Breakfast Lately

Breakfast food is my favorite! Honestly, cereal is my all-time favorite food and I used to eat it every morning for breakfast. Now I save it for a treat (or lazy dinner). 

These days, I like to eat more fiber in the morning. I've been making overnight oats the past two years and I must say I've perfected this recipe. Evie wakes up requesting "eat-a-mall" every morning. I recently discover cinnamon raisin ezekiel bread at Trader Joe's and it is 💣 Also, do yourself a favor and add some protein shake to your coffee! I linked my brand-loyal items.

 Winning combo!

My oatmeal partner!

Overnight oats

1/2 cup rolled oats

1 tbsp chia seeds

1/2 banana 

1 tbsp maple syrup
1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 cup (+ a splash) unsweetened vanilla coconut milk 

Green smoothie

1 green apple

1/3 large cucumber

1/2 avocado

1 tbsp raw honey

4 mint leaves (mint plant from Trader Joe's)

3/4 cup unsweetened vanilla coconut milk

PB toast

Cinnamon raisin ezekiel bread

Trader Joe's crunchy peanut butter

Raw honey

Chia seeds

Coffee blend

Nespresso Alto capsule 

Splash of chocolate Premiere Protein 

Good Stuff

Billie razor was purchased after seeing Brooke (from Somewhere, Lately) rave about hers. I've seen this razor all over my insta feed and blogs, but Brooke put it over the edge for me. I love it! It's such a close shave and (surprisingly) I cut myself a lot less. I highly recommend. Plus, the subscription forces you the change the blade more frequently, which I always forget to do. 

Basil and mint plants were purchased from Trader Joe's a month ago and I'm obsessed. One, they look really nice on the table. Two, they smell great. Three, I'm cooking more because I want to use the herbs I'm growing. Win on every level. The herb planter is from Amazon. 

Dark chocolate covered pretzels are another Trader Joe's purchase that is now a weekly staple. They're the perfect salty/sweet snack. I keep a bag at home and a bag at work. The work bag goes quickly because everyone else likes them too! I love dark chocolate, but they also have milk chocolate. 

French Exit and Fate and Furies are totally different books, but I binged both of them. French Exit is a quick read. It's short, easy to follow, and has some really funny lines. Fate and Furies is looong and took awhile to get into, but you get to know the characters so well. I'm still thinking about them! I read all my books on the Libby app so I can use my library card to check them out. I'm obsessed with this app!

Halogen bralettes are a recommendation from Fashion Jackson and she's right - they're great! Even more comfortable than my favorite Calvin Klein and Lululemon bralettes. These bras are thin, breathable, and stay put all day. I got the nude color initially, then just purchased the black too. 

My Meal-Prep Staples

I've been meal-prepping routinely for nine months. I think I've only missed one week in that time frame. 

It has drastically improved my diet. I'm no longer rummaging through the fridge to piece together a meal or snack. I used to bring the most random foods to work for my "lunch." Now I have an actual meal, which has really helped my energy and stress level. 

Meal-prepping definitely takes a bit of effort, but we've worked out the kinks. We found a system that works for us. We started with a shared list in our phones. I create the shopping list. Brady does the grocery shopping on Saturdays with Evie (she loves the grocery store). I spend a few hours on Sunday prepping breakfasts, lunches, snacks and usually two dinners. 

Here are our staples...

Grains

Rolled oats, quinoa, brown rice, whole-grain pasta

Protein

Chicken, salmon, ground beef, ground turkey, eggs

Vegetables 

Sweet potatoes, broccoli, zucchini, bell peppers, red onion, brussels sprouts, spinach

Fruit

Bananas, blueberries, blackberries, kiwis, clementines, tomatoes, avocados

Grocery shopping with Dad in jammies 

 This girl loves to snack on fruit

 Lunches ready for the week - brown rice, chicken, roasted veg

 Evie's snacks for daycare - chicken and veg

 Spaghetti is Evie's favorite (1/2 whole-grain spaghetti, 1/2 butternut squash noodles)

 Spaghetti for dinner and clementines for dessert

 Burrito bowl prep 

Daddy's little helper

 Overnight oats are my go-to breakfast

Forever roasting vegetables 

Weekend Update

We had another chilled out weekend at home. 

We intended to stay in on Friday night. We walked to Stadium Thriftway to get snacks for a movie night, but when we got there we couldn't find anything that sounded good. We walked around the neighborhood before stumbling across a new restaurant, Indo. The food and atmosphere were amazing! We'll definitely be back.

Spring rolls

Brady's dinner... kimchi bowl. He loves anything with kimchi 

We spent Saturday exploring West Seattle. Brady had been carrying on about Marination Ma Kai since we were last there five months ago. We ate lunch, went for a walk, and browsed the downtown shops/bakeries. We ended the day at Brent and Molly's for dinner and game night. 

Perfect location

Lunchtime

Seattle skyline

 A popular dive site

Clouds lifting to give us a view of the Olympics

Cupcake time 

Downtown West Seattle 

Drinks and board games

Weekend Update

Another chill weekend for Brady and I. Lots of shopping, eating, and relaxing...

We tried Top of Tacoma on Friday night. The food was so good! The best mac & cheese I've ever had. Then, we stopped by Stadium Thriftway for snacks (and beer for Brady) and went home to watch a movie.

Saturday started off with a walk around town. We stopped for Starbucks and donuts. I didn't feel well during the afternoon, but rallied for a little shopping trip in the evening. We ended the night with pizza and another movie. 

This little park is 3 blocks from our place and I had never noticed it

Yum!

Sunday was rainy. We ran stairs in the afternoon, but ended up walking home in the rain. I quickly got into my PJ's and watched It's Complicated while painting my nails :) We ended the weekend with a nice, long walk.

This is the "stadium stairs look"... dread and uncertainty 

I got my Bondi man! I can't wait to put him in my car

Pretty flowers (and sky) during our walk