What I'm Pop Culturing

I didn't get a chance to do What I Ate this week because, well, I just forgot to take photos of my eats! Instead I thought it would be fun to talk about what I've been pop culturing lately since I haven't done one of these in a while! Please add your own as I'm always looking for new goodies to explore!

Reading:
The Girl on the Train
Outlander series
Yes Please
Wild

On my list: continue with Outlander, any other recommendations for me?!

I have taken the plunge into audio books and have been listening to the Outlander series. I'm really enjoying it. Each book is about 40 hours (which does sound crazy!) but it's perfect for my walk to the office and on the train. I'm also simultaneously catching up on the show - see below. Recently I read The Girl on the Train, and I finished the entire book in one day. It was SO good. Everyone's comparing it to Gone Girl, but I think it was way better! For book club, I also read Yes Please by Amy Poehler and thought it was just ok. I also started Wild but couldn't get through the beginning as I found it to be too sad!

Watching:
There's just a never ending supply of awesome TV these days. I would happily binge on many more shows if I could keep my eyes open past 10pm. But alas, I cannot. Lately we've found ourselves watching more comedies than dramas because they are shorter and lighter and there is actually a solid amount of good comedic TV on right now. Shaun also prefers comedies usually, while I'm all about the drams. The more morbid, creepy, depressing the better in my book. My favorites on this list are Justified, Outlander and Shameless!

Justified
Kimmy Schmidt
Outlander
Blackish
Last week with John Oliver
Shameless
Jeopardy

On my list: finish Orange is the New Black, Game of Thrones starts again soon!, possibly catch up on Walking Dead, possibly catch up on Downton Abbey, Better Call Saul, and House of Cards is under consideration

Listening:
I'm definitely going through an inappropriate Broadway show phase lately. I've been listening to a lot of Book of Mormon (I'm kinda obsessed with this soundtrack!) and that spurred a rekindling of my love for the Avenue Q soundtrack.

Book of Mormon
Avenue Q
The Head and the Heart
90s rock playlist

On my list: This American Life, Hedwig and the Angry Inch --->we are going to see it in a few weeks and I need a music refresher!

Now it's your turn! What are you reading, watching and listening to lately?

Toddler Bath Time Favorites

toddler towels/sesame street bubble bath/johnson & johnson shampoo & conditioner/sesame street fizzy tub colors/sofia the first bath paint set/cetaphil/jambox by jawbone

Lately, Penelope has been loving her bath time. If I ask her about taking a bath, she yells 'bubbles!' and runs into her bathroom, starts gathering her bath time goodies and reaching to turn the water on. We've elevated her bathtime experience with a few fun items and now I find myself having to bribe her to get her out of the tub, or finally draining the tub so she is cold enough to get out.

These are some of our bath time must-haves that we use for each and every bath time! Penelope absolutely adores picking her bath fizz color, loves lots of bubbles (we love this Sesame Street kind because it makes lots and lots of bubbles that last), and this adorable Sofia the First paint set. The paint set comes with a sponge, small paint tray and a paint brush and P is obsessed. We are finally running out of paint, so it looks like I'll be picking more up this week! It also comes in other themes, not just girly versions ;) Fluffy towels and a thick post-bath moisturizer complete the list.

My own must-have is the Jambox, which I connect to my iPhone and Spotify app for a wide variety of bath time music, ranging from Disney and Sesame Street to Billy Idol and The Temptations.

What are your favorite kid-approved bath time items?

Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup

Hi friends! Admittedly I'm feeling sad that Monday is upon us once again. As per usual, the weekend flew by oh so quickly and last night I found myself crashing on the couch at 9:30 and trying to hold my eyes open, wondering how it got to be Sunday night again already. It's still super cold here in the tri-state area and friends...I'm OVER IT! Seriously, this is enough. I could deal with 40 degrees, I even rallied for one last snowstorm on Friday...but today it was 24 degrees and that I'm just not ok with. I guess it's good for blog purposes though because today I'm sharing this really comforting lemon chicken orzo soup! I had shared this on Instagram and on my What I Ate from last week and a bunch of people asked for the recipe. I didn't take great photos of this, but I really wanted to get this up and out since you asked! Penelope loved this soup and she even helped prep it. She ate it all last week for dinner, and couldn't wait to eat 'her soup'.

Next time, I'll update with pretty photos and also add in some greenery! I used up what I had in the fridge, but I think this would really be amplified with some fresh baby spinach, celery and even a chopped up bell pepper. Hope you enjoy!

Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup
for the chicken:
1 lb skinless boneless chicken breasts
1 1/2 C low sodium chicken broth
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp paprika
Cooking spray

for the lemon orzo soup:
2 C carrots, diced
1 onion, diced
1/2 Tbsp butter
1/2 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
6 1/2 C low sodium chicken broth
juice of one lemon
zest of one lemon
1.5 C dried orzo
2 C frozen corn
1 pkg chopped spinach, defrosted (or 1 bag fresh baby spinach)
Parmesean cheese, if desired
Lemon slices for garnish, if desired

Spray the inside of a slow cooker with cooking spray. Place the chicken in the slow cooker, sprinkle with salt, pepper, onion powder and paprika. Pour about 1.5 cups of low sodium chicken broth around the chicken until it's almost covered. Cover and cook on low for four hours. When finished, shred chicken in the cooker and set aside.

Start the soup.
In a Dutch oven or stock pot, melt the butter and olive oil together over low heat. Add the chopped onions and carrots and sautée until soft. Add the remaining chicken stock, lemon juice and zest and bring to a boil. Add 1.5 cups of dried orzo and stir together. Turn heat to low/simmer and cover. Cook for 15 minutes. Add corn, spinach or any other soft vegetables you desire (if you plan to include celery or bell peppers, I recommend sautéeing those in the beginning with the carrots and onions). Let simmer a few minutes more.

When ready to serve, pour out soup into a bowl and top with shredded chicken. I don't mix these together in the pot if I'm making a big batch to last for a few days because I find that the chicken breaks down quickly. Top with a slice of lemon or parmesean cheese if desired.

Enjoy!