Happy Memorial Day ♥

 

To all who serve and who have served I thank you ♥♥♥

 

God bless America xo

 

 

Weekly wrap up (and a quick family dinner) ♥

Good Morning Friends! It's Friday once again.  Is it just me or are the weeks simply flying by lately?  I do hope summer takes its time and goes nice and slow.  We've waited so long for it to get here. 

This weekend is Memorial Day Weekend!  The "unofficial" kick off to summer.  We don't have any definite plans except I promised to take John to see the new Diary of a Wimpy Kid movie.  We are a bit skeptical of this one because its a whole new cast and we really loved the original.  Hopefully we will be pleasantly surprised.  

Other than that, we are finishing off the last of our spring cleaning tasks and hoping for some R&R.  I want to work a walk into the mix and many ice creams!  Dairy Queen is open for the season! Yay!  

Here are a few random snaps from the past week...

We had lots of rain, which the grass and plants are loving! Everything is lush and in bloom :) 

In between rain showers I managed to have my coffee on the back deck which I really love, especially in the early morning.  All the birds (and me) wake up together. 

This happened! Corn on the cob season is here! 

Whoops! Then this happened.  Hot dogs. I like mine with ketchup and relish.  Is that weird? 

I made pasta this week my favorite way...no sauce, a little olive oil, and Parmesan cheese. I added a few broccoli florets for color.  So delicious! I ate this for lunch two days in a row after! High five! 

John reading with the sun in his eyes! Look at the finger prints on his kindle!  I wipe that thing clean literally 10 times a day.  Boys! 

Aaaand, I started a new hobby.  Watercolors!  I love it.  It's very therapeutic and relaxing.  Whatever you do, please don't zoom in on the picture.  I'm not very good.  But I am loving the process.  Hopefully I will get better. I've founds some great tutorials on YouTube that are helping me.  

YouTube is really the answer to everything, isn't it? lol 

And here's a quick little family recipe that I don't think I've ever shared before.  

Breaded cube steak

.  

My mother made this for us all the time growing up and now I make it for my family.  John is not a fan of steak but he loves this : ) 

All you do is take cube steaks, which by the way are very inexpensive...dip them in oil (I used canola but you can use olive oil too)  and then dip them in seasoned breadcrumbs.  I sometimes add Parmesan cheese to the breadcrumbs too. 

Then put them in the oven and broil them on high 3 - 5 minutes per side.  Watch them closely so the breadcrumbs don't burn.  They cook up very fast. 

That's it! 

Dinner is served! 

This is me...can you relate? 

And there you have it! It's been a busy week with the school year winding down and it will no doubt be crazy next week too. But it will all be worth it because summer is coming! Yippeee! 

 I'm going to savor my quiet moments this weekend.  I hope you all have a great weekend with the ones you love! ♥

Have a great Friday!  xo  

Wednesday wisdom ♥

Yes indeed  ♥

The older I get the more I realize how important it is to stop and appreciate the simple things in life.  

For it is the simplest things that truly make me happy.  

Pretty sweet smelling flowers. 

A good cup of coffee on a warm spring morning. 

The strawberry french toast I had for dinner last night (recipe here).  Sooooo good!!! : )   

And this face, who I'm so thankful that I can see and watch grow everyday.  

Throw in a batch of these chocolate dipped frozen bananas and life is good ♥ 

I just made another batch of these last night and they are amazing!! (recipe here) 

I'm so grateful for all of you! In this crazy world we live in it's so nice to know that we have this space to visit and share our lives. There is more good than bad in this world.  

You are proof of that ♥ 

And that's it for today's Wednesday wisdom!  Appreciate the simple things : )  

Happy Wednesday! The weather is beautiful here this week.  I'm looking forward to a nice long weekend.  We will no doubt be cooking on the grill and ice cream sandwiches will be involved.  Can't wait! 

See you Friday! xo 

Weekly wrap up ♥

Hello my friends! Welcome to another Friday!

 

I don't know if you are an allergy sufferer like I am but if you are your eyes are probably red and puffy and you are sneezing like mad.  It's that time of year again.  Not that I'm complaining. As long as Zyrtec exists I'll be just fine : )  

 

 John has less than a month of school left until summer vacation.  His last day is June 16th. I can feel his excitement building. I'm looking forward to slowing things down a bit and the peacefulness of summer.  No tight schedules to keep.  I love that the best ♥  Maybe a camp or two, but we are still working out the details.  We'll see. 

 

This week marked my first pedicure of the season and a new pair of sandals. 

 

Ok. Memorial Day....I'm ready for you : )

 

 

I've been pretty good keeping up with my weekly wrap up posts, so here's this weeks.  Just a few snaps from my little corner of the universe!

 

 

 

 

Mother's Day treats from my boys ♥

 

 

On Sunday we had a delicious brunch at my sister in laws.  I mean....look at those cinnamon rolls!

 

 

 

 

 

I of course brought the donuts! 

 

 

 

 

 

Roses from my mother in law ♥

 

 

 

 

 

 

And then it was on to dinner at my parents house where we had an amazing seafood meal. 

My Dad makes a delicious scallop recipe!  So good!

 

 

 

 

 

It wouldn't be a holiday without apple pie ♥

 

 

I saw this little red cardinal out my office window on Tuesday.  Moments later I got a phone call from my mom that my dear Aunt had passed away.  She had been battling dementia for many years and although our hearts are sad we know that she is finally happy and at peace.  I know that this bird was sign from her that she is OK ♥

 

 

 

Playing with the new Instagram filters at work : )

 

 

 

 

 

 

Trips to the library with John are my favorite!

 

I miss this little kids section : )

 

 

 

 

 

New shoes ♥

 

 

 

 

 

 

Temperatures hit the 90's this week! It felt just like summer. 

 

The evenings are my favorite.  Look at that sky ~

 

 

 

So naturally....Ice cream for everyone!

 

 

 

 

 

Last night John preformed drums with the band at his schools Pops Concerts. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So serious!

 

He did a wonderful job and I'm very proud of him ♥

 

 

 

 

Tonight we are going to see a local production of Aladdin at the middle school.  We've been looking forward to it all week. 

 

 

I hope you all have a nice weekend doing something you love. 

 

Even if it's just hot dogs on the grill and a cold glass of iced tea.  Sounds good to me!

 

Enjoy! ♥

 

xo

Springtime at the office ♥

 

The office park where I work is surrounded by trees.  Normally I'm rushing around too fast to even notice them.  In the morning I'm surely preoccupied with NOT spilling my coffee as I am making a mad dash for the elevator...probably thinking about John as I just dropped him off at school or wondering if I remembered to take that chicken out of the freezer for dinner. 

At night all I can think about is getting home (and into my pj's) so I'm like a streak of lightening across that parking lot!  There's no time to be observant of my surroundings when I have two hungry boys waiting for me. 

 

(all these scenarios are 100% true :)

 

But once Spring arrives the trees comes alive and can no longer be ignored.   

You couldn't miss them even if you tried. 

 

Green leaves blend in....but once they turn pink its a whole different story.

 

 

 

 

The other day at lunch time I stepped outside to get a breath of fresh air and make a phone call when I was struck with this sight....

 

Flower confetti!!! 

 

It was everywhere! It was a windy day so it was blowing in the breeze.  It truly looked like it was raining flowers!

 

The sight of it reminded me of a wedding. 

 

♥ Happiness ♥

 

 

 

 

Nature really is a thing of beauty, isn't it? A true miracle.

 

It's a miracle that an ordinary office park can look this pretty in May. 

 

I must learn to be more observant. This is literally the parking lot. 

I guess beauty can be found almost anywhere : )

 

 

 

 

I love Spring!

 

Weekly wrap up ♥

Hello Friday! It's been a busy week here in my little world.  I'm so happy it's Friday.  I have a book and a couch just waiting for me to curl up in this evening.  

Until then, here are a few random snaps of my week here in Massachusetts.  

As usual Mother Nature is all over the place!  

One day we were in shorts and literally the next day I put the heat on.  Hmmm... 

My azalea bush is in full bloom! I love the color.  I dream of it all winter. 

 I'm so glad it survived the frost! 

I treated myself to Panera on Monday for a latte and a little organizing. 

Felt good ♥ 

And then a trip to Trader Joe's! ♥♥♥

(I brought two of these home with me!)

We took a drive to the beach to see the ocean for the first time this year. 

While we were there we had a spur of the moment game of mini golf.  It was quite windy but we had a good time!

As usual I lost!

John got three holes in one! Rob and I were left speechless : ) 

And speaking of....

This guy...♥ 

He hates having his picture taken.  But I take it anyway....lol 

Cut lilacs from the back yard.  The next day they were wilted : (

But the smell....so nice!

More muffins!

We ate a lot of pasta this week.

And pizza!

Store bought "nut free" cookies found at my grocery store! John loved them!  

He got one in his lunch box every day this week. 

Random Thursday lunch with my parents.  Even fruit can be fancy when topped with Cool Whip! : )

Our new favorite game... Name 5! 

Santa brought John this game for Christmas and this is the first time we've played it.  

So much fun! 

Ok...have you guys ever heard of a Fidget Cube? 

It's  apparently is the greatest thing in elementary school since the Rubix Cube phenomenon. 

(yes, I'm dating myself). 

John won't put this thing down. 

I prefer the spinner myself....: )

 More blackberry ice tea.  Clearly I am developing an issue. 

 Sunday was our best weather day so we went for a walk.  I'm glad we did because the rest of the week was rainy and chilly. 

This tree!  

The colors reminded me of Fall, but I won't allow myself to go there just yet...♥

I started using this dry shampoo a few months ago and I absolutely love it!!!  I am trying not to wash my hair everyday to preserve the color. At my hairdressers recommendation I stated using Batiste dry shampoo. It works amazing and my hair feels so clean.  Love the smell too ♥  

What my street looks like in the rear view mirror.  (don't panic, I'm parked : ) 

And here we are getting ready for Memorial Day! My decorations are coming out little by little ♥

Have a happy mother's day weekend, my friends!  Sunday I will be having brunch with my in-laws and dinner with my parents so it will be a fun day ♥  

I hope you enjoy your day no matter what you do.... and  remember.....

Words to live by! ♥ 

xoxo