Swap it, meal planning, and Sunny NW day!

My Sisters church did a "drop and swap" where everyone brought the items (housewares, clothes etc) that they no longer needed or used and put them out for others to take or to be donated at the end. They had such a big turn out that they were basically begging people to come take stuff as it all would not fit into the donation trailer. If you don't know by now you will soon enough figure out that I'm a bargain hunter. I LOVE hand me downs (I actually prefer them to shopping as shopping makes my eyes burn hahaha no joke) and I enjoy doing "projects" so inexpensive great finds are a thrill for me. As you can imagine when my sister called and told me to come over and find some things I did not hesitate. I found items of clothing that I hope to remake into something fun! (I will try to post about those) I also laid my eyes on two of these sweet babies: (only one is pictured here.) Yes they were dirty and not in the best shape, never mind the crazy green. I grabbed them anyway. I have seen great things come out of lanterns. They are not big by any means but I figured worst case scenario I could use them for Halloween. So I took them home and scrubbed and scrubbed and scrubbed them. And they turned into this:I know not miraculous but improved no? (Not to mention FREE!) Now I'm trying to decide if I want to paint the black a white or red SO many options.
I have also started making weekly Dinner menus. I only do a week at a time and just plan meals on the week days but so far I have REALLY loved it. It has helped me avoid the "Oh Crap it is 4:30 and I have NO idea what to make for dinner." stress.
One of the meals I made was:The Chicken was Super moist, the flavor was there but faint so we will try injecting instead next time. I found the recipe for the chicken here: http://allrecipes.com//Recipe/juicy-roasted-chicken/Detail.aspx The rest is Roast Veggies (Celery, carrots, and butternut squash what I had on hand) and Lime cilantro brown rice (super easy!). What are your favorite go to meals and if you meal plan how do you organize it?
I know I post so many pics of Mr M outside on sunny days but honestly the only sunny days we have are when I post (that should tell you how FEW of them we get).













And even though Moss grows like weeds up here there are times when it can look exciting and possibly even beautiful right? Oh another goal (I have many this year.) Is to find and enjoy the everyday beauty that surrounds me. So many of us forget to enjoy what we already have.