A Christmas Recap 2021

I hope everyone is having a happy and healthy holiday season. Now that we are comfortably in that slump between Christmas and New Years where time doesn't really make sense and no one knows what day it is anymore I wanted to do a quick catch up post of the past few weeks and Christmas festivities.

Cross Stitch Finish: Christmas Advent Calendar

I recently completed my cross stitch Advent Calendar just in time for Christmas and I even finished it myself using my own sewing machine. Thank you for stopping by to check it out!

Weekly Digest: 11.6.21

The Weekly Digest 8.29.21

#35DayChallenge - Week One Recap

Keeping Life Simple with Blue Apron (A review)

This post is not sponsored. I just really want to share my thoughts on Blue Apron since I've talked about a few other home delivery options on here and I wanted to see how it compared. 

Are you up for a challenge? Join in on the #35daychallenge!

There is nothing like a good challenge to get the competitive juices flowing, right? My BIL and I have devised a 35 day challenge focusing on mind, body, and mental resilience that we are starting today. Join in with us? See if you can stand up to the challenge!

As you know from my Instagram, we just got back from a quick getaway to the Sandals Resort at Pink Gin Beach in St. George's, Grenada. I am so excited to share the experience so if you have, will, or are interested in visiting Sandals Grenada definitely read on!

The Perfect Summer Side Dish: Italian Pasta Salad

Full disclosure: This pasta salad might just be the most addicting side dish ever. It's perfect for your summer barbecue, beachside picnic, or work (from home) lunch bag. And the best part? It's so simple to throw together!

Packing List: Sandals, Grenada

This is 31

 

Happy Birthday Bella! Our Corgi Turns 1!

 I am laughing as I write this post because I know everyone loves their dogs but I'm pretty sure not everyone will go so far as to make a special dedicated happy birthday post for their puppy turning one. Well, this is my slice of internet paradise and what I say goes...so here we are! 

Let's Catch Up

So let's just jump right in to what I've been up to since I know it's been a long time and I have so much to share with you all!

Friday Favorites: March Edition (Beach Must-Haves)

I am so glad it's March. The weather this past week was beautifully sunny and abnormally warm and it got me thinking about the beach! Last summer I bought a really cute beach chair but only got to use it maybe once or twice that whole season so I'm definitely going to prioritize going to the beach this year. Plus I think it's the perfect outdoor activity where we can safely ride out the (hopeful) end of covid-19 but still do something fun. For today's post I wanted to share just a few of my beach faves with you in case you have an upcoming beach escape planned.  

Trying Sun Basket

I cannot get enough of these meal kit services that deliver easy to make dinners without me even leaving the house. They are just so convenient! This week we tried Sun Basket.

Weekly Round Up

Let's go through the photos of the week shall we?

But before we get into it, how adorable are these teeny tiny cat prints that I found in the snow in our backyard? Am I the only one that totally creeps on their yard the morning after a snowstorm to see what kind of wildlife visited in the night?

Cricut Chat: Using the Cricut Scoring Style

Recently joining the Cricut world has been so much fun and I am quickly learning all of the jargon and accessories that are available for the seemingly endless projects. Who knew that these machines were so powerful? Today I wanted to talk about one specific tool: the Scoring Stylus. 

What is it? What's its purpose? How can we use it? Do we need the Scoring Stylus AND the Stylus Wheel? What's quick-swap? All these (and more) will be answered in this post. 

A Special Valentine Dinner 2021

 

I hope you are having a relaxing Sunday and celebrating the special people in your life. Whether it's a significant other, a friend, a family member, it doesn't matter. Valentine's Day is usually low key around here -- we just do a dinner and small token gift of appreciation. We're foodies so dinner (and dessert) is our focus.

Making Pork Soup Dumplings (the easy way)

Before Covid-19 struck we used to visit a restaurant in the city where we would enjoy the most delicious Shanghai-style dumplings and food. For Lunar New Year we wanted to have soup dumplings but with restaurants either closed or heavily restricted we knew we could not visit our favorite place. So we decided to make our own pork soup dumplings, or Xiaolongbao. 

These are perfect from the upcoming Lunar New Year if you would like to celebrate. 

I'm never one to turn down a themed dinner (or nail design, lol)!

Mmm, my mouth is watering just thinking about these.

Cricut Chat: Buying the Cricut Maker

Well my crafts and DIY list just got a huge helper in the form of my very own Cricut Maker machine!

Trying Home Chef

Are you looking for a way to make getting healthy dinner on the table easier? If so, you've come to the right place. I tried Home Chef and am offering some thoughts so you can decide whether you want to try it for yourself and your family.

February Already?

Can you believe we're already in the month of February? It's been a while since I did a proper recap post on here so let's catch up and talk about how this year is going. I just put on a classic (2 Fast 2 Furious, lol) and now it's time to blog. I'm going through my camera roll to catch up.

Peloton Instructors Challenge: Review of All Peloton Instructors

My sister and I are taking on what we have called the "Peloton Instructor Challenge" this year. It gives us something to look forward to and something to do that takes our mind off the fact that we're still very much living that #quarantinelife right now. 

Basically, we decided to complete a class (minimum 20 minutes per class) with every Peloton instructor in all disciplines during 2021. I'm tracking my progress here and offering some feedback about each instructor if you're interested.

New Year New You

I am absolutely one of those people who fall into the "new year, new me" obsession every January 1st. Don't get me wrong -- it's great to want to better yourself and improve on what you did the year before -- but each year like clockwork I start to get on the "I need to eat healthier, workout more, take better care of my body" bandwagon right around the time I start seeing those $1 dollar down $10 dollars a month Planet Fitness commercials. Of course eating healthy, working out, and taking care of yourself is awesome and should be a priority on everyone's mind but I feel like there's no perfect time to start and the start of the new year is just...a pit waiting for you to fall into. We get all wound up with brand new obligations or stress (did you just go through your pantry and toss all the "bad" foods? Or maybe you just signed up for three different workout apps you'll never use?) and we never really focus on simple tasks that we can actually do.

So 2021 is going to be different but I'm not saying New Year New Me this year. I have not made official resolutions but I will make challenges for myself that I will try to complete each month:

January will be my 31 Days of Self Care Challenge. Self care is when you do something in order to promote or improve your own physical, mental, or emotional wellbeing and too often people forget that self care is not a luxury but rather a necessary part of personal satisfaction and growth.  I challenge whoever wants to join me to focus on doing one thing each day in January that focuses in some way on self care. Maybe it's take an extra long bubble bath. Or maybe it's taking the time to do an at-home mani-pedi. Or a long overdue phone call (or Zoom) to talk to family. I am trying to incorporate 31 days of yoga. There are so many yoga videos out there on YouTube and I always want to dust off my yoga mat so I'm making this a priority for January.

Want to join me in a month by month challenge? Let me know in the comments what your monthly challenge will be if different than mine!

Happy New Year everyone!

Happy New Year 2021! A quick recap of NYE.

I love New Year's Eve because it means a new year will be starting with a clean slate. My ideal NYE celebration is at home with my husband where we can stuff ourselves with delicious hors d'oeuvres and drink champagne until the clock strikes 12:00. 

Our hors d'oeuvres menu this year was in no way healthy but hey....we'll worry about that in 2021!