eating this week

After hemming and hawing about making the full time transition from vegetarian to vegan, I finally decided to try a month of vegan-ish fare to see how we do. I say "vegan-ish" as I'm eliminating dairy and eggs but probably not honey (and I'm not going to go crazy checking bread and the like for dairy ingredients...though, I did check the bread we use 95% of the time and we're in the clear there.) Let's call it a plant strong diet a la Forks Over Knives. Carlos and I are fully invested while the kids are still partaking in their morning yogurt and occasional slice of cheese.

I'm fairly confident that it won't be too difficult and feel pretty strongly that once the month is over, we will make the full on switch (or very, very close to it.) Being 75% of the way through your shopping list once you make your way out of the produce section makes it much easier to avoid the temptation in all of those middle aisles!

Anyway, I've been checking out a ton of websites and books in order to prepare. It's not a huge hassle as we already unintentionally eat a lot of dairy/egg free meals. But I am excited to try a lot more new recipes this month!

mon broccoli gribriche
[since I'm posting this later today, we've already eaten this...just a couple of teenytinyminor changes: obviously, I skipped the eggs (and while I'm sure they are a significant component of the dish as written, the dish we ate was fabulous despite their absence! I also added some minced garlic to the broccoli before roasting because I love broccoli and if 2 cloves is good, 4 is better! I skipped the extra oil and added the splash of vinegar to the pan while browning the onions. I served it over quinoa.]
tues E2 basics salad (from The Engine 2 Diet)
wed brussels sprout fried rice w/ crispy cauliflower
thurs spaghetti (fast and easy...mom's night @ school!)
fri chickpea, potato and spinach jalfrezi w/ parsley chutney
sat roasted beet, asparagus and garlic salad (from The New Vegetarian Epicure)
sun crispy glazed tofu (need to figure out a replacement for the egg in this one)

As a counterpoint to the dietary changes, I'm determined to get on the treadmill and outdoors for a lot more running/walking this month. Last year, I was diligent about moving but after our California trip, never really got back into the habit, despite a couple of half-hearted attempts. So, keep trying, right? I'm goal oriented so, I'm setting a goal of 75 miles in May. I know some of my runner friends are laughing at that paltry number but I'm aiming for attainable because while goals motivate me, recognizing too early in the month that I'm not gonna make it will inevitably lead to me quitting. Because, why bother, right? The goal setting conundrum.

before and after

I'd be remiss if I didn't point out the fact that I completely ripped off the caption treatment from this blog series...because I love it that much.

For the record, he never went out in public with hair that resembled the first shot. That was very intentionally mussed for an optimal before/after comparison.

He's been so patient waiting for a haircut. This one was daddy-done and he's just fine with that.

Might as well update on middle man Z.

Still doing awesome. Still occasionally struggles with his temper but mostly, it's a very pest-like 3 year old sister that is a cause of that consternation. And man, can I totally relate to that. He's doing a great job dealing with it though. Incredibly proud of him!

Is making huge strides in his eating habits. This kid is a toothpick. Really. He's on the small side (and always has been...like 10th percentile his whole life) and we constantly worry about him getting enough calories. Basically, he's been surviving on PB&J for years now (since long before we because vegetarians.) Recently though, he's been trying new things with a semi-open mind. He's not like Jake yet (who will eat anything I put in front of him. Whether he likes it or not, he never complains) but in the past week, he's eaten a couple of meals he wouldn't have even tried previously and tried a couple more (unsuccessfully, but at least he *tried*) 

Is such an incredible trooper with his expanders. He has them on the top and bottom and they have made such a difference in his mouth already. He's got a tiny little jaw and his teeth were just piled up on top of each other. Cross your fingers and toes that the expanders will nullify the need for braces! He was so scared when he got them (poor kid actually though he was getting dentures! It's funny now but can you imagine being 7 and confusing expanders with dentures? Terrifying.) I cringe every time I have to adjust them but he never bats an eye. Superstar.

He is, on a daily basis, asking me to google things for him. He's such a science geek. Countless image searches for creepy crawlies (a particular affinity for spiders,) space anomalies (black holes last night) and weather patterns (soooo many weather requests - things I swear he's made up but I entertain his search wishes and what do you know, up pops all kinds of images.)

He often reads entire chapter books from the time he gets home from school until dinner time.

He has a wicked sense of humor and his parents' sarcastic streak (to go along with the typical 7 year old boy potty humor + silly, nonsensical, made up jokes.)

Seven. It's a good age. Finally.

project life: weeks 11-13

Another 3 weeks knocked out over the weekend and photos printed for weeks 14-16. Sooooo close now I can taste it!

Week 11

(that top right pic really looks like crap in this photo! also, I just realized I forgot the tag on that one. I'm sure you can read my mind though, right?)

(when she hears *click* she comes running)

Week 12

("it's my butt, uh huhhuhhuh")

Week 13

(I often add an 8.5x11 sheet protector in the middle of spreads to stash school papers I want to save but I truly love this drawing, lol. Zack has been checking out "how to draw ____" books every week from the library and this particular week, it was different types of whales. This is a "spern" whale. Watch out, he can really hurt your feelings.)

And that "leave your mark" card? I originally designed that for another use but it seemed appropriate here ;) I did them in a few different colors (and both standard PL sizes) if you'd like to grab them...enjoy!

eating this week

mon roasted corn & jalapeno soup + bread
tues lemon orzo salad (new)
wed broccoli garlic quiche (new) + salad
thurs sausage gravy + biscuits (I have some veggie sausage that I got on sale a couple of weeks ago so I'll modify this recipe to use it up)
fri sweet potato enchiladas

(And by the way, the grapefruit smoothie from last week's menu - delicious...refreshing. Just don't leave it in the fridge overnight because it gets BITTER)

Also, today only, there is an Earth (mon)day sale on all digital at Two Peas - so if there is something you've had your eye on, today is the day to grab it!

a new favorite

(I wish I could do this to it...via)


eta...LOOK! There's an app for that!

lunch. done.

The second I got home from the grocery store Sunday, I washed and halved the tomatoes and stuck them in the oven.

A drizzle of olive oil. Salt. Pepper. 325 for about 3 hours.

Let them cool, stick them in the fridge and dream of lunchtime.

The moment of truth is the first juicy bite. I know the tomato doesn't look very pretty but I roast the hell out of them to make the flavor as intense as possible. The taste is worth the lack of pretty though, trust me.

This is one of those things I get hung up on. I'll eat it daily for awhile and then forget all about it for months. Right now? Well and truly addicted.

project life: weeks 5-10

Uh, yeah. I'm still behind but I have enough under my belt that I'm not giving up. I did 3 layouts this past weekend so another couple of weeks and theoretically I can be caught up, right?

No detail shots because honestly, no one wants to look at 100 photos, right? I'll try to link up as many of the downloaded resources as I can but I'll skip the traditional supplies (a lot of them are the result of some serious digging into the old stuff) and my own designs.

These were fast spreads (with the exception of week 7.) I don't love any of them but I do love that I did them. I want to get caught up because I want to be able to spend as much time on each week as I can to make it special. I enjoy doing the detailed stuff. I've never scrapped chronologically and have never felt the urge to be "caught up" so I guess that is the biggest "con" to this whole project.

Week 5

left side: twitter printable from Melanie; "the story" from Paislee Press

right side: the top set of pockets hold multiple photos - I just cut the "title" words from cardstock, stuck them to 4x6" transparencies and slid them in on top of the photos; "hello" card from here

Week 6

left side: frame for digital Madonna memory card Audrey Neal Clipped: Frames; bottom right journaling card Marcy Penner Captured

right side: "friday" card from Valorie Brown

Week 7

I did this spread for Lisa's March Capture class at Two Peas so you can find ALL the details for this one there

Week 8

uhhh, this week was tough because everyone was sick and I didn't have a lot to work with. basically, I really reached to finish this week (can you tell? lol)

Week 9

Week 10

left side: map from Robyn Meierotto Let's Go Mini; "currents" from LifeLovePaper

new today

Three new kits today:

I can't take credit for this idea...completely and totally inspired by this awesome idea from Lisa. Washi Words $4

Alphabetical Order Cards $4

And inspired by the triangle crazy that is everywhere these days, Triangulation Templates $4

I have another small freebie to share as well but I'll do that tomorrow when I do a massive Project Life dump (um, weeks 5-10? lol)

Have a great day!

eating this week

mon french toast and fakin’ (Zack's request..."fakin" is our veggie bacon substitute. which is disgusting. but I'm the only one that doesn't like it.)
tues asparagus soup + bread
weds zucchini and corn nachos
thurs edamame fried rice w/ baby bok choy greens
fri manicotti + salad


orangeberry shortcake cookies (April treat for my dad)

grapefruit smoothie

The only new items this week is the fried rice and bok choy recipes. I didn't do a menu last week as we had a ton of leftovers to work our way through plus Carlos juiced for a few days (C juicing means kid-friendly meals and me fending for myself with easy single-person meals.)

A few winners from past weeks...the roasted cabbage (definitely on the menu for lunch this week,) salt and vinegar potato bites - delish, roasted edamame - an awesome snack option.

new today

Apparently, while there is an abundance of 3x4" card options, there's a bit of a dearth when it comes to 4x6" So, this week I created a 4x6" card set. This kit includes 10 designs in both colorways shown (the grey/yellow and a red/pink/grey option.)

4x6 Set 1 - $4

And this one is a layered psd option that can be easily colored to match your layout or PL spread.

4x6 Set 1 Templates - $4

These kits are pretty versatile...not a lot of text included. I did want to quickly show how easy it is to eliminate the text (and add new text if desired) in the color version though.

With your file open, select the brush tool (B) I just chose a basic round brush and adjusted the size to the text (I'm all about keyboard shortcuts as opposed to the mouse so I use the [ key to decrease the brush size and the ] key to increase)

Click on your foreground color box and then click the yellow on the card to match it. Alternatively, with the brush tool selected, you can just hold the alt key and click the yellow to change your brush foreground color.

After covering the text with the yellow, repeat for the text in the light grey box.

To add new text, click your text tool (T) click anywhere on your canvas and type and format your text

Once you've formatted, click on a corner handle of the text box and rotate -90 (or, hold the shift key as you rotate the layer with your mouse...holding the shift key will make the layer "click" into place at 15 degree intervals)

Repeat for the yellow text box. I added a graphic (from the default shapes in PSE) as well.