Wednesday, May 23, 2018

Today I have a few outfits and some ideas for you as you are preparing your summer wardrobe.  

This is a Chico’s consignment skirt that doesn’t wrinkle with my sleeveless Loft tassel top.  I ordered this top back in February with one of Loft’s online deals where everything was 60% off.  I only kept 4 items and returned the rest to the store, but each thing was between $7-12.  Check Loft out if you haven’t already and never buy anything full price.  I put a yellow sweater over it but had to go without most of the day because my classroom was so hot.  And, my shoes were exchanged for flats after about 3rd period.  Oh well.  I love these shoes by Nordstrom BP from last season but they are not all day teacher shoes.  

My Friday outfit was pretty casual.  I wore my frayed hem white Old Navy rockstar jeans and my new Target twist front top.  I also had a denim looking cardigan to go over it.  I must work on my posing face.  Scary.  

This is my new orange blouse from my Saturday consignment store trip with my black ankle length pants (Chico’s consignment) and a turquoise Kendra Scott Rayne necklace.  This was the perfect teacher outfit for me.  I felt so comfortable but I think it looked “put together”.  One tip I have is if you aren’t excited enough to wear a new piece right away, take it back.  

Let’s talk about summer staples.  First of all, I’m a big believer that you don’t need a huge closet full of things.  In fact, the capsule wardrobe idea really intrigues me but I like variety and don’t want to limit myself.  

If you are a jeans person during the fall, winter, and spring, simply repeat that on the bottom in the summer.  I have a light denim skirt (Old Navy last season) on the left and my chambray drawstring shorts (Target this season) on the right.  You will seriously reach for these items constantly.  You can’t go wrong.  Most of your tops will work with these bottoms.  

If you are a black pants person in the fall and winter and maybe spring, repeat this look with black shorts -if you are comfortable wearing shorts.  Remember that shorts come in different lengths.  I look better with a 3.5 inch inseam because my legs are not long but some look better in a longer short.  Also, make sure the short follows your leg line and doesn’t flare out too much.  I made that mistake a couple of summers ago. 

If you are not a shorts person, you could do a black mini or maxi skirt.  Below are linen drawstring shorts from Old Navy maybe three seasons ago, but I know they still carry these.  I love these shorts and have them in tan and white, too.  Each season they come out with more colors and they wash and dry in the dryer well.  I may add their olive green this season because I think they would look great with my black or white tops.  They don’t need to be ironed if you immediately take these out of the dryer.  Mine have been in storage so I will have to iron them.  

I love the look of white in the summer and I stopped being afraid of wearing white several years ago.  If they get a stain, it’s not the end of the world.   In fact, my college friends love to tell the story of me wearing white denim shorts to a bar (Why, young Amy?) and falling and sliding down a ramp on my bottom.  I had to untuck my top the rest of the night to hide the stain.

I have more white bottoms than any other color for summer.  I have two pairs of white jeans (one distressed and one not distressed), a white knit skort, and the Old Navy white linen drawstring shorts.  I just think they look so crisp and summery.  

I hope I have made a convincing case that you really don’t need a lot.  You could get by with summer denim, black, and white and mix and match with many tops you already have.  If it is not that hot yet where you live, I love the look of shorts with a long sleeve top and a sleeveless with white jeans.  

Most of the tops I have for summer look great with denim, black, or white, too.  I have made many, many shopping “mistakes” in my day and one of the big ones is I have not limited my colors.  You shouldn’t own the entire rainbow, in my opinion.  Pick a few favorite neutrals and a few favorite pops of color.  You shouldn’t have any one trick pony pieces in your closet and the best way to avoid that is to pick your colors.  When do you get the most compliments?  Is it when you wear the teal shirt that brings out your eyes?  That should be one of your colors.  

I have slightly different colors for each season. In the spring and summer I love yellow, coral, navy, black, white,  and pink.  I also love fun flowery prints and stripes. But, pretty much everything must work with my black, white, or denim bottoms.  

For ideas on where to find these summer staples, I would start with Target, Old Navy, and Kohl’s.  I’m not a big fan of Kohl’s because it overwhelms me, but many people have luck with some of their brands.  You can also do a search on Amazon for the specific item.  For white jeans, I think American Eagle has some of the best around.  

When looking at your summer wardrobe, think about your life.  What occasions do you need to dress for?  I need summer outfits for:  errands, pool or boat, working out, girls night out, date night, summer concerts, church.  Think about your lifestyle and what is realistic for you.  There are only 7 days in the week so you don’t need as much as you might think.  

ACCESSORIES:  

I also put away my winter jewelry and get out my summer jewelry.  I put my most worn summer things on this cake plate for easy access.  

If you have a solid color tee, you can simply add a long necklace.  These are my most worn summer necklaces.  You can even find cute ones at Walmart, like my wooden tassel that I got for $3.  If you are wearing shorts and a tee, a long necklace just amps it up so that you look “put together”.  

And, don’t forget it’s garage sale season, folks.  I don’t find many clothes, but I have found some accessories. These two bracelets were 50 cent finds several years ago.  I have worn both of them a ton!  Adding a little bangle does a lot to amp up an outfit, too.  

Finally, if you have a favorite black and a favorite tan sandal, that might be all you really need.  I’m not fan of having all of the colors of the rainbow in my shoe wardrobe either.  These are two that are on constant rotation.  

I do want to state that I know this post and any post on fashion is a bit frivolous and it’s what’s inside a person that matters.  However, fashion and putting outfits together on a budget is a fun hobby for me.  Many women are struggling to manage all of their “hats” in life and I hope that this helps someone out there that needs a little boost.  I know that I can be the best version of myself when I feel good in my clothes.

What tips do you have for me?  What are your summer staples?  Will you wear red, white, and blue for Memorial Day?

Thanks for stopping by!

Amy 

Tuesday, May 22, 2018

Have you tried grocery pick up yet?  It is life-changing and I don’t use that term lightly!  I use Kroger so that is what I will be talking about today.  If you don’t have a Kroger, my sister uses Walmart and loves it, too.  I know many other supermarkets are adding this service, too.

When I first heard about this possibility I kind of thought it wasn’t for me.  I don’t really hate grocery shopping and going in the store and seeing new products has always given me meal ideas.

Fast forward to my beloved Kroger closing for 6 months to renovate and this was what prompted me to try Kroger’s Clicklist.  

First, you go to the website and create an account or get the app. choose your store location, date and pick up time.  I think your order can be ready for as soon as 4 hours after placing it.  I found all of this very user friendly.  

You pick an hour window and can pick it up any time within that hour.  For example, I often pick 3-4.  I have only had to wait more than 10 minutes once.  They told me Sunday evening is the busiest time so now I avoid that.  

You add things to your online “cart” and it will even pull up past products you have purchased.  For Kroger, it is tied to your Kroger plus card number so you get the discounts and points for the things you buy.

I feel like you do have to be sort of organized to shop this way.  You must do some degree of meal planning.  You can sit at your desk and look at recipes while adding to your cart.  You can have your calendar open in front of you to see what your week will look like.  

It has a $4.95 service fee, but I know I spend more than that on impulse buys when I go in the store.

As you add to your cart, it calculates your total, so this is great for budgeting.

You can still use coupons.  When you arrive, they will come to your car, take them in the store, and change your total.  You do have to pay online when you order but they can adjust your total if you don’t accept a substitution or if you have the aforementioned coupons.

You can check a box to accept substitutions or to not allow substitutions.  I always allow.  I have gotten bigger sizes for the same price.  If they sub something, you still get the price of the original item.

I have always been pleased with the produce they have picked for me.  They probably pick better than I do!  I have also gotten deli meat.  

You can buy beer!

I get most of our toiletries this way. Kroger often has better prices than Target on shampoo, conditioner, deodorant, and the like.

When it’s time to pick up, you pull into a designated spot and call a phone number and give your name.  Side note:  You either feel like a VIP or like the world’s laziest person.  I have chosen to feel like a VIP.  

You don’t have to get out of your car unless you want to.  They will load everything for you.  Too bad they don’t ride home with you to unload.  Wait – that’s what my teen boys are for!

This was life changing in the winter.  I felt so great when we had a big snow coming and I stocked up this way before it hit!  Where was this when I had infant and toddler twins?  This would be great for the disabled or the elderly (if they were open to learning the online system).

Let me know what you think!  Are you a grocery pick up person?

Happy shopping!

Amy 

Monday, May 21, 2018

Hello to you, too!  I’m linking up with My Glittery Heart, Lindsay’s Sweet World, and The Sirois Family for Hello Monday!  I’m also linking up with The Blended Blog to talk about long weekend plans.  This is an interesting Monday for me because we don’t have school tomorrow due to primary election day.  Then, we will continue our week at school Wednesday-Friday.  It will be a little weird.  

This weekend I said yes to last minute plans again!  These ladies with me below are college friends and we all live in the same city now.  We had dinner at a restaurant on the river that also has music.  I stayed out until 10 p.m. if you can believe that.

I ordered a chile mandarin mule and it was spicy.  It had ginger beer, mandarin vodka, and jalapeño juice and seeds.  It was intense!

I was still able to get up at 5 a.m. for The Royal Wedding!  It was beautiful and I watched while drinking coffeee, tea, eating breakfast, and folding clothes until about 8:30.

At 9 a.m., I went to the nautical yard sale I talked about on Friday.  They had this cute boutique in an RV that sold swimsuits, coverups, sunglasses, etc.  I didn’t buy anything but I had a nice time.  I did drink a mimosa, too.

This is a view of where the sale was held.  I love seeing all the boats.

I came home, did a few more chores, visited with hub and boys and then took 3 bags of stuff to Clothes Mentor.  If you don’t have a Clothes Mentor where you live, it is a consignment store chain where they pay you cash or store credit on the spot.  I did another clean out and decided I would rather have a small summer closet of things I love than a bigger closet with just so-so items.  I got $35 for the clothes I sold and came home with a Lucky brand navy tee with cute details and buttons ($12), a JCPenney brand bright coral blouse ($8) and silver flip flops ($8).  A navy shirt had been on my list and I thought I would get good use out of the other two items.  They do give you 7 days to return items which I think is pretty rare at consignment stores.  I may return the shoes if I decide I won’t wear them enough to justify keeping them.  

My hub put gas in the boat and did some cleaning and I met him where we keep our boat.  The weather was looking iffy and it had rained off and on.  My teen boys had friends coming over for another video project so we had to be home by 5, but I talked hub into a drink with a view.  

I did get to read a bit and then I made dinner for the boys.  

I snuck this picture out my kitchen window because it looked like they were having fun while dining alfresco.  I love for them to have friends over and I love to cook for them.  They spent 2 hours outside filming before they ate!  We want to replace our patio furniture this year.  It is looking rough.

Sunday morning I drank coffee on the patio.

I meal prepped for the week and then I walked in my neighborhood.  

Then, I met my husband at the boat and we took our first little ride of 2018.  

After the boat ride, we went to see Melissa McCarthy’s Life of the Party.  It was cute but I wouldn’t say it was one of her best.  

Our teens had lots of homework and projects because it’s that time of year with only one more week of school before final exams.  We ended the weekend eating dinner together as a family and watching a show.  I loved spending so much time by the river this weekend.  I love to be near water.  The ocean would be better, but hey, I will take what I can get.  

I did make 3 of JoJo’s recipes from The Magnolia Table cookbook.  I made her seasoned saltine crackers, her queso, and her bowtie pasta with sundried tomatoes and artichokes.  All 3 were winners!  

Long Weekend Plans:  We hope the weather cooperates so we can spend one full day of boating on the river.  This will probably be Sunday and we might do Monday, too.  We usually invite another family and take food and tool around and then choose a spot to anchor and eat.  

There is also a free concert at a beautiful outdoor amphitheater with food trucks.  We try to go to as many of these as possible in the summer.

I would like to take the boys to a military cemetary to pay our respects.  And, as the week progresses, I will see what else is happening around our town.  I’m sure we will probably grill out at some point, too.  Have you tried any of my favorite McCormick’s marinades yet? They are in the aisle with the chili mix and I love the mojito lime flavor but there is also a bourbon and brown sugar flavor.  You mix with evoo, vinegar, and water.  My sister told me about them.  

It’s hard to believe that the unofficial start of summer is finally here.  I haven’t decided if we will join the pool this year.  We didn’t join it last year because we weren’t using it enough, but it still makes me sad to not be a member.  I have such good memories of taking my boys there several days a week until they were 12.  

What are your plans for the 3 day weekend?  

See you back here tomorrow when I will talk about grocery pick up!

Amy 

Friday, May 18, 2018

Oh, Friday how I have missed you!  

Here are some of my favorites from this week.  I’m linking up with Momfessionals, The Slaughters and Grace and Love blogs.  I can’t wait to read your favorites!  If you don’t have a blog, leave me a comment and let me know a favorite of yours this week.  I seriously get the best recommendations from you all!

#1)  I love Target.com for clothing purchases.  I do in store pick up and then if it doesn’t work out at home, I simply return it.  They make ordering and returning super easy.  This time, I ordered this navy and white knit flutter sleeve top and the red twist front top.  These are both Universal Thread brand by Target.  This is my favorite new brand of theirs.

I was chatting with Kellyann of This Blonde’s Shopping Bag about how good Target’s new lines of clothing are this season.  They made me break my Target clothes shopping ban!

#2)  Confession:  I did not own any real pajama sets until I saw this cute set at Target when I was there for my pick up (You didn’t think I could just pick up my order and leave, did you?) and the softness and the lemons did me in.  It was $19.99.  It is shorts with a drawstring and a camisole top.  

#3)  My hub spoiled me for Mother’s Day.  He got me these shiny black Birkenstocks.  Magnolia Mamas recommended this style and I always feel like my black summer shoe game is lacking – but no more!  I have worn them every day since I got them!

#4)  My sweet boy Ernie.  He is so ready for us to be home for the summer.

#5)  Raise your hand if you are watching the Royal Wedding! I’m very excited!  I have my DVR set for 4:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. and I actually might get up that early!  I wanted to have a royal wedding brunch, but I don’t think my family would like me to entertain that early. 

After the Royal Wedding, I plan to go to a nautical yard sale.  People can sell their boating accessories.  We have a small runabout boat that we use on the river.  I’m looking for something in particular but if I don’t find it, they are serving breakfast pizza, mimosas, and bloody marys, so it sounds like it will be a win either way!

I’m hoping to get out and do our first boat ride of 2018 Saturday or Sunday, too!

#6)  This was another Mother’s Day gift from my sons.  I have several pages bookmarked and hope to try a recipe this weekend.  Joanna’s recipes remind me of my fave Pioneer Woman.  Neither lady is afraid to use butter.  This is not a healthy food cookbook.  It is real food with real ingredients that real people eat.  Now, there are some healthy salad, soup, and vegetable side recipes, but I just wanted you to know what type of cookbook this is.  

#7)  I can’t remember which blogger recommended this book, but I am enjoying it.  I like to read seasonally.  I like to read about summer places in the summer and I like to read books set in colder climates in the winter.  I almost exclusively get my books from the library except for cookbooks.  I still really like to own some cookbooks.  I wrote about my love for the library here and how I have read over 20 books in 2018 without spending a dime.

#8)  I ran out of my favorite tanners that I talked about here.  I went to buy more and they were out of those brands so I took a chance on Australian Gold which was more expensive.  It doesn’t smell as good as my others but it gives you a nice pretty dark natural tan after two uses.  

Here’s to a fabulous weekend, friends!

Hope to see you back here Monday!

Amy 

Thursday, May 17, 2018

Do you still use Pinterest? I am a big fan! I don’t use it as much as I did when it first came on the scene, but I still have all of my “boards”and I’ve gotten amazing ideas for food, fashion, travel, school, holidays, decor, and more.

Today, I want to talk about Pinterest for fashion. If I have an event to go to, I will type the name of the event in the search bar. Examples of searches I’ve done:

Girls’ Night Out

Summer Wedding

Teacher Outfit

Summer Work Outfit

Obviously, I can’t run to the store or hop online and order exact replicas, but it gives me an idea of how to work my own closet. It has shown me color combos I wouldn’t have come up with on my own like cognac and grey, navy and orange, camo and pink.

Another way I use Pinterest is to search a specific clothing item that I want to wear. Let’s say I want to wear white jeans out to dinner but I’m stumped about what top to wear with them. I will type “white jeans” in the search bar and get some ideas.

Some other searches I have done are:

Birkenstock outfit

Black skirt outfit

Distressed jeans outfit

Graphic tee outfit

Kimono outfit

Denim shorts outfit

When I told a friend about this she responded that she didn’t have a Pinterest-worthy closet so this wouldn’t work for her. I don’t have a Pinterest-worthy closet either, trust me. I would argue that this method actually stretches your closet by giving you fresh ideas. I must give credit to one of the first blogs I read, Sheaffer Told Me To, which started out as Pinterest Told Me To. Her original blog premise was to take Pinterest outfits and copy or put her own spin on them.

Have you used Pinterest this way?

Try it and let me know what you think!

Amy

Wednesday, May 16, 2018

Here are some work outfits from the past week.

I liked this outfit. This is a Loft gingham from last season. These are my Old Navy rockstar jeans that I frayed myself. I wrote about the very easy process a couple of weeks ago.

This outfit was kind of blah. I think it’s because I didn’t have my rule of 3 in place. It’s just a blouse and a skirt. It was in the 90s and the school AC was not our friend.

I loved this outfit! Someone showed these Loft pants and I loved the print so much! They are “beach pants” according to Loft.com and aren’t sold in stores. I ordered my normal size for like 40% off making them $37. This is a lot for me but I loved them. They arrived and were HUGE! I sadly returned them to my local store. Tip: I only order from places that have a store in my city just to make life easier. Exception: Nordstrom.com. Get this…a lady in front of me was returning the same pants. I asked to try hers on and they worked! Divine Intervention! I’m wearing my trusty Chico’s 3/4 length criss cross top. I don’t want to be in the Chico’s age demographic, but let’s face it, I probably am. They make quality staples IMO. You can’t see the subtle criss cross in this photo. I did a close up of the pants.

I hated this outfit. It was not flattering when I saw the photo. I love the skirt which is LuLaRoe. I seriously love their Cassie skirt. I immediately washed the sweater and blouse to put in donate pile and then had second thoughts. Maybe I just need to pair skirt with something better. The skirt has birds on it. Give me all the bird, pineapple, Palm, and lemon prints this season!

Happy Hump Day!

Amy

Tuesday, May 15, 2018

I like reading others’ routines so hope you do, too!

This is my typical school day routine.

5:00 Alarm – I usually get up right when my alarm goes off. I make one cup of coffee and have my quiet time. I read Everyday Holy by Melanie Shankle right now and then I read some blogs. I finish writing my blog entry the night before and set it to publish at 4:00 am but I may add it to a link up in the morning.

5:30 – Eat my low carb egg casserole, zucchini, turkey sausage

6:00 – Make sure boys are getting up to shower. One showers upstairs and one in the basement.

6:15-6:45 – I get ready. I shower at night so this is pretty quick. I wash my hair every night. I like to go to bed with clean hair – especially during allergy season.

6:55 – Boys and I leave for school. They can walk but we are still in habit of driving from dark and cold winter mornings. We are lucky to live really close and I should walk too but I always have so much stuff! I love having my boys at my school. I don’t teach them or see them much but I like knowing they are in my building.

7:00-8:30 – School starts at 7:40 but I have first period planning. This is my time to make copies, give makeup tests, talk to colleagues, plan for my classes, enter grades, etc.

8:31-11:13 – I teach 3 classes of 50 minutes each.

11:13-11:37 – Lunch – I have to pack my lunch and it’s usually leftovers. A couple of teachers come to my room to chat and eat.

11:37-2:20 – Teach 3 more classes of 50 minutes. (I teach 3 different classes each day – so 6 classes total and 2 of each course).

2:20-3:30 – Clean up classroom, talk to students or colleagues, do makeups tests, organize for next day, go to meetings – depends on the day.

The boys walk home after whatever club or activity they have after school. Lately they have had study sessions for a big exam coming up. One boy has debate after school, too.

3-3:45 – Arrive home and greet my dog.

4:15 – Both boys home by now

3:45-5 – Change clothes, relax, talk to boys, watch a show, sit outside and read a bit.

5-6 – Cook dinner, do laundry, do dishes, hub arrives home, walk dog.

6:15 – Eat dinner, talk, watch a show as a family. Right now we watch one Whose line is it anyway? which is a comedy improv show.

Boys unload dishwasher and load dishwasher every night. I make sure to always run it after dinner and this helps keep too many dishes from piling up. They also feed dog and do trash and recycling when needed. We really don’t have to ask them anymore.

*It’s Monday night and I decided to run up to school for the sing-off, an acapella competition. I’m so glad I did – got to hear some of my students. I was only there for 30 minutes and came home and showered.

7- Shower, Work on school or blog, lay out everything I need for next day and choose outfit.

8- Watch a show with hub

9- Bedtime for me. I usually fall asleep to The Office around 9:30.

We don’t have many weeknight evening outings at this stage in our lives. Also, we rarely eat out. This is mainly a time thing as boys have homework from 4-6 and 7-9 many nights.

And, I need to work exercise back into my routine. My hub goes to gym at 5:15 a.m. and I could do that, too, with a little tweaking. I could also do 4- 5 p.m. but I’m so tired and I get about 10,000 steps just as a teacher during the day. But, that’s no excuse! I need to find 30-45 minutes and just do it, as Nike says!

Do you thrive on structure or do you like to be more flexible?

Amy

Monday, May 14, 2018

I hope everyone had a great Mother’s Day and Mother’s Day weekend and I’m also keeping those of you in mind that struggle with this holiday.

I’m happy to say that this is my last 5 day week of the school year.  We have a 4 day week and a 3 day week after this.  The 4 day week is due to primary election day on Tuesday, May 22.  Get out and vote, please!

I came home Friday from school to my May Ipsy bag.  It contained the world’s tiniest vial of eye serum.  It is so cute I could give it to someone for their dollhouse!  It also had a blur stick (?), a brush, some glow lotion, and an eyeliner.  Now, I will have to figure out how to use it all.  This bag wasn’t my favorite.  I wish it came with an explanation of what to do with everything, but for $10, I think I’m getting a lot of products I can use.  In past Ipsy bags, I have received a blush I love, setting powder, It Cosmetics Bye Bye Undereye, and many more products that I am currently using.  I am overwhelmed when I go in Ulta or Sephora so this is working for me.

I greeted my boys when they got home and then I made dinner.  My friend texted me that she would be at a restaurant nearby where her daughter was having her birthday dinner with her friends and that she would be sitting in the bar alone.   I have a hard time being spontaneous and I often say “no” just because I’m tired or I didn’t “plan” to do the activity.  I am trying to say “yes” more when “no” has been my default for years.  It was a nice visit and I’m so glad I went!

The restaurant has a really cool patio with this cool water feature.  I’m trying to be more like Joanne  of Europafox blog with her beautiful pictures of England.  Now, my photos will never look like idyllic Cumbria (region of England).  Check out Joanne’s blog!

Unfortunately, I couldn’t sleep in on Saturday.  I was ready to get up and have my coffee.  I also baked my Trader Joe’s Meyer Lemon bread and it turned out great.

I should have walked and listened to a podcast, but I was worried that Trader Joe’s and the regular grocery would be too annoyingly busy if I waited too long.  And, it was already HOT.  Remember complaining that warm weather would never get here?  Yeah, me too.  And, we have skipped spring weather and headed straight to summer weather.  Oh, well.  So, I was out the door by 8:30 and I wore this to run my errands.  I have the “Can’t Adult Today” tank and a kimono and my white knit skirt which is really a skort.  I have on my favorite flip flops by Reef.  I’m sure skorts aren’t in anymore.  I was looking for a comfortable option to shorts last summer and found this at Kohl’s.  I don’t shop at Kohl’s much but I have a few items from the Chaps line that I really like.  Kohl’s overwhelms me and I don’t want to play their Kohl’s cash game.  Don’t hate me – I know there are people who know how to work it, but I’m not one of them.  I don’t like the Old Navy coupon game either.  It seems like for me I spend money on things I don’t want or need just to use the discount.  I’m on to their game!  Haha!

After I did my errands, which also included the library, I came home, put everything away, did dishwasher and laundry and then it was time to watch a few of my cooking shows.  I tape Pioneer Woman and The Kitchen.  I did my nails with “Suzy without a Paddle” by OPI.

At noon, I took my boys to a friend’s house to work on a video project.  I asked if they had everything and they told me they did.  After I dropped them off, I got a text that said “yo mom” and I replied “what did you forget?”  Sure enough, one son wanted me to come get him so he could get the missing items.  I made 4 trips to the friend’s house today!  When I was alone in the car, I was listening to my favorite podcast shown below.

I made myself a light lunch that included grape tomatoes and mozzarella balls with salt, pepper, evoo, and balsamic glaze.  If I were making this for company, I would have more mozzarella, but since it was just for me I wanted more tomatoes.  Yum!  And, it’s on my beautiful (in my opinion) Wal-Mart Pioneer Woman plate.  My youngest sister is also a Pioneer Woman superfan.

We live in a modest brick ranch house but I love it and I love my neighborhood.  Our flowers look really nice this year, I think.  These are our rhododendrons.

These are our azaleas.  We need to restain the front door, so please disregard.

This is my treat to myself a couple of weeks ago- new pot and geraniums.

One of the items I purchased at Trader Joe’s today was this Peach Moscato recommended by Penny from Penny’s Passion blog.  I drank some on my patio Saturday afternoon with my book The Weekenders by Mary Kay Andrews.  I’m liking it so far! (the book)  The moscato is slightly bubbly and not too sweet.  Penny did not steer me wrong.  I’m going to be buying this again.  It takes like summer!

I decided to just cook dinner on Saturday night instead of going out.  I made shrimp, broccoli, and my version of potato skins.  I have to get better at remembering to take pictures.

Here is how I make my fake/easier potato skins.  Remember how popular these were at restaurants in the 90s?  I have a friend who always ordered these but it was a very complicated When Harry Met Sally type order.  She would say, “I will have the potato skins if they aren’t too potatoey and if they aren’t cooked in lard because I’m a vegetarian.  Also, no bacon and no chives in the sour cream and I need 12 napkins to blot the grease.”  We got such a kick out of this order and it was quite endearing at the time.

So, I microwaved a potato (a big baking potato) and when it was cool I sliced it into rounds.  Put on Pam sprayed foil on baking sheet and top with a little evoo or butter and add some cooked bacon and cheese.  Serve with sour cream.  It’s the same flavor but less labor intensive.

Then, my hub and I rented a movie – the newish Baywatch movie – while our boys did some homework and played some games.  They had stayed at their friends for about 4 hours to do their project so they were happy to stay home.  Hub mowed the lawn and walked the dog at the dog park so between the both of us we did get most of the chores done and it was a good day.

The movie Baywatch was better than I thought it would be.  It was just a light-hearted comedy with a bit of a plot and had some silly and off color jokes.  I don’t think I would have paid to see it in a theater, but it was fun to watch at home.

I enjoyed a decaf coffee because my basement was so cold.  The upstairs is probably 20 degrees warmer than the basement right now, and yes we have to have AC on because of how bad the pollen and allergens are here.

Honestly, I didn’t go many places Saturday or really do much, but I think it was just what I needed.  It felt nice to not have many obligations.

Sunday,  I was able to sleep in a little later and I did some prep cooking for the week and enjoyed some coffee and breakfast.  I was so excited to receive The Magnolia Table cookbook and the newest Magnolia Journal magazine for Mother’s Day when my boys woke up!  I read those things leisurely and took one son back to work on the project while the other son took a trip to the mall with his dad and I.  We ended up buying him two new pairs of shoes because there was a BOGO deal with the second one half off.  My son said it should be BOGOHO and I didn’t think that sounded very good.  Ha!  We also got him an Auntie Ann pretzel and I used a Bath and Body coupon and only bought one item.  I had a lazy afternoon and then my three boys took me to Blaze Pizza for dinner – my choice.

I’m saying Hello Monday with  Lindsay’s Sweet World, My Glittery Heart, and The Sirois Family.

Let’s do this!

Amy

Friday, May 11, 2018

TGIF! Okay, only one more 5 day week after this! I’m linking up with Andrea, Erika, and Narci for Friday Favorites! Mine are really random this week! Happy Mother’s Day to all – I blogged some ideas on Tuesday in case you are still shopping. I’m hoping to see a movie and get outside and eat in a restaurant! What are your plans?

#1)  A sweet girl gave me this mug because I wrote her a letter of recommendation.  It was not necessary for her to do this, but how thoughtful.   

#2)  I wash my hands about 3 million times a day and I love a nice smelling soap.  This is so summery.  I just got some Bath and Body coupons in the mail today, so look out, I’m coming for you B&B this weekend.  I can never figure out how I spend so much money there.  I’m always shocked when they give me the total – oops!

#3)  I was tickled by this comment after a sweet girl gave me this for Christmas.  I asked her if she thought I was stressed and needed this lotion and she said that the only other choice on sale was “energy” and she thought I had plenty of that.  Ha!  I don’t have enough energy – fooled her.  This smells amazing and I think it’s hilarious that I have two boys who use this lotion on their hands every day.  I keep it on my desk for them to use and they think it smells so good.  I have realized that I love the smell of eucalyptus.  

#4)  I just can’t drop $30-50 on a planner!  That’s a new pair of shoes, folks!  I love palm print anything and found this at Target for $9.99 .  My hub would get mad at me for not saying $10 and rounding up, but we all know that’s not how girl math works.  9.99 sounds way better!

#5)  One of the loves of my life is my boy Ernie.  He is a five year old chocolate Labrador retriever and he loves my ice cream but I shouldn’t feed it to him.  I splurge and buy him his own treats in the freezer section of my grocery store.  

#6)  I have been making this low carb egg casserole for over a year.  My mom found the recipe and it’s my habit to make it on Sunday and eat it every morning.  6 eggs, a can of green chiles, a small container of cottage cheese, and a handful of shredded cheese.  Stir it all up in the pan you are going to bake it in.  I spray Pam first.  I also add a little pepper and cajun seasoning.  You can add more stuff if you want.  Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.  Shay from Slay it Again Shan makes hers in muffin cups and I think that would be a good idea.  Right now I just cut into 6 squares.

I sauté some zucchini for the whole week and eat that on the side and a couple of pieces of turkey sausage.  I love this breakfast and it keeps me full until lunch.  We put this on every vegetable at our house!

#7)  Our family has been on a kick with these little babies lately.  My one son loves them.  Hawaiian buns, ham, swiss, put in glass baking dish.  Make a mixture of butter, worcestershire sauce, brown sugar, pepper and brush on top.  Finally, sprinkle the Trader Joe’s Everything but the Bagel Seasoning on top.  This can be found on Amazon, too, I have heard.  Bake at 350 for 10 ish minutes uncovered.  Sorry I don’t have the amounts.  I just guess and they turn out great every time.  

Wishing you all the most wonderful weekend! I can’t wait to see your favorites!

Amy 

Thursday, May 10, 2018

Thoughts on…being a teacher…

In honor of Teacher Appreciation Week I thought I would talk about being a teacher.  It is a huge part of my identity and I thought maybe some would like to hear my thoughts. No offense if you skip today’s post and come back for Friday Favorites tomorrow!

My mom was a teacher, my aunt was a teacher,  and my uncle was an administrator in a school.  Now, I am a teacher and both of my sisters are teachers (elementary art and 2nd grade), my first cousin is an elementary teacher, and my brother in law is a middle school teacher.  Guess what we talk about at family gatherings?  You guessed it!

I think I first wanted to be a teacher in 2nd or 3rd grade.  I have vivid memories of coming home from school (which I loved) and teaching my stuffed animals and dolls what I learned that day.  My parents put up a giant chalkboard in the playroom.  I played school with neighborhood kids and my sisters, as well.  I remember being upset that at one neighbor girl’s house she was always the teacher and made me be the student!  It was not as fun as being the teacher!  You might say I’m a little bossy!

I think in 7th or 8th grade I gave up wanting to be a teacher in favor of a newspaper writer and later, after discovering my love for the Spanish language,  I thought I would pursue foreign correspondence or international law.  I started college with a double major in Spanish and political science but in sophomore year I decided to try an education class.  I was hooked and decided to major in Spanish with a secondary education specialty. My education classes were interesting and I loved learning about the history of education in our country, development of the brain and how people learn, educational theory, and methods of teaching, among other things.  

I landed my first real teaching job at age 22 in the summer after I graduated from college.  Actually, I was in Mexico for two weeks on a mission trip when my mom took the call about my first job interview for my first teaching job!  Boy, was my first year hard!  Student teaching is great, but you are really thrown to the wolves when you start with your own classroom.  I remember falling asleep at a Rolling Stones concert my first year of teaching.  I was so tired!  I also coached cheerleading, was soccer sponsor, sponsored a couple of other clubs and served on a couple of committees.  Oh, the things we do to our first year teachers.  I seriously worked until 10:00 every night.  It was also interesting that I was only 4 years older than the seniors!

I remember the first time I signed a note with my “teacher name” with my  “teacher signature”.  I couldn’t believe I was really a teacher!  I hope that I have never forgotten the enormous privilege and the enormous responsibility I have as a teacher.  We can build kids up so much with our words and we can also hurt a kid forever with our words.  I try to always be happy to see my students and I try to make learning as fun as possible, while still holding them to high standards.   

I have learned so much through the years, but I have so much more to learn.  And, if you made it this far in this blog post, you deserve an A!

What do you remember about your teachers and school?  What do you think has changed since you were in school?

If you feel moved, send an email, Facebook message, letter to a teacher that influenced you.   We love to hear from former students!  Make sure you give some information like when you graduated, what class you took with them, and your maiden name.  Remember they have had thousands of students possibly.  But, I will say we remember most of our past students!

Thank you to all of my teachers and all of my kids’ teachers!  

Amy