Wednesday, June 14, 2023

We aren’t going to just sit here and chat over coffee today. We are literally going to talk about coffee. Let’s get some dialogue going in the comments, ok?

I love coffee. I guess you know that because of my blog’s name. I didn’t start drinking it regularly until my first teaching job and that was coffee from the teachers’ lounge. It was survival coffee! When I left that job four years later, I remember someone saying they would miss the way I made the coffee. I guess I became the one that refilled the coffeemaker even though I really don’t remember doing that!

I dabbled with coffee in Spain with my roommate Krista. We would get our coffee cut in half with milk because it was so strong in the coffee shops. We would often have a piece of chocolate with it. I can’t remember whose idea that was but it was a great one!

Now, I like to start my day with two cups of coffee. I usually don’t finish the dredges of it, so it is probably more like 1.5 cups. I like fat free half and half and lately I have been using a few drops of Trader Joe’s liquid stevia, as well. I don’t like it super sweet, but I like it with a hint of sweetness. I have also used Jordan’s Skinny Syrups. I froth up the half and half a bit and the stevia or skinny syrup and then add the coffee.

Here is what it looks like:

This little Amazon handheld frother has been a game changer.

I currently have my old original (first version!) Keurig sitting on my counter. We have cleaned it several times and I think that is why it’s still running. This is not pretty, but it’s sentimental to me because my Dad picked it out for me for Christmas many years ago. He had gotten one and loved it and thought I would love it, too. He seriously came up with the best gift ideas for me. He picked out this, my Kindle, my breadmaker, and a few other things that I really, really loved. It meant so much to me because it makes you feel seen and known. My Dad loved his coffee, too, and that was something we enjoyed together.

I also have an old basic Mr. Coffee sitting on my counter. So, it’s really too much. I was trying to quit the K cup because of the waste and because I really liked the coffee that Erica brought to the Bachelorette weekend. She brought Ethiopian beans from Trader Joe’s.

I have this little grinder and I decided I really don’t want to grind on the daily. It’s messy and just too much. So, do I get a machine that grinds for you before brewing your coffee?

I have a couple of bags of Dunkin’ Donut brand already ground coffee that I like and I have just been going back and forth between a K cup and a whole pot depending on my mood. Do I get a machine that does both K cups and normal coffee? Does that exist?

Honestly, I think I like the taste of the K cup coffee better and I like a freshly brewed cup. I have been loving Kauai brand.

I have also used this for the Mr. Coffee. It’s pretty good, too.

Erica likes the Cusinart Grind and Brew. She pours in the beans and it grinds them and she also sets a timer and has the coffee set to brew for the time she gets up each morning.

I am at a loss for what to do for my coffee needs. When I renovate my kitchen, I will definitely want something more aesthetically pleasing.

I am open to your suggestions. Mason is the only other one that drinks coffee in my house and he only has one cup a day.

I sometimes have an afternoon coffee and that is really nice. I also make an iced coffee in the late morning or afternoon with my protein shake.

Let’s talk about this issue in the comments!

Thank you in advance!

Amy

Tuesday, June 13, 2023

It’s Tom’s birthday! He finally told us what he wanted to do – go to a restaurant on the river after he gets off work, so I am excited to get all four of us out because that rarely happens these days.

So, let me explain my blog post title… Walmart has no idea who I am. I do not make any money from this post and truth be told, I lose money blogging each month. Just keeping it real. This is a hobby for me and all hobbies cost a few pennies, right?

I decided to try Walmart + for the month of June. They offer a 30 day free trial and I had nothing to lose unless I forgot to cancel before July 1. I wrote the date on my calendar and away I went.

A little history – I have said many times on this blog that I don’t like Walmart. I would down right get angry every time I tried to shop there. It’s not convenient and the one closest to my house is definitely not one of the newer and bougie-er Walmarts. So, I was never gonna do pick up there. My sister does pick up at her local Walmart and feels that she saves a lot of money versus shopping at Kroger.

First, I got the handy dandy app on my phone. It is very user friendly and I find it just as easy to use as Kroger’s.

If I choose to keep doing it, I can choose to pay $98 for the year or $12.95 per month. Now, think about it. How much do I spend by going in the store on things that weren’t on my list? I would say it’s more than that – by far!

I also choose to tip the delivery person about 10% of my order. But, again, how much do I save by not having those new products to tempt me or by something that looks or sounds good. I think I am still saving money by not going in. The Walmart app also tells me that I saved $27 and 3 hours since I started. I am not sure how this is calculated!

I have now ordered 3 times and I have another order ready to place. I can have my groceries on my doorstep in 4 hours from the time of placing the order or I can pay an extra $10 for 2 hours or less with Express. That may come in handy sometime.

So, far I am having way less substitutions than at Kroger. Kroger almost always tells me they are out of stock on something or they have a substitution for me to approve. Also, I can get some products that I can’t get at Kroger. We can’t find Gatorade Zero for Tom, Ale 8 One is not available for pick up at Kroger, Merkt’s Port Wine Cheese is not available at Kroger, Velveeta cheese slices are not available at Kroger either. These are all Tom-specific items. Man, do I cater to him!

I prefer the bags that Walmart brings the groceries in. Kroger’s pick up bags are horrible. They are plastic and thick and we just want the regular ones for Ernie’s waste.

I am also able to order most of our toiletries; they have Dr. Teal’s body wash and pretty much all of the brands we like to use. I think they are less expensive than Target.

I thought we were brand loyal to many of Kroger’s products, but it turns out that isn’t the case at all.

I think it’s pretty cool to have Trulys arrive on your doorstep! I have done that once!

You can also throw in things to your order like beach towels, kitchen items, etc. You can add anything that is sold in the store.

I really think they are competing with Amazon because you also get shipping if the item is not in stock in the store.

I don’t mind going in to the store, but I would prefer it to just be for a few things. I still plan to go in to Kroger, Trader Joe’s, and Fresh Market on occasion.

At the end of the month, I will be able to compare May at Kroger to June at Walmart. I will also let you know what I decide to do after this month.

So, if you haven’t already gathered this…I am a fan! I really like it!

Thank you to those of you who gave me your opinion on it because it helped me to take the leap.

Let me know if you are also trying it! What did I forget?

Amy

Monday, June 12, 2023

I will be honest – that date is scaring me! It is almost mid-June! I am linking up with Holly and Sarah for Hello Monday today.

Mason and I are the only coffee drinkers in the house and we are loving this:

I woke up Friday and enjoyed two cups of it and then went off to Trader Joe’s for the first time in a long time.

I love this candle and really need to go get more. I love the hot pink and the smell does not smell like salted caramel pistachio in my opinion, but it is a pleasing smell to my nose.

I also picked up this cute little guy!

I grabbed this little yellow flower to fill up my head planter.

I did an Old Navy return and then headed home and piddled around at home all day. I decided to do a 3 p.m. coffee while reading on the patio.

I finished The Party Crasher. It was not my favorite of Sophie Kinsella’s but it was cute. It was a bit far fetched, but I did like it.

At 6:00, I met my friend Victoria at the Greek Festival and spent a couple of hours with her.

Saturday morning was cool, but I started my day on the patio.

I cooked up some mushrooms and onions and some zucchini.

My kids went with me to a Buy Local Fair on the river where local businesses or home based businesses could set up a tent with their wares.

I came home with this cocktail mixer and I love it. It will be available at Paul’s Fruit Market in a week.

Later that afternoon, our friends met us and brought pizza for the boat.

It was a gorgeous night and we needed that.

Sunday morning I used my vegetables to make a vegetable egg scramble.

Tom and I did the Costco run together and we were happy to see their spinach salad back.

I like my lettuce chopped really small so I was taking out the spinach and tomatoes to chop. It comes with a really good poppyseed dressing. All of us had this for lunch!

Then, we went to our friends’ daughter’s graduation party.

The graduate’s dad and I have been friends since 2nd grade.

My mom had a special visitor. My sister Kate just got a new puppy named Ezra a few weeks ago.

After I brought my mom home from the hospital, Molly stayed for a couple of days and then Kate stayed for a couple of days. She seems to be back to normal but has a follow up with her primary care physician today. The doctor told us she needed about 48 hours of overnight supervision. She is actually going on a little trip tomorrow for a couple of days. It’s pretty amazing! I will see her after her little trip.

What did you do this weekend? We had wonderful early summer weather until we had some storms yesterday.

Thanks for reading!

Amy

Friday, June 9, 2023

I am linking up with Andrea and Erika today for Friday Favorites. I missed being here and I am so thankful for so many sweet comments on my Hello Monday, May Spending, and Currently. I always respond to every single comment, but I think for this week I am going to do a blanket thank you if that is ok.

I finished school on Friday at 2:30 and then on Saturday at 10:00 a.m., I got the call that my mom had probably had a stroke. I have spent the majority of my days in hospitals since then and I wouldn’t have it any other way, but it is not a pleasant place to be. So, it has been a week, but…

I do have the MOST IMPORTANT FAVORITE…

my mom was discharged and got to go home on Wednesday evening! I drove her to her house and my sister Molly was waiting there for us. We got her house organized and did some laundry and I made her some spaghetti because that is her favorite. Molly went to get some prescriptions for her – thank goodness the pharmacy stays open until 9 p.m. Molly is staying until Friday and then Kate is coming to take over. The doctor said she needs about 48 hours worth of overnight supervision but she really has no lasting damage and she has no restrictions. We are being a bit extra cautious. The doctor even gave her the go ahead for a little trip on Tuesday with her college friends.

My kids and I had spent the morning with her in the hospital and I had gone home for an afternoon break and then I was quite surprised when she called and said she was free to go. Anyway, things can move either quickly or slowly in hospitals and you just never know.

Thank you for all of your prayers because they worked!

Other favorites from the week…

A summer morning rain…

I turned on the patio lights from the app on my phone (Tom! Why does he want an app for everything?) and it looked so beautiful on Wednesday morning.

I had my coffee out there and it was so soothing and good for my soul.

Tuesday night I had some wine, cheese, and crackers for dinner on my upper patio after coming home from the hospital.

There really is no better stress reliever than the good old outdoors. I am sure a hike in the woods would be even better, but I wasn’t going to go crazy, ya know?

I tried the Tik Tok trend of replacing the amount of water in a brownie mix with hot brewed coffee.

I mean a brownie is a brownie so it was good, but it really didn’t taste any different to me. I will say that my new oven seems so efficient and I tend to have to check it sooner than the directions say. I may have slightly overbaked the brownie. I love my new oven! It makes me think my old oven had some issues before I knew it had issues. My food seems way better now!

I am kind of struggling through this. I don’t want to abandon it, but…

on the way home from the hospital I picked up this and started it, too. I am really enjoying it and it is more lighthearted which I need right now.

On Saturday night after we knew my mom was going to be ok after the procedure, one of my sisters stayed a bit later at the hospital and the other sister and I came home and I was happy to cook for them. We had some nice time on my patio with some wine.

I know. I know. You never want to hear the words “Greek” or “bowl” again. But, alas, that is what I made them, along with some Greek seasoned potatoes.

They loved my food and felt good eating something healthy. Then, Heather dropped off Crumbl cookies and we visited with her for about an hour and stayed up way too late, but it was really good since my sisters have known Heather since I was 18 and they were 15 and 12!

Heather is very thoughtful and has lots of great ideas. She wrote on the Crumbl box. I need to remember this!

On Sunday, while both of my sisters were still here, we got Tazikis takeout and split a Greek salad, hummus, whipped feta, vegetables, and a cucumber tomato salad on my patio and they loved that, too.

Our local Greek Festival is this weekend. Opa!

The view of downtown Louisville from the 9th floor waiting room was pretty cool…

I don’t especially love navigating downtown or parking garages, but I have been able to do both many times successfully this week. Raise your hand if you duck your head while driving in a parking garage. It’s so weird, but I can’t help myself!

I was reminded this week that we all have our strengths. I was best at checking in with the night nurse before they left at 7:00 a.m.-ish. I was the one who was ready to get to the hospital super early for rounds. I was also the one who took the notes and asked most of the questions. Molly is the nurturing one who is most nurse like for my mom. Kate is the one who is best at doing research and she is the one who figured out that my mom was having a stroke. The doctors praised her repeatedly for the quick action.

I started my 30 day Walmart Plus free trial on June 1 and I have ordered twice now. I ordered one delivery from the hospital and it was so helpful. So far, color me impressed! You know, it seemed very easy to swing by Kroger for an immediately after school grocery pick up. Now that I am not working and don’t have that built in routine, the home delivery seems super nice. You might think one does not need either in the summer and that one should just go in the store and do the whole thing themselves, but your ti

I really like their bagels, too. We have had these around this week for breakfasts:

I plan to do a whole post, but so far I am finding it really nice. I even had a pack of Trulys delivered to my front porch. Tell me that isn’t nice!

And, finally yesterday I got to go to a pool! Erica invited me to her country club…

I hope you had lots of favorites!

Amy

Wednesday, June 7, 2023

Hi all! I have lots of updates and this is my outlet, so I thought I would link up with Jennifer’s Currently.

Loving

my mom’s progress and how tough and strong she is. So, here’s what happened in a nutshell… My mom had a stroke this past Saturday morning sometime between 8-10 a.m. She went to the hospital in Madison, Indiana by ambulance and then was flown to the University of Louisville Medical Center by helicopter. I might mention that they have a stroke center at this hospital. They performed a mechanical thrombectomy to essentially remove the blockage caused by the stroke/pull out the clot. How everything played out and how quickly she has progressed has been nothing short of amazing. Right after the procedure, she was already talking much better. Sunday morning she passed the swallow test with the speech therapist and was able to begin eating. Sunday night she worked with the occupational therapist and did really well, Monday morning we arrived and she was sitting up in the chair to our surprise:

and then was walking in the unit…

She continued to pass other physical therapy tests and neurological tests, and go to the restroom on her own, eat all of her meals on her own, write, read, and text on her phone all day Monday. She was also downgraded from ICU, but stayed in the Stroke Unit ICU because of lack of available beds. They also told us they had 16 patients waiting for beds in the ER.

Kate came down from Columbus, OH on Saturday and left late Sunday afternoon when we knew how well my mom was doing. Molly came from near Bloomington, Indiana on Saturday and left Monday around lunch. It was so nice to have their support here with me. Since I live in Louisville, it made more sense for me to do this shift.

Every.single.person we have dealt with has been wonderful. The doctors, nurses, therapists, aides, dietary, cleaning, and anyone else I have forgotten have been so helpful, caring, and friendly.

Doing

I am doing the best I can to take copious notes on doctor names, medications, timeline of events, and more on my phone. I plan to type everything up for my mom to be able to give her primary care doctor back in Madison, Indiana.

Trying

This is so good! Elizabeth likes sour beers and I bought this for her wedding day and we never had any. I rarely drink regular beer, but every now and then a Michelob Ultra Light sounds really good. Have you tried a sour beer? I also really love a grapefruit shandy.

Seeing

Ernie laying in all sorts of configurations:

He gets hot really quickly and likes the cool tile of the mudroom.

I also finished Maisel with my kids. It was a really good ending, in my opinion. My kids love Amy Sherman Palladino who did Gilmore Girls, as well.

And, as a family we were seeing Ted Lasso and also completed the last season. So good and also a good wrap up to a great show.

Another thing I enjoyed seeing before the end of the school year…we have a video production teacher who calls himself “Dat Boi Eats” on Instagram. He does food review from his home cooked foods, restaurant foods, and more recently our cafeteria food! He was a first year teacher coming from another career. He was rating our school food really high! I told him I wanted to bring him a lunch for him to review, so I brought in my Greek bowl. He gave me a 20/10 and raved about it! I felt my 15 seconds of fame! He had been giving school lunches 8/10 and 9/10 so my food better have exceeded that!

Reading

Well, I have not been reading much in the last week, but I am trying to read this:

I also have some library requests that are ready to pick up.

I might be back tomorrow or Friday but I know for sure I won’t have any fashion for Fashion Files tomorrow!

What are you up to Currently?

Again, thank you for all of your sweet comments.

Amy

Tuesday, June 6, 2023

Thank you! Thank you! You all are so kind! I already had this post done and scheduled, so I am posting as planned. If you don’t know what I am talking about, pleae click here.

It’s time to see what I spent in May. It was a long month and it was a busy month. Why am I doing this? I want to be more intentional about where my discretionary spending dollars go. I have now done this in January, February, March, April, and now May!

May 1 – $0 Spend Day

May 2 -$60 brunch for Brooke and I, $60 at Churchill Downs, $56 Shiraz take out for dinner

May 3 -$188 Kroger

May 4 – +$15 Amazon card for doing another education survey, $0 Spend Day

May 5 – $80 Trader Joe’s, $44 World Market, $45 Condado Tacos

May 6 – $33 Aldi, $20 LIquor Barn, +$80 Homegoods return

May 7 – $40 Waldo’s, $10 farmer’s market, $30 Mojito

May 8 – $0 Spemd day

May 9 – $0 Spend day

May 10 – $122 Kroger pick up

May 11- $0 Spend day

May 12- +$37 Target return, $0 Sun Tan City (because of my May package), $19 Happy Hour at Joe’s Older than Dirt

May 13 – $60 Trader Joe’s wine store (oops!) and $80 food from Trader Joe’s including some Mother’s Day gifts, $42 Dinner out with besties at Emme Squared Pizza

May 14 – brunch $40, $34 Target order (cute slides), $80 Walmart order (3 dresses to try)

May 15 -$137 Kroger pick up

May 16 – $65 Fresh Market, $46 Walmart dress re-order for different sizes

May 17 – $0 Spend Day

May 18 – $28 Chuy’s dinner, $30 Target sandals came in mail – paid shipping unfortunatley

May 19 – $90 oil change!!! I even had a coupon! oil change, gas, $ 186 Kroger pick up, +$80 Walmart return, $205 Costco, +$46 Sassy Fox consignment money made from my sales – What can I say other than that I had put off some expenses for a while and the college kids are home. We are going through chips like you wouldn’t believe!

May 20 – $4 specialty mustard, $3 bougie coffee, $38 Captain’s Quarters – not bad for a Saturday but I had spent all the money the day before!

May 21 -$41 Lunch on the river at Cunningham’s

May 22 -$0 Spend Day

May 23 -$0 Spend Day but two Old Navy dresses (same dress in two sizes) came in mail

May 24 – $158 Kroger pick up

May 25 – ordered 3 Old Navy tops because they screamed my name – all the same in 3 colors and a couple different sizes. One or two will go back. They were like $11 each!

May 26 -$0 Spemd Day and it was a Friday!?!?!!!! I cooked at home – faux Chick Fil A sandwiches and homemade fries!

May 27 -$50 Kroger snacks for wedding, $43 June Sun Tan City had a $20 credit that I had to use in store so went ahead and commited for one more month

May 28 – $0 Spend Day Elizabeth Wedding

May 29 – $134 Kroger pick up, $68 Captain’s Quarters

May 30 – $0 Spend Day, + Old Navy Return (had to order two different sizes in my new dress and tops to see which fit)

May 31 – $0 Spend Day

Kroger Groceries: $800 (approx.)

Other Groceries from Trader Joe’s, Fresh Market, Aldi: $266

Meals Out: $332 – So part of this increase is due to getting the boat out and eating at least 3 meals at our riverside restaurants. These meals account for just me, just Tom and I, and a couple with at least one college kid with us.

Happy Hours: $19 – Surprising!

Take Out: $56 – I think we only had take out once from Shiraz Mediterranean.

Day at the Track with my niece and Erica: $120 (wanted to put this in a separate category because it is a rare one off. I wore a dress I already had, shoes I already had, and only spend $11 on my fascinator (headband with flower)

Clothing: 4 Walmart dresses, 1 Old Navy dress, 1 Target sandals, 3 Old Navy tops – I haven’t tallied yet because I am still waiting on some different sizes and then I will return what doesn’t fit. I am guessing I spent about $200, but I made back $46 from my consignment store.

Zero Spend Days: 11! Wow! That may be my record. I think I did less online shopping and I was just so tired that all I could do most days was go to work and come home and walk Ernie, read, make dinner, and clean.

Thoughts:

My grocery bill went up because my college kids moved home at the beginning of May. Holy chips, Batman! Do your kids eat so many snacks? I also have been buying more lunch meat for sandwiches because we don’t eat lunch meat that much when the kids aren’t home.

How was your May? It’s a busy and expensive month for many!

Amy

Monday, June 5, 2023

Just popping in to say that after I packed up my room Friday and did a little celebrating…

on Friday I went to bed exhausted and on Saturday morning after I had done the morning things…

I woke up to a frantic call from my sister Kate that she had just been on the phone with my mom and could hardly understand her. She was so smart to switch to Facetime and she saw a droopy left side of her face and some drooling, and immediately thought stroke.

I called the ambulance, a family friend to go over, and then Tom and I set off for my hometown. Kate called back and stayed on the phone until the friend and ambulance arrived at the exact same time.

My hometown is an hour away and by the time we arrived she was at the ER. The decision was made within the hour to fly her to Louisville so Tom and I followed (kind of – they were in the air and we were on the road) back to Louisville and met her in the ER there.

They were able to perform a mechanical thrombectomy where they go in and break up the blockage and the surgeon came out after only about an hour to tell me it went very well and he was able to break up the entire blockage.

Both sisters arrived a bit after that and my mom was settled in to her bed in the stroke unit.

One sister had too much fun with gloves…

and the other was taking selfies…

because my mom was already talking more like herself and doing really well by this time! Then, by Sunday morning she was already eating real food and a few hours later was walking!

My sweet friend Heather brought over Crumbl cookies, because really what makes you feel better than that?

I may be spotty this week but I would appreciate your prayers for a full recovery.

I am sharing this with my mom’s permission so that everyone is aware of what a stroke can look like.

Amy

Friday, June 2, 2023

It’s here! It’s Friday and it’s our last work day! Students finished yesterday! I am linking up with Andrea and Erika to share some favorites. How was your week? I hope you also had many favorites. I feel happy, tired, and grateful. I had a really good year. The world of education is crazy and it seems to keep getting crazier, but I think it’s where I am meant to be. I will be doing a full reflection next week so I don’t want to go too deep today.

Some of my favorites included:

Boating on Monday with Heather and Eric:

We ate at Captain’s Quarters and 3 of us got the spinach salad with salmon.

We headed to “party cove” and it was pretty packed. The water is very cold. I dipped my toe in.

I wore my new Target sandals to run some morning errands. A summer white pedi is a favorite.

I loved this scene that you can barely see. I was driving by an oil change place and two guys were throwing a baseball in the grass to pass the time. I thought how wholesome and lovely it was to see them doing this instead of hunched over like The Hunchback of Notre Dame on their phones. I have had two students this year that want to toss my “reading ball” – I like to toss a ball to read aloud in class – at the end of the class when we are done for the period and I think it’s nice for them to do this and get a little energy out. I think maybe keeping some items in the car for waiting is a great idea! Some people keep folding chairs and a picnic blanket for impromptu summer fun.

I did not want to prep this week, but I ended up very glad that I put together three breakfasts.

I finally tried the Bare chicken patties from Costco and they are amazing. They taste and look like Chick Fil A and they are really good in the air fryer. If you don’t have one, try the convection feature on your actual oven. I made fries and turned these into faux Chick Fil A sandwiches but I added a slice of provolone on top.

I got my Pioneer Woman mag in the mail this week!

A former student came to visit Friday. This sweet girl was one of our Spanish superstars. She is studying elementary ed and English as a second language. I have actually known her since kindergarten as she was in the same school as my kids and in the same grade.

This week was our “Senior Walk”. It was a bit weird this year. It happened in a flash and the seniors were super casual. The tradition was that they dressed up for their senior breakfast and then walked the halls one last time. They give teachers and underclassmen flowers and cards and candy.

They were led by an assitant principal and our drum line:

My two juniors were handed down the spirit drum for all the football and basketball games:

My loot:

A couple more wedding photos have trickled in:

The bride and groom:

The flower man who had multiple fanny packs of petals:

I guess it’s time to think about this!

I officially deleted my 4:45 alarm yesterday. Since today is a teacher day I could sleep in a bit more and we didn’t have to meet until 8:00.

And, the traditional last day foto is not just for the kids.

Ahhhh…..ending a school year feels like completing a really long race where you have things thrown at you constantly and they keep changing the length of the race and the route! Hey – I just came up with that!

Also, I think I met my goal of not repeating any dresses or outfits for the last 6 weeks of school or so!

So, what were your favorites this week?

Amy

Thursday, June 1, 2023

It’s time to link up with Kellyann and Jill for Fashion Files and it is my last day of school with students! I had them do a reflection on Tuesday of their school year and I did one, as well. I think I will share it here in a few days.

Last Thursday it was a bit chilly and I wore this to school. This is an old Umgee dress? but I don’t feel comfortable wearing it to school or maybe anywhere without these J.Jill capri leggings that I have in black, navy, grey, and white. I have had them for at least 8 years. The quality and the feel of the fabric is amazing. They somehow keep you warm but cool.

Friday I wore my third Walmart dress (and favorite). It is supposed to fit oversized-ish, but I think once I wash it and dry it it will fit better. I loved it and I was super comfortable.

I wore this Walmart dress Saturday night to Elizabeth’s welcome reception. Tom was primping in the mirror behind me so I cropped him out.

I did my own pedicure in an Essie white that I had and I did my own manicure with my Kur polish.

Sunday was wedding day and I threw this Walmart dress on to wear down to the hotel to snack and get ready. I have on my eye patches!

My bridesmaid dress. Each girl had a different floor length sleeveless black maxi. We were given examples but could pick our own and we were told to wear nude heels. I found mine on Walmart.com from a third party seller – I think. I googled “black formal max” and it popped up. Get this – it was only $17.66! Here it is if you want to see. It’s not the best quality, but it was super comfortable and I could wear a regular bra. And, another thing, I did not have to hem it! I wore my nude braided heels I got from a consignment store new with tags. Elizabeth gave us a bracelet, earrings, and necklace to wear. I also did my own hair and makeup.

Ok, so I gasped when I saw the upcoming Old Navy dress. The fabric is super soft, too. Well, my phone showed me that the dress has a top version!

Blue:

I actually wore the blue on Monday with these Target sandals:

Black:

Gasp – pink and orange:

I ordered a couple of sizes but I am keeping all 3 colors you guys! This will also work into the fall and I just love the pattern. My friend Heather agreed with me that it very much looks like a boutique blouse that would cost upwards of $60. Guess what – by ordering online and using whatever code they had going on my tops were $11.97 each!

I wore the dress to start this week on Tuesday. It has pockets!

If you are interested in anything, I would say the Walmart stuff runs one to two sizes big so size down one to two sizes. The Old Navy tops and dress run true to size, I think. You might need to size down depending on your chest region. I’ve been ordering two sizes to try on both at home and to get the free shipping and then I just return the one that doesn’t fit in store. Old Navy makes returns very easy.

So, do you have a favorite?

What have you been wearing lately?

Amy

Wednesday, May 31, 2023

Do you have anything weird that you eat when you are just cooking for yourself? My mom used to make macaroni noodles with tomato sauce, and I still sometimes make it. It’s really good!

All you do is boil your macaroni and then pour your tomato sauce over it. You might need to microwave it a bit but sometimes the noodles are hot enough.

Now, to make it a little less caloric, I use these noodles:

6 packets that look like this come in the box. I got mine at Costco.

It’s faster, too. You just drain and rinse them in a strainer.

Have you ever tried this? Would you?

Tell me something you make for yourself!

Amy