Can you even believe that it is the last day of March and tomorrow is April? March went by quickly and I was fairly busy which leads to one of my favorites which I will tell you about in a minute. I am linking up with Andrea and Erika for their fun Friday Favorites link up.
My first favorite is that I have not shopped this month since this post! I think it’s a product of the month being cold, pulling out my spring stuff from last year, and just being busier and lacking time or desire to shop when I did have free time.
Another favorite is that…yesterday I turned my alarm off until April 10th! I am a morning person, but my alarm goes off way too early and I want to get up because I want to get up and not because a device is telling me to get up!
I made it to the gym 3 times and I’m counting that as a win! It was rough and I am sore.
I started watching the Diana years on The Crown. I was bored by the earlier stuff and gave it up a couple of years ago and I started back and then realized this will be nice before Charles’ coronation in May.
This is Ernie’s friend Maisie. She was out a lot this week on our walks!
Ah, it’s been sunny but still a bit of chill in the air, but one day Erica came over for a margarita. The sun felt so good!
My students made little posters of their spring break plans. It seems like fewer than maybe ever are traveling this year. And, many are going to Red River Gorge, Gatlinburg, or Pigeon Forge which are all within a few hours drive. Many are doing college visits, too. Not that many are taking big trips.
I broke out the white jeans yesterday with a very old consignment blouse from Target originally.
I was inspired by Kellyann to return anything from Amazon that isn’t just right or that I change my mind about. Many people have talked about the amber oil as a perfume and I found it way too strong.
Here is my tip if you have multiple returns at one time. Screenshot your return code and then edit and use the mark up feature to write what the item is. See the word “amber”. Maybe I am slow and you already do this!
And, to celebrate the start of spring break, Erica and I went to Boombozz after school and they had half price drinks!
And, before I go, I haven’t talked about my nails much lately, but I have been using regular polish in a pale pink color. It is my Kur polish and I think it lasts longer than my gel system. Yeah, the gel just doesn’t last that long for me. I love this Kur brand but it’s pricey. However, I am going to use up the whole bottle and how often can I say that?
I had a really good find this week. These are really good cooked in the air fryer and dressed like a normal burger. I would like to give it a Mexican spin next time.
This is a really good flavor!
Now that the weather is warming up, I am drinking out of my mason jars more. I just love to do this for some reason. I deeply care about glassware! Ha! I will judge a restaurant on its glassware and dishes.
As I type this, I have my Lilla Rose hair flexi flip in. Have you entered the giveaway? It is open until April 4th! Marie will contact you and I will announce the winner here, too, but remember I am taking a blogging break until April 10th.
I will miss you, but I think this will be good for me.
As always, thank you so much for supporting me here in this space,
I had already posted my Tuesday post when I heard about what happened in Nashville. I really have no words. Well, I have lots of words that probably aren’t appropriate to type. So, I hadn’t planned to post yesterday and I am glad because I was not in a good state to do so. I did read a good post at Cup of Jo here, if you would also like to read it. Just click anywhere on the red type.
I am linking up with Kellyann and Jill today for Fashion Files. Yes, I do realize it seems so silly to share about what you wear and there is no good way to segue.
I am reaching for all of my long sleeved springy blouses, my new Olukai mules, and jeans lately. It’s easy and I like this look.
Here I am wearing a Target blouse from a few years ago. My jeans are also from Target in the style I have in black, darker wash, and lighter wash. I did decide to cut and fray the ones below. I feel like they looked a bit longer because they are looser. Even though I have all three in the same size, the black is the most snug and the lighter wash is the most loose. Another reason to always try things on and to not get hung up on the sizing.
I believe this is the same day – I changed into my green blouse and darker jeans to have dinner with Beth. I think you can even tell that the darker fit better?
Friday it was raining but we had the junior awards ceremony. I wore my Walmart Scoop dress from last year and changed into tan suede boots.
Friday after school to try out the new liquor store/bar I changed into my new cut and frayed lighter wash Target jeans, my Old Navy blouse, and my gold clogs.
Saturday for my father in law’s party I didn’t get a full length photo, but I wore my Target magenta little house on the prairie dress and my tan boots again.
Sunday I did a little window shopping and broke out one of my two pairs of Target cut offs. I have on a very old Costco white top.
Monday for school I wore a very old Target blouse.
Tuesday for school I wore my black Target jeans and the chambray version of the cream top in my Friday happy hour photo.
And, finally yesterday for school I wore the darker denim Target jeans again with my new TJ Maxx blouse.
I must admit I wasn’t really in the market for any hair doo dads. I wear my hair straight, with a headband (second day hair!), or in a ponytail. I use a scrunchie at home for my ponytail and a plain hairtie if I wear a ponytail out.
Marie, a reader and a blogger, reached out to me about this company of which she is a rep. Click on her name and you can see some more of the Lilla Rose products. I was honest with her and said that some of them didn’t seem very “me”.
But, I did see this Flexi Sport and I was intrigued. Marie told me I could pick any color so I picked black.
Then, I saw this rainbow-ish Flexi flip and I thought it was really pretty.
Marie sent them to me a couple of weeks ago, so I have had some time to play around with them and see what I think.
The way you measure your hair for what size you need is really interesting. I have a lot of fine hair and I thought I would need the biggest size, but that was not true. Also, you can flip the clip two ways – one to hold more hair and the other to hold less. This would be good for a half up style like I have in the second picture below.
I wore my hair to school with the black Flexi Sport and didn’t touch it all day. I couldn’t believe it held my hair and I also couldn’t believe how comfortable it was. Marie said she can even sleep in it. It was really easy to use, too.
Front view:
So…
The winner of Marie’s giveaway gets a Flexi Flip or Flexi Sport of your choice (up to $25)! How cool is that!
Flexi Flips and Flexi Sports are beautiful hair clips designed by Lilla Rose. Lilla Rose makes elegant, well-made, unique hair clips, bobby pins, hair bands, sticks, and other hair accessories.
A little more information about their products from Marie:
Flexi Sports and Flexi Flips have a unique curved pin design that provides up to three different sizes in one clip. The dual pin flips to hold more or less hair depending on the hairstyle.
They will work in all kinds of hair from baby fine to super thick. They are made with music wire which makes them super strong but very flexible so you do not have to worry about headaches that you sometimes get with hair ties or the claw.They are both lightweight, super comfortable, and will not damage your hair like scrunchies and hair claws
The Flexi Flips are Made with a variety of semi-precious stones,colors, finishes and designs.The Flexi Flips will not slip and will hold your hair beautifully all day.
Flexi Sports have a silicone type rubbery covering which means they grip and will not slip. Active women love the Flexi Sport:
Grips, no slippin
Simple styles, not flashy
Waterproof
Latex free
Cute, fun colors
Athletes Love I
Fits an active life
Super lightweight
Well-made and budget friendly.
Flexi Flips and Flexi Sports are both lifesavers for busy women or women who may struggle with fixing their hair. You can do your hair beautifully in seconds and be ready for the day.
This giveaway is by Marie, Independent Lilla Rose Stylist and not Lilla Rose Inc.
I plan to wear mine as the weather warms up! I like to put my hair up more as it gets hotter. I think they could also look cute at the pool. If you have teen girls, I think they might really like them, too. I am noticing more teens wearing different kinds of clips and barrettes in their hair lately.
It’s Monday and that means it’s time to link up with Sarah and Holly to share our weekends!
Let’s go back to Thursday…
I had not seen my friend Beth for about two months so it was time to change that. We found out that the bougie Mexican restaurant in the church (I went there for my birthday) has a really good happy hour from 4:00–6:00. The restaurant is called Noche and we arrived around 5:00. We couldn’t believe how hoppin’ it was!
Half off margarita:
Free chips and salsa and I can’t remember what the queso deal was:
I got the burrito and could only eat half. I took the other half to Mason along with all the leftover chips and queso because I saw him for a minute right after we ate.
On the way to meet Beth, I picked up two highly anticipated reads from the library:
Have you read either one?
Friday was a super easy day at school. We had junior awards ceremony and I teach a large majority of juniors. I was one of the presenters and then had basically no one in the rest of my classes as juniors could sign out immediately after the ceremony.
I was so tired, though! I went home and made myself an afternoon coffee. The wind and rain had kept me up a couple of nights and my windchime seems to really be bothering me. I think we are going to have to take it down on windy nights. Honestly, I also think I was still tired from last weekend’s shenanigans.
Around 3:00, I met Erica at a new to me place that is really cool. It is a liquor shop with a bar. It has a real industrial vibe. They sell some bagged munchies, but also allow you to bring in your own food or order food. They have live music most Friday and Saturday nights and some Thursdays, I believe.
I am picky about my cocktails. These weren’t cheap, but I am willing to pay if it is good.
I had an espresso martini. I thought it would continue to help my tired state!
And, we both had a paper plane which they called a Clifton train. The neighborhood is called Clifton and there is a train that runs right by the bar/store. Also, we met the owner at the St. Patrick’s Day parade so I like supporting local people.
I got home around 5:30 and Tom and I walked Ernie and he was like a kid at a water park.
I took some videos, too. He was so cute!
I whipped up an Asian inspired dinner with a salad.
And, I think I went to bed around 9:00. Ain’t no tired like March teacher tired before their spring break, you know?
I got up Saturday morning and started this:
I felt super weird reading a book about an octopus, but really don’t be afraid of that. It’s about so much more. I am now almost done because I couldn’t put it down much of Saturday and Sunday and the beautiful weather Sunday meant I could read outside!
I hit the gym. It’s been awhile. My card didn’t scan at first because it was like “Oh, so you want to come see me now? Who do you think you are?”
Sun Tan City had a deal where you could unfreeze your membership for $1 so I went there after the gym. I am working the deals.
Then, I shopped at the Walmart Neighborhood grocery which is just the food section of a Walmart but probably not even as big as their food section. I think I’m gonna start shopping there more.
I put groceries away, cleaned, made sandwiches (our kids had come home), got ready and then all four of us piled in the same car – it had been awhile – to drive about an hour and a half for Tom’s Dad’s 80th surprise birthday dinner.
Tom’s Dad and sister are below. Tom’s sister did a great job of putting the guest list, meal, and details together.
You could choose hot brown:
ribeye:
or fish and chips:
She brought a Nothing Bundt Cake cake in red velvet:
Tom’s trying to smile, but now Jack isn’t:
My niece Morgan:
I didn’t get a picture with my niece Brooke, unfortunately.
Two sets of brother and sister. This is Tom’s aunt Mimi:
I think he was very touched and it was really nice. There were family members and a few close family friends. None of my photos are very good!
On the way home we had a beautiful sunset:
Sunday morning I got up and read for a couple of hours.
Then, I made breakfast burritos for the week, turkey meatballs, cauliflower rice, and banana bread. I worked on blog stuff, too. It felt nice to have time to do these things because I have been busier than normal and busier than I prefer to be.
Tom did a 2.5 hour bike ride and then our kids headed back to campus for some commitments and Tom and I took our furry kid to the very high river.
I came home and read outside and the weather was just amazing! I had on shorts and a tank top!
Then, I did go to a couple of stores but didn’t buy much. Tom did our first mow of the season.
I will be back here tomorrow, Thursday for Fashion Files, and then Friday for Faves. I am taking a very rare blogging break from Saturday, April 1 until Monday, April 10. But, then we are celebrating my 5 year anniversary of blogging! How is that possible?
Well, after today we only have 4 school days until spring break next week! Both of my sisters are off starting today! So happy for them. One is traveling and one is staying home.
I am linking up with Andrea and Erika for Friday Favorites, of course!
Thank you for all the responses to my Guest Post by Ernie. He thinks you all are really cool and he has wagged his tail over every comment.
Let’s talk about a few favorites from this week, shall we?
I love my new oven! I even tried the air fryer feature! No, it’s not convection; it’s literally air frying. Tom and I plan to get rid of the countertop air fryer when we re-do our kitchen and we will just use this.
I signed up for Ipsy again! I did it years ago and then stopped when I had accumulated so many products and little makeup pouches.
Look what I got in my first bag:
My favorite is the Yensa. I love the texture and you could simply wear this without foundation.
I also got this – it is muy bright…
Then, I couldn’t believe I got a full size Orfa…
bronzer/highlighter palette. This is gorgeous and I think it works really well!
I still love my Seint, but I am having fun playing with new stuff that I don’t have to be overwhelmed about in an Ulta or Sephora store.
At the bachelorette cabin, we had this brioche. I prefer the thicker Trader Joe’s brioche for French toast, but this makes a mean grilled cheese. Try it!
Try a caprese:
tomato, basil, fresh mozzarella, and a drizzle of balsamic. Restaurant quality! You would pay $15 for this in a restaurant, you feel?
This is the look of our mudroom and our hall bathroom and I don’t hate it for the future kitchen. This was in the bachelorette cabin.
Look how stinking cute! Do I need them? No! But, aren’t they cute? They are called “picnic”!
I really need to take down my St. Pat’s decor and put out my Easter decor. I also really want to remove anything that looks too wintery from my closet section that I pull from. I’m ready to wear springy blouses, light cardigans, and dresses. What about you?
It’s Thursday and time to link up with Fashion Files with Kellyann and Jill.
I will be honest and say that when the weather turned cold it was hard to care what I wore. But, then I was like, my classroom is 80 so I will still pretend it feels like spring and throw my winter coat over whatever I’m wearing.
Let’s go back to last Wednesday, because I don’t think I shared this photo last week. If I did, I apologize!
I wore my new TJ Maxx blouse – it just makes me happy to look at these colors in my closet – with my Wit and Wisdom baby flares that I ordered from Nordstrom back in the fall. I feel great in these jeans. They are a bit snug in the waist, but not uncomfortably so. I wore them with my gold clogs to start the day and changed into sneakers later on because I was proctoring a test and wanted to be quiet.
Thursday I wore my last year’s Target blouse that is floral but almost looks like little shamrocks. I wore my consignment Kut from the Kloth jeans with sneakers. I know this would have looked better with a clog or sandal with some height. Also, notice the difference between the dark and light jean. I think the dark looks much more flattering. Again, I was proctoring so I had to wear quiet shoes.
I changed into my Target Universal Thread straight slightly cropped jeans when I got home along with my gold clogs to go meet Jennifer, but we didn’t get a full body photo.
Friday was St. Patrick’s Day and I wore this to work. I have on Target jeans, New Balance sneakers, a white tank from Chico’s, and my Loft striped shirt. A lot of kids wore green so they wouldn’t get pinched.
Yes, I did wear all the green last week! I wore the same outfit, but added my bearrings (beer earrings) and switched to the gold clogs for the bourbon tour.
Then, at the cabin, we were given flannel shirts so I just switched out the striped for the flannel.
Saturday during the day I wore my rock and roll graphic tee with an Old Navy flannel over it. Then, I put my hot pink sweater over it for the thrift store wear your favorite color theme.
Back to school!
I wore this old Old Navy butterfly blouse that I love with my yellow sweater and Matilda Janes. I can’t seem to have the right black spring shoes to wear with something like this. I have to reach for my black Tieks but I wish I had something different. Footwear for teaching is really tricky.
I wore my Loft consignment blouse and red Matilda Janes and again the black flats.
And, finally, I wore black leggings, my chambray popover, a beige sweater with my rain boots because we had a “hydrologic outlook”. Did you weather app say that, too? I brought these clogs to change into, but I took the socks off.
We have a separate junior and senior prom and junior prom is this Saturday, so I thought I would leave you with my favorite prom dress. The year was 1990. This was my boyfriend Scott. He was a junior and I was a senior. Sorry, Scott, you’re on the blog now.
Hi, Ernie here. My mom asked me to dictate this post to her because she is feeling lazy and uninspired. I don’t know what that means, but whatever.
So, I am 10 years old. I was born in Kentucky and I live in Kentucky. What’s a Kentucky?
So, I said my mom, but she is not my biological mom. I had a yellow mom and all my siblings were yellow except for me and one other sibling. We were both chocolate but I can’t eat chocolate so that’s pretty dumb.
Speaking of eating, I really love ice cream and string cheese. I kinda go a bit crazy if my mom has one of those things.
So, back to my story…this lady and two short people and one tall person came and saw me when I was 6 weeks old. They seemed pretty excited. They came back and took me away when I was 8 weeks old. I heard the name “Archie” a lot. Apparently he was my big brother because he lived there before I did. I got to use some of his old toys so that is pretty cool.
My toxic trait is that I steal and kill any and all balls that are left on my playground. Yeah, I said “my playground”. I run that place. My humans open my gate and I hold my head high as I look over my kingdom.
I really like Christmas. I learned that I get stuff in a giant sock. I never ate any of my humans’ socks, shoes, and mom said I didn’t destroy anything. She tells me a lot that I’m a good boy.
I get really hot in the summer, but I love to swim. I get to go on this loud machine and then I get to swim and it’s really fun.
I love a good nap. I like my old bed. My humans got me a new bed next to their bed, but that’s stupid. Why would I use that when I can sleep with them?
I’m no dummy. This is the best napping place in the house.
Mom takes me on a walk when she gets home. We go to the tennis center or to the baseball field at her school or just walk around the hood. I don’t really care because the smells are freaking amazing wherever we go.
At the end of the walk, I do my roll. It feels great.
My Dad comes home about two naps after that and then we go to work. I have to check to see what has happened on the playground since 6:15 am was a long time ago.
I do my rounds and say hi to Hudson, Maisie, Skylar, Bailey, and then Teddy. JJ and Lola are super annoying so I don’t really do much with them. I don’t understand why most of them are in jail. I run free, and like I said, I run this place.
Teddy gets to come out and run free, too. He’s so crazy, man!
I go inside to eat my dinner and then I go and see what my mom and dad have to eat. If I look really cute, there is a chance that I might get something.
Here’s me looking cute:
I take another nap or two and then I go tell my dad it’s time to get on the floor and play. He really needs me to play with him.
I go to bed around 8:30. I have a king sized bed and it’s really comfortable. My mom tries to sleep in my spot and it’s pretty rude. I have to get up at 6:15 to be ready to check my playground so I need my sleep.
So, Elizabeth and I have been friends since she was 25 and I was 45! You guys! I am 20 years older than one of my friends. We taught next door to each other for four years and now she has left teaching for a different field. As I entered the stage of life where my kids were off doing their own thing, it has been nice to have a younger friend who has the time! I also think the pandemic brought us closer. Do you have friends of varying ages?
Elizabeth is so sweet, funny, and just a breath of fresh air. She won’t talk about herself for very long without saying, “but, how are you? I want to hear about you”. I have to keep pushing her to talk about herself instead of listening to me drone on.
This past weekend was Elizabeth’s bachelorette party about an hour and a half away on Nolin Lake.
There were many emails and texts leading up to it by the maid of honor who is her friend from college. I must admit I was intimidated and nervous about being the oldest one there. The ages ranged from 24-51. Elizabeth’s future sister in law Julie, her kinda sister in law (she is married to the fiance’s brother) Mary Grace, a friend Brittiny, a friend Kat, a friend Natasha, the maid of honor Carolyn and Erica and I made up the group. Another friend Jen tested positive for Covid and couldn’t come.
The first thing we did was meet at Bardstown Bourbon Company. Only 5 of us could do that. It was supposed to be 6 including the sick girl.
Elizabeth brought her dog Banana. She didn’t bring her dog a banana. Her dog is named Banana. Erica and I didn’t realize there would be 3 dogs, but it was no big deal except for a little chihuahua named Lana who pooped in our room. Anyway…
Another girl, Natasha, arrived a bit late with her dog, Carbon. They had to drive from Chicago. The dogs were allowed on most of the tour. The banana costume is because Elizabeth’s dog is named Banana. Notice Erica and I wanted the theme to be St. Patrick’s Day as it was literally March 17th.
After that, we got to the house and Carolyn gave us all a goodie bag with a flannel and a bandana in our favorite color and a few odds and ends for the weekend. It was very thoughtful. We all put on our flannels and bandanas.
Then, it was a flurry of unloading a whole bunch of food and adult beverages. The maid of honor wanted to do all the shopping and Venmo us. She asked us for our ingredient list if we were doing any cooking. I had to get Venmo for this trip! Ha!
During dinner we played a game where we told a story about ourselves and everyone had to guess if it was true or a lie. Many of us had never met so this was a good way to break the ice.
After dinner, we played a couple of games. The first one was a very rated R game that someone brought.
The second game was called Bridal Jeopardy and it was really creative and fun and we had teams of 2. The questions were about Elizabeth, Elizabeth and Andrew (her fiance), weddings in general, their wedding, or just about Andrew.
There were some drinks and shots while we played.
We all thought Erica looked like Michael Scott with her bandana like that.
Banana is only about a year old, but is the best behaved and sweetest little puppy. I think she is a Cavapoo.
I think I finally went to bed between 2 and 3 a.m. The kitchen was a hot mess and some of us cleaned it up before we went to bed. Thank goodness! Erica and I were the first ones up the next day and we started the coffee.
I was in charge of breakfast and I made coffee cake, egg casserole, and sausage squares at home. I heated them in the oven and it worked out great.
I brought my non-stick griddle and made brioche French toast.
The AirBnB was super nice. The weather was super crappy. There were so many things we couldn’t use because of how cold and windy it was. There was a hot tub, a fireplace pit, a beautiful long table on the front porch, a porch swing, a porch bed, a porch couch, an outdoor bar, and another outdoor seating area.
After brunch, everyone left for an aerial ropes course except for Erica and I. It was $70 and it just really wasn’t something either of us wanted to do, and we were really glad because of how cold it would be. It was also really far away from the house.
So, we stayed and watched the dogs, prepared charcuterie, started on dinner prep, and explored the lake and got Elizabeth a new contact lens case at Walgreen’s! Ha!
We made a caprese grilled cheese for our lunch:
The charcuterie with truffle popcorn:
The lake:
When everyone got back, we did temporary tatoos:
We put our shirts back on and took pics:
Then, a very crafty friend, Brittiny, taught us how to make earrings from polymer clay!
After that, we had dinner, which was a fabulous idea. We had a make your own pasta bar with salad and bread, done by Erica. I helped with all the prep in the afternoon and then after the earrings:
After dinner, we had our thrift exchange. We had to buy a thrift item in a favorite color of another person (it was randomly selected with an app) and then wear an outfit that would match. I said hot pink and then I wore my hot pink sweater. I received the bead and the scarf. The girl with me also said hot pink so we took a pic together.
Erica said purple and then we took a pic with the bride.
We also had to “create” an outfit for Elizabeth. One person did the clutch, one person did the veil, one person did the top, etc. I did the necklace. We also had to find this at a thrift store. Since it was so darned cold, we pulled the sheepskin off the couch to complete the look. Doesn’t she pull that off?
Then, we played a game where Elizabeth and Andrew were asked the same question and Andrew’s responses had been recorded ahead of time. It was so funny watching him try to answer in the banana suit.
It was really cute!
Dessert was a s’morechuterie board done by Julie. She included a chocolate chip cookie dough cheeseball!
Yeah, you better believe we used the indoor gas stove instead of braving the cold.
And, it looks empty, but we were all there…
This was another structure on the property with a bedroom, bathroom, bar, dance space, pool table, and arcade machines. We danced and did some funny line dances like the cha cha slide.
And, Bride down. I am also feeling like this after writing this post and I’m sure you are also in this position if you made it this far.
I think we went to bed around 1:00 a.m. the second night.
Sunday morning was all about cleaning, packing, and loading up.
The house was $120 a person for the whole weekend, which I thought was really reasonable.
I feel like we really clicked and connected despite the age differences. We all seemed to think the same things were funny and I am pretty immature for my age.
I can’t believe I could hang, though! I can’t believe I stayed up that late!
I hope that Elizabeth felt the love and that it was everything she hoped for. She would never tell you otherwise, though, because that is just how sweet she is.
When I got married no one really did this. I think we went out to dinner at Applebee’s and gave each other lingerie from Victoria’s Secret and called it a day. Did you do anything like this?
The maid of honor originally wanted to hire a private chef and a stripper. She lives in L.A. and I think this is more the norm there because I watch Real Housewives. I was also worried about what a “lake area stripper” might be like. No offense if you live near a lake and strip. My suggestion was that we ask the private chef to play both roles, but that would have possibly ended in disaster. There were lots of big…knives and hot…grease.
Anyway, that didn’t end up being feasible and I’m quite glad.
How was your weekend? Mine was full. In fact, if you are a long time reader you will know I don’t usually have such a full weekend!
I am linking up with Sarah and Holly for Hello Monday!
Let’s go back to Thursday. Jennifer was visiting my city and we got a chance to meet up! The weather was pretty nice and we met at one of my favorite happy hour places, Red Hog. I told her, “I will be the one from the blog”.
She is just like she is behind the screen, fyi!
We got some lavash with pimento cheese and red pepper jelly and some fries with curry mayo.
We chatted for a couple of hours and could have for much longer!
Friday I left for a weekend away at 1:26 – yes, 1:26. Immediately at the end of 6th period, Erica and I carpooled to the first stop of Elizabeth’s bachelorette weekend. We all used to teach together, but now Elizabeth is in a different line of work.
The first stop was a bourbon tour. It was one of the best tours I have been on, because they don’t make you wait for your sample. They start you off with a sample – genius! Just kidding, that wasn’t why it was one of the best. The space was so beautiful, we loved our guide, and we had some funny people in our group.
Then, we drove to our AirBNB. Don’t worry, we only had a bit of bourbon.
Erica and I shared this room:
The house was adorable, but the weather really dissed us. It was just so cold. There was a beautiful front porch, bonfire pit, and hot tub, along with many other outdoor sitting areas.
Elizabeth has a puppy named Banana, so the bananas were part of the first night’s theme. Elizabeth is 30 and the age ranges of the 9 of us were 24-51! Another post is coming with more details!
The theme of the whole weekend was Camp Elizabeth because we were at a cabin in the country.
“This may or may not be Fireball. Can I hang with these girls?”
This was our “S’morechuterie” board and Elizabeth is wearing an entirely thrifted bridal outfit – we all had to bring one item – doesn’t she look so cute?
And, this is how I felt at the end of the weekend.
I stayed up until 3 a.m. the first night and 2 a.m. the next night. It was an hour earlier where we were, but still!
I will be back tomorrow with more details!
I’m tired!
How was your weekend?
Go away, winter! I will be holding my arms out to spring in just a few hours!
Happy Friday! Happy St. Patrick’s Day! Happy Birthday to my amazing sister, Kate! Get yourself a shamrock shake today! I have not had my yearly shake yet.
Today is everyones’ favorite link up with Andrea and Erika where we share our Friday Favorites.
Here are mine…
Last Saturday was so much fun! I didn’t share this photo yet of Erica, Heather, and I “pre-parading”. It was so much fun to drop the Saturday routine/errands/chores and go have fun!
Our son Jack wanted to go hear his guitar teacher play at a church Sunday afternoon and said we could come. Tom and I jump when our kids want to spend time with us and with them going to college so close we have that luxury.
We found out this church was the oldest house of worship in Louisville – how cool is that? His guitar teacher is simply amazing and he has played in Spain!
After the concert, we went to The Eagle. Tom and I split a sandwich and it was just too spicy and we can handle some spice. We were really glad we split.
And, the sweet potato casserole was just too sweet.
We also got hush puppies that were too spicy.
Jack got a chicken sandwich and mac and cheese that wasn’t too spicy. So, we just ordered poorly, but it was just nice to have more time with Jack. He had been out of town for a choir event.
I was so happy to have my homemade Amy McMuffins. Mason came up with that! I take them to school and heat in my microwave and then eat it before I see any students.
I had my Irish food in the crockpot all day Sunday and then Monday I made the bread and we had that for dinner. I bought a regular brisket and not a corned beef brisket so it wasn’t that Irish this year – oops!
These are snowflakes on my jacket! Yes, we got a dusting of snow this week, but we still did our before dinner Ernie walks!
I also made shepherd’s pie and probably left it in the oven a bit too long. That is cheese on top that got browned.
This week, I talked about my weekend and weekend routine here, my reflections on the 3 year anniversary of “the day the world shut down” here, and shared my Fashion Files here. I wasn’t sure about the response my reflection on the last 3 years would have, but it seems like you all wanted to reflect as well. I think this is what helps me process things and it helps to know that we aren’t alone in all of emotions surrounding it. I also think it fosters gratitude. That is one thing that I think teenagers are lacking sometimes. I see my students whine and complain (about basically everything big and small – “I don’t want to be here today”, “I’m so tired”, “I have so much English homework”, “I have practice today”, …) and I try to put things in perspective and remind them of the good that is in the “normal”. I may be wasting my breath, but I hope I am getting through to a few. We also do silly little seasonal activities like this one we just did..
I gave them a blank 4 leaf clover and they had to start with “Tengo suerte porque…” which means “I’m lucky because…” and we shared out loud around the room and then I had them decorate our hallway with them.
Do you think that complaining is a normal part of being a teenager? Heck, do you think complaining is a normal part of the human experience? I like to tell them that complaining leads to more complaining because I really think it does.
Update on Tik Tok:
I am @sraspanish and have now posted 38 videos – mostly teaching grammatical concepts, verb tenses, little tricks, etc.. I have 175, 000 followers and one of my videos has 36 million views. How crazy is this?
The funny thing is that my account is meant for American students learning Spanish, but according to analytics, 70% of my followers/viewers are from Spanish speaking countries. Some of the comments have been mean, but overwhelmingly, they are super sweet like, “adopt me!”, “teach me!”, and “I love how you teach!”. I am not following or watching any other Tik Tok videos and I don’t even read most of the comments or respond. There are 36, 000 comments on the highest viewed video, so that would be impossible. I am trying to post a video every other day now. I am learning so much! I have recently been using the green screen where I put a computer slide behind me while I am talking – if that makes sense.
So, I didn’t mean to go off on so many tangents as this was supposed to be a lighthearted Friday Favorites!
Coffee and Cocktails at the Casa 