Monday Meal Prep

Julia Child would've loved me. Just sayin'. 

When I was pregnant with Claire I started doing a Weekly Dinner Menu. I loved it! It made my week so much easier and saved me a ton of time, money and stress! I loved not having to scrounge around for dinner ideas at the last minute.

Last week, we ended up eating out more than usual and I don't think I cooked once. So over the weekend, I decided to do a meal plan and maybe even designate each day of the week for a particular meal, and just switch up the recipe for a little variety each week. :)

Here's what I came up with:

My plan is to just use this as a template, and switch up the recipes and meals each week! 

Here's what we're having this week. Almost every meal is something that is tried and true, so it should be pretty easy to stick to this meal plan! Here's hoping my family doesn't starve this week, and I get extra wife and mom points. ;) 

Monday: Paula Deen's Cheeseburger Meatloaf

Tuesday: Chilean Sea Bass Tacos with Chipotle Cream Sauce, Quinoa, Steamed Veggies

Wednesday: 5 Ingredient White Chicken Chili

Thursday: Turkey Burgers, Sweet Potato Fries and Salad

Friday: Make Your Own Pizza Night

Saturday: Steak Fajitas, Rice and Black Beans

Sunday: Ranch House Pork Chops and Garlic Mashed Potatoes and Salad

How do you meal prep for the week? Any favorite recipes I should add to my weekly rotation? 

Happy Friday!!!

Today is my first day linking up with Friday Favorites! I've been loving this series for a long time, but I am just now getting around to joining in on the fun. :) I've done a lot of pinning lately, especially home decor. One of our top goals this year is adding some upgrades and customizing our house. I'm so excited! It could be all of the Fixer Upper episodes we have been watching that got Chad on board, but hey--whatever works, right!? 

This week, I'm loving navy as an accent color! It just seems so classic, but fresh at the same time. And I love that it will go with every season and really add an unexpected pop of color. Most of our walls are Sherwin Williams Requisite Gray, and while I love it, after living with it for about 8 months, I think we need to infuse some more color into the house. 

I'm thinking we'll paint Chad's office a rich shade of Navy. Chad loves this color too, and our floors are similar in shade to the picture here, so I think it will look amazing! 

Our powder room (which is next to Chad's office) is currently Gauntlet Gray by SW. I really wanted a dramatic look for it, but it just didn't have the right effect I was hoping for. I think what would really pack a fun but gorgeous punch would be this floral wallpaper from Designers Guild.

Possibly with a gold framed mirror and some gold accessories. 

Obsessing over these monogrammed towels also:

A gorgeous navy sofa would tie it all together in the family room. 

I've been debating between getting a leather sofa or not because it would be more practical with the kiddo's, but Chad really wants a leather chair. I like mixing fabrics, so I don't want all leather.

Navy might be the perfect solution! 

{All Pinterest pictures}

Right now I've got a bad case of the fever... puppy fever!! I am in love with these two breeds!

HAVANESE:

COTON DE TULEAR: 

Aren't they precious?! They are similar breeds, and shed very little! They have personalities like labs, are very intelligent, easy to potty train, great with kids and very playful but not yippy. They even like to swim! Sounds like the perfect puppy to me. Now all I need to do is convince Chad ;)

Ok, I know I'm way late to the game, but we just got Netflix around Christmas, and we've been binge-wathcing Friday Night Lights. We had never seen a single episode before, and Chad and I are both hooked. We just started season 3... What can I say? I love a good teen drama! Now if only Dawson's Creek were on Netflix.....

Which brings me to my next favorite, our new Roku! 

My sister and her husband have Cards Against Humanity and we play it every time we visit them in Austin. The name doesn't lie, it is a party game for horrible people. It's so terrible that it's hilarious, and we can't stop playing it. Although we probably should. 

I'm loving these flush mount lights from Shades of Light to replace all the "boob" light fixtures around our house! They have a ton of gorgeous options, and plenty under $100. We only have about 3  of those little boob lights, but they have got to go. 

Valentine's Day is just around the corner, and I'm all about these adorable printables 

from The Girl Creative 

Whew! I am SO glad it's Friday, we've had a crazy week, along with a tummy bug attack our house , and way too much time indoors.  We are ready for a fun (and hopefully, healthy) weekend! 

Hey There

So, I accidentally took a year off of blogging...oops! I really have no good excuse. Life just got in the way, pictures piled up, and before I knew it, I had about ten thousand blog posts to catch up on. We've had an amazing year so far, so I'll try my best to go back and catch up on all the highlights. For now, here's a quick update on everyone!

Chad: This guy had a birthday this month! He turned 29 on the 16th.  He's working hard as always. Still doing crossfit at least twice a week, and started meeting up with a friend one morning a week for bible study. He's also coaching Graham's Tball team (which is the cutest thing ever.)

Bren: I've been busy taking care of our little crew! Shuttling the kids to the park, children's museum, playdates with friends and preschool. Trying my best to cook most nights, and having fun finding new and tasty recipes. Working on getting our house put together. I started working out regularly and last fall I finally got my booty in gear and got down to my goal weight.

Graham: Our little guy turned 4 in June. He's loving his preschool class, learning how to write and getting ready for Kindergarten! He had his first Tball game this weekend, and is so excited about his first season. I'm happy to report that he has really matured over the last couple of months and has become a much easier kid. Three was pretty brutal, but 4 is proving to be much better. He's pretty much officially done with naps, loves the color green and recently decided that he does not like cheese. Ha!  

Claire: Little Miss is 2 and a half. She's definitely got some attitude, but mostly still her happy, sweet self. She's in preschool two days a week, and takes baby ballet one day a week. She loves it! She knows her colors, can count to twenty, sings dozens of songs and calls ALL bugs "itsy bitsy spiders." :) She loves anything princess, mermaid and pink. Her favorite movie is Barbie Rapunzel. Still a mama's girl. I'm totally ok with that.


So that's what's new with us and our  SWEET LITTLE LIFE

Old MacDonalds Farm

 

 

Christmas Festivities 2013