Author: laurenjpass@gmail.com

We ran away to Houston for the weekend! It was actually completely unplanned (which is why you didn’t see a post on here on Friday). Nick called me on Thursday at 4 pm and asked me to please have my bags packed in an hour, so we could go buy a car in Houston. At first I was thinking, “ah! I didn’t plan for this. We have food in the fridge that is going to go bad, a dog to make arrangements for, and not a lot of clean clothes.” But, this is also one of the things I love about Nick. He is so spontaneous, and really does view life in a different way. So I packed my bags.

The weekend was just what we all needed. Over the summer we don’t get much time with Nick because of his job, so spending a 7 1/2 hour car drive together (plus a stop for dinner!) as a family felt dreamy. Not to mention all of the beautiful wildflowers that are all over central Texas right now.

We spent Thursday night driving, checked into a hotel late Thursday night, and Friday morning we picked up our (new to us) car. My old car had been broken down for a couple of weeks at this point, so I was so thrilled. After that, Nick had to hurry back for work and the boys and I decided to make a weekend out of it, since we had already driven all this way.

We started with a trip to the Galleria mall to pick up a few summer clothes for the boys. They were hilarious, they had the best time trying on clothes and shoes. I was really shocked about how into it they were. We had an obligatory visit to Shake Shack at the mall as well, because it is my favorite burger of all time. If you are ever near one, GO! The burgers, crinkle fries, and shakes are all so yummy.

After the mall we rested up at our hotel, because a vacation with toddlers without rest time is not really enjoyable, in my opinion. That evening we headed to the beach in Galveston, an hour away. We had been dreaming of a visit to the beach for the past couple of months, and we were so giddy that we finally had an opportunity to go!

Galveston was such a charming little beach town; it definitely exceeded my expectations! We picked up a Chick-fil-A picnic and headed to the beach to eat and play for a couple of hours. The boys were in heaven. It was so sweet to watch them play, splash, and flop in the waves and just have such a great time together. The water was so warm too, it was like bathwater. We enjoyed every second, until we had to head back since it was getting dark.

When we got back to our hotel late, late, Jay somehow convinced me to take them to the pool. Because we were on vacation and I want them to think I’m a cool Mom sometimes, I said yes! We didn’t get out of the pool until 10:30, and their little bodies fell right into bed the second we walked into the hotel room, haha.

Saturday was our last day of our little weekend trip and we spent most of it slowly traveling back to Midland. We started with a Costco trip in Houston (there is no Costco in Midland, and I was excited to restock on some bulk things!), and then drove a couple hours to Austin.

In Austin we stopped to stretch our legs and got some amazing bbq at Stiles and Switch, recommended to me by my friend Cassie. We got ribs and corn casserole, and it was all amazing. My only regret is that we didn’t order more. Finally, we made a quick stop in at Sprinkles (did I mention I’m kind of a foodie?!), the best cupcake shop ever (according to Nick and I). Our favorite flavor, salty caramel, wasn’t available, but I settled on a few other flavors to take home and surprise Nick with.

After we were about two hours past Austin, on our way home, we started doing one of my favorite road trip hacks with little kids, park stops! We stopped in a little town called Llano, and played in the park at the elementary school for a good 30 minutes. It was the perfect leg stretching opportunity, and the boys love exploring a new park.

After a couple more hours of driving we stopped at another park (with a picnic this time) in San Angelo. We went to the big city park and it is such a fun and pretty place, right along a river. Jay ran for a solid 30 mins nonstop around the park, talking to no one, because he was just so excited to be out of the car. Poor guy, haha. We played until it was dark outside and then finished the last 2 1/2 hours of our drive. The kids slept for most of it, so I got some quality time with my podcasts.

It was the perfect weekend to reset and have some fun. I love adventuring with these guys.

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I recently read a new study that discussed all about the health benefits of consuming unprocessed foods, over processed. It stated that the average American, consumes 500 extra calories per day, if their diet consists of mainly processed foods.

This is crazy to me! But really, haven’t we known this all along? Cooking and eating meals as a family is something that is often abandoned with the hustle and bustle of life. Yet, it’s so important for so many different reasons, even beyond the 500 extra calories a day.

I’ve found a good cookbook can make a world of a difference in encouraging me to cook, and I happen to be a cookbook fanatic. I check out at least one cookbook every time I go to the library. I don’t always make any of the recipes, especially if they look too complicated or involve obscure ingredients. But when I find a cookbook with great photography and even better tasting food, I’m all in.

These two below have been inspiring me so much over the last year to make tasty, healthy food for my family. I hope you find some gems from them too.

Feeding a Family: Simple and Healthy Weeknight Meals the Whole Family Will Love by Sarah Waldman (same cookbook as shown above, just the paperback version!)

We cook from this cookbook at least once a week. Sarah is a nutritionist, so the recipes are all healthful, but beyond that they are also delicious and family friendly. What’s even more golden about it, is the strategies it gives in the beginning of the book for feeding a family. One of my favorite tips she has is to cook 3 or 4 meals a week, and then the other days eat quick pantry dinners (like breakfast for dinner, roasted vegetable pasta, or egg sandwiches), or leftovers. No one has time to cook a big meal 7 times a week. At least no one I’ve ever met.

Favorites: Slow Cooker Greek Chicken Gyros, Oven Baked Falafel, Slurpee Noodle Bowls, Creamy Tomato and Spinach Soup with Grilled Cheese Croutons, Blender Chocolate Raspberry Mousse.

Smitten Kitchen Every Day: Triumphant and Unfussy New Favorites by Deb Perelman

This is my favorite “special” cookbook. We sometimes make the recipes in here for the everyday, but often save them for something special like when we are having guests over or a Saturday morning breakfast for the family. These recipes are seriously mouthwatering.

Favorites: Everything Drop Biscuits with Cream Cheese, Kale Caesar with Broken Eggs and Crushed Croutons, Spaghetti Pangrattato with Crispy Eggs

Do you have any cookbooks that get you excited about cooking? I’d love to hear!