Coffee and Cocktails at the Casa

Wednesday, July 8, 2026

It’s Wednesday and time for Hodgepodge with Joyce!

1. What’s something you enjoy now that your younger self would never have appreciated? 

Gosh, this is a hard one because I feel like I haven’t changed much! Adult Amy and 9 year old Amy both liked: cooking/baking, reading, writing, being outside in nature, making up songs, poems, and silly rhymes, shopping, putting together outfits – see? I haven’t changed much.

Maybe a game like mah jong. I loved euchre and some other games, but I probably wouldn’t have had the patience to learn mah jong. Did I tell you one of my sisters is kind of mad that I like it? She said, “I can’t believe all the games you rejected in the past that I wanted to play”.

2. What was peaceful about today?  I will answer this for Tuesday (yesterday)…

My slow mornings with my devotional, water, coffee, blog writing and reading, and my dog lying peacefully beside me (after his initial excitement where he tried to unplug my laptop, bring me a couch pillow, and mouthed a shoe of mine).

3. It’s National Blueberry Day (July 8). Will you celebrate?  You can have one of the following right now-a slice of blueberry pie, a warm blueberry muffin, or a stack of blueberry pancakes…which do you choose?

I prefer frozen blueberries to fresh, I think. I would pick a blueberry pancake.

This or that-blueberries or raspberries? blueberries or strawberries? 

raspberries

strawberries

I don’t think fresh blueberries have much flavor. What am I doing wrong?

4. Do you need a break? From what? 

I think it’s good to break from routine and get a change of scenery when you can. I probably need a break from house chores and then I will be fine again!

5. What has surprised you most about getting older? 

I think the confidence it brings that you know more who you are, how you want to spend your time, and who you want to spend it with. You feel less apologetic about who you are. You stop trying to fit in as much. You aren’t everyone’s cup of tea and you are finally ok with it.

If someone consistently makes you feel bad when you are around them, that might be on you because you continue to be around them. Bye bye. If the person is someone you work with or that you are related to, it makes things a little bit harder, so I would say small doses and prepare yourself that it will be that way.

As I get older, I don’t want to become rigid and inflexible. So, I do try to go outside my comfort zone from time to time.

My friend was talking about how some older people she was around were complaining about everything and it was a very draining time that she had to spend with them. The food wasn’t right, the drink wasn’t right, they needed this, and they needed that. I don’t ever want to be that way.

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

NO is a powerful word. It’s flattering to be asked to do something but ‘no” is a valid answer, as well. You can say, “thank you for thinking of me, but I am unable to commit”. If it isn’t a “heck yes”, then it might need to be a “no”. As lifelong people pleasers, we are used to always doing the thing, right? And, we need to stop saying we are sorry when it’s not a “sorry” moment.

So, as school gets ready to ramp up, you might be asked to coach, be on a committee, join a group, etc. It’s very flattering, but does is line up with your values and how you want to spend your time.

In education, they were very good about flattering you to get you to coach, sponsor, lead, do one more thing, etc.

Lots of food for thought today, no?

Amy

Tuesday, July 7, 2026

Hey there! What have you been wearing lately? Did you don all the red, white, and blue? It’s been hot around here, so the name of the game is simply staying cool!

This is normally the time I start thinking about shopping the sales for back to school clothes for myself. Shoes were always my biggest issue. How could I be both stylish and comfortable to teach on my feet for 8 hours? What do I want to wear when school starts? That usually meant dresses every day until the end of September. It’s freeing to not have to think about that anymore!

Let’s see just a few outfits from the last week…

I wore this last week to grab coffee and chat with a former student. She is early 40s now, with two kids. She was one of the most motivated Spanish students I have ever taught. I wanted to wear pants so my legs wouldn’t stick to the chair.

This is a consignment J.Crew blouse that is a bit too big and gives me bad memories of the hottest Cincinnati Reds baseball game last June. The pants are from Loft and they were supposed to be swim coverup pants I think? They are probably 8 years old. A woman was returning them from an online purchase and I was behind her in line to check out. I swooned when I saw the print and asked if I could try them on when it was my turn. They are knit and very comfortable. I wore my Crocs Miami sandals.

I wore this to the leathergoods shop belt bar appointment and I regretted the long sleeves. The building is old and it was hot. I have on my Old Navy blouse that I wore out this spring, my Aerie cut offs (new this spring), and the silver Birkenstocks my sister Molly gave to me. I liked the outfit, but it was just too hot.

For dinner out Friday night, I wore this consignment Old Navy dress and my new this spring gold espadrille wedges from Spain via TJ Maxx.

I ordered some Walmart pajamas from their Joyspun line! The tops could be a little bit bigger for me but the shorts fit perfectly. This is the problem with me and “sets”. I need a bigger size on top than on bottom. Since they are just pajamas I think they will be fine.

I ordered two new coverups and I hope they work.

This one:

This one:

I will provide links if I can recommend them after they arrive. I found both on Amazon.

I really need some linen pants! I have a couple of lightweight Umgee pants, but I haven’t worn them this summer. I need a light pants option for when I don’t want to wear shorts, a dress, or a skort.

Anyway, I’m just trudging along. I’m not excited about the rest of the hot and sticky July and August weather!

Please link up with us here!

Amy

Monday, July 6, 2026

How was your holiday weekend? I was so glad for my hub to have a three-day weekend! He has been so busy at work and had to cancel a golf day in June along with a couple of planned days off in June a couple of weeks later. He didn’t complain but I did – for him! Ha!

Let’s link up with Sarah and Holly to share…

Friday was my parents’ wedding anniversary. If I am correct, it would have been number 61. I love this photo of them!

I had a list of some festive foods I wanted to make and on Friday, I made fruit pizza. It’s just crescent rolls baked, some frosting after the dough cools, and fruit.

I took this to Mason’s work. I feel like they kind of look like eagle eyes and beaks, no?

Tom had an “appointment” at the belt bar at the leathergoods shop where Mason works.

The belt came with a drink from their bar. Tom gave it to me and I picked a strawberry aperol spritz.

It was fun to do and the belt is beautiful. Tom got his initials embossed in case anyone tries to steal his belt or he forgets his name.

It was so hot and I was sweating just from our little outing. We came home and I read while Tom watched tv.

We made a spur of the moment plan to go to dinner with our friends. The six of us had not been out since April maybe? It had been a long time. Everyone has been going this way and that and our schedules hadn’t aligned. The restaurant is called Harry’s and it’s in a shopping center called The Paddock so Heather and I both ordered the Pink Paddock Fizz and it was so good!

I got two fish sliders and a baked potato. The food is always good there.

Saturday morning the heat had finally taken a break. I can’t remember the last morning you could open the door and not feel like you were entering a sauna. It was so nice to be able to walk EO and do some morning time outside. Tom went on a bike ride and accidentally became part of a 4th of July parade across the bridge in Indiana.

Gotta be festive – even with your electrolytes!

There was a chance of storms and the heat did come back later in the day. We decided not to boat because of all the crazies that would be out so we had a really laid back 4th. It is so weird to be empty nesters on the holidays especially.

I read this on IG and thought I would try it!

My lemons:

I went to Kroger for bird seed, lemons, watermelon, and Metamucil. Weird!

OMG – I read this for a few hours on Friday and on Saturday I was close to finishing. I finished right before dinner and told Tom I would have a “book hangover” for quite a while.

Sooooooo good. This could be my favorite book of 2026. So far we have this, Mad Mabel, This Book Made Me Think of You, and Dolly all the Time in my running for my favorite books of 2026. All of these books are very different, of course.

I’m going to say two bold things:

I think this is better than The Help.

This is so much better than The Correspondent and Theo of Golden. Notice that those are not in my list of favorites.

This book was 650ish pages and I didn’t think it was too long in the least. I was never bored by it.

The dialogue was so funny at times. I read several quotes to Tom.

I made sheet pan sliders/burgers and homemade mac and cheese. Tom had baked beans but I’m not that excited about those.

We spent a lot of time with our only kid living in the house:

We watched this goofy movie:

And, finally Sunday we did go out on the boat!

Tom jumped in with Eddie Otis!

Our friends Heather and Eric were able to come, too. It was a nice couple of hours on the water!

Tell me about yours!

Amy

Friday, July 3, 2026

Happy Friday to you! I am linking up with Andrea and Erika to share some favorites from the week.

Tom is off today so that is my first favorite. One thing he/we is/are doing is going to have a custom belt made for Tom at the belt bar where Mason works. This was Mason’s idea for Father’s Day. You get to pick your leather color, your hardware, and your stitching color. Tom is a belt guy so this will be so special for him – I hope!

The theme of this week was the heat and mainly staying at home, but I did have several things I would call my favorites!

1. A fresh pedi!

Everywhere you look in the summer you are exposed to feet pics! Sorry that I too, am joining in! I got a fresh gel pedicure and used white white (don’t remember the name but it might have been OPI Alpine Snow) with some “chrome” on top. The chrome came out of a little pot the tech rubbed on with their finger after the gel was sealed.

I do think a gel pedicure is a good investment in the summer because the bug sprays and the spray sunscreens can take off the polish or dull it. My last one lasted over 5 weeks!

It’s hard to tell the chrome is on there from this photo but it makes it just a little sparkly.

2. A little help with a fresh mani!

In my quest for a new mani solution, I got my fingernails shaped up and polished with this original illuminating nail concealer from Kur Londontown that I ordered on Amazon. I used this for years before press ons to give me a “your nails but better” look. Gel/Dip don’t appeal to me right now because of the removal process. Press ons aren’t doing it for me anymore.

This still looks perfect as I type this post on Thursday and I had it done on Sunday!

3. Target wandering

I took a wander around Target this week. These r,w,b Nerds gummy clusters are fun. My sisters and I put these in a drink we made in the Airbnb last week! I like to buy red, white, and blue products and make a little charcuterie board or a few snacks even if it’s just Tom and I.

I love seeing the new flavors and the World Cup themed snacks.

4. My Chobani creamers!

I did try a new Chobani flavor – Cookie Butter! So good!

And, this is my current favorite so I re-stocked.

I appreciate it but I don’t know about blueberry coffee. Excuse me, it’s “American Blueberry”. I have heard of blueberry lattes, though.

They are pricey at $5.69 but that is less than a coffee out and this lasts much longer.

I also picked this up – the best protein pasta I have tried. It’s delicious and your family won’t know it’s protein pasta!

5. Cooking/Experimenting!

I made my own Mexican rice this week and it turned out pretty much like the Mexican restaurant version. You cook your rice in chicken broth and add tomato paste.

I also tried my hand at authentic Mexican restaurant queso. It’s close. I need deli cheese next time. I’ve got this! I told Tom we might never have to go to a Mexican restaurant again! Wait – that would be sad!

I also tried a new to me German dish. It’s like a flat meatball and is called Frikkadellen. I paired it with a German cucumber salad and German potatoes. The flat meatballs are served with German mustard. I boiled Yukon Gold potatoes and then chopped them and cooked them in a skillet wtih some butter, bacon, and onion. Tom really liked this meal!

I made a good dinner salad this week, too!

6. Shopping!

This could be a post of its own, but I used the Prime Days as a way to stock up on makeup products that are working for me. I start with the Lumi and Sun Bum (taught to me by Jenn) then do the Elf Halo contour, add blush sticks (I use two and layer), then do brow pencil and brow gel, then eye liner, then lipliner, then on days where I’m going somewhere eye shadow and brown mascara. I add a lip gloss or a light something on my lips (not pictured). This is a 5-minute face for me.

7. Connecting with People!

I had a coffee out this week with a former student and it was great to catch up. This former student is now in her 40s and recently moved back to the area with her husband and two kids.

I also had a 3 way call with both sisters – we need to do that more! I had a long overdue phone call with my cousin, too!

8. Reading!

This book has me hooked this week! I have been spending more time indoors due to the heat but I’ve been entertained by this, for sure.

9. TV!

I also started Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders new season on Netflix and Elle on Prime.

10. My shadow Eddie Otis!

Eddie Otis and I walk the playground in the early morning and then I’ve been trying to take him in the car to a new place to sniff in the afternoon.

Good sniff at my former school’s practice field:

I look cool in my necklace fan?

I also like to spritz myself with my trusty spray bottle! Do you have one?

I’ve been loving my hair clips this summer.

Even though it’s really hot, Eddie Otis likes to sunbathe, too.

Another day, another field trip to a nearby park…

He won’t jump down from the car until I clip his leash on.

I froze some vegetables in water for him to play with and he enjoyed the bowl more than the ice…

11. Interesting side quests? I think the young people are saying that.

I heard that McDonald’s had “dirty soda”. They only have it with regular (not diet) Dr. Pepper so it is quite caloric at 330 calories. I bought it and a plain diet Dr. Pepper to make my own and do a taste test. The McDonald’s was slightly better and creamier but mine was really close and only 50 calories I would guess. So, I will be making my own!

12. A few more things I bought!

I bought Eddie Otis a new dog puzzle. I just worry he is bored in the heat.

This is the only brand of hand soap I have been buying. Love this smell!

And, I did some pre-gaming for the 4th!

This is an excellent idea! You heard it here!

I made the pretzel Rolo things!

Happy 4th to you!

Amy

Thursday, July 2, 2026

Wow did June fly! It was very different for me than last year. Last year I finished the school year on June 5th, maybe, and officially retired on July 1st. I spent June recovering! Ha! This year I thoroughly enjoyed the spring weather and got to read outside so much.

Let’s start with groceries. This month I did 5 Kroger deliveries! They don’t accept tips when it’s official Kroger delivery so it’s only slightly more expensive with their $6.95 fee. I am not a member of the Boost program. Tom’s bread is no longer available in our store so I guess the Kroger truck brings the groceries from a warehouse where the bread is stocked. I think I went in my Kroger store once for a big shop and a few small shops and then went to Whole Foods twice and Trader Joe’s once. I have greatly reduced my Trader Joe’s trips. I found I was mostly buying snack and dessert foods so it was making my monthly grocery bill higher. It wasn’t an “instead of” store but “in addition to” my groceries.

We’ve eaten out a bit more this month and my cooking has been uninspired! I will just be honest!

$757 – was up from last month.

On to summer reading…

I really enjoyed this first book of the month! It hooked me pretty early on and I couldn’t put it down because I wanted to see what would happen. I also liked that it was about podcasters.

This was just charming. It was a touch on the cheesy side. I pictured Brett Goldstein playing the role of the male character in the movie version – lol.

Oh my gosh – this book had everything I want in a summer read. I liked that it was set in Rhode Island as I am also watching Real Housewives of Rhode Island (horrible!) and I also have a new fascination with Newport, RI due to The Gilded Age. Everyone gets invited to Newport from NYC – lol. I am now saying “summah”!

This was a fun summer read! I liked the NYC setting and the throwback to dial up internet and no smart phones. It was also fun as Mason went to NYC this month!

DNF – I made it about halfway and I enjoyed a lot of it but all it talked about was relations between the couple and I kept thinking that the female was going to get a UTI but then the author made the character say, “I’m going to get a UTI” and I was out.

DNF – This one jumped from what I thought the story was going to be to focusing on other characters and I could have stuck with it to see if it would come back around but I had other books awaiting me.

I called my sister one day and she said she had just gotten back from the library and started the new Abby Jimenez book and I said, “OMG! I’m reading that right now, too!” Loved it! Great summer read!

I started this and I like it ok…

I started this and I like it ok…

I found this on the new release shelf at the library and now I’m in it! So, I’m not sure if I will go back to the last two books since they are already due back.

So far, The Calamity Club is making me laugh out loud. Some of the characters have some really funny lines.

Also this month, when I felt like I was about at my 10 book mark for summer reads, I did something silly and fun…

I got myself a personal pan pizza for lunch! Do you remember the Bookit! program? It wasn’t during my childhood and maybe it was before my own kids’ childhood, too. Anyway, you read 10 books over the summer, recorded them, and got a free ppp. Mine wasn’t free; I had to pay $7, but it was a really fun thing to do!

Tom and I both used to work at Pizza Hut, by the way!

How often do you do child-like things? I giggled at myself when I did this. It was a bit of whimsy and I think Gretchen Rubin of The Happiness Project would have approved.

My June Highlights…

A few games of mah jongs, a few boat rides, reading outside, coffee with two former students, and

My high school class of 1990 pool party complete with a pup in a pineapple bikini!

Niece Nora’s graduation pool party – right after this we got in the pool!

Celebrating Tom’s birthday with the whole family of four!

Re-teaching Eddie Otis to be a boat dog!

Boutique hotel pool day pass complete with a mimosa!

Visit from the Memphis blog gals!

Summer Sister Stay in our hometown complete with golf cart rental and a margarita from Bo Duke!

Live music!

Mason’s adventure in NYC and hearing all about it!

It was a good and full month!

What are you reading now? Any recs?

What was the highlight of June for you?

Did your grocery bill go up this month?

Amy

Wednesday, July 1, 2026

Sparkling – What is currently “sparkling” in your life? Beside my personality (haha), I like sparkling wine like prosecco. I also bought and have been enjoying Waterloo sparkling water in summer berry flavor. Stay tuned for another prosecco idea I am planning!

Grilling/Cooking – I am cooking a lot of salmon, sheet pan fajitas – love me a sheet pan meal!

Heating up – The temps for sure! After a really nice June temperature wise (we did have lots of rain), we all knew it was coming. I will need to get outside earlier now. I wrote a post a long time ago about how to beat the heat and I plan to employ some of these things now that we are in the “armpit of summer”.

Using – Chobani creamers. Chobani, call me. I can be your ambassador. I still haven’t made it to Aldi, but Target has the best selection. My new favorite is toasted coconut vanilla.

I just discovered Cookie Butter and it’s so good, too!

I totally credit these creamers and my frother for saving me tons of money in hot and iced coffees.

Celebrating – Our country’s 250th birthday of course! July is also a big birthday for my mother in law and it’s my wedding anniversary.

And, now for Hodgepodge with Joyce…

1. What do you love most about your country? 

I really do feel that the “American Dream” is still alive. We have a huge Cuban population in my city and so many have become small business owners. Do you know what life was like in Cuba for them? Ask any Cuban what it’s like here compared to there and you will literally cry. I had precious Cuban students in my classes. They tended to put native speakers of Spanish in my classes to give them an “easy class” or to help them learn English. One girl was going back to Cuba for Spring Break and taking an entire suitcase of basic toiletries for her family.

I love that people still have relative freedom here and can freely share ideas. I think we have a beautiful country full of beautiful landscapes.

2. Your favorite patriotic song? 

“America, the Beautiful” – also, I tend to cry when I hear a patriotic song.

3. Red, white, or blue? Stars or stripes? Something you own besides a US flag with some combination of those colors or decorations as part of its design? 

How can you pick just one? I like all three colors and both stars and stripes! I own clothing, decor, papergoods, and probably a few more things.

4. What’s one thing you want more of this summer: fun, rest, adventure, connection, quiet, or confidence? Elaborate. 

I feel like I had a year of rest and quiet and maybe even confidence in my new stage of life.

I want more fun, adventure, and connection.

I hope to continue learning to slow down and live in the moment instead of thinking of the next thing that is coming. Are you like that, too? Sometimes I am busy thinking of what’s next.

5. What was your ultimate, go-to summer activity when you were a kid? Do you still do any version of that today? If you answered yes, does participating in this activity as an adult make you feel like a kid?  

This is such a good question and something I love to talk about. Swimming! I still swim whenever I have the chance. Water is so healing!

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

We don’t have any big plans for the 4th but we hope to take the boat out. I like to make these waffle pretzel Rolo things.

I like to buy seasonal products.

I found these cute little star pretzel crackers that would be good for charcuterie boards.

This is delicious! My sisters and I made a cocktail with this and Nerds gummy clusters.

This year, I want to try this strawberry pretzel salad dip.

And, I’ve already bought my bomb pops! I’m so excited to try this!

Please join us for Currently here!

Amy

Tuesday, June 30, 2026

It’s time for another edition of Fashion Files with Amy and Marsha!

Let’s start off with a really bad photo of me in my gauzy stuff with my phone charging! I was going to hear music on Father’s Day in the hot sun of the afternoon, and I will admit my hair was damp (a little stay cool trick). I wore my turquoise shorts and my white shirt with my tan flip flops and I had my tan hat in the car.

I wore this together with Jenn and Marilyn and wore it again on Tuesday to go to my hometown with my sisters. I was pleasantly surprised that the navy in the blouse matched the navy in the skort. Skorts are really great in my opinion. There are the more athletic type and the slightly dressier type. I have found that flat fronted skorts look best on me. Send me any skort links that fit that bill. I would like to add a couple.

I am not sure why my flip flops are not all the way on? Eddie Otis steals towels from our towel basket, by the way.

I wore this to my hair appointment. The kimono didn’t work well under the cape so I had to remove it. Lol! Can you see Eddie Otis’ Halloween lambie stuffed toy?

I wore this after the hair was done to go hear music. I thought it was too hot for the kimono at this point in the day. Also, I ended up having to wear my rain jacket over it!

I placed a Walmart order for a new swim suit in red, a white cover up, a black cover up, and a swim skirt/coverup that you can wear over a tank swimsuit.

I am more into skorts than dresses this season but I don’t have very many short-sleeved blouses.

I am still working with a much smaller wardrobe.

Molly gave these silver Birkenstocks to me. She said the big toe enclosure bothered her. I really like this style.

I stand by my claim that rubber Birkenstocks are the most comfortable. I really want to get a new pair!

What have you been wearing lately?

Please join us here!

Amy

Monday, June 29, 2026

We are all thinking it and most of us are saying it, so I will, too…Where did June go? Was that a quick month or what?

Let’s link up with Sarah and Holly for a little weekend recap!

Rain, rain go away was the theme of our weekend. It rained and stormed a lot this weekend.

I had a really fun week last week and had a lot to tell you in Friday Favorites and didn’t want to make it any longer, so I am going to start with Wednesday night as part of my weekend recap!

Tom came home from work and we got our little boy (Eddie Otis) ready for an outing. We took him to a dog friendly beer garden and he did so well! He didn’t bark once. There were sooooo many dogs, too. Our friend Michael got the opportunity to play in this super cool venue and the weather was divine. Michael also played on the bar on the river on Sunday.

We even ate dinner there. They have really good food. Tom had a bacon jam burger, and I had a grilled chicken sandwich.

Thursday night we had to leave EO at home, but we went to hear our former favorite band/musical group. They had to disband (lol) a few years ago because a member moved away. I forgot how good they are. They play Beatles, Eagles, Van Morrison, and so much more. You know all the songs. It was raining but they had a covered porch area. My favorite song they played was Into the Mystic by Van Morrison. If you don’t know it, listen to it!

And, finally to end our trifecta of music, was this up-and-coming Nashville singer/songwriter Katrina Burgoyne. She is Australian and came here with a guitar and a dream. She plays locally twice a month and our friends befriended her and invited her to play in their basement for a group of friends. It was supposed to be a pool party, but rain.

They catered bbq and sides. It was so nice.

Saturday morning dawned and it looked like this after raining and storming all night.

Tom still took Eddie Otis on his “Saturday with Daddy” outing and I did laundry, floors, general cleaning, and then I did this:

I have a new stack of library books and I’m having trouble deciding what to start!

Recommended by everyone:

Recommended by Jen:

Recommended by Jennibell:

This sounded interesting; a woman goes a year without buying clothing. I have read a couple of books with this same experience. Here I am patting myself on the back for going 3 weeks!

Tom and Eddie Otis returned around 11:30 and I made us everything bagel bacon, egg, and cheese sandwiches for brunch. I keep bagels in the freezer. My favorite are from Whole Foods.

The sun appeared and I rushed out!

Mason returned from NYC late Wednesday night and then had to work every day until Saturday late afternoon when we finally got to hear about his trip in person and see his photos! We took him to a Korean bbq place.

I got a “Seoul Bowl” and it was really good. It had rice, chicken, carrots, kale, cucumber, and a spicy sauce.

We always give Mason our leftovers because he can get a few more meals out of them and love leftovers. I miss having him in the house for leftover eating!

We saved room for gelato!

I got cake batter flavor and Mason got tiramisu and Tom got chocolate and chocolate orange.

We noticed a “record tree” near our car.

We came home and someone missed someone. It’s just getting so comical because of EO’s size.

My sister told me to watch this:

So well done! It will make you cry but it’s worth it.

It made me go back and watch this again – I think. I think I had already watched it. Zoey Deutch is really a good actress.

And, Tanya recommended this and oh my goodness – I am loving it. I also need to go back to The Other Bennett Sister because they dropped more episodes.

Summer tv seems so good this year. Sometimes I feel like it’s lacking but there is so much (too much) out there to watch right now.

Reminders!

Tomorrow is Fashion Files! Do you have any red, white, and blue clothing you plan to wear? I usually just pick two of the colors so I don’t look too costumey!

Wednesday is the July Currently and here are the prompts: Sparkling, Grilling/Cooking, Heating up, Using, and Celebrating. I was trying to be kind of July-themed and creative, but feel free to interpret them as you wish. It’s a fun link up!

Amy

Friday, June 26, 2026

It’s Friday and time to link up with Andrea and Erika to share some favorites from the week!

I’ve been a little MIA from reading blogs and from responding to the comments section this week. I was out of my routine.

Sunday was a really nice day. It was Tom’s first Father’s Day with no kids living at home and no kids able to do anything on that particular day.

We had a friend playing music on the river – literally – on a barge bar on the river. Tom asked if he gets sea sick because you do have to have your “sea legs”.

It was a great way to spend a few hours and bonus that we got to see some other friends, too! I ordered Tom some wings for dinner on our way home.

Meanwhile, one kid was at work and one kid was on a trip.

I was getting lots of photos from Mason in NYC! Tom’s German cousin’s son Moritz lives there now and offered Mason a place to stay. Mason’s main goal was seeing the Raphael exhibit at The Met but he did so much in 5 days! Moritz is from Bremerhaven, Germany and he did a MIT Master’s after college in Munich, Germany. Now he is living in Hell’s Kitchen and he started a company!

We actually know Moritz pretty well. He stayed with us for almost a month one summer, we visited them for two weeks a couple years later, and Moritz came here a couple of summers ago after his MIT graduation. His English is better than mine and he also speaks Spanish. He is now learning Portuguese. He’s super smart. I need to see if Mason took a photo of him and I will share that in a future post.

Moritz sent me these:

My baby in New York City! New York City! I went to NYC at about Mason’s age, too. My sister had an internship at The Guggenheim and my roommate Heather and I went there to visit her and see the sights.

Monday was admin day – laundry, phone calls, a quick food shopping trip, and prepping for a little overnight.

Tuesday morning, I left for my hometown for a…

I like to make a doc! This had all of our purpose, goals, and activities.

My sisters and I hadn’t been to our hometown since Christmas when we stayed in an airbnb with the whole family so it was overdue. We picked weekdays since they are teachers and off in the summer.

Our little hometown has become a golf cart town! So, we rented one and joined in the fun!

Molly, the baby of the three of us:

Me:

Kate (the middle) loved driving it and became our main driver – she’s not mad; she’s focused.

We started cruising around in the golf cart and quickly found out that many businesses are closed on Tuesdays! That became a constant joke of our time together. We found a cute sandwich shop in an art gallery for our lunch, though.

We could get in our Airbnb after lunch, and it was so cute! I would say it was bougie western themed. It was in an old building atop a flower shop right on Main Street. I really appreciate when someone has paid attention to detail. We would definitely stay here again.

Ignore the stuff we had already dropped:

It had a candy machine!

On the way there, I prayed that we would honor my parents and keep our connection strong through doing this.

In the kitchen, there was a bowl of mints by the back door…

These were the type of mints my Dad always had. Coincidence? Kate the cynic says they are “only the most popular mint for people to provide”.

Molly and I chose to believe it was a sign.

We wanted to see our church that recently caught on fire. They are already hard at work on the repairs. It was hard to see and made us emotional.

We did a bunch of weird things that won’t make much sense to anyone! Kate had to drop off viola and violin bows to our friends’ mom. This is the mom of one of Kate’s besties and one of mine. So, we were riding around in a golf cart with a box of bows.

Shipley’s Tavern is a staple in Madison. It was open on a Tuesday!

Molly had a “Mommy Shark” cocktail:

We got a hot dog from this stand after that:

Someone suggested we go to the hotel on the river that has a bar (since nothing was open) – the Fairfield Inn – there we had margaritas with a view.

My hs boyfriend is the deputy mayor, and we had a shadowbox to give him for his mom. This was a shadowbox my mom had made of the hydroplane race in the town. (She enjoyed making shadowboxes with miniature scenes during the last 10 -15 years of her life).

He came and had a margarita, and we laughed and laughed over old stories. I started dating him in 8th grade when Molly was 7 years old and Kate was 10 years old, so it was funny to hear what he remembered of them.

Then, he went inside to the bar and saw Bo Duke/John Schneider, who now lives in our hometown, so the deputy mayor brought Bo Duke out to meet us and Bo Duke bought us a margarita. You can’t make this stuff up – lol.

This is what my hs boyfriend sent us after:

I’m telling you – the whole day was WEIRD and WONDERFUL because we were together and weird things just happen when you are in this town!

We were riding around in a golf cart with a box of violin bows and a shadow box, then we had margaritas with the deputy mayor and Bo Duke, but we also got a wiener slinger wiener for a snack. You think I’m crazy, right? But, it’s all true! While we were outside, our realtor (that just sold our mom and dad’s house) and my 6th grade teacher (!!!!) came out and we laughed with them some more.

We stayed talking and laughing until it looked like this:

We had 13 minutes to order a pizza and golf cart it over to The Red Pepperoni for our very late dinner.

The next morning we had only an hour or so left with our golf cart so we drove it to find some breakfast.

We turned in the golf cart and walked back to the airbnb and then drove to visit our mom and dad. We talked to them and gave my Dad some “brewsky” as he would say and my mom some candy/treats from our childhood. Molly made a nostalgic “snackle box”.

Don’t worry – we didn’t leave them there.

The weather both days was simply gorgeous. We couldn’t have ordered up better weather.

Things open up again on Wednesdays so we went shopping for a bit and then ended our time together at The Lighthouse, which is a restaurant, bar, and boat docking place on the river. When it was called something else, I worked there for a few summers in college and right after college before I started teaching.

Anyway, it was a wonderful time for us to be together and it was everything I hoped and more. I get to see them again in a couple of weeks!

Don’t forget the July Currently is coming up! It will be Wednesday, July 1, 2026. Here are the prompts:

Sparkling – What is currently “sparkling” in your life?

Grilling/Cooking –

Heating up –

Using –

Celebrating –

What was your favorite this week?

Amy

Thursday, June 25, 2026

Have you heard of “dirty” soda? The term was coined from the “dirty martini” and it was intended to be a fun non-alcoholic beverage. It is attributed to the Mormon founder of Swig which is a dirty soda shop. If you have watched Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, these chicks are never without their giant dirty sodas that they mainline all day long.

My friend drives around the city for work and was telling me about the Swig drink she gets when she is near our only location in Louisville so far. Maria discovered the dirty soda and has a cute little shop near her. I have noticed some people making “dirty soda bars” at parties and providing “recipes” for one or more drinks, too.

I think a tween or a teen girl would really get into these drinks but I would probably just call them “summer sodas”.

My friend told me the drink she likes is Diet Dr. Pepper, lime juice, vanilla syrup, and cream.

I already had everything but the Diet Dr. Pepper. I first used the coconut creamer, but then preferred the sweet cream flavor. I did a splash of lime, a splash of vanilla, added ice, poured in the soda, and topped with maybe 1/4-1/2 cup creamer so it was quite a bit.

It turned out foamy and bubbly and it reminded me of a root beer float.

Have you tried one?

I honestly don’t know of a place near me to get one so I had to make my own!

Amy