Five on Friday

I am so happy that it’s Friday! This has been a long, busy week. It started out with Mother’s Day on Sunday. My parents had gotten in from a week long cruise to Bermuda that morning. So, we had them over for dinner. My husband and kids cooked us, at my request, eggplant parm, chicken parm, spaghetti, Caesar salad and garlic bread. It was delicious! Then, both the kids had their spring band concerts, in addition to their regularly scheduled activities. I am going out tonight with some of the moms from the neighborhood. Then tomorrow we are hosting our monthly supper club. It’s our annual Brunch theme and the kids are invited.

1. Reading – This week I finished reading Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens. Both my mom and a colleague recommend this book. It was a bit slow at times for me, but the overall story was very good.

2. Watching – This past week my husband and I finally watched A Star Is Born and The Favourite. I love the song Shallow from A Star Is Born, but I have to say that I liked The Favourite better! The Bachelorette also started again this week. I wasn’t a fan of Hannah B. during the Bachelor. I’m going to give the first few episodes a try, but I’m not sure it’s worth two hours of my time every week.

3. Cooking – We’ve been cooking up some tasty meals this month. One of the favorites recently was this Cornbread Taco Bake from Taste of Home.

4. Mother’s Day – The weather on Mother’s Day was rainy and cold. I knew that it was going to be a yucky day. But Saturday was beautiful! My kids had their NYSSMA music solos in the morning. Then my husband and son went off to volunteer at the Boy Scout car wash. My daughter joined me on a hike to Dover Stone Church. This place was an hour’s drive away, but I really wanted to visit. How beautiful is this? We were inside a cave, carefully avoiding falling in the water! Then we did a leisurely mile hike.

5. Walking – My office is having a walking challenge for May (wellness month). We are challenged to walk/run a marathon (26.2 miles) over the course of a month. I’ve been trying to walk a mile a couple of days a week during my lunch break. However, I’m not sure I’ll be hitting that marathon. It has been motivating me to walk and get more steps in though! Now, we have to see if I can keep this up after the challenge is over.

ICYMI this week I shared my April reads.

Sharing with Friday Favorites! Have a great weekend!

Two posts in one week?!! What is going on here?! Today starts spring break for my kids. Even though I work for a school district, the central office staff do work during breaks. So, we don’t have much planned for this week. I’m hoping the kids will get a chance to catch up on sleep and relax a little. Blog-wise, I am trying to start posting more regularly after a short hiatus. Life has been busy at NY Foodie Family, but really, isn’t it for everyone? I can’t catch you up on the past several weeks, but here are five from this week:

1.Girl Scout Trip – My daughter just got back Tuesday from a four day trip with her Girl Scout troop to Savannah, Georgia. This trip was planned for several years. She had such a great time and I know she will cherish the memories she made. I even created a personal Instagram account just for this trip, so I could follow along as the leaders posted pics and stories of their adventures!

2. Birthday Weekend – This weekend, my daughter also turns 13! I’m not quite ready for a teenager, on so many levels. Her celebration must include a nice meal and macarons. That’s the only direction we’ve been given as of now. And in typical soon-to-be teenager fashion, she still hasn’t decided if she is going to have a party with her friends. Nothing like waiting until the last minute…..(which doesn’t sit well with this Type A, needs a plan, mom!).

3. Reading – I just finished the book No Exit by Taylor Adams. This was a non-stop, suspenseful read that I enjoyed a lot.

4. Hiking – While my daughter was away, my son had a friend over and we took him hiking to one of our favorite places. We first climbed Anthony’s Nose back in the fall and fell in love with the view. It was cloudy and overcast the first time we hiked it. The weather was beautiful last weekend and the view was amazing. We brought lunch up with us and got to picnic while enjoying this view!

5. Lunch Date – Last weekend my husband and I also got to enjoy a rare lunch date. I had been in the mood for Indian food, which we hadn’t had in forever. So, we went to a local restaurant for the lunch buffet. For the price, it can’t be beat. I didn’t stuff myself, but I do enjoy getting to try a variety of different dishes. Especially ones that I probably would never order otherwise. Although not the prettiest picture (are plates of buffet food ever?!), it was delicious!

This week on the blog I shared my March 2019 Reads.

Sharing with Friday Favorites. Have a great weekend!

It’s Friday and I’m finally back with a blog post! The week started with a snow day for the kids. Then it was back to our regular schedule. It’s hard to believe that the school year half-way through. It’s only March, but we have summer camp planning that we have to get done. We are not definite about our weekend plans yet, but hope to have some family fun this weekend!

1. Reading – I just finished reading Best Friends Forever by Margot Hunt. It was a decent suspense read. I’ve been on hold for what feels like ages, for Becoming by Michelle Obama. It finally came in this week from the library. Non-fiction always takes me much longer to read and I only have a limited time before it’s due back. So, I’ll hopefully be making a good dent in it this weekend.

2. Watching – Between A Million Little Things and The Bachelor (which I’m behind on, so no spoilers!) I haven’t had much other television watching time. But I did find a new show on Netflix that I have been bingeing (if 4 episodes counts as a binge!). It’s a Canadian show called Workin’ Moms. Warning, there’s nudity and bad language but I find it so funny!

3. Listening – Skimm This, a new podcast, debuted this week. I’ve been a fan of theSkimm for awhile now. It’s a great way for me stay up on current events in an easily digestible format. Skimm This is a daily podcast that goes a little more in depth to current events. You can sign up for theSkimm here, if you don’t already subscribe!

4. Snow – I think it’s time for spring to come. I mean, we are “springing ahead” this weekend. After early dismissals, delays and snow days, I’m not sure when the kids last had a full week of school! Earlier this week, we at least had a pretty snow fall!

5. Dinner with a friend – I had a much-needed dinner out with one of my girlfriends. We always go to the same restaurant (Chili’s) since it’s about half-way between both of us. Since we only get to meet up every couple of months, I always get the same thing – the Buffalo Chicken Salad.

Sharing with Friday Favorites! Have a great weekend!

Happy Friday! This has been a short and fun week. The kids had Monday and Tuesday off for President’s Day. I only had Monday off, but took Tuesday off so we could enjoy a quick getaway (more on than later). Wednesday there was some snow and ice so we had early dismissals from school and work (perks of working for a school district!) and then had a 2 hour delay yesterday morning. The kids are getting older and I’m not sure how I feel about it! Tonight my daughter is going to the movies with friends and my son is spending the weekend camping with his new Boy Scout troop. I’m hoping my husband and I can finish working on reupholstering our dining room chairs, a project that has been sidelined for probably a year now! We will be attending a Westchester Knicks game on Sunday with the Binghamton Alumni Association. This has become a fun, annual family event. Here are five from this week:

Reading – This week I finished a reread of The Husband’s Secret by Liane Moriarty, which is the first pick of my work book club. I have started reading All These Beautiful Strangers by Elizabeth Klehfoth, a YA suspense type read.

Watching – My husband and I watched Game Night. I wasn’t sure what to expect with this movie but it wasn’t bad. There were some LOL moments and I didn’t fall asleep!

Cooking – Although it was a short week for us, I cooked dinner Wednesday and Thursday night. Wednesday, I made Creamy Cajun Chicken Penne from How Sweet Eats. I’ve made this recipe once before, ages ago. We all enjoyed it, but it was a bit time consuming to make.

Family Getaway – So we surprised the kids with a trip to Kalahari Resort in the Poconos. It’s a huge, 220,000-square-foot indoor waterpark. Unfortunately, the place was super crowded because of the holiday school break but the kids had a great time.

The Blog – This blog has always been my little hobby. I know that I’ve been MIA in posts lately. Recently, I’ve been feeling pretty unmotivated to write. I sit at a computer all day and coming home and spending more time in front of a computer screen has not been appealing. I am still aiming to get at least one post published a week, even if it’s one of the Five on Friday updates. How do you stay motivated when you don’t feel like blogging/writing?

Hope you have a great weekend!

Happy Friday! I am so ready for the weekend. I feel like the weekdays are so busy and I’m in desperate need of relaxation! This weekend we are hosting our monthly supper club. This month’s theme is Creole/Cajun in honor of Mardi Gras. Sunday, I am hoping to go sofa shopping. But honestly, I may decide to chill on the couch all day! We shall see. Here are five from this week:

1.Watching – My husband and I got caught up in the Fyre hype! Thanks to social media, I heard about Fyre Fraud on Netflix. I hadn’t heard of this scandal when it actually occurred, but this documentary was very engrossing! My husband and I also watched A Simple Favor. I love Anna Kendrick. This movie wasn’t a bad comedy/thriller and made for a good at-home movie date night.

2. Brunch – I missed last week’s Five on Friday post. However, I needed to share the amazing brunch that we had two weekends ago. We visited Countryside Kitchen, which has been a place that I’ve been wanting to try for so long. I ordered the Holy Cannoli Pancake – a huge pancake filled and topped with cannoli filling. It was delicious! My daughter had the french toast bites drizzled in raspberry sauce and powdered sugar. My husband had the “Dirty Benny” – poached eggs, corned beef hash and home fries all heaped on top of biscuits and covered with hollandaise sauce. My son ordered stacked pancakes filled with layers of scrambled eggs, bacon and sausage. We all shared and it was such a delicious meal!

3. Reading – My office started a book club and our first book is The Husband’s Secret by Liane Moriarty. Goodreads told me that I read this four years ago…..but I remember absolutely nothing about it. So, I’m giving it a reread. I’m also really enjoying The Bucket List by Georgia Clark. I have to say that I didn’t really know much about this book before reading it and was a bit…..surprised about the bucket list!

4. Family Celebrations – This past weekend, my daughter played saxophone in the All-County band. She put many hours into practicing and the concert was amazing! The best band, chorus and orchestra students in the county performed at the concert. Sunday, my son officially became a Boy Scout at our community Blue & Gold Awards Brunch.

5. Cooking – This week, we’ve cooked a lot of “eh” recipes. The favorite recipe of the week was Closet Cooking’s 20 Minute Korean Beef. I’ve made other versions of this recipe, but not this particular one. It was super tasty and yes, doable in 20 minutes!

ICYMI this week on the blog:

Tuesday I updated the Dinner Deals in Westchester County post.

Sharing with Friday Favorites! Have a great weekend!

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It’s Friday, my favorite weekday! Last weekend was a cozy, stay-at-home weekend that was well enjoyed. I can’t believe this is the last weekend in January! I am hoping to check a couple of things off my 19 in 2019 list this weekend, including fitting in a date with my husband and trying a new restaurant.

1.Storm Harper – Last weekend’s storm was a bust! We were expecting a foot of snow and only got a couple of inches. Looking on the bright side, I got to stay in comfy clothes, read a bunch, do some good cleaning and decluttering and watched a couple of movies. So, not so bad after all!

2. Watching – Last weekend we watched the movie Searching. It was a suspense movie with a really unique format. Even though it’s rated PG-13, my two kids (ages 10 and 12) watched it with my husband and I. I especially liked that the movie starred Asian Americans in mainstream roles, where the characters could have been of any race.

3. Cooking – I’m always looking for new recipes to try during the week. One of our favorites this week was Spicy Turkey Taco Salad with Baja Dressing from Half Baked Harvest. It was super tasty and filled with all kinds of goodness – avocado, mango, cheese….yum!

4. Reading – Over the weekend I finished reading The Dream Daughter by Diane Chamberlain. This was my first five star read of the year! I’ve only read a couple of Chamberlain’s books, and it’s been awhile since I read any. I thought that the time travel/science fiction thing wouldn’t be my thing. However, I got sucked into the story and loved it!

5. Loving – our Magic Chef air fryer. Last weekend we were using it several times a day! We’ve found that it makes fries so much crispier than baking them in the oven. And it does it so quickly too! We’ve heated calzones up, cooked hash brown patties, cooked popcorn shrimp and more! We haven’t tried cooking anything with a homemade batter though. I recently picked up an air fryer cookbook from the library, so hopefully we can cook more “homemade” meals. Although, to be honest, I feel like I can live on fries.

ICYMI this week on the blog:

Tuesday I wrote about our first time snow tubing at Mount Peter.

Sharing with Friday Favorites! Have a great weekend!

Yeah for Friday! As I’m writing this Thursday evening, I’m hoping for a two-hour delay tomorrow. While we are expecting snow showers late tonight, we are prepping for winter storm Harper this weekend. Snow fall projections keep changing, but the high end estimates are 8-12 inches. We’ve had a pretty mild winter, so a little snow is nice. This weekend we are supposed to have our monthly Supper Club, but it’s likely to have to be rescheduled because of the weather. Otherwise, we are ready to spend a comfy weekend snowed in! Here are five from this week:

1.Reading – Yesterday I started reading The Dream Daughter by Diane Chamberlain. I haven’t read many of Chamberlain’s books, but this one has gotten a lot of good reviews. Plus, the couple that I’ve read of hers I’ve really enjoyed. So, hoping this one doesn’t disappoint. I’ll hopefully get in some good reading time this weekend when I’m snowed in!

2. Belated Christmas Celebration – My parents have been down at my sister’s for the past couple of weeks. We didn’t get a chance to celebrate Christmas with them so they came over Monday night to have our belated celebration. They brought Chinese takeout and we finally exchanged Christmas presents. It was so nice to see them and get to catch up.

3. Happy Mail – I am not a big makeup wearer but I do love getting my Ipsy bag. When you sign up you get to select your preferences. I’m big on skincare, masks and nail polish and have been happy with the products that I’ve been receiving. My January bag, pictured above, was filled with products that I’ll definitely use. The only one questionable product is the the eye shadow, but I’ll give it a try. Here’s a referral code if you want to check it out. Unfortunately, you don’t get a discount or a free bag, but I’ll get points. However, at only $10 a month, I think an Ipsy subscription is a pretty good deal.

4. Cooking – This week I made Rachael Ray’s Turkey Meatball Stroganoff. This is a recipe that I’ve made several times and the whole family enjoys it. It’s great winter comfort food!

5. Watching – I swore that I wasn’t going to watch this season of The Bachelor. But it was DVR’d so I ended up getting sucked in an am now watching. I’m also super excited that A Million Little Things is back!

ICYMI this week on the blog:

Tuesday I reviewed our December MunchPak subscription box.

Sharing with Friday Favorites! I hope my fellow northeasterners stay warm and safe this weekend! Have a great weekend!

Happy Friday! We are two weeks into January and it feels like it! I am not a fan of the cold temps and strong winds. The only thing I like about winter is snow days! As in, the kids have no school and I don’t have to go to work days. Otherwise, I could totally do without! We were surprised this week with a 2 hour delay. A little extra sleep is always nice. But otherwise, this week was rather uneventful, and I’m okay with that! Here are five from this week:

1.Reading – I am almost finished reading My Favorite Half-Night Stand by Christina Lauren. I have been devouring this duo’s books and really enjoying them. This is a fun, contemporary romance that takes a look at the world of online dating. I will likely finish reading this tonight before bed and give a 4/5 star rating.

2.Watching – Tidying Up on Netflix. I will be honest, I was not a huge fan of The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up. However, since I’ve been on a decluttering and cleaning kick, I told myself I’d give the show a try. I’ve only watched the first two episodes, but have enjoyed them. I don’t really find it a show that you can binge watch. But the tips are useful and the transformations inspiring.

3. Baking – Blueberry muffins. I can’t believe how long it’s been since I’ve baked muffins. Although I’m not a big baker, muffins were at one time a weekly thing in our house. This week I made blueberry muffins, which the kids loved. I like that I can freeze them and have them on hand for quick breakfasts or snacks.

4. Planning – This April my husband and I will celebrate our 15th wedding anniversary. We are in the process of planning a small weekend getaway to celebrate. We’re not planning anything extravagant…..likely a Bed & Breakfast somewhere in New York. More details will come!

5. Playing – My daughter got me hooked on the game app Wordscapes. You use the given letters to make words that fit in a crossword like grid. It’s semi-addicting and uses a little more brain power than my normal Candy Crush!

ICYMI this week on the blog:

I shared my December 2018 Reads.

Sharing with Friday Favorites! Have a great weekend!

Happy Friday! I cannot believe that 2019 is here. I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday. I unintentionally took a much needed hiatus from the blog over the holidays. But I’m excited to be back and am looking forward to bringing you more things food, travel and family fun in 2019, as well as some other lifestyle posts. Here are five from this past week:

1. New Year’s Eve – We spent a quiet New Year’s Eve at home playing board games and eating appetizers. I had to work earlier in the day so it was nice to come home and be able to relax. I didn’t even make it to midnight and was asleep by 11:30! My husband and kids watched the ball drop and toasted the New Year with sparkling cider. Then they woke me up with kisses and wishes for a Happy New Year.

2. Reading – I am almost finished reading The Exes’ Revenge by Jo Jakeman. It’s been an okay read and I’m waiting to see if there’s a twist at the end. Most likely this will be a 3 star read. This will be my first book read in 2019!

3. Watching – My husband and I watched Bird Box on Netflix this week. I didn’t realize that it was a book before we saw it. I thought it was really good. However, I was left with so many questions unanswered.

4. Weekend Getaway – This year, instead of a present, Santa treated the kids to a weekend getaway to Pine Ridge Dude Ranch. Since riding horses for the first time at Painted Bar Stables, the kids have fallen in love with horseback riding. We spent the weekend at this all-inclusive for some family fun, relaxation and horseback riding.

5. Planner – Does anyone else get excited about new calendars and planners?!! Our house does not run smoothly without the refrigerator calendar and my planner. I’ve really enjoyed using The Happy Planner, but I got this Recollections planner on sale at Michael’s for only $10.

ICYMI this week on the blog:

Wednesday I shared my Intentions for an Amazing 2019.

Sharing with Friday Favorites! Have a great weekend!

Happy Friday!  Eleven more sleeps until Christmas!  It’s really beginning to feel like Christmas.  There’s a lot going on including a Christmas party tomorrow, baking cookies for another cookie exchange, school concerts, and of course present buying.  I’m sad to say that I have yet to buy my kids a single present.  However, I’ve been making progress in getting presents for the family and friends on our list.  I’m hoping to get in a little shopping time this weekend. Here are five from this week:

1.Reading – Christmas Camp by Karen Schaler.  Every Christmas I try to read a couple of holiday reads.  I just finished reading this book this week and enjoyed it.  It’s not overly sappy, but like all Christmas books, there’s a happy ending.  

2. Family Fun –  Last Saturday we headed into NYC.  My sister and her family were up for the weekend to see the Radio City Christmas Spectacular.  Since my brother-in-law and his girlfriend live in the city  we all met up and went to see the tree in Rockefeller Center, see the decorated windows at Saks and also went to Bryant Park.  

3. Cat Problems – This guy, Salem, wasn’t feeling well this week.  We knew something was wrong because he was hiding away near the heaters in our house and growling anytime our other cat went near him.  Definitely not his normal behavior.  My husband took him to the vet and after many tests (and a very expensive vet bill!) it was discovered that he was constipated!  He was prescribed anti-nausea medication (not a laxative?!!) and a couple of days later, he’s back to his normal self.  

4.  Cooking – Not the best picture (darn you winter darkness!), but I made Philly Cheesesteak Sloppy Joes this week for dinner from Closet Cooking.  They were easy to make and very tasty!  

5. Coming Soon – I just found out that Marie Kondo, author of The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up has a show on Netflix that will be debuting in January.  I think that I’ll check out at least one episode.  It looks a lot less hoarders and more organizing and letting go of things.

Tuesday I shared my November reads.  

Sharing with Friday Favorites!  Have a great weekend!