Good morning and happy Monday!
I have a quick weekly recap post this morning. 😊It rained almost all week, which kept us indoors most of the time. The rain, unfortunately, put a delay in getting our brick foundation painted, but the exciting part is that they’ll be starting today! I’ll keep you all updated with the photos on Instagram! We started watching the Queen’s Gambit over the weekend and finished it in a few days. A lot of you recommended it to me last week, and I have to say THANK YOU for that! It’s one of the best shows I’ve seen all year. If you haven’t seen it yet, you’ll want to start now. Remember on Tuesday when I said I was going to make chicken kebabs? Well, I did, and they were delicious! I added red bell pepper, yellow onion, and chicken to the kebabs with garlic expressions dressing & marinade, black pepper, and red chili flakes. I don’t know why I don’t make these more often! They’re perfect for leftover salad toppings as well.
For the potatoes, I pre-boiled them, cut and tossed them in olive oil, added sea salt, black pepper, and baked them for 25-minutes at 400-degrees. I didn’t take any photos throughout the week, and so I’m jumping to the weekend already! 😮 I wasn’t kidding when I said a quick recap.
I’m so excited that my camellia trees we planted on the side of the house are blooming! It makes me excited to see them from the living room window. I wanted something that is gree all year and produces beautiful flowers. Camellias are one of my favorites! On Friday night, we headed to Emily’s new house for a little wine night. I brought over some Crumbl cookies (the bestttttt!!!) and Voodoo chips. The sweetest little pups!!!! ♥️
After a slow and rough start to my Saturday morning, I finally made it out of the house to pick up groceries at Whole Foods. I needed to stock up on some of my favorite specialties, and it’s been months since stopping into Whole Foods. I’m excited because they’re now making deliveries to my location! It’ll be conveniently dangerous but so worth it.
Aside from my one grocery outing, Kyle and I spent the entire day on the couch together watching The Queen’s Gambit, The Undoing, and A Teacher! We had a movie marathon, and it felt so good to do absolutely nothing!One drink I’ve been loving lately and have been sipping on all weekend is the Tazo Chai tea with Califa holiday nog! I put about 1/4 cup of holiday nog under my Keurig with the teabag and let the hot water warm up the nog as it drips in. You’ll want to let it seep for a few minutes, but it’s SO GOOD. It’s like a warm mix of fall in Christmas in a cup. I need to get a decaf chai so I can have it in the evening to save me from a sweet tooth. For dinner, I grilled up some turkey burgers and had roasted cauliflower on the side. Cauliflower is so good dipped in the Tessemae’s Habanero ranch! 😋 Even though our week was so low-key and not as productive as most, it was much-needed! ♥️
Don’t forget to follow me on Instagram for house painting updates!! ♥️ I hope you all have a fantastic week!
Time to go fit in some miles since I did absolutely ZERO walking last week!
Questions for you!
- Did you put your tree up this weekend?
- Do you use the grill as much in the winter?
- What is your favorite Thanksgiving dish?
Charmaine Ng | Architecture & Lifestyle Blog says
Looks like you had a really good time, Taralynn! 🙂
Charmaine Ng | Architecture & Lifestyle Blog
http://charmainenyw.com
Taralynn McNitt says
Thanks, Charmaine!
Grier says
This isn’t an answer to your questions. I just wanted to tell you that I love your presets!
Taralynn McNitt says
Aw, thank you, Grier!
Avalon says
I love your idea of combining eggnog with chai tea! A surprisingly delicious holiday weekend recipe <3
The premise of The Queen’s Gambit seemed a little boring to me, but I’ve seen so many recommendations for it that tonight I’m going to have to give it a try. How did you like The Undoing and A Teacher?
1. Not yet, but I’m thinking we’ll put up the tree next weekend! I used to believe that putting it up before Thanksgiving was a no-no, but 2020 has been one hell of a ride, so might as well enjoy some festive creature comforts 🎄
2. Yes, we definitely use the grill in the winter, but I guess that’s one of the luxurious of living in Southern California.
3. My favorite thanksgiving dish? It’s so tough to choose just one! Probably mashed potatoes or cranberry sauce with orange zest.
Taralynn McNitt says
Hi, Avalon!
It was such a delicious combo!
I thought the Queen’s Gambit was going to be boring and not my genre, but it turned out to be one of my favorite shows ever! It’s fast-paced and so far from boring. I know nothing about Chess, but LOVED the movie. Give it a few episodes. Right now the Undoing is AMAZING!!!! A Teacher is a little slow and kind of bad. I think the glorifying of the teacher/student relationship is a little distasteful for a show. I gave up the show after a few episodes.
I don’t blame you on that! We’ll have our tree up soon, too!
mmmm i love making orange zest cranberry sauce!
Harriet says
Hi Taralynn, love the short and sweet recap also its so nice to catch up on your blogs again!
Your camellias look amazing, I have them in alternating colours going down one side of my property as a privacy blocker, they just look incredible when all in flower. I want to put up my Christmas tree asap but as I get a real one every year I’m a bit worried about putting it up to soon and it dying before Christmas. I use the grill all year round, as I can cook a whole roast lamb or turkey on it, makes it easer to fill the oven with other stuff if having a dinner party. We don’t celebrate thanksgiving here in Nz but its a holiday I could totally get on board with!
Hope you have a great week, and looking forward to your painting updates!
Taralynn McNitt says
Thank you so much, Harriet! ♥️
I bet yours are stunning!! You’re such a good gardener.
♥️ have an amazing weekend!
Rebecca says
Hope you enjoyed the Queen’s Gambit, I thought it was well filmed and great acting but was sad to learn it wasn’t based on a true story!
Have a look out for some Rooibos or Redbush Chai, it tastes just as good (even sweeter!) but without the caffine. I like a brand called Teapigs Spiced Winter Red!