Meals: Planning, Pinning, Cooking, Shopping,...Who Does What?!

I can hardly believe Luis and I are embarking on week four of married life already...time really does
fly!  It's crazy!

I wanted to share with you all a great system that we've worked out together for meal planning and prepping; this system could work with roommates or a much bigger family, too!

When it comes to planning and preparing meals for the week, there are a few decisions to be made.  Who does the shopping?  What's the weekly budget?  Who does the prepping?  The cooking?  The planning and selecting of meals?  Who cleans up?  There's a lot to think about, and we've spend the past three months in trial-and-error-mode.  Here's what we found out:

1. It turns out (as I suspected), that I LOVE to grocery shop, but I REALLY LOVE to grocery shop ALONE!! Ha!  I spent several years on my own as a single lady building systems and routines that worked for me, and when it comes to grocery shopping, it's so much better for my family if I do that by myself.  It's actually such a relaxing time for me.  I like to go early on Saturday or Sunday mornings, coffee in hand, iPhone grocery list in the other.
2. Luis is a picky eater.  He won't admit it, but his pallate is extremely narrow.  For the most part, he likes things plain and mild.  I, on the other hand, enjoy savory, super spicy, and experimental kinds of dishes from all over the world.  Luis would be happy on a diet of Panda Express and Popeyes for life.  So, after I told him no more fast food, I put him in charge of a shared Pinterest board (did I forget to mention that he might actually love Pinterest more than me?  He posted all kinds of cool things on our wedding board when we were planning, too!).  It is Luis' job to find the recipes that he thinks look tasty, put them on the board, and I choose meals from the pins he's shared.  He's waaaay more open minded to food when HE finds it on Pinterest rather than me!  We've had some seriously good meals, meals that we've already repeated, using this system.  Hooray!!  
3. I also love to cook AND prep.  Luis?  Eh...he respects the work, but it doesn't call him unless it's meat on the smoker or on the grill.  So, I cook.  I prep on Sundays.  And I feel accomplished.  And I need to do these things to feel good for the week, so they're my job.   And it's great!
4. Luis and I both like to go to bed with a clean kitchen.   When we finish eating, we share in the cleaning/putting away food duties to make sure everything is done before we go to bed. 

All in all, I still do most of the work, but it's not because I feel obligated to, it's because I genuinely enjoy it.  Getting your hubby or family in on the Pinterest pinning part of the planning is sooooo highly recommended!  That part, which I also love, can be the most overwhelming part sometimes, so it's nice to just have 10 to pick through already narrowed down.  Try it and let me know how it works out for ya!

Here are a few from previous weeks that Luis found, we've tested, and we've had multiple times since!  

Have a wonderful fall weekend!  

xoxoxo,

Amanda

Biscuit Pot Pie

Drunken Chicken Marsala

Easy Beef Enchiladas

Holly Jolly Burlap Wreath!

DIY Burlap Wreath Tutorial

I fell in love with these wreaths this year as I was Pinterest-ing away a Sunday afternoon watching football.  I found a few tutorials that were helpful, but I decided to make my own!  Let's get started!

I purchased all of my supplies from Hobby Lobby.  The burlap was 50% off and the Christmas decor was ALSO 50% off.  Here's what I picked up:

• Wire wreath form ($1.99)
• 2 x 30ft wire trimmed burlap (13.99 each...I used my 40% off coupon!) 
• I liked using the wire trimmed burlap because the loops held together nicely.  I haven't tried this yet with regular burlap, but it is cheaper if you want to give it a try!
• Box of ornaments ($2.99)
• Red bow (9.99)
• Ornaments
• The company of my sweet kitty Odysseus :-)

So my original plan was to use the ornaments in the wreath, but as you can see, I really liked the simplicity of the burlap and red ribbon.  Let's get started!

1.  Tie a knot with the end of the burlap to the under side of the wreath form in any spot.

2.  Begin making the bubbles/loops by pulling the burlap up and through the wire.  Pull up to the height/size you'd like for the loop.  I used a variety of sizes in my wreath.  Once the loop is pulled through, slide the loop up with your thumb and forefinger to hold the loop in place.  To make the another loop, simply pull more burlap through the next wire row and slide it up to meet the other bubble/loop.

3.  To finish the wreath, continue pulling burlap through the wreath, adjusting loop size and sliding up with your thumb and forefinger.  It will begin to look like this:

4.  Depending on the size of your wreath form and the size of your bubbles/loops, you may run out of your first burlap roll.  This is what happened to me.  I simply tied another knot to the wreath form (as in step 1) and continued the wreath.  When it was done, I attached my bow (it already had twist ties on the back!) and hung it on my door!

Now I'm all ready for Christmas decorating...time for the pumpkins and fall table cloth to go!  I hope you enjoyed this tutorial and you stop back again soon!

~Amanda