Friday, November 13, 2026

Happy Friday! How was your week? Linking up with Andrea and Erika to share my favorites…

I had a nice lunch out this week with my friend Beth. We even had a glass of sauvignon blanc with lunch – ooh la la. Ladies who lunch, no? Actually, these days I eat my first meal of the day between 10 and 11 and don’t really lunch. I had to adjust!

I like when a restaurant has a “choose two” option where you get half a sandwich and half a salad. I got a panini and salad and both were really good and just the right amount.

We also shopped in a couple of little boutiques after eating – nice to look around, walk, and let our food digest.

Hydrangea update:

So, this was a weird year for my hydrangea. I only got 3 blooms! So, the third bloom is below. I swear it did the weirdest thing. It bloomed periwinkle like the others and then it morphed into the multicolor you see below and it’s been weeks that it’s stayed alive. I finally thought I would snip it since we have frost coming. Isn’t she gorgeous?

It’s hard not to get swept away by all the Christmas decor out in stores. Also, I attended two shopping centers’ holiday open houses last week. So, I opened up one of my Christmas bins and found…

Thymes Frasier Fir kitchen counter spray, Mrs. Meyer’s Iowa pine cleaner and hand soap and MM peppermint hand soap. I love them and I’m glad I tucked them away. I don’t have to purchase them this year!

Eddie Otis is also getting ready for Christmas too, it seems; he brought “Lambie Claus” outside one day. He’s smart like that. He played with “Lambie Halloweenie” a lot last month.

This week, Eddie Otis and I are back to our routine because Tom went back to work. I have taken EO to do a different walk each day and it’s been so good! We had gorgeous days Monday through Wednesday before the rains came in.

Moody looking yesterday:

If you ever see this brand of potato chip, they are so good and from Spain. I grabbed an individual bag at a nearby market this week as a treat. They have them at a local wine shop and my friends and I enjoyed a couple of flavors recently. Mason loves them, too.

Donna Karan deodorant is back in my life and it smells so nice and works really well for me.

My friend got me this solid perfume for my birthday. The brand is Twisted Tomboy and the scent is “Charleston Nights”. I really like it! It is the consistency of a lip balm but it is a perfume!

She also got me Moroccan Oil body oil and…

vanilla date lip balm. She always knows about new products!

I love trying new things but especially when a friend can vouch for it.

Speaking of products being vouched for…

I really think this lip crayon rivals more expensive brands that I have tried. Have you tried a Maybelline Superstay Ink Crayon? Sometimes I add a gloss over it. I really recommend this for a nice lip product. I like this for fall daytime. I also have a brighter pink, a dark red, and a more orangey red.

Last week I told you about an exciting happening in this amateur blogger’s world! I was contacted by Halara to pick some pieces and share on the blog. This is a brand I have had in my life for at least 3 years now. I spend my own money on them and truly love the pieces I own and the cost per wear on each item is down to pennies at this point. So, it was perfect for me.

So, I got my collaborator pieces in the mail early in the week! They sent me 5 items that I had suggested to them and in the sizes I suggested. It was like Christmas receiving such a large package in the mail and I felt like a real blogger!

Two of them were this cream sweater (my first top from Halara) which is $39.95 and these velvet pants which are $29.95. The pants are so comfortable and fun. The sweater is so cozy! It’s a little big but I think it’s meant to be oversized. I have had a cream sweater on my wish list, so this is perfect! Both the sweater and the pants come in several colors.

I sent my sister Kate the above photo and she said the pants were very me. They were so comfortable I didn’t want to take them off.

I actually wore these jeans for my lunch out. These are $49.95, come in petite and button and zip. They also have an interesting panel with an extra button inside I guess to smooth things out? I really wanted brown jeans. I actually set up my tripod, guys! I didn’t realize they were the asymmetrical type and they are barely asymmetrical. You can hardly tell.

See the panel?

Anyway, all of my Halara jeans feel like buttah. You can wear them for hours and not feel like you have to rip them off (like your bra) immediately when you get home!

I will show everything next Tuesday at Fashion Files and maybe I will have worn everything out by then, too. That will be my goal.

I got a new living room rug and I’m so happy. My favorite rug brand is Safavieh on Amazon. This is the brand of five hallway runners I have, a bathroom rug, and my bedroom rug.

Does your area have pop up coffee trailers? They are pretty big here. I visited one this week!

I got an egg nog chai latte:

He did not get one:

In my reading life this week…

I finished:

Very cute. It did get tedious toward the end and there were a couple of cheesy things.

Started this:

Still reading the last volume/trying to savor it:

The Emma M. Lion books will definitely be on my Best of 2026 Reading List!

I’ve been listening to Josh Groban holiday music! Who am I?

Tell me some of your favorites this week!

Enjoy your coffee and cocktails this weekend!

Amy