Hello Monday! Has it really been two weeks since my last Menu Monday post? I have been making menus in between… don’t know where I was! HA!
I’ve been slowly pecking away at our freezer and pantry stash. I can actually see the bottom of my freezer. It was just so jammed packced in there, that it was time to whittle it down. I think this week we’re going to try to knock the last of it out of the park! Thankfully, one of those items is a batch of my favorite vegetarian meatballs!
And I’m really craving yummy salads. I saw a few pictures of yummy salads on Pinterest and my mouth starting watering. So, naturally, they have to be on the menu this week.
If you haven’t seen a Menu Monday post before, I share what we’ll be eating this week. (You can see how I generally menu plan here) I also try to include links to recipes where I can. Although some weeks are just DIY (open a can of this, saute that).
Welcome to High Five for Friday – hosted by Katie, Caitlin, Tif and Della! If you want to know more, read about it here!
This week’s featured blogger is Brittany at Life as the Mrs.! She’s a wife and a mommy, with loads of fun posts. I noticed that our kiddos have a lot of favorite toys in common! Plus, she’s currently watching RHONY too, so we can discuss how crazy this season has been so far. Check her out and say hi!!
On Tuesday, I confessed that I had a bit of a writer’s block thingy going on, so I decided to write the most random post to date… but within that post, I asked if anyone would be interested in seeing a weekly vlog. Thankfully, no one said no!
I figure a weekly vlog fits in perfectly with the regular H54F program, so this may just be a regular thing! So without further ado, this week’s vlog (and really… it’s just Tuesday – Thursday… because this idea only popped into my head this week).
*Disclaimer – this is my first one, and things may just be a bit hodge podge… and fair warning – there is a lot of Elizabeth….
Fellow bloggers – ready to join in the link up? Just write a blog post about 5 things that made this week awesome! Add your link to your blog post down below (make sure it’s your blog post, not your blog home page!). And then grab the H54F button to add to your post! And go visit at least 3 fellow link uppers AND this week’s featured blogger! It’s just the nice thing to do.
I’ve hit a bit of a writer’s block… so while I’m working that out, let’s have a good old fashioned chit chat, over tea, about nothing all that exciting.
(Speaking of writer’s block… did you know that I added a “request a post” feature?
Check out the right side bar! Help me out of this funk! HAHA!)
I spent a good chunk of last night, while the hubby was working, looking at planners and then cruising YouTube. Does anyone else get sucked into the YouTube zone? When you click on one video and then you spy another one… on and on?
Apparently May is Zombie Awareness Month…. I’m rarely aware, let alone about Zombies…. so it’s bound to be an interesting month.
I mentioned a few weeks ago that I did a huge closet clear out, and it’s been just delightful dealing with less clothes. Here’s a fast fact for you – I have about the same number of tops as I do cardigans and sweaters…. problem?
But since I’ve rid myself of excess clothing (out of the closet, not from myself) I have been getting into finding a good skincare routine. Anyone with dry skin, but that skin is going through a midlife crisis? What do you use?? I feel like one moment my skin is all dry, and then the next day I have 4 zits. It’s really obnoxious.
Elizabeth and I went on a hike this morning. I was internally complaining that it was such a SLOW walk, because she stopped to pick up every stick and leaf, and was hoping we could pick up the pace. I ate my words about 2 minutes later when she melted down and I had to carry her the remaining mile. I broke a sweat…. not cool.
Speaking of that hike, I also stopped Elizabeth twice from sticking a stick in her ear.
I have been toying around with the idea of doing a weekly vlog. Would anyone be down for seeing that? Or would that be too much Katie?
What’s currently sitting in your Amazon cart? I have a mop. Do you ever add things to your cart, and then walk away, for time to think about it? I don’t know why purchasing a mop requires several weeks (yes… weeks) of thinking, but it does.
I need to work on getting some family pictures and art up on our walls. Two years later, and we have quite a few bare walls! I have quite a few Cook’s Illustrated covers saved (like this one) to use for my kitchen… and several platters that could be hung up. But I’m really bad at choosing art! I think I just need to do a Minted browse.
What’s been on your mind lately?? And any tips for combating writer’s block?
Welcome to High Five for Friday – hosted by Katie, Caitlin, Tif and Della! If you want to know more, read about it here!
This week’s featured blogger is Candice from She’s Leaning In! She’s my kind of girl – a lover of pretty skirts, fun products, and fun home decor. Plus, last week was her FIRST week linking up with H54F ever! So DEFINITELY be sure to jump over and say Hi & welcome!!
There hasn’t been too much going on, so I thought I’d do 5 favorite memories from our trip to the Outer Banks last weekend!
1. First off, our room was so delightful! We stayed at The Sanderling Resort, the same hotel we stayed at a few months earlier. A room wasn’t quite ready for us when we arrived, but when one WAS ready, it was HUGE!! Well worth the wait. Parents of small children will appreciate plenty of space for running and playing, as well as dark, out of the way corners for pack-n-plays to hide. (pardon all the mess! We just plopped bags down!)
Elizabeth had tons of fun exploring the bathroom too. Don’t know why it was so fascinating to her, but she loved it!
2. The weather this time was so lovely! It wasn’t warm (like run around in your bathing suit all day warm) but it was sunny and not frigid. We spent a lot of time on the beach, exploring.
3. My husband was attending a conference, but he had a block of time off on Saturday, right during nap time. He opted to nap while Elizabeth was napping, so I escaped to the lobby (they had the most delightful second floor lobby area with sofas, window seats, and ocean views!) to enjoy some hot tea and a book!
4. Cornhole = at least 30 minutes worth of entertainment for toddlers
5. One thing we didn’t discover on our last trip to the OBX was the delightful sound-side boardwalk in the town of Duck (where the resort was). Elizabeth had a fun time zooming around, saying hi to everyone. And the views were so pretty!
And then can I do a 6th? It’s not related to vacation, but it happened WHILE we were on vacation! #royalbabywatch has come to an end! Anyone else love the name for the new Princess? Charlotte is just such a classic royal name that isn’t too obvious. Perfect! And I thought Kate looked great! I would be happy to wear heels, a dress, have my hair and makeup done, and show off my new baby (who is conveniently hiding my post-birth belly) for 2 minutes, if it meant I could go home to relax and recover! I really liked Whitney’s perspective (from Come Home for Comfort) on this.
Fellow bloggers – ready to join in the link up? Just write a blog post about 5 things that made this week awesome! Add your link to your blog post down below (make sure it’s your blog post, not your blog home page!). And then grab the H54F button to add to your post! And go visit at least 3 fellow link uppers AND this week’s featured blogger! It’s just the nice thing to do.
And then – We LOVE this H54F community! And love visiting as many of you as we can each week. If you’d like us to follow you on Social Media, leave your user name in the comments! OR if you have a post you’d like me to share on my Social Media spots (LOVE doing this!) leave a link!
You don’t see many DIY projects here at Cup of Tea. Why? Because I’m just not that kind of girl. I’m not a DIY’er, crafter, creator…. nada.
But I am lazy. And when it occurred to me that Elizabeth might like a sandbox, I just couldn’t muster the energy to scour Craigslist for a used one. And I really didn’t like the idea of staring out my kitchen window, looking at a bright blue sandbox for the next few years.
Plus, I wasn’t 100% confident Elizabeth would actually LIKE one.
Thus, my super easy DIY sandbox.
All for $4.
Here’s what I did! I just grabbed an underbed storage container I had lying around, plus a bag of play sand I picked up at Home Depot, which was just under $4!
Super simple, right?
Even though I had a plan, Elizabeth still needed to have an important meeting around the possibility of a sandbox.
So, anyway, I dumped the sand into the storage container, added a few sand toys we had on hand already, and let Elizabeth go wild!
It may seem hocky, but the storage container was smart for a few reasons:
It was a cheap container! I already had one on hand, BUT if you needed to buy one brand new, it’s a lot cheaper than buying a sandbox.
The storage container only needed one bag of sand. A regular-sized sandbox needs quite a few more.
I can easily lift and move around the bin, even filled with sand and toys.
There is a lid! It keeps bugs, leaves and neighborhood cats away. Not to mention the sand stays dry.
I have a second container that I may use as a makeshift water table…. TBD.
If you’re tight on space, tight on cash, or aren’t confident your kiddo will even like a sandbox, try this cheap-o DIY version!
