Friday, June 27, 2025

First of all, how are we already at the end of June? Can someone explain how January felt so long and June felt so short?

I am linking up with Andrea and Erika to share some faves from my week.

“I carried a watermelon.” Name that movie…

Dirty Dancing! I went to Trader Joe’s and bought a whole watermelon and told Tom to take this picture and he thought I was weird, which I am.

I tried Baked by Melissa’s Life Changing Lettuce and I added feta, cucumbers, and chicken. I made paprika potatoes, too. This was a nice light Sunday dinner.

Everyone loved the salad and I got to thinking that it’s why I loved the salad in Spain during my semester abroad. It was simple and dressed with olive oil, vinegar, salt, and pepper. Anyway, I have since made the salad three more times!

It’s not too fun to run around when your car reads 101! Have you all had super hot temps, too?

Despite the heat, I did some baking Monday morning…

My inspiration was from the coffee house I visited last week.

I made…

cheddar chive scones and they turned out great. I will reduce the baking time next time because they didn’t need the full 25 minutes. They were a little too done but they were a success and I enjoyed adding the leftover chives to my eggs in the morning!

Tom and I had a Monday night adventure! He came home at 4:30 and quickly changed and we were off. We went to a Cincinnati Reds game! It’s about an hour and a half drive.

We parked in Kentucky and walked across the bridge into Ohio in 93 degree full sun! So, I was already quite hot when we got to our seats.

We had really good seats in the shade behind home plate. But, it was so high up it made me feel a little weird. The stadium is right on the river and across the river is Kentucky.

I had anxiety the whole day leading up to the game because of the heat. Here is what I did… I took a shower as late as I possible could – like 30 minutes before we left.

I went with wet hair and used my water spray bottle in the car to spray again before we walked to the game. I brought my neck fan. I drank zero alcohol and drank 3 bottles of water during the game.

I brought a golf towel per my friend Kara’s advice. I used it to put on the plastic seat so my legs didn’t get too sweaty and slide on the plastic. The game started at 7:10 and by about 9:00 it felt pretty good. There was a breeze and it had gone down to 86. But, you can tell how hot I am and how normal Tom is.

I had a hot dog and Tom had a brat. I mean, isn’t that a baseball requirement?

The game was against the NY Yankees and it was awesome! We saw two or three homeruns and the Reds won. The atmosphere is really great and festive!

Tom wanted to stay until the very end! Who is he? He goes to bed at 8:30. We had a long walk back across the bridge to our car and the traffic leaving the stadium was crazy so we were glad not to be stuck in it. We rolled into our driveway at 12:15 a.m. Tom went to work the next day and Amy had a day totally at home in the AC with daytime tv. It was just what I needed.

I made myself a great lunch and it included avocado. I tried this hack. This works best for when you are spreading your avo on toast. You only cut the tip and then you scoop what is needed with a spoon so the majority stays fresh. It really does work!

I’m still loving this color!

Wednesday was a weird day. I met Victoria for the free teacher day at the Myriad Swim Club. You might remember I went to the first one they had. My teacher ID is good for another week! First of all, it was so hot. Second of all, there was a long line to get in and you could tell it was a teacher line. There’s just something about us.

There were no loungers left and we got there at opening time! No big deal because we were going to be standing in pool chatting anyway.

Well, Victoria had about 8 people from her school there unexpectedly! And, the talk turned to teacher stuff. I mean, of course it did.

I also saw a Math teacher from my school and she bought me a retirement drink! How sweet!

We ordered a chicken sandwich and a veggie sandwich for lunch. Their food is really good.

Anyway, we stayed from about 11 until about 2 when it got so crowded.

Let’s talk products. I have a couple that I found at Kroger that I would totally buy again and would highly recommend.

This is a Kristin Ess leave in conditioner and detangler:

Wow – the texture is so nice and cooling on this product:

Burned lips are the worst. This is really a nice feel with a nice smell:

My order of new press ons:

I ordered another set of the red I am wearing because I like it so much. I ordered a highlighter yellow, and for the 4th of July I ordered French but with royal blue tips. This one will be hard for me because I won’t be able to cut them down and will have to have longer nails.

Tom and I didn’t share a bathroom for the first 20 years of our marriage. Now we do and in the recent episode of shower wars, Tom has removed all of my products and taken over all three shelves.

When I asked him about it he said that it wasn’t fair that I had two shelves and he only had one and that I had put one thing on his shelf, too. Waaahhhhhhh…ok Tom.

In social media news this week, I posted these things on IG…

My Kroger has a rodent infestation. I am not ok. I went in on Saturday and noticed things were rearranged. Now I know why!

It’s a good thing I went to Trader Joe’s Sunday and I haven’t been to Kroger since Saturday. It’s 2025! How does this happen? Like are they behind the boxes of pasta just living their best lives? I would think they would prefer the cheese section but maybe it’s too cold.

And, I guess times are really tough because GEICO is sending their best guys to drum up business…

What made you smile this week? I guess these were supposed to be favorites and I ended up with a few rants! Oh well!

Amy

Thursday, June 26, 2025

It’s Thursday and time to link up with Kellyann and Jill for Fashion Files!

I was not sad but I just don’t know how to selfie! I love my new hat. My old fedora didn’t feel right and my straw cowboy-ish style hat didn’t feel right, but this new hat is perfect. Here is the link if you want one. I think Mix and Match Mama recommended it.

This dress is turning out to be the steal of the season. It’s J.Crew, not Factory, so I think it retailed for quite a bit. I have worn it as a dress and here I am wearing it as a coverup for the pool party last weekend. I noticed Sheaffer Told Me Too featured it in pink from the Factory website here. You know my love for gauze and it’s just the perfect style to throw on for almost any event.

I wore this to run errands one day. I have on my Old Navy gauzy white button up and my Old Navy lime and white linen shorts with my new sandals. I also have this style of shorts in a tropical print. They are the same size and the tropical fit like at least a whole size bigger. Old Navy’s sizing is so off I have found. So, my advice is that it’s not you; it’s them. You might need to try on even a couple of pairs labelled the same size to get it right!

I am still waiting for my Aerie order to come in with a size down in the blue and lobsta sweatshirts.

I think I am going to keep the size blue I have but I am being very patient while I wait. Your comments made me feel sad about the lobsta so I re-ordered it! And, this was a reminder that when ordering online that it might be good to order two sizes in each item.

I really want these:

I know they aren’t that practical because they will look too summery and not work into fall. Aren’t they pretty, though? This is the most comfortable of the Birkenstock styles for me. I had a pair like this but not big buckle and I sold them.

Since I have been wearing my Target brown flip flops so much this summer I splurged on a pair of Hari Mari brown leather flip flops. They are so supportive and I love them. You won’t think they look any different than my Target ones in a photo! I got a nice discount code and they are very well made. I was wearing them with the green dress. I have lotion on my mirror and a streak, too. I just don’t ever want my blog to be too professional and scare y’all away, you know?

I’ve been wearing my new retirement gift necklace from my friend Victoria:

And these earrings I picked up from the clearance table at the cute little boutique called Scout.

Summer calls for smaller jewelry or simpler jewelry maybe?

I mixed it up for the pool and wore my long gauzy skirt, button up and my hat.

And, that’s all I’ve got for you this week!

What have you been wearing?

I feel like when it’s either extreme I just don’t care! When it’s really hot or really cold who can care about fashion?

Amy

Wednesday, June 25, 2025

It’s Wednesday and hodgepodge day with Joyce!

1. What does adventure mean to you? 

I don’t think adventure has to mean bungee jumping or anything dare-devilish like that. I think adventure means breaking from your daily routine or saying yes to new experiences. Teaching high school was an adventure, for sure! You never knew what would happen – you think I’m joking, but I’m not!

2.  What are your thoughts on tipping? What businesses or service providers do you regularly tip? Do you resent being asked if you’d like to add a tip? What about when a suggested amount is presented? 

Ok, I am a big tipper in a restaurant. I was a waitress at both Pizza Hut in my college town and in my hometown and at a floating restaurant on the river in my hometown. I loved those jobs and I think everyone should work in a restaurant at some point. I tip at least 20% and usually more. I tip my hairstylist. I carry cash for pedicure tips because you can’t add it on their machine for some reason. When the person simply punches in something on an i pad and spins it around I do not tip like that and I stopped feeling guilty. Sometimes I put some cash in the jar. The spinning of the i pad for a tip has gotten out of hand!

3. I scream you scream we all scream for ice cream…do we? Is ice cream a favorite treat at your house? What’s your favorite flavor? Regular, soft serve, gelato, sherbet, or some sort of non-dairy version of ice cream…what’s your pleasure? 

We don’t always have ice cream in the house but this summer we have had Tillamook brand vanilla bean and neopolitan. Tom loves ice cream. He has it several nights a week after dinner. I have it maybe once a week. My favorite would be vanilla with toppings probably. It’s all about the toppings for me! I love caramel sauce the most I would say.

4. What’s your ‘back in my day, we____________________ ‘ story or saying? 

wrote notes instead of texting, wrote cards instead of texting, made phone calls instead of texting, read books instead of reading online, had to use the card catalog to find books – ha! That was fun explaining to high school kids…”so you had these little drawers you had to pull out…”

I am having a lot of nostalgic moments this summer of realizing I won’t have these fun little moments with my students anymore. Who will listen to my drivel? I will miss having a captive audience and almost like a stand up routine.

5. Somehow this is our last Hodgepodge in the month of June. Next week’s Hodgepodge lands in July. Wow. Sum up your June using three adjectives. 

I can’t believe it! My June has been full of rain, reading, cooking, and lots of time at home. I have had lots of social moments, too. I feel that June has been restorative for me. I am coming down off of the school year, which was really good one for me, but I knew it was probably my last one. The school year did not allow much work/life balance so I felt pretty depleted much of the time and then 2025 was hard with the loss of my mom, of course. I have had time to process and it’s nice that I can talk to my sisters most days and process with them. They’ve never said “I don’t want to talk about it” to me.

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

I realized last week how much the lack of sun affected me. The sun came out and my mood shifted!

Why does it seem like I go to the grocery so much more in the summer? I did a Kroger delivery Saturday and then went back to Kroger a few hours later for a few things. Then, Sunday I went to Trader Joe’s! Eek! Are you like this, too?

What would you tell me about any of these questions?

Amy

Tuesday, June 24, 2025

I have had my list written for quite some time, but it never made it to the blog! I tend to only put my fun things on my list and of course, I have another list of productivity type things.

I printed this sheet out and my friends Erica, Elizabeth and I did this during a happy hour on my patio back in May!

I can add to it or take things away any time. This isn’t super strict!

-Find a summer scent – I think I have done this with my Ouai hair and body mist paired with my Trader Joe’s brazilian nut body wash and body butter. It’s a coconuty beachy scent.

-Go to Waterfront Wednesday to see my favorite and only cellist – lol – He is the Dad of my student of two years and I followed him and liked him and saw him in concert even before he was a Dad. So, it was a cool connection that I got to teach his kid! His name is Ben Sollee.

-Go to an outdoor concert at a nearby neighborhood

-Visit the botanical gardens for the first time

-Watch White Lotus

-Go to the adult pool

-Go to the boutique hotel pool – Wednesdays free for teachers

-Go to Erica’s country club pool

-Go to new steakhouse at a downtown hotel

-Make strawberry freezer jam again

-Farmer’s Market

-Pool party for the class of 90

-Boat

-Buy a grill – I really want a Blackstone! Help!

-Go to Penny and Pearl’s cookie shop with Elizabeth (she has never been)

-Buy elderflower syrup and do my spritzes again

-Go to Regatta in my hometown (hydroplane race)

-Go to Ribberfest in my hometown (ribs and blues)

-Go to Unbroken Circle music festival in my hometown

-Chautauqua in my hometown (arts festival in September)

-35th class reunion

I have already done many of these things and I keep my list on my kitchen memo board to look at from time to time.

What’s something you put on your list?

Amy

Monday, June 23, 2025

Well, we have August weather now! What a weird year; June is typically the perfect summer weather and I feel a bit ripped off!

Anyway, what are you gonna do? Let’s link up with Holly and Sarah to share our weekends!

My cooking challenge with niece Nora is going well! The first week we did stromboli with homemade dough and the second week was last week and Thursday I did her pick of homemade black bean burgers.

I made mine Thursday morning to serve Thursday night for dinner.

Thank you for your feedback on my Aerie order. I returned the lobster sweatshirt and the jeans and looked around in the store but didn’t find anything.

Later I decided to place another online order to try the blue in one size down, the lobster in one size down, and I saw a graphic tee so I added that.

I received a super sweet Crumbl gift card and decided to see what they had. I got Heath…

a sugar cookie with vanilla and raspberry frosting. I made these last a few days cutting them in pieces.

I don’t think I would get either of these flavors again.

I brought home a Tropical Smoothie Cafe thai chicken salad. I love this salad! This is only half of it. Mason ate the other half.

So, Thursday night I had a black bean burger with roasted sweet potato. I made Tom a BLT because he didn’t look excited when I told him Nora picked black bean burgers and he wants meat (I guess bacon counts?) at every meal.

They were really good with avocado, tomato and a mayo/siracha spread. I am going to freeze the rest and pull one out for lunch when the mood strikes!

I did a fun summer red press on after letting my nails breathe for a couple of days. Peep the blue Aerie that I was trying on to see if it was too big or just right.

This is a great breakfast combo – roasted sweet potatoes again, egg, and Amylu chicken sausage.

Mason and I went to a coffee shop Friday morning. Ntaba Coffee Haus is a local shop that is super cute inside.

Mason got a grilled ham and cheese and really liked it and I had a cheddar chive scone. This ended up being my lunch. I would like to try to make these. Maybe this will be one of my picks for Nora and I!

I am reading this; I feel like it’s moving pretty slow and of course, it’s predictable, I think.

Here is my outdoor reading setup:

This OFF! Clean Feel bug spray is really good. I purchased a Thermacell based on many of your recommendations, and I have a dedicated fan based on many of your tips. This has helped quite a bit! I’m trying to go back outside after dinner to enjoy the summer evenings!

I need to buy more Rioja Tempranillo – my favorite red wine to make a tinto de verano with. I do about half and half – half wine and half Fresca. You can use any lemon lime soda. And, it looks nice with a lemon slice. This is such a good summer drink!

Speaking of tinto de verano and Spain… my pick for our cooking challenge this week comes from Spain! Nora is really excited and that makes me happy. We show each other the pictures of our final product and then pretty soon after the person whose turn it is gives the next recipe. Maybe she will get bored with it and that’s ok. It’s been a bonding thing and I am really enjoying it.

We are making gambas al ajillo and patatas bravas.

I fell into a DCC rabbit hole on Thursday and Friday afternoon and finished season 2. It made me sad. I didn’t like it as much as the first season.

Friday night I made Tik Tok pasta and blackened fish sandwiches. I know it didn’t go together. We were using up stuff!

I kind of wanted to go out but I knew Saturday was going to be a social day so I did the adult thing and cooked. Tom was super happy with his food!

Saturday morning Eddie Otis and I filled our bird feeders and cut some hydrangea blooms that were in the back of the bush and wouldn’t be noticed too much if they were gone. This is just three blooms!

I got a Kroger delivery early Saturday morning. I am trying the Boost membership for one month. I think I will cancel it for sure because I just don’t want to pay. It’s been great though! It was nice when my car was in the shop last week.

I was making three things for a pool party after my delivery came…

Classic chip dip:

A cup of sour cream mixed with a cup of mayo, 1 T. lemon juice, 2 t. garlic powder, 1 t. onion powder, 1 t. dried parsley, 1 t. dried dill, and 1/2 t. of salt and pepper. It was really good and this is a keeper!

Taco dip:

Mix a block of softened cream cheese with about half a pint of sour cream and then mix in a packet of taco seasoning. Spread in a dish and add shredded cheddar, green onions, tomatoes, olives, whatever you like.

Peanut butter Rice Krispies Treats

My friend Beth’s beautiful pool! Beth and her husband Mike were both in my high school class and they have an annual Class of 90 pool party. Several of us live in this area now but a few come from out of town. One couple came from Cincinnati and one couple came from Indianapolis.

Dan made homemade pretzels and they were amazing!

My Rice Krispies above, too!

The taco dip:

The chip dip in a fish bowl and people called it “fish dip”:

Dan’s photo:

Dan of the pretzels and Tom:

We stayed from 1 until about 6 and I was in the pool most of the time with the ladies and Tom was watching the Reds game with the guys. He was super happy because we can’t get a lot of them on our streaming services.

We came home and I was beat! We ordered pizza and we went to bed in the 9 o’clock hour!

I woke up Sunday and the air outside at 7 was already so humid and muggy!

The river is a mess from recent rains – it’s high and there is lots of debris – so there was no boating for us.

What was the highlight of your weekend?

As you can see, I have been cooking a lot lately! This post was heavy on the food pics and recipes!

Amy

Friday, June 20, 2025

It’s Friday and I’m linking up with Andrea and Erika for Friday Favorites!

Here are a few favorites of mine from this week…

How was your week? I hope it was good!

Your responses to my summer makeup post – wow! There is a wealth of information in the comments if you want to go back and read!

I took a trip to the mall on Tuesday (the day the post went live) and bought an eyelid primer and a setting spray and it really did the trick for keeping my eyeliner in place.

Sunday we made it back to our favorite movie theater. I think it has been 6 months or so?

Wes Anderson movies are different but interesting. This was probably my favorite of his but I’m not sure why. I liked that it was only 1 hour and 45 minutes. I have a hard time with 3 hour long movies!

Get Tom a large bucket of popcorn and he is one happy guy! That’s his happy face!

We had a nice Father’s Day!

On Monday I invited my friend Victoria over for lunch. I set the patio table…

and sent her home with my hydrangeas! I told her the dark purple mason jar was given to me by her a long time ago with other flowers!

I made Caribbean sheet pan bowls. She liked them! I used my mom’s fish bowls and it looked so good in those!

Monday late afternoon I met my friend Elizabeth at Haymarket and we had a glass of wine in this lovely garden area. It is on her way home from work so we decided to do this again! Two social things in one day – who am I?

I am trying Kroger Boost this month for free. I got a delivery on Tuesday morning and it was quite nice!

My car was in the shop from Sunday night until Wednesday afternoon, by the way. That is why I had Victoria over to mine and why I did the delivery. I used Mason’s car a couple of times, though. My car has lots of issues and I think it’s time for an upgrade. Sad.

I have a problem and it’s called lip products. I bought Charlotte Tillbury pillow talk and Polite Society B.I.G. lip plumper last week.

Here is the lip plumper alone:

With the pillow talk over:

Tuesday was a another rainy day and I hadn’t seen Erica in almost two weeks. We met at the mall, got a 10 minute acupressure back massage, drank mall beer and met the owner of the taps, shopped around with our beer, and then ate the lunch special at BJ’s! So fun on a rainy day!

I only had about a half a cup of beer just to see what it was all about. The owner explained his business to us and I shared on social media to try to help him.

This whole area is open container now. I don’t know how I feel about mall beer, but I had heard of it and wanted to see what was up with it. Tipsy shopping is not a great idea. And, don’t people already get in trouble with that at home online?

We went to BJ’s for their lunch special. I loved this wedge salad!

Then, I took most of this personal pan home for my kids.

I had a nice library request pick up!

My friend Victoria gave me the sweetest retirement gift of a necklace. Unfortunately it didn’t fit – it was a choker and it choked me. New favorite store – not sure why I hadn’t been in? It’s called Scout and I loved everything. I posted about them on social media, too. I am not saying I have that big of a following, but I like to try to help local businesses.

I picked another necklace. Thank you, Victoria! That was so thoughtful.

I’ve run into some former students and I have seen some people while out this week and I am getting lots of “how does it feel to be retired?” and honestly, it just feels like summer. Well, it would feel like summer if the weather was better! Be careful what you wish for because we are getting 90s and sun very soon!

Tell me a favorite from your week?

Cheers to the weekend!

Amy

Thursday, June 19, 2025

It’s Thursday and time to link up with Kellyann and Jill for Fashion Files.

What have you been wearing lately? It’s been rainy and gray here for many days but it’s also turned muggy. Where’s the nice June weather? It’s not here!

I kind of decided that if I had somewhere to go in the evening I would wear my light Halaras, one of my heeled sandals, and a blouse. So, last week I had two outings and this week I have had one.

I have on my Dr. Scholl’s buckle sandals (really glad I bought these from Amazon for $30 something. I think they were last year’s model and that is why they were a good deal) with my TJ Maxx tropical blouse and my consignment straw clutch. I was going to an early dinner with a friend and I went early to look in a couple stores at the shopping center where the restaurant was located. A teenage girl told me she loved my outfit! I have missed my teenage comments!

The next night I had my Mah Jongg lesson and I did the same thing on the bottom but wore my new boutique side walk sale blouse.

I never would have worn jeans in the summer in the past but the weight of these jeans works!

I had a friend over for lunch and wore my orange gauzy shorts (I have turquoise, orange, and pink) with my new this season fisherman chic graphic tee from Old Navy.

I kind of regretted not looking cuter because my friend Victoria looked so cute in her medium wash Halaras (she was influenced by me to buy them!), Birkenstocks, and a white gauzy blouse so when I went out later that day I tried my darker Halaras (influenced by her!) with a cream blouse and my new Kork-Ease sandals.

I have been doing some double earring combos. Your ears are definitely part of your fashion! I love these starburst gold earrings and then I added a gold bar to the second piercing. Here is the starburst earring on Amazon.

Here are my new sandals:

Storytime!

So, my mom had just purchased boots at the only shoe store in my hometown’s downtown and she still had the receipt in the box and hadn’t worn them when she passed away at the end of January. Her best friend was quite concerned that we try to return them and told us multiple times. She had been with my mom when she purchased them, they were expensive, and she didn’t think my mom would ever wear them. My mom insisted that we (her three daughters) were demanding that she buy winter boots because of the winter we were having and we were worried about her wearing her black flats – that’s all my mom ever wore. We were so worried each winter that she would slip on ice.

I returned them successfully in February and got a gift card and my sisters told me to use it because I had done the work(?) so these sandals are from my mom. My sisters thought they were “very me” and I have already worn them so that is a good sign. They are also very comfortable. I feel like they can work into fall, as well. Thanks, mom!

Now let’s talk about my Aerie order. I love their quality. Aerie runs big I have found.

I ordered three items and I can easily return them to my outdoor mall that is quite close to my house. I want you to guess if I am keeping it all, returning it all, keeping some, returning some – you get my drift. You can also give your opinion as long as you’re nice about it. Acceptable: “I don’t think it’s the most flattering you can do.” Not acceptable: “What the beep are you thinking? You are not their demographic and you look like a beepin’ fool, yo.”

Item One:

I ordered these jeans in a short length. I will never fully tuck a top in so you won’t see the cute drawstring detail. They fit pretty well in the waist with some room to spare but from the side the pockets gaped a bit. The legs are wide but don’t have much flare at the bottom.

Item Two:

This Maine lobster sweatshirt is so cute. It’s thick and has kind of an a-line bottom with nice slits. I felt it was a little big. I ordered normal size. I’ve never been to Maine.

Item Three:

This blue sweatshirt is the reason for the order and it was recommended by Andrea. I liked some of the other colors, but I really liked this blue.

Better view of the detail:

So, what would you keep and what do you think I plan to keep?

Are you ready?

Are you sure?

Now?

How about now?

I am only keeping the blue. It’s what I went on the site for and it’s really the only thing that fits me correctly in my opinion. I feel like I can wear it at home and look less sloppy, I can wear it on the boat, (I can wear it with a goat – just kidding), and it will work into fall.

Sound off in the comments if you feel like it!

What have you been wearing? Buying? Wishing for?

Amy

Wednesday, June 18, 2025

It’s Wednesday and time for another round of questions with Joyce. I feel like readers kind of like these posts. Bloggers like hodgepodge because Joyce does all the hard work!

1. Summer officially begins this week (in the northern hemisphere)…what was your favorite thing to do in the summer when you were a kid? What do you like most about summer now? 

I remember long unstructured days of summer as a kid. I feel like I had a really idyllic childhood. I lived across the street from a small lake. There were houses directly on the lake and then houses across the street. I had so many friends around my age. We roller skated, biked, played Chinese jump rope, swam in the lake (I am not freaked out by dark bodies of water), explored the woods around the subdivision, looked for the boys’ forts (sorry – it was the 80s and we had no female engineers), and just had all kinds of fun. We were in and out of each others’ houses. We played spotlight tag at dark when we were a bit older.

We also wrote and performed plays and provided concessions and had tickets and got neighborhood people to come watch.

I was always outside – still love to be!

I read a lot – we took car trips a lot and my nose was always in a book – still do this!

I was social and always in the mix – still am!

I think the same applies today. I like the slower and less hurried feel of summer. I have lived life on a school schedule for 48 years!

2.  Something you’ll celebrate this summer? 

We have already celebrated Tom for his birthday and Father’s Day and I hope to figure out how to celebrate my retirement. I am having a brain block on what I want to do. Our 25th anniversary is coming up in July, too.

3. Summer tastes like? Smells like? Sounds like? 

Lemons! Tomatoes! Fresh vegetables!

Coppertone sunscreen! Is there a better summer smell?

Lawn mowers! Goodness – could we all coordinate and do it the same time so we can get some peace?

4. June 18th is National Splurge Day…what’s the last thing you splurged on? What might you splurge on today? 

Well, ok! I will now feel that I have permission! This is silly but I felt like I splurged on an HBO/Max subscription to watch some shows I have been wanting to watch. This has made me very happy – watching White Lotus and Just Like That.

5. Share a favorite summer quote, saying, song lyric, or meme. 

I will admit I had to look some quotes up but the above all spoke to me!

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

Try a tinto de verano if you are looking for a light summer drink. It’s red wine with any lemon lime soda! Add a lemon slice. I like this Rioja Tempranillo for this drink.

Amy

Tuesday, June 17, 2025

Do you wear makeup in the summer? I wanted to create a routine with products that would fit in my cute little lemon bag.

My Merit stick has since bit the dust. I have had it since 2023! Merit is really what got me started on “stick” makeup. At first I didn’t love it, but now I would totally buy it again. I still have and love Seint, but it seems like too much work right now. Maybe one day it will come in stick form?

I start with face lotion with sunscreen (not pictured). I let that dry/settle and then I do Lumi glotion followed by the new Physician’s formula bronzer/blush stick. I don’t think I will buy this again. The product feels a little too slippery/greasy. I do the bronzer stick first and blend it with the Merit brush. I do the brows with three products now – the elf pencil, then the elf tinted brow gel, then the clear elf gel. I bought a new forest green pencil eyeliner and I’m trying to get better at it. I had been using a tiny brush and an eyeshadow palette for lining, but it was not lasting. Maybe I need an eyelid primer.

I use mascara primer and then mascara and I have been using one of my Revlon Colorstay colors.

I just don’t think I can wear a full face foundation anymore. I have one and it feels too thick.

Awkward “naked” face:

Completed face:

My melasma has come out despite being diligent about daily facial sunscreen. My skin always looks worse in the summer.

I feel like cream/stick makeup doesn’t settle into your fine lines like powder, but I could be wrong.

I am super curious about Laura Gellar makeup. I also feel like I deal with more watery eyes in this stage of life. I need to buy more Lumify because I really think that works for a clearer eye, too.

What products are your ride or die for summer or always? I do want a more natural looking face this season and I don’t want it all to sweat off!

Help a girl out!

Amy

Monday, June 16, 2025

It’s Monday and it’s time to link up with Sarah and Holly to share our weekends.

It’s halfway through June and it doesn’t feel like summer. I have only been in a body of water once. I have only been on the boat once, too. It has been rainy or gray so many days.

I am really wanting to get several inches cut off my hair. I have an appointment in a couple of weeks but thought about calling to come in for a cut before that.

Let’s go back to Thursday evening – do you play Mah Jong? Mah Jongg? My mom had a vintage set at her house and I chose to bring it to my house. My kids and I tried to play and they told me they had learned it from a video game but there is a Japanese and a Chinese version. Well, now I know there is a National Mah Jongg league in the US!

I signed up to learn from an Oh My Mahjong certified trainer (and who is a friend of a friend) and I convinced my SIL and Heather and Heather to do it with me.

It was fun but I started fading after two hours (we stayed 3.5 – eek!) and I am worried that I will not know how to use my more traditional pieces because these tiles are fancy.

You have to order a $15 card from the national league to know all the “runs” and combinations you can make. I won the first game and then we didn’t finish the second game. I ordered my card and I will try to convince the same three to try to play on my patio sometime soon! I need to order the things that hold the tiles because my set didn’t come with those.

Also, my niece Nora and I did our first cooking challenge on Thursday. I sent her the first recipe of homemade stromboli with homemade dough.

It turned out so good! The house smelled like a pizza parlor. We dipped it in Kroger brand pizza sauce. On Friday I had some leftover of it and made Cobb salads. Yum!

She has picked our next recipe of homemade black bean burgers! That will be a fun challenge.

I went to bed way too late on Thursday night but Friday was Tom’s birthday and he had to leave the house earlier than normal. He had sent me an Instagram Reel of this recipe so I made it happen on his birthday morning. They are super ugly, but it is cooked bacon with pancake batter around it.

After work, he got a basket of spicy chips and favorite snack foods.

And, his dinner was meatloaf, brussels sprouts, and sweet potatoes.

Happy birthday to Tom and not happy day to Amy. It felt like a lot of work…lol. Mason made the brussels sprouts, though!

I also bought a Thermacell for him and me.

The many faces of Eddie Otis…

He is not supposed to bring his stuffies outside but who can resist this cute boy with Harry Elefante in his mouth. Tom has named all of his stuffies and Eddie can go get whichever one we ask for.

He’s so fun to buy toys for so he got an Axolotl and a baseball bat on Friday when I had to get him more treats.

I finished this on Saturday morning…I overdosed on WWII books and took a long break and this was worth coming back for. I felt like I had a book hangover after finishing it.

Seriously, I loved it.

Look at this line from the book:

“I learned far too late that life is simply about being good and decent to others. It’s as plain as that. But first, you must be good and decent to yourself. Find your own road. Find your own happiness.”

I really liked this quote. I realize there is more to life than that, but that’s a good part of it, I think.

Saturday Tom and I loaded up a piece of wood and tools that he needed for my mom’s house. Our mission was to do a few odds and ends before the house were to be put on the market.

It’s an hour drive and we pass really beautiful horses farms first and then we cross the river into Indiana.

Tom did some outdoor stuff and I entered the house alone. Reminder that our estate sale was at the end of May and then we paid the company extra to empty the house of anything that remained. Before the estate sale, the three of us had chosen what we wanted to keep and we had saved things for family members and friends.

So, this would be the first time to see the house totally empty. It was kind of good that Tom stayed outside to do some work, but it was good that he was with me, too, for the support.

I walked through the whole house and took pictures and just silently prayed a prayer of gratitude for my parents and what they gave me. It was emotional for sure, but it was also beautiful. I told them I hoped that we had done right by them. It’s just a house and the stuff inside it is just stuff, but it was theirs. They lived in the house for 19 years (we were 33, 30, and 27 with our own houses by then) but they loved the house and it saw a lot of happy memories with all of us.

My Dad’s handwriting is in the utility room on the water heater. He wrote the date he purchased it and he taped the receipt on it! Also, he was an avid runner and he wrote which running shoe he started wearing in what month. It made me smile so big. I don’t know that I had seen the running shoe record before. He passed away in December of 2018.

My Dad’s handwriting was very distinct. He always used the military style of writing dates, too.

I sent photos of the empty rooms to my sisters (only after asking if they wanted me to) and we texted a bit while I was there. I helped Tom with what I could and we had to make trips to Lowe’s and Walgreen’s for supplies (as one does with any house projects).

We stopped at a store in the downtown on the way home and I ordered Mexican when I got home. Comfort food. I felt emotionally and physically exhausted.

I also went to bed at 9:00 and slept 9 hours!

Sunday was Father’s Day and there’s nothing that says happy Father’s Day like pork products. I had bacon ready for Tom when he came home from the gym.

And, his pick was to go to movies as a fam! This rarely happens these days!

How was your weekend?

Amy