Happy Friday! Enjoy today’s Happy List:
1. Homemade Beer Bread – My husband made this beer bread last night and OMG it was sooo good! He subbed olive oil for the butter to make it vegan.
2. New television: Saturday Night Live is airing a new, socially-distanced episode this weekend. One more episode of Tiger King is being released on Netflix Sunday, April 12th – The Tiger King and I (an after show) hosted by comedian, Joel McHale.
3. Baby Tiger Cubs at Zoo Miami – Such cuteness!
Happy Friday and Happy Belated Passover for those who celebrate. This week has felt very long! It was supposed to be Spring Break for the kids, but due to the Governor’s orders, school had to be in session. However, all of my kids’ teachers assigned enrichment activities and they had no actual assignments that they had to submit. So they both did a whole lot of nothing except watch TV or spend time on their electronics during the day when Dana and I were working. I am actually looking forward to next week when they are back on a somewhat regular schedule. This weekend is going to feel strange, celebrating Easter with just the four of us. Normally, we host Easter and do a joint family birthday celebration for my daughter, who is turning 14 on Tuesday. This year though we were supposed to be in Maryland celebrating the holiday at my sister’s house. We will make the best of the situation though and be grateful that we are healthy and together. Here are five from another unexciting week:
1. Baking – this week my daughter decided to bake vegan sugar cookies. It was her idea of being productive. I was all on board, as long as she cleaned up after herself! She made the cookies and we all got rewarded with tasty, homemade cookies.
2. Reading – This week Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortensen and David Oliver Relin. This is a nonfiction, memoir that a friend from work recommended. I thought it was just an okay read and after I finished it, I read about the criticism and discrepancies of the accounts told in the book.
3. Watching – My daughter and I have started watching Money Heist on Netflix. It originated as a Spanish drama series but eventually got acquired by Netflix. I enjoy having a show that we can watch together and this suspense/action series has a lot of episodes for us to watch. I also am halfway through watching the 4 episode limited series, Unorthodox. This Netflix show is about Etsy, a girl who leaves an Orthodox Jewish community in Brooklyn and moves to Germany to start a new life. It’s based on a book and inspired by the author’s life.
4. Cooking – This week’s menu included Falafel, Chickpea Meatballs on Garlic Bread, Vegan Tacos, Tuscan Farro Soup and Beer Bread and BBQ Tofu with cornbread and roasted broccoli. Very few restaurants near us offer decent vegan takeout options. As a family, we’ve talked about how it’s much cheaper and tastier for us to eat at home.
5. Anniversary Celebration – Saturday was my 16th wedding anniversary. We celebrated by ordering takeout from a vegan Caribbean restaurant. It was a bit of a ride, but a beautiful day! We enjoyed the meal at home for lunch and then all did some yard work, since it was so nice out. Definitely not how I imagined us celebrating but the best we could do during this time.
ICYMI: My Happy Lists for Saturday, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday!
Happy Easter! Have a great weekend!
A little late today with the happy list, but better late than never! Three things making me happy today:
1. Pastel painted nails – I apologize for the horrible picture. But, my husband painted my nails for me the other day and I’m loving my nails. There’s just something about having some color on them and this Essie Lilacism is a perfect spring pastel color!
2. Dogs in bread – I saw this on Facebook and just literally laughed out loud! Wish I had a dog to do this with….it just won’t work with cats.
3. Cherry Blossom Festival – Around this time there are several cherry blossom festivals that take place around us. My son is a huge fan of Japanese culture and these are a great day out for some culture and family fun. Also, going to see the cherry blossoms blooming in Washington D.C. is also on my bucket list. Now we all can enjoy the National Cherry Blossom Festival in D.C. virtually.
Happy Hump day! Half-way through the week…..we got this! Here are three things making me happy:
1. Stay Home, Take Care – from the creators of Girls Night In, Stay Home, Take Care is a website with ideas for self care during this stressful time. There are different categories with lots of different ideas to help you take care of YOU!
2. SGN w/ John Krasinski – Sadly, I am new to Some Good News (SGN) with John Krasinski. I just watched Episode 2 for the first time this morning and couldn’t believe what I’ve been missing out on. This short show celebrates all the good that’s going on right now amidst the pandemic. The Hamilton birthday surprise at the end was = 100%!
3. Homemade cookies – My daughter has turned to baking as her “being productive” activity. Last night she made these Soft Baked Vegan Sugar Cookies. She bakes (and cleans up….part of the deal!) and we all get treats. Win for everyone!
Happy Tuesday! One week into April, here is today’s happy list:
Free Photography Classes with Nikon – Learning to take better photos has always been on my to-do list. Nikon is offering free photography classes for the month of April.
Free Headspace Meditations – In a partnership with Governor Cuomo, Headspace is offering New Yorkers (and anyone) free meditations. I still find meditation difficult, but if there was anytime to really practice, now is the time.
3. Homescapes Game App – I used to be a Candy Crush addict, but this game has become my recent obsession. It is a match-3 game with a story line. As you win levels you get to complete tasks to help Austin renovate his parent’s home.
It’s the start of another week. Here’s today’s happy list:
1. HBO Free Streaming – By now, I’m sure you’ve heard that HBO is offering free streaming for some of it’s shows and movies. First, I’m happy that we can access the free streaming through our Roku. Second, over the weekend Dana and I started watching Veep and I recommend! I did not realize that it’s a political comedy. These short 30 minute or less episodes are a fun diversion. And we have 7 seasons that we can binge!
2. Word Searches – I used to LOVE doing word searches as a child. During a cleaning session I found an old Disney fairies word search book in a pile of my daughter’s old stuff. I have since made everyone try to complete one word search daily as a mind workout activity!
3. Cincinnati Zoo Home Safari – Our family has always loved animals. The Cincinnati Zoo has been hosting a home safari, where viewers can meet some of their animals up close. It’s really fun to learn more about the animals and see them interacting with the zoo keepers. The video above shows Lucille, the bearcat. The bearcat is Binghamton University’s mascot and I can’t say that I’ve seen one of these animals until now.
Happy Sunday! Here are three things making me happy:
1. Ellen show -The Ellen Show will begin to air new episodes again tomorrow. They figured out how to televise from her home. I don’t even have cable TV and I’m so excited about this! I love Ellen and enjoy watching the clips from her show on FB/YouTube. We can all use her humor during this time.
2. Vegan Caribbean takeout – We ordered lunch yesterday from a vegan Caribbean restaurant. The break from cooking was nice and the food was delicious. And we liked helping to support a small, family-run business.
3. Canada Hair Freezing Contest – These pics from the Takhini Hot Springs Hair Freezing contest are just crazy!
Today, my husband and I are celebrating our 16th wedding anniversary! Definitely a reason to be happy today! Here are three more things making me smile:
1. Cat snuggles and book time
2. Mongolian Seitan – a.k.a. Vegan Mongolian Beef with Broccoli. When my son, the picky eater of the family has thirds, you know this is a good dish! Recipe from Yup….it’s vegan!
3. Pregnancy Announcements – Enjoy some of these pregnancy reveals to make you smile…..these bring back memories of our first baby pregnancy reveal when we wrapped a little poem up in a frame and wrapped it for each set of grandparents-to-be. This is a longer compilation than the ones that I usually see on FB.
Happy Friday. I hope everyone is staying healthy and safe. These are some scary times and everyday I have to remind myself to be grateful that I am together with my family, trying to do the best we can each day. That looks different every day, but we are managing. On a positive note, tomorrow is me and Dana’s 16th wedding anniversary! We plan to take a drive to get some take out from a vegan restaurant in Rockland County that I’ve heard about. Otherwise, we obviously don’t have big plans! Here are five from this week:
1. Shopping Finds – This week we scored on our grocery shopping trips. We were able to find tofu and chickpeas on our weekly trip earlier in the week. Dana ran out to the store early yesterday morning and was able to get toilet paper and flour, two things that we have not been able to find! Seriously, these little wins made me so happy!
2. Reading – This week I finished What You Wish For by Katherine Center. It is an ARC from Netgalley that I read on my kindle that is being published in July. As with all of the Katherine Center books that I’ve read, it was an enjoyable read.
3. Watching – This week we finished binge watching Tiger King (Netflix). That was a crazy, entertaining show! For something a bit more serious, my daughter and I binge watched Unbelievable (Netflix) about two women detectives who try to find a serial rapist.
4. Cooking – This week’s menu included Salad Pizza, 15 Minute Lo Mein, Tempeh and Kale Enchilada Casserole, Greek Eggplant and Potatoes and Vegan Shepherd’s Pie.
5. My Happy List – For April, I started posting a daily happy list post. It’s just three things that are bringing me a little happiness (and might hopefully make you smile as well). You can check out today’s, yesterday’s and Wednesday’s posts!
Sharing with Friday Favorites! Have a great weekend!
Three things making me happy:
1. Homemade vegan chocolate cupcakes that my almost 14 year-old daughter made by herself (the chocolate frosting was found in our cabinet and was the inspiration for her to bake something!). Recipe from allrecipes.com.
2. Group Family Texts – I’m in a group text with my brother, sister and parents. It’s nice to keep in touch daily with short check-ins.
3. Puzzles – I am currently working on my 4th puzzle since social distancing began. Yesterday I made my son take an electronics break and do a puzzle. He’s actually very good at them and completed this 300 piece puzzle in less than an hour. I was impressed with his puzzling ability and that he had some quality unplugged time.