The Start of Summer Break

This first week of summer break has felt a bit like a liminal space—technically, we’re on break, but with Piper away at basketball camp from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. every day, it hasn’t fully felt like summer. 

However, it does help that we decorated for the occasion! This is a little tradition I started for the last day of school each year and the kids love it!

Today is Piper’s last day of camp! Even though summer vacation officially started last Thursday, I don’t think it will truly begin for us until she’s home full-time again, which starts tonight!

Life has slowed down a bit lately, and I’ve been using the time to catch up on all the things that piled up during the busier months. 

One of the big things on my list has been getting the garden in order. It’s been a slow start, but everything is growing! I still need to get the squash planted, but aside from that, I’m feeling pretty caught up. 

The baby chicks we brought home in February are officially teenagers now—and ready to be introduced to the rest of the flock. If you’ve never done that before, let me just say: it’s not always a smooth process. 

We’ve started with short, supervised introductions in the backyard—what I like to call a “soft introduction”—since there’s plenty of space for everyone to spread out. The real test will be when we move them all into the same coop. I’m praying that goes smoothly!

Inside My Fridge + Grocery Haul

It’s the first Monday of summer break, and the house feels a little different. My oldest daughter, Piper, is off at an all-day basketball camp. My youngest, Laney, is at home with me. 

Laney has been my right-hand girl today! This morning we planted the last of our tomato starts, preserved garlic scapes, and picked flowers to put in vases around our home.

After that, she came along to help me pick up groceries. Now that the groceries are unpacked and the fridge has been freshly restocked (and reorganized, sort of), I thought it would be fun to do something a little different: show you exactly what we bought for the week, and what’s in my fridge.

This was a spontaneous decision and so the fridge isn’t deep cleaned or sparkling by any means, and that’s okay. I also didn’t plan a grocery haul with the thought of sharing it in mind so this is going to be as authentic and real as it gets today!

I don’t usually pick up groceries on Monday but, we had a weekend full of fun that kept me pretty busy! I picked up the groceries we needed for the rest of the week ahead, which will supply my dinner meal plan for the week!

Monday: Zuppa Toscana

Tuesday: OTE

Wednesday: Burgers + Corn

Thursday: Egg Roll Bowl

Friday: Chicken Sausage Stir Fry

Since Piper will be at basketball camp the next few days, I made sure to stock up on Gatorade. We also like to have Coke Zero and Spindrift sparkling waters on hand in general each week.

I will say the butter is not usually kept in the fridge but since I made garlic scape butter, I thought it would be best to refrigerate it.

As for the two mysterious looking jars on the top shelf, those would be our bacon grease supply that we use for cooking and a sourdough starter that I keep as a backup just in case my starter dies.

Everything else seems pretty self explanatory. I hope you enjoyed this little peek into what we eat and how we spent our first summer Monday!

Hello June!

Hello, June! It sure doesn’t feel like it’s June. If I were to step outside I’d say it’s the end of April. It’s been a rainy and cold few weeks here. I’m sure the nice weather will eventually come!

To sum up the last month, May got busy and I stopped taking care of myself again. That’s a habit I’m hoping to break, but the only way to do that is to keep working on it. Since it’s a new month, and our season is changing from the school year to summer break, I am going to start working on myself again.

A new routine will begin for us as my kids wrap up the school year and I’m looking forward to it more than I believe I ever have before. Summer break is going to be great!

I plan to sit and think about my goals for the month at some point today, and will be sharing them with you soon. For now, I’ll just share my dinner plans for the week. I try to come up with a meal plan every weekend for the week ahead. I will grocery shop for the whole week later today.

Sunday: Turkey Roll-Ups

Monday: Zuppa

Tuesday: Chicken Sausage + Veg + Potatoes

Wednesday: Egg Roll Bowl

Thursday: Burgers + Corn

Friday: Out to Eat (OTE)

Thanks for being here! I’ll check in again, soon!