Dear El + Em

Sunday, July 7, 2013

A Year of Meal Planning

Did you know that I have been planning my meals on NTSST for a year now!?! In actuality, I've been meal planning for WAY longer than that, but as far as blogging about it - it's been an entire year since I started. Okay, you caught me...technically I missed out on the past 2 weeks because of the NY trip. Busted! I still say it is close enough and still worth mentioning! I promise that I will be back to my normal routine just as soon as we get back from our Disney weekend. Expect to see me back at it on Monday!

Every weekend (usually Sunday mornings), I sit down at the computer and search for some new recipe ideas for the week. Sometimes I come up with my own creations, other times I'll take someone else's recipe and put my own twist on it, and then there are times I'm way too exhausted to even bother being creative! Usually I am looking to do something healthy, easy, and quick (especially for a week night)!

Just in case you were wondering how I do it...CLICK HERE. I've also been thinking of switching to ZipList at some point. Do you use ZipList, or anything similar to plan your meals? Leave me a comment, I'd love to hear about it!!!

Check out my past weekly meal plans if you are looking for some new ideas!

2012
7/1 - 7/7
7/8 - 7/14
7/15 - 7/21
7/29 - 8/4
8/5 - 8/11
8/12 - 8/18
8/19 - 8/25
8/26 - 9/1
9/2 - 9/8
9/9 - 9/15
9/16 - 9/22
9/23 - 9/29
10/7 - 10/13
10/14 - 10/20
10/21 - 10/27
10/28 - 11/3
11/4 - 11/10
11/11 - 11/17
11/18 - 11/24
11/25 - 12/1
12/2 - 12/8
12/9 - 12/15
12/16 - 12/22

2013
1/1 - 1/5
1/6 - 1/12
1/13 - 1/19
1/20 - 1/26
1/27 - 2/2
2/3 - 2/9
2/10 - 2/16
2/17 - 2/23
2/24 - 3/2
3/3 - 3/9
3/10 - 3/16
3/17 - 3/23
3/24 - 3/30
3/31 - 4/6
4/7 - 4/13
4/14 - 4/20
4/21 - 4/27
4/28 - 5/4
5/12 - 5/18
5/19 - 5/25
5/26 - 6/1
6/2 - 6/8
6/9 - 6/15

And still going.... XO

Saturday, July 6, 2013

Fluffy Scrambled Eggs

Rise & Shine, it's breakfast time! These are my "go-to" eggs for special occasions. I consider them special because of the fact that they have cream cheese in them. Normally, I wouldn't want to load up on cream cheese (especially on a week day). I like to save these eggs for when I have a houseful of family over - and they are always a hit! When I look at this photo, all I think about is that cute little girl from Despicable Me...."It's SO FLUFFYYYYYY"!

Ingredients:

4 Eggs

2 tbsp. of cream cheese (softened)

2 tbsp. of milk

1 tbsp. of butter

salt & pepper (to taste)

Directions:

1. In a small bowl, whisk the cream cheese and milk together until in becomes smooth.

2. In a larger bowl, crack the eggs and whisk - then slowly add the cream cheese/milk mixture...whip it all together until it is mixed thoroughly. Add salt and pepper.

3. Heat large pan over medium heat, melt butter until just starts to bubble.

4. Pour egg mixture into the pan, let it sit until it begins to set.

5. Using a wooden spatula, slowly start to scrape the eggs towards the center of the pan. The liquid will spread around the pan, tilt if you need to. Continue this process until the eggs are solid and set in the center (flip if undercooked on top). Lower the heat a bit if it is too hot. They should be firm, but be careful not to overcook!

We are off to Disney for the weekend! I hope you all have something fun planned too!

Enjoy!

Friday, July 5, 2013

High Five Time

Happy Friday Morning! I'm just lounging, watching The Today Show...having a lazy morning. Likely this is going to turn into a lazy day. I'm okay with that. Although we stayed home yesterday, we were BUSY sorting through all of Baby Girl's goodies, doing her laundry and trying to find a home for everything. I also outdid myself with over a 2 mile walk/run in the morning and I am quite sore. Therefore, I declare today a restful day! The most strenuous activity I have on the agenda is packing. What, packing?!? Yes, we are packing it up and heading to Orlando for a Disney weekend with family! Can't wait to see our three adorable nephews...Disney is always a totally different experience when we are there with kiddos! I'm a little concerned about tiring out quickly at the Magic Kingdom, between the heat, the crowds, and this big ole' tummy of mine. My plan is to take lots of breaks and stay hydrated (it's like the road trip all over again). Regardless, I'll be sure to enjoy every minute...I'm thinking this is our last Disney trip before we become a family of three!

Here is a recap of some high five-worthy moments from the past week...

1. On Sunday night (late) we came back from our NY road trip. As you probably already know, NY was fabulous... but so was the journey there and back itself. Yes, I was uncomfortable and being kicked in the ribs. Yes, we had to stop frequently and take lots of breaks. The hubs was SO understanding and caring...always making sure that I was drinking lots of water, asking me constantly if I needed a break, and my favorite...making sure I had my Starbucks fix! We had fun blasting music, finding license platea ("US Pl8s" app), and talking about how excited we are for September! I just love him more than ever.

2. The other day, I took all of Baby Girl's clothes out in an attempt to sort them all by size. It was the cutest mess ever!

3. Speaking of clothes.... Ashley (Wannabe Green) is unbelievable and cannot resist sending me cute presents for Baby! She is seriously too much, and I have banned her from sending me anymore presents! Of course, I am extremely grateful! I adore this adorable camera onesie (we all know this girl will be familiar with the camera), and the little whale sweater! The whale has a bow, how stinkin' cute?!?!

4. On Wednesday night I made this yummy Rachael Ray recipe for Louisiana Style Shrimp. DELICIOUS!

5. We had this plaque made last year for our wedding. It is pretty big, and we weren't able to get it home until we decided to drive. It's home, it's hanging, and I love it!

Linking up...

Nothing else too much going on over here! Enjoy your Friday! XO

Thursday, July 4, 2013

The Boys Behind the Blog #2 - {Questions}

Mallory & I are really excited about this month's Boys Behind the Blog link up! We have decided to ditch a theme and just ask questions the guys will want to answer (hopefully). Grab your man, ask him these five questions, and link up with us on Thursday, July 18th, 2013.

1. What celebrity would play you in a movie about your life?
2. What is your dream car?
3. Do you have any tattoos? What, where, why?
4. Boxers or briefs?
5. List 3 random facts about yourself...

We can't wait to read your man's answers on Thursday, July 18th!

<div align="center"><a href="http://www.neverthesamespicetwice.com/p/boys-behind-blog.html" title="Never The Same Spice Twice"><img src="http://i903.photobucket.com/albums/ac236/sascoma/BoysBB_zps9c35357c.jpg" alt="Never The Same Spice Twice" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

Happy Fourth!

I'd like to wish you all a very Happy Fourth of July!!! Does anyone have any big plans? I hope you are all spending the holiday with your loved ones, eating lots of yummy food, and enjoying some fireworks later tonight. The hubs and I are keeping it extremely low key today. It is one of those rare occasions where we aren't running off somewhere. Stephen has off today, and we have a lot of work to do in the nursery. Work doesn't sound very fun, right? Wrong! Since I've started the nesting portion of my pregnancy, it sounds like a "blasty-blast" to me! You know I will be cooking something yummy later. I'm winging it. Ooooh wings, that sounds yummy...maybe I will make THESE! See what I did there?

Don't you love this pretty printable that I found on pinterest?! You could find it, and print it for yourself by clicking HERE. (Thanks for sharing this Landee...it's adorable!)

I always find my self going a little extra "pin happy" around a holiday! Here are some other pins I'd like to share with you all. IF I were having a family gathering, or going to one today...I just might have been inspired by these...