Mason is FORE-Teen

 Mason turned 14 yesterday and we celebrated with a golf-themed birthday dinner ;)

Chipotle Beef Bowls

 

I made this chipotle beef (barbacoa) recipe the other night and it was an immediate hit with my family.  Dave, Luke and I made rice bowls with ours while Mason and G used the meat in quesadillas.  It was super tender and flavorful and we eagerly added this to our "Favorites" list.  I love a recipe that uses the crock pot - especially as we head into summer - and hope you love it too.  If you end up making it  I'd love to hear what you think!

Embroidery Floss Friendship Bracelets

 Before I went to Big Bend back in February I tossed in a random ziplock bag of embroidery flosses I had from YEARS ago along with a few safety pins.  I taught a few of the girls how to make some super simple bracelets/anklets and they absolutely LOVED IT! Everyone has been making the beaded bracelet but that can be a lot to lug around and isn't super conducive to working on outdoors - embroidery floss bracelets you can do on the go or even get them started at home and then work on them pinned to a backpack, your pantleg, tied onto a water bottle, etc.  I grew up making these and it was SO FUN to share with my students.

Weekend Happies ;)

Happy Monday, friends! This was another full and fun weekend and today I thought I'd share a few of the big and little things that made me smile over the past few days.

I took the day off on Friday and one of my favorite things about being at home are the slow mornings.  I had a bacon egg and cheese croissant and sipped my tea while looking at calendar things and it was just PERFECTION.  

Friday Favorites

 Happy Friday, friends! Erika and I are so excited that lots of y'all are linking up with us every week.  Make sure that you're grabbing our graphic, linking back to us and sharing your own Friday Favorites post ;)

Happy Friday, y'all!  WHAT A WEEK!  Spring is NO JOKE with #allthethings and I am SO READY for a weekend. hahaha 

Mason's FAVORITE place to pop into? The Nike Outlet.  He is is mother's son!

Stromboli

This Stromboli is my kids new FAVORITE meal.  It's super simple, customizable and DELICIOUS!!!

Amazon Lately

I don't understand the Touchland hype but can't deny it ;) This fragrance spray made it's way into my cart for G's upcoming birthday or Easter basket. 

Teacher Tuesday - Bonus Questions

  It's been a looooong time since I've shared a Teacher Tuesday post and so today I thought I'd reshare a little bit about how I handle "bonus" points on tests since we're reaching the time of the year where everyone can use a little bonus ;)

Smoking Turkey Birthday Dinner

 

Y'all know I LOVE a theme and as my kids have gotten older and moved away from themed birthday parties I've turned themed birthday dinners into our family tradition.  Sometimes the theme revolves around the meal, sometimes around something they love and sometimes it's just FUN.  

This year when discussing Luke's birthday dinner he said his one and only request was smoked turkey.  As he repeatedly said smoked turkey someone said "what about smoking turkeys?" and thus, a theme was born.  The plan was to have his dinner a couple of days after his actual birthday, but then schedules opened up and we ended up bumping it to the day before his birthday and so Amazon Prime and I got to work STAT.

Friday Favorites

Happy Friday, friends! Erika and I are so excited that lots of y'all are linking up with us every week.  Make sure that you're grabbing our graphic, linking back to us and sharing your own Friday Favorites post ;)

My FAVORITE part of the week has been celebrating this sweet boy's birthday! Luke turned 17 on Tuesday and, honestly, I feel like I'm still processing ;) We had a fun family birthday dinner (I'll share details next week) and he has plans with friends this weekend and I'm just over here wondering how this happened...

Must See TV - Part 1

 I feel like I'm often on the hunt for a good TV show to watch and so today I'm sharing a few things either Dave and I have watched or we've watched as a family in case you're looking for something good too!

I watched this Gabby Petito documentary on Netflix and was immediately hooked.  I remember hearing about the story but didn't really know about the case and the way that they used so much of the footage that she had shot with her camera and drone made the whole thing a bit surreal.  

Huli huli chicken

 I made this huli huli chicken recipe last week and OH MY WORD it was SO SO SO GOOD!  Dave and I joked that it was giving "mall chicken" from back in the day when you'd go get that bourbon chicken at the food court but SO MUCH BETTER!  Dave and I ate ours over sticky jasmine rice and the kids made sliders with Hawaiian rolls. It was super flavorful, super easy and the leftovers reheated beautifully.  This will for sure be on repeat and I hope you love it too!