Happy May, Friends!
May always feels like a whirlwind around here! Between Mother’s Day, Nathan turning 20 (how is he not a teenager anymore?!), and both kids wrapping up another school year, life has been moving at full speed lately. Autumn had her very first prom, which was such a special milestone, and I’m still trying to wrap my mind around the fact that I now have a SENIOR and a son heading into graduate school next year. Time really does fly.
On top of all that, I had three different events with my Bible Study this month that were all so meaningful and fun, so I’ll be sharing a little peek into those too. It’s been one of those months filled with celebrations, memories, and just a whole lot happening in a short amount of time!
One – Mother’s Day & Nathan’s Birthday
For Mother’s Day, we went to one of our favorite restaurants with our family. It was a lot of fun and the food was delicious!
Brian got a UV printer on Kickstart a few months ago and made this really cute Yeti mug for me with it. I can’t wait to have iced coffee and hot tea in it!
The mug has all my favorite things on it, the Bible, my family, my rag dolls, running, iced coffee and more. It’s perfect! It was also filled with my favorite candy, which is plain M&M’s.
Autumn likes to shop and even though I told her not to, she surprised me with some sweet Mother’s Day gifts.
Nathan’s birthday is always right around Mother’s Day. He got a new Playstation and we ate at The Melting Pot, which is one of his favorite restaurants.
Two – Other Happenings
Autumn had her first prom this year, her Junior Prom! The girls decided they wanted to make their own bouquets, so we were in charge of picking up all the flowers. Autumn really wanted blue flowers, so we bought white roses and spray painted them in two different shades of blue. They actually turned out pretty cute and matched everything so well!
I’m only sharing this one photo of Autumn and I, because she really prefers that I don’t share too many photos of her on my “blog stuff” anymore. But she looked absolutely beautiful for prom! She went with her boyfriend, Jacob, and the fun continued because they also went to his prom the very next night.
I went to a free sunset yoga night and it was SO fun and relaxing… plus, the weather was perfect that evening for it! I have been really loving yoga lately!
For a few years now, we have a tradition where my mom comes over and she plants zinnias by my bedroom window. Aurora LOVES to get up on a cat condo and watch all the butterflies they attract once they grow tall. Afterwards we went to lunch at The Blue Owl in Kimmswick. I got a strawberry cake and it was SO delicious!
I try to go to the outlet mall in the fall and spring, but I didn’t get out there last fall. I went this year and I found several things in the J. Crew Factory store that I thought it was going to be a successful shopping trip. Well, it was at J. Crew, but I couldn’t find anything else at the other stores. I guess I saved money! Ha, ha! This really cute pink sleeveless top, front pocket shorts and pink dress with an eyelet ruffle hem came home with me (and a few other things).
I tried a few new recipes this month. I know these photos aren’t the best, but I just snapped a quick photo so I could share it on here. The first one is an egg casserole that my core group leader Marla brought to one of our bruncheons. It was SO good! It has 3 cheeses in it: cottage cheese, cheddar and Swiss, which I think is original! And then it is made with bacon (or you could swap it for sausage), potatoes and obviously egg. It is called the Amish Egg Casserole and you can find the recipe HERE.
Again, not the best photos, but these Protein Bagels are SO good!! Ashley shared the recipe with me and they’re SO good! You can double the recipe and make about 8 bagels. Mix 3/4 cup of nonfat greek yogurt with 1 cup of self-rising flour. Sprinkle with shredded cheese and jalapeños (try to find the jar that says nachos jalapeños). Mold into 4 bagels and bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes. They’re SO good!
Three – Latest with My Bible Study
I had 3 fun events for my Bible study in May and it was quite busy, but a lot of fun. First, I wanted to mention that they asked me to be a Core Group Leader for next year! I was SO honored! I really was!! But, I had to decline because it would be a two day commitment and I just didn’t feel it was something I was ready to commit to just yet. Plus, next year is Autumn’s SENIOR year and I just really want to SOAK that up! I told them that maybe it would be a better fit in 2-3 years. Now, let’s get to what I was up to in May with them. There was 3 times this year where my core group helped with the little kids. I was unable to help until the very last time. I selected the 2 year olds and it was a lot of fun, but man, they have a LOT of energy! Then, afterwards they treat you to a delicious lunch and we got to hear a recap of the lecture. The salad had so much in it, the bread was homemade and I couldn’t resist a chocolate chip cookie. I contributed brownies.
The next fun event was our second luncheon for the year. I wore a blouse, pair of pants and new sheer shoes I got from J. Crew Factory. Sarah hosted it at her lovely house! She is such a great host! The table was beautiful!
On each plate she had a box of prayer cards wrapped and a mini chocolate mousse flower. For the main course, she served a popular CBS dish (it is in the official CBS cookbook), the Chicken Salad Pie! I’ll include the recipe below, so keep reading. It was delicious and I want to try making it on my own sometime.
Then we finished up the meal with some desserts. I brought a sampler box from The Cake House bakery by my house and Janice made some really delicious (and mostly healthy) strawberry cookies.
Here is the recipe for the Chicken Salad Pie. She recommends using this Shortbread crust (it gives it a nice little sweet taste!). What I love about this recipe is you can make it up the night before and then serve it the next day.
The third and final Bible study event I had in May was our last meeting, which is called Sharing Day. Our core group leaders decorate a table for our group, all the groups bring various breakfast dishes and then we eat and the mic is open for anyone who wants to share what they learned that year.
Here is a spread of all the food. The warm stuff was on the other side. I baked Shay’s Banana Blender Muffins and I only had a couple left to take home, they were a huge hit! And SO delicious!
Four – Shows
I know Virgin River’s new 7th season came out in March, but I finally watched it. Oh, this one is GOOD. SO good. I was bawling at the end though, happy tears of course! And Jack and Mel are just such a cute couple. I loved the honeymoon episode.
One of my summer goals is to watch Gilmore Girls for the first time. Ashley is going to watch it the entire show as well this summer! I’m excited about it!
Five – Latest Finds
Shop These Products:
Laura Geller has been sending me some of their products for the last few months and they are so great for mature skin! Here is what was in the latest box that they sent me:
Flashproof Anti-Hot Flash Makeup Setting Spray – Looks in your look for up to 18 hours. Weightless, never-sticky mist leaves a soft, velvety finish while helping prevent makeup from slipping or smudging.
Lift-N-Glow Baked Face Trio & Dual-Ended Blush + Bronzer Brush – Includes angled bristles for blush and fluffy bristles for bronzer.
If you’re wanting to try out a beauty brand that specializes in mature skin and has good quality products, Laura Geller is worth checking out!
Shop This Product:
I recently had a RewardStyle collaboration and they send me this really useful Manta Curls 4-in-1 Brush (Available on Amazon). It’s great for curly or even stubborn hair that tangles easily. It glides through knots effortlessly with its FLEXGUARD technology and helps to reduce breakage and keep your hair healthy, defined and shiny. This brush is a game-changer for detangling, scalp care and hair/curl confidence.
Shop These Products:
Pixi sent me over another great box and here is what was inside:
Flawless Beauty Primer – Illuminating & Hydrating. Evens skintone. Enriched with vitamins A, C & E. Glow boosting.
Correction Concentrate – Under-eye brightener. Erases dark circles. Enriched with vitamins A, C & E. Nourishes with Rosehip.
Flawless & Poreless Primer – Blurring & Pore Minimizing. Shine-free Velvety Finish. Enriched with Salicylic Acid & Vitamin E. Skin Texture Smoothing.
I have been using Pixi products for a long time and their primers work really well! I feel a primer is needed even more once we get into these humid summer months. The Correction Concentrate was new to me, but I really love how it brightens my under eye area. Be sure to check these products out!
I am an ambassador for Cultivate What Matters and they sent me their Fresh Start Weekly Goal Planner (90 days). I have their year long planner, but this planner would be great for the summer, start of the year or if you have a period where you really want to focus on your goals.
Did you survive May? It’s always so busy! Hope you all have a great weekend!
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