Scattered Sundays

OMG OMG OMG OMG, I can’t believe I haven’t told you this story yet!

So, I have this little clay pot on my kitchen windowsill that I drop my wedding ring into the second I get home. And when I leave the house, I just stick my ring finger in there, scoop it out and go about my day.

The other day, I aggressively grabbed my ring and the clay pot spilled over. I thought nothing of it until I caught movement out of the corner of my eye.

Dude. You guys.

A freaking spider crawled out of the pot and when I looked more closely there was A SPIDER EGG SACK in there.

AND IT WAS BROKEN.

Which means I’ve been putting my finger in the little pot and apparently poking a spider egg sack for days (?) Weeks? Months? 

I may never be the same.

Chicken coop deep clean this week. Don’t envy the glamour of my life.

(for American readers) how was your 4th of July? We live in an area that goes next level when it comes to the 4th. Even with some burn bans in effect, it was still like a war zone around here.

The thing about the 4th that many non-Washington people don’t understand, is how late it is when it starts. It doesn’t get dark until 9:30 ish during this time of year, so most fireworks shows start at 10 pm. That is a late night if you’re little (or the owner of a little person), especially considering that the fireworks go on past midnight.

We spent the day at my inlaw’s for their giant annual BBQ. Friends and family descend with food and hugs and it’s just a fun and loud event.

My personal version of the pantry and freezer clean out continues! This week I finished up a bag of frozen mozzarella sticks that were inexplicably in our basement freezer. Who bought them? When? Why?

I’ve been putting a few in our air fryer every night to have as an evening work snack. I’m trying really hard to avoid sweets in the evening, which is crazy challenging. The mozzarella sticks are gone now, and I fear what I will do to the chocolate chips.

Cleaning out the fridge in preparation for leaving for a few days tomorrow has resulted in some interesting meals. Troy grills these amazing veggies and we had a big batch this week. I’ve been pairing them with some eggs for breakfast. Grill veggies is not normal breakfast food, but it works.

There is no actual recipe for these veggies, but they sooooo good! We combine whatever we have on hand that is in season (zucchini, onion, asparagus, shishito peppers, whatever) and toss it with olive oil and Montreal Steak Seasoning. Troy grills it in a grill basket and it tastes like heaven.

This week I did something I swore I’d never do – I bought Jack a Kindle Fire. I’ve resisted family members and friends for years who have wanted to buy him one for birthday or Christmas presents.

No, it’s not for movies or games (though there is a time and place for that) but for books. Truth be told, I cannot keep this child in books for more than two days at a time. Now that it is summer, and his little brother is absolutely bananas, Jack reads two to three books a day in the sanctuary of his room.

We visit the library multiple times a week, but the convenience of downloading (FREE) ebooks from our library’s system is hard to deny. Plus, with a few road trips this summer, I’d have to rent a trailer to keep my nerd occupied.

We got a smaller Fire because he doesn’t need anything fancy, and I was shocked they were selling at $49 or three for $110. Say what? When did Amazon start bundling kindles? If you’re doing early holiday shopping and have three people who need Kindles (or maybe split the order with a friend?), take advantage of this deal!

I purchased this kid cover in black, but I’ll be honest in that I thought for a long time about getting him a normal cover. He’s 10 and fairly responsible, but at the same time, he’s 10. His feet are the size of a grown man’s and his lizard tween brain doesn’t always make the best decisions. When he’s a bit older and less like Bambi walking across the ice, we’ll get him a normal cover.

Speaking of road trips, the fam and I leave tomorrow morning for Canada to stay with my blog wife Katie. She lives in Sweden but grew up outside of Vancouver and comes home every summer.

Apparently, that is a thing that Europeans do – just peace out of town for an extended period of time every summer. Man, you all do it right. 

Katie messaged me last week to tell me happy anniversary. Turns out we have been business besties for a year now. She and I were both members of some blogging Facebook groups and she realized we had a lot in common (long-time bloggers who rebranded and decided to get serious with our businesses and have little kids) and thought we’d make good accountability buddies.

The best part of this story is that she now admits to me that she saw my profile photo (me holding our chicken) when checking out my blog. Also, the first post she saw of mine was my Virgin Mojito. Between the chicken and the non-alcoholic drink, she assumed I was a goodie goodie and would not mesh well with her potty mouth and sick sense of humor.

Oh, Katie. How little you knew at the time.

So, we’re staying with her and her extended family at her parent’s house. It’s Blog Camp 2.0, but this time we bring the kids and husbands!

What I’m Listening To This Week

This week I’ve been enjoying Insomniac, which is a true crime podcast hosted by a man who can’t sleep because he dreams about true crime.

I can’t say I love it yet, but it’s new and interesting and talks about some crimes I don’t know too much about.

Reader Spotlight of the Week

Alison left a five-star review on this Savory Puff Pastry Recipe (I really need a new name for this old post…):

The Savory Puff Pastry Recipe is a sure win at our house! I made this as listed and it was great! Fast, easy and delicious!
You can use up bits of cheeses and meats along with different veggies to make a different Puff Pastry every time!

As an aside, Troy calls these fancy Hot Pockets and they’re 100% customizable to your family’s tastes and preferences. I think the photo above showed a chicken “pizza” version with baby kale. We had leftover chicken from a roasted chicken, grilled onions from something, a little bit of fresh kale left, and a tiny bit of mozzarella left in the fridge. 

On Sustainable Cooks This Week

Canning Peaches {How to Can Peaches} – An easy step by step tutorial on Canning Peaches. This recipe for how to can peaches is perfect for beginners and experienced canners alike. Instructions include low-sugar and no-sugar options. This is the only tutorial you’ll ever need to use for canning peaches at home.

{Pin this canning tutorial}

This was a giant revamp of a post I originally published years and years ago on the site. I completely reworked it to make it easier to understand, and I added in tons of additional information to help you succeed at canning this amazing summer fruit.

I will admit by the time I hit publish on that post, I didn’t want to look at another peach for a few weeks.

Buffalo Hummus – Buffalo Hummus is an easy and healthy zesty snack or appetizer that will be the hit of any party. You will love the buffalo flavor in this vegan hummus recipe that comes together with just a few ingredients. Customize the spice level to your preference and soon you’ll be the mayor of snack town!

{Pin this Recipe}

Freezing Blackberries {How to Freeze Blackberries} – Learn all the tips and tricks for Freezing Blackberries to stock your freezer with this amazing seasonal fruit. Learning how to freeze blackberries is a great way to preserve this delicious summertime crop without needing any special equipment. 

{Pin this recipe}

The Five Most Popular Posts This Week

I’m leaving the Virgin Mojito and Trader Joe’s Shopping List off the top five again this week because frankly, we’re all sick of seeing them!

1. Homemade Peach Ice Cream  {Pin this recipe}
2. Air Fryer Zucchini Chips  {Pin this recipe}
3. Canning Peaches {How to Can Peaches}   {Pin this recipe}
4. Roasting Frozen Vegetables  {Pin this tutorial}
5. Instant Pot Egg Bites  {Pin this recipe}

Meal Plan

If you’re looking for some help with meal planning, we highly recommend Momables! Momables emails you a weekly meal plan, shopping list and prep list for $10 a month. It rules.

Monday:: We’ll be in Canada. So…poutine?

Tuesday:: We’re not too good for more poutine! And ketchup chips probably. I’ve also been told that Canadian Kit Kats are way better than American ones.

Wednesday:: Dinner on the road

Thursday:: It will be something pulled from the pantry or freezer because our fridge will be EMPTY from the trip! I’ll have to go grocery shopping Thursday morning.

Friday:: Popcorn and movie night

Saturday:: My nephew is spending the night, so I’ll make some homemade frozen pizzas.

Sunday:: Family dinner

What We Bought This Week

Thrive: $76.28 – this Thrive order is the “car trip” edition. Allllll the snacks and with packaging we would never buy otherwise. Plus toilet paper. You can watch me unbox this order on Instagram.

If Amazon, Costco and Whole Foods had a baby, it would be Thrive. And if you’re military or a teacher, you may even qualify for a free membership. Free ninety-nine!

Get a FREE 30-day free trial to Thrive Market, PLUS 25% off your first order (and free shipping for orders over $49).

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