MY MEAL PLANNING GUIDE

If you know me well, you know that I am not a fan of grocery shopping. There's nothing that is more frustrating than having to make multiple trips to the grocery store throughout the week. I blame my self since the last few months have been busy with a lot of travel. When my husband travels for work, I get lazy with meal planning or fill up the social calendar which results in making meals to share with others. Don't get me wrong, I don't mind socializing but my waistline tends to expand a bit in the process. Hehe! Enter my new meal planning guide. I have come up with a plan that I hope to stick to as much as possible in an effort to be less wasteful, spend less money and hopefully lose a bit of weight. So without further ado, here is what I am hoping to incorporate.

I am only listing 7 meals since breakfast is usually eggs, toast or oatmeal. My hubby doesn't usually eat breakfast so I don't feel as though I have to cook every morning and I usually pack him a lunch if we have leftovers from the night before. 

1- meatless 

1- crockpot

1- dining out (hubby quickly mentioned this would be an indulgent meal too!)

3- focus on lean protein, carbs and healthy fat (this will take some getting used to)

1- indulgent meal (think casserole or cheesy)

Here is the list of meals I have planned for this week 

Monday- scalloped potatoes following this recipe and adding diced ham https://www.gimmesomeoven.com/scalloped-potatoes-recipe/

Tuesday- hamburger for me and pigs in a blanket for him, with potato salad (world series game)

Wednesday- chicken cooked and sweet potato mash 

Thursday- crockpot fajitas over brown rice

Friday- dinner with friends (chili, loaded potato and salad)

Saturday- https://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/vegetarian-linguine

Sunday- pork chops, pinto beans and mixed veggies

I realize that this doesn't necessarily fit all of my criteria, however, I have learned to be flexible so that is what I am doing. Also, I am not a registered dietician so I am just meal planning according to what we like to eat and some research I have done, mainly when trying to figure out the whole protein, healthy fats and carbs.  I am also hoping to incorporate a fitness routine so stay tuned for that! :)

WEEKEND RECAP

Hubby has been training for a 50K for the past 4 months and race day finally arrived! We left on Friday and lucked out with sunny weather and a peaceful 6 hr drive to Spokane. While there, we stayed at The Beehive, a little cottage which I found on Air B&N. It was perfect! I could tell that the host truly put a lot of thought and effort into making it a cozy, home away from home experience!

                            

                                       

Once we settled in for the weekend, we headed out to dinner. Hubby chose to eat at Olive Garden, stating he had to eat all the carbs, in preparation for the 31 miles he would need to run on Saturday. I happily obliged and dinner was tasty! After dinner, we headed to a movie which was only playing in select theaters. After the movie, we headed back to our rental and headed to bed. We were totally wishing we hadn't stayed out so late :(

Saturday morning came quickly. We had a quick breakfast and then made the short drive to the race location. After checking in and once the race got started, I headed back to the house to get ready and kill some time before I had to return to the 22 mile mark! I hung around with the race volunteers until my hubby came through and that meant only 9 more miles to go! I can't even imagine running more than 4!! He finished strong and I am so proud that his hard work paid off :) We celebrated with dinner at Outback Steakhouse and went all out! After dinner we spent some time at Barnes & Noble (because we don't live near one so we have to take advantage when we can) and then went back and chilled for the rest of the evening.

Sunday was spent at an early church service and then we grabbed lunch and headed home to pick up our pup! Of course, we had to squeeze in like 3.5 hours of the World Series before calling it a night! We are glad to be home and looking forward to a low key week.

CREATING A COZY HOME

Those who know me well know that I love a cozy home! Just the thought of it instantly brings a smile to my face :) I want my home to be inviting and for others to feel just as cozy as I do when they are visiting. These are a few of the things I have incorporated into my home that help me truly enjoy the space.

Comfortable seating and throws- We purchased these chairs (they recline!) earlier this year and we spend quite a bit of time here chatting, reading books or searching the internet!

Candles- Give me all the candles! I love them and try to light them as much as possible. They instantly create a cozy atmosphere!

Lamps- When I wake up in the morning and come downstairs, I turn on a lamp and have my quiet time. It takes me a minute to actually wake up in the morning so the last thing I want is bright light everywhere. I actually need to invest in more lamps for my living area. 

Throw pillows- Such an easy way to change up the look of your decor. I think pillows make a sofa more inviting and give a more completed look to a living space. 

Baskets- I love to put my extra throws in a basket. I purchased mine at TJ Maxx. They always have a great selection at a good price.

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Slow music- I like to play music throughout day and some of my favorite stations on Pandora include Hymns 4 Worship and Sara Bereilles. 

There you have it! Hope these ideas help you create a cozy home :) and I will leave you with a picture of someone who loves a cozy home maybe a little more than I do! He he! 

WEEKLY FAVORITES

Happy Friday! This has been a surprisingly busy week for me. So much so that I am going to take today and focus on all the things that have been neglected (i.e. cleaning bathrooms, vacuuming and putting away the laundry I folded at the beginning of the week)! I recently started helping my brother with marketing his business and I didn't realize how much time it would take! However, I find that I am really enjoying it and it gives me the experience I am looking for, while taking a load off of his never-ending to-do list. It's a win win!

With that being said, as busy as the week has been, I have a list of things that have become my favorite this week! I like to reflect on the little things that bring a smile to my face and this is what I have come up with :)

1. This perfume right here. It's liquid gold. Smells yummy and my honey is a fan! Not cheap, but worth it. I will probably only use it on special occasions :)

2. My sister in law sent me this photo of my niece in her OOTD! That girl can pose! I suggested a top knot to finish off the look!

3. I had discussed a charcuterie and wine night with some friends and all the talk came to fruition last night. About 10 ladies gathered around yummy food and wine and chatted the night away!

4. And because I am loving all things fall I also picked up this soap :)

5. I recently found a new sitter for my beloved dog and it makes my heart happy that she loves him almost as much as I do!

Well friends! That's all I've got. I am looking forward to a long weekend with my hubby. No grand plans on the agenda which will be nice considering our weekends have been busy the last couple of months.

DIY FALL WREATH

I am typically not the kind of person who pins DIY projects on Pinterest and then actually works on said project! I like the idea of DIY but sometimes it is easier to just purchase a completed item and call it good. Am I right? Now our front porch is very deep which I find hard to decorate, but I always make sure to dress up my door according to the season we are in. I recently gave away my fall wreath so I was in the market for a new one and after coming across many online and in store, I decided to make my own!

Yesterday afternoon, I headed to our local Wal-Mart and picked up all the items that I needed for my project. I looked up pictures to give me ideas on how to arrange the flowers/bow and I did arrange them a few different times before I found a look that I was happy with. If you wanted the letter to stand out against a white door, then I would suggest using a darker paint color. This completed project was under $15 (because I already had a letter to use) which I am thrilled about especially when I go to a store and see some selling for over $100. Really?!?!

So here are the steps that I took and the end result! I hope I can go the whole season without making changes to it :)

I have painted this letter several times!

Because I am loving all things neutral

I found these flowers with clips making this project easy peasy

Tada!

ALL THINGS FALL

I had originally planned to do a "scenes from the weekend" post. However, I failed miserably in the picture taking department (sorry not sorry that I was living in the moment instead if snapping pics!) So this morning, I've got a fall themed survey that I found on one of my favorite blogs! Survey's are one of my favorite type of posts to read so I hope you enjoy reading this!

1. Favorite Fall Sweet Treat?  Pumpkin bread

2. Red, Yellow or Green Apples? Red (fuji and honeycrisp)
3. Favorite Fall Sport to Play? I don't play a sport but if I did, it would be soccer
4. Best Drink for Fall?  Homemade coffee with a seasonal creamer

5. Favorite Fall Activity?  Bonfires
6. Must have Fall Purchase?  Candles and seasonal soaps

7. Pumpkins: Pick your own or store bought?  No preference

8. Real or Fake Pumpkin?  Both
9. Favorite Halloween Costume?  Rosie Riveter

10. College Football or NFL?  NFL (go Seahawks!)
11. Fall or Halloween Decor?   Fall
12. Raking Leaves or no Leaves to Rake?  Not enough to rake
13. Favorite Soup?  My mother in law's chicken and wild rice soup
14. Favorite Fall Candle scent? My current favorite from TJ Maxx

15. Love or Hate Pumpkin Spice?  Love
16. Short Booties or Tall boots?  It depends on the outfit but can't wait to wear my most recent purchase :)

17. Favorite Halloween Candy?  Do peanut M&M's count?
18. PSL (Pumpkin Spice Latte): YES or NO?  Nope
19. Hayride or Corn Maze?   Corn maze
20. Favorite Fall TV Show?  So far it's DWTS and we are only one episode in but The Good Doctor looks promising!