Share the Love Link Up

I've added The Blended Blog to my rotation of blog reading, and when I saw they were hosting a gift exchange, I knew I wanted to participate.  I did this a couple of years ago through Thrive Moms and it was a Christmas gift exchange.  It was fun to go out and pick out things for someone that I knew was doing the same thing for someone else, and it was especially fun to get something in the mail especially for me.

The theme of The Blended Blog this month was love for Valentine's Day and so we got to share the love with someone on the blog universe through the Spread the Love Gift Exchange. The instructions were to spend about $12 to $18 and pick out something like jewellery or other accessory and mail it off.

I was matched with Deena at Shoes to Shriaz, another Canadian blog!  I didn't remember to take a picture of what I bought for her, so you can jump over to her site and see it.

I was definitely spoiled by the gift I received from her.  Kate Spade studs! She said she picked them up in the States and they are just the cutest.  I have a couple of pairs of KS studs but not blue and I wear a lot of blue, so I know they will quickly become a staple of my wardrobe.

Thank you Deena!! I felt the love :)

Friday Favourites

My favourite thing of this week was the Tessa and Scott montage that CBC put together.  It's just so great, and the song is perfectly Canadian.

I bought myself a new ski jacket this week.  The one I have now is from 2006 so it was time to get a new one.  I got the North Face Gatekeeper Jacket in Eggplant Purple.  Now I have to find the matching pants on sale somewhere.  The hood will fit over my helmet, and the sleeve has a pocket with a cloth for wiping my goggles. 

My firm had an event on Thursday night at an Italian restaurant on Mississauga.  I ordered an espresso and drank it at the bar like they do in Italy.  

Speaking of this restaurant, Alioli's is one of my favourite places to eat near my office.  It is unassuming since it is in the bottom of an office building but the food is delicious, the wine list is impressive, and they just did some beautiful renovations.  Check it out if you're ever in the area. 

Have a nice weekend!  March starts next week. 

Menu Planning Part 2

I thought it was time to update my menu planning post that I did here.   Several years later we are still planning our meals our week by week but some of our considerations have changed.

I will still sometimes do a big grocery trip all at once on the weekend, but now that we have grocery pick up there are more options for getting groceries on a weekday afternoon.  Also Dave has the flexibility to walk and pick up ingredients during the day if we need something, so I am able to plan our meals taking those things into consideration.

We are also busier now than we used to be so there are a few nights when E has something or we have work events when we have to plan for that.  If we have to be at soccer at 6:00 then dinner has be prepped in advance so we can eat quickly.  When only Dave or I will be home, we can't spend as much time cooking after the kids are home.  E can keep himself entertained but Q needs to eat almost as soon as he comes in the door.

Speaking of Q, since our regular practice is to eat all of our meals together, we have to pick things that work for little hands and mouths too.  He'll eat mostly everything in some form, but I am less inclined to serve him spicy curry, thin soups, or big leafy salads.  That being said, if he really won't eat what we are eating, he will always eat meatballs that we keep in the freezer, and a pouch of apple sauce.

Eating a soft taco

I also keep in mind food that we can use for my lunch and E's lunch as leftovers, like some extra pasta or soup, or a piece of chicken that can be used for a sandwich or quesadilla.  The only thing to keep in mind is we can't send thai noodles with peanut sauce to school ;)

We are also trying to add some plant based meals to our menu and that makes planning ahead even easier because cans of beans, dried lentils, and soy "meat" doesn't go bad like regular meat does, so we can easily buy those things in advance.

Here are some examples of some recent menus:

Sunday - Tacos
Monday - Chicken and Spinach Enchilada Soup (made in the slow cooker on Sunday and then warmed up for supper, I don't like when the slow cooker sits on warm for too long because it gets too mushy)
Tuesday - Roast Beef, Baked Potatoes, Carrots
Wednesday - Leftover roast beef
Thursday - Chick Pea and Red Lentil Curry with apple chutney
Friday - Leftover Chili (from the freezer)
Saturday -  Sausage Carbonera Pasta

Monday - Chicken Stir Fry
Tuesday - Salmon with cajun spice and rice
Wednesday - Homemade chicken strips and roasted sweet potato
Thursday - Turkey Meatball Subs
Friday - Pizza

Sunday - Chicken Wings and Nachos (it was Super Bowl!)
Monday - Orange Chicken Stir Fry
Tuesday - Salmon
Wednesday - Chicken Strips (from the week before when we made extra and froze them)
Thursday - Spaghetti and turkey meatballs
Friday - Homemade fish and chips


Happy cooking!

Media Wednesday - Currently

This is what I am currently into media-wise (when I'm not watching the Olympics) to get me through the last few weeks of winter:

Netflix - Queer Eye, Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee, Fargo, My Next Guest, Anything to do with the Royal Family or British History

YouTube - Clips of Scott and Tessa (are they in love?!, I dissect every word), behind the scenes of The Crown and Downton Abbey, crane disasters (for E)

Library Books on hold - Little Fire Everywhere by Celeste Ng and Hunger: A Memoir of my Body by Roxane Gay

Podcasts - Atlanta Monster, This American Life, Jay and Dan (currently live from PyeongChang)

News Stories - The Game of Thrones-esque drama of the Ontario PC party, gun control movement spearheaded by school shooting survivors

Spotify Playlists - Kidz Bop, Country Icon, Songs to Sing in the Shower, All-Out 90s, Canada Top 50, Andrea Bocelli, Disney Hits

Weekend Recap

We had a super long weekend with a PA Day on Friday and Family Day on Monday.  Dave and E went skiing on Friday and I went to E's school to meet with his teacher for parent/teacher interviews (he got his report card last week).  

This is his cubby.

After stopping at the LBCO and the bakery to pick up some buns, I picked up Q and we met Dave and E at home.  I had already made chili for our supper the night before, so we just had to heat that up.

Q taking a selfie.

He liked the chili and buns.

Some silliness before bed with E in Q's crib.

Dave and I watched a movie, Darkest Hour, and then watched the Olympics that we recorded.  It was much better that way so we could fast forward to the parts we really wanted to see. 

It was back to the slopes for E and Dave on Saturday morning and this time they took our friend Mark along too.  

Q and I went swimming.

After Q's nap we went to Sail and Sportchek so I could look at ski jackets and pants for myself.  I found the one I wanted but I'm still trying to decide if I want the bright red/orange.  I didn't buy anything but I was glad I could try some on.

Leftover chili for lunch.

In the afternoon I watched a couple of episodes of Queer Eye on Netflix.  We ordered Chinese food for supper which was a nice treat.

E and I built some things on the floor while we watched curling after supper. 

On Sunday we did our usual church and run, and then home for a nap. I did some cleaning up, and then Dave and E went off to Sail and Costco. 

Check out the hat/beard that Dave's cousin in Cape Breton made and sent for E.  He looks ready for St. Patrick's Day!

After Q's nap we went for a walk up the street to pick up some food.  We were getting home just as Dave and E pulled in, so they played outside for a few minutes before coming inside (E stood in one spot, Dave talked to his parents on FaceTime, and E tried to destroy the snowbank in the backyard).  

E and I made brownies after supper and Q "helped" with the dishes.

I let him lick the spatula.

Another late night watching the Olympics, but we did squeeze in the newest David Letterman episode with George Clooney.

On Monday morning, we went down to the CBC building on Front Street for their Olympic themed Family Day activities.  We arrived at the right time, we went through all of the activities and then it started getting more crowded. 

Snowboard simulation.

Peter Mansbridge Hall!

Trying out the curling

Sledge Hockey Demo

Dad's turn with the curling

We met the Olympic mascot and Q loved him!

We had a little snack and watched a replay of Scott and Tessa's short program

Sitting with Glenn Gould before leaving. 

E also coloured these pages while we were there. 

We ordered some burgers from Woody's on our way home and picked them up for lunch.  We had an easy afternoon but then decided to sneak in some swimming at our local pool before supper.   I didn't take any pictures there but we all had fun, and since we went near the end, it wasn't overly crowded.  Our evening ended with stories, tidying up, and of course, more Olympics!