thursday via instagram.

because seeing these pictures on instagram just isn’t enough…

1.  one of my blog buddies turned in real life friend forever made some monogrammed bangles recently.  i decided to get out my cricut & give it a try.  what do you think?

2.  i just started my second year of being a keurig ambassador and received a surprise package of goodies to try {in addition to my regular monthly shipment}.  aidan loves the vitamin burst flavors & i’m pleasantly surprised by the donut shop sweet & creamy iced coffees.  if you’re interested in purchasing either, be sure to use the discount code in my side bar {it’s good until august 8th}.

3.  we’ve been eating a lot of mexican-type dishes.  shredded beef burritos have been in our meal rotation for a while and they get tastier & tastier each time i make them.  i followed this recipe.

4.  despite what your brain is telling you, that is now a bowl of shredded cheese.  last week i had to make more laundry detergent because i finally ran out of the “gel” stuff i made months ago {seriously, that 5 gallon jug lasted me from january until mid-july}.  i loved the “gel” but i think my front loader works better with powder detergent.  i’m pretty sure someone told me that front loaders work best with powder detergents, too.  am i dreaming that up or have you heard that, too?

5.  um, that would be a picture of one of our kitchen drawers.  it’s a kitchen utensil nightmare.  sorting through it all is on my “to do” list.

6.  these guys are always near me.  as i type this blog post, they are both wedged behind me in the chair i’m sitting in.  yeah.

7.  see that wall?  i want to take the pictures all the way to the ceiling.  quite a few of y’all have said {on instagram} that i should go for it.  i’m sure adam will think i’m cuckoo when i tell him my idea.

8.  a group project…need i say more?  it was the second of two group projects i had to work on this summer.

9.  this guy.  when my sister texts me pictures of my nephew it makes me sad that i don’t live closer to them {or that they don’t live closer to me}.  p.s.  that look?  it must be hereditary because my sister & i have been known to shoot that look at our husbands.

10.  glitter polish is a pain in the ass.  but the foil trick works!

11.  aidan got his first black eye on july 4th.  it won’t be his last one – i’m sure – but man, oh man, did my heart ache those first few days of bruising & swelling.

12.  no spend july {which hasn’t been perfect…} means pigging out at home.  this gal asked about the pasta salad.  it’s nothing special, really.  just some rotini noodles mixed with veggies {i used broccoli, grape tomatoes & cucumbers}, feta cheese & black olives.  i tossed the whole thing with sun-dried tomato vinaigrette {i used one by kraft}.

13.  one night i decided to try “fried” avocados.  i loved them.  aidan & adam?  not so much.  i used this recipe.  by the way…they are oven fried, not deep fried {trust me, people asked…um, the word fried is in quotation marks, people!}.

14.  we don’t have cable, but we do have netflix.  and, we watch a lot of phineas & ferb via netflix.  aidan drew this picture for me.  perry the platypus is my favorite.

15.  i bought some new chalk for the chalkboard in our kitchen {i just painted the glass of a large picture frame with chalkboard paint}.  usually the kids will draw a picture, but i decided to write one of my favorite quotes.  i’ll switch it out next month with another favorite quote.  be on the lookout for a picture…

16.  we have roughly ten tomato plants {five different varieties} in our garden.  adam loves growing them even though he doesn’t enjoy eating them {raw}.

17.  that would be my foot in my 9 year old son’s flip flop.  yeah, i have small feet.

18.  apparently buxton wanted to do some light reading one afternoon, but didn’t care for the book he chose from the bookshelf.  damn dog.

did you enter my oreck giveaway yet?