Friday Favorites

Happy Friday!!!  I can’t believe we are at the end of another week.  Where are the weeks going??  And why are they going by so fast?

On Fridays, I link up with Andrea, Narci and Erika to share our favorite things for the week.  They do the link up every Friday.  Feel free to jump in!  It’s a fun way of meeting other bloggers.

This week started off great and then came crashing down ha!  You can read all about that here.

But let’s get on with my Friday Favorites.  It’s a short list full of goodness.

ONE

Do you use Chatbooks? I love it. I have been using it for about two years now. I have it connected with my instagram account and every 60 pictures, I get a new book.  It’s only $8 I believe per book. I am awful about not printing out my pictures so this is the perfect way of having them printed.  If you want to sign up click here for more info.They are thin books and have the dates of when the pictures were taken. I have them set out in our keeping room in a wire basket.  The kids love going through them.  They go back to 2011 so it’s a lot of fun to reminisce and look at all the different books. They normally are not this organized ha! This week  I got our new book.  Love this picture of Joseph and I.  

TWO

Wednesday started bright and early for us.  Mary had to be at the school at 5:00 AM to leave for their overnight field trip.  I have missed her so much, but pictures like these have warmed my heart.  She is on her way home now and I can not wait to see her.  Be on the look out for a blog post from my friends Staci and Jennifer.  They are going to take over the blog and recap their field trip with some mom truths about Jeckyll.

THREE

On my way to small group Wednesday night I stopped for a coffee.  I don’t go to Starbucks much these days because I really enjoy the coffee I make at home.  But being 6:00 in the evening I realized I didn’t need a whole pot.  Well, maybe I did but then I would still be awake right now!  I wore my favorite jeans with a plaid shirt.  Plaid button ups are my favorite and it’s fall and I didn’t care how hot it was.  And look at this cup from Starbucks.  So pretty!  This picture just screams fall and makes me happy.img_6930

FOUR

One of my favorite blogs to read is Mix and Match Mama.  She recently finished her new cookbook, Simmers.  I have tried two meals so far and they were both very good.  The crock pot is my best friend during the busy months so I am loving this cookbook.

FIVE

I am loving my new nail polish by Essie.  This color is called Caviar bar.  It looks black, but it’s actually a deep navy.  I’m on day three and it still looks pretty good.Make sure you buy the ones in the twisted looking bottles.  It’s their gel combo.  I am trying to give my nails a break from SNS so this has been a good in between to keep color on my nails.

SIX

I love a good fall smelling candle.  I’m a little bit picky when it comes to the smell so I was super excited when I found this one at Bath and Body Works.  It smells so so good.  Even my kiddos noticed how good the house smells.  I also got this cute candle holder.  I set it out on my tray on the island.  The smell screams fall and makes the whole house feel cozy.

And that’s it for this Friday.  I told y’all it was short and sweet but full of goodness.  This week really tested me, but thankfully I am feeling more like myself.  I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

-Maggie

You Can’t Go Wrong With Chili

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Kiddos + Sports every night=craziness!  I don’t know about you, but we are busy around here.  Between football and softball practices and then games we have something every night of the week and on the weekend too!  Jojo practices at 7:15 and the girls practice at 6.  This leaves us trying to figure out what time is best for all of us to eat dinner.  We normally shoot for 5:30, but that doesn’t always happen.  We end up driving thru somewhere and opting for quick and easy.  Fast food is so easy and convenient and I’m so tired haha. If I’m not careful we will eat it every night.  Totally not judging those that do this, but this girl can not eat fast food every single day!

Early this year, Joseph and I were on a cut and most of our dinner meals included a lean meat with veggies.  Being on a cut means that you eat at a caloric deficiency and eat a certain percentage of protein, fats and carbohydrates.  I will explain this in a separate post soon!  We experienced great results on our cut, but after six months, we were both ready for a change.  I love using a crock pot for my meals.  Especially in the fall and winter when we seem to be super busy.   If I can make it early in the morning and leave it in the crock pot all day-that is a win in my book.

Joseph and I decided to take some time off from our cut, but still aim to eat healthy and clean meals.  Now, please don’t think we don’t eat out or cheat because we totally do!  I am at the Dairy Queen drive-thru a lot ha!  But balance right?!

After eating lean meats and veggies for six months, I wanted to add a little more variety to our meals, but still try to eat as healthy as possible.  I was so excited to find this recipe on the Whole 30 Recipes FB Page.

It did not take long at all to prepare.  At the most maybe 30 minutes.  I cut up the sweet potatoes, cooked my meat, added all of the ingredients and then put it all in the crock pot to cook during the day.  When it was cooked and ready to serve, I added avocado slices, cilantro and lime juice with a little salt and pepper.  The chili was good on its own, but adding the toppings completed the meal.  So so good!!

As I find new meal ideas and try them, I will definitely share them.  My sister has requested that I put out a meal plan each week to help her stay on track and know what to eat each night.  Maybe I can get started on that in a few weeks.

Here’s to fall and fall weather hopefully coming soon!

-Maggie