End of the Week

Hey everyone! I hope that all is well with you and that you've had a great week. I know I disappeared for a bit again but the week just got away from me between a broken air conditioner, migraines and just general apathy and blah. I'm going to post a short wrap up for you with a few pictures that I have from the week and then I'll be back with a grocery haul on Monday when I go to Whole Foods! I decided to splurge on some fun things this week so I should have a good haul and some good meal pics next week.

Anyway, here are a few pics from the week:

As I mentioned, I came home from work last Saturday and my air conditioner in my room would not turn on as it had finally died. This was the temperature outside and being on the top floor my room was about 91 degrees. I couldn't stay up there for more than a few minutes at a time and ended up sleeping on the couch because there was just no way. Luckily we were able to replace it quickly and I was back in my bed the next night.

I've been eating lots of fruit this week and luckily the deli next door sells cut up mango for a quick refreshing snack. 

I also had this for lunch one day this week: rice with green beans cooked with tomato. Very tasty but also quite heavy for the heat.

I decorated my August monthly spread for my planner last night and I love it :) It's so bright a cheery! You can see a big block of time blocked out toward the end of the month and I'm very excited because that means cuddle time with the babies!!

I know this is a short one but like I said, not much happened this week. Hopefully I'll be able to get lots of pics of yummy meals next week :) I hope you all enjoy the rest of your weekend and that you are staying cool!

Things and Stuff

Hey guys! Can you tell I can't think of post titles at all nowadays? Totally running on empty in that department :) I am here today with a quick post to start off the week. Not a whole lot going on, just business as usual, trying to stay cool. Let's just get into the pictures!

First up is a very small grocery haul for this week. Cucumbers, tomatoes. romaine lettuce, shredded and baby carrots, one potato and some cauliflower florets.

Yup, I used the cauliflower to make the Sticky Sesame Cauliflower I posted in my last post! Oh man you guys, this stuff is good! I'm so glad I dealt with the oven yesterday because I'm really loving this recipe. I'm just not turning on the oven again in a long time ;)

Finally, I teased in my last post that I had an extra special sticker kit to use in my planner this week! I had set a major limit on myself to make only one sticker purchase during the 4th of July sales but I had to break it slightly for this. I justify it because this is the Pretty On Paper Co. Orca Charity Kit. Not only do I get these gorgeous stickers themed around the beautiful orca, $10 from each purchase is donated to  Whales and Dolphins Conservation. You know how I feel about this as I discussed when I saw Blackfish and I didn't mind breaking my rule for this Charity kit. It was definitely going to a good cause and I got these beautiful stickers as a bonus.

I couldn't wait to use them so here is how my week came out! I'm so excited about it, I love the way it looks so much! 

I hope you are all having a great week! I'll see you back here later on this week! <3

This and That

Hey you guys! Happy weekend! I hope you all had a great week. I'm ready for my weekend to start after today's day at work. I really have plans as of right now except to clean and whatnot. Hopefully you guys have more exciting plans than I do!

I really don't have a ton of pictures of my food because I eat the same things all the time. More sushi, lots of mediterranean plates and salads, etc. I have a few pics but then I thought it would be fun to show some recipes I found on Pinterest that I plan on making in the near future!

First up, what I've actually eaten:

I don't know why my cantaloupe looks so weird in the photo but it was super sweet and juicy and delicious. This was a typical breakfast during the week. Really hydrating and refreshing.

As I mentioned I had lots of Mediterranean plates. This is the only one I bothered taking a picture of.

I had my waffles from Trader Joe's once! One with just syrup and one with a little peanut butter and syrup. That syrup poured out really fast but it was still super delicious!

I also just wanted to include a picture of this gorgeous hibiscus flower in my front yard. We have TONS of them and they are so beautiful. They are my favorite flower and it makes me happy to see them every day.

OK so now I'll show you a couple of recipes that I plan on making soon!

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First is the Burst Tomato and Zucchini Spaghetti with Avocado Sauce from Pinch of Yum! How beautiful is that dish?! Minus the parmesan sprinkled on top this dish is vegan and I can't wait to try it. She mixes regular spaghetti with spiralized zucchini and it sounds amazing. Definitely a really great summer dish!

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Up next and probably the one I'm most excited about is the Sticky Sesame Cauliflower from the Connoisseurus Veg! How amazing does this look?! I'm so excited to try it out, maybe I'll make it next week :) If I can deal with the heat that is.

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I can't think of anything better for breakfast than a creamy Chocolate Overnight Oatmeal Smoothie from Running With Spoons. I think this may have to happen next week as well!

So there you have it, a few things I've eaten and a few things I really want to eat. What summer recipes are you looking forward to trying?

I can't wait to show you my planner spread for next week! I'm using a very special sticker kit that I think you will all love :) 

I hope you have a great weekend! <3 See you on Monday!

I Bought All The Things

Hey you guys! I'm back with my weekly Monday post. I think I've settled into a good groove with two posts a week so I'm going to stick with that with some possible bonus posts thrown in. Today I figured I would do a fun post of a few things that I've purchased over the past couple of weeks and also my grocery haul for this week and my planner spread for this week as well. I've been budgeting myself quite a bit and I've been doing really well about not spending so these were a few treats I've gotten myself. It's the little things, right? Besides, since I've simplified my eating I've cut my grocery bill down to about $35-$40/week which is really good. Anyway, check out all the stuff!

I'm so sorry for this awful picture on this busy ass tablecloth. I hate it and normally I get rid of it but there were people around and I just had to take this picture really quickly. Anyway, I have a small Trader Joe's haul to share and I got some kale (for juice), romaine hearts, chickenless tenders, grape tomatoes, avocado, frozen corn, a buried cucumber and some gluten free waffles.

I've also had some serious chocolate cravings lately (yeah... you know what I'm saying) so I popped into Sweet To Lick and I grabbed this Double Chocolate Whoopie cookie on Saturday after work. I had half on Saturday and will probably have the other half tonight. It is soooooo good you guys. One Monday I'm going to have to head in and check out their lunch that they are now offering.

I also ran to the Mediterranean Store and grabbed my favorite hummus and stuffed grape leaves. I can't remember the name, I just remember location unfortunately.

So I have been trying to find Scotch brand glitter washi FOREVER because you know I love my glitter. I have black and red and I love this brand because it doesn't shed but I really wanted some more colors. Well my Target must have re-stocked because I found all of these beautiful colors and let me tell you... when Target has all of the glitter washi you buy all of the glitter washi. My Target especially because they don't really re-stock it often. I'm so excited about these and that turquoise is giving me life right now.

Finally, here is my planner spread for this week. This is 100% my favorite spread so far. The kit is beautiful and from my favorite shop, Creating & Co., and the style of planning was inspired by her as well. I love how this came out so much I doubt I'll go back to my old style of planning! This is so clean and beautiful and it makes me happy to look at it :) I have another kit from her that I will be using in two weeks and I can not wait. It is my favorite kit of all time, it is gorgeous and I think you will all like it too!

So that's all I have for today. I hope you all had a great weekend and I'll check in later this week with some food! I did some meal planning today and I have some yummy stuff to come :)

<3

What I Ate This Week

Hey everyone! As I promised I'm back with a what I ate post. You'll notice that there is a lot of fruit and salad involved and not a whole lot of cooking. The temperatures finally rose this week and along with that the humidity so I've been trying to eat fresh and raw. I definitely can't bring myself to turn on the oven.

I had my weekly sushi treat for lunch yesterday. I'm always surprised by how fresh and delicious it is from the grocery store! I think it helps that I get there as they are putting it out pretty much every time I get it.

I have eaten TONS of watermelon over the past week. Pretty much every day. It is my favorite food ever and it is so refreshing and hydrating which makes it perfect for a hot, humid day.

I've been enjoying lots of salads with my Just Ranch dressing. Super delicious.

Lots of cherries as well. Seriously, summer fruit is the BEST.

I rarely ever drink iced coffee anymore but we made a pot of coffee at home to make iced coffee and I had it once and it was really good. I used the Silk Caramel Creamer and I really liked it!

Here is the Trader Joe's Mango Coconut Pudding with some sliced strawberries and it was delicious! 

Finally, the most cooking I was able to do this week. This is a salad place sized hash brown pancake made in a non-stick pan with no oil. It was really good but it was just too hot to eat something this filling and heavy.

So there you have it, some things I've been eating throughout the week. I hope to be back on Monday with a grocery haul, some planner stuff and who knows what else.

I hope you all have a great weekend <3

Happy 4th of July!

Hey everyone!! Happy 4th of July to all of my US readers :) If you are not in the US, then happy Monday to you! I hope you have all had a great weekend and that you are all having a fun and safe holiday. Today has been a quiet day but in a really great way. My mom and I spent some time together running some errands this morning and I've just been cleaning and relaxing this afternoon. I also enjoyed a delicious dinner which I'll be sharing with you in this post.

First, I just wanted to show you a small Trader Joe's haul from yesterday. I'm trying really hard to save money where I can so I'm going to be using up what I have in the freezer and pantry as much as I can so I kept my grocery list short. Here's what I got:

So for the haul I got some Strawberries, shredded hash browns, almond milk, my favorite raspberry, lemon and strawberry popsicles (I'm obsessed with popsicles right now!!), the Mango Coconut Pudding recommended by Vegan Peace, shredded carrots, a large cucumber, and a giant sweet potato.

This is the amazing dinner I had tonight!! I had some of the Trader Joe's chick'n tenders with some corn and a delicious salad with the Just Ranch dressing. You guys, this dressing is AMAZING!! I love it! I only ate about half of the corn, it was way too much and I don't know how I didn't realize it would be before I made it. If I were a little smarter I would have just thrown the corn and the tenders in the salad and eaten it like that but I guess that'll just have to wait for next time!

This is my beautiful, glittery planner spread for this week! I love how festive it is. And how glittery it is. So fun! I'm going to try a different style of planning next week and I've very excited to try it.

Finally, this little guy is going to be spending the night with us tonight. He gets really freaked out by fireworks and my brother and the family will be out late tonight so he is staying here tonight. TJ is fine with fireworks so he is home but they didn't want Tyler to be home with no humans to comfort him so I get to hang out with this sweet boy tonight :)

That's all for today! How did you guys celebrate the holiday? What is your favorite 4th of July meal or snack (or beverage if you are so inclined!). Let me know!

I'll be back in a few days with some yummy meals to show you. Lots of summer produce happening here! See you soon! <3

Summer Bucket List

Hey you guys! I hope that you have all been well! I'm still getting things back in order after spending a long weekend and my brother's house but the routine is finally getting back to normal. I work today and have a normal weekend for the 4th of July weekend. I still don't know what my plans are for Monday but honestly I'm hoping to just relax and have a craft day. I've been quite tired lately so I try to get some quality relaxation time when I can.

Summer is finally officially here and I thought today would be a good day to share a little summer bucket list that I have for the year! It's just a few things but they are definitely things I would like to accomplish over the next few months :)

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I don't know why I chose this image to represent having craft days but it makes me laugh so hard. Mainly because I'm not even really a fan of his but the whole thing is just so silly. Anyway, I'm sure you can tell by my last post that I'm on a craft kick and I want to make sure that I have some craft days planned for the summer. It is a great way for me to relax and create and I'm really excited about it!

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The second thing I really want to do is hold a giveaway for you guys!! I really appreciate you for sticking with me during a time where I was feeling crappy and posting sporadically so I really wanted to do a fun giveaway. I will probably combine it with my crafting and I'm excited about it! I haven't decided when it will happen just yet but I will obviously keep you guys posted!

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Something I have really been missing from my life for a long time is a regular yoga practice. I've lost everything I gained from that practice in terms of flexibility, balance, etc. and I really want to regain it. I also miss the calm and peace I feel after a practice. I am really going to make it a goal to get back into the habit of practicing yoga at least 3 days a week for 30 minutes (at least).

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This is not a fun one but I am hoping to really iron out a strict budget to start saving a little more. It's really important, especially now that I had that issue with the craft fair and am out some of my investment. I've been working on it and I feel really good about it so I just need to be careful! Luckily since the weather is so nice I will be able to do things outside for free during the summer :)

And finally… I don't have a picture for this but I do want to get back into the kitchen and start coming up with more recipes again! I really miss being creative in the kitchen so I think it would be fun to take advantage of all of the summer produce and make some fun new dishes. It would also be good to come up with some delicious dishes perfect for those on a strict budget. I can't wait to share them with you!

So that's all I have for today! What is on your summer bucket list?

Have a great weekend and I'll see you on Monday with a grocery haul and some 4th of July eats!