This week I am linking up with Kellyann and Jill for Fashion Files, but I am doing so reluctantly. I really feel blah about what I wore over the last week, with a couple of exceptions. Ha!
And, let’s face it. I’m cold. I really don’t care about fashion right now!
I think we need to think of our closets as fluid beings – things come in, things go out – and that’s ok. I try not to beat myself up too much about bad purchases.
Did you catch my post on Tuesday? I am trying to get back on track with my healthier eating habits and some of that is due to wardrobe unhappiness. Things aren’t fitting great. I feel frumpy. I want to be able to wear the things I love well, you know?
When, I went back to school on January 8th, I had a goal to wear jeans for accountability. I did that for 4 out of 5 of the school days. Some of my jeans are a little -ahem- snug right now and I thought it would be helpful for my body to be slightly in pain.
I am also trying to wear all of the non-Christmas winter colors in my closet like black, wine, royal blue, etc.
One day I wore very dark Old Navy straight leg jeans, a Target wine colored long sleeved tee, and a very old sweater. I think I would like it better with black underneath or creating a column of all black with black pants or jeans. The jeans are so dark, they look black, though.
Meh.
One day I switched to black pants from my jeans plan and wore this. I will keep the fringey sweater vest (it makes a nice third piece) and the black dress pants from Wit and Wisdom are great, but the blue Umgee top has really tight elastic on the arms and it bugged me all day. I think this will go to my consignment shop because it’s almost new. I hate that I made a mistake with this top. It’s a brand that I really like, but I just don’t think it’s working for me.
This was my favorite outfit of last week. I love this star sweater. I struggle sometimes with having things to wear under things. The black tank below is perfect but it has those tiny pinholes and I need to retire it. I hate that!
Friday night I got to dress up for my husband’s work party. This dress is by Jodifl which is sold by many of our little local boutiques in Louisville. I got mine at Tunie’s. That’s also the brand of my hot pink animal blouse that I love.
After working from home on Tuesday, I went out for happy hour in my “Sweater Weather” sweater. I want to get some platform sneakers because I feel like I need a little height when I wear something like this.
Ok, let’s talk about Chico’s. I really like them for their pants, especially. I also like them for some of their basics. I used to have a consignment shop with a Chico’s designated rack where I got several pairs of work pants for a steal. I like their sizing and the fact that they come in short length for me as I am 5’4. I also think their quality is really good.
But I recently looked on their website and I am not a fan of most of their prints.
I did see two things that I absolutely love. The first is not really practical because I will mainly wear it in February:
It’s reversible! Isn’t that cute and great for someone who runs hot? What do you all think? Chico’s gives a teacher discount, too, which is awesome.
And, this for spring really spoke to me:
They are both really expensive for my bargain hunting ways, but I am trying to do quality over quantity and only choose things I really love to have a closet of 10/10 items.
These fabulous raffia sandals are sold out! Wow!
They are probably too high for me, but I think they are just so awesome for spring! I did put my email in for notifications if they come back in stock.
I ordered these pocketed leggings in bright blue. I’ve been told this brand is a great dupe for Lulu. I have tried on Lululemons once and they were very flattering, but I just couldn’t pay that price.
I will always get 7/8 when I can – it’s my favorite fraction in leggings and I will always get pockets. It’s a great time to be alive when you can have pockets in your leggings!
So, that’s it for my Fashion (or Lack of Fashion) Files this week!
Ok, you all said you were up for some challenges in 2024, so let’s get ready for our first one as January is halfway over.
But first… clean out your closet or pull out the things you need to wear and put them in a designated spot.
This past weekend, I was finally brutal in my closet. I do try to do a closet clean out each season. I had been hanging on to things I seriously had not worn for multiple winters. I had so.many.leggings…
We are going to do the following:
Go through every single piece of winter clothing.
You may not be able to do this in one sitting and if you are a paper person, maybe list the categories on a piece of paper and check off as you go.
Get a trash bag and label it for donations and get a shopping bag and label it for re-sell or give away – whatever you like to do with your items that are in better shape. Do you have a friend who would love your cast offs?
Here are some common categories: coats, sweaters, pants, skirts, blouses, knitwear, pajamas, exercise clothes, socks and tights, you get the idea. I even did my bracelets, my necklaces, and my earrings. It feels so good to be able to see what I have now!
If the item is not being worn, why? Maybe create another bag for repairs if the item simply needs a button or a small repair and that is what is keeping you from wearing it.
Remember that you are a grown woman and do not have to wear clothing with holes or stains!
Now, you must wear all of the winter items or they must be added to one of the bags.
We have a couple of weeks left in January, so I plan to wear all the non-red and pink stuff now. In February, I like to wear my pinks and reds. I already wore all of my “Christmas colors” so now I am focusing on:
Blacks, wines, blues, greys, etc. I tend to set my fall colors aside, too, because I have worn those to death in September, October, and November.
Starting to cycle through my winter clothes in January:
Love this star sweater and it’s a keeper and can be worn in multiple seasons:
Wine color – I have had this sweater for many, many years and I think it looks old and tired but it’s my school color, so I’m on the fence:
Blue: I love my vest and my Wit and Wisdom dress pants but the blue blouse underneath has a really thick elastic on the arms and it bothered me all day. I did wear shoes, by the way!
I prefer gold, but in the winter I try to wear some silver with my blacks, blues, and greys.
I really don’t like winter clothing very much. It all just looks so blah hanging in my closet and in these photos!
It’s important to do this process now, so others can enjoy and make use of your cast offs this winter. That is a good feeling and may help lessen the guilt of good money spent on things that didn’t work out. This is just my opinion, of course!
Now, immediately put your donation bags in the car. Do not let the bags linger!
Ok, I am trying to get back on track. It’s no longer cute. I have given myself too much grace, too many passes, and too many treats for many different reasons. Ha!
I’ve got all the excuses, you know?
Here is how my brain worked starting last spring…
“It’s almost summer and I am so tired of meal prep and packing my foods, it IS summer and it’s time to party and celebrate, the school year has started and I have a new schedule to get used to, now I have German houseguests and need to show them a good time, Mason left for England and I’m sad, it’s Halloween!, it’s my birthday, I’m too busy getting ready for my trip, I’m on my trip!, it’s the holidays!”
Can you relate? Please say you can!
I truly want to be a person who doesn’t obsess and that enjoys good food, good drink, and good company and those things can sometimes be at odds for me.
With all that said, it was time to get back to tracking WW points because that worked for me. I hate it and I love it.
I knew it would be easier to start January 8th when I got back into the school routine.
I am packing breakfast, snack, and lunch for school (on my days). I get home later so I don’t always have time or need for a snack before dinner. I had already pretty much cut out the evening snack habit and stop eating after dinner – so that’s one point for Amy! Ha! I try to take my shower and brush my teeth immediately after dinner on school nights.
My fellow Spanish teacher and friend Erica is still doing lunches with me and she says she is all in, too. It really helps to have someone doing it with you.
For inspiration, I went back to my very own blog posts. I typed in the search bar “healthy eating” and it reminded me of all the great food I have to pick from!
Last week for lunch, I made a lightened up shepherd’s pie:
Erica made a farro bowl:
I’m trying to eat more salads, but in the winter I like a cooked vegetable more, so I am roasting a lot of vegetables.
I’m trying to up my protein and it really does keep you more full:
Can you read my little post it notes?
On my Saturday Costco trip with Tom, I knew that these items would really help me:
I won’t eat anything I don’t like, to be honest. I like all of the things I purchased.
These are a great morning or afternoon snack and I really like them!
I am trying to do my protein iced coffee again. I’ve missed it!
I roasted a can of chickpeas for the first time this weekend and they would add a nice crunch to a salad. I just snacked on them. Yum!
I love egg salad. I didn’t use all of the yolk, added a bit of mustard and dry mustard, and a tiny, tiny bit of mayo. I tried to add Greek non fat plain yogurt and couldn’t handle the taste. These are my favorite tortillas – so soft. This is great in place of a bun or bread for various things.
I love Dave’s bread and Aldi has a dupe for it. It makes great avocado toast, which also makes a great snack or breakfast. I passed on this because I like the thin sliced better. I keep it in the freezer so it lasts a really long time.
Popcorn is a favorite snack. I pop raw kernels and use some salt and popcorn spray.
Yesterday I made the WW zero point cabbage soup. I love it and plan to add some sausage to it (the above apple gouda).
This week I also plan to have a Boca burger, Montreal Chicken – chicken breast baked with Montreal steak seasoning, a buffalo dip stuffed sweet potato, and lots of vegetables and some fruit. The first week or two are not perfect as you are figuring out what keeps you full and satisfied. I am also trying to drink a ton of water, using Bubly when I need a break from plain water, and reducing alcohol.
For breakfast, I made my low carb egg casserole using 6 eggs (this time I did 3 eggs and a carton of the egg whites from Costco), a cup of cottage cheese, and a can of green chilies, and my favorite spices. I baked it at 350 for 45 ish minutes until set. I will portion it out and and the Amylu chicken sausages.
I am thinking of adding LMNT to my Amazon cart. Any thoughts on that?
Anyone else cleaning up their act? Let’s help each other!
Send me any favorite foods, websites, etc. I am all ears!
Well, today is still the weekend, but even if the gals Sarah and Holly don’t do the link up, I still wanted to post, mkay?
All anyone can talk about around here is the COLD. It kinda annoys me because it’s January. This is the way January is, people! She is a cold beep!
Let’s go back to Friday. Friday was the end of the first semester and it was a decent day at school. I came home and did a few things and then got ready for Tom’s work Christmas party that is now a start of the new year party, I guess.
I had a chance to wear this dress that I love! It was between these, black pumps, black dressy suede booties, and I wished I had a gold pump, but alas I do not.
I didn’t take many photos, but there is a cocktail hour in the lobby, then a short video presentation, then a buffet dinner, dessert, and some dancing and games on the dance floor.
We were some of the last to leave and got the chance to take a beautiful winter centerpiece home. Isn’t that pretty?
When school is in session, I get really behind on responding to blog comments, so that was priority one on Saturday morning along with my devotional and coffee.
No matter how late I go to bed (Friday night was midnight and Saturday was 11:00 – who am I?), I never can sleep much past 7:00. I love it and I hate it!
We had gotten a dusting of snow overnight:
Tom and I bit the bullet and went to Costco right as it was opening. He needed protein shakes and we needed tp, paper towels, dog food, and I wanted to stock up on some healthy stuff that I can only find there or that is a much better price there.
I saw something really cute for V Day, but resisted:
And, we were looking for a difference protein bar and saw these protein balls and someone had clearly had a tough choice to make. They had put back their amazing looking cinnamon rolls in favor of the balls, I guess. Stuff like this cracks me up on the internet and in real life!
After spending as much as my first car cost at the check out – seriously – the prices have gone up so much – I went in the wine store to see what I could see and I was happy to find a recent recommendation by a new sommelier I am following. I took it home and chilled it and I am happy to say it is a new favorite. I am following loopersomm and samanthasommelier on Instagram and trying to learn some wine stuff. This is also sold at Trader Joe’s.
I roasted a can of garbanzo beans/ chickpeas and yum! I have wanted to try this!
I boiled some eggs and made egg salad for lunch. It’s really good on one of these La Banderita street taco tortillas:
I also made Erica’s farro bowl from the week and hers is better, but mine was still good! Mason also liked it. By the way, I had both kids home this weekend! They don’t have classes today, either. Do you spy my one little prune with a smear of peanut butter in it? I am trying this for cholesterol and Andrea says it works! The peanut butter definitely made it more palatable.
I did a massive closet clean out while listening to podcasts. I decided life is too short for leggings without pockets and I had soooo many pairs, you guys. And, I wasn’t wearing a single pair of them anymore. I let myself order a new pocketed pair, too! I got the Hey Nuts brand in a bright blue from Amazon! I am excited for them to arrive. Can I tell you that I only have two pairs with pockets? I have my black ones and my fun pink and orange tropical ones that are too sheer for winter, but that I love.
Mason had a ton of homework that he needed to do and Jack had plans with a couple of friends, so Tom and I went to eat at Waldo’s Chicken and Beer. I told Tom I just needed to get out one more time. Are you like that? Tom gets a down home country meal – forgot a photo – for like $10. He gets a quarter chicken, collard greens, pinto beans, and a little corn muffin. He loves that meal and is so happy!
I almost always get this salad. It’s really good!
We brought chicken tacos from there home for Mason and he and I watched a couple of Gilmore Girls. He loves that show and he missed it while in England. I don’t know if he could but he didn’t try.
We woke up to another little dusting! I hate missing it and love watching it snow, so I hope for at least one of those this winter!
Mason and I went to buy donuts at a new little donut shop we have been meaning to try, but they didn’t have a very conducive work environment so we left the donuts in the car for later and…
got tea and set to work in Heine Brothers. I worked on blog stuff and he worked on homework. We went to coffee shops a lot last winter when we could and it was so nice!
And, the donuts were amazing! I love to support local places and share on social media. If you are local, it is called Bamboo Lou. And, they shared my IG post on their page, too!
I made myself lunch and it hit the spot. I am trying to track and up my protein. I made the good old buffalo dip, skinny egg salad, and made chips out of La Banderita street taco tortillas.
I indulged in an afternoon movie and feel asleep!
And that’s where I will leave you!
What was the highlight of your weekend?
Are you a person who loves January or a person who just tries to “get through” January? I am trying to be a person who sees the beauty in the quiet and hibernation aspects of January, but it’s hard!
Friday just hits differently when I am in school! Also, a five day week after winter break – Doozy! Ha! I am happy to link up with Andrea and Erika today for everyones’ favorite post of the week!
Here are some faves, though, that brightened my week!
First, fresh flowers! When I took down my minimal Christmas decor a few days after New Year’s Day, I also made a trip to Trader Joe’s for a few things and thought flowers would brighten up the regular home decor. I have really enjoyed seeing this bouquet each day. Fresh flowers are always worth it and this beautiful bouquet was only $10! Don’t discount Kroger or your regular grocery, though, because they also have decent bouquets for this price and sometimes you can find them at a reduced price, too!
I did a fun, snow themed mani for back to school. Well, I think it looks like snow. When I think January, I think blue, silver, and snow for some reason! And, you know that teachers live for snow days! It’s what gets us through January and February – ha! Still loving my Impress press-ons and no nail damage is happening. I keep them on about 7 days, remove them gently with dental floss and wait at least 24 hours before applying a new set. I have found this routine works for me.
Tom wanted to fix a couple of his clothing items and we went to Joann Fabrics on Sunday as our Sunday date, I guess? Tom is way better at sewing than I am, by the way! He buys quality clothing and keeps it forever and then either repairs it himself or takes it to the tailor.
I visited my fave consignment store last week and finally took photos. Everything for winter was 25-75% off. I picked up two handbags/totes:
I thought this looked so nice for spring. I don’t have much navy, but I loved the little stripe detail and the shape of the bag. The brand is Alfani, which I think is a Macy’s brand. This consignment shop doesn’t take any fast fashion like Target or Old Navy. If you are local, I absolutely love Sassy Fox and have gotten so much there over the years. I also take my own cast offs there.
And, this is a great work tote. I don’t take much to work anymore because I have a home laptop and a work laptop, so this is the perfect size for my planner and my normal purse contents. It looks like the Madewell tote and the leather is really soft. I think the brand is Elliot Luca.
A pair of pull on Jag black jeans that were new with tags:
And a black sweater vest with fun side zippers:
I had $20 credit and brought all of this home for just $30. I love shopping consignment!
My friend Elizabeth and her husband were in a new restaurant’s ad and I saw it on Instagram! So cute!
Apparently there is a brown lipgloss trend afoot. I do remember wearing a light brown shade in the mid to late 90s, do you? I think I was influenced by Jennifer Aniston on Friends!
Bethany Frankel likes what she tried and it prompted me to pursue more lip products. I really have a problem and love to buy lip products!
I bought the brown NYX Fat Oil in Status Update and I really like it – over something else, especially. I also picked up a new NYX butter gloss in Applecrisp. It’s a light red. Have you used NYX? I really like their products.
Erica and I are really trying to get back to our healthy eating. Her favorite that I made this week is a lightened up shepherd’s pie. You make a lean ground beef and onion mixture, add tomato sauce, paste, and broth and a bag of frozen vegetables. You make mashed potatoes (I did make homemade and only added a scant amount of butter and skim milk) and then layer the meat mixture and the potato mixture on top and top with some shredded cheese. You don’t need to make rich mashed potatoes since you have the bottom meat layer and the cheese on top.
And, cue the music…
Amy has a new love! Where has farro been all my life? Erica made a meatless meal with farro, arugula, sweet potatoes, pepitas, and parmesan cheese.
Have you tried farro? It has a slightly nutty flavor and a nice little crunch. Guess what is in my Kroger pick up order this week?
Mason has become such a tea drinker and I think he will be home at some point this weekend. He loves the taste of coffee, but he says it affects his stomach negatively. I have suggested trying to find something that he can handle, but he loves English breakfast tea and got used to the kettles in England. I have this ready for him because we were just boiling water on the stove.
I have a former student in Spain for study abroad and I am following along on IG! This is why I do love social media. Also, my best friend’s daughter just arrived in Spain for study abroad and I am hoping she posts a lot of photos, too.
I show these photos to my current students and hopefully it inspires them to pursue study abroad, too!
Sunday night Mason was still home and we tried a new recipe. Ours doesn’t look pretty, but we all really liked it!
Did you hear the news? One final Nantucket novel? Her books are just such good beach or summer reads, no?
I am already looking ahead to my spring clothing wishlist. I saw these Aerosoles and gasped. Love them! They also have another pair that I really want and have wanted to some time. When did Aerosoles get so pricey and on trend?
I think the beautiful tile floor is also influencing me!
I am keeping a wishlist and trying to be smart for now regarding clothing purchases. I am participating again in Frugalwoods January Frugal challenge and one of the prompts this week was:
“Frugality brings you freedom”
I know that when I am frugal about things that I can be frugal about that it frees up money for things I want that are a little more on the splurge/luxury side.
I love buying clothes, shoes, and accessories so that has always been my weakness. I am doing my yearly cycle through all winter clothes thing to help me feel content and realize I have so much stuff already.
In about a month or so, I will go through my spring stuff and take what no longer fits my vibe to the consignment store I mentioned. Can you believe they will start putting out spring stuff at the end of the month?
Especially when I think about the trip I just took – I would much rather save my money for travel! How many clothes do I really need? I am a work in progress, for sure. I would rather have less clothing that I really, truly love than a closet full of mediocre pieces.
My ultimate favorite of the week, though, is below. I share this for you mamas in the trenches out there wondering if things will ever get better. I guess this is why you send your kids to study abroad – ha!
I got a totally unprompted text from Mason asking how my day was (they stop being such little narcissists, mamas – don’t worry!) and then this:
I thought maybe it meant he was having trouble re-acclimating to campus life, but I think he is just so sweet. Jack is sweet to me, too, but he lives at home and sees me more frequently now.
We mess up daily and we say the wrong things, but our work does pay off. My sister is struggling a bit with her teen and I gave her a pep talk this week and said, “Stay strong. Keep it simple. Straight and to the point. Don’t show any weakness. Don’t have verbal diarrhea. You’re the parent.” Ha! Can anyone relate?
Happy, happy Friday to you! What was a fave for you this week?
It’s been a really long time since I have shared outfits and most of today’s will be from my Christmas trip to the UK. I did Carry On Only! But, I still took too much. I did wear everything once, though, so maybe it wasn’t too bad. Why do we do this? I will forever try to be a light packer and I probably will never get there!
I picked a color scheme: black, white, camel, red, and green. I really believe in this!
I wanted to take only clothes I loved. I tested all of them out at school in the days and weeks leading up. During the trip, I wanted to be festive before Christmas and after Christmas wear more of the black, white, and camel. I do think I did well with this goal!
I took photos of most of my outfits during the trip, but I did miss a few.
Here is my travel ‘fit:
I wore my athletic pocketed leggings, a black short sleeve tee, a striped long sleeve over that, my camel coatigan, a blanket scarf, and my Chelsea boots. I ended up in just the short sleeved tee for most of the travel to and from on the plane because I tend to run hot.
When we arrived and I got freshened up, I changed into just the striped top and jeans. It felt great to put on sneakers after wearing the Chelsea boots and it was drizzling so the raincoat came out:
The next day I wore this:
Same jeans, same sneakers, plain black sweater and a headband because I didn’t have a curling iron. I think headbands are great for travel. I also loved my purse and it was the only one I brought. I know belt bags are the thing, but this works better for me! I love my faux Gucci strap when it isn’t Christmas and with it being close to Christmas, it worked out great.
That night I changed into this:
I only wore the pleather pants once and could have left them at home. I wore the black long sleeve tee as a layering piece a lot and the cream/white sweater was also worn maybe 3 times?
They love a Christmas jumper in the UK and my sweater with Christmas tree buttons received lots of compliments!
Maybe I should have brought dark jeans, but I picked my pair that were the most comfortable.
Train travel day:
I wore the athletic leggings again, long sleeved black tee, scarf, coatigan, and sneakers. We had a 2.5 hour train ride ahead of us.
Christmas Day:
I was really glad I bought this $15 Aldi turtleneck sweater dress! It was the perfect weight under my rain jacket and the neck kept me quite warm.
Later in the day I was more casual:
I traded the turtleneck sweater for Prosecc Ho Ho Ho!
The next day I wore the cream/white sweater with my black vest over it.
I also had on my little neck scarf. Kellyann, the scarf and the shoes are a copy off of you!
I do have one regret…I wished I had brought this beautiful evergreen color that I had recently acquired at Walmart in both this pullover and a side button sweater. I wore both of them as soon as I got home!
Here is the pullover for a grocery trip. I was excited to curl my hair for the first time, too!
For NYE, I wore my total TJ Maxx ‘fit! I bought the silver sequin pants last year and the fun black top this year. The sleeves are sheer and adorned. The black suede booties I am wearing were $5 at Goodwill this year! Brand new!
To go to breakfast with Erica, I wore my “Sweater Weather” sweater, old Old Navy jeans, and old booties.
And, for Monday back to school I wore this: new Nikes, Wit and Wisdom jeans, striped top, and vest.
Tuesday for school I wore this – the green side button sweater from Walmart with jeans and Reeboks:
So, that’s just a little of what I have been wearing lately! What have you been wearing? Any colors you are gravitating towards this month?
This post is all in good fun, but I hope you have also taken stock of your year. What are you proud of, ladies? Yes, you absolutely should be proud of your accomplishments – big and small. Also, this is just my way of re-capping 2023!
Here we go!
That I could go viral on Tik Tok as a middle-aged Spanish teacher! Yup, this will still go down as one of the biggest surprises of my life. I posted Spanish learning videos from January until May and then took a break. My students want me to start back up this month so I am going to see if I can do it. I just feel that I have “used up” most of my good material, but they say that I can re-do things? I still have over 200, 000 followers even though I haven’t posted anything new since May. Honestly, it made the first part of 2023 really fun for me.
Very cringey, but I am proud of how much I learned and how my videos improved as I went on.
This is my “2 lls make a Y” chant and dance that started it all:
At the end of January, Ernie was acting lethargic so we took him to the vet and the vet told us he was bleeding internally, did an xray and ultrasound and found what he thought was tumors all over his spleen. He said you couldn’t be sure without cutting him open and that he did not recommend that for a 10 year old dog. He told us we could buy some Chinese herb powder to help stop the internal bleeding. We did and he perked up! Since January, I have boiled Ernie so much chicken and I rush home most days to walk him and spend time with him. He is still doing well and this is a recent picture of him:
So grateful for this extra time with him. We love him so much!
That I can hang with girls 20 years younger than me at a bachelorette weekend and say yes to being in a wedding. This may sound silly, but I really questioned if I was “too old”. I felt proud of myself that I not only could hang, but that I had a really good time and made some connections. Both weekends were really fun!
The bachelorette party:
Tom took me down to the hotel and dropped me off on the wedding day and I hung out with all the gals and got ready with them. We met at the wedding later and I thought he looked so nice.
That I really enjoy seasonal clothing and earrings! I added Derby earrings and enjoyed wearing my St. Patrick’s Day beerrings (beer earrings) for the second year.
That press on nails really work for me and I am having fun with them.
That I really love good white wine. I started spending a little bit more per bottle and now I love a Pinot Gris, a Sauvignon Blanc, a white Bordeaux and a few more.
Gin sucks. I am going to finally stop ordering gin cocktails in an effort to like gin.
That Walmart has some really great clothes – Free Assembly has become a favorite! I think this is my favorite Free Assembly dress. I am still mad at myself for not getting this dress in solid black, too.
That I can’t walk in mules – love the look but just can’t keep them on! I was so sad about my Olukai mules. I may just wear them when not much walking is required. I also have the cutest black bow mules.
That sneakers are the key to a good day at school. I’m just over my feet hurting. Can’t do it anymore.
How strong my mom was and is after her stroke and how amazing modern medicine is!
I tracked my own discretionary spending for 11 months of 2023! I learned so much! I learned that I was spending way too much on groceries and little things to treat myself.
I still love gold shoes and they feel very “me”.
I also grabbed any outside time I could in 2023 and it really made a difference.
I learned that Donna Karan Cashmere Mist is absolutely worth it and the Lume is horrible. Lume worked for me for a bit until it didn’t. I hated the smell putting it on, too. It ain’t cheap, either! So, for now, I am loving Donna again.
I learned how important your hamstring is to any basic movement. I pulled mine slipping on water on the kitchen floor in August and had the bruise of my life. I think this was also the first sign that our refrigerator of 23 years was going to go kaput. The freezer was leaking water and not fully freezing anymore. This was as the bruise was healing, so you can imagine how bad it looked at first.
I learned that I can be a more chill hostess (and that I have stressed too much in the past) when I hosted our German relatives for over a week in August. I had a really nice time and did well with my hosting duties if I do say so myself. One of the things we did was tour a distillery:
I learned that communication is key and was so appreciative to start most days September through December with a What’s App message from Mason in England.
I learned that my Diva laundry detergent is absolutely worth it and I only add a capful to my liquid laundry detergent and it gives me that wonderful smell I want. I didn’t let myself refill it for several months and really truly missed it.
I also learned that Dawn dish soap on my stains works better than anything made for laundry! Game changer!
I learned how much I need a fridge after living that cooler life for a few weeks in October! We had to wait for our new one to come in and it was a pain.
I learned that if I see something being influenced or advertised constantly to be very wary. Yup, I fell for a couple brands and learned my lesson. Merit Beauty is one that I don’t love, but I plan to use up.
I learned that it’s on me to create work/life balance and to keep my boundaries. It was really hard in August to change my school schedule to 8:30-3:30 from 7:30-2:30 even though it was only an hour. This is a work in progress, but I am getting more used to this schedule.
I am sure I could write several more words on this topic, but what did you learn in 2023?
Molly is my sister and she’s a really great cook! For Thanksgiving on Thursday with Tom’s family, we had the traditional foods, but on Black Friday, we had a pasta bar with my family to mix it up and it was a huge success. We had 3 or 4 types of pasta, salad, bread, and cake for dessert. No one had too much work and the kids really liked it, too.
Molly brought her lasagna and I am not kidding when I say I hadn’t stopped thinking about it. Ha!
I missed cooking and my kitchen while I was gone and decided to finally make this when I got home from my trip.
This post is by request from so many people (one person!) and I think it’s just such a solid recipe that it should live on the blog.
This is the easiest and yummiest lasagna I have ever eaten or made and it might shock you that it has no ricotta cheese – it has cottage cheese!
Here’s what Molly says to do:
Preheat oven to 350
Here is what you need:
no boil lasagna noodles (1 package)
2 lbs. ground beef (I only did one)
one onion
a couple of garlic cloves
1 tsp. red pepper flakes
1-2 bags of shredded mozzarella cheese
2 jars of your fave marinara sauce
one large container of cottage cheese
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. parsley flakes (not fresh)
She does not like oregano but you could do it if you do like it.
What you do:
Brown your ground beef with your one onion diced up. I diced mine really, really fine and then I drained the grease on a plate lined with paper towels even though I used a really lean ground beef.
Add your red pepper flakes.
Add your jars of marinara – Molly and I both used Prego Garden
Now make your cheese mixture by adding your garlic powder and parsley directly into the cottage cheese container if you have room and if not, just do it in a bowl.
In your 9 x 13 pan, put 1-2 cups of your sauce mixture
add layer of lasagna noodles
spread the cheese mixture over the noodles
sprinkle some mozz
more sauce, more noodles, more cheese until gone
End with just lasagna noodles on top and do last of the sauce mixture with more mozz on top
Cover with foil and bake for an hour
Take foil off and do another 20-30 minutes until golden brown and bubbly.
Mine turned out perfect! Maybe I don’t like oregano either because the flavor of this was so good. No eggs and no ricotta required, either! I loved the not messing with the noodles and just taking them straight from the package and I think that the really long cooking time made this dish so good. Also, I could taste a bit of a kick from the red pepper flakes in a good way.
Let me know if you try it and I will send the love to Molly!
I would like to try this with fat free cottage cheese and ground turkey – what do you think?
Well, as you are reading this, I am off to work – early because I have to pay the piper and get caught up as I am writing this, I am a little scared to see what my desk and classroom looks like in the aftermath of me taking 3 personal days before the break. I’m working for the first time since December 19th! What do I even do for a job? I have forgotten? Ha! I did take care of my future self back on December 19th and I have the students presenting Google Slides for the first couple of days back. Pats self on back.
I am happy to link up with Sarah and Holly for Hello Monday and Tanya for Prime Purchases. I am also happy for the blogging world to get back to normal! I’ve missed my blogging friends. Are you like that, too?
I got back to posting last week but my three UK Christmas posts dominated. Thank you for your comments! And, if you missed it, here they are:
Just click on the red font to go back to posts or to see things I have linked.
Let’s go back to NYE even though it feels really long ago. I just never had a place to talk about it last week. We arrived back at home on 10 p.m. on December 29th and I was raring to go on Saturday morning and did an in person grocery shop. I was actually really excited to see all the American foods! Ha! I went to bed really early that night- 7:42! Sunday was NYE and we had reservations with our friends at the Cuban place called Bodeguita de Mima.
We had plantain nachos to start and my friend loves the passionfruit mojito so we ordered a pitcher. It’s really just a bit too sweet for me, but I’m a team player.
Then, my friend and I split a fish meal with rice and sweet plantains and it was so good.
Photo as we were leaving - I was home by 9 and stayed up until 11 – I haven’t made it til midnight for quite some time – ha! I thought I had no jet leg, but I have been so tired. Erica thinks I’m just coming down from the whole semester of school and it’s not just jet leg. She’s probably right.
On NY day, we saw a movie as a family of four! We saw Poor Things – super weird. It had lots of sex scenes and I really don’t recommend. Anyone else see it? Tom loves a movie and loves his buttered popcorn but does not love a surprise photo from his blogger wife!
For good luck, I made long noodles for longevity and…
fried rice for something good with rice and something good with cabbage. I can’t remember why you are supposed to eat these things!
We also had oranges for something else good and maybe one other thing. It can’t hurt!
And, now for the rest of the week that I had at home..
Tom went back to work January 2nd. Mason moved into his dorm room January 3rd, but came back home Friday to hang with us.
The next day I helped Mason go get his expired license renewed very early in the morning. We happened to see Jeff’s Donuts on the way home and our car happened to pull in. OMG. I had not had a donut in a really long time, and these are worth it!
I went to a local boutique’s warehouse sale in a furniture store – random. I didn’t buy anything, but it was fun to look. The winter stuff is on major sale everywhere you look but I really don’t NEED anything, you know?
Mason and I made the French meal again that we had wanted to make on Christmas Day (the Airbnb wasn’t conducive to cooking this) boursin bacon wrapped chicken, broccoli, au gratin potatoes, and bread with roasted garlic and goat cheese.
I had a dentist appointment one day – try to do one in the summer and one during winter break.
I met Erica for breakfast at BBB to get updated on what both of us had been doing over break:
I made Chex Mix! Why is this so good?
I made peanut butter blossoms! So good!
I started this – so cute!
And, I returned library books and also got these off the shelf because they looked like they had potential:
I had Erica and Elizabeth over for happy hour with totchos – tater tot nachos!
I made bagel thins breakfast sandwiches for back to school:
Mason and I made challah French toast:
Mason got a haircut and I took an unsanctioned photo from behind. I love the change and I think he will get used to it!
I’m trying to start drinking more seltzer waters again:
It was mild enough to read outside for a bit!
I had a double fire – Mama Solo Stove and baby solo stove in unison!
I had a good week and weekend – it was so nice to have a whole week at home after our trip.
Now, let’s talk about Amazon! Pretty much all of my recent purchases were travel items!
I ordered the bag for my carry on personal item and I used it as a school bag leading up to the trip. I am torn between backpack or crossbody for my personal item for travel. I kind of missed having a backpack at times.
I ordered the portable charger and it is a must have for travel or being out and about for the day.
I feel like the repellant worked – I sprayed both pairs of shoes even though the boots were water resistant and my carryon and my suitcase.
And, I just love this deodorant. It is great for travel as a solid and I seriously consider it my fragrance, too. And, before we left, I washed all of my clothes with a capful of Diva combined with my regular liquid detergent and my stuff stayed smelling nice but not too strong the whole trip. Worth it!
What was the highlight of your weekend? What have you been ordering from Amazon lately?
So, we left off at the end of Christmas Day in Edinburgh, Scotland and are ready for the morning of December 26th or Boxing Day. We have already spent December 19th-25th during Parts One and Two. This will probably be the shortest post because after the 26th, I think we all started to weary of travel. Tom was sick with a cold and Mason was up next to get the cold. We found over the counter medicine and no one was that bad off, but we all had a touch of this cold throughout the 10 days. It was ok, though. Jack and I had had the shortest bout of it and I’m not convinced it wasn’t just allergies for us.
I bought this book in the train station and read it during the trip usually right before I went to sleep. It was so cute! I did bring a library book – Wreck the Halls – but it started to bother me and I didn’t finish it. If you have read it, do you feel the same? The intimate scenes are what I’m talking about, and I am not a prude by any means, but it was a weird and overly talked about part of the story. Anyone?
Also, I wore the shiny dark red press on nails for the first 6 days and could have gone longer, but I changed to this press on mani:
The results are in, y’all. Press ons work great for travel! Another couple of sets don’t take up any room and I just brought a nail file and clippers along with them and I probably would have brought those anyway.
On the morning of the 26th, I made us some breakfast sandwiches before we left for the beach! Yes, I said the beach on December 26th! We had some bagels and some sandwich bread so I just made a few and cut them in half so people could mix and match.
Yes! Portobello Beach is only 3 miles from the city centre and it’s on the North Sea. We have been on the other side of the North Sea in Germany, so I really wanted to make this happen.
It was a gorgeous day and we saw people who had just taken a plunge in the cold water!
After this, we visited Dean Village, and it was adorable. I actually thought it was a benefit to be doing some of the touristy stuff during the holidays because it wasn’t crowded at all.
Then, we went to The National Museum of Scotland – did you know most museums in the Uk are free? Mason had told me this, too. We were feeling a bit peckish so we shared a…
scone with clotted cream and jam in their little restaurant:
I got to see Dolly, the sheep that was cloned in 1996. We read an article about this in my AP Spanish class, so I can now say I saw her!
We had a 2:00 reservation at Tolbooth Tavern after our museum visit and it was delightful. Its location was also really cool on The Royal Mile.
Mason and I split a burger, and it was really good!
Tom had a steak pie:
Jack was the smart and healthy one with this salad:
We split up because Jack and Mason wanted to go to some stores they had seen on the way and Tom and I wanted to walk the rest of the way to Holyrood Palace which is where the British royals stay when they are in town. Unfortunately, this was closed during Boxing Day. The distance between this palace and the Edinburgh Castle is called The Royal Mile. We started back up The Royal Mile because we had a 5:00 reservation somewhere else and were meeting back up with the boys. But we had time to wander in and out of several shops. We found the shops to be super touristy with the same plaid scarves and umbrellas and t-shirts that said Edinburgh.
A close is a name for a street and we were going below the current streets of The Royal Mile to see the best preserved street called Mary King’s Close for our 5:00 reservation. Mary King was a merchant and was famous/lucky enough to have a street named after her. We weren’t allowed to take any photos of the tour, but we really enjoyed it! Our guide was an actor in period clothing who told us very entertaining stories.
And, at the end they took our photo with the ghost of Mary in the background on the left!
We continued walking up The Royal Mile and enjoyed all the lights now that it was dark!
We saw and heard a bagpiper!
We walked all the way to Edinburgh Castle lit up at night! We also had a gorgeous view of the city down below!
We had a great Boxing Day and there was definitely plenty to do!
The next morning, it was time to bid farewell to Edinburgh and go about an hour to Glasgow. The train station was super busy! This was a bit awkward as we had to be out of the Airbnb at 10 but our train didn’t leave until 12. That happened sometimes, but it never really bothered me. Again, I just enjoyed the people watching and could always find another coffee to be had! We also always enjoyed buying some little snacks in the train station.
We arrived in Glasgow a couple of hours before we could get in our next apartment and paid the station to keep our bags while we explored the city centre. Then, we made our way to our apartment which was across a cool pedestrian bridge and in a great area that was also walkable to shops and pubs.
Here is the view from the bridge later that night when we walked to dinner:
We walked to a cool spot called The Duke’s Umbrella:
No one had tried haggis yet, so Tom decided to order a haggis quesadilla. I did try a tiny bite and it was ok, but I can’t get past the idea of haggis.
Glasgow was a whirlwind, and we left the next morning to be back in the city where our flight would leave the next day – Manchester, England. Our last apartment was in an old perfume factory which was cool.
When we arrived in Manchester, we were just exhausted because the last train ride was our longest and had a connection. We rode for two hours, got off, and had to quickly get on another one for another hour. The last trains were really crowded, and it was a struggle to get off and on with all of our luggage because of all the people. It was a bit of a close call and Tom and I were a bit stressed. So, we walked to get pizza and just ate in the last apartment. So, our first and last meals were pizza! Ha! So American of us!
The next day we paid an Uber to get us to the airport because we just didn’t want to wrestle the luggage on a tram, train, or bus. Tom really took to Ubering after being totally against using Uber until this trip. He can be so weird!
We probably should have skipped Glasgow and spent two nights back in England, but we were just trying to see as much as we could while we were so close. While I was planning the trip, I struggled with how to get to London and fit it in and in the end, we had to ditch London because we wanted to include Scotland. I would have loved to have made it to London, but we had to make choices. I also was very afraid of how crowded it would be at Christmastime. So, there are a lot more places we want to see for sure!
It was an amazing experience, and I am so glad we did it. Tom was really sweet when we got home and thanked me for all the hours I put in to plan it. I wouldn’t have it any other way, but it was a lot of work during a busy, busy semester at school. We didn’t buy our plane tickets until late September, and I was pretty stressed at times trying to put it together. And I seriously learned so much and feel like I exercised my travel muscle again after a really long time.
I really loved traveling with Tom and my adult children! I feel so grateful and so blessed and my heart is full.
Here is the breakdown or as close as I can come:
I share this not for any reason other than there might be readers out there who think they can’t do this. I think there are lots of shiny blogs that never peel back the curtain, you know? I have been quite transparent over the last year about my spending. My regular readers know that I spent the entire year of 2023 meticulously recording my spending so that I could do this trip.
Also, we had some unexpected expenses come up that could have threatened our trip – Tom had a big car repair this summer and then our refrigerator went kaput. I feel like some other things came up, but I can’t remember now. It’s always going to be something!
Flights: $3600 – Delta/Virgin Atlantic (not including Mason because he was already there and received a scholarship to study abroad that covered his flight basically)
Lodging: $2500 – I tried to keep each night in the $150-200 range but Scotland was pricey. I found the cities in England to be much more affordable, but they were also smaller cities. We could have saved here, but I wanted us to have some space. I do know, also, that had we done London, the prices would have been higher or on par with the Scotland prices.
Food: $991
Trains: $400 approximately- I will be honest that I did a very bad job of recording what we spent on trains so this could be off a bit.
Ubers: $191
Experiences: $160 – Mary King’s Close and York Chocolate Story
Dogsitter: $650
Long term parking at airport: $106
$8598 is the grand total
It may seem like we tried to be frugal especially in the category of food, but we really didn’t. That is just how we eat on vacation. We are not a three restaurant meal a day family and no one is a big eater in one setting. Tom, Jack, and Mason are major snackers, though. I honestly didn’t think about prices much at all because that is why I was so careful last year. We will now be eating tuna packets and ramen for the next few months, but it was worth it! Ha!
Whew, I’m tired! I now need a vacation after my trip and after writing so many words about my trip!
Let me know if there is anything else you want to know!
Coffee and Cocktails at the Casa 