It’s officially Summer Vacation for the Dekker family, and we started off with a week FULL of fun (and a decent amount of work too!)
Today I’m sharing updates on our bathroom renovation process (yay!), my tentative summer blogging plan, our super simple menu, and a bunch of pictures of what we’ve been up to lately.
A couple months ago, I mentioned that we love the single-serving guacamole packs from Costco. However, whenever I’m making food for a crowed (or even just a few guests) I always opt for a big bowl of homemade guacamole… and THIS is always the recipe I use!
It’s so fast and easy, and if you use the simple tips I share, your guacamole SHOULD stay looking fresh for several days!
I’ve always known food prep was an important piece of the puzzle for my simplified, organized lifestyle; however, it really hasn’t been until the last 9 months of my life that I truly started to realize just how much my entire life “falls apart” when I slack on food prep.
This knowledge is more than enough for me to continue my not-so-loved task of food prep… as you’ll read in today’s post, it really does positively impact almost every area of my life!
Happy Memorial Day!
I often like to do something different for holiday posts — so today, I’m linking back to several posts I think might be fun to read (or reread) over your long holiday weekend. I’m also taking a mini walk down memory lane and sharing a handful of photos from my family and my yard — it’s crazy how much the plants AND the kiddos have grown!
Our family LOVES Chicken Broccoli Rice Casserole — and I’ve made several changes and tweaks to my recipe over the past 5 years since I originally shared my recipe.
If you’re looking for a more nutritious, veggie-loaded, completely from-scratch, yet still VERY simple alternative to this family favorite recipe… I’ve got you covered!
I would NOT say our kids are super adventurous eaters, but I wouldn’t say they are overly picky either. Of course, there are times when we do “force” our children to try something… but there are many other times when we are so impressed by their food choices… it seems our hard work is actually paying off!
If you’re struggling to get your children to try (and like) new foods, here are 5 relatively simple (yet effective) tips that have worked for us over the years.
Summer break sort of snuck up on me this year… and while I’m excited to have everyone home all day again, I also realize our schedule and routine will look very different.
I’m trying to prepare by having lots of different fun activities for us to do as a family — many of which are completely free (or very frugal). I’m sharing so many of our favorite frugal summer fun ideas in today’s post!
Over the last 6+ year of being a parent, I have learned how to have more balance in my life, I’ve given myself more grace, and as a result, I have a lot more fun!
If you’re looking for a few relatively simple practices to help YOU create more time in your schedule, more simplicity in your home, and more peace in your life, I hope that sharing what works for me might also help you!
Exactly 5 year ago, I shared this post about our favorite strollers. At the time, we only had one child, but I had already tried out close to a dozen different strollers — buying and selling them on Craigslist (and often making a profit in the process!)
Well, 5 years and 3 more babies later, we have an entirely new line-up of strollers… that’s what I’m sharing more about today!
Over the years, I have shared many of tips and tricks for simple living, decluttering, time management, and organization. I’ve also made it very clear that simple living is not always EASY. It requires hard work, dedication, and perseverance — trusting that those busy periods of life will eventually lead to simpler times.
Are you in a very busy period of life? If so, don’t feel guilty or like you’re doing everything wrong. Read today’s post and hopefully breathe a sigh of relief!
Even though the weather is warming up and we’re verging on summer vacation (only TWO more weeks of school for Dave!!!) I still keep soup on regular rotation in our weekly meal plans.
Today’s 20-minute soup recipe is a great way to work a few extra veggies into a meal, as you can use whatever you have in the fridge that your family will eat!
When we renovated our kitchen several years ago, we had a little space to play with on the wall with our stove. We decided to install a tiny pull-out spice cabinet and wow, have we gotten our use out of that small space!
Today, after many years, I’m finally sharing my very simple method of storing and organizing our spices and seasonings.
As the little girl who ALWAYS dreamed of the day I would move into my very own home, I certainly underestimated how much work it would be to care for a home and yard — not to mention the amount of effort required to care for the family who now lives in the home and plays in the yard!
Some days, it feels downright impossible to fit everything in… but today (and moving forward) my goal is simply not to take any of it for granted.
One of my favorite ways to use leftover rice is to make this super easy homemade fried rice. Of course, if you don’t have leftover rice, you can easily just make your own rice and turn it into fried rice. Either way, the results should be quite tasty!
If you’ve ever been intimidated by making your own fried rice, I hope today’s recipe will give you the guts to give it a try!
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