The Monday Edition 1.8.24

After an unexpected mandatory rest time due to Covid around the holidays, I was so mentally ready to jump back into work this week. It was very productive! I’m feeling all the new year energy that is filling my social feeds and emails. This is going to be a good year; I can feel it.

This weekend, Danny and I sat down and planned our travel calendar for the year. When we moved to Seattle, we discovered quickly that campsites and cabins fill up early and fast. So in the dead of winter, we are planning our camping trips for the summer. We also booked a trip to Hawaii in February, a trip to Kansas City in April (rescheduled due to Covid over the holidays) and a short getaway to Portland in May. I’m excited for all the adventures this year.

STYLE

Making the effort to get ready most days, especially in winter, is so important for my productivity and happiness. Below you’ll find some outfits I wore this week. As we ease back into routines, I’ll try to be more consistent about capturing my daily looks!

FOOD

Here’s a recap of the meals we ate this week. After being entirely too tired to cook for two weeks, I was happy to be back in the kitchen.

Monday: We cooked a nice meal of roast chicken and vegetables for New Year’s Day dinner. This is a classic recipe from the one and only Ina Garten that I’ve cooked several times over the years. I added small potatoes to the roasting pan to complete the meal.

Tuesday: Skinnytaste Slow Roasted Salmon with green beans and fresh bread. This recipe was absolutely delicious. The salmon is roasted slow so it’s still tender (it’s so easy to overcook wild salmon), and the sauce was zingy and bright.

Wednesday: Fire Cracker Chicken Meatballs with Cilantro Coconut Pineapple Rice. This one pot meal was a hit with the whole family. My daughter asked if we could have it every night. We toned down the spice quite a bit for the kids.

Thursday: Pasta With Sausage and Broccoli. We used this recipe from Once Upon A Chef. This was an easy recipe to throw together on a weeknight.

Friday: Pizza Night! We made a homemade pizza with pepperoni and jalapeños for our Friday movie night. I’m getting a little bored with our standard pizza toppings so I plan on trying more creative pizza recipes in the coming weeks.

Saturday: Takeout from our local Mexican restaurant.

Sunday: Pork Chops with Apple and Polenta from Caro Chambers. I made this recipe a few weeks ago, and it was worth repeating. Comfort food at it’s finest.

ENTERTAINMENT

After watching more than our fair share of Christmas movies over winter break, we jumped back into The Crown this week. We are about halfway through the season, and I’ll be heartbroken when it’s over. I loved the historical aspects of the show (of course, knowing some is fictionalized for television.)

This week I also got into the Mel Robbins podcast which is full of practical tips and advice. I especially liked the latest episode about how to set and achieve your goals for the year.

Over the break, I finished People We Meet On Vacation by Emily Henry. I enjoyed it, but not as much as Book Lovers or Happy Place, two other books by the same author. This week, I also sped through The Hunting Party by Lucy Foley. If you like murder mysteries that aren’t too creepy, you’ll enjoy this book.