Tuesday, November 18, 2025

Dinner! Why do they need it every night? For many of you, this is such a busy time of year. It’s not the time for gourmet meals. It’s the time for simplicity. I think most women I talk to are just exhausted by decision making. They can google recipes, but they just need the ideas.

Here I have a list of 20 plus meals that can get you through the holidays when you are just at home for normal dinners. This can save you having to use the drive thru and you can have many of these things on the table more quickly than you can order Door Dash.

Some of these things are not that healthy, but again, I think they might be better than fast food.

You will riff off of these ideas and remember things your family likes, I think. Open your phone memo and type what you like or get out your pad and pen.

Also, try to think of one meat but used two ways.

I have more energy in the morning so I sometimes will brown the ground beef or do some element of the dinner. I literally will set a timer on my phone to start dinner some days. Some late afternoons I am in a bad mood because I have to execute the dinner plan. I try to turn on a podcast or talk on the phone to make it more enjoyable on those days I just don’t feel like it.

American tacos – hard shells, lettuce, tomato, cheese, Taco Bell taco sauce, add rice as a side if you want

Spaghetti – make the meat at the same time you make the taco meat, add to a jar of Prego Chunky Garden or your favorite jarred sauce, use the good ol’ green powdered parmesan, and serve with Texas Toast

Fish sticks or filets, Kraft mac and cheese, can of peas

BLTs, frozen french fries, fruit – If you aren’t making your bacon in the oven on a sheet pan, start now.

Breakfast for dinner – can even make extra bacon and use for BLT night – pancakes, fruit, scrambled eggs

Rotisserie chicken, ready-made mashed potatoes or 90 second packet rice, green beans

Chicken Caesar wraps with the leftover chicken – buy a bag of Caesar salad mix. Frozen fries or frozen tater tots on the side. This was Kristin’s idea I stole this summer!

Salmon, baby potatoes, broccoli – can put this all on one sheet pan

Taco salad (can even freeze the taco meat from taco night) – iceberg lettuce, tomatoes, cheese, sour cream, Taco Bell mild sauce, crushed up original Doritos

Quiche or crustless quiche and side salad

Baked cod or tilapia (use cajun spice), frozen broccoli, baby potatoes

Burger bowls

Hot dogs, baked beans, bagged salad

Sheet pan turkey sausage or kielbasa, onions, green peppers

Hot subs, chips, fruit

Grilled cheese, everyone’s soup of choice (get some fun ones with characters?)

Fake Thanksgiving (Pre-Gaming)- Stove Top stuffing, Ready-made mashed potatoes, can of green beans (we like Allen’s Italian green beans), and some slices of thick cut turkey from the deli counter – did you know you can do that? Add Sister Schubert’s or Texas Roadhouse rolls, too – if you want more carbs!

Loaded baked potatoes – you can make a bar and offer chili, chicken, shredded cheese, broccoli – great way to use up leftovers. Can make the baked potatoes in your crock pot!

Sandwich bar

Pasta bar – just boil two shapes of noodles and call it a bar?

Ready-made bbq, buns, beans or another side

I think my favorite thing in my kitchen right now is my sheet pan – I have three big ones and one small one. I love roasting vegetables on it and I daresay it might be the easiest cooking method. You chop and toss with some olive or avocado oil and use some seasonings and then forget about it. You’re done. You can chop the veg in the morning if that works best for you.

Tom said something to me early in our marriage. I was making complicated recipes (for me at the time) and he said I didn’t need to work that hard and he is fine with “meat and two veg”. Isn’t that simple? I think about that often when I don’t feel inspired.

Sound off in the comments on your easiest go to meals. What do you always have on hand that you can make? What are your strategies for dinner when life gets hectic?

Amy

Monday, November 17, 2025

How was your weekend? Let’s link up with Sarah and Holly to talk about it!

Let’s start with Thursday! EO and I did a walk and enjoyed it not being so cold anymore!

I have used press on nails for maybe 3 years now. I give my natural nails a break in between sets and this is what my natural nails look like. Gel and dip destroyed my nails, but my nails are staying healthy with press ons. I use the type with adhesive on already (no nail glue required) and I get about 10 days out of a set. I exclusively use Impress brand.

I did a gray/green at the end of the day Thursday.

I went to Whole Foods for one thing that they didn’t end up having but I found this peppermint bark creamer.

I made a delicious iced coffee.

I loved this blackberry acai. I think you can buy Whole Foods 365 brand on Amazon now since Amazon owns Whole Foods.

Thursday night for dinner I made lasagna cupcakes in my popover pan. I couldn’t find my muffin tin. I think I got rid of it because it was in bad shape and then forgot to replace it.

Friday, I went to Work the Metal and enjoyed seeing their holiday decor. I missed their holiday open house a week ago because I had something else going on.

My custom handbag was in! The shop is in the same building. The shop is gorgeous!

Here she is:

The business is called Bonhomia and you can buy ready made pieces or you can design your own. This would be such a great gift. They use recycled Guatemalan handcrafted textiles.

There is a Facebook group, and I was able to pick my own fabric, leather color, and bag style through a super easy process on Facebook messenger. The owner/founder had the goal of 75 custom bags, and she exceeded that and used the extra profits to send the kids of the artisans they employ to school for a year.

My bag was $139, and I think that is reasonable for the quality of the bag. Reach out to me if you want one and need more help than the website can give you.

I came home with my bag and the weather was amazing!

Have cow print Mary Janes and lounge chair – will read.

Friday night was the long-awaited birthday dinner with my two besties and their husbands. One birthday was October 16 and mine was November 2nd, and we were only just able to go out together because of conflicting schedules!

We went to Malone’s, which is always good, but they had us in that booth for 3 hours. The service was slow and drawn out. Do they think we are Europeans? They had festive holiday decor that I enjoyed seeing!

They give you the most basic salad that is really good! Sometimes you just want good old iceberg.

I ordered a chicken sandwich just to get a smaller piece of chicken (left the bun) and the potato croquettes, which are amazing. I was able to take one home and have it the next day.

They have a colossal chocolate cake (it’s 1/4 of a cake) and we got that complimentary for our two birthdays.

Silly photos:

This is like one of those photos that shows you what it is like to have an astigmatism, which I do have.

Joint blowing out of the candles:

I got really thoughtful gifts for my birthday, too. We had already given the other birthday girl her gifts when we went to brunch on her birthday. Yes, there is lots of celebrating because why not?

Saturday was another really nice mild day! I went out to a boutique to spend my birthday gift card that one friend gave me and I went to Paul’s Fruit Market to get a couple of things we needed.

I went home and Tom and EO were using Tom’s new backpack leaf blower. He bought this “toy” last weekend.

I gave up on:

I only had about 50 pages left, but it was just painful to keep reading it. I knew what was going to happen. I don’t even know how motivated I am to grab it and read the last page.

I started this and I love the premise so far! Someone in Dallas does a home swap with someone in Germany! And, you might say I had a German-themed day all around on Saturday because after reading for a bit with my lunch I had to get ready for…

A “day date” to the German American Club!

We ordered this cookbook from the people who owned the German restaurant that is now closed and I brought it to get it signed…

during our German cooking class!

Mom and daughter who wrote the cookbook demonstrated how to make pork schnitzel and spaetzle (egg noodles).

Peep Tom helping with the noodles:

We were told we would get a generous taste, but it turned out to be a full dinner!

It was so fun to talk to the mom and daughter, and the mom told us her stories of coming here. She also talked a lot about avoiding food waste and foods they prepared when they didn’t have much food to go around in Germany. She is 82 and raised 5 kids who all worked in the restaurant when they moved here in 1993.

We came home and I read outside and then I remembered we had our tv out on the patio, so I watched a show for a bit in the dark. I wanted to have a fire, but it was really windy. My windchimes were really noisy and made it a bit hard to focus. Lol. I went to bed at 9 after staying up too late Friday night.

Sunday morning, I got up early because I had gone to sleep early and made my coffee. I placed a grocery order that would be ready for pick up at 9!

This week I am keeping it simple with

Chicken tortilla soup (will make extra chicken for burrito bowls)

Classic spaghetti (meat is already made in the freezer from the lasagna cupcakes)

Frozen fish, mac and cheese, peas

Burrito bowls

That’s only four things but we will do leftovers or sandwiches or order take out one night I think.

My post tomorrow is a list of easy dinners to get you through this busy holiday season. It’s nothing mind blowing but I hope it helps!

I did housework and errands for a bit on Sunday mixed in with some sunny reading time.

Tell me something about your weekend, too.

Amy

Friday, November 14, 2025

This week flew by! I am linking up with Andrea and Erika to share some things that made me smile.

It turned so cold Sunday through Tuesday and my body was not prepared. Wednesday became nice again! Yay! Don’t you know I rushed out to the sun! That was just a winter dress rehearsal, thankfully. I did learn I would need some cozier pants.

Tom went back to work this week and while that is sad for him…I was kind of glad to be back to my “new normal”.

Here we go…

The winter weather really prompted our leaves to come down!

I am so happy that I have a heated steering wheel! It feels so good! Who needs gloves?

Remember when I said I didn’t need Starbucks? What is it about cold weather that makes me want Starbucks? I love the holiday cups and the holiday drinks and it’s fun to have one for running errands. I’m so basic.

I cannot wait to renovate our kitchen and now you are going to look more closely because I said something. I am making this sacrifice to show you how cute Eddie Otis is with a taco in his mouth getting some scratches from brother Mason!

I am still loving the newly exposed wood floors and the fact that I got my house cleaned this week!

I saw a Boom Boom stick at Walgreen’s and bought it. You put it in each nostril to open your passageways. It’s supposed to be all natural – essential oils. I like my new Boom Boom stick for congestion.

I also got a French butter bell. You put a bit of cold water in the base, and you can leave your butter out and it stays spreadable. You have to change your water every couple of days, and you are supposed to use salted butter. I bought a really good butter this week – Vital Farms. Kerrygold was $10! This was half the price.

Mrs. Meyer’s Rain Water could basically be my perfume I like it that much. She makes me want to clean counters.

I got one more Acorn Spice to get me through November.

Do you listen to The Savvy Cast podcast? It’s a new one for me, but I loved her quick episode on dips. I love a dip! She also has a blog post with all the dip recipes on Family Savvy website.

The Best Easy Party Dips: Savory, Sweet, and Baked Fan Favorites

Still reading this and it’s cheesy but I’m enjoying it. It’s set in the 90s and the 90s references are a bit much at times but nostalgic at others.

I’ve been talking about my mom’s Storyworth. This is the finished product. She loved the color teal in the last 10 years of her life so I went with teal. She painted a wall teal, she bought two teal leather couches, She had a craft table made with teal legs. We were getting worried. For her funeral, all the girls painted toes teal. She had already named her “book so I kept her name. She always had to say her name was “Carol with an E”.

She answered 55 questions and even added photos. Here are some examples of the inside of the book:

I am so glad to have this! I am so glad she took the time to answer the questions. This would make a meaningful gift to someone in your life, perhaps.

Wednesday, I took lunch to my friend at her fancy office job. She has a nice lobby area and we sat and talked during her lunch break. I made bacon quiche and a simple salad and she seemed to really like it! Elizabeth used to be a French teacher next door to me. We became fast friends even though we are 20 years apart in age. I was in her wedding. She is the most positive person but has my sense of humor. She is a doll and I am so glad to have her in my life.

I made a salad dressing from olive oil, lemon juice, and honey and it was too tart so I added white wine vinegar. It came out really good and this is gonna sound crazy but I have a new fave lettuce mix. I’m going back to Kroger to get more.

Eddie Otis says, “Mom, you have to stop watching Love is Blind”!

Remember my neighbor’s tree last week?

Look at it now!

I’m so glad I stopped to notice its beauty last week.

I’m sad about the penny! My Dad passed away in 2018 and since then he has left me so many pennies! Dad is gonna have to up the denomination. Does he know what the economy is like? $10 butter? Dad, can you leave me quarters now?

Jen talked about blue leggings and I really like mine. They are fun!

My poor sisters. One is a first grade teacher and one is an elementary art teacher.

Here is what the art teacher posted on Facebook this week…

My poor sister!

I made the grilled peanut butter this week! I talked about it in Wednesday Hodgepodge. It’s really good!

I saw this on the interwebs this week…

Does anyone else think we should never have left the 1800s? I am not interested in lard, but did you know lots of lard (manteca) is used in Mexican cooking? It might be in those refried beans. Everyone is talking about raw milk and fermented foods now. And, see how sourdough is on there – all of you in the sourdough cult?

Tell me a fave of yours this week!

Amy

Thursday, November 13, 2025

I am participating in “a day in the life” with Joyce and Fashion Files with Kellyann and Jill at the end.

I decided to document Tuesday, November 11th.

I have been getting up around 5:45 and I simply put on gym clothes and brush my teeth.

This is me at a red light. Tom gets up at 4:30 and goes to the gym right when it opens at 5. He is part of the 5 am crew and they are chatty. I like arriving as they are leaving and there is a lull and hardly anyone there. I park next to Tom and we say “hi”. Lol. I am on my 7th week of my morning gym routine.

This jacket helps me on these cold days we have had.

I am so happy to have my driveway and garage back. We had a dumpster here for a week. My gate is automatic.

I just got my new to me car in July and I love how I get a little snowflake next to the temp.

I do have a heated steering wheel! I had it on my last car and didn’t think I had it on this one. Love a heated steering wheel!

I start my coffee as it’s now about 6:45.

Tom thankfully walks Eddie Otis and one of us turns on the patio lights. Tom took care of all the leaves over the weekend and now the yard is full again.

Eddie Otis eats and Tom goes back to shower and get ready for work. I read my devotional and open my computer. I talk to Eddie Otis.

This is my own fault, but I put my two multivitamin gummies and my vitamin D gummy in this cute little leaf for me to take after coffee. Eddie is worried about his vitamins and minerals, and I see him put his paws on the kitchen counter and start helping himself to the leaf contents. He got two before I got there.

The dumpster is gone and so is the nasty pile of old wood from April!

We go out to the recycling bin and trash bin together.

After I read blogs and write my next day’s blog, I open up my agenda and see what I need to do. I have ordered my 2026, as well. This is a great size for me – 8.5x 11 – and I write everything. It was like $7 on Amazon!

Elementary school starts at 7:30 and I have a nice window where no one is on the playground so when it gets light out Eddie and I do his second walk of the day. I listen to a podcast usually.

It is usually around 8:30 and I start to do the daily tasks of unloading the dishwasher if I haven’t already done it while my coffee is brewing, putting clean dishes away from the drainer, starting a load of laundry or putting something away, etc.

Sometimes I have phone calls to make. I have been making Monday my day to get admin stuff done and that has been working pretty well.

I make my breakfast and sit and eat it while reading my book.

This day was different because I was trying “Homeaglow” for the first time. I got a $19 voucher for a 3-hour house clean. I have only had my house professionally cleaned three times in my life. This was kind of a birthday treat and Tom suggested it.

So, I met my cleaner Leticia, and we talked and then she did both of my upstairs bathrooms while I worked on decluttering the mudroom, the kitchen, the dining room. Then, she came out and did the living room, dining room, and kitchen. I had to crate Eddie Otis because he was a little too “curious” about the bucket of mop water when she came out of the bathrooms. I did make sure she liked dogs!

I did the mudroom because she was going to run out of time. I worked the whole time she worked, and it forced me to get it done, too.

I added my little Thanksgiving touches:

I already had the mantel stuff:

She left at 11 and I went to take my shower and get ready to go out.

I was hungry and tried my peppermint bark Barebell. It’s ok. I’m just not a protein bar person. I only ate half. Barebell and Built are the best ones I’ve tried.

My toaster died and my kitchen trashcan needed an upgrade so I started at Target. I also bought a Method cleaner that Leticia had (she brought all of her own supplies) and batteries for my new trashcan. Yes, I said batteries. It opens automatically when it detects motion. By the way, I bought my mom a trashcan like this at Costco maybe 10 years ago and she loved it so much that she even wrote about it in her Storyworth stories as one of her “best gifts ever received”. Lol.

I had a birthday coupon for Clothes Mentor so I popped in and nothing appealed.

I got Mexican (local place like Qdoba) takeout for our lunch (Mason was home for lunch) because I didn’t want to yuck up the clean kitchen. I rarely get food out during the week – making my breakfast, lunch, and dinner at home most days.

I read my book for a couple of hours and Eddie slept because of all the excitement of the morning.

Then, I listened to a podcast while making dinner around 4:00. I chopped potatoes, yellow squash, and zucchini. I talked on the phone with my sister for about 45 minutes and then I started baked tilapia. I wasn’t feeling fish, so I made myself an open-faced artichoke melt sandwich for dinner.

Tom gets home from work around 6:00 and walks EO. I need to go with him but I’m finishing up dinner and I like some non-EO time in the house to straighten a few things up. And, it’s so cold!

We sit in the living room to eat dinner now and Mason sits with us a couple of nights a week when he is home. We are watching Ludwig when we can. We love having Mason hang out with us and EO loves it, too. We have decided he is really happy when we all sit in the living room.

It was about 7:15 when we finished and I still like my routine of cleaning up the kitchen and then going to shower and put pajamas on. Tom stays up for another hour or so and then he and EO go to bed. I usually come out from my shower and talk to them some more and then I watch tv in the basement on my more comfortable sectional. I come up and go to bed between 9:30-10.

And, now for some fashion…

I wore this Friday for my breakfast with my friend Beth. I have on my black Halaras, leopard Mary Janes, white AE button up and an old black fringe sweater vest.

Friday night I went to a Christmas open house at a shopping center and I wanted something a bit Christmasey. I wore my black Halaras, my black Lucky booties, my black Umgee blouse and then I used my red/green purse strap as my nod to Christmas.

Saturday errands – I have a feeling this will be what I reach for.

Halaras, black long-sleeved tee, and leopard vest.

Whew! That was a lot!

Amy

Wednesday, November 12, 2025

It’s Hodgepodge day with Joyce!

1. What does patriotism mean to you? 

I am embarrassed I forgot to mention Veteran’s Day. I thought it always fell on a Monday, and I guess I didn’t realize we were that far into November. Patriotism means being a good citizen of my community, state, and country. It means understanding that a democracy means not always getting the elected official you wanted and being respectful of who is leading.

When I travel I want to give the US a good name and not be an “ugly American”. Travel makes one more patriotic. We appreciate what we have.

2. September-October-November…your favorite fall month? Tell us why. If you live in the southern hemisphere use these months but sub spring for the word fall. 

September is still pretty hot but you can feel fall coming! I guess I would say October. We have had the nicest October weather.

3. A song you love with the word thanks (or some form of that word)  in the title or lyrics?

The only song I can think of without googling is “Thank you for being a friend” – lol.

After googling, I like Alanis Morisette’s “Thank U”.

4. November is National Peanut Butter Month. Are you a fan? What’s the last peanut butter bite you had? Fill in the blank: peanut butter and _____________________ . Oh, and you can’t say jelly. 

I love peanut butter! My Dad loved peanut butter and made me grilled peanut butter sandwiches when I was little. Have you tried that? I think I will do that in honor of my Dad.

Peanut butter and good old fashioned saltine crackers.

5. This week’s gratitude question-What event from this past year are you most grateful for? 

I guess I am most grateful for the ability to retire and to handle my mom’s estate for my sisters.

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

I am mad that we didn’t pull up the horrible carpet sooner. The floor isn’t perfect but it’s so much better for now. We are putting engineered hardwood on top of the other two bedrooms, hallway, living room, and dining room on our main level. It’s already in our bedroom. It’s darker with wider planks. I bought a cheap and too small rug just for now. I am hoping we get the new flooring laid down within the next couple of months. We have pillows but Eddie Otis steals them so we keep them put away until we are sitting on the couch. He has made us minimalists!

Amy

Tuesday, November 11, 2025

Today I thought we would just do a chatty post as if we are sitting down to have a coffee together. I am going to pick a few topics. Sorry I can’t ask you questions, but you can leave me comments! This might be interesting to exactly no one!

Retirement – It’s weird. I feel like I’m on a weird long summer break, I guess. I miss the kids. I miss conjugating verbs and the actual teaching. I don’t miss the bs. Last Monday my former school had a teacher day, and I was going to go visit for maybe 30 minutes, but the agenda was so packed full, and their lunch break was an organized soup cook-off. Maybe it was too soon to visit anyway. I keep in touch with only 3 teachers other than social media. When one of them sent me the agenda for the day I felt so thankful that I was done with all the trainings, meetings, and other things to justify the administrations’ jobs. Boom!

Adult kid at home/adult kid moved out – The one who moved out seems to be doing really well. He comes to do laundry once a week and we visit. I try to be home. The one still at home seems to be ok with this shift in their relationship and they have been going out a bit. He spent the night at his brother’s apartment one night recently because they hung out late. That always makes me happy. I think the holidays will feel weird if they aren’t both spending the night on Christmas Eve. I guess at some point things adapt and change but change is hard.

Holidays – Speaking of the holidays…I’m not excited at all. I am sad. I will not get to see my family at Thanksgiving this year. We have booked an Airbnb for after Christmas in my hometown and hopefully I will get more excited about that. Everything will feel different this year. Every year we did my mom and dad’s house on the Friday after Thanksgiving with all 17 of us, including my mom and dad. It was a crowd. Then, it was 16 after my Dad passed, then Kate ditched her man, and it was 15. Lol. Then, we also gathered the day after Christmas at my mom and dad’s house and again, the numbers dwindled somewhat. I guess soon we will have significant others join our family. Now, Tom and I are the oldest and as I have told my sisters, “I AM THE MATRIARCH”.

Selling my mom’s house – So, we got the inspection report, and the buyers wanted us to pay for a new roof. It’s just the original roof on a 19-year-old house but there isn’t significant damage. My sisters and I decided to say yes rather than continue to go back and forth more about how much we would give them toward the roof. Now, we await a closing date. But also…we have to get an EIN (employee identification number) from the IRS in order to open a bank account for the trust in my mom’s name that technically owns the house. Trust me when I say that I have learned so much about trusts – pun intended. Still, I can’t help but be so grateful for the relative ease of this whole process and how well my sisters and I worked together. This is a testament to our parents.

My routine – I would say I am settling into more of a routine. I do go out in my car most days. I try to avoid school traffic and run my errands or do my appointments around 10-11. I am usually home by lunch time, and I stay home during the school rush which is like 2:30-4. Eddie Otis is still crated when I leave because he can’t be trusted. We try not to leave him crated for more than a few hours. He does love his crate and regularly sleeps in it with the door open when we are home.

Socializing – I try to plan a social activity with a friend once a week. I try not to over plan because my social battery doesn’t have a long life. It probably never did.

Fall Bucket List – I did pretty well. There were some things I didn’t care much about doing anymore, but overall, I did really well. I was most proud of myself for learning the ropes of taking EO to the dog park by myself. I was scared he would be too wild.

Not on my list, but I was also proud of myself for finishing my mom’s Storyworth book and getting it published. It has arrived and I plan to surprise my sisters and my mom’s siblings with their copy at Christmas.

I did not technically make the full German meal that was on my list, but this weekend Tom and I are doing a German cooking class at the German American Club. We bought the cookbook from the old German restaurant that shut down. The German family that owned the restaurant created the most beautiful book and they are the ones teaching the class. Tom and I are gonna learn to make some schnitzel!

I think I had a fun fall!

I plan to do another bucket list for the rest of November and December.

Wardrobe – I take a body shower (as opposed to an “everything shower” which I do at night) every morning and actually get dressed. I think it’s good for me. I do need better winter lounge clothes, and I have been saying this for years so maybe it will happen finally. What’s nice is that I need less stuff now. I am trying some traditional sweatpants from AE/Aerie. I am excited to have some cozy pants after being so cold Sunday and Monday!

If you are still here, I am sure your coffee is cold! Now, it’s your turn to talk!

Amy

Monday, November 10, 2025

How was your weekend? Let’s link up with Holly and Sarah to find out about mine!

You guys!!! This is my neighbor’s tree, and the sun has been hitting it just right this week. Isn’t this gorgeous? I know people talk about leaf peeping trips and country drives and cabins in the woods – and I do, too – but there is so much beauty around us in our everyday lives, too. I am so thankful to live amongst this beauty!

Starting from Thursday, here is my weekend…

I treated myself to a “running errands coffee” and decided to make it iced…

Here is what I did. It needs more of some type of milk, but it was good and I will definitely get it again. I appreciate the people that come up with these lower calorie swaps!

I want to try this one, too!

I picked up two books from the library!

This one:

And, this one:

I didn’t know who Caroline Chambers was, but someone recommended this. I have not connected with a cookbook like this in forever. There are so many things I want to cook, you guys! Here is her website. Her recipes look like things we like to eat (for the most part), don’t contain crazy ingredients (or too many ingredients), and she offers lots of “riffs”. It just is very approachable. I have been feeling very uninspired in the kitchen lately so I am hoping this is my remedy.

I love these indices in the back:

What to cook when… you want something healthy, you’re craving something cozy, etc.

She also has them organized by protein but encourages protein swaps.

I love reading cookbooks cover to cover like they are a novel!

Tom worked so hard last week and into the weekend. I am amazed at all he got done. He redid the fence – just has a little section left.

He filled this dumpster with old patio boards, carpet, and garage things and topped it off with our leaves.

Friday morning, I had a breakfast date with my friend Beth. We tried a new place called Grale Goods and it was so good!

I came home to Tom and assistant Eddie Otis taking a break…

Tom would not like me showing you his dome.

I read outside for a bit – fall vibes book – with my tea and candle.

I watched some of the work…and went and helped Tom with some of the things that the thumbless EO was not good at like holding a tape measure. I also brought a sandwich out for them. See, I helped?

My friend Heather picked me up for this holiday open house late Friday afternoon. We had so much fun looking at the holiday decor and gifts and getting lots of tastes of wine and nibbles. It was hopping with more middle-aged ladies than you thought possible.

Then, we had a drink and dinner in a cool lounge…

I had a power bowl:

I came home to this:

I noticed this on socials. This is a street by my house and a coffee/donut place I shared about recently:

Saturday, I did some housework and I gave Tom the day off to go hiking with his friend so I had to solo parent Eddie Otis.

At 6:00 we went to our friends’ house and I had an excellent spicy marg with just the ingredients shown below:

Our friends made Philly cheesesteak sandwiches on their Blackstone along with onion rings in their air fryer before we went to a concert.

Their dog Luna:

The concert didn’t start until 8:00 so I was nervous. I think it’s my favorite concert venue in Louisville now and it’s called Paristown Hall. It’s in a cool fixed up area.

We bought the cheap seats which actually are the best in the house. I thought it was standing room only in the balcony, but they had high tables and chairs and couches. It was awesome!

We saw The Wood Brothers and a duet opener from Ireland that we really liked.

Sunday, I made some banana bread because we had lots of brown bananas.

We got home late Saturday night, and I didn’t sleep in, so I was pretty tired and lazy much of the day. I did manage to plan some meals, order groceries, finish laundry, organize my closet, and piddle around a bit. The weather turned cold yesterday and we might have snow as you are reading this! Eek! Too soon! But, it should be back to the 60s by the weekend.

What was the highlight of your weekend?

Amy

Friday, November 7, 2025

I am linking up with Andrea and Erika to share some favorites from the week.

This week has been different for me because Tom has been off. Originally, we were going to take a week-long trip, then we were going to just take an overnight, then Tom was going to go on an overnight hiking trip with his friend, and then it turned into staying at home and getting a dumpster. The least fun option of all of the things.

Non-sexy dumpster:

Let’s see some favorites from the week from the mundane to the more exciting…

I am enjoying the oatmilk creamers more and this is a new fave for sure – sugar cookie! I’m finding that the oatmilk foams up really well in my frother. I found mine at Target rather than Kroger.

It was time for some veg after a sugary weekend. I made spaghetti squash, brussels sprouts, and potatoes with cajun oven baked cod:

I made roasted broccoli and tri color carrots with chicken and rice:

I’ve been enjoying Mason’s gift to me in my window:

And, my SIL’s gift to me on the mantel:

I love bees! Well, in decor more than in real life, but they are super important in real life.

I have enjoyed my burgundy press on mani:

My two new pairs of Target shoes:

I talked about them in yesterday’s Fashion Files.

I saw these at Walmart Neighborhood Market and bought them. Yum!

My sister Molly sent me this awesome scalloped marble cheese board or decorative board:

these cocktail napkins:

and this book:

Love! She knows me!

I bought clearance Halloween paper plates and have enjoyed giving myself the gift of less dishes this week:

hot tea in the late morning or afternoon:

We ran out of this, but I included it in my Kroger order and I realized how much I love it:

I put a little squirt of this in my tea most of the time:

I finished this book this week and it’s deeper than you might think by the cover. I enjoyed it!

The reason for the dumpster…we had the old patio wood sitting here since April and Tom wanted to replace all the fencing. On Monday he went and got all the new fencing materials and then started disassembling the old fence. It’s a blessing and a curse to be handy. It’s either your time or your money.

Eddie Otis was the supervisor. I watched this dog walk with Tom for each and every board that he threw in the dumpster. It was so cute. Tom is really good about letting him be outside with him while he works. If EO feels like he is missing out stuck inside it’s not a good situation.

Little EO was outside with Tom from 8:00 am until about 4:00 pm helping him do all the work he did. I think EO only took one indoor nap break in all that time. He was so stinking tired at 4:00 and immediately fell asleep and started snoring. It was so cute.

I had a nice little happy hour at home with Mason- sauvignon blanc, Spanish serrano ham, classic potato chips, baguette – a la Spaniards. Mason had cabernet sauvignon as he is more of a red wine person.

Wednesday morning was an exciting time. We had tree people working outside to dig out some old stumps and Tom and I ripped up nasty 30-year-old carpet in our living room. This carpet has seen some stuff. Into the dumpster it went. Tom also took the opportunity to clean out the garage.

We are replacing it with darker engineered hardwood like in our bedroom eventually but it’s a vast improvement.

So, our reward for the hard work was the final boat ride of the season. It’s time to winterize with the temps dipping really low soon.

We generally do our first boat ride and last boat ride just the two of us. I took my apple cider sangria with me and we had a nice little ride.

I stopped by a cute little market on the way home called Haymarket and then we decided to order Pad Thai and watch Chad Powers. We are eating at like 5:00 because of DST and our bodies being slightly messed up! It’s 6:30 and I feel like it’s 10 pm!

What were some of your favorites this week?

Amy

Thursday, November 6, 2025

First of all, I must mention the tragedy that befell my city of Louisville, Ky on Tuesday late afternoon.

I am 9.3 miles from the airport. I was sitting outside reading and saw little black clouds and wondered if it was going to rain. Then, I heard about the incident from friend Heather. UPS is our largest employer (26,000 employees) and a big part of our community. A cargo plane crashed shortly after takeoff and at least 7 lives were lost and 11 were injured. We had a shelter-in-place command until they could get ahold of the situation.

Please pray for all affected.

There is no way to segue gracefully into linking up with Kellyann and Jill.

Last Thursday I wore this to a wine bar with my friend Beth S. The sweater is old from Loft and I am wearing Halaras and my brown clogs. I had a really bad blister and had to keep choosing open backed shoes. The Halaras got a hole in the hem (about 1/2 inch from the bottom) and I cut them off. I think I will need to get them professionally hemmed because it doesn’t look great.

Pre-cutting them off:

Again, I had to wear the open backed shoes and I am wearing my new Land’s End stripe track pants, a white shirt, and a vest. This was Saturday running errands outfit.

The pants:

They come in short length! They are super soft. They run big. I would size down one to two sizes. I sized down one but wish I had sized down two.

Saturday night I wore my striped jeans with a plain white old Costco Lucky brand sweater and my new birthday money Mary Janes.

I did it; I bought the Target cow print! They are really nice quality and comfy. I know I usually try not to buy Target shoes but there are exceptions to my rule.

I decided to keep the leopard vest. It’s so cute! Is it flattering on me? Probably not. Also, I debated if I needed to size down but ultimately thought that would be too snug.

I wore this on my birthday to breakfast and to a beer garden. So easy to throw on over black!

For my birthday night, I wore this. It would have looked better with black pumps, but my black pumps just can’t hold a candle to my tan ones – comfort speaking. These are Chico’s pants (consignment new with tags), my fall short sleeved boutique blouse, and my Amazon scalloped cardigan.

Another birthday gift:

Target mules

Well, that’s it for my fashion this week!

What have you been wearing?

Amy

Wednesday, November 5, 2025

Today I am linking up with Jenn for Currently and Joyce for Hodgepodge. Let’s go!

Currently loving…

The season we are in. I am really trying to savor it and enjoy it.

I love a yard full of leaves! We are team “leave them alone for a long time” over here. It warmed up a bit on Monday, and I was able to enjoy the sunshine and the view.

Either Tom or I have been turning on the patio lights with Alexa in the mornings. This is Eddie Otis waiting for Tom to come out the side garage door after returning home from the gym at 6:15. Every morning I think how beautiful it looks.

I’m also loving thoughtful gifts…

Mason gave me this for my birthday along with a headache hat you keep in the freezer:

Jack gave me a replacement bird feeder with squirrel defense to replace my feeder that was 25 years old and broken. Awwww!

Currently looking forward to…

I’m one of those people that doesn’t like to rush the Christmas season. I like to stay in fall and Thanksgiving mode. Sometimes I decorate the Wednesday before Thanksgiving so that – poof – after Thanksgiving it is a Christmas wonderland.

I am looking forward to cozy time at home with my family and some of the aspects of the holiday. I need to work on my holiday bucket list! I stopped my fall list at Thanksgiving.

The holiday open houses literally star now!

Currently smelling…

I love smelling the remnants of a fire and we have a neighbor with an indoor/outdoor fireplace. I usually smell it on the early morning playground walks with EO. Such a good smell!

I’m also smelling my vanilla pumpkin candle right now!

Currently preparing for…

I have already started shopping a bit. I have my ideas written down. I have already bought advent calendars and pajama pants.

Currently thankful for…

So much. I guess most on my mind is that we got an offer on my mom’s house and hopefully the process will go smoothly. The inspection report is due back any time now.

1. Besides Thanksgiving, something on your November calendar you’re looking forward to? 

I am looking forward to a couple of nights out – a dinner, a concert, and I hope to go to all the fun holiday open houses in different shopping centers and neighborhoods.

2. Dictionary.com’s word of the year is ‘6-7’. Huh? 

This may be dumber than “skibidi Ohio” and I am so glad I retired before the kids started saying this in school. It would have been fun to say “seis siete” once maybe. The high school kids might not have been as bad as middle schoolers with saying “6-7”, though.

Is it even a word??? I had to consult the internet to find out it’s meaning because apparently I’m old and this particular slang is not part of my vocabulary. Is it part of yours? According to the article I read, it’s a viral term, more of an inside joke with an unclear meaning driven by social media.

I have lost all respect for dictionaries everywhere that are accepting this. No wonder we are dumbing down society.

What do you think? 

Dictionary. com says it’s selection each year is a ‘linguistic time capsule reflecting social trends and events, but they also admitted to being confused by ‘6-7’. Some say it means so-so and is sometimes accompanied by the up and down hand motion we associate with the phrase so-so.

No. Just no.

What word do you think would have made a better choice? 

Skibidi Ohio.

3. What’s a food, trend, activity, or thing people love but you think is just so-so? 

Top Golf.

Buying yogurt with toppings for $$$.

Going out for ramen. Isn’t it like 50 cents at home?

Lol.

4. Are you a tea drinker? Hot or cold? How do you like yours and at what time of day? Do you like flavored teas or teas billed as calming, energizing, healing, etc? 

I like hot tea in the afternoon because I don’t want to give up my morning coffee habit. I like English breakfast, green, Early Grey, Bengal spice, vanilla chai – I don’t love the more floral notes. I don’t want to drink hot potpourri, you know?

I love iced tea every now and then but I prefer unsweetened and then I doctor it up a bit. Sweet tea is too sweet!

5. The November Hodgepodge has always included a weekly gratitude question. Here’s the question for today-what are three things that make your heart sing? 

Spending time with family and friends.

Being outside in nature.

A good book, a good movie, a good show, and watching talented people do their thing.

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

I am so happy for the people in warm weather climates to have nice weather now! The Texas and Florida people are so happy!

Amy