The Sort of Not Really Menu Monday #39

by Katie @ Cup of Tea // February 16, 2015 // 6 Comments

Happy Monday! I hope you had a delightful Valentine’s Day weekend, and enjoyed celebrating with those that you love and cherish!

This week’s Menu Monday is a bit of a random one… it’s not really MY menu… let me explain.

Lately, I’ve been feeling like it’s hard to keep up with all of my jobs… between housework, cooking, consulting work, the blog, many church responsibilities, and, of course, being a mom and wife, I was feeling a tad overwhelmed.

Enter my sweet husband! For Christmas, seeing my struggle, he offered to hire a house cleaner to come in once a month. Super sweet! But, to be honest, I like cleaning! And I felt guilty outsourcing my job… I’ve put off doing it.

As an alternative, he suggested we try out this family dinner option from one of our local caterers. So we’re trying it out this week!

Basically, you get 5 dinners for 2 for $100. Each weekly haul comes with 5 dinners, plus a few sides and a dessert. You can add on an extra vegetable side or a kid’s meal if you’d like for an extra $15.

There are two menus each week – a Meat menu and a Vegetarian menu. You pick it up Monday, and you can stick the meals in the fridge to be consumed that week, OR you can eat some and freeze some. This would be an awesome gift if you have a friend or family that’s dealing with sickness, or a new baby, or feeling like they need a break from cooking dinners (me!).

We’ll see how it goes. The cost is about the same as going out to eat or getting takeout from our favorite cheaper places… BUT we are wondering if there will be enough food for leftovers? If so, then it’s bonus meals for the $100!

Here’s are the meals we’re getting!

Stuffed Acorn Squash

Stuffed Shells with Spinach, Ricotta and Marinara

Mixed Grain and Vegetable Pilaf

Swiss Chard, Tomato and White Bean Stew

Spinach and Tomato Mac & Cheese

Extras: Greek Salad with Feta Vinaigrette, Focaccia Bread & Chocolate Chip Cookies

So we’ll see! We figure we’ll give this a whirl. If you’re in the Durham/Chapel Hill, NC area, be sure to give Foster’s Family Dinners a try!

Need ACTUAL 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

by Katie @ Cup of Tea // February 13, 2015 // 20 Comments

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 Paige from Reasons to Come Home! I’m always excited to read a blog that makes me laugh! And when someone has a blog with topics I love, like every day life, served with some sass, I love it! Go on over and say hi to Paige!

Here’s what I was up to this week:

1. We suffered through many a toddler tantrum this week… it’s the Obnoxious Ones, friends. Forget the Terrible Twos. And those tantrums turned each happy, productive day into a sour, crabby, worn out one. At least it’s a fresh week coming soon!But thankfully we started the week off on a good note! We had gorgeous weather last weekend! Truly – high 60s and sunny. We spent the majority of Sunday outside, and my paparazzi husband snapped some great pictures!

2. A new Krispy Kreme opened up near my home last week. Apparently, it’s the first Krispy Kreme in Durham. Needless to say, traffic has been CRAZY when you drive by there! Traffic backed up on the road, and cops directing traffic around the drive through and the main street. Nuts. So I didn’t feel like waiting in line for a fresh donut. So I settled on a bag of powdered minis from the grocery store. Can you ever eat just one of those?? I never can! That bag lasted for less than 24 hours.

3. After several weeks stuck in a blogging rut, it felt good to get a productive week of blogging under my belt. Shoot – I even got a new favorites video up! If you missed this week’s posts, be sure to check them out!

4. Anyone else watching the newest season of Downton Abbey???? What do you think? Some of the story lines in this season are great! And some…. meh. But plug – if you love Downton Abbey and murder mysteries, I am also loving Grantchester on PBS. It’s really good too!

5. My Bible study has organized a fun free baby sitting swap! Tonight I’ll be baby sitting for one of the families! It’s so nice to be able to do this for another couple. Free baby sitting is fantastic! 🙂 Luckily, we have a date night planned for our free sitter night! Hubby won free tickets to a Duke basketball game in a few weeks!! I’m really excited about it. We’ve been once before, and it’s something you just MUST do when you’re in Durham.

So that’s it!!! Hope you have a fantastic Valentine’s Day weekend (because why not celebrate all weekend??). Can’t wait to hear about it next week on High Five for Friday!

Fellow bloggers – ready to join in the link up? Just write a blog post about 5 things that made this week awesome! It could be 5 memories/highlights, 5 pairs of shoes you wore, 5 “good job” comments you got, or 5 pieces of chocolate you scarfed down when no one was looking. Add your link to your blog post down below (make sure it’s your blog post, not your blog home page!!). Then be sure to link back to the link up by grabbing the H54F button!

Don’t forget to visit your fellow linkers and say hi!

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

January Favorites | Beauty + Handbag + TV

by Katie @ Cup of Tea // February 12, 2015 // 15 Comments

Favorites collections are one of my favorite things to see. I especially love ones that have a variety of favorites mentioned, beyond the beauty products.

My collection of favorites for January include a variety of things, even my favorite TV shows right now.

And if you didn’t realize I had a YouTube channel, swing by to check out other videos and subscribe!

Products Mentioned:

Essie Polish in Double Breasted Jacked

Lorac Pro 2 Pallet

Revlon Color Stay Lip Stain in Crush

Kate Spade Outlet Handbag (similar, similar and similar in another color)

Downton Abbey

Real Housewives of Atlanta & Real Housewives of Beverly Hills

For the record – none of these products were given to me, and there are no affiliate links. I’m just not that cool.

Linked up with –

Tuesday Talk & In Residence

15 Ideas for an At-Home Valentine’s Day

by Katie @ Cup of Tea // February 11, 2015 // 23 Comments

After my husband and I got married, we’ve always just celebrated Valentine’s Day at home, and keeping it low key. The idea of slugging outside with all the other couples, fighting for a table at a restaurant, just didn’t feel romantic!

And now, with a toddler, staying home and enjoying the peace and quiet sounds even more delightful!

If you’re like me, here are 15 (well, technically 17…) ideas to make an at-home Valentine’s Day date, or any time together at home, more special!

Yummy Food | Delicious recipes that are just as special as going out to eat!

Mushroom Bourguignon from Smitten Kitchen – one of my favorite dishes!

Chicken Marsala from Saveur – this was one of my favorite “out to eat” special meals.

Ina Garten’s Pasta Alla Vecchia Bettola from Alexander Cooks

A classic chocolate volcano cake from Paula Deen

Homemade Hostess Cupcakes from The Baker Upstairs
I’ve made these, and they are so delicious!!!!

Nutella Heart Shaped Pop Tarts from A Golden Afternoon

Fun Activities | Things to do with just your spouse or with the whole family!

There are a million ideas floating around, like these 32 Stay-At-Home Date Night ideas. OR 100 Valentine’s Day Date ideas, from the deluxe to simple. OR these 20 At-home date night ideas.

Or, for the toddler in your life, this Valentine’s Day Soup activity for sensory play looks like such fun!

Setting the Mood | A few things that can help make the day feel extra special!

I thought about creating a playlist for y’all, but this sweet blogger did it for me 🙂

You could probably throw this craft together with stuff in your house!
Love an easy coffee filter paper wreath.

And then, finally, a collection of fun phrases and sayings to tuck in someone’s Valentine’s Day card (I’ve got my eye on #2!)

Source

So what are your plans for V Day? Going out? Or staying in? I’d love to hear them!!

Menu Monday #38 + Pantry Staples for Quick Meals

by Katie @ Cup of Tea // February 9, 2015 // 11 Comments

Hello Hello!! So glad you’re here, and hope you had a wonderful weekend! Our weekend here in Durham, NC was so warm. It was 70 yesterday! We spent most of the day outside running around.

This week’s menu isn’t really a menu. About once a month I have to do a random, hodge podge menu to help whittle down my freezer reserves. It drives me bonkers when I have a full freezer!

But, even though this week we are eating through the backlog, there is still a grocery shopping trip this week. Some things we just have to buy, regardless of the menu. These things help fill out the bits and bobs we have lingering in the pantry and freezer, and help me make meals!

Some of my favorite “must buy” items are:

Milk
Shredded Cheese (usually cheddar)
Eggs
Plain Greek Yogurt
Sandwich bread for husband’s lunches
Tortillas
Tortilla Chips
Black Beans
Salsa
Onion
Fruit
Cilantro
Extra veggies I may not have on hand (fresh or frozen)
Coffee & Tea, as needed

What are things that you HAVE to buy, regardless of menu?? There were such wonderful suggestions when we talked about fast meals! I’m really excited to hear what you do!

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