Meal Plan Monday and Fall Entertaining

Leaves are falling, the temperature is dropping, and Christmas decorations are in the stores.  All the signs that Halloween is upon us.  Now is the perfect time to start thinking about those Halloween parties, get togethers, or even quiet nights in.  I thought I would share some of my favorite things in case you are still in need of ideas.

Of course, my favorite is this Autumn Spiced Rum Punch.  If you need an adult beverage, make this one it.  It is perfection.

I talked about my favorite Halloween traditions here...and without a doubt, we all look forward to spooooooky pizzas.  A simple and fun meal that all ages can enjoy (B and I were enjoying these looong before the kids came along).  Do it.

And then there were these cute treats I made for the kids school party last year, marshmallows on sticks dipped and decorated in colored white chocolate, pretzel rods dipped in the same with black licorice nails, and juice box mummies, simple wrapped in white trainer tape with googley eyes glued on.

Now, on to the less fun stuff.  What's for dinner....

 - Ham and Beans, Low-Fat Cornbread

 - Spiced Pork Chops, Mashed Sweet Potatoes, Roasted Balsamic Brussels Sprouts

 - Slow Cooker Pot Roast, Mashed Potatoes

 - Parmesan Pea Risotto, Salad

 - Chicken and Avocado Soup, Quesadillas

The 5-Day Juice Fast, My Juicing Diary, Days 1-3

Remember that one time you decided to watch the film Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead, and then ended up convinced that you too needed to purchase a juicer and do a juice cleanse?  No?  I do.

So...we have this habit where pretty much every single night, B and I put the kids to bed and then retire to the couch to watch t.v.  Lately, we have been on a documentary kick, and one of those was the above show (Warning: do not watch unless you want to end up convinced you need to purchase a juicer and do your own juice cleanse).

What can I say...I am very susceptible to the power of suggestion.  This is why I have to mute commercials.

Anyways, I bought this juicer from Kohls.com (on super mega sale, plus a 30% off coupon so I wasn't tooooo invested in this hair-brained scheme).  And B and I decided to do a 5-Day Reboot, where we consume nothing but juices for 5 straight days.  Oh, and coffee, because I am not giving up coffee.  Nor do I have any plans to EVER give up coffee.  Coffee is the life-blood of champions. But I drink it black...so no sugar or dairy, I mean....it is vegan so it can't be too unhealthy, right?

Before starting the official fast, I was supposed to start eliminating alcohol, grains, meat, dairy, and processed foods from my diet.  I did nothing of the sort.  In fact, leading up to starting this, I was even more unhealthy than usual.  Starting this totally cold-turkey and hoping my food detox isn't terrible.

Here is my captain's log of this crazy plan......days 1-3, cause this is getting loooonnnng.

Day 1:

Weight:  147 lbs...yikes!

So, first off...It was a big mistake not to get rid of all those salty and sweet processed foods in the pantry (helloooo salt water taffy and chili cheese fritos).  But I do need to feed the kids too.  And I need to learn to resist this junk better, so I plan on exercising some will-power.

Desperation mode....I just put a piece of taffy in my mouth.  But I chewed it a few times then spit it out....I am still good, right?  Also, I definitely stuck my face in that bag of fritos and just inhaled.  But I decided they smelled gross...so we're o.k.

Day 1 lunch...a mean green (kale, celery, cucumber, apple, lemon, ginger)

Overall, I felt decent, but by the end of the afternoon I did feel a little tired and cranky.  I also had some mild-medium headaches throughout the day.  I discovered that if my head was hurting, drinking a juice helped it go away.  I think I will just drink more juices on the upcoming days if my head starts hurting again.  My favorite part of the day was dessert/nighttime snack.  Holy crap was that delicious (grapes, blueberries, mint).  I think I can make it through another day with something like that to look forward to.

Day 2:

I woke up feeling ok, but still tired and groggy.  Perhaps it is the juice effects, or perhaps it is the getting woken up in the middle of the night by a screaming L who has decided she is afraid of sleeping (seriously, she is slowly killing me).  And this is why I refuse to give up coffee.

Here is where today totally sucked...I am huuuuunnngggry.  I mean the "my kids are starting to look tasty" kind of hungry.  Stomach growling licking the insides of my juice glasses hungry.  Tomorrow, more tea and hot lemon water is the plan.  Supposedly the first 3 days are the hardest, and then the magical juicing power kicks in and you feel all sorts of wonderful and energized. We will see.

Day 3:

According to some of the reading I did, this is supposedly the worst day.  I concur.  I woke up feeling like shiiiiit.  Queasy, shaky, headache, tired, like i am in a fog and can't think straight....blahhhhh.  The upside is I am feeling so gross that the thought of a cheeseburger (or food in general) makes my stomach turn.  Also, this mornings breakfast juice was a beet concoction, so that probably isn't helping. I don't like beets, and juicing them does not make them any better.  Yuck!

Mmmnnnnnnn.....beet-ey.  Like drinking a big glass of dirt.

As the afternoon went on, I felt a little better, but still definitely tired and a little cranky.  I am planning on taking the kids to the pool.  Thank god they have lifeguards there, because I don't think I have the energy to jump in and save them, if needed.  Another negative here is that i have this constant "scummy" feeling in my mouth...like no amount of toothbrush scrubbing will clean these teeth.

On the bright side, I do feel considerably less bloated, so I might just not automatically reach for my matronly one-piece....gasp! And dessert tonight is the blueberry-grape juice, woohoo!

To be continued for days 4-5, plus my final summary....

Party Time...L & J Turn 4

I thought I would do a quick re-cap of the kids' 4th birthday party.  For whatever reason, they both insisted on a golf theme.  I was pushing for a circus theme, but whatever....it wasn't my day, so I went with it.

For activities, we had a decorate-your-own golf visor station.  My niece and J especially looked spectacular in theirs.

B built a mini-golf course in the backyard.  The weather sucked and it was freezing, so it didn't get as much play as it should have, but I still think it turned out friggin' adorable.

And of course no party would be complete without a bounce house....

My favorite part is always the food (B did the streamer wall...didn't he do a great job?).

For this party I served:

Terra Chips

Pita Chips with Spinach Dip

Beef Tenderloin with Roasted Garlic Horseradish Cream and Rolls

Poached Salmon with Tarragon-Herb Mayonnaise

Hot Dogs

Sugar Snap Peas with Orange, Mint, and Goat Cheese

Orzo Pasta Salad

Fruit Salad

(If you want a recipe for any of this stuff, just let me know.  I am more than happy to share.)

And to finish it all off...the cakes and these adorable sugar cookies we handed out as favors.

J's cake was banana layer cake with chocolate hazelnut buttercream filling and vanilla swiss meringue buttercream frosting and L's cake was cherry chip layer cake with cherry chip buttercream filling and cherry swiss meringue buttercream frosting (pink, pink, pink!).

When all is said and done, I think it turned out great (despite the weather) and I actually really liked the golf theme idea.  These kids are geniuses.

And I leave you with these adorable photos....

Life Via the Camera Roll

Sorry for the absence....I have been busy being not busy lately.  Spending time at the pool, playing with the kids and neighbors, and trying to get as much out of summer as I can.  I have also been preoccupied getting ready for the kids' 4th birthday party (OMG, 4 years already!).  So here is a photo download of all sorts of goings-on in my life....

Getting to hang with my adorable niece and nephew and taking them to magical places such as Culvers, complete with face-painting clowns.

I have been rocking my recent JCP sale purchases a ton lately.  Both of these are from the Joe Fresh line.  Seriously, I can't say it enough, if you haven't checked out JCP recently, you need to.  They have lots of adorable things for cheap cheap cheap.  Also, J took the second photo.  Gotta make these kids earn their keep somehow.

I also got to enjoy a wonderful date night with B to celebrate my birthday.  And I finally got a chance to wear the dress B surprised me with for our Anniversary.  Annnndddd....I tried out fake lashes for the first time ever.  I picked up some cheap ones from Walgreens, watched a couple YouTube videos on how to apply them, and gave it a go.  It was actually fairly easy and a fun/cheap way to add some glamour. I will definitely be trying these again.

Check out these sleeves....just like Stevie Nicks.

 

And look at these lashes.....just don't look at all my wrinkles.

And lastly, we have had our friends daughter visiting from California this week.  I love this kid...she keeps L and J occupied, and I put her to work helping me make these adorable sugar cookies (favors for the party).

Things I'm Loving Lately....

This ranch dressing.  Finally a healthy low-fat, low-cal ranch that actually tastes good.  I can't wait to try other varieties....

Sassy poses for the camera....

How great these bug cakes turned out for my niece and nephew...

Long, lazy days at the pool....

Breakfast with the sheriff...

Movie dates with the munchkins...

And basically all the wonderful things I've got going on right now.  Sometimes it feels good to focus on the good things....

So Many Reasons to Celebrate

I am recovering from an awesome week full of all sorts of celebrating.

It all started on Wednesday when I met my friend for a girl's night wine tasting. It was a small one at a local family-owned restaurant, it included food pairings, and it was amazing.  I used it as an opportunity to re-try these ankle pants. I think it was a slight improvement...

Next up was the weekend which included a celebration of B's birthday, Mother's Day, and our 7 year wedding anniversary. To commemorate this momentous occasion we spent a child-free night at a hotel downtown (where they treated us to an awesome room upgrade and a wonderful bottle of champagne)....

A chance to get dressed up (B actually surprised me with an awesome dress as an anniversary gift, but sadly it was frrreeeezing out, so I had to go with something winter-y. Stupid Chicago weather). Shoes and necklace are from Target, dress is from my Mom. She got it from a little boutique store in MI. It is the same one I wore for NYE.....

And a fancy-foodie dinner out with friends....

We came home to in time for me to spend some Mother's Day couch-time with these 2 munchkins, and ended the weekend with a super 5$ Little Ceasar's pizza dinner.

And not to get all sappy, but 7 years ago today I made the best decision of my life. I am not sure I could make it in this world without you, B. Thanks for being my everything.

I Think My Daughter Might Be Turning Goth, and an OOTD

Yes. I fear that My girly-girl-pink-loving-princess-obsessed-refuses-to-wear-pants L is headed down the path of black. I started noticing it around Christmas....singing carols would randomly turn into her belting out some sort of Halloween song. "Weird," I thought to myself.

Then the obsession began...constantly begging to see the "This Is Halloween" song (from The Nightmare Before Christmas) or the "Dracula" song. I thought it was harmless...I didn't know it was a gateway song.

Now she asks for stories at night about Princess L gets married to Jack Skellington. And then there was this jewel of a conversation:

L: My grandma and grandpa and doggie are all dead. They died. (um, they're not)
Me: Oh my, I am sorry to hear that. That is too bad. How did that happen?
L: You did it.
Me: I did?
L: Yeah. You made them eat too much food and you hurt their bellies.
Me: (a mix between shocked and amused) I did??? Really?
L: Yeah. And you smashed their birthday cakes.

And I smashed their birthday cakes??!!? What an evil bi-yatch I must be.

I promptly purchased her a pair of pink ballet slippers to try and steer her in the opposite direction. I think a trip to Disney World to see Cinderella might be in order.

In other news, I have been sick for what seems like forrrrrrrevvver. Which means I have been living in PJs inside the house, and workout pants when I leave the house (because I think they make it look like I just worked out. Therefore I have a reason to look like ass). This is actually what wore for Christmas day dinner. I picked this dress up at Kohls for like 22$. And I totally lack imagination liked it so much I went and got the same one in black. It it super comfy and, I think, universally flattering. Plus, it has short sleeves, so I can wear it year round. And look! I mixed patterns! Because in my boring mind a leopard print belt and diamond patterned tights counts as mixing patterns. Baby steps.

OOTD: The Miracle Headband

Here it is again: sweater, jeans, boots. Nothing new. Be prepared to see this sweater a lot, I am constantly reaching for it.  I need to buy less Target crap and pick up more things like this.

There is one thing I really want to discuss here, and that is how awesome headbands are. I sported this look when I took the kids to Kringle's Kingdom one night when B was out of town. We needed to get out of the house and do something fun. I hadn't showered in 2 days, and I don't even want to admit how many days it had been since I washed my hair (more than 5). Things got hectic! Needless to say, I looked a wreck. This is where the magic of the headband comes in...some dry shampoo, a bun, and a large sparkly head decal and I am looking semi-human again. It was a Christmas miracle!

Does anyone else have a favorite last minute trick to go from looking like a zombie to somewhat presentable?

P.S.  I took a shower and washed my hair the next day.  I am not always fillthy.

Hi Bowser!  Headband courtesy of my sister, from S Korea.

And just for fun, a picture of the kids.  Being cute and enjoying the wonder of Christmas.

OOTD: Dinner in the City

I wore this to meet my grandparents for dinner in the city (great photobomb, Bowser!).  I don't get to see them often because they live so far away, but they were in town for a conference and we managed to find some time to meet up.

I am a big fan of sweater dresses, just dressy enough without looking like you are trying too hard, and always classic (so I can wear them for more than one season).

Oh, and they don't show your armpit sweat when you are stressed out because said drive to the city took twice as long as it should have with lots of traffic that then resulted in your carsick-prone daughter vomiting all over herself and your car. Or something like that.

In the end, we made it with enough time to enjoy our dinner and our visit, and vomit wipes up easy enough.

Lake Adventure

Here I am, all set for a day of trolley riding, a visit to the lake, and lunch with the family.

Expect to see a lot of "hair pulled back" photos in the near future. I am in serious need of a haircut. My split ends have won the war. I have given up and resorted to slicked back buns and ponytails. Because I don't know how to do "cute" ones. I need better hair.

Moving on....I consider this cashmere infinity scarf a serious splurge, I got it at Marshall's so it was a little cheaper that what you would expect for cashmere (I think it was ~50$), but still....it's a scarf. Thank god for places like Target and JC Penney to make up for that.

Speaking of Penneys....have you been lately? I just re-discovered it over the summer. They have some seriously cute and affordable stuff. It isn't the stuff your grandma is made of anymore.  Check them out!