Triple Threat Theater Camp 2019 and Friday Favorites (Matilda Edition!)

We are still on Cloud 9 here this morning.  Last night was the TTTC Summer Production and as we always say, it gets better and better every year.  

This year was extra special.  Diana was cast as Matilda and she worked every waking hour on perfecting the part.  I still have a lump in my throat!

 Unfortunately Rob got detained on a business trip and had to miss it- we were devastated but I did my best to tape Diana's parts and there will be a DVD coming out so we will let him devour that.

We didn't let it put a damper on our night.  We enjoyed all of the shows within the big show- 42nd Street, Once On This Island, 13, Matilda and Dear Evan Hansen.  These kids brought the house down truly.

Sharing a few pics I snapped until the professional pics come in and got some video of a few of Diana's songs....so today, for Friday Favorites, I am dedicating this post to my little Diana....my favorite Matilda XOXO

 Headshot

The Program

 

 Opening Tap Number- 42nd Street

Introduction by Kate Mullen, Director and General McArthur, Teacher/Choreographer

Once On This Island

13, The Musical

Matilda

Finale- You Will Be Found from Dear Evan Hansen

 After the Show with Family and Friends- so grateful!

 Bravo!

 

 Linking up, as always, with the lovely ladies HERE

 

Warm Kale Salad

So, I was trying to find foods that were both soft AND healthy after dental surgery.  I was instructed to avoid crunchy foods for a week or so.

Last weekend, I whipped up homemade chicken burgers for my little fam and needed to find a good side for Rob and me.  The girls were good with their carrots and grapes on the side BUT again...looking for something soft.

I started looking up warm salads and got inspired.  I figured it would be a great way to get veggies in without having to crunch SO I got inspired and whipped up my own concoction and I loved it BUT more importantly, Rob LOVED it too! 

In addition to not wanting a crunch, I also didn't want to have to turn the oven on during a heat wave.  Two big challenges?  Yes but I prevailed with the help of my trusty microwave :)

We loved this so much that I wanted to share the recipe with you!  So here goes nothing....

What you will need 

6 cups of Kale (leaves only)

2 cups of Mushrooms, chopped

1/4 red onion, chopped

1 Tbls. of EVOO

1 bag of Trader Joe's Cauliflower Gnocchi

Trader Joe's Everything But The Bagel Seasoning to taste

1/2 log of Goat Cheese, cut into disks

How to put this together

Lay Kale flat on a dish and cook in the microwave 

Cook 2 cups at a time for 2 minutes each

After each bunch is steamed, add to a big bowl

Heat olive oil in pan and saute onion until translucent- about 5 minutes

Then add chopped mushrooms in and cook until softened

Add mushrooms and onions to bowl with the kale

Next cook your gnocchi in the microwave-follow the directions on the package.  Once done, add those bad boys to the big bowl too

Season with the Bagel Seasoning and toss some disks of goat cheese on top and Voila!

Just delish- so very healthy AND you didn't have to turn your oven on- FTW!

Prime Finds (Prime Day 2019)

So did YOU shop Amazon Prime Day this year?  If so, I would love to hear what you snagged.  We got some things that we had been wanting for quite some time.  We made a little list and then waited for the big day...we had to wait several months but it was all good.  The savings are SO worth it!

Here is what we snagged....

The Ring

Do you have this little gem?  It acts as a security camera and you sync it with the app on your phone.  You can check out past footage for when you are not home or you can watch the live feed.  If you get an alert, it chimes or "rings" to alert you and you can check out who or what may be approaching your property.  We have set ours up at the front door which captures our front door, walkway, driveway and part of our yard.  Depending on how we like it, we may install another for the back yard.

Beach Cart

Friends?  I have wanted one of these for YEARS...YEARS I tell ya!  Instead we were all lugging our gear and struggling...including Little Eva with the boogie boards!  Now, this gem of a cart, will allow us to drag everything at once!  You can put your coolers and towels in the basket...hang the chairs and boogie boards and just drag.  Can't wait to try it out!

Laptop Battery

I have lived without a battery for my laptop for almost two years now.  Prime Day was the perfect reason to get it going.  We got a deal and I am thrilled.  I don't have to have it plugged in all the time and this is a huge help since I lug it back and forth to the office a few days/week.  It will also help when I set up in a coffee shop to work or meet candidates.  Makes it much easier!

Remote Charger

Prime Day is the perfect day to snag a remote charger for your cell phones.  I got one years ago (on Prime Day) and it has never let me down.  We agreed to snag another one because they come in so handy and we make sure we are all charged up and ready to go!

Backpack Set

Prime Day was also the perfect day to get Diana's new backpack for the upcoming school year.  We snagged this beautiful set....comes in many different colors but she picked the black and white...I guess it is more grown up than the pastels now?  Sniff sniff ;(

There ya have it!  What did you get?  Aren't the deals amazing?  We made some good investments for our home and I am super excited about them!

Hello Monday! (In The Midst of July 2019)

It was such a relaxing summer weekend in these parts!  Happy to say that my "Summer Of Simplicity" is really happening...getting ready for some craziness when my husband travels but trying to keep it all in check!

Here is what our little weekend looked like....

Friday Night

The girls and I crashed at home and enjoyed a little Dance Moms together before going to bed early...ahhh...pure bliss.  There is nothing I love more than a little Friday night at home!  Daddy had a gig but was home at a decent hour too :)

 The marketing materials started coming out for Diana's show too so I started to share...we are all so very excited to see our little Matilda!

Saturday

It was a relaxing day.  Started it out at the gym and then got some organizing done at home.  We had a surprise visit from Zach and the girls, especially Eva, were thrilled!

Diana had an extra rehearsal for Matilda and Daddy's band played a charity in the afternoon and the girls and I hung out.  I made dinner (recipes coming soon) and then we all headed to the high school to see Wag's production of Into The Woods-great show!

 Sunday

After mass, we got ready for the week.  Diana had another extra rehearsal for Matilda...happy place!

It was SO HOT that the country club postponed our favorite Lobstah Trap Golf Tournament so the Batsons had us over to the pool instead and the girls were thrilled. 

Conquering my fear of birds...one step at a time ;)

That's a wrap!  Linking up with Heather and the crew HERE