Hello and happy Monday! We are in the dog days of summer and the afternoon heat is a bit oppressive, so I’m using it to motivate me to get some inside tasks done that have been hanging over my head. I can’t believe it’s almost August, which means I really need to shift my mind to homeschool prep. I have all our curricula, but I need to get up into the homeschool room and organize it. I’d really love to get rolling next week, but I’m not as mentally ready for it as I usually feel. Maybe I’ll get there this week by tackling my to do list?
Or maybe we’re just enjoying summer and being at home. We’ve been at the pool with friends, staying up later than usual, and relishing in our no commitment (lack of) schedule. While we’re on the subject, here’s what else is going on currently…
Currently Watching
As a family, we are watching The Men Who Built America, The Frontiersmen. I love a good history dramatization! David and I are rewatching Frasier as our before bed show because apparently we are at the age where we proclaim that they don’t make any good TV anymore, not like the great shows they used to make. If you have a series you think can change our minds, I’d love the recommendation!
Currently Reading
I’m in the last few chapters of Be Ready When the Luck Happens and I’ve really enjoyed learning more about Ina Garten’s life. I tend to like memoirs, so if you have any you recommend, please send them to me!
I also must admit I fell off of reading The Story, but felt convicted after yesterday’s sermon to place it in the middle of my coffee table and pick up where I left off. That begins today!
Currently Listening To
A lot of Thomas Rhett since we have plans to see him in concert soon! It will be the girls first country concert and we are going with friends. I’m crossing my fingers rain stays away and it’s a fun time for us all.
Currently Eating
Homecooked food and after our traveling, I’m eating it up (figuratively and literally). On Sundays, I’m cooking my way through this Ina cookbook and having the family rate each recipe. Our scale: 0: disgusting, 5: turkey sandwich, 10: I want to eat this everyday. It’s a fun way to branch out in my cooking without it feeling overwhelming. A few recent favs:
- Bacon, lettuce, (garden!) tomato, avocado sandwiches on sourdough
- Greek salads using this marinade for the chicken
- Mackerel salad – I’ve been trying to increase my omega-3 intake but struggle with sardines because I feed them to Finley, but I can do mackerel! This salad: mackerel, cucumber, red onion, capers, mayo, lemon juice, pepper.
- Baked rotini with a lamb ragu
- I used my favorite ricotta and spinach stuffed shell recipe and made it into lasagna roll up instead for a friend that just had a baby. I had a few extra that I froze, unbaked, in 2c souper cubes. I’m pretty pleased that my freezer is getting pretty well stocked with single portion lunches/dinners!
- I pickled jalapenos from the garden and I’m so tickled by it. I deseeded them because they are crazy spicy and they turned out just the way I like them.
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Currently Drinking
After plenty of adult beverages on our trip (nothing excessive, but nightly for sure), I’ve been drying out from alcohol. My daily beverage schedule right now looks like:
- coffee in the morning (the 1/3 caffeinated from Purity) and splash of half and half
- LMNT new lemonade salt flavor
- afternoon Yerba Mate Berry Lemonade
- evening scoop of magnesium with a lime Spindrift
Currently Planning
Our fall! Gosh I love fall and I don’t even care how basic that makes me sound. My hope was to have our living room mostly pulled together before fall to create a cozy environment for hanging out and I’m pleased that that is well underway. I bought these lamps, cut the cords off, and put these rechargeable light bulbs in them and I’m SO pleased! There are so many options for light (warm, natural, colors, timers, brightness) and did I mention no pesky cords? Super pleased.
More so though, I’m planning our commitments (piano, musical theater, soccer), homeschool day routine (a new co-op has me working hard to figure out a good rhythm for our days), hikes we want to explore when the weather gets nice, and also planning what I might want to do as a fall garden.
Currently In the Market for
Art! I need art for my walls but these decisions paralyze me. Where does one go to find good artwork? I don’t need an original Picasso by any means, but also don’t really want a mass produced piece that every college student also has hanging on their walls. Any suggestions?
Currently Looking Forward to
Football season. Can I say that yet? I blame the fact that it’s almost August and soon we’ll be talking all about preseason rankings and game schedules. But truly, football season brings so much joy and coziness to our home because it represents time spent together, yummy food, fall decorations and weather, the exhilaration of cheering on our teams, and that happy background buzz of the games I don’t care much about watching. Oh yes, and GO DAWGS!
Currently on the Farm
Hailey built the chicks a toy to play with out of sticks she found in the woods! Sometimes I forget that eventually they will give us eggs because we just love them so much right now as little pets.
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Ok, my chattiness is getting away from me, so I’ll sign off here and wish you a very happy Monday! Thanks for stopping by ze ol blog <3
Grateful Kae says
My husband and I were just saying this weekend, oh yay, it’s almost football season!! We are not die-hard football fans or anything, either, but we try to catch all the Packers games we can and there’s just something so fall-cozy about having the sound of the games on the TV in the background, even if I’m not actively watching every play of the other (non-Packers) games. I grew up in WI and Sunday Packers games on TV was just a way of life around here so I think there’s an element of nostalgia that plays in for me, too. 🙂
Brittany Dixon says
I didn’t know you grew up in WI! Whereabouts? The Packers are nostalgic for me, too! I’m mostly a college football girl, but I have strong family ties to the Packers (Dad was born and raised in Green Bay and my Grandma Betty was best friends with the Lombardis back in the day) so I like to wear my Packer jersey and cheer them on <3
Grateful Kae says
Yes, born and raised and have lived here my whole life!! I grew up outside Milwaukee, but moved to Madison for college at UW-Madison after high school and after I graduated, got a job here and have stayed in the area. We’re still just outside of Madison today and I still work for the same Madison hospital, going on 20 years now. 🙂 Fun fact though- I have NEVER BEEN to Green Bay!! Can you believe it?! I have traveled so many places and yet have never been to a Packers game or even been to Green Bay for any other reason. Haha. Bucket list! 😉
Brittany Dixon says
It sounds like this just might be the year to make the trek to Green Bay; you’re due! 🙂
Kathy says
I recently used elephantstock.com for my dining room wall hanging. I needed something pretty large and they came through for me. So much to choose from and lots of different sizes.
I love your idea with the rechargable lightbulbs. I am giving that some serious thought. 🙂 Actually, I will probably try it. 🙂 Thanks!!
I love all the things you share that your find and are loving. So keep sharing. 🙂
Brittany Dixon says
Thank you for the the rec for ElephantStock! I’m going to check them out now. I need a large option for a couple spaces, too.
Laura says
I’m at the same point also with drinking and really only now drink when I’m traveling (which admittedly was a lot this summer), but not when I’m traveling alone with the boys. Tomorrow is my first day of my new job and I really know nothing right now, so I’m looking forward to learning a lot over the next few weeks. It’s insane that I’ll be teaching HS students and they will be starting back in just over a week, eeeeek!! I know I can cook, and I know can teach, but beyond that I have no idea what my actual day and curriculum looks like, and I haven’t even been in the kitchens yet. And I don’t have my chef wear yet. And my master’s program starts in 3 weeks. If I were a type A I’d probably be freaking out right about now (or maybe I’d be more on top of it all). But I’m not so instead I’ve been squeezing in every bit of travel I can, and just unpacked without re-packing for the first time yesterday in over 2 months (I actually almost cried). Squeezed in our dentist appointments this morning, got the house clean(ish) and now it’s time for the crazy to begin! I’m hoping to keep up and finish all my schoolwork during the weekdays so I can still be available on weekends and enjoy the usual, like fall decorating and outdoor time. The boys aren’t doing any fall sports this season outside of school, and I have to say that feels like a relief, since last fall it was every day, M- Thurs and it was a lot without all the new stuff going on.
Brittany Dixon says
Good luck on your first day!! I’m so pumped for you and all these exciting developments. You always seem to have a lot going on yet seem cool as a cucumber. 🙂 I’m a little jealous of your no sport commitment, but understand there are pros and cons to both paths.
Kate says
I love memoirs too and loved Ina’s. Other ones I enjoyed this year are Indra Nooyi (Pepsi CEO) and Bob Eisner (Disney CEO).
Brittany Dixon says
Thanks for the memoir recs! Those sound interesting. I feel like I have done mostly celebs like Matthew McConaughey and Jessica Simpson (which I actually enjoyed both!)
Sarah says
Check out this gallery in Greenville – I felt like they had a lot of beautiful and reasonably priced art when I popped in on my last trip to Greenville! I believe the artists rotate.
https://www.artcrossinggreenville.com/
Brittany Dixon says
Oh I will! I’d love to a local spot. Thanks!