Another day

Thursday Things, Edition 4

Well, I’m not going to lie. When I realized we were already to Thursday, I was both elated and freaked out because I’d forgotten to make notes about things to share this week. However, I quickly used my last few remaining brain cells to recall some things I wanted to share with you and here they are in numerical format.

1. mind blowing easy kale salad

There’s a restaurant here in San Antonio that makes a really good kale salad. It’s good enough that I will actually go there and order it just because I like it and not because I’m trying to be healthy. And I’ve wanted to make a version of it at home because, you know, kale is a super food. I mean, it’s not as popular as it was a year ago thanks to the advent of the cauliflower pizza crust that people want to tell you is the same as a regular pizza crust, but it’s still on the healthy eating desirable list.

All that to say, this kale salad is delicious. The dressing really makes it because it’s the perfect amount of lemon flavor and then the dried cranberries (I used those instead of raisins because I am raisin adverse) add just a little bit of sweetness. I’ve also learned that the trick to making kale better is to make sure you take the leaf part off the stem part. The stems are chewy weeds of Satan.

2. Jesus, Mary and Joe Jonas article by Jonathan Parks-Ramage

I read this article about Reality church in Los Angeles earlier this week and it has really stuck with me. At a time when it seems like the church is doing a lot of things wrong, this made me appreciate the people who are really walking out what it means to love Jesus and share that with your community.

3. Sacred Pace by Terry Looper

I met Terry Looper briefly a few weeks ago when we were both waiting to do a T.V. interview. He was so kind and we talked about writing books. He told me his first book was coming out in a few weeks and the general synopsis was how God changed the way he lived his life and led him to start a business at age 40 where there were no sales goals and no one worked more than forty hours a week. Oh, and he also gives half of what he makes back to the church and other ministries. I googled him when I got home and found out the company he started based on those principles is now a multi-billion dollar business. So it looks like that worked out for him.

Anyway, I had his publisher send me a copy of the book and it’s really made me think about how I make decisions. This would be a great book for wherever you are in life and I like that it’s super practical, straight forward and honest.

Here’s the Amazon description:

“At just thirty-six years old, Terry Looper was a successful Christian businessman who thought he had it all—until managing all he had led to a devastating burnout. Wealthy beyond his wildest dreams but miserable beyond belief, Terry experienced a radical transformation when he discovered how to align himself with God’s will in the years following his crash and burn.

Sacred Pace is a four-step process that helps Christians in all walks of life learn how to

-slow down their decision-making under the guidance of the Holy Spirit,
-sift through their surface desires and sinful patterns in order to receive clear, peace-filled answers from the Lord,
-gain the confident assurance that God’s answers are His way of fulfilling the true desires he has placed in their hearts, and
-grow closer to the One who loves them most and knows them best.”

4. southport patio egg chair

This chair is at Target and I fall in love with it every time I find myself in their outdoor furniture department. It’s $399.99 in case you are in the market for a patio egg chair.

5. Jen Reed at The Sister Studio

Maybe it’s because I need the mental break while I’m trying to finish my next book, but I am following more fashion bloggers than ever on Instagram. I can’t even remember how I found Jen Reed’s instagram, but she is my current favorite because her style is simple, affordable and practical. Plus, she’s just funny and doesn’t take herself seriously which are qualities I enjoy in a person. Her Sister Studio instagram is a great one to follow if you’re in need of some fashion inspiration.

Happy Thursday!

Thursday Things

I almost forgot that it was Thursday because I picked Caroline up at school early on Tuesday because she wasn’t feeling good and she was home all day yesterday and this essentially caused me to lose track of what day it was and where we are in the week. But then I ran to HEB on Wednesday to pick up some medicine for her and realized it was the day before Valentine’s Day because the store was filled to the brim with all manner of Valentine’s Day gift offerings, including a bouquet made of beef jerky and Corona. I almost bought it for myself.

I did buy these two small vials of something called Immunity Boost Turmeric Shots that are supposed to help you either not get sick or get over your illness faster. Caroline has already missed one soccer game and will most likely miss a track meet and really wants to get better in time for her next soccer game on Friday. I brought them home and she took a little swig and immediately started coughing and gagging and declared, “This is the most awful thing I’ve ever tasted.” I thought she was being overly dramatic and said, “Oh for goodness sake, how bad can it be?” right before I took a sip for myself.

You know how bad it can be?

Bad enough to make you wish you didn’t have a tongue.

Like, seriously. There are no words or a description that’s adequate for the vileness of it. From now on, we’ll stick to regular, old-fashioned orange juice.

Anyway, here are some things I thought I’d share this week.

1. caitlin peters design

I found Caitlin Peters design when my friend Carly at C. Style posted some her darling notecards on Instagram. They are so bright and colorful and just make great gifts.

She also has these personalized otomi notepads

2. hum glow sweet glow vitamins

I can’t remember where I heard about these, but I decided to give them a try. They are supplements that help your skin and contain vitamin C, hyaluronic acid and vitamin e. All the things that you hear you need for good skin and they protect from free radicals which are the worst radicals of all.

True story: I’ve been taking them for a month and I do think my skin feels better. Also, they taste like a dreamsicle so it’s not a challenge to take them every day.

3. german nivea cream

Jamie Golden mentioned this on her Instastories for her January favorites. Apparently, the ingredients in the German made Nivea are very similar to the ingredients in La Mer. I don’t know if you know this but La Mer costs about $500 and your first born child. This German made Nivea was $10.87 and I get to keep Caroline, so that seems like a better bet.

The trick is it has to be the German Nivea and not the one at your local Walgreens that’s made in Mexico. The link above is for the legitimate German version that’s made in Hamburg, Germany. I’ve been using it for a week and my face and neck feel so much better. I love my rosehip oil but my skin just needs a little more moisture during the winter.

4. comments by celebs

I may be the last person on Earth to know about this Instagram account, but it’s one of my new favorites.

5. Christian breakup lines

In honor of today being Valentine’s Day, I thought I could post something really sweet and romantic. But then I found this John Crist video of Christian breakup lines and decided it was a lot more fun.

Have a great Thursday.

I’ll just be here administering cough and cold medicine and Vitamin C and trying to not get sick.

Thursday Things Edition 2

What? Two weeks in a row? I think I smell a regular feature.

And, as it turns out, it’s pretty easy to come up with some things to share when you make notes in your phone all week about things you want to remember to tell people.

So here are some of those things:

1. julian’s pretzel baguette

Gulley told me about this pretzel baguette a year ago and I was like “Okay, sure” and then I never could find it at HEB and then I forgot all about it until she had it at her house on Christmas night and I ate an entire baguette by myself. It’s so good and comes pre-buttered and essentially I could live on it.

I looked it up online and it looks like it’s available at various grocery stores nationwide. It’s in the frozen bread section at HEB so I’m assuming that’s where it is at your grocery store of choice.

2. bobbi brown crushed liquid lipstick

My entire skincare/makeup regimen has become one long “What would Jamie Golden do?” She has the best tips and tries everything. I highly recommend following her instastories here.

She recommended this Bobbi Brown crushed liquid lipstick in her January favorites and I knew immediately that I would love it by her description that it was like a lip stain and lip balm and not sticky. So I ran to Sephora and bought the “in a jam” but I almost bought “smoothie move”. I also liked “give a fig”. It lasts forever and feels so moisturizing but not sticky at all. In other words, it’s a match.

via GIPHY

3. O Heavy Lightness: A Guide for Lent and Holy Week by Erin Moon

My friend and another favorite on Instagram, Erin Moon, has written the loveliest guide with daily devotionals for Lent. I started reading it yesterday and can already tell I’m going to love it. Erin is funny and smart and was raised Southern Baptist and is now Anglican so what I’m saying is she can cover some theological ground.

4. isle of paradise self-tanning drops

I bought these on the recommendation of some fashion blogger I follow and was a little skeptical but decided it was worth a shot. And here’s the verdict? I love them.

They are tanning drops that you can mix with your favorite face or body moisturizer and it becomes a self-tanner but without the smell and the agonizing choice of deciding if you want to use good moisturizer or have some color on your pale winter skin. I bought the medium and I just mix about 3 drops with my rosehip oil for my face and then about the same with my Hummingbird lavender lotion for my body. It’s genius. They are $28. You can also find them at Sephora but they are currently sold out online so I linked to Beauty Bay instead.

5. John Mayer cover of It’s My House on Watch What Happens Live

My friend Holly Mathis shared this with me a few weeks ago and it has become one of my favorite John Mayer songs that isn’t actually a John Mayer song. It just makes me happy.

That’s it for this Thursday.

Hope you have a good one.

Thursday Things

Is this an actual thing I’m doing now? I don’t know. If you do something once, does it become tradition? Maybe.

Truth be told, I just liked the way Thursday Things sounded because alliteration.

Life here has been busy with all the usual things like soccer and traveling to speak and finding things to cook for dinner and changing out all the plastic hangers in my closet with those velvet huggable ones. I’ve barely even had time to watch Netflix and feel like I’m the only person on earth who hasn’t watched some version of the Fyre documentary.

Anyway, here are some things I thought I’d share.

1. Edie’s slow cooked chicken thighs recipe

My friend Edie posted this on her Instagram stories a couple of weeks ago and then sent the actual recipe in her email newsletter. I’m normally opposed to most chicken, but this sounded so good that I had to try it and it didn’t disappoint. My whole life is basically asking myself “What would Edie do?” Except Edie does Crossfit and I’m drawing the line at that.

Edie’s Slow Cooked Chicken Thigh Recipe

Ingredients:
Family Sized package of Chicken Thighs (bone in and skin on)
Salt & Pepper to coat
Trader Joe’s 21 Salute Seasoning (optional but so good!)
Almond or Einkorn Flour (Melanie’s note: I just used regular flour because I don’t even know what Einkorn flour is.)
Clean and pat chicken thighs dry.
Coat with Salt & Pepper and 21 salute seasoning.
Dust chicken thighs with almond/einkhorn flour
On your stove, grab your Dutch oven and heat olive oil on high
Brown both sides of the chicken for 2-3 minutes
Cover the Dutch oven and place thighs in oven that is headed to 300*.
Cook at 300* for 2 – 3 hours. At 2-3 hours, check to see if chicken needs liquid, if so, add 1/2 c chicken stock
Cook at 250* for 2-3 more hours. Right before serving add 1/4 – 1/2 c of heavy cream if you want to live your best chicken thigh life!

2. Trey Kennedy’s video on Moms

You know how sometimes you watch something and you just know that you’re seeing yourself? That was me when I watched this video. And then Caroline totally agreed. Especially the part where he says, “Who else was there? Name them all individually.”

Whatever. That’s my job.

3. Butterscotch bars

This is a recipe I got from P’s mom many years ago and then I totally forgot about them until earlier this month when I needed to make a dessert and had butterscotch chips that I bought during Christmas because I had big plans to make haystacks and then that never happened. Anyway, these are delicious and the recipe makes two 9 x 13 pans which is a plus.

Butterscotch bars

1 cup butter
12 oz package of butterscotch morsels
2 cups brown sugar
4 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt

Melt butter and butterscotch morsels over low heat. Stir in brown sugar. Cool five minutes. Add eggs and vanilla. Combine flour, baking powder and salt. Add to mixture and stir until mixed together. Spread in two greased 9 x 13 pans. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes.

4. Good Earth Sweet and Spicy tea

I was addicted to this a few years ago and then fell off the tea wagon. But I ordered some from Amazon a few weeks ago and am thoroughly enjoying having a cup of hot tea before I go to bed at night. It’s the perfect amount of sweet and spice and I don’t have to add any sugar.

5. charlotte tilbury unisex healthy glow

This has become one of my favorite products. It’s basically a moisturizer that just gives your skin a little bit of a glow and it’s perfect for days that I don’t really want to wear makeup but I also don’t want to look like a pale old hag. It goes on gray and then just seems to adapt to your skin tone so it’s like your natural face but better and more glowy.

This and that on a Tuesday

I haven’t done one of these posts in forever, but I had a few things I wanted to share that I thought you may or may not be interested in.

1. A new dinner recipe

I don’t know why this has been such a challenge for me lately, but I think it’s a combination of being tired of all my usual meals and trying to get back in the swing of real life after the holidays. On Sunday night, P asked me what we were having for dinner and I stared in my pantry for about ten minutes trying to think of what magic I could make using only rice and ground beef before I finally announced that we would be using Favor to get something delivered. So I started searching around for various recipes and made an actual grown up grocery list with dinner ingredients and vegetables and such.

I made Euna Mae’s Mexican corn and black bean skillet for dinner last night and it was a hit. The only thing I did differently was buy a rotisserie chicken because if I handle raw chicken then I can’t actually eat it. I have a raw poultry phobia. I also won’t put corn in it next time because P announced at dinner that he hates corn and thinks it ruins everything. This is the first I’ve heard of this in twenty-one years of marriage. However, with or without corn, it’s delicious and an easy meal to cook on a weeknight.

Also, I highly recommend Amy Hannon’s cookbook (She’s the owner of Euna Mae’s) called Love Welcome Serve: Recipes that Gather and Give. If you’re trying to eat Keto or Whole 30 or Paleo or are on a juice cleanse or whatever other nonsense your New Year’s resolution has gotten you into, then this isn’t the book for you. But if you want to make just really good comfort food that’s delicious, then it’s one of my new favorites.

2. A breakfast recipe

Breakfast has been my other dilemma along with getting dressed in the morning. This is what Christmas vacation did to me. Caroline is like me and really doesn’t care about breakfast, but I decided we had to do something better than a bowl of Honey Nut Cheerios. So I’d been making these breakfast sandwiches that are essentially an egg in a hole with bacon and lettuce and then another piece of toasted bread on top.

But then last week she had two soccer mornings that required her to be at school by 6:00 a.m. and I didn’t feel like I could be coherent enough at 5:15 a.m. to make a breakfast sandwich, so I found a recipe for these sausage, spinach and cheese cups that you can make ahead and then just heat up in the morning. They are delicious, easy and even make a good snack when she gets home from practice in the afternoon and is starving.

I also made a version with a square of crescent roll dough in the bottom of the muffin tin and then egg and bacon. Basically, you could use just about any ingredient combination you want. I plan to make some variation of these from now until the end of the school year. Amen.

3. Bible verse text messages for your teen or tween

A friend passed this along to me and I think it’s a great idea and wanted to share it with you.

“Christian Parenting wants your teen to know their incredible, enduring value! We have created FREE 30 Days of God’s truth TEXTS sent straight to your teen’s phone…and heart. For 30 days they will receive a personalized bible verse on their phone.

You can sign up by texting “textingtruth” to 555-888 from your teenager’s phone or by clicking this link .

In a world full of mixed messages, this is a way to help your teen understand and embrace their identity in Christ.”

Anyway, that’s all for now.

Hope you have a great Tuesday.

Fashion Friday: Edition this doubles as a Christmas recap

Well.

I hope you all had a delightful Christmas and that Santa brought you some things you wanted and/or you got gift cards to go buy those things for yourself. We had a good one at our house and I decided I should probably go ahead and recap it for posterity’s sake before it’s 2019. Also, if I don’t document it, I may forget everything as soon as I come down from the carb/sugar/wine/cheese high that I am currently on.

Although to be honest, it feels more like a low than a high. I knew our nutritional judgement had become sketchy at best this morning when I told Caroline she needed to eat something nutritious for breakfast before soccer practice and she came back to the couch with a box of chocolate Pop-tarts. Perhaps Santa should have brought us all a juice cleanse and a nutritional plan.

(Feel free to skip this recap and just scroll down to the fashion portion of this post.)

Caroline officially got out of school last Friday but she was really finished on Wednesday after she took her last two finals since she’d exempted her other ones. On Thursday night we went down to the San Antonio Riverwalk with Mimi and Bops and my sister and her kids to eat Mexican food and see the lights. We’ve done this every year since they were little and I’m just glad everyone is at the age where we can eat at a real restaurant and not go to the Rainforest Cafe.

We had a great time and Bops even let us order two tableside guacamoles even though he’d “taken a bath in the stock market” that day. His dad, my Pa-Pa, used to gather us all around each Christmas to tell us “Kids, this may be Pa-Pa’s last Christmas with y’all” and so I told my dad that maybe his own legacy will be to tell his grandkids each Christmas how much money he’s lost in the stock market. It’s like a scene out of Norman Rockwell.

On Friday night, P was hunting and Caroline and I went and watched “Elf” with some friends and then literally didn’t do one thing all day Saturday. Well, I guess I made some toffee and Chex Mix, but that was the extent of our activities.

Sunday afternoon, one of Caroline’s best friends came over to help us make cinnamon rolls. We all had a lot of fun, but I would be lying if I didn’t tell you that I am still sweeping up flour and cinnamon and sugar off my kitchen floor. Sometimes it’s hard to resist not throwing a handful of flour at your friend.

They look so cute and sweet, but looks can be deceiving.

Then Sunday night, P, Caroline and I went out for our yearly tradition of going to eat and then driving around to look at and/or judge other peoples’ Christmas lights. We went to dinner down at the Pearl Brewery area and it is seriously stunning at Christmas time plus the people watching is fantastic.

I highly recommend it if you visit San Antonio and you have to walk through the Hotel Emma. I basically would like to live there like Eloise at the Plaza. It is so gorgeous.

After dinner, we drove around while drinking hot chocolate and looked at Christmas lights while Caroline and P made fun of my Christmas music preferences. I tend to like a mellow playlist and they find most of my choices “depressing and sad”. Whatever. I like Mariah Carey as much as the next person, but I also enjoy a little Sarah Mclachlan “In the Bleak Midwinter”. I find it soothing.

On Christmas Eve, P and Caroline made the rounds to deliver cinnamon rolls to some of our friends while I finished cooking breakfast casserole for Christmas morning and wrapping the last of the presents. We went to church at 5:30 and then went to Mimi and Bops’ house to celebrate with my sister and her family.

After we got home, Caroline opened her traditional Christmas Eve gift that’s always new pajamas of some sort. This year it was a bear onesie. Here’s the link if you’re interested in owning one for yourself. Caroline says it’s super soft and comfortable, although our 70 degree temps on Christmas day made it a little hot to wear for more than a couple of hours.

We stayed up and watched Christmas movies until the early hours of the morning when I finally told her she had to go to bed so that Santa could come because Santa was exhausted. Mabel wanted to stay up and wait for Santa because she was feeling so festive, but I told her that her glasses didn’t camouflage her the way she thought they did.

She wrote a haiku about it:

Waiting for Santa
Maybe he’ll share a cookie
Maybe I’ll bite him

The next morning Caroline woke up at the crack of 10:30 because that is what teenagers do. If you’re the mom of littles who had you up at 5:00 a.m., just hold on because there will come a day when you are dragging them out of bed to get up and celebrate Christmas.

We opened presents and P and Caroline bought me what is perhaps my favorite Christmas gift of all time, rivaled only by the Dooney and Bourke purse I got for the Christmas of 1987.

It’s a countertop ice machine that makes the good ice like you get at Sonic. My joy knows no bounds. Caroline said she doesn’t remember me ever being as excited about anything as I was about that ice machine. And I can’t say she’s wrong. It is truly the gift that will keep on giving. And I’m so hydrated because I drink water with that good ice in it all day long. I’ve never felt as seen and loved by my people. Some girls want diamonds, I want good ice.

P’s mom came over later on Christmas day and we opened gifts with her and then went over to Gulley’s to open presents with Gulley’s boys and Honey and Big.

And now we are just relaxing and enjoying the holiday. Caroline’s school soccer season starts with scrimmages over the weekend but, other than that, we plan to watch movies and hang out and sleep late and maybe take down our Christmas tree at some point.

Also, we saw “Mary Poppins Returns” and it is FABULOUS. We loved it.

So, thanks for getting through all that, (assuming you did) and now here are some cute things I found this week. There are tons of good sale items to be found.

1. madewell paint stripe transport leather tote

I love this tote and it’s 50% off and on sale for $93.98 It also comes in a pale pink or a cabernet.

2. treasure & bond tie front henley

These tie front henleys are great by themselves or layered under a sweater or jacket, plus they are so soft. This is 40% off and on sale for $29.40. It comes in several color options.

3. make + model thermal leggings

I am a sucker for thermal leggings. These are 40% off and on sale for $17.40.

4. oh so cozy open hoodie

How cozy does this look? I’m in love, I’m in love and I don’t care who know it. It’s 40% off and on sale for $35.40 It also comes in black, white or pale pink.

5. madewell variegated striped cape scarf

These cape scarfs are so cute and great to layer over a t-shirt or light sweater without being too heavy.

6. dearcase long sleeve casual tunic

This is $9.99 and comes in a ton of color options. You could wear it over leggings with boots or wear it by itself depending on how tall you are. I like stuff like this because it’s super soft and comfortable and forgiving of the six pans of cinnamon rolls and three batches of Chex Mix you ate over the holidays.

7. aerie oversized fair isle turtleneck

I love the colors in this. It’s 40% off and on sale for $35.97.

8. aerie play pocket & cuff legging

These are my favorite find of the year. Seriously. And they sold out before I could buy more, but now they are back in stock in limited colors and sizes. But trust me when I say they are like butter. I want to buy a bunch of them in case they never make them again. They are 40% off and on sale for $29.97.

9. zella cashmere wool wrap

This is on sale for 50% off and now $84.49. I think it’s gorgeous and perfect for wearing after a workout or just to run errands or whatever. It also comes in oatmeal.

10. nike odyssey react running shoes

These Nikes are 25% off and come in several color options. I happen to love this color, but I also like the blush and the black with gold.

That’s it for today.

Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and wishing you all a very Happy 2019!