Blog - Page 2 of 10 - Chef Charley

Love Your Friends, Love Your Travel

Chicago Girls’ Weekend

Quality time is a must with your girlfriends! I love when we can get together and just catch up on life! A busy weekend full of delicious food, scrumptious coffee,…

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July 10, 2018

Love Your Family

My Honest Review of Kid’s Night In Box: Faith Addition

Since my hubby and I are going on our 10 year wedding anniversary trip in a couple of days, we thought we’d try Kid’s Night In Box for some quality…

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March 5, 2019

Love Your Family

Family photos

Do you take yearly family photos? In our family we take them at least once a year, sometimes twice. I’m pretty lucky, though, because I’m a photographer and so is…

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July 6, 2018

Love Yourself

Metaburn – 30 Days In

Plexus recently launched Metaburn. Metaburn is “a multi-action blend that delivers a fat-burning metabolism boost to help you achieve your weight management goals, boost metabolism, and support healthy energy and…

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February 6, 2019

Love Your Food

Tasty Tuesday’s: Crockpot Pantry Chili

So last week we had a couple of days that was just plain chilly here in the Midwest. So much so that it felt like Fall; plus it was rainy!…

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August 28, 2018

Love Your Spouse

Faith Night In November Box: Give Thanks

December 7, 2018

Partnering with Night In Boxes has been so fun for the past few months, and this month was no different! Life has been a bit crazy, but on my birthday we sat down for a couple of hours of fun! AND this box may just be my absolute favorite so far, just for the theme! We were able to go out for my birthday dinner, so we didn’t do the actual meal planned. BUT we saved one activity, homemade ice cream, for our dessert during our date! We were able to enjoy it during our Faith Discussion guide. This is the second month we’ve tried the Faith in Box, and…

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Mr. and Mrs. Jamison: 12-15-18
December 28, 2018

Date Night In Box: December Faith Box
January 3, 2019

Love Language
June 27, 2018
Love Your Family, Love Your Travel

Thanksgiving Family Vacation

December 4, 2018

Have you ever just gone away for the holidays? We usually have three family stops to make on Thanksgiving day, but this year we decided to take a family vacation. My dad got us all a condo on the beach for the 4 days, and it was glorious! Don’t get me wrong, I love seeing our families for Thanksgiving, but it was so nice not to have to stress about all the places to go. I’m thinking about asking my dad to do this every other year!! 😉 Our girls loved it, too! I use to live by the beach, and every Thanksgiving my dad would vacation down by us…

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Creating Family Traditions
May 24, 2018

Chicago Trip with Toddlers
July 13, 2018

Family Themed Halloween Costume Ideas
October 29, 2018
Love Yourself

Anxiety is …

December 3, 2018

Awful .. evil .. hard .. overwhelming .. not needed .. ridiculous .. All of these adjectives are words I’ve used to describe what anxiety is to me. I don’t like to use the word ‘hate’, but y’all I’m making an exception. I HATE that I have anxiety now. The Friday before we left on vacation this past month was the worst day I’ve had since February. The week leading up to Friday wasn’t much fun either. I had several anxiety headaches and a couple of panic attacks. Friday, though it all came crashing down on me, and I’m not sure if it was my depression that reared it’s ugly…

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5 Ways to De-stress
July 18, 2018

I Never Thought It Would Happen To Me …
November 7, 2018

Love Your Body
September 10, 2018
Love Yourself

I Never Thought It Would Happen To Me …

November 7, 2018

The last ten months of my life have been a struggle I never thought I’d have to go through. I’m finally sharing my story of anxiety and depression to let others know they are NOT alone. It is OKAY to not be okay. It is OKAY to seek help. My mantra right now is, “Every situation is not a crisis” …. because if I let my self think that my entire body shuts down and anxiety takes over. My face goes numb, it starts to twitch uncontrollably, I feel like I can’t swallow, and I have a hard time catching my breath. It is an awful thing to experience. Anyone…

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September 10, 2018

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July 18, 2018

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August 29, 2018
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Tasty Tuesday’s: Easy Apple Pie with Streusel Topping

November 6, 2018

It’s November which means Thanksgiving is coming!! All kinds of food will be made and devoured! 🙂 Apple pie is a family go to for the holidays. It is also my husband’s favorite pie! I always try to make a version of it for his birthday which is November 1st. This year I made the best version to date; my husband’s exact words! LOL So, I thought I’d share this super easy Apple Pie recipe! *Note: I would freeze the butter for the pie crust first then make the apple pie filling. After the apple pie filling is done and cooling, you can finish the pie dough. This give the…

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Tasty Tuesday’s: Pumpkin Spice Oatmeal
October 23, 2018

Tasty Tuesday’s: Banana Chocolate Chip Cupcakes
July 31, 2018

Tasty Tuesdays: Dark Chocolate Raspberry Cookies
July 24, 2018
Love Your Spouse

Date Night In Faith Option October Box Review

November 6, 2018

Date Night In Boxes When our box arrived on our porch our oldest daughter who is 4 exclaimed, “Mom, it’s another date night box! I wonder what you and daddy are going to be doing for your date!” Y’all, as if I need another amazing reason to continue date night in boxes because they’re are seriously amazing just because, but our daughter notices! It’s so important to set an example for our kids to see that we spend quality time together just mommy and daddy. It shows them we love each other, and it sets expectations for their future relationships! I LOVE that she sees it and gets just as excited…

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December 28, 2018

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October 4, 2018

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June 28, 2018
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A Night in Indy

October 30, 2018

At the beginning of the summer I asked my hubby to think of one thing he would really want to do. Basically I told him to think of his ultimate dream date … within reason. I’m sure we’d all love to be whisked away to Italy for a romantic date night, but that’s not possible for us. LOL. I had to come up with mine as well. (I’ll be sharing that one later!!) He actually surprised me with his; he wanted a night away to Indianapolis! The two main reasons for Indy: 1. It has Howl at the Moon (my hubby’s all time favorite place for a fun night out!)…

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Mr. and Mrs. Jamison: 12-15-18
December 28, 2018

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August 30, 2018

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Family Themed Halloween Costume Ideas

October 29, 2018

I have always loved dressing up for Halloween. Before kiddos, I would dress up to pass out candy and tell my students to stop by to see what costume it would be. (They of course loved it!!) It’s just so fun, and I’ve passed the fun on to my family! Our oldest is getting to the age where she wants to be involved in the planning with me. It’s family fun and bonding… win win!! When picking a theme I tend to either go with something my kiddos like or something that would work well for our time in life. For example, when I was pregnant I used my belly…

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My Honest Review of Kid’s Night In Box: Faith Addition
March 5, 2019

Family Vacations and Why They’re Important
July 26, 2018

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June 20, 2018
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Our Family Staycation

October 26, 2018

I’ve said it before, family vacations are important! And if you can’t getaway somewhere a great alternative is to have a staycation. A staycation is where you do things in your community or things that are near you. We did one this summer, and well, it didn’t go quite according to plan, but it was still fun. The girls LOVED having their Daddy home for a whole week! And honestly, it didn’t matter if we went somewhere they were seriously happy to get some quality time in with him and us. We had plan on an activity each day with the kiddos. We planned it the week of Labor Day.…

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Family photos
July 6, 2018

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July 5, 2018

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Tasty Tuesday’s: Pumpkin Spice Oatmeal

October 23, 2018

It’s still October, so I thought I’d share one of my favorite and simple oatmeal recipes. Eating a bowl of hot oatmeal on a chilly day is one of my favorites. I never use to like oatmeal because of the texture, but I’ve found that when I add in nuts or fruit it’s so tasty! And there’s so many healthy benefits of eating oatmeal that I love. Ingredients: Rolled oats water pinch of salt 1/2 C pumpkin puree 1 Tbsp ground cinnamon 1 tsp nutmeg or mace 1 Tbsp pure maple syrup (you could add up to 1/4 Cup if you like it a bit sweeter) chopped walnuts Directions: Cook…

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Tasty Tuesday’s: Apple Crisp
September 25, 2018

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October 2, 2018