Weekend Wrap Up : Blustery

Another beautiful Spring weekend in the books! 

(though I am going to ignore the snow they are mentioning in the forecast)

If the weekends want to keep being beautiful I am fine with that.

Friday we got wild and crazy.

I feverishly worked on my puzzle because we were having dinner guests over the next time and it was all over the dining table.  

Then we watched The Martian - really enjoyed it! Great mix of comedy and drama.  

Saturday started with bootcamp and coffee, the perfect way to start a Saturday in my book.

Then Mister and I ran errands and listened to 'The Grownup' while we drove around.  Considering it was only an hour and a half long we finished it up.  And it was SO weird.  Anyone else read it?

Saturday evening we had friends over for a Mexican dinner.  

I whipped up my friends recipe for Mexican Street Corn Salsa...oh my lanta, it was amazing.  I'll be sharing the recipe soon.  

Sunday was all about soaking up the gorgeous weather.  After church I headed out for a run and was able to do 8 miles.  I have not run that long in a very long time.  

However the wind was so intense that it almost blew me over a few times.  At one point, my hat was flying off, my eyes were watering and my nose was running...I call those intense running conditions.  

We ventured to Lowes with Floyd in tow and picked up a new ceiling fan (working on the list!) and he picked up quite a few smiles and pets. 

That was after he let out THE loudest bark the moment we walked in the door.  I guess he really wanted everyone to know he was there.  

How was your weekend? 

Fridays with Floyd

Many moons ago there used to be weekly 'Fridays with Floyd' around these parts.

I apologize he hasn't made an appearance lately but after a few requests to see his sassy mug, he's back!!

Thankfully (for us) Floyd hasn't done anything too crazy or rambunctious lately.   But he still have all his same quirks and has picked up some new ones.

For example:  

Really, really loving to lay on top of our covers at night.  Smack in the middle of the bed.  And if you've never tried to pull your covers up from under a 56lbs basset hound who is dead asleep, well then, you've never really had a workout.  

I mean, who doesn't want an arm work out at 2 am?!

(Neighborhood watch is VERY important.  Even when it's dark outside.)

We have started putting coconut oil on Floyd's food to help with his skin/coat/overall health.  Recently he has taken to purely eating the hunk of coconut oil first and then coming back to finish the bowl about 5 minutes later.  Personally I think a spoonful of coconut oil sounds terrible but he's eaten a lot of strange things in life soooo 

Speaking of eating, we recently picked up new food for Floyd just to switch things up a little.  I can't quite tell how he feels about it yet though.  I feel strongly about it because it is supposed to help his skin, stomach and isn't full of junk.  We have slowly been mixing it in.  I'll see if he wants to do a  review soon. 

Something he does feel strongly about are these dental bones that the kind folks at Chewy sent him.  

He has always been a fan of dental hygiene so these bones were a no brainer.  We try to keep up with his teeth brushing but admittedly, we are non consistent.  Because of this I like to make sure I am giving him bones/treats that also help with his dental health.  

And that's a little about Floyd lately.  Any burning questions you have for him?

Recipe : Rice Krispie Pinwheel

Recently we were traveling to visit some friends and I was responsible for bringing the treat for the weekend.  

Well that and fire crackers.  I am basically not allowed in the door without fire crackers in tow.  

Rather than cookies or brownies, I decided to go with something a little different this time around.  I remembered that I had pinned this a loooong time ago and had been wanting to try it out.  This was the perfect time. 

The Rice Krispie Pinwheel really could not have been easier.  I added a little twist to mine.  The options are really limitless with the recipe too, which I love.  I think next a funfetti version would be very delicious.  

-3 tbsp butter

-4 cups mini marshmallows 

-6 cups rice krispie cereal

-2 cups frosting (I just whipped chocolate)

-1 cup dulce de leche sauce

-sprinkles

1. Whip up your rice krispies as normal.  You know, melt the butter, add the marshmallows and then the cereal.

2.  Generously spray a jelly roll or cookie sheet

3.  Spread rice krispies into pan.  This requires you to work pretty quickly and with a lot of patience.  

Stickiness is at a all time high here

4.  If you are mixing the frosting and dulce de leche sauce, mix those together 

(make sure you have a helper...)

5.  Spread frosting in an even layer over the rice krispies 

 6.  Once your treat is covered, roll up the rice krispies

(I went hot dog style vs hamburger rolling it up because I needed to feed more people.  If you wanted fatter/fewer sizes, I would go hamburger style.)

7.  This step is optional and didn't work perfect for me BUT if you want to have some fun, spread some sprinkles in your pan and roll the roll around to cover in sprinkles.

To transport I wrapped mine if plastic wrap and then foil and it traveled well and kept for a few days.

As I said the options are limitless

Cocoa cereal and peanut butter

Frutti pebbles and vanilla frosting

Funfetti

Chocolate on chocolate

the list goes on! 

Linking up with Anne today for Pin to Present! 

Weekend Wrap Up : I've got the fever

Spring fever that is.  

This weekend was one for the record books.  

I know everyone is talking about the weather BUT holy bananas it was amazing.  

I am fully aware it's going to get cold again but I am basking in the goodness that was 75 degrees for as long as I can.

Friday night Mister and I had a delicious dinner with our neighbors.  I made a very yummy appetizer (if I do say so myself) and will post that recipe soon.  It was very quick and easy to whip up after work.

Saturday was just stellar.

I started the day with a run to bootcamp and a run home.  

Then the plan for the day was to do whatever Mister wanted to continue his birthday celebrations.  We headed straight to The Eagle.  We have been trying to eat at The Eagle for MONTHS.  I wish I was kidding but every time we go it's at least at 2 hour wait and we are always far too hungry for that.

Thankfully two seats opened up at the bar the moment we walked in.  

They are know for their fried chicken and it did not disappoint.  

The food lived up to its name and all of the hype we've heard about. 

TOTAL splurge meal and TOTALLY worth it 

We wandered around OTR for the afternoon and ended up at Taft's Ale House.  A bar in an old church, if you will.  

The interior is beautiful and very well done.  I was obsessed with all of the wallpaper they used.

I took Floyd on a long, long walk that afternoon.

He's working on building his warm weather stamina back up...

My plan for the weekend was also to get a longish run in on Sunday but because it was so nice on Saturday, I headed out for 5 more miles on Saturday.  I was so glad to have it done but also exhausted.

Sunday was our standard day.  Church, grocery, Aldi's, all that good stuff.  

I also spent far too much time working on a puzzle.  Go ahead and call me a huge dork...I am fully aware of it.

5 Steps to Morning Efficiency

Last fall I transitioned into a new role that requires me to get up earlier, leave the house earlier and spend part of my morning in traffic.  Sounds lovely right?  Actually I love it so to me it is!

But because of all of these changes I had to drastically change my morning routine.  Well that or get up at 5am and that doesn't sound enjoyable to me.  

Leaving the house at a precise time is key.  There is about a 5-8 minute window regarding traffic and how bad it quickly gets. If I am going to make it to the office at a reasonable time or not, I have to be within that window, if I miss it, it isn't pretty.  

I quickly realized that my morning routine had to taken up a notch in efficiency.  And for me, this efficiency starts the evening (and weekend) before.

Here are 5 steps that get my week and morning off on the right foot.  These steps allow me to leave the house feeling at ease and prepared for the day vs. rushed and frazzled.  

Sunday Clothes Prep

Every Sunday I take approximately 5 minutes, look at the weather for the upcoming week and plan my outfits.  As simple (or crazy) as this seems, it has made the biggest difference.  There were mornings that I would spend a sleepy daze of 10 minutes trying to figure out an outfit.  

Not anymore!  

I take the weather into consideration and what my week holds (important meetings, running around a lot, etc) and set out my clothes.  I hang pants (in order of days to be worn) on one side and shirts on the other.  I also try to think through my jewelry, shoes and my hair (curly vs straight vs top knot).  This may seem like a lot but it really helps my morning go smoother.

I also pack my gym bag at night if I know I going straight there after work (shoes, pants/top, sports bra, water bottle, hair tie, headphones).  

Food Prep

Sunday is also food prep night.  We cook up a big batch of chicken for our lunches, along with rice and various roasted veggies.  I like to include something a little different in my lunch everyday to keep things interesting.  

Along with our weekly food prep, I try to plan a crock pot meal once a week.  For these, I prep all of the ingredients the night before so all I have to do is through them in in the mornings while I am feeding Floyd.  If the recipe calls for ground turkey/beef I will go ahead and cook that up and stick it in the fridge until morning.  

This crock pot recipe was for this soup which is delicious.  This time I swapped out ground turkey for chicken and made my own fajita season from here. 

Lunch Prep

We have always made our lunches in the evening and it is so helpful.  I generally do this while I am making dinner.  I already have the mess out, might as well add to it.  I've done this so many times I can get it ready in about 3 minutes.  For some reason forgetting to pack my lunch will derail my day like none other.  Mainly because that means I am without snacks and food and that makes me angry ;)

Along with lunch, I almost make sure the coffee maker is prepped and ready to go so that in the morning all I have to do is turn it on.

Speedy Get Ready

Once I am up and at 'em, I am in full force.  I sleep until the last moment so the time between getting up and leaving is precious, precious time.  One thing I do to save time is to keep a basket of face wash, moisturizer, etc in travel sizes close to my sink so I am not running all over to wash my face/get ready.  

I also multitask as much as possible.  I do my hair, brush my teeth and start my make up and sometime in the middle of there I turn the skillet on to make eggs.

Meals to Go

Mister and I eat eggs every single morning.  And instead of wasting time at home eating mine, I put them in a small container and eat them in the car.  Mister hates this but it's really the only option.  Plus if I were to eat when I left, I would be hungry again by the time I reached the office and be wanting to eat lunch at 10.  Again, hangry.

And those are just a few of the ways I try to make my mornings run a little smoother and more efficiently.  Plus, the sooner I get to work, the sooner I can get home and snuggle my boys.  

Weekend Wrap Up : Double the Love

This Monday you are getting a double weekend wrap up, aren't you lucky?

Last weekend was spent in Indy with the besties and then last week just did not go well and got away from me.  SO here is a double round up.

As I said, last weekend we headed to Indy to see the friends and celebrate a gender reveal!  

It's a girl for Maggie! 

It was downright amazing to spend a semi low key weekend with the besties just chattin it up!

And wandering through BabyGap looking at all of the tiny, adorable things.

We were even able to FaceTime Marge.  It was so glorious to see her face :)

And this past l-o-v-e weekend we headed home to see our parents and celebrate Mister's birthday (coming up on Tuesday!)

Friday night my mama made Mister a Mississippi roast and a derby pie, he was in heaven!

Saturday we were very, very lazy and then headed to a dinner theater for the evening.

Valentine's Day 

we started the day off with brunch with Mister's mama and then headed back home. Mister and I had a very romantic gym date and then made dinner together, our favorite Thai pizza.  

Snuggles with the basset rounded out our lovely day.  

Oh! And this weekend I tried out Kroger's ClickList* (essentially a grocery pick up service, genius!).  I put my order in on Friday night, chose a pick up time and then we swung by Kroger on Sunday to pick it up.  It really could not have been easier.  I actually do not mind going to the grocery if we've been home and I've had time to prepare a meal plan and a list.  But if we have been out of town, going to the grocery is the last thing I want to do.  So this service is GENIUS.  

*Kroger has no idea who I am but if they want me to be a ClickList ambassador I am happy to do that. 

Recipe : Buffalo Turkey Burgers

While I love, love, love cooking, during the week I love a quick recipe.  Our evenings are just as busy as our days and by the time the evening rolls around, I am ready to crash on the sofa.  

So when I can incorporate an easy, delicious, quick meal into our routine, I am a huge fan.

Last week Mister had requested turkey burgers to be on the menu.  Usually we just dress them up with garlic salt/pepper/garlic and whip it up.  But this time I wanted to take it up a notch and do something with a little more flavor and excitement.  I opened the fridge and zeroed in on the buffalo sauce.  This is, by far, not a new concept or recipe but it was new to our table and it was a hit!

You guys know I am NOT good at measuring for recipes but I am going to give this my best shot

-1 lb ground turkey

-2-3 tablespoons buffalo sauce

-1/2 tablespoon minced garlic

-salt and pepper

I mixed all of the ingredients together and then sat the mix in the fridge for about 15 minutes.  If you have the time, I like to do this so the flavors blend a little better.  

After the fridge time I divided the burgers up into 4 patties and warmed up the grill pan.  Generally we cook turkey burgers inside on the grill pan (make sure your vent fan is on!).  We have found that they do not do as well on the outdoor grill so for the winter, these are perfect!  

I served these with sweet potato fries and roasted broccoli.  

It was a delicious, protein packed and quick meal.  That checks off all of the boxes in our house.  

Currently : February

I know February gets a bad wrap but it's generally a fun month in our house.  I LOVE Valentines Day and Mister's birthday happen so that is enough to keep me going during the somewhat dreary days.

And with a new month, means a new Currently...happy to be linking up with Anne and Jenna again this month.  

Sending : I just sent out Valentine's cards to some of my favoritest ladies earlier this week.  Hopefully they arrive by the weekend.  The Dollar Stop (you know, danger zone) had some of THE most adorable Valentine's cards the other day.  It was necessary I stocked up.  I love sending snail mail and Valentine's day is the perfect opportunity.  

Eating :  I already told you guys about the Mississippi roast and I will repeat again, make it!

On the other end of the spectrum we've been eating a lot of sautéed/roasted veggies.  We were in a bit of a veggie rut at the end of the year but recently we've really been into kale...mmm! Earlier this week we had turkey burgers on the menu and at the last minute I decided to take them up a notch...I'll have the recipe up next week!

Dreaming : of consistent warmer weather.  We had awesome (running) weather over the weekend and it left me yearning for Spring.  These mid 50s+ can stick around for as long as the want!

Smelling : a buttered bread candle my mom got us...yum!  I just finished Marshmallow Fireside and realized all the other candles I have are either fall or Christmas themed.  Looks like I'll have to make a trip to Bath and Body Works to get some new candles, darn ;)

Hearting : My girls and our group chats.  I am certain that between us all we could save the world.  I look forward to our conversations every day.  We cover, literally, everything under the sun.  And it's awesome.  Besties really make my world go round. 

Weekend Wrap Up : Calamity

Do you ever have one of those weeks/weekends/days where you seem to drop any thing you touch or forget everything possible?  That has been my life lately.

Rewind to last Sunday when I went to the grocery and literally forgot just about every single thing I needed.  Mister and I usually go after church and he is very helpful at grabbing things for me.  I clearly was missing my grocery buddy last week because I am not sure what I even came home with.  

Fast forward to Tuesday when I was getting hot water for tea out of the hot water dispenser at work and went to shake my bracelets down (you girls know what I mean, they were stuck in my sleeve) and drove my hand RIGHT under the water.  News flash that water is HOTTT.  This resulted in burning the eff out of my hand.  I'll spare you the photos... 

So if anyone has any great scar removal techniques they want to pass along, those will come in handy soon enough for me.  

Other than that I feel like I tripped on every thing I saw (or didn't see) but thankfully not during my run this weekend.  I met up with a friend and we busted out a great 4.3 miles in the beautifully warm January weather.  

But rewinding to earlier in the weekend, Friday I took a half day and hung out with Mr. Floyd.  It was a glorious beginning to the weekend.  

That evening Mister and I made our favorite homemade Thai pizza and watched Sicario.  

Saturday was a busy day.  I got up early and headed to Pilates and then bootcamp.  Then I had the honor of finally meeting Abby in person.  She is even sweeter in real life and I am so happy we were able to grab coffee and chit chat.  

Saturday night we had a delicious dinner and catch up time with some friends of ours.  

Whenever someone tells me there's steak on the menu I am there in a flash.  

Sunday was all the normal church, grocery, laundry, napping and Sunday night family dinner with the neighbors that I've come to love and cherish.  I finally made Mississippi Roast after every one I know has been talking about it...it lives up to the hype.  Don't waste any time, make it immediately.  

Floyd did a lot of sleeping...

I really enjoy a low key Sunday, it really helps me feel more prepared for the week.  Let's hope this one isn't filled with calamities...