Coffee and Cocktails at the Casa

Friday, September 11, 2026

It’s hard to believe it’s been 25 years since 9/11. I talked about it in my Spanish classes every year after 2001 so that the kids would have some understanding of that day, for what it was worth. It’s also my dad’s birthday so I like to take some time to reflect on his life and do something he would appreciate. He would have been 84 today but he passed at 76. Wednesday night I got some really sweet messages from his co-pilot about things that she remembers about him. My mom’s birthday is Sunday and she would have been 84, as well. They were the same age with birthdays two days apart! I will take some time to remember her on Sunday, too.

Sorry to start off on that note, but I’m getting to the place where I feel more joy to have had great parents than sadness that they’re gone, if that makes sense. Remembering and talking about them keeps them present, if that makes sense.

I’m linking up with Andrea and Erika today to share some favorites from my week.

What makes a good week in my retiree life? Some productivity, some social time, some outdoor time, moving my body, enjoying my dog, cooking, reading, tv, time with Tom, and so much more! I think I had that this week!

I had a nice happy hour one day with friends Beth and Becky. I had a really good raspberry limoncello spritz:

We split some fries and spinach dip:

This is one of my favorite happy hour spots called Osteria. It was hot but felt pretty good on the covered patio with fans going.

I popped into a shop called Gather before the happy hour. It’s a really lovely home and gift store.

I got a fun long match matchbox and a little ghost dish. I have a jack o’ lantern dish that is about the same size. Jen got me into matchboxes!

I also bought myself a ring:

It is stretchy and waterproof and it wasn’t expensive. I liked how it looked!

I enjoyed a homemade Biscoff cookie sundae one night this week. I used some caramel sauce and crushed up two cookies. Highly recommend! Maria’s influence is what inspired this!

I have a big stack of books but one is about WWII and the others didn’t really appeal to me right now so I started this book. I have some issues with it but it’s kind of cute. How is that for a review?

Ok, this is worth sharing. Do you like the Chick Fil A kale salad? I found a copycat recipe and it just requires kale and cabbage and then a dressing. I don’t like nuts so I leave the almonds out. I did put in pumpkin seeds.

This was a good little lunch one day!

Kirkland’s is not a place I usually think to shop. I inventoried my fall stuff and made a list like a good girl. I determined I could get a new front door doormat. I chose this one. The shape is odd but I liked it. I had a choice between this or one that said “welcome” and I didn’t want to send the wrong message, so I went with the plain one.

Also, Tom has moved the bow up to the glass part of the door. We need to re-stain our door, I know.

I found heavy duty Swiffer cloths and now I have found an even better one called “hair magnet”. Love! Eddie Otis sheds more than our other two labs did. I push this around daily and then…I go ahead and replace the cloth so it’s ready for next use. Duh, Amy. I also use a traditional broom and dustpan and a vacuum but this really seems to do the best job on the dog hair on the hard surfaces.

I have enjoyed my 8.5 x 11 sized 2026 agenda book so much that I decided to get the same one for 2027. It’s under $10!

It has a monthly calendar and then you have ample space in each day to write your to do lists. I look at each day and then write a list on a notepad and work my way through it. I love agenda books, notebooks, notepads, good pens, and crossing shizz off!

It wouldn’t be a blog post without a weather report! We have had some mornings that feel like fall lately! We have a few crispy leaves on the ground!

I bought Trader Joe’s already cooked balsamic chicken and used it in the TikTok pasta recipe – grape tomatoes, spinach, half a thing of Boursin (I think whole is too much), garlic and olive oil. Bake all that at 400 for 20-30 minutes. I added pasta water from my angel hair and then mixed and added balsamic vinegar. Restaurant quality.

I am learning how to cook for two so that we don’t have leftovers or too many leftovers.

Seriously. What is it with men and their throat clearing?

Mason sent me this photo of his dorm balcony in Santa Fe. I told him it looks like a resort.

He didn’t take his car and we are storing it. This car used to be my mom’s. Kate got a van of my dad’s, Molly got another van of my dad’s, and we got my mom’s car. Mia drove the van to visit me this summer and it was nostalgic to see it.

Some fun this week…

Chat GPT – it’s not just for humans.

I told it to “make EO more glam” from this photo:

Eddie Otis’ new profile pic for the canine dating apps:

I also glammed up Tom:

And me:

I made myself a redhead:

I shopped a consignment store and found the perfect Thanksgiving shirt:

Hehe – no, I didn’t buy it!

EO loves to “help” Tom in the yard. This is how he helped when Tom was on the garage roof blowing leaves:

What made you smile this week? What were your favorites?

Amy

Thursday, September 10, 2026

It’s time for another Global Writing Challenge and this month the topic is “poetry”. I must admit that this one really stumped me at first. Then, I realized I come from a longish line of poets!

My mom’s mom passed away when I was in 4th grade and my mom and her siblings found tons of poems that my grandmother had written. They created a book of her poems that we all now have.

My mom wrote a Christmas poem each year to go in our Christmas card. The poem gave updates from the year past of all the family members. It embarrassed me at the time – what didn’t? But, now I have many of them and they remind me of my mom’s creativity and help me remember what was going on that year.

I enjoy writing poems for people just to be silly. I wrote my sister a divorce poem after her second divorce. I will share a few lines of it:

Had a ball and chain for close to twelve (years)

All he put her through we can’t even delve

Now she’s single as a Pringle

Might even go on Christian Mingle

That’s all that I can share that isn’t too personal!

I also love to read my poems/perform my poems aloud.

Check out other entries here!

Amy

Wednesday, September 9, 2026

It’s Hodgepodge with Joyce day!

1. ARE YOU READY FOR SOME FOOTBALL?  On a scale of 1-10 how much of a fan are you? (10 is never miss a game and 1 is I’m just here for the snacks). Who’s your team? If you’re playing along today, but live outside the US feel free to sub your feelings about futbol for the more American sport of football. 

I am probably a “1”. I was a cheerleader but never really understood football. As a senior I had a junior football player boyfriend, though, so that made the games more fun! I also had a crush on a college football player at my college and went to all the home and away games! My friends and I were groupies.

I just want everyone to have fun. Sports aren’t that serious. I like sports snacks. I like the social aspect. I hate people screaming at the tv or screaming in person in an angry way. I’m ok with “Let’s go!” but not with crazy red-faced people acting like their life depends on an 18-year-old kid and what they do with some pigskin.

2. What’s something you currently have a game plan for managing? 

Not much! Ha! I know everyone is excited about the ‘ber months but they also mean holidays are coming and when you’ve lost a parent or parents, that is hard. I feel a responsibility to keep my family of four close (that is hard with adult children with work schedules and distance) and I feel a responsibility to keep my side of the family close. It will be a year in November that we have no home base in our hometown as that is when we sold my mom’s house. I booked the same Airbnb for the holidays this year as I did last year. I had an interesting conversation with my niece Mia about traditions. She was totally on board for continuing to go to that town and was vocal about what we should do as far as traditions. It really warmed my heart.

Sorry if you aren’t ready to talk about holidays yet!

3. Do you like chicken wings? Hot, mild, or some other flavor? What’s a must have food for you on a tailgate menu? I know tailgating isn’t as big of a thing outside the US of A as it is inside the US of A, but you can also answer the question this way-what’s a must have food for you at a sporting event viewing party? 

There’s no feminine way to eat a wing! I prefer boneless with knife and fork. I prefer mild but I love the combo of the blue cheese, buffalo sauce and celery. I can’t believe when I go to a wing place and they have no celery. I love a dip. I love any dip with tortilla chips. I like queso, guac, salsa, Mexican layer dip, chili cheese dip, spinach and artichoke dip, all the dips. I don’t have a must-have food but I enjoy a tailgate spread. By the way, the tailgate is the best part of the experience.

I will “fake” the flavor with rotisserie chicken sometimes for a lunch:

4. Teams typically have strict playbooks they follow. What is one unwritten rule or piece of advice in your ‘life playbook’ you think everyone should know?

I think basic etiquette. If you go somewhere, take a gift, ask what you can bring, thank the host, treat the host if they have spoiled you. Don’t complain. Be appreciative and grateful. That kind of thing.

5. This is the week we remember and mourn all that was lost and changed on September 11, 2001. I always include a spot for bloggers to share anything they’d like to share about 9/11. Share as much or as little as you like. 

September 11th is my Dad’s birthday so it was an important day to me long before 2001. My Dad was a pilot and was flying private on that day, by the way. I was teaching and I will never forget my principal coming on the intercom and telling us to turn on the tiny tvs in our classrooms. We actually saw the second tower hit live on tv. The principal’s daughter lived in NYC and worked in the World Trade Center but was home on maternity leave so it was really personal to our principal.

The kids were beside themselves and starting to open up their flip phones and call home. We didn’t do anything that day but kids that were still at school moved from class to class like zombies. I went home and watched news the rest of the day. I had been married for a year and didn’t have kids yet.

6.Insert your own random thought here. 

These days we don’t go to many football games in person, but I can hear the high school games from the school where I retired from my patio. I don’t mind having a game on in the background while I’m reading or doing things. I’m hoping to use the outdoor tv and solo stove some this fall with Tom.

Amy

Tuesday, September 8, 2026

I forgot that today would be like a Monday, but the show must go on, no?

Today’s post is Target heavy! I really didn’t shop clothing at Target much this summer at all after a very successful Target winter. I found a sweater and a vest last winter that I loved. Alas, at the end of this summer I found linen pants and then two basic but with nice details tops to wear with solids or printed bottoms.

I bought the pants in all three colors, but returned the black since I have other black options. I kept the white and the polka dot. I would say these stretch out a bit and you might need to size down. I was happy that they came in short length. I paid $21 for each pair on sale.

The shirt I am wearing I bought in both the white and the black. It’s pretty lightweight. I paid $25 but they are now on sale for $17.

I am pleased with the pants and the tops. I don’t necessarily want to buy Target clothing but I got sucked in.

Here is me in the black top and white pants:

Now let’s talk about the CicyBell jeans. They are available on Amazon and the stripe down the side just had me swooning. I already have a pair with a stripe down the side from Halara so why did I think I needed more? Why am I the way that I am? I paid to have them hemmed because the stripe doesn’t come in petite or extra petite length. I am 5’4 and the extra petite length in Halara (that only comes in some styles) is perfect. Because they are elastic waist, you can pull them up higher or lower them to your liking, too.

The CicyBell are very similar to the Halara, but here they are on me. They don’t come in different lengths, either. I have on about a 2 inch heel.

They are very, very long. I think the Halara are a little better quality and because I have washed and worn them so many times I can attest that they hold up well. So, I am happy that I am still a big fan of Halara. The Cicy Bell went back.

Let’s talk about the CicyBell oversized button up. I look like a security guard. It is pretty thick material and is pretty well made, but it did not work for me and it went back, too.

Me in the combo:

Now I look like I have my dad’s security guard uniform on for dress-up.

I also wore this dress this week to play mah jong and go to dinner. It is old Walmart Free Assembly.

This was my boating outfit on Sunday:

We talked about my sister’s wedding which happened 5 days before my twins were born. I was only 30 weeks pregnant so we didn’t know this at the time.

Hope you enjoyed those!

Amy

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Monday, September 7, 2026

Well, I decided to go ahead and do Hello Monday since I have Fashion Files tomorrow. I’m not sure anyone else is on normal schedule due to Labor Day in the US, but that’s ok! I may be a Linky Party of one!

Friday I picked up some library holds:

I’ve got quite the stack of books right now, so I’m not sure what I will end up reading.

I really thought I would play Mah Jong more this summer, but it’s been tough to coordinate schedules. My friend Heather had the other Heather and I over for some Friday afternoon play time, though!

She has these cute cups and found a pre-mixed Bellini at Kroger that was so good. I need to go find it!

Paisley:

After we played a couple of games, the guys were invited to join us for dinner out.

I got a Hugo Spritz but couldn’t drink much of it:

I ordered a mahi sandwich:

It was a fun afternoon into evening!

I watched a bit of The Last Sunrise but couldn’t stay awake.

Saturday morning, it rained a bit and I was happy to sit outside!

I had a few errands to run and it was my twins’ birthday. I was worried I would feel sad but it was a good day. I got a cookie cake to take to Jack’s work – they messed it up. It was supposed to be “HBD at ___” the name of his work’s initials. HBD is “happy birthday” by the way.

I got an incredible surprise from friend and blog reader Sally of this gorgeous fall arrangement:

It was perfect also because I did light early fall decor:

I had some reading time (with popcorn) and napping time in the afternoon and then Tom and I took the cookie cake to Jack’s work and picked up Chinese food.

We watched some shows together and went to bed pretty early. We also got to talk to Mason on the phone and he had some fun birthday plans.

Sunday morning was a little cool out! Yes!

I finished this book this weekend. It was far-fetched and some things were pretty unbelievable but it was cute.

Sunday we were invited to go out on a beautiful and comfortable pontoon that is for sale – message me if you are interested – lol.

Tom got to try driving it!

There is a big boat party in Party Cove and in the evening, they even have a band on a floating stage.

It was a such a fun day!

I hope you are having a nice Labor Day weekend!

Amy

Friday, September 4, 2026

Happy Friday! I’m linking up with Andrea and Erika to share some favorites from my week.

Tomorrow is my twins’ 24th birthday! It will be the first time we can’t really celebrate together. Even when Mason studied in England, he didn’t leave until after his birthday for fall semester. Now, Mason is in Santa Fe and Jack works until late that night. I have sent both of them gifts. I thought Jack would enjoy a surprise package even though I could hand deliver. I am getting a cake Door Dashed to Mason and I am delivering a cookie cake to Jack at work. I could be in my feels a bit on Saturday. 24 seems old! How did we get here so fast?

And of course Facebook would do me in with this photo of third grade. What a sweet age that was!

My least favorite thing this week has been the heat! My car dash read 112 this week! Eddie Otis and I have walked around 8:00 am and then I’ve taken him on a car ride to another walking destination around 10:00 and it hasn’t been too bad, but after that it is so hot that he has asked if he can use the hall bathroom instead of going outside. Just kidding!

We have driven to this neighborhood that has an enclosed dog park that no one is ever using. Outside of the park is this field and we sniff around.

And, we have gone to this little garden to explore, too.

I call these our “field trips”. EO is really good getting in the car and riding in the car but if a bike or a motorcycle pulls up beside us he loses his mind.

I have enjoyed seeing my bow! Now, I just need coordinating mums and doormat. I am still debating between faux mums and real mums. Let me know if you have an opinion on this!

One morning I stopped in our little market after the gym and bought a single Diet Dr. Pepper. Boy did that go down well. I love it in this type of glass, too. I am not a regular soft drink drinker but every now and then it sounds good. My cousins in Michigan call it “pop” and where I grew up everyone called it a “soft drink” or everything was “Coke”. Diet Dr. Pepper would always be my first choice, I think.

I did some cooking this week –

we had salmon, zucchini, and taters:

I had taters, AmyLu sausage, and my microwave single egg casserole with chives one day:

We weren’t very hungry this night so I made a spinach salad with warm bacon dressing, cottage cheese, tomatoes, and we had homemade fries on the side:

My sister and her husband celebrated 24 years this week and guess what – I had my twins 5 days after her August 31st wedding. You do not want to see me in my maternity bridesmaid dress. I also have a very similar photo of Tom and I on the town trolley. Tom and I were the first to use the brand-new trolley and Molly got to use it 2 years later! She is such a copycat! She also copied off of me and had twins 5 years later! Don’t worry; it’s a family joke!

It was so fun to get to see two students and attend a book release party this week!

I saw so many great graphics this week!

My twins love Gilmore Girls. They think the writing and acting is so good. They are big fans of Amy Sherman Palladino who also did Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.

I started Love is Blind UK this week! So silly and fun! I have not been able to finish Sterling Pointe. It got too teen/angsty for me. I also haven’t finished The Other Bennett Sister, My Brilliant Career, or Woman of Substance. I need to go back to those. Tom and I are watching Ted Lasso right now together.

I’m excited about this!

I got this funny message from a former student:

So sweet to think of me!

I know. I know. AI. I tried this out on ChatGPT:

Pretty weird, right? I saw someone else’s and they had many of the same words on the left.

And, lastly was giving some gifts to my newly engaged niece…

this planning notebook:

this ring dish:

and we had some tacos for lunch:

The taco place is right next to an iconic Louisville bakery, and I bought us each an “angel dip” to take home for dessert. It is angel food cake “dipped” in the best chocolate buttercream frosting. Oh my!

It was a good week despite the heat!

Happy Labor Day Weekend!

Amy

Thursday, September 3, 2026

August was a good reading month for me! It was an indoor reading month – usually on my cool leather couch that you see here.

I would say it was a chick lit month, too. I mostly read fun books this month. Paris was a theme, too! If a book has Paris in the title, chances are I am drawn to it!

I liked all of these! If I don’t like it, I put it down.

I believe this was my favorite of the month – Brighter than Before.

I have always wanted to go to a book signing/book release party, and I finally got to do that! I love a self-help book or a book on life hacks/tips. I feel like I can always learn something from this type of book. I check these books out from the library, too, but with this book below, I ordered it so I could have it read before the signing. I loved it! This may sound cheesy, but between reading this book and delving into Dolly Parton’s legacy, I’m excited and empowered about my current chapter. If you would like to order this book, here it is. I forgot – I did get to hear Gretchen Rubin speak about The Happiness Project, too!

The backstory:

This is Jack Harlow’s mom, and she is a local business owner and has become a motivational speaker. Jack went to another high school in Louisville, but his younger brother Clay was my student at my high school in Louisville and so this is why I have always been a little interested in Jack’s career and have kept up with Clay, who is now 25. I found the book to be easy to read, and it spoke to where I am in life. Some might say it’s common-sense stuff or stuff you’ve heard before and some of it is, but I liked it. I think books hit differently for us at different times, perhaps.

The signing was really cool, too. It was free, but you had to get tickets which were limited. It was held at a French restaurant called Le Relais at our little airport called Bowman Field.

You got a free cocktail and they had fancy appetizers.

The best surprise was that Clay was there and his buddy who was also one of my wonderful students. This group was so fun to teach. They were both on the soccer team and invited me to senior night where their walk out songs were Spanish songs I had taught them in class. Clay is on the right. He is a music producer living in LA now.

Jack showed up after I had left!

Also, I invited a high school friend to attend with me and she said yes. I had run into her at the bourbon event last week and we re-connected.

Can you see little airplanes in the background of this photo?

Here is my current library stack and I decided to start…

The Jetsetters!

What have you read lately?

Amy

Wednesday, September 2, 2026

Hi! Welcome to September’s Currently – a fun link up where we share some things on our minds this month.

Adjusting (to):

My biggest thing right now is Mason being very far away in Santa Fe! Honestly, I didn’t see him very often when he was living in Louisville – especially when he was on a tight deadline with his audio book contract. I did see him a lot in the days leading up to when he left, though. It was nice to know he was close and I enjoyed visiting him at work – I hope not too much! I am doing better than I thought I would be adjusting to this, and he is being quite communicative. He texts me pretty often or is open to me texting him – but not too much. The 2-hour time difference isn’t too bad to navigate. If I know he’s happy, I will be happy and put on my big girl pants, you know?

Baking/Cooking:

This week I made protein balls and homemade Thin Mints. I got a wild hair – what can I say? I saw where you can melt Andes mints and then dip a Ritz in the melty goodness and then freeze it. I needed more Andes so they would be coated more thickly. I will definitely do this again!

I have been cooking chicken, rice, and broccoli, and a bacon spinach salad so far this week. I have plans to make spaghetti and salmon.

Decorating:

I pulled out my old stuff to inventory first…

I plan to “layer”. In September I will do non-Halloween fall decor. I have a great deal of pumpkins. I have a ton of little white pumpkins that I can do something with. October 1, I will add Halloween, and November 1, I will take away Halloween and add Thanksgiving.

I need mums and a doormat, but I already added my fall bow from TJ Maxx.

I also plan to focus on apple flavors in September and pumpkin in October and November. I say this but I always jump the gun on pumpkin because I love it. But, apple is so good, too!

Balancing

I am not balancing much right now. I am trying to balance my time at home versus my time out of the house and be smart about that, maybe? That is mainly for my boy, Eddie Otis.

Learning

I’m learning how to parent adult children. I understand my own parents more and more now – lol. They would tell me their opinions on my adult decisions way too freely. They said certain things were “stupid” and not how they did things. My sisters also felt this from them, and we have talked about it at great length. I tell them we need to remind each other what not to do with our adult children.

Link up here!

And, now for Hodgepodge with Joyce…

1. What’s something you wanted to do this summer that you never got around to doing? 

I didn’t boat to my hometown, but it could still happen. We had a rough river summer to be honest. There was a lot of rain and a lot of debris in the river. The last time we boated, the water was so choppy, and I was like no way I can do this for an hour. We honestly enjoy the river more after Labor Day when many people put their boats away and there is less boat traffic. It’s cooler and more pleasant and feels really special to be out on the water.

2. Were you the student who sat in the front row or hid in the back of the class? If you could go back and take one high school class again just for fun, which would it be? 

Front row or towards the front – usually. There were some classes when I chose the back. I think I would have been more involved in theatre and would take the class. I was in one musical my senior year, but I would have enjoyed doing more. My favorite class was journalism. I got the bug in 7th grade, and this was a class I took every year until graduation. My high school journalism teacher was amazing. She now works for the funeral home that did my parents’ services, and I got to see her and talk with her when I was doing stuff for my mom’s service. This is small town for you, no? I would definitely take this class again. I loved interviewing and writing up my articles. I loved coming up with ideas for stories, too.

3. What characteristics do you think are essential in a good teacher (this can be applied to anyone who teaches, not just classroom teachers)? 

Well, let me clear my throat! Ahem! I could talk about this all day as you know by now but I will say one thing only as hard as it may be for me.

Students are not dumb. They see through fake. If you genuinely care about your subject and about them, that shows. Adversely, they can tell if you don’t really have a passion for your subject or enjoy them.

So, I would say it is essential to be passionate about your subject and to genuinely care for the students you teach. They will respond better to their teacher and what they are there to learn.

4.  September 2nd is National Grits Day. Have you ever eaten grits? Are you a fan? If so how do you like yours? Would people describe you as ‘having grit’? 

I have grits in my pantry as we speak! I like them but don’t usually order them. Tom orders them when he can but is picky about them. I don’t think he likes a lot of modern add-ins and is a classic grits guy. I think people would describe me as having grit from being able to teach high school.

5. What’s something you’re never too old or too young to enjoy? 

Ice cream was the first thing I thought of! Music! Water!

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

October’s Currently will be on Wednesday, October 7 and the prompts are: Falling for, Scaring (me), Working on, Loving, and Entertaining (me)

I hope these will be fun and thanks for reading today!

Amy

Tuesday, September 1, 2026

It’s September! We all get excited and then realize we still need to wear our summer clothes for quite a bit longer! Anyway,,.we’re here together today and we have hope for a time when a sweater is needed again, don’t we?

I wear a lot of t-shirts and shorts for my gym trips, dog walks, and even the hot errands I run. This girl is tired of her legs sticking to seats, but she also has to wear shorts because it’s hot.

Last week I attended a bourbon talk with my friend Elizabeth. It was very hot and she would be coming from work in her professional girl outfit so I dressed up in this dress I bought last spring with my jelly purse and my brown wedges. The dress is by Umgee which is one of my favorite boutique brands.

Sure enough, she was in a silky shell, slacks, and pumps. Office attire. I bet she had a blazer in her car.

This was my favorite outfit of the week. I wore this to go to the library and to lunch with my son. These are my white Target linen pants and my navy Old Navy blouse.

This was what I wore Saturday night to an outdoor concert. I have on my Old Navy linen shorts that are quite old with the above navy Old Navy blouse again.

Kellyann has been talking about her Cicy Bell jeans from Amazon that are probably exactly like my Halaras that I adore. I love the stripe down the side so much. I want to order the gray, but I am worried they will be way too long, and I don’t feel like hemming. I should probably just order and see since returns are so easy, no? Would you all enable my shopping please? And why don’t all retailers offer short length? We are not all glamazon Barbies, ok?

My social media showed me this button up and look at the back! I ordered it! I will let you know what I think.

And, I am still here waiting for my Target order of this blouse in black and white…omg my Target shipping orders take soooooo long. It was not available in stores by the way.

I bought some new earrings at TJ Maxx:

And, I have been wearing this pearly combo:

I’m considering a third piercing if I can fit her on my lobe and be properly spaced out. I don’t think I could handle a cartilage piercing.

Please join in the fun here!

What have you been wearing lately? Buying?

Amy

Monday, August 31, 2026

It’s Monday and the last day of August. How was your weekend? Mine was really good. I am going to include Thursday as part my weekend because I left it off of Friday Favorites and because I can. Ha!

Thanks to Sarah and Holly for this weekly link up. Click over to their blogs and meet some new people. This weekend I had a friend ask me how I know what to read and I said, “BLOGS!” But it’s not just what to read, it’s also what to watch, book, buy, do, and so much more, no?

I go to the library weekly to pick up requests, but I have to go in and I’m also glad I do. They have a “Dog Days of Summer” display!

So creative!

Here is my fresh stack:

I am trying to incorporate more plants, more beans and lentils, and use less meat in our meals. I really like having a non-fiction book going at the same time as a fiction book.

I go to meet Jack for lunch! I often assume he is too busy because of his work schedule but I shouldn’t do that. We had salmon and fish tacos and it was really nice.

Yes, I had this meal a week ago. The tacos are $6.50 and I could have just been satisfied with one so it’s a pretty good deal.

A pretty walking path with EO Friday morning:

I did a TJ Maxx run on Friday and found a fall bow for the front door and some cute to go coffee cups. I love having some of these on hand.

I also bought a set of tiny faux diamond earrings:

It was fun to see what was out for fall. I also inventoried my old fall decor, so I knew what I already had.

Friday night Tom and I had Mexican take out and watched some shows together:

Saturday, I needed a few things from Target and had a merchandise credit to use.

I loved these adorable sweater pumpkins in the dollar area…

and I loved these little ceramic pumpkins…

I brought this home:

The fox is because we have a neighborhood fox that I see regularly! I thought the pumpkins would look cute on one of my surfaces and I will save the jack o’lantern and spider tray to put out in October.

I am a big fan of Amylu and no, she is not me. I wish! My middle name is not even “Lou”. I grabbed these to try and they are really good! I think I will eat them for lunch, though. I’m such a rebel.

I finished this. It was far-fetched but a cute read. She says in her author’s note that she was trying to write something in the vein of “Love Actually” where people cross paths in Paris.

Next up is:

Saturday, we went to an outdoor concert at a nearby neighborhood. Our friends joined us and we had a nice time.

I walked down to this cute indoor/outdoor bar and got a frozen rosé or a frosé.

We grabbed some food from Waldo’s Chicken and Beer. I got their salad.

Sunday I am not sure what happened, but I slept in until almost 8! I felt a bit out of sorts from sleeping so late for me, but it was a beautiful morning!

We had plans to do a boat brunch with our friends and we did:

We also got to help our niece Morgan celebrate her engagement that happened that morning!

Fashion Files is tomorrow! I hope you will join in!

This Wednesday, September 2 is our next Currently and the themes are: Adjusting (to), Baking/Cooking, Decorating, Balancing, and Learning. Grab Tanya’s cute graphic if you like and if you also participate in Joyce’s Hodgepodge!

Did you see my Saturday post? I did a Share 4 Somethings if you missed it.

Tell me something you did this weekend!

Amy