Denim jacket looks

Have you ever bought a seemingly simple piece of clothing and never figure out a way to wear it? That's me and my denim jacket.  I got one probably a year or so ago and it's still nestled in my closet waiting to come out.
I hit up good ol' Pinterest and found some possible outfit combos.  I didn't find a magical look to get my confidence up to rock it but I am a little closer. :)

 

Is it really Monday already?

Dang, I missed hopping on last week.  I was on the road for work and the days slipped by.

All the kids went back to school Wednesday.  It is amazing, there are SEVEN cousins attending the SAME elementary school.  We have a Kindergarten student, four first graders, one in third grade and one in fifth grade.  It's the same school I went to and the kids are all buddies so they get to see each other every day.  So sweet.  

Did you notice Payton's cast? Poor baby.  She is the first kid to have a cast.  She was playing outside and had a longboard accident.  The crazy part is it happened on Tuesday night and she never complained one bit.  My sis was worried because the swelling wasn't going down. She took her to the doctor on Saturday and sure enough, wrist fracture.  

Celebratory dinner at Outback for the surviving the first day of school.

Sunday, we dodged the rain and took the soccer team over for some indoor soccer.  They had never played indoors and of course, loved it. They trained for 2.5 hours (yes.....2.5 hours) and the last 30 minutes was coaches versus kids so I made an appearance on the turf to kick around with the kiddos.

  That's a wrap.  I am in town most of this week and am looking forward to catching up around the house and enjoy these last couple weekends of summer.  My birthday is Friday and I race the next two weekends, weather permitting. Hope you are off to a great week! Cheers.

Orlando vacation: Lake Buena Vista Resort & Spa

Hey peeps.  The weekend is almost here!  I wanted to go back a touch and give a little more info from my previous post of our little getaway with the kiddos.

If you are looking for a romantic getaway for two...this is not your spot.  If you are looking for a family spot with more room than a hotel, keep reading.  I did lots of research and decided this was a good spot to try.  It's not at Disney, but it's nearby.

 I believe they said there are seven buildings.  Some have pirate pool views, some have views of Disney fireworks.  We were on the east side of the complex and have a smaller pool as our view.

 

There is a combination of covered parking and pull-up parking outside your building.

It's fairly secure.  You have to have a room key to get into any building.  

Bonus: parking is complimentary.  I didn't see any valet though.

We got a 3/2 with a little more than 1400 square feet.  

These are the resort's online photos but our room was exactly the same.

The main benefit of a resort setup like this is bringing your food and enjoying more of a home/condo getaway with all the home essentials versus a swanky hotel.  We ate dinner out but packed snacks, drinks, breakfast, and some desserts.

 

The sofa in the living room has a pull out bed.  Linens of course are provided.

Bowls, flatware, glasses, coffee maker, tea pitchers, dishwasher (and detergent), and fridge are all there for you in the room.  

Bed #2.  The kids loved the telephones since they are used to only cell phones.

Bed #3 

 

Master bedroom with tub, shower, and walk-in closet

Our balcony

 

The amenity center is where it's at.  The kids were in heaven.  Towels were provided.

 

It's so big, it's almost hard to take in.  The pirate ship is huge.

Full bar and restaurant with covered seating

Lots of areas to rest with many cabanas for the family to hang together.

Upstairs roof deck overlooking the pool

No timeshare tours to make, no upselling at check-in, free parking......it was great.  You gotta check it out next time you (or family) come to Orlando.  If you are looking for nightlife, wrong part of town.  Perhaps you can find some fun at Downtown Disney but you are 20+ minutes from International Drive and 25+ minutes to downtown Orlando.  

Have fun!  We will be back for sure. 

Recipe: 4 ingredient pesto chicken dinner

Hey friends!  We tried a new recipe over the weekend and it is a winner.  I am sad to say I didn't take any photos...#FAIL but the recipe came skinnytaste.com (photo credit: SkinnyTaste.com)

Here ya go:
Chicken breasts (Boneless)
Pesto (I had normal flavor, Simon had Sun-dried tomato flavor)
Tomato slices
Mozzarella cheese

Heat oven to 400

Simon butterflied the chicken breasts, topped with pesto, sliced tomatoes and cheese.  It was that simple.  He baked for 15 minutes or so and got the cheese perfectly golden brown.  We combined with some angel hair pasta and were so excited to have a "new" way to serve chicken.

No Bake Dessert Recipe: Oreo Fluff

Looking for a super simple dessert?  This is it.  A little taste of heavenly Oreo fluff.  We made this for our party last weekend and no joke, it was gone in a few minutes.

Here's what you need:

1 box 3.5 oz White Chocolate instant pudding

2 cups milk

1/2 cup mini marshmallows

1 container of Cool Whip

1 package of Oreo cookies (I used family size Double Stuff)

Mix the pudding per directions.  Add the Cool Whip and marshmallows.  Crush the Oreo cookies and fold in.  I saved a few for garnish.  That's it.  You're done.  I let mine sit in the fridge to firm up a little before serving.  Delish!

 

End of Summer bash

Hey friends! After coming off a tough week, we ended with a big summer BBQ with 50+ family and friends.  We called it a pool party but only the kids hopped in for a swim.  The adults played corn hole, hung out and played some games at our pool table.
It officially started at 5:00pm but we had people there early.  I called it a night after midnight and my husband stayed up until after 2:00am.  That's a good party!
We had the food catered from a local BBQ spot.  We served pulled pork, smoked turkey, mac & cheese, baked beans and corn on the cob.  I made pasta salad and a couple desserts from recipes I found on Pinterest.
I didn't take many pictures but here are a few to share.  Hope you are off to a good week!