Friday, October 26, 2018

Happy Friday all!  I’m linking up with Andrea, etc.  for Friday Favorites.  Click here to explore some of the others!  

Here are just a few favorites!

Pioneer Woman Barbie is coming out!  Would kids know who she is?  Is it true that you have made it in life when you have a Barbie made of yourself?  Guess what, I have a Spanish teacher Barbie that I bought 20 years ago – o.k., so it’s not me per se, but still!  I will show you soon!  It just cracks me up that they made a Spanish teacher Barbie.  I’m probably the only one who bought one!

My body does not really allow for a jumper, but I saw this and thought some of you could rock this for the hoiidays!  What do we think?  My only advice is, stay dehydrated.  Do not have to use the restroom or you will have to uncomfortably strip all the way down to potty.  

I took 71 well dressed kids on a field trip Wednesday.  It was a fun day!

I splurged and bought a book last weekend.  Have you read Colleen Hoover?  I’m liking this newest book by her so far.  

If you are local to Louisville, there is a Fat Friday Hop where all the stores are open late on Frankfort Avenue.  Go in Bourbon Barrel Food and The Wine Rack.  Bourbon Barrel will have Old Forester punch and The Wine Rack will have a Samuels Family representative – they are the Maker’s Mark people.  These are so fun, especially if the weather is nice.  I’m hoping to stop by on our way to a chili supper. 

While in the bookstore last weekend, I also saw this book.  Last winter I was all about hygge. Is this Finnish Way the new hygge?  If so, you heard it here first.  I love books like this.  I didn’t buy it, but it is on my list.  

So, that’s it!  I have not done any clothes shopping since my Old Navy order here and my consignment finds here.

Wishing you a wonderful Halloween weekend!

Amy 

Thursday, October 25, 2018

So, I talk often about shopping at the wonderful consignment stores in my city.  We are lucky to have some really great ones in Louisville.  I have two favorites that I stop into regularly.  One is a chain called Clothes Mentor.  The other is a locally owned shop called Sassy Fox.  If you are local it is in the heart of St. Matthews on Chenoweth Lane.  They have great stuff!  They regularly have Lululemon, Tory Burch brand new shoes, like new handbags, lots of clothes with tags still on, and I could go on and on.  

They have great sales, too.  As the season goes on, they mark particular color tags down.  I stopped in a week ago on Thursday afternoon when they also had a ladies night additional 10% off and I had a $5 off a purchase of $25 coupon from them. I found two great things that ended up being 35% off each.  

Did I need anything?  No, probably not, but I am building my fall and winter wardrobe and I will be selling and donating a few things that no longer fit my taste.  Also, when shopping consignment you have to jump when you find good things… or so I tell my husband.

First up I found a new with tags wine colored poncho with sleeve-type holes sewn in.  If you can find a wrap with sleeves, they are much more wearable.  The front is a suede like material and the back is a sweater material.  They had a second one on the rack.  Original price $97.  I got it for $21.  I thought this would look nice with my new black floppy hat for when I am frolicking in the leaves this fall with a Starbuck’s PSL in hand!  Or, maybe that is a vision for my fake life!  

Second up I found these Lysse brand (original price $77)new with tags black pull on jeans.  I got these for $16.  

I wore these together to school the very next day! You might remember it from yesterday’s post here! 

Yesterday I took 71 of my students on a field trip and they had to dress up because we went to a nice performance.  Many of my senior girls know about my blog so I wanted to show you teen girl fashion.  There were a lot of skirts with buttons up the front that have a seventies vibe.  Aren’t they cute? 

Hope you have a great Thursday!  

Amy 

Monday, October 22, 2018

How was your weekend?  I did very little this weekend!  It was cold and we didn’t have much we had to do so we took advantage of it.  So, it was nice to relax, but I would have liked to meet up with friends.  Hopefully we will be able to make that happen in the next couple of weekends.  

Friday after school was busy with grocery pick up and haircuts for the boys but I managed to squeeze in some crisp patio time before making dinner.  

I finished Home Safe by Elizabeth Berg and I recommend it.  This was the book club pick by this month’s hostess. 

If you are local and in need of a boat or boating accessories, go see my husband’s brother in law at Marine Sales and Service.  These little plastic cups are great for outside!

Saturday morning was lazy and included french toast for my boys.  I have perfected it.  You buy the brioche bread from Trader Joe’s and it turns out great!

I used a very old nail polish and it really is past its prime.  Wicked by Essie is the color and I like it so much I may buy a new bottle.  

After a very lazy Saturday morning, I made a Costco run.  I had been out of my all time favorite coffee and it was good to get it again.  

Saturday I also had some patio time but needed a blanket!  

I also finished this and I recommend it, too.  I had to take a break from it to finish my book club book in time for Thursday night.  I will do a post on starting a book club if you all would be interested.  I have started two.  This one has been going for almost a year.  My other one went for 4-5 years before it faded out.  

I did a special “Soup Sunday” post yesterday.  Check it out here to see the recipe for this chicken tortilla soup below.  

We have lived in our home for 18.5 years.  It is a 60s ranch and I love it, but it needed some work and still needs some work.  We have replaced doors, windows, built a free standing carriage house garage with patio off to the side, refinished the basement complete with drywalling over the paneling, added a basement bathroom, built a fence, redone the roof.  Whew!  But, our big goal has always been to build an addition on the back.  This will involve a master bedroom with bigger closets, master bath, new hall bath, mudroom, and new kitchen.  I’m really scared because I don’t like disarray and I’m worried about how long it will take and I am also conservative about the expenses.  We got started with having our back concrete steps removed and our old septic tank that is no longer used dug out.  My sweet dog missed his back porch so he had to lay next to where it was.  I thought it was funny and sent it to my hub with a caption from our dog saying, “Where’s my back porch, daddy?”

My husband built us temporary back steps in just a few hours each weekend day.  I was without back steps for only five days but I learned how much I needed them! Look at that deceiving blue sky.  It was 50 degrees!

Even though I clicklisted Friday, I had to make a run for a few items on Sunday.  I had to get a PSL!

My boys wanted to go to the bookstore and I can’t say no to a bookstore or to buying them books!  

I treated myself to two fall magazines.  

After hub finished the stairs, we went to a movie.  This time it was his pick because I picked a Simple Favor and A Star is Born the last two times we saw movies.  He really liked both of those, too.  So, Bad Times at the El Royale…he really liked this one, but I have three words for you:  slow, long, and disturbing.  It felt like a Quentin Tarantino film maybe?  Take my opinion with a grain of salt because I love comedies and rom coms the most.  My favorite movies are Pitch Perfect 1 and 2, Bridesmaids, Stepbrothers, and the like.  So… there you go!

Are we ready for another week?  I have a five day week with a field trip in the middle.  I’m taking 70 kids on two buses to a performance and to lunch.  I have 7 chaperones, 3 of which are dads which I thought was pretty cool.  

I have some posts planned:  What to wear for Halloween events, What to wear for Thanksgiving, How to start a book club, Fall Bucket List Check in and November goals, What to make for Fall Parties/Thanksgiving.  Hope that sounds good and leave me suggestions in the comments if you have other ideas.

Thanks for reading and good luck with your Monday!

Amy 

Sunday, October 21, 2018

It’s finally soup weather! Have you made your first batch? I have made one batch of chili and one failed attempt at taco soup – I didn’t like the enchilada sauce that the recipe called for. I will look for another recipe.

Yesterday I made this soup and it was delish and even better, super easy!

One carton chicken broth

Half an onion

Salsa verde – I only used half of the jar

2 cans great northern beans

Green chiles – one small can

Can of corn

Cooked, diced chicken (I used rotisserie)

Cumin

Not pictured – about a half cup of salsa in the jar – not fresh

Cook for about 20 minutes or more. I like to bring to a boil and then simmer for awhile. I also sautéed the onions before adding.

Serve with some Mexican blend shredded cheese and sour cream if desired. We also had corn bread with it.

I guess I call this chicken tortilla soup?

Let me know if you try it! I will be eating this again today!

Amy

Thursday, October 18, 2018

Remember when Liz Claiborne used to be everywhere and was quite a popular brand?  Well, maybe you don’t remember if you are younger than I am!  Last winter I stumbled upon a good find in my opinion.  Did you know you can still find the Liz Claiborne Brand at JCPenney and JCP.com? I was impressed by the quality and even better, the price on the items. 

I am not typically a JC Penney shopper, but we needed a suit for my debate team son last year.  If you need suits for your teen boys, their suit prices are unbeatable.  I think we had him in suit jacket, pants, dress shirt, and two ties for just over $100.  We didn’t know how quickly he would grow, so we only bought one and it’s still working for him this season.  Or, your husband may need suits for work.  My husband doesn’t have to dress that formally for his job.  Of course while we were trying on suits, I wandered over to the women’s section!  

It’s not a great experience for me to shop at JCP in person.  It’s at a really busy mall with slim pickings for parking and it’s just a mess inside the store.  The check outs are in weird places and the merchandise is crammed together.  But, if you can overlook that, you should check out this line of clothes.  I also had success with one item that I ordered on JCP.com last season.  While working on this post, I actually made it a point to visit the store this season.  They had some great sales, but there wasn’t anything I had to have.  Just go to the website and search by brand.  

How would I describe the Liz Claiborne brand?  They have working woman type clothes (I saw some great non wrinkle, classy looking shells for women to wear under a cardigan or a suit jacket), lounge/weekend wear, and what I would call classic with a twist/boho style items.  I don’t know about you, but I’m always looking for Anthropologie vibe clothes for less!  

Item Number One from Last Season:  I really wanted a chambray shirt but button downs are often hard for me and not my most flattering look.  I was thrilled to find this partial button tunic length top.  I usually wear it with leggings and a long vest.

Item Number Two from Last Season:  This gorgeous cherry red velour ish 3/4 length sleeve top.  I wore this to my husband’s holiday party, to church on Christmas Eve, on Valentine’s Day and several other times.  I was so happy to see this when I got out my off season clothes.  It came in purple and black and I’m mad that I didn’t snag the black.  I also told my lovely hair girl/friend about this and she got two of them and wore them to death.  I didn’t get the purple because I didn’t want to look like Barney the children’s character.  My friend looks great in jewel tones so I think she went for the purple and didn’t look like Barney. 

Item Number Three and Four from Last Season:  This is from her lounge/weekend collection (still located in the store by the other clothes).  I never buy two of an item, but I bought two of these super soft, black, 3/4 length sleeve, nice flattering line down the front shirts.  Excuse the wrinkles as this was packed away in a Rubbermaid under bed tote.  I wanted decent looking lounge clothes for home that could also be acceptable for leaving the house.  I wear these with my fun printed leggings.  To be honest, I could use more than two.  

I apologize that I’m showing you items from last year, but I wanted to give you an idea of what items the brand offers.  

If you decide to check it out, let me know!

What brands work for you?  Any suggestions for me?  

My sister loves the Rock and Republic line at Kohl’s but I haven’t had any luck with it.  We are all different with different tastes, but it pays to be open minded and you can find great stuff in unexpected places!

Thanks for reading!

Amy