Lazy Saturday

It was puzzle mania last weekend! We kicked it off with Will's first ever 100pc puzzle, which was a 4th birthday gift from Aunt Kelly & fam. To my surprise, it was much easier than I thought and we knocked it out before dinner on Friday. Will loved it and so did I. In fact, I'd forgotten how much I love puzzles. More of these ~100pc sets will definitely be on the Christmas list this year.

Though I don't have a picture of it, Sophie is getting much better at doing the Melissa & Doug 12pc jigsaw puzzles that come inside a wood frame. The farm animal one was done over and over and over throughout the weekend (with a little help from us). But she entertained herself with the foam number "puzzle" while Will and I worked on the big one.

On Saturday morning, we started the second 100pc puzzle from Aunt Kelly and fam. Still don't know why it's taken us this long to break these out! Maybe because of summer and being outside all the time? But puzzles are definitely going to be a favorite indoor activity this cold weather season. This one was much harder with all the solid blue. Will actually gave up on it and I finished it myself. ;-)

Saturday was a lazy day around the house. It was wonderful. I've been craving these days. I'm actually having a really rough time right now with having to work full time. I won't weigh you down with a woe-is-me story, but I just can't do this forever. At some point, I need to be part time. However, a lot will have to change before that is possible. I'm just praying about it and actively looking into any possible angles to make it happen in the future.

So Saturday was very chill. Blissfully so.

We did some balancing on the balance board... with Mickey.

We played a balance game called Chicka Boom. This was a big hit for quite awhile.

We played with homemade playdough.

We practiced winking. LOL She's good!

Will - not so much. Oh my gosh, I laugh out loud every time I look at this picture. Hahaha! :)

Aaand... we went on a little "nature hike" around our yard looking for things to make a fall craft.

These little lovelies are growing up around our burn pile.

Our little, yellow tomatoes are growing like weeds in the garden and Will snagged a few. He eats them daily for one meal or another.

Every work day, I am just counting down the hours till I can be home again.

Breakfast Ideas

I am loving my early morning "breakfast dates" with this handsome dude at the bar in our breakfast nook on school mornings. :)

It's pretty early when we're eating - much earlier than weekends - so our appetites are not nearly what they are when we eat our big pancake breakfasts. But it's still so important to get a good, healthy start to the day and I thought I'd compile a list of breakfast ideas for school/work mornings (or even weekends, really) to share. If you have any that your family relies on, I'd love to hear them too!

Milkshakes and smoothies are an easy start, considering most people/kids can drink something easier/quicker than eat something on early mornings:

1) PB banana milkshake

2) Pumpkin milkshake

3) Avocado Smoothie

4) Yogurt/berry smoothie

Here's one without yogurt:

2 cups of fresh or frozen berries + 1 cup of o.j. + 1 whole banana

Blend!

5) Tropical lassi

6) Creamsicle Slushy

Perhaps you could pair that with a muffin, since muffins are a super easy thing to whip up in advance and freeze until individual portions are needed:

1) Zucchini muffins

2) Carrot Pineapple Muffins

3) Mini Sweet Potato Muffins

4) Peach/Strawberry Muffins

5) Rhubarb Streusel Muffins (my fave)

etc.

Of course, pancakes and waffles are a nice treat. And if you prepare in advance, they're totally manageable on a school/work morning. Make your batter the night before and pop it in the fridge.

And set out your tools the night before too.

1) Carrot pancakes are one of our faves. They were the first-day-of-school breakfast of choice. I always at least double the amount of walnuts I put in for some extra protein to stick with us. Yum. 2) Cottage Cheese Pancakes are another recipe I've done on school mornings so far this school year. Again, I appreciate the protein in these pancakes to stick with us for the morning and I always have everything I need on hand for these.
3) Whole Wheat Oat Pancakes - another easy go-to pancake recipe because I'm always prepared for these.

4) Lemon Sour Cream Pancakes with Buttermilk Syrup

5) Lemon-Ricotta Pancakes - a new one for me last week.

6) Yogurt Pancakes

7) Whole Wheat Waffles

8) Pumpkin Waffles

9) Cheese Waffles
etc.

Waffles are especially easy to prepare completely in advance, freeze (cooked waffles) on a cookie sheet and then pop into a gallon bag for as-needed use.

Other random breakfast ideas include:

1) Spreading peanut butter on a whole wheat tortilla and rolling a banana up into it for a sweet "wrap". I made this for Will's lunch one day this week.

2) Oatmeal made with dried fruit and nuts. Try oatmeal in a crock pot - it's wonderful and so easy!

3) Scrambled eggs and cheese wrapped in a tortilla.

4) String cheese with a piece of fruit and some wheat crackers.

5) Hard boiled egg.

6) "Energy Boost Bars" (granola bars)

7) Yogurt parfaits with granola and berries

8) Trail mixes

That's all I have off the top of my head. I'm making red beet pancakes again for tomorrow's breakfast to use up my CSA beets. ;-)

What are your favorite busy morning breakfasts?

WIWW

Another round of "What I Wore"!

Just because it's officially fall and that puts me in the mood for wardrobe changes and whatnot.

Check out the link to previous WIWW posts in my side bar for a refresher on what the heck the purpose of this is. Unfortunately, this post is totally not going to reflect that though. I have a lot of pictures, but there's absolutely nothing consistent about when they were taken. They're all over the board from June until now. But, once again, just looking at my outfits in pictures gives me a whole different perspective and all kinds of opinions that I didn't see just looking in the mirror. Try it! You'll see what I mean. I have something to complain about with almost every ensemble in this post. Wow - that sounds like an uplifting read doesn't it? :)

Case in point: these capris. They've got to go... ;-)
(Normally I post the day of the week and what I had going on that day, but I don't even remember... these are so old. You can pretty much tell when it's a work day.)

tank - Old Navy

cardi - Kohl's

capris - NY&Co

necklace - Lisa Leonard

Thoughts: the crotch on these capris is long and the fit is just boxy on me all around. I've never loved them, but they were functional for work for a long time. I think it's time to evict them from my closet. In the past, I've worn a skinny, mustard yellow belt over this tank and cardi and liked that look. Don't know why I skipped it this day.

white tee with frilly neckline - Ann Taylor Loft

dressy "denim" pants - The Limited

scarf - Old Navy

Thoughts: not sure I like the scarf with a dressy neckline shirt.

The next few pics were the week of my lactation counselor conference. I was giddy about the opportunity to lift my dress code restrictions that normally apply at work for an entire week. Read: open toe shoes, no socks/nylons knee highs, etc.

tank - Anthropologie

cardi - NY&Co

gray pants - Gap

purse - Boden

necklace - Lisa Leonard

Thoughts: I'm happy with this. I almost never shop at NY&Co anymore but I still have lots of remnants in my closet from when I did. LOVE this purse. I got it when I was pregnant with Will and it's still one of my faves. Lately, though, I've switched to carrying a smaller clutch instead of my traditional HUGE bag.

Shoes with this outfit: Target wedge heels. Yippee!

green tank - Kohl's

white cardi - Target

khakis - Gap

gray fabric flower - Etsy
necklace - Lisa Leonard

clutch - Etsy (LOVE it!!)

Love this next outfit and will definitely be doing it again this fall (except with boots instead of sandals). The conference room was freezing, which I learned the hard way on previous days, so I layered this day. I know I took Sophie to that Kindermusik class this night too.

gray tank (barely visible) - Boden

blue sheer ruffled top - Target

long gray cardi - Target

skinny jeans - Old Navy

necklace - Lisa Leonard

ring - Pier 1 (I think?) from my mom
sandals - Old Navy

Date night with the hubby:

same tank from Anthropologie with a black Kohl's tank underneath

white capris - Express (old)

black clutch - Etsy

necklace - Lisa Leonard

Love this tank:

Weekend:

tank - Target

shorts - Kohl's

teal tee - Old Navy

white tank - Kohl's

gray pants - Gap

long necklace (new fave) - Etsy

Thoughts: you'll notice I love wearing this long necklace with v-neck tees. :) I loved this outfit for work in summer 'cause I still felt casual but "business casual" enough.

black tank - Kohl's

"stone" shrug - Old Navy

dressy "denim" pants - Old Navy

necklace - NY&Co

clutch - Etsy

Thoughts: not sure these colors are working together. I don't have a problem mixing black, gray and/or brown, but I just don't know for sure how I feel about this outfit. The shrug seems kinda' wintry. Might try it with a long sleeve tee now instead. And somebody slap some eye makeup on these tired looking eyes! ;-)

sweater - NY&Co (old, but still love it)

white tank - Kohl's

new pants - The Limited

necklace - NY&Co

Thoughts: I LOVE my new Limited pants!! They fit me like a glove... like they were made just for me. None of that too-big-in-the-waist stuff just to fit my big booty. I got two new pairs of pants and a new pair of dressy jeans during their grand opening sale at Westfield. 40% off!!! Wahoo! Not sure I'll ever be able to go any place else after trying this line. This outfit seems kind of classic to me. It's not trendy and it'll be acceptably stylish for a long while.

This was for the new elementary school open house:

hot pink dressy tee - Gap

dressy denim shorts - on clearance from The Limited ($14.99, I think?)

sweater cardi - Old Navy

white tank - Kohl's

dressy "denim" pants - The Limited

necklace - Lisa Leonard

Thoughts: these are the pants I got at the Columbus Limited on my birthday this year. Still love them, but not as much as my new Limited pants. Love this sweater.

Hmm. Lots of yellow this week. ;) This was work and preschool orientation:

ruffled tank - Old Navy

yellow cardi - Target

pants - Limited

necklace - same long one from Etsy; the chain is adjustable

Thoughts: I like this... but I kind of think the pants aren't a "summery" color, while the cardi and white tee are. Your thoughts??

Another weekend:

tee - Old Navy

white tank - Kohl's

shorts - Kohl's

necklace - Etsy
sandals - Old Navy

cotton tank and cotton loungy capris - both Old Navy

Next outfit got a little change-up upon arrival at work. See what you think.

ruffled tank shirt - Ann Taylor Loft outlet

black tank - Kohl's

black pants - my other new pair from The Limited

necklace - Lisa Leonard

Okay, see above and below: untucked.

And then, when I got to work and stopped at the restroom, I tucked it in and liked it better that way. The waistband of these pants is perfect for a tucked in shirt. LOVE them! Soooo glad Limited is back in Toledo! (Please excuse the fact that I'm standing like a dork in this picture.)

Much better, no?

wrap shirt - The Limited (also 40% off)

pants - Express (old)

Thoughts: I like this on... but for some reason I don't like it with these black pants. Maybe it's just the fit of the pants. They're old and I haven't really liked black pants on myself for a long time because of it.

Lounging in one of my favorite comfy outfits:

entire outfit - Gap's Body line

(It was the outfit I wore home from the hospital after Sophie's birth. So cozy.)

Flag football game and park playdate:

white long sleeve tee - Boden

heart tee - Sanctus Real concert

jeans - Gap

Family day! Zoo and hike:

plaid shirt - Old Navy

white tank - Kohl's

skinny jeans - Old Navy

boots - Target

So! Anyone want to join me next week for WIWW? If so, take a picture of your outfit everyday until then and share!