Welcome back to Monday Moodboard, Week 31 — my weekly roundup of everything I’m eating, loving, wearing, doing and saving lately.
Somehow a week that felt pretty uneventful while I was living it turned into homemade chocolate chip cookies, sunrise coffee, tuna poke bowls at home, pizza with friends, a two-hour trip through the Goodwill glassware section and the beginning of what may become my next hobby: candle making.
Labor Day weekend was refreshingly low-key, Grazing Haus had a bit of a plot twist, and apparently the internet is very invested in the cleanliness of my butter bell.
Here’s what I’ve been up to lately…
Around Town
We try to spend our week evenly between being at home and spreading the love, as I call it — spending a little money with our favorite places. Because listen, we live in a seasonal area and us locals have to try and keep these businesses afloat when we can.
This week we did that by buying our ahi tuna from Merrick’s Seafood, went out Friday for an app and a drink at Aqua (it did not dissapoint this time), and ended the night with pizza and an Uncle Rico cocktail at Nice Guys.
Lastly, we ventured out to Fancy’s newer location in Downtown Fort Myers for brunch on Sunday. It was definitely a more foodie weekend since my CoolPeel healing process made me an indoor cat, or else we probably would have been boating all weekend long.
In the Kitchen
I don’t bake, which is exactly why my best friend Sarah owns Sweet Real Bakery. And when I need to celebrate my people, she’s the first person I talk to.
However, I also have a sweet tooth, and sometimes I just need a little something to eat with my 2 p.m. espresso. With that being said, I have “mastered” two items that I am comfortable preparing: chocolate chip cookies and a banana bread or muffin something LOL.
This week I was craving something comfy and chocolatey, so chocolate chip cookies made their way into the oven. I follow a simple recipe from Half Baked Harvest, and Jeremy LOVES that I top these with Maldon sea salt. If you’re not doing this with your chocolate chip cookies, I highly recommend doing so on your next batch.
The other recipe I wanted to talk about is our homemade poke bowls. And when I say “our,” I mean this is Jeremy’s night to shine and one of the few times he makes for me. It was planned to do so on Wednesday when my peel would have been the spiciest and I was NOT operating an oven.
He follows a recipe he found online a few years ago, and we pick up our tuna from local fish market Merrick’s Seafood. It’s so simple and really comes together quickly. If you want me to share the full recipe, leave me a comment and I’ll link what we do!
In My Thrifting Era
I am new and 100% aware I could be scamming myself, but hey, I have to learn somehow. I spent two hours at Goodwill picking through the glass wall determined to find a few things:
- Glasses for my next project: making candles at home.
- COOL things to help my home feel curated and not all Target.
- Anything else that caught my eye.
I left with an embarrassing amount of glass, but who cares when the total was under $40?! Here are the pieces I picked up and how I plan to use them.
Punch bowl with the hanging clips — for my candle-making night, these girls better love a batched drink.
Tall chalices — I plan to use these for butter towers at our next party.
Espresso/Coffee cups — I am already using these and they have RED FRENCH origins printed on them.
My first qualified candle vessel!
Dessert cups — which were so nostalgic for me because my mom used to make Jell-O dessert and serve them in similar vessels, so I just begged me to take them home.
If you’re looking for a local thrifting shop, I cannot recommend The White Cottage Company more! Check it out and know you’re shopping items that are the real deal.
From the Haus
Grazing Haus now has a fully stocked pantry at Sweet Real. With season here, I will be stocking all our favorites for your gift baskets, stocking stuffers and last-minute hostess gifts. Be sure to stop by and grab some pantry items!
At Home
Saturday was an early morning for me at Grazing Haus, but I was able to catch the sunrise — something I am really trying to appreciate and enjoy more and more.
We also went over to a friend’s new house, and it’s even more exciting that they also now live 10 minutes from us! It’s so nice to have our community growing — having good friends close to home is something I appreciate more and more.
If you ask me, it was also just a relaxing LDW for us at home. We watched some Harry Potter, installed our new amazing TV device, and I’m spending Monday at home catching up on life and preparing for my upcoming trip this weekend to NYC and then Slovenia in two weeks.
Apparently, Clean Your Butter Bell
It’s so insane that the quickest Reel I make for Instagram tends to blow up — which is exactly what my butter bell Reel did.
With 43K views and climbing, let this be your reminder to clean your butter bell this week!
Watch the Reel HERE.
Here is my exact Butter Bell I bought on Amazon
What I'm Loving
I scored a few pieces this weekend on sale at J.Crew and Nordstrom Rack. If you’re not using ChatGPT to curate your closet, well, I don’t know what to tell you.
I hate over-buying, and if you follow me you know I wear a lot of the same pieces every day because once I invest in something, I expect it to last a long time. Knowing that I curate my closet similarly, there is nothing wrong with having a look and a “uniform,” in my opinion. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!
Thanks for hanging with me today. Happy LDW, my friend.