High five.

 

Well, hello there Three Day Weekend. 

  

Before we get down to business, 5 very important matters to discuss...

             

1)  French-pressed coffee.

For the past week, Ryan's been a busy man.  Early mornings and late nights.  Hasn't even had the time to brew coffee in the morning.  Although I am fully capable of doing so myself, when it's only me, I prefer using the French Press.  Back in the day, all new baristas were encouraged to get one... to conduct at-home tastings... to master the world of whole bean coffee.  It produces a miiiiighty flavorful cup of coffee- even if you're the type to doctor it up.

Plus, this very press got me through my final years of college.  At home.  With a son.  No car.  Working late nights.  Studying around the clock.  No coffee maker.  No espresso machine.  And although I worked at Starbucks, I hated coffee.  But I needed something to keep me awake- and motivated to study my little heart out.  So- each morning... a French press, a hell-of-a-lotta Nestle creamer (mocha to be exact), and endless reading.  And I gradually acquired the taste.  Not to mention, the addiction.  

  
2)  Chalkboard wall decal.
 

The only thing we didn't change or replace when we remodeled our kitchen a few years ago, was this side door.  Not very pretty, but need to switch all of our doors out eventually and figure that this door will have to do in the meantime.  

Ever since I wrote this post, I've wanted to convert the thin, aluminum-framed windows into a chalkboard, but hadn't actually done it- until I saw the chalkboard decal at Urban Outfitters a couple of weeks ago.  A  perfect solution.  A razor was used to trim the edges and black caulk to fill the gaps.  A great spot for a shopping list... or a canvas for budding artists. 

3)  Stripes.

                             

    

Cannot get enough of this particular pattern, and a visit to Old Navy the other day did not help the matter.  Such stripe cuteness goin' on over there.  So many different colors and styles to choose from.  And they're just so versatile.  I was wearing a dark orange maxi skirt and tried the blue top (above) with it.  It worked with that- with a belt, without a belt- with the beige pants... even with the yellow tank underneath.  You know- it's said that only the really daring type will mix stripes with stripes.  Yep.  That's me alright.  Always 10 steps behind ahead of the curve.

{I tried to find the links, but all I could find was the pink one.  I don't know about you, but with Old Navy, I have better luck trying tops on in person, so if you have one near you- and are addicted to stripes too- go see for yourself!}

4)  Pork shoulder tacos (Jora's way).
 

Image via

Oh, what can I say?  Do you want a meal that will knock your husband's (or wife's... or friends'...) socks off??  That produces not only heaven on a plate- but heaven in your taquito the next night... 
  
5)  Baked taquitos.

                        

 (Image via; Recipe here!)

The best leftover meal ever.  And this one too can be prepared ahead of time.  Two DELICIOUS make-ahead dinners.  Domesticity at its finest.

                              

{Cook's Notes:  Prepared the pork Jora's way- with a slow cooker... Used one whole jalapeno and two dried chiles (don't worry about it being spicy- just adds flavor)... Topped the tacos with avocado, cilantro, sauteed peppers and onions, and lime... Topped the taquitos with homemade salsa (with diced avocado and cilantro) and sour cream... Mmmmmmm.}

Now let's get to that weekend.