Summer Picnic Inspiration

As we spend more and more of our time at home, it is important to still have things to look forward to.  Things to change up our routines.  

So why not do a picnic.  If you have a park nearby that you can go to, that's great.  But, you can also have one in your backyard.

To help get you in the mood, here's some inspiration from Target.  The blanket folds into a carrying tote and has a waterproof underside.  The picnic basket comes fully equipped for everything that you need for a romantic picnic for two - just add food and drinks :)

           Shop the Post: Sandal, T-Shirt Dress, Picnic Blanket, Picnic Basket

Well Hello There

I started blogging again in the beginning of the year with great enthusiasm.  I had a whole schedule in my mind about writing and posting and topics.  I was debating moving over to Word Press, or at least refreshing the look of the blog.  And then COVID.  I even did okay at the start of the madness.  Then we went on vacation for a week (more on that in a later post), and when we got back, we started the last remodeling project in our house.  

The project was only 3 weeks, and since it was the basement it was not supposed to be nearly as disruptive as the remodel of our main living area.  Well, that thought didn’t take into account the fact that we were working from home.  Working upstairs while they are breaking up tile does not make for easy concentration.  By the time the workday was done, my brain was fried!  I didn’t even read the book club book for the month of May, and I had never missed a month prior to this.

 

Thankfully, the remodel is done – and it was so worth it.  We have a few more bits and baubles to get

situated, but nothing that requires that much mental expenditure.  Work, however, has continued to be crazy, but I’m getting into a routine.

 

All of this to say, hopefully I’ll be able to get back to writing more and posting more.

A Pre-Quarantine Trip

We had a trip planned to Washington, DC, for the middle of march.  Even with talk of the corona virus starting to pick up, and things starting to shut down, we decided to keep our plans and head there.  And I'm so glad that we did.  While parts of it did have a certain apocalyptic feel to it, it was really the last semblance of normalcy for us.

We had the opportunity to stay at the Conrad Hotel, and let me just tell you, it was amazing.  The Conrad is a 5 star hotel in the heart of downtown DC.  We were able to stay on the Sakura Club floor, with access to the Sakura Club and it was the most luxurious, stunning, and amazing experience.

The hotel itself is exquisite and the service that we received was top-notch.  From the food to the staff, to the fact that they turn down your bed at night and bring you ice, it was a truly amazing trip.  Here are a few pictures of our stay.

A room in the Sakura Club

Japanese Cherry Blossom - or Sakura

They turned down the bed and left water and a glass

Things Making Me Smile

April seemed like the longest month ever. I used to think that January dragged on.  Man, it has nothing on April.  And yes, I know that today is already May 2nd, I got sidetracked and am just now writing this post.

For as long as April was, there were some things that made me smile.  Here's just a few . . .

1. A long drive with my husband in honor of my birthday.
We were supposed to go to Cleveland and go shopping, but with everything closed we just took a drive.  It may not have been what we originally planned, but it was such a relaxing, low key day.  And we ended it with Thai takeout :)

2. Hanging out on Zoom each Tuesday with the ladies from church.
Our twice a month Bible study at Panera has turned to a weekly meet-up on Zoom.  These have been some of the best moments of the month getting to hang out with these ladies and getting to know them more.

3. While spring is still self-isolating, the trees are starting to bloom

4. A new car
Granted, we had to drive to Ohio to get it, but I am now the proud lease holder of a Mazda 3

5. Carrot bread
The best thing ever :)

6. M&M Brownies
Need I say more?

6. A new Sunday morning routine of picking up breakfast and coffee from a local coffee shop before doing church online

Carrot Bread

Maybe it's all of the talk on the Internet about baking bread and yeast shortages, but I have been in the mood to bake lately.  

I made M& M brownies for my birthday.

I made Challah bread for Easter.

But still, I wanted to bake.  Then I remembered reading this post about carrot bread.  Now I love a good carrot muffin, but rarely get to have one since most have nuts in them.  And, with a severe walnut allergy, I end up having to avoid them.  I also really like zucchini bread, and figured that this would be similar (it is).  However, I didn't really like the recipe that Carly linked to. 

So I decided to make my own recipe.

Let me just tell you that this bread is amazing!  It's like if a carrot muffin divorced the nuts and remarried a zucchini bread and they had baked good offspring.  That's the only way I know to describe it.  But it is amazing!

Carrot Bread

Ingredients

1 cup finely shredded carrots

2 eggs

4 ounces unsweetened applesauce (I used one of the individual serving containers)

1/2 cup sugar

1 1/2 cups flour

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinamon

1 teaspoon nutmeg

Directions

Combine the eggs, sugar and applesauce.  Combine the dry ingredients and add to the egg mixture.  Fold in the carrots and pour into a greased loaf pan.  Bake at 350 for 1 hour.  Cool in pan for 5- 10 minutes, then remove to cooling rack to finish cooling.

Sephora Haul

Twice a year Sephora does a huge sale.  This year, for the first time, I was able to shop as a Rouge Member.  The sale is now open to Rouge, VIB, and Insider members.  Insider is free to all, VIB and Rouge are earned for spending a certain amount in a given year.  To take advantage, use code SPRINGSAVE Here are the dates and the amount off:

Insider - 10%

April 23 - April 27, 2020

VIB - 15%

April 21 - April 29, 2020

Rouge - 20%

April 17 - May 1, 2020

This year, I used the sale to pick up a couple of items that I was running low on as well as some new items.  

The first thing that I bought was the Sephora Collection Glow Peel Pads.  I use these once a week, usually on Sundays, after I wash my face.  They are super easy to use, basically I take one and rub it all over my face and then following up with my usual serums and moisturizers.

The next item is the BeutyBlender Mini Blendercleasner Solid.  I received a sample of their charcoal one and have been enjoying it.  Looking forward to trying this one.

Makeup-wise I reordered the Smashbox Photo Finish Primer and the Hourglass Illusion Hyaluronic Skin Tint in Warm Ivory.  I've been using both for a while.  I think that the Photo Finish works great at smoothing my skin under my foundation.  The Hourglass Skin Tint gives me just the right amount of coverage - not too light and not too heavy.

Right before quarantine started I had stopped by a Sephora store and got a couple of sunscreen samples.  The one that I fell in love with is the Supergoop Glow Screen.  I love that it gives me just the right amount of glow and looks great both under foundation and with bare skin. When I use it, it also replaces my primer.

I've been on the hunt for my ride or die mascara.  I had received a sample of the Grande Primer and really like it.  So I decided to buy it and the Grande Drama Mascara to try.  So far, so good.

So that's what I bought in the Spring Haul.  What about you?  Did you buy anything?

That Quarantined Life

I don't know about you, but some days I am totally fine with the stay-at-home orders and other days I just want to scream and throw a temper tantrum like a two-year old.  Most days, I seem to be doing okay, not great, but okay.

I know that I'm one of the lucky ones, I still have a job. I'm not trying to balance working and homeschooling.  I'm not completely alone. 

A foggy morning

One of the things that I have found is that having routines help, especially in the mornings.  I have kept to my same, going-in-to-work everyday routine.  I still get up, meditate, do my Bible study, get myself ready for the day and eat breakfast.  The biggest difference is that instead of getting into our car to drive to work, Jim and I take a walk.  I think that this is one of the main things keeping me sane.  There is just something about walking and listening to the birds sing (and boy are they noisy) to really fill me with a sense of peace.

Look who we ran into on our walk :)

We are also trying to mark the end of the work day.  With us working in the same field, we have enough issues leaving work at work.  What we don't want is the email and the projects to spill into our evenings.  So, at the end of the workday, we pause.  Some days we take a walk, some days we do chores around the house.  Just something to indicate that the work day is done.

Self-care is also big for me.  I'm also keeping up with my usual eating habits, and since I've always worked out at home, I'm still working out.

Lunch!

I know that this too shall end.  And I am thankful that I can still get together with the ladies from church and my small group - even if it is over Zoom.  And I am happy that my okay days are more than my not okay days.

So how about you?  How are you dealing with the staying at home?

Buddha Bowl

One of my favorite no recipe, recipes is Buddha Bowls. Basically a Buddha Bowl is a meal comprised of a whole bunch of ingredients thrown together with a sauce added.  If you look on Pinterest, you will find a whole lot of recipes for them, which you can of course follow, but they are really easy to make with whatever you have on hand.  This makes them great for now, when so many are eating out of their pantry.

I think that traditionally Buddha Bowls were vegetarian, but I have added chicken to mine in the past.  Traditionally, they are also served cold, but for this one, I did heat my rice, onion, and mushrooms.

The other great thing about these are that they can be meal prepped.  I stored the ingredients in different containers depending on whether they were going to be reheated or not.  The week that I made these ones, I also didn't feel like making my own sauce, so I used a store bought one.  If you want to try your hand at making one, my favorite Buddha bowl sauce is this one by Davida over at The Healthy Maven.

If you want to recreate the bowl that I made, I sauteed a sweet onion and some Baby Bella mushrooms and roasted some frozen broccoli.  I added them to some brown rice and this is what I reheated each day.  The rest of the bowl was some baby spinach, diced cucumbers,  and matchstick carrots.  Finally I added a soft boiled egg.

Celebrating My Birthday During Quarantine

Normally, when our birthdays roll around, Jim and I take the day off, go out to eat for each meal, spend the day out somewhere, and basically have a grand time out and about.  This year was supposed to be more of the same for my birthday, with a planned trip to a area outside of Cleveland to do some shopping.  Then came COVID-19, and everything shut down.

So we improvised.  We still ate out for breakfast, we just picked it up from the restaurant and ate at home.

A veggie filled omelet, toast, bacon and lightly dressed mixed greens

We still went out, at least for a drive.  We were still isolating, just in our car and not our house.  We even packed a lunch and ate it in the car.  We decided to follow the Ohio River through a bunch of towns and then came home via farm country.  It was an amazing drive, with a lot of scenery. 

Some cows that we saw while driving through the countryside

Dinner was again brought home.  The nice part though was that I was able to get Thai food and Jim was able to get barbecue. 

Fresh Summer Rolls and Pad Ka Prao (Spicy Basil)

Brisket and macaroni and cheese

So all in all a great day.  Yes, we had to improvise, and it wasn't what we had originally planned.  But we rolled with it and had a great time.

It has been a while

I can't believe that it has been over two years since I've posted.  Actually, yes I can.  I've thought about it a lot, but for whatever reason, just felt completely paralyzed at the thought of sitting down to write.  In the time since I've posted, I have started a new job, we completely remodeled our house, and now we're dealing with a pandemic.

So far we seem to be dealing pretty well with the stay at home order.  For us, because of our jobs, it has only been a little over a week since we've been working from home.  Basically, when our governor issued the stay-at-home order.  We've quickly developed a routine to our days.  We've made staying active a priority.  We've also continued to get up and get ready each day like we would have had we gone into work.   I've made a point to get dressed in real clothes - even if they are jeans - and to do my makeup.  For me there is just something about doing my hair and makeup and wearing something cute to elevate my mood.

Sunrise on our morning walk

One nice thing is that instead of getting in our car to drive to work, we are able to take a walk through our neighborhood before we start work.

So, back to the blog.  I think that right now my goal is to post at least once a week.   I'll post about what I'm cooking and eating, what my workouts are looking like.  And, for now, how we're coping with social distancing.  Hopefully I can keep it up and you find posts that you enjoy reading.

Until next time

~Michelle