New year resolution check-in

And just like that January 2019 is over! This was by far one of the longest months of my life! 

Even though we have been extremely busy, my heart was set on putting these new year resolutions into action! 

I made a lot of resolutions.

If you didn’t see my post on them let me refresh you.

*less time on social media

*read one book a month 

*take time for myself 

*stick to my new blog

*let God use me 

*host dinners at new house

*spend time with family 

*get fit 

*stick to meal planning 

*volunteer 

*love people 

*learn how to make bread 

That is a lot of stuff. And I’ll admit some days I haven’t been as motivated. On top of all the things we’ve had going on we all got sick.. but I found myself picking up the little things on my list and still push through. I didn’t do all these things 💯 but one thing is for sure I have pushed myself this month. I got out of my comfort zone and made myself uncomfortable. 

Overall, I feel like January was a great month. But I am looking forward to seeing how these life changes look on me this time next year. In fact, I’m excited to see where I am this time February.

If you made resolutions for yourself I encourage you to keep going. You may not feel like doing it today but looking back you won’t regret it! Even if you haven’t started.....get started. It’s it’s never too late to start over or make new plans or new routines! You’ve got this! 

Minimal(ist) Kids Closet

Happy Monday!
I hope your weekend was filled with all kinds of love and laughter!
We spent ours hosting a benefit for a precious family that we have known for years, we ate too many carbs and watch the new movie “Glass”.

Since this morning I have been deep cleaning (Monday’s are our cleaning day)
We’ve pretty much got our office unpacked and set up.
We’ve played some board games and got our play-doh out! Ell is having a blast making me all kinds of goodies!  Check out this picture she took below!

Today I’m going to be breaking down ellas wardrobe! To me, it was by far the easiest room/wardrobe that I minimalized.This is her winter wardrobe! 

Undies: 7 pairs 

Socks: 10 pairs 

T-shirts: Zero

Bottoms: 2 pairs 

Dresses: 4 

Long sleeve tops: 5 

Jackets: 1 light, 1 heavy 

Shoes: 3 pairs 

We also have one bow per color!

I wash two loads of laundry a week! 

This is more than enough for a four year old (we could actually have less items and be totally fine).

We have found that having less has helped us so much! We don’t spend nearly as much money, it doesn’t take us as long to get dressed , and putting laundry away is a breeze! I used to be that mom who over bought and was consumed with the latest styles.. Now we’re focusing on what really matters. 

Spending time with our family, learning and growing! 🖤 

Much love, Taylor. 

Meal of the week!
Lucky for you,  there will be TWO this week!
This post is featuring.... drum roll please......

A easy lasagna recipe!

This recipe fed 8 with leftovers

What you’ll need:

3 lbs of ground beef
16 oz mozzarella cheese
1 lb of lasagna noodles
2 jars of pasta sauce
1 pack of pepperonis
Medium size ricotta cheese

Cook meat and mix in pasta sauce
Boil noodles

Start layering!
Lasagna noodles -Meat- Ricotta Cheese -Mozzarella-REPEAT
On the very last layer put the pepperonis on top!

Bake on 425 until cheese has melted!
We ate with garlic bread and salad!
Super easy, and was around $20$ to feed everyone (or have leftovers for the next day! 👏🏻

Meal Planning

Happy Monday!

We have had a CRAZY week! Between sickness and moving we have been busy!
Now that we are finally getting settled in and feeling better we’re going to scratch the surface of meal planning!

To me, planning and budgeting go hand in hand.

First off you need to write down what meals you and your family enjoy.

Search on Pinterest!
Do you like cooking with a crockpot? Instant pot? Baking?
Pin Pin Pin!

Personally I like to switch it up that way I don’t get bored with cooking.

Get a recipe box! Instead of finding new recipes and putting them in there, cook them first! Did you love it? That’s when you write it down and put it in your box! The box is what you will go back to and help you build your meal plan.

Make a budget. We spend $50.00 a week.
That includes all meals, snacks, fruit and veggies.

I would recommend testing your budget and figure out what works best for your family.

Buy a planner! I bought a planner on amazon for about $10.

Consider what you can cut. There’s a lot of name brands we buy, but we also shop at Aldi and Lidls.
We drink water and tea so we don’t have to spend as much on sodas. Look for sale items.

I cook breakfast, lunch and dinner. We eat leftovers one day a week.
Buy bulk meat and separate.
Buy frozen veggies.
Go through your Refrigerator and pantry before going shopping.

We have “meatless Monday” where we will eat soup and salad.

There’s so many ways that you can save money and make dinner plans easier.

I will be digging deeper on planning and budgeting soon! 

I hope you found these tips helpful.
Talk to you soon! 

Today I tried a new recipe in my Instant Pot! I was very sceptical at first but I am committed to using my new gadget at least once a week! I have a 6 and a 8 quart pot. Whichever you have, you can make this recipe!

 Look out for a new recipe every week, I will be sharing my meal plans and my grocery runs to help give you get an idea of what to do to stretch a dollar and have good meals! 

 Instant Pot Cheeseburgers

What you’ll need:

1 lb ground beef 

1 tsp salt 

1/2 tsp pepper 

1 tsp garlic powder 

2 tsp worcestshire sauce 

ADD TO MEAT (mix) Then Patty 

Once pattied you will need to individually wrap the patties in aluminum foil

You will need 2 1/2 cups of water IN pot

Place your trivet at the bottom and put the wrapped patties on the trivet 

PRESS manual 

11 minutes for 4 oz Patties 

13 minutes for 5 oz Patties 

15 minutes for 8 oz Patties 

Quick Release until your pin pops up! 

Once you have let the patties cool down be careful taking them out of the aluminum 

There will be grease 

Add your favorite topping and dinner is done! 

Try it out and let me know how you liked it! 

 

Happy New Year Friends!

Every year I make a list of New Year Resolutions. January 2018 I set out on a new way of living. 

I slowed down. I took time for myself. I also spent more time with my kiddo and my husband. It was really a year of learning to love myself. And taking time for those I love most. 

I made alot of changes around my house too. I stumbled upon minimalism on Pinterest when I was trying to find new ways to organize my house. Quickly, I started going through all my things.

Donating, selling and throwing away. 

I started cooking daily. I learned how to make meal plans. 

I learned about all natural cleaners. 

I took on a deeper love for decorating. 

We started budgeting and paying off debt. 

All of these things are what I want to talk about. They won’t be in order and I may bounce around a lot. 

But that’s okay, it’s all good stuff.

I want to share my 2019 goals with you all. I want to keep myself accountable. I want to continuously grow, and learn. Along the way I’m hoping to help you guys! If you have any ideas or input please let me know! I follow many other bloggers, and love to see what other ideas people come up with! 

Talk to you soon, God bless!