What's Up Wednesday May 2017

Linking with Mel, Shaeffer, and Shay to share What's Up Wednesday! Here's May.

What We're Eating this Week

We are having more than sparkling wine in a can!

Sunday-My friend Wine Gal K and I did a canned wine tasting during dinner at the pool that I reviewed earlier in the week. Some of them were actually Good, so be sure to check out the review so you can choose the Best right off the bat. 

We made way too much food for only seven people. We had chicken, ribs, flank steak and grilled vegetables. There was fruit, kale salad and appetizers a plenty.

Monday-Since my lupus was acting up, thankfully we had plenty of the steak and grilled vegetables left. I heated up the steak, veggies, black beans, some corn tortillas and we had make our own taco/fajita night.

Tuesday-Thursday-This is going to be a very busy week with lacrosse practice, book reports, infusions for me and middle school step up night. I am glad there is a lot of Good easy to prepare food in the house. I have plenty of lean lunch meats, turkey burgers, Amylu chicken burgers and fruit that can be made very quickly.

Friday-We will be going right from lacrosse practice to the year end sports banquet. Hockey Guy and Running Daddy should be able to grab some pizza then but there probably won't be any gluten free options there, so I will have to figure something out for myself.

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Good Better Best Canned Wine Pro/Am Review

To kick off summer, Wine Gal K and I decided to do a Pro/Am canned wine tasting as we had dinner at our pool. Wine Gal K has taken many fancy wine tasting courses and she is my go to friend when I need advice on wine. Therefore, she is the pro and well, I am the amateur. 

Canned wine is a new thing and great for summer as they are portable and stay cold due to the can. We tasted five of them and actually some of them were very Good. We tried to group them from lightest to heaviest but at one point Wine Gal K said we should have ordered a little differently. Is canned wine a fad? Is it a hipster thing?Are they any Good? We tasted them first so you don't have to.

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Friday Favorites: Wine Festival, Cupcakes, Girlfriends and Jimmy Buffett

Today I am linking up with Erika, Narci , Andrea, Amanda, Bright on a Budget, Della Devoted, Cup of Tea and By BMG for Friday favorites and sharing with you the things that I am finding Joy in this week.

1) Mount Vernon Wine Festival: Twice a year the Mount Vernon Estate, which is very close to our house, hosts a wine festival showcasing the Best Virginia wine. It's one of our favorite events and we try to go twice per year. Sometimes we go as a group but this time it was just Running Daddy and me. I told him as one of his birthday gifts to pick out a wine that he wanted to be the first wine he opened at our new bar after the renovation is finished.  He chose the Hiddencroft Winery Dutchman's Creek Blend which is a blend of Cab Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Petit Verdot and Tannat. Stay tuned as I will be doing a full review of the wine festival in the near future.

 President Jefferson rocking it out at the Mount Vernon Wine Festival 

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Give Away Alert: Keep Collective Joy bracelet

Since I am taking entries until this Saturday at midnight, today I wanted to share more details about the Joy bracelet give away. To kick off the beginning of summer and spread a little Joy with my readers, I am giving away the Joy bracelet above that I designed using Keep Collective. The bracelet has a reversible leather band with palm tree, Joy and flip flop charms pictured above and below.

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Friday Favorites: Keep Collective Bracelet Give Away, Macarons, Whiskey Shirt, Man Rompers

Today I am linking up with Erika, Narci , Andrea, Amanda, Bright on a Budget, Della Devoted, Cup of Tea and By BMG for Friday favorites and sharing with you the things that I am finding Joy in this week.

1) Keep Collective Bracelet Giveaway



Recently I learned about a new totally customizable jewelry line from the company that brought us Stella and Dot called Keep Collective. It's a modern twist on the classic charm bracelet and one of the Best gift ideas I have seen lately. First, you choose your Keeper which comes in the form of a bracelet, necklace, key fob, bag or even dog collar. Now comes the Best part, the charms. They have everything from wine glasses, to faith symbols to engraved items for your initials or favorite inspirational quote. Monograms? Yup you can monogram and if it's not moving I monogram it. What could be Better during wedding and graduation season?  

Now comes the Best part. To celebrate the beginning of summer and spread a little Joy, I am giving away the Joy bracelet above that I designed for my Good Better Best readers using Keep Collective. All you have to do is who tell me your story about who or what brings you Joy. 

Simply leave me a message in the comments or if you want to share something more privately feel free to send me an email at GoodBetterBestFood@Gmail.com about your Joy.  Running Daddy and Hockey Guy will then choose the winners. I must have all entries by midnight on Saturday, May 27.

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Ladies Who Link: Memorial Day Plans/Kicking Off Summer

Today, I am linking up with A Gal Named Al, Mom's Coffee date, Coast to Coast, Mommy In A Nutshell and Pink Lady to talk about kicking off summer and Memorial Day.

Around the Good Better Best household Memorial Day weekend is all about the pool. We belong to the Best neighborhood pool. It's in a wooded setting, has two big pools, a baby pool, tennis courts, a fishing pond and a big park. It is pretty much the social nucleus of our summer. We try to have pizza there every Friday night and there is always someone to hangout with both for the kids and adults.

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Friday Favorites May 12-Corkcicles, Track Meets, Cute Skirts, Buffalo Dip, Mother's Day and Birthday

Today I am linking up with Erika, Narci , Andrea, Amanda, Bright on a Budget, Della Devoted, Cup of Tea and By BMG for Friday favorites and sharing with you the things that I am finding Joy in this week.

1) Loft Eyelet Skirt:

I needed some spring skirts and picked up this beautiful eyelet skirt recently. It's a cheery watermelon color and I got many complements on it when I wore it this week. Best news, it's 30% off right now.

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Workin' It Wednesday: Planning for Summer Vacation

Today I am linking up with Shay & Erika for their Workin' It series. May's topic is planning for your Summer Vacation. What? What! Summer vacation is almost here! That is the Best news.

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Black Bean and Corn Baked Chicken Tacos

Getting back to Good Better Best Food basics today with a recipe for baked chicken tacos. I have now made twice in the last two weeks. Just writing about them here makes me totally crave these tacos. This recipe is easy, versatile, and makes a lot of food. With this recipe, depending on how many people you have, you might be able to cook once and eat twice. What could be Better?

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Friday Five-Cinco de Mayo edition

Today I am linking up with Erika, Narci  Andrea, Amanda, Bright on a Budget, Della Devoted, Cup of Tea , By BMG, A Smidge of This, Hello! Happiness and Carolina Charm for Friday favorites and sharing with you the things that I am finding Joy in this week. Whew!

1) The Hayden Dress

It was crazy hot here last weekend. When I got home after hitting Barre and the grocery store all I wanted to do was put on something cool and comfortable. I grabbed my pink and green Hayden dress that I picked up from the Best little shop around the corner called Top It Off. They have fantastic jewelry, clothing and accessories. They are based in both Boston and Virginia...no wonder I like them so much and their outlet is in our neighborhood. 

The Hayden dress is the Best for when you just want to throw something on but still look cute. It is a Good option for running errands too.

Hayden dress

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Home Renovation Part Two: I Know a Sweet Little Breakfast Spot

Today in Part Two of our home renovation, I am talking about breakfast, as in the breakfast bar we put in as part of our renovation this year. This was one of the lower budget items but one of the Best decisions we made.

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