Friday Favorites August 30th

  Happy Friday friends! Cannot believe we are wrapping up the last few days of August. Even though I do like the "ber" months, I am not there yet! 

As usual, I am linking up with Andrea & Erika for a little Friday Favorites. A peek into a few of my favorite things from the week. 

one

I feel like our time in the convertible is limited as summer is waning, so last Friday Paul and I took a ride to grab dinner. It was a beautiful night and I wore my official favorite sunglasses from the Summer. They are less than $15 and I got them in black and like a light tan color.

Spicy margaritas and nachos are my favorite. I could eat this multiple times per week.

One of our favorite restaurants, 189 Burger,  specializes in brussell sprouts. While I know that my sound random, they are the perfect side to their burgers!

two

Last week, my sister and I went to see NKOTB. I saw them like 34 years ago and I have to admit they were still pretty impressive up there! My sister Emma, is the biggest Donnie Wahlberg fan.

three

We live about half an hour from Niagara Falls and I think we take for granted that it’s so close and don’t go very often. I was traveling with a new partner for work this week and he had never seen the Falls. We took a quick detour in our travels yesterday and stopped by to see it in the morning. I forget how beautiful it is. It’s wild to listen to the water just rushing down. My favorite season to see the Falls is actually in Winter. 

four

Last weekend we had both of our parents over along with my sister for dinner on Sunday. I picked the perfect flowers from our front garden to put on the table!

We had a great meal, with grilled pork tenderloin, roasted zucchini, roasted sweet potatoes, and I made this corn casserole for the first time. Everybody raved about it. I followed this recipe here. I won’t say it’s the healthiest recipe in the world, but it was delicious and would be great in the Fall with barbecue or pork. I also think it would be a perfect Thanksgiving side. 

five

I did some back-to-school shopping last weekend for the kids. It was a risky move, as I went by myself and hoped for the best that they would like what I came home with. I must say I did pretty well!

I got these sneakers For Ella. Full disclosure, she had requested this specific sneaker and they were even cuter in person then online.

I feel like whether it is 30° or 80°. Luke is in shorts. This style from Nike is one of his current favorites. I got these three colors to add to his current black and white.

What does he wear with said shorts?  It’s usually one of these basic T shirts and a hoodie. These are his favorite T's and currently on sale!

 

And as I mentioned whether it’s Fall, Winter, Spring, or Summer… these hoodies are his go to. 

Aerie had some cute stuff, and most of it is on sale right now!!   I got Ella this short sleeved sweater . I thought the gray would go with several things, but they also have the most beautiful yellow, pink, and I think cream.

She also loves a wide leg pant. I got these Pants in this light pink color, but it also comes in an olive and maybe two others.

This Longline bra looks just like the one from Lululemon, but it's less than half the price. Comes in a ton of colors and the longer line is super flattering!

If you missed my post on Wednesday, I shared a fun recap of what we have been up to this month. you can check it out here. 

Have a great weekend friends!

See you back here on Tuesday,  there is always room for one more at our family table.

xoxo
Genevieve

p.s. I get commission for purchases or clicks made through links in this post. Thank you for supporting my blog. 

What's Up Wednesday August 2024

  Hi friends! It's the last Wednesday of the month and I am linking up with Shay and Sheaffer for a little What's Up Wednesday. I fun post sharing a little food, a little what we're wearing, a little what we're doing, a little what we're watching and a little bit of everything all in one post!

What We're Eating This Week

Paul and I went out to eat last week Friday and had these amazing nachos and spicy margarita!

I have seen recipes for Marry Me Chicken or Marry Me Shrimp recently and decided to make that for the first time. We did a Mary Me Chicken recipe, following this recipe & it was so good!

A couple of weeks ago I made a tuna poke bowl which we all loved. This recipe was kind of similar, a fiesta shrimp bowl.

I shared how I make a clambake on the blog on Monday. You can check out the details here. It’s way simpler than you might think it is.

What I'm Reminiscing About

This popped up in my memories from six years ago when I went with my parents, sister and the kids to Boston for a whirlwind 48 hours! I blogged all about that trip here. 

What I'm Loving

So I have shared here a few times my journey with plant based wellness. As I continue to work on living my healthiest life, this has been a real game changer. These products provide a sense of calm, peace and keep things "moving along". I have been consistently using these supplements for about 8 months now and I am never going back. A few weeks ago, we launched an amazing new product created from functional mushrooms. So many benefits from those, and even more when you add the power of sage. I had been suffering from terrible night sweats....like 2am every night I was in a puddle! A few days into taking these, they were gone! I have been reading a lot on the stages of perimenopause as I approach that stage of life and the benefits of sage are numerous here. So to find an organic based product was the perfect fit for me!  For sure one of my favorites!

You can grab my regimen here and as always I am here to chat more about it!

I am typically a salty snack girl, but this Summer one of our local handcrafted ice cream spots has a chokehold on me!!  Paul and I have gone almost weekly to get ice cream. It’s located the town over from us in East Aurora, and so we will grab ice cream and then do a few mile walk through the village as we eat our ice cream.  They hand roll their waffle cones, which are amazing. The Bada Bing Bourbon is my favorite flavor and I get it every time. I’m so scared I’ll be disappointed with another flavor-lol! Anyone else like that?

So my new favorite breakfast is oat-based. I made several jars of overnight oats this week. I followed this recipe pretty loosely. I love this protein powder and put half a scoop in here. Paul & Luke both loved these as well. It's great to have breakfast already made and ready to grab and go. I also got the cutest little jars to make these in!

I also love oats warm. I just add half a cup of oats with unsweetened vanilla almond milk, cinnamon, and then warm it for like a minute and a half. Then I add a chopped up apple for extra fiber, some walnuts, and a drizzle of pure maple syrup. It is so good and so filling!

I am not ready for Fall. I love Summer and I do not want to see it end. So I’m continuing my Summer feels with these cute fruit inspired mugs. I got the cherry and the strawberry.

What We've Been Up To

We have been continuing on our college tours! If you missed our first two, you can read about our trip in North Carolina and South Carolina here. 

I took my sister to see NKOTB last week. I went to see them in 1990, and was amazed to see them still moving and grooving on the stage some 34 years later! Paula Abdul opened the show, and she looks phenomenal for 62! Such a fun night with my sister. 

What I'm Dreading

Summer ending. Don’t get me wrong, I do like Fall. But Summer is by far my favorite. So last week when I saw a few leaves already on the ground, I was not very happy.

What I'm Excited About

I have to say, as much as I love Summer I do love the sports seasons for my kids. Excited to watch them get out there next month to compete again!

What I'm Watching/Reading

Several years ago, I read It Ends With Us and then It Starts With Us when that book was released. Ella has also read both books, and so we did a girls night a few weeks ago and saw the movie. We both loved it.

I am currently reading this book. I have read several others from this author and loved all of them. I’ll keep you posted on how I like this one.

I typically don't watch a lot of television. But I’ve heard so many people talking about the show Presumed Innocent. Paul and I started it this month and I guess binged it!  Spoiler alert- I could not wait to see how it ended and then I did not love the ending. I will leave it at that. 

What I'm Listening To

We just downloaded Post Malone‘s new country inspired album. I love it.

What I'm Wearing

A few random favorite things I have been wearing lately. These workout tanks are so good. Under $20 and a nice comfy fit! They come in several colors, but I have the basic black and white!

 

I have been loving this bracelet stack lately. They are a designer dupe, but look great. You can grab the gold ones here and the mixed metal here. 

I think we can all attest to white jeans being a challenge to find, but this pair has been a favorite for me all Summer! And I won't retire my white jeans come Labor Day. I love to wear them with browns and neutrals through Fall! Does this make me a fashion rule breaker?

These Mother jeans  are definitely a splurge, but I love them. The wash and fit are so good. They are by far my most complimented on jeans when I am wearing them. Also loving them with these white mules. I could not find the exact style online, but linked a similar pair .

I do love the fit and look of LuLu Lemon, but not a fan of the price tag. I have really loved this tank &  leggings from Target. Looks cute and way more affordable! The leggings don't roll down and they wash and dry very well. 

This belt set has been in my rotation for years. I have several colors, but this butterscotch color looks so great with black pants or jeans. I love the contrast look. And these mules are a favorite!

These tanks from Target are hands down one of my most favorite basics. I have them in probably close to a dozen colors. They wash well and they’re super comfortable. They are great alone or layered under blazers or cardigans for the Fall. And this Crossbody bag has been on repeat all summer! 

What I'm Doing this Weekend

We are hoping after many, many weeks to finally have our boat back. We have had issues with it all season. We are hoping to finally get it out on the water!  And we are also celebrating our 24 year anniversary!

What I'm Looking forward to Next Month

As much as I don’t want Summer to end, I am looking forward to some of the things  September brings. The kids head back to school and we get to watch them doing their things! Lots of volleyball and cross country meets on tap for us next month along with Homecoming festivities and Ella’s 17th birthday! 

Here's to the last few days of August my friends! 

See you back here on Friday. There is always room for one more at our family table. 

xoxo

Genevieve

p.s. I get commission for purchases or clicks made through links in this post. Thank you for supporting my blog. 

Something New for Your Family Table- Summer Clambake

 Happy Monday friends! Sharing a recipe today that I probably should’ve shared earlier in the Summer, but it just didn’t happen.  Three of the four people in my family love steamers. Ella is not a big fan. So last week while she was away at running camp, we did our clambake.

While, it may sound complicated, this method is pretty simp. I have been cooking them in foil packets over the grill and they turn out amazing!

I start with about a pound of baby red potatoes and boil them for about 15 minutes. You want them slightly tender, but not cooked all the way through. I drain them and set them aside to cool.

Our local grocery store carries a bag of 50 count little neck clams. That's the amount I use for this recipe.  To clean them, I soak them in cold water with a little bit of salt to help draw out any of the dirt or sand. And then drain and rinse them well.

Then I got my foil packets ready. I just do two large pieces of foil crisscross like the picture below.

To each foil packet I add about a dozen clams, an ear of corn that I just break in half, some potatoes, and then a few pieces of sausage. I use a pound of a smoked sausage and just cut it into bite-size pieces, You can do any sausage you want, it just needs to already be pre-cooked or smoked. 

Once I lay all of that together, I give it a quick sprinkle of salt and pepper. I fold up each side of the foil and pour about a quarter bottle of a light beer into each packet. I used Corona on this day because that’s what I had on hand. Any light beer will work, or you could also use chicken broth. 

Fold up the packets tightly and place the packets right on the grill on medium-high heat. And that’s it. They cook for about 20 minutes or so. You can take a peek inside the packet and once the clams begin to open, you are good!

I dump everything into a big serving dish.

And then everybody gets their own individual little butter dish for dipping. 

That's it- our simple way to do a Summer Clambake! Perfect for the upcoming long weekend. 

Have a great week friends. See you back here on Wednesday. There is always room for one more at our family table. 

xoxo

Genevieve