Hi friends! I just got two sheet cakes out of the oven (hooray!) and I’m sitting down to write this post after quite the busy week. My parents were in town to celebrate Augustine’s birthday which was so much fun. We always love their visits and from playing baseball in the backyard, reading books, going on walks along the Greenbelt, and getting ice cream, it was very memorable. We’re having a little party for him today, hence the sheet cakes, and I think we will also start school this week. Well, definitely starting school but just undecided if we’ll start on Labor Day or Tuesday. Matthew has work on Monday so I was originally thinking Labor Day would be fine, but now I’m reconsidering because it might be a little hectic with his party the day before. I’m anxious to start but I also want to feel ready and prepared.

Here’s a little update from our week:

WHAT WE ATE

I plan to share the meals I made the previous week, with links if possible, as some inspiration for your own menu planning. This week Augustine got to pick all the meals in honor of his birthday. We did this for Matthew’s birthday week so it might have to be a new tradition!

MONDAY- Crispy Oven Pulled Pork and Coleslaw on Brioche Buns– We’ve made this recipe countless times over the past year. Everyone loves it!

TUESDAY- Beef Enchiladas with Mexican Rice and Instant Pot Mexican Beans – This meal totally hit the spot! Augustine wanted shredded beef so I used this recipe. We joked about how I used my Instant Pot 3x this day! One of my favorite kitchen items hands down.

WEDNESDAY- Spicy Orange Sesame Chicken– another repeat from Matthew’s birthday week of faves. My boys like what they like!

THURSDAY- Classic Pot Pie– This turned out so delicious. I printed the recipe out so it’s going straight into my Keepers box.

FRIDAY- Creamy Weeknight Macaroni and Cheese– such an easy recipe with only 5 ingredients minus s&p

SATURDAY- Hot Dogs and Tuscan Tomato and Bread Salad– Trying to fit in some faves before the end of summer. This Tuscan tomato and bread salad is one of our faves. We made it with brioche bread this time – yum! And feel free to add a little drizzle of balsamic if you’re a caprese lover like we are.

SUNDAY- Pizza Party for his bday! For an appetizer, we’re cutting up celery and carrots and I’m making these two dips to go alongside: Tuscan mashed chickpea dip and ranch. Also making this sheet cake which is a classic for dessert. Vanilla ice cream is also a must!

For Augustine’s birthday cake, I made the Strawberry Summer Cake from Smitten Kitchen’s Keepers cookbook. If you don’t want the stacked version, check out this one on her blog. You can also make the sheet cake version which would be great for a party. This cake has become a summer staple over here!

Last Sunday we went to the new restaurant, Percy, in Downtown Boise. This Shaved Brussel Sprout Salad with currants, almonds, manchego, and a burnt onion vinaigrette was delicious!

With fall around the corner, I wanted to get a head start on some immunity-boosting tinctures. I made a batch of elderberry syrup in the Instant Pot and it was incredibly easy. I also made Fire Cider which is another fave!

WHAT I WORE

I’m starting to reach for my sweaters but the afternoons have still been pretty hot. I got a bunch of tees from Thread & Supply and they are such good quality for the price.

I also started putting Beatrice in my mesh carrier which gives me a little more support as she’s getting bigger. I wore this pink color with Corinna all the time so it’s fun to put our littlest girly in it.

SALES TO NOTE

Maisonette– Up to 40% off Labor Day Sale- love their kids pieces so much! They also have a sale on toys, home items, and womens pieces (love this cardigan that’s under $100)

J.Crew Factory– 50-70% off sitewide!

Levi’s– 30% off sitewide! One silver lining to not fitting into my jeans postpartum is getting new jeans! While before I might have gotten down on not fitting into my old pieces as quickly, now I’m just ready to have jeans that are a little more comfortable.

LOFT– End of Summer Clearance

Bloomingdales– Take an extra 30% off clearance for a total of 50-65% off

ON MY MIND

Our friend invited us over to pick aronia berries, also known as chokeberries, which are one of the richest sources of plant antioxidants. We picked a bunch to freeze dry and then grind onto a powder for our smoothies. They look similar to blueberries but have a chalky aftertaste but I don’t think we’ll notice it in our smoothies.

Baby Beatrice is crawling everywhere these days! It’s becoming harder to get things done when I’m chasing her around, but sometimes she’ll want to be right by me which is so sweet.

Augustine and I went on a walk/scooter ride yesterday and I loved having some quality time with him. It’s crazy how time starts speeding up so fast. When we moved here he had just turned 4 and now he’s 7! I’m so proud of the boy he’s becoming and it’s such a joy to be his mama.

I was browsing Shopbop’s site the other day and getting so excited for fall! It’s my favorite season to dress for – not too hot and hot too cold. Here are some pieces I had my eye on:

I hope you all enjoy the rest of your weekend, and hopefully, you get a long weekend with Labor Day off too!

xox

Happy weekend, friends! My parents came into town yesterday to celebrate Augustine’s birthday week and we’re so looking forward to spending the time together. Augustine is almost the big 7 and he has 7 meals planned for each night of his birthday week. He’s still finalizing his cake choice though, although this strawberry cake is the front runner. We’re all very excited to celebrate our favorite not-so-little guy!

Here’s a little update from our week:

WHAT WE ATE

I plan to share the meals I made the previous week, with links if possible, as some inspiration for your own menu planning.

MONDAY- Sesame and Scallion Asian-Inspired Meatballs with Broccoli- such an easy weeknight meal!

TUESDAY- Thai Crunch Salad with Shrimp- If you need a good vegan cookbook, this one is one of our go-to’s and we love this recipe especially. The flavor is so good with the tamari-roasted almonds in the salad, the fresh mint and basil, and the creamy, tangy, and slightly spicy almond butter dressing. We added shrimp to the salad instead of tofu and it was still amazing.

WEDNESDAY- The Best Rotisserie Chicken Salad – This salad was so delicious and Matthew said it definitely needs to be a repeat!

THURSDAY- Corn and Zucchini Chowder– this was just ok. My mother-In-law liked it but it was definitely missing something. I think maybe the bacon would have added more flavor but we chose to leave it out. Maybe one to try again though.

FRIDAY- Sourdough Pan Pizza- I’ve been making a Ken Forkish loaf that uses the sourdough discard for pizza dough and it’s so good!

SATURDAY- Grilled Chicken and this Corn and Halloumi Salad with Sourdough

SUNDAY- out for dinner with my parents. We’re excited to finally check out Percy downtown

I feel like I haven’t been as busy in the kitchen because baby Beatrice has discovered her mobility and doesn’t want to sit still. I even prepped the chowder for Thursday on Wednesday evening, a helpful trick from Corinna’s baby days, so I think we’re officially in that baby-on-the-move season! With my parents in town though, I’m hoping I can do a little baking with them. I still have a few things on my Summer Bake List including s’mores bars and a pie. I did bake this banana bread again though which was so delicious. I ran out of pecans, but if you have them make sure to include them!

WHAT I WORE

Our lighting has been changing and with a few rainy mornings, I’ve been wanting to wear more cozy things. I’m still not even thinking about bringing down my winter boxes *I shudder*, but a loose-knit with a pair of shorts is my go-to right now. I also love these loose linen pants that transition well for our hot afternoons. The pair is from Old Navy last year and I keep looking for a similar pair because they’ve held up so well and look really nice for the price. This tapered style could be a good option but I do love the wider length on mine.

SALES TO NOTE

GAP– 30% off or 40% off 4 items!

Old Navy– A Big Bake to School Sale

Ulta– 20% off a qualifying purchase with code 985945

GigiPip– Up to 70% off their site! Use my code too MARA15

ON MY MIND

This week is a fun birthday week and also a break week from our homeschool before starting our fall term. I’m really looking forward to starting but I’m also a little nervous because I still have a few things to prep, and I’m also hoping I can keep baby Beatrice busy during lessons. Matthew says I need to take some of the pressure off and just start slow (good idea), but I’m just excited about our schedule and want to get into our regular routine.

I’ve been buying a few things for the kids so I thought I’d share a few of my orders with you all. For one, I finally got mold-free bath toys. I threw the old ones away and I cringe to think what was inside those ominous little holes. I also got them some stainless steel cups with straws. I love the idea of using these for smoothies, and the included covered lids are a big plus for versatility since they could snacks, etc. Corinna is excited to start school too and even though she’s not in formal lessons yet, I have a few things planned for her. As a fun educational toy, I got her this stamp set which I think she’ll love to use to practice her letters/words. Did I tell you that girl is already reading? Another praise for Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons. She’ll also be starting K Math with The Good and the Beautiful. I’m actually really excited to go through it again because it was so enjoyable with Augustine. I feel like it’s a great program to foster a love of math and learning. It really makes it fun for both teacher and child.

Augustine started his music lessons again. We’re in the second year of Let’s Play Music and we’ve been really happy with this program. He learns a lot of music theory too which I think will be helpful for him.

Baby Beatrice is 10 months old! She’s into the double digits which feels unbelievably bittersweet. After Augustine’s birthday, I’m sure I’ll start to think about planning something special for her first. It will be here way too soon!

My friend Meg sent me these beautiful pumpkins to decorate with for fall. She has the loveliest online shop, Cailini Coastal, and I love her whole fall collection.

 I hope you all have a wonderful week!

xox

I hope you all are having a wonderful weekend! It’s bittersweet as summer is drawing to a close but we’re all looking forward to getting into our fall routine. These next few weeks will be special though since my parents are coming to visit and then we’ll be celebrating A’s birthday! We had a few 100-degree days this past week but it’s going to drop into the 80s which will be a sweet relief! Apparently, Hurricane Hilary might bring some rain our way but praying all my friends and family in CA stay safe since it’s mainly headed that way.  Here’s a little update from our week:

WHAT WE ATE

I plan to share the meals I made the previous week, with links if possible, as some inspiration for your own menu planning.

MONDAY- Grilled Chicken with Panzanella Salad- tried and true! Enjoying all the ripe tomatoes and fresh basil right now.

TUESDAY- Asian Pork Meatballs

WEDNESDAY- Green Chile Verde Soup- SO good and will definitely be in the meal rotation. It’s from this cookbook but this version online is basically the same. This would be such a good dish to make for a new mom too!

THURSDAY- Shrimp with Carrot Ginger Coconut Sauce– we love this recipe because it’s so delicious and I love it even more because it’s beyond easy to put together.

FRIDAY- Toasted Ricotta Gnocchi with Pesto- this was so so good! It’s from this cookbook which has quickly become a favorite of ours! I found the recipe online here. Note: I used my own homemade basil pesto but I bet her pistachio pesto is so good!

SATURDAY- Black Bean and Sweet Potato Tacos- Another easy classic of ours! I realized how much I love a squeeze of lime on my tacos. I also added some pickled red onions which added such a nice contrast.

SUNDAY- Hot dogs and potato salad- Matthew gets back from a work trip today so we’re planning something really simple.

I made a brown sugar simple syrup that has been so yummy with my iced coffees! To make it. you want to bring 3/4 cup brown sugar, 1 cinnamon stick, and 1 cup of water to a slow boil for 2-3 minutes until the sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat and stir in 2 tsp vanilla extract. Transfer to a jar and keep in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.

Matthew made the best egg sandwiches earlier this week. The tip is to get really good English muffins (ours was from a local bakery but I want to try my hand at making them!) and add a fried egg, smashed avocado, and cheese. I would have added arugula if we had it and maybe an aioli but it was delicious as is!

WHAT I WORE

I got a haircut this week which was so needed! I decided to add some curtain bangs because I needed a little change without doing something drastic. My hair is up so much because of the baby so I feel like the curtain bangs add a little something to my face.

My friends and I were joking the other day about how we haven’t worn jeans for the past 3 months and it’s seriously true! I don’t know how some girls wear jeans during the summer, but I absolutely can not! I’m looking forward to wearing them again come fall though. My uniform these days has been a black top (perfect to hide baby food stains) and a pair of shorts. It’s just easy and I like that I don’t have to think about it too much. One day, maybe soon, I’ll get back to putting a little more thought into my outfits. For now, this works!

SALES TO NOTE

GAP– 60% off Last Chance Deals plus 30% off your purchase! Back to School/Life shopping starts now!

LOFT– 25% off full-price items and an additional 20% off orders of $125+. If you work in an office, they have such stylish business casual pieces.

Anthropologie– Up to 40% off Furniture and Decor

Shopbop– Upgrade your top shelf with 15% off Beauty. Use code BEAUTY15

ON MY MIND

Matthew has been on a work trip and leaves for another one this week. We all miss him so much when he’s gone, me especially. I’m so thankful for all his help when he’s home and we definitely feel a little lost without him here. Augustine said the sweetest thing the other night. He said, “My heart feels like it could break because I miss Daddy so much.” Isn’t that beyond precious?! I don’t even think he knows the term heartbreak but he just said it in such a sweet and genuine way.

My parents are coming to town next weekend which will be so wonderful! I’m already brainstorming meals to make and things to do. It will be our last week of summer vacation before starting school so we’ll be living it up!

Have a great week, friends!

xox