and maybe they don’t seem that big to others, but if they are big for you, then they are big for you. But, if we don’t go through those, we can’t see the beauty and the “rainbow” after coming through them. One thing that comes to mind is our post-pandemic mindset. We all had a new sense of appreciation for “normal life”.

Are you a glass half full or a glass half empty person? Are you a positive person?

Do you believe that you have good things just around the corner? In this world of social media, we are constantly seeing the good things that are happening for others. We don’t see their storms, but only their rainbows. Comparison really is the thief of joy, so I try to stay off social media when I am not feeling as positive. I snooze lots of people for 30 days, too. Oops, did I just admit that?

Do you have people in your life that “yuck your yum”? I will admit that I do. Why then are they in my life? There are just some people you have to deal with in your work or personal life as adults.

I get excited about the little things in life and I love that about myself. My Dad was also like this and I love that we have that in common. He was not perfect, but he got excited about a funny name he had heard, a new recipe that he made or someone else made, a new shirt… really anything! When I tell someone something that I’m excited about and they try to take that excitement away it’s really about them and not me. I also hope to always share in someone else’s sparkle. This makes me think of child-like qualities that we should hold sacred.

Gosh, I love this next one!

I try to encourage my students to be who they are. We are in a good climate for this right now, I think. Unique people are celebrated. I think most students would say I dance to my own rhythm as a teacher. Why is rhythm so hard to spell? I had to look that up recently because I couldn’t figure it out!

I sent this one to my former student Ali before I wrote this post:

She is moving to Spain for a year to be a teacher’s assistant as part of the Fulbright program. She is nervous but excited, as you can imagine. I think of my blog friends Tanya and Marilyn and what it must have been like for them to move to a whole other country with kids, no less! When we “put ourselves out there” we can gain so much. Mason benefitted so much from his semester in England. Was it perfect? No. But, I see the growth that happened for him in his time on his own.

How often do you as an adult put yourself out there and do sh-t that scares you? My job scares me everyday! Just kidding – a little education humor there.

Which one of these mottos speaks the most to you in this season?

I think the one that speaks to me the most is about not dulling my sparkle. I think I let this past year affect my attitude way too much. I was not my best self. I wasn’t always fun to be around. I let my joy be stolen when I shouldn’t have. I questioned my career, my relationships, and I did a whole lot of overthinking.

But, I have had time to reflect on that and I’m moving on.

This post was fun to write and I hope you enjoyed it, but if you didn’t, I don’t care because I will not dull my sparkle! Hehe!

Cheers!

Amy

Monday, June 24, 2024

If it weren’t for my blog, I might not know the date or the day of the week, but sadly, I am all too aware that this is the last week of June. I am happy to link up with Sarah and Holly for some of my weekend highlights.

How was your weekend? I like to start with Thursday when recapping the weekend and this is how the sky greeted me when I got up! We’ve had some heat this week and weekend, but I’ve still been able to start my day outside.

Thursday was a pool day! Erica invited me to join her again.

It was super hot and I got to try out both of my new floats. We stayed in the water most of the day! Ahhhhh…. I only took one photo, too!

I’m watching Bridgerton and enjoying it now. I think turning on subtitles helped me focus! I just started season 3 and then I will watch Queen Charlotte.

I enjoyed being in my bathroom with my napping boy while I got ready for a girl’s dinner out. He was snoring really loudly!

I had a fun night at a steakhouse – Malone’s – with three girls.

I did my 4th press on mani of the summer:

Friday night I stayed up late and went outside to see the strawberry moon with my kids. It looked more orange to me!

Also, on Friday, Eddie Otis had his last puppy shots and he weighed in at 34 pounds!

Saturday I got up bright and early and went to the farmer’s market for the first time this season.

I wore this and ordered this summer tote from Amazon. It’s not super high quality, but it will serve my needs.

I bought bagels, zucchini, little potatoes, a tomato, a cucumber, and an onion. I can’t get as excited about the farmer’s market this summer, but I’m glad I tried it.

This weekend I replenished my brow gel and…

my deodorant from Ulta.

I decided to date it to see just how long it lasts. Nerd alert!

Next to Ulta is Total Wine so I got these cute little champagne cans to have on hand.

I’m still reading this but it’s dragging for me right now…

Saturday night we went to a greenhouse turned brewery with some friends and ate dinner there while listening to some music.

Tom being Tom:

It’s a really cool place!

Sunday morning the humidity lifted and there was a nice breeze.

It rained Sunday! We needed it so badly! I enjoyed the few bouts of rain under my covered patio and I was so happy.

I enjoyed my breakfast:

Tom and I were so lazy and literally sat on the patio all day Sunday. It was so nice to have Tom (and his many electronics join me – he had his phone, his laptop, his headset his chargers, but at least he was there!) Eddie Otis was with us most of the time, too.

I had a Greek bowl for lunch:

Here is what I did on the patio – I read this book start to finish from 9:00 a.m. until 5:00 with only a few breaks. I couldn’t put it down. I can’t remember who recommended it. Has anyone read it?

I made blackened fish tacos with mango salsa for dinner:

It was a good one! We were going to go boating yesterday, but the rain changed our plans and that’s ok.

On Friday, I got paid for the last time until August 30th, so I have to be careful. We found out that we are getting a 2% raise for next year, though. That kind of feels like when I was a server and someone would leave a 50 cent tip, but I guess it’s better than no raise. Also, teachers in my district don’t get experience raises after year 25 and for me that was 6 years ago. Ho hum.

Tell me something good about your weekend!

Amy

Friday, June 21, 2024

Ok, this is just not fair. The Fridays keep coming at me and they need to slow down. I’m happy to link up with Andrea and Erika today, though, to share some favorites from the week.

Did you celebrate the summer solstice last night? Do you like it staying light out so late?

Do you ever wonder how the sausage is made? I love that term and use it a lot at school! What I mean is – how I do this blog post! I snap photos all through the week and add them to my post as the week goes on. Then, on Thursday morning (I usually write only 24 hours ahead of my posts) I put words to the photos.

Jennifer convinced (she didn’t have to try very hard) me to try Walmart Plus/Walmart + again (I did a one one month trial last June, too!) and I have enjoyed using it like I would Amazon, in addition to using it for my groceries. I check prices and see where I can get the best one.

I ordered myself two different floating options:

I haven’t gotten to try them out yet, though!

My Chobani creamer is hard to find, so I tried this and I really like it. Should we just make the month of June the month of coconut? I’m using it on my face, my hair and in my coffee!

Zero Chobani when I did a special trip to Target:

I really wanted Cookie Dough again!

So, Walmart Plus/Walmart + is pretty cool. They drop the stuff off on my porch and it’s pretty magical. Want to know what else was magical? They sent a human to take my two returns! Woohoo! Welcome to the future!

This week I had a Mexican restaurant lunch with Erica and I indulged in about half of this marg at lunchtime! Scandalous!

She brought me back some cool things from her trip – one of her stops was a lavender farm in Provence, France.

I’m still plugging away at this book, but the heat has kept me from reading in my happy place, so I haven’t read much this week.

I got to pick up two more books at the library this week so I better get a move on!

I guess this is a new feature…my library sent me this email. Girl Math! I showed Tom how much I saved so therefore can now spend!

Remember when I lost my mind and thought we might get two chocolate lab puppies? Well, sadly, the other two males from his litter have still not been adopted. They look just like our boy.

Eddie Otis has been enjoying frozen carrots. I plan to soak one in beef broth, but this just went straight into the freezer.

These are all the cousins from my niece’s grad party. I didn’t have the photo right away. They are all so grown up. How did that happen so quickly? One sister has three kids and one sister has four. Tom has a firm belief that the number of kids should never be greater than the number of parents. Ha! He believes in a man on man defense approach.

Eddie Otis got to sleep where Ernie always slept last weekend while we watched a movie. Look at our big boy! We still miss Ernie, of course. He was such a good dog.

We had a fun outing as a family this week on a Tuesday night! Tom purchased tickets to hear a classical guitarist so we ate dinner out nearby before the concert.

I didn’t want to be obnoxious so I only snapped my dish. I got mushroom risotto with vegetables and it was fabulous.

We weren’t allowed to take photos during the performance so I took a photo of the musician’s chair for you:

Because Eddie Otis is spoiled, I had a dog sitter hang out with him.

So, I had a week with lots of favorites. And, what you don’t have photos of were all the slow mornings, cups of coffee, blog reading, puppy walks, making whatever I want for breakfast and lunch, talking to my kids, chatting on the phone with friends and family. Ahhhhhhhhh

I hope you had many favorites this week and I would love to hear one. If you have more than one, you probably should start a blog! Ha! Just kidding! But seriously! We need more blogs!

Cheers to the weekend!

Amy

Thursday, June 20, 2024

Should I even do Fashion Files with Kellyann and Jill if I only have two outfits? Ha!

It’s Florida hot here this week, Kellyann!

I wore this outfit two days in a row, in fact. When I’m at home I have on a tank and shorts so I don’t “dress” for much of the day right now.

I took this in a Mexican restaurant bathroom mirror:

I wore my white Universal Thread from Target gauzy dress Sunday for brunch and Monday for a Mexican lunch. I have on my Target buckle sandals. I desperately need a summer bag. I think I accidentally donated my perfect J.Crew bag from years ago.

I got a new dress! Actually, I ordered 4 dresses from Walmart. I have a new Walmart Plus account that I am enjoying this month. 3 dresses arrived Monday and 1 dress is “delayed”. What is up with this lately? Ha!

The only dress I’m keeping:

It is Free Assembly and it’s cut just like this pink dress that I love, love, love from the same brand from Walmart:

Both dresses have pockets and I just really like the cut for me. I love black and white and I think it would look really cute with red shoes! I have red clogs but I don’t have red sandals.

The other two dresses just didn’t look very good and I am trying to be more discerning.

In this type of heat, throwing on one piece seems to keep me the coolest. The summer dress is so great! I also wear all of my dresses to school and I plan to rock the sneaker again. I have my sights set on a pair of Vejas for my treat to myself.

Ok, here is my amazing discovery that you probably already know about:

Walmart is picking up the 2 dresses that I don’t want! How cool is that?

What have you been wearing lately? Do you have a nice collection of summer dresses to throw on?

Cheers!

Amy

Wednesday, June 19, 2024

I mentioned this week that I am disappointed some of the time when I go out to eat lately. The prices are high and the quality is low. I do want to support my locally owned restaurants, though, and I need a break and want to go out for the experience sometimes.

But, I feel lucky that I enjoy the act of cooking. It’s relaxing to me to get in the kitchen and chop and create!

Sometimes I play the game “if I were in a restaurant, what would I order?” and then try to re-create it.

In the summer, I still keep that same routine of starting dinner around 5:00 (I also talked about routine this week and that I keep many of the same rhythms whether it be summer or the school year). But, one thing I do in the summer is prep things in the morning. I know that I have my energy in the morning and making a plan and doing whatever I can to help that 5:00 hour is great for me.

My bestie goes to Kroger almost everyday and hates it everyday! She goes around 5:00 and often calls me on the way. Girl! I keep trying to help her but she doesn’t want to think about dinner until 5:00 and then it’s a vicious cycle. She hates cooking and has some really picky eaters so that makes it harder.

I have been on a quiche kick! My second one turned out way better. I bought a two pack of frozen Marie Callender crusts. You set them out for 10 minutes and then poke a few fork holes in the bottom and the sides and pre-bake for 10 minutes at 425.

In the meantime, I whipped up a mixture of already cooked bacon chopped up (already cooked was way better!), 1/2 cup heavy cream, 1/2 cup skim milk, salt, pepper, some freshly grated parmesan cheese, and 4 eggs beaten. I served it with a salad. This would be great if you are having company for a light meal.

Mason told me I’ve been doing this a lot (too much) but it’s really good! It’s a riff off of the viral Tik Tok feta pasta. I love feta, but it feels too harsh here, so I switched out Boursin original. You can get this at Trader Joe’s, Kroger, or wherever really. I needed double the tomatoes, but I worked with what I had. I only use half of the Boursin. So, put your grape tomatoes in a dish, add olive oil, salt, pepper, and minced garlic. My garlic got a little too dark, so you may want to wait a bit on that. Bake in the oven at 350 until the tomatoes soften and burst open with a spoon. I did 20 minutes I think. Add in the Boursin. You can also cook the Boursin the whole time, but I didn’t.

Boil your pasta while this is cooking and then pour in some of the valuable pasta water. Do you know how many chefs use the pasta water? It’s liquid gold in cooking, apparently.

Then, you simply add in your hot pasta. You can add cooked chicken, sausage, or really anything else you want. It’s more a method that can give you an idea!

Trying to have lots of cut up veg and these can also go in salads with a bit more chopping:

I found out the “snackle box” also works for a family make your own salad bar.

We use salad kits sometimes, but I don’t think they are as good as when we make our own.

Our favorite dressing right now:

One night I made a new and super easy French potato recipe that I read about in my novel! I added rotisserie chicken that was a special at Fresh Market, my homemade bread, and roasted vegetables to go along with it.

Here is the potato recipe:

I got carried away with the fresh parsley! Do you have a mandolin? It’s really fun to slice your vegetables for roasting. I got mine at TJ Maxx for under $10.

This recipe caused me to buy ghee. I had never cooked with it!

Potatoes Daphinoise:

2 T. Ghee in a pan on the stove

slice up 5-6 yukon gold potatoes on your mandolin

Add to the pan

Cook until soft and tender

Add salt and pepper

Add fresh parsley

I couldn’t find the exact recipe I used. Mine only called for stovetop cooking. Many are calling for oven baking and seem more like an au gratin. I will say that my potatoes fell apart so if that bothers you, the oven might be better for keeping them intact.

What are you cooking lately?

Cheers!

Amy

with Joanne at My Slices of Life

Tuesday, June 18, 2024

Today I’m going to talk about life hack/product updates. If I have one complaint about blogs, it is that the blogger never gives me an update on something they recommended – whether it be a product or a habit/hack – is it still working for them? I want and need details!

By the way, I’m the friend that while you are telling me a story – I ask for more details. I want to know all of it! Don’t you dare try to “yadayadayada” me! Seinfeld fans?

Both of my sisters and I are teachers. Kate started in another career before teaching and she says that one of the hardest things is changing routines for the school year and for the summer. There are certain routines that I try to keep the same. If I am at my best self, the dishwasher gets loaded and started after dinner and then unloaded in the morning. This habit seems to make my evenings and mornings better.

Notice that I include pans and I also run it whether it is really full or just kinda full:

Do you have a dishwasher routine?

I still absolutely love these little sausages that I get at Costco. I have not seen them at Kroger or Walmart. They do have them at Whole Foods, but your savings at Costco are pretty great.

I only have them at breakfast but they could be for dinner. I eat them alone or in breakfast burritos. No, my middle name is not “Lu” or “Lou”!

I am also trying to get back to my proffee. I do about a tablespoon of instant with a splash of water, froth it up, add ice and my fave cake batter.

The iced coffee tastes so good in the summer!

This bug spray is still working for me, but I do like to shower it off before bed. I’m still struggling to get back outside after dinner – there is that routine thing again! My routine is to shower after dinner and watch tv. It’s the only time I watch tv so I look forward to it!

This is a re-purchase. It really holds my hair well!

I have only used the normal Donna Karan, but it is working in the hotter days of summer. I am out after about 3 months with the same stick so I might try the aluminum free. I think the scent is lovely and it works well with my Diva detergent and I don’t wear any perfume right now, so it kind of acts as both. $32 is a lot for deodorant but I love it.

The Target extended shoulder tees are working for gym, walking, and under things. I have one lime green, one yellow, one white, and two black:

This photo also shows my 3 or 4 year old Lulu belt bag that is working well for dog walks!

I tried this again, and I just don’t think it’s that great:

I will stick with the classic:

I’m also having great luck using this as a stain remover in my laundry!

Is there a product I mentioned in the past that you want to know about?

What about you? What product/life hack is still working for you?

Cheers to finding stuff that works!

Amy