Oh, we had such a wonderful week! It was my birthday week which made it extra special. Matthew and I went out on a lunch date to a restaurant we wanted to check out downtown. They make everything in-house, like their pasta, and use many local ingredients. It was a beautiful day to sit outside too! This time of year in Boise is really pretty magical. Driving downtown and seeing all the hydrangeas and rose bushes blooming made me so happy. We also celebrated my mother-in-law’s birthday yesterday with a little party. We barbequed chicken and my brother-in-law made a delicious potato salad, and my sister-in-law made this corn/avocado/feta/tomato salad that I could eat every day! And for dessert, I made the one, the only, the famous banana chocolate chip cake with peanut butter frosting. Such a delicious cake that will always be a favorite around here!!
Here’s a little recap of our week:
WHAT WE ATE
my plan is to share the meals I made the previous week, with links if possible, as some inspiration for your own menu planning.
MONDAY- Grilled Steak with Salad
TUESDAY- Barbacoa Tacos with Avocado- we had a chuck roast in the deep freezer and wanted to try something a little different than the typical winter roast with potatoes and carrots. This recipe was so easy and good and now we have a way of using our roasts for tacos (and enchiladas!)
WEDNESDAY- Crispy Rice and Blackened Chicken Salad (while trying to find this recipe online, it’s from this cookbook, I came across this recipe which looks so good!)
THURSDAY- Oven Baked Ratatouille over Orzo (also from this cookbook but that recipe is similar!)
FRIDAY- Enchiladas- Matthew has become the enchilada master! We prepped these on Thursday night which made Friday evening so smooth and easy. I loved that we just had to pop the dish in the oven.
SATURDAY- Birthday Party for my mother-in-law- BBQ Chicken, Potato Salad, and a Summer Salad like this one but with a balsamic vinaigrette
SUNDAY- Meatloaf Meatballs with Mashed Potatoes & Green Beans (from the Defined Dish cookbook. If you haven’t had her regular meatballs, they’re so good!)
For my birthday, I made the strawberry summer cake which is another classic. If you need a good go-to summer dessert, this one is always a favorite!
WHAT I WORE
I’m taking advantage of wearing dresses so I wore some favorites from Doen this week. I also reached for my favorite tees from Pact. Their organic clothing is so comfortable and well-made.
I attempted to use hot rollers on my hair and failed miserably. If anyone has a recommendation for a set that will hold longer hair, and not leave creases, let me know! Maybe this set? Or this one has a lot of larger curlers too!
SALES TO NOTE
Abercrombie– First Ever Dress Fest! Get 20% off all dresses
GAP– All shorts on sale plus 30% off everything with code YOURS
It’s hard to believe we’re almost halfway through the year. One thing I’ve been trying to be consistent about is taking my vitamins. I have several supplements from Perfect Supplements that I love, including their Desiccated Beef Liver, their Hydrolyzed Collagen, Gelatin for homemade marshmallows and vitamin C gummies, and their Mushroom Immunity Powder. They have a deal going on where if you buy 3 products you get 20% off and you can stack my code MARA10 on top too! Read about their 3rd party independent testing too. This company is so trustworthy and you can’t beat the quality.
Check out some exclusive deals just for you over on this page!
ON MY MIND
My mother-in-law got me the Defined Dish cookbook for my birthday which I am so excited about!! We have cooked through this cookbook so much this year, especially January-April when we were doing our health challenge. It will be so nice to return my library copy and feel comfortable marking up my own copy. I feel like I’ve made almost every recipe but I still have lots to try which I’m looking forward to. If you’re looking for a healthy cookbook option, I can’t recommend this one enough. A lot of the recipes are Whole 30-approved too!
We went to visit our dairy lady’s farm this week which was such a highlight. We loved seeing the cows who provide us with our milk, cream, yogurt, and cheese! One day we’d love to have our own little dairy cow, but for now, we are so thankful to Ms. Shelli!
Some of the picture books we read and enjoyed this week were Cactus Hotel, What Grew in Larry’s Garden, and The Snail and the Whale.
Have a great week everyone!
xox
