Weekend Roundup

Well this weekend was busy.  I had all of my kids home and it was homecoming for my two in high school.  It was also race weekend for the Fox Cities Marathon!  I also found a little time to sit and relax as well as do a lot of errands.  

Well my weekend wouldn't be complete without a delicious breakfast.  For Saturday I decided to make my son his favorite, pancakes.  He loves the classic pancake with chocolate chips.  I tend to dress mine up a bit.  I always add flax seeds and what ever fruit we have. Saturday it was plums, blueberries and pears with pecans.

No Saturday would be complete without the farmers' market.  I love all of the colors of the September markets.  I miss going when the market closes.

This Saturday I went for coffee with my college daughter. Its always so nice to sit down with the ritual of a latte. Of course I had obligatory PSL for the first day of fall. 

Sunday was the 1/2 marathon.  I was so thankful that my husband drove us to the race in the dark.  Beautiful weather, I was so blessed and finished in 2:09:47 for my second race.  My daughter ran way faster than I did, but she came back to pick me up for the final mile.    

Luckily when the race was over I came home to breakfast already made by my  sweet 17 year old daughter, pumpkin chocolate chip pancakes. I also found some time to put my feet up and relax.

I hope your weekend was delightful as well.

As always with love from the Midwest,

Beth 

Planning and Eating

Well school really in the full swing of things.  My children are super busy with after school high school sports and my husband and I are as busy as always in September.  He has deadlines and I'm just getting back into my work mode.  So this Sunday I was able to sit down for a few moments and plan my week worth of breakfast and lunches.  At least this makes my life easier.    If one of my children likes what I made for breakfast, which they did this week then all the better.  I've started using my bullet journal more for planning breakfast and lunch.  For dinner I still post my meals on a printed calendar so everyone can see what we are eating.  There are no surprises, or at least shouldn't be.

  

For breakfast this week I tried Breakfast Burrito Egg Casserole. It has everything I look for breakfast, make ahead, protein, vegetables and no meat.  I'm not a vegetarian, but I like to keep my meat eating for dinner.  I would make a few changes to the recipe - fewer potatoes, another can of green chilies and more salt and pepper.  I also added chopped red pepper.  My daughter liked it with salsa.  Tomatoes would be good too.  Of course a bit of fruit and coffee and you are good to go.  

Lunch today was zucchini fritters and tomatoes with a few plums.  All the veggies were local of course.  The picture doesn't look the prettiest, but I love this dish.  I also tried making them in a cast iron skillet, which didn't work out to well.  Oh well.  

The next few days are my kale salad. I'll add in extra vegetables and some local smoked trout that I picked up at the farmers' market Saturday.  

Hope this gives you some ideas as what to plan for.

As always with love from the Midwest,

Beth

Summer & Fall Reading

As usual I've read a lot this summer. I can't think of anything sweeter than sitting outside and reading a book. I have a kindle, but I really love a paper book to hold in my hands. I thought I'd give you a quick rundown of some of my favorites.

The Secret to Southern Charm - This is the second book in the Peach Tree Bluff series.  Each book is from the point of view of one of the three sisters.  This is just a sweet book great for the beach or any other time. 

Eleanor Oliphant - I wasn't sure if I was going to like this book when I first started it, but then it sucked you right in.  The main theme is friendship, and it is an extremely witty well written story.  

Morning Glory - Like the other books I've read of Sarah Jio this books takes place in both the past and the present.  I particularly liked that it took place in Seattle; somewhere that I know.  And who doesn't like the idea of the Seattle houseboat life? 

How to raise a French Family - I love memoirs of people moving to another country, especially France. Again I'm familiar with the culture and can't wait to get back to France.  So this book was of course a win for me.

A Man Called Ove - After hearing so much about this book I wasn't really sure if I wanted to read a book about "suicide".  That is not what  Ove is about. This is about community and love.  Fredrik Backman is an incredible writer, and I would also recommend Beartown.  I'm looking forward to reading some of his other books too.

Finally, A Gentleman in Moscow - This is probably one of the best books I've ever read.  It might be my new favorite book. The books starts in 1922 in Moscow and follows the life of Count Rostov as he is placed under house arrest in a Moscow hotel over 30 or so years.   I was  truly sad when I finished this book. 

I hope this gives you a few ideas of a new book. 

As always with love from the Midwest, 

Beth