Author: jessintheordinary

Gift ideas for any of those hard to shop for little ones you may have on your holiday list! Most are tried and true favorites in our house, plus a couple of things that I’ll make sure are under our tree this year…

PERSONALIZED BOOK BY WONDERBLY

Starting off with my personal favorite! I’m pretty sure I found this company years ago through some influencer marketing they did at the time and I’ve just held onto this idea for gifts ever since. The books are personalized so their name can be incorporated into the story. My Little Monsters and The Little Boy/Girl Who Lost Their Name have been my go to favorites and by the time I’m done, every child in my life will have one!

ZINGO 1-2-3

I am not a game lover by nature – I don’t know why! But this one is an exception. It’s simple to play, you can play it with only two people, and you get some sneaky math practice in too! Tolerable = must have for games in our house.

HOT WHEELS TRACK BUILDER

HOT WHEELS TRACK BUILDER

I’m actually unsure who loves this hot wheels accessory more – my son or my husband. The star here is the clamp function. This is the exact one we have from a few years ago but I can only find it in stock at Target and it says you have to go visit the store to purchase so I’m adding this version since since it’s easier to find and I’m sure it’s just as great! But this thing has been loved for years and I’ve watched plenty of times as it was used to make some wildly creative race tracks. We’re talking clamped to the kitchen island, over a couch, and flying into the middle of the living types. In the summer, we’d take it outside and clamp it to the patio table and have the track send hot wheels cars flying into a baby pool. Endless outdoor entertainment for so many years!

POP-IT FOR THE POKEMON LOVER

I have a high level of appreciation for the fact that what seems to currently be the hottest toy in the young elementary school aged crowd being so cheap and so easy to find. Pop-its are so beloved that my son’s class recently chose bringing their pop-its to school for the day as a prize for completing some behavior based challenge their teacher has them do together. There will for sure be another pop-it wrapped up under our tree and I’ll just have to decide if it’ll be Pikachu, Among Us, or baby Yoda even if my favorite is this fries and burger one. 🙂

BANANAGRAMS

I remember being introduced to this game when my cousin’s kids were little and they’re all now in their early twenties! This one has a recommended age of 7+ and I think that’s pretty spot on. My son just turned 7 and I think this will be a fun way to have him practice his spelling and reading!

NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MARBLE RUN

My son picked this one out of one of those Amazon holiday catalogs last year and has loved it. At age 6, more often than not my husband was helping him build the tracks and then playing with the marbles would keep him busy for pretty long periods of time. It’s a toy that tears down and comes with a bag to store everything in so this stays in our hall closet and he pretty consistently seeks it out to play with.

BLAST PAD/STOMP ROCKET

I have my dad to thank for this one. He spent that spring 2020 quarantine sending my son periodic surprises always with the goal of fresh entertainment, and I couldn’t be more grateful. Who knew the act of jumping to send rockets flying in the air would be so fun? But I’ll tell you that I recently spent an evening listening to two 6 year olds giggle away as they played with it. I know the manufacturer’s recommended age starts at 8, but I just don’t see how this wouldn’t be great for any kid big enough to get a good jump going and enough coordination to re-load the rockets! I like this particular one because it folds back up perfectly and that’s been great for the times we’ve taken it along for picnics at the park for added outdoor fun.

SCOOTER

We have not mastered bike riding in this house and at this point I’m worried if we ever will? A scooter wasn’t even on my radar until last fall my son had a blast borrowing his cousin’s as they took turns riding it around. My sister-in-law and her family gave him his own for Christmas last year and it’s been love ever since!

In our house, chicken is the primary thing we cook and our weekly dinner menu is very routined and repetitive at this point. Sure, we switch it up a few days a week, but it feels like pretty much every other day is chicken and some form of potato or rice. Your girl can only handle so much of it so on the few days a week that making dinner lands on my shoulders (my husband is the primary cook in our family!), I have to have a few things to switch up the flavors from his tried and true favorites that I know he’ll still like. Here’s 4 recipes that have made the cut!

GARLIC CHICKEN AND POTATOES

Chicken and potatoes are favorites in our house and this recipe with the brown sugar and garlic glaze poured on top is such a good flavor to add to switch it up a bit. Bonus points with this recipe, everything bakes in one dish so clean up involves washing the pan the glaze is made in then just rinsing the baking dish and throwing it in the dishwasher. Big win.

TERIYAKI MEATBALLS

These have such good flavor and while the recipe calls for teriyaki sauce, I would say you could add whatever sauce you wanted to them at the end depending on your mood and your family’s tastes. This recipe is a favorite of mine to use on a work from home day where I can prep the meatballs during my lunch break and then they’re ready to go whenever the work day is done.

SEMI-HOME MADE CHICKEN POT PIE

This is my personal favorite recipe and I could eat every single week and be happy. I do make just two adjustments though – I usually just buy a rotisserie chicken to use and I buy the Pillsbury crescent rolls, but spread them out flat across the top instead for a thinner top that gets nice and golden brown. But this is hands down my favorite option to turn to now that the weather has changed and that fall chill is in the air!

While social media has plenty to list in both the pros and cons columns, finding content that really makes you pause, think, and re-consider is one of my favorite pros. Prompted by Adam Grant’s post pictured above, Kate from whatkatefinds dug into this more and one of her followers had a great alternate conversation starter if you’d like to avoid asking the question always presented when you meet someone new socially – what do you do?

What are you enjoying right now?

Try that one instead. And as I’ve found, it’s a really good question to ask yourself when you’re feeling like you’re in a little bit of a rut too. A bit of a good journal prompt if you will.

So what’s on your list? Currently writing this while entering the end of a week of vacation time from work spent going nowhere and with no set plans, I can say slow mornings with planning dinner ideas being the only task I absolutely must do, tracking down a last minute Halloween costume for my son, and going for walks to just look around and enjoy the fact that it finally looks and feels like fall are top of my list.

On a deeper level, I’d say the stage of parenting that is early elementary school age. My almost 7 year old is reading books to me! Watching these big milestones unfold is so surreal to see sometimes. New friends to be made where the connections weren’t a happy byproduct of your parents friendship first, a little more independence for both of us – he can walk himself home from the (half a block away, ha) bus stop after school, I can go off run errands or grab dinner with a friend without him hardly blinking an eye or saying goodbye to me.

Back in the toddler days I would’ve never imagined a day out on the horizon where I didn’t have to sneak out of the house to avoid a mom’s leaving melt down. It’s both refreshing and a little bit sad too to think of how the tides have turned. But isn’t that motherhood for you? Every new exciting thing always follows up with the reminder of how quickly time is passing and how big they’ve gotten, and what I wouldn’t give for just a couple of hours spent in the past with them before jumping back to the present.

Ingredients:

*this is what I use for a single serving of this salad – up the serving size as much as you need!

2 cups arugula

1/2 cup of diced apples (about 4 or 5 apple slices)

2 tbsp crumbled goat cheese

2 tbsp chopped pecans

1 tbsp dried blueberries

2 strips of bacon crumbled

2 tbsp dressing

Every once in awhile the craving will hit hard for a salad and of all the cravings, that’s one I feel like I should be quick to jump on, right?! I like my salads on the sweet side and this one definitely fits that bill, but the arugula and the crumbled bacon off set that sweetness. If you’re looking to lower an already pretty short prep time (me, almost always), buy a bag of pre-sliced apples and a package of pre-cooked bacon. Microwaving the bacon for just 30 seconds was enough to crunch it up a bit and make it easy to crumble.

Inspired by my recent browse through Allison Day’s book Modern Lunch, take this salad on the go by putting all the ingredients except the dressing in a to-go container (I used large mason jar), then bring your dressing with you to add and shake before throwing it in a bowl and enjoying!

Looking back on the loved, used, and worn most in the month of August, it appears that the vibe had a very intense summer mom thing going. Not that it should surprise me! When summer hits I want nothing more than to be comfortable and keep things simple, then letting accessories bring in a little more interest to a look.

By the time we hit August I finally feel like I’ve all but perfected the look I’m going for and stocked up on all the pieces. So here’s what I spent the month loving most, that can thankfully carry me right into the fall too.

AERIE VOOP TEE

I’m obsessed with these tees and my collection is already up to four. They’re the perfect oversized tee without being too oversized. We agree that it’s a fine line, right?

VINTAGE UTILITY SHORTS

Another item I own multiples of. Get yourself the Aerie tee in the smoked gray color, these shorts in the panther color, and you have yourself a matching set. Are we still into those? I am, and you’re unconvinced then I encourage you to give it a try. It’s genius.

GOLD BIRKENSTOCKS

Shit. I’m realizing that here we go with another thing I own multiples of. After fulling embracing the plastic Eva style for almost two years, both my dad and my husband separately thought it was time to upgrade and offered up my first traditional pair as a birthday present. I surprised them with my choice of color though, with my dad referring to these as my princess shoes. I love them!

FANNY PACK

I was slow to come around to this trend but eventually caved and now I can’t get enough. The convenience! Hands free! This one doesn’t have much bulk to it so it’s perfect for wearing cross body instead which makes me feel just a little bit trendier. 🙂

PRETTY STATEMENT EARRINGS

Finding small businesses to buy gorgeous handmade earrings from is something I should probably consider a hobby at this point. The Winsome Poppy is a great shop, but be sure to follow her on IG to learn when a launch is coming because she will sell out fast. My last purchase was a pair from her field of dreams collection. They’re beautiful, lightweight, and the perfect thing to throw on and instantly feel like I’m a little more together for the day.

THE PERFECT LAYERING SWEATER

And then lastly, a return to the office a few days a week at the beginning of August reminded me of how overly air conditioned our building is. I’d rather layer up than speak up and take the risk of the temperature swinging too far in the opposite direction so I spent the month of August often throwing this sweater on over a shirt paired with jeans and heading on into work.

Years ago our team headed to happy hour after work and a teammate talked me into trying her favorite margarita that had some fruit flavor I didn’t bat an eye at (pomegranate? pear? I can’t remember) but then also had muddled jalapeños – the part I was a little skeptical about. Turns out I liked it enough for it to be my new favorite too. When I discovered Trader Joe’s had jalapeño limeade a few years back, a made at home version of it became my new go-to for summer weekend afternoons!

Now, my particular style of at home bartender is to disregard any rules (probably more for lack of knowing what they are than anything else) and to just throw together things and see if it tastes good. But this one has tequila and triple sec to stick with the basics though, then Simply brand peach juice, Trader Joe’s jalapeño limeade, and some lime slices. Wet the rim of the glass, dip it in a bowl of turbinado sugar, throw in a lot of ice, then get to mixing!

2 oz tequila

1 oz triple sec

2 oz Simply peach juice

2 oz Trader Joe’s jalapeño limeade

lime slices

Now that we’re back in the office a few days a week I’m back to needing to plan out lunches ahead of time. At home I settled into a habit of not thinking about it too much and then not putting a ton of thought into it until it was time to eat and then grabbing whatever felt easiest. A lot of bagels or bowls of cereal for lunch! Not exactly the best or healthiest approach.

When packing my lunch again that first week, simple was still key. Something I wouldn’t have to spend a bunch of time putting together and I could just grab and eat without any prep at work. A pasta salad that felt a little bit like an actual salad too was the way to go. So here’s what I did…

Bought a small container of zesty style pasta salad from the deli, put some spinach in the bottom of my bowl, then layered some pasta salad on top. Added some shredded carrots and diced roasted red peppers to sneak some more veggies into my meal. That’s it! Nothing complicated, just a nice little store bought lunch with a slight homemade feel thrown in.

After getting through the first week of June I’ll tell you what my number one most loved thing in May actually was – a school bus picking up and dropping my kid off half a block from our house each day. Man that makes a difference in my work day! But May is gone and along with it, the school year and the last of the mild weather we’ll see around here. June will be spent getting settled into yet another new routine with summer camp and weekly swim meets, while savoring what’s likely to be the last of the completely remote work weeks.

But let’s look back and not ahead just yet! Here we go, a list of favorites from the month of May…

PASTEL NAIL POLISH

My nail polish preferences usually run dark, even in summer. But this year I picked up a pastel on a whim and actually loved it so it spiraled from there. Essie’s Find Me An Oasis and Olive & June’s KMC have been my favorites when I want to lighten up a bit.

THE PERFECT LONG SLEEVE TEE

My spending preferences live below paying $38 for a very thin long sleeve tee but I kept coming back to how much I liked the look and style of Free People’s On My Mind and Betty long sleeves so I caved. I started with the On My Mind and wanted to think it wasn’t worth it, but it was so I added a Betty to my closet too. They just hit that perfect balance of loose fitting without tipping over the edge to sloppy and I know I’ll be living in them.

DAINTY STACKING RINGS

When summer hits I get the urge to go dainty when it comes to daily jewelry so I bought a pack of these stacking rings in silver and these in rose gold and for about $20, I’m all set!

BAGGU REUSABLE BAGS

Baggu made it on April’s list too for their Cloud tote but this time around it’s for their reusable bags. I had one I loved for years and decided to buy a couple more but was surprised at how stiff they felt. I didn’t like it at all and not even a round in the wash made a difference. A month and a half later though with plenty of use between the grocery store and trips back and forth from the library, they’re so much better – maybe they just need to get broken in? I’m not sure, but I’m glad I still like them. The patterns as so fun and pretty! I snagged this one purely for me and these two (1 / 2) from the Simpson’s line because my son thought they were cool.

GLASSWARE

Our glassware collection runs deep, so I was surprised when my husband decided we needed to add more. He picked these whiskey glasses out and I’ve found them just as useful for wine too. Since most of my wine drinking takes place in sweatpants while curled up in my corner of the couch, using an actual wine glass feels both too fancy and like it’s just an open invitation for too many spills.

I’ve always been a reader but the intensity has varied over the years. The pandemic brought that hobby back with force, not just because all of a sudden we had a lot more time on our hands and needed more ways to entertain ourselves at home. But also because getting caught up in a good book is a mental escape that I found was even better when used to cope with what can feel like some pretty mundane days. A bit like Groundhog Day if you will, wake up and every day looks and feels exactly the same.

Looking at the list of books I’ve read so far in 2021, mysteries have been about half of them. And I’d argue that if the mental escape of a good book for a few hours is sounding like just the thing you need too, I have a new to me author to share that I’ve enjoyed. Like enjoyed to the level of reading all the books she’s written in a matter of just a few weeks.

Kristen Lepionka is a writer based in Columbus, Ohio and that’s where her four book series about Roxane Weary, a private investigator with complicated family dynamics and personal relationships takes place too. Having lived in Columbus for almost 19 years now, some of the added fun for me was the stories involving places I’m familiar with and could picture – where I work is actually mentioned really briefly in one of the books! But all that aside, this series has a really likable main character probably because of rather than in spite of her personal struggles.

I’ll reference the books in order which I’d say is recommended but not necessary. I read the most recent book first when I picked it up off a display at the front of the library then started back at the beginning for the rest. There was only one character in the story that made a lot more sense once I went back and read the first book but nothing that prevented me from understanding the storyline!

Follow along as she tried to find out if a man convicted of killing his high school girlfriend’s parents is innocent and doesn’t deserve to be reaching the end of death row in The Last Place You Look (my favorite in the series). The girlfriend has been missing since the night of her parent’s murder fifteen years ago and Roxanne tries to find her to get answers about what really happened that night. What she finds instead is more missing and more dead teenage girls and more of a fight than she bargained for to find the truth.

She’s hired to follow around a super shady fiancee who ends up murdered and Roxane’s client is the prime suspect in What You Want to See. You’ll follow along as she uncovers the murdered woman’s true identity and the manipulative past that comes along with it.

In The Stories You Tell, Roxane’s brother is the last person to see a young aspiring DJ who is in a panic when she leaves his place and she investigates, worried about her brother who has been in trouble with the courts before being the primary focus of the investigation. As other events unfold, she discovers that the club the DJ worked at might have more going on behind closed doors than it seems.

Once You Go This Far is about Roxane investigating the accidental hiking death of a junior high school nurse because her daughter doesn’t believe it was an accident. Her investigation leads her across state and country lines and into the world of a very secretive and dangerous church group as she tries to determine how it all may connect to her clients’ mother.

April is over and honestly, I’m not upset about it. Maybe I can cite the anticipated change in seasons but it feels like it’s been years since I’ve made it to the other side of the month of April without feeling a little unsettled. This year the month included a lot of attempted self reflection, only one round of questioning what I’m doing professionally with my life with thoughts of going back to school, and one moment of near tears when I thought my husband wasn’t going to go for my road trip idea for this summer. But whew, after some convincing he did!

But I don’t want to complain because it came with some good too! Weather nice enough to sit outside and chat with friends all afternoon after only a group text message to keep in touch for months, a few days spent with family that came with meeting my brand new nephew for the first time, and we’re all still healthy which is a relief especially after being on the receiving end of one of those you need to come get your kid because he’s been exposed to someone who tested positive for covid calls from the school recently. So here we go, a recap of the more material things I loved most throughout the month of April.

Baggu cloud tote

When ordering a few more of their reusable bags, I found the cloud bag on sale and decided to give it a try. I thought it would be a great option for travel when we’re back to that again because it folds up into it’s own little pouch but that the lack of structure would bother me for day to day use. But nope, it’s the perfect size and without the structure to it you can just continue to cram stuff into it – on my son’s swim team practice days I’ve been able to fit all the typical stuff you’d throw in your purse plus his gear, a book to keep my occupied, and water bottles for both of us and it’s sturdy enough to handle it.

@csapunch

Who else was singing Luda’s lyrics word for word when they were like 12🤣🤣

♬ original sound – Chrissy

TikTok

I never got into TikTok until just this past month or so and while I have personally created nothing, I have spent so many hours scrolling this app that I should truly be ashamed. Chrissy’s account is my favorite although Jenna Hushka, Rod, and Kristen have been favorites too.

The midi length dress

The midi length dress is my new favorite – short enough to not have to worry about tripping over it, long enough to not require being careful about how you sit. It’s my go to option on those days that I want to feel like I’m still in my pajamas but can’t look like it because I have to show my face in virtual meetings. That dress is sadly pretty much out of stock but this one is a really great short sleeve option for late spring and through the summer!

Starbucks iced brown sugar oat milk shaken espresso

I mean, I won’t leave the house for the sole purpose of getting Starbucks but I will absolutely stop on my home from running errands or go workout at my gym that conveniently shares a parking lot with Starbucks for this drink. Even better when you add vanilla sweet cream cold foam. The price point alone should deter me but it doesn’t – I only ever talk myself out of it when they’re out of oat milk or when the fear of forgetting all the words in my order gets to me. Because really – ICED BROWN SUGAR OAT MILK SHAKEN ESPRESSO WITH VANILLA SWEET CREAM COLD FOAM…that’s a 13 word drink order. (Why can’t the locations in a Kroger store just have in app ordering available too?!)

Zenni teal glasses

With working remotely for the past year (our campus is currently still closed) it’s been a lot of online meetings and I was craving a way to still show a little bit of personality in my style when all people were seeing was a headshot. As a glasses wearer I’ve loved having several options to choose from the past few years, but this teal pair was a step outside my usual style. For only $20 after a few lens customizations (the frame itself is only $6.95!) I thought they’d be worth it for a little bit of fun and I was right! I even find myself reaching for them way more often than I thought I would.

After life

In books and in shows, I adore the ones who get into the messiness of real life and After Life does just that. It stars Ricky Gervais as the main character as he navigates life after losing the love of his life to cancer. He handles it by being an absolute jerk but shows a softer, more human side just enough to make you not hate him. I found the show good for subtle laughs too from both his antics and the personalities of some of the other characters.