What I'm Watching

 

 

I rarely watch network television, except for a few favorites that I have watched for years (Grey's Anatomy) and one new show (This Is Us). And, I still watch the housewives, but I'm down to three (NY, OC and BH). Southern Charm on Bravo is a favorite too. On demand has made it easier to keep up and catch up with these kinds of shows. Lately, I've rediscovered an old favorite and finally caught up with the big Emmy winning hit from last year. Here's what I'm watching.

 

 

Yes, I was way behind on watching Big Little Lies, but we don't have HBO and I don't usually like book adaptations, so I wasn't that bothered. But, we had a week of free HBO and I knew it was the one show I wanted to finally watch. I did enjoy it and thought the acting was pretty amazing. Some of the changes from the book were choices I didn't really understand, but overall it was very well done. I would like to see Season 2, even with Meryl Streep, who I do not care for. If nothing else, that proves how much I liked it.

 

 

Once Upon A Time is one of those shows that used to be great, so I stuck with it the past few years. However, I just couldn't get through it last season and thought I was done. Characters left, new characters were introduced and when I read the last eposode would bring back pretty much everyone, I decided to get caught up, so I could enjoy the series finale. And, much to my surprise, it's a pretty good final season.

 

 

I love discovering a Netfix series that is binge worthy and Retribution is a great find. It's British, dark and twisty; just how I like my crime dramas. You won't believe the ending in this one.

Looking forward to watching: Little Women on Masterpiece Theatre (PBS) starting May 13th and another installment of The Great British Baking Show (PBS) starting June 22nd. I think it's our last season with Mary and Paul and I wonder if the new version will have the same charm.

Happy Wednesday!

 

Some blog housekeeping: I hope to do a blog design update sometime later this year, but it's bugging me that I don't have an Instragram button making it easy for you to follow me. So, in the meantime, here is a link to my Instagram page. I don't do a lot of stories, but I love them and am going to try to do more in the future.

 

No Bake Peanut Butter Bites

 

 

 

When I see a recipe I like, I save it one of two ways. (But as an aside, remember the days of ripping pages out of magazines?) I pin it to a Pinterest board, or I bookmark it to my recipes folder on my IPad. Either way, it gives me a running list of recipes I want to try. My diet lately has been a little all over the place; not bad, but not my usual routine that I know works for me in keeping my blood sugar where I want it to be.

I refuse to deprive myself, so I have my tricks and I thought these No Bake Peanut Butter Bites from Mix and Match Mama were a perfect compromise when something sweet is what I want. Anything bite sized is perfect for a carb counter, because in short, you easily control the portion size. These bite size goodies, also have healthy peanut butter (protein), healthy carbs in the oatmeal and for that sweet tooth; a sprinkling of butterscotch chips. Next time I make these, dark chocolate chips might be the way to go. Keep the balls in the freezer, as the recipe states and they are even more delicious.

Added note: After eating these for a few days, I am finding the butterscotch chips a bit too sweet for my taste. I would make them again, but use dark chocolate the next time.

So, three ingredients, quick as can be and portion control. All my favorite things in one little bite.

Have a wonderful weekend!

 

{ Linking with these friends}

Savvy Southern Style

Have a Daily Cup

Between Naps on the Porch

21 Rosemary Lane

Stonegable

Sunshine State of Mind

 

 

 

This weekend, I went for a walk with my puppy on my favorite walking trail that starts in downtown Venice and ends at the beach. It was close to sunset on Saturday, so dinner time downtown, with a lot of people strolling the avenue, eating at outside tables and just a generaly happy, vacation vibe. At the beach, there was live music playing in the pavilion, couples dancing and many people arriving with their beach chairs to watch the sunset. Again, happy people everywhere.

Since I have lived here, I have noticed that people are active and out and about, everywhere I go. There are walkers and bikers galore. People embrace this endless summer and the happiness is contagious. Yes, I live here and life for me has settled somewhat, but when you are around others who are on vacation, it puts you in that frame of mind too. Walking becomes more of a stroll, rather than purposeful. There are no heads down, tucked away from the cold, but faces turned towards the sun and smiles.

I get asked a lot, by my friends and family in Michigan how I like the heat in Florida, especially in the summer months. It really is not a problem, because every place is air conditioned. Otherwise you adjust your outdoor activities to the cooler times of day. Shade and ceiling fans mean you can still sit outside too. A dip in the pool or at the beach feel that much better when the temperature rises. Blue sky and sunshine when I wake up in the morning, blooming flowers year around and seeing green all the time is good for my health and good for my mood. It really is a sunshine state of mind.

Happy Monday!

 

3 Ingredient Banana Pancakes - Recipe Redo

 

 

 

This is definitely a worthy recipe for a redo since I am always looking for something to make when I have one lone over ripe banana in the fruit bowl. My original recipe and measurements can be found here, but it's really just as easy as mashing a banana in a small bowl, adding an egg and a bit of flour and mixing it all up. (I added blueberries, but they are great without as well).

The consistency ends up being perfect and I would put these up against most regular banana pancakes for taste. If you are looking for low carb (Type 2 Diabetic here), but don't want to feel like you are eating cardboard, give these a try.

Note: I used to use sugar free syrup, but am trying to get away from artificial sweeteners as much as possible. I like the idea of using all natural, good quality maple syrup, but only using a little bit. Also, when you don't eat much sugar, something like syrup can begin to taste incredibly sweet and you really don't even want much anymore.

Enjoy and happy Thursday!

 

{ Linking with these friends}

Savvy Southern Style

Have a Daily Cup

Between Naps on the Porch

21 Rosemary Lane

Stonegable

April Book Club - Ordinary Grace

 

 

 

My book club in Florida is very different than my book club in Michigan. The biggest differences being no dinner, no wine and new women I've just met, rather than my dearest friends. But, the underlying reason I go to book club is still there. I love to read. I love to discuss the books I read. And, I love to find that hidden gem of a book that is one that I would normally not pick if given the choice.

Ordinary Grace by William Kent Kruger is a book that is part coming of age and part mystery. The setting; a small town in Minnesota, during one summer in 1961, brought me right back to my own childhood in a small Midwestern town in the late 1960's. In this story, there is death and hardship, but there are also small acts of ordinary grace that can be so prevalent in small town America.

From Amazon: New Bremen, Minnesota, 1961. The Twins were playing their debut season, ice-cold root beers were selling out at the soda counter of Halderson’s Drugstore, and Hot Stuff comic books were a mainstay on every barbershop magazine rack. It was a time of innocence and hope for a country with a new, young president. But for thirteen-year-old Frank Drum it was a grim summer in which death visited frequently and assumed many forms. Accident. Nature. Suicide. Murder.

You will feel the grief that this family feels and also understand how in the end, it is faith, family and friends that we all must rely on in times of trouble. It's a book that makes you think, makes you feel and that keeps you guessing until the end.

Happy Reading!

 

Easter Weekend - Florida Style

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We had glorious weather here in Florida for Easter Weekend and if only my daughters had been with us, I think it could be my favorite holiday now. For so many years in Michigan, you bought a beautiful Easter dress, but it was too cold to wear it, or you had to wear a winter coat and cover it up. No issues like that here :-)

We started out on Good Friday, deciding to attempt to replicate our fish fry/mass tradition, since three of the couples were right here. We went to a stations of the cross service at noon and then headed to Snook Haven in Venice for some old Florida charm. We sat in the sun at a picnic table, watched for alligators in the Myaka River and had a few drinks (sold in in cans only lol), along with a delicious fish lunch. We missed the rest of our group, our table at The Polish Yacht Club and the beauty of the old Detroit churchs we have attended over the years, but it was so fun to bring this tradition to Florida, in a brand new way.

My mother in law (who lives about 2 hours north of us) came for Easter Day and we had a simple, traditional menu of ham, scalloped potatoes, asparagus and a salad I duplicated from a restaurant we used to go to in Florida many years ago. I call it Key West Salad and it has butter lettuce, sliced strawberries, mandarin oranges, green onions, Parmesean cheese, rice noodles and poppy seed dressing. It's delicious. And of course, key lime pie for dessert.

After dinner, we headed to the beach to have a cocktail and watch the sunset. As far as I am concerned, I would be happy to experience a beach sunset on every holiday. As I have said before, life in Florida is good.

Happy Wednesday!