Tuesday, August 26, 2025

I like to do these super random posts every now and again! Grab a coffee and let’s chat!

-I’m not interested in drinking much alcohol this summer and apparently drinking alcohol is at a low nationwide. I have noticed more mocktails and non-alcoholic beverages on restaurant menus. Sometimes I just want to feel fancy so I will put a drink in a wine glass or my pretty hob nail glasses. And, adding a slice of fruit makes it fancy, too.

-My credit card was compromised and I used it as an opportunity to put myself on an Amazon diet. I had been using Amazon too freely this summer, to be honest. So, my last order on my old credit card was August 6th and I didn’t place another one until Saturday, August 23rd when I finally loaded my new card on my Amazon account.

-Eddie Otis has been bothered by the morning school commute. We live in front of an elementary school, a block from a middle school, and then just a bit further is the high school (my former school). The elementary starts at 7:30 and the middle and high start at 8:40. He seems to bark the most at the voices just talking as they walk by! This is his morning nap time, by the way. He gets up around 6:00 and has a lot of activity until about 7:30 when he is ready to nap by his mom (me). So, I have started playing some white noise on either my phone or my laptop like this Youtube relaxing ocean sounds for my sensitive baby. Lol!

-I’m going through Rubbermaid totes of my mom’s baby book, yearbooks, photo albums, and different sentimental things. I would say my sisters and I divvied up 10 totes. I found one of my mom’s WWII ration books. Apparently they were numbered and each member of a family received one and then would get another one when it ran out or after a certain amount of time. This led me to do some light research about these ration books. I also read that women would pool their stamps to have enough for birthday cakes and to help each other out. I feel badly that I didn’t know much about this until now. My mom was born in 1942 and WWII ended in 1945. I am assuming her mother saved the ration book and my mom kept it all these years. I am way more interested in history now than when I was in high school. I didn’t hate history class, but it just seems more interesting to me now. I think this is normal.

-Do you think blogging is dying out? I only read about 20 now. I used to read more but I let go of the ones that became only “shopping blogs”. I want a little bit of everything in a blog – life, thoughts, fashion, product recommendations, books, tv, movies, recipes, memes, funny stuff, random stuff – you know. I can’t find many blogs that will give me what I want anymore. Any recs? I am not hating on blogs that have become shopping blogs – more power to them to be making this kind of money. Get it while the getting is good.

-Another thought that is really mostly for bloggers…I want to start a link up. I think I would like it to be re-styling a wardrobe piece or trying a fashion trend. Like one week could just be brown – brown is going to be big for fall. Shocking, I know! Or, what do you already have in your closet that can be a riff off of this catalog photo. I know this is nothing new to the fashion blogging world but I feel that it has been lost in the world of LTK and links for items. This would be you can’t buy something new.

Can you think of a link up idea that you would enjoy either participating in or reading about? I currently do Hello Monday, Tuesday Slices of Life, Wednesday Hodgepodge, Thursday Fashion Files, and Friday Favorites. Tuesday is very free/open to whatever you want to talk about thanks to Joanne. But, maybe running a link up is too much work – lol.

That was fun but my coffee is now cold! I really do appreciate you all showing up here day after day. Do you think my blog has changed since I’ve retired? I think I write longer posts. I know I could make it more professional looking but my son made my header and that’s special to me. I could get all the fancy side bar things but again, I don’t know how much I want to change around here.

Deep thoughts, right?

Amy

28 thoughts on “Coffee Talk”

  1. That is so neat that your grandmother and mother saved your mom’s old ration card! I definitely find that I am way more interested in history now that I’m older than I ever was in school. Though I did have a fabulous history professor in college that basically taught class/history like one long soap opera explaining how this person sleeping with that person started this war and giving way more gritty “life” details that were so entertaining compared to the dry facts presented in grade and high school (though I completely understood why we couldn’t/wouldn’t teach those details at a younger age!).

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  2. I agree with you about the blogs I like to follow. I want to read about funny stories, life, recipes, exercise routines, books, home decorating, etc. It is great that your grandmother kept things from your mother’s childhood. I feel that I have not done a good job of teaching my kids about my parents, who lived through the depression and were 1st generation Americans from German immigrants. My husband & I are starting to go through all of our “stuff” and I will use this as an opportunity to share my childhood and my parents’ lives with my sons.

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    1. Yes! Same!
      I know – I am taking the time now to make my kids’ boxes of memorabilia and put together my stuff in a more organized way, too. So important!

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  3. I am more interested in history now than I ever was. I think part of that is because of moves, shows and books I’ve read that have piqued my interest.

    I used to read so many blogs but I have lost interest and only read a handful. It’s just another season of my life I think. A link up is a good idea but it’s hard to have a theme that others need to abide by; you end up spend time policing the link up and that’s not fun. But re-styling what you already own and sharing your every day style is a great idea and you should give it a try!

    xo,

    Kellyann

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    1. Yes! Like with Gilded Age – I was googling stuff! Yeah, I really don’t think I want the work of a link up come to think of it. I can just do it myself! Lol! I get big ideas and then come back to reality.

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  4. Cracking up at Eddie Otis going nuts with all of the people and buses- we have the same issue here- twice a day- ha! From what I have read, family blogging and lifestyle blogging has died down in the last few years but I don’t pay attention to that- I get such JOY from reading certain blogs- love this online community. Go for it! I love hosting linkups 🙂

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  5. I did not realize that about alcohol and it being at a low nationwide. I do love the idea of putting a regular drink into a fancy glass. I want to start replacing some of my kitchen and home items, but mainly the kitchen. Fancy glasses are on my list after I redo my bedroom. Yup, that’s coming next! I’m having it painted, along with my bathroom, and I’m getting new bedding/lamps/nightstands/and headboard. I’m thinking of selling my whole bedroom suit. I don’t want a dresser or the lingerie chest that I have.

    Back to your post…I think a linkup would be fun about not buying anything, but using what you have. You could even offer a few choices in case you do a post on brown, and if someone doesn’t have brown. It’s just a thought! I don’t feel like blogging is dying down, but maybe it’s just because I read them all the time. I have noticed that your posts are longer! I love that. I hope you enjoy your Tuesday!

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    1. I love glassware! I just don’t have a lot of places to store it. You will love doing a refresh. People don’t really have bedroom suits anymore but more of an eclectic mix. At least, that’s what I think.
      I may not want the work of a link up! Lol!

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  7. The attic in the house I grew up in had all sorts of treasures- sadly I didn’t get to go through it when the house was for sale. I remember coming across ration books- such a tangible piece of history to hold! That’s cool that you have a lot of that from your mom. I always loved history- it was one of my majors in college.

    I definitely like the old school bloggers who write about this and that (maybe it’s because that’s what I tend to write about!) and just every day life happenings and events. I like how you’re writing longer. I feel like I did that this summer as well with more time at home. As for a link up, the thing is, since you have sort of a schedule of what you post/link up to, when would you have the link up? Would it be once a month? Twice a month? I’m sure you could figure that out- it’s just something I thought of when I read your post. I like the idea of not buying something specifically for a challenge. I would definitely sometimes participate in it :).

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    1. You would appreciate going through things more now. It’s a lot of pressure, though, to decide what gets tossed.
      Yeah, I don’t really have time for a link up! I agree. I like to write out my thoughts which can be lengthy at times.

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  8. I love your hobnail glasses and think any drink would be special out of them. We just use old teacher mugs! I feel like long form fashion bloggers, except for the squirts like me and the really big time ones are using Instagram more. I just like to write and the clothes are almost an aside. I feel a little out of the loop because I’m not a thrifter for personal reasons. Those are the blogs I’m seeing more of. I run way too many link ups that are for anything. I inherited a couple. I like the idea of a style only one just to encourage more of that, and, frankly, to try to find more readers of my own blog. But, I just don’t have the energy right now.
    My mom was born in 1931 but never talked about ration cards. I didn’t even realize they had them then though I should have. She never talked much about her childhood.

    https://marshainthemiddle.com

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  9. The ration card is such a cool find. I agree about blogging changing/dying. I don’t follow as many as I used to, mainly for the reason you mentioned. I had followed one for so long, but then realized I really didn’t even like her shopping recommendations very much! I am not as into link up’s as I used to be. I’m not really looking for new followers, and I think that was the main purpose of them. I like reading other’s when they post, but am just not motivated to post in a link party. The Hodgepodge is the exception since it gives me some questions to think about. Also, that is so true about alcohol consumption going down. Gen Z views drinking in a totally different way than I did at that age. Let’s just say, I’m glad we didn’t have social media back then..ha, ha!

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    1. I thought so! I totally agree. Good point about the purpose of a link up. So true about this gen. I do think they have replaced alcohol with something else if you know what I mean.

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  10. I went to a ladies brunch last Friday and noticed a whole menu of mocktails! I was impressed by the selection offered. I’ve never seen a ration book like that. Wow! You should totally go for the link-up. I think it would be fun.

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  11. Your dog so pretty, especially his aqua/gold eye color combination…very unusual. I’ve only seen that on weimaraners and wolves.

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  12. I drink a lot less alcohol than I did. I would much rather have a mocktail or alcohol free drink. When my eldest goes out partying to clubs and things she doesn’t drink much alcohol as it’s just too expensive and not worth the sore head the next morning.
    Good job with not spending on your credit card and poor Eddie Otis being disturbed during his nap time.

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  13. So interesting about the ration card. I like the idea of re-styling and sharing what is in our closets. I get lazy about blogging a lot though. I feel like I’ve done a lot when I post 3 times a week!

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  14. I think blogging is definitely on a slide but I don’t think the IG bubble will last forever. I struggle with not saying too much on my blog which is why I also occasionally write on a substack about political or education topics. Blogging started as a way for me to keep busy while my husband was always gone!

    I also very much don’t want my blog to be about my kids or my husband bc no one should have everything blasted on the internet without their consent. It’s a fine line! I’m not against posting my kids online, though.

    I used to have a moderately successful link up! We’d have 15+ bloggers every week lol. I’d join!

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    1. That’s what I’m thinking. I think the IG influencer thing has a shelf life, too. And, look at Substacks bringing blogging back in a fresh new way? That was a great outlet for you. I mainly started to give myself writing practice.
      Same – it’s not about them, but about me.
      Cool – I really enjoy link ups.

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