A Day in the Life February 2024

Happy Wednesday friends! 

So I am not sure about you, but one of my favorite posts to read or stories to watch on Instagram is a "Day in the Life". I don't what it is about the mundane day to day in a friend or stranger's day that fascinates me, but it sure does!

I decided to document my day last Saturday, Feb 2nd. I shared it along Instagram throughout the day and am sharing it here in blog form in case you missed it!

My day started early with a 530am wake up call. This not really out of the norm for me. I get up at 415 several days during the week to workout, so I guess 530 is sleeping in. I have shared before that I don't love sleeping in. Anything past 7am and I feel like I have missed half of my day!  

I got up, fed the dog and got my morning lineup ready. 

For years I was a diehard coffee first thing in the morning person. I'm talking bring it up to my bathroom to drink while I am getting ready. Like I thought about my morning cup of coffee as I went to bed.  In my journey over the last 6 months into bettering my health, I have read a lot about not having coffee first thing, but to have water/electrolytes and to wait on coffee for a bit to allow your brain fog lift. Mel Robbins had a doctor on one of her podcasts that shared some insight on it. It was a great listen.

My morning lineup looks like this. 

 I start my day with protein- one scoop of protein powder, collagen and 8oz of almond milk. I also have my plant based wellness drops (I'll have a post to share on this soon) and a digestive gummy (helps to keep things moving along).  After that I add my electrolytes to 25 oz of water to sip on throughout the first part of the morning.  I have felt amazing since starting my day like this. I used to have 2 cups of coffee and always need another one around 3pm. Not anymore. I have a cup about 2 hours after I wake up. Mostly because I like the taste, not for the caffeine jolt. 

More on my morning routine in another post, let's get back to my day. At 620am I was making my first high school drop off for the day, as I took Ella to get the bus to her track meet. 

I headed back home, got dressed and woke up Luke. He had to be at basketball practice by 745am. Paul had gotten up with me and was already gone to get some bloodwork done. I made Luke an egg sandwich for breakfast, myself a yogurt bowl and jotted out our meal plan and grocery list for the week. 

Luke and I left at 735 to pick up our neighbor and head back to the high school for practice. 

After drop off I grabbed myself a coffee, got gas, stopped at the post office and made the drive to Ella's track meet. They race at a college about an hour from us. 

There were approximately one million athletes running, but thankfully I got there on time to see her race and headed out right after! She had a great race, earning a new personal record. 

Got home and had lunch with the dog, as the boys had left for Cleveland. Luke had a 2 day volleyball tournament there. 

This has been one of my go to lunches. High protein and tastes like a deconstructed chicken parm!

I use 1/2 cup of cottage cheese (Good Culture is my favorite), top with 1/4 cup or Rao's sauce and microwave for about 1 minute. I add 3 chicken tenders (I found a pretty clean/organic brand) that I air fry and add some crushed red pepper flakes for a little heat. Add a salad and it's a great lunch. 

The sun was finally out, after a really gray January. I took Maddie for a walk and she enjoyed the sunshine as much as I did!

After our walk I got in a quick workout in the basement and then headed to Lumos Sauna. I just recently started visiting this place. I have been reading up on the benefits of infrared sauna and have been trying to get there at least once a week.  So I grabbed my book and headed in the sauna for 30 minutes of peace and warmth. I'll be sharing my thoughts on this book soon- I am loving it!

From there it was onto Target, Dicks and Wegmans.

 That all took way longer than I thought, because I saw so many people I knew and chatted with! Of course I did... I was unshowered from my workout and still sweating from the sauna. It only made sense I would see everyone I knew! 

Made it home to unload and help Ella get ready for Winter Homecoming. 

We both had some sushi and she was off for the night with her friends. 

I put away groceries, started on the many loads of laundry and enjoyed a quiet night at home with the dog while I worked on some new blog posts and recipes.  

My day wrapped up after 11pm as I picked up Ella from her friend's house. I was in PJs and slippers... I was wiped out by that time of the day! 

It was a full Saturday and my last one at home for a while! We have a busy few weeks coming up with another volleyball tournament, family trip, work trip and the start of our college tours for Ella. 

Hope you enjoyed following along to see a day in my life!

I'll see you back here on Friday, where there is always room for one more at our family table.

xoxo

Genevieve

Something New for Your Family Table Airfryer Asian Chicken Meatballs

Hey friends. I hope you had a great weekend! Ours was busy, but we finally saw a few days of sunshine which was much needed. 

Today I am excited to share a new recipe with you.  I love to be in the kitchen. I find joy in experimenting with new recipes or ideas and make tweaks to make it work for my family or fit it in the time I have to cook. With a full time corporate job and busy kids schedules I am always on the lookout for meals that are healthy and can come together pretty quickly. When I have more time on my hands, I love making something more intricate or challenging, but those days are few and far between. I am forever trying out new recipes- some I find in cookbooks or online and some are my own creations and I want to share them here with you. My hope is to inspire you to get outside your comfort zone (think the same old ground beef taco Tuesday) and try something new that's not super complicated. 

I have found that with a little prep and planning.....and giving yourself some grace.... the "what's for dinner?" chants don't have to be so scary. You can get a healthy meal on the table in less than 30 minutes... I promise!

I stumbled upon this recipe on SkinnyTaste. I tweaked the recipe to make it with ground chicken instead of ground turkey. 

These were so good and gave a new flavor twist to the usual meatball. Meatballs, rice and some veggies are typically a pretty kid friendly combo so I think this makes a great family weeknight meal. You can get it on the table from start to finish in less than 30 minutes. 

Here is what you will need. You can grab the full recipe here.

• ▢1 large egg
• ▢¼ cup plain panko breadcrumbs
• ▢2 large garlic cloves, minced
• ▢1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger 
• ▢3 medium scallions, finely chopped (greens and whites separated)
• ▢2 tablespoons reduced sodium soy sauce, plus more for topping
• ▢1 pound 93% lean ground turkey
• ▢Olive oil spray
• ▢3 cups cooked brown rice
• ▢2 teaspoons sesame oil
• ▢2 cups shelled edamame, heated
• ▢Sesame seeds, for topping
• ▢Sriracha sauce, optional for topping
• ▢fresh cilantro, optional for topping

To help get this together even quicker, you can make and form the meatballs ahead of time and just chill them in the fridge until dinnertime. Have your veggies chopped and ready to go in the fridge and it's a pretty hands off meal. If you don't have a small kitchen scooper, you need one. This is a staple in my kitchen. I use it for meatballs, mini muffins, protein balls... its so easy to form evenly sized portions when you are making something in that smaller size.

3 Piece Scoop Set

You can build these bowls however you or your family likes them. We added edamame, cucumbers and shredded carrots. Liquid aminos, sesame seeds and pickled ginger are great finishing touches. If you are like me and looking for a little heat, siracha hits the spot here!

Shredded napa cabbage or sugar snap peas would also be great with this. 

We did ours with jasmine rice, but you can also do brown rice or cauliflower rice. Our grocery store and Trader Joes carry both frozen jasmine rice and frozen cauliflower rice. Those are both staples in my freezer. They are quick and easy to help round out a weeknight meal.

No air fryer- no problem! These meatballs will cook up in the oven at 400 for 20 minutes. 

I shared a reel over on Instagram with some highlights of this meal coming together. Let me know your thoughts if you try these at your house!

Have a great day! I'll see you back here on Monday, where there's always room for one more at our family table. 

xoxo

Genevieve

 

Friday Favorites February 2nd

Happy Friday friends! I am so excited to be back in this blog world and linking up with Andrea & Erika for a little Friday Favorites. A peek into a few of my favorite things from the week. 

one

My first favorite is just being back here. I stepped away from blogging for a few years and it has been on my heart to return. I shared my why for coming back on Monday and you can read about that here. 

two

A big part of my coming back to this space is sharing what I am up to in the kitchen. The kitchen is my happy place and I love to create healthy meals and try new recipes for my family. My hope is to inspire some of you to try something new and take the dread out of being in the kitchen. 

This week we had one of our family favorites. Easy Salmon. 

It is such a simple and healthy meal option that comes together pretty quickly. 

I shared my steps to putting this meal together over on Instagram in a reel. Pop over to Insta to check it out. 

Last night I made some Chicken Shwarma bowls with extra veggies and they were so good! I'll be getting the details for this up on the blog and Instagram this weekend. 

three

This dog of ours sure is a favorite. She will be 9 next month and she is forever by our sides. If she wasn't nearly 80 pounds she would be a lap dog. I often find myself nearly tripping over her, but wouldn't have it any other way!

four

Ummmm...there is sunshine in our forecast!!! After 29 cloudy days in January (yes that's only 2 days the sun came out) we are ready to see sunshine. I think all of us in this region can use a little Vitamin D and a mood boost!

five

Are you wearing your red today? Today is the day to Go Red for Women's Heart Health. Did you know that cardiovascular disease is the number one killer of women each year? Number one. Many of these deaths can be prevented with education and a healthy lifestyle. My goal this year is to help share some of that education and tips for a healthier lifestyle here on this platform. So put on your red today :)

We have a full weekend ahead for my crew with a basketball game, volleyball tournament, track meet, and Winter Homecoming Dance.

Have a great weekend friends!

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

xoxo
Genevieve

Happy Wednesday friends! First off, thank you for all the kind words welcoming me back to this space. It's funny to think how I wrote on here effortlessly for 2 years....over 500 posts and then just stopped. Life was "life-ing' then and I just could not find the time to sit and write consistently. 

But gosh it feels good to be back and I am excited for what this space can bring over the next year. 

Coming back here has been on my heart for a while so I have quite a few topics and things I want to share on here, but would love to hear from you what you would like to see. The internet is a popular place and I want to bring something different and that can add some value to you. Drop your ideas for posts in the comments section. 

I am hoping to share posts 3 days a week. Some weeks may be more and some may be less depending on how life is going, but my goal is 3 posts a week. And I will be sharing some daily life and lots of food and recipes over on Instagram so be sure to follow me over there. 

For those new here, I thought I would share a few things about me. ***Warning, this list is really random. 

I am 46 years old. 

I met Paul when I was 20. We got engaged 11 months later and married 13 months after that. We will celebrate our 24th anniversary this year. 

I love to ride a bike that is stationary or uphill. I will walk my bike before riding downhill. 

Growing up I wanted to be a pediatrician. That changed to a pharmacist. Spent exactly one year in pharmacy school, got a job at the mall and I have worked in the retail space ever since. 

My favorite job ever was as a Store Manager for Target. My first job was as a newspaper delivery girl.

I could not boil water when I got married. Paul cooked for us. 

I began watching Food Network, collecting cookbooks and fell in love with cooking. Now, my favorite place is in the kitchen. 

I am the oldest of 3 kids. 

I love chopping vegetables. It is very relaxing to me. 

I also love folding laundry. Like really love it! I don't love putting it away. 

I am a morning person through and through. I do not like to sleep in. If I sleep past 7am I feel like my day is half over. 

I used to own a gourmet cupcake bakery in our town. 

My favorite season is Summer. I could have 11 months of Summer and one month of Winter in December. 

My birthday is exactly one week before Christmas. 

I am not a big fan of TV. I like to watch live sports, but am not a binge watcher. 

I love binge reading on vacations. I will read like 4 books over a week vacation. 

I prefer to drive in silence. Most often I am almost to my destination before I realize there is no music on. 

I love a good theme party. Give me a reason for a fun costume and I am in!

I do not like getting manicures. I cannot sit there for that long to get my nails painted. I feel like I could be doing so much more. If I could drop my hands off and pick them up after that would be great- ha!

That being said, I almost always have my nails painted. I typically paint them every Sunday night. 

I loved running for most of my adult life (and in high school) and completed 5 half marathons. 

My knees don't love running as much anymore. I have found a local fitness studio and have fallen in love with spin class. As a bonus, the women that own the studio are amazing!

My kids are exactly 18 months apart, almost to the day. 

I had never really considered myself to be a dog person. Then we got a dog. She is always at my side and I can't imagine life without her. 

I do not like to type text. I use voice text for almost all my messages. 

I love concerts in the Summer. I love concerts in general, but outdoor Summer concerts are superior. 

I love gum. I always have it in my bag and my car. 

I think that's enough random facts for one post. 

As I was looking at some of my old posts, I found a few that shared why I started this little space. I linked them below for a little more about me. 

Why start a blog?

Why do I blog?

One Year Blogaversary

My first blog post

That's all for today. I'll be back later this week. 

There's always room for one more at our family table. 

xoxo

Genevieve

Coming Back.... with Two Goals for this Blog

 Well friends I am back. It has been 4 1/2 years since I last sat down to write a blog post. On one hand it seems like just yesterday and on the other it feels like a lifetime! A lot of life has happened over the last few years. I began working with a new company, I somehow have 2 kids in high school, we had some fun travel adventures, navigated through Covid and had a pretty significant health scare with Paul that rocked us. 

While a lot of life happened, the core of me and my little family is the same. I'm still juggling corporate life, being a wife & mom and still love finding myself in the kitchen.

The last post that I shared a family picture, we looked something like this. Ella had braces, the dog still looked like a puppy and Paul and I were the two tallest members of our family. 

Fast forward 4 1/2 years and this is us now. Paul, the dog & I have a little more gray, Ella lost her braces, Luke gained them and the kids have a lot more height!

I have been thinking about returning to this blog world for a while now. When I think about where I was when I started this in 2016 I feel like I was an OG influencer- sharing life and fun fashion finds. At times I wonder if I had stayed along with it, what would it be today? But that's not how it went, so we will start back with today. As I have journaled out my thoughts and dreams on what I want from this blog world, there are 2 goals that I have. One is really just about me, to "fill my creativity cup". I enjoy what I do in the corporate space, but I have a creative side to me whether it's around food, decorating, parties (I love a good theme!) or clothing. And I have missed this outlet to share some of that. 

My second goal is a bit bigger. I hope to inspire people that follow along to make simple changes in their lives so they can be the healthiest and best versions of themselves. Why? Well as I mentioned earlier in this post, Paul had a pretty significant health scare last Summer. My husband, a pretty healthy guy had a heart attack at age 51, an artery that was 100% blocked and had a stent put in. Fast forward to today, nearly 6 months later and he is feeling much better and has an amazing cardiology team that has him on a good path to a long & healthy life. 

More to come on how that all played out in a future post. But things like that sure put life in perspective. After we digested what happened, Paul and I have dug right in to learning all we can about our health and making sure we are doing the right things everyday, so we can be here in a healthy space for another 50 years.  One of the most shocking things to me is that heart disease is the number one cause of death in women in the US. 

Number One. 

More than any other disease or cancer out there. This was a wow moment for me. For me, I have heard so much about breast cancer or that smoking is bad, but not nearly as much about heart disease. And it's killing more women than anything else. When I tell you I was shook- I think I still am. 

Now, I am not a doctor or a health professional. You should partner with your own doctors on your health. But I have read a lot about some of the best practices to put in place to feel and live your best life, and I want to sprinkle that into my blog. If I can help one person think differently about how their lifestyle affects their heart health then I found success. 

So those are my goals. Have a creative outlet to share food, family, clothes and fun stuff and to try to help make more women & men aware of their heart health. It just so happens that as I was writing out thoughts to share around that second topic here, I heard a news story reminding me that February Women's Heart Health month. I mean what better timing to launch this into the blogworld, with February just a few days away?  That feels like a God wink that this is the right path. 

See you back here on Wednesday.... where there's always room for one more at our Family Table. 

xoxo

Genevieve

Fall Favorites at Trader Joe's

Hey friends! I cannot believe it is Thursday already...this week has flown by! Today I am doing another round up of some favorites at Trader Joe's....Fall Edition. I saw this meme and had to laugh......

Because, Trader Joe's is not really close to my house, or really convenient to get to....but I venture out there every 4-6 weeks for some of our favorites. This was my first time there in the Fall season and I got some yummy Fall favorites.

You can check out my favorite staples from TJ's in these posts.

Trader Joe's Post 1

Trader Joe's Post 2