Thoughts on a Thursday

It's time for Thoughts on a Thursday (mini edition since I apparently don't have that many thoughts!).  Link up with Carolyn to play!

• I'm so glad that tomorrow is Friday!  I've been a day ahead all week and I just knew when I woke up this morning that today was Friday.....not so much.

• In my Target free beauty bag was a sample of Frederic Fekkai shampoo and conditioner.  I used it for the first time last night and honestly, I'm not that impressed.  Maybe I just didn't use it right, but for me, my hair didn't end up looking or feeling any different than normal.

• I did really good this week at taking my lunch!  My normal lunch buddy at work is out of town for 2 weeks, so I've sort of been forced to eat what I bring.  I've eaten a salad for lunch almost every day.

•  Apparently I'm the worst scheduled poster in the world.  Last week's Thoughts on a Thursday was written Wednesday night......and got posted Wednesday night.  Now I'm scared of scheduled posting!

What are your thoughts on a Thursday??

Simple Pleasures

Isn't a freshly mowed lawn one of the greatest things ever.  It smells good....it looks neat....it's easy to see if there are any "surprises" hiding.  Now if only it was KB's favorite chore (instead of waiting until it gets knee high)!

Guilty Pleasure

Don't judge, but I would really like to have one of these....

I drink an insane amount of seltzer water, but after watching a documentary on Netflix about how bad the bottled water industry is, I've cut back.  I want one of these so bad......but maybe not $200 bad.  Does anybody have one of these?  Are they worth it?

Once again....the cheapskate in me will probably win out!

Menu Sunday....on a Monday

Yesterday got away from me before I could do a Menu Sunday post.....so here is what the Browns will be eating this week:

Mon: Southwest Beef Enchiladas
         I ended up changing pretty much everything about this recipe except for the dough.  I had some leftover sausage from last week, so I substituted sausage and cheese for beef and carrots.  The dough was really easy to make and was very tasty.

Tues: Slow-Cooker Asian Pork
          I didn't make a slow cooker recipe last week, so I felt obligated to do one this week.  I've also been craving chinese food recently.  I'm also making quite a few substitutions to this recipe; I'll be using pork chops instead of shoulder and bagged frozen asian vegetables instead of snow peas.

Wed: Chicken with Chipotle Alfredo Sauce
         KB loves alfredo sauce, I love mexican, and apparently the Pillsbury dough boy loves both.  This recipe looks pretty easy and delicious.  I couldn't find the chipotle peppers in the podunk grocery store, so I'll be substituting green chiles.

Thurs: Leftover Beef & Barley Stew
         I made this on Saturday and it was delicious!  The recipe also made a ton, so I was able to freeze some for us to eat later.

Fri:  Something I don't have to cook!
       Since it's tax season, KB has been working late most weekends (and weekdays!), so I've sort of stopped cooking on Fridays for now.  Hopefully once our lives become normal again I can get back into the swing of things.

What goodies will you be eating this week???

Stupendous Saturday

So far my Saturday has consisted of the following stupendous things....

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While I still haven't been able to find Castile soap to make my homemade cleaning products anywhere...I was able to find this little guy at the podunk grocery store.  So far I've cleaned my sink and my shower with it and it seems to be working well.

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While I was waiting on getting a new set of tires put on the car this morning, I picked up a new bird feeder.  This one can double as a bird feeder or bird bath......with all the rain lately it'll probably end up being the bath.  KB made lots of fun of me when I bought an industrial size bag of bird seed.  I think I'm turning into my grandmother.

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I'm making For the Love of Cooking's beef stew tonight.  I was actually able to find barley in the podunk grocery store this morning.  It's been cooking all day and it's making my house smell great.  It's a gross, cold, rainy day here, so I'm also making baked apples.  Nothing says warm and cozy like beef stew and baked apples.

I got my free Target beauty bag in the mail yesterday.  Nothing makes me happier than to come home to find loads of free beauty products waiting for me in my mailbox.  Unfortunately, we don't have a Target here in podunkville, so I don't frequent the Tar-jay.  There are loads of good coupons in here, so I may have to make a special run.


What's making your Saturday stupendous??

Recipe Review: What's Shakin' Beany Bacon Soup

This soup was the bomb.com.  If you are a fan of Campbell's Bean and Bacon soup (which I am.....and sometimes I feel so wrong saying that I love a weird processed meat soup) then this is the soup for you.


The recipe was really really easy to follow and I ended up making only a few substitutions.  One thing I like about Hungry Girl recipes is that they are fast, easy and healthy (ok...I guess that's three things).  I ended up not using an onion and less chicken stock since I wanted a thicker soup.  I also skipped the part about putting half of the soup in the blender to make it creamier.  Since I cut down on the chicken stock, it ended up being pretty creamy just because it had a thicker texture.


KB said this was one of the best soups he'd ever had (and I make soup at least once a week).  This one is definitely a keeper!

Thoughts on a Thursday

It's time for Thoughts on a Thursday.  Link up with Carolyn!

• I am so glad that it's Thursday!  This week went by really fast and I'm hoping that Friday will cruise by too.
• The weather has been so nice this week, but it supposed to be cold again (it's weird to think of high 50s as being cold) tomorrow.  I've gotten used to not having to have the heat on (even at night).
• I've been really bad about eating out this week.  One of my co-workers is going on vacation for 2 weeks (I'm very jealous!) and we're trying to get in all of her favorite lunch spots before she leaves.  I have been really good about working out though.  I guess one out of two isn't bad!
• This week I'm only cooking 2 real meals (and I did those Monday and Tuesday).  Last night we had pizza and tonight we are having sausage biscuits.  I know sausage biscuits don't sound like normal dinner food, but what else am I supposed to do with 4 pounds of homemade sausage!  I'm sorta liking the whole "don't cook real food for dinner" thing.
• I'm looking to switch up my shampoo/conditioner routine.  Right now I use Pantene Naturals and my hair feels a little greasy most days.  Any good suggestions that aren't super expensive?