Weekend Roundup

Why is that every single weekend seems jam-packed with busy activities that by 11 pm on Sunday I regret that I didn't sit on my butt watching mindless TV at some point?

Round up since leaving school on Friday:

Met up with my friend Katie from school to go to Raleigh Jr League Christmas Shopping Spree. This is the 3rd year I have gone and it never disappoints to check out all that monogrammed, pearl wearing, sterling silver paradise. You can take the girl out of SC but never her love of a passed down Chantilly pattern.

I managed to only buy foodie items for a gift basket for each of Ben's teachers for Christmas as well as this poster for Ben's new room. This vendor (a retired high school art teacher no less) sells hand drawn posters all with alphabet themes. Perfect for his new transportation themed room. Here's the hitch, the poster is black and white leaving me to get artsy with the color choice. I am excited to do something as special as his framed children's books themed art pieces currently in his nursery.

Saturday am I was up early and cooking, all 4 straight hours of freeze ahead cooking with my friend Elizabeth. End total: 70.00 for groceries (almost all on sale) creating 4 chicken pot pies, 4 Chili Macs, 4 Pork Chops with Apple/Herb Stuffing, 3 pans of Ziti, and 2 large containers of Taco Soup with 4 pans of Mexican Cheese Cornbread. My goal is still to get the freeze ahead blog up by end of the year. I did buy the rights to freeze-ahead-frenzy.com so I feel compelled to get it up soon.

Also on the cooking front I also planned my book club menu and prepared a shopping list for later in the week. Not preparing a whole themed meal for your month to host is similar to being voted worst book of the year. On the menu: Pimento Cheese Biscuits with county ham, Braised pork roast with apple cider glaze, endive and cranberry salad, brown sugar baked acorn squash, PW apple Pie and maybe a 2nd dessert if I have time, and a cheese board for nibbling throughout the night (more than just me, I will share).

I followed up marathon cooking by cleaning the house (downstairs only) and prepping a dessert for our friends that came down later that night for our monthly game night. They brought their 10 week old daughter, Gretchen, who let me get my baby love on all night. What a cutie and how much fun to listen to Ben talk to and about all things baby.

Sunday I slept in, we realized the pilot light was out on the water heater :-(, had lunch out at a new place we loved, and then I prepped for the upcoming busy end of the quarter at school. At to that a Halloween party for Ben and adding cobwebs and spiders to our already loaded down outside decorations we called it a day. Whew I am tired just recalling all this.