Meal Planning Monday

December 30, 2019

It's New Year's Week and that just means more food! I really like to cook something fun if we aren't doing anything for NYE so this year is all about the Shrimp & Grits we had on our anniversary back in May. 


Monday | Grilled Chicken Caesar Salad

Tuesday | Smoked Salmon Dip, Shrimp & Grits with Smoked Tomatoes, Biscuits (all but the dip are in Regina Charboneau's Mississippi Current cookbook)

Wednesday | Texas Caviar & Fritos, Ribeyes, & Baked Potatoes

Thursday | Chicken & Dumplings and every leftover dip in the house lol

Friday | Boudain King Cake & I'll probably make another app.

Saturday | leftovers galore

Sunday | leftovers or a Trader Joe meal of some sort

Breakfast - macro bar
Lunch - sauteed kale, Dave's Killer Bread toast, & scrambled eggs (with greek yogurt and chives)
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Helpful Preparation Tips When Planning Your Honeymoon

December 21, 2019


Today's guest post is about preparing for your honeymoon. I think we've made up for ours in the years that followed, but we really cared more about getting married than the honeymoon. Blame it on the broke college kid situation. With that being said, plan in advance and you'll have a much better trip. 
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For some, the honeymoon can be just as exciting as the wedding. It’s the opportunity to privately celebrate your union, and your very first vacation together as a married couple. It needs to be memorable, and the definition of that is up to you.
Photo by STIL on Unsplash

Despite the excitement of a honeymoon, it can remain a stressful experience to plan and get right. Consequently, here are helpful tips for the preparation and planning stage of your all-important honeymoon.
Decide What You Need from a Honeymoon
Your honeymoon should be different from any other vacation you have already taken – and any which you plan to take in the future. It’s one crucial opportunity to treat yourself to a luxurious and unforgettable experience. Nevertheless, your honeymoon should still adhere to your tastes. There is no pressure for a five-star resort if opulent hotels simply aren’t your preference.
There are other ways you can upgrade your honeymoon experience, even if you would prefer to remain simple and budget-aware for your accommodation and location. This could be upgrading your room to a suite, or simply upgrading your plane tickets.
Take Care of Any Pet Commitments
Unless you’re taking your beloved pet along with you, you’ll need to make arrangements for your pet to be adequately cared for whilst you’re away. This means it still needs access to good maintenance, love and attention.
If you don’t like the idea of boarding kennels, you can always book your dog in with doggy daycare at heartandpaw.com and have a loved one take care of your pet in the evening. This way, it isn’t too much of a strain on their daily routine.
It’s a good idea to arrange this a significant amount of time in advance, to ensure that your chosen care doesn’t get fully booked up or that loved ones have enough notice. It’s therefore one less thing to worry about when planning your honeymoon, and you can relax knowing your pet will be taken care of.
Begin Your Budgeting Early
Wedding ceremonies are particularly costly, and you may even have neglected your honeymoon budget if you have placed too much focus on the money needed for your big day. Without savvy budget planning, you may end up with next to nothing for your honeymoon, meaning you can’t afford the memorable trip you always dreamed of.
While, of course, honeymoons can be deferred until you can comfortably afford what you need, budgeting ahead of time means you increase the chances of gaining the trip you want, exactly when you want it.
Factor in Relaxation Time
Planning a wedding will be possibly one of the most stressful tasks of your life. Factor in planning a honeymoon alongside that, as well as how emotionally overwhelmed you may feel following the ceremony, and it’s clear that time to relax is imperative in order to reestablish your wellbeing. Trying to pack your honeymoon with a long list of tasks to fulfil, places to visit and adventures to seek may leave you with no time and may result in feeling more exhausted than you were before you left.
Always try to balance out exciting activities with time to relax.

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Hair cuts, Cookie Milk, & Wrapping Presents

December 20, 2019

The general hustle of Christmas season and sicknesses has kept me from really blogging for about two weeks now. Let's make up for that. 


First off, I'm finally done wrapping presents. I really love something simple and country classic. Red paper, twine, and brown paper tags are my favorite. Really any simple paper with twine and those tags makes me happy.

Harrison the other night got concerned that Daddy didn't have any gifts under the tree, so I had to fill him in that we hadn't wrapped them yet. So we wrapped away together and he even asked to write Jeremy's name. He didn't want help, it doesn't say Daddy either,  but there's a lot of love that went into writing that out.


If you haven't had the Sugar Cookie Milk form Target, remedy this and get yourself a carton. I might forsake my beloved Southern Comfort Eggnog for this from here on out. (for real though, the nonalcoholic Southern Comfort Eggnog is the best brand I've ever bought)


Two things. 

1. This is why I rarely go for a staged picture. Kids do better with natural non-posed photos. 

2. I think we finally found a hair cut place for Harrison. Cookie Cutter Kids in Hoover is incredible, such kid friendly atmosphere and they actually gave him a little boy hair cut that was cute. 


Little Bit can finally go in all directions in his walker. No big for most, but mine are some late dang walkers. Maybe this is a step in the right direction, pun intended. 


Last and definitely least. We went on a field trip to an Alabama Women's Basketball game. It was a great time, and luckily the first player announced was from Lafayette. I can support that. Otherwise... the colors were a tad painful. (lol)
I've seriously become that Louisiana meme that is floating around: 

Me in Louisiana: I can't stand this dump. 

Me outside of Louisiana: Yes we eat red beans and rice every Monday. What do you mean you've never heard of crawfish dip? Why yes, I can eat my weight in any and all shrimp products. Mais I've always used these Cajun terms, what are you talking about you cooyon, you? 

Not gonna lie, I kinda want to make etouffee Saturday. 


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Meal Planning Monday

December 17, 2019

Another week. Another menu. 


Monday | Asado Chicken

Tuesday | leftovers

Wednesday | Youth Group Christmas Party (aka not cooking) (it's actually this week, I was hungry last week)

Thursday | Grilled Chicken, Mashed Sweet Potatoes,  & Roasted Brussel Sprouts

Friday | Family Date Night

Saturday | Boudin Pie (Attempting to make a recipe of something we bought last year)

Sunday | Frozen Trader Joe's Meal

For lunch I did Ole Low Carb Wraps with turkey, lettuce, Sargento Ultra Thin, bacon, and mayo with a small kale salad and roasted nuts. I'm eating either Quest Chips or Zapp's Voodoo depending on the carb day.
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Meal Planning Monday

December 9, 2019

How many days until Christmas break? I might not make it there alive. This week, all 8ish hours into the awake part... have been enough for two. 


Monday | Don't judge me... the Poppyseed Chicken I haven't made. 

Tuesday | leftovers

Wednesday | Youth Group Christmas Party (aka not cooking)

Thursday | Lasagna

Friday | Family Date Night

Saturday | Leftovers

Sunday | Frozen Trader Joe's Meal

For lunch I did Ole Low Carb Wraps with turkey, lettuce, Sargento Ultra Thin, bacon, and mayo with a small kale salad and roasted nuts. I'm eating either Quest Chips or Zapp's Voodoo depending on the carb day.
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Failures of a Food Blogger

December 4, 2019

I don't know what's happening y'all.

Have I lost the touch, the ability to make anything and it turn out well. (generally, Jeremy has a few girl foods he chooses to not like)

When I burned my great-grandmother's chocolate pie to an absolute crisp the other day I thought I was just not paying attention. Clearly I had gotten busy cooking my lunch for the week and ignored what was about to happen to my dear pie.

Which might I add can not be made in a single day without chilling because that sucker NEVER SET.

Then.... I burned an entire set of cracker appetizer to a pulp.

It was as black as night.


So either I've lost my touch or God is trying to make me humble.

Stop thinking you can cook Emily, because toast is clearly an issue these days.

In reality though, it's just the old oven that must be all wonky on its oven temps. These are the first two delicate items I've made and they both died painful deaths. I did over do a set of rolls once, but who knows.

To add more laughter to this cooking injury... these were supposed to be taken to a women's event where everyone brought recipes of their dish. I only had the recipes. At the end I heard a few women asking where this was, they surely didn't see it. (Oops lol)

So guess what Santa is bringing me... an oven thermometer. I can't be letting that oven shame me like this.
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Meal Planning Monday

December 2, 2019

Thanksgiving break was so relaxing... especially since dinner (when I did cook it) was just a charcuterie when it did happen. But now, it's back to work, back to meal planning, and mama needs a nap. 

But only because the baby has a man cold. 


Monday | Chick-Fil-A - they're doing a bring back your receipt thing today.

Tuesday | Poppyseed Chicken

Wednesday | leftovers

Thursday | Marry Me Chicken (that I've yet to make) Roasted Potatoes & Brussel Sprouts

Friday | Family Date Night

Saturday | Making an app for the Sunday School Party. I can't make up my mind.

Sunday | Frozen Trader Joe's Meal

For lunch I did steak bites, spinach, and cauliflower mash (sweet potato mash on reg carb days)
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