Lazy Hazy Summer Days?

Not sure how lazy!  But been pretty hazy.  Looking back on the few past blogs, and I see where I was taking my GRE’s….well I’m officially a grad student now (oldest ever lol?)  Not too much time for blogging this past winter and spring.  My parents have temporarily moved in with us, too, while my dad is going through treatments for cancer (and kicking cancer’s butt by the way!).  Youngest son Vincent is home from school for the summer.  Step daughter Trinna’s wedding was last month.  Older son Frankie moved into a new home in Florida.  Step son Trevor and fam are in Vegas for WSOP.  Hmmm. What else?  Work is super busy with training projects, which always makes me happy!  And I finished my first semester in grad school. Yup, pretty busy!  I’ve decided to retire from Pampered Chef…I absolutely love the products, have a pretty much completely stocked kitchen, have enjoyed every moment of selling it, but I just don’t have the time to devote to running it as a functioning business anymore.  So it’s a time of goodbyes and new beginnings.

I’ve been cooking a good bit….trying to cater to Eddie’s allergies, my dad’s need for protein, Vincent’s 19 year old metabolism and my mom and my trying for healthy.  You know, the usual!  I’ve been pretty good, too, at meal prepping, planning and cooking up breakfasts and lunches for the week, so I’m not quite so nutso during the week.  I pretty much have commitments every night, and try and fit the gym in as much as possible, too.

So here are some food picks from the last few weeks.  There are more of course!

Open faced burger with grilled onion, apple and mushrooms, bacon, ketchup and mustard.

 

Ribs cooked in pressure cooker, home made bbq sauce and chicken/pork sausage from local butcher.

Potato salad with crispy prosciutto on top

Fresh green salad with peaches, blueberries, red peppers and cucumbers. #lovejerseyproduce

Cucumber ribbon salad with red onion and homemade balsamic vinaigrette.

I’ve also been trying to reorganize my kitchen and cabinets. This past weekend, I decided to create a coffee bar in my dining area.  We have Kurigs, coffee makers, decaf, regular, decaf flavors, regular flavors, half caf, espresso makers…..so I saw a cute mug rack online and decided that my husband and I could so make one!  We did!  Here’s how our corner coffee bar looks!

Eddie and I showing off our Coffee Bar (and cute little cow creamer lol).

An old pallet cut down and sanded, spray painted, then I painted and tacked on wooden letters and simple hardware. #lovemycoffeecorner

Cute little Coffee Corner Bar all done!

So I’m hoping I can get back into blogging.  I do love cooking and coming up with new recipes and ideas for my kitchen and my home.

Hope everyone is having a fabulous, hazy, lazy Summer too!