Coffee and Cocktails at the Casa

Wednesday, January 28. 2026

It’s Wednesday and Hodgepodge with Joyce day in blogland.

Also, my mom passed away a year ago today. It’s hard to believe a year has gone by. I want to celebrate my parents on their birthdays rather than their death days, but I still think it’s important to reflect. My sisters and I decided we would do a TJ Maxx shopping trip to honor my mom and then share our hauls. My mom loved TJ Maxx so much and loved to buy and return things from there, too!

This is my view right now:

It would be prettier without the footprints and the recycling bin.

This is the ugly side of snow in the Kroger parking lot:

1. I live in the south so we’re pretty much only talking about the weather right now. Give us a weather report from where you live. Does the kind of weather you’re having today affect your mood in some way? 

It is winter so snow can be expected. I just feel like I got what I wanted this year and I’m done. Doesn’t Mother Nature know that I only needed snow days when I was a teacher? Ha!

I think we had about 8 inches and not much ice so that is the good news. But, when the temps are this cold the snow sticks around for way longer than I would like.

It absolutely affects my mood. I just want to hibernate, bake, snack, and not do much else.

2.  Avocados, kale, cauliflower and cottage cheese have all had their time to shine. 2026 brings us the year of the cabbage. Is this a vegetable you like? If so, what are some of your favorite dishes that call for cabbage?  

I like all of the above foods. I do like cabbage in vegetable soup and cole slaw. I probably like cooked cabbage more than raw cabbage.

3. Was a Cabbage Patch Doll a part of your childhood? Or maybe your children’s childhood? What’s a toy trend from your childhood you remember wanting for your own? 

Oh yes! I was a child of the 80s! My sisters and I all had one. I didn’t get the one of my dreams, so I had to settle. My mom found me a boy named Samuel Alexander and I wanted a girl, so I added a bow to her/their short hair, put her/them in a dress, and changed her/their name to Samantha Alexandra.

4. Something you’ve spent a lot of time doing lately? 

Enjoying this fire. For years we didn’t make fires upstairs. We only made them downstairs in our basement with our gas log. Well, Eddie Otis is still not granted access to the downstairs and I prefer wood anyway. So, this has been a delight this season.

I keep making myself a hot drink – winter spice tea or hot chocolate with heart shaped marshmallows.

5. Somehow it’s the last week of January…sum up your month in just three sentences. 

Well, I have been trying to enjoy January – the longest and most unexciting month of the year in my opinion. “30 days have September, April, June, and November. All the rest have 31 excepting February alone and leap year, blah, blah, and January which has 31,332 days and makes you feel every single one of them.”

Being retired has helped me. I have gotten to be out in the sun when it comes out since I’m not trapped in a school building from dark to almost dark.

Also, I have learned to be an indoor reader! For years, I could only read outside and that meant in summer, mainly. I got my neck light which helped a lot. I also can do do daytime reading indoors. Anyway, it’s a big deal for me.

My three sentences:

1. I cooked a lot; it was the month of microwave eggs, sweet potatoes, and avocado. I ate pretty healthy.

2. I was pretty social. I ate dinner out on Saturdays with Tom and had several coffee dates or happy hours with friends.

3. I read a lot. At the time of this post I am on my 7th book of January.

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

I am pretty proud of not boredom shopping for clothing too much this month. In the past, that is what I did. I resisted a warehouse sale – even when they went to $5 and $10 racks! Don’t feel too bad for me because I still bought plenty. I bought a vest, two t-shirts, a blouse, two pairs of shoes, a baseball cap and a sweater. I think that sums it up! I guess I better hope that I don’t find anything at TJ Maxx!

What would you say to any of these topics today?

Amy

Tuesday, January 27, 2026

I started this post a couple of weeks ago but I wanted to insert that I really enjoyed my fires over this snowed in weekend. Tom has to open the flue but I can keep it going.

We tried the plastic trick and I’m pleased! We ran plastic from the back door down the steps and then Tom had to shovel off some of the snow but look how clean it kept this area! It always gets really icy so look at that!

Another thing I’m glad I did was buy paper plates. I don’t always have them on hand, but it was helpful to have them.

So, back to fun! I am talking genuine FUN. Can you remember? Hopefully it was over the holidays or since then and not that long ago. Maybe you have had fun snowed in?

As an adult do we even let ourselves have fun?

I had a sad to me conversation with a friend who doesn’t read my blog. I told her I was going to a one-hour, free cooking class on how to make pretzels. She said she doesn’t have time for things like that. One day she will have an hour but right now she doesn’t, she said. What made this statement crazy to me is that this friend doesn’t work outside the home and has one kid at home, but who drives.

My point is that fun has to be a choice sometimes. Sometimes I had to learn to do something more efficiently to make time for fun. Example – getting groceries delivered. If you have limited time is there something in your life that you could do more efficiently to free up your time?

It’s also funny to think about the fact that we as humans have more leisure time than any other humans that came before us. We aren’t spending time churning butter or washing our clothes on a washboard down by the creek. What is taking up our time?

Also, your fun is not my fun. My fun is not your fun.

I had fun at Tom’s work party. I really like the people he works with. I enjoy socializing with them once a year.

I had fun playing two games with my family over the holidays. I am trying to get my group of 6 friends to have a game night soon.

Have you stopped to consider what you think is fun recently? Many of us just keep swimming and grinding and we don’t think about our own fun. I think women are even more guilty of that than men. We play the role of cruise director for the fun of the rest of the family! Of course, there are seasons in your life where you won’t have as much time for fun.

Another point I want to make is that you don’t have to wait for a trip or a vacation to have fun. That would be sad if you only had fun on vacation.

A book that had a great impact on me came into my life when I was around 32 and had 2 year old twins. I was part of the MOMs – Moms of Multiples (Children – not shoes) group for a few years and met a friend named Lindy who also had twin boys! She started a book club via email within the MOMs group. We did a book study on The Artist’s Way.

I am not sure I even read the whole book/finished the book study but two things really stuck out to me.

She asked the question: what did you enjoy doing as a 9-year-old child? (I don’t know why 9 was the magic age). Do you still let yourself do those things?

9-year-old Amy loved school and playing school, writing and acting in skits, doing Chinese jump rope with friends, riding bikes, roller skating, reading, baking, exploring in the woods near her house, swimming, being outside – literally from sunup until sundown when she could, and going to the library and shopping. My fun with my sisters as we got older was reading funny Christmas newsletters and making up our own satirical version. We also had a really fun time putting together a red neck appetizer party for our family friends. We cut up Pop Tarts and put toothpicks in them and things like that. Weird kids.

Does this kind of sound like grown up Amy? I think it does! Chinese jump rope could be bad at this age, though. I’m not even sure how my friends and I got into this.

The author also encouraged us to take ourselves on “dates” to reconnect with that 9 year old self.

I don’t think people should wait for the weekend to have fun or wait until the summer to have fun if you have the choice.

This is also why The Happiness Project resonated with me.

Also, fun doesn’t have to cost a lot of money. One could argue that by having less money you might need to employ more creativity which can be fun.

How I have fun:

Making foods for myself or my people/trying new recipes

Laughing with someone in person or on the phone

Putting together outfits/reading about fashion trends

Reading

Sitting outside in the sunshine

Walking in nature

Going to interesting events, out to dinner, listening to live music, going to comedy shows

Exploring new places in my city or while traveling

Going to the movies or watching one at home

Being in or near water

Picking out and giving gifts

Playing with my dog

Going to dinner with my family, my husband, or friends

Going to happy hours and finding happy hour deals and good atmospheres

Helping people

I’m sure I could keep listing things, but you get the idea!

I want to leave you with a quote from my Dad. My Mom would rope him into many things like square dancing, bridge club, dinners out, etc. My Dad was fine with less interaction for sure. It sounds like Tom and I, right? I would often ask my Dad if he had fun at whatever thing he had just attended and he replied many times with, “FUN is a strong word. I wouldn’t go that far.”

Ok, I really want you to put something fun on your calendar. Or, make a fun bucket list. Let me know in the comments what you plan to do!

Amy

Monday, January 26, 2026

Well, it is winter. She ain’t playin’ no more. Let’s link up to Sarah and Holly to share our weekends and our winter stories!

Also, be careful what you wish for. I remember myself saying I like a snow that I can watch during the daytime. Ok, I’m done.

I moved my clearance tulips to my mantel, and I have enjoyed looking at them.

Snowstorm prep for some means milk and bread and for others it means library run!

I picked up my requests on Thursday and added an interesting one I saw on the shelf:

I went into Anthro and just looked. I think I am done with my icon glasses. I have hearts, bows, and lobsters. I only have four glasses. Never say never, though!

I was next to Anthro because I did a very retired person thing. I picked up the free scoop of Chicken Salad Chick. He he. I was the youngest person there by several decades.

Have you all heard about the yogurt Biscoff cookie thing? I had both and tried it. I wasn’t going to waste too many cookies. I put two into some vanilla and it’s really good!

I’m not happy with myself. I had a Kroger pick up on Wednesday and also stopped at two other little markets. Then, on Thursday my friend made me nervous and I went in Kroger. Then, on Friday I was still nervous and went into Kroger. Sheesh.

I let the hype get to me. Do you do that?

I had a fun Friday morning! I have a former student from my second school ask me to coffee. She is 42 now! She recently moved near me and we had been wanting to get together. We talked for two plus hours in a little coffee shop.

I hope I get to see her again soon!

Friday night was Tom’s work holiday party. They have changed it to January and it’s a pretty good plan except for the weather this year. Several people weren’t able to make it because some don’t work here in town and commute or they are on job sites. It was too cold to even think of a dress and no one wore one. I went with consignment Chico’s pants, new booties, black sweater with sheer sleeves, and a black sweater vest/shawl thing that was also consignment.

It was at a distillery/bar called Uncle Boojie’s and they have a great atmosphere and creative drinks.

You were able to get a taste from this barrel. The gadget used to extract the bourbon is called a “whiskey thief”.

They had a little bluegrass band.

A rare smile caught on camera!

Since so many people cancelled and we were among the last to leave, the caterers begged us to take home the extra food. We took home bacon topped deviled eggs, chicken mac and cheese sliders, bacon jam cheeseburger sliders, bourbon balls, and fruit and cheese skewers. Sometimes it pays to close down the party, no?

I made Chex Mix Saturday morning and literally we were just waiting on the snow. Jack and his roommate came around 3:00 when the snow had just started because their workplaces closed as did most non-essentials places. I was worried about them staying warm in their old Victorian house apartment.

I went out and got one more small thing of provisions and a medicine ball tea since I woke up with a bit of a sore throat. But also, I knew cabin fever would hit so I wanted to get out while I could!

I started this:

The snow started slowly…

I laid out all the leftovers from the party and ordered pizza before it got bad.

The kids were so happy to be fed!

We got a roaring fire going and Tom and I watched stuff and I read and we just watched the snow come down.

This is what we had by evening:

and by morning…

Shovel crew:

Me too!

My sister found a photo of the lake I grew up on. I didn’t have this for Hodgepodge last week.

Our next Currently is a bit over a week away!

February 4, 2026 themes will be:

loving, baking/cooking, watching/reading, planning, and savoring. Feel free to interpret those any way you like.

When someone says “grab my graphic” the easiest thing I have found to do is to open the blog on my phone, screenshot the graphic, and then insert the graphic from my camera roll into my blog app on my phone. Let me know if you have a better way to do that for bloggers! It’s the teacher in me; I never want to assume someone knows how to do something, except my husband. He should know how to take out the trash, do the laundry, load the dishwasher, unload the dishwasher…

Tell me about your weekend!

Amy

Friday, January 23, 2026

It’s been a cold week! I just want to sit by fires! It’s Friday and time to link up with Andrea and Erika to share some favorites.

I find that I need to write my winter goals and keep them visible. I have them on my memo board in the kitchen. See my attempt at a snowflake? A favorite this week was seeing them and being intentional.

I met my friend Victoria at Drake’s one afternoon. We were still home in time to cook dinner. Drake’s has a fireplace and two green leather chairs in front of it. Guess who has two thumbs and snagged those seats?

We had some amazing buff chik dip as the younguns’ say.

The fire was so toasty!

I also had a happy hour with my friend Beth and this place has a great atmosphere and some hh specials. We chose the big leather chairs.

espresso martinis and …

spinach and artichoke dip – yum.

Now I want to make both dips at home!

Favorite podcast of the week – Midlife Matters – they discussed home and fashion trends for 2026. I’m on board! Give it a listen!

Favorite tv of the week – I completed Love is Blind Germany and watched the reunion, I am re-watching Younger – seriously so good. I love Sutton Foster, Below Deck Mediterranean – still enjoying seeing the port in Barcelona. With Tom, we finished Seven Dials and are watching His & Hers and Best Medicine. He always has British tv on these days. I can’t keep up with all his “alone” shows. I am usually reading my book.

Favorite foods of the week at home – I took some grilled chicken from Trader Joe’s – I really like their already cooked chicken, some leftover Dave’s Hot Chicken Sauce, a ton of dill pickles, and made my own “fries” from some Yukon Gold potatoes on the air fryer setting. I can’t wait to have this again. Hear me out – Yukon Gold taste like McDonald’s fries. I am going to have to look up a copycat recipe for Dave’s Hot Chicken sauce. It is a new chicken restaurant here. Just did it – here it is!

I like to let my frozen fruit melt or microwave it and pair this with OIKOS Pro vanilla – yum! I’ve been trying to eat this as a dessert.

I added a bit of this.

I really like this for some added fiber. I just eat it without milk and it looks a bit like rabbit pellets but nbd.

Seriously good muffins! Adding a couple mixes to next grocery order! $1.19 for the mix!

I have eggs for either breakfast or lunch. I am obsessed with my new method. I was using a mug in the microwave and now I’m using a round glass Pyrex. It makes the egg mixture of one egg, liquid egg whites, cottage cheese, and whatever else you want to throw in spread out and create more “surface area”. I’m obsessed with my bowls. Molly gave me new bowls for Christmas and I am using them daily for my bowls!

This one had the Pyrex egg, regular potatoes, and bacon bits with a bit of Mexican shredded cheese.

This one was sweet potato, bacon bits, Pyrex egg, avocado, Mexican shredded.

Usually I use Amylu chicken breakfast sausage instead of bacon bits. Here is my In the Kitchen post with some ideas I’m using.

One of my winter goals was to hygge up my house. I finally got one of these candle warmer thingamajigs on Amazon and I love it! It has a dimmer switch so you can make the light part of it various levels and it came with two bulbs. I also bought a cinnamon chai candle. I saw on Instagram that you can use it as a queso warmer and I might do that this weekend to make Tom laugh.

But like why is warm queso funny? It’s freaking awesome! Just a snapshot into my daily life, though…See the candle lid? Eddie Otis stole it and I had to bribe him with pepperoni to get it out of his mouth. We do this many times a day with various things. Lots of fun!

I also got awesome pillow covers and a new blanky.

Here is the lamp/warmer.

Here is the candle.

Here are the pillow covers.

Here is the blanky.

Did you catch my Best Buys of 2025? I talked about the frother and here is a photo:

I also am still making homemade creamer! Who am I?

I talked about Pavoi earrings and just smaller earrings as one of my best buys. I added these to my collection this week. I have lost a couple recently and decided to replace them with something different.

I needed a new brush and found this “unbrush” at Kroger. I love it!

This week I’m enjoying this lip combo – Clinique black honey and Selena Gomez Rare Beauty lipgloss.

I finished this and it was a cute story!

Despite the cold Eddie Otis and I get outside for a couple of walks each day.

So, this is not a favorite…

We were issued a winter weather advisory yesterday at 11:30 until Monday morning. I don’t think I can remember one lasting that long. But the snow isn’t supposed to start until mid-day Saturday. I have seen predictions of 5 inches to 24 inches for my area. I have also heard we could get sleet. I have plenty of food stocked – I think. I don’t want anyone to lose power in this cold.

I hope you had lots of favorites this week, too! Stay warm! Stay safe!

Amy

Thursday, January 22, 2026

It’s Thursday and time to link up with both Kellyann and Jill for Fashion Files.

We have had some true winter weather!

I am managing to get dressed most days. I am doing pretty well with not shopping winter sales and winter clothing. I have plenty! I am trying to only shop holes in my closet or shopping with spring in mind.

I just posted my Best Buys of 2025 and most of it involves clothing and shoes, to be honest. I just enjoy fashion or what I think of as fashion! It’s worth clicking over if you want to see what I’m glad I bought. I feel like doing this exercise helps be moving forward to make smart choices.

Does your clothing spending align with your values? In my perfect scenario, I would shop consignment first and try to buy quality brands second. In my realistic world, I shop for clothing and shoes on Amazon occasionally (not much) and from Target and Old Navy more than I would like. They just keep enticing me with some things. I do feel the quality of what I have picked lately has been quite good, though.

I found this New York ball cap new with tags at one of my consignment stores! It was from Urban Outfitters and originally cost $30 and I got it for $10. Then, I needed a navy sweater to go with it, dontcha know? I am very pleased with the Amazon Essentials quality. I am really enjoying wearing crewneck sweaters with either a button up or plain white crewneck tee underneath. What on Earth? I just saw that the navy I purchased is down to $13.75!

I paired this with my Halaras and my Adidas Sambas. Both of those items made my Best Buys of 2025 list. I used hot rollers on my hair as an experiment and it looks weird with the hat.

I decided to wear a V Day sweater this day. I still had hot roller hair and I wore another pair of Halaras and my Adidas Stan Smiths.

This was merely a dog walking day. I wore my faux Uggs, leggings, tan long sleeve, Target JoyLab vest that I love, and a hat from Scotland.

This day I wore my Target Les Alpes very warm sweater, black flare yoga pants, and faux Uggs.

This day I wore a burgundy long sleeve tee with the Target vest, charcoal black jeans, and faux Uggs.

Yes, the vest and the faux Uggs are getting lots of attention right now!

So…confession time. I ordered two new pairs of Halaras. My light wide legged are starting to show some wear so I got a new pair for spring. And, I wanted to try a pair that buttoned and zipped. All of my other Halaras are pull on with no button nor zipper.

This pair did not come in petite length so I was a little worried, but on the model they hit above the ankle. I chose a darker wash than the model is wearing, too. I wore this out to happy hour.

I love the side detail! I think we will be seeing more side detail on jeans.

I am in love! You guys! The material is a really nice weight and I just love them! Here is the link for the style I bought. I am 5’4 and I think these run true to size. If you are interested in the style I usually buy, here it is. When I bought my first pair of light wide legged they did not have extra petite and now they do. Extra petite is perfect for my height. I do not have to hem them and they work with flat shoes and a bit of a heel. I really don’t wear much more than a one inch heel anymore.

Also, in the above photo, I have purchased a replacement dressy bootie. I have had two pairs over the years and one I ruined when I wore them to a gravesite after a funeral. I can’t remember what happened to the other one. I have needed a dressy black bootie multiple times this winter and didn’t have one! First world problems, no?

What have you been wearing?

Amy

Wednesday, January 22, 2026

It’s Wednesday and that means it’s Joyce day!

1. Ice skating, skiing, sledding, snowshoeing, playing in the snow, or a snowy walk…which winter activity do you choose? Have you done any of these activities so far this winter? 

I used to love ice skating! I grew up on a lake and owned my own skates. My church group took field trips to ice skating rinks in larger cities, too. I couldn’t find any photos of the lake I grew up on – darn!

I have done a snowy walk this year. We had a very snowy early December. I would choose snowy walk because it’s so fun to do with your dog!

We have lots of snow day memories from our twins’ childhood, too. It was always so exciting when they could go play in the snow.

2. Everyone is posting pictures from ten years ago on their social media sites so let’s jump on the bandwagon too. Share one photo and one thought to go with said photo from the year 2016. And maybe everyone isn’t doing this, but many are and we’re going to be part of the fun. 

I guess it’s just because it’s 10 years ago…

In 2016 we left the country for the first time since having kids. Our twins were in the summer between middle and high school, and it was our goal to take them to Germany where Tom was born. It was an epic two-week trip! We stayed with Tom’s family and in hostels and it was a really special experience.

This was the first plane ride our kids ever took. We had been road trippers up until this point.

A pretty park in Tom’s mom’s hometown and the town where his three cousins and uncle lived:

The German teens ages 14-19:

Tom’s three cousins and their spouses:

The fam:

We traveled all over Germany by train. We saw Bremerhaven, Cuxhaven, Bremen, Hamburg, Munich, Schwangau (where the Neuschwanstein Castle is located), and Berlin. We spent the night in this museum just for the 14 of us! We rented two circular bicycles to see the town. It was a hoot! We walked mud flats at low tide and that was an experience.

Tom and I had been in 2000 a few months before our wedding. On that trip we took his mom, aunt, sister, and niece.

3. What’s a trend you hope disappears in this new year? 

This is a hard one. Nothing is particularly bothering me at this point.

4. ‘They’ say there’s a day for everything and January 21st proves it. National Granola Bar Day. Do you like granola bars? How about just regular granola? Do you like bars of other kinds? 

I used to buy the big boxes from Costco because that is all my kids would eat before school in middle and high. If I’m desperate, I will get one. My favorite is the really messy Nature’s Valley. I don’t like nuts, so it has to be granola sans nuts.

5.  A frozen lake, a trickling stream, a raging river, or a deep well…which one describes something about your life right now? Elaborate as much or as little as you like. 

This is a tough one. I guess I would say trickling stream right now. I have more time on my hands.

I had a really hard time with some of this week’s questions!

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

It’s cold. I’m cold. I’m not built for this.

Apparently we could get 12-14 inches of snow this weekend!

I want to bake and hibernate. I found a happy medium when I baked just 6 full sized muffins with this mix:

I sprinkled some brown sugar and cinnamon on top before baking. Highly recommend!

What would you say to any of these topics?

Brrrrrrrr…….

Amy

Tuesday, January 20, 2026

I had so much fun writing this post! It was enlightening! I went back through my blog photos from each and every month of 2025 – because I share pretty much every purchase with you all here! I definitely spent more during the second half of the year which makes sense. My mom passed away at the end of January and until about April you don’t see many purchases.

I think we can learn a great deal from past purchases. I hate when I waste money and believe me… as I was looking through my purchases there was some buyer’s remorse. How about we focus on the positive, though? I also get very happy to share a good purchase.

You’re going to see a lot of clothes and a lot of shoes. I didn’t buy much for the home over this past year. I purchased a few beauty products.

Forgive me if some things were actually first purchased in 2024, as might be the case with Loving Tan. This is the best self-tanner I have used but I was stubborn and wouldn’t try a mitt for application for a long time. This plus the mitt is amazing. It ain’t cheap but it lasts a really long time for me. I pretty much just do legs and arms.

Many of us suffer from dry winter skin. This is shockingly good. It doesn’t have a scent, but you could always layer a scented lotion over it.

In 2026 I got one with a pump and it’s even better!

Halara jeans. So, this was definitely a 2024 discovery because of Jenn. In 2025 I ordered a few more pairs. I think I started 2025 with this pile – a medium denim, a light denim, and a charcoal denim. They were all of the same style – high waisted wide leg pull on. I mean, the cost per wear is down to pennies at this point.

In 2025, I added another medium wash denim in extra petite – perfect length, a straight legged light wash, and the striped side denim:

Zero regrets. I also got a tiny hole in the first pair I bought and then took them to be hemmed and it got rid of the hole since it was close to the original hem. They were a bit too long to start with. I took the striped and the straight leg to get hemmed, as well. The hemming is about $20 a pair but worth it to me since I wear them so much.

I must have a phone case with a loopy or a pop socket to prop my phone up and to hold it. I was surprised to see how long I’ve had this current case.

These shoes and the fact that I got my foot professionally measured. I went to a local running store and tried on a few pairs and decided I wasn’t going to go by brand or looks. I ended up with New Balance 860 and they are the most comfortable exercise shoes I have ever had.

This is a continuation of a few years. Impress brand press on nails continue to make my life easier and make my hands look better!

It’s a bit weird how happy these shorts make me and how much I love them. I now have yellow, baby blue, pink, brown, black, and heather gray. I wear them pretty much every day. They are like cut off sweatpants.

They have pockets. They are so comfy. They wash well.

I might have purchased these in 2024 but I definitely purchased my cork Aerosoles in 2025. I always picked these over the way more expensive Aerosoles. Don’t sleep on Dr. Scholl’s. I really love these dressy sandals. I love the look of the cork, but the height is a little much for me. These are the ones I reached for in the warmer weather.

Hari Mari flip flops. I wore them almost every day this summer.

This smells divine and has the perfect texture. Lip spf is so important.

Small gold earrings from Pavoi brand on Amazon and from a local boutique. Smallish hoops and bows are shown here:

I stand by the brand Pavoi. The quality is really good. They also make great gifts! I am choosing smaller earrings these days.

These hobnail glasses that I got from World Market (and now also the icon glasses from World Market or Target!)

These next sandals shocked me – they are a little bit ugly and pilgrimy. No offense to any pilgrims.

I wore them soooo much this summer and fall. They were the perfect height and perfect neutral sandal to go with skirts, dresses, jeans, and shorts. The story behind them is sweet, too. My mom had purchased $200 snow boots right before she passed away from a local shoe store that carries quality brands like Birkenstock, Taos, Keen, etc. They were in the box and had never been worn. Her best friend insisted we take them back for a refund. I took them back and got a store credit and my sisters insisted I be the one to use it. So, I consider these a gift from my mom. The brand Kork-Ease is high quality and pricey. I never would have paid $170 for these but look how much I have worn them! My mom loved when we appreciated a gift and she would often ask about it. So, when I wear them, I say “thanks, Mom”.

This migraine ring from Amazon! I don’t know why, but I loved having a pointer finger ring! I linked a similar one; mine is no longer available.

Finally going to the eye doctor and getting new prescription sunglasses, distance glasses, and readers. I put this off for way too long but having new glasses and having prescription sunglasses again was a game changer. If you don’t have prescription sunglasses, do it!

These Free People Mary Janes. This was kind of an impulse purchase and I usually show my toes in the warmer months but I really loved having these as an option and I was surprised by how many of my tops worked with them.

I don’t know why but I loved this TJ Maxx linen fruit shirt! I saw an almost identical one at an expensive boutique after I bought it and I was even happier!

These neutral Adidas Sambas. I have worn these quite a bit!

This blouse with a gift card from the besties for my retirement – but notice in the picture I have the medium denim Halaras and the Kork-Ease sandals on. I wore this combo quite a bit!

This leopard blouse

These Old Navy graphic tees along with a Santa one for Christmas, one with little pictures on it, and a few other graphic tees. I am loving the shape, fabric, and designs on their tees lately. They are cute more for a woman’s body and are shorter than a man’s tee.

Ordering my own custom bag made from recycled Guatemalan garments.

I picked this bag style:

This garment:

I think it will be a fun piece to have and I have already used it several times!

This TJ Maxx fall vibes blouse which is light enough for our hot September and October weather:

My electric frother – man, does this make me happy and I really would love to know how much I have saved on getting coffee out of the house because of this gadget!

My Anthropologie sale room glass and mug:

Yup, I just bought one of each!

Starting to sleep the Scandinavian way:

Yeah, it looks a little odd. We bought two twin sized down comforters from Costco and two twin sized duvets from Amazon. I predict we will be seeing more custom sized ones here in the US in the future because I have seen some ads for them lately. Tom and I are both in love with the weight and feel of this combo and I personally have never had so much cover at my disposal. Tom has accused me of the “tuck and roll” where I would take the comforter and roll it away from him. My defense is that I never had much to tuck and roll. I have had only mere inches of cover. We both talk about how happy we are being Scandinavians.

So, what is something you purchased in 2025 that was a good buy?

Amy

Monday, January 19. 2026

I know many of you are enjoying a three-day weekend in observation of MLK, Jr. Day but Tom is back to work, so it feels like a Monday to me. I am linking up with Sarah and Holly if they are still doing it today.

January is really flying by! I’m so glad I put my Valentine’s decor out so I can enjoy it longer. I’m also enjoying my red love, love, love mug below. After V Day, I will put up my St. Patrick’s Day decor, then Easter, then Derby (I live in Louisville, KY so it’s a must). I basically just do my mantel and my hall table so it’s pretty minimal.

I took a look at my Winter Goals list and I am doing pretty well. I ordered new pillow covers for the couch, a new blanket, and a little candle warmer lamp since one of my goals is to hygge up my living room. Those things will arrive soon and I’m excited.

Let’s go back to Thursday late afternoon. I went to a different library branch for an event. Look how modern it is with the books laid out.

It looks cool, but I actually don’t like this library as much as my quaint library. This library has a demo kitchen and a different chef each month this year will be doing demonstrations for free. Thursday was the German cookbook author/chef and she was demonstrating pretzels and a cheese spread.

Elizabeth met me there.

It was fun but the demo was really crowded, and the chef was super disorganized. I think she was nervous because of how many people came but she didn’t have her supplies organized and she didn’t explain the process very well or work out the timing well. She was the same one from the cooking class Tom and I took that we paid for which was much better.

The library staff wasn’t handing out the materials in an organized way or handling the seating overflow in an organized way. As a teacher it is hard to see this. I chatted with a woman on the other side of me and she was having a hard time with this, too, because she leads lots of events at University of Louisville. I’m glad it wasn’t just me.

I think I will go back in a couple of weeks with Elizabeth because she wants to do the schnitzel one. I’m hopeful that the other chefs will be good.

I made dinner before I left so I had that when I got home:

I am obsessed with doing laundry because of this smell and that is how I started my Friday – it makes the whole house smell good. I would go in a Bath and Body Works and smell for yourself. They also have maybe nine other scents.

I also re-created the spread that the chef taught us. It is a butter/cream cheese mixture with relish, grated onion, and spices.

I got my Zenni glasses in the mail. I picked a very similar style to my doctor office frames but these are a dark green tortoise shell. I love them! I get a little twitchy when I don’t have a spare pair so this was needed.

Eddie Otis loves to help take trash cans down and bring them back up. I try to involve him in as many activities as I can. He felt that he needed to take Elefante out with us. I hope he always loves his stuffed animals so much.

I have to tell you what he does when he sleeps in Mason’s bed. I open Mason’s door and EO is sitting at attention on the bed waiting like a good boy for a human to release him. I walk to him and he hands me his paw like we are shaking hands and he hands me his paw a few more times. Then, in order to get down from the bed he needs to get a stuffed animal in his mouth and then he jumps down and heads to the kitchen. Mason stays asleep during this whole process. EO sleeps all night in bed with us about half the week and with Mason half the week.

Tom is so tired by Friday so I usually order food or make something rather than go out. We decided on frozen pizza, but I had some pimento cheese and the spread I made on some bread and some V Day Junior Mints out for him.

I think he loves a little appetizer when he comes home. Then, we walked EO together in the brutal cold.

We built a fire and started His and Hers and Seven Dials on Netflix.

Saturday morning was a little icy. We didn’t get nearly what they said we would get.

Tom and EO left for a longer walk and I did all the things. It’s so much easier to clean when Tom takes him out of the house so that is the routine for now.

I got out around noon and got a car wash…

and went to this boutique which is closing in March, sadly. The owners are retiring but so many things around me are closing and it’s so sad.

We went to dinner around 5:30. I picked last Saturday so Tom got to pick this weekend. He picked Martin’s BBQ and it was really good. I really liked my salad and…

the nachos were good, too. I will never pick bbq over another type of food but it’s fine.

Our routine in January has been to eat at home on Friday and go out on Saturday and it’s just been the two of us and it’s been really nice. We like to go out around 5:30 and it’s perfect. We came home and watched another Seven Dials. We also started Best Medicine and Tom is not sure if it’s his cup of tea but it is kind of cute. There have been lots of things for us to watch in this bitter cold.

Sunday was mopping, grocery, and a few other things.

I found these at the store:

$1.75 tulips!

I made lunch and then we did another fire and watched some shows together and I read.

My 5th book of January:

It is Christmasey but it sounded good so I went with it!

I’ve been seeing everyone take it back to 2016 – is that just because it’s 10 years ago? So much has changed for me since then. My parents were traveling together and really enjoying semi-retirement and they were visiting grandkids any chance they could. My twins were 13. My camera roll on my phone goes back to 2017 so I will have to do some digging to find 2016.

Facebook memories that pop up can be really fun like this one:

Ok, Mason…

Tell me something you did this weekend!

Amy

Friday, January 16, 2025

It’s Friday! I am linking up with Andrea and Erika to share some favorites and hopefully to make you smile at least once. How was your week? Ours was cold again, unfortunately. I got to the gym a few times and Eddie Otis and I walked but last week was definitely easier when it was mild out.

I was not lifting 67 pounds at the gym…

I did do 6 or 7 reps, though. Seriously? Can the 6 7 thing end?

I am feeding myself better and that’s a favorite.

New strategy. Yogurt as dessert. I like OIKOS Pro Vanilla. I like frozen fruit and I like to set it out to defrost so all the juice gets in the yogurt. I think I am going to add a few mini chocolate chips and put it in the freezer for after dinner, too. I currently don’t have pb powder but that would be good, too. Do you have a favorite yogurt? I tried straight up Greek and couldn’t do it.

Another new strategy – getting protein through the humble sandwich. Did you read my Tuesday post? Thank you for your comments and ideas for me! I love pickles. This is turkey, pickles, and a little bit of mayo on a light bread.

I got to the gym the morning after doing my nails and realized that I did one navy press on the night before. Oopsie.

I fixed it! All better the next day in the gym!

I think this is actually a good idea and I had already heard of version of it on the Midlife Matters podcast. You get together with friends to tackle those nagging tasks like cancelling subscriptions. Would you go to an admin night? I would have to go to an admin day or admin morning. I know myself and I can’t tackle anything like that after dinner.

Incoming ground beef photo…

I made lasagna for dinner this week and did the meat in the morning. Having the biggest element done for dinner really is a favorite for me.

I made a cake and tried a hack I had heard of – you put the cake on the lid and use the body of the container as the “new” lid.

It worked!

I have fine hair and it gets tangled so easily. This is sooo expensive but it really works. I try to use a very little amount. It smells great, too.

The best winter moisturizer made even better with a pump. Get you a pump!

I “made” a new outfit this week!

I found a brand new hat with tags at a consignment store and ordered a fisherman’s sweater from Amazon (Amazon Essentials).

I did a fun project of drying out lemon slices in the oven at 225 for 2 hours. I took mine out a bit before 2 hours. These are all the rage in cocktails right now.

Mason brought home donuts last weekend as a nice gesture.

They are square! I had the oddly shaped one telling myself it was smaller and less caloric.

A library branch near me has a demo kitchen and each month they are having a different chef do cooking demos. How cool is that? This month is the German cookbook author/chef that gave us our cooking lesson.

I finished this. It was enjoyable at times. It has lots of Iceland descriptions if you have been or want to go. It was cheesy and many elements were farfetched and not realistic. The author doesn’t have children, and I didn’t like a couple of things that she said the mom did – lol.

I started this. I love a book with a family tree in the front of the book and I love a book that toggles between present and past. This book has both of those elements.

Waiting outside Mason’s door for him to wake up. This guy is going to be so sad when Mason moves out.

I made more sugar cookie creamer this week and it’s even better. Am I never going to have to buy creamer again? This time I reduced the sugar content and did half white sugar and half brown sugar.

We had mediterranean chicken and cauliflower bowls for dinner and this is one of my favorite types of meals.

I did a really good brunch bowl where I microwaved the egg mixture in a round Pyrex dish instead of a mug. Look how cool the egg turned out. The avocado is just so good, too!

I had a library pick up this week and got this:

Laura suggested this author and I thought I would try it. I am not normally a mystery genre reader.

I saw this on a library shelf and picked it up on a whim. It has so many great sauces that I would actually make! I will be taking photos. I feel so proud of myself when I make a creamer, dressing, or dipping sauce. Do you?

I love to check out cookbooks, and this is probably Pioneer Woman’s best cookbook ever. I would make pretty much every recipe. It’s real food for real people. Now, she makes her own mayo and cream of mushroom soup and I probably wouldn’t do that, but it has things like enchiladas, alfredo, chicken cutlets, pot roast, macaroni and cheese, scalloped potatoes.

It was so nice to run some errands without the holiday shopping crowds. I went to a super popular shopping center that has Trader Joe’s, World Market, Old Navy, and more and the parking lot was empty-ish. I went in all three places.

I wanted to see if World Market had spring stuff out – not much. Here are the latest icon glasses:

I didn’t buy any. I am sticking with my four Valentine’s ones for now.

I did buy this cute little croissant spoon rest:

I tutored my student this week at Starbuck’s. It was good. He passed his midterm and improved his grade!

A sad story and a giggle…

I get my mom’s mail forwarded to me. She received a holiday/new year newsletter from couple friends from the military that basically only corresponded through holiday cards for the last 30 years. They listed their email addresses so I thought I would let them know my mom had passed away. I wrote the email and cried while doing so. I got a nice response back and they were appreciative of the news.

But then I read their newsletter, and it made me giggle so much. They talked about how their daughter was visiting but their son in law couldn’t come along because someone had to watch their Harris Hawk. I looked it up and it’s literally a hawk – bird they are talking about. That got me thinking about hawk sitters. It also got me thinking about excuses not to visit the in laws. You know Tom is my soulmate when he came home and also thought it was hilarious and said he wished he knew that was an option to get out of an in-law visit.

Anyone want to see the anime version of Eddie Otis? No?

Look at the anime version of my floor and rug.

Does this cheer anyone up?

I think it’s a little too early to start the count down or we will feel that we are forever counting down!

Tell me a favorite of yours this week!

Amy

Thursday, January 15, 2026

January is trucking right along this year, isn’t it? It’s not a favorite month for getting dressed traditionally. I’m usually just trying to stay warm. We’ve had a mild January so far. I am linking up with Kellyann and Jill to show you what I’ve worn, nevertheless. Did you catch that, Kellyann? Read her Monday post! I get to get dressed in January nevertheless!

Friday I could go out in just a blouse and jeans! I wore my leopard print Mary Janes.

Saturday it turned cold again so I wore jeans, my hot pink sweater from Old Navy, and Adidas Stan Smiths.

Sunday I wore my black cowl neck, black leggings, faux Uggs, and my new Target Joylab vest.

Monday I wore jeans, faux Uggs, black long sleeved tee, and my leopard vest

Tuesday I stayed in my gym leggings but put on another black long sleeved tee and a black fleece vest

I wore it to a warehouse sale of one of my favorite boutiques. I left empty handed and I consider that a success because last year I bought a lot and almost all of it ended up being donated. I have always had a problem with a sale, sale rack, and a warehouse sale. I have been working on that.

Last week I received an Old Navy order. I got another white crewneck t-shirt to wear under my sweaters

black everyday leggings that aren’t athletic

and thinking ahead to spring I ordered this white blouse

I am keeping all three pieces.

I have been watching Love is Blind Germany and two people have been wearing NY Yankees ballcaps. I found one at my consignment shop new with tags from Urban Outfitters and I got it.

Then, I thought I needed a navy sweater so I went to my trusty Amazon Essentials and got this:

An outfit is born! Ha! Yes, I know it was silly but it was silly to the tune of $10 for the cap and $20 for the sweater.

I signed up/applied to be part of The Halara Circle. They let you pick an item from a few items and you try it and review it. I hope I get to do it!

I am getting ready to publish a “Best of 2025 Purchases” post. I had so much fun going through all of my 2025 photos to see what was a good buy. I have mostly clothes and shoes in the post so I thought I would mention it here. I also have included some beauty and random purchases. I think we can learn so much about our spending through an exercise like this. I can’t help but think my “research” affected my wise spending/not spending at the warehouse sale!

What have you been wearing?

Amy