What's Up Wednesday, the W, Th, Fri, Sat. Edition

I haven't blogged since March 31st and when I finally sat down to start this What's Up Wednesday post I got interrupted no less than 231 times, so now, here I am in the very quiet, puppy-less, laundry-less, schedule-less home of my parents in Texas to finish up. So basically we'd call this a post that is 29 days and thousands of miles in the making. 

Hey, Month of April: SETTLE DOWN.

I'm linking up with Sheaffer Told Me To The Larson Lingo and Mix and Match Mama for
What's Up, Last Week of April

What We're Eating This Week:

I cannot stop recommending a recipe that apparently was originally in Gwyneth Paltrow's cookbook. I know. We can't even with Gwyneth. Beautiful, skinny, fresh-faced, rich and talented Gwyneth gets a lot of grief and also we just assume everything she eats tastes like grass, but I googled her Roasted Cauliflower and Chickpeas with Mustard Recipe because my friend Nancy told me it was good.

Y'all. I cannot stop eating it. Here you go:

1 head cauliflower, chopped into florets
1 15 oz. can chickpeas, drained, rinsed and patted dry
Coarse Sea Salt
4 Tablespoons Olive Oil (divided)
1 Tablespoon White Wine Vinegar
1 Tablespoon Grainy Dijon Mustard
1 Tablespoon Regular Dijon Mustard
Black Pepper
Italian Parsley

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Combine cauliflower and chickpeas on a roasting pan. Toss with 3 tablespoons of olive oil and sprinkle with sea salt. Roast for about 40-45 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Meanwhile, whisk together the mustards, vinegar and 1 Tablespoon of olive oil (one recipe I saw mentioned 1/4 cup olive oil for the mustard sauce. I thought that was too much, but I'm not the boss of your mustard sauce, so do as you like.)

Sprinkle with one pinch of salt and black pepper. Toss warm cauliflower/chickpeas with sauce and top with Italian Parsley. (I always forget about the parsley and I never miss it.)

What I'm Reminiscing About:

I love coming home to see all the old photos of us in my parents' house. "The Pratt Kids 1972"

What I'm Loving:

 A sharp dressed man and the fact that prom fashions don't get too trendy and weird for guys. 

What We've Been Up To:

We spent some time in Boston and New York City for Spring Break. In total we spent about 20 hours together in the car and I can say that sleeping in one hotel room with three not-so-little-anymore boys will have you crying out for the some of those fruits of the spirit mentioned in Galatians. In particular: kindness, patience, self-control and I'm not sure how many translations mention it, but I might have called out for some Febreze a few times. Still, we had a great time experiencing the city life. If you haven't visited Boston, you must. It is my favorite city in the all the world (besides Austin, of course. Calm down.) The people are lovely, Commonwealth Avenue is absolutely beautiful, and the accents you hear at every turn are a delight. If you haven't sat next to a Boston college kid at a Red Sox game yelling, "Yahr Ah Bum!" at an opposing pitcher or trying to get someone's attention by saying, "Hey, Cahgo Shawts", you aren't living your best life.

What I'm Dreading:

The panic that will set in in May when I realize we have one month until graduation and eleventy million things to do.

What I've Been Working On:

This week we marked one year in our home. I keep thinking I'll post all of our remodel before and afters photos, but the afters are taking longer than I ever expected mainly because of my lack of decision making prowess. There is one room fully completed and it might be my very favorite. The "morning room" off of our kitchen is done.

Morning Room Before We Moved In

TA-DA!

All thanks to my amazing designer, Marisa, at InteriorStyles, my friend, Nancy, who sends me Instagram pictures from all the best design feeds and your truly because there was that one time I made six different purchases and six different returns of end tables before I finally picked one.  So again, thank the good Lord for Marisa and Nancy.

What I'm Excited About:

A little one on one time with this guy when we travel to Dallas this weekend to visit my parents. The boy, not the dog. The dog and the me? We're pushing the limits of one on one time. We need a vacation from each other.

What I've Been Watching/Reading:

Well, Steve and I started watching the first few episodes of 13 Reasons Why last weekend. I know there have been many articles and commentaries on the series, so I am reserving judgment although I already have some thoughts. I read this article which seems to be pretty aligned with the thoughts I have so far. If you have a teen who has watched it, you might want to check it out. 

I just started reading My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry. I love the voice of the narrator, a young girl. I think this will be a good one.

What I'm Listening to:

I'm going to recommend another podcast episode from Jamie Ivey's Happy Hour. I know you're shocked as I cannot stop talking about this. I randomly picked from way back in the feed and got to Jami Nato #68. Her story of walking through her husband's infidelity and the way she felt the Lord "so close that she could feel His breath on her face" is so encouraging. She's funny and introspective and so worth a listen. 

What I'm Wearing:

Because April and baseball season and oh-my-gosh-it's-almost-graduation is making me ten kinds of crazy, I should be wearing this tshirt from Milk and Honey Tees EVERY.SINGLE.DAY. 

What I'm Doing This Weekend:

What I'm Looking Forward To Next Month:

Hopefully, no baseball rainouts so that we can enjoy the last month of Joe's senior baseball season and Drew's final Little League season in actual baseball weather, some planting of flowers, and some planning for graduation.

Bonus Question for April: What is your favorite Spring shoe?

Trying to pick a favorite shoe is like trying to pick a favorite child. For this spring though, I've been wearing the fire out of my new Bob's Flexpadrille Wedges. Now, buying a pair of Bob's instead of a pair of Tom's kinda feels like when you come home with a box of cereal that looks exactly like Cheerios, but realize that it's actually a box of Tastee-os. And you're all, "Zoinks! Fooled again by those meddling cereal executives." But I was not fooled here because I always will choose some height on a shoe over a flat and platform wedges are basically one of my love languages. Tom's might have wedges as well, but I saw Bob first, so he wins. These are really comfortable and my arches don't yell at me when I've worn them all day.

Have a great weekend!!