Friday, July 24, 2015

Planning Updates

It's here! My planner arrived early! Woot! Y'all, I am in love.
The quote on the front is a phrase from a book we read to Little man which he quotes quite often. It was also fitting with the butterflies and the whole 'change' concept so of course, I had to use it.
I got it in the mail and the first thing I did was check out the adorable freebies it came with. I'm not gonna show you guys since Erin Condren  already provides that information in a video on her page (you can see it if you follow the link). But, they are high class.
I have already started filling things in!
As you can see, I have already started decorating it too! I hope it can be a fun, relaxing project at the start of each week and give me confidence in the week to come. I will have to write it down to make a follow-up post on that in a month or so to see how it looks then.
So there you have it! a creative, fun way to brighten up your week.
Anyone else a fan of planners? I swear I would lose my head if it wasn't attached. Planners definitely help me remember. ha.

Wednesday, July 22, 2015

Some Days

Some days the best part of the day is the simplest things. Sometimes it's at the end of the day when you feel like you've just lived another yesterday. Like every day is the same. Then something happens and you see the joy and peace of it all. When nothing at all "important" happens and you see how valuable it really is.

Listing to my husband read a pile of books to him before bed. Simple. Beautiful.

Tuesday, July 21, 2015

Food Journal #1

I have seen a ton of amazing meals online and love trying new things, especially healthy things like vegan meals (minus the soy products)! so, I have decided to start a food journal here on this blog.  I won't always post a recipe but I will try to post a lot more of the meals we eat and whether or not we like it since most of the meals I make we have only had once or twice... ever (just because we like trying new things and eat seasonally).
Everything we eat is organic, including all meat unless it was wild caught so I will not state this again in any other posts or over and over again when stating what the meal is (for example organic blah blah with organic blah blah blah) .. and all beef, the rare time we have it, is grass fed and pasture raised. In our house, we do not eat 100% vegan or vegetarian but strive to minimize our meat in taking as well as soy, sugar, dairy, and yeast (often equaling gluten too). 
I'm gonna get real personal with y'all.... ready? no? okay because its happening anyways... I have major yeast and sugar problems. Like high-school-geek-break-out kind of problems. Like, I eat sugar and the next day my face looks like mars. So I avoid sugars... sugars of all kind. But we are human... and I like pancakes.... and ice-cream. I have yeast problems. Like... well... I'm not gonna go there but I'm sure you get the idea. We, as a family, have decided to cut back on all animal products, as stated before. Why? Honestly, organic animal products cost a lot more then produce... and honestly, its healthier. Also, in our house, we strive to live a more "homestead" type of life. We have aspirations to start one even, one day. So, we try to eat things we would be willing to provide for ourselves if given the opportunity. We think "where did the cow come from?" "was it happy in a field and lived a good life?" "good enough to die happy?" If we can't say yes who heartily, we wont get it. Same with dairy and eggs. Is it cheap? hecks naw! but that is another reason we limit it. So now you know our views with food and dietary preferences. We also don't make other meals for Little one. He eats what we eat. Always has. :D we got blessed with this kid I tell you! Oversharing helps answer questions before they happen. :) 


That said, these posts are not a "heath" or "diet" thing. please do not refer to it as a weight loss or diet page. Just me sharing things we like as always. :)

Here are the three I got photos of already. There was a lot of meat going on this week via hubbies request but I assure you... it's not normal and is a lot for us. Just a heads up.

 The first meal I took photos of was a dinner three nights ago.

Half a beef short rib cooked in chimichurri sauce with oven roasted potato, carrots and chives seasoned with garlic, basil and parsley (herbs from our garden) cooked in olive oil.
It was good but the beef was a little to fatty for me. I also wish I had used more of a Mexican or Spanish seasoning selection on the veggies. Over all, still tasty.


The second day I still only managed to get dinner. :/ I know, I'm a slacker. *sigh*
We had beans, onion, and swiss chard on corn tostadas topped with feta, greek yogurt, and roasted piquillo peppers. This was easy, just cook the first three things together and smash some of the beans, then add some salt, pepper, and paprika, stir, done. top some on a tostada shell and pile on the rest! its one of our favorites.



Yesterday I did better. I got TWO meal, lunch and dinner!
I like to go easy with lunch. A lot of times it will be leftovers. or leftover plus some other stuff, or something simple.
For lunch, I made leftover Italian sausage (half a sausage and Little man had the rest), garlic spinach, some chopped fresh pineapple, a fried egg, and half a serving of cherry greek yogurt (not show because I split it with Little man and he had it at the time).

For dinner, we had salmon burgers with a aioli sauce. topped with tomato and spinach and served with corn on the cob with basil (from the garden) butter (homemade butter).

Holaa! Something different than an above shot! :P hope you all appreciate that as much as I do sometimes. I will try to get better at doing every meal and taking them from a different shot. Though you do have to remember, I have two hungry men in the house at the time I create these... and we really do eat them. No tv cooking here! So snapping a photo before its half gone or before someone snaps at me for not taking forever to serve it is a big deal. At least, in this house.
Hope you all have a happy Tuesday; and for all you guys at the office, hope you can hold out until lunch or dinner now!
Let me know if you all would like a recipe or recipe links or more or fewer details on the food or more photos. This is all new right!? so I would love YOUR views. 

Monday, July 20, 2015

Little Bath Big Color

Project updates were promised and thus, provided.

 Our one room, 633 square foot apartment isn't much but I have been hard at making it as homey as I possibly can.  The most recent update we did was to finally (after six months of living here) paint the bathroom. The color is called.... nope, it has no name. boom! I got it off the "oops" cart at Lowes; half a gallon for $9! Score!

 I wasn't sure if I would use it in our Little man's room or the bathroom (since crazy enough, they are about the same small size). But ended up going with the bath.
I also realized, as I snapped these photos, I have yet to post any photos of our place now. We move so often I guess I just gave up posting ever.single. place. *sigh*.

We do hope to be here a little longer (like another year) now that life is more stable and we want to stop spending on moving and start using our savings (and saving more) for a house.
But, anyway, back to the bath. 
Since moving I've downsized quite a lot so the only storage we have is under the sink and in that little basket for hair stuff and the goose basket (can be seen in the first photo) for towels. I love that goose. I got it from one of our landlords who lived in the middle of the country. Its just country enough in there to stand out but blend in too. You know, without saying "yo, look at me, I'm a big awkward elephant (goose) in the room".... or many that's just me and it does say that and I'm just quirky enough to love it. The fish was from our honeymoon, driftwood from our first apartment and wedding grounds and the vintage ad we found at an antique shop in VA called the 'Fox Den'. We've had it since before Little man was born and still a little thought bubble!
Well... there Y'all have it. Hope some home-related posts is just what you needed to start your week. Now I feel like painting more... anyone with me? ha.

Sunday, July 19, 2015

Tomateo Tomaaato

Now that Summer is in full swing, our garden is really picking up. Well... as much as an overly packed balcony garden can "pick up", that is. Anyways, I took the chance to teach the little man his colors (red vs. green tomatoes) and in the process learned that not all tomatoes are grown on a bush like ours always have. ha.


Whoever said you are too old to learn new thing, clearly did not live in our house. Learning is big in our house and now I get to see things completely different through his eyes.

Like how he picks off the little leave at the tip of the tomatoes... just like one of his other favorite fruits (strawberries) before eating them. I never saw the resemblance before. But they are both red, round... ish, and have little leaves around the top. 

It was a veggy, now I can see it as a fruit too. But that is how he has always seen it. Life is new. No one told him it was a fruit or vegetable. No one told him teal is a bluish green or greenish blue (he calls is green by the way). 

Life is new. It is simple and unbiased. It is open-minded and ready to learn. Because no one told him he couldn't or not to. Because no one told him what his views or opinions should be. They are his own and I love it. 

Friday, July 17, 2015

Planning

 I have been a BIG fan of planners for quite some time. I mean, what business owner/ mom isn't, right! ha.
I swear sometimes, if it wasn't written down and in my purse at all times, I would never get anything done! Well, I am a bi-yearly planner type gal. Mostly because that is when I bought my first planner. We are creates of habit are we not? So as the days drew closer to the end of my calendar I started searching for one that would hold up to my increasingly busy life. That is when a friend introduced me to Erin Condren planners. They are stunning. Not just externally but internally too! I have found so many amazing leather front planners but once turning through them, they lacked the function I wanted. Then I found some that seemed like they might work layout wise and such but lacked personalization or good options style-wise. I was even able to include all of the rest of this year AND next... so no more bi-yearly planning! But these are amazing. Already ordered one and can't wait to share it with you all once it arrives. Oh, and since they give you a fancy referral link... I'm passing it on to you guys. You know, because I love you all.
https://www.erincondren.com/referral/invite/bethanygiven0527

this is the one I am getting (this image was via google)



This post is my own opinions. Erin Condren or anything that has to do with her business is not affiliated with me in any way.... or even know who I am. I just like her stuff.. and like to share neat stuff with like minded people. The goods which my opinions are biased were purchased with my own money and I was not compensated for anything or with anything... at all. of any kind. Just sharing some neat stuff. <3

image via google.

Wednesday, July 15, 2015

Day to Day

Not much going on lately but I do have a little house project update I want to share with you all but I have to get some good photos of it first. 
in the meantime, this is pretty much how my day looks.

grocery shopping, coffee, chasing a little one around the house, and a little "light" reading. Such is the day to day life of a mom and housewife; and I wouldn't trade it for the world.