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

Tuesday, May 30, 2023

Well, it would have been nice to end the school year on Friday and get to have that mental monkey off my back, but alas, I have three days with students and one day with just teachers so I will be working this entire week. Teachers start back August 7th next school year and we started August 8th this year, so I am not sure what exactly is happening to keep us in school so long. Oh well – I am sure you are not feeling too sorry for me!

I am starting my non-school days on the patio and I love it. This was Saturday:

By the way, I finished this book and it was cute. Also, I posted on Saturday here for Share 4 Somethings if you missed it!

So Saturday was a day of a few errands and house cleaning. Teachers put so much off until summer, but I really needed to clean.

Saturday night was a little welcome reception at a downtown hotel for my friend Elizabeth’s wedding.

Sunday morning, I arrived at the hotel suite where all the bridesmaids were gathered along with some of Elizabeth’s family. I had offered to bring lunch and this is what I ended up with:

I found ABC cookies and spelled out their names, I had a sun dried tomato cheeseball, I made our easy little cream cheese and beef roll ups, I made my own sandwiches on Jimmy John’s bread (they gave it to me for free!), and then little bagel with vegetable cream cheese and cucumber sandwiches. I also had more grapes and blueberres than you see here!

I’m so glad I did this because no one ate breakfast and they were going to pass out if they didn’t eat before 6:00!

Dry Bar came to do hair and the set up was in the window from the 6th floor so it was a cool view of downtown.

After everyone was ready, we loaded up on the shuttle to the venue for the ceremony and the reception. It was really nice having both in the same place.

The bar area set up:

One of the groomsmen needed a drink. This is Bruno:

The bride hiding in the closet with her pinot grigio before the ceremony. I got to go dress shopping with her last summer and I absolutely loved this on her. It is very “her”!

I was a bridesmaid so Tom sat with Erica and her husband. I’m sure they are happy that his fingers are in the background!

I don’t have many photos yet, but I will post more when I have them!

I am exhausted! My feet hurt! Bridesmaiding is for the young!

I am not sure how much I will post this week; I will give myself grace and see how it goes!

Amy

Saturday, May 27, 2023

I am joining Jennifer in her Saturday link up!

ONE:

I’ve been walking to work this week and I will be walking again next week! Tom’s car has issues and he has been driving my car – we were debating buying a new to us car or getting a very expensive repair done. We made our decision slowly because I can walk! It’s about an 8 minute walk for me and with it being so light out now, it’s been really lovely. I am going to continue next week. I have walked before, but usually all the stuff teachers carry to work is the issue. I will drive on the last teacher day when I will have to haul some stuff home.

I walk down my street and then I cross into this middle school parking lot (our feeder middle and where my kids went):

Then, I have to go in the grass for a short time:

I pass between my baseball and football fields:

then I arrive in my parking lot and this is where I park anyway:

I had Erica take a photo of my in my backpack. This was our diaper bag! I can attest that North Face backpacks hold up. It is 21 years old.

TWO:

Should I try Walmart +? I’m really considering it. My only hold out would be the Kroger brand products I get, but even Tom said he is not married to that many Kroger brand products. The thought of having the groceries appear on my doorstep sounds really appealing. Anyone do it? Advice? Do you think it’s cheaper than your local supermarket?

Not married to this macaroni – I just get the cheapest!

THREE

I’m a bridesmaid this weekend! I feel way too old to be a bridesmaid, but I said yes when my 20 year younger friend Elizabeth asked me. Remember her cabin bachlerette party? I am not wearing this in the wedding, by the way! I volunteered to provide “bridal party getting ready snacks” as my gift to her. What would you do? I am thinking non-messy and non-stinky breath snacks. I am thinking cheese, pretzels, grapes, little sandwiches…but I am open to your suggestions!

FOUR

I am not really a donut person. I can usually resist because they just aren’t my favorite splurge food. But, if you put a chocolate iced Long John (that’s what I call them) in front of my with the white icing (not custard!) in the middle – I cannot say no! Someone treated us to these the other day and it was so good! The other donut that would be hard is the round yeast donut with no hole, covered in white icing, with teeny tiny chocolate chips. The only one I have seen like that is my old hometown Dieken’s Bakery. What about you? Are you a donut person?

Now, you share 4 somethings with me or just share 1 something!

Happy Saturday!

Amy

May 26, 2023

Oh Friday, I am so happy to see you! It’s time to link up with Andrea and Erika to share our Friday Favorites!

I write my blog posts in the morning most of the time because my energy fades as the day goes on. I usually do my Hello Monday posts before noon on Sundays so if I do anything after that, I add it to my Friday Favorites – if it was indeed a favorite – ha!

Well, last Sunday afternoon was a favorite! I knew I had a 5 day school week ahead of me, but I spent a couple of hours prepping so I could have some fun.

My friend Heather:

Her husband Eric with Tom:

We took the boat to lunch and it was the prettiest day:

Heather picked a Breeze cocktail so I did the same:

We both had grilled whitefish:

We ate a place called Cunningham’s and got to sit outside on their porch.

Boat hair don’t care:

I wore my Mrs. Roper muu muu which isn’t very practical for boating but there was a bit of chill in the air when we were moving and the long length kept me warm. My first mate duties of throwing ropes and tying ropes do necessitate a more movement friendly ‘fit, so I probably will not be Mrs. Roper on the boat again, sadly.

I marinated some chicken in teriyaki sauce before leaving for the boat (again, I know I have very little energy later in the day and especially after being in the sun) and then when it was dinner time (we boated from 12-4), I cooked the chicken and tossed with some really good Trader Joe’s Thai style noodles (I will buy these again!) and added roasted broccoli, green onion, and sesame seeds. I loved this meal!

One night this week I did the burger bowls:

One night I did Shay’s tomato bacon pasta:

And, the pasta had a honey mustard salad to go with it:

And, I made the Peruvian chicken again at my family’s request:

And, now I am tired and ready for someone else to cook this weekend!

Tip:

I plan to do this! It sounds like a good low level summer goal! It goes quite well with another goal of trying and enjoying more white wines this summer. I am doing well so far!

This is a super thoughtful, easy, and inexpensive way to celebrate a teacher before the end of the year or for next year:

All you need is around $10 and you can also write the message of “enjoy lunch on us”. I really do appreciate using these over the summer!

This may be a separate post, too, but new dresses are a favorite!

I ordered 3 Walmart dresses and I was shocked by the quality and nice fabric. They run really big. I had to re-order smaller sizes and then return the bigger, but it wasn’t that bad. I also have not washed them yet – I wash in cold and hang dry usually.

I got this one:

And, this one – sorry for the bad foto, but I changed into my cognac sandals after I got to work. I took off the sweater for most of the day and got lots of compliments from students and one even said I needed to be “laying in a field”.

It looks much better with sandals with a heel but it still does give off a bit of a “granny’s nightgown vibe” that I am ok with. It is a really light chambray with a wonderful feeling fabric.

This one and I am still debating if I need to go down another size or just wash and dry it? Sometimes drying does the trick for me if I’m in between sizes and I need a bit of shrinkage.

And, I swear I purchased this two weeks before Sheaffer featured it!

The last one is my favorite of my Walmart order so I really want to make sure I get the fit right so that it is the most flattering it can be.

And, then I placed an order for this dress in two sizes from Old Navy because I literally gasped at the print. And, I haven’t decided which size to keep yet, but the material is amazing quality and super soft.

This model must be super tall, because it is knee length on me and I would say it runs true to size, but maybe it’s me that is kind of in between sizes at the moment. The dress very much looks and feels like something from one of my local boutiques. You will be shocked!

And, finally, I ordered these Target sandals because I loved them so much. I do have a rule-ish to not buy Target shoes, but I made an exception. The buckles do make a bit of noise when you walk, just so you know.

I am really loving throwing on a dress and I only had a handful in my closet, so that is why I did a bit of a dress shopping spree.

What have been your favorites this week? I hope that you had many!

Amy