Getting it Sorted Part II & Menu Planned!

Waking up at 5am requires my first cup of coffee to be really hot. Every other cup for some reason I can do warm... but the first cup... go figure.

Office Organization Redux

So, the office organization thing... stalled a bit. The help that I was getting had some troubles and I didn't get finished. sigh. However! This Saturday everyone has recommitted their assistance and hoping that we can get everything in order. I've also hired a "nanny"/ baby-sitter to come into our home and help me two days a week. I will let you know how that increases all of the organization and work load on the architectural end of my life... well, that is the plan anyway!

For another delay, we discovered a large nest of a former rodent tenant. YIK YUK YAK!!! So that needed taking care of for good. Oddly, we have cleaned up a lot of mouse crap and nesty materials but only one time. It makes me a bit nervous. Kind of on edge. Do we have mice? Did they move out after the year that there was no food in the house? We aren't sure what to think.

Anywho, we are moving forward with the cleaning up and painting on Saturday! I also took some advice from my friend Jenifer and posted a bunch of my Christmas jewelry on Ebay... happy to report... it is SELLING!! Woo Hoo!! Thanks J!! I am going to be putting a bunch of other things on Ebay now as well with the success I've been having.

Menu Planning

I also wanted to share a really cool menu organizing idea with all of you. I am trying it out right now with a lot of success. I ran across it on Pinterest (duh) and forgot to pin it!!! Who does that?? So I apologize for not giving credit to the original thought maker of this menu plan. I'm a bit naive with a few things in life so forgive me if this is common place for all of you but a stroke of genius to me!

First, I don't want my menu plan to be complicated... If you look at some past menu plans I've tried to work with a grocery list and had to write up the pantry items and keep track of things on hand etc... to sum up NOT WORKING. I need simple. Beyond simple actually... I need zero. So, this meal plan is by type of meal as opposed to what the meal actually is!! Get it??

For example... Your week of dinner could be broken out like this:

Monday - Soup and Sandwiches
Tuesday - Casserole/ one dish meal
Wednesday - Stir Fry
Thursday - International (Mexican, Italian, Middle Eastern... etc.)
Friday - Pizza
Saturday - Leftovers!! or our one night to eat out/ order in...
Sunday - Brinner ( Breakfast for dinner!) because we love brunch.

Whew! That seriously made this week tolerable. Instead of thinking what to do... I have a "heading" for the day to work from. My little brain can think... "WHAT kind of soup and sandwich will I make tonight..." I grab my iPad and go to my Pinterest board now labeled with the above headings... and pick out something yummy!! WOO HOO!!

To spice things up next month I might shift some things around as I get comfortable and make Friday International food... Sunday is soup and sandwich... bla bla bla you get what I mean. I'm doing my menu by month because again... I need SIMPLE. But if you have the need or want for flexibility you can happily change this menu and do this by the week. My husband and I are both creatures of habit and do not mind the routine. And this keeps me from having to worry about the grocery shopping as well. Ever been grocery shopping with a 15 month old? It isn't too bad... but, you have a time limit. (insert smile here)

Other headings could be:
Vegetarian, Tapas, Noodles, Something with Cheese, Crockpot, Grilled, Burgers, Salad, Poultry, Seafood, etc.

You could also label by cuisine type, region, or :

Italian, French, Irish, Chinese, Greek, Lebanese, Tex-Mex, etc.

You get me right?? I'm still trying to get my little templates attached so bear with me... But I've included one here!! Maybe you can print it out. I hope you can print it out if you'd like. If not, email me... and I will email it to you if you'd like. I've started this one with November. But the one I email to you, you can write in the week or month for your own organization!

And let me give you a little more love here... So when I say it is Pizza night... That could be flatbread, bagel, calzone, tortilla, cauliflower crust, crustless, Chicago style... the sky is the limit... SEE... 

brilliant.

Well. at least I thought so. ;) I hope you will too. I am putting together a vegetarian Thanksgiving and Christmas menu at the moment. I've been experimenting with different dishes to see if I like them. I will share soon so if you are thinking of some veggie options off the traditional route! 

A Week of Pinterest Recipes

If you’re not on board yet... (yes, that’s going to be a pun when you find out) Get ready, as Pinterest will now be part of the catch phrases that we utter almost daily.

Gone will be the days of - "Oh where did you get that recipe!"; “I Googled it.” Now, it will be, “I pinned it” or “On Pinterest...”. The instant gratification is overwhelming. You don’t even have to know what you’re looking for! You log in and start browsing through categories of things you like. Or everything at once if you're looking to be inspired. You are looking at ‘boards’ are specially designed for the visual. Sexy photos that are captioned with just enough information to make you click to find out more or want to see the image bigger. Then you can follow other peoples pins if  you like their style and have similar interests. Many blogs now have links... I have a link to my own Pinterest boards under the ‘Inspire’ tab on the blog. Click it and you can get a visual.

The Simple & Convenient Kitchen

Don't we all wish we had a simple and convenient kitchen? They look like the ones in Better Homes and Gardens right? They have massive amounts of cupboards and pantry space. Everything is so organized! And I bet they own every appliance and gadget that you've drooled over at Williams & Sonoma as well. Sigh. If only my kitchen looked like that I'd BEG to stay home and cook. Isn't that what we think?

Okay, back to earth.

I have a theory that the cupboards, except the ones that have glass doors are empty. Or, if you can afford a kitchen like that surely you can afford a personal chef. I thought of becoming a chef last year to do just that. I wanted to be the vegan/ vegetarian version of Giada de Laurentis. Sigh. Not in my cards yet. I just saw those kitchens and thought... that is like an amusement park to me! I could have so much fun!