The H Report: Vol. 11
All of the things filling my heart, head, hands, and home lately.
This week’s report is all about quality time with family, the magic in the mundane, finally getting to sit down to sew … a little, and a big restock on food for the week.
- ❤︎ -
I got to fill up my heart cup big time this past weekend when my entire family came into town to celebrate my brother’s birthday. It was a big milestone for him, so we really did it up with a private tour of the Clementé Museum (highly recommend if you’re a baseball fan) and then a fancy shmancy dinner at FET-FISK.
Having everyone in the same room, laughing and celebrating and reconnecting after not being together since Thanksgiving, was such a treat.
- 𓁹 -
Back in 2018, I had a podcast called Some Kind Of Magic. The focus (and tagline) was “finding the magical in the mundane, everyday moments of life.” I interviewed some really cool humans and learned so much from those conversations.
It’s been a long time since I’ve thought about that podcast, but the last few months have brought it back into my preview. And yesterday, I came across a Thread from mysticalbotanist that stopped me in my tracks.
From one of her posts:
everyone wants the secret ingredient. the rare herb. the perfect ritual.
meanwhile, there’s a pile of dishes in the sink, laundry on the floor, and your body begging and pleading for rest.
focus on the mundane. it is magical.
Focus on the mundane. It is magical.
The magic is the mundane.
What are the chances?!
Thank you, Universe, for that lovely little nod to the ideas and conversations I had been having all those years ago.
- ✌︎︎ -
I finally got to sit down for an hour-ish and sew while The Little went to camp one day this week. I cut out all of the fabric pieces and sewed the mushroom top for the Mama Mushie. It’s much bigger than I expected and I’m so excited to see how it turns out.
There are a few things that I would do differently when sewing the tops of the other Mushies, which has been fun to think through. But, overall, it’s been a great sew.
Now to finish the stalk and get it all put together …
- 𖠿 -
Continuing to obsess over meal prepping for the week. It’s been going so well that I honestly don’t ever see myself going back to daily cooking. I actually had to cook something tonight to restock our lunches for the week and was super disappointed that we ate two of the four servings immediately.
Yes, I totally laughed at myself for the ridiculousness of that thought. 😂
Things I’ve made for the week:
Meal Prep Ginger Ground Beef Bowls: I made this one for lunches and/or dinner for the week and paired it with some jasmine rice. I did add some sliced up snow peas to add a little more color and crunch on the day of, and plan to just add it in the next time I make them. I portioned everything out and put it in these glass meal prep containers* so all I have to do is heat it up and enjoy.
Jasmine Rice: I made an extra large batch of rice in the rice cooker for the week so I’d have leftovers to either portion out and freeze OR to use for a batch of fried rice. Neither of that happened because it just got eaten. Maybe next week. 😂
Homemade Applesauce: The Little absolutely loves having homemade applesauce, so this one is in regular rotation. I make sure to save the apple peels and cores so I can make apple scrap apple butter whenever I run out.
Apple Scrap Apple Butter (or scrAPPLE butter): Speaking of… I was almost completely out of apple butter and had a huge stockpile of apple scraps in the freezer to use. (Of course, I replenished the stash immediately thereafter from making the applesauce but that’s for the next batch). This takes about 10ish hours, so I made sure to get it started first thing this morning. I also use a sugar-free alternative in place of the brown sugar and it’s absolutely delightful.
Strawberry Salsa: I have been obsessed with using our kitchen scraps in any way I can, so when I saw that you could make strawberry infused vinegar with strawberry tops, I knew I had to a.) make that, and then b.) make a strawberry salsa to use it in. We were also given some fresh mint from a neighbor, so I swapped out the cilantro (yuck) for some mint (yum). I plan to eat it with corn chips for a snack and even top some chicken with it as a way to add some flavor.
Blueberry-Lemon Scones: I made this two weeks ago, and they were gone within two days, so I figured I’d make another batch this week to use up the rest of our lemons and blueberries before they went bad. I also got to use some of the lemon simple syrup I made last week with our lemon scraps, so that was a fun bonus.
Stovetop Mac & Cheese: This one was by request for The Little. Mac & Cheese is her favorite and she thinks it’s the coolest thing that you can make it from scratch. I made a point to buy cow milk and real butter last time I was at the store so that it would be the creamiest. She was a big fan and so was my husband.
Juicy 30-Minute Baked Chicken Breast: This was a late addition to the weekly round-up but after a few days of eating the beef, we were ready for something else. We’ve eaten it paired with some mashed potatoes, rice, or on top of a big green salad.
I know this sounds like a lot to make in one day, but it only took about 2 hours of actual hands on time and about 4 hours total in the kitchen. Which is a lot less than what I’d be spending making something new for dinner each night in a week. The only thing I have to do now for meal time is reheat what I choose.
And there you have it. All of the things that have been filling my heart (❤︎), head (𓁹), hands (✌︎︎), and home (𖠿) lately.
Hope your week is filled with quality time with your people and the things that bring you joy.
X+O,
Emily