Coffee and Cocktails at the Casa

Friday, November 13, 2026

Happy Friday! How was your week? Linking up with Andrea and Erika to share my favorites…

I had a nice lunch out this week with my friend Beth. We even had a glass of sauvignon blanc with lunch – ooh la la. Ladies who lunch, no? Actually, these days I eat my first meal of the day between 10 and 11 and don’t really lunch. I had to adjust!

I like when a restaurant has a “choose two” option where you get half a sandwich and half a salad. I got a panini and salad and both were really good and just the right amount.

We also shopped in a couple of little boutiques after eating – nice to look around, walk, and let our food digest.

Hydrangea update:

So, this was a weird year for my hydrangea. I only got 3 blooms! So, the third bloom is below. I swear it did the weirdest thing. It bloomed periwinkle like the others and then it morphed into the multicolor you see below and it’s been weeks that it’s stayed alive. I finally thought I would snip it since we have frost coming. Isn’t she gorgeous?

It’s hard not to get swept away by all the Christmas decor out in stores. Also, I attended two shopping centers’ holiday open houses last week. So, I opened up one of my Christmas bins and found…

Thymes Frasier Fir kitchen counter spray, Mrs. Meyer’s Iowa pine cleaner and hand soap and MM peppermint hand soap. I love them and I’m glad I tucked them away. I don’t have to purchase them this year!

Eddie Otis is also getting ready for Christmas too, it seems; he brought “Lambie Claus” outside one day. He’s smart like that. He played with “Lambie Halloweenie” a lot last month.

This week, Eddie Otis and I are back to our routine because Tom went back to work. I have taken EO to do a different walk each day and it’s been so good! We had gorgeous days Monday through Wednesday before the rains came in.

Moody looking yesterday:

If you ever see this brand of potato chip, they are so good and from Spain. I grabbed an individual bag at a nearby market this week as a treat. They have them at a local wine shop and my friends and I enjoyed a couple of flavors recently. Mason loves them, too.

Donna Karan deodorant is back in my life and it smells so nice and works really well for me.

My friend got me this solid perfume for my birthday. The brand is Twisted Tomboy and the scent is “Charleston Nights”. I really like it! It is the consistency of a lip balm but it is a perfume!

She also got me Moroccan Oil body oil and…

vanilla date lip balm. She always knows about new products!

I love trying new things but especially when a friend can vouch for it.

Speaking of products being vouched for…

I really think this lip crayon rivals more expensive brands that I have tried. Have you tried a Maybelline Superstay Ink Crayon? Sometimes I add a gloss over it. I really recommend this for a nice lip product. I like this for fall daytime. I also have a brighter pink, a dark red, and a more orangey red.

Last week I told you about an exciting happening in this amateur blogger’s world! I was contacted by Halara to pick some pieces and share on the blog. This is a brand I have had in my life for at least 3 years now. I spend my own money on them and truly love the pieces I own and the cost per wear on each item is down to pennies at this point. So, it was perfect for me.

So, I got my collaborator pieces in the mail early in the week! They sent me 5 items that I had suggested to them and in the sizes I suggested. It was like Christmas receiving such a large package in the mail and I felt like a real blogger!

Two of them were this cream sweater (my first top from Halara) which is $39.95 and these velvet pants which are $29.95. The pants are so comfortable and fun. The sweater is so cozy! It’s a little big but I think it’s meant to be oversized. I have had a cream sweater on my wish list, so this is perfect! Both the sweater and the pants come in several colors.

I sent my sister Kate the above photo and she said the pants were very me. They were so comfortable I didn’t want to take them off.

I actually wore these jeans for my lunch out. These are $49.95, come in petite and button and zip. They also have an interesting panel with an extra button inside I guess to smooth things out? I really wanted brown jeans. I actually set up my tripod, guys! I didn’t realize they were the asymmetrical type and they are barely asymmetrical. You can hardly tell.

See the panel?

Anyway, all of my Halara jeans feel like buttah. You can wear them for hours and not feel like you have to rip them off (like your bra) immediately when you get home!

I will show everything next Tuesday at Fashion Files and maybe I will have worn everything out by then, too. That will be my goal.

I got a new living room rug and I’m so happy. My favorite rug brand is Safavieh on Amazon. This is the brand of five hallway runners I have, a bathroom rug, and my bedroom rug.

Does your area have pop up coffee trailers? They are pretty big here. I visited one this week!

I got an egg nog chai latte:

He did not get one:

In my reading life this week…

I finished:

Very cute. It did get tedious toward the end and there were a couple of cheesy things.

Started this:

Still reading the last volume/trying to savor it:

The Emma M. Lion books will definitely be on my Best of 2026 Reading List!

I’ve been listening to Josh Groban holiday music! Who am I?

Tell me some of your favorites this week!

Enjoy your coffee and cocktails this weekend!

Amy

Thursday, November 12, 2026

“No, but I’m a little bit ‘stitious’.” – Michael Scott

Ha! Same!

Join me today for the Global Writing Challenge where this month’s topic is superstition with the other ladies. Here is the link!

First, I have to say something about the word “superstitious”. My husband Tom was born in Germany to a German mother and an American military father. He moved to Kentucky at age 2 but still had an aunt, uncles, grandfather and cousins in the north of Germany. We have hosted his cousin’s kids during the summer and it was a great experience. One of them, Moritz, thought “superstitious” was the funniest word in the English language so I can’t say it without thinking of him!

Moritz is now living in NYC and has started his own company with former classmates from MIT where he did a graduate program. You might remember that Mason stayed with him last summer. Moritz is 26 now.

I wouldn’t say I am particularly superstitious but I’m also not going to do stupid things like walk under a ladder or walk in the path of a black cat. I’ve been known to knock on wood, too. I have also thrown some salt over one shoulder. I’m careful with mirrors.

I think I was raised thinking that superstitions were anti-Christian. If your hope is in God, that means you shouldn’t put your belief system in superstitions.

Do I believe in karma? I do believe that the good you put into the world does something for you? Maybe it just gives you a good feeling? If there is someone that does something bad and then something bad happens to them people enjoy shouting, “KARMA”. I don’t think karma played into my Christian teachings as a child, either.

I like the idea of a “mitzvah” in the Jewish faith. I taught some Jewish students through the years and they told me if I had done a “mitzvah”. Mitzvah actually means commandment, but many people use the term for just any good deed or act of charity. You shouldn’t do acts of charity to receive credit or get attention, though. If I donate, I just say “anonymous” instead of giving my name because of this. I think my parents told me to do good things without expecting credit.

Are you superstitious? Are you a little stitious?

Amy

Wednesday, November 11, 2026

It’s Wednesday and Hodgepodge with Joyce day! It’s also Veteran’s Day.

1. Marilyn texted me something that inspired this question, so thank you Marilyn! Of the following sayings, typically associated with the (American) southern way of speaking, which do you most relate to right now? Explain.

Bless your heart~too big for yer britches~ madder than a wet hen~you’re preachin’ to the choir~

knee high to a grasshopper~oh my stars

I am probably thinking “Bless your heart” the most. I don’t envy or want to be that person. I am trying not to be judgy, but it’s hard. I am thinking of the case of someone I know that is in their 50s and still lives off of their parents. This is an extreme form of enabling, no? This person has never had a job or career and if they did it was for a split second after college. The parents bought their house, cars, paid for their kids’ college, international trips, etc. I was talking about this with someone and said “bless their heart” because that is very sad.

2. The Hodgepodge lands on (US) Veterans Day this year. Are you a veteran? Have a family member who’s a veteran? If you answered yes, tell us something about them. Will you do anything to mark the day in some special way?

My Dad and several other family members are veterans.

My Dad (and mom now) are buried in an Indiana Veteran’s Cemetery in our hometown which is very special. The flags they place are very beautiful to me. I decided I will donate to the Christmas wreaths in a nearby Veteran’s cemetery and I do that each year. They also place wreaths where my mom and dad are.

My hometown also did these banners that you could sponsor and my mom did that for several years. I will have to figure out how to continue that. Here are two nieces and a nephew several years ago:

3. Is breakfast for dinner a stroke of genius or a sign of total household collapse? Is breakfast for dinner a regular thing at your house? Are all family members on board?

Breakfast for dinner is more common for us now as empty nesters. I don’t know why I didn’t do it more when the kids were young. We like to have the frozen Pillsbury biscuits, scrambled eggs, and bacon. Sometimes I do baby Crescent roll dough cinnamon rolls for dessert. Breakfast dessert!

4. How do you see the world?

I think I am pretty optimistic. I think that most people are inherently good. I don’t think you should use your bad situation/circumstance as a crutch or an excuse in your life. Some people seem to be dealt a tough hand, and other people seem to attract drama in their lives and almost thrive on it.

I think it would have been harder to be a high school teacher for 31 years had I not thought that most people are inherently good. I had some parents that were tough to deal with. I think it was hard to be young and a woman at times. I had some parents try to bully me. I think it’s easy to become bitter as a teacher, but I didn’t become bitter.

In my early years of teaching, I had a parent tell me that it must be me that was the reason their kid had a D. He said that I must be harboring ill will toward not just his kid but all the kids and that I needed to look deep within myself. Okay… your kid has a D in Spanish 2. It’s not that deep. He can’t conjugate his way out of a box. I’m sure he is a fine 44-year-old today.

There were only a handful of bad things in the thousands of good things, though. I still love teenagers and honestly would rather talk to them than most adults. Find me at the kids’ table!

5. And this week’s gratitude question-what’s something about your surroundings (home, neighborhood, city) you’re grateful for?

Old big trees! Beautiful leaves in red, gold, orange! Sidewalks! So many locally owned places and not just chains! My library! Four distinct seasons! A reasonable cost of living!

6. Insert your own random thought here.

If you haven’t taken a country or country-ish drive, do it! It was so nice on Sunday to see the beautiful sunlight hit the leaves. This photo doesn’t do it justice.

Then, back to my backyard:

Amy

Tuesday, November 10, 2026

Hello! Marsha and I welcome you to Fashion Files on this Tuesday!

How the heck are you?

What have you been putting on your body? Our weather has turned colder with a couple of frosty mornings. I am getting my bearings with my fall clothing and shoes. I’m having some trouble with shoes! I don’t like most of my fall and winter shoes from past seasons, to be honest. I feel like many of them look dated. What shoes are you wearing? I want my shoes to be comfortable and stylish. Is that too much to ask?

I had a birthday last week! I have always loved having a fall birthday and have used that as an opportunity to spruce up my fall wardrobe.

On the morning of my birthday, I put this on, but it was too warm for the weather…

J.Jill petite leggings – seriously the best material ever, old JCPenney white wrinkle free button up, new Walmart super soft doggy sweater.

I changed into this to wear this to the mall. I don’t like it at all. The J. Crew Factory white blouse – nope. I needed something longer with the leggings and I think black on black would have created a column, the Adidas Sambas don’t look right. The white socks don’t look right. The only thing I like is my crochet duster and Tom said it looked like it was stolen from his grandma’s couch which it does! I had worn this to a guitar concert with him in September, but I guess he forgot about it!

It was spitting rain and I just didn’t know what to wear!

While at the mall, I bought a Patricia Nash purse at Macy’s. I went in Kendra Scott to see about my 50% off birthday piece but honestly didn’t like anything that much so I passed on it this year. I walked through Anthropologie but didn’t get anything. Look at me! I’m becoming a more discerning shopper!

The new purse:

That night I put this on to go to dinner. I wore Halara jeans, an old Target blouse, and used my new purse!

This popped up in my Facebook memories. I remember we went to P.F. Chang’s for my birthday, and this was taken in their parking lot. My twins have on pirate sweaters from Target (but looked like Boden) and this is how I loved to dress them – coordinating like this. I had so many long necklaces at this time in my life, too.

I struggled last week with different outfits for morning and afternoon! I put this outfit on to vote on Tuesday. It is my new Walmart striped tee. It looked good with my same Adidas Sambas from the second photo. I walked over to my voting place and was quite hot by the time I got back home.

I changed again after voting to go boating. It was so warm that I wore a t-shirt and shorts and brought a sweatshirt that I didn’t even need. Tuesday was almost a high of 80 and it was gorgeous and sunny! It turned out that it was our last boating day of 2026 – Tuesday, November 3rd. Not bad!

Thursday was a “Holiday Hard Launch” at a shopping center that I go to often. All the stores stay open late and serve snacks and have deals going on. In the center green they have different booths and a festive sign. I went with my friend Jessica and I asked her to take this photo of me!

Since it was a Christmas event, I wore my red/white stripe blouse and a red cardigan. I wore Halaras and my New Balances that are a bit pinkish.

The next night I went to another “Holiday Walk” at another shopping center!

I wish I had gotten a photo with Heather, Heather, and Faye. I wore my deer blouse and a sweater over it – trying to be a little bit Christmasy again! I wore my velvet Mary janes from Spain in an effort to wear comfortable shoes and they were!

Here is the deer blouse that I found at TJ Maxx a few years ago. I love it!

After the holiday open house, we celebrated my birthday at a Cuban restaurant nearby and one gift I received was a gift card for a local boutique that sells Back 70 shoes. So, apparently these shoes are popular/becoming popular with the young’uns. They are sold on Free People or Anthropologie or both. I have thought about getting them but they are pricey so this gift card gave me the perfect excuse.

I decided on this red mule. I have had trouble with mules staying on my feet in the past, but all mules are not created equally.

I think these will be fun to wear. I wore them all weekend!

I feel like I need a brown suede bootie with a low heel. I am thinking about this one.

Please join our party here!

Amy

Monday, November 9, 2026

Well, Tom did not want to see Monday arrive today after being off for a week and it was a nice break for me, too! Let’s link up with Sarah and Holly to share the weekend.

I really enjoyed having Tom at home. He took the dog off my hands several days and I had time in the house alone. We did errands together, we did some house/car projects, we boated, we ate out, we went shopping, and we watched some football and tv. I only cooked two dinners and we ate leftovers.

I was off my little routine I’ve created but that is good! It’s always good to break up the routine every now and then.

Thursday afternoon I went to a holiday open house at a shopping center that I frequent often. They had a Halloween one that was rainy, so it was nice to have nice weather this time! I love to go to little events like this, and I love to support small businesses.

I wore red to be a bit festive. I tell you what – the holiday decor and offerings got me ready to start thinking about Christmas. I guess that’s the idea! I went with my friend Jessica and we had a good time together as usual. Jessica came into my life because of our kids; they went to a clay camp in the summer before second grade, I think. How cool is that?

I had a “Drunken Santa”:

Ok, Santa… does this mean Santa is from Spain. I almost typed “Satan”. Gotta be careful with this letter combo.

I bought a match box:

Friday I put out my small amount of Thanksgiving decor including my turkey flag:

I just wish the pilgrims had arrived maybe a couple of months sooner, you know? It’s just so close to Jesus’ birth. I like Thanksgiving to get its due but it’s just not happening much anymore. Does anyone need to see their family twice in the span of only one month?

I finished this – oh my! This book will stay with me. It wasn’t an easy read – touching on the topics of 9/11, Covid, postpartum depression and psychosis, and the NICU for preemies. Still, I would say it will be one of my top books of 2026. Maybe? I need to start looking at my contenders.

I had some requests to pick up:

I may have already read this, but it sounded cute:

Can’t remember who recommended this:

Or this:

I just enjoy reading self-help and time management books – not sure why.

I had a really nice phone chat with my mom’s sister on Friday. I love my aunts and uncles and feel lucky that my parents made visiting them often such a priority.

I got a fun Facebook message from a teacher I taught with at my second school in 1998! She asked if I was watching Amazing Race and I am and she said this player looks like me. She doesn’t really look like me from the front but wow – the side profile looks like Amy in her 20s (me).

Can you see it?

I am going to have to dig out a photo of me to compare.

I re-visited this solid breakfast/brunch/lunch. Doesn’t that look good?

I made these for Tom:

I think I like the lil smokies version more than the big hot dog version. It’s Crescent Roll dough. This would be a great holiday app or something to take somewhere.

Friday afternoon my friend picked me up for another holiday open house. We met two other friends there. Again, it was festive and made you want to decorate for Christmas. It was so crowded you could hardly walk in the stores, though.

Free festive drinks:

Then we met the hubs at Mojito in Havana Cuban restaurant nearby to celebrate my birthday – again but now with friends.

I got fish tacos:

I got this beautiful arrangement and planter from one of my friends. We are seeing if Eddie Otis can leave it alone!

We interrupt this blog post for a PSA…

Do not buy this:

When I originally showed it back in September, one of my blog readers commented that it burned and gave her a rash.

It gave me burning and itchy pits. No one wants itchy pits.

I splurged and am back to Donna Karan for the fall/winter. Love you, Donna!

Saturday morning, I went to the first week of the winter farmer’s market. I was impressed with the offerings.

They had our French restaurant making croque monsieurs on the spot and selling a few other foods. They also had baguettes and quiches for sale. Ooh la la!

I also used my birthday gift card at a local boutique and bought some new mules:

This little boy loves his lap sitting time:

I caught an especially cute face!

Now I’d like to update you on the “Leaf Wars”. Do you remember on Halloween how the neighbor’s EX left a tiny strip of leaves on our property rather than just blowing them since it’s their tree anyway?

This is the tiny strip:

Tiny strip again:

It’s seriously comical. Most people would just add that, right? Well, this guy ain’t most people. We know this from the 20 years that he has been blowing in all four seasons at all times of day and night. He goes to Home Depot and says, “Gimme the loudest thing you’ve got”.

Well, ol’ Tom returned his leaves Saturday:

See that clean strip? That’s our property. Tom knew they weren’t home (or EX would have been blowing) so he just wanted to give back what is rightfully theirs.

I got to read outside while the sun was out. This book is so cute:

An American goes to England to work for a football club. It’s set in Liverpool and I’ve been there! That makes it really fun, too.

Tom worked on a project outside and I morally supported him then we came in and watched tv and I made a skinny margarita. Tom found a puzzle competition on ESPN The Ocho and we were both quite amused. The commentators made it so funny!

We watched the UK football game and ate leftovers.

Sunday morning, I made my own sugar cookie creamer:

I went to Kroger and saw Texas Roadhouse butter! This might be just what the Thanksgiving table needs?

I went to the mall and used my Sephora gift card and got my birthday freebie, too:

We were going to do one last boat ride but it was too cold and windy and Tom reported that the river was choppy. So, we took a country drive instead:

I made potato broccoli soup for dinner and we started to wind down.

What was the highlight of your weekend?

December’s Currently will be on Wednesday, December 2. The prompts for December are: celebrating, decorating, wearing, preparing, and loving.

I am still considering when to host this fun link party in 2027 – Wednesday or Thursday. Monday is Hello Monday, Tuesday is Fashion Files and Joanne’s link up, Wednesday is Hodgepodge, Thursday is Share Your Shelf and Monthly Musings once a month, and Friday is Favorites. Thursday is the best day for me since I don’t do Share Your Shelf (not organized enough and don’t ever know when it is!) and I don’t do Monthly Musings very often (again never know when it is!).

Anyway, it’s a fun problemita to have, no? The blogging world is so fun and brings me joy! Did you know that in Spanish if you add “ito” or “ita” to a word it makes it small? A dude named Juan might be called “Juanito” as a child. I called my son Mason “Masonito” for many years. Jaja (that’s laughing in Spanish)

Don’t forget that Fashion Files is tomorrow; we hope to see you!

Amy

Friday, November 6, 2026

Happy Friday! I’m not especially happy to see Friday already because Tom has had the week off! Let’s link up with Andrea and Erika to share some favorites.

Stay tuned until the end because something pretty exciting happened this week…

I have so enjoyed the fall leaves in the trees, on the ground, wet from the rain, you name it! I think Tom is tired of me saying, “oh this is gorgeous!” every time we drive down a road or see a pretty view of trees.

Monday was my birthday and I used birthday creamer! My current favorite is cookie butter, but this was fun to use on Monday. Call me, Chobani!

Tom picked up CFA chicken minis on my birthday!

We enjoyed an Auntie Anne’s pretzel so much! I haven’t had a Ben’s pretzel. Who does is better? Anne or Ben?

Here is the interior of my birthday cake:

I would like to think this heart leaf was a message from my mom and dad:

I picked Texas Roadhouse for my birthday dinner and had a really good blackberry cocktail:

The trees along the river are really changing colors now:

We had such a nice boat ride on Tuesday!

I am still on Emma M. Lion volume 8 but also got this book and have flown through it. I love reading outside with light rain falling and I got to do just that this week.

Somebody has had a lot of lap sitting this week…

I fixed a tech issue on our outdoor tv that Tom wasn’t able to fix and I was so proud. I told Tom that teachers are actually really good at this because we wanted a break so bad from teaching that we had to know how to get the tv to play our videos.

Tom got me a wine advent calendar for my birthday. I don’t even know how he knew about this.

I picked out a new leather purse. It’s Patricia Nash from Macy’s and just what I wanted. I never did find the perfect woven evergreen leather purse. I am still on the hunt…

Now for the big thing that happened this week…

I have to thank Jen for introducing me to the brand. She started my love affair with Halara.

I have chosen some new pieces, and they are sending them to me!

I currently have 5 pairs of pull on wide leg Halara jeans and one pair of button and zip jeans. I have olive green track pants and olive green barrel leg pants. The jeans are what got me hooked on Halara. They are so comfortable and you could literally fly in them on an international flight. I find they run true to size and I love that they offer different lengths. Now, they even offer a heavier weight for winter wear in some of their jeans.

These are the pair that I love and have in dark, light, and charcoal.

Here I am in the dark wash:

Here I am in the button and zip with piping down the sides.

I have talked many people into buying them and have purchased them for both of my sisters. I can wear them with sneakers or a bit of heel and they look great with both.

With mary janes:

With gold heels:

They wash very well so I can stand by their quality. I literally no longer shop for jeans. Why would I? I have found my holy grale.

Housekeeping:

What do you all think about doing Currently the last Thursday of the month? The first Thursday is Share Your Shelf and the second Thursday is the Global Writing Challenge. Let me know what you think!

What was a favorite of yours this week?

Amy

Thursday, November 5, 2026

Good morning! I didn’t really have a blog topic today so I thought I would just be chatty as if we are sharing a cup of coffee together. If you don’t drink coffee – why? Lol.

Tom is off this week! I made him a list and called it “TTO” – Tom’s Time Off. He humored me with my list. It is a silly list, but I love a list!

On Tuesday I took down the Halloween specific decor and got out my very small Thanksgiving decor stash. I hang the little paintings on my mirror that has hooks in the hallway, and the Fat Pants sign makes me laugh and reminds me of the Friends episode. The little salt and pepper shakers were a gift from my MIL, and I can’t remember where I got the turkey.

I can’t guarantee I won’t put Christmas stuff up before Thanksgiving, but it felt right just to do this for now.

I did pretty well on my Fall List!

So, look at the strip of clean grass below; that is our property.The neighbor’s EX left the strip full of leaves on Saturday when he could have very well just included them since it’s their tree. Tom blew leaves Tuesday for only about 20 minutes and cleaned off our strip, the rest of our front yard and our back yard. We had rain and wind, so the leaves were all a mess again after Saturday, but I was very happy to snap this photo to show you all what I talked about in Hello Monday.

I really just laugh about it!

Tuesday was gorgeous! We took the boat out and had a really nice few hours!

EO taps his paw on Tom when he needs a hug. He needs lots of hugs.

We saw cows taking a dip in the river! Can you see the little black blobs in the middle of the photo?

We beached our boat not too close to the cows and could hear them mooing. Eddie got to go on shore to potty. I made us sandwiches and we ate lunch while beached.

How are you doing with early darkness? I’m ok with it since I wind down after dinner anyway but it’s so dang early.

My sister Molly had some fun with AI and made us 70s sisters and 80s sisters!

So funny!

This week I decided to cook dinner only twice since I knew we were going out for my birthday. I decided on Molly’s lasagna and it turned out so delish! I plan to make chicken enchiladas for the other meal. Those both will provide leftovers.

Mason is in a graduate program at a small college in Santa Fe, New Mexico. He got a job at a tea house, as well, and Morgan Freeman recently dined there while Mason was working. He is filming a movie between there and Montana.

Mason sent a photo of his graduate cohort dining at an Indian restaurant:

And he sent this photo of his Halloween costume – Sherlock Holmes:

I loved seeing some photos! He decided he wanted to come home for Thanksgiving and then he has his other half of a ticket to get him home at the end of the semester. He will be home for about 6 days for Thanksgiving and for almost a month at Christmas, I think. He has not bought his return ticket in January yet. I miss him so much, but I am also happy that he’s happy. He has to fly either through Dallas, Denver, or Chicago it seems, to get home from Santa Fe.

My body still wants it to be an hour later. I can’t believe how confused I’ve been!

What would you tell me today? My coffee is gone now but I can’t wait to read your comments!

Amy

Wednesday, November 4, 2026

Hello all! Thank you for joining me for Currently today. I am also joining Joyce for Hodgepodge. Let’s go!

Thank you for all the sweet birthday wishes! I really felt the love.

This time change has me all discombobulated! It’s only an hour yet it’s messed with me!

No-vember – Saying “no” to…

I listened to a podcast where the speaker talked about subtracting things from your life for added fullness rather than adding to your life to achieve fullness. That really struck me. I think as women we want to say YES to all the things. NO is a complete sentence.

I am saying NO to too many outings in one given week.

I am saying NO to mindless shopping (the kind you do at TJ Maxx) or running errands just to run errands. Most of the time I don’t need anything and most of the time I can just find a substitute for one particular food item I think I need for that meal.

I’ve been really disappointed with things I’ve seen in stores lately so that makes this easier. We have simplified who we buy Christmas gifts for and that makes Christmas less stressful.

I am saying NO to impulsive Amazon shopping. I put things in my cart and wait to see if I really need that item a couple of days later and most of the time I don’t.

I am saying NO to unhealthy overthinking, questioning, replaying conversations as much as I can. I am saying NO to getting in someone else’s lane and trying to stay in mine.

Thanking for…

So much! I am thankful for another birthday and feel blessed to have many people think of me on my day. Most days I love that I “get to” do this life in this way. I am thanking Mother Nature for her beauty and trying to soak it all up.

I ordered my own birthday cake, by the way. This is pretty famous in Louisville from a staple bakery called Plehn’s that is 100 years old. It’s called a shadow cake and has the best white icing, and one layer is chocolate and one layer is yellow cake. The white icing on top is then coated in a chocolate ganache.

Eating/Drinking…

Well, after about 5 weeks of counting protein grams, I let myself enjoy my birthday on Monday fully. Tom got me Chick Fil A chicken minis for breakfast which is a really rare treat.

I made the viral canned cinnamon rolls just because I wanted to.

For lunch we split an Auntie Anne’s pretzel and it was so good!

Then, we enjoyed dinner at Texas Roadhouse…

I got a house salad, smothered chicken, and a baked potato.

I had a blackberry cocktail, too:

We had lots of leftovers which we love, too!

Cozying up to (could be literal or figurative)…

I am starting to wear my cozier clothes in my closet. I have the softest blanket on my couch along with matching soft pillow covers for my couch pillows. Should I buy a Lola blanket? They are just so expensive!

I am cozying up to my library books, of course. I still hope to do some reading outside!

I would like to have some fires outside and inside and we need to buy some firewood.

Watching/Reading

I’m reading Jodi Piccoult’s Hollow Bones as quickly as I can since it’s a 7 day book. I am on the last Emma book until February and trying to savor it.

And now Hodgepodge…

1. Our  November Hodgepodges always include a question related to gratitude. What is one small thing you’re grateful for today?

I am writing this on Election Day so I am grateful to live in this country and have the freedoms we have. I am grateful to get to vote. It’s not perfect, of course, but I am proud to be an American where at least I know – just kidding. Did you think I was going to type all the lyrics?

2. Chrysanthemums-pansies-burning bush-ornamental cabbage-camellias…your favorite in an autumn garden? Would we find any of these in your yard/garden this year?

I sadly do not know the names of many plants or flowers, but I really love so many of them. My mum did ok this year, and I saw on Instagram that you can plant it even with brown leaves and it will re-bloom next year. I might try that.

3. If you could clear out or organize one physical space or mental habit before the year ends, what would it be?

My basement storage room is the area that is giving me the most anxiety. I would like to stop analyzing and overthinking interactions.

4. Brussel sprouts…love ’em or no thank you? If you said love ’em how do you like them prepared?

I love them roasted and a little crispy. I like bacon and balsamic glaze, too.

5. It’s reassuring to know that____________________.

We have so many protections – systems in place and things like that in this country even though it’s not perfect.

6. Insert your own random thought here.

I was walking EO on my birthday and saw this perfectly heart shaped leaf just lying on a branch of an evergreen tree. It looks like a Google image or something but I took this photo. It made me so happy to see this!

Please click here to join the party for Currently!

Amy

P.S. – December’s Currently will be on Wednesday, December 2. I am considering moving it to Thursdays in 2027 since Thursday is a light day in the blog world and due to Wednesday being Hodgepodge day. The prompts for December are: celebrating, decorating, wearing, preparing, and loving.

Tuesday, November 3, 2026

It’s Election Day! Are you wearing red, white, and blue today?

My Walmart order came in last week. You might remember I got this dog sweater:

But the rest of the order hadn’t come in as of last Tuesday in time for Fashion Files.

I ordered this striped top:

I thought it worked well with my horse cardigan:

I ordered two flannels – one is a more fall color palette:

The other is more of a Christmas color palette:

I liked how the fall one looked with my vest from last year:

Last week I wore all my Halloween graphic tees like this one with the green cardigan:

This pumpkin one:

And the witches hat one:

And, again on Halloween:

I was happy to rediscover my star cardigan and thought it kind of worked with my witch hat tee. I can fit all of my clothes in my closet, but I like putting the off-season ones away in another closet to “rediscover” them.

Now I am washing the three of them and putting them away. I wore the heck out of them! With such a warm October, they really worked out well!

I hope you will join us here!

Amy

Monday, November 2, 2026

Hello Monday! I’m happy to link up with Sarah and Holly today.

Also, I blogged on Saturday and here it is if you missed it! I participated in the fun Share Four Somethings link up.

Today is my birthday! Here are 55 things about me:

Just kidding! Can you imagine? I don’t think there are even 55 things about me.

I got an AARP membership offer in the mail. Wow – way to kick a gal when she’s down.

So, yes, I am 55 today! Some say I don’t look a day over 54 and a half. I won’t see my kids today and I miss my parents on my birthday.

I hope I find a penny from my dad (pennies from Heaven) and I know there will be something that reminds me of my mom, too! Boy, the pressure is on Tom today, isn’t it? Lol! Also, I have told my dad that it would be ok to leave larger denominations of coins now due to the stopping of the penny manufacturing. And the economy. Inflation.

Let’s talk about the weekend. All the fall vibes now and it happened all of a sudden!

I had a really nice Friday with a couple of Eddie Otis walks and lots of outside time. Then, at 4:30, I met the Heathers and we had a wonderful cocktail – a Sarti spritz – at Limestone Bay. After our chat and fun time together…

we met our men at Captain’s Quarters, and the view was so lovely at our table. My former student waited on us, too!

I think half of our table got the mahi melt:

Saturday Tom and I took what might be the last boat ride of the season. We are going to try one more, but the weather might not cooperate. We like to do the first and last boat ride of the season with just us and Eddie Otis.

It was a little chilly when we were moving but it was so nice. I enjoyed it so much! We got to see some color in the leaves from the river.

Some more leaves showing off while driving home…

Want to hear something funny/ironic? The neighbor’s EX that is so good with a leaf blower in every season didn’t blow when it mattered:

But then he started blowing just as I took my book outside to read around 3:00. We got a text from the neighbor on the other side who was entertaining for Halloween and annoyed that he chose to start then.

Want to hear something even funnier? He left a line of leaves on our property line.

Leaving some of your leaves for your neighbor just because it’s not technically your property tells you everything you need to know about a person.That, and if you return your shopping cart to the cart corral.

I got a new book – Hollow Bones – and I am reading the last Emma M. Lion book:

I ate the other half of my mahi melt for a late lunch along with some potato slices:

Since Tom and I both ate a late lunch, I just made some pancakes for dinner and they were so good! Enjoy this blurry pancake photo:

Yesterday my friend Victoria stopped by to borrow some Emma M. Lion books and I made her a protein iced coffee and we had a chin wag. It was nice. Then, Tom, EO, and I went to see Tom’s cousin’s kid play soccer.

We took a really pretty drive home and lazed around the rest of the day.

What was the highlight of your weekend?

Amy