Friday, April 8, 2022

Happy Friday to all! I know many of you are on the struggle bus with the last 6-8 weeks of school. Also, this tends to be such a busy time for moms with all.the.things. If I could offer any piece of advice it would be to keep it simple these last weeks – simple meals – rely on some freezer products, outsource as much as possible – ask hub for more help, do grocery pick up, delegate more tasks to your kids (they have probably grown a lot in what they are capable of doing since August!) – heck this is probably a blog post in and of itself. I wasn’t always the best at any of this advice!

Please, please know that I am now an empty nester so many things are easier for me now. And, still, I struggle. Maybe stay off of Instagram these last weeks of school because you may get the idea that everyone else has a perfectly curated life! Not true! Lol!

It is time to link up with Andrea and Erika to share the things that were our favorites this week.

My ultimate favorite was that I had some time to recharge my batteries during this more than a week off from work. I didn’t travel anywhere, but I really enjoyed the down time.

I sent Tom to work one day with a little snack charcuterie container:

Darn, he’s spoiled. Lol! I always get a sweet text saying he is enjoying it during the workday. I really enjoy doing little things like this when I think of it.

I also sent him to work with some special K peanut butter cookies to try to make him more likeable at work – just kidding! I also ate a few too many of these. They are delicious!

Tom thinks he is hilarious. He asked me if I had just made “no bake cookies” Monday night and when I said yes, he told me that was just lazy and laughed and laughed at his extremely low bar joke.

My coffee this week has made me happy! I have frothed together this cinnamon dolce syrup with my half and half (just like my mini moos but in a carton) and I have felt like I’m at a fancy coffee joint. I think I found this syrup at TJ Maxx?

I am still obsessed with cake batter delight flavor. I use the Trader Joe’s instant cold brew coffee crystals with a little water. I froth it up, add ice, and pour this in. Sometimes I only have half of the container.

This weekend Tom became a hipster. I made him his first avocado toast. He had resisted it up until now. The first time I just made it with bread, avocado, everything seasoning (do not skip this step!), and a soft yolk fried egg. The second time I made it I added smoked bourbon pepper and hot sauce and he is in love!

Are you on the avocado toast bandwagon yet?

I met my friend Victoria for lunch at the cutest little cafe that I hadn’t been to in years. It’s called Cheddar Box Too and they also have a carry out place called Cheddar Box. You can order things or pick up meals. Many people get boxed lunches for The Derby.

Look at their cool Louisville mural:

We both ordered the spinach salad with chicken and it was delicious!

I always enjoy my time with Victoria and we had lots of laughs.

I like to treat myself to a magazine when I see one!

I enjoyed reading Garden & Gun on my porch and it had two Louisville mentions. My former student started Clayton & Crume leather goods with his friend while in college and it also mentioned Logan Street Market’s La Pana Bakery’s cinnamon rolls. Stay tuned, because I visited the bakery!

I tried this the other day when I saw it at Fresh Market. It is really good! Also, let’s talk about Fresh Market. Do you have one? It is so pleasant to shop there! Tom is obsessed with their corn chowder and Waldorf chicken salad so I popped in to get that for him.

I went to Erica’s for a lovely happy hour and her sweet dog Bella gave me the grand tour of her new house.

We had aperol spritzes!

I finished this and it was deeper than I first thought it would be. This would make a great summer read!

Ok – major consignment score this week:

Brand new New Balances for $38. I had a $25 off coupon and brought these home for $13. It was destiny as I have wanted some white-ish more running style sneakers.

Another score from this week:

I popped into a little boutique called Monkee’s and these were in the sale room. They must have been last year’s model and were originally $100, but I brought them home for $25. Now I have a clear heel and a clear flat.

They are super comfortable!

I really loved this mani this week:

I used Essie’s Day Drift Away and an OPI glitter top coat, follwed by a normal top coat.

The secret to removing glitter is patience. I soak a cotton ball and let it rest on each nail for about a minute before trying to wipe.

Our grass is getting so green and Tom did the first mow of the season this week.

So, the weather this week has been less than desirable, but it was mild one afternoon and I read while listening to my rain chain.

Tom took a few days off to do fun things with me like…

go to Costco! Just kidding! But, we did have to go to get a few things we needed.

After Costco Tom was willing to do whatever I wanted to do.

So, we went to the bakery mentioned in the magazine.

This is the famous cinnamon roll:

We walked around Logan Street Market and…

I got a mimosa and…

we split chilaquiles from a Mexican stall inside the market:

It was raining and raining but we drove around a bit and checked out some new to us sights. Then, we went home and watched Deep Water. We couldn’t stop watching to find out what would happen. Anyone else watch it?

New favorite La Croix flavor:

The sun finally came out on Thursday and I could do some reading on my porch:

Oh my gosh – I am really getting into my next book, but it may be triggering for you. It starts on March 13, 2020 and a couple was supposed to take a trip to the Galapagos Islands but only the woman can go because the man is a hospital resident and COVID…

I am really enjoying the Spanish language peppered throughout and the cultural references and it is interesting to read about the beginning of the pandemic in NYC. It is hard to read, though, too. Beware of this if you are thinking about reading it.

What were your favorites this week?

I hope you had many!

Thanks for reading,

Amy

Did you see my Fashion Files yesterday, my New Stuff Wednesday, and my AmazonLately Tuesday? If not, check them out!