Stacie's Ramblings

Linking up with Hello Monday   and NJAM   for a two in one post. Recapping our weekend! Friday was Matt's birthday, so as soon as I got home for work, he opened his gift and then we met some friends for dinner at Gonzales Bistro. Talk about delicious! This is the third time we've been to this new restaurant and it never disappoints. Three of us had Alaskan halibut and one had salmon.  Saturday I spent more time working in the garden until it got super hot. We had a high of 92°F! I planted a few more pepper plants I picked up at HEB as well as some cucumber plants and seeds. I put up the trellis for the cucumbers and also decided to plant some luffa seeds and pole beans. Growing luffa and pole beans are new for me, so we'll see how it goes.  Saturday afternoon, Matt's parents were at home, so we invited them over for birthday cake. The birthday guy requested tres leches cake and it did not disappoint! I had a local bakery make it and they did a fantastic job.  Later in t

It's been awhile since I've posted anything. Starting off with some of my favorites lately.  Here's some of my favorites from the week. #1 Outdoors I have been spending a lot of time outdoors working in the garden. I have all of the peppers and tomatoes planted. I also planted green bean and zinnia seeds this week. Next up I need to plant cucumbers and melons. Sunshine has been abundant this week! #2 Favorite Podcasts This week I have listed to the Maximized Minimalist and The Lazy Genius discuss all things meal prep. One of my goals this year is to batch cook and meal plan to a more simple and less stressful dinner each night.  #3 Bartesian   My husband bought a Bartesian ! It's an amazing cocktail making machine! We went to a friends house for New Years and they had one and it was so easy for everyone at the party to quickly make their favorite drink without the host playing bartender all night.  Y'all....it's like a Keurig for cocktails. You put in a pod wi

This is my first post of the new year; January is usually a pretty calm month for us. I have been savoring the quiet time after the hustle and bustle of December.  Here's some of my favorites from the week. #1 Favorite Pup  Conway had some sort of stomach issue going on the first week of January. I imagine he probably at something he should not have. He ate very minimal food for 3 - 4 days, which worried us giving him his insulin shots. Finally he turned a corner on day 5 and now he's back to his perky self. He's 13 this year! #2 Favorite Recipe  I made this really good cheesy hatch chile dip to take to a party we attended at some friends' house. I love a warm dip during the winter. This would be the perfect dip for Super Bowl.  #3 Gardening I started my pepper and tomato seeds in the greenhouse this week. I looked last night and already have 2 Roma Tomato seeds that have sprouted! I love starting my own seeds since the selection of seedlings at the big box stores are o

The countdown to Christmas is only! Can you believe it is only 9 days away? It's exciting, but stressful at the same time.  This evening we're joining another couple for dinner at a new bistro that opened in town. Their menu looks absolutely fabulous, so I am looking forward to a great meal with even better company.   Here's some of my favorites from the week. Out and About Saturday, we went with our good friends to a town about an hour away that had a Mingle on Main event. Street vendors with wine at each little stop. It was only $20 for a glass and there were 16 vendors pouring tastings and selling all sorts of goodies from baked goods to Tupperware. A good time was had by all and we went to a steakhouse afterwards for dinner.  Meals One night this week I did not have a dinner plan. I did not have anything thawed we could grill. I told Matt I was craving pancakes. He's doing Keto currently, so he just went with traditional chorizo, bacon and eggs, but I had a full bre

Happy Friday! I'm looking forward to a fun weekend! We're going to a holiday festival in a neighboring small town where they have wine vendors set up for a wine tasting. Looking forward to going to that!  My favorite meal this week was this chicken and pear salad. I used pre-grilled frozen chicken breasts from Sam's, cut up a pear and grilled it on the indoor griddle and put it on top of buttercrunch lettuce with cranberries and sugared pecans. I used Brianna's Honey Ginger Vinaigrette dressing. Super easy to pull together!   Matt planted rye grass in the yard for the winter and it is so lush and green. I love it!! You can see the moon rising peeking out behind the tree just to the left of the roof.  Reading I finished A California Christmas by Brenda Novak this week!  I love reading seasonal themed books; any recommendations for what I should read next? Holiday Cheer All of the office girls where gifted poinsettia's at work this week. I chose this gorgeous white on

How was your weekend? Mine was easy going, I've been trying to slow down and enjoy the season.  I am linking up today for Hello Monday with  Holly  and  Sarah . Friday afternoon, I dropped off some donations at a resale shop in town benefit the animal shelter. I did find a cute snowman painting I bought for only $8! I hung it in the guest bathroom for a little holiday cheer.  Friday night I finished up planting my lettuce seedlings out into the garden. I also made a BIG salad for dinner using the last of the leftover turkey. We didn't do Thanksgiving until last Saturday, so we have had leftovers a little later in the week than most.  Saturday I did some organizing in the storage closet and put a few things on eBay I'm no longer using.  I also put a dedicated recycling area in the closet for recycling. We're rural so we do not have curbside recycling, but I'd like to do better with plastics and paper. I will have to make an effort to drop these off at the recycle cen

Happy Friday! I'm looking forward to gorgeous weather this weekend. I'm in full Thanksgiving prep, so I'll be making sure I have everything I need for the big meal from appetizers to turkey frying oil and everything in between.  Sunrises This week has had some spectacular sunrises. Here's one I took on my walk early one morning. The air was crisp and fall was in the air.  Our flowers are also in full bloom. The flowerbeds are full of yellow mums. I overwintered these mums from last year and if I remember correctly the blooms were a little more orange last year. They're still festive though! Reading I have been sitting in my usual reading spot on the porch reading Four Thousand Weeks, Time Management for Mortals  (affiliate link). It's not a typical time management, productivity geek book, but more focused on enjoying what really matters in life. Perfect reminder for the holiday season.  Food My wonder mother-in-law made up some bacon wrapped shrimp with jalapeno