Friday Favorites

Happy Friday, Friends!  I hope this week has been a good one for you!  It feels like Spring in the Midwest and we are enjoying the sunshine and warm temps.

Did you catch my blog posts this week?

Rainbow Charcuterie Dinner Board - this would be so fun for St. Patrick's Day!

2 Tips to Make Your Salads Extra Delicious - they are easy!

15 Easter Amazon Favorites for Toddlers to Tweens - art supplies, Squishmallows, egg crayons, moon shoes and more.  Let me help you build your Easter baskets!

Now onto my favorite moments of the week:

1. Look at these Easter cuties!!  My kids love Squishmallows and I can't wait to give them their baskets.  I think they're going to be excited about their color changing markers, new rolls of art paper, kites and books.  I linked everything in my Amazon post this Wednesday.

2. Dreamy lamp!  I've been on the hunt for probably 2 years for a statement lamp for my kitchen.  I finally found one.  This dreamy Ralph Lauren lamp was splurge and I smile every time I walk into my kitchen and see it.  It was totally worth the wait.  More on this later!

3. Happy Spring.  I picked up these darling bunny towels for my kid's teachers this week at HomeGoods.  It's a two pack.  The front towel has a bunny head and the back towel has a bunny bottom.  Wouldn't these be so cute in anyone's kitchen for Spring!?  I can't wait to put a cute plaid bow on them and send them to school for our teachers.  They were just $9.99 and seem like great quality.

4. I bought myself some clovers.  I love to grab these at the grocery stores in the Spring.  They bloom the cutest little white flowers and will be perfect for my table for St. Patrick's Day next week.

I'm not sure what I'm fixing for our St. Patrick's Day dinner, but I know that this rainbow charcuterie board would be perfect!!  I linked my blog post at the top of this post if you want to know more about my boards.

5. This is my favorite jean jacket!!  I love the little puff sleeve and I'm wearing it as often as possible.

6. Visiting Great Grandma.  We popped by with a treat to see our favorite Grandma this week.  The kids loved catching up with her and we all had a nice time.

7. I made the yummiest lemon bundt cake!  I tried out my favorite new bundt cake pan that I got for Christmas and it made the prettiest cake.  I'm making another one ASAP because it was so good.

8. The kids got invited to a skating party for a friend.  We went, they skated and Fletcher can't wait to go back.  He loved it.  Olive loved the skating playlists and we all had a good time.

9. Backyard boys.  These two would live outside if they could.  They built a hut and are proud to say that it's still standing after a week.

10. Off to church.  I got the church by myself last weekend which felt like a big accomlishment.  The older two fight over who loves Leo the most.  They always want to hold his hand and for him to call them their favorite person.  I hope they're always best buds.

11. If you need a fun, Eastery meal to serve your kids, try this one.  My kids love an egg carton lunch.  I put lots of bites of lots of things and add in some Easter candy.  They think it's the best and it's so easy to assemble.

12. My favorite salad of the week included thick cut bacon and grilled chicken.  It made my regular lunch salad so much more delicious!

13. Leo's favorite thing is having control of his window and opening it to enjoy the nice weather.  I love seeing his little hand out in the sunshine.

14. Kevin had a fun trip to Las Vegas this week with some family.  They golfed, gambled and made some good memories.  He loved his first visit to Top Golf, saw a magic show, ate delicious food and he bumped into his all time favorite professor/mentor from his days at University of Utah.  They were at the same hotel, the same time frame for totally different things and it was a wonderful surprise reunion in the elevator.  I love those kind of surprises so much.  It's a good reminder that God cares about every little detail of our lives and that great teachers are so important!!  

He brought back Las Vegas souvenirs for all of us!

15. Hot Wheels cars are definitely Leo's favorite.  Any grocery store trip is better when you get a new car or two.  It's the best $2 I spend all week.

16. Pretty Pearl.  She doesn't get as much air time as the other cats, but she's so sweet.  She loves me the most, is my shadow all day long and loves to sleep on my side at night.  You'll likely never see her if you come to my house because she's shy, but she perfectly friendly and sweet when it's just us.

Have a wonderful weekend!!  I'll see you back here on Monday!

Linking up with Momfessionals

15 Easter Amazon Favorites for Toddler to Tweens

I have SO many good Amazon Easter finds to share with you today.

Easter is 25 days away!  Are you ready?  Amazon and I can help you get ready!

I can't wait to show you what I found to add to my kid's Easter baskets.  I refreshed our baskets this year with these darling canvas bunny baskets from HomeGoods.  They were each under $10 and such good quality.  Olive's bunny basket is lined with floral like the ears.  If you are looking for an Amazon version of my bunny baskets - this is a cute one Evoio Easter Bunny Basket!

My goal is to fill their baskets with a mix of practical things they need, a few fun things and Easter candy.  Each kid got a new pair of pajamas for Spring, kites, art supplies, their favorite holiday candy and a few special surprises just for them.

I included my Amazon links to as much as I could below.

Easter Bunny Squishmallow with a carrot hat

Basket #1:

Easter Bunny Stitch came from 5 Below.  That is the very best place to find really affordable character merchandise.  He was $5.95 and would easily be triple that price online.

All the 5th grade girls are wearing Lululemon so we splurged and got Olive this fuzzy Lululemon belt bag.  She can wear it to school or carry it when we're out and about.  We don't have a Lululemon store nearby, so Amazon was our best option.  She also has the $11 Amazon Belt Bag in orange and enjoys using that one, too.  It comes in tons of colors and would be a great option to try to see if your tween likes that style of bag or if they might like a new color belt bag for Spring.

Lululemon Athletica Everywhere Fleece Belt Bag in Light Ivory

The kids each got a roll of new art paper and something to draw with.  I think my tween will love these color changing markers.

Ooly 12 Pack Switcheroo Color Changing Markers

Melissa and Doug Art Paper Roll 3 Pack - 52% off right now!

Basket #2:

My kids love to fly kites so they each got a new kite in their basket.  Tiny Nerf guns are always a hit with my boys.

Tiny Nerf gun two pack

JOYIN 3 Pack Large Kites - 21% off right now!

Mr Sketch Scented Markers

Exploding Bunny Poop was a fun find at my favorite local grocery store Schnucks.  It's in the Easter section!

Basket #3:

This basket has some new hot wheels in Easter/Spring colors in his basket along with the following things...

Leo loves this series so I got him the Easter board book.

Where Do Diggers Hunt for Easter Eggs?

Palm Grip Crayon Set of 9 Egg Crayons - these have the best reviews and 9 different colors - 30% off right now!

Here are a few more things the kids will be getting for Spring or already have and love for Spring.  A mix of practical and fun!

Moon Shoes Bouncy Shoes - 25% off - great for older kids!  My 7 year old loves them and we just gifted them to a friend turning 9.  They are really fun

Keary 2 Pack Kids Swim Googles - Limited time deal! - My kids are getting these goggles for spring break

Aunnitery Kids Toys - Toss & Catch Velcro Ball Sets - 30% off clippable coupon - I got the three pack for my crew to enjoy this spring so there were plenty of balls and paddles to share with friends.

Wise Owl Outfitters Kids Hammocks - I got new hammocks for the kids for Spring.  We had two of these and used them daily for 2+ years.  They finally needed replaced.  They're so affordable and sturdy.  They worked for my toddler to my preteen.

I hope that helps give you some ideas for your kid's Easter baskets!!  I'd love to hear about what you are putting in your Easter baskets.  All of my kids all have Spring birthdays so I'll be shopping for that next!

Linking up with Tanya for Prime Purchases

2 Tips to Make Your Salads Extra Delicious

I am trying to eat more salads.  That requires regularly buying, chopping and actually eating salads at home.  My goal is a salad a day and it happens more often than not.  I've been doing side salads with dinner, big salads for lunch or dinner or getting a salad when I'm out to eat.  

I've got two tips for you that will make salad eating so much more enjoyable for you.  It obviously helps if you have dressings you really enjoy and know your favorite salad ingredients.  If not, start small and buy a new dressing or a new veggie and discover what you love on your salads.

#1 Chop your veggies in advance.

Grab a big container with a lid (this Tupperware cupcake container works great) and put little bowls or ramekins inside.  Fill the little bowls with your favorite bite sized ingredients.  Then when you want to eat a salad, you have everything ready to go!  It will feel like your own little salad bar at home.

#2 Make extra protein at dinner time and save it for your salads.

This past week I grilled an extra chicken breast and cooked some extra bacon.  I chopped them into bite size pieces and refrigerated them.  Then when I wanted a salad for lunch, I put a serving of protein in a skillet and heated it up while I was building my salad.  It made my salad much more filling and much quicker since I just needed to reheat the fully cooked meats.  Mixing the grilled chicken and thick cut bacon was an excellent idea.

Enjoy those yummy salads!

Rainbow Charcuterie Dinner Board

My family loves when they see a charcuterie board on the menu!  I don't make them as often as I used to, but they feel like the perfect warm weather dinner.  

You can prep everything ahead of time.  Chop the cheeses, fruits, veggies and prep the meats the night before or earlier in the day.  Leave everything in containers in the fridge so that your board will come together so quickly at dinner time.  That means I can play outside with the kids and help with homework up until dinner time and have very little work to do to assemble my board.  This kind of meal also means very few dishes to mess with.

We had this for dinner last week and it was a hit!

Wouldn't this be such a fun rainbow dinner for St. Patrick's Day this month?

Prettiest, yummiest dinner ever!

A good board at our house includes 4-5 cheeses, meats, fruits, veggies, crackers and dips.  I also plan to have this meal twice in one week to make sure that none of those meats and cheeses go to waste.

I buy some things just for board dinners (salami, cheeses, rosemary crackers) and then use up lots of things that we already have on hand.  We finish up bags of chips, crackers, the last few mandarin oranges, etc.

I have one kid who will try anything if I present it on a charcuterie board.  It's such a fun way for him to try new foods and find new favorites - pepperjack cheese & rosemary crackers!  I think it's because there are tons of foods he knows he loves on the board so he feels no pressure when he tries some new foods.

I made a loaf of crusty bread to go this meal to make it a little more filling for dinner.  Then I put all of the leftovers in the kid's school lunches for the next day.

You've got to add charcuterie boards to your menu now that the weather is getting warmer!  Start small with just 1-2 meats and cheeses and a few other fruits, veggies and salty snacks.  Then add more to your board as you feel comfortable.

Friday Favorites

Happy Friday and Happy March, friends!  I hope you've had a nice week.

Did you catch my blog posts this week?

Look for the Flowers - a good goal for each day.

Stove Top Smash Burgers - a delicious dinner!

February Coffee Chat - come read about my spring wardrobe wish list & favorite mascara!

Now onto my favorite moments of the week:

1. I dropped Olive and her friends off at youth group and found the happiest rainbow on the sidewalk.  Rainbows will always make me smile.

2. Kevin and I got to go out on a date night for the first time in months.  We tried a new restaurant and loved it.  We can't wait to go back to Pangea for pizza.  It was nice to catch up with friends while trying a new restaurant.  Now that we know how the place works (order first, then be seated, food is slow to come out, ask for water at the counter, try to sit in the bar if you can get a table, save room for dessert), we're more prepared to go back next time.

3. Matilda Jane dresses will always be my favorite.  I've still not gotten over the fact that they closed.  The details, quality and fabric just can't be beat.  I wore this favorite dress to church on Sunday.

4. Packing lunches (AKA Hugs from Home) is one of my favorite nightly routines.  I love knowing that my kids will get to have all tehir favorite foods and a big hug from home in the middel of their school days.

5. Penny makes us laugh every day at how much she loves Fletcher.  She snoozes all day and then follows him around like his shadow the rest of the day.

6. Kevin got a neat opportunity to meet with our Lt. Governor this week to show her the new mental health and wellness clinic at UE.  She enjoyed the tour and he enjoyed promoting his program.  Look at his snazzy plaid jacket!

7. Storytime.  Leo and I went with a friend to story time this week.  He loved the penguin book and the bubble machine.

8. Fletcher has been learning about gardening, plants, composting and bees.  He came home iwht a newly sprouted lima bean plant that he's been taking really good care of.

9. We met friends at The Polka Dot Play Cafe for the morning.  Leo loves everything there- dress up station, climbing area, the market, the salon, the doctor's office and the train tracks.  It's so sweet ot see him bounce from station to station with his buddies.  The moms grab a drink, chat and supervise.  Win-win for everyone.

10. Our Mommy & Me Bible study is working on John right now.  I was trying to finish up my homework and Leo was wanting to read about book about farms.  He read to me as I finished my homework.

11. Aces game!  We all went to the last Aces basketball game of the season.  Leo came for the snacks and getting to say hi to his grandparents.  They enjoyed popcorn, dip n dots and drinks.  We got coupons for Azzip Pizza and for free Chick-Fil-A sandwiches.  It was fun to see neighbors, cheerfor the Aces when they were playing Kevin's former school ISU and even though we didn't win, it was fun.

He was so excited to keep a close eye on the mascot - Ace Purple - the whole game.  And use his cup as a megaphone.  

12. Dinner with friends.  Isn't it so nice when someone offers to have your whole family over for a homemade dinner?  Our friends fixed spaghetti and meatballs for us.  I brought the salad and a dessert.  The kids loved playing their sports video games and it was a fun evening.  We watched the South Carolina primary results come in and cheered for our favorite candidate.

We're ready for the weekend!  I'll see you back here on Monday :)

Linking up with Momfessionals