Hello blog friends.
It's been a few months since I've done a Friday Favorites post. I'd like to share some with you today.
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1. Lunch Date
I started last weekend off by having a lunch date with my husband at our favorite cafe. We both shared fried fish, french fries, and a seafood salad. We both enjoyed our yummy lunch.
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2. Weekend in Rhode Island
Mr. JCL and I spent the weekend visiting Rhode Island and our college girl. We stayed at our favorite, The Dean Hotel. You can read other posts here and here about Rhode Island.
Some photos I took inside the hotel.
We went to a basketball game Providence vs. Marquette. We were all happy that Providence won the game.
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After the game, we walked around a bit and I enjoyed taking photos.
Coffee art
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We had a fun dinner at Capri Seafood restaurant with college girl and her friend. The fresh seafood was amazing. I had assorted seafood in a garlic butter sauce and a caesar salad.
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We enjoyed our brunch the next day at Vino Veritas. The food was so good that we hope to go back there to have dinner sometime. |
I enjoyed the coffee and ricotta pancakes with blueberries and a blueberry sauce.
3. Cooking Healthy Food
I have been trying to cook healthy foods for dinner. I made baked salmon for our dinner along with Instant Pot brown rice, and vegetables.
4. Signs of Spring
I was so happy to see my tulips budding out of my front garden this week. 😀🌷 I am looking forward to spring coming soon.
5. Working in Creativity Book
I did a few drawings in the 365 Days of Creativity book. I need to set aside time to work on more drawings in the book.
6. Read My Book
I was set back from being too busy from reading The Alice Network by Kate Quinn. I hope to get back on track by reading a few chapters in this book each day.
ABOUT THE BOOK:
In an enthralling new historical novel from national bestselling author Kate Quinn, two women - a female spy recruited to the real-life Alice Network in France during World War I and an unconventional American socialite searching for her cousin in 1947 are brought together in a mesmerizing story of courage and redemption.
I hope you enjoyed reading my Friday Favorites. Have a happy Friday and weekend.
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Hello blog friends.
I have another instant pot soup recipe to share with you. This soup will warm you up on a cold day or night for lunch or dinner.
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This soup is made with vegetables and no meat. It cooks up so fast in the Instant Pot and can be ready in about a half-hour. When everything is cooked in the pot the vegetables cook down and make a thick hearty soup.
I hope you try this Instant Pot soup recipe.
ENJOY!
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INSTANT POT SPLIT PEA SOUP
Servings: 8 People
INGREDIENTS:
3 tablespoons butter
2 teaspoons minced garlic
2 ribs celery, diced
12 small carrots, diced
12 small red potatoes, diced
1 lb. dry split peas, rinsed
4 cups chicken stock
2 cups of water
salt and pepper to taste
Mrs. Dash seasoning to taste
1/4 teaspoon turmeric
1/4 teaspoon hot pepper flakes
DIRECTIONS:
Turn Instant Pot to SAUTE setting. Add butter, minced garlic, celery, carrots, and potatoes to the pot. Season the vegetables with all of the seasonings and saute for about 5 minutes. Add the peas, water, and chicken stock to the pot. Cover and set pot to MANUAL setting, high pressure for 15 minutes. Allow the pressure to naturally release for 10-15 minutes. Open the pot and mix the soup. Serve immediately.
NOTES:
You may store soup in the refrigerator for up to one week. Freeze in an airtight container for up to 6 months.
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| YUMMY INSTANT POT PEA SOUP! |
2020 January Bucket List - What I Accomplished!
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Hello blog friends. I had a simple Bucket List for January and I did a blog post about it HERE. I wanted to give you an update of what I accomplished on that list.
1. Drink Hot Chocolate
CHECK - SORT OF - I drank hot organic white tea instead of drinking hot chocolate. We have a lot of flavored teas in my house that we all like.
2. Dream of Being on the Beach
CHECK - Yes, it wasn't hard for me to imagine myself at the beach like our vacation we took last summer to Vietnam.
3. Plan Our Next Vacation
CHECK - We have started to talk about the different places we would like to take our family vacation.
4. Read a Good Book
CHECK - I had this book on my reading list for a long time. I was so happy to have been gifted this book for Christmas. I enjoyed reading a few chapters in this book each day and it's one of the best books I've read in a long time. If you haven't read this book yet, I know you will like it. It's part love story, murder, and nature all mixed into one book.
5. Make Homemade Soup
CHECK - I made my homemade instant pot lentil soup for dinner a few times. This soup is the perfect dinner on these cold winter nights.
6. Organize My Home
CHECK - I have my Christmas decorations organized. I also brought some old decorations to donate to the Salvation Army.
7. Cook and Eat Healthy Food
CHECK - I've been making baked cod fish, salmon, and instant pot rice with a vegetable for a healthy dinner. I also make a salad almost every night with most of our meals.
8. Exercise Routine
CHECK - I was set back for two weeks in January with a bad cold. I eased going back to the gym and once I was there it felt like I had never left. Instead of going to the gym on very cold days I used my elliptical machine a few times.
9. Have a Spa Day
CHECK - SORT OF - I haven't been able to make it the spa. Instead of going to the spa, I had a few manicure and pedicures at my nail salon.
10. Watch Netflix and New Shows
CHECK - My husband and I recently watched the comedian Leslie Jones together and we had some good laughs. We started watching the HBO new season of Curb Your Enthusiasm with Larry David. It's so funny and we loved the different topics they covered in the show. I also started watching on Amazon the first season of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. I enjoyed watching a few episodes and I already like the show.
I'm so happy I was able to accomplish most of the things on my simple bucket list.
Have you accomplished anything on your bucket list?
Hello blog friends.
Happy Friday!
I'm just popping in to wish you all a Happy Valentine's Day!
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Before I go, I want to announce the winner of my Embracing Winter giveaway.
It goes to commenter #1 Heather (Our Life in a Click). Congratulations Heather and please check your email for details.
Thanks to all who entered and participated in my Embracing Winter Giveaway.
Have a fun time whatever you do to celebrate Valentine's Day.
Have a great weekend. 💖
Julie xo
Hello blog friends. I have an easy crockpot White Bean Soup recipe to share with you. This soup will warm you up on these cold days of winter.
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INGREDIENTS YOU WILL NEED:
Below the ingredients are added into the crockpot.
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You can set up the crockpot in the morning and hours later have a hot bowl of soup ready for dinner.
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CROCKPOT WHITE BEAN SOUP
SERVES: 8 TO 10 PEOPLE
INGREDIENTS:
4 organic beef sausage links - cut into 1/2 in pieces
4 cups spinach
1 package of dried navy beans - rinsed with water
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 8oz. can tomato sauce
2 teaspoons minced garlic
4 cups chicken stock
4 cups of water
1/4 teaspoon turmeric
1/4 teaspoon hot pepper flakes
salt & pepper to taste
Mrs. Dash to taste
DIRECTIONS:
Spray crockpot with cooking spray. Add everything to the crockpot. Set crockpot to HIGH setting for about 6 hours.
NOTE: For a little bit of flavor and spice, I added turmeric and hot pepper flakes. You can adjust the spices to your liking. You could also change the spinach to kale if you like. If you don't like sausage you could always leave it out of this soup recipe.
Enjoy.
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| Yummy Crockpot White Bean Soup |
Hello blog friends.
I hope you're having a good week.
Do you feel like winter is just dragging on and on?
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Well, we have been very lucky in my neck of the woods and only had a few inches of snow in November.
I took these photos a few years ago on a visit to Union Square, New York City. It snowed that day and I was able to capture these photos.
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Well, one of the ways that I like to embrace the winter is by reading a good book and a cup of hot tea.
I also enjoy going to my monthly meetups with my knitting friends. I started making a knit cowl a month ago at our meet up.
I am happy to say that I finished knitting the cowl yesterday.
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I would like to giveaway to one of you my handmade knitted cowl with a few other goodies to help embrace the winter.
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EMBRACING WINTER GIVEAWAY!
This giveaway is open to US residents and you must be a follower or become a new follower of Julie's Creative Lifestyle.
To enter, all you have to do is leave me a comment telling me how you embrace winter.
THE WINNER WILL BE PICKED AND ANNOUNCED ON FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 14TH.
Good luck!
P. S. I am so thankful to all of you who have been with me for years. You all are the best!
THIS GIVEAWAY IS CLOSED!
Hello blog friends. I hope you all have a great start to the new week.
HAPPY FEBRUARY!
HAPPY FEBRUARY!
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I have some favorite YouTubers that I enjoy watching regularly. I love looking at different types of videos. I enjoy watching them make seasonal crafts, makeup and beauty tutorials, lifestyle, and anything to do with home videos.
I thought it would be fun to share some of them with you.
I thought it would be fun to share some of them with you.
1. Dominique Sachse
Dominique is a lifestyle expert who shares her love for makeup, fashion and living a healthy lifestyle. She explains her videos in a very simple way and it will motivate you to want to look your best.
2. Mickey from My Bashful Life
Mickey loves to share her love for home, organizing, kitchen baking and crafting. I started following Mickey when she had her blog My Bashful Life. I now follow and watch her awesome videos on YouTube. She is a great motivator and I'm sure you'll like her too.
3. Olivia's Romantic Home
I am obsessed with watching Olivia and she makes a lot of seasonal craft videos that you will love. She loves buying her supplies at the Dollar Tree store and has fun and easy craft projects to make. Olivia is making a lot of Valentine's Day Crafts that I'm sure you'll like.
4. Ramon - at HOME
I started following Ramon a few years ago when he had his blog. He is now doing awesome craft and seasonal home decor videos. Please check out his awesome crafts for Valentine's Day. You will get a lot of great ideas from him.
5. Kippi at Home
I discovered Kippi from her blog Kippi at Home. Kippi loves simple DIY projects and crafts that are easy to follow and make.
6. Beth Djalali
I discovered Beth through her beautiful blog Style at a Certain Age. Beth is such an inspiration for women who want to embrace their style and to look and feel great. She also shares makeup, fashion, and recipes.
7. Sugar Puff and Fluff
Nisha shares her makeup tutorials and reviews, favorite things, and thoughts on aging and life in general. I love watching her videos and she has a fun personality.
8. Sara Sach - Crochet Channel
I first discovered Sara from her blog Posh Pooch Designs. Sara shares her crochet pattern tutorials, crochet tips, and useful information on crochet. I love watching her videos as she explains how to crochet so easily and simply.
These are just some of the You Tubers that I enjoy watching regularly. I hope you check out them out and I'm sure you'll enjoy them as much as I do.
Do you have any favorite You Tubers that you enjoy watching?
Click HERE to see the great parties I will be linking up to!
Julie
These are just some of the You Tubers that I enjoy watching regularly. I hope you check out them out and I'm sure you'll enjoy them as much as I do.
Do you have any favorite You Tubers that you enjoy watching?
Click HERE to see the great parties I will be linking up to!
Julie
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