February has been a really weird month. It’s been pretty uneventful, for the most part, which is why I’m not quite sure where the time has gone.
I’ve been flying solo all month because Matt’s been gone for work, so now that he’s home, I’d say it’s time to go on some new adventures and break out of my all-too-comfortable bum lifestyle.
March is already shaping up to be an interesting month, to say the least, but more to come on that soon. Despite the past month not being overly crazy, there has been plenty of goodness that I’m excited to share today. Check it all out below!
These Are a Few of My Favorite Things
Gold Initial Necklace – This first favorite is about two months too late, but I had to share because it makes me happy. My sister got me this for Christmas, and I swear she can read my mind because I’ve been wanting a bar necklace like this for awhile. It’s such a simple yet elegant accessory.
Girl Scout’s Honest Cookie Reviews – Mike Rowe shared this on his Facebook recently, and it is hilarious. An 11-year-old girl scout secretly emailed her dad’s wealthy friend trying to sell cookies and wrote a detailed and very honest review of the different cookie varieties. Her choices of words are pure gold. I mean, aren’t you curious which cookie is a “bleak, flavorless, gluten-free wasteland”? It’s worth your time; believe me. “Inspired.”
Cooking Chicken in Excess – I’ve been cooking for only myself over the past month, and anytime I’m on my own for dinner, I tend to become so lazy. Since I’m following the LiveFit body building program, I’ve been more motivated to plan healthy meals. One habit that has made meal prep 10x easier? Making a large package of chicken breasts at once (about 6), cutting them into small pieces, and incorporating them into meals every day. This past Sunday, I sprinkled my ranch seasoning on them and have been putting them on salads, in tacos, in wraps, on pizza, in pasta, and so on. (Oh, and I have a new favorite method of cooking chicken, too, but more to come on that later.)
Tessellate by Alt-J – Love the unique sound of this song. I’ve been listening to this artist on repeat lately because it’s such a refreshing change of pace.
Motivational Deck of Cards – This is another my-sister-can-read-my-mind gift. She got me this deck of inspirational quotes for Christmas, and they’re such a nice way to start my mornings. 🙂 I’m all about the motivational quotes to get me through life, so kudos to my sister for the daily pick-me-up.
Wife’s Dinosaur First Look – Best. Idea. Ever. I wish I planned a weird surprise like this for Matt on our wedding day! This woman is obviously a keeper.
Stickers for Being an Adult – Do you ever feel like you should get a gold star or a sticker for doing all the annoying tasks that come with being an adult? These things feel like major feats sometimes! I don’t know about you, but I think it would be nice to be praised for accomplishing the dreaded items on my to-do list. (FYI: The awesome stickers below can be purchased on peanutparade’s Etsy.)
Single-Serving Mug Cake – This is a slightly dangerous favorite I’ve discovered over the past two weeks. I’ve seen recipes for “mug cakes” for awhile now, but I haven’t actually tried one until recently. Since I’ve been refusing to keep sweets in the house because I’m trying to avoid junk over hurr, my sweet tooth has randomly been very demanding. On those days, it’s nice to whip up a single-serving mug cake like the one below. I’m working hard over here trying to perfect a healthier version I won’t feel so guilty about. 😉
Never Let Me Go by Florence and the Machine – First of all, Florence Welch is a musical goddess. Second of all, I find this song, specifically, to be one of her more moving ones. It probably has something to do with the fact I heard it on the soundtrack to a show. Regardless, I love it.
Liquid Egg Whites – Before I started striving for a whopping 5 egg whites per morning (via Jamie Eason’s advice for breakfast during LiveFit), I had tried liquid egg whites in the carton before. I hadn’t truly appreciated the convenience factor until lately, though. I would not eat nearly as many eggs if I had to separate several whites from the actual eggs every day (that much effort in the morning? no thanks). Being able to just pour the pure egg whites into my cream of wheat, oatmeal, or whatever has been so helpful for sticking to protein-packed breakfasts.
What have you been loving lately?
We cook a bunch of chicken at a time too. It’s so much cheaper to buy in bulk. We usually shread it, and then freeze whatever we aren’t using. Tonight we are using it in a stir fry. Makes dinner so much faster too.
How do you eat eggs in oatmeal? Very curious. I’ve been eating oatmeal every morning (so much easier to put down if one of the kids need help), but I’m still starving by lunch.
Mixing eggs into oatmeal or hot cereals for breakfast is new to me, but I’ve been loving it so far. All you have to do is mix 1 egg (or a couple egg whites) to the rest of the ingredients you normally make oatmeal with. Microwave for about 1 minute; stir it all again; and microwave for another minute or two. That should make it creamy. (The longer you cook it the drier it’ll get.) If you Google it, you could find some specific recipes to try out. 🙂