Coffee and Cocktails at the Casa

1. This week’s Hodgepodge lands on ‘Back To The Future Day’. October 21, 2015 was the date the movie characters (Marty McFly, Doc, and Jennifer Parker) traveled to in the future in the 1989 film Back To The Future Part 2.

Did you see the movie? Tell us a something about what was happening in your life in the fall of 2015.

How fun! I love the Back to the Future movies.

In 2015, my kids were 13 so they were in middle school. I was teaching at the high school that their middle school fed into and still had several years left before retirement. I was probably worried about my kids starting high school and how we would pay for college. My Dad was still flying and running 5 miles a day. My parents were traveling with friends and taking river cruises, staying in abbeys in France (they had a friend who rented one), and enjoying their grandkids.

2. Which -ber month is your favorite? (September, October, November, December). Explain why.

This is hard! I think October! I like all of the decor, events, festivals, and I feel like the weather is better than September’s weather. I like November, too, but it turns colder and grayer outside and while I love Christmas, I know that WINTER IS COMING!

3. Red, yellow, orange, bronze…your favorite fall color to wear? To eat? To see in nature?

All of these! I love yellow and orange. I love to see red leaves, though. As for foods, I’m not sure. I do love yellow squash!

4. What do you miss most about being 20?

I had a lot of fun in my 20s. I lived in an apartment from age 22 to age 28. First, I lived in two different apartments with my college roommate Heather and then I lived alone before getting married. We watched Friends and thought we were living a similar life to the characters! I already had a serious job as a high school teacher at 22, but I still did all the fun things on the weekends and probably on some weeknights, too. Around 25 right before I met Tom I started to slow down and started to go home early, go out less, wake up early, etc. I think if I had met him any younger, I wouldn’t have been ready, you know? We had a nice group of friends that we had a lot of fun with while I was still in my 20s, though. We did a lot of fun things!

I was the photographer or the one with the camera and these photos are in albums!

I went out a lot!

I got invited to a co-worker’s houseboat and got to waterski, I traveled a bunch, I went to tons of weddings, I shopped for my “going out top” for that night. I had very thin eyebrows.

5. We’re roughly three quarters of the way through the year. What’s one goal, habit, or mindset you want to purposely carry into the final weeks of the year? Elaborate.

I want to continue working on getting a good step count, eating more protein, and working on my mental and emotional health. I want to stop taking things personally and being so sensitive, too.

6. Insert your own random thought here.

I have had a few experiences lately where I ask the person I’m talking to questions about their life, but they don’t ask me even one question about mine. My sister Kate says that I always tell people without them asking so they don’t have to ask or perhaps they read my blog? But if I do tell something or they read my blog, they could do a follow up question, no? They could even say, “I read about this on your blog and I wanted to know more”. I guess I always walk away shocked that someone doesn’t turn the conversation around even once. Do you notice this in your life? Now, I do have several people who are very good about asking, so it’s not everyone!

Happy Hump Day and thanks for reading!

Amy

Tuesday, October 20, 2026

Hello there! It’s Tuesday so that means it’s time to talk fashion with Marsha and me.

I share clothes I really wear, and I snap one quick (sometimes too quick) photo before I go out the door. If I am just trying something on, I try to tell you that.

I love clothes and shoes and I always have! I love to dress myself and others! I love to talk clothing! I also love to write! As I child I wrote songs and in 7th grade I fell in love with my school newspaper and wrote for the junior high and high school newspapers from 7th-12th grade. I even wrote for the college newspaper for one year. Are you still doing any of your childhood hobbies?

The photos you will see here today feature clothing worn in 40-90 degrees! How about that?

I know. I know. Everyone is sick of my J.Crew Factory blouse. She has earned her keep! I wore this to brunch on Wednesday with my friends Heather and Heather and Faye when it was so hot, but it started pouring rain and storming while we were eating. Don’t wear wide leg jeans in the rain, don’t wear white, and don’t wear flats. I broke all the rules.

I have on my darker Halara wide leg pull on jeans and my new Amazon flats.

Another view in a boutique mirror…

The next day I was going to Ghoul’s Night Out which was a fun event at a local shopping center where they had festive drinks, samples, and deals going on. I thought the rain was over, but I ended up wet with flat hair. I went with my friend Jessica who is always fun to be around. We got our auras read!

I wore my charcoal wide legged Halaras, my Old Navy witches hat tee, my Amazon scallop cardigan from last year, and my New Balance 471s.

Friday for shopping with my sister and niece, I wore wide leg jeans, the Amazon flats again, and an old boutique blouse in fall colors.

I switched to sneakers after the first part of the day. I wore my New Balance 471s again.

Molly and Lena and I went to a big consignment store but only Lena had any luck. We all tried things on but made smart decisions. Then, we all scored at Aerie!

I bought one clearance sweatshirt and a Grandpa cardigan that was in my online cart from a recommendation from The Big Boo Cast.

The clearance sweatshirt:

The Grandpa cardigan with EO as a photo bomber:

Saturday was so cold! I just ran to Kroger and wore my Quince pants from last year – so soft, New Balances, chambray Old Navy, and my barn jacket from J.Crew Factory.

Then, I changed to this favorite Walmart Free Assembly jacket that I just love (a few years old) and my consignment NY ballcap (new with tags) for a walk.

Sunday morning, I had a coffee date with my friend Victoria. It was so, so cold and I actually wore the Grandpa cardigan out. I think it’s going to be more like a coat for me. I don’t see myself wearing it indoors for long, you know? I have my brown Matilda Janes on and on my feet are my faux Birkenstock clogs from last year.

Sunday was an outdoor punkin’ chunkin’ event. It was a breast cancer research fundraiser so I wore my consignment pink pants. It was going to be 65 and sunny so I thought layers would be good. I never did take off any layers, though. I wore the NB shoes again, my JCF blouse again, my beloved Target cardigan from last year and my newish Amazon chunky bead necklace.

Whew! I had a lot to share this week!

Observation: I have forgotten how it feels to be cold. I don’t know how to dress!

I plan to try to wear fall/winter things as appropriate and weed out what I don’t want to wear, what looks dated, or what no longer feels like me.

Do you have any favorites that I have shared today?

I really don’t need/want to shop for a bit! Why are fall things so tempting? Help!

Hope you will join us here!

Amy

Monday, October 19. 2026

It’s Monday already and I’m linking up with Holly and Sarah to share/overshare once again!

How was your weekend? It felt like fall here! I kind of forgot how it feels to be cold!

I bought a new pillow cover and some new placemats as my final fall decor that I’m buying this year. I had a reason to make sure everything was as spruced as could be…

On Friday, my sister Molly and her junior in high school daughter Lena came for a day of shopping during their fall break!

I made a little Google doc of what we were going to do! We went to a consignment store, Trader Joe’s (they don’t have one anywhere near where they live), an outdoor mall where we enjoyed Aerie, and we went to eat. I didn’t take many pictures!

Lena loves hummus so I prepared a hummus taste test. Sabra brand won!

Molly and I did a taste test of pumpkin pie and apple pie wine. Both are too sweet for me!

We had such a nice day!

They brought me a Starbuck’s Indiana mug to add to my collection, and I enjoyed it Saturday morning! I have Kentucky, too. I had already cleaned for their visit, so I felt pretty free on Saturday!

I bought this at Trader Joe’s and Lena told me what it was a dupe for but I can’t remember. I really like it!

New placemats. They are very thin but I like the plaid.

Saturday, I didn’t do a whole lot but I needed a couple of things from Kroger and was pleased to see these were on sale for $1.24 a pack.

I had an apple mimosa…

I got a pedicure – OPI Complimentary Wine:

I had my last gel pedi removed and just went to normal polish.

I picked up take out for Tom and I to eat before the UK game at 7:30. He watched the whole thing but I feel asleep.

Last Thursday night I went to an event that offered free aura readings. I have wanted to do this for a long time but they are usually more than I want to pay. I said I would talk about it today.

They take your picture and you get a Polaroid that has to develop for a few minutes. Here’s what mine looked like:

My friend Jessica’s was very different – she had almost entirely violet and blue.

They gave you these cards to interpret your aura:

I put my thoughts in italics below the official interpretation.

My higher consciousness was purple so that means seer, someone able to tap into gifts and receive information. Open to new ideas and playful in a creative way. Very sensitive to the energy of others.

I agree with this but being sensitive to the energy of others is a downfall for me. I have a hard time dealing with negative people or people who are in a bad mood, and I think it’s mine to fix.

My present consciousness was blue and that means empathetic, leadership qualities, the counselor. Authentic in who they are. Good listener and communicator.

I hope so.

I also had green – loving, heart centered, animal and nature lover. Compassionate. Someone who is experiencing growth.

I hope my growth is vertical and not horizontal.

Yellow – enjoys learning, problem solving and intellectual challenges. Prefers structure and order. Joyful, fun, and stimulating.

Yes! I do not enjoy puzzles though. I enjoy a logic puzzle or a brain teaser but not the type with 1000 pieces where you already have the puzzle figured out from the picture on the box. I do need structure and order, and I have gotten myself in trouble by trying to take charge in chaotic situations.

Red – confident, grounded, action-oriented, experiencing change, close connection with physical reality.

Is the change I’m experiencing menopause?

I also wondered if mine could be rainbow which would mean all my chakras are open and I’m aware of all of my senses.

I need some of my chakras to close. I just can’t handle all of my senses on high alert.

I tried to change these into proper grammar but decided to just go with what the card said. Lol.

Have you had your aura read, or would you? I’m not sure how much stock I put into it, but it was fun to do. What do you think about mine from what you know about me?

I started listening to The Mel Robbins podcast and I really liked this episode that I listened to Saturday:

I have been a long-time listener of Gretchen Rubin’s podcast and really liked this one:

I try to re-frame things in my life with “I get to” instead of “I have to”. It has really helped me!

I’ve always been interested in self-help, systems, hacks, tips, and things like that. I also love to give advice to people based on the things I’ve learned.

Yesterday I met my friend Victoria at a coffee shop to chat.

I ordered a “Sweater Weather” latte. It was so good! It had sea salt, maple syrup, and I can’t remember what else.

After that, Tom and I went to Chunkin’ Pumpkins where they catapult pumpkins into targets in the river and it’s a breast cancer fundraiser. Tom’s brother-in-law’s and sister’s boat business is a sponsor.

We saw and talked to a lot of people and then we chilled on a boat for sale. It was a gorgeous day!

I hope you had a great weekend!

Amy

Friday, October 16, 2026

Happy Friday! How was your week? Mine was good! I had a good mixture for me, I think.

I added some more Halloween decor to my fall decor. I love these little spider votive holders. I have had them for a long time!

Monday and Tuesday were gorgeous! Eddie and I took more and longer walks and we visited this pretty church yard. It has trails in the back but man, the mosquitoes were bad back there and I got attacked!

I had some nice reading time this week. I finished Emma M. Lion Volume 6…

Still in love with these volumes!

I started this on Saturday and finished it on Tuesday – so good! I am jealous of anyone who gets to just now start The Academy and The Thoroughbreds for the first time.

The chef at the private school prints a menu and does themes for his meals that look like this in the book:

I am intrigued by the cacio e pepe fritters. This also made my want to make my mom’s friend’s hot artichoke dip. I like spinach and artichoke dip but there is also a really good one with just artichokes that we always had at her parties. So, I decided to challenge myself to make at least one of the items mentioned! Isn’t that fun?

Look at that face!

Monday, I parked in the middle of three places I was going, and it just made me happy to have stuff close to home and all together like that. I went to the gym, Walgreen’s, and Paul’s Fruit Market without moving my car. I got extra steps in by not moving my car to the different parking lots, too!

Maybe silly to show pictures of parking lots and mention this, but I also think it’s good to love where you live!

After two very warm days, we got lots of rain on Wednesday and yesterday. I love the look of the leaves!

I made a new dish (to me) this week of chicken tetrazzini. I made it the harder way without the cream of soup and I think I would like it better with a cream of soup – lol. You can use either cream of mushroom or cream of celery.

I also tried a new cracker mixture that I heard about on Instagram. You dump one box of the following: mini Club crackers, mini saltines (couldn’t find so left out), Flips crackers, and Chicken in a Biscuit crackers…

one packet of each of these:

and then a bottle of popcorn oil. I only did about 3/4 bottle since I had one less box of crackers. Then you shake the bowl around or stir gently for about 3 hours intermittently. I think I probably stirred 6 times in 3 hours. There’s no cooking involved.

Sunday, I ran in Michael’s when I was at Home Depot next door and I’m still thinking about this cute Thanksgiving stuff. The store was an absolute mess, by the way. I thought their Turkey Day stuff was so cute and all 40% off.

I don’t love eating off of a paper plate but I like paper plates for apps, desserts, and those turkey shaped plates and the brown and white gingham are just too cute. I also love the to go coffee cups!

I visited a couple of home decor boutiques this week and the Halloween decor was tempting!

I love a cocktail napkin, too!

“Alcohol first, then relatives” – hehe

“Thanksgiving – Serving Family Drama as a Side Since 1620” – pretty much

And they had Christmas out. I felt like Jen needed this for her pink door!

Look at their ribbon selection!

I met three friends for brunch this week at Wild Eggs and it was fun and delicious! We went in more little shops after eating and then it started pouring rain and storming so I headed home.

I always split with Brunette Heather. We get the surfer girl omelette, breakfast potatoes, and an everything but the bagel muffin.

I call her my “flavor twin” because we always want the same thing on the menu.

I also made the mini pumpkin chocolate chip muffins this week! I guess I was inspired in the kitchen this week!

I tried a press on mani:

I had to cut so I could type this post:

And, my last favorite was Ghoul’s Night Out last week at the same shopping center where I had brunch Wednesday. The stores open late and they have booths with different offerings.

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I did something I had wanted to do – I had my aura read! I will tell you about that on Monday!

I hope you had a good week! Happy Friday!

Amy

P.S. – If you tried to comment yesterday and couldn’t, I’m sorry! I changed something in the settings and it should be working again!

Thursday, October 15, 2026

I want to help my newlywed niece Nora and I thought I would just turn it into a post! I’m sure lots of this is common sense or super obvious but it took me a long time to learn and I’m still learning! So, here goes!

Nora is ahead of the curve since she is a great cook! She is the niece that I did the cooking challenge with the summer before last. We took turns picking a recipe and then sent each other the results.

I actually enjoy cooking and Nora does, too. Nora was able to start cooking at a young age because both of her parents allowed her free reign in the kitchen. Her parents divorced when she was 3 so I think that is also part of her independence in the kitchen at a young age.

Leave Nora your best tips in the comments because I am making sure she reads today’s post!

I don’t believe it has to be the woman/wife who does the cooking, by the way. In my situation, Tom can’t cook and gets home too late anyway. I was the one who was home in the 3 o’clock hour most of my career. I think it’s nice when couples/roommates/families take turns or cook together.

Planning

Who are you cooking for? What are your/their preferences?

Get out your calendar for the week ahead. What nights will you need a quick to put together meal or leftovers? You really only need to cook about 3 nights a week if you plan it correctly – maybe less. Do you plan on doing any prepping? Do you need grab and go for school or work? Count out all of this. I even count how many bananas I will need each week. Repeat meals. It’s ok. It’s also ok to say, “this week I will have this for breakfast each day and next week I will switch to this”.

Play the “What would I order if I were in a restaurant?” game

Whenever I get “stuck” I kind of think about what I would order. I sometimes would love a chicken sandwich on a bun in a restaurant so I try to have some sort of chicken patty in the freezer and buy some buns. I have even gone so far as looking at restaurant menus to get meal inspiration.

Are you currently stopping for breakfast and coffee every morning? Just for one week try making your own at home. You get back your time and your money! The Starbuck’s bacon, egg, gouda sandwich is really popular – buy the buns they use, buy gouda, buy bacon, and make eggs and put 5 sandwiches together on Sunday to be put in the freezer or the fridge would be fine for most of the days, probably.

In my first photo, that breakfast burrito was better than most I have had in a restaurant.

Have some “take out” in your freezer instead of ordering

This can be as simple as a frozen pizza. There will always be a time when your cooking plan doesn’t work out. Another good thing is Asian food – frozen orange chicken and maybe some of the quick rice packets for a quick meal. This can be on the table faster than a delivery order can be at your door. Breakfast for dinner or a sandwich can also be a good way to handle a night you want take out.

Grocery Shopping

Pick the time and day that works best for your schedule. If you need to do pick up, great. If you need delivery, great. Do whatever works best for you. I have found that pickup and delivery can save me a lot of money in impulse shopping. It’s so easy to plan your meals and use the store’s app at your kitchen table, too.

Do not buy too much at a time

I honestly think this has been one of my biggest mistakes over the years. The most expensive food is the food that goes bad.

Your freezer can be your best friend. I freeze bread, bagels, buns, meat, vegetables, cheese, and more. You can really freeze almost anything. It will save you money and time.

Keep the fridge where you can see what you have – not stuffed full.

Now you’ve got to cook…

One of my biggest time savers is to cook ground beef for two meals at a time. I almost always freeze half of the meat. It’s so nice to pull a freezer bag of already cooked meat out to save time. I like to do tacos and spaghetti or chili. You can also do chicken for a couple of different meals. You can have breasts one night and then dice chicken and freeze for alfredo or enchiladas.

Plan for and cook what you like! Keep it simple. You really don’t need a big repertoire. Ideally, I would like to serve two vegetables but sometimes one is fine.

Sometimes I bake a couple of potatoes for a meal later in the week. This is nice to have on hand.

I keep a memo going in my phone of meal ideas I get so that they are there when I plan for the next week.

Here are some typical things I make:

spaghetti

chili

tacos

chicken enchiladas

burrito bowls

breakfast burritos

faux egg mcmuffins

sheet pan meals – kielbasa or turkey sausage, green pepper, onion, mushrooms, potato

rice, chicken, and a green vegetable – broccoli, green beans, brussels sprouts

I tried chicken tetrazzini this week and it was really good!

I love a sheet pan!

Homemade potato skins but cut in rounds:

Molly’s Lasagna recipe:

Salmon “bowls”:

Good old spaghetti – always with Texas Toast:

I love to celebrate little and big things – opening day of baseball “meal”:

St. Patrick’s Day corned beef:

Puff pastry chicken pot pie:

I enjoy trying new recipes, but I would advise to only try one new one per week and keep the others to recipes you can make in your sleep.

Sometimes a typical lunch of sandwiches can be dinner. Sometimes breakfast can be dinner.

Cooking is a lot of work when you add all the elements involved – the planning, the shopping, the putting away, the prepping, the execution of the meal, and the cleanup. Whew! I have more energy in the morning, so I did meal prep on weekend mornings when I was working. Now, I will sometimes put together elements of dinner on a weekday morning because I can. I made the entire tetrazzini in the morning and just microwaved it at dinner time. Know yourself and what works best for you. There are no “rights” and “wrongs”.

Nora, you’ve got this! I love you!

Aunt Amy

Wednesday, October 14, 2026

It’s Wednesday which means it’s time to link up with Joyce for Hodgepodge!

1. Do you think you’re driven more by curiosity or comfort? Explain. 

Hmmmm, Joyce. That is a tough question! I think I am a pretty curious person. I have dreams of being a private investigator! I try to solve mini mysteries in my neighborhood. Why does my neighbor’s ex come over every afternoon? Why does he blow leaves so much? What is their relationship? Sometimes Tom is in the mood for my Nancy Drew shenanigans and sometimes he is over it.

With that said, I am always thinking of my comfort, too. I am a horrible person when I’m hot or hungry or wearing uncomfortable clothes. I started watching the new Amazing Race and I just don’t think I could be that dirty, sweaty, hot, etc.

2. What non-food item is in your refrigerator or freezer? 

The only thing I can think of is frozen eye patches for under your eyes that my mom got me that say “chill out”. They feel great if you have sinus pain. I also have a headache cold cap that Mason got me. I always forget about it. It feels really good but looks really weird!

3. Are you comfortable with silence? If you’re home alone, do you like silence or do you need regular background noise? Do you seek out times and places to be silent? What’s your favorite place to find silence/be silent? 

I love the sound of silence! I have been enjoying the soft sound of my essential oil diffuser, the hum of my washer or dryer – my dishwasher is totally silent so I can’t count that – and I have been enjoying having Alexa play soft classical. I don’t think I could live in a big city. I think honking is so rude. I hate that sound. I do seek out silence. With my teaching job I needed to come home and have some silence. My twin boys were not loud and rambunctious. They were able to enjoy quiet hobbies quite well but when they were laughing or talking it never bothered me, either.

I also love a library! I think it’s so comforting! I don’t think they are as quiet as they used to be, though.

I love a quiet morning. I think that’s one reason why I like getting up early.

4. Carpentry, electrical, plumbing, landscaping…which skill would you most like to possess and how would you put that skill to use today?

None! I would be bad at all of them! I did help my dad with lots of projects, though, and he rarely hired anything out. I even helped him change the oil on my childhood driveway. Tom is much the same way and can do a lot of things. My Dad helped Tom build our first fence. My Dad once almost lost a finger trying to fix a car issue on his own and he also fell off the roof onto his driveway and was totally fine. He was ice skating and fell through the ice on our lake and skated home and told us. He had some good stories to tell!

5. Do you lean more towards being too needy or too independent? Which do you find harder to deal with in others? 

I probably lean toward being too independent. I have a funny story about getting my first period. I hope it’s ok to talk about it in this company. I had sent away for a free “starter pack” and pouch and I was ready to go for when the time came. I had a book called “Free Stuff for Kids” and I got all kinds of stuff sent to me – lol. On the day it happened I was riding my bike with my friends in the neighborhood, and I came in to use the bathroom. I didn’t tell my mom until several hours later because I just handled it. When I told her, she said, “Why didn’t you tell me? Are you ok? What do you need?” I told her I was good and that I had it covered. I also remember that I was wearing a burgundy striped shirt and shorts. Isn’t it funny what we remember?

Also, my 4th grade teacher had a signup list to hold her hand to walk to the cafeteria to lunch and she told my mom that I didn’t sign up. I said I didn’t feel the need to hold a hand for that purpose.

I would hate anyone to call me “needy” by the way! I don’t like “neediness” in others, either, but I feel mean saying that. As a teacher, I tried to give students tools to do things on their own and sometimes it’s just having someone tell them they can do it. I do think sometimes it’s smart to accept when you need help, though. I think it’s foolish to think that you can do everything on your own. Ahem, men – sometimes.

6.  Insert your own random thought here. 

I went off on some tangents today so I will stop here!

Amy

Tuesday, October 13, 2026

I heard that today is National No Bra Day fyi! Ha! Do you participate? I am joining my co-hostess Marsha and hopefully several of you for this week’s Fashion Files. Isn’t it fun to start wearing fall clothes? We will be back in the 80s most of this week until the weekend, unfortunately.

Last week I talked about my struggle with how and when to switch from my exercise/dog walking clothes into a “real outfit”. I did a better job of getting dressed this week!

I am trying to wear my three Halloween/Fall graphic tees since it is now October. I have the pumpkin one below (last year from Old Navy) that I wore with a green cardigan (old from Target), my new New Balance 471s, and…

These jeans are the ones from Amazon that I talked about last winter, recommended by Tanya. The ones I have on are my bigger size and too big so I have put them in the sell/donate pile. I have them in a different wash in a size smaller and they fit in a more flattering way. I bought my sister the pecan brown ones and she absolutely loves them and the color. It makes me wonder if the different colors/washes fit differently.

One day was pretty cool so I got out my last season Target fish sweater! I just put a white tee under and wore my light wide legs with my new NBs again.

Here is my witch hat/black cat ON graphic tee. I wore it with black leggings and a favorite very old Target rust colored cardigan. I was worried I donated this cardigan, but I was so happy when I realized I didn’t! It’s so old that it’s the old Mossimo Target brand.

I wore my third graphic tee that you can’t really see with my new Athleta rain jacket. I got some new shoes, too. I thought these were so cute and I am very happy with them! They remind me of an old timey football for some reason.

Now you can see the tee better. I wore it again with my Matilda Janes.

I told you that I placed a J.Crew Factory online order and one piece was this barn jacket:

The other piece was this ruffle shirt that I picture wearing with crewnecks and cardigans.

I wore this on Friday for a patio happy hour. I feel like the brown polka dot makes the linen material ok. I really can’t walk in these clogs anymore but I didn’t know what shoes to wear.

Here is some outfit inspo I want to copy. I have a very similar navy sweater and a ballcap.

I have a chambray button down and can try this look with my above fish sweater.

What have you been wearing lately? It’s all so weather dependent right now!

Join here if you have a Fashion Files post!

Amy

Monday, October 12, 2026

I had a mild freak out typing the date above; are we halfway through October? Eek! How was your weekend? We had Hurricane Isaias visit us way up here in Kentucky, I believe. We just got the rain part of it on both Saturday and Sunday. Several things were cancelled around here in anticipation of bad weather. I hope there was not too much destruction for all those affected.

I am linking up with Holly and Sarah for Hello Monday.

Friday afternoon I had a happy hour with my friend Elizabeth. We enjoyed the most delicious blackberry mocktails on a patio.

They have homemade potato chip nachos with queso and bacon and garlic dipping sauce and green chili jam.

You can buy a jar of the jam in a couple of different sizes so we both did that and after we each took food home to our hubs.

I went ahead and put some of the jam on some cream cheese with Wheat Thins for Tom, too. I was full but needed some vegetables so I had the delicious salad.

Saturday morning vibes…

Tom took EO out for his Saturday morning walk and I tried to do all the things that are impossible to do with EO home. I can’t even unload the dishwasher easily when he is home. He is a dish thief! He loves stealing a lid. He likes stealing small bowls. Sheets become a game. He loves a washcloth. I hope you’re laughing because I’m not!

I had a much-anticipated hold ready for me at the library! I loved The Academy and waited patiently for the second book to come out.

I was happy to have some fall weather to read outside for a bit.

I made Tom some cinnamon toast…

I baked some bread…

I made my first apple cider sangria of the season…

We walked in the rain…

It was a very fall feeling day and I check a few things off my fall bucket list and several chores off my list, too.

We got Mediterranean for dinner. There is salmon there, but you can’t see it.

UK played at 7:30 and I think I prefer afternoon games. They won by one point again!

It rained a bunch Sunday morning and look how full our trough was!

Starting to look like fall…

I made a delicious brunch bowl for me and then frozen biscuits, bacon, and eggs for Tom…

I spent some time outside…

Tired boy…

Eddie, Tom, and I went to Home Depot to get some things for some little nagging tasks…

I feel like all of a sudden the leaves are changing!

The harness Tom got for EO really makes him look like a service dog. He is not providing any services I can assure you!

I did a fun ChatGPT thing my friend shared. You say, “decorate these cake pops with things you know about me”…

I feel that I need to add more than EO, books, cooking, and champagne to Chat’s knowledge of me and I promise you there is more!

And I will leave you with the weekend’s most ridiculous chore and photo. We have taken EO to get his nails trimmed and it’s very expensive and he needs the “behavioral specialist” groomer. Tom found this device on Amazon. Super Eddie!

You dangle your dog and trim while he is in his “suit”.

What was a highlight of your weekend?

Amy

Friday, October 9, 2026

It’s Friday! How was your week? Let’s link up with Andrea and Erika to share.

I had a really good week! I enjoyed the weather and lots of porch reading, dog walks, a few nice phone calls – my cousin Kelly was one of them, a boutique shopping trip to look for a birthday gift, a library trip, and cooking some yummy food for myself and some dinners for Tom.

I loved this fall display in one of my favorite boutiques:

I didn’t buy anything, but I enjoyed looking!

Did you buy anything from the Prime sale or any of the competitors also having sales? I didn’t. I guess if I had my ducks more in a row I should have stocked up on products I use regularly. Oh well.

I picked up some requested library books and enjoyed their Halloween shelf:

And they had an orange and purple shelf:

Here is what I got:

I wanted to add lights to my mantel, and I thought about just ordering new ones, but I made myself go dig in the Christmas bins and use what I had – I realized I had purchased new lights last year so I’m glad I looked!

I especially love them in the mornings when it’s still so dark outside!

I thought this was so cute when I was sitting inside reading. It looks like EO was jealous of my book!

Last year I bought two Anthropologie cups – this one and a coffee mug. I love them both and they have been making me happy. This is a frothy protein coffee. Is it weird that I care deeply about my drinkware?

This is delicious. I use about a tablespoon of decaf espresso powder and froth it up with some water, add ice, and then add in this. Sometimes I only use half. It’s better than Starbucks. Starbucks who?

I started really counting my protein grams last week and measuring and recording and I was not getting the protein I thought I was.

I shared this on Wednesday, but this is a delicious breakfast casserole if that’s your thing. I counted mine to be 39 grams of protein.

This is sometimes my snack or my lunch. The Kroger brand Greek vanilla yogurt is really good. I can’t do plain Greek yogurt. It is 13 grams of protein. If I had the measuring cup’s worth of Nature Valley High Protein granola it would be another 13 grams but that’s too much granola for me. I used half so that equaled 20 grams roughly. I like to use frozen blueberries and let them sit out and defrost for a bit.

Protein recording one day this week:

Now, one thing I realized is that the Brami Protein pasta is 9 grams a serving, but our normal angel hair is 7 grams. So, that’s not a big boost and if you like the angel hair better you should use that. It’s about 1/3 of the price of the protein pasta, too. I feel like everyone is slapping “protein” on their products today.

I love our little Paul’s Fruit Market and I can buy a piece of grilled lemon chicken for about $4 and I love this pulled chicken for around $5, too.

What are your favorite sources of protein? Do you get enough? Anyone want to go on a protein-maxxing journey with me? Jenni is on board! We have been messaging about it!

Chilling outside together:

I finished this book this week and I really enjoyed the story!

I started this but I’m trying to take a break. It’s hard when I’ve got the next two Emma books already waiting for me.

I started this in hopes to try to wait on Emma…

Midwest Living named my hometown as having one of the 10 Most Charming Main Streets…

I love it in the fall!

I’m really loving having this simple pedometer. I started keeping it on my coffee pot because that is one of the first things I do in the morning and I don’t want to miss out on any step credit! I don’t know how long it will last but I also like that it’s the color gold of most of my bracelets and jewelry so it coordinates.

What were your favorites this week? I hope you had many!

Amy

Thursday, October 8, 2026

It’s time for another Global Writing Challenge and I picked this topic – birthdays! I chose this topic because mine is next month and I love my birthday and I also love all birthdays! I also love to hear how others choose to spend their day!

Of course, my birthday has changed in adulthood from when I was a child, but I can remember enjoying having a fall birthday. I liked being in school and getting the attention. My birthday is November 2nd. I never felt like it was that close to Halloween as a child but obviously it was! I never had a Halloween themed birthday party, either.

As an adult, I tried to take off work if I could. I was a high school Spanish teacher and knew I would be mad if someone was rude to me on my birthday. How dare they? IT’S MY BIRTHDAY!

Other rules as an adult:

-no housework – I work hard to get all the housework done the day before so I could be a diva

-something pampering or self-care planned like a pedicure

-shopping perhaps

-breakfast, lunch, and dinner out if I could – no cooking

-wear something new that makes me feel good

*I used to go around and collect birthday freebies from retailers but then realized they were all food related and I didn’t need them. I still do the Kendra Scott 50% off piece most years.

I like to go out with Tom and my friends if possible but sometimes my birthday falls on a weeknight, so I just go out with Tom on that night. I try to do a friends night as close to the actual day as possible.

Some birthday photos:

Last year we went to Malone’s with friends and they already had Christmas decor up:

They have a fabulous chocolate layer cake that you can choose!

The year before that we did girls shopping and met the guys at a rooftop bar and then went to dinner. It was so fun!

Nice dinner with just Tom:

This was really fun and a funny picture of me. I rented a private karaoke room for 8 people and we sang after dinner next door!

Here my sisters, my mom, and I are celebrating my 50th birthday:

What traditions do you have for your birthday?

Please go here to read other entries!

Amy