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Mar 20, 2020

Fashion Over Forty: Utility Jacket for Spring and What We've Cooked This Week

Hello and thanks so much for visiting! I hope you are all doing ok and staying at home if you don't have to be out. I'm finding plenty of stuff to do to keep me occupied and I try to get the kids  (teens) involved in many of the daily activities around the house. They are getting a few assignments from teachers but nothing is required here in our disctrict at this point, however I am very happy that they are deciding on doing them anyway. I've also had them more involved in cooking and general housekeeping. (I usually do these things when they are in school during the week - At the end of this post I've shared some of the things we've cooked in case you're looking for some ideas.) Earlier this week we finally got all the oak leaves raked when we had a sunny day. Now if we just had some warmer weather again...

As I mentioned in my latest blog post, I am trying to keep my home life as normal as possible while following the government guidelines, that means I will continue to blog as long as I have something  relevant to my blog to share about.


*Please note, this post includes some affiliate links, meaning I may earn a small commission if you purchase something through the links, this is at no extra cost to you. 


For this week's style post I'm sharing a typical (to me) spring outfit - blue jeans, stripes and a thin jacket. Of course this outfit works just as well in fall, although our fall days here in the midwest are usually either warm where no jacket is needed or too cold for a thin jacket like this one.



My utility jacket was purchased at Rue21 a couple of years ago. Another one of those days when I took my daughter shopping and I ended up finding something for myself. I'm not used to shopping at Rue21 and that was the only time I ever shopped there, but I had to size up in this jacket as my usual size was way too small. My exact jacket is no longer available, this olive green utility jacket from Target looks very similar. 





If you've been following my fashion posts, then you might remember seeing this striped top before when I styled it with gray skinny jeans last fall. You can see it here if you're interested.

The tasselled sweater was purchased last fall from LOFT and is no longer available, but I found the same style of sweater in navy. Then this sweater is similar in the colors but a litte bit different style. By the way, LOFT is currently offering Free Shipping and Free Returns until through March 31st. Use code EXTRA.  


Options from LOFT below...




My crossbody bag is by Nine West (similar option) and my booties are by Miz Mooz, the same style I've shared in this recent outfit post, but in black. While they are lace up boots, they do come with a practical zipper  in the back as you can see on the picture above. As mention in a recent post mine came from  Nordstrom. While no longer available there, Miz Mooz still has a couple of sizes left directly from their site, otherwise you can find them on Amazon. These are the Lennox style. But now that spring is here, I will be putting these boots away until fall.  





These jeans are my AG skinny jeans I got from eBay a few months ago. I would have preferred a mid rise over these lower rise jeans, but missed that detail when I bought them. Still, they are my current go to jeans. I'm sure most of us don't feel like clothes shopping at the moment, but I did notice some  great choices  of AG jeans at great prices (compared to the original price) at Nordstrom Rack.


So before I sign off for today, I wanted to share the things we've been cooking ....nothing fancy or special, but favorites that I hope my kids one day can cook by themselves because I know how nice it is it to be able to re-create meals from the childhood. 

We made French Toast. I don't follow a specific recipe but I make mine similar to this one (minus the nutmeg and vanilla - I like things plain :-). My son and hubby eat theirs with maple syrup, I love mine with plain granulated sugar and my daughter eats hers with powdered sugar. You can always add some sort of fruit or cinnamon, but we don't usually. 

We also made Semolina Pudding (ate it for breakfast). Again, I have no recipe, but it's similar to this recipe.  (Please note, this is a single serve recipe. I always make enough for 4, use regular granulated sugar and I also add one egg.) 

We made Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal. I just follow the instructions on the box of Old Fashioned Oats, then add a couple of diced apples, sugar and cinnamon.

For lunches we made Old Fashioned Cabbage and Noodles with Kielbasa. I found  this recipe a few years ago from Pinterest and we all love it. I don't use chicken stock, and use just water instead.

We also made Potato Salad (without mayo - we don't eat mayo). I just make mine with peeled boiled potatoes - sliced, sliced sweet onion and a simple oil, vinegar and salt dressing.

We made Pork Chop Sandwiches with thin cut pork on steak roll I buy from Walmart. ( I ususally keep a bag of these rolls in the freezer.)

We also made simple Homemade Pizzas. I love using Aldi's Artisan Flatbreads for the "pizza dough". This is another item I usually keep in the freezer for when we want to make pizzas.

Today we're going to make Potato Soup with ham shanks. I again don't have a specific recipe but this one sounds similar. As usual, I don't use any chicken stock or broth and I use water instead. To me the soup get enough flavor from just using the vegetables and meat, but everyone's tastebuds are different and you may want to use the chicken broth instead. 

Still have some some frozen Salmon Filet left and frozen veggies and things to make a pot of Chili, but will definitely need to get to the grocery store this weekend. It's crazy how one full cart of groceries is just enough for a week....


Thanks so much for stopping by today! 


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25 comments:

Kate at Green Fashionista said...

Always love a good utility jacket, and that one is perfect for spring <3

Green Fashionista

Joanne said...

Your meals sound so yummy! I was just saying to my husband that keeping two weeks of groceries in the house is impossible with teenagers. But I hope we are stocked enough to last at least one- one and half as it was very slim pickings this week. Best of luck to you and your family. I plan to keep right on blogging too. I think we all need something to look forwards to!

annies home said...

I love the utility jacket have a few myself yours looks perfect on you
come see us at http://shopannies.blogspot.com

Mica said...

Stripes are always a classic and that's such a cute jacket too! :)

It's nice you are able to get the kids involved with cooking as well while they are home from school! I like baking with the kids but it's not always easy to do as I have to have the energy to want to clean up the mess they make during it, haha!

Hope that you are having a nice weekend :) It's another quiet one here, with all that's going on in the world!

Away From Blue

Shaira Manalo said...

Love the utility jacket as well as the baaag! <33

Take care! :)

xoxo,
SHAIRA
Blog: www.missdream-girl.blogspot.com

stylefrontier said...

You look great!
Hope you stay healthy and safe
xoxo
style frontier

the 4 M's said...

Sounds really yummy! We definitely have been baking more. Today, we will try to make some donuts. Our city schools did very well with setting up digital learning and today, the homeroom teachers have been calling to check on us. The school is even doing meals twice a week and delivering them at the bus stop. Love your crossbody purse. I feel like after getting rid of a lot of purses, I want to add one back but am not sure yet what color.
www.chezmireillefashiontravelmom.com

Lizzie said...

You look so cute! I love this outfit! Everything sounds so yummy too :-) Makes me want to do some baking!!

Lizzie
www.lizzieinlace.com

R's Rue said...

You are beautiful. Stay safe.
www.rsrue.blogspot.com

Shelbee on the Edge said...

Ellie, I love utility jackets when the weather starts to warm up. What a great outfit! And your boots are so cute, too. I totally forgot that I had just bought 2 pairs of tan boots in that style (one pair is flat and the other has a block heel) and I haven’t worn them yet! They got shoved to the back of my closet and then this quarantine thing happened and I stopped getting dressed! I also am loving that cool green wall behind you. And now I am hungry after reading about all of your amazing dishes. Thanks for sharing and linking up with me.

Shelbee
www.shelbeeontheedge.com

Doused in Pink | Chicago Style Blog said...

This is the perfect spring uniform! Your striped sweater is super cute! All of these meals sound so good!

Jill - Doused in Pink

Jessica Jannenga said...

I want to bake some mollasses cookies my mom made growing up, but have to wait until the next time we get groceries. Love the jacket on you and the tassles on the top. I like the idea of making pizzas.
thanks for linking!
jess xx
www.elegantlydressedandstylish.com

Ellibelle said...

Thanks Kate! It's great for the in between seasons!

Ellibelle said...

I usually shop to have enough for a week's worth (because grocery shopping is one of my least favorite chores to do!) I tried to get a little bit extra this time, but the cart fills up so fast...
Thanks for stopping by!

Ellibelle said...

Thanks so much, Annie!

Ellibelle said...

Thanks Mica. Baking with kids is so much fun, but yes so messy! Glad mine are old enough to help clean up afterwards too :-)

Ellibelle said...

Thanks so much, Shaira!

Ellibelle said...

Thank you!!

Ellibelle said...

Thanks Mireille, these meals are always repeats for us because we all love them (minus my hubby who will NEVER eat potato salad! LOL Glad I don't have picky kids! Our school does lunchbags as well, but we haven't gotten them. We just make things at home.
Thanks for stopping by!

Ellibelle said...

Thanks so much, Lizzie!

Ellibelle said...

Thank you!

Ellibelle said...

Thanks Shelbee! The tan boots sounds great, sorry you didn't get to wear them yet! I put all my boots away for now until fall.

Ellibelle said...

Thanks so much, Jill!

Ellibelle said...

Thanks Jessica! Those pizzas are so good, and it's always great when everyone can choose their toppings. Of course the Artisan flatbreads I used for the "pizza dough" were the only thing out of stock when I went shopping the other day...

NotJessFashion said...

I'm such a huge fab of utility jacket, so versatile and so easy to style.

Jessica | notjessfashion.com