High Five for Friday #61 | Still Under Quarantine…

by Katie @ Cup of Tea // March 11, 2016 // 25 Comments

Welcome to High Five for Friday – hosted by me, Tif, Della, and Caitlin! If you want to know more, read about it here!

If you’re new to High Five for Friday, welcome! We’re so happy you’re here! When you link up below, could you add a * after your name? That way we all know you’re here for the first time and can come say hello!

This week’s featured blogger is Justine from Full Hands Full Heart. She blogs all about her sweet, full life as a mom to 4 (almost 5!) kiddos. I absolutely laughed out loud over one of her confessions this week – that she hates the sound/feel of sidewalk chalk! I do too! And I love her recent post on planning menus out a month at a time. So smart! I need to include a few of her tips into my own routine. Go over and say hello to Justine!!

So… here’s what we were up to this week!

We were sick… STILL!!! I’m still suffering as I type this. This has been the longest cold/sickness ever. It all started Wednesday last week and it’s still going. Elizabeth, thankfully, seems to be almost herself, and my husband is back to normal. I, on the other hand, am still suffering from a cough/sore throat, and now some sinus pressure.

Shoot me now.

The only thing actually accomplished this week was binge-watching House of Cards! SUCH a good season, and weirdly parallel to current times. If you have yet to watch Season 4, I’d recommend re-watching Season 3. Or EVEN start again at Season 1. There is a lot of reference to what happen in the first few seasons that we had a hard time remembering… now, granted, we’ve been sick. But we would have benefited from a series rewatch.

I also finished up Downton Abbey. SO many tears shed over that last episode. It was a great end to a great series. Did anyone else watch it? What did you think?

Have you seen this? HILARIOUS!

I also couldn’t resist sharing this. I love ANY of the Bad Lip Reading videos, but this one was so funny! Even though I’m a Republican, I’m always for a laugh!

So I’m hoping this weekend we’ll be able to finally kick this cold completely, and back to the regular program this week. Ugh….

What were you up to this week? Let me know!

I’m also linking up with Oh Hey, Friday, Meet @ the Barre, 5 on Friday & Diary of a Real Housewife

Loading InLinkz ...

Menu Monday | Keeping It Lazy

by Katie @ Cup of Tea // March 7, 2016 // 5 Comments

Happy Monday! Hope you had a better weekend than we did. All three of us were sick at various times throughout the week/weekend, so we’re still in recovery mode today… hence why THIS week’s menu is sticking to lazy items.

I can across a pin that talked about 4 easy Trader Joe’s meals. Intriguing! The actual blog post has 4 different meal options using just a few items from Trader Joe’s. One recipe in particular stuck out to me – a falafel sandwich! Yum! I forgot that Trader Joe’s has frozen falafel. That would make an easy dinner one night! So that got me thinking the rest of this week’s menu should be easy meals sourced from Trader Joe’s. I’ll keep you posted next week what we discover.

Anyone interested in a Trader Joe’s video haul?

The other reason for a lazy menu this week is that we are headed out of town this weekend, so I really only need to plan 4 dinners this week. Handy!

What things are you planning on eating this week??

Need more info for how I menu plan? Check this out! Or read up on my favorite meal planning and grocery shopping hacks!

Need more ideas for dinner?
Follow my Pinterest board – it’s where I save all of my dinner ideas!

Follow Katie | Cup of Tea Blog's board Good Eats | Dinner on Pinterest.

Linking up at Menu Monday with Org Junkie

High Five for Friday #60 | Living with a Toddler

by Katie @ Cup of Tea // March 4, 2016 // 29 Comments

Welcome to High Five for Friday – hosted by me, Tif, Della, and Caitlin! If you want to know more, read about it here!

This week’s featured blogger is Emily from Simply a Rough Draft. I love the point of her WHOLE blog – talking about real life, but with the understanding that it doesn’t always go to plan. That’s why life is a rough draft right now. So true, isn’t it? Swing over and say hi to Emily!!

Here’s what we were up to this week!

1. Another sickness has plagued us! It’s bounced from Elizabeth, to me, and now to my husband. WHY??? I swear we get a few weeks break and then something else pops up. Little kids are germ magnets!

2. Funny Elizabeth story, though! Over the weekend, Elizabeth woke up in the middle of the night absolutely sobbing! My husband was faster than I was jumping out of bed and went in to comfort her. It was clear she wasn’t sick, but upset about something. I heard my husband ask her if she had a bad dream… she said “yes, daddy!”. Was it a scary monster? A dark shadow? Nope. “Someone took my snack!” HAHA! I get it, Elizabeth. I get it.

3. We had BEAUTIFUL weather this week!! It was so welcomed after weeks of cold, windy weather. One afternoon we even headed out for a picnic lunch in the backyard. Elizabeth had a blast watching the clouds, chasing birds, and picking up sticks.

Finally! A nice day to be outside!! ☀️☀️ #toddlerlife #sahmlife #outside #durhamnc #bullcity

A photo posted by Katie (@ktcupoftea) on Feb 29, 2016 at 9:43am PST

4. Pregnancy update…. that pesky pregnancy insomnia has hit… it could be just the pregnancy insomnia OR it’s also because of this cold… but it’s been rough going in the sleep department. I wake up around 1AM and can’t get back to sleep. So I come downstairs, wide awake, and putter. For a girl that needs at least 8 hours sleep, this is nuts! The good news is I’ll get lots of books read. HAHA! Has anyone else suffered with this? I didn’t when I was pregnant with Elizabeth, but this time? Yikes.

5. Last week I ended my H54F post about TV… and the same is true this week! My husband recently requested to watch through The Office, which he has NEVER done! He’s seen a few episodes here and there, but we are watching one episode at a time, several in a row. Bliss! Pure Bliss!! We just started season 4. Any Office fans out there?

And did you miss what was on the blog this week? Catch up! There were 2 videos this week, including a video on my favorite ways to find time just for me.

Taking Time for You | Pinterest Recipes to Try Today | February Favorites

What were you up to this week? Let me know!

I’m also linking up with Oh Hey, Friday, Meet @ the Barre, 5 on Friday & Diary of a Real Housewife

Loading InLinkz ...

The Everyday | Taking Time for You!

by Katie @ Cup of Tea // March 3, 2016 // 4 Comments

The Everyday Lip Colors | The Everyday Organization | The Everyday Makeup Essentials

Who’s ready for another installment of The Everyday?

This particular topic has been on my heart lately. Some call it self care. Some call it quiet time. I call it My Time. I wanted to share my favorite ways to find snippets each day to have time, just for me. It may be 10 minutes or an hour. But it’s so important for us to find ways to relax and reboot.

One thing I had to do first before I could enjoy that quiet time was to let go of guilt!

I’m the kind of person that feels like I must be busy at all times, always productive. I’ve always been that way! But recently, I’ve felt a pull to slow down. Sure, I’m pregnant, but it has been more than that lately. I have lately been pulled away from what matters most – family and home. And I’m realigning my priorities.

I also had to find out what truly works for me. Self Improvement blog posts sure are popular right now! You can read hundreds of them and think you have the answer to the perfect routine. But we are all wired differently and need different ways to be productive AND to wind down.

So this is a more serious video than the normal for me. It’s a heart to heart here. But it really is one of my favorite videos to date.