Monday, November 17, 2025

How was your weekend? Let’s link up with Sarah and Holly to talk about it!

My hometown fountain – I borrowed it from a city social media post.

Let’s start with Thursday! EO and I did a walk and enjoyed it not being so cold anymore!

I have used press on nails for maybe 3 years now. I give my natural nails a break in between sets and this is what my natural nails look like. Gel and dip destroyed my nails, but my nails are staying healthy with press ons. I use the type with adhesive on already (no nail glue required) and I get about 10 days out of a set. I exclusively use Impress brand.

I did a gray/green at the end of the day Thursday.

I went to Whole Foods for one thing that they didn’t end up having but I found this peppermint bark creamer.

I made a delicious iced coffee.

I loved this blackberry acai. I think you can buy Whole Foods 365 brand on Amazon now since Amazon owns Whole Foods.

Thursday night for dinner I made lasagna cupcakes in my popover pan. I couldn’t find my muffin tin. I think I got rid of it because it was in bad shape and then forgot to replace it.

Friday, I went to Work the Metal and enjoyed seeing their holiday decor. I missed their holiday open house a week ago because I had something else going on.

My custom handbag was in! The shop is in the same building. The shop is gorgeous!

Here she is:

The business is called Bonhomia and you can buy ready made pieces or you can design your own. This would be such a great gift. They use recycled Guatemalan handcrafted textiles.

There is a Facebook group, and I was able to pick my own fabric, leather color, and bag style through a super easy process on Facebook messenger. The owner/founder had the goal of 75 custom bags, and she exceeded that and used the extra profits to send the kids of the artisans they employ to school for a year.

My bag was $139, and I think that is reasonable for the quality of the bag. Reach out to me if you want one and need more help than the website can give you.

I came home with my bag and the weather was amazing!

Have cow print Mary Janes and lounge chair – will read.

Friday night was the long-awaited birthday dinner with my two besties and their husbands. One birthday was October 16 and mine was November 2nd, and we were only just able to go out together because of conflicting schedules!

We went to Malone’s, which is always good, but they had us in that booth for 3 hours. The service was slow and drawn out. Do they think we are Europeans? They had festive holiday decor that I enjoyed seeing!

They give you the most basic salad that is really good! Sometimes you just want good old iceberg.

I ordered a chicken sandwich just to get a smaller piece of chicken (left the bun) and the potato croquettes, which are amazing. I was able to take one home and have it the next day.

They have a colossal chocolate cake (it’s 1/4 of a cake) and we got that complimentary for our two birthdays.

Silly photos:

This is like one of those photos that shows you what it is like to have an astigmatism, which I do have.

Joint blowing out of the candles:

I got really thoughtful gifts for my birthday, too. We had already given the other birthday girl her gifts when we went to brunch on her birthday. Yes, there is lots of celebrating because why not?

Saturday was another really nice mild day! I went out to a boutique to spend my birthday gift card that one friend gave me and I went to Paul’s Fruit Market to get a couple of things we needed.

I went home and Tom and EO were using Tom’s new backpack leaf blower. He bought this “toy” last weekend.

I gave up on:

I only had about 50 pages left, but it was just painful to keep reading it. I knew what was going to happen. I don’t even know how motivated I am to grab it and read the last page.

I started this and I love the premise so far! Someone in Dallas does a home swap with someone in Germany! And, you might say I had a German-themed day all around on Saturday because after reading for a bit with my lunch I had to get ready for…

A “day date” to the German American Club!

We ordered this cookbook from the people who owned the German restaurant that is now closed and I brought it to get it signed…

during our German cooking class!

Mom and daughter who wrote the cookbook demonstrated how to make pork schnitzel and spaetzle (egg noodles).

Peep Tom helping with the noodles:

We were told we would get a generous taste, but it turned out to be a full dinner!

It was so fun to talk to the mom and daughter, and the mom told us her stories of coming here. She also talked a lot about avoiding food waste and foods they prepared when they didn’t have much food to go around in Germany. She is 82 and raised 5 kids who all worked in the restaurant when they moved here in 1993.

We came home and I read outside and then I remembered we had our tv out on the patio, so I watched a show for a bit in the dark. I wanted to have a fire, but it was really windy. My windchimes were really noisy and made it a bit hard to focus. Lol. I went to bed at 9 after staying up too late Friday night.

Sunday morning, I got up early because I had gone to sleep early and made my coffee. I placed a grocery order that would be ready for pick up at 9!

This week I am keeping it simple with

Chicken tortilla soup (will make extra chicken for burrito bowls)

Classic spaghetti (meat is already made in the freezer from the lasagna cupcakes)

Frozen fish, mac and cheese, peas

Burrito bowls

That’s only four things but we will do leftovers or sandwiches or order take out one night I think.

My post tomorrow is a list of easy dinners to get you through this busy holiday season. It’s nothing mind blowing but I hope it helps!

I did housework and errands for a bit on Sunday mixed in with some sunny reading time.

Tell me something about your weekend, too.

Amy

30 thoughts on “Hello Monday”

  1. We went out to dinner with friends on Saturday night too but I honestly could not remember the last time my husband and I had eaten out with another couple… I think it was before we had kids!

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  2. Sounds like a great weekend! We had fabu weather until Sunday which I appreciated and enjoyed! Your meal out with friends looks fun as did the cooking class. It’s great that the lady from Germany is using her knowledge to share with others. The bag is cute- I think the price is great for what you’re getting. The company (likely) isn’t spending $$ on marketing (I’m assuming anyway since it’s a small business) which means they can sell at reasonable prices and still make a profit. Have a great Monday

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    1. It really was! I can’t comment on your blog or sign in with Google! I can’t figure out why this could be. So nice that you took advantage of the weather to host again! You’re right – all of my friends are getting busy, busy. I think you are right about keeping the prices reasonable.

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  4. Love your nails, they look great! I may take a look at those nails in the drugstore. A lot cheaper alternative than the salon. So fun to celebrate your birthday with Friends! Happy Belated Birthday!

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    1. Thank you! Walgreen’s, CVS, Walmart, and Target carry them. Ulta has the biggest selection I have seen. I usually order from the website and they send lots of email coupons. For sure! And, I didn’t like having to go to the salon and spend hours.

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  5. What a fun and busy weekend! Your dinner with the Heathers looks like fun and the chocolate cake looks so yummy. I say celebrate as long as you can!

    The German cooking class must have been great too and the schnitzel – mouthwatering! What a fun idea and I bet the stories were so good!

    xo,

    Kellyann

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  6. What a great weekend! I loved talking to you twice. We should do that again this weekend when I drive to Dallas alone. I’ll need to fill some time with talking on the phone, for sure! I love the sound of the German cooking class; I heard you say that you were doing that, but I didn’t know it was the people who owned the restaurant you loved so much. How fun was that? The food looked delicious! I love that you and the Heathers had more fun birthday celebrating with the hubbies. Three hours is a long time! I get so impatient when things are that slow. I hope you have a great Monday, my friend! I am inspired by your menu for the week and will work on one for myself today while I’m at work. xoxo

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    1. Sorry about calling you back – it was important! Lol! Of course! You can cold call me and if I’m busy I will call you back.
      The cooking class was really fun and different than what Tom and I usually do.
      It was fun but too noisy – they were across the booth from me so most of the time I was listening to the guy conversation which is also fun. Sometimes I prefer what they are talking about!
      I love that you are cooking again and that sourdough was beautiful! Did you just keep the starter dormant in your fridge for so long?

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  7. I love the bag! You have so many cute shops there. A cooking class is always fun and looks like you enjoyed it. I made tortilla soup a couple of weeks ago. It was good and I hadn’t made it in ages. I think it was one of those dishes I over-made for a time so it was good to bring it back. The lasagne cups look good-do the noodles stay soft? Hope you have a great week!

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    1. BTW – I am having trouble signing into Google to leave a comment on your blog and another blog. I can’t figure it out! I loved your post today with all the details. I am a details person!
      Thank you! It’s really unique. We loved the class.
      I do that, too, so I get it.
      The lasagna cups are made with won ton wrappers and they stay soft except for the edges at the top that turned crispy.
      You too!

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  9. The colors in your new bag are beautiful!! $139 for a custom bag is great these days. I’m shocked at how expensive vegan bags are at Nordstrom. Some go for close to the price of yours! I love a good iceberg salad. Iceberg is definitely underrated!!

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  10. What a fun weekend! The birthday dinner looks like a good time, and that cake!!! I love the picture with the cake and Tom’s face looking shocked. I’m glad you got some sun and warmth. That is so disappointing about the book! I have seen great reviews everywhere, but that’s pretty bad if you don’t even want to finish it. I read Far and Away – liked it, but didn’t love it. Love your new purse too!

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    1. Let me know what you think!
      Now, you need to keep hands out of water for several hours or they won’t adhere. I do mine at night when I am done with my shower and dishes!

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  12. we came over to the Beach House on Thursday and then Friday my car got a new battery. Exciting times I know! I got my brand new car in November 2019 so I think six years is a good length of time before having had to get a new battery! My car only has 35,000 miles on it! Tony is talking about me getting a new one next year and I just can’t even imagine because why? Saturday I watched my best friend’s son get married! In the pouring rain lol don’t believe when they say it never rains in southern California. They lie! We are having a huge rain atmospheric event happen all through California right now and we’ve had rain for three days. We need it, we all love it, but sadly, our ground does not soak it up as well as other areas of the country and with all of the fires we get huge mudslides. OK, have a great week!

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    1. That is good for a car battery! If you don’t need or want a new car it’s a lot of hassle to go find one and learn a new car! First world problems, right? My new car is a joy to drive. I loved my old one but it had too many problems.
      I’m sorry about the rain! Looked like it was a gorgeous wedding anyway!
      We might get rain tomorrow but September – now has been very dry for us. We have had California weather except for our short cold snap! I don’t mind rain.
      Have a great week and make sure you entertain Tony! lol!

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      2. I get it. I am figuring out retirement, too. It’s hard to slow down after being on the grind. You might have to help him make his new schedule/routine.

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  13. That chocolate cake is insane!

    And that handbag really is gorgeous. So fun that you get to design it yourself. Scott loves German food and we’ve been to a few German restaurants but I, weirdly, am not a fan. Maybe we’ll try again with the kids.

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    1. The cake has like 8 layers? It’s so good!
      Thank you – I think the handbag is really special, too.
      German food is not everyone’s cup of tea. I loved the breakfast we had in Germany – bread, cheese, cucumbers, tomatoes. They have lots of good breads and bakery items. We no longer have a German restaurant so Tom challenged me to cook the whole cookbook and then he laughed. Maybe I will!

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  14. Your nails look great, I like to give mine a break between different nail colours. I love the grey you have put on and the press on nails sound fab!
    What a gorgeous shop! I think I would have been tempted to buy so much just from looking at the photos. That bag is beautiful!!
    The birthday celebration looks like a good one and wow at that cake! Yum!
    The German cooking class looks like a fantastic experience.

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  15. Love your new purse. It’s stunning. The cooking class looks so fun! I think we are going to Malones this week for the kids’ birthday dinner with family. Looks like you all had fun celebrating! The cake – wow!

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