What's up Wednesday

Today I decided to participate in What's Up Wednesday.  Thought it would be a fun way to talk a little about what's going on in our world right now.

1. What we're eating this week...

I've tried out a few new dishes this week.  Monday I made this Crockpot Beef and Broccoli for dinner.  I left out the cornstarch combo to thicken it since I was trying to keep it fairly low carb and both David and I really liked it--it had a lot of flavor and was great leftover for lunch yesterday too!  Last night I followed this method for crispy baked buffalo wings--I used only chicken drums and it turned out so well.  I served mine with Buffalo sauce and ranch and for David's I made this homemade spicy BBQ sauce--both were really good!  And we're also eating lots of delicious banana pudding that David's mom made for his birthday.

2. What I'm reminiscing about...

With all of the prep for our friend Amy's wedding last week and our 3rd anniversary next month, I've been reminiscing a lot about our wedding and all of the little things I tend to forget.  It was such a fun time and it's fun to look back on it.

3. What I'm Loving...

Eating at our neighborhood restaurants.  When we first moved into our house we started a list of the restaurants in our neighborhood and we've tried out a few, but recently I decided I wanted to be more intentional with trying out all of these places.  So about a month ago we drove around and made a list of all of the restaurants within a mile of our house.  We went a little further than a mile, but no more than 1.5 miles... and we had a list of 70+ places to eat.  Once we took out some of the chain restaurants (Chipotle, McDonald's, Starbucks, Subway etc.) there were a little over 50 places.  And we've been working our way through them this month.  So far it's been really fun trying new places to eat--I'll definitely post more about that soon.

4. What we've been up to...

As we settled into our new normal with the kids gone, I've been up to a whole lot and nothing all at the same time.  I've been doing a lot of cleaning... such as our pantry--it used to be really messy and now it's at least a little organized:

And David and I have been discussing various hobbies to start together.  One of the ones he was most interested in was puzzles.  So we bought a few puzzles to do and spent a Sunday afternoon putting together this one of the US.  Each state was it's own puzzle and then you put them all together into the map.  He did most of it, but I helped some :)

Mainly we've been doing a whole lot spending time together just the two of us and catching up on life together.  

5. What I'm dreading...

100 degree weather.  I feel like the last few weeks have been really hot.  I've been trying to workout more and go for a walk/run/bike ride when I get up.  But I pretty much have to be out the door before 7:00 for it to be bearable at all.  I'm not looking forward to it getting even hotter.  But that's summer in Texas.

6. What I'm working on...

In addition to all the cleaning and other projects around the house, I put up our 4th of July decor this week. 

I usually leave up the Red, White and Blue through Labor day when I start to put out my Fall decor! 

7. What I'm excited about...

We recently booked flights to go to Boston in September and I have been trying to plan out our itinerary and look at what all we want to do.  As Summer is in full force, I am looking forward to exploring Fall in Boston!  Neither David or I have been there, so it'll be fun to check it out together.

8. What I'm watching/reading...

During my downtime, I've been re-watching Gilmore Girls on Netflix

And David and I have been enjoying American Ninja Warrior this summer as well.

And I'm reading:

Sophie Hudson's Giddy Up, Eunice

I've been doing a book club with a few friends from my old job, and this month we are reading The Nest, so I am making my way through that before we meet next week.

9. What I'm listening to...

Since I'm not in the car as much, I haven't really been listening to music at all, but I have been listening to several podcasts when I workout.

I've been working through several episodes of The Happy Hour with Jamie Ivey and I always love getting to hear from her guests.

I love both of these bloggers and love listening to their random podcast episodes--they've done a few new ones this summer and I've enjoyed them.  

My friend Jill also recommended a podcast called Marriage is Funny and David and I have been listening to a few of those as we drive different places on the weekends.

10. What I'm wearing...

A lot of times at home, I am wearing workout clothes or pajamas.  But when I have places to go, I've been wearing a lot of dresses--mostly random ones I've found at Walmart.  In April I found a navy maxi dress at Walmart and bought it.  After wearing it, I found it so comfortable and easy that I went and bought the exact same dress in pink.

A few weeks ago, I picked up this dress in the red and white stripes on a trip to Walmart.  I wore it that day and liked how it fit and felt so much that I went back the next day and bought the same dress in the coral/white/blue stripe pattern.  I love how easy dresses are to wear this time of year.

I've also been wearing my Sseko Sandals a lot, especially while they do their 10 Ways 10 Days Promotion.  I'm on Day 9 and plan to post more about those and the different ties soon!

11.  What I'm doing this weekend...

We honestly don't have anything planned right now.  We've been pretty busy the last few weekends, so it'll be nice to have some down time.  We're planning to do some swimming and eat some barbecue and hang out with friends!

12. What I'm looking forward to next month...

We've booked a weekend getaway to Hot Spring, Arkansas in July.  Looking forward to a road trip with my guy!

13. What else is new...

Not a lot... I already feel like this is the longest blog post ever...

14. What is my favorite July 4th tradition/recipe

I can't think of a lot of traditions or recipes for 4th of July.  For several years, we've gone to see Fireworks at Breckinridge park with friends and that is always fun.  I also love coming up with red, white, and blue themed things!

And that is What's up around here.