Mandy and Jace

This is going to be a fun week! My 26th birthday is Sunday and I intend to take full advantage of my birthday week. So lots of milkshakes, cupcakes and pampering. Yay!

You might have noticed that I’ve had chicken thighs on the menu for the past few weeks, and they are going to be on this one too. For some reason something comes up every time I have that dish planned. It’s really good and I want to eat it, so that is what we are having tonight. I am determined to make that dish.

Here’s this week’s plan.
Tonight: delicious pan-roasted chicken thighs, mashed potatoes and green beans
Tuesday: pork chops and a squash, zucchini and tomato veggie medley
Wednesday: roasted turkey breast and pesto on croissants
Thursday: take out
Friday: date night

Happy eating!

…well this is more like my past 2 weeks in photos.

Long wavy blonde hair





I love the splash of color in this photo. May have to think about this for the next time I go to the salon. (hint hint, Melanie)

My new iPad

I wasn’t sure how handy this thing was going to be until I got one. It is going to be great for directions when we are traveling and movies on plane rides. I also like that it is so much more portable than my laptop.

Pioneer Woman’s iced coffee recipe

I like coffee, but with it being 300 degrees in Midland right now it just hasn’t been worth it. This recipe for iced coffee however has fed my need for caffene and kept me cool all at the same time. I just keep it in an old milk jug in the fridge, pour me a glass when I need it, add some creamer and sugar and sip away. Believe me, it’s really good! You can find the recipe here.

Unfortunately vacation is over (cue pouty face and waa-waa sound). We had a great vacation week though. We went to Dallas where we shopped, ate great food and slept as much as possible. The Hilton Anatole where we always stay has an amazing restaurant and bar on the 26th floor with windows everywhere so on the 4th we went up there and watched the fireworks spread across the Dallas skyline. It was beautiful! On the day we came home we decided to stop off at Six Flags and ride some roller coasters. We have never been to Six Flags as just a couple so it was great getting to ride all of my favorite rides with my favorite person beside me.

I really didn’t take very many photos this time, and I’m very content with that. I think a lot of times I hide behind the camera and miss a lot of things with my own eyes. It was nice seeing things like fireworks, sunsets and roller coasters outside of the view finder. In the words of John Mayer:

Didn’t have a camera by my side this time
Hoping I would see the world through both my eyes
Maybe I will tell you all about it when I’m
in the mood to lose my way
but let me say
You should have seen that sunrise with your own eyes
it brought me back to life

This week’s meals are going to be light. I ate everything in sight last week and I’m ok with that, but now it’s time to reign it back in. Here’s this week’s plan.

Tonight: chicken thighs, potato cakes for Jace and salad for me
Tuesday: dinner with Jace’s family
Wednesday: five spice stir fry with as many veggies as I can get into it
Thursday: take out for Jace and salad for me
Friday: some friends of ours are getting married and we are on sound tech duty so who knows what we will eat

Hope everyone is having a great Independence Day! Meal plans will start back up next week.