Our Week in Meals #504

Good morning, and happy Sunday! This week we wrapped up our vacation and settled back into a regular summer routine at home. You’ll find all of the highlights from the past few days, along with each of our dinners, in today’s roundup of Our Week in Meals.

For those of you who are new to the blog, Our Week in Meals is where I share a little bit about what we’ve been up to over the past week — as it relates to our dinners each night. This series gives you a glimpse “behind the scenes” at some highlights from our life, shows you how I balance a busy schedule with feeding my family, and offers a few new ideas for your own weekly meal plan.

Now, let’s back up to last weekend…

We were still on vacation for our second full day in France on Sunday morning.

Our apartment was in Paris’ 17th arrondissement (a few blocks from the Arc de Triomphe), so after croissants and baguettes for breakfast, that’s where we started our morning.

We spent the day hitting some popular spots, including a walk down the Champs Elysees, through the Tuileries Garden, by the Louvre, and across the Seine.

Nutella-stuffed crepes for a mid-morning snack,

and baguette sandwiches for lunch!

After a break at the house to rest, we headed back out to do some shopping and to get dinner. The pizza at Mello hit the spot…

…and, of course, we picked up some chocolates and eclairs at a patisserie for dessert. Doing our best to take full advantage of all the amazing food that Paris has to offer!

Shall we chat books? If you’re looking for a fun, fluffy, incredibly unrealistic thriller for a summer vacation or poolside read, I have to recommend Retreat by Krysten Ritter.

In this novel, a talented con artist heads to a luxurious villa on Mexico’s coast planning to pull one last job, but things take an unexpected turn when she’s mistaken for the wealthy woman she’s been targeting. As she slips deeper into her new identity, she uncovers dangerous secrets that make it clear someone is hiding far more than money. It’s a fast-paced, twisty thriller with glamorous settings, plenty of suspense, and a heroine you’ll find yourself rooting for even when she’s making all the wrong choices.

An almond croissant and a cappuccino might be the best way to kick off a Monday morning!

For our final day in Paris, we explored a different part of the city.

Starting at the Luxembourg Gardens,

we wandered over to the Pantheon, through the Latin Quarter,

to the Notre Dame cathedral,

past the Bastille, and enjoyed lunch at Le Ju in the Marais district.

This was a balsamic chicken bowl with arugula, avocado, quinoa, egg, and tomatoes.

We did a little bit more shopping after lunch,

spent the late afternoon resting at the house, and eventually headed back out for supper at a classic French bistro called Le Copernic. Casey’s appetizer:

My salmon with mashed potatoes…

Tuesday was a very long travel day, so we fueled up with one more pastry breakfast from the boulangerie before heading out to the airport.

Casey packed an extra baguette for his snack on the plane (it was gone before take-off)!

We made it back to Virginia by late afternoon, and still had a long drive back to Madison. The boys were hungry and wanted McDonald’s drive-thru, so that’s what we did! They’re working on collecting the World Cup cups, and now have 6 of the 9 designs. Getting close!

Back to the heat and humidity of July in Virginia on Wednesday…

As much as we loved our trip, it’s always so good to be home!

In the midst of unpacking and laundry, I made a quick stop at Yoder’s to pick up sandwiches for lunch with my parents. They came for a visit and returned Teddy (who was spoiled rotten while we were gone!).

Spencer had soccer training at UVA that afternoon and Gibbs played golf with a friend, so I planned a quick dinner that we could eat once we were all at the table before Youth Group: meatball subs with frozen meatballs, onion rings,

and a green salad with red wine vinegar salad dressing.

Finally feeling more settled and rested again, Thursday felt like a typical day around here.

I met Ashley for a morning walk, updated the photos for an old recipe, and joined a Zoom meeting after lunch.

We didn’t have any evening activities for the kids, so we sat down to supper after the World Cup game. I made Chick-Fil-A Cobb salads,

along with waffle fries and a fruit salad. Such a quick and easy summer meal!

Friday included an early Pilates session with Adria, work at the computer, and a walk in the woods with Spencer and Casey before the rain arrived.

The hostas are blooming around our property, which always feels like it’s officially summer!

After the World Cup game and once Gibbs was home from golf, I made shrimp tacos for supper…

…plus tortilla chips, guacamole, pico de gallo, and rice.

I got out for an early walk on Saturday to beat the heat, and then spent some time in the kitchen photographing an old recipe.

I made a tomato sandwich for lunch (as we do at this time of year!),

and cut flowers from the garden for a little bouquet in my office.

We used my London broil marinade to grill flank steaks for supper,

which I paired with German potato salad,

roasted yellow squash, and yeast rolls.

So there you have it, friends — another week of easy dinners! I hope that you’ve found something new to add to your own table in the days ahead. Thank you for being here and have a wonderful Sunday!