Lately in Pictures

These girls have been constantly hungry lately.  They can’t seem to make it from meal to meal without a snack, so I’m caving in my “no snack” manifesto and giving them a few cheerios from time to time.

I can’t even handle the cuteness of this little lady napping.

That face.  Those sweet cheeks and lips.

I’m so thankful for her.

And this little stinker.

The warmer weather has beckoned us outside and Grace cannot get enough.

Bubbles, sandbox, sidewalk chalk, toy car, bike, you name it.

She’s all over it.

After ballet last week I took these two out for a nutritious lunch at Burger King.

Not really, but they had fun splitting a kids meal and playing on the playscape.

I enjoyed being out of the house and doing something out of the ordinary.

Andy surprised me by setting up a date night.

Reservations at a posh restaurant (Michael Symon’s Roast in Detroit) and a free babysitter (thanks Elle!)

I thought it would be even more fun to get a new dress for the evening so Grace and I went shopping that afternoon.

Pardon the silly selfies, but I liked all three of these so I texted my sister for input :)

Grace and Ellen both voted on the first one, so that was the winner!

#2 was super cute too, but had more of a professional vibe than a date night vibe.

I wore the green dress with black patent leather heels and a black cardigan since it’s still pretty chilly here in Michigan.  I’m looking forward to pairing it with gold heels for dressier events and gold flats for church.

New clothes are just so much fun, aren’t they?

Roast was positively delightful.

The atmosphere was cozy and very chic.

Andy and I sat in a raised, curtained booth and had a wonderful evening.

The pictures did not turn out because it was so very dark, but I’m including a few anyway.

That appetizer above was de-lish.  Pork belly over cheese grits.  Mmmm.

Dessert was out of this world too.

Chocolate, malt marshmallow, pretzel, smoked salt, & whiskey sauce.

Those malt marshmallows changed my life.

They were homemade and brûlée toasted to perfection.

The spun sugar on top was whimsical and a lovely accompaniment to those white flakes of salt.

Our cocktails, entrees and side dishes were also phenomenal.

It’ll set you back a pretty penny, but I thought it was worth every cent.

We agreed that fancy date nights alone are needed on a more regular basis!

I love seeing Grace’s hair up in a pony tail, but she’s seldom agreeable to it.

I snapped this pic right after putting her hair up and it was all down again in under a minute.

Sigh.

I picked up this small glass colander bowl at Bed Bath and Beyond for a few bucks and it has been revolutionary!

I normally use a wire strainer when I rinse berries or drain pasta and beans but that strainer is a pain in the rear to wash!

This little guy looks pretty, does the job, and is easy to wash or throw in the dishwasher!

Total win.

You should get one.

Here’s a silly selfie while whipping up a batch of Leftovers Soup.

Give it a try if you have leftover meat and veggies waiting to die in your fridge.

Less waste and fresh dinner on the table!

Win/win.

Audrey from Putting Me Together got me hooked on this cargo vest.

It’s not something I’d normally buy, but I pretty much want to wear it all the time now.

We went to my brother-in-law and sister-in-law’s house on Sunday for brunch and ended up staying all day and having dinner too!

These kiddos were just so cute eating picnic style all lined up on the floor.

How great is that wall color and book shelf?

My sister-in-law is a “can-do” gal and built that awesome bookshelf, a mantle, and a corner bench around their dining room table.

Grace cleaned her plate (including green beans) without a fuss because of all the positive peer pressure.

Maybe I should send her over there for dinner every night. Lol

I’ve been on the hunt for an iPad mini cover since Christmas!

I bought one from Target, but it was bulky and covered too much of the screen edges which was a pain.

I’ve seen a few cute ones that are $70, but that’s just crazytown.

I’ve seen some reasonably priced ones but they are plain black and I wanted more flare than that.

I’m always keeping my eyes out when we are out shopping, but I keep coming up dry.

Finally I gave an honest effort on Amazon and found that cute pink polka dot one for under $10!

It’s exactly what I was looking for, even if they don’t spell check their plastic packaging.

O_o

Overall, it’s been a good week.

I’ve got some thoughts about my social media fast that I’ll share in my next post.

Happy Tuesday, folks!