Monday, July 5, 2020

Hi guys! How does this Monday find you? I like summer Mondays. This is the day I use to lay pretty low, do my weekend laundry, make phone calls and get weekly tasks scheduled. I am linking up with Heather, Tanya and other so go right here.

Today I am excited because I have rugs arriving! I finally found an area rug and matching runner that I think will work for my Master bedroom. I bought it from Boutique Rugs online and I was able to pay through my Amazon account. It is really hard buying a rug without seeing and feeling it but I’m crossing my fingers. I also have a Dinnerly box arriving for the first time in a few weeks (I took a break to use up freezer supplies). I am going to try and follow their recipes instead of being a rebel.

Let’s go back to last Thursday as I do my Friday post a bit early.

Thursday morning and most mornings I did my morning routine outside as the sun was coming up. I cannot sleep in, you all. I just can’t! What is wrong with me? I was just reflecting with my husband that a year ago I couldn’t even enjoy the old lower patio because it was full of construction stuff. There was wood and supplies all over my driveway, I had no back door, and there was loud work every day last summer practically! So, even in the midst of what is going on or maybe moreso I am happy to have this space.

I met my friend B on a patio for brunch at a relatively new place called Biscuit Belly. We had to go in to order and we wore masks – most people did and there were only 4 others there. Then, they brought our food to the patio. I got a tequila sunrise. Is 10 a.m. too early to drink tequila? It has the word “sunrise” in the name, o.k.?

B got a Bloody Mary and it had tiny little biscuits on top! So cute! I wish I liked Bloody Marys but I do not!

We both got the “basic biscuit” with bacon, egg, and cheese, and a sauce that I got on the side. I guess we are basic! It was meh. The biscuit really wasn’t that good in my opinion. I think I like McDonald’s better. Now, you are really judging me for the morning tequila and that statement.

I went to my friend’s store last week and this is the tie-dye mask that I showed you. The fabric rather than elastic around the ears is much more comfortable.

Thursday night was homemade pizza night! I did two pizzas and did a combo bbq carnitas and cheese and the other was pepperoni. I needed more cheese! Don’t worry I added some of the shredded stuff. This was the good mozzarella! This is the “skinny biz pizza crust recipe” you can google if you are interested.

I made a red, white, and blue sangria-ish drink just for me. I used frozen strawberries and blueberries, pinot grigio, and 1/3 can of strawberry Fresca. It wasn’t sweet enough (and I do not like super sweet drinks at all) because the Fresca is simply a sparkling soda water so I added my favorite cocktail ingredient Crystal Light lemonade powder – only about 1/3 of a stick and this became sooooo good!

Friday Tom was off and he went paddleboarding on the river in the morning. He ended up having to help tow someone’s boat to shore. I went to Fresh Market for a couple of things and it was too crowded. I high-tailed it out of there. I had done my Kroger pick up on Thursday (this seems to be my normal day now?) and I guess people were crowding all the grocery stores for the holiday weekend. Someone posted a crazy line at Costco on Facebook. I was glad I shopped early.

It was so hot and was going to be all weekend, but I got motivated and Tom and I took the boat out around 2 and stayed out until 6ish. I was so relaxed. I haven’t felt the normal summer relaxation that kicks in mid-June. Maybe it’s because of all the anxiety around us. Anyone else?

The relaxation could’ve been in part due to the bourbon slush I brought on board. I stopped at the gas station by our house for an Ale 8 (like ginger ale) slush for Tom and I pilfered some to go with some bourbon. I do want you to know, though, that I have had many non-cocktail days lately. I have been having one drink maybe 3 days a week. My beverage of choice is water. I am really trying to drink more!

I must have my spray bottle. I went to the river with very wet hair which really helped me stay cool and then I used this to keep cool.

After several days cooking, we decided to get Mexican take out with the boys. We ate together at home and watched Scrubs. This is what we are currently watching as a family. I set out all of my 4th of July supplies for the next day even though I had no plans.

I did get my car washed in the morning. My car looked sooo bad. I used to be afraid to go in the car wash alone. I was afraid I would mess up the directions. I thought it would be much like the one and only time I tried a spray tanning booth. I couldn’t figure out or remember the directions and I got sprayed in the mouth. It was very similar to Ross’s experience on Friends except without the dark tan.

I also found all of my festive clothing. A girl can dream of a day with plans, right?

I made my traditional pretzel rolo things.

And, Saturday on the 4th Tom and I went back out in the heat again for a few hours.

I packed a portable charcuterie boat picnic.

We came home and I made a home charcuterie for appetizers.

and baked ziti for dinner. It was definitely not a traditional 4th. A friend invited us out on their boat for fireworks but I knew it would be a late night and we would be really close to other people so I turned it down.

Mason had a outside party to go to after dinner. Jack hung out with us and then I found one of my favorite movies The Holiday. I love the Jude Law and Cameron Diaz scenes in England the most.

Sunday seemed to be the hottest day of all. Tom did a 2 hour bike ride, then mowed and did yard work. I worked inside on some organizing and then re-read some magazines before recycling or giving away while my ceiling fan was going.

I am not really into this. I’m trying…

I got Disney + for a month for just me – no one else was interested – and watched half of Hamilton Sunday after lunch. It’s a commitment. I knew basically nothing other than the premise. It’s kind of weird watching a musical recorded as a movie. A friend gave me a tip to put the captions on and that has been helpful to not miss anything. Can you believe my actor/singer son is not interested?

For dinner, I made an entree salad with homemade bread. One of my goals was to eat more big salads for dinner and everyone loved this. I used iceberg, tomatoes, carrots, cucumbers, ham, hardboiled egg, bacon, cheese, the everything lemon pepper chicken recipe from Carolina Charm blog, homemade croutons from older bread, and homemade honey mustard dressing. Who am I?

After dinner, I filled up my bird feeders – they are eating us out of house and home! Immediately a cardinal came – Tom and I were wondering how they know to come check to see if was full again?

And, I have one hydrangea bloom – it’s way back there and you can barely see it!

How was your weekend? Did you socialize? Did you follow your annual traditions?

I hope you have a wonderful Monday!

Amy

Friday, July 3, 2020

Happy Friday! Happy 4th of July! Friday is always a fun post. It’s a way to give recommendations or to talk about the little things that made us happy that week. I am linking up today with Andrea, etc. so go right here to see some more!

I know many of you are excited for Hamilton on Disney + tonight. I don’t have it. I would really like to watch it but maybe there will be another way to watch it later. I guess I could just get it for one month? Ideas? Recommendations regarding Disney +?

These hydrangeas from my friend made me so happy this week. My hydrangea bush is still not blooming. Fingers crossed that it does this year! It looks nice and green and healthy!

At the beginning of the week I washed all my masks. I wear each one a couple of times before washing. I also posted a photo of me in my mask in Instagram to show that I am wearing one. The top and bottom are cute but they are hot and don’t stay on the ears well. The middle two are my favorite and added bonus made by my former student.

I have been reading a lot lately. American Dirt, The Honey Don’t List, The Lie that Binds, and 28 Summers are all books I would recommend. When I have a good book it’s almost like I’m on a mission and when I finish it I am in mourning and kind of have a book hangover. Are you like that? I love reading on my patio with a beverage. This was a morning coffee reading session.

I have been using my big monogram tote lately.

Also, I placed a Land’s End order a week ago. I decided this black polo with monogram would come in handy. I thought it would look good with my white skort and maybe even a skirt? The quality is great and it was on sale so I was happy.

I finished 28 Summers! Some of it bothered me, but Elin’s books are great summer reads. Has anyone read it? I wish I could discuss!

This is a giant pump bottle of self-tanner and it doesn’t have much of a tanner smell. It is on sale on HSN again for $39 from $90. I think this would last years. It gives a really nice color and a bit of a shimmer. I wanted to let you know to catch the sale price. I would never pay $90 unless it promised instant weight loss or something like that! Look for it at HSN.com.

I gave myself a bit of a 4th of July mani/pedi. I did Alpine Snow on the toes (white makes you look tan, too!) and red on the fingers. The red is called Double Breasted Jacket.

Awkward photo below. One of my quarantine goals was to improve my flexibility so by doing my own pedicure I’m killing two birds with one stone.

Less awkward photo.

My next book is a library curbside pick up. I don’t think I’m going to read Big Summer because of the mixed reviews I’ve seen. I never read this and it was recommended somewhere. Anyone read it?

One day this week I never got my car out but I’ve decided I should get out in the car once a day. One day this week my outing was my friend’s local boutique called The Prickly Pear. I have been wanting an American flag kimono for years I tell you and she had it on sale for $16. It even has a silver sparkly thread running through it. I hope it isn’t disrespectful to wear a flag.

She also had these t-shirt material masks for $9 that are so soft and comfy. Also, you really need to wear studs with your mask so I needed some new studs. I thought these were unique and they were only $6.

I had one afternoon of rain on the patio this week. Love it! It is so relaxing!

I still don’t have firm plans this weekend but I am going to try to make someone eat some red, white, and blue charcuterie with me! Here is my inspiration:

So cute, right?

This will for sure be an odd 4th of July! It is supposed to be super hot here.

What were your faves this week? I would love to hear!

Did you catch my Trader Joe’s haul yesterday?

Did you read my skort report Wednesday?

Thanks for reading!

Amy

Thursday, July 2, 2020

Hello friends! Everyone loves a Trader Joe’s post, right? Well, everyone who has a Trader Joe’s nearby? If you don’t, maybe you can still get some meal ideas? Some of you have some nice specialty grocery stores that might have some of these options. And, if you mostly go to Kroger like me or Wal-mart I think I have something for you!

We only have one in my large city but lucky for me that it is only about a 7 minute drive. I set out this past Tuesday morning. My plan was to get there around 8:50 like I did last time and do the separate liqour store first. In Kentucky, you need a separate store front for alcohol sales as they cannot be in the actual grocery store – except for beer. I was a bit early and got there around 8:40. The parking lot was almost empty. That is rare!

I went in the liquor store and then got at the front of the line to wait untl 9:00 as the first hour is for seniors and vulnerable people. The employee said I could go on in because there weren’t many people. Wonderful!

It reminded me of the days of yesteryear when I could go early and look at new products and take my time. I ended up with 4 bags full. They are not allowing reusable bags right now but I really like to have these brown bags on hand at my house for certain things.

Excuse the forehead lines, but I tried the Dawn dishwashing soap on the glasses trick and it worked! I rubbed a bit on the lenses before I left home and then wiped with a paper towel. This keeps glasses from fogging up while wearing a mask. Every.single.person was wearing a mask. They even thanked me for wearing one after I checked out. This is my favorite mask made by my former student. Not all masks are created equal. This fabric seems to be more breathable than my others. The elastic is also more comfortable.

I got some meal stuff, some tried and true faves, and some new to me products.

First, I am never without this rice. It is sooooo good. An easy meal or a meal the boys can make if Tom and I go out is orange chicken and rice. I also like to keep their frozen fries on hand for a BLT or hot sub night.

For Taco Tuesday this week I decided to make fish tacos and carnitas tacos. I think these carnitas are really good. I microwave them and then crisp them up in a skillet.

These turkey corn dogs are really good. This is a lunch option for the boys usually.

I wanted to try to make the tacos really authentic with the slaw, salsa, lime, red onion, and cotija cheese.

Another purpose of my mission was to gather things for a red, white, and blue charcuterie board. We don’t have any plans yet. The boys have been invited to a party and I will say o.k. if outside and not too many people. I thought it would be fun even just for Tom and I to have this charcuterie board. My city has lots of charcuterie companies now that will deliver. I enjoy making it myself but I am curious to get a delivery. I might do that for our anniversary?

So, I found red beet crackers. They might be bad, but they will look good, right?

Now, I know for sure that these cheeses are the bomb. Blueberry goat cheese and wine soaked cheese are the things your charcuterie dreams are made of.

These gummy lobsters are so cute and preppy!

I love, love, love to simply put out a half of a block of cream cheese and pour red pepper jelly over it. Then, you spread on crackers.

I will have white water crackers and I will fill in with other items from my normal Kroger grocery run.

The pastas at TJ’s are only 99 cents. I might make a bow tie pasta salad with feta and tomatoes. I thought the spirals would be fun, too. I might use them for my turkey sausage and cream sauce pasta.

I always have a loaf of brioche in my freezer. I use this for French toast and the world’s most decadent grilled cheese.

I was out of my favorite seasonings – the pink salt and the Everything but the bagel seasoning and I wanted to try this lemon pepper.

The cashier told me that she was told by a doctor to put two pieces of this pink salt under your tongue for a headache and it will go away almost immediately. I almost want a headache so I can try this out! I love stuff like this.

These are sooooo good. My boys really like them when we don’t have a homemade treat. I don’t drink milk very much but sometimes I will get a small cup and dunk these puppies. Yum.

I don’t know what it is, but Trader’s makes grocery shopping fun.

I know many of us are sad that we can travel this summer.

What about planning a staycation and stocking up on fun foods from Trader’s that you wouldn’t normally buy and trying to do several picnics maybe even with themes? French, Red, White, and Blue, Childhood (treats from your childhood), etc. Wouldn’t that be fun? You could even plan a short road trip to the nearest store.

Where do you stand on Trader Joe’s? Do you have a favorite product? What would you like to try from my haul?

Amy

Wednesday, July 1, 2020

It is July! Come on, July, we have higher hopes for you!

This confession may show my age? I’m not sure these are really cutting edge fashion and I don’t care! I love a skort! I even like saying “skort”! If you are not familiar with this term – a “skort” is a morphing of the words “skirt” and “short”. It looks like a skirt but it has shorts underneath. I think I owned many a skort as a little girl and I remember a floral skort from the 90s that I wore out to the clubs to go dancing. Some women are not comfortable wearing shorts out to run errands or to an event. Remember what an “event” is? Or, you might think the event calls for something a bit nicer? That is the beauty of the skort. You may not be doing much these days, but I still think the skort is a nice addition to the summer wardrobe.

My most recent foray into the world of skorts occured maybe 3-4 summers ago with this knit skort from Kohl’s. I love the look of white in the summer. I stopped being afraid of white and just went for it. My friends will never let me forget when I wore white denim cut off shorts to a bar in the 90s and slid down the exit ramp because it was slippery with beer I guess. My white shorts were no longer white, but they got a good laugh out of it! White jeans, white denim shorts, white linen shorts, white linen pants – I love them all. I just love the fresh look of white. So, when I was in Kohl’s on another mission a few years ago, I spotted this and thought it would be a great closet workhorse. It sure has been, you guys! I wear it all the time in the summer. Because it is knit and pull on, it is super comfortable. But, it looks nice enough to wear out to dinner or to somewhere a little nicer.

The skort that has been a great buy below:

There are also athletic skorts. I bought this one from Amazon and I don’t love the material so I am not going to link to it. But, this is good for walking or doing some other form of exercise. I sometimes wear this boating if I don’t plan to swim.

I also ordered these from Walmart.com upon seeing them on a blogger – I don’t love the fact that the material looks wrinkled and I can’t seem to fix that with my wrinkle spray. I have been wearing them, though, and they are just o.k. They are more in athletic skort category, too.

I have long loved the swim skort, too.

There are cute skorts intended for golf and tennis and you might find them in sporting goods stores or online. My Sister in Law wears a golf skort from Dick’s by the brand Lady Hagen. She really likes hers but I haven’t gotten to try it yet.

I plan to look for a couple more skorts to add to my summer wardrobe. Where do you stand on the skort?

Amy

Tuesday, June 30, 2020

I have done this before back in the winter if you are a long time reader – and I have talked about my love of Refinery 29’s Money Diaries and The Kitchn’s Grocery Diaries. I just find this stuff interesting! What about you? Anyway, check these out if you are interested and let me know what you think!

So, let’s do a quick recap. I haven’t left the house to work since March 13. I had a bit of a break for two weeks while my district got their plan together and then during our “spring break”. I worked from home from April 6-May 28. That took up a lot of time and the other time I had left was spent meal planning, prepping, and ordering groceries. I did do a bit of online shopping, but not much. Typically I spend more in the summer. I have the time, I really like summer sandals, you catch my drift.

Some other fun facts…

I have only filled up my gas tank 3 times since March 13!

I have continued to do Kroger pick up most weeks and Dinnerly meal service most weeks. This ensures I am not doing much impulse buying at the grocery and sticking to my plan.

I decided to do my week from Monday June 22-Sunday June 28. This is just food and extras. I’m not including any other bills.

Here we go!

Monday, June 22: Mason left for his lake trip. I spent the morning doing chores and helping when he needed help. I wanted to be home when he was picked up around 1:00.

I went out to look at Versona for fun around 2:00 p.m. It is at an outdoor mall so I only went in one place. It was almost empty and all wore masks.

Versona: $22 (4 pairs of earrings) I showed you these last week on the blog and I have worn 3 of the 4 already!

Raising Cane’s Chicken: $20 – Jack really likes this and I wanted to do some treats for him while Mason was gone. I went ahead and bought this early and then just warmed it up in the oven when it was dinner time.

Dairy Queen: $10 – Jack loves a Heath Blizzard and so does Tom!

We ate our chicken and then ended up in a very deep conversation with Jack about the state of our country, the virus, his future in college, and some other weighty topics. It was very emotional. I felt that the Blizzard was needed so he and I went to get them and I could tell he felt better after getting things off his chest. Teen parenting is hard, you all. Teen parenting during a pandemic is even harder.

Tuesday, June 23:

Panera $0: I went out and got my free coffee deal early in the morning. Check out their deal with free coffee until September. I signed up for it on Monday and was eager to try it out.

Jack and I did some shopping for new clothes for him. He even got up earlier than normal to do this. I did not get anything! I was really proud of how Jack looked at prices and kept his distance from other shoppers. He was really pleasant to shop with. We wore masks and dressing rooms were closed.

Steinmart: $102.94

Kohl’s: $41.74

He found 6 shirts, one pair of pants, and two pairs of socks for less than $150. Everything fit when he tried it on for us. Yes, he even agreed to try it on for Tom and I after dinner that night.

Wednesday, June 24:

I went by myself to another store (Von Maur) for pants for Jack. I found two pairs for $50 ($25 each on sale). I got one of them for Mason. They wear the same size but Mason is slightly shorter and skinnier than Jack. I’m talking probably a half an inch in height and 10 pounds maybe. So, not enough to wear different sizes.

Dinner from Thai Cafe: $40 (This is another meal Jack loves and Mason doesn’t really like much.) We always split two orders of chicken pad thai between the three of us and have enough for leftovers.

I could tell Jack was really missing Mason. He agreed to watch several episodes of New Girl with me after dinner. That was nice.

Thursday, June 25:

Free Panera coffee

Free library pick – I was giddy that my library started letting us call to make appointments to pick up books on hold.

I had a friend over for patio happy hour but didn’t buy anything. I had charcuterie board stuff and cocktail stuff already.

Mason returned home and I made spaghetti for dinner and it was so nice to eat all together.

Friday, June 28: Tom was off. He decided to take off most Fridays in June and part of July instead of taking a week off. He went paddleboarding on the river in the morning and then we did a boat lunch later and took Ernie. That night we just went to hear outdoor music and then I made us a late light dinner after with the boys.

Saturday, June 29:

Home Depot trip for patio rug, a plant, new lightbulb, mouse traps, and maybe one other thing $170

Cane’s for dinner for boys $11 – not normal to do this twice in a week but it was close.

Sunday, June 28: We were going to have a couple over for a socially distanced patio happy hour so I needed a few items for that and to fill in the meals for the following week. My gas tank was also empty.

Kroger Gas: $49

Kroger Groceries: 74.11

Take Out for Dinner from Shiraz Mediterranean Grill $50 (The boys wanted this on Friday but it was already closed when they told us – We had gone to listen to music and said we would bring food home – so we promised it for the next night we were all home for dinner) It is expensive take-out but we always have leftovers and I tipped $10.

Thoughts on the week: I spent way more on take out but I had planned for this with Mason gone. Also, I skipped Dinnerly this week and had a lower grocery bill, too. Jack needed new clothes for college and this was a good time for us to have one on one time. I already did a little bit of shopping with Mason the week before but I plan to take him one on one, too. Then, Tom and I will do another college dorm room trip with them after the 4th or whenever the stock is out.

Have you ever recorded spending for a week? It’s very eye opening!

Amy

Friday, June 26, 2020

The weeks are flying! I know I keep saying that but I think we all feel that we are in some strange time and space continuum, right? I am happy to link up today with Andrea, etc. so go right here!

In addition to my favorites this week I will walk you through my week…

Monday my son Mason left for a few days at a cabin at a lake about 1.5 hours away. Tom and I decided to let him go as he was going to be with the mom, and aunt and uncle of his best friend along with three other boys. It’s a little scary because you can’t really control the other people they have been around but we knew this would be good for Mason and he really wanted to go. These days at the cabin were a graduation gift for his best friend from the aunt and uncle who own the cabin.

He did his laundry a couple of days before he left and he made a list of what he should pack and then he packed everything. I started having my boys pack their own stuff around 5th grade. I always gave them a list and then they had to lay everything out to be checked by me. I taught them to roll their stuff and always pack a trash bag for their dirty clothes. He went to Europe last fall and had to re-pack multiple times at all of the different hotels so I think he learned a thing or two about packing. Organization does not come naturally for either of my boys, unfortunately! But, he is super low maintenance and he did a good job.

On Tuesday I posted my home tour and you guys are so sweet. I realized I left out a photo of the front of my house so here it is.

Facebook has been showing me some Father’s Day photos. I love this picture of Tom and the boys at the zoo from when they were 10 years old. Jack is on the left and Mason is on the right. Both Tom and I are feeling so nostalgic about our little boys.

And, this one from a Reds game when they were 9 years old was bittersweet. We had to put our first chocolate lab Archie to sleep the day before. He was 12 years old and was in pain. Mason is on the left and Jack is on the right and you can see that all three of my boys have sad faces.

I heard about something cool that Panera is doing and I have a Panera really close so I signed up. Normally they have a 8.99 a month unlimited coffee, iced coffee, or tea plan. That would pay for itself with just a few coffees a month, right? Until September it is totally free. I had recently said that I don’t even think about going out for coffee anymore, but I thought this would be a nice treat for the summer. It isn’t really unlimited but you can get a new coffee every two hours. Come on now, you wouldn’t want unlimited – you would be up all night! So, I thought I would share this in case anyone is interested.

I got a hot hazelnut in the morning.

And an iced coffee in the afternoon on Tuesday.

I had extra dough so I made homemade pizza for Jack for lunch on Tuesday. I’m getting better at it!

I also made peanut butter chocolate chip cookies – actually I only made a half of the recipe so we wouldn’t be tempted by too many.

One night we had a taco salad.

Jack was interested in shopping for new clothes for college while Mason was gone. He and I masked up and went to Steinmart and Kohl’s and he found some great bargains. He wanted button down shirts and pants mainly. I told Jack he was getting all of my attention while Mason was gone. He looked at me like that was a threat!

Almost everyone is wearing a mask. I think there were only 2 people without them and they looked silly. We have to normalize mask wearing in my opinion! What about in your area?

He also watched New Girl with me and we both just think it’s the best. If you have never watched it, give it a try. It’s just what I need right now.

So, I haven’t made any official announcements with college details on this space. I only told you that Mason made his decision at the beginning of quarantine and Jack made his a couple of weeks later.

They both made their decision independently without telling the other and Tom and I also didn’t say anything. We wanted them both to make the right decision for themselves without worrying about the other. It’s a very unique situation to be an identical twin. Tom and I will never understand it.

When we started the college search junior year we said they had to go somewhere they could use their state money (they get 2,500 a year for good grades and high ACT score) unless they got an amazing scholarship. So, they both applied to a big state school, two small liberal arts schools, and Jack also applied to one other school that Mason didn’t apply to. This may seem limiting but I am a firm believer that kids need guidelines or else it is overwhelming. Also, we don’t believe in letting our kids end up in major debt. We think that they need to have some skin in the game and pay for some of it themselves. I am not judging if you feel differently – just explaining how we feel as parents.

Tom and I were thrilled when they picked the same college – one of the small liberal arts schools that is only 30 minutes from home. Both boys were given super generous scholarships to make this education affordable. On top of that, they have a four year guarantee. If you don’t graduate in four years, they pay for the extra year or years.They are going to live on campus and they applied to be in different dorms with different roommates – but we don’t have dorm assignments yet.

We were so happy because it was our favorite as parents (we kept this quiet) and because we just felt it was the right fit for each of our sons (again we didn’t say this). We also knew that they may not know it now but they might like having the support of their brother if needed. We split them up K-5, never called them “twin”, and treated them very much as their own people, by the way. In middle school and high school it was rare that they had a class together, too. So, we really tried to help them have their own identity. They adore each other. They think the other one is so funny and they truly enjoy each other’s company and it’s a joy to listen to them having fun together. I honestly can’t remember a fight between them.

So, this is a weird time to be getting ready for college. This college, though, has jumped through hoops to make the kids and the parents feel connected. They have had all kinds of online programs, including online orientation. Wednesday night was a parent happy hour with incoming students’ parents and faculty. You were supposed to fix yourself a drink and log on. Tom and I participated on the patio complete with charcuterie.

We continue to be impressed by this school! They also sent socks to the boys with the school’s mascot this week with a card that said “one step closer”. Last month they sent them a bandana. They will also be sending face masks with the school logo. Even though I am so impressed, I hate that they have to start college this way. But, with it being close and having smaller class size, I think that will give them an advantage and make us feel more comfortable. Like many colleges, they are sending them home at Thanksgiving and there will be no breaks from August-then.

Our state published guidelines this week for K-12, also, and we can go back to school! I am waiting to see how my district, the largest in the state, interprets these, though. It’s going to be crazy but I really want to go back and I know our kids desperately NEED to be back in the classroom if we can do it safely.

Well, this week’s favorites turned out to be pretty serious!

What were your favorites from the week?

Thanks for reading!

Amy

Thursday, June 25, 2020

I invited my co-worker/fellow Spanish teacher over for a patio lunch and it was so much fun! She had said she hadn’t mastered cooking one of my favorite Spanish foods that I have mastered (after messing it up countless times, I assure you!) and I had promised to make it for her some time. So, I asked her to come for lunch recently and it was so much fun for me to plan and execute and it really wasn’t much work. I asked if she was comfortable with my cooking but said we would eat outside on my patio and socially distance.

The day before I went to Trader Joe’s. I could have gone anywhere, but I knew they had cheese and meats from Spain.

I bought Iberico cheese which is sooooo good! And, I bought the variety package of Spanish charcuterie/tapas meats. Also, I picked up one of their cute little 99 cent pouches of olives. I don’t like olives, personally.

This next thing is so simple and I make this in my classroom every August – it is called Pan Con Tomate or bread with tomato. I am very sad thinking I probably can’t do this when we go back. I am sure we will have lots of rules in place regarding sharing foods.

You take a baguette and slice it either way and brush some EVOO (from Spain, preferably!) and then you grate or rub tomato on the bread. I always had it in Spain topped with Serrano ham which is above and looks like prosciutto. I lived in Spain with a family when I was 17 and the 15 year old daughter taught me this. The reason I make it for my students every August is because of La Tomatina – the giant tomato food fight. Then, I introduce this snack.

The salads I had in Spain looked very basic but I loved them so much! They simply had lettuce leaves and tomato cut in slices and then you made your own dressing at the table. Every table in Spain has EVOO, vinegar, salt, and pepper. Please don’t go to Spain and ask for Ranch dressing – lol!

And, this is the dish that my co-worker hadn’t mastered – the tortilla or Spanish omelette with potato and onion served room temperature. A tortilla in Spain is an omelette and a tortilla in Mexico is a flat bread.

And, to drink I made tinto de verano which is red wine with lemon lime soda or my preference as you know – Fresca!

For dessert, I veered a bit from Spain and made Sopapilla Cheesecake bars. You use Crescent Roll dough, cream cheese, sugar and cinnamon and they are delish!

It was a lovely lunch if I do say so myself and it was fun to share food from Spain with someone else who appreciates it.

We sat on my patio and I spaced us pretty far apart. I knew she was comfortable with eating my cooking and I asked ahead of time.

Have you done any entertaining?

Amy

Wednesday, June 24, 2020

It is hard to wear earrings with my mask! But, on the rare occasions I go out and can wear earrings – I like to change up my earrings for the season. I gravitate toward white in the summer and I need earrings that work with my new red sandals, don’tcha know? Ha! I love that I am not alone in planning outfits around my shoes.

I took myself to Versona this week. It was my one outing of the day and I wore a mask. There were 3 employees and 2 shoppers besides me and it’s a huge store. I love how they have their earrings organized by color.

I came home with 4 pairs for $22 total.

I have these in burgundy and wear them quite a bit in the fall and winter. I like this style and love the lucite I think it is.

This next pair are gold hoops with little seed beads.

I have a multicolored pair like these below but since I love black and white outfits I thought these would be worn a lot. Again, it is the lucite material.

And, finally these were on the sale rack and I had been thinking about getting leopard. I think these will be worn more in the fall.

One pair was $7.99 and the rest were $4.99 or $2.99 each. You can’t beat that. I don’t want to be shopping much and I hate shopping in a mask, but the stores are having some great deals right now. I feel so bad for them!

What are your favorites types of earrings?

Where do you find your earrings?

Amy

Tuesday, June 23, 2020

O.k. guys, I have finally gotten up the courage to invite you in. Are you ready? I’m not sure I am. Why am I scared? There are spaces in my house that are not great. It’s hard to believe that we haven’t gotten around to fixing them yet, but life happens and I have been a happier person by being content and looking at the positives. We live well in this country. Our most modest homes are mansions by the standards of many other countries.

First a little history…we bought this house right before we got married. My husband had lived next door with his roommates for several years (one of the roommates owned it and the others rented rooms from him) and this house came on the market. Tom was friends with the family who lived here – a precious mom, dad, and cute little girl and boy who adored Tom. He didn’t want to move far because he loved the area of town, he loved the mature trees in the neighborhood, he loved the elementary school playground behind the houses for added green spaces and for dogs to run around. I lived alone in an apartment not far away. Everything came together and we were so lucky to start our married life in this home – it has been good to us for almost 20 years! We have done so much but we still have more to do. I will talk you through it as we tour. I will also try to explain future remodeling plans and what we have already accomplished. Bonus to this house – one of the best public high schools is a short walk away and Tom convinced me to apply right before we bought the house. I had been driving 30 minutes to another district. I got the job! The year 2000 was a big one for me as I got the house, the husband, and the job I still have today… I was a lucky gal. The other thing I want to mention is that it was a bit bigger than a starter home which I think was a good decision. It had room to grow so that is why we never moved – that, and the fact that we love this area.

Come on in…

We replaced the outdated door with this beautiful door and recently re-stained it. It needed it badly.

I don’t love how there is no transition area but we always come in the back anyway.

This is our family room. We will be changing the paint color soon and ripping up the carpet and replacing it with the same hard wood as in the new Master bedroom.

We used Agreeable Gray in the mudroom and Egret White in the Master bedroom. They are both a greige and I will most likely use Egret in the living room and hallways and Agreeable Gray in the kitchen and maybe dining room. They work well together and we bought a ton of paint so we have plenty. Rainwashed and Sea Salt are potential for Master bath.

This is our hallway off of the family room. I will be replacing the mis-matched rugs. It was a quick buy for Ernie and I just never changed it. Ernie doesn’t like hardwood floors which could be a problem as we will have even more hardwood. This paint color has been here the whole time. We will be changing this soon, too, but I have liked it. It is like a latte color tan? It is the only paint I didn’t change when we moved in. We are also replacing all of the wood floors here to match the Master bedroom flooring.

This is the hall bath. This will be demolished soon, I hope. The sink is messed up. It works but see how the basin is off of the pedestal. I didn’t even ask for an explanation from Tom because I was pretty sure I wouldn’t understand.

Jack’s bedroom door.

Mason’s bedroom door. We replaced the doors recently. The handles will be replaced to match the rest of the new handles soon. I can’t show you the insides because this isn’t their blog – ha!

This is our old bedroom. This will become the Master bath. The dark green looks so dated now but I really do like a dark bedroom for sleeping. The paintings on the wall were 25 cents at a garage sale 20 years ago and I paid to have them professionally framed.

This is the current Master bath which is a joke because it is the size of a shoebox. It will be demolished soon and this will be combined with the hall bath to make a bigger hall bath. I can’t wait. The virus set us back a bit. I am thankful our project was in a good transition state when it hit. This will be a solid wall and there will be a hallway leading to the Master bed and bath.

Tom’s new closet.

My new closet

New Master bedroom. We haven’t bought anything new yet. We moved into the room right when quarantine started.

Master bedroom doors

We want to put a bigger flatscreen on the wall and get rid of this piece of furniture I bought when I was 22. I added the little plant. This is the flooring we have already purchased for the rest of the house – J and M’s bedrooms, the hall, the living room, and the dining room. I cannot wait to rip up the carpet in the living room.

The dining room which is next to the living room. I am tired of this mustard yellow and this will match the new kitchen or living room or both with the aforementioned Egret White or Agreeable Gray. I can’t wait to see this room lightened up. So, the dining room will get new paint, new flooring like the Master bedroom, and a new light fixture. I loved the fixture 20 years ago, though! We love, love, love our table. It folds open to seat at least 8.

O.k., this is the room I have tried to hide. And, you know I love to cook and entertain. The kitchen will be the last part of the renovation. The footprint will be slightly larger as we have about two feet behind the current sink that will butt up against the new mudroom. We are thinking we will do white again with the new cabinetry that will go all the way up to the ceiling with no soffet, the slate tile floor from the mudroom, new countertops (not sure what material yet) and new peninsula that is raised higher. We are talking about a custom wood countertop for the peninsula.

As ugly as my kitchen is, the layout has been functional and I have always had nice appliances. The ugly table and floor have allowed me to let my kids and my nieces make messes without me worrying! So, there is the bright side to an ugly eyesore kitchen! I sound like a brat, but the paint is peeling and it looks so bad.

The hallway has this pantry that was already here.

The pantry door has our heights measured throughout the years. My nieces are on here. They came over one day each week in the summer and we always measured them, too, for some reason! The boys adored their older girl cousins. They are almost 21 and 19 and Jack and Mason are almost 18 so they were good ages to play together.

This is our staircase that leads to the basement. We put in a basement bathroom and did drywall where there had been paneling. We did new fireplace surround and built ins, new paint, and new carpet about 10 years ago. We plan to do something to this banister but we don’t know what yet.

Looking down to the basement

Looking up from the basement. That is the mudroom you see at the top, too.

This area is cluttered from distance learning. I need to work on that. I also need to work on the shelf stuff.

The bathroom we added. Jack uses this bathroom which is the nicest in the house. Tom uses the tiny one and Mason and I share the hall one. Not ideal, but it worked for us.

Our basement storage space has a sliding door. This is where my washer and dryer were until the mudroom was finished. I need to work on this clutter, too.

Also, there is a giant room that has a ping pong table, an L shaped desk, another desk, a futon, a giant bean bag and this is where the boys do homework, game, have friends over. I can’t show you right now because it is a mess that the boys need to deal with.

New mudroom off of the kitchen

And, that is it for the inside of our house.

When we bought the house it didn’t have a garage. Tom designed and built a lot of this himself but also had subcontractors help. The house also didn’t have a fence and Tom and some friends and family built our first fence which has now been replaced.

New addition on the back of the house where the Master and the mudroom are. We added on 560 square feet.

Patio off of the side of the garage

And, that’s it! I am so happy with what we have accomplished, but we still have some big projects ahead as you can see. Our boys are supposed to leave for college mid August and we have decided to not disrupt their summer by doing any work. But, also, the virus makes it maybe not a great time to proceed. I am so thankful we got to the point we did by mid-March, you guys. I am not great with having workers here making noise and messes. Of course, that may end up happening if we do distance learning from home again in the fall, but that will be o.k. and may even make it easier. In the meantime, hopefully we can make final design decisions and map out a plan for finishing this. But, in all honesty, is a house ever really finished? Ha!

Any advice is appreciated! Tom is very opinionated but I am open to ideas when it comes to construction.

Amy