8 Things I do When my Husband is Away

My husband is out of town for a conference-in Tokyo. I hate him. Not really, but he better bring me back something better than bottle panties. Yes, I said bottle panties, apparently all the rage in Japan right now.

Anyway, he has been out of town a lot over the last 6 months and it got me thinking, I do a few things that are a bit out of the ordinary for my everyday schedule when he is gone...so here is my list, even if it is  a little lame.

I don't hog the bed. Shockingly. I know most people starfish when their partner is gone, but me, most of the reason I'm all over the bed is to smother cuddle him-so when he isn't here...no reason for me to be over there. Makes making the bed incredibly easy!

Binge watch Netflix/my fave shows from Amazon or iTunes.. Bad. I do this once in a blue moon when he is in town, but when he isn't here it is really bad. I'm in the middle of Season 1 of Suits now and will soon move on to Royal.

Spend at least one full day in my pajamas. I have a pretty strict routine when he's here of get everyone out the door, workout, shower dress, clean, go do something outside, come home cook dinner, etc. When he isn't here though there is always that one glorious day I never get out of my pajamas. Such a treat.

I don't cook or eat any meat. My husband is a carnivore, teenager and I are herbivores. So, when he isn't here we don't eat any meat, makes for cleaning the kitchen much quicker!

We also eat a shitton of leftovers. My husband is one of those weird individuals that hates leftovers. I don't get it. Do you know one of these people?

Aimlessly wander. We don't do this much when the husband is here because he hates just walking, he wants to have a destination. So we often just go downtown and wander around and sit by canals until the sun sets. Then we usually get dessert.

See every movie in the theaters. We don't like to leave the hubby home alone much so when he isn't here, even if it is a bad movie we go and see it. We probably go to the theater once every other day when he isn't here. We have a monthly unlimited pass, so we really make use out of it.

Go to bed early every.single.night. My husband is a night owl, I am not. Plain and simple. We compromise when he's home I go to be early a few nights a week, stay up later a couple nights, and on Saturday I am always up later because that is our night out usually. But when he isn't here by the time he gets home I am so well rested he gets a full week of my company in his night owl ways.

Do you do anything silly or out of the ordinary when your significant other is away? These don't seem like much, but they sure are fun!

Grilled Peanut Butter and Banana Sandwich

Whew! Fell a little bit behind, but I am back! Today, I bring you some super fun to make extra use of that George Foreman grill you have lying around. I know you have one...we had one since the day we got married in 1999 and still have one living in Holland, so I know you have one. But, did you know you can use it for more than just grilling meat?! I came up with this idea when I saw a "panini" maker advertised in a catalog on Christmas...I was living in a small apartment and really wanted one, but was so tired of buying new gadgets! So, I thought to myself, hey, these look an awful lot a like, so I gave it a go and it worked famously...we now call the grill the panini maker half the time. This is one of our favorite things to make in the grill.

This amazingly delicious grilled peanut butter and banana panini. It is a delicious treat, in all its peanut buttery, honey, glory. 

Here is what you will need for one sandwich...

• 2 pieces of cinnamon raisin bread
• 1 tsp honey
• 2 tablespoons peanut butter
• 1/2 banana

Here's what you do...

1. Spread some peanut butter on one piece of your cinnamon raisin bread (you can put some on both pieces if you are a peanut butter nut like me hehe, but be careful it is high in calories as good as it is for you ;))
   
2. Slice up half that banana and put it on top of the peanut butter.
   
3. Drizzle a bit of honey on top.
   
4. Top with second slice of bread.
   
5. Put in the George Foreman grill and put the lid down. I let mine toast for about 10 minutes, but keep an eye out as yours may be at a hotter temperature than mine. 

This is probably the teeanger's new favorite thing for breakfast...what is your favorite thing to make for breakfast?

C is for Creating a Coffee Center!

Coffee...it is practically essential to life! Who agrees?!

I did used to be a barista, sometimes I break out my skillz ;)

After moving to Europe I have an even greater appreciation for coffee. Coffee here is very good, so since I was lucky enough to have a Nespresso Coffee Machine in my house I decided to create a whole coffee center. This has worked out really well when guests come because they don't have to guess where everything is!

As you can see I have the coffee machine (if you don't have one of these seriously look into it, they are the best, and Nespresso makes the tastiest coffee!)

Next to it I have my milk frother and warmer. I don't use the frother that came with the machine because, honestly, it is a pain and this one is more self-explanatory for the guests.

The three-tiered shelf is a gem I found at HEMA just after we moved here...on clearance from Eater for €5! Score! Since there is a bolt on the bottom I put one of my awesome placemats from Ikea under it.

I stocked the shelves with mugs on the bottom.

The middle has coffee capsules-I try to put out a small selection of everything we have-and two types of sugar: regular sugar and coconut palm sugar. 

The top shelf holds a no calorie sweetner, chocolate and cinnamon shakers, and little stirring spoons.

Next to the shelf I do keep straws since the kiddo drinks iced coffee, but we just ran out!

This is a really great way to display your coffee center and when coupled with the Breakfast Center I posted yesterday shows great hospitality to your guests so they can feel more independent and at home in your home!

B is for...Breakfast Center

Breakfast, the most important meal of the day. Seriously, one that should not be skipped for any reason. But, so many people do because they just don't have time. Well, this breakfast center I created has really helped do away with the morning rush in our house.

My teenager had been starting to skip out on breakfast because I wake up a little later than her and she couldn't decide what to put together for herself for breakfast....so, I decided to nip that in the bud and make it so she could see what easy, quick breakfast fixings we had on hand that she could make herself without much work.

I also realized after having some company that if I wasn't cooking breakfast that morning our guests needed a spot to see what exactly was available for easy to make breakfast items.

I keep it well stocked:

On the left are our tea fixings. We have a few friends that aren't coffee drinkers, and I like tea to flavor my water since I don't really drink much outside of water.

In the middle I keep some powdered greens and raw cacao powder to put into smoothies or oatmeal. I also keep spreads here, right now all we have is peanut butter-pure peanut butter no salt, oil, or sugar added-and pure creamed coconut. My secret of the creamed coconut is it is the same texture as coconut butter but it is waaaaaaaay cheaper....the only ingredient is coconut. I also keep some powdered sugar around in case anyone wants to sprinkle it on their pancakes or waffles. I have some just regular processed table syrup but pure maple syrup as well. I store my banana's in here along with oranges, I've found everyone is likely to grab one of those if they are in there. I also keep a loaf of Whole Wheat bread and a loaf of raisin nut bread.

On the right I have some Frosted Flakes-Frosties here-for the husband and the kiddo when it tickles her fancy, which shockingly isn't often. We have two types of granola for just munching or topping smoothie bowls. We of course have some Hagelslaag. We usually have a dark chocolate one but the kiddo bought this when she went to the store for me. Hagelslaag are Dutch sprinkles and the are very popular for putting on toast here. I thought it was just a kids thing, but I have had plenty of adults confess it is still their go-to breakfast. In the basket is butter and oatmeal; when I'm feeling ambitious it contains my homemade instant oatmeal packets, I've been making these for almost 14 years now. These are a serious money saver.
Instant Oatmeal Packets

Cinnamon Brown Sugar

• 1/4 cup oatmeal
• 2 teaspoons brown sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• Combine in one bag. 
• Instructions: add 1/2 cup water or milk of choice, heat in microwave at 30 second intervals until done to desired thickness.

This recipe is just my base, I change up the sugars, add dried fruit. The options for making these packets are limitless. Use your imagination and have fun creating any easy treat anyone can cook up!

Also, in the basket I have some recipe cards. These are easy mug recipes that take less than 10 minutes from prep to table.

Tell me, what is your favorite breakfast food?

Mine is waffles, especially Belgian ones where I can fill every hole of the waffle with syrup. Nom.

A day in the life...

As a person who has worked a majority of her adult life, since I started staying home I don't really take into account that Monday to Friday are work days, I don't consider staying at home "work" because I've had to do all I do on a daily basis plus work full time and at one time I also was in school full time. So, I consider my days fairly easy and take joy in the fact I can stay home and just have my home as my "work" for now.

So, here is a new take on What I Ate Wednesday
...

So, I figured I would show y'all what a day in the life is like over here.

This is a Monday which is typically my busiest day of the week as it is the day I try and run all my errands as well as get a good majority of my cleaning done.

So...without further ado...

Wake up, put in a load of laundry, unload dishwasher, grab banana, water, and make coffee.

*My precious*

I am almost always starving as soon as I get up so the banana is some quick fuel. I make coffee for me and the teen as I put her lunch together and on her desk.

Sit down to finish coffee and eat breakfast with the teen. We chit-chat, check social media, and just enjoy this first meal of the day together. Please don't get on my case about us checking our social media accounts. Morning is basically the only time we get to really check what everyone is up to (since they are all our family and friends are anywhere from 6-12 hours behind us) we talk about what is going on, so it works for us.

Get her out the door to school, grab a tablespoon of peanut butter and do a little blogging and sharing stuff for blog on social media.

Shortly after hubby wakes up we get some cuddle time in...I poke my head over the shower and chit chat about what he has going on for the day (I will spare you the visual, although I am sure we are utterly adorable haha)

Get him out the door then pop in a workout DVD and get my workout on.

Fix a post workout snack and check blog stuff one more time while half listening to some NPR podcast.

Get presentable for public.

Almost ready to run out the door then I realize I am hungry and hungry + grocery store=disaster. So I make a salad for lunch.

Devour because after an insanity dvd and post workout breakfast I am of course going to starve to death...#firstworldproblems

Put laundry in dryer, but can't start because I finally have to make that trip to the grocery store.

Now, I bet you think I forgot about grocery shopping, but nope, I am now finally ready to bundle up and head to the store.

Battle the elderly for my groceries (actually today isn't half bad because it is Monday which is why I come on Monday's)...

After the stress that is packing my groceries-we have to pack our own and these people have it down to a science, but not me, I freak out and can't get it done fast enough- I enjoy the walk home since it is sunny...

Put groceries away, start cleaning. I do a few basic chores every Monday that I feel keep the house in tip top shape:

• Clean bathrooms
• Dust (kiddo actually does this)
• Vacuum
• Mop floors
• Wash sheets and make beds (kiddo does hers)
• Clean windows and mirrors (again, another kiddo chore)
• Wipe down furniture (this is one we split, whoever gets to it first)

All of these together only take about an hour to 90 minutes depending on the size of my apartment at the time. Right now, because we have a lot of floor space we are closer to the 90 minutes, but 90 minutes once a week ain't so bad.

Fold laundry and transfer sheets.

Work on cards or other projects.

Lately getting back into embroidery has been my bigger project. I am currently working on a collection of embroidered cards I hope to show off soon!

Make beds.

Have tea and a snack with the teenager once she is home from school.

This Winter Mint Tea is a great pick-me-up.

As she starts homework I prep dinner.

Cook dinner/eat dinner...

Clean up from dinner.

• Do dishes (kiddo)
• Wipe down counters
• Wipe down glass cabinets
• Pack lunch for tomorrow
• Make sure breakfast is set for tomorrow
• Start dishwasher

Relax, check social media, do some reading or watch an Eppy of Mad Men.

The teen and I watch an eppy of Gilmore Girls while sipping our Sleepytime Tea.

I didn't watch this when it was a new show...too much going on with life at the time but have totally fallen in love with it and am so glad our cable channel here is showing the series all the way through.

After this I brush my teeth, wash my face, take a bath, and then retire to my bedroom where I check my calendar for tomorrow, make any to do lists to get stuff off my mind, write in our couples gratitude journal, check pinterest, read, and spend some QT with the hubby if he isn't working late.

Finally we go to bed about 11pm that way I get my mandated 8 hours-otherwise I am a zombie.

So, tell me, what does a day in your life look like?

Weekly Dose: Culture Shock-Week 2

Here we are our second full week in Amsterdam. So hard to believe 14 days has already flown by! We've had so many unique experiences I feel like I could bust trying to share them. I am enjoying my runs and exploring my new neighbourhood. I seriously cannot take enough pictures! I have to slow down & dole stuff out other wise I think my instagram friends might start to get a little mad lol

This week I wanted to tell y'all about something that will probably...well, hopefully...crack you up, make you laugh at me, and probably say, "wow that woman is an idiot!" But, this was a major, major point of contention to me when trying to settle into our new home. I was prevented from doing laundry, cooking, and being warm! haha What the heck could this be?! Appliances!!! We had the doggone worst time figuring out our appliances.

The first appliance was the cook top.

I walked in and was super excited because we have a gas cook top. Over the years I've become very accustomed to gas and don't like cooking with electricity nearly as much. Well, the first time I decide to cook something I quickly realized there is no spot to "ignite" the flame!

So, when you turn the dial the only thing that comes out is gas. Apparently, this has to be done the "old fashioned" way and you have to light it using a match or lighter. Thanks to the wonderfully supportive cooking group I belong to on Facebook and there amazing advice we went and got a nice long bbq lighter and haven't had any incidents. But the first two times were absolutely terrifying!

Side note, there are no YouTube videos for being successful at this...maybe I should make one???

Next we are still in the kitchen, we have a convection microwave oven.

This truly puts the "oven" in microwave oven. However, be warned if you have one that does a simultaneous use of the convection part and microwave part you can't use any metal otherwise-BOOM-fire! I don't know from experience but I heard about it in a YouTube video. ;)

Third would be the dryer.

I am sure by the time I got to this the property manager was ready to throttle me. I'd already asked him a million and one questions and this just piled it on no doubt. But, we have what is called a "condenser dryer". This is a unique piece. They are commonly used in Europe so they don't have to run all the hoses and piping and whatnot. It is a really cool concept...until you think the dryer doesn't work anymore.

So, basically what the condenser dryer does is tumbles the clothes around evaporating the water off of them, the water then collects in a tub.

Great idea, however, when said tub gets full you must empty it or the dryer won't dry. This is where the issue arises. I once had to empty the container the water collects in 3 times in one drying cycle. That made me not a happy camper. But, then I remembered how lucky I was to actually have a dryer and I quickly changed my tune ;)

Finally, the heat....or lack there of. I am used to the US where we have central heat & air pretty much everywhere. There are some places in California & even Vancouver that supposedly don't have central heat & air but by the time we got to those places everywhere we looked at central heat & air. Here however, no. Which is fine the weather seems mild in the spring so far. However, some days have been very chilly and we had to turn on the heat. I semi-figured it out the first day, however we learned it does have a central control as well. So basically, once you get the main control where you want it you can leave it there then  each heater unit has a knob on it. You turn it to the plus to let out heat, or the minus to take away heat. Great concept but two things: 1) it takes a while to kick in and heat up, 2) once it is heated up you quickly swelter as if you were standing on the sun dressed in ski gear.

We've quickly learned to pretty much just keep it off. I turn it on in the morning to lift the chill but then it goes off otherwise by the time we crawl in bed no one will be comfortable...no even naked....with a fan...

I will say some of my troubles came from two things: 1) the owner didn't leave us with many of the books on how to use them and 2) the ones we were left with were in Swedish. Not even Dutch so we couldn't ask someone to translate lol But, in my defense: I am doing better than a friend of ours that has been here 2 years...he hasn't used his dryer in all that time because he thought it was "broken" after the first two uses...he is now going to empty the part that collects water ;)

It was fun times these first couple weeks figuring out all the little tricks and getting used to doing things in a new and unique way!

Have you ever had trouble with new appliances? I'd love to hear your stories. Don't let me be alone!

How to make Granite Cleaner Wipes

I clean-a lot! LOL As you can tell from my Tuesday posts the last few weeks:

• Living Room & Dining Room
• Entry, Laundry Room, and Porch
• Bedrooms
• Routine
• Power Hour

Now, for a good majority of these I use just basic cleaning tools like my microfiber cloths. However, when I have to wipe down the counters in my kitchen and bathroom each day I need something with a little disinfecting power.

Now, I've mentioned this before so y'all know I don't use harsh chemical cleaners. They stink, make me cough, and dry out my skin. So, all these factors meant I needed to find a way to make a homemade cleaner that was safe for my granite. Enter: Google & Pinterest!

I found One Thing By Jillee and her great granite cleaner recipe. I decided to take this and turn it into wipes!

Supplies:

Process

1. I make three different containers of wipes. One for each bathroom and one for the kitchen. Put rags in each container.
2. In each container measure out 1/4 cup of rubbing alcohol.
3. Add 3-5 drops of Dr. Bronner's (or your choice of dish washing liquid in each container)
4. 5-15 drops of essential oil depending on how strong you like your scent/what scent you are using.
5. Add about 1/4-half cup of water to just sort of fill the container.

Essential Oil Variations

• Lavender-lemon: 5 drops lavender, 5 drops lemon
• Peppermint 5 drops peppermint
• Lavender: 15 drops lavender
• Lemon: 12 drops lemon
• Sweet orange: 15 drops orange
• Citrus: 6 drops lemon, 8 drops orange
• Natural: 7 drops tea tree
• Orange Lavender: 5 drops orange, 5 drops lavender

That is about the extent of the essential oil scents I use ;) I am hoping to expand my collection soon and come up with more fun ones. The lavender-lemon is my fave!

Do you use homemade cleaning products? What is your favorite recipe?

Organization: Deep Clean: Bedrooms

Wow, first off how many colons do you think I could have used in that title...I was trying to see if I could fit anymore, but they didn't make sense, sadly. 

Anyway...I am talking more Organization today. Who would have thought one little stock app like "Reminders" would become such a great tool in my household organization. 

I started this series with my cleaning power hour and added to it with my morning and evening routines. I have had these two written down for years but often forget to do them because a written planner doesn't buzz for me. I need something that makes a noise and physically reminds me to do a task. So, in comes Reminders.

Today I begin breaking down the deep down cleaning I focus on each week. Years ago when I was a new homemaker I found Flylady. This woman really helped me get my butt in gear and figure out how to break household tasks down into manageable lists and get productive with them. So, I am going to share with you those tasks I perform each week to keep my house in what I call move out shape.

What is move out shape? Well, since we are renters and tend to be a bit nomadic, moving every 1-3 years if I were to box up our stuff and move it out tomorrow our house would be ready for an inspection and pass. Over the years I have found that 15-20 minutes everyday saves me hours upon hours in the future. 

Last week I was focusing on the bedrooms in the house. This list can be done for both bedrooms, at the beginning of each day I check the list and add whatever chore on to the kiddo's list of chores for the day for her room. She is old enough now that she can complete these tasks, plus they will help give her an idea of what will need to be done to keep her home clean someday.

I picked week 3 of the month to do my bedroom. Here is what is on my list:

• Monday: Dust Baseboards, moving furniture when possible
• Tuesday:
• Clean mattress
• Using a mixture of baking soda and lavender sprinkle over mattress and let sit for half an hour. Using vacuum attachment, vacuum up.
• Fluff pillows
• Put pillows, one at a time, in dryer on high heat with a dryer sheet to fluff and disinfect. After, spray with water/lavender mixture or tantra spritz from Saje.
• Fluff comforter
• Put comforter, with dryer sheet, in dryer on high for 20-30 minutes. 
• Wendesday: Dust ceiling
• Using a broom with a microfiber cloth around the bristles, held in place with a large rubber band, dust around the corners and edges of where the ceiling meets the wall.
• Thursday: Deep down vacuum, steam clean if necessary
• Vacuum at the edges of the baseboards, get in the corners, under the bed. If needed spot clean stains or drag out the steam cleaner for well worn areas of carpet.
• Friday: Project planning 
• Look around, what needs to be improved or worked on? 
• Saturday & Sunday: Project execution
• Declutter closets if needed, take clothes to donation, fix worn clothing, do any other organization type projects at this time.

Tuesday is a very busy day. I do all that stuff for the bedroom on Tuesday as that is the same day I wash all the sheets as part of my weekly "power hour" that I do a day late. Weird I know, but it works for me. 

It took me a long time to come up with this system and really figure out the best way to keep our small space spic & span all the time. It's still a work in progress but this keeps me a little more sane and focused. 

Weekly Meal Plan

Happy Wednesday y'all!

Where in the heck did the week go?! My weekly menu is coming to you a bit late due to a long weekend in Seattle that involved a cheer competition. The ride home I planned on doing a menu plan but I was in a serious funk. I was just not feeling the planning. So I avoided it Monday and just used what I had in the cabinet to create some mac & cheese. Then, Tuesday I was tired and didn't feel like cooking so I went down to our local deli & picked up some chicken and potatoes.

So, to get me over my slump of not knowing what to cook I turned to a couple of trusty books...

This is one I received from my best friend for Christmas one year. It was the first all purpose cook book I ever got. Honestly, I wish I would have gotten a book like this for our wedding as I had no clue how to cook and there is so much useful information in this bad boy! Not to mention great recipes. I sometimes swap out ingredients to make the dishes a bit healthier, but the recipes use all around basic ingredients that most people enjoy.

This is one hubby & I picked up at Williams-Sonoma one year after Christmas. I think we got it for like six dollars or something ridiculously cheap! It has so many yummy recipes. The book is divided into categories such as, "Weekday Favorites", "Summer Grilling", "Holiday Feasts" and other ones. The ones that are seasonal use seasonal ingredients. It has great side dishes in the back to. Everything in the book uses whole food ingredients so that is one reason why I love it, no substitutions have to be made!

Well, without further ado here is my weekly menu!

Breakfast choices:
English muffin breakfast sandwiches with fruit salad
Cream of Wheat
Donut Holes
Eggs

Lunch Choices:
Leftovers or
Subs and soup/salad/chips (Th & Saturday)
English muffin mini pizzas and salad (Friday, kiddo is home from school)
Omelettes with bacon and fruit salad and avocado (Sunday)

Dinner:
Wednesday: Tacos and salad
Thursday: Chicken and Sausage Paella (crock pot meal from the Better homes & garden cookbook)
Friday: New Restaurant Friday
Saturday: Creamy garlic pasta with grilled chicken breast and salad
Sunday: Chicken fried steak with cream gravy, sweet potato biscuits, carrots/salad, and corn and a baked potato (for the hubby) This is from the steak & chops book. I was feeling like a nice big dinner was needed today.

Well, that is my meal for this week. What have you made so far this week...any must try recipes?