Book, Cook, Look - January 2019

Here's what I'm reading, eating, and wearing this month...

~ BOOK ~

For Christmas, I received Rachel Balducci's book, Make My Life Simple, and loved it as much as I love the author herself.  Rachel's newest book is part FlyLady, part Marie Kondo, part spiritual director, and 100% real.  She gives good, practical tips on how to simplify your life in all areas, while sharing bits and pieces of her own journey and struggle.  

Rachel doesn't know this, but she helped me with my laundry game years ago, when she blogged about her system.  It's how we've been doing it at the Martin Casa for a long time now, and it actually did make me like laundry a little better.  Not quite as much as Rachel, but she has her own kind of crazy :)  

A new tip that Rachel shared was about self-care being worth our time because it actually saves us time in the future.  She explains how just making time to get her eyebrows waxed reduces all the worry and work put into trying to make them look ok every day.  Once you just get it done, you can move on and focus on the bigger important things in life, but if you keep putting it off, it's actually draining your energy every day.  Makes total sense, and fits in with my Dad's motto of "For all the time you've spent complaining about doing it, you could have already gotten it done!"  Life lesson right there.  

So go ahead and get yourself this little gem of a book, it's a quick read full of lovely advice on the importance of destressing and simplifying our lives as much as possible.  Good work, Rach!

~ COOK ~

We made this brisket recipe on Christmas day, and I was planning on when to make it again as I was eating it.  It's soooooo good, all the kids loved it too.  If you're intimidated about buying the right cut of meat, just do what I do...play dumb with the butcher.  I just asked for a 5 pound brisket with fat removed, and he gave me a nice cut of meat for $30.  A little pricey, but it fed all 9 of us with leftovers for Phil and I the next day.  Delicious!!

For dessert over the Christmas break, Phil made the Pioneer Woman's Creme Brulee.  So easy yet elegant - the perfect date night dessert!

~ LOOK ~

I'm a little bit obsessed with these boat-neck sweaters from Old Navy.  They are nice and long enough to wear with leggings or jeans and still be modest.  They can easily be dressed up with some jewelry and cute ankle boots or down with some jeans and keds. 

Me with the book, pajamas on my lap, and sweater on my body :)

My husband gave me this pair of pajamas for Christmas, and I loved them so much that I went back to buy another pair and they were on super sale.  They are soft and thin enough so that I don't get hot at night (I need to sleep under all the blankets) and I change into them as soon as I can when I get home.

So what are you reading, eating and wearing lately?  Have a wonderful (football playoff watching) weekend everybody!