Monday, December 15, 2025
It’s Monday and that means linking up with Sarah and Holly to share our weekends in the rearview mirror.
Thursday night we had a winter weather advisory and Mason came down with a cold. He thought chili sounded good and it was!
I think we got almost 4 inches of snow! What a snowy year so far for us! We normally don’t get anything until January and sometimes not even until February. Tom left for work as usual and the schools in our district were online, so it was pretty quiet. I can’t say I hated a quiet morning!
It was a fluffy perfect snow to walk in and we stayed out quite a long time!
I’ve started receiving some Christmas cards and it makes me nostalgic. This photo turned out so good. I got a Groupon (remember those?) and the photographer did such a nice job. Do they look identical to you? They look so different to me. Jack is on the left, Mason is on the right.
This was a Spanish teacher turned photographer friend and she did such a nice job but Tom is smiling like a 19th century person – not. I was wearing a white bra – why Amy? – and it showed up under my knit consignment dress. She fixed it through the magic of photographer sorcery! Look at Ernie! He sat pretty. Remember those Kendra Scott necklaces? I had white, black, and maybe one more. I wore them ALL the time! Jack is on the left again; Mason is on the right again.
My Aunt Sally made a card with this great picture of my mom and her siblings and spouses and the first four cousins – she put more photos on the inside – so sweet!
My mom is in red with her eyes closed and my dad is in the plaid pants, and I have a shag haircut right in front of him! Eek!
Sorry for the bad photo, but it’s a good product! I picked this up while doing stocking stuffers. It’s a little hint of sparkle. Burt’s Bees champagne if you can’t read it very well.
I didn’t leave the house Friday or yesterday – that is some January level vibes for me – but I did shower and put on real clothes. I liked how the stripes look under my new sweater that is soooo soft and warm. It could have used an iron!
Cutie boy!
The snow melted quickly on Friday! We stayed home and had frozen pizza.
I’m really having trouble getting out the door in the cold to go to the gym at 6 am. Add snow to that and yeah, no… but I did make it to the gym later in the day on Saturday. I think this is my 12th week of going to the gym?
I cleaned and got some steps in while Tom had EO out of the house. I can get so much done when Tom takes him on his Saturday long walk. I leave all the doors open (what a luxury!) and smash the cleaning. They got home and we hung out until we had to get ready.
Mason was supposed to go, too, but was still sick. We went to an Argentinian restaurant that was hosting a special paella and flamenco night. They were making a chicken and chorizo paella and a seafood paella while you watched and then you ate while you watched the performance.
Sangria!
You could also order appetizers because you had about an hour to wait to eat. We got their pommes frites with dipping sauces. I asked Tom which sauce was his favorite and he replied “ketchup”. How American!
I got half seafood and half chicken and chorizo and it was so good. They were so sweet to box up a generous portion for us to take home to Mason since we had paid for him.
The performance was so good and rivaled the one we saw in Spain a year ago to be honest! Flamenco involves guitar, singing, dancing, and the rhythm of clapping, foot work, and in some types – castanets, which are the wooden things worn on your hands. They ended with three dancers using castanets. I was really too engrossed to take photos – sorry!
Tom really liked it, too, in surprising Tom news. He was missing the UK/IU basketball game for me.
It had started snowing while we were inside and I didn’t even notice! We had a pretty snowy drive home and my heart was full from “taking a trip to Spain”.
This weekend I got to pick up some library books:
Do you watch Southern Charm on Bravo? Ms. Pat is the matriarch of the show.
Do you know much about The Blue Zones? There are some really good recipes in here, but I like to check out cookbooks from the library for space saving reasons. Some foods that stick out to me that I want to eat more of are beans, kale, and sweet potatoes and they talk about drinking tea – They eat very little meat – in fact this cookbook has no meat – and very little dairy.
In NOT Blue Zone news…
An amazing new find – at Target – these are so awesome! You can spread one on a cracker, put it in your pasta, or use it in an omelet like I did.
And, oh my goodness. I used to order the regular Built bars and my mom did, too. They were so good – almost like eating a candy bar. But, this is even better. I am not a fan of any protein bar so for me to say this is something. I have only tried the cookie dough, and I was only going to have a bite to see what I thought for my something sweet after a meal. I ate the whole thing and ordered a whole box!
I made Jenn’s broccoli soup and it is so good! I didn’t have celery so I used carrot. I could have used more. I used up random cheeses and even put in some good old Velveeta.
I finished this – so cute and it did pick up for me after a brief stall:
And, I started this and I am into it:
It’s a good thing since I only have 7 days!
So, it looks like today we will be up to 30 degrees, and we even have 50s in the forecast this week!
Tell me something you did this weekend!
Amy
Coffee and Cocktails at the Casa 
Your chili looks amazing! We got some snow yesterday; just enough that we needed to plow but not so much that I had to break out my winter boots yet. I completely get where you’re coming from about heading to the gym; it’s 12 here this morning and I have zero desire to go outside!
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It looks like a quiet weekend. I always want to read Christmas books, but the truth is, I’m so busy over the Christmas season, I never have time to read! I would say, “maybe I need a snow day also“ but I really don’t like snow so that would not make me a person I don’t think. That Spanish dinner looks really good, sorry Mason had to miss it. Have a great week!
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That is how I was when I was teaching. I just didn’t have as much time to read. Yeah, snow is a pain. It was really a fun event! You too!
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Your Saturday night trip to Spain looks and sounds wonderful! I am laughing that Tom liked the ketchup best, that sounds like my husband – ha!
The old Christmas card photos are so sweet to look back on. You were lucky that your photographer friend was able to fix your bra mishap. I have an awful photo from a party I was at. I had wone a brown wrap top made of some kind of thin, jersey material and my entire light colored bra was on display in the photo – I died.
We had a great Saturday night at the Christmas pop up bar and I baked cookies with my girlfriend yesterday! Only 4 workdays this week – woo hoo!
xo,
Kellyann
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Ha! I gave him some grief for that as the other two sauces were so good! I know! I knew better and to wear a nude bra. Dumb!
How fun! I love those holiday things so much! Yay! Happy for you!
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The throwback pictures are great! I love Tom´s 19th century expression- you don´t see that as much these days but he´s rocking the retro look :). I´m sorry your son was sick- I hope he´s feeling better. However kind of the restaurant to give you food to take home to him. The evening sounds really fun! The Boursin bites sound delicious! Have a great Monday!
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Thanks! Go Tom! He is on the mend but the other son that lives in an apartment is sick, too! They were together and picked it up together at an event. So kind! You too! Your stint is almost over!
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I am surprised at how much snow you have! I feel like we are not alone! Your bites this week look delish!
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Among other things I miss about being married, the one that comes to the top is going and trying new restaurants! How fun that you guys get out there and try new places. I made chili too this weekend! I love chili! I now will have it all week, that’s perfectly ok! 4 inches of snow sounds cold! I can’t imagine having to do life in the snow, but I assume you get used to it. Have a great day!
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For sure! Do you have a friend who would like to go out? That maybe has a spouse who prefers to stay in or who is divorced or widowed? Or, could you try a restaurant at lunch and take a book? I think that is really relaxing.
I can see why people move south – that’s for sure! We usually don’t deal with this much at all. One good snow is all we can hope for each year normally.
You too!
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It has been a snowy fall! I am glad it is pretty, but melting fast so you can still go out and about though. I love the striped shirt under the sweater. It seems like you had a fun Spain night! You are doing so well with the books and gym this semester!!! Enjoy your Monday!
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That’s right – it is still fall! So crazy! This last round from Saturday night will not melt for a couple days. I can’t wait for rain and 50s on Thursday! Thank you! I don’t know about “so well” but I’m doing ok. lol. You too!
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I love the Christmas card photos! So sweet. The Argentinian restaurant looks fab! I didn’t know Ms Patricia had a book! Now I want to read it. I’m about to watch this week’s SC episode while drinking iced coffee out of my WM glass! Yay snow days (& then I must be productive haha)
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I have never tried a built bar but I also do not like protein bars so now I’m curious!
Those Christmas cards are great! I remember entering the era of family-posed cards about 15 years ago or whatever. What a change from just sending out regular cards from when I was a kid.
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we left cold, foggy Central California and drove over to the Beach House on Thursday. Dropped my car off for its yearly service and picked up a loaner. The weather was absolutely sunny and amazing. 78°. I unloaded the car and immediately drove down to the beach and took a nice long walk! By Saturday the weather had cooled off somewhat… I told all of our neighbors over at the Beach House that we brought in the cooler weather lol and then Saturday night we went with our daughter and son-in-law to the Hearst Castle and did their twilight Christmas tour. It was fabulous! Happy Monday!
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It looks like a nice weekend, especially with the flamenco dancing. Tom scores husband points for missing the game to go with you. It looks so cold there! Are your boys identical? I would not have guessed that as they look different to me. I’m interested to hear what you think about Irish Goodbye. They had those Boursin balls when we lived in UK many years ago – they are addictive!
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I haven’t seen the Boursin bites but will definitely be looking for them. The paella night sounds like fun. We spent a weekend in the mountains last year with friends and had a chef come to the house and make paella. It was so good but I don’t think I’ve had it since then. She’d lived in Spain for a while so knew her stuff. I love all the snow pics! Have a great week!
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I don’t know why I like them so much – I mean I guess I could roll my own balls from a block of Boursin – lol. Wow – what an incredible idea!
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I hope Mason is feeling better now, I am sure the chili helped! The snow looks so pretty and it looks like Eddie Otis was enjoying it.
I love your Christmas photos.
I don’t blame you not wanting to go out when it is so cold.
The paella and flamenco night sounds good.
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Much better – thank you! I missed his presence and contributions! It just makes me want to hibernate and be lazy!
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