WOVENFOLK on etsy has just been restocked with some vintage, modern earrings. Pictured above are just a few, see the rest of the collection in the shop. Which one is your favorite?

This week’s learned, links, and thankfulness…

Tried out this recipe and it’s perfect for summer nights. Of course, served alongside a glass of wine.

Thankful for our Thursday night neighborhood dinners. It’s such a blessing to get to know our neighbors.

Love the Depop app. You can find vintage and modern clothes that people resell. Got a great deal on a pair of vintage, high waisted wide legs!

More bolga hats in stock over at WOVENFOLK.

Um… I want coconut matcha ice cream!

Praise God my mom is okay after her blood pressure went over 200! Life is such a vapor and things like that remind us how fragile life really is, even though sometimes we forget and tend to live only for the here and now.

Oh man! God’s been giving us life and marriage trials. Broken computers, almost broken garage door, and other things like that are stressors that have been testing my faith and hope. Tbh, I’m not really passing these trials well nor counting them joy.

These pink block heel pumps are adorable, and these faux fur mules are super funky.

My eczema has been acting up since the winter and won’t go away. Anyone have any natural remedies to suggest?

I love this peanut butter powder. I put 1 tablespoon in my daily morning protein drink.

Flax linen lovers… get this vintage, linen top from Ms. Tips. This jacket is also perfect for fall.

The girls plan on selling some treats at our cul-de-sac garage sale today, and tomorrow we celebrate my mom’s birthday! Hope your weekend is just as fun and full!

True and Brave have been getting in the kitchen more these days, and it’s something they are excited about and enjoy doing, so it’s a win-win for everyone. Since we homeschool, I feel like I’m in the kitchen constantly making breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Every year though, the girls get more and more involved, and these days, I rarely have to make them breakfast. Lunches are something they are starting to take care of too. Dinner, usually takes more prep, so it’s still an area I’m mostly in charge of. However, with something like Revolution Foods Dinner Hero kits, dinner prep is really easy for them to do, which makes it easier for me too. As they continue to learn how to be comfortable in the kitchen, it’s great to start them off with easy recipes. Thus, these dinner kits are user-friendly and perfect for kids learning in the kitchen. Basically, all you need to complete the kit is your protein of choice. The kids come in to be the hero and put it all together.

To start, True picked the Smoky Tomato Dinner Hero kit, and Brave picked out the Coconut Curry. Each box is only 4 servings, so with a family of 6 for dinner, we used two boxes. The girls were in charge of reading the directions, measuring, cutting vegetables (I did come in to assist with some here), and mixing everything together. The directions are laid out clearly, so it was easy for them to follow with little assistance from me. For two different boxes, it only took about an hour to prep both dishes, and added vegetable pairings, with both girls in the kitchen cooking. For the Smoky Tomato, we used red bell peppers and stuffed them with the couscous and sausage mixture. For the Coconut Curry, we added some bell peppers in, as well as a sweet potato side dish.

The meal came together so nicely. True and Brave were so excited about it and showing off to Ben how they made it. It was team work to get this great meal… the Dinner Hero kits and my own little heroes in tandem. Kits like this free me up a little bit more (and they also taste great, so it makes dinner decisions easier) and teaches them to follow directions and basic cooking skills.

My girls are cooking show-obsessed (remember, their Halloween story here?), so anytime they get to be the chef is a treat for them. They are eager to improve their cooking skills and they love mixing ingredients. I also notice that when they’re involved in the cooking, they are more excited to try what it is they made, so it’s a good way to expose them to new foods. They have a certain level of pride when they create a dish, and like to show off to the rest of the family what they created. While we ate together, they each gave us a play-by-play of how they put their dish together.

If you need a little help for breakfast and lunch, Revolution Foods have Breakfast Hero and Lunch Bundles too. I love to make meals from scratch because I like to know what is exactly going into my food, so we love the ease of these kits because they have no artificial flavors, and you get a simple and fresh meal. When family life gets busy, which is pretty much all the time, kits like these come in handy and can help save the day.

How do you hero when you need something quick and easy in the kitchen?

This post is in collaboration with Revolution Foods. All opinions are my own, and I’m thankful for the support you give me, this space, and the brands I partner with.

Earlier this summer, when it was just the little two (the big two were in Texas), we went to the Long Beach Aquarium one last time. Our annual passes were about to end, so I took them for one last visit. This visit was spent doing a lot of the touch activities; most of the time was spent with the rays and the moon jellies. Of course, we also did one last walk through throughout the whole place to say goodbye to the other sea animals. We loved learning so much about the ocean and its animals with each visit. Thanks for the memories Aquarium of the Pacific!

We planted these pumpkins on July 4th and they are growing like gangbusters. This is our first time growing pumpkins (see our post here), so we are pretty excited about our mini pumpkin patch. There will definitely be no need to go pumpkin patching this fall.

dFinally, I was able to snag a pair of Everlane wide leg pants and day heels and I love both! Both are well made and so comfortable. The wide leg does stretch out a bit, so I would definitely size down. I love that they have Jesse Kamm pant vibes, but the price point is a bit friendlier. They have a new slew of colors coming out soon and I love the army green or navy. Such a versatile pant that is comfortable to wear even during our hot summer.

Over the weekend, my 7 year old desk top had nails finally driven through its coffin (Apple says it’s close to being obsolete, so it might be worth trying to fix), and Glow spilled water on Ben’s lap top, so posting might be hit or miss. I have a non-apple computer  to use, but I’m not PC knowledgeable and everything I need is on my apple desktop. I’m trying to learn the ins and outs or my PC, so hopefully CAKIES and WOVENFOLK will not be interrupted much. We shall see, wish me luck!

on me: vintage top. pants and shoes, everlane. tangerine woven bag, wovenfolk.