Good morning to you! Another Friday is here which means we have officially made it through our third week of our new normal. I am not sure if this whole social distancing thing will ever feel “normal”, but I guess you could say things are going as well as can be expected. I constantly remind myself that we are not supposed to be good at this and it’s OK to feel emotional. We got the official word this week that Georgia schools will not be returning for the rest of the school year. I was mentally prepared for it, but hearing it finalized definitely sent a new wave of grief. Fortunately, we have found our new groove and everyone’s expectations of daily life have adjusted. I just remind myself daily to keep a positive attitude and try to just focus on taking one day at a time…
But I would love to hear how you are holding up, so grab your coffee and meet me on the porch for this week’s Front Porch Coffee Talk.
EASTER IS COMING
This is my official PSA. In case you don’t know what day, week, or month it is… EASTER IS IN 9 DAYS! And while this Easter may look drastically different than years past- we are just going to have to pull off Easter baskets using Amazon and the grocery store. I have been brain storming on how to pull off an Easter basket and here are a few things I plan to grab: electric toothbrush, book from Amazon, and Big League Chew gum. I will also be using coins in the boys Easter eggs since I don’t have much candy- which I think they will love!
CHALLENGE ACCEPTED- QUARANTINE MEAL OF THE WEEK
It has officially been 14 days since I have grocery shopped. (I did make two big runs back to back on the 19th and 20th) Honestly, I was D-R-E-A-D-I-N-G making three meals a day for my people. And while I sure do miss tacos, chips and salsa from my fave restaurants, there really is something to be said about eating in and meal planning. Meals are certainly getting interesting at this point, but we are getting creative! Do you have any recipes you have enjoyed lately? We have been enjoying Sweet Potato Tacos– so easy and and a good thing to keep in the pantry and freezer.
AZALEAS IN BLOOM
The Azaleas here in Atlanta exploded this week which has brought so much joy. If you are like me and haven’t been to the grocery store, you definitely do not have fresh flowers hanging around. Here is how I displayed my Azaleas last year for our Masters Party last year. Off to go cut some now! I think we might even replay an old Masters Tournament and make some egg salad sandwiches…
A HOME SCHOOL SUCCESS
Who else has received emails titled something like “101 Things to do With Your Kids While Quarantined” or “75 Recipes Using Pantry Staples”. I know they are meant to be helpful, but honestly they did nothing but overwhelm me when this all started! I feel like I have received something titled that from just about every direction. If you are looking for something super simple- we had success doing Melted Skittles. Just dig through the old Halloween Candy and try this easy experiment. I used this video as my tutorial
HELPING OUR HEROES
I don’t know about you, but I was starting to feel pretty helpless about all of this in my daily emotional roller coaster. So I was THRILLED when my awesome neighbors decided to take action and collect money to organize a lunch delivery to a local hospital. The beauty of this effort is that not only does it support the amazing hospital staff, it also helps a local restaurant and small business owner. Together, we collected enough for over 100 sack lunches just from a quick text chain of neighbors. One of my neighbors made contact with someone at the hospital to arrange delivery. Another neighbor quickly called up a local restaurant (Henri’s Bakery) and placed the order directly with the owner for the large lunch delivery.
If you don’t have a group that you can connect with to do this locally, Megan over at Honey We’re Home is collecting money for this cause and you can read all about it here. She started with a $500 donation! Such a great way to help both the restaurants and small business owners as well as the doctors and nurses on the front line!
QUARANTINE MEME OF THE WEEK
Can we just all agree that the memes that have been coming out the past few weeks are the one of the best things getting you through your day? As soon as I think I have seen them all, I see another one that makes me smile. (OK, sometimes snort from laughing) This week, I legit asked the boys if they wanted Peanut Butter & Jelly or Jelly & Peanut Butter for lunch (which they did not find funny by the way)… so when I saw this one, it really hit home!
Well, that is all for today. I sure hope you are doing well and staying safe and sane.
PHOTO SOURCES: Olive Jeggings | Distressed Jean Jacket | Striped Tee | Tortoise Hoops | Black Topknot Headband | Wrap Bracelet |
Adidas Superstar Sneakers | Striped Blue Porch Rug | Lemon Wreath | Wreath Door Hanger | Coffee Tumbler
xoxo-
Heather
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Could you tell me what you are using to hand the wreath on the door? I don’t want to put a nail in my door and yours looks like it isn’t nailed.
Good morning! Yes, I also have no way to use a nail on my door. I use an over the door wreath hanger that is removable. Here is a link to several on Amazon. I don’t see mine exactly with the decorative twist, but this is the general idea: https://rstyle.me/+3CEZeuTuJpRKlx5ld_0FAw
Well things are going okay here at home in NC. I don’t have littles at home to homeschool/entertain-thank goodness! I have developed Covid/Corona back…aka I THREW MY BACK OUT (yeah, not good!) Not sure if it was from the garage cleanup I was working on or turning the dip in the mattress to another position….personally I think the mattress was the culprit. I don’t care if the mattress catches on fire this 60 yr old lady isn’t touching it again-lesson learned! I did happen to do a really quick and easy layered taco salad dip recipe. There’s a ton on Pinterest. I just used a leftover packet of taco spices from one of those store kits and added it to some hamburger that I had pre-fried from making another meal and froze in a baggie. Then added stuff I had in my fridge and pantry: shredded cheddar, chopped onion, chopped tomato, guacamole, chopped lettuce, sour cream, and diced olives. So you layer it backwards, meat/refried beans down then cheese and toppings. Instead of the traditional taco salad (toppings on lettuce). Served with Tostito’s chips on paper plates (one casserole dish and serving spoon to wash!) It was actually really refreshing and my hubs even liked it and he HATES those boxed kits! If you don’t like chopping (unless you need it for “therapy”) I got most of the things at the store already chopped except the lettuce. Kids can even help you make it. I think you could even try it with other meats too-chicken ( leftover rotisserie ?) or pork would be good. Hang in there Heather!