Monday, November 11, 2024
Happy Veteran’s Day and Happy-ish Monday? I am linking up with Sarah and Holly to share a few happies from the weekend.
We are in school today. Are you? I hope we will talk about Veteran’s Day!
Friday after school I needed to be on Eddie Otis duty so instead of going out for happy hour with Erica (current co-worker) and Elizabeth (former French teacher and c-worker), they came to me. This table is the evidence of a nice time together! I’m so glad we have managed to stay close to Elizabeth despite her not being our work buddy anymore. I pulled out a “Spanish happy hour” with crackers, Spanish cheese and meat, olive oil, and bread. We did apple cider sangria, though, instead of Spanish wine!
Elizabeth brought us flowers in a Derby glass! So pretty! Erica gave me my birthday gift and it included the Capri pink glitter apple cider candle and I have been burning it all weekend – love!
Tom and I ordered Thai food after the girls left and it was just the two of us at home.
Saturday morning Tom got EO out of the house so I could clean. Ahhhhh – look at that mopped mudroom floor. I added a bit of Diva laundry to my mopping solution and it smelled so good!
I cleaned for as long as I could and then I had to get ready for brunch! Is there anything better than a girls’ brunch? Heather and I and her high school friend Faye who also became my friend met up at a new hotel called Tempo by Hilton and we went to their rooftop restaurant called High Stakes. Rooftops are all the rage, no?
It was already 1:00 so we had an espresso martini!
Rooftop view of a distillery…
After we ate a lovely brunch, we walked to NULU (an area of downtown) Jingle Fest…
We had a nice time people watching and it was crowded! It feels weird to be doing Christmas things before Thanksgiving…
I spent the afternoon reading on the patio and Tom had just finished mowing and doing all the leaves when I got home.
Mason was feeling under the weather and stayed home all day. He did want to go pick up dinner with me and we got Shiraz Mediterranean. We are watching Veronica Mars with Kristen Bell and enjoying it so we watched a couple of episodes. I also had a late Kroger pickup between 7:00 and 8:00 p.m. Who am I?
It turns out I am smart because I woke up Sunday morning to lots and lots of rain. I was so glad I had that chore done.
Second attempt at tomato bisque for Tom. Why is it soooo orange? I left out the carrot this time, too.
Speaking of orange, I am so glad the library is open for 4 hours on Sundays. And, this is their fall book display…
Wet leaves…
I’m happy I bought replacement short black rain boots from Costco when I saw them. These are great to have!
I also went to Dollar Tree to get some prizes for school.
Rain, rain, rain all day pretty much!
I received some very thoughtful birthday gifts and I thought I would share…
This candle is beautiful and is in my smell profile of apple cider!
Erica also gave me Thanksgiving cocktail napkins, a bottle of pink prosecco, and a cocktail recipe book!
One of my Heathers gave me this gorgeous eyeshadow palette. Nordstrom Rack is where she got it and they have great beauty gifts if you have one near you!
And, the other Heather gave me this Capri Blue Volcano candle and it matches my bathroom, too!
The Heathers also gave me a pair of earrings each!
My sister sent me this polish. I am going to do a pedicure with it.
My friend Jessica gave me this Nickel and Suede earrings – so cute and colorful!
I also got an Amazon gift card, a TJ Maxx gift card, and a boutique gift card. Those will be fun to spend!
So, I felt very lucky and blessed…
I was happy to do two social things this weekend, but I spent the majority of my time at home getting caught up on life and resting. After the last two weekends which were extremely busy, this felt right.
Our boat is still able to be used/not winterized yet so we are going to try to go out this coming weekend. We have never used it this late!
I have 12 school days until Thanksgiving break. Look for me to wear all my oranges, mustards, olives, and browns! After Thanksgiving break, we have 15 school days until Winter Break. This time last year Mason was in England and our UK trip was approaching. This year feels so different!
Sorry I got reflective there on you! What was a highlight of your weekend? I hope you had a good one!
Amy
Coffee and Cocktails at the Casa 
Brunch and that Jingle Fest sound like a lot of fun but I know what you mean about it feeling weird to be doing Christmas stuff so early in November. I am jealous of your day of rain– we really need that!
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It was! Yes – I am lumping all of the holidays together now I feel. It was really nice to get all that rain.
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What a fun weekend! I love that you, Erica, and Elizabeth had HH at your house! What a great way to kick off the weekend. I am off today and so happy as I have a lot to get done.
The jingle fest looks fun! I keep seeing things pop up for Christmas and it seems kinda weird but I’m hoping to go to one on Friday night. It looks like sweater weather there and that make it so much more festive! Compared to the high 80s here, ugh.
I hope you all do talk about Veteran’s Day at school, our school is closed.
Happy Monday!
xo,
Kellyann
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Thank you! It was nice they came to me and EO really had a fun happy hour, too!
Yeah, I guess we are just lumping in all the holidays right now.
We did recognize all of the teachers that have served – it was nice and I didn’t know how many we had. I started class with my own it’s veteran’s day and what it means, too.
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What a nice weekend! We had some rain too, so I have a yard full of wet leaves :). Those are some of my favorite gifts….jewelry, candles and gift cards! It is a great time to spend the gift cards with all of the sales this month. Hope it is a good Monday for you!
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Thank you! Wet leaves are the worst. Yes! It will be so fun to add a few fall things. I hope your day was better than you expected and you deserve the best!
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What lovely gifts and beautiful quality time for a beautiful lady! Despite the rain, looks and sounds like an amazing weekend!
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Thank you! It was!
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Those are great birthday gifts! I’m sorry I missed it, but I’m so glad you had a great one. I think your weekend sounds perfect, and it’s just how I like mine. My weekend was pretty low-key, but it felt nice after a busy time away in Colorado and last half of the week. One thing I can’t quite overcome is how tired I feel so often; I think it’s life circumstances. I rested a lot this weekend and feel like I caught up on sleep again. Do you like how this year feels compared to last? I know you’re glad that Mason is with you all this year. Have a great day, my friend!
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Thank you and that’s ok! You were living it up in CO! You are probably mentally and emotionally tired so let yourself rest when needed. Sleep in. Do what your body needs right now.
That’s a good question. I loved talking to Mason in the wee hours of the am while he was in England and I loved the anticipation of the trip. And, then, the feeling of finally seeing him. it was magical. I also liked saying no to the holiday drama here. Ha! So, I am happy he is here at home now but I did love the build up of the trip and the trip itself.
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I don’t know that you’re looking for a tomato soup recipe, but I thought I’d share this one that I really enjoy.
Slow Cooker Creamy Tomato and Basil Soup
Ingredients
2 15 oz cans of diced tomatoes
1 10 oz can of tomato sauce
1/4 cup of fresh basil chopped
2 cloves minced garlic
1 TBSP of salt (! I only used 1/2)
1tsp pepper
1 onion diced
1 cup heavy cream
4 cups chicken broth
2 cups Parmesan cheese shredded
For the Roux:
3 TBSP butter
1/4 cup of flour
1 cup heavy cream or half and half
Instructions
Add tomatoes, tomato sauce, garlic, onion, basil, salt, pepper, heavy cream, and broth to crock pot.
Cook on low for 6-8 hours (can be done on high for 2). Scrape down sides on occasion.
40 minutes before serving, transfer soup to a blender and puree until smooth. Return to crock pot.
Make the roux by melting butter in a pan over medium heat. Once butter is melted, add the flour and whisk until it’s incorporated. Slowly whisk in the heavy cream until smooth and thickened.
Add Parmesan and roux to the crock pot and stir.
Cook for another 30 minutes.
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Thank you! Maybe the roux would help!
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We finally had a rainy day Sunday, which was needed. It’s rainy out there this morning too but supposed to clear and get warm which is how our fall temps have been. Brunch is my favorite and if it’s on a rooftop even better. What thoughtful friends you have…looks like you were very well celebrated on your special day. Happy Monday!
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Looks like you had an amazing birthday!! Love all of your gifts from sweet friends! ☺️
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I did and I love my gifts!
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We wrapped up a rainy week. You got some great birthday gifts! What a great idea to use the Diva in the mopping solution! Hope you have a good week!
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I guess you needed it? We had such a nice dry and sunny week so it was ok that Sunday was so rainy. Thanks – smells so good!
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we actually have a new wine bar in our downtown… And right across the street is a new brewery. So we went to dinner and then went to check out the new wine bar with my daughter, her boyfriend and our friends Karen and Anthony. The wine bar is my favorite new place! Taylor and I are already making plans to go back in December when her boyfriend and his dad have to go to Mlb baseball meetings in Dallas Texas. She and I are so excited !! I loved the vibe !! The brewery was not my favorite. I think it’s great that we have these two new locations in our downtown because we have nothing down there so now we just need to get some fun restaurants and there are a couple of fun coffee houses already there. But I want to utilize the wine bar and, I hope that people will go to both places and keep these things in our town
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That’s so exciting! I hope it does well – you will have to single handedly make sure it does!
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I’m glad you were able to meet up with your friends and celebrate your birthday. What lovely gifts you received! The Jingle Fest looks so fun. We didn’t get much rain but, hopefully, we’ll get more soon.
Have a wonderful rest of the week!
https://marshainthemiddle.com/
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Thank you! I know – I felt special. it was fun to get out and enjoy the festivities.
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What a lovely weekend! You have such great friends. They know you so well as evidenced by your gifts. Hard to believe it’s almost Thanksgiving break.
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Thank you! That is really true – I felt it. I know – so hard to believe. Is this a travel year for you?
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Home for thanksgiving but Hayden has a race out of town the weekend after …so barely home.
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Oh – yup not even holidays are sacred with hs activities anymore.
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12 days and 15 days… That seems so doable but, also, as a teacher not very much time!! I really do feel like time does go faster the older we get
looks like you had a great weekend… I need to find some girlfriends too “brunch” with. Hope it’s a great week!
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Doable, but you also get what it’s like to be a teacher at the holidays! I agree!
Thank you! Even just one person to brunch with is great and sometimes way easier than coordinating multiple schedules.
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