Travel Mania!

I can't believe this month is already more than halfway gone! The summer is getting closer each day- especially since we have officially hit the first day of Spring! Yay! It's only three months now until summer and I already have so many plans- it is going to be the summer of traveling for me. My bank account is feeling it for sure with the multiple plane tickets I bought last week. 

 

First up is vacation with work- we are heading to Barbados at the beginning of May (okay, still technically spring but whatever) 9 glorious days in a beautiful hotel- I can't wait to take all the pictures!!

After I get back from Barbados I only have a few weeks before I head down to Roanoke for my college 5-year reunion- it's almost not even believable that it has already been 5 years since I graduated from college. Hollins reunion is basically the most fun you can have at college when you're not actually in college- its a fun filled weekend with alums of all ages, usually involving lots of eating and drinking. I may even do a chocolate tasting class (as if someone needs to teach me to eat chocolate, ha!)

I then have a glorious week off at the end of June/beginning of July- one that I'm spending in Tampa/Orlando. I'm trying to convince some friends to join me because it's most definitely going to involve the beach, Disney and hopefully the new extension at Harry Potter world. It's been almost a year and half since I've been down there so I'm looking forward to visiting with some family and friends- especially the wedding planning with Leah! (you know her, over at Sunshine and Traffic Jams)

The end of July will bring my sister's bachelorette party- a fun-filled 4-day weekend at a beautiful lake house in the Poconos. I'm super excited to be chilling with her and closest pals- and to start the countdown to her wedding!!

And then the summer wraps up with another work vacation- this time to Spain and Paris! We are going to be in Spain over my birthday, which will be amazing! And I've never been to Paris- I'm ready to eat croissants, chocolate, wine and cheese for several days- along with visiting the Eiffel Tower and some amazing museums.

I'm so excited-- I just can't hide it! This might be one the busiest summers of my life in reality- and I think this definitely calls for some shopping trips....

What are your plans this summer?

and if you haven't already- don't forget to enter my giveaway- there is always something to buy on Amazon!
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Giveaway + What's in my Backpack?

I'm super excited to have a guest post over at Martinis & Bikinis today- Emily has been kind of enough to let me takeover. Go check it out! On another note- I'm also redunkulously excited to announce my first giveaway! I'm addicted to Amazon in so many ways- I use it to order my life, and it has also made my job a lot easier- subscribe and save lets me make sure we are never low on the essentials like toilet paper, laundry detergent, kids oatmeal,and diapers. Basically it's one of my favorite sites and I'm now giving you all the opportunity to enter to win a $25 gift card.


And now on the the good stuff... What is in my Backpack?

During the work week I carry around a backpack and not a purse- I can not rave about it enough. It holds all my junk, all the kids junk and is a lot easier in my opinion. Here are a few of my favorite things...

There is a bunch of other stuff in the picture, but I'm sure you get the idea. Weirdly enough my typically bunch of snacks is missing, you know goldfish, applesauce, fruit snacks- sometimes even pirate booty!

 Don't forget to enter the giveaway- and thank you, always, for stopping by!

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Overnight Oats

Yesterday I mentioned that this week I was going to try and make Overnight Oats- these seem to be all the rage these days and now I know why.. they are delicious! Super quick and easy to make- they have made an excellent alternative for an on-the-go breakfast. I'm really bad about eating breakfast most days, usually the first thing that hits my stomach is the coffee I grab when I step off the subway. This has been a perfect, fulfilling meal I can grab right when I walk out the door. I've made two different recipes so far- both highly recommended.

Blueberry-Maple Overnight Oats

 Ingredients:
1/4 C Old-fashioned rolled oats (not instant, quick or steel-cut)
1/3 C skim milk (almond or soy is fine too!)
1/4 C low or non-fat greek yogurt
1-1.5 tsp chia seeds
2 tsp maple syrup
1/4 C blueberries or however much you want to fill your container

 Put all the ingredients in your container of choice (many people use 1/2 pint mason jars), stir, cover and put into the fridge. Wake up and enjoy!

Easy - and it will keep for up to two days!

Apple Cinnamon Overnight Oats

 Ingredients:
1/4 C Old-fashioned rolled oats (not instant, quick or steel-cut)
1/3 C skim milk (almond or soy is fine too!)
1/4 C low or non-fat greek yogurt
1-1.5 tsp chia seeds
1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon
1 tsp honey
1/4 unsweetened applesauce (feel free to add more if there is room in your container)



Add ingredients together in your container of choice -stir, cover, and put into the fridge. Leave overnight and then enjoy!

Will keep in fridge for up to two days.

I'm so happy I've finally tried this dish- and glad I have an easy breakfast choice now! And thank you to Kate and Emily for this great link-up, check out some of the other great recipes this week.!

The Recap of thy Weekend

 First off- Happy St. Patrick's Day!! I told my kids this morning they had to wear green or a leprechaun would pinch them. Big J can be very literal sometimes so he was very much on point with his clothes. I kind of forced Little J into his green things... whoops!

St. Patrick's Day was one of my favorite holidays when I was little. I always used to save the little green baskets that our strawberries came in (did anyone else have a similar container?) and I would set-up little traps to try and capture the leprechauns. For some reason I thought that strawberry flavored bubblicious gum would draw them out... and it at least tempted them. Many times the gum was gone in the morning with a note left.. oooohhh. (Thanks Mom and Dad for stealing my gum!)

My favorite St. Patrick's Day was the year I was in kindergarten- my teacher that year was super creative and always played fun imaginative tricks on us. For that holiday when we came back from recess and someone (or something) had played in our class sand box and left  very small sand  footprints throughout our entire classroom! (A friend of mine and myself were "blamed" because we were the smallest kids in the class) And then the culprit had left a not very nice drawing of our teacher and note on the front board. It was all very exciting at the time.

I hope everyone can play up the fun traditions- and I hope you are all wearing green!!

I had a fun weekend hanging out with my friends- we tried a new place for brunch, Station, on Saturday in Brooklyn. I don't venture to Brooklyn often but the day was beautiful so we wandered around for a few hours afterwards trying out some other cool drinking spots and shopping at the flea market. I bought two fantastic smelling soy candles from this cute little company called Simply Curated- you should definitely check out their website simplycurated.com.

mmm Sage+Cedar and Cucumber Sweetgrass

Twinko Bibs- and they are oh so soft!

And I bought two really cute bibs for my nephew from a great little company called Twinko, visit them at www.twinkoNYC.com

The market was a lot of fun- I may have to make more of an effort to get to Brooklyn more often now, and it was an even smaller indoor market because of the season. I can't wait what the larger market is like during the spring and summer.

We also made our way to a really fun bar called Surf Bar- the whole floor of the place is covered in beach sand! It made me feel like I was in Florida again, the only weird thing was that I wasn't wearing sandals.

After that I was able to have a Chris Hemsworth ( I can't ever decide which brother I like better)  evening by finally watching the new Thor movie, and Red Dawn. Both were very good- if you like action films.

Sunday was a lazy day- just as it should be. I do some grocery shopping - I'm planning to try my hand at a few Overnight Oats recipes this week. Will let you all know how that goes...

oh! And we finally picked up our finished pottery- mine is the chevron bowl. I thought they all came out super well! I'm hoping to go back again soon, maybe make a whole set!