Five on Friday

Happy Friday! It was another four day work and school week since we had Monday off for Columbus Day. But why do short weeks always feel so long?! It was another super busy week. However, things will hopefully start to slow down now. The kids had their last games of the season this week. They still have practices until they play their sectional games but the end is in sight! Here are five from this week:

1. Eating – My daughter had me buy these Oreo Brookie-O cookies. They are filled with brownie, original and cookie dough cremes. We all thought that they were really sweet.

2. Mochinut – Monday after the kids’ sport practices we took them out for lunch. We went to the recently opened Mochinut in New City. They enjoyed bubble tea, rice hotdogs and we shared some mochinuts. This was our first time having mochi donuts, which we all loved! We shared the Vietnamese coffee, Chocolate Caramel and Mango varieties, but they had so many more that we’ll need to go back and try! It was also our first time having rice hotdogs (mozzarella for us non-meat-eaters) which were so good too! I was happy that the four of us got to to spend some quality time together. 

3. Reading – This week I did not get to finish reading a book. I am almost halfway through The Winners by Fredrik Backman. This is the third, and I believe final, book in the Beartown series. It was just published and it’s over 650 pages! So far, I’m really enjoying it!  

4. Cooking – This week’s menu included One Pot Creamy Sun-Dried Tomato Orzo, Curried Egg Noodle Soup, Pierogies and Roasted Broccoli, Crunchy Roll Bowls using Sweet Earth’s Korean Chik’n this time instead of tofu and homemade pizza.

5. Puzzle – I completed this White Mountain The Movies 1,000 piece puzzle in a 24-hour time period. It wasn’t a very challenging puzzle, but was fun to put together. My husband now wants us to watch/rewatch all of the movies featured in the puzzle!

6. Watching – I’ve finished watching the first season of The Morning Show (Apple+) and am halfway through the second. For mindless fun, I’ve started watching Bachelor in Paradise (Hulu) and my husband and I just started watching the newest season of the Great British Baking Show (Netflix).

7. Drinking – My sister sent my son a box of Warheads Sour! sodas. There are five cans in the box, but so far, he’s only tried the Watermelon soda. I of course had to give it a try. It was tart but not undrinkable. He enjoyed it a lot.

ICYMI this week on the blog: 

  Monday I posted about the Serious Fun Arts Fest in White Plains.

Sharing with Friday Favorites!  Have a great weekend!

Hello Friday! I hope everyone had a great week! It was so nice having a day off in the middle of the week. The kids had no practice, no activities and my daughter wasn’t scheduled to work. It was such a relaxing day! I’m excited for another long weekend. My husband is up in Binghamton today through Sunday afternoon, so I’m parenting solo! Here are five from this week:

1. Lunch date – Sunday my husband and I had a lunch date at The Red Pepper Diner in Wappingers. This is not a diner, it’s actually a Sri Lankan restaurant. This was our first time having Sri Lankan food and it was delicious! This is the kothu roti with a hopper.

2. Reading – This week I finished reading Vanessa Yu’s Magical Paris Tea Shop by Roselle Lim. This book made me want to go back to Paris. And I loved all the food descriptions!

3. Cooking – This week’s menu included Maple Sriracha Tofu with rice and roasted broccoli, vegan meatball subs (using Beyond Meatballs) with Caesar salad, Creamed Spinach Gnocchi Bake, 15 Minute Soy Sauce Butter Fried Rice and homemade pizza.

4. Eating – Salted Maple Ice Cream from Trader Joe’s. Eating this under a blanket with a cat sleeping on my lap is fall bliss!

I also bought this pretzel roll from Trader Joe’s. The sign recommended serving it warm with pub cheese. I didn’t see pub cheese there, so I bought a jar of salsa con queso at Shoprite. It was tasty but was more roll like than pretzel. Back when we ate meat, fried bologna on a pretzel roll was delicious!

I’m writing a post on plant-based snacks for Guilty Eats and have been sampling different snacks. This week we tried these mushroom chips that Popadelics sent me for consideration. If you like mushrooms, like I do, these are tasty!

5. Watching – The show isn’t new, but I’ve started watching The Morning Show on Apple +. I’m not sure why I didn’t start this sooner since I love Reese Witherspoon. It also stars Jennifer Aniston and Steve Carell.  

6. McDonald’s Cactus Plant Flea Market – Wednesday the kids and I were off from school and work. I got my son the Big Mac McDonald’s Cactus Plant Flea Market, aka the adult happy meal. Of course I also got myself a vanilla shake and some fries. I couldn’t pass up the opportunity and honestly I couldn’t remember the last time we had McDonald’s!

ICYMI this week on the blog: 

  Monday I posted Halloween Events in the Hudson Valley.

Sharing with Friday Favorites!  Have a great weekend!

Hello Friday! It was so nice having a three day work week! Even though Monday and Tuesday were busy, it was nice having the time off. We have another busy weekend filled with our kids’ activities. But I’m hoping to get in a little fun. Here are five from this week:

Baking – I’m not a big fan of baking, but I make an exception in the fall! I love making all the apple and pumpkin baked goods! This weekend I made these apple muffins from Recipe Tin Eats.

Town Day – Saturday I spent most of the day with my daughter and her Girl a scout troop at our Town Day. Every year they have a fried Oreo booth. It’s been a couple of years since we’ve had the booth because of COVID. This year the girls were old enough to do everything and I just helped supervise.

Reading – This week I finished reading Things We Do in the Dark by Jennifer Hillier. I haven’t read a good thriller in awhile and this one actually kept me engaged and interested in the story.

Cooking – This week’s menu included French Onion Meatballs with mashed potatoes and green beans, One Tortellini Primavera Soup, Creamy Garlic Parmesan Salmon Piccata Fettuccine (except I used shrimp for my son and I and I made these Gardein Chick’n Scallopini patties for my husband and daughter).

Eating – Monday after my daughter’s field hockey practice we went shopping at the Danbury Mall. Since we were in the area, we made a stop at Crumbl Cookies. Sadly, they were sold out of three of the weekly flavors so we ended up with chocolate chip, lemon glaze and two caramel pumpkin. These cookies are a bit pricey, but they are really good! And big enough to share!

Tuesday my husband and I got a quick lunch date in. We went to Ziatun in Beacon and shared this medley platter with pita and a vegan mushroom shawarma wrap.

We also got our first apple cider donuts of the season this past weekend! Vera’s Marketplace and Garden Center has some of our favorites. Plus, we don’t need to battle the crowds and craziness of the orchards to get these!

Games – This week my son had one soccer game and my daughter had two field hockey games. I’m glad no one has a game tonight and I can just come home from work and relax! They both have home games tomorrow (depending on the weather) so we’ll be at the field from 12 PM until about 4 PM.

Last weekend my daughter and I took a quick trip to Trader Joe’s. I buy a bag of these dark chocolate peanut butter cups every time I go. For only 99 cent they make a nice treat!

Puzzle – Monday I completed this “Words of Wisdom” 1,000 piece puzzle that I recently bought at Barnes & Noble.

Back-to-School Night – Thursday night was the kids’ high school back-to-school night. This is the only night that I get to meet and see the kids’ teachers so I make sure I go. It was a little crazy this year with two kids in high school. Plus my daughter had a field hockey game that ended right before back-to-school night started…..so there were a lot of moving parts getting them home and fed. Thankfully, my husband picked us up dinner, drove the kids home and then came back to the school a little late.

ICYMI this week ok the blog:

Tuesday I posted October Events in Westchester County.

Sharing with Friday Favorites! Have a great weekend!

Happy Friday! I’m super excited that due to the Jewish holidays we have a four day weekend. Shana tova to all my readers who are celebrating the new year! As usual, this week flew by in a flurry of practices, games, scouts, etc. Here are five from this week:

1. Birthday – Last Friday there were lots of birthday texts, calls and Facebook messages! As an adult, a weekday birthday just feels like another day. One of the gifts my husband and kids gave me was a new orchid. I love these flowers and I’m going to try not to kill this one (my record for keeping these flowers alive is I think now 0-4). My husband and I like to celebrate our birthdays by going away for at least one night. It just couldn’t happen this month, so we are hoping we can do do a weekend getaway either next month or at least in November for his birthday.

We were able to celebrate with a delicious dinner at Appetit Bistro in Port Chester. This is a modern French restaurant that we had never been to before. These Wild Mushroom were so good!  

2. Eating – MAD Donuts had a donut pop-up at the DogHaus in Mohegan Lake last weekend. I of course had to order some, since I’ve been wanting to try these donuts for some time now. I ordered the French Toast Crueller, Peaches & Cream, Cherry Pie and Strawberry Lemonade.

I also enjoyed this Impossible Haus Burrito from the DogHaus. It’s made with three eggs, Impossible Foods Sausage patty, white American cheese, caramelized onions, tater tots and spicy mayo. It was good, but heavy. I shared it with my husband!

3. Reading – This week I finished reading Just Like the Other Girls by Claire Douglas. I feel like I’ve been reading this forever since I haven’t had much reading time. It wasn’t my favorite suspense book but it did have me guessing until the end.

On another note I met my Goodreads goal of 52 books for the year.  I figured one book a week was doable and it was.

4. Cooking – This week’s menu included Cheesy Baked Zucchini Pasta al Pomodoro, Vegan Buddha Bowls with Peanut Sauce, “chikn” sandwiches with tater tots, and pierogies with roasted broccoli.

5. Double Rainbow -Tuesday afternoon we were at the school for a field hockey game. It rained for a short period of time and then a double rainbow appeared! It’s not something I get to see every day!

6. Games – Saturday I went to my son’s away soccer game. This week my daughter had three home field hockey games. My son had two away games, one of which got rained out. He also plays another game tomorrow.

7. Random- Two things I learned last weekend:

It’s going to be getting dark earlier and I am not ready for it! 

Phantom of the Opera is closing on Broadway! I saw this on Broadway back in college. It’s a classic and truly an amazing show. I’m not sure I’ll be able to see it again before it closes in February, but we’ll see.

8. New Games – As a fan of Wordle (yes, I’m still playing this) and Heardle, I also just learned about Worldle. I have discovered that I am pretty bad at geography and will likely not keep playing this one. However, I really like Emovi. Actually, I just like these picture type of puzzles, which I’m pretty good at.

Sharing with Friday Favorites!  Have a great weekend!

Hello Friday and Happy Birthday to me! I’m spending the day at work and then at a field hockey game. Tonight is our school’s first home football game, which I think both kids are going to. So, based on everyone’s schedules there will likely be little celebrating today. I have some plans which may end up taking place over a series of days/weekends based on our schedules. This weekend includes a soccer game and a Boy Scout event for my son and field hockey practice and work for my daughter…..just another busy weekend. Here are five from this week:

1. New Car– Saturday my husband and I drove to New Jersey to pick up our new Mazda C-5. While not brand new, it’s a certified pre-owned car with low mileage in the Soul Red color that I wanted. Our daughter will hopefully be getting her license in the next month or two and she will get the Honda CRV that I’ve been driving.

2. Brunch – Sunday morning my husband and I got a rare moment to go out for brunch. We went to Iron Vine in Peekskill. We hadn’t been there in ages and had never had brunch there until now. I had the Blue Crab Avocado Benedict with Arugula Salad and my husband had this Colombian Breakfast with Patatas Bravas. Then we shared churros with ice cream for dessert. It was delicious and made me realize that we don’t do brunch as much as we should!

3. Reading – This week I finished reading Carrie Soto is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid. Although I haven’t enjoyed TJR’s more recent books (Malibu Rising, ) I really enjoyed this book. I’m curious to see if others enjoyed it as much or if because I played tennis in high school this book resonated with me more.

4. Cooking – This week’s menu included Kimchi Pancakes with rice and Trader Joe’s Chicken-less Mandarin Orange Morsels, the Coconut Curry Ramen pictured above, Beyond Burgers and Fries, and Vegetable and Rice Burritos.  

5. Games – Saturday my daughter’s field hockey team won first place in their tournament! They then had two other games this week (one they won and the other they tied). Plus, they have a game tonight. Wednesday was National Field Hockey Day so I have to post a picture of my favorite field hockey player (in the navy blue). My son had two soccer games this week but his team ended up losing both games. As a freshman on a varsity team he’s getting little to no playing time, which is expected. But we get super excited for the rare few moments he does get to play.

6. Dinner with my Parents – My parents were in town this week so they came over Sunday night for dinner. We hadn’t seen them in what felt like ages! While they were in town this week they made it to both a field hockey and soccer game to see the kids play.

 Sharing with Friday Favorites!  Have a great weekend!

Happy Friday! We enjoyed the long Labor Day weekend and made it through a four day school and work week. I am exhausted and will probably be asleep by 9 PM tonight! This weekend looks to be another busy one. Here are five from this week:

1. Friend BBQ– Saturday we went to a friends’ house for the day. They had a couple of families over for a BBQ. They live on a lake and our sons, who are all friends, spent the afternoon swimming while the parents talked and hung out. Of course, no pics were taken!

2. Drinking – I wrote an article for Guilty Eats about this year’s new MTN DEW VOO-DEW mystery flavor that I was sent a bottle of. It’s available now for purchase for a limited time. Our family loves MTN DEW and all of the new flavors they are constantly coming out with. Those are my daughter’s nails, which one of her friend’s did for her. Not only is her friend super talented, but they matched the soda bottle!

3. Reading – This week I finished reading The Bodyguard by Katherine Center. This is her newest that just came out in July. It was a cute contemporary romance that I can see being made into a movie.

4. Cooking – This week’s menu included Back Pocket Stir Fry with Noodles, Mushroom Marsala Pasta Bake and Spaghetti with Beyond Meatballs.

Lunches this week for the kids and I included BLTs made with vegan bacon and Peach Goat Cheese Salads.

5. Watching – My husband and I started watching Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. My husband has read all of the books and watched all of the movies. I’ve read and seen none of them and didn’t think I’d like the show. I was surprised that I enjoyed the first two episodes as much as I did and will continue to watch it.

6. Games – Last Friday afternoon my son’s soccer team won their first game 4-0. Then Saturday my daughter’s field hockey team won their first game. It was a successful sports weekend! 

Wednesday night my daughter had her first game of a four team field hockey tournament. It was a tie game at 0-0 but they needed a winner. So they ended up going into double overtime. Her team ended up winning in a one-on-one shootout in what was the most intense game I’ve seen yet! They play this weekend for either 1st or 2nd place!

Sharing with Friday Favorites!  Have a great weekend!

Hello Friday and long weekend! The kids started their Freshman (my son) and Junior (my daughter) year of high school this week. I like that they now have the long weekend to slowly ease themselves into the new year. It’s been a huge adjustment for all of us. With two kids on Varsity sports with their practices and games, scouts, work (my daughter) and after school activities schedules, it’s a crazy configuration of making sure everyone gets to where they need to be. I keep telling my husband, the sports schedules are only for a month and a half and that we can get through it! Here are five from this week:

1. Boulders Game– Saturday night we went to another NY Boulders game. I really wanted to go because it was the last night they were having fireworks for the season. I hadn’t seen a fireworks show all summer. 

2. Eating – When we were at the baseball game we shared a funnel cake. Also my first and only of the summer! 

If you’ve never had $5.99 Sushi Wednesdays at Shoprite, I recommend. We got the sushi special this past Wednesday and it was good. My daughter had the veggie roll (not included in the $5.99 deal) and my son and I shared a Shrimp Tempura Roll, Crab Roll and California Roll (I don’t eat raw fish sushi). My husband ended up making his own avocado, cucumber rice bowl with rice sprinkle (we are currently using Trader Joe’s Nori Komi Furikake but we’ve bought sprinkle similar to this at HMart) and spicy mayo. This makes a super easy takeout dinner on some of our crazy busy nights!

3. Reading – I read The Secrets of Us by Lucinda Berry. This was a disappointing suspense read for me. I gave it a rare 2 out of 5 stars. 

4. Cooking – This week’s menu included Shawarma Beyond Beef Meatball Pita Bowls with Tomato-Cucumber Salsa, Super Easy Homemade Cheesy Spaghetti O’s, Spicy Peanut Tofu Bowls and tonight homemade pizza. 

5. Watching – We didn’t have a lot of TV time this week. My husband and I ended up watching another episode of Ozark. I watched The Bachelorette and some more episodes of Vanderpump Rules.

6. Puzzle – I forgot to post this Yoga Dogs puzzle that I finished a couple of weeks ago. It’s still sitting on my dining room table though! LOL! After finishing it I realized that there’s a piece missing! I’m debating whether to get rid of the puzzle or just note on a post-it that it’s missing a piece.

7. Perfume Search – I am on a search for a new perfume. I used to wear Dolce & Gabbana Light Blue. I ran out awhile ago and thought that I’d find a new scent. I’ve done a lot of perfume sniffing/testing at Ulta and Sephora with no real luck. A Sephora just opened inside our local Kohl’s store. I found this scent sampler and decided to give it a try for only $10. I’ve been trying the different scents, but think I may end up going back to the D&G Light Blue. What perfume do you wear?

ICYMI this week ok the blog: 

Tuesday I posted September Events in Westchester County.

Sharing with Friday Favorites!  Have a great weekend!

Happy Friday! The countdown is on with only 6 more days until the first day of school. I attended freshman parent orientation for my son and the kids got their schedules yesterday. Back-to-school is getting real! This past week has given us a glimpse of what the fall has in store for us with the kids’ schedules. Here are five from this week:

1. Sports Preseasons- The kids started their high school preseasons. They’re both on Varsity sports teams (soccer for my son, field hockey for my daughter). They have been going to practice every day, of course one in the morning and one in the late afternoon. So, it’s been a a careful coordination of drop-offs and pickups. We are so thankful that my husband works from home and is able to do most of the driving.

2. – Bear Mountain State Park – Sunday my husband and I went to Bear Mountain State Park. We rented a pedal boat which is something we hadn’t done in years.

We also got to see the Bear Mountain Bridge from below, which was a neat perspective. We are usually driving over it or seeing it from above when we hike Anthony’s Nose.

3. Reading – I read Every Summer After by Carly Fortune this week. Despite all the rave reviews, I thought it was a just an okay read.

4. Cooking – This week’s dinners included this Crispy BBQ Salmon with Roasted Jalapeno Peach Salsa. This was very tasty! I love a fruit salsa! My husband made this Swedish Meatballs recipe on Sunday that we served with mashed potatoes and green beans. I also made Sun-Dried Tomato Quesadillas with White Beans and Broccoli and Loaded Caprese Grilled Cheese.

5. Watching – This weekend we all watched Everything, Everywhere, All at Once. This was a weird, trippy, and funny but good movie. 

My husband and I watched the last episode of Loot (Apple+), the last episode of Only Murders in the Building (Hulu) and Ted Lasso (Apple+). Yes, we were holding out on finishing the most recent season, since I didn’t want it to end!

6. Guilty Eats – Here are some of my recent posts for Guilty Eats:

Goodles Mac and Cheese
Pickle-Flavored Snacks
Sauza Agave’s Que Viva el Mariachi Contest
Joffrey’s Disney Hocus Pocus Sanderson Sisters Brew
The Original Donut Shop SNICKERS Coffee

Sharing with Friday Favorites!  Have a great weekend!

Hooray for another Friday! This was the last week of real summer vacation for the kids. They’ve been living it up, hanging out with friends and enjoying every last bit of their summer. Sports tryouts begin on Monday and from there we start the new school year. Here are five from this week:

1. Date Night– Friday night my husband and I went to Brothers Fish & Chips and enjoyed the tasting menu again. This is a splurge, but it’s always so good! And we were in need of a night out! This lobster salad on fried yucca was one of my favorite dishes!

2. Back-to-school shopping – Saturday I took my daughter back-to-school shopping. Weekends are unpredictable since we don’t know her work schedule until Friday for the upcoming week. Since she wasn’t working until 5 PM we headed to Danbury. We stopped in Primark at the Danbury Mall for the first time. This is a huge store where everything was unbelievably low  priced. 

3.Eating – When we were in Danbury my daughter requested that we stop at Crumbl Cookies. This was our first time visiting. If you’re unfamiliar, they change their cookie menu weekly. We of course had to try all six cookies of the week. The flavors were Milk Chocolate Chip, Walnut Fudge Brownie, Old Fashioned Doughnut, Cotton Candy, Fried Ice Cream, and Lemonade. They were large enough to cut into quarters so we could each try them all. The Milk Chocolate Chip, Fried Ice Cream and Old Fashioned Doughnut ones were our faves. Fortunately, we don’t live too close or it would be very dangerous!

While we were at the Boulder game I enjoyed a strawberry fro-yo with mini non-pareils.

4. Reading – This week I finished reading Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston. This was a long book and it took me awhile to read it. But it was a cute contemporary romance. 

5. Cooking – This week our dinner menu included TikTok Feta Pasta (it may have been a trend, but it’s pretty tasty and easy to make!), Crunchy Roll Bowls, wedge rolls with Trader Joe’s Sausage-less sausage, sauteed broccoli rabe and provolone, Vegan Biryani and homemade pizza. 

6. Watching – Saturday night we (meaning my husband and daughter because I fell asleep!) watched Dr. Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. We also watched the newest episode of Only Murders in the Building. We are so sad there’s only one more episode in the season. 

7. NY Boulder Game – Tuesday night my husband and I went to a NY Boulders game. The stadium is fairly close to home and we always have a good time. Our seats were four rows behind home plate. We’ve had good seats before but this was the closest we’ve been! They were still in the 7th inning when we left at 10 PM. As much as I would have loved to stay, I had to get to work the next day! And they did end up winning the game 12-9. 

8. Blackjack – We can’t believe we’ve only had Blackjack for a week and a half. He’s made himself at home and it feels like he’s been with us forever. He’s full of energy and has brought excitement for us all. The older cats are slowly adjusting to him. They still hiss at him but they haven’t attacked him. He just wants to be there friend and follows them around.

Sharing with Friday Favorites!  Have a great weekend!

Hello Friday! Summer is flying by with the first week of August in the books. It’s been so hot that I don’t want to be outside. But we are trying to make the best of the time we have. Here are five from this week:

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1. Untermyer Gardens – This free garden in Yonkers is so beautiful! One of my husband’s college friends was in town this weekend and we took him here. This place never gets old for me!

2. Yonkers Brewing – After our visit to Untermyer we visited Yonkers Brewing Co. This was my first time here. My husband ordered a flight but said the sour was his favorite.

3. Reading – This week I finished reading two books: The Change by Kirsten Miller and Meant to Be by Emily Giffen. Both were 4 star reads for me. The Change started slow and took a bit to get into. But once it picked up I enjoyed it. I also really enjoyed Meant to Be. I’ve read most of Giffen’s books and have really liked almost all of them.

4. Cooking – This week I made Roasted Cauliflower Pitas with Zhoug sauce. I bought the zhoug sauce from Trader Joe’s but should have made it. The sauce was way too spicy for my liking and if I made it myself I could have controlled the heat. I made Vegan BBQ Beef Bowls (see below) and I also made Sweet and Spicy Tofu Noodles. Thursday dinner was just my husband and son so they had burgers (one MorningStar Farms and one regular beef) and fries. 

5. Watching – Haven’t watched anything new and exciting this week. I watched the newest episode of The Bachelorette and some episodes of Vanderpump Rules! I don’t watch Netflix very much and saw that a new season of Virgin River had come out. I realized that I hadn’t finished season 3, so I also started watching that again. Would love any recommendations of new shows to watch!

6. Dinner Party – Not a dinner party per se, but my daughter had six friends over and I cooked dinner for them all. She had been trying to have a dinner get-together since the beginning of the summer. After a previous cancellation it finally happened. I made BBQ Beef Bowls (I had both regular ground beef and Trader Joe’s Beefless Crumbles). I had never made this recipe before which was risky, but it seemed pretty fail proof. Plus they could all customize their bowls based on what they like. For dessert I made brownies (from a box) and had an ice cream sundae bar. I was so busy that no pics were taken!

7. Girls Night Out – This week I had two dinners out with friends. They were both much needed! It’s so nice catching up with these women that I don’t get to see very often. Saturday night I went to Wild Fusion and enjoyed this shrimp with eggplant. Last night I went to Savannah’s.

8. First Concert – Last night my daughter went to her first concert in the city with a friend and the friend’s older sister. It was a big deal, since this was her first time taking the train and going into the city without us.  She saw Ross Lynch and The Driver Era at Pier 17…..and I had no idea who he was! LOL!

ICYMI this week on the blog: 

Thursday I posted August Events in Westchester County.

Sharing with Friday Favorites!  Have a great weekend!