Five on Friday

Wow, it’s been so long since I’ve blogged. My little hiatus wasn’t intentional. Truth is, we’ve just been plain busy!

The first week of February we traveled to Dayton, Ohio to visit my family, and Jeremy attended a large therapy conference in Indianapolis. We loved spending time with family, he enjoyed his conference, and I loved showing him around my “second home.”

Fast forward to this past week, more family time! My aunt, uncle, and cousins traveled from Florida to meet baby Archie and spend time with the family. We had a fun week, but goodness, I am ready to be back to our normal routine.

Speaking of normal routine, we are working on lots of “life changes” – sounds scary and daunting, but these are changes for the better. That’s another post for another day. I’ll get on with this Five on Friday…

No particular theme this week, just 5 things that are on my mind…

1. On our menu next week:

I love a Pinterest recipe just as much as any other 25-year-old gal. What I really love is when they are successful and something that we add to our rotation. These recipes have caught my eye lately and I plan on adding them to our menu next week.

P.S. — Does anyone else do meal/menu planning? I’m a huge fan. It’s such a great way to cut back on excessive grocery costs. I’m not big on setting a particular meal schedule, because hey sometimes I just don’t feel like eating what I planned for that evening. Instead, I like to make a list of our options for the week (or two). It’s easy to choose a meal from the list that fits our appetites and energy level for that day.

All photos will link to original recipes.

 

Chicken Fajita Stuffed Peppers? Yes, please. We love stuffed peppers, and we also love this fiesta quinoa enchilada bake. I think this recipe is a marriage between the two. I’m a brown rice and chicken fan and there’s cheese on top, so there’s no way this can be bad.

This recipe for broccoli cheese bites looks ridiculously easy and I always have the ingredients on hand.

Speaking of broccoli, I tried oven roasted broccoli for the first time last night. Here’s how I made it:

1. Mix frozen broccoli florets, a little olive oil, garlic powder, red pepper flake, salt, and vegetable seasoning together in a bowl.
2. Spread onto a foil-lined baking sheet. Sprinkle tops with panko bread crumbs.
3. Bake at 425 degrees for 20-25 minutes.

Easy & yummy! And, kind of healthy, right?

2. A new, cheap conditioner

I wouldn’t call myself a hair product snob, but I definitely have my favorites and those faves tend to not be from the bargain bin. My all-time favorite shampoo & conditioner duo is made by Joico, it is their moisture recovery line. I buy their liter size bottles from my hair lady and they last forever. The products do a great job on my fine, long hair. Let me tell you, when my hair is super long and I have highlights, it can be a pain in the rear to get a brush through.

The Suave professional invigorating clean rosemary + mint conditioner is a great cheap alternative. First of all, the smell is fresh and clean. Love! I don’t have to use a ton of conditioner to leave my hair feeling well moisturized and silky.

I do like the shampoo, but for now I’m still using the Joico. If you’re curious, you can read product reviews for this product here.

3. The Bachelor

I have a soft spot for trashy, dramatic TV. Turns out, my husband does too. We’re completely obsessed with this season of The Bachelor. It’s not too late to catch up on the online episodes. On Monday, we’re looking forward to a catfight at the Women Tell All and then the finale will air in two weeks. I’m going on the record to say that I am Team Whitney, and have been since she wore those yellow shoes on night one.

4. Ready for spring

I need spring. And, I need new clothes. Loving skinny jeans/pants, basic tees, and a pop of floral in a scarf or lightweight kimono.

It’s currently 16 degrees at lunch time, which I think it contributing to my spring fever.

5. It’s never to old to begin the anti-aging process, right?

A couple months back I attended an open house at plastic surgeon’s office here in Springfield. No I’m not in the market for any nips and tucks at this point in life (never say never), but I work with this particular office as part of my job and truly like the doctor, his wife, and staff. They’re just good people.

Anyway, a week or so after the event I got a phone call saying I had won a drawing! My prize was Venin Royale, an age-defying serium made from peptides and neuropeptides from King Cobra Venom.

Wowzers! So, I’ve been using this product consistently for a few weeks and I really like it. I wear it under my foundation primer in the morning and put it on after cleansing, right before bed. I do notice a firming feeling when this is applied, but it’s nothing uncomfortable. I feel like I am still getting moisture from the product.

I’ll keep you updated on any big time changes with my skin, but I don’t expect there to be a whole lot to report on — I’m 25 and don’t have many wrinkles. I do have some bumpy textures and discolorations in places.

If you’re interested in learning more, here’s the link to the product on Amazon. At $150 I probably won’t be repurchasing this now, but maybe if I become more concerned about wrinkles in the future.

 

That’s all I’ve got for this week’s five. Enjoy your weekend!