Monday, October 11, 2021

Monday, you came too quickly again. I am linking up with Heather, etc. here.

Friday after school some students and I videotaped a 7 second dance to try to be on a Spanish teacher website – lol! One sweet girl brought me a pumpkin cold brew because she leaves school early for her co–op program and came back to school. Yum!

Erica and Elizabeth came over for a drink and it started raining. We were all laughing at how pitiful Ernie looked in the rain. We were under cover on the lower patio.

I let him in; don’t worry!

Friday evening we were celebrating my other friend Heather’s birthday at Malone’s. Get ready for some food pics, ok?

I got a raspberry mule that was really good.

Their bread and butter is good!

We tried their spinach and artichoke dip with fried lasagna noodles as dippers. OMG is all I can say.

Their salad is really good, too. It is like a BLT and it is family style for the whole table.

I ordered grilled fish and a baked potato.

Their chocolate cake was quite the spectacle and it tasted amazing, too.

Saturday morning I drank my coffee on my upper patio and I have made it a Day of the Dead theme. Post coming this week.

Then, my mom, sister, and niece arrived. We were attending a miniature show with my mom because she is into miniatures and makes little scenes with them.

Um, how did this little thing get this old so quickly?

We ate lunch at The Grape Leaf which is authentic Mediterranean food. Molly and Lena got frozen mint pomegranate lemonade.

Lena loves hummus and loved theirs.

Stuffed grape leaves:

Greek salad:

Lena got saffron rice and

the rest of us all got vegetable biryani. It is kind of a stew, I think. It is really good and I can’t stop ordered it when I go there.

After lunch we sat on the patio with Tom and Jack, too. Jack and Mason had arrived home for Fall Break while we were out and then Mason had left for a friend’s house right away.

Sunday Tom and I took the boat out for about 3 hours and it was really nice. We are having very high temps for this time of year.

It was a good one and it was a full one!

Jack and Mason don’t have classes until Thursday so they will probably stay home at least one more day. We are watching Ted Lasso again with them and we are going to try to get them to watch Schmigadoon with us. Anyone watching it?

Today I have parent teacher conferences and will be switching back and forth between in person in mask conferences and video call conferences in 15 minute increments so that will be interesting. When I say “interesting” I mean chaotic.

What was the highlight of your weekend?

Amy

Wednesday, October 6, 2021

Happy Hump Day! Here’s a snapshot of what I have been donning…

Friday night Tom and I went to dinner al fresco. It was pretty warm but I wanted to break out this very lightweight fall kimono that I bought last year through an online boutique. I paired it with my light jeans and a very light black blouse. I wore my MIA clog sandals because it was so warm.

Saturday I wore my Umgee tunic with grey capri leggings from J.Jill (very old) and my old cognac Jack Rogers booties. I love the colors in this tunic! It is also such a great material!

Monday I wore my new Target Selena t-shirt with my LuLaRoe kimono and an old purple Kohl’s skirt. The booties are really old from DSW.

And, finally yesterday I wore this favorite dress to school – an easy one and done outfit.

Any favorites? My favorite is probably the first one! I would like to try the Umgee tunic as a dress but I fear it will be too short.

What have you been wearing?

Amy

P.S. – See ya back here Friday! I am taking a break tomorrow!

Tuesday, October 5, 2021

I get so many good ideas from this link up! Thank you, Tanya, and I hope no one minds if I add my Target.com recent purchases. I just love it so much! Amazon, you better watch out!

Let’s start with Target…

O.k., all I want to wear right now is jeans and dresses. It feels so good to have jeans that fit and are comfortable. This time last year, my jeans size was leggings and I am glad I didn’t buy the next size up. But, I should say that everyone should buy clothes that fit and that make them feel good. I just didn’t feel good. I am not in the size I would like to be in but I know I will be here for awhile.

I feel dumb; I didn’t know these came in short! I am 5’4 on a good day and these are the perfect length. I don’t regret the regular length that I cut and frayed (actually, I think that is a way to make skinny jeans more modern looking) but it’s nice to have a non frayed option for work or other ocassions.

Here they are!

And, I wanted a lighter pair. I think darker is probably more slimming, but I like the on trend look of the lighter.

Now I have 4 pairs of jeans that combined cost under $100. I think the quality is pretty darn good, too! Let me now if you have tried these.

So, I mentioned I want to wear dresses or jeans. Well, one must wear a shirt with the jeans and I love the look of the feminine blouse contrasted with jeans. I chose to try these two and I am pretty happy. I am kind of between shirt sizes so I sized up.

This gives me Little House on the Prairie in blouse form vibes. It is pretty high-necked but I think I like it. It is a rather stiff material but I didn’t find it uncomfortable. I think it might soften up with a few washes. I will say that this blouse and another Target blouse I have seem very short, making it hard to tuck in, but not impossible.

And, this is the most wonderful material! It would be perfect for Thanksgiving. It’s a bit silky and super soft. It has a bit of a cooling feel to it for those menopausal persons out there. Or, just those who run hot like I do.

And, we love a graphic tee to wear with a jean jacket, kimono or cardigan. As a Spanish teacher, I had to get this Frida Kahlo t-shirt and this Selena t-shirt.

I wore the Selena shirt yesterday and got tons of compliments and yes, all of my students know who she is!

So, Target has really been source lately. I love the drive up and the shipping orders are pretty fast, too. They make returns super easy. Target, I will always love you.

Now, let’s talk about Amazon. I love you, too. You have seen most of these things if you are a regular reader, but I will talk about why I think they were good purchases or why I plan to buy them again.

Let’s start with fashion. I love the brand Umgee. It is high quality and it is available on Amazon. It is the boho vibe I like and feels age appropriate. I don’t know if I will wear this without something under it as I have worn leggings under it the two times I have worn it.

And, this dress is everything! My sister in law also bought it and she also sent me a Facebook picture of a friend of a friend wearing it. Oooops, is it too popular?

I will say that I ordered it in another cute print and the fabric was different and it didn’t lay right so I sent it back. I think that happens sometimes with Amazon stuff.

I have been enjoying having a good old fashioned watch and have gotten lots of compliments on this $20 time piece.

And, now to get a bit personal and to my one male reader, Dan – my apologies. I went down a bra size and ordered the same wonderful bra. Pro tip: If you don’t have a preference for color, some are cheaper. I went with rosewater because it was the cheapest.

I am loving this two pack of belts and would buy it again.

I need to order more of my favorite hairspray. It’s the only thing I have ever had on autoship, but during the pandemic I didn’t need much so I took it off.

If you don’t have a shower cap, you need one! And, this is the best one out there. I got this as part of my mom’s birthday gift. This will totally protect your hairstyle when you don’t want to wash your hair. I wash my hair at night – almost every night – can’t help it. In the morning, I just do a quick body shower wearing this.

I love this so much and more than I ever thought I could love a laundry detergent. It is worth every penny because your whole house will smell amazing – unless you live in a really big mansion and the scent doesn’t travel into all of your nooks and crannies. Those of us that live in 2,000 square foot homes are the lucky ones here.

And, I cannot live without this anymore. If you love popcorn, this is for you! I managed to totally avoid the movie theater popcorn when I brought my own with this on it. Yes, I did. My family still bought the real stuff.

And, finally I will buy this again. I only use the noodles as they are a great pasta option for me. You can also buy this at Costco, but sometimes Amazon is more convenient for me.

Ok, I’m tired.

Have you tried any of my picks?

Any recommendations for me? I love a shopping enabler, you know!

Thanks for stopping by,

Amy

Monday, October 4, 2021

Well, this Monday came too quickly. I guess they all do, right? I am linking up with Heather, etc. right here.

If you read my Friday Favorites, you know that I had my first Fall Break ever! My goals were fall decor, read, watch t.v., be social, go shopping, buy some new fall clothes and clean some clothes out of my closet, and continue to eat healthy while on break and walk as much as possible.

I think I accomplished all of that! On Friday I told you that I had a happy hour for my department on Tuesday, had a friend for lunch on Wednesday, met my niece for happy hour Wednesday afternoon, and then Thursday I made a major errand day.

I will say that I started getting a bit of a sore throat Wednesday evening and I gargled with warm salt water. I woke up with it again on Thursday morning and gargled again. I was kicking myself for not washing my hair on Wednesday before bed because the fall allergens love me. I started making sure I went to bed with clean hair and it made a big difference. I also use my saline solution morning and night year round.

The sore throat went away but then I had some congestion and painful sinuses. I tried to remember the last time I had this and I really think it was 2019.

Anyway, I went on with my day even though I didn’t feel 100%. I met Beth at the St. James Art Fair and wore my mask even outside because of the large number of people and just in case I could give something to someone. It was way too crowded for my comfort zone – pandemic or no. I don’t like being around that many people.

I bought one thing – this Ale 8 candle for Tom. He is not a candle person so It’s really for me. The scent is apple cider donut!

I only stayed at the art fair for about an hour because I had an appointment to design t-shirt quilts for Jack and Mason. I have been planning this for 17 years. I have saved all of their t-shirt souvenirs from our family trips.

This is kind of what they will look like.

I am so excited! I think I will like them more than they will, but I hope it will be something they treasure in the future.

I am on a good reading streak. I finished Maggie Finds her Muse and In Five Years in the last week and then I had a library pickup and got this. It’s super cute and very rom-com if you like that. It was just what I needed for break.

I think this is kinda funny – sitting outside with a pumpkin candle and bug spray.

I will show you my minimal fall decor soon but I am enjoying my Day of the Dead glasses. I finally found Casamigos tequila which is the lowest in WW points. I made a skinny margarita Friday afternoon.

Then, Friday night Tom and I went to Ramsi’s which is kind of a mediterranean vibe restaurant.

Tom is not a bread person but he couldn’t stop eating their garlic and goat cheese appetizer.

We split a brussel sprouts salad and I forgot to take a photo of the entree we split – grouper and crab cakes. We had so much food leftover.

Then, we went to Costco after dinner – very romantic!

Saturday morning we went to parents’ weekend at J and M’s college. We ate brunch in the cafeteria and toured classrooms. There were lots of activities like Bingo and a scavenger hunt but we only did a couple of things. You could also attend games and Churchill Downs if you wanted.

So pretty – this is the area between J and M’s dorms.

Then, the kids came home! We watched a couple of Gilmore Girls and I cooked my heart out. I made chili for dinner and their favorite honey mustard salad. We watched Ted Lasso with them, too. We went back to the beginning for them.

I went to bed between 9-10 the whole break. I was just tired and knew I needed sleep.

Sunday morning I woke to my favorite light rain.

I read and had my coffee on the patio.

I also did some meal prep for the week but I had already done a bunch Saturday morning, too. It was nice to take a break from my prepping, but I was also glad to start it up again.

Then, Sunday afternoon, the whole fam went to see Shang-Chi finally.

Mason also wanted to do some fall clothes shopping with me, so we did that.

I hope you had a wonderful first weekend of October!

Amy