What’s Up Wednesday {5.27.2020}

I’m never one to rush along time, but guys…I’m not sad that almost half of 2020 is over. Right? Right?! It’s been…something.

But today is the last Wednesday of the month, and I’m excited to share just what the Kemper crew has going on! It’s been another month of different, but we’re having a great time during doing just that.

So Happy Wednesday to YOU and here’s just what’s up this Wednesday…

What We’re Eating This Week

Unofficially summer and officially grilling season at the Kemper household! Jerod is one of those guys who are just really, really good at cooking meat on the grill. Like I can hand him a turkey burger, a beef burger, and a hot dog, and he can make all three grilled to perfection…and done at just about the same time as one another.

Me? I have zero temperature control and either keep it at a steady 200 degrees or hot as Hades at around 600.

Soooo…the grilling is left to the master.

I’ve been on the hunt for good grilling side dishes to make my life a little easier and have the grill master takeover the bulk of our meals.

Enter: Grilled Mushrooms.

Super easy prep work, little effort on the grill, and comes out perfect every time we make them. No mess. No fuss. Delicious, buttery grilled mushrooms every single time.

Grilled Mushrooms

1 container whole mushrooms, cleaned and trimmed

2 teaspoons olive oil

2 Tablespoons salted butter, melted

1 teaspoon minced garlic

2 teaspoons fresh parsley, minced

Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions

Preheat grill to medium high heat. Line a vegetable grill pan with aluminum foil, or create an aluminum foil packet by cutting your foil to roughly 12 inches long. You want a large square big enough to hold your mushrooms.

Place cleaned mushroom on your foil and coat with your olive oil and melted butter. Sprinkle minced garlic, parsley, and your desired salt and pepper on top.

If you used a piece of foil, fold up the sides to enclose your mushrooms, leaving the top a little open to be able to spoon your oil and butter sauce throughout the cooking process.

Grill for 15-20 minutes, spooning oil and butter mixture from the bottom of the foil to the tops of the mushrooms every 4-5 minutes. Mushrooms are done when they have turned a dark brown and are evenly coated with your olive oil and butter.

What I’m Reminiscing About

Travel.

Oh, I miss you so much, travel.

Maybe it’s the start of the summer season or that I was supposed to be in Pittsburgh visiting my brother and his family just last week, but I’m having major travel withdrawals right now.

Take me back to Mexico…

Or the Florida coast…

Or even just take me to someplace else other than my house. That’s all I want. 🙂

What I’m Loving

During one of my recent sleepless nights, I felt it was as good of time as any to search Amazon for the best window cleaners because we are apparently barbarians at my house. Our windows were gross. So at 3:47, I made one the single greatest purchases I’ve made in the last year.

These e-cloth window cleaning cloths are legit! No exaggeration. The BEST. Unbelievable how well these worked with such little fuss!

So here’s how it works: Wet the light green towel with water and wring out excess. Wipe window all over. Take the dark green towel and dry window. And…done.

It is instant satisfaction and the most sparkling, streak-free windows I’ve ever had in my home. Hands down. And how about 1,500 five-star reviews on Amazon? People are raving about these cloths and I’m raving about how good my windows look without the mess and time it usually takes to do so. These are so, so good!

What Else We’ve Been Up To

Jackson learned how to ride a bike without training wheels! Woo hoo!! So proud of this boy! We have a big mantra in our home that ‘We can do hard things,’ and he certainly did just that!

And we’re finally seeing our family again after so many months apart. Not seeing one another since February was so hard, but I’m thankful that we’ve stayed healthy, stayed smart, and are now slowly starting to see one another again. It’s so, so good for the soul.

What I’m Dreading

Potty training. 😒 Colton has talked a good game about potty training starting when he turns 3, and now that June 14th date is looming over us. Here we go, for better or for much, much worse.

What I’m Working On

Recently, I shared a post called 35 Things for 35 Years. In it, I shared that I always have at least one home improvement project going on at any given time. And boy, that is definitely the truth right now.

#1 Project: Kid’s Bathroom

Their bathroom is HUGE…and atrocious. For the last two years we’ve lived at our house, it’s looked like this:

Blue and white striped wallpaper with blue tile floors. It was time for this to change!

So far, wallpaper has been stripped, glue removed, skim coated the walls, popcorn ceilings scraped, and ceiling repainted a fresh coat of paint. Next up: Those walls are getting painted and I just can’t wait! A full rundown of this remodel to come!

#2 Project: We’re Getting our House Painted!! I’m working on a vision board this week to share with you (hopefully Friday!) with all my ideas with color, fixtures, and hardware for our exterior revamp. So long peach house and red door! I don’t think I’ll miss you much. 😊

What I’m Excited About

Summer!! I can’t wait for long, lazy days and warm temps. Fun outside from morning until night every single day. Ahhh…it makes my heart so happy!

On Monday, I shared our very favorite Outdoor Summer Toys that are tried and true, all-time favorites for the boys. These toys are the ones they rush to every time we are outside and have lasted since at least last season, and through two toddler boys. If that doesn’t scream durable, I don’t really know what does. 😏

Bunch O Balloons // Little Gardener Tool Set // Ride-On Sand Digger // Radio Flyer Light-Up Scooter // Metal Wheelbarrow // Spinning Sprinkler // Giant Outoor Jenga Game // HUGE Unicorn Sprinkler // Kids Archery Set // 3-Pack Squirt Gun Set // Plasma Car // Tree Swing

What I’m Reading

I’ll share my May Book Review next week, but did you catch what I read last month? Hint: One of these books is up there as an all-time favorite thriller I’ve EVER read and one has stuck with me still a month later. Check out my April Book Review here.

What I’m Listening To

My partner-in-crime talking away beside me. 🤍

What We’re Doing This Weekend

Sunshine, fun with the family, and maybe an afternoon cocktail is in my future.

What We’re Doing Next Month

June is all about Colton’s 3rd birthday (WHAT?!), Father’s Day, Mya turning 6 months (double WHAT?!) and Jerod’s birthday. We’ve got a lot of things to celebrate and I love the opportunity to do it!

I think that’s it for now! See you back here for a little exterior remodel inspo soon! xo

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