Meal Plan Week #35

MONDAY: Mini Lasagna Cups
Lasagna is so time consuming, these cups look fun and easy! I've done a taco version before that the family liked so hopefully everyone also likes the lasagna ones. 

TUESDAY: Tacos

WEDNESDAY: White Chicken Chili
Even though this week is going to feel like Summer again, I've been craving some white chili. Crock pot recipes are my fave!

THURSDAY: Sandwiches, Veggies, Chips
They are predicting 90* weather for the end of the week so we'll keep it simple with sandwiches.

FRIDAY: Who Knows?!
We will probably be heading out of town for the weekend so dinner may be on the road or leftovers if we don't decide to leave until Saturday morning.

Pin-spired #4: Wide Leg Jeans

It's my final look of my Pin-spired series and I think I saved the best for last. I've seen a ton of posts with wide leg or flare jeans lately and I want them all! One of my favorite people's style is Kelly Ripa. She's short (like me!) but always pulls off her looks seamlessly. I would take her wardrobe in a second. When I pinned this photo of her, I knew I wanted to recreate it.

{see the pin}

Wide leg jeans, colored top, blazer and some sort of wedge or platform shoes. Well I certainly have all of that in my closet! I decided to leave off the scarf because it was too warm so I threw on a fun necklace instead. The photo below looks much nicer than the ones I normally get my kids to take and that is because I had a lighting, a white background and a person who's taken a few more photos with a real camera than my girls. We had picture day at work for our new website so I chose this outfit for my full body shot. Yes they made us do full body shot photos for the site. 

Blazer: Kohls     T-shirt: Old Navy    Necklace: Noonday     Jeans: Gap     Wedges: Old Navy

First of all, I love this outfit. I will wear it again and again! Second, these jeans came from the Gap outlet and were on the clearance rack during a super clear out sale so I got them for $7.40! Yes you read that right, an AMAZING pair of jeans for under $8!! My only complaint is that they are high rise and I'm not used to wearing that style but they are quite slimming :) Here's the side-by-side comparison ...

So what do you think? Are you a wide leg jean fan for fall? 

Follow along:
Pin-spired kick-off
Pin-spired: Black & White
Pin-spired: Casual with a Twist
Pin-spired: In the Navy

Pin-spired #3: In The Navy

I got a navy cardigan from work and I just haven't worn it as much as I thought I would. So I went searching for inspiration. I never even considered wearing my navy with other shades of blue! Here's the inspiration look.

{see the pin}
{visit the original image}

I wanted to wear this look during the week to work so I knew I couldn't wear jeans, but I do have purple pants. That's in the blue family right? Also, I knew I would be wearing my mint scarf with this outfit. Here's what I came up with ...

Cardigan: Private label from work     Tank: Marshalls     Scarf: Gift     Pants: Target     Bag: Charming Charlie

I sort of regret wearing the purple pants. I think my khaki capris would've looked better but I did like the mixing of mint scarf and navy cardigan. I'd wear the top half of this outfit again but would choose jeans or khakis next time. Here's the side-by-side comparison

So do you mix your blues? What do you think of this look?

Follow along:
Pin-spired kick-off
Pin-spired: Black & White
Pin-spired: Casual with a Twist

Meal Plan Week #34

We're keeping things pretty easy this week. I think we are finally starting to develop an evening routine with homework and dinner and house cleaning. And meal planning is a huge part of that! Of course I'm deciding to complicate this by signing up the girls for swim lessons again starting in a couple weeks. 

MONDAY: Baked Potatoes
I got a 10lb bag of potatoes for $0.99 so I figured this was a perfect way to use up a couple!

TUESDAY: Daddy's Choice
I'm doing wine night with the girls from work so dinner is on Daddy tonight :) Yeah wine!

WEDNESDAY: Breakfast for Dinner
I love a good brinner :)

THURSDAY: Hot Dogs & Sausages with Fruit Salad 

FRIDAY: Order Pizza!
It's sleepover night since we are having our niece and nephew over for the night. Everybody likes pizza, right? 

What's for dinner at your house this week?

Currently #4

loving.  my family - they are pretty awesome ;)
smelling. coffee - the smell is intoxicating.
writing. blog posts like crazy! I seem to have caught the blogging bug this month.
reading. getting ready to start The Rosie Project
watching. White Collar on Netfilx - I have no idea where this series came from, but I'm hooked!
craving. organization - I feel like things are all over the place, which they are.
obsessing. over my new glasses - who knew I would be so excited over something so silly?
wishing. I didn't keep putting off painting the front room, anyone want to have a painting party?
needing. peace and quiet - with school and housework and a job there's a lot happening right now.
wanting. a day at the spa - funny enough I have a gift card for such a thing but I have yet to schedule the day.
trying. Ipsy for the first time - I'm so excited with what I got!
eating. tomatoes from my garden! 
drinking. blonde beer - it's my fave.
feeling. busy
hoping.  for a fun birthday weekend at the end of the month
clicking. on all the Instagram photos - it's such a nice break in my day

Pin-spired #2: Casual with a Twist

I realize that I'm going out of order and this was the 3rd look I showed in my original post. But I was too excited to try it out!
I bought a black blazer before I got my current job so that I could wear it to my interview. Well I got the job, but then I never really wore my blazer again. One of the girls I work with always looks super cute in her blazers, so I was determined to find a way to make mine work for me. When I saw this outfit I knew that it would be perfect for a Friday outfit at work.

{see the pin}
{visit the original image}

I had a morning meeting with a customer so I needed to look professional, but it was still Friday so I had to be fun. This outfit totally fit what I needed! And best of all, I had pretty much every piece of this outfit already in my closet I just never paired them together before. Here's my look ...

Top: Gap     Blazer: Kohl's    Pants: Lauren Conrad from Kohl's    Shoes: Five Below ($5)

I don't own any Converse shoes but I thought my $5 Toms knock-offs would do the trick. I thought the darker jeans would make this slightly more professional for the office especially since I had a customer meeting. I love how simple this outfit was, but yet it was completely different than I normally would've worn. I think white shoes or a white graphic tee would've made this outfit really pop, but hey you gotta work with what you got! Here's the side-by-side comparison.

So what do you think? Did I pull off this look? How do you like to wear a blazer?

Follow along:
Pin-spired kick-off
Pin-spired: Black & White

Meal Plan Week #33

Nailing down dinner certainly helps make the evenings go much smoother now that school is back in session. With 2 kids in school this year, it's really throwing off my evening plans! We were told last week now that A is in 3rd grade she will have homework Monday through Thursday without fail. This is really making me reconsider signing them up for swim lessons next week. At least J doesn't have homework so that makes things slightly easier. 
Any other suggestions to get it all done aside from meal planning? I'm all ears!

MONDAY: Salads
Make your own, you can't complain :)

TUESDAY: Pulled Pork Tacos
A couple months ago I made a double batch of pulled pork in the crock pot and I froze half of what was cooked. All I have to do is pull this out of the freezer to thaw overnight and heat up at dinner time. Easy!

WEDNESDAY: Lasagna Soup
The easiest way to eat lasagna! We've made this one before and everyone enjoyed it. I tend to make it a little thicker so it's not really a soup but it's still delicious. Bonus: It's made in the crock pot so dinner is ready when I get home.

THURSDAY: Burgers with Tortellini Pasta Salad
I've been wanting to make this pasta salad since I first pinned it! And I love how easy it will be to throw together while the burgers are on the grill.

FRIDAY: Leftovers / Clean-Out The Fridge
If it's in the fridge, you can eat it!

Pin-spired #1: Black & White

To me, black and white is classic. I am drawn to the black shirts, pants, skirts, dresses, accessories, shoes and more every time I'm at the store. A pop of white feels refreshing. These two put together create a timeless look. I found my inspiration photo while browsing Pinterest one day. It was perfect. Simple, dressy, but not over the top. I knew this was a look I could pull off for the office.

{see the pin}
{visit the original image}

Of course I needed to make this outfit work for me. Crop top - not happening. Sheer, flowy skirt - nope don't own one of those. I do however have a black skirt and black & white stripped shirt. 

Top: Kohl's (Juniors dept.)     Skirt: Garage Sale     Sandals: Target

This look was perfect for the office. And I got a ton of compliments with how cute my outfit looked. I'm starting to appreciate skirts more - I mean who doesn't love a maxi - but these knee length skirts are really growing on me. 

This shirt is a little short for my liking, I guess that's what I get when I shop in the juniors section. So it worked out to tuck it in to achieve the same feel as the crop top in the original photo. Here's the side-by-side comparison.

So how did I do for my first pin-spired look?

Follow along:

Pin-spired kick off

Pin-spired Week Kick Off!

I'm excited about challenging myself to another Pin-spired Outfit Challenge! It's been awhile since I've done this and to date these are my most popular posts so why not?! For those of you asking what the heck is this chick talking about with "pin-spired", did she just make that up? Well yes and no. I've used Pinterest to inspire my outfit choices for a week. It's a great way to mix up what's in my closet, not spend any money and hopefully find some cute new outfits that I can wear again and again.

Some of my favorite pin-spired posts are:
Mustard yellow & pink
Leather mini skirt
All neutrals

So I've gone through all my style pins and picked 4 outfits that I want to create over the next week. Let's take a look!

Pin-spiration #1 - Black & White

{see the pin}

I love the simplicity of this outfit. Black skirt, striped shirt. I am all about the black and white and I love stripes!

Pin-spiration #2 - Wide Leg Jeans

{see the pin}

I have been loving the look of wide leg jeans. I think it gives a classy look to a casual outfit.

Pin-spiration #3 - Casual with a Twist

{see the pin}

Business on the top, party on the bottom. Ok not quite, but I still love this put together yet comfy look.

Pin-spiration #4 - In the Navy

{see the pin}

I have a navy cardigan I hardly wear, I think I can dress this look up with a few key pieces.

Which look is your favorite? I'm excited to recreate all of them!

Meal Plan Week #32

It's the start of the new school year this week. So our evenings are about to get a lot more crazy! Meal planning will be key to putting together a new weeknight schedule.

MONDAY: Fancy Spaghetti
It's back to school night! This will be a quick and easy dinner so we can take the girls to go meet their teachers and J can find her way around the school. We'll be trying out pasta and sauce from HemisFare.*

TUESDAY: Baked Stuffed Tacos
We haven't had these in awhile and they are super easy and delicious! Best of all, because the beans hold together the shells when they break the kids don't get frustrated.

WEDNESDAY: Chicken and Broccoli Grilled Burritos
These look really easy and pretty healthy! And a good way to get your kids to eat veggies - not that mine have a problem with broccoli (it's one of their faves!).

THURSDAY: Grilled Chicken & Corn on the Cob
Corn on the cob was on crazy low special for $0.10 an ear over the weekend so I picked up a ton! I blanched and froze most of it for future use. This way we can still enjoy corn on the cob when it's out of season.

FRIDAY: Homemade Pizza
I might even through this pizza on the grill to cook. I love pizza on the grill!

*HemisFare pasta and sauce received for free by being a BzzAgent. To learn more about being a BzzAgent visit their website.

August: I will try

Where in the world is this summer going? The weather has completely sucked in Indiana so I feel like we didn't even get a summer at all. And my kids start school on the 12th - what! Not cool summer time, not cool at all.

Last month my focus was on getting the front room of our house painted. Well I successfully bought paint (on sale) and turned in my rebate (that's like a double sale). And then the paint sat in the room for a solid 3.5 weeks. Whoops.

Second goal was to plan a family fun activity like going to the drive-in. Well with all the rain,the movies never happened. This was a rousing success on trying things this month! Not ...

Here's what I'll be trying for August:

• After school organization: Both girls will start school in about a week. That means once I get home there is dinner to be made, homework to handle, papers to be gone through and the normal household things that need to get done. I'd like to get a plan in place to handle all this without going crazy! Any and all tips are welcome!!
• Get back to running: I have the opportunity to run in the largest race in our area (4 mile, 10k or half are all offered) for free. I'm nervous to even sign up because I have really slacked on the running this year. The race is mid-September and I've run it the past 4 years so I sort of feel like I have to. If I can get back into running more regularly I'll register for the 4 mile as I know I couldn't pull off the 10k again without more practice.

Do you have any goals or plans for August?

Meal Plan Week #31

After last week I matched up a lot of our sales with our meal plan I realized I saved a good amount of money at the store. So I'm trying it again this week. I don't like to match up every single day of the week's meal with something on sale, but a few key sides or main proteins certainly helps out and isn't too hard. In case you are curious about my sale prices, I shop at Kroger.

MONDAY: Hot Dogs & Brats with Corn on the Cob and Grapes
I bought brats awhile back on sale and hot dogs are $1 a pack this week - corn is also 10 for $3 and grapes are $0.99/lb so this will make for a nice, easy and inexpensive meal.

TUESDAY: Bean Burritos
I made refried beans and we still have a batch in the freezer. Hopefully we'll have a few more tomatoes from the garden to use on our burritos as well!

WEDNESDAY: Paninis with Watermelon
Our favorite bread is on sale for paninis (under $3 a loaf) and watermelon is just $3.99 this week. Oh and sliced cheese is on special too ($1.49 each). Yum!

THURSDAY: Buffalo Style Mozzarella Pork Chops with Asparagus
My kids love asparagus, I can't ever remember liking it when I was little. But it is just $1.99/lb this week and if my kids don't love this new pork chop recipe at least I know they will eat their veggies :) Oh and pork chops are just $1.99/lb this week.

FRIDAY: Dinner Out
There's a little place called The Stand. They have glorified junk food (walking tacos, coney dogs, ice cream, things like that) but I don't think we've ever taken the kids. It will be our last Friday of summer treat!

Do you meal plan based on what's on sale or do you make whatever sounds good?