Here we go again, Five on Friday. Friday Friday, Friiiiiiday. This is the last weekend in April also known as the Month We Scheduled Way Too Much Stuff and I’m a little relieved we are almost into May. Anyway, lets get her done.
One: White jeans and colorful pants. I don’t know how, but the last few summers I’ve had nary a white jean or colorful pair of twill pants in sight (other than some old pairs that have seen much, much better days). I’m changing that this summer. I will be introducing white jeans into my wardrobe. And replacing my sad red twill pants with something new and exciting. Maybe green?
Two: I’m trying to save all my Gracie-isms for her 15 month update but I can’t help myself. As of late she is really into roaring like a lion and it is one of *the* funniest things I’ve ever seen. She roars on many occasions, appropriate or not, and has taken to roaring when she finds her copy of “Dear Zoo” which obviously has a lion on the cover. All in all, adorable. (An old photo of her in her lion hat, seemed appropriate)
Three: I’ve spent considerable space on this page discussing skin care regimens, and after a long love affair with Philosophy I moved on to Kiehl’s. Philosophy suddenly made my favorite products really hard to find, and no one has time for that nonsense. In the winter I’m a big fan of their regular old facial cream, but I have a new product, Kiehl’s Skin Rescuer, coming my way and I’m very excited. I switched to their BB cream around Christmas and I’m really digging it- nice light formula with nice coverage, wears well, no funky smell. When Gracie was born I had the foresight to hit up Nordstrom and buy my favorite Kiehl’s shampoo/conditioner/face wash in travel sizes, as well as get a few samples of face cream. It made the terrible hospital shower a bit nicer and was well worth it.
Four: I’m feeling yet again like we are in a menu rut but I’ve realized it is because we’ve been traveling so much we haven’t eaten any weekend meals at home, which is when I tend to try out more creative or longer-prep time recipes. Four weeks of our go-to quick weeknight meals and I’m ready for something new. A major grocery chain in Chicago recently went out of business and has made grocery shopping a serious pain, as now all the remaining stores are terribly over crowded. Luckily the chains that bought the closed stores are starting to open up, with Mariano’s opening in every neighborhood (it seems) at a fast and furious rate. Their stores are pretty awesome (think of a regular grocery store with an upscale vibe and excellent produce/bakery/deli/meat and seafood counter) and I’m hoping that they bring me some inspiration and less “ugh lets just get out of here and away from the crowd” feelings while I’m grocery shopping. I still love Trader Joes but I find I need an infusion from “regular” stores from time to time.
Five: I’m really looking forward to a lot of aspects of summer, but one of my favorites is the ability to have big, fresh salads for dinner without feeling hungry after (which is exactly what happens when we have salad for dinner during a Polar Vortex). Last year I started dabbling with homemade salad dressing and I’m itching to get going again with fresh herbs and interesting oils and vinegars. It all started with me fiddling with this recipe (which is great and I definitely recommend) and the rest is history. There are so many great variables you can change for salad dressing. Anyone have a favorite?
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