Our weekly meal plan! 2nd - 8th March!! #MealPlanningMonday

How was your weekend? Ours was a really quiet one and I loved it. We watched loads of wrestling on TV, which as you know makes me very happy. I get far too invested in storylines and end up shouting a lot at the TV. hehehe Other than that, we didn’t really do much at all. We were all tired on Sunday, so it turned into a proper nothing day which we really needed.

I’m feeling pretty proud of myself because last week’s meal plan went completely to plan and I mean completely! We ate everything with no swapping the days around. It all worked and I think it helped that I’d picked mostly family favourites, so there were no complaints or thinking we didn't actually fancy that. When everyone is happy with what’s on their plate life and meal planning is a lot easier.

This week we are back to having our Gousto meals and I was way too excited about choosing them. Last week I struggled to pick 3 meals to make an order but for this week I could have easily picked around 10. I love getting our Gousto recipe boxes delivered, they make life easier. I don't have to think much about planning meals, shopping for ingredients or coming up with new recipes to try!

On the menu this week we have:

Monday - Gousto meal - Beef Mince & Veggie Stew With Mash!

We're starting the week off with a hearty stew! This is a new recipe for us and it seems the perfect weather for it, grey and gloomy! This involves beef mince with parsnip and carrot, flavoured with sage and garlic, all simmered in a rich tomato stock and served with buttery mash.

Tuesday - Gousto meal - Meat-Free Mince Sloppy Joes With Creamy Potato Salad!

This was one of the very first Gousto meals we ever tried and I remember being very curious about the meat-free mince. I am sure I didn't even tell my family it was meat free until they had eaten it and loved it. It tastes like normal mince but without any of those gristly bits. The meatless mince is cooked in a smoky BBQ-style sauce and served on plant-based brioche buns with creamy potato salad on the side.

Wednesday - Gousto meal - Sausage Meatball & Tomato Sauce With Fresh Orecchiette!

This is one of our favourites from Gousto. My family would eat this every week given the chance and at the moment we seem to having it at least once a month! This one is sausage meatballs cooked in a rich, herby tomato sauce, served with fresh orecchiette. Those little ear-shaped bits of pasta are brilliant at holding onto sauce, which means every mouthful is a good one!

Thursday - Gousto meal - Honey Chicken With Tomato & Pepper Rice Bake!

This is a brand new one for us and I’m quite excited about it. It’s baked rice in a smoky homemade pepper and tomato sauce, served with juicy pan-fried free-range chicken finished with a golden honey glaze. Everything about that sounds good.

Friday - Chippy tea!

Friday nights have become chippy nights and it’s working very well for us. Since our local pub closed and we’re not eating out like we used to, I’ve done a bit of girl math and decided that ordering from the fish and chip shop once a week is basically saving money because of the not eating out.

Saturday - Gousto meal - Crispy Chicken Katsu Curry Burritos!

This one is such a good Saturday night meal. It’s basically a fun twist on chicken katsu. Crispy breaded chicken and shredded lettuce wrapped in tortillas and topped with a sweet and savoury coconut curry sauce. Wrapping it all up makes it feel fun.

Sunday - Chicken and I don't know...

We seem to have a load of battered chicken bits in the freezer that need using up. So I’m thinking we’ll just cook those and have a bit of a picky tea. I will see what else I can find in the freezer to go with all the chicken bits.

What are you eating this week?

A photo every day for a year! 22nd - 28th February Week 9 of #Project365

Happy Sunday and happy March! I don’t know how we got here so quickly, February flew by for me. I am looking forward to this month, the clocks going forward, we have Mother's Day and hopefully some warmer weather when spring begins.

I hope you are all having a good weekend. We’re having a nice quiet one here. Stu and Ellie went back to work and college after a week off and they were wiped out by Friday and ready for a rest. You’d think a week off would leave you feeling refreshed but real life comes with alarm clocks and early starts. If you’re reading this on Sunday morning, I imagine we're all tucked up in bed having a lie in.

Now for a photo every day!

53/365 22nd February

It felt like a spring day on Sunday! The sun was shining, we had blue sky and it was actually quite warm. It was good to get things out on the line to dry. It all started with Ellie's trainers and before I knew it I’d stripped the bed, shoved the bedding in the washing machine and that went out on the line too.

54/365 23rd February

I love the new shelves in the living room and I had a good faff about moving things around and swapping bits from one shelf to another. The best part is that I now have space for more of my Lego sets. They’ve been sat waiting patiently because I refused to build them without somewhere to display them.

55/365 24th February

Just a lemon muffin, nothing fancy but it was perfect to enjoy with a cup of tea.

56/365 25th February

I hate putting flatpack furniture together but this one wasn't actually too bad! I surprised myself and it went together without too much fuss. No leftover screws or things put on backwards. It was a new sideboard and you can see a photo of it over on my Friday Favourites post. I think our next project will be painting the wood on the fireplace to match the rest of the room.

57/365 26th February

Mine and Becky's Valentine's Day flowers lasted really well but by Wednesday some petals were starting to fall off, so I knew they had to be thrown out. I ordered some daffodils and chrysanthemums to come with the food shop! I love having fresh flowers in the house.

58/365 27th February

I’m halfway through Skin by Liam Brown and wow. I wasn’t expecting it to get under my skin (excuse the pun) the way it has. The story is set after a pandemic where human contact has become deadly. People have to live completely separated, even from the people they love. It's crazy to think that just a few years ago we were living in a pandemic so this feels a little bit too close to home.

59/365 28th February

New bath mats! They're not exactly what I imagined. In the photos online they looked much bigger. Oops. They'll do though and they do feel a lot softer under my feet compared to the old ones.

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This week my Word of the Week is: Fresh!! #WotW

This week my Word of the Week is:

This week has felt like a proper fresh start. Last week Stu had the week off work and it was half-term break for Ellie so everything was a bit upside down in the nicest way. Then Monday rolled around and it felt like January and a whole fresh start. Back to routine, back to normal bedtimes but this time the sun was shining, warmer temperatures and there was even a bit of blue sky!

The sunshine has helped me so much. We’ve had a few days this week when it’s been bright and even a little bit warm. After all the endless rain earlier in the year, seeing the blue sky feels amazing! My mood is better, my energy is better and I suddenly feel like I can take on the world. It always feel more productive, I find myself opening windows and pottering about making lists of things I want to sort out.

Saturday night was such a good one. Stu and I headed out into town for a meal and a few drinks. It feels like ages since we’ve done that. We did plan to get the last bus home but after a couple of hours of being out, a belly full of food and a couple of drinks, we thought stuff it, we would just get a taxi home. We didn’t get home until well after half past one in the morning. Sunday morning wasn’t exactly energetic. I didn't feel as fresh as a daisy but I wasn’t suffering either. It should have been a lazy day but then I looked outside and it felt like spring. So the bed was stripped, washed and put out on the line to dry!

Stu has carried on with the painting. After finishing the dining room, he moved on to the bathroom. I thought he’d just used the same white paint we used in the dining room but no, it’s the one he used on the kitchen cabinets a couple of years ago. He said it is more waterproof and more suitable for bathrooms. I nodded along like I knew exactly what he meant but being honest I didn't even notice the difference until he pointed it out. That is his department. If it looks clean and fresh, I’m happy.

Seeing Stu busy with paint brushes and putting shelves up gave me that itch to change things too. The living room has had a little shuffle with me moving the furniture around. The sofa is now away from the window, which makes it so much easier to open and let some fresh air in and then I bought a new sideboard. I’d been thinking about it for a while because we needed more storage and it fits perfectly in the spot I had in mind.

Getting back into routine this week has felt good. As much as I love having everyone home, I do like our day-to-day routine. Family wise, it’s been a nice week. Ellie got back into her routine after half-term but she did struggle with being tired but that was partly her own fault. I went to bed just after 11pm one night and she was still watching TV when she knew she should have been asleep. She has cracked on with her college work and they're on the countdown now to exams and the end of the college year. Eek! Stu is back at work and he has felt tired too. Early mornings are no fun after a week of not getting up until at least 9am and Becky is just plodding on with life as normal, looking forward to the next couple of months as she has some exciting things planned.

How has your week been? I hope you have had a good one! I am of course linking up with Anne who blogs at Raisie Bay to join in with her Word of the Week linky!

What I have loved this week! Week 9. #FridayFavourites

Happy Friday! I hope you have all had a good week! Mine has been a one of getting back into a routine after my family had time off work and college last week. As always, I’m linking up with Erika and Andrea to share the things that I have loved over the past week.

The weather!

Since the weekend it has been so lovely with proper blue skies, sunshine and the hope that winter is over! (apart from yesterday, it was still warm but grey,) I’ve had washing out on the line actually drying instead of just getting damp in a different way and it smells fresh in a way that no fabric softener can ever compete with. I’ve had the windows open too. Even just pottering around the house feels better when there’s a little breeze coming through. At one point I was outside in just a T-shirt, only in the garden though, I was not brave enough to venture too far without a jacket. Although, after seeing the crazy weather in America, I’m slightly suspicious this might be one of those false springs. Eek!

Putting pretty things on my new shelf!

You know when you measure something and you’re convinced you’ve done it wrong, that was me with the new shelf. Except I hadn’t!! It’s actually two shelves and they fit the space perfectly. They slot into the wall like they were made for it and it has completely changed that little area of the room. (They are straight, it's my photo skills which aren't!) The best bit was putting pretty things on them!

More painting!

Stu has been on a proper roll with the painting. Once he gets started, there was no stopping him. He finished off the dining room and then just carried on straight into the bathroom. By Monday evening we had two freshly painted rooms. Our house has had a mini makeover without us changing that much. It’s amazing what a lick of paint can do, it makes everything else look newer and brighter!

Sideboard storage!

After the shelves and the painting I was in full home improvement mode so I decided the little sideboard in the living room needed changing too. Most of our furniture there is black and the old brown drawers just didn’t quite work any more. They weren’t awful but they didn’t blend in either. So I found a new set of drawers on Temu for just over £30. A metal frame and canvas drawers which are a lot stronger than they sound. The drawers are bigger and we now have more storage. It just looks neater and the old brown drawers are in the garage waiting to be given a new lick of paint and then we will find a new home for them! 

Bridgerton!

New episodes of Bridgerton were released yesterday and I am fully ready. I’ve been planning my afternoon around it. I am going to binge it all this afternoon!

Being home alone!

After having everyone home last week, this week’s quiet has been very welcome. I love my family but I also love a bit of space. The first day I was alone, I didn’t even put the TV on straight away. I just enjoyed the quiet, had a cup of tea, pottered about and caught up on the bits I didn’t manage to do last week. I haven’t even done anything exciting apart from putting the sideboard together but it has been lovely being home alone! 

What have you loved over the last week?