Would you all even believe me if I told you we still aren’t going back to school today? Our roads have definitely improved, but there are still too many side streets on bus routes that are iced over. The temps will be on the rise this week, and we’re ready for it.
I had two fun posts this weekend. Saturday, I shared a few of my fave Super Bowl apps, and yesterday, I shared a few Olympic view food ideas (thanks to being inspired by others!)
Anyway, it’s already the second Monday of the month, so I’m co-hosting Share Our Lives with some of my favorite bloggers.
Well, truth be told, I’m not good at binge watching shows. Do I watch TV? Absolutely! I just don’t seem to have the attention span (or the time?) to “binge” a show in one or two sittings.
That being said, recently, Trav and I watched His & Hers in a matter of a few days, and we definitely wanted to see how it ended.
I do have “pockets” of time, like over break, when I kind of made it a goal to finish up a few shows I love and had started. I really like Nobody Wants This and a few weekends ago, I watched the last few episodes of season 2.
Since Catherine O’Hara’s passing, I started to re-watch Schitt’s Creek. It was a fave a few summers ago. My dad had suggested it, I watched all six seasons throughout that summer…maybe 2022?
During Covid, I “binged” The Crown. I was late to that game as well, and I watched the first three or four seasons, and then I finished that series as it wrapped up over the next few years.
I’m looking forward to the new season of Night Agent coming out soon. Trav and I watch that together.
Thanks to Hulu, I can watch some of my favorite shows from my childhood like Who’s the Boss?, 227, Designing Women, Mad About You, and According to Jim.
You know I can always watch my fave ladies…The Golden Girls.
A few shows I have on my TV/Netflix list to watch at some point:
Lincoln Lawyer (my brother suggested, and I’ve watched the first few episodes of season 1, and I like it)
The Diplomat (I need to finish season 3)
The Pitt (my mom suggested, and I’ve watched the first few episodes of season 1, and it’s intense…but I love Noah Wylie.)
The Four Seasons
Shrinking
I just don’t have a ton of time right now to go all in on a show with multiple seasons, but I like having some ideas of what to watch). I also think I have TV “commitment issues.” haha!
Of course, right now, I will want to watch the Olympics in the evening.
Next month, we’re looking at grocery list frequent buys…
Yesterday I shared a few Super Bowl app ideas which sent me down a Pinterest rabbit hole of Olympic food ideas.
Pinterest has always given me great meals, desserts and recipe ideas as well as party ideas when the kids were younger. These are all easy and fun ideas to make viewing the Olympic games even more fun.
Olympic Rings:
Starting with…the Olympic rings…but with fruit. How fun! …and a great and easy way to serve something healthy.
Gold Medals:
The opposite of healthy and just as cute are these gold medals using Oreos and Fruit by the Foot.
Snap Happy Mom has a whole post sharing ideas for Olympic themed party including the two ideas above.
Olympic Torches:
How cute are these fruit Olympic torches? Alex Daynes has a fun post sharing four Olympic party foods.
Sip and Celebrate:
This drink is easy to make with bubbly or Sprite and some gummy Life Savers. Savannahsmiled.com has a fun Olympic Watch Party post.
I wish I could be so creative! If my kids had a birthday around the time of the Olympics, I would have loved this theme!
Well, this is a big weekend! The Olympics have started and tomorrow is Super Bowl Sunday.
I’ve joked the past few weeks that I’ve forgotten there’s even a big game since us Chiefs fans have been spoiled the past few years with the Chiefs always being in the big game!
So, since I don’t really care about the game, I can now focus on the commercials…and the real star of the show…the food!
Since the Chiefs have been in the Super Bowl, we’ve usually watched the game at my brother’s house. We typically keep it simple and order pizza and get a cookie cake. That being said, I know appetizers are some of the best part of the big game, and here are a few “go to” ones I make when I need to bring something to a pot luck or a party.
Stuffed Peppers:
These mini stuffed peppers are easy and delish. I’m sure you could add in some bacon bits or sausage to make them a more hearty option.
Pic c/o exercise4weigtloss.com
Meatballs:
These meatballs are my “go to” when I need to bring an app. Also, they are Hayden’s fave!
I’d saved this to Pinterest years ago, but the link doesn’t seem to work now.
All you need is a bag of frozen meatballs, BBQ sauce and grape jelly. (I always buy the Sweet Baby Ray’s BBQ sauce and Smucker’s grape jelly…as pictured)
Put all three ingredients in the slow cooker and cook on high for 2-3 hours or low for 3-4 hours. Easy and delish!
Salami Roll Ups:
Salami roll ups are such an easy app to make! I don’t have a pic of the finished product, but this is the salami I use.
For each piece of salami, spread some cream cheese on it and add a slice of pickle (I usually buy the spears and cut each spear into fourths). Then, roll up the piece of salami and secure with a toothpick.
Easy peasy!
What’s your fave app to share with others? Who are you cheering for in the Super Bowl? The Patriots or the Seahawks? (Or the apps and commercials?! ha!)
Well, it’s official…we haven’t been to school in two weeks. “Winter break 2.0” has been very unexpected. I guess our only shot at normalcy will be the fact that we’re supposed to be in the 50’s next week!
While I appreciate the downtime, we all need to get back into a routine!
Speaking of routine…as I do every Friday, I’m linking up with Andrea for this week’s Friday Favorites.
Buckle up, y’all…I have lots of faves and lots of randomness…
I saw this on Instagram, and my Type A personality loved it:
As I shared in my post on Tuesday, I’ve been out and about to a few faves stores. I saw this cherry icon glass at Home Goods and just couldn’t say no. I’ve already used it a few times, but I was thinking it would be a good spring/summer glass.
Hadley went to a birthday party last weekend, and they made pretty bouquets of flowers. Her bedside table has a lovely pop of color(s).
Speaking of Hadley…she got some Lego flowers for her birthday, and she’s been working on them with her friend over the past couple of months. Her bouquet is finally finished…so she has lots of flowers in her room.
…and speaking of her room, I left to run errands on Tuesday and came home to her room rearranged. She’d told me she wanted to move things around, but I was surprised she did so on her own. Honestly, I was a smidge annoyed because I knew I was going to help get everything put away/purged/organized/thrown out, but I guess we did have time…and that’s how we spent most of Wednesday. I do remember moving my room around a lot as a kid, so I guess she gets that from me!
*Sigh* I was so bummed to hear about Catherine O’Hara passing away (obviously, not a favorite)….I spent most of Saturday morning watching Schitt’s Creek (a favorite show of mine). My dad told me to watch it a few years ago, and I chipped away at it that summer. Anyway, it’s such a great show…and she will be missed!
I found more Dizzilicious…this time at Target. This variety pack was with the Valentine’s Day candy, cards, etc…so I snagged it right up. I think it’s mostly at Sam’s Club or Costco, and we don’t have memberships to either. I hope Target always has this. The birthday cake flavor is my fave.
Trav picked up Crumbl cookies on Friday, but he left them in his car overnight! He found them on Saturday morning…haha!
Still, it was a very sweet thought to pick some up, and we enjoyed those last weekend.
Speaking of sweet treats, I went to fill the kids’ car up with gas yesterday morning, and I decided to pick up some donuts too. They appreciated having something different for breakfast…I thought the one with strawberry icing was delish!
I went to Michael’s last week, and I spotted so many cute “book club” paper goods.
How funny, right?!
This serving tray was so precious, and they had so many cute napkins: library book check out card, “My wine club has a book problem,” and “So many books, so little time!” I didn’t get any of these, but I was tempted!
Tuesday night, we went out to dinner. You all, when I tell you that we never eat out during the week, I mean it. I really always try to make dinner, and occasionally we will pick up carry out, but we literally never go out to eat on a Tuesday night. Anyway, I told Trav we needed to get out of the house and do something, and we hadn’t tried this new(ish) restaurant. (Also, while planning the dinner out, I really did think we were going back to school on Wednesday, so I this would be a nice was to wrap up “Winter break 2.0”)
The food was really good. Trav got a BBQ sandwich, I ordered a burger salad, Hadley got a chicken bowl, and look at Hayden’s burger…so good!
We’ll definitely go back! (And as we exited the restaurant and made our way to the car, it started to snow just as we received the text that we didn’t have school the next day.)
My mom gave me this mug for my birthday. Maybe I should sit it on my desk once we get back to school. ha!
You know who loves the snow? (Well, once he “braves” the back steps?) Part-Husky Homer can be seen zooming around the backyard!
I heard the kids in the kitchen chatting and came in to see them making their own “dirty sodas.” The Cream Soda Dr. Pepper is a new find, and I like it. They added some creamer to make it “dirty,” and I guess it was a hit.
One of the things I always embrace about time at home is eating whatever I want for lunch…and often times I make a “snack plates.” This isn’t a snack plate, but it was my breakfast, brunch, or lunch often the past two weeks. I love the Pepperidge Farm Cinnamon Swirl bread…and I’ve been scrambling two eggs (using Amy’s microwave method)…and I’ve added some cheese and avocado when I have those things on hand).
Favorite Mom Meme:
Like, why does it have to be like this? haha
Bonus Fave: Flashback Friday:
Oh…Valentine’s Day is only about a week away, and this is one of my fave photos. Hayden’s “bachelor” shirt makes me LOL every time.
Weekly Recap:
Today is my 40th blog post in a row! While my goal was to blog every day in January, I had some posts at the end of the December and then I’ve posted every day this week to start February…
Will the streak continue? I don’t know. Nothing is really popping in my head to write about tomorrow, so we’ll see. It was a good run…and I still have lots of posts planned for February.
Share Our Lives:
Monday, we have our second Share Our Lives link up of the year. This month’s topic is…binge worthy shows. I do watch TV, and I definitely have some fave shows to share, but I don’t really binge watch a lot of TV, so I can’t wait to see what others share.
Well, we’re a few days into February, and we still haven’t gone back to school…I affectionately named these past two weeks “Winter break 2.0″…Yesterday, I did venture up to school because I was “itching” to at least make sure my classroom is ready to go whenever we do head back. I put away my few touches of Christmas, updated my February calendar, made a few copies, and then got the heck out of there. haha!
Anyway, one of the things on my “to do” list was to put out my few festive Valentine’s Day touches, and I did that this past weekend. Most everything is what I’ve had for years, but I did pick up a few new things too.
The mantel in the kitchen is the same as it’s been for quite a few years. I have the wooden “love” sign as well as an XOXO banner.
I saw this wooden serving tray and Michael’s and thought it would be perfect in this little corner of the kitchen. I usually have a cook book in this stand, so that was an easy swap. My friend gave me the cute heart icon candle from Aldi for my birthday, and I added it to a metal pedestal that I have out year round but also added the cute little red and white plate from Target.
Speaking of Target…I have zero regrets purchasing these two pack of tea towels…
I’ve had this little dish for years, and I fill it up with candy.
The coffee table in the living room looks much like it does at Christmas time as I’ve left out a few “winter” touches into February.
On the entryway table, I added this little heart dish that I’ve had for years. I got it from Trader Joe’s, and it had a little flower in it originally. Now, I fill it with candy, and this year, I layered it on another Target plate and pedestal.
I’ve had this white ceramic heart for years, but I did get a new plate/art easel at Michael’s. I wanted something a little sturdier, and I love the touch of gold.
This XOXO is another decorative item that I’ve had for years. It sits on the bookshelf in the living room.
Outside, I swapped my “let it snow” flag (I think it did its job!) for my pretty pink and red Valentine’s Day flag.
I love this door hanger. I’ve had it for years, and I think it’s a nice festive touch for February.
Not decor but, but I’m really “leaning” into seasonal coffee mugs. These two are on rotation for February!
I really enjoy putting things out for Valentine’s Day…especially because set up and take down take five minutes each way!
It’s the first Wednesday of the month, so I’m linking up with Amy for Currently.
This month we’re looking at what we’re currently baking/cooking, watching/reading, planning and savoring.
I’m currently baking/cooking…
Over the weekend, I baked some muffins since we were home. This is the second (or third) time I’ve used the Krusteaz mix to make muffins instead of a pan of coffee cake. Of course, the taste isn’t really any different, but my kids tend to eat the muffins at a quicker pace.
No baking for this, but Trav picked up some Crumbl cookies over the weekend which is a fave for sure.
In the past ten days, we really haven’t eaten out much. We had that winter storm, and we were home for a few days which meant we even cooked dinner on the weekend. This week, I’ve kind of been winging it. Yesterday, I read Shay’s blog and ended up making her Chicken and Mushroom Fried Rice (I did add in snow peas per her suggestion, and I had some scallions on hand, so I used those too). It was a family favorite.
I’m currently watching/reading…
Trav and I finished watching His & Hers. Wow! What an ending. We were a few episodes in before I realized it’s a book…and now I wish I’d read it first. I do hope to read it for a comparison, but I always prefer to read the book first if possible.
I’m so sad about the passing of Catherine O’Hara…aren’t we all? I’ve been watching some episodes of Schitt’s Creek since Friday. It’s such an amazing show. She will be missed!
So, as I type this, we still haven’t been back to school due to the weather. Our last day of school was Friday, January 23. At the moment, the current decision is that they’ll make a call by 5am this morning. Whether we go back to school today or tomorrow, I’m going to miss my snow day viewing schedule:
Sleep until 7:30 or 8.
Watch the Today Show (but, y’all, how sad is it about Savannah Guthrie’s mom being missing?! My heart breaks for her!)
Watch the 3rd hour of Today at 9.
Watch Jenna and Sheinelle at 10.
Then, I’ve even been watching the chatty party of Kelly and Mark at 11!
Now, of course, I’m doing other things during this time, but overall, I’ve spent my morning sipping my coffee from about 8-9. Then, I have these shows on in the background as I carry on with my morning.
I’ve currently been reading Jenna’s Book Club recommendation…
I’m really enjoying it so far!
I’m currently planning…
Well, it’s more like adjusting plans with us being out so much. Eng 2 students are ready to start part 2 of The Metamorphosis, and my English 1 students need to start Romeo and Juliet. That being said, since we’ve been out for so long, I almost feel like we need to do some “get to know you” games once we return! haha!
Really, I’m going to have to use one class period to get students caught up on NTI work and set the foundation for unit 3.
I’m currentlysavoring…
Slow mornings with cups of coffee…
…and another couple of weeks of “twinkle” lights…
I have zero regrets that I’ve left out a few “twinkle” lights to get us through these winter months.
With my impromptu week off and my quest to refresh a few spots in the house, I’ve been in and out of some of my fave stores – Aldi, TJ Maxx, Target, Home Goods, and Michael’s. I know every year these places must have lots of holiday goodies, but I just saw so many cute things, and I’m sharing those today.
Aldi:
My friend got me a candle from Aldi for my birthday, and now I’m putting it to good use.
So, the next time I went to Aldi, I made sure to go down the “Aldi finds” aisle…and I wasn’t disappointed.
There were other cute candles, various heart shaped bake ware and plates. I think the marble heart was my fave.
Home Goods:
I went to Home Goods to get new bed pillows for Hayden, and while I was there, I took a peek at their Valentine’s Day decor.
The floral heart is such a cute decorative piece…I almost bought it. If I had more storage, I would for sure buy a heart shaped Dutch oven to sit out on my stove top.
How cute is the heart kettle and the colander?! So many cute dish towels too.
Home Goods really had a fun variety of icon glasses…
…and coffee mugs.
I couldn’t help myself, and I did buy the cherry icon glass. I plan on it being a spring/summer glass for me.
Target:
Who doesn’t love Target?! I went to Target to look for a lamp, and while I was there, I scoped out their Valentine’s Day pieces…
I actually have two of the small red/white plates and the dish towels too. I bought them after Christmas, and now it’s been fun to put them out.
How cute is the polka dot ruffle pillow?! Also, I just couldn’t “say no,” and I bought the pink candle with a lid. I figured it would be perfect for February and even into March for a spring/floral color. I might get one of the white ones as well to use later.
The bedding is so cute for a little one…and who doesn’t love a plush heart shaped pillow?
Even the books that were on display and seemed to be love themed.
TJ Maxx:
I did find a lamp that I loved at Target, so I went to TJ Maxx to return a lamp I’d previously purchased. While there, I scoped out their Valentine’s Day stuff. To be honest, they didn’t have a ton, but the dish towels were cute, they had a few mugs, and their pink/red candle selection was strong!
I think TJ Maxx (and Home Goods) have some of the cutest paper products…and I loved the read floral/heart tote. I almost purchased it, but I showed restraint.
Michael’s:
I went to Michael’s to buy some tea light candles, and their Valentine’s Day decor was right when you walk in. They really didn’t have a ton of things, and I could tell they were shifting to spring. That being said, I thought the plates, heart candles, and icon glasses were so cute…as was the bow pillow!
In all my shopping I “only” walked away with the icon glass from Home Goods and a wooden heart from Michael’s…(as well as the two plates and hand towels, I’d bought previously at Target)…
…and one mug at Home Goods and one mug from TJ Maxx.
I’ll show you my few Valentine’s Day decorations later in the week.
How was your weekend? Honestly, ours was much like our week…pretty low-key thanks to cold weather and poor road conditions. We all did get out and about, so I guess it was still a typical weekend with errands, time at home and more.
Our impromptu break continues as we have yet another snow day today. So many of our secondary roads are still ice and snow packed. It’s just crazy, and now I’m really starting to worry how much this is going to eat into our summer break. Ugh.
Did you catch my weekend posts? I wrote a Share 4 Somethings post on Saturday and Hello, February post on Sunday.
Today, I’m sharing my Amazon purchases from the month. We bought a little bit of everything.
I purchased these grippy socks to use for Pilates. I hate having hot feet and wearing socks, but in the winter, that’s a different story. This set has worked out perfectly.
I was “influenced” by @betterwithchardonnay when she shared these fun barrel pants. I’d been wanting to try the barrel style and figured these would be easy to try and then return if needed. Anyway, I love them, and the teens have dished out compliments the couple of times I’ve worn them to school.
I wanted a “nicer” winter coat, and this hooded wool trench coat has been the perfect fit.
I’ve worn it to school but then also more casually on the weekends or running errands.
I needed more eye masks, and these are the ones I use most mornings.
Screenshot
Hadley got a couple of these face masks for Christmas, and I wanted to try one, so I ordered this four pack. I’ve used them a couple of times and have slept in them. I do feel like my skin feels refreshed in the morning.
This is my second time buying this hydration mist, and it’s just another part of my skin care routine. I usually use it after I apply my toner or any time I feel like my face is thirsty!
Hadley needed some new socks for her volleyball club season, and these Adidas ones were just what she needed.
These slippers were a belated Christmas gift for Trav. He suggested slippers as a gift idea, but I wasn’t exactly sure what he wanted. These arrived, and they’ve been perfect for him to slip on to take out the trash, let Homer out, use around the house and more.
My quest to refresh a few areas continues. I’ve loved the Euro pillows we’ve had on our bed for almost six years. I’ve washed the pillow covers many times, and they’ve held up nicely. That being said, I wanted a more neutral color and something with texture, and these pillow covers were exactly what I was looking for.
I guess I need to iron them (maybe I’ll get to that today), but I really do love them. Actually, after a few days, the wrinkles have started to take care of themselves…but I’ll still give them a little iron/steam.
*update* I ironed the slip covers!
That’s a wrap on my January purchases.
What have you “Primed” lately?
{This post contains Amazon Affiliate links. Thanks for supporting my blog.}
In January, I shared this post because I loved the graphic and all the good reminders…and thanks Instagram (via Pinterest), I found this one for February…or Feb-YOU-ary!
And another month of great reminders from @murphy_sketches…
I’ll be back tomorrow to share my Amazon purchases from the month.
It used be a rarity for me to post on the weekends, but today marks the 31st blog post I’ve written in January. Bloganuary was a fun (self-imposed) challenge for myself, and I do think writing a variety of posts helped with the writer’s blog block I sometimes feel!
I’m excited to link up with Jenn for Share 4 Somethings, which I haven’t done in quite some time.
The topics are…
Something I’ve loved…
Not to sound like a broken record, but I’ve loved quiet time at home this week. It’s been somewhat unexpected. We definitely get snow/ice and snow days, but this is the second year in a row we’ve had a week off a school due to the weather. Of course, I’m a bit worried how this will affect the end date of our school year, but I can’t control those things…so I’ve soaked in the down time and the quiet time while we’ve had it.
Something that has sustained me…
Coffee always sustains me. This week, I transitioned back to hot coffee after my iced coffee journey although I did get an iced coffee from Dunkin Donuts yesterday.
This week, Pilates has sustained me. Thanks to my at home schedule, I was able to pop into a couple of Reformer Pilates classes this week which I loved.
Something we’re carrying forward…
I shared this at the beginning of January…
Screenshot
….and I hope to carry forward these thoughts to February as well. I feel like we typically get January and February and then June and July to have downtime, but the summers have felt busier and busier as the years have gone on, so I hold tight to the quiet and cozy of these winter months.
Something we’re making space for…
After purging and organizing, I’ve made space for…quite a few things. That being said, I did some rearranging, and I organized my coffee mugs on shelves based on seasonal, favorites/everyday, and special/meaningful mugs.
I’ve now made space for a couple of new festive mugs for February:
Don’t tell Trav…haha!
He always wonders why we have so many mugs. Listen, coffee and mugs (and icon glasses!) make me happy. I could have a more expensive collection of things…like fancy watches, designer purses, or diamonds! You’re welcome, Trav!
showmeandsweettea.com 