The Book that Took Two Years to Finish

Back in 2020, anxiety hit hard and I stopped watching tv shows and started watching mostly YouTube. At that point, I went down a make-up rabbit hole and didn't come up for a few years, but since then I've ventured into other YouTube spaces, including video essays. I enjoy them because they are usually on a specific subject and are longer, like a tv episode. Since I enjoy these types of video essays, when I found the book "Freaks, Gleeks & Dawson's Creek" at a local bookstore that promised to be like those video essays, but centered on nostalgia, I figured it would be a hit. 

It was not. 

According to my reading app, Fable, I started the book on July 7, 2024. I finished it January 9, 2026. More like a year and a half, but still. For a person that can read romance books in a day, two if it's a long one, and hefty history books in a week or so, that is a ridiculous amount of time. I enjoyed the topic. I enjoyed the writing. So what the heck, Sarah?

Since finishing the book, I've considered why a) I never actually moved it into Did Not Finish (or DNF) status and b) why I finally deemed it was worth finishing a year and a half later. 

My main issue is the way the book is set up. My one and only 2024 New Year's Resolution was to read one non-smutty romance book a month. Not even kidding. And I kept it! But in that, I was trying out a bunch of different genres, including non-fiction. I'd never really read non-fiction before. I am not a fan of self-help books. I'm inherently a story person, but I also like to jump around and read multiple books at once. I believe I'm what they call a "mood reader." This book is set up like 7 long essays instead of chapters. For me, that makes it hard to pick up and read when I'm in the mood and then set it back down. It doesn't feel like there's a good stopping point, so I have a hard time picking it up to start knowing that. I didn't move it into DNF status because when I did read the book, I enjoyed it. I learned a lot about television in that time and enjoyed the behind the scenes look at shows I grew up watching. I also loved piecing together information like the usual crew in Judd Apatow movies (Rogen, Segel, etc) were all originally from Freaks and Geeks. I wanted to finish the book. It was just hard to find a time. I finally finished it this year because I set a new challenge for 2026 of reading two non-fiction books a month and I already had a head start on this one. Easy peasy. 

While I like video essays, it turns out, I don't really like books in essay form. I like chapters. I like clear and easy places to start and stop. I will always have at least two books going on at once and not being able to easily switch between them is a no-go for me.

I've learned a lot about my reading preferences in the past two years. I still really enjoy a quick, easy romance novel. I am not a huge fantasy fan. I love the Fourth Wing series and enjoyed A Court of Thorns and Roses, but I couldn't really ever get into the Throne of Glass Series. And the romantasy books I've really enjoyed are hated by most hard-core romantasy readers because they don't have the massive world building (which is why I like them). I love a good mystery or pyschological thriller. I love to listen to memoirs and biographies. I've also learned that I enjoy audiobooks, but only when driving. It's been fun to try new genres out, find new favorite authors and find out what I don't like. 

One of the genres I've been into the past year or so on YouTube is conscious consumerism. It's mostly related to beauty and fashion, but now that reading has become cool again thanks to BookTok, it also applies to buying books. A big part of why I picked up "Freeks, Gleeks & Dawson's Creek" in the first place was cause the cover was darn cute and made all of my early 2000s coral and mint dreams come true. I was in a cute, local book store, it was a cute cover and bam, it came home with me. This happens in regular book stores too because now special editions and sprayed edges can be found anywhere. Books are so fun and pretty now and you want to buy them and display them. But, the truth is, most of my reading is on the Kindle or the Kindle app on my phone. I don't need to buy all these books because they are pretty. I don't prefer to read them in that form. However, I also still subscribe to The Bookish Box which sends me special edition books once a month. So while I've learned what I do and don't like and do and don't need, I'm also still getting pretty special editions sent to me. Balance!

I'm proud of myself for finishing this book. I'm also really excited to move it off my bookshelf because I know for a fact that I will never pick it up again. Memoirs, biographies and books about ships are my jam. Essays about tv shows, not so much.  

2026 Blog Resurrection

I am resurrecting my blog. I will not address how many times I have said this, tried this, and then failed to do anything with the blog. But that is also the beauty of a hobby, you aren't really failing if you drop something for a while. 

The idea to resurrect the blog came to me this morning in the place where all great ideas are born: the shower. But my need to write, to create, to talk about some things and get them out of me, has been sitting there for a while. My mom retired at the end of July 2025, but the university she worked at didn't have an official retirement for her until December. I attended that celebration and one of her colleagues, who is also a writer, asked me if I still wrote. I laughed it off. Writing, who has time for that? I write policies and programs and emails where I work really hard to explain things in a non-snarky way. But actual writing, for me? Nah. Again, who has time for that?

Then in November, we had my son tested for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and he was formally diagnosed. There are so. many. feelings. that go with that as a parent. And this is not the place for those feelings because those belong to me and, eventually, my son. But I have also spent a lot of time trying to learn about ADHD, what it is and isn't, and how I can better equip my son so that he can be successful. That I want to talk about! There is so much information and so many people want to help, but it can also be very overwhelming. I'd also like to help others by sharing what I've learned, but I don't want to talk about it in person. I want to write about it. For me, talking is exhausting, which I'm sure you find hilarious if you know me, but talking about big things exerts a lot of energy. Nothing gets replaced. Writing about big things is like hugging my mom while I dump everything on her, but without having to dump everything on my mom. I get the catharsis of writing, which replaces the energy spent to share. 

Finally, there is nerdy Sarah. She's real nerdy. I got back into reading in 2023. I was an English major in college and I loved Russian literature and big sweeping novels. Then I got a big girl job in Raleigh with a lot of traveling around the state and I was in graduate school at night. Then I got married. Then I had a baby. None of those things are conducive to reading. Then that baby grew up into a kid, who went to kindergarten and I got a new job. I could breathe again! So I started reading. And I read brainless romances. The end of the year wrap-up for my Goodreads was literally a bunch of half naked men. I have no shame in that. I still love me a good romance. But I decided in 2024 that my one and only New Year's Resolution was to read one non-romance book a month. And I kept it! And I found out that I love some nerdy nonfiction history books. I love them, read them and have no one to talk to about them! Aaron tries to listen, but at some point his eyes glaze over and he's done. I also randomly posted about them on my Instagram, but that didn't give me nearly the real estate that I wanted to dump all my nerdy thoughts. 

All of this lead to the resurrection of the blog. It's not going to be pretty. I'm probably not going to try and put a bunch of pictures in like I did before. I genuinely do not care if anyone reads this but me. But I do miss writing and I want a place to dump all the nerdy Sarah thoughts, what I learned about ADHD today and whatever else my little heart desires. Cause this is my internet real estate. 

Also born in the shower this morning were my goals for 2026. I rarely make resolutions and, if I do, they are usually tied to something like a hobby. I came up with 3 for this year and I actually want to try and keep up with them:

1. Read 25 non-fiction books.  I saw a reel where someone said they don't need to set a reading goal because they like to read, they need to set a goal to go outside and touch grass. This is the brain equivalent of touching grass. I want to read 25 non-fiction books in 2026. That's about 2 a month. I do a lot of these books via audiobook, which works great when you travel for work like I do. I hope to continue my journey into naval history (I have no idea why this is a thing, but here we are) and how to work with my neuro-spicy kid. 
2. 4K Minutes on my Peloton app. This sounds a lot more insane to non-Peloton people than it really is. By the numbers, this breaks down to 333 minutes a month, 83 minutes a week or approximately four 20 minute workouts a week, which is where ideally I would like to live. I'm really just looking for a way to be more consistent. And the app covers just going on walks, doing actual classes and using the bike. For me, this is doable and will help me be consistently active, which I want and need. 
3. Write a blog once a month. I hope that I do this more than once a month, but consistently taking time to write creatively will be a huge change for me. 

There are other things I want to do. I'm starting a bible study with the women at church and I want to actually use my nerdy The Bible Maps Handbook as part of that. I want to eat better. I want to drink more water. All of those things. But these three are just for me. I'm really good at making lists of things I need to do. And I'm really good at doing the things I want to do that are really quick and easy, but I'm really bad at being intentional about the things I want to do to grow that take time and effort. And this seemed like a really good place to start.    

Stitch Fix Review January 2020: Outerwear!

Oh hey there! My name is still Sarah. I still exist. As per the usual, it's been a while. But I just got an awesome fix from Stitch Fix and wanted to share it.  If you follow me on Instagram (@thezinnlifeblog) then you've already seen these photos, but not my full thoughts!

I've been doing Stitch Fix for a long time now. I think at least, maybe more than, five years. It's changed and added a lot more ways to be interactive, which I enjoy, but I still love sending a request and getting a fix.

The very quick rundown is that Stitch Fix is a styling service. You can sign up using my referral link (here) which will give us both a $25 style credit. The styling fee is $20 and can be applied to any item you buy. You'll fill out a questionnaire about your sizes, lifestyle, clothing style, etc. and then you'll get a fix with five items. You keep what you want and send the rest back in a pre-paid envelope. In my experience, tops run about $50, pants run between $60-80 (depending on brands) and accessories are around $30.  If you keep all five items, you get a 25% discount.

My stylist is Kelly and she's pretty much got my style nailed. I have the style pass and still do every other month, sometimes more frequently if I feel like it, because I usually end up loving a lot of things and my budget can't handle that every month. This time I asked for all coats and outerwear because, quite frankly, I'm still wearing my jacket from Motherhood Maternity.  I have a lot of coats and recently went through and purged the ones I don't wear. But my everyday jacket was from my maternity days. So I asked for all outerwear to get some variety and choices. Included with the request for coats and jackets were vests and work blazers, but no denim jackets because I already have one I love.

So here's what I got.

Mo-Ka Meriam Knit Hood Faux Leather Jacket - L ($78.00)

Kelly sent me this because I'd added some moto jackets that I liked and she wanted to give me some variety. I like the look of moto jackets, but rarely do I wear them because of their cut. I really, really liked this one because it has the fun styling of a moto jacket, but can zip up like a regular coat, something the moto jackets normally don't do. It also has a hood. As a mom that's usually carrying at least one bag and a toddler, umbrellas are dead to me and hoods are my new BFF. It's a heavier weight coat, too, which I liked for versatility. My big, heavy coat I have right now is a long trench, which tends to feel too fancy for weekends for me.

The large was too small on me. It was the only one that didn't fit, actually. I could do the inner zipper, but that was it. It was also tight on my arms. I decided to keep this one, but I exchanged it for an XL.  The XL came yesterday and fits like a dream!

Market & Spruce Emory Toggle Fleece Jacket - L ($88.00)

When I peeked (cause I always do), I was really excited to get this coat. It's spot on for my style and would be a good replacement for my current everyday coat (black, pea coat style, lightweight). This came in navy but my app tells me it's also available in olive and black. I really like the navy, though. It's lightweight, like a hoodie material. The hood has a really soft lining that make it feel super luxurious. I like that the material is lighter weight because I live in NC. Our winters are pretty mild. Plus,  I hate stiff coats and this one isn't at all.

The large fit me really well and I kept this one! I've already worn it once this week!

Eden Society Holly Contract Hood Cargo Jacket - L ($78)

I really liked this jacket. The fabric was really nice and I love grey. Grey is a neutral, but I feel like it's not as common of a neutral for jackets and coats (most are blue and black). This fit me really well and I liked the lightweight fabric. I also really loved the cute little zippers on the chest. They were a really fun detail!

But, I have a cargo jacket. Mine is olive, the fabric isn't as nice, but I own one and I just don't wear it that much. So I sent this one back.

Market & Spruce Jahana Shearling Lined Cargo Vest - L ($78)

I included vests in my request. I want to be a vest girl. I see them on others and think, "that's cute!" And I have a vest, but I don't wear it that much. So I included vests in my outerwear fix request in case there was something that I might like better. And I did, in fact, like this vest. It fit really well (mine is too small and doesn't zip, ha) and I loved the shearling lining. So, so soft!

I considered this one. It was in my top three. But it's the same price as the Mo-Ka jacket, which I know I will wear. This would be more of a novelty and $78 is expensive for a novelty. Plus, it makes me look a little like the zoo keeper in one of Carter's toys. So this one also went back.

Market & Spruce Regan Rain Jacket - L ($98)

We'll start with the good things of this jacket. It's a really nice weight. It's more than the cargo jacket, but less than the Mo-ka jacket. It's the rain coat material, so it would be great in fall/early spring/winter storms. I would die in the summer, though. But year round, it's great. It fit really well, too. And it's the right length. I got a coat in my birthday fix that was too long and I made sure to ask for hip length coats in this fix. Overall, it's a good jacket.

However. Every single time I look at it, I think of my Grandma Dollie. First, there's the pink. I like blush, but it's very hit or miss for me. This was a big miss. I think the grey and white striped lining adds to the Grandma feel of it, too. I'm not sure what it is. All I know is that every time I saw it, I thought "Dollie." I love Dollie, miss her all the time, but our style is not the same. Plus, $98 is steep for a rain coat. Obviously, this one went back.

I sent back four items, one for an exchange. And had the largest bag of return items to Stitch Fix that I've ever had! They almost didn't all fit in the bag.

It was a really fun fix, though. I got two great coats out of it that I'm excited to wear. I went ahead and scheduled another fix for February, a month early. I've seen all these cute athletic clothes on the shop feature, so I requested an athleisure fix!

What do you think? Would you have kept what I did? Also, Stitch Fix has added a lot of new features lately and I've been reviewing some of those features for them. Let me know if you're interested in a review of the new features and how they work!

Stitch Fix Review: September 2019

It has been a LONG time since I've done a Stitch Fix review! I've been getting boxes every other month, like I have for the past four years!, but I haven't done any reviews on them lately.  I received my September box and thought this would be a great time to pick it back up!

If you haven't heard of or tried Stitch Fix before, it's a styling service. They offer styling for women (including maternity!), men and kids. To sign up, you go to www.stitchfix.com and fill out a style profile, answer some questions and then you get a fix with five items. The styling fee is $20 and it can be applied to any items that you purchase.  If you use my referral link (click here) then you get $25 credit and so do I!

For this box, I requested transitional pieces and accessories if they worked with the pieces sent. I also asked for color, specifically jewel tones. The last few fixes I've received a lot of black, olive and other dark neutrals. They're great but I LOVE color! I wasn't too sure what my fix was going to look like this time because after my last fix, which felt totally rushed and like everything was just thrown into a box, I left some fairly harsh constructive criticism and checked the box for Stitch Fix to decide if I would get a new stylist or keep my current one. I've had Kelly for probably two years and she's had me nailed on style, but the last few have been duds.

I peaked when I got the email that my fix had shipped and it looked promising.  When my fix arrived, I was happy to see that Kelly was back as my stylist and that she was on her A-game!

Daniel Rainn Collie Draped Front Lace Detail Knit Top - XL ($58)

Initially, I thought I was going to love this top. The lace detail is fun and the color is great. But it also looks like a lot of other tops that I own. I'm also pretty close to being in a Large, so this was too big on me, but I also wasn't sure that the Large would fit right.

Collective Concepts Woodford Tie Sleeve Blouse - XL ($64)

This top was not my favorite originally. When I first put it on, I thought it looked too matronly. I have a lot of navy tops and brushed it aside. I'd actually decided to send it back when I took the photos for this post and realized it's actually really cute on!

I think styling it with my jeans (similar here) and booties (similar here) really brought it to life. I recently styled it for work with some brushed dark red pants and it was perfect!

Gorjhana Chloe Small Stud Earrings - $35

 These are by far my favorite item from this whole fix! They work perfectly with every single item sent and they are studs, which means I'm less likely to have them ripped from my head by my toddler. They also come in silver and gold, but I just love the rose gold.  If I had to choose just one item to keep from this box, this would be it. 

Daniel Rainn Darrel Crochet Yoke Knit Top - XL ($58)

I loved this top from the first time I peaked at my fix! Trying it on just confirmed how much I love it. The material is like a t-shirt, so it's super soft, the but pleating also helps it lay nicely. The lace detail at the top makes it dressy enough for work, but it can also easily be worn on the weekend. The arms are a tiny bit big on me, but it's not noticeable and I knew sizing down wasn't going to work either.  I planned to wear this for our family photos last week, but they got rescheduled. It's still hanging, waiting for picture, so you'll be seeing this again sometime in the future!

Bobeau Jemmy Brushed Open Pocket Cardigan - XL ($58)

My sister-in-law was over watching Carter for me when my box arrived and when I pulled this out and made her feel it, she commented that I was making her want to try a box again. It's that good! This cardigan is so super soft and I love the green. I will say that I could have easily sized down to a Large on this, but I like the slouchy feeling of the XL. I have beautiful, figure flattering, professional cardigans that fit, but there is something to be said about a cozy, slouchy cardigan for fall and into winter. 

I tried styling this with the red top above, but I looked like a Christmas tree. So I grabbed this top from one of my original fixes about five years ago! 

Usually, I tell you what I kept and didn't keep throughout the blog post, but I didn't this time because I kept everything! However, I only kept the first item, the draped top, because I generally liked it and I wanted the 25% discount. I sold it on Poshmark a few days ago. 

Overall, I was really happy with this fix. It felt like the Kelly I loved was back and she took the time to pick items that would work for me and would complement each other. With the discount and taxes, it was $220 for this box. It's definitely not the cheapest way to shop, but I've found that Stitch Fix items are great quality and that I wear them over and over. It's also really hard to shop now that I have a son, so this is a really nice treat! 

What do you think? What's your favorite item of these? What would you have kept?

What Mama Bought: August 2019 Edition

This month has been a flurry of packages arriving in the mail, much to Aaron's dismay. Ha. But I've found some really good local businesses that I'm loving and have bought some items that you might be considering yourself. Plus, I thought this might be a fun new series covering everything from clothes and shoes to household stuff. You know - mom life.

Earrings!
My name is Sarah and I have a big earring problem. I love earrings and I like 'em big! I also have been buying them pretty frequently as of late. I don't wear many necklaces now (toddler life) and bracelets are hard to wear with a desk job. So earrings it is! I discovered LBH Style on Etsy and then they split and became Epp and Co and Pierce and Hide. Here are a few of the earrings that I've bought and love!

Pierce and Hide Coral and Birch Split Disk 

Epp & Co Turkish Tile and Wood Circle Drop

Not going to lie, I've bought a LOT of earrings from both sites. A ridiculous amount. It's a problem, I know. But they are so cute! And reasonable!

Peloton Apparel
One of my friends used my referral code to get herself a Peloton (go girl!). That got her $100 off accessories and I got $100 to spend in the Peloton Apparel Store! Now, $100 doesn't go very far in the Peloton Apparel store, ha. And you have to use it all at once. You get free shipping if you spend $50 - that's after all the coupons and discounts. So, I ended up getting an instructor inspired bra (yay Emma!) and two tops. That was about $48 out of pocket. I was worried about sizing, as they all looked from the measurements like they ran small, but the two larges I got fit perfectly and the XL was a little big.

Peloton Outside Track Tank - XL

Photo courtesy of Peloton Apparel

This one I got in an XL based on the size chart and it's a little big on me.

Inspired by Emma Bra - L

Photo courtesy of Peloton Apparel

Emma is my girl! Lately, I've been doing her Crush Your Core series, but I also love her rides. She did an all Red Hot Chili Peppers ride and in general her rides are a good mix of pop and rock. I got this bra in a L and it fits great!

Peloton Tank

I got another tank from Peloton, but it doesn't look like it's available on the site anymore. I got this one in a large and love it! For reference, I'm a pretty solid size 14 and L in tops, XL in most bottoms.

Kitchen Stuff
August has been the month of kitchen gadgets! I bought some new Instant Pot accessories and I finally broke down and got myself an air fryer. I was contemplating it on Prime Day, but couldn't really decide if I really wanted one or not. Eventually, I decided I did want it and used my rewards and coupons to order one.

I chose the Go Wise 3.7 quart for one very important reason - it fit the space requirements.  We have a rule in the Zinn house - if you buy something, it has to have a home.  That home cannot be on a counter. Or freezer (I tried that one, too). I cleared out space under my island for the air fryer, but didn't realize they were so big! I had to measure the space and then I chose the model with the best reviews that fit my dimensions.  The handle did break when I got it out of the box, but I contacted GoWise and they are sending me a new handle! I've been cooking with the broken handle, though, and it's worked just fine.

And, of course, as soon as I ordered that, I ordered the Skinnytaste Air Fryer Cookbook to go with it.

Stitch Fix - Buy Your Items
Stitch Fix has this new service where you can go in and buy new colors of items you've already purchased. The inventory changes all the time, I'm talking like within 30 minutes sometimes, which creates a really high fear of mission out (FOMO). So far, I've bought two items through this new service.  The one bought this month was a new blazer. I've had the grey version of this for a few months and loved it so much, I vowed to myself that I would buy it in other colors if they came available. And it did! I bought the blush pink and I'm excited to wear it!

Skies Are Blue Hannah Modal Scuba Blazer - $88

I was really excited for this service, and I still stalk the page, but I don't like the amount of FOMO induced buying it can cause. Yes, we're adults and should be able to control our spending, but it just seems a little predatory? I will say that I was part of the beta testers and recommended that they add extra sizes you could purchase, not just your original size. I'm sure multiple people also made that suggestion, but I was happy to see it implemented in the full roll out.

Shoes
I realized the other day that at some point, Franco Sarto became the new Nine West in my closet. Nine West used to be my go-to brand for cute, trendy work shoes that were reasonably priced. But I rarely go to the outlets anymore and I don't wear heels as much as I used to, so they slowly eased their way out of my closet. And apparently Franco Sarto stepped right in!

Franco Sarto Honey2 Flat

Photo courtesy of DSW.com

I picked these up at a DSW clearance sale for $40. Yes, in light pink. I went up a half size to a 9 for comfort and put a heel pad in to keep the shoes on.  I also bought a pair of light green Sperry tennis shoes, but those aren't available on the site anymore.

There you have it folks! Most of what I've bought this month. Did you take the plunge on any big items this month? And let me know if you like the idea of this as a monthly series or not! Happy Wednesday!

Carter is 18 Months Old!

My son turned 18 months old this past Friday. The last update I did on my little man was the photos from his first birthday in January. And man has he changed!

I can honestly say that it's taken me 18 months to find my balance again, or what balance there is as a parent. I tried, and failed, to keep up with the blog during the past 18 months and it wasn't until recently that I really thought, "okay, I can do this again!"  So, if you're still here after all those random posts every 2-3 months, thank you! You're the best!

Now let's talk about my favorite little dude!

Name: Carter Hollon

Age: 18 Months

Favorite Food: Mandarin oranges, yogurt and bananas (and anything messy!)

Favorite Character/Show: Octonauts and Sesame Street

Favorite Toy: His green frog that he pulls around behind him and his train.

Words: Wow, ball, book, bye bye, mama, daddy, yeah, bubbles, mine (his favorite!), no and hi

Loves: Outside! He loves to run around, be curious and get into ev-er-y-thing. He loves going to see Miss Pam at school and he loves cuddles, though they are more like drive-by cuddles now. He loves to be silly and play around with you and "helping."

Dislikes: Being told no, not being able to do something himself.  He also doesn't like to be around a ton of people at once (that's my kid).

Clothing Size: 2T

Shoes: Toddler 5 (he has some tiny feet!)

Favorite Moment: My favorite time of day with Carter is bedtime. We change him into PJs, he drinks his milk and then gets a cuddly. We attempt (and usually fail) to read a book and then we have the ritual of kisses and a bedtime song. It doesn't matter how crazy my day has been, doing this every night resets all the stressful things that have happened.

We love our sweet wild man! Happy half birthday kiddo!

What We Ate: A Crock Pot, Instant Pot and Air Fryer Adventure!

A couple weeks ago, I decided to join the air fryer craze and bought myself a GoWise 3.7 quart with my rewards from BuyBuyBaby and my trusty 20% off Bed Bath and Beyond coupon. This means that I now have an Instant Pot, a crock pot AND an air fryer.  I used them all this past week and thought I would share my recipes!

One of the biggest misconceptions about these small appliances, in my opinion, is that you must love one with all your heart and never use the others again. Or your actual stove for that matter. I love food and I love to cook. I also love gadgets that make cooking good food easier. I personally will always have a crock pot. You can't convince me that the Instant Pot replaces it, because, well, it doesn't. An Instant Pot still as time to come to pressure and then cook the actual food. In the crock pot, that happens all day while I am at work. And sometimes, I like to come home and do nothing. But, I digress. The point of this post is to show you how I used all three contraptions in one week.

Sunday - Instant Pot Dulce de Leche Cheesecake
While out trying to find an air fryer to buy (I ended up ordering one), I found some Instant Pot accessories at Kohls.  I picked up a divided steamer and a 7" spring form pan.  And with new accessories comes new recipes! I actually used the recipe card that came with the spring form pan for a dulce de leche cheesecake. It was surprisingly easy and came out oh so good. I've decided that there's a good chance I will never eat cheesecake without dulce de leche again!

First I poured the entire can of sweetened condensed milk in one of my small cake pans.  I poured in one cup of water and sat the pan with the milk on the trivet. 

Then I made the cheesecake! I lined the bottom with parchment paper, added the crust and poured in the batter. The spring form pan sat on top of the pan with the sweetened condensed milk.

I made the cheesecake Sunday night and then we ate it Monday night.

I couldn't find the exact recipe online, but here is the recipe for the dulce de leche and the cheesecake. Just stack them and you're good to go!

Monday - Instant Pot Salmon with Sweet Potato Puree and Broccoli
This was another recipe card that came with the Instant Pot accessories. I didn't take photos of this one, but it was a really easy recipe! You simply peel and cube sweet potatoes and put them on the bottom. Then you add vegetable broth (the recipe called for a 1/2 cup, I upped it to one cup for coming to pressure) and then you put the broccoli in one portion of the steamer and then put a 4-oz cut of salmon in each of the other two portions. I seasoned the salmon and the broccoli with salt and pepper. You put the steamer on top of the potatoes and cook on high for 1 minute and quick release.

Salmon with Sweet Potato Puree and Broccoli

Aaron thought it was really good and I considered this a game changer and what really sealed my love for the IP.  I've used it a lot since I got it for Christmas, but I've mostly done soups and pastas.  I loved being able to do a simple, quick, healthy meal.

Tuesday - Basil Chicken in Coconut Curry Sauce in the Crock Pot
This is hands down one of my favorite comfort food recipes. I love making it in the crock pot. A few changes I've made to the recipe is that I use garlic and onion powder instead of chopping, simply for ease, and I don't add jalapenos.

Thursday - Chicken Cordon Bleu in the Air Fryer
As soon as I ordered my air fryer, I ordered the Skinnytaste Air Fryer cookbook. Basically, if Skinnytaste has a cookbook, I buy it. The only exception is the Fast and Slow cookbook. I didn't love that one. The One and Done Cookbook has some air fryer recipes, but not a ton. Amazon had the Air Fryer Cookbook on sale for $10, so I got it. This is my second recipe out of this book and, as usual, they've both been awesome.

Prepping the chicken.

Chicken Cordon Bleu Roll with Side Salad

I served the cordon bleu rolls with a side salad. I did have to make them in batches (batch of 3 and then a final batch of 4), so that took a little bit of time, but not bad. And clean up was still relatively easy. We both agreed that they were good and were going into the dinner rotation!

I had a fourth meal that I planned to use, but ended up having to work one night and we got takeout. Never fear, though, I made that recipe on Sunday! I've really enjoyed using my air fryer so far. And I think that, just like my crock pot and Instant Pot, it's a great tool added to my kitchen. But it doesn't replace everything. I still like to make casseroles and easy meals on the stove like Coconut Curry Shrimp.  Currently, the Instant Pot is the most useful, but my crock pot will always be #1 in my heart. You just can't beat coming home to a done dinner. Do you have any (or all) of these? Which is your favorite?!