Happy Homemaker Monday

Hello and Happy Monday! ☀️ 

I hope you had a wonderful weekend Friends. ;) It was a nice one here for the most part. I made a nice family dinner for Matt, Annie & I Friday. Matt and I went out for dinner Saturday. Sunday was a lot of the usuals...church, brunch, errands (& brought things for my Mom and step Dad), a 2 mile walk and a girlfriend of mine popped by and we had a nice chat on the deck. But then last night I ended up in the ER.

 I had been having pain in my side thinking it was a pulled muscle and took some pain pills and mostly ignored it past several days. But last night I had like muscle spasms and terrible pain that made me really nauseous too. Matt insisted he take me to the ER. Turns out I have a bruised rib (no idea how I bruised it) and I need to limit my activity for a while. Ugh! Not something I'm great with as I love being active with my fella and around the house. But I know it could be worse and I'm grateful I didn't have a fracture. So I will be a good girl and work to heal up. 

I hope your weekend was lovely and far less "exciting" in any crazy way. Lol 😆 

THE WEATHER OUTSIDE IS:

ON THE BREAKFAST PLATE THIS MORNING:

yogurt with granola, iced coffee

ON MY TO DO LIST THIS WEEK:

meeting 2 different friends 2 different days to catch up, errands, computer work to do, gentle projects around the house, hospice work from home and at facility

THINKING ABOUT:  

Fun things planned for this summer 😊 

AS I LOOK AROUND THE HOUSE

Sun is streaming through the windows and it's the perfect summer day outside. I spent some time on the deck earlier and it's truly my happy place. 

CURRENTLY READING

planning to start a book my Mom gave me called What if God Wrote Your Bucket List by Jay Payleitner

ON THE TV TODAY:

  HGTV and cooking shows, AGT,some vlogs on youtube, I may watch Persuasion on netflix 

ON THE MENU THIS WEEK:

    MONDAY - pasta, Italian salad, garlic bread 

TUESDAY - sushi night?

WEDNESDAY -  going to throw bacon jalapeno popper smoked sausages on the grill with corn on the cob, veggies and have melon

THURSDAY - ravioli lasagna, salad

FRIDAY -  Mediterranean orzo pasta salad with chicken swarma slices and tzatziki sauce, fruit

TO RELAX THIS WEEK I WILL:

read, garden, meet up with friends

TIPS OR SOMETHING TO SHARE:

I looked this up and they do have deals - some are up to 50% off - but lots of other discount items too. 

FROM THE CAMERA:

my happy place 💕 

PRAYER LIST:

 For an end to the conflict in the Ukraine and other areas of the world living in war & fear. For peace and unity in this country, especially from hate and shootings or violence.  For anyone sick, suffering, in pain or fear... that God bring them comfort and peace. For His Light and Love to cast out the dark everywhere. 🙏 

PRAYER, INSPIRATIONAL QUOTE OR DEVOTIONAL:

Have a blessed and sunny week ahead! I'm sharing this with Sandra of Diary of a SAHM forHappy Homemaker Monday.

Vintage Summer Love and a Recipe

 

Happy bright sunny Thursday to you Friends. ;) 

It sure seems like summer has shown up. ☀️ It makes me dream on all the summer bucket list things ahead... playing with my flowers, picnics, pontoon rides, golfing, long walks, pickle ball games in the driveway, sitting by the fire at night, roasting s'mores, fireworks, mini golf, swimming, fireflies on the hill, drippy popsicles, concerts, family reunions, and ice cold glasses of lemonade or iced tea. 

I love our summers here up north (even if they're short-lived)...and I love all things vintage. So I thought I would share a bit of both with these fun images. I hope you have a wonderful weekend ahead! 

What are you most looking forward to this summer? 

(* thanks to pinterest for the images)

Also, I thought this looks like a wonderful and easy summer dessert. Like the old fashioned ice box pies you find in old cookbooks. You can find the recipe on my summer pinterest board or if you click here. 

🍋 😋 

Happy Homemaker Monday

Hello and Happy Monday! ☀️ 

I don't have a lot of time to get this post done this AM but I still wanted to pop in and say hello and share with you. I just love this time with you each week Friends. 💗 

It was both a productive and relaxing weekend. I cleaned and organized all of my bathroom drawers. Going through all of my clothing drawers next. Matt will be moving in soon and I want to have plenty of room for all of his things too. ;) 

Matt built a couple of outdoor pieces that I received for Mother's Day. I especially love the raised garden bed. I share pics down below. 

But there were also relaxing moments. My daughter and I went to watch my former SIL's daughter play soccer and then we went out with her and my 2 nieces for a girlie lunch. Matt and I went out on the pontoon yesterday (makes Ruby such a happy girl) and had a little afternoon snack picnic out on the water. Then last night threw some steaks on the grill and they were really yummy! 

Now onto the week ahead....

THE WEATHER OUTSIDE IS:

ON THE BREAKFAST PLATE THIS MORNING:

Toast with Sue Bee honey spread, apple, iced coffee

ON MY TO DO LIST THIS WEEK:

meeting friend for lunch, meet plumber to do work at Matt's house, my hair appt, time up at the lake with Matt's folks, still taking care of my friend's chickens, errands, home organization projects, might shampoo some of my carpets, hospice work

THINKING ABOUT:  

All the things I want to get done the next few weeks as Matt works to move in. 

AS I LOOK AROUND THE HOUSE

It's a gray day and has been raining on and off. I have soft classical music playing and the dryer is thumping and it's peaceful.

CURRENTLY READING

??

ON THE TV TODAY:

  HGTV and cooking shows, AGT, need to finish a few streaming series, I think Matt & I will start Better Call Saul next

ON THE MENU THIS WEEK:

    MONDAY - BLT's (seems to be a Monday thing using up tomatoes and bacon)

TUESDAY - sausage, veggie, cheese egg bake(using some eggs from friend's chickens 😋 ), fruit, cherry kringle

WEDNESDAY -  Matt hasn't had my meatloaf yet! Making that and a pasta side dish, & roasted Italian lemony broccoli

THURSDAY - chicken, cheese & green chilies burrito bake casserole

FRIDAY -  out for dinner? 

*going to make some rice krispies bars with salted caramel frosting

TO RELAX THIS WEEK I WILL:

play with chickens 😉, craft, garden

TIPS OR SOMETHING TO SHARE:

FROM THE CAMERA:

Pics of summer already begun. My daughter is finished with school and has already had pals over for summer moments. 💕 I love the new big umbrella as it has lights in it too and the big deck just feels like another outdoor living room. We're out there whenever the weather permits. 

A few more pics of angels up at the hospice house where I do some of my work. Such sacred ground there.

Half time break at my niece's game. It was a gorgeous day!! ☀️ 

My sweet fella was hard at work putting these pieces together for me. I just love them both so much! I'll now have a nice work space to plant my pots. And I am already having so much fun with my raised garden bed with greenhouse protector top. It even has self irrigation built in! I planted some cukes, snap peas, lettuce, garlic chive and sweet basil.

Captain of the pontoon and my heart (awwww 😍 )

Yum! 😋 

That's one happy girl!! 

PRAYER LIST:

 For an end to the conflict in the Ukraine and other areas of the world living in war & fear. For peace and unity in this country, especially from hate and shootings or violence.  For anyone sick, suffering, in pain or fear... that God bring them comfort and peace. For His Light and Love to cast out the dark everywhere. 🙏 

PRAYER, INSPIRATIONAL QUOTE OR DEVOTIONAL:

💗 🌟

Have a wonderful week!! I'm sharing this with Sandra of Diary of a SAHM for Happy Homemaker Monday.

Egg Bakes

 

Hello Friends! 

I haven't done a recipe post in a bit and today I thought I'd pop in to share a recent weekend egg bake I made for Matt and I. I've got eggs on the brain as I'm still tending to my neighbor girlfriend's chickens and reaping the benefit of tons of eggs! ;) Don't worry, I'm sharing the wealth too. Nothing will go to waste! 

If we don't go out for brunch on the weekends, one of our favorite things to do is to make something together. Listening to music, chatting, chopping etc. And our favorite brunch items are usually an egg scramble (Matt is the master of those!) or an egg bake. More my domain as that's usually what I have made through the years. Either one is an excellent way to clean out the fridge. So even on a week night if we need to get rid of old veggies, eggs, cheese, even bread - I'll often make up an egg bake. So it's truly a method to me and not a set recipe as I make something different every time. 

A little while ago we were at one of those moments. Really needing to clean things out of the fridge. And I had a tomato on the counter that really needed to be used up. This is what I came up with:

So that day I cleaned out of my fridge a leftover polish sausage and some bacon bits. I threw them in the bottom of my greased dish. 

I then took a piece or 2 of stale bread (cubed it up) and part of a block of cheese I needed to use up and shredded it up and threw both of them over the meat. I often like bread, or even croutons in an egg bake because they soak up all the eggs and make a richer kind of "custard". That's why egg bakes are often good to let sit in the fridge overnight too. More time for the bread to soak up the goodness. 😋  

I then took out veggies I had to use up that were getting old. That day it was onion and different peppers. But other times I'll also often add greens too. Like broccoli cut up small, or spinach I'll wilt on the stove first. This day just onion and peppers though. 

In a large bowl I beat about 7 eggs (this was for a 9x9 pie pan) and added a splash of milk to it. I think I added a bit of sour cream too. I seasoned everything well with salt, pepper and other seasonings. I was going for an Italian flavor this time because I knew I was going to top the dish with tomato slices with Italian seasoning on them. So I added garlic powder & oregano. Other times when I'm doing basic flavors (like bacon or ham and cheese) I often add some dijon mustard and paprika. And I always like grating a little fresh nutmeg in my eggs. It just adds something and it's often what chefs I watch on tv do too. Just adds something extra that when folks taste it they can't quite put their finger on - but it's so good. ;) I mixed in a little of the cheese with the egg mixture too.

I then poured the egg mixture on top of the meat and cheese & bread. I made sure the bread pieces were nicely submerged. If you're doing a bigger pan or if it doesn't seem like enough wet ingredients just add more beaten egg and milk. I shredded a little more cheese on top and added some shredded mozzarella I had since I was doing Italian flavors that day. I laid the tomato slices on top and salted and peppered them and sprinkled Italian seasoning on each one. 

I baked it in a preheated 350* oven for about 50 minutes until I could tell it was cooked through and nice and browned on top. 

It's a perfect win-win. We didn't waste any veggies sitting in the fridge and we had a delish meal that lasted for a couple meals. It heats up so well for leftovers too! Have a wonderful weekend ahead sweet Friends! I hope you get to enjoy a wonderful brunch. 😉  xo