Friday Things #379
1. I hope you had a fun and safe Fourth of July weekend! We hung out at home and then watched our neighbors set off fireworks :)
2. And then the next morning, I was subsequently reminded that no matter how late my kids go to bed, they will undoubtedly wake up at the same time they do every other day of the year (although, Isabelle did sleep in!). Which is why we will hold fast to our 7pm bedtime as long as possible 😝
3. A couple of nights ago we lost power for a couple of hours between dinner and bedtime. We hung out in the basement where it was nice and cool and the boys built puzzle after puzzle together on the floor. Loved seeing them work together and get along so well!
4. I’ve been drinking more coffee lately, but I still don’t like it black. I’ve taken to adding a couple of spoonfuls of Ghiradelli ground white chocolate and a splash of milk (since the Starbucks white chocolate mocha is really what helped me turn the corner on coffee back in November/December!), but I’d love to hear how you dress up your coffee and get some new ideas. I don’t want TOO much sugar, but I need SOMETHING ;-)
5. Loved this so much >> 20 Things I Will Not Regret Doing With My Kids
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6. The July Bake-Along recipe went live this week! In case you missed it, it’s the All-Butter Pie Crust. I can’t wait to see all of the amazing pies you bake this month!
7. I feel like quarantine and stay-at-home-ing has burnt me out on cooking ideas and menu planning. I’d love to hear what you’ve been making or your meal planning formulas that work for you!
8. Favorite creams and/or pumice stones for super tough calluses on feet? I’ve developed a couple and they are not a picnic!
9. We finished Downton Abbey a couple of nights ago and we already miss the Crawley’s! We still need to watch the movie but have begun Fearless (Amazon Prime) in the meantime. So far we like it!
10. TGIF! I can’t ever resist some good Judith snuggle time ❤️️
Reading thru these comments, it sounds like a lot of us (me included, for sure!) are struggling with the menu planning/cooking/cleaning up afterwards cycle as all of this COVID stuff rages around us. It could be fun if you do a weekly menu planning suggestion on your blog or come up with a random menu planning “theme night” suggestion for one day each week that we could all try. And you could highlight one recipe that week that would work for that particular meal “theme night” or something. Just a way to get us all thinking differently about menu planning and cooking since so many of us are feeling burned out and are lacking in ideas . . . Just an idea! Love your blog!!
A few years ago I got a Sephora gift card for my birthday and decided to buy something I’d never normally purchase for myself. The Diamancel foot file was seriously one of the best foot purchases I’ve ever made. It is SO much better than a pumice! HIGHLY recommend!
https://www.amazon.com/Diamancel-Diamond-Foot-Callus-Rasp/dp/B07NH4XS51
The natural bliss coffee creamer is my favorite-less chemicals than other creamers and a couple tablespoons is all you need!
Baby foot mask! On Amazon! Thank me later 🤣
I sweeten my coffee with Monk Fruit Sugar my cardiologist does not want me using chemically created sugars so this sugar is a product of the Monk Fruit Tree all natural, I use 3/4 teaspoon for my 20 oz coffee cup and add cream with a 1/4 tsp vanilla to my mocha blend coffee.
My girls are all grown but I wish and regret not taking more pictures of them. I was a stay at home mom who had a brownie group, a girl scout troop, and a junior scout troop, I taught sunday school and was really into the PTA. My husband took better pictures than I did so he was the family photographer. He was a CPA and had quiet a few clients so there was long stretches with no photos taken. You amaze me with your vast amount of family photos I love your blog!!!
Baileys Irish Cream in coffee is delicious.
I prefer to drink lattes (lots of milk), with some sweetness. When I make coffee at home, I add a cup of milk and then a few tablespoons of a more natural creamer, to avoid all those chemicals. Our stores usually have a store brand, or I’ll use Coffee Mate Natural Bliss Vanilla. It only has nonfat milk, heavy cream, cane sugar, and “natural flavor”.
I can’t wait to try Ghiradelli ground white chocolate in my coffee! I just ordered it! Thanks for the great tip!
Hi Michelle,
Your blog is one of my very favorite blogs.
I LOVE reading it everyday!!!. I adore your three children and
your dog and I enjoy that you post details about your kid’s interests.
Your white bread recipe is a family favorite and I have given that recipe
to many friends…….for dinners…..we make a lot of homemade pizzas using
your homemade pizza dough recipe with different toppings not all using
tomato sauce. We also make tacos, enchiladas, pastas, simple stir frys,
BBQ brisket, hamburgers, chili, meatloaf, and casseroles.
I’ve used a pumice stone at least once a week on my feet since sometime in high school. I’ve never done a foot mask. Just a warning if you’ve never used a pumice stone before, make sure you use it evenly across the bottom of your foot and beware that your feet might be tender after the first use. You might even consider soaking your feet for a bit before using the pumice stone to help soften and make it easier to scrub, and repeating this process for a few days in a row. I also use whatever lotion I have on my feet every night when I crawl into bed. The pumice stone I currently have came from the dollar store, and has lasted me for years. I think a foot rasp or file would be harder on your feet than a pumice stone, though I’ve never used one. It did help my husbands feet though – when he uses it!
Lol! I always get tired of cooking! I spend a lot of time browsing online for recipe ideas and trying to decide what to cook and then end up in this rotation of making the same few things for a few weeks until my husband says something.
Michelle
After I sent my comments … I read the others
I saw a ew recommendations for baby feet peel
It used great … however ., do not do it in the summer !!!
You will be miserable !!! You need to do when no one will see your feet peeling .. they peel for awhile !!
L’occitane foot cream is expensive but very good !!
everyday use … plain old Keri Lotion
original.. is a fabulous all over body cream
Nice and rich for your feet !!!
In answer to your callous question !!! I work in a salon !!
Titania pumice sponge is a great thing to have in your shower for maintenance… simply wet it and put some body wash on it and scrub away !!
Once a week you can use be natural .. callous eliminator
It is so good you can’t leave it on too long ( this is what the pros use !!)
Let it sit ( if your callous is really bad ( wrap in plastic wrap )
Then use your pumice sponge … it is the best
I too miss Downton !!! I have watched the entire thing about three times !!!
Another great show is A Place to call Home
It’s worth getting Acorn TV for a month or two !!!
If you liked Downton you will LOVE this series .
I love your blog and watching your children grow ❣️
I have one Splenda mini-tablet and some almond milk in my coffee. You didn’t mention how your dogs responded to the fireworks. For callused feet, I use the exfoliating foot file from the Body Shop. I use it regularly as I hate having hard skin on my feet. I also use Aveda foot cream on my feet at night sometimes. Re: cooking and meal planning…I used to love to cook and then became so busy with work, I started not to like it and even ate crackers and cheese for dinner some nights. When I retired, I thought I would love to have so much time to get back into cooking but I don’t really feel like cooking a lot…silly me. I do love to cook for guests and occasionally for me if I am craving something in particular but I seem to have lost my passion for cooking. I got some sourdough starter recently though so I’m going to learn to make sourdough bread. Have a great week!
I ordered the best pumice stone from Amazon a few months ago-it even comes with a handy, pretty tray, so you can keep it all in the shower. It’s called Evolatree Pumice Stone. Definitely look it up :-)
I’m wondering with your dogs-do they get upset about the fireworks? We have a Lab, & he whines & barks like crazy, when he hears fireworks going off in the neighborhood. Do you do anything special to calm them?
Hi Renee, They don’t get bothered by the fireworks, we are lucky! Einstein never did, either.
I am very grateful for your website, I so enjoy your Friday updates and have made a bunch of your recipes!
I have been on a scallop kick, so if you have any amazing scallop recipes I would love to try them!
Stay safe for you, your family, and doggies!!
Hi Michelle! Have you seen episodes of Somebody Feed Phil? It’s part travelogue, part food quest. He’s hilarious and you’ll enjoy the video chat with his parents each episode. He used to be a writer of Everybody Loves Raymond. He makes me laugh, something we desperately need now more than ever.
kerasal intensive foot repair ointment is absolutely amazing. I get it on Amazon and cannot recommend enough. Dr Dray talks about it all the time and once I got rid of my runners calluses I use once a week
It might sound kinda meh but perhaps having a theme night for each dinner. We do a soup or stew night, a mexi, an Italian, a breakfast, a pizza night and a smorgasbord night (leftovers from the week). The remaining night is a fend for yourself or takeout but you could also do a kid’s choice instead. In those themes There are a lot of different meals to choose from for each night. It helped us a lot
I like adding a small dash of cinnamon to my coffee, it makes for a more dynamic flavor experience! I also like Starbucks’ vanilla syrup; you can get it at Walmart and Amazon.
I am also burned out on cooking, even though I’m not doing it every day. I started doing this:
Sunday – Cook a roast, 2 whole chickens, a turkey breast, or chicken parts. All just seasoned simply with olive oil, salt and pepper (maybe onion powder or garlic powder). That way I have leftover protein to turn into something else later on in the week.
Monday – New meal (sometimes sloppy joes, pasta with meatballs or sausages, or maybe Breakfast for dinner)
Tuesday – Mexican of some sort usually (my son loves the concept of Taco Tues, but we also do nachos…where I make all of the components and tuck them into Tostito’s Scoops and then bake off, or quesadillas, burrito bowls, etc.)
Wednesday – Use the leftover protein to make something new, maybe soup, chili, casserole, enchiladas, or I serve with different sauces…turn the chicken pieces into bbq chicken, green goddess chicken, etc.
Thursday – leftovers or order takeout from a local restaurant to help their business
Friday – homemade pizza, pepperoni rolls, calzones, etc. OR we order out pizza, if we didn’t do it the night before
Saturday – Soup and Sandwiches (otherwise known as, Fend For Yourself). We also will sometimes grill hot dogs or brats, make pasta salad, etc. The warmer months have made me want soup less and grilling more.
As for coffee, I’m strictly an iced coffee drinker and for me, it has to be sweet and lots of cream. I buy or make the Starbucks Blonde Roast, because I find it less bitter. I saved several of the bottles after purchasing and then make my own cold brew concentrate at home, using the Starbucks ground Blonde. I add unsweetened vanilla almond milk and then a splash of half and half. For sweetening, I use stevia based syrups.
I drink my coffee black almost all of the time. I have since college where I drank it to stay awake…but every now and again I enjoy a good strong cappucino or and iced latte. My recommendation to “cut” the coffee taste is to add a tiny bit of even a starbucks bottled frappuccino type drink. They are pretty sweet on their own so just a splash would do. Or just good old fashioned regular cream n sugar-less chemicals.
Cooking for 5 for you can probably get challenging day in day out. I cook for myself and also take meals to my Dad so it definitely takes some work. Since quarantine started I’ve been doing more cooking with what I have. Just impromptu meals using stuff up. Some are hits some not so much. Something that helps, but maybe not everyone is up for is semi homemade cooking. I’ve done this type of cooking for so long as it was a time saver for me. Cooked frozen Costco meatballs can go into a LOT of different meals😊
Boy does Isabelle look more and more like you…just with wavy blonde hair. Pretty pic of Judith. So sweet. Have a good weekend. Hope you can rest and enjoy.
I highly recommend Baby Foot Exfoliant Foot Peel (Amazon). I live in Florida, so it’s pretty much flip flops all year round. Used to go and get a pedicure, but since the virus and being of the older generation this is my go to. Use it about every six months. In between I slather on Gold Bond Healing Foot cream. Slip on a pair of socks and put my feet up while watching tv. Hope you enjoy the Downton movie as much as the series.
Yes, Baby Feet! Or one of the alternatives that Amazon will show you; I have used a few brands and had the same great results. But…don’t do it when you need to wear sandals in public the week after ;)