IG Recap

Do you ever have those moments when you think its a day earlier (or later) than it actually is? Like thinking on Wednesday that its actually Thursday?  Then you realize halfway through the day that you're off?  Such a downer when that happens.  That was me yesterday, thinking it was still Saturday. I think that's worse than the Wednesday example.
 

It came and went quickly, but we had a good weekend - hope you did too!  Little Dude got to visit both sets of grandparents, which meant mommy was not the sole entertainment for the weekend.  Had fabulous weather, hit up the park and the mall, took some good naps - what more could you ask for? ;)

If you don't follow me on Instagram, here's a little recap from last week:
 

Enjoying Easter as long as possible with these bright hydrangeas from my parents. 
 

Spring has sprung, so I've sprung out my floral capris - because the office could always use some brightening up (and so chicly accessorized by my stainless steel reusable Starbuck cup - Go Green!)
 

Documenting a quiet moment to myself, home alone before everyone else.  These moments are few and far between.
 

Letting the jacket do all the talking - comfy and bright.
 

Loving every minutes I spend with these two: Little Dude and his "big sister".
 

I'm all for anything that makes life easier...

I dread dinner.  Not because I don't like to eat or cook -- on the contrary I love the former and am fine with the latter -- but because it causes me stress.  I have a husband who essentially requires any meal have a substantial amount of protein (read: meat), we like to eat healthy, and a toddler with whom I am trying to build a diverse palate and provide him with enough varied nutrients.  Those requirements must be met in a meal I can prepare and have on the table in approximately 30 minutes, 45 max, after I rush in the house after sitting in traffic and being at work all day. (Not to mention my new mission to reduce waste, which adds a whole new meal planning element into the mix.)

The stress from all those requirements is that I never have any ideas for what to make.  And when I do randomly find recipes to try, I never have them on me when grocery shopping. Yes, I need to get better at meal planning, and shopping accordingly during the week.  That's where this app/website comes in handy: 

Pepperplate keeps all your recipes at your fingertips with an app on your phone, and the home base on their website via the profile you set up.  You can manually add favorite recipes, or import them electronically through websites they've coordinated with, such as: allrecipes.com, Eating Well, Rachel Ray, Skinnytaste (my favorite), Food Network, and many more.  You can add tags to your recipes for sorting and searching (e.g. 'quick dinners') and pull them up anywhere from the app.  

And you can add a recipe to your shopping list and it will automatically add all the ingredients you are going to need. You can check off those items you already have and shop more efficiently because they organize the list by grocery store aisle/department. It also has a meal planning a calendar feature that I need to get better at using. Meal planning needs to be a habit I adopt. I'll add that to my to-do list.

Tuesday Thoughts

Inspiration:

Image borrowed from A Girl, Obsessed via Pinterest

Monday Madness

Considering we have practically the same morning routine 70% of the week, its amazing to me how challenging it can be just to get out the door in the morning.  I feel like I've worked a full day before I even get to the office. I'm not complaining, because I do love starting the days with my little ham, but sometimes I wish I could be a fly on the wall and just watch the circus that seems to happen in our house in the mornings.  I really need to do a better job preparing as much as possible the night before, to compensate for the unpredictable nature of a toddler.

We had a good weekend though: had nice weather, went to a birthday party, took some good naps  (always a good weekend if good napping occurs.) Now on the countdown for next weekend.  There are only 52 weekends in a year, you realize.  When you look at it like that, you want each one to be a good one.