Scattered Sundays and Meal Plan for January 9th-15th

So…big announcement! I’m starting a fashion feature on my blog! 🙂

We’ve had a stretch of cold weather here in the Pacific Northwest. Northwest cold of course (stop laughing everyone), but our nighttime temps did dip in the teens for about a week. This picture was yesterday at the end of the night when I was applying lotion to my dry ass legs for what seemed like the twentieth time for the day. Ugly Toms as slippers, wool socks from Costco, and comfy pants pulled up to my knees for efficient lotion application. Bruised shins are a personal accomplishment. It is a sight to behold. I hope the calls from Vogue get through to my agent.

Our hair is constantly sticking straight up with static, fingertips are split and cracking, and my (super tan) legs seems to be drinking lotion at a rapid pace. But, it is also a valid excuse to eat soup as much as I want, and to snuggle up with a mug of tea or cocoa often. Have you ever tried spicy cocoa? It is totally the business. A solid shake of cinnamon, a gentle shake of nutmeg, and a teeny pinch of cayenne pepper warms me up and makes me happy.

I often think of things I want to put in my Sunday post, and then forget about them when I sit down to actually write it. So, when I woke up at 1 am on Saturday morning giggling to myself about the perfect topic that came to me in my sleep, I immediately wrote it down in the notes section of my phone. When I started to draft this post, I glanced at my phone ready to type up a totally hilarious antidote for you all. What did I find? A note that says…”mascara”.

So there you go everyone, enjoy. I hope you didn’t spit out any liquids in your mouth due to my uproarious tale about make up.

Yesterday, we hosted a mini early surprise birthday luncheon for my mom! Her sister, cousin, and aunt all came from a long distance to surprise her. It was lovely to visit and help celebrate mom’s special day. Jack was in-charge of setting the table for lunch, which oddly enough is a task he loves to do when it involves using the nice dishes. Apparently chores are fun, when the stakes are high.

I came out of the kitchen, and was touched to see he set Bennett’s place too. 🙂  And yes, we took away that plastic fork when he wasn’t looking.

Have you ever made a meal and can’t stop thinking about it? I am still stuck on a tofu dish I made last week from one of my Christmas cookbooks. Tofu is something I don’t dislike, but rarely do I gravitate towards it. Something called to me when I was reading the book, and I’m so very glad it did. We had to ditch the extra black pepper and the red chilies, because Troy’s throat was still hurting from his “it’s just like strep, but not actually strep” illness. Even with the omissions, the dinner turned out so great. Troy and I loved it, Bennett devoured it, and Jack only whined a tiny bit. The tofu was soooooo crispy, and had a total popcorn chicken texture. I still want to be eating it, and I’m sad that I am not.

I am mostly convinced that Jack’s Legos procreate at night and multiply. They are the bunnies of kid toys. We have multiple bookshelves in Jack’s room dedicated to just Legos (side note, we have bought him one of those sets…:coughgrandparentscough:), and every horizontal surface is covered in creations too. He is totally out of space, and there are still many more Christmas Lego sets to be built. I found a shoe shelf at Target, and used it to tidy up his dresser a bit. Fun fact, that used to be my dresser as a kid. The drawer pulls have pineapples on them. I’m sure that is now huge and trendy or something, but I remember thinking it was so weird.

Before:

After:

Still “too much” for my taste, but at least you can see the dresser. For now.

Meal plan time!

Monday:: Breakfast dinner, which didn’t happen last week.

Tuesday:: A new peanuty noodle dish I have been cooking in my mind. And I want it. Paired with potstickers.

Wednesday:: Mom requested Chicken and Gnocchi soup. I’ll serve it with roasted veggies.

Thursday:: Buffalo chicken crispy tofu (I can’t get the texture out of my head and need this to be in every meal!), rice, and grilled veggies.

Friday:: Troy’s burgers, salad, and fries. We’re having friends over.

Saturday:: Popcorn and movie night.

Sunday:: Family dinner

What are you having this week?