I’m so excited that both of our families will be here next weekend. It makes the whole graduation process so much more special.

Family coming into town means that lots of preparations need to be done before hand. Luckily Will’s dad wants to hire a cleaning and yard service get the inside and outside in tip top shape for all the guests. That’s the benefit of having family as your land lord. He’s also doing it because we are about to move out and the house needs to be cleaner than it is to show to potential tenants. Regardless of the reason though, that’s one less thing I have to worry about.

I spent today doing lots and lots of shopping. After hauling six bags in from the car, it’s strange to realize that we aren’t even close to being done. On Thursday we will be having a family-friend barbecue and this haul of groceries and such does not even sort of take into account all that food. Additionally, Will and I are doing a Costco run tomorrow to stock up on bulk essentials. When I laid it all out, I realized that most of the food I bought was just for me during the week lol.

Because family will be here Thursday – Sunday, I actually bought less than I normally do. Somehow it still ended up costing the same. I guess those few specialty items added up fast. This is actually from three stores, too, which is part of why I was brining in so many bags.

Starting off, trail mix and jelly beans to fill snack bowls to put out while company is here. I think we’re gonna get some mixed nuts too but I wasn’t feeling the price on those after spending $7.99 a pound on jelly beans at the bulk bins at Spouts! Jeez…But they’re Will’s favorite so I guess it’s okay for his special day. I like having little snacky food for people when I’m hosting.

Coffee filters (cuz we’re out), strawberries, which were finally on sale, frozen mango for smoothies, romaine hearts and another of Will’s special treats – taffy. He and I have absolutely opposite taste in candy. Not to say I don’t like jelly beans and taffy but I’m not having any trouble resisting these right now. The trail mix on the other hand…

Raisin Bran, since it’s a cereal week. I have to limit cereal to once every other week or I would eat it all the time, morning, noon and night. Bananas, an english cucumber, cherry tomatoes, gala apples and avocados are all I really need for produce this week. There is a little left over from last week and I’m not worrying about Thursday and Friday in this purchase. Normally I buy double this amount of produce since it’s such a staple in my diet.

I also grabbed some jalapeño cilantro hummus because life is incomplete without hummus, and pecans for the cinnamon rolls I’m making for family breakfast on Friday morning (recipe to come!).

Whole grain bread and then a few fun items. Mint mojito mocktail mix (to be added to rum of course) and spicy Hawaiian sauce for the wings Will is making Friday night. He likes trying new sauces on his wings and while I was strolling World Market, I thought I would pick something different than usual.

The mocktail mix is for cocktails, also for Friday night. Will wanted to have a summery cocktail along with the wines his dad is buying so I made and executive decision and went with mojitos, which are a personal favorite of mine. I don’t drink cocktails too much during the colder months but I do love a good mojito in the summer.

All of this came from Trader Joe’s, Sprouts and World Market, which are conveniently located in the same parking lot. I should have just bought it all at Trader Joe’s because it would have been cheaper but I love walking around different grocery stores and so a few purchases were made at each.

It’s all put away and I shouldn’t be thinking about munching on the trail mix but I am.

Please tell me I’m not the only one who can’t keep their paws off trail mix. I could seriously eat this entire bag. It’s got all my favorite things and anything bite-sized and munchable is dangerous in my kitchen. I honestly bought this more because I was grocery shopping while hungry than anything else. I really hope it makes it to Thursday.

I also bought an outfit for the ceremony on Saturday. I found a dress, a shrug and new earrings but I’m going to wait and show those on Saturday. I don’t usually buy complete outfits at once but the dress needed a shrug and I didn’t have the right color and I had a gift card to World Market so I decided to treat myself to some new jewelry. I’m very excited to wear it. Finally I have a new dress!

Still on the list is Costco tomorrow, a birthday present for my sister and Will’s brother and something special to display for our moms as kind of a late Mother’s Day gift. While we don’t get to see them today for Mother’s Day, it’s wonderful that we will all be together in just a little less than a week. So excited!

Oh, and we have to bake and frost 200+ mini cupcakes for the cupcake cake. Pictures of that coming atchya later this week.