Nadine

I packed up all our Easter decor yesterday, it makes me sad. I love decorating for Easter just as much as Christmas. There is something about all the white and bright colors to ring in spring, you know? Plus, bunnies are cute! Now our coffee bar and dining room are looking sad. I need to figure out how I am going to decorate both areas for the months of no holidays!

Did you all have a good Easter? We spent most of our weekend with Chris’s family, and it was perfect. We hadn’t seen anyone except his parents in person in over a year, and it was long overdue. Our nieces and nephew all grew so much! Zoe is the youngest grandkid on both sides of our families, by a lot, but it is so nice seeing them all play with her and include her. She had so much fun!!!

Friday evening, Chris called me and asked if I wanted to go grab some Ironstone Pizza for dinner. HELL YES I DO! Zoe did not hesitate to go run and grab her shoes when she heard me say Ironstone on the phone. There is no pizza place anywhere around here that is quite as good as theirs.

Saturday morning we started with an egg hunt after breakfast. Trying to spread the fun out over two days. I stuffed the eggs with little trinkets, erasers, rings and stickers. I never was real big on doing lots of candy for Easter, or any holiday for that matter.

When we came back in, we decided to make cookies before we headed out, planning to share some with his family. Zoe had wanted to cut out some eggs and paint them to hand out. She also colored a few coloring sheets, but I think we forgot to take those.

Zoe got to dye eggs for the first time ever with her cousins. We didn’t really do this growing up, but I definitely hope to do it with Zoe every year. The older kids were getting really creative with their eggs, they were cracking me up. My SIL and Zoe did these.

After we left Chris’s parents house that evening, we ordered Papa Sal’s to go, knowing we had a busy evening ahead of building a Frozen Jeep and getting all the Easter basket things ready. I cant really take any credit for the Jeep, it was all Chris. I just put the stickers on at the end. Why can’t the stickers already be on??? Or paint the graphics on??? They are the worst.

Finally, we settled in with our pasta and some Stabler!!!!!! So glad to see him back on SVU and his new show!

Sunday morning, Zoe opened her Easter basket and I made bunny shaped cinnamon rolls for breakfast. They turned out pretty cute, and obviously taste better as bunnies! We showered and got ready, and then let her ride her Jeep outside for a few minutes before we headed back over to Chris’s parents house.

And in true fashion, I forgot to take pictures on our porch before we left…and didn’t really take many outside of these selfies later in the day. Zoe had me laughing with her silly faces, not wanting to be serious.

The weather was gorgeous, and it was so nice getting to spend some time with family. I hope you all had a great Easter weekend as well.

Back for some more Amazon finds! Linking up with Tanya. Found anything good lately?

Picture Frame – This frame is gorgeous and relatively inexpensive compared to others I have seen. I needed an 11 x 14 frame for the Atlanta artwork I ordered for my office. This actually has a mat inside for an 8 x 10 picture, but it also works great for my purpose. It comes in a few different finishes.

Here is the picture I ordered in the frame. I ordered it from NattyMichellePaperie.

Nixplay Smart Digital Picture Frame – We saw this frame at Chris’s parents house. His sister got it for them for Christmas, and she has one as well. It is really neat, there is an app that you can upload your pictures from and you can friend your family so you can send photos to their frame as well. This is the perfect way for us to share pictures of the kiddos with the grandparents.

Motivational Water Bottle – I have been the worst about getting enough water throughout the day since I have been home. This has truly helped me drink more water, no lie! It is huge, but has a handle to make carrying it around the house easier than a normal glass. It is perfect to have outside as well. Also, it’s pretty. Highly recommend.

Monitor Stands – A year later, I finally have the rest of my office set up complete. I was using one of Zoe’s plastic sensory bins to lift my laptop when I was on Zoom calls. Now that I am basically on Zoom for several hours a day, I needed something more permanent….and a wireless keyboard. I really like these stands. They are very sturdy and hold both my laptop and extra monitor. I like that they are vented so my laptop isn’t getting overheated either.

Highlighters – When you are analyzing a 300+ property rent roll by hand, you need some highlighters!

Green Pan – I am still working on replacing some of our pots and pans. I am in love with the Green Pan! It fries up an egg so perfectly, and everything else I have tried in it as well! You all can keep those $100+ Always pans. This is perfect and much more affordable!

Osmo Princess Studio – We got this princess super studio drawing game for Zoe for her Osmo for Easter. It is super fun!

Trolls Surprise – This was also in the Easter basket. I had no clue that the container turned into a super fun pair of glasses to wear! Zoe has been sporting them ever since. The little troll it comes with can be worn as a ring, or attached to the glasses too.

Hey there, Friday!!! Popping in to say Happy Easter!!! I cannot believe Easter is this Sunday. Easter was the first holiday last year that we celebrated alone, towards the beginning of quarantine when we all thought it was going to be over soon and were just enjoying the extra time spent with the people of our households. So naïve, right? We managed to make it special last year though. It was my first time cooking a ham, and we had an egg hunt for Zoe that Saturday when the weather was gorgeous here. (It rained Easter Sunday.)

I am not sure what all is in the cards for us this year, but the bunny has been extra kind to Zoe, I have some eggs to stuff for another hunt, and we are definitely going to dye eggs and bake cookies. The other day Zoe told me that Easter is actually her favorite holiday. She loves all of the pastels and thinks the bunny is extra cute. I am hoping to read her a book or two over the next few days to speak of the real reason we celebrate Easter.

Last night we had professional dance pictures done at Zoe’s dance studio. She was so cute walking in, telling me that she was nervous because she hadn’t been there in so long. She was super excited to have her picture taken though…and to put on her beautiful costume. I decided to take a few pictures myself of her outside the studio in her tap costume, and at home with her ballet costume. They are doing the Itsy Bitsy Spider for their ballet number, so they are dressing up as Little Miss Muffet.

And here is a little behind the scenes in the studio…

Oh, and we went inside Target for the first time in a year! We had been doing Shipt and drive-up pick-up this past year. Thank goodness for modern services during these crazy times, am I right? Zoe was in heaven. This is definitely the Target face you make! Also, they have added cup holders to all the carts in the last year, and I am here for it!

Zoe picked herself out this dress, which is 20% off this week! All their dresses are. She immediately put it on when we got home, and after her dance pictures…needed pictures in it as well. Such a little ham.

Favorite Purchase: I picked up some dresses for myself in the Target sale as well, though mine are being shipped. I tend to like some of the Knox Rose items, and loved this beautiful pink dress!

I am hoping that this dress fits the same way that the short sleeve version did last year, as it was my absolute favorite of the season. I ordered it in black, because honestly, most of my black dresses are very worn and I am actually in need of a few replacements for old favorites. A lot of my dresses are many years old and need replacing for various reasons.

Also, Ulta has their Boxum lip shines on sale, half off today. I stepped out of my comfort zone of light pink, and went with a bright fuchsia that I cant wait to try!

I have spent some time picking out decor for around our house, and I have learned that I have a hard time committing to any one thing. It is why it takes me forever to decorate. I LOVED the idea of having a large shelf in our living room along the back wall. This way, I can change out art and items as the seasons or my tastes change. I found the perfect shelf from Pottery Barn that comes in a number of sizes and finishes to suit your room. I went with the largest, which is 6 feet!!!

The look above is sort of the look I am going for, but not so cluttered. Maybe less frames and a 3d item or two.

Favorite Recipe: I made this coconut curry chickpea recipe for lunches this week. It has lasted all week, tastes delicious heated up and I am definitely adding it to my normal rotation. It was nice to take a break from the same salad I have eaten for the last year. I left the chunky tomatoes out and replaced it with an 8 ounce can of tomato sauce, I HATE tomato chunks in most any food.

Favorite Funnies:

Linking up for Friday Favorites and here.

I am glad to see Friday guys, I really am. We had another weather event yesterday, it is spring in the south after all. Trying to balance working with paying attention to the weather and not freaking out constantly is exhausting. There were several areas that had heavy damage, and at least five people died yesterday. Seeing the pictures come in is heartbreaking.

We had a lull around 4pm where there was a tornado on the ground about 2 hours away from here and Chris texted me and asked if it was safe for him to come home from work. I told him if he is going to leave, he needed to leave now. Well, by the time he left and got up to our area….a tornado popped up out of no where. He was on the interstate about 10 minutes away from our house with no where to go. He called me because he heard the sirens and saw the sky turning and sure enough, there was James Spann on TV saying the tornado was basically right on top of him. It was so scary for a few minutes guys, I am not going to lie. I grabbed Zoe and my lap top and headed to the basement while talking to Chris and telling him what I was hearing on TV. Luckily, he managed to get home in one piece. A tractor trailer was blown into the median near him and he saw lots of debris. It was surreal.

I am done with this weather already and we are only just starting to get into the “tornado season.” One thing I can say about Alabama is that the residents really know how to rally around those in need. The tornado was still on the ground and there are posts asking where we can drop off donations, who needs help, offering up chain saws and physical labor. Our own weather man had damage to his house, and he paused during the reporting to check on his wife and make sure she was ok…and went right back to saving lives. Big props and hugs to all the first responders who are driving into the chaos to check for life and help those who are trapped and hurt.

And that is about all I can handle of weather talk today. I had several of you message me again yesterday to check in, and I appreciate it.

On to happier things, like Starbucks trips! On our way home from grabbing groceries the other morning, I stopped at Starbucks because I saw they had the brown sugar oatmilk shaken expresso back in stock, so I finally got to try it! Zoe got a birthday cake pop and was the happiest girl on the ride home.

Favorite Purchase: I had never ordered from Dior’s website before, but I do like a few of their skincare and makeup items, as well as their perfumes. I have had some really dry skin and cracking around my nails/cuticles lately, and heard that the Creme Abricot nail cream was really thick and worked well. They had free shipping with any order and two free samples. When my package arrived, it was wrapped in this beautiful white box AND the free samples were in this Dior pouch. How amazing is that? They also sent me a coupon for a free lipstick on my next order and sent emails every step of the shipping and delivery process. Their customer service was suburb. And this cream? AMAZING! Very thick, make sure you only put it on when you have some down time! I like to do mine at night before bed.

Favorite Aldi Finds: This week I scored some keto treats for Chris, a spring welcome mat for my front porch, this cute Little Mermaid egg cup for Zoe’s Easter basket, an awesome preschool workbook for our lessons

I also had another Thrive Market order come in. I am so happy that I decided to become a member. There are some staples that I have been ordering from them each time and they are the best! Everything comes packaged so nicely and I have been impressed with everything we have ordered.

Favorite Recipe: I don’t want to really call this a recipe, but my new favorite way to have avocado toast is with a layer of the whipped chive cream cheese underneath my avocados and then topped with everything but the bagel seasoning and some pink Himalayan salt. YUMMMMM.

Favorite Workout: I really enjoy the Mr and Mrs Muscle workouts when I am not doing a Heather Robertson one. These are usually around 20 minutes and are perfect to pair with the treadmill or a walk outside after. She always leaves me sweating.

Favorite Funnies:

Linking up for Friday Favorites.

Coming at you today with this low carb version of chicken enchiladas! All the flavor, no flour wraps. This comes together pretty quickly, and you can always add some fun toppings like avocado, sour cream, etc. I always make homemade guac and top with that and cojita cheese. Because everything is better with cojita. It is science.

What You Need

Chicken Breasts (I had about a pound, I sliced them thin for even cooking)

1 TBSP Olive Oil

2 TSP Chili Powder

3/4 TSP Sea Salt

1/4 TSP Garlic Powder

1 TBSP Butter

1 TSP Minced Garlic

1/4 Cup chopped onion

1/2 TSP Cumin

1/2 TSP Oregano

1/2 TSP Paprika

1 8-ounce can tomato sauce

1/3 Cup Water

1 TSP Apple Cider Vinegar

Shredded Cheddar or Mexican Mix Cheese

Cilantro

1/2 Bag Frozen Cauliflower Rice

What You Do

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Heat olive oil in pan over medium high heat, season chicken breasts with salt, garlic powder and chili powder and sear in the pan for 2-3 minutes on each side.

In a small pot or skillet, heat butter over medium heat. Sauté onion and garlic until the onion begins to soften.

Stir in the remaining seasonings to the pan (chili powder, cumin, oregano, paprika and salt)

Add the tomato sauce, water and apple cider vinegar, bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes.

Move the chicken the to the side of the large pan you seared it in, pour sauce over top. Next to the chicken, add cauliflower rice. Place pan in oven for 15 minutes.

Sprinkle the chicken with as much cheddar/Mexican mix cheese as you like, and sprinkle entire skillet including the rice with either cilantro spice or fresh chopped cilantro. Place back in oven for an additional 3 minutes until the cheese melts.

Enjoy!!!!