The Big White Farmhouse

intentional living, little by little

No.161: New Habits, Little by Little: Cooking at Home (July 2018)

July was a full month of holidays and travel.  Looking down the list, I had to laugh at the amount of pizza I ate.  It’s a little excessive, but really, is there anything better than a fresh from the oven slice of cheesy goodness?  I don’t think so.

 Week 53 (cont.):
Sunday, July 1: pork tenderloin, rice and broccoli
Monday, July 2: meatball subs
Tuesday, July 3: brats, chips and fruit salad
Wednesday, July 4: Independence Day! pulled pork sandwiches, coleslaw, Mark’s panko mac and cheese, watermelon, beans, with a cookie cake and rice krispie treats for dessert
Thursday, July 5: breakfast for dinner – sourdough waffles, eggs, bacon and watermelon
Friday, July 6: beans and rice kielbasa skillet

Week 54: 
Saturday, July 7: pesto chicken, tortellini and veggies
Sunday, July 8: chicken caesar wraps
Monday, July 9: pastalaya
Tuesday, July 10: chicken thighs, rice and broccoli
Wednesday, July 11: leftovers
Thursday, July 12: I flew to Maine for a cousin weekend! homemade pizzas
Friday, July 13: Maine trip. out for pizzas at Flatbread Company

Week 55:
Saturday, July 14: Maine trip. burgers from Vandy’s
Sunday, July 15: Wendy’s on the way home from the airport
Monday, July 16: out for pizza because we desperately needed to get to the grocery store!
Tuesday, July 17: baked ziti
Wednesday, July 18: Indian chicken curry with rice
Thursday, July 19: Mark’s homemade pepperoni pizza
Friday, July 20: out for burgers while running errands

Week 56:
Saturday, July 21: cheesy enchilada casserole (we used ground beef instead of chicken)
Sunday, July 22: chicken pot pie soup with homemade biscuits
Monday, July 23: chicken yakisoba
Tuesday, July 24: garlic-parmesan veggies and sausage over rice
Wednesday, July 25: drunken noodles with shrimp
Thursday, July 26: breakfast for dinner: french toast with yogurt and blueberries
Friday, July 27: Day Trip to the Zoo! late lunch/early dinner at Zaxby’s on the way home from the zoo

Week 57:
Saturday, July 28: pulled pork sandwiches with coleslaw
Sunday, July 29: pulled pork nachos using leftovers from yesterday
Monday, July 30: sheet pan roasted chicken with root vegetables (we doubled this)
Tuesday, July 31: beans and rice

No.160: Around Here in August

This post contains affiliate links.  Linking up with Anne’s Currently linkup!

READING // Another book that came off the hold list, The Bear and the Nightingale.  Not my typical genre, but so far, so good!  I’m also determined to finally finish the Dorothy Day autobiography that’s been sitting on my nightstand for months.

LISTENING // to the kids reminisce about our surprise trip to the zoo last week.  Mark took the day off and we made the two hour trip south to explore the Metro Richmond Zoo.  It was ridiculously hot (real feel was over 98°!) but we had a lot of fun.  Afterward, TJ was sad that he didn’t see an elephant, which was literally one of the only animals missing out of over 200!  Can’t please them all.

 BAKING // blueberry peach cobbler for the first time this summer.  Next time, I need to make a double batch so I can save a piece for breakfast.  There are too many hungry kids in my house!

RUNNING // regularly after taking two weeks off due to travel and general busyness.  I’m almost back to steady 10K mileage, which is exciting!  I’m rolling around the idea of running the Turkey Trot again and redeeming myself from last year’s horrible performance.  We’ll see.

 PAINTING // the living room.  Again.  Embarrassingly, we’ve left it unfinished ever since the fiasco last February but I finally decided to tackle the touchups.  This time we used as big of a roller as we could find, along with my favorite paintbrush.  Three quarters of a can of paint from Sherwin Williams and it looks…not perfect, but better.  I’m calling it good for now!

 REGISTERING // with Poshmark to try selling a few things.  I’ve only been on the site a few days and it’s already firing me up creatively.  Photographing clothing has quite a learning curve (who knew?!), but I’m working on it!
Also: You can get $5 off your first purchase on Poshmark with my code: BWFARMHOUSE.

 RECOVERING // from a mini heart attack when P (20 months) fell off the bed and somehow hit his head.  There was so.much.blood and I couldn’t figure out how bad the cut was.  Que the worst-case scenarios where he has a massive gash, I have to call 911, etc etc.  Fortunately, I was quickly able to stop the bleeding and it really was just a tiny cut.

 WATCHING // the latest season of Blue Bloods on Netflix with Mark after the kids go to bed.  Love those Reagans.

 LOVING // how S and J have become buddies again this summer.  They’re like an old married couple and bicker like the best of them, so this is a welcome change.  Lately, they like to draw together using Art of Kids tutorials.  They’ll spend an hour working with Perler beads too.



PLANNING // for the new school year.  I have thoroughly enjoyed my summer off, but those lessons plans won’t write themselves, hah!  Our first day of school is August 20.

ORDERING // the last few schoolbooks we need before school begins.  I bought this science book and this writing program for M’s middle school co-op classes and we’re trying out Explode the Code for J and S.

COUNTING // down the remaining days of summer.  Fall will be here before we know it!

No.159: Five July Favorites (A Link-Up!)

This post contains affiliate links.
Welcome to the Five Favorites linkup!  Congratulations to Shelly, with June’s winning post: Five Favorites.  There’s no Prize Pack this month, but will hopefully return in August!

1 // STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE BISCUITS
Nothing says summer like strawberry shortcake!  This recipe is delicious and so easy – maybe too easy, hah!  We’ve made it a handful of times this summer and it’s always a hit.

2 // THE LIBRARY EXTENSION PLUG-IN FOR CHROME
I just discovered this little plug-in and it’s been so helpful already!  You can install it on Chrome in a matter of minutes.  Then, if you go on a website like Goodreads or Amazon, it will automatically search your local library to see if they have a copy, both in physical form or ebook.  I can already tell it will help reduce my impulse book shopping.

3 // ITALIAN SANDWICHES FROM ANANIA’S

If you ever find yourself in Portland, Maine, be sure to stop into Anania’s and get an Italian sandwich.  Ham, American cheese, diced onions, green peppers, pickles, black olives, salt, pepper and oil on a hero roll.  It’s so simple, but hands down one of my favorite foods on Earth!  I had one on my trip a few weeks ago and it hit the spot.  Be sure to get a whoopie pie while you’re there too.  
4 // HASHING OUT MY MOM STYLE BLOG
Lisa started a new blog called Hashing Out My Mom Style and I love it!  Her thoughts on outfits have helped me look critically at my own wardrobe, while also inspiring me to start a list of pieces I’d like to find. 

5 // A NEW POPCORN MAKER
After four years and hundreds of uses, our old popcorn maker was starting to be a hazard.  The top piece was cracked in about six places and hot oil shot out from a chip in the bottom.  Nothing like a little first degree burn before snack time!  We finally replaced it with this one and what an improvement.  Definitely a worthwhile investment for our family.
_______________________________

I can’t wait to hear about what you’re loving this month!  Here’s what to do:

1. Write a blog post sharing about five of your favorite things.  You could also share a photo on Instagram too! (hashtag is #bwffivefavorites)  It can have a theme (ie: five of your favorite slow cooker recipes) or just a mishmash like I usually do.
2. Please link back to this post so your readers know where to find the Five Favorites hub (posts not mentioning “Five Favorites” or not linking back to this post will be subject to removal).
3. Not mandatory, but feel free to visit some of the other posts in the link-up!  Sharing and/or leaving a comment is even better.
4. Make sure to add a link to your specific post or Instagram picture, not just your blog address.
Thanks for linking up!

No.158: My Latest Reads // July

This post contains affiliate links.  Linking up with Kristin’s Book by Book!

EDUCATED: A MEMOIR by Tara Westover
My Rating: ★★★★☆

Not knowing for certain, but refusing to give way to those who claim certainty, was a privilege I had never allowed myself. My life was narrated for me by others. Their voices were forceful, emphatic, absolute. It had never occurred to me that my voice might be as strong as theirs. (61%)

Educated is a fascinating memoir about a girl who was kept out of school by her survivalist family and yet eventually goes on to earn a PhD from Cambridge University.  It was a hard story to read, for all kinds of different reasons. Even so, I really enjoyed how she examined different perspectives and the limitations of our memories.  Her voice, as she found herself and her own story, was powerful.

KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON: THE OSAGE MURDERS AND THE BIRTH OF THE FBI by David Grann

My Rating: ★★★★☆

History is a merciless judge. It lays bare our tragic blunders and foolish missteps and exposes our most intimate secrets, wielding the power of hindsight like an arrogant detective who seems to know the end of the mystery from the outset.

I have been patiently waiting to for Killers of the Flower Moon to come off the hold list for months!  This is a crazy true story about a period of history that I knew nothing about: a Native American tribe forced to live in a region which was later discovered to be rich in oil.  The greed, corruption and manipulation was difficult to read, but also so important.  I’ll be thinking about this one a lot.

GIRL IN THE DARK: A MEMOIR OF A LIFE WITHOUT LIGHT by Anna Lyndsey

My Rating: ★★★☆☆

Animals in zoos and prisoners sleep many hours a day. Like them I have become a devotee, a voluptuary of sleep, a connoisseur of its intense, uncharted pleasures. Sleep slips the chains of this life, snaps the intimate fetters of my skin, sets me free to travel the wild landscapes of the ungoverned mind. Each night I enter by the same door, yet find behind it something new. I plunge my hands into the lucky dip of dreams; sometimes I find sweets, and sometimes scorpions, but always, for a few hours, deliverance. (8%)

The noblest truth is “There is suffering.” The whole of history having been filled with such exotic and multifarious forms of it, “Why me?” is the question of an idiot. The sensible person says simply, “Why not?”(98%)

Girl in the Dark is the story of a healthy young woman who developed an extreme light sensitivity that required her to live in complete darkness.  Can you imagine feeling like a blowtorch was burning your face, just by looking at a computer screen?  It’s so hard to judge a memoir because I think everyone’s story is important, but this one was just a bit too lyrical and descriptive for my taste.  Even so, it might be a good choice for anyone suffering from a chronic illness. 

GONE GIRL by Gillian Flynn

My Rating: ★★★☆☆

Amy made me believe I was exceptional, that I was up to her level of play. That was both our making and undoing. Because I couldn’t handle the demands of greatness. I began craving ease and average-ness, and I hated myself for it, and ultimately, I realized, I punished her for it. I turned her into the brittle, prickly thing she became. I had pretended to be one kind of man and revealed myself to be quite another. Worse, I convinced myself our tragedy was entirely her making. I spent years working myself into the very thing I swore she was: a righteous ball of hate. (52%)

I blew through Gone Girl in just a few days, but it was such a stressful read!  I sort-of hated both of the main characters and their lack of any redeeming qualities.  Lots of profanity and vulgarity.  It’s hard to talk about this one without any spoilers…it was a quick read, but not necessarily a book I’d particularly recommend to anyone.


______________________

 MY 2018 READING IN NUMBERS
Books Read: 43
Fiction: 24  // Non-Fiction: 19
Kindle Books: 25  // Paper Books: 18
Original 2018 books “to-read” total on Goodreads: 443 // Current “to-read” total: 430

Amazon Disclosure Policy

The Big White Farmhouse is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.

Less Materialism, More Intentional Living

Archives

Copyright © 2025 The Big White Farmhouse · Theme by 17th Avenue