Five on Friday :: Found on the Internet

I'm linking up with the ladies today for Five on Friday! 

Since I'm still spending a great amount of time nursing Annabeth, I've been finding some fun stuff poking around on the web. I thought I'd share some things that I'd found via Pinterest, my Feedly reader, and through friends. Consider this my Five on Friday "Found on the Internet" version! 

1. Ham, Ham, and more Ham

Both of our families were in town this past weekend for Annabeth's dedication on Mother's Day. We had a ham on Sunday (one of my favorite meals!) and we were left with the ham hock plus a few baggies full of ham. What to do besides freeze the hock for soup? Of course we'll be having ham and cheese sliders from Tasty Kitchen. They are so easy and super delicious. But we needed something different. Enter Fettuccine Ferrari from Samma's blog. I made this last night (I subbed a random shorter cut of pasta I had in the pantry-- it had some fancy, weird name) and it was fantastic. Tyler and I both liked it a lot and said it would be great with grilled chicken this summer. If you have leftover ham (or grilled chicken), make this. You could even just add more veggies and leave out the meat. It's quick, easy, and tasty. Two Haney thumbs up!

2. Patio Furniture DIY

My mom and I repainted an iron patio a few years ago. We used a pretty yellow spray paint and while I have loved the color, it just hasn't held up well. Maybe it's because it's been about 3 years. I have been thinking about repainting it, but this post from my friend Rachel really inspired me to get my behind to Lowe's and spray it again. We use it almost everyday in the summer, so it really needs to be done soon. Maybe a new umbrella and cushions will be my reward! 

3. Aldi

I have noticed that my grocery bill just keeps getting higher and higher. No matter how many coupons I have and how much I try to use what's in my pantry, it's nearly impossible to keep it reasonable week after week. My sweet friend Kara (we went to college together!) wrote a great post on why she shops at Aldi and what she does and doesn't buy there. I love reason #2; Kara has such a heart for the Lord and people. Make sure you add her blog to your reader; she has a great sense of style and three of the most darling children I've ever seen! I shopped at Aldi this week and ended up spending only $60! I did buy a kickball, plate, and cup for G and didn't buy my meat there, but I'd say that's a pretty good deal! Plus, Griffin thought it was the best day of his life when he got to put the quarter in to get our buggy. Small pleasures.

4. Organizing vs. Purging

We are putting our house up for sale soon and I'm preparing by going through each room with a fine-tooth comb. Well, as fine-tooth as I can with two little ones demanding a great deal of my time. I loved this post by Tsh about how different decluttering and organizing really are. I found myself nodding as I was reading and thinking about the post days later. I think she's really on to something. I wouldn't consider myself a minimalist and I probably never will, but many of her points were spot on. 

5. Kids and Starbucks

It's no secret that I like to frequent Starbucks as much as I can. I can't help it; it's a sickness. It certainly helps that the Cincinnati area is very light on drive-thru Starbucks. It's rare that I want to drag my three year old and his 13 pound (plus heavy car seat) sister into a storefront for a coffee. This pleases my husband and our budget, obviously. But we do have one drive-thru near Trader Joe's, so if I'm in that area of town, I'll often swing through for vanilla macchiato. Griffin begs for a cake pop every time we pull into the parking lot and I usually rarely indulge him. I loved that Raechel posted about what she gets her kids at Starbucks. I think Griff would go bananas over this as he always begs for "just one sip of your Starbucks coffee, Mama!" This way he can have his own treat that isn't a ball of sugar on a stick. But you can't blame him, can you? Those things are so stinking good. 

I hope you all have a fantastic weekend! I'll be back on Monday with the second installment of Annabeth's incredibly long birth story.  And just because I can't help myself, here are a few pictures of my kiddos. We're so glad spring is here to stay!