Friday, December 8, 2023

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

I write my Hello Monday blog posts fairly early in the day and then I save anything that I do afterwards for Friday (if it indeed was a favorite). Sunday afternoon around 4:30, Tom and I went to dinner. He came out wearing a nice pants, shirt, and nice zipper sweater and I say, “well, I guess I must improve my look, too” and wore this:

I had a plan for us; I wanted to visit Holy Grale. You have heard me talk about the biergarten and Grale Haus before. Grale Haus is a breakfast place with some bed and breakfast rooms on the top floor and out back is a biergarten that leads to Holy Grale, which I believe used to be a church?

It is tiny and quaint and they serve German inspired food.

I had a wine from the tap! They have wine on tap!

Tom and I split the pork schnitzel and frites with dipping sauces:

It was so good!

I just really love the amazing places our city has to offer! We are so lucky!

Then, we headed to campus for the beautiful lessons and carols service.

Here is a sneaky steal of an Instagram photo from the college with Jack singing from the loft:

I have been on a bit of an ordering kick with beauty, skin, and hair products. After almost a year of using up old beauty products and makeup, an Ipsy subscription and then cancelling said Ipsy subscription, it was time. I really have been making do for a long time.

I ordered these to put with my daily face lotion and I think a little color allows me to use less makeup.

I ordered a new detangler. I have a lot of fine hair that gets tangled easily so I really like a detangler. I have no curl in my hair so maybe I got the wrong formula, but it’s working for me.

I have been using a new to me hairspray that really holds (at least in the winter):

Did you read my Dry Skin post? There are some great suggestions in the comments and I ordered this and love it for my nighttime cream.

I have so been missing this! My family uses pods, but I use All or Tide liquid (I hate the smell of the pods and I feel like sometimes they don’t fully dissolve in cold water which is what I exclusively use with my clothing) and I love to add a tiny capful of this. I had run out months ago, but remember I have had a low spend year and I was doing without. You don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone!

It was cold and rainy Monday and I had this going all day long – the kids thought it was funny. I turned the crackling sound up at the start of class and then turned it down to teach.

You want an easy meal? Take a boneless skinless chicken breast (I like to cut mine in half horizontally so they aren’t so thick), spread any flavor of Boursin cheese and then wrap in one to two pieces of bacon. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes or so and then broil to crisp the bacon at the end. It’s impressive and super yummy and easy enough to make on a Monday night!

I bought compression packing cubes and I have been “practicing”. I really can be such a nerd.

If you read Fashion Files yesterday, you know I’m taking this packing thing seriously!

I love lists like this – holiday episodes of The Office!

I started class with this photo one day this week and we talked about the car coffee culture here versus the coffee culture in most other countries. I challenged them to sit at a coffee shop this winter and drink out of a real mug and not a disposable wasteful cup! One girl pulls a ceramic mug out of her backpack and says, “I’m already one step ahead, Sra.!” Kids are so funny!

My Christmas tree jewels fell off on the middle fingers so I replaced with plain nails that were left in the set:

Self-care! My toes looked so bad so I took myself out on Wednesday around 5:00 and then also picked up McAllister’s take out on the way home. It felt like a real treat!

And, I will leave you with my favorite part of my Christmas decor:

All of our Christmas cards through the years!

What were your faves this week? I hope you had many!

Amy

Thursday, December 7, 2023

Well, here we are on a Thursday for Fashion Files with Kellyann and Jill! I skipped last week but included some outfits in Friday Favorites so you may see some repeats here.

After Thanksgiving, I pushed aside all manner of olive, mustard, burnt sienna, and other fall colors and I started wearing my plaids, reds, greens, blacks, and what I consider to be more December colors.

I am also “auditioning” which pieces need to go with me in my carry-on only (eek!) upcoming trip to England and Scotland. I feel that an 8-hour teacher day is a fairly good test!

I love my new Target.com (I say this when I don’t shop in store, which is really a thing of the past for me now) Christmas tree sweater. The sweater came with an extra Christmas tree button. This sweater is going with me on the trip. I like it best with it buttoned and I added a white tank underneath after trying it on below:

I got mine on sale for only $21!

Saturday errand outfit – I don’t know why I think this shirt is so funny. It say’s “Prosecc Ho Ho Ho” – like Santa, not like another type, ok?

Saturday lunch and shopping outfit – my Wit and Wisdom Itty Bitty bootcuts were too long and I finally made the decision to cut them so I can wear them with flatter shoes and sneakers.

This is why I don’t wear my hair straight – eek! I wore my Kut from the Kloth jeans and my new Walmart sweater ($10!) to run some errands Sunday and then…

changed into my black pleather pants and Hush Puppies pumps to go to dinner and the church service.

Monday school outfit and also a very strong travel outfit contender – TJ Maxx top and American Eagle velvet leggings with my new Chelsea boots from Nordstrom.

With my new Columbia rain jacket –

Tuesday school outfit – I got so many comments on this outfit from my students and one girl said she is going to wear the same outfit today. I bet she doesn’t have moo shoes, though!

So, I have been attempting sweaters at school and I am a bit hot, but it’s all in the name of research.

Let’s talk about Walmart. Ok, this is typical Amy. I ordered not one, but three pairs of the Joyspun holiday pajamas and then was further influenced to buy a pullover which sent me looking for more things for the trip. I had more than enough bottoms, but my tops were not cutting it, in my opinion.

I ordered the white sweater above, the green pullover that Jen recommended, and this green side button sweater. I am really impressed with the two items I have already received and the Walmart shipping and delivery rivals Amazon for me. They are also very communicative and precise about when your order will arrive.

Anyway, I pray I don’t have to go into a store for returns because that is not my vibe. Walmart.com is impressing me you guys! No one is more shocked than I am!

Any favorite outfits?

What have you been wearing?

Any packing tips?

Amy

Wednesday, December 6, 2023

Happy Hump Day and Happy Currently day where we link up with Jennifer and others to share some things that are currently happening in our lives!

Loving

the fact that my library is open on Sundays because I just can’t always get all the errands done on Saturdays – and that I just got to pick up these requests:

Do you ever check out cookbooks? I do! I love to see if it’s something I would want to buy.

And, this:

and my holiday nails…

I felt like the tree jewels were going to come off, so I polished a clear topcoat over that nail.

Gifting

um, nothing right now, but I have two student aides and Erica has one and we decided to order them lunch one day next week as our gift. We plan to tell them soon and let them pick their orders.

Wrapping

up the weeks before break! Since I’m not gifting, I’m not wrapping. I am rapping sometimes in class as a teaching method, though.

Here is my little Spanish one class who also got to play Go Fish last Friday. I think they had a lot of fun. I hope they are falling in love with the language because that is so important in level one, so that they continue studying it.

I really don’t feel badly about not gifting or wrapping. We have gotten pretty minimal anyway over the years.

Hoping

for smooth travel and some good family time. It’s been a while, you all, since we were a group of four.

Attending

a beautiful chapel service to start the advent season at our kids’ college. This is their little chapel as the sun was setting:

It was weird being on campus without Mason being there and it was also weird because I haven’t been on campus much lately. I had all the feels at the start of the season and because of the love and care I feel this university has given my kids.

This is our last year there and I think I was extra emotional about that and about missing Mason. Jack and his singing group sang several songs from the loft of the chapel.

So, while I am not gifting or wrapping, I am enjoying the stuff like this that is the true meaning of the season!

What are you up to currently?

Amy

Tuesday, December 5, 2023

November was a fast and full month! I started the month off with a birthday and a new refrigerator! Ha!

Nov. 1 – $151 Costco – Tom’s protein shakes, tissues, and a couple of random things, $17 Felina leggings two pack, $34 Paul’s Fruit Market for a few odds and ends

Nov. 2 – My bday! Goodwill drop off, UPS return +44, Target return + 63 (like the girl math?), Starbuck’s $7.20 (I had not been in months – why/how is Starbuck’s so darn expensive!), $61 new dress (black cougar) that also came with free poncho for spending over $30, $15 Target lightweight turtleneck, $25 Bath and Body, $38 my Kendra Scott half price piece, $100 Steak and Bourbon with Tom

Nov. 3 – Big Kroger re-stock $199 – had to fill up that fridge!, Birthday dinner out at Mexican restaurant with friends this time $70

Nov. 4 – $60 Gas (had not gotten gas in a long time) to drive to hometown

Nov. 5 – $0 spend day

Nov. 6 – $0 Spend Day

Nov. 7 – $33 lunch, $50 Kroger

Nov. 8 – $47 Kroger pick up

Nov 9- $0 spend day

Nov 10 – $0 spend day

Nov 11 – $31 TJ Maxx, $38 Target, $25 CVS

Nov 12 – $44 Sunday Funday pizza place

Nov 13 – $0 spend day

Nov 14 – $0 spend day

Nov 15 – $0 spend day

Nov 16 – $49 Torchy’s after funeral visitaiton

Nov 17 – $28 Chick Fil A after funeral (treated my friend who drove)

Nov 18 – $5 Bourbon tasting, $14 food truck, $25 biergarten

Nov 19 – $55 Aldi small shop, $9 Dollar Tree, $110 Target order because could not brave another store/parking lot

Nov 20 – $0 spend day

Nov 21 – $0 spend day, last day before Thanksgiving break and Victoria came over for the truffle popcorn, wine happy hour but brought some yummy snacks, too!

Nov 22 – $39 Trader Joe’s Liquor store, $44 regular grocery (KY law says you must have a separate store front to sell anything more than beer or hard seltzer so there is a separate entrance/cashier for alcohol) , $0 library, $38 Shiraz take out (do not cook on night before Turkey day!)

Nov 23 – $0 spend day

Nov 24 – $149 Amazon Black Friday deals on some things I needed for trip that I had been waiting on – did get some good savings!, $60 Chick Fil A to take to hometown with my side of the family
Nov 25 – $52 Waldo’s Chicken and Beer to watch the game

Nov 26 – $70 Kroger pick up, $31 Target

Nov 27 – $0 Spend day – no energy to spend after first day back!

Nov 28 -$0 Spend day – same!

Nov 29 – $40 on three pairs of Walmart pajamas at Walmart.com for myself. I want to take one on the trip and I literally have no winter pajamas. I only have a pair of Gap sleep pants that I love that are 5 years old? I want to wear these around the house and then sleep in my tank and shorts combo.

Nov 30 – $0 Spend day

I almost didn’t record this month! I skipped recording several days and then had to go back and see what I had spent. The beginning of the month was pricey with my birthday, but the month was so busy I don’t think I had time to spend much. Also, I could have made some errors this month since I was definitely less careful and, on the fence, if I wanted to record.

Tallies:

Zero Spend Days – 13! Is that my record?

Groceries – $536 – is this possible?

Meals Out/Take Out/Happy Hours – $525 – this included two birthday dinners and the Chick Fil A platters I took to my hometown for Thanksgiving

After doing this for 11 months, I have learned a lot! I am not going to do December, but I am continuing to try to be frugal by shopping at Aldi, using up leftovers, not buying too much (after getting a new fridge I really like my fridge not being so stuffed!), and continuing to make eating out/take out/happy hours feel like a treat by not doing it too much.

My goal in 2023 was to be mindful of my spending and to be frugal (while still enjoying my life!) so that we could send Mason for his semester abroad and take this trip to meet him. I feel pretty happy with how I did. I still spent too much sometimes, and I still made some shopping mistakes (clothing!), but I am also happy with what I learned.

Amy

Monday, December 4, 2023

Well, it’s Monday again and one of the best parts is linking up with Sarah and Holly and reading about all of my blogger friends’ weekends!

I will be real honest with you – this was one of those weekends where I thought – do I even have enough to share? Ha!

Tom was under the weather and that did affect some of our plans.

Let’s go back to Friday – I taught the kids in a few of my classes to play Go Fish in Spanish after our quiz. Can you believe that a lot of the kids had never played? I reviewed numbers 2-10 – ha! – and gave them the words for Ace, Jack, King, and Queen.

They seemed to have so much fun! I put a sticker on all of them and told them if they spoke English during the game, they would lose their sticker. There were lots of laughs which warmed my heart. I like to do something loose at the end of class on Fridays.

I had Erica over for a glass of wine after school and she looked at my “packing practice”. I had all of the things I thought I was taking laid out. She gave me good advice and we realized I have too many bottoms and not enough tops.

I used my napkins I bought last year:

I walked Ernie and enjoyed the dusk:

Erica made a joke that she “knows I am saying no to all things Christmas this year”. That really isn’t true! I am wearing festive clothing and doing a few community things before our trip, I hope. I am also doing some holiday things in my classroom – not forgetting to include other holidays besides Christmas and also talking about winter in general. I am just choosing to do “Christmas light/lite” while in the US this year!

I wore my new Target.com Christmas tree sweater on Monday to school and then again out to eat on Friday night:

We met our friends for Mexican, sadly. We were trying to do a pizza place but it was too busy! Go figure – on a Friday night at 6:30!

Saturday morning was pretty mild and I was able to enjoy my breakfast on a holiday plate al fresco.

Errand time! I wore my Prosecc Ho Ho Ho to run errands. Erica told me I shouldn’t take this on the trip!

Aldi doesn’t open til 9:00 and I got there soon after and had the whole place to myself!

I had plans to do lunch and shopping with my friend after I put groceries away and did some chores. It was quite mild and I wore this:

We had a lovely little lunch at Steak and Bourbon and then did some browsing. Neither of us bought anything.

We split a gouda burger:

After we parted ways, I got to have a really nice FaceTime with Mason and I gave Tom the phone for a bit, too.

I finally finished The Burnout. It was cute and I liked it, but it just took me forever to read it! I do think it moved a bit too slowly.

Finally! I got to start The Christmas Wager and I am already finding it hard to put down! Also, I wasn’t hungry after a late lunch, so I made something for Tom and then sat on the patio, made a decaf coffee, lit a candle, and just savored this because I know I can’t do it much more!

Ernie gave me the side eye but stayed out there with me:

Sunday morning meal prep – my turn for 3 lunches and I am doing breakfast bowls, Big Mac bowls, and grilled chicken, potatoes, and broccoli this week.

And, this is what enough chicken for Ernie while we are gone looks like. I was practicing!

My black nails I had on last week lasted their full 7 days and could have gone longer, but I was bored with that color, so I took them off Saturday night and let them breathe. Yesterday I lined up a holiday set:

Before cutting and filing them down:

Kinda fun!

So, that’s about it for my weekend…see I told you. Don’t say I didn’t warn you…

Amy

Friday, December 1, 2023

Happy December 1st to all! Can you even believe it? I am happy to link up today with both Andrea and Erika for Friday Favorites.

This week really flew for me. Did it fly by for you?

So, here are some faves from my week!

First, it was fun to switch from fall colors to festive colors!

I didn’t do a Fashion Files this week, so here is what I wore:

New Chelsea boots from Nordstrom and new Target Christmas tree sweater:

Amazon Gucci-esque sweater, black pants, Madewell sneakers:

Spanx faux leather leggings, New Balances, Old Navy button up, black vest:

And, yesterday I wore my Wit and Wisdom Itty Bitty Bootcuts and my hot pink cougar blouse:

I am wearing different colors and also deciding what to keep and what has to go in my winter closet.

And, I can’t believe I’m on the internet in pajamas! I was influenced by by Jen and got the super soft Walmart Joyspun set but if one is good, three pairs are great! In my defense, I don’t have any winter pajamas. I wear shorts and tank tops to bed, so I wanted something to wear around the house. These run big. I would say size down one or two sizes. I could have gone down another in the pants but not the top and they do come as a set. I also got the pink polka dot ones and green plaid.

Jack walked in as I was wearing this around and said I looked like a Dr. Seuss character.

I really like this Maybelline Vinyl I picked up over Thanksgiving break. I was looking for a long wearing product.

We had some fun in one of my levels this week. We were learning future tense and they wrote fortunes for each other. I brought in fortune teller props. Some of them really got into it! It was really fun to see!

This has put me in a festive mood this week – yum!

And, that’s all I really have for my faves this week! All I did was work and come home!

What were your favorites?

Amy

Thursday, November 30. 2023

Well, this is an appropriate topic for the last day of November! I have all kinds of holiday events around town written in my calendar for this weekend if I feel up to them. Do you do that, too? I am pretty good about finding out about events and then writing them down so I don’t forget. I am linking up with the Monthly Musings gals here today.

1. Favorite Holiday Traditions – Decorating around Thanksgiving and keeping decor up until after NY Day, new pajamas on Christmas Eve, a family game on Christmas Eve, church on Eve, going to each side of the family, special foods on Eve and Day, a relaxed Christmas Day with our family
2. Favorite holiday fashion items or accessories – now, really excited to wear my prosecco earrings and my Prosecc Ho Ho Ho shirt!
3. Share your favorite holiday recipes – I like the idea of appetizers for one meal, breakfast casserole and monkey bread on Christmas morning, and we almost always splurge and buy a HoneyBaked ham to eat during the afternoon/evening. Tom makes his one meal a year with the ham bone – 17 bean soup.
4. How do you celebrate the holidays – Eve church, Day with immediate family, afternoon with Tom’s family most years, and day after with my family most years
5. Do you go see holiday lights – not really – I do like driving home from eating dinner or events and seeing the lights but we don’t do it as an event in and of itself and never really did
6. How do you decorate your house for the holidays – I am really minimal now but my theme is kind of woodsy and evergreen
7. Real or fake tree? – we have always had a really nice fake tree but now I am into my pencil tree
8. Favorite holiday treats – must have pink meringue cookies, usually buckeyes (peanut butter chocolate bon bons), sometimes the saltine cracker candy or the pretzel chocolate bark, sometimes the peanut butter with Hershey Kiss cookies
9. Do your pets get and give gifts – My Ernie gets gifts, but he does not have a credit card so we don’t expect anything from him except kisses
10. Best tips to make holiday less stressful – One of the best books I have read is Unplug the Christmas Machine and I read this when my kids were elementary age. I also started the “something you want, something you need, something to wear, and something to read”. I feel like both the book and the mantra set the tone for raising appreciative and non-entitled children, which was my aim. I was very scared of materialistic children!

Here are some posts from the past:

Christmas Traditions is here and Christmas cocktails here!

What about you?

What are your musings on Christmas?

Amy

Wednesday, November 29. 2023

Well, you guys, it’s the last Wednesday of the month and we only have one more day of November – “30 days have September, April, June, and November” – I chant this to my students. Can you believe they don’t know this?

It’s time for the fun monthly link up with Sheaffer Told Me To and Mix and Match Mama.

What I’m Wearing…

I have started wearing sweaters and trying to wear sweaters to school. I wore this on Monday:

I didn’t pass out. This is my new Christmas sweater from Target.com. Here it is! I can’t remember where I saw it, but I fell in love with it. I got mine on sale for $20 and it appears the price has gone up.

I also tried out my new Nordstrom chelsea boots:

They are very comfortable and supportive, but my feet got hot and I did change shoes halfway through the day.

I also wore this on Saturday to watch a basketball game:

This is another Target sweater I got a couple of months ago from the special collab with Rowing Blazers.

For Thanksgiving, I wore this wine color of Impress press ons:

Not sure what I did differently, but this set would not stay put:

I let my nails breathe for a few days and now I am wearing this color:

What I’m loving…

I went in Target on Sunday to make a return and saw…

this cute display and goodies:

Tom put up my Michael’s pencil trees. This one in the bedroom and…

this one in the living room. I am happy I decided to decorate minimally to enjoy it now and when we get back from our trip.

I can’t find my strands of white lights for the mantel and the banister! I think I put them in my January decor stash and I can’t find that either. I like to keep blue and white up in January with snowmen because teachers love snow and snow days! I guess I will look again this weekend. I hate being disorganized and I hate not being able to find things.

What I’m reading…

Still this. Ha!

This collection made me happy! I placed a Target order for the sweater, Mrs. Meyer’s peppermint hand soap and kitchen counter cleaner spray, these peppermint crunch Junior Mints, and then the other sweater that I didn’t keep. It was too cropped. Here it is if you want to try it. It’s very cute!

What We’re Eating…

I spent time Sunday getting 9 breakfasts ready to put in the freezer. I made 6 Amy McMuffins and 3 breakfast burritos.

My sister-in-law gave me a bit of turkey and this is my fave – the cold turkey mayo sandwich on white bread!

I did Soup Sunday and made my friend’s soup again but this time I added corn, bacon, diced potatoes and onions to make it more like a chicken, potato, corn chowder. I also used less cheese and less cream of chicken soup. I added chicken broth. It turned out great!

I am loving my new sugar free peppermint mocha, and I also used it to make an iced protein coffee – instant coffee grounds, a splash of this, ice, and a half of a premier chocolate protein.

And, we are enjoying eating off of my old Target plates!

What I’ve been up to…

At school, I am trying to be super organized and plan everything out until break and for the week after we come back.

At home, I am working on meal prepping and eating healthy. I am ordering things we need for travel.

What I’m dreading…

I am dreading the stress of travel and hoping for the best! Honestly, I’m not great at things not going according to plan, but I am working on it and I am better than I used to be.

What I’m excited about…

You know, this is going to make me sound like The Grinch, but I am excited to not be involved in the mad rush of the holiday season. At the end of Christmas last year, I just felt empty and depleted. It just hit me that the holiday didn’t have to be that way. It was not a deliberate plan at that time to be gone over Christmas, but then it just worked out that meeting Mason at the tail end of his semester made the most sense.

This year, I am not shopping, wrapping, stressing, buying food, hosting, cooking and it feels very freeing. Now, remember that I have done all of this and been in charge of making the season magical for many, many years. My kids are 21 so I’ve been through it all while also teaching full time.

Jack suggested we shop for each other on the trip, so we have something to open on Christmas Day, and I plan on bring back gifts for the grandparents. I also plan to surprise my kids with some stocking gifts, I think, and many of you said I should try to pack their stockings. Mason wants us to cook in the Airbnb on Christmas Day, so that should be interesting! It’s also high on my list to attend a church service in a beautiful old cathedral. I have asked our Airbnb host for suggestions.

I’m also fully aware that I may realize I don’t want to be gone for Christmas in the future.

So, that’s a little bit of What’s Up with me this Wednesday!

What about you?

Amy

Tuesday, November 28. 2023

Last fall my face became drier than I have ever experienced. It was painful! I would say I have always had combination skin where my cheeks were just normal but my t-zone was oily, so I have never really struggled with dry skin on my face. I think it might have been a bit of wind burn from a boat ride, but nevertheless, I struggled with painful dry skin last year until I could get it under control.

Confession – I am really lazy about lotion and a skin care routine. I get so tired that if i don’t do something before I get too tired in the evening, it probably isn’t happening.

So, here is my routine:

I eat dinner, clean up dinner, and then immediately jump in the shower where I wash my face. I wash my hair every other night, so this is a really quick shower on the off night. This is how I make sure that my makeup gets washed off thoroughly. But, I am also not wearing much makeup to school these days.

Here’s my dry skin prevention routine:

This is a must buy product for me in the winter. You turn off the shower, apply this lotion and then towel off. I also use my regular lotion – Cerave at night and Bath and Body Into the Night in the morning. Yes, I do take a quick body shower in the morning, too. I just feel weird going to school if I haven’t. This Jergens Wet Skin is great for the person who is lazy about lotion.

For my face, this has been a game changer. This makes your makeup “melt” off almost. I put a small spoonful in my hands and then rub on my face. If I have extra, I put it on my elbows. I try to keep it on my face for a bit before getting in the shower and rinsing it off and then using my facial cleanser – Cetaphil. Thank you to Jennifer for helping me to start this!

I can’t find a lotion I like better than this Trader Joe’s. It’s lightweight and doesn’t bother me. I just added Isle of Paradise face tanning drops to my routine. I started with 3 drops and now I am maintaining with just one drop.

I need to add a thicker nighttime face lotion and just use this for the morning. Any recs? I won’t spend a lot, so don’t give me any $100 recommendations! Ha!

Amy

Monday, November 27, 2023

Well, how was your holiday? I enjoyed 5 days off from work and I had a little bit of productivity and a little bit of fun!

I am linking up with Holly and Sarah for Hello Monday!

I was off on Wednesday – we have had this day off for several years. I do remember when we didn’t. It’s so nice to have Wednesday off! I ran a couple of errands, but I mostly just enjoyed my day off. One of the highlights was this walk with Ernie.

We walked by the middle school football field and saw a group of college boys – half in black and half in white – getting ready to play a game. They all turned toward the flag and put their hands on their hearts and sang the national anthem all the way through and then cheered and clapped. I found this heartwarming and had to sneak a photo.

I went to a little boutique and I went to Trader Joe’s. I call these fun errands and things I enjoy!

It was warm enough to sit outside before dinner and read – and for the first time I was trying Elin Hildebrand’s much mentioned wine – Sancerre. It was recommended as a good wine to go with Thanksgiving foods. Ok – new favorite! It’s so good!

I’m still working my way through this – I just haven’t sat down to read much.

Wednesday evening we got mediterranean takeout – I don’t think you should cook the night before!

Thanksgiving morning I made egg casserole and cinnamon rolls.

I also did my minimal Christmas decor! I have since added a few more touches but I’m happy.

I cooked for my sister in law’s while Tom went to pick up his parents.

I made traditional mashed potatoes and sweet potato casserole.

I made pumpkin pies on Wednesday and they turned out great!

I also made this salad for my sister in law’s and I enjoyed having a salad as part of the meal.

Her dining room table looks lovely!

We had a really nice day and the food was so good.

Friday morning we left for my mom’s house and we all arrived around the same time – 11:15 and had really good bagels and Chick Fil a with a couple of snacky type foods.

My Aldi in KY can’t sell wine in the store, so my sisters and I and Jack checked out my hometown’s Aldi and I bought one bottle of their store brand. I haven’t tried it yet.

Then, Jack and Tom went to a guitar store and my sisters and I and some of the nieces sat on the porch and chatted.

Then, for dinner, we had the pasta bar and it was even better than last time. We had bread, salad, bowtie alfredo, cavatappi mac and cheese, spaghetti, and lasagna.

My mom got a pretty bakery cake for dessert.

We had a really nice day Friday, too.

Saturday was the big UK and U of L game (in-state rivals) so we met our friends at Waldo’s Chicken and Beer.

We left after the first half and went back to their lovely home to watch the rest of the game. It was a really close game so it was fun to watch.

And, their cat may have gotten into the spirit of the holidays:

We left late afternoon and then ordered pizza for dinner because Jack wanted that. Jack and I watched an Outlander – we are really into it.

Sunday was a day of getting my act together. I have 17 school days until we leave and get to see Mason!

I did take advantage of some of the Black Friday deals on Amazon for stuff we need for the trip. Did you do any shopping? Are you planning to do any Cyber Monday shopping today?

How was your holiday? I hope it was good!

Amy