Scattered Sundays
Do you remember when you were a little kid and as you were falling asleep at night you used to dream about your future? What did you dream about? What did you think it would look like to be a grown-up?
Did you stare up at the ceiling and hope that one day you’d be partnering with a brand you have loved for years? And that the partnership would revolve around putting silly food puns on American-made water bottles?
No? Just me then?
You guys, I could not be more excited to announce my new custom bottle collection with Liberty Bottleworks, a Washington state brand that I’ve been obsessed with since 2015.
Liberty Bottleworks has been making American made metal waterbottles since 2011. They create local manufacturing jobs by making kick-ass aluminum waterbottles right here in my home state.
They are committed to the global push of ending plastic bottles and striving to be zero waste. On average, one Liberty bottle can help keep 825 single-use waterbottles out of landfills. And if you have a family waterbottle addiction as we do, that savings is even greater!
Want your own bottle? Of course, you do! Check out the whole collection on Liberty’s site. They have even generously offered my readers a 20% off discount. Please use coupon code SustainableCooks20.
Phew, a big week because I can finally tell you all about this stuff! I’ve been quiet about it for months and that is nearly impossible for me to keep exciting news to myself.
We are starting the process of cutting Bennett’s nap out. Sigh, I really appreciate that quiet time for getting work done. But on days when he naps, he is up until 10 pm farting around and wreaking havoc.
He also has mini night terrors that cause him to scream in his sleep every 90 minutes. They don’t wake him up. They don’t wake Jack or Troy up, but they sure as hell wake me up! Given what this was doing to my own sleep, we made the decision to stop using the baby monitor at night.
Instead of going cold turkey, we’re weaning the nap. For one week we’ll let him sleep no more than 45 minutes. After that, we’ll drop it down to 30 minutes and see how that goes.
The first two days we’ve tried it out has been a total success. He went from being awake until 10 pm and getting up by 6, to peacefully falling asleep at 8:20 and sleeping until 7 am. Additionally, he has been incredibly sweet and not threeanger emo like normal. It was like a long nap was stealing his soul or something.
I’m going to do my best to implement a 1-hour quiet time in his room so I can maintain some work schedule on non-preschool days. I remember this not being successful with Jack, but Bennett is much more content to play by himself, so we’ll see. Pray for us.
I had the privilege this summer being a beta tester for Six-Figure Blog Academy, a course created by Kate from Root + Revel. Her blog is bonkers successful and she finally put everything she knows into a course format.
The course is now in its second edition and is opening for enrollment on October 3rd if you know of anyone who wants a proven roadmap to running a blog.
This is the course I wish I had when I started out. Instead, I screwed around for eight years and wondered why my blog wasn’t growing.
I mentioned last Sunday that we snuck away to Palm Springs for the weekend! It was the first weekend away without the boys and was made possible thanks to my awesome in-laws! The boys had a total blast, and we got to relax in kid-free bliss.
We were there for the birthday of two friends who live in Los Angeles. We all stayed in an Airbnb that was really adorable and was dripping with mid-century modern details and charm.
It had a pool, space for each couple, and was the perfect place for all of us to just not be parents for a few days. I mean, other than the phone calls, face timing, and talking about kids that we all did. HA!
The neighborhood was cute and I explored it both mornings with a nice long walk before it turned 63 billion degrees. We stayed in, ordered pizza, had a movie (Heathers) and junk food night (see below), and ate leftover pizza for breakfast. And um, ice cream.
I told Troy our cart made us look like stoners
We hit up Cheeky’s for Sunday brunch and everyone seemed to love their food. While we were waiting for our table we looked through all the (very expensive) antique stores.
Ummmmm….
Troy and I cooked Sunday night. Troy showed off his always-great grilling skills with steaks and veggies. I made cilantro chimichurri (in a blender, which was weird) and garlic bread. And we ate more ice cream and Halloween candy for dessert. 🙂
There was limited pool time because of the intense sun. I was in there for 10 minutes and got a swimming suit “tan” line (aka a darker shade of pale). We hung around in the shade, some people napped, and I read a whole book I downloaded from the library onto my Kindle.
It was glorious to be there and great to come home to the boys at the end of it.
Our weather is definitely turning to fall/autumn and I am HERE FOR IT! I love walking and not getting sweaty, I adore fall colors, and give me all the soup recipes!
But I have to laugh when I see people with smoke coming out of their chimneys. It’s still 65 degrees out – put on a sweater!
We have a neighbor that uses their fireplace from September until June. I can’t imagine they don’t have cozy blankets in their house? I make it a personal goal to not turn on our furnace until at least October 1st and no fires until November 1st.
Housekeeping
Hey, are you following Sustainable Cooks on Instagram? If not, get on that ish because we share things over there that you won’t also see here on the blog. It’s a good ol fun time!
What I’m Listening To This Week
My friend Angela informed me last week that Dateline now has podcasts. You guys, I’ll see you in five years, m’kay?
If only Law and Order came out in podcast form I may never have to talk to anyone ever again. And I say that as an extreme extrovert.
Reader Spotlight of the Week
JoAnne left this review on our Canning Pears post that frankly had me in tears for a solid five minutes. #hotmess
Thank you for these EASY to follow canning instructions. I canned for years but after a traumatic brain injury, most of my memories were wiped out so doing something with as many steps as canning was not something I wanted to take on. Then, a neighbor offered us boxes of Asian pears and apples and I got inspired to research canning.
With your instructions and the assistance of my dear husband, we canned a number of batches of the pears. During the steps, many of the lost memories flooded back. You, my dear lady, gave me a huge gift and I thank you.
God Bless and keep sharing your talents.
Just for a “behind the scenes” look at this post, it took me 15 hours to photograph, research, and write it. Sometimes you put in all that work and never know if it helps someone or makes their lives easier.
Comments like these keep me so motivated to continue working to make sure everything I publish is making a difference for someone else.
On Sustainable Cooks This Week
Paleo Roast Chicken – Learn the secrets to making the perfect Paleo Roast Chicken each and every time. This dry brined chicken is hands down the best chicken you will ever make. Perfect for a Sunday meal or as part of weekly meal prep, you’ll love this juicy and flavorful Whole30 roast chicken. {Pin this recipe}
London Fog Latte – A London Fog Latte is the perfect drink when you need a deliciously warm and cozy pick me up. A tea latte with Earl Grey, a hint of lavender, and steamed milk, it’s a refreshing change from coffee. A big mug of Earl Grey milk tea is wonderful in the morning or as a calming drink before bed. {Pin this recipe}
Instant Pot Chicken and Dumplings – A big bowl of Instant Pot Chicken and Dumplings is pure delicious comfort food. Ready in a flash with an “it cooked all day” taste, you’ll flip over this healthy chicken and dumplings! No pressure cooker? No problem! You’ll also find directions to make crockpot chicken and dumplings as well as a stovetop option. {Pin this recipe}
The Five Most Popular Posts This Week
- Bacon and Egg Rolls – these breakfast egg rolls went bananas in Facebook groups last week. {Pin this recipe}
- Canning Pears {Pin this tutorial}
- Virgin Mojito {Pin this recipe}
- Canning Peaches {Pin this tutorial}
- Canning Tomato Soup {Pin this tutorial}
Meal Plan
Monday:: BLTAs and salad. Our days of garden-fresh tomatoes are rapidly winding down.
Tuesday:: Pasta, and salad. Not pasta salad.
Wednesday:: We have some tri-tip from Butcher Box in the freezer so I’m using that instead of pork in these Sesame Sheet Pan Pork Fajitas.
Thursday:: Sandwiches. Jack has a mini track meet right after school and then has soccer practice.
Friday:: Popcorn, leftovers, and movie night
Saturday:: Out. This chick is turning 38 and I’m not cooking.
Sunday:: Family dinner
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We tend to have a much broader range of temperature tolerance than most (the AC doesn’t go on until it reaches 82*+ in the house and the heat doesn’t go on until under 60*). BUT. I have been know to build a fire and then open windows to make it tolerable. I love a good fire and if we had to wait until it was actually cold enough inside to need one we’d have very few indeed.Â
I’m good at being cold because I can bundle up, but Troy and the boys wear shorts in the house year-round. Troy and I have had the argument of “just put some clothes on” for the last 17 years. It’s one of those discussions that will never end.
But I hear you on loving a good fire!!!