Happy Friday! I hope this post finds you doing well and enjoying the summer. Today I want to talk about a little passion of mine – and that is house plants! I got my first houseplant shortly before I moved out of my parent’s home in 2016. It was actually a gift from my co-workers at the time, for administrative assistants’ day! I had never had a house plant before and my mother didn’t like plants or flowers at all…
Thanksgiving week has finally arrived! The turkey has been moved from the freezer to the fridge, the deep cleaning is well underway, and last-minute odds and ends will be done by Tuesday. So let’s see here… Menu? Check. Groceries? Check. Tableware? Check. Music? CHECK! That’s right! You can’t forget your playlist for Thanksgiving dinner! Crafting a playlist for the holidays is one of my favorite things to do and over the years I’ve enjoyed finding songs that fit the Thanksgiving mood…
One of my favorite things to look forward to each year is the holiday season. Thanksgiving and Christmas are my two favorite holidays and every year I host the holiday dinner for our families. My hosting inspiration has always come mostly from my late grandmother, Norbina. Some of my most cherished memories of the holidays involve being around my grandparent’s dining room table. My grandparents had 6 children, all of whom were married and had children of their own. So…
My super simple recipe for banana bread that is moist and delicious! Banana bread is a great Fall treat and it pairs perfectly with a hot cup of coffee! I have tried countless banana bread recipes over the years but this is my favorite way to make it. It comes out very moist and the outer layer has a slight crust to it depending on how long you bake it for (I usually bake it for about 60-65 minutes but…
Today I want to share with you the things I do to make our home feel cozy all year long. We currently rent so these are things anyone can do that do not require too much alteration to the space you are already working with. 1: House Plants It is scientifically proven that keeping plants in our homes improves our mood and lowers our stress and I can attest to this! I currently have 12 indoor plants and I…
Hi everyone! Today I wanted to talk about some daily habits that I’ve picked up over the past few years that have really helped me in different areas of my life but especially in the management of my day-to-day stress. I hope you enjoy this post and let me know if you do any of these things, or if there’s anything else you would recommend! Implement Routine Having a daily routine can help you improve so many areas of your…
Today I want to share my meal planning process with you. Before I started meal planning, I found myself becoming stressed out quite often about what to make for dinner, I’d wind up making multiple trips to the grocery store throughout the week and always ending up with no food to cook on the weekend. That would often lead to getting takeout. The thing is, I truly enjoy cooking. But when I don’t have a set plan for the week it’s…
Being a first generation American, my Portuguese roots have always had an incredibly close place in my heart. Both of my parents immigrated to the United States (my mom age 11, my dad age 24) from Sao Miguel, Azores. A very popular Portuguese dish that we all grew up with is Kale soup! There truly was nothing as delicious as my grandmother’s Kale soup. Before she passed away she taught my grandfather how to make it. He is the only…
This will be our second year hosting both Thanksgiving and Christmas. Hosting the holidays was something I had dreamed about doing for years. Growing up, my grandmother used to host the holidays and I used to look forward to the whole family getting together to enjoy dinner together in my grandparent’s small but cozy dining room. After my grandparents passed away, my godmother picked up the hosting, but once I got married, it was passed down to me. As stressful…