Summer is buzzing by. It feels like quite a mix of rainy days and super hot days. Work-life was turned upside down with the break up of my department, colleagues leaving, and now I’m trying to figure out what’s ahead.
July in the kitchen included some extra take-outs nights and extra “anything goes” nights after pool afternoons or when it was just too hot.
I made a great BBQ Chicken Rice Bowl with grilled zucchini, tomato salad, and a honey bbq drizzle.
Chicken Piccata became a pizza! It was so good, quite flavorful, and we will definitely repeat – majorly lemon flavor with juicy chicken and fresh parsley. I skipped the capers but go for it if you love them!
Lastly, I put together a bunch of dinner ideas for vacation: think minimal ingredients, not lots of leftovers, and easy to execute in a vacation rental kitchen! There are adaptations for each as well as ideas for sides. If you’re prepping for vacay, divvying meals for a family trip or planning a friends trip, these should help add some variety to your menu!
– Crispy Fish (or shredded chicken) tacos with lemonade slaw
– Pineapple Coconut Rice Bowls with Kielbasa/Chicken/Pulled Pork or as kebabs
– easy Mediterranean night with naan flatbreads & Greek salad or Greek Pasta Salad
– top your own pasta bar
– Sesame noodles & dumplings & edemame
August brings our beach vacation, Claire back to daycare a few days a week, and Claire turns 3! To make the most of the summer it feels like we need more beach time, more ice cream cones, and maybe some more days off. I have a breakfast blog post coming and some ideas for summer produce.
The Little Girl:
She loooves cruising around the neighborhood on her balance bike. She is more into the big pool now. For awhile she mostly splashed on the stairs and got in and out. Now she likes to “swim” to the swimout seat and then across to climb the ladder. It is so fun to see her with books she’s memorized. She started watching TV a bit more and is into Daniel Tiger. She always says when she’s big she’ll go to camp. She goes back to daycare in a few weeks!
The Big Guy:
He has been SO brave going to his day camps and each week being “new”. We hadn’t ever done camps before so we pieces together a few once we were ready to plan – I think we have favorites. They are so so so good for him to go do stuff away from home. I’m proud since new things feels hard for him but he’s been the picture of adaptability! Packing nut-free lunches is a re-learning curve for us- snacky lunch is the most successful. Swim lessons have been wonderful and he’s such a fish. I’ll never get over what he comes up with to make out of legos.
Goals:
Year of the fun mail! Sadly another coworker is leaving so I sent a card.
More breakfasts: One needed more work so it is bumped to August.
Lunches coordinated or prepped in advance: a lot of breakfasts for lunch or all the random leftovers (like Soft Cornbread).
I’d like to get the house a bit neater: ehh.
Bullet journal – still keeping a meals list.
What I’m reading: I read Circe for bookclub though it was mostly in June – it was the most scholastic book I’ve read in a while. Beach Read was quite cute and a nice brain-vacay. Of Women and Salt was just ok, but I don’t overwhelmingly recommend. We Run the Tides was one of the most accurate depictions I’ve seen of a teenage mind’s rebellion/naivety/independence/questions. I heard an interview with Elin Hildebrand and she said Blue Bistro was her fav of her books – I could see why! High-end Restaurant life is a world of its own and Nantucket is so idyllic. Carnegie’s Maid is captivating for historical fiction about the Carnegie family and early philanthropy from a fictitious perspective of a fictitious immigrant lady’s maid- so well written.
What I’m Watching: All Olympics, all the time.