april successes

Hi everyone! Happy Spring!  Here are some new things I have been making, reading and enjoying!

Josie Maran Argan Sugar Balm Body– where has this been the last ten years we’ve been in this dry climate? Love the citrus scent, but even more- how easy it is to shave after I scrub it on and off! Sometimes I follow this with her Body Butter in the citrus scent as well.

Ever since Tom gave the kids his blessing about riding their hover boards in the house (because let’s be honest, Tom wants to ride it in the house too) all our wood trim was cut into, bumped and torn up. Can you tell how I feel about this? Thank goodness, our carpenter told me about Minwax– this thing is THE BOMB. You do need to know your color of wood, but once you do, hand this marker to your kids and have them fill in the areas to look like new. It’s been a game changer for our first floor.

I ordered this fire ladder 20 minutes into the “THIS IS US” fire scene. If you watch the show, you understand.  We will have our first family fire drill this month. Luke is VERY excited about this and I worry that he will use this to sneak out one day! The biggest takeaway to that episode is that I started talking to the kids of what they’d do if there was a fire and everyone had a different answer. And one of my kids said they would run to a park about 2 blocks away from the fire- not the best meeting spot! Now we have a PLAN.

Great reads:

Dragonfruit– this endorsement is LONG overdue! I learned so much about Hawaiian monarchy in this book- and loved the love story and characters to boot. I couldn’t wait for the kids to go to bed to read more! When we traveled to Hawaii in November, my oldest son was referencing Hawaiian history he had learned in school and I was following along thanks to this book! My husband definitely did a double take when I knew what I was talking about! Mattoch describes all the smells and feelings of Hawaii perfectly. Would read again now that we visited so recently .

The Great Alone– since I loved The Nightingale, I figured this would be worth a try. Well, I read this in 10 hours. Loved the location, and the relationships of the characters on this remote island in Alaska. Grab tissues.

Great food:

Fish Tacos– YUM!!! My neighbor Sarah and I have been busy cooking away and this was a total hit last week. Sarah bought cod and we did this in a non-stick pan on the stove. I loved the marinated onions!! So easy- have always been impressed by them when they are in my restaurant tacos but now I know how easy it is to make them myself!  Sarah then made a Corn Slaw from this recipe as a side- so good!

Sweet Chili Coconut- Lime Grilled Chicken with Coconut- Lime Cauliflower Rice– very easy. I bought the Cauliflower rice pre-chopped at Sprouts and we prepared the chicken in strips on my stove top. Kids loved it. We made a batch of regular jasmine rice and this rice as another option too.

Pan-Seared Pork Tenderloins– This rub is fast and we cooked this in the oven instead of stove top. Cooking Light mag.  Lime, Soy and Maple Drizzle– we are taking 6 minutes max to make this and you offer it as a drizzle over the pork or a dip! Savory Sweet Potato Mash– I will be making this soon for company! Delicious side.

More another day! School pick up is required. 🙂