Thursday, September 13, 2018

Today is my mom’s birthday! She and my dad were born with one day apart in the same year!  Happy birthday, Mom!

I like to make a bucket list for each season and sometimes for each month.  They are usually more like goals or things I want to do to enjoy the season or month to the fullest.  It’s a way of being intentional.  My lists used to involve lots of family activities but now they are mostly for me by myself, me and a friend, or my husband and I.  

-Decorate for fall.  Get mums for front porch and decorate back patio.

-Go to an apple orchard – there is one near my in-laws with apple jam and apple slushies.  (This would involve the whole family)

-Make my fall sangria (It involves Fireball Whiskey!!)
Enjoy said sangria in my yard or on the boat. 

-Have a bonfire in my backyard – maybe for my birthday with people over

-Have people over for chili maybe before walking to my high school’s football game

–Go to at least one out of the four high school football games.  Try to invite some teachers.  

-Do a boat ride where we marvel at the fall colors of the trees (We keep the boat out until end of October/early November before winterizing it.)

-Create a fall capsule wardrobe 

-Go to my city’s flea market, food truck event on a Saturday or Sunday

-Go to a fall festival

-Make Apple and pumpkin recipes

-Take a Christmas card worthy family photo – excited because both boys’ braces off!

-Buy fall candles and soaps at Bath and Body

-decorate for Halloween when appropriate – right now have generic fall decor

-Go to restaurant on the river with a fire pit

-Take my dog to a dog friendly patio at a brewery – We have lots of these

-Buy and wear an apron for cooking – I think I will go to World Market to look.

Have I forgotten anything?  What’s on your list?  

Amy 

Wednesday, September 12, 2018

Happy Wednesday!  I’m linking up with The Blended Blog for their “Calling All Camo” theme today and I’m doing my regular teacher outfits from the last week. 

I didn’t like this outfit.  I feel like the fit is off on the shirt and the pants.  The shirt is too small and the pants are too big.  I could’ve not shown you, but hey, keeping it real that I don’t like every outfit I wear.  I think this photo is helping me to send this top on its way to someone else.  It is a very helpful exercise to take photos even if you don’t have a blog.  

I liked this outfit and felt comfortable.  Everything I have on is consignment.  Target blouse, Chico’s pants, and Axiomm shoes.  

This is the first time I repeated clothing since the beginning of the school year four weeks before.  I had worn this top and I really like it – consignment – a brand I hadn’t heard of.  And, these are the Matilda Jane consignment pants that were new with tags.  I’m wearing grey consignment Tieks.  

I will probably wear these Chico’s pants every week until it gets too cold.  I have on a black LulaRoe perfect tee bought at regular price and a LulaRoe vest bought at consignment for $8 this summer.  I have on my black matte consignment Tieks.  I was very comfortable in this outfit.  

I love camo!  I highlighted it as one of the trends for this year in this post here and I’m so happy it’s still on trend.  In the first photo, you can see my ADVdesigns camo earrings and in the second you can see my Land’s End camo jeans and Land’s End camo flats.  Both are several years old.  I did have a Target camo tee but it didn’t wash well and I donated it.  I also have LulaRoe camo leggings from my consignment store for $8.

My favorite combo is camo with a solid black top or a solid black bottom.  I know some people can rock the pink with camo and it looks so cute.  

What about you?  Can you camo?

Amy 

Tuesday, September 11, 2018

I do want to pause to remember the anniversary of 9/11 on this day.  I was teaching when our principal made an announcement to turn on our classroom television sets.   I will never forget it.  I was in my 7th year of teaching and didn’t have my own kids yet.  We watched news coverage all day and then I went home and watched more.  

Also, it is my Dad’s birthday!  I’m sorry he has to share it with such a date in our history.  Happy birthday, Dad!  

Also, update on my two Free People short sleeved henleys.  I ordered a large in black and a small in olive.  They were huge!  Even the small looked too big and was too voluminous on me in my opinion.  Sadly, they were returned.  I want to be able to wear Free People, but I just don’t think it works for me or really for my pocketbook at regular price! This model must be wearing an XXXXXS if even the small was voluminous on me.  

I like minimalist decor.

In the first photo of my mantel, a chalkboard is a super easy item to add. I have two big glass jars with candy corn and candy pumpkins, a burlap ribbon, a leaf banner from Target Dollar Spot – go there quickly because they were almost gone.

In the second photo, I love my letter board from Hobby Lobby and my glass pumpkin candy jar.

I have the Bath and Body leaves scented (great smell!)  candle in the third photo with Target $1 white pumpkins and a bowl of Kirkland’s jute pumpkins.

Finally, I added one Rae Dunn piece from Kirkland’s and I think I will use it all year as it simple says “treats”.

I will add some Halloween specific items in October but I like stuff that works September through end of November before I put out Christmas stuff. I also have some Thanksgiving specific items I will add after Halloween.

I mainly decorate my family room. I will add some outside mums and some things on my patio as I use it until December most years.  

But, my patio is in serious need of a clean up and new furniture. We have had it on our list to buy new furniture for 3 years but can’t find exactly what we want!

So, I will try to add cute decor until the time comes that we can replace it.

What about you? How much do you decorate for each season?

Have a great already almost mid September day!

Amy

Monday, September 10, 2018

I’m linking up with My Glittery Heart, Lindsay’s Sweet World, and The Sirois Family.  Check it out here!  We had a nice weekend!  How about you?  So, lately I’ve been doing something immediately after school on Fridays but we’ve been eating dinner at home and we are just fine with that during the busy month of September.  I helped a friend shop at Versona for her mom’s birthday (I didn’t buy anything!) and then picked my boys up and made dinner at home.  I made Andrea’s chicken parmesan sliders from her recent post.  We watched a show as a family and I was in bed at 9!  (Spoiler – I went to bed at 9 on Saturday night, too! )  

Saturday morning was a grey day and I wanted some tea after my coffee.  I love this tea.  It is so good and it’s caffeine free if you want it later in the day.  

I finished this book with my coffee and tea.  I do recommend it.  It is a little remniscent of Me Before You by Jojo Moyes.  

The upside to going to bed at 9 on a weekend is that you are raring to go early the next morning!  I had a lovely morning of errands that I had to get done and some that were just for fun.  I bought this Mason Jar spoon rest at Kirkland’s.  

I bought these stemless wine glasses at Target Dollar Spot.  

I finished my fall decor in my living room.  More photos coming this week.

I took my son and a friend to the movies and to Blaze for dinner.  

I was anxious to start this and I’m loving it!  

While my son was seeing his movie, my husband met me and we saw the movie Peppermint with Jennifer Garner.  It was really good – I recommend it!  I don’t think it should have been named Peppermint, however.  

The rest of us ate leftovers and my husband watched a football game while I read and watched a little of Tammy with Melissa McCarthy which was on t.v.  I went to bed at 9 because I was falling asleep.  Seriously, I am so tired at the beginning of the school year.  I once fell asleep at a Rolling Stones concert at the beginning of a school year when I was in my twenties.  How embarassing!  

Sunday morning I had my first pumpkin spice latte because it was 60 degrees and rainy!

I did grocery shopping and did some shredded chicken for a meal this week.

Around noon my husband and I drove to see what all the rain has done to the river and I had to wear a scarf! They had a small art fair going on so we checked it out. The rest of the day was lazy with reading, tv, and my first pot of chili of the season!

This week is going to be busy and a bit stressful. We have our open house at school Thursday night.

Hope you have a good Monday!

Amy

Friday, September 7, 2018

Short weeks usually drag for me, but this one flew by!  I think it was because I was so busy after school each day.  My son started his Tuesday/Thursday theater class and that has had me running until dinner time. It was a good week, but I’m ready for the weekend. Today I’m linking up with Andrea, etc. for Friday Favorites.

1) We got this incredible gas station by our house recently.   Trust me, I have never been excited by a gas station before.  This is a Shell Select and they have gourmet food, local products, and Ale8 Slushie machine (made in KY – similar to ginger ale), fancy donuts, these fancy bagels!, and some nice seating areas. I bought donuts and bagels for my boys’ birthday at this gas station.  Sorry for the bad lighting – it was 6:00 a.m.

2)  Do you follow any celebrities on Instagram?  I really enjoy Cameran from Southern Charm.  This made me laugh this week and no, I have not let myself have a pumpkin spice yet!

3)  I wore these for the first time this week and really liked them.  No, I do not usually put my feet up! 

4)  Look at this cute 3rd grader who is also my niece who shares my middle name!

5)  I am almost finished with this and I do recommend it. 

6)  Here is next on my list – I can’t wait to read it! 

7)  I was doing some fall inspiration searching and this is one way I plan to transition my kimonos for fall. I think the key is to look for fall colors in your kimonos.  

8)  I have quite a nice collection of blanket scarves and I love them. But, they were eating me alive, so I cut them in half (cut into two triangles) and gave the other half to my sister and I’m so much happier. I will show you what I mean in a post to come!

9)  These are Target DV.  Aren’t they cute?  I will have to check these out in the store.  

10)  I currently am without perfume.  Isn’t that sad?  I want to show you my fall favorite that I discovered last year.  It has tobacco flower among other things.  I can’t wear anything too sweet or floral because I will get a headache.  I love this “L” perfume from Soft Surroundings. (Pioneer Woman loves this store.)  I bought a small $20 one a few times last year.  I didn’t pay $75.  If you like subtle, spicy, but not cloying scents, check this one out.  

Have a wonderful weekend and hope to see you back here on Monday!  

Amy

Thursday, September 6, 2018

Here is what I’m excited to pull out!

My new/used Madewell Transport Tote – I have carried it a few times, but it screams fall to me.  So excited to have a bag with no silver or gold and a black and brown combo so I can wear with both color palettes.  Are you like me in that you don’t like to mix metals?  I just feel weird if I carry a bag with tons of gold on it and I’m wearing silver jewelry and vice versa.  

My leather cuffs.  I have worn these a bit this summer, but I think they are more fall.  The leopard and red design are from Etsy ADVdesigns and the strappy one was a consignment store find.  

My leather earrings can be worn year round, but again I think they have such a fall vibe.  The left ones are a nice cognac color from Nickel and Suede and the camo ones are from ADVdesigns.  I can’t wait to wear the camo with a black top and jeans.  

Are you a bootie person?  I just feel like they are so much easier to wear than a tall boot.  I do have tall brown boots but to be honest, sometimes they make my legs hot to wear all day long.  I love the look, but I just think a bootie is more fitting for my lifestyle.  These are a TJ Maxx find from last year.  Would you believe they are Jack Rogers?  I didn’t even know they made non sandal type shoes.  I fell in love with the rosette detail and didn’t care what brand they were.  So, I was surprised when I looked inside.  I love this cognac color. 

These are going on three years old and I have worn the heck out of them.  They are Lucky Brand and are so comfortable, even for all day teaching.  These are my winter shoes on repeat.  I tend to wear more brown in the fall and then more black in the dead of winter.  Seriously, check out Lucky Brand shoes.  I also love that these have no zipper – they are slip on.  The cognac ones have a zipper.  

I was obsessed with finding clogs last winter and I played it safe and went with black on black.  I kind of wish I had gotten black on a brown bottom.  These are Lotta From Stockholm from Amazon.  They are about $40-$50.  So, these aren’t that comfortable.  It kind of feels like walking on wood.  Maybe I will continue my search for a more comfortable pair.  I love, love, love the look of clogs.  I have loved clogs since visiting Holland in 1995.  My two sisters and I clomped all around Europe in our clogs.  I remember some dudes in Italy yelling “Hi, Dutch girls” in Italian to us.  I wish I still had those clogs.  

What are your favorite fall accessories?  What do you recommend to me?  

Yes, it’s still 90 degrees here but I’m so over my summer clothes! Are you tired of me saying that?  

Have a great day and it’s almost Friday!

Amy 

Wednesday, September 5, 2018

Today is a very special day!  16 years ago I became a mom times two – I have identical twin boys if you didn’t know.  To respect their privacy, I don’t post a great deal of photos or talk about them much in this space.  I leave many details of our weekends out to respect their wishes.  It’s a good thing I didn’t have this blog when they were younger, because I would’ve talked incessantly about them.

Anyway, I couldn’t let today pass without saying something.  Moms of young kids, I just want you to know that you are doing a great job – keep on keeping on.  I have had so many moments lately where I have seen my boys open doors, wait on people to enter a public door first, say please and thank you, offer assistance, and just be kind and well mannered humans.  I was never sure if my training would stick!  We plan to celebrate tonight with pizza and cookie cake and do some more on the weekend.  And, having teenagers is not bad at all – it’s a lot of fun!  

On to outfits from the last week – this was comfortable and I love black and tan.  If in doubt, throw on black and tan or black and white. Am I right? I am wearing the Tory Burch flats from my post here.  

These are my new 11.99 Versona pants and I loved them, but I don’t like my top.  I should’ve sized down.  I need to try the pants with something else.     

This was a little more casual look for Friday.  I am wearing the new Versona 13.99 kimono here.  

I forgot to take my picture wearing this but I wore this to school yesterday – Old Navy flower dress and white sweater/kimono.  

Are you ready to transition to fall clothing?  It’s hard to type that as it is high 90s here!  I am ready – I’m tired of my warm weather stuff! 

Happy hump day!

Amy 

Tuesday, September 4, 2018

Did you have a nice Labor Day weekend?  I had originally planned to post on Monday and Tuesday, but I was busy having fun!  I had a really nice weekend!

Friday, we decided to do takeout.  While I waited for our food to be ready, I bought just a few groceries until I could do a bigger shopping trip. Our Thai place is in the same shopping center as our grocery store.  

Here’s our Thai takeout- yum!

Saturday’s weather was kind of rainy and cloudy.  We had been invited over to our friends’ house for lunch.  It is a nice change of pace to do lunch at friends’ house. I made these easy beef and cream cheese roll ups because my friend loves them. 

Let your cream cheese soften, spread, and roll.  I used light cream cheese. 

I also made lemon bars.  Any baking mix by this brand is great!

And, finally, I made mac and cheese. 

I brought stuff to make a purple rain cocktail. 

They had a panini maker and a make your own panini bar set up. It was lovely.  We came home at 3:00 and I read and napped.  

Then, very spur of the moment we went to another friends’ house where they had some people over for football and pizza and I took spinach and artichoke dip.  I forgot a picture of the dip and I just didn’t think to take any pictures!

We left their house around 9 and I went to bed shortly after we got home. 

Sunday morning I did our big grocery trip to hopefully last through the week.  I left wishing I had done Clicklist and the bagger shorted me some of my items – ugh!  But, I used my coupons and these checks they give you based on your purchases and I got all of these groceries for only $36. 

Later that morning, we had friends and their kids on our boat. We enjoyed some mimosas.  

We had to drop them off after a couple of hours and we went back out for a bit.  This is what the party cove looked like. 

I finished my last book and started this. 

After we got off the boat and cleaned up, we had to go to World Fest – a celebration of all of the cultures in our city with food, entertainment, crafts, etc.  One of our boys had to film it for a project and I told my students to take a selfie if they went for some bonus points, so this is my selfie. 

Monday morning, I wanted to try french toast with this bread from TJ’s.  I rarely make it, but with this bread it was amazing. 

I have something shocking to tell you – I didn’t do any Labor Day sales!  I did, however, order this Free People Top for now and into the fall.  I’m hoping the size works.  I don’t want it to be so oversized.  I ordered it in an olive green color, too.  I’m sure one will go back because I ordered two different sizes.  I love this brand, but usually won’t pay their prices. 

I ran some errands for school and the boys’ birthday, did some laundry, and did some cooking prep. 

Finally, we went to see this movie. We all really liked it.  Now, my almost 16 year olds may not be typical in their movie taste but they thought it was really well done.  I cried a few times.  Fred Rodgers was a great man who made an impact on the lives of thousands of children.  

O.k., a four day week – we’ve got this! 

Amy

Monday, September 3, 2018

Enjoy your day and come back tomorrow for a weekend wrap up!