Friday, September 2, 2022

Happy Friday! Boy, am I glad to see this week come to an end and a long weekend ahead of me! The grind of getting up around 4:45, leaving for work at 6:45 and working all day is getting to me! Do I really have to adult? Yes, I was spoiled by summer!

Linking up with the ladies here for Friday Favorites!

First of all, some business…I will be back on Tuesday for Prime Purchases with Tanya, Wednesday for Weekending where I will share my weekend, Thursday for Fashion Files, and Friday for Favorites. I am taking Monday off for Labor Day and because my twins turn 20!

So, this week has been like starting school over again because I had to switch a study hall (I just monitored the kids while they quietly did homework) that I had into a Spanish 1 class. We have had so much demand for Spanish 1 that we couldn’t keep up and I now have a class of kids that came from 3 different teachers. I’ve spent the week creating new lessons and handouts for them and trying to teach them my routines – that are probably vastly different from the routines they had established with the other 3 teachers. I didn’t have any other Spanish 1 classes, so this was all new prep for me. I now have 3 preps, as we call them, so it’s not that it’s hard necessarily, but it is definitely more time consuming to plan and prepare for 3 different classes.

One evening I was upset with myself for eating dinner and immediately turning on the tv, so I went outside to read instead. The evening was lovely, but the mosquitos love me so much! That’s one thing I will not miss about summer. I started this – didn’t finish my last book The Spanish House – I liked it but it was slow…

This is so cute so far and my niece is named Nora, so that appealed to me, too!

The sun and the sky really changed my mood around!

One day I made cauliflower rice, AmyLu cherry sausage and roasted frozen vegetables for our lunches.

One day I made Mexican spaghetti squash bowls.

And, one day I made buffalo chicken stuffed potatoes but I forgot to take a photo. This was my week with 3 meals and Erica made orange chicken and fajita bowls. Again, we are eating well!

I savored The Pioneer Woman magazine over the weekend. It’s just so good!

I was happy that Ree talked about blazers for fall.

Kellyann, I think she shopped your closet!

And, I had thought camo was out…

I was really happy to see this because I have several camo things that I still love.

I made it to the gym twice this week again.

I stopped to take in the beautiful sunrise one morning in my school parking lot.

I had not seen my friend Beth in a long time and we have very conflicting schedules now that school has started. We met at Red Hog. This is truly one of my favorite patios in town.

I ordered the best Paloma I have ever had. If you like tequila and grapefruit, you should try this!

We had to have their fries with curry mayo. These are some of the best fries in town. I have done extensive research.

We usually just have appetizers, but we met at 5:30 and had dinner. We decided to split the half roasted chicken and corn.

It was fabulous! I love this place. They also have a little butcher shop that sells other things like fresh bread from their sister shop Blue Dog Bakery.

I love my chairs. Can one love a chair this much?

This is my chair from Walmart last year – we have two. We take these to hear music or watch outdoor plays. I also like to use it on my patio sometimes.

And, this is my anti-gravity lounger that I just replaced. Ahhhhhh…love this chair.

One night for dinner I served this roll/bread on the side and Tom was talking about how much he liked it. Tom is not a big bread/carb eater, so that is big for Tom to say that. Pick up a bag from Walmart deli. They are great as a bread on the side or for a little sandwich. They would be great for Sloppy Joe’s, BBQ, and maybe even a burger. They are only 100 calories each and 3 WW points. They have a European flavor in my opinion. What is European flavor? I am not sure but they have it. I keep these in the freezer and just take one out as needed.

How was your week? Any favorites? What are your long weekend plans?

Happy, happy long weekend!

Amy

Thursday, September 1, 2022

Happy First of September! Did you see that I posted twice yesterday? I’m so tired I had forgotten I already had a post. I’m a mess. I hope that makes someone out there feel better! Ha!

I am linking up with Kellyann and Jill for a couple of outfits I have worn lately and for some fall prep I have been doing.

My tripod makes my photos kind of blurry so I apologize in advance. I am not sure what I am doing wrong. I am trying to cycle through all of my warm weather skirts, dresses, and pants without repeating.

On this day, I wore my fun and colorful Loft pants (very old) with a black tank and one of my new Target button downs. I returned my Amazon ones because I wanted a bit more room and I was in the largest size. They are a really nice material. I was sad, but then I found these from Target. I would say stick to your normal size in these and they will shrink a bit in the dryer. I went with black, white, and light blue because I do plan to wear them a lot! I have on my rain flats by Melissa because the weather was bad, but I did change into my black Birkenstocks.

Then I wore the light blue one over a simple black tank swing dress.

On this day I wore my Kohl’s white button down with my palm print skirt.

I forgot to take my photo, but I wore my blush colored swing dress with a tie dye kimono one day.

My Hush Puppies came in. Oh my word. The quality is top notch and the comfort factor just wearing them around the house seems on point.

What do you all think? They are both super comfy and I can imagine that these will be worn a great deal.

I think I have found the Universal Thread dress of fall. Remember the Universal Thread dress of summer? I bought it in black, white, and mauve?

Exhibit A:

Check out this basic dress for fall. I purchased mine when they were 30% off. I am sorry to say that ended the day after, but hopefully something else will come up.

I had to do two orders. I decided to size up because the dress is quite straight without much fabric in the stomach, hips, and booty area.

I ordered all three colors and I think it will look great with a cardigan or a blazer. I like the sleeves and the ability to layer so I don’t get too hot. Sometimes our building gets so overheated in the winter, you know?

Another factor I considered is that this dress can be worn to work, out to dinner, and can be made more dressy with heels or boots or more casual with sneakers.

I am excited to have my three new button downs and my three new dresses as we head into fall.

I am considering these:

They are Dansko so I would hope they would be super comfortable for work and play.

What have you been wearing lately?

Amy

Wednesday, August 31, 2022

Do you struggle to shop for a man? Women seem so easy, right? We can gift them whatever we would want! Just go to your Amazon cart and see what your faves have been. Or, even better, go to your local boutique and pick up a candle, a pair of earrings, or something for the kitchen. Easy, right?

Well, I love to give a foodie/consumable gift to men.

I have given men bourbon themed gifts because I am in Kentucky. This past weekend, I forgot to take a photo, but I gave Mike bourbon barbecue sauce, bourbon caramel sauce for ice cream, bourbon smoked pepper, bourbon hot sauce, and bourbon balls. I was thrilled when I saw his cake was a bourbon barrel. Girl loves a theme, you know?

I did a similar bourbon basket for our friend Bob and he texted me as he used the products to tell me how much he liked them.

I found Mike’s entire gift at my wonderful Paul’s Fruit Market where they sell so many great local things. Do you have a local gourmet/specialty market? Maybe go in with new eyes and see what foodie theme you could do.

Check out Bourbon Barrel Foods if you are local or shop online if you aren’t. Many men love bourbon! These products are in many of our stores, too.

Other ideas:

-Bloody Mary mix, vodka, and all the fixings that go into a great glass of Bloody Mary

-Assortment of spicy chips and dips to eat while watching football. Trader Joe’s has ghost pepper potato chips! Include something with their favorite team.

-World Market has unique snack items from all over the world – you could do an “Around the World” basket

-Do a make your own 6 pack of interesting beers at your grocery store or liquor store. Slap a bow on it and maybe also include a gift card for a wing place.

-An assortment of bar mixes, nuts, pretzels and their favorite bottle of liquor

What are your favorite gifts to give men?

Amy

Wednesday, August 31, 2022

Happy last day of August! I am taking a day off, but I would love for you to click on an old post of your choice! Are you going to decorate for fall tomorrow? I already have my apple mantel up, but I think I will go through my early fall decor this weekend. I’m excited!

I will be back tomorrow for Fashion Files and Friday for Friday Favorites!

Here is some suggested reading – lol…

Are you struggling with work/life balance? Maybe consider your own self-care syllabus?

What about doing your own Automatic September like I did for August?

Do you feel like you spend your whole weekend running errands? Maybe you missed my weekend post and desperately need it?

Do you want to start a gym routine? Here is how I started mine.

Do you just need a cocktail? Ha! Even better if it’s low cal?

Would you like to cut up a t-shirt this weekend?

Happy Hump Day!

Amy

Tuesday, August 30, 2022

This post is inspired by Barbara Brown Taylor’s memoir; many bloggers and influencers talk about this from time to time…

It sounds dramatic, but it could really be the smallest thing. It’s just another way of saying what you really appreciate in your life or what makes your life easier.

It’s kind of a gratitude practice.

And, some of these things you probably already know if you are a regular reader!

Having a laptop at home so I don’t have to tote my work laptop back and forth anymore! I love having less to tote back and forth. Some days I only take my brown crossbody to school. Who am I? Are the days of teacher totes over? Tom bought this little Dell laptop for me for just $80 from his work. They turn in old technology and are able to buy it for personal use.

I don’t do much work at home anymore, but when I do, I can just use this.

Meal Prep – this will probably always be on my list. Even just having my 5 breakfasts ready to grab and go is a huge timesaver. I am trying to cook one night and have at least two meals out of it – dinner that night and lunches for work. Even better if I can make chicken or ground beef for two dinners at once.

By the way, the above breakfast burrito variation turned out delish! I would have never thought to just stick a whole sausage link in the burrito, but I saw it on Instagram.

Kroger Grocery Pick Up App – the app is amazing. It saves everything you normally buy so you can just re-order all of it. You can add things gradually through the week as your run out and it saves/remembers your items. I just love it. I am not opposed to Walmart, but Walmart is not convenient. Kroger is really close to home and we love Kroger brand items, too.

I do a Wednesday or Thursday pick up usually right after school, so no special trip out is required. I want to pick it up between 2:45-3:15, but I always choose 1:30-2:00 on the app so it’s ready for me. My student who works there says that they save your order for a full 24 hours if something comes up.

I tell the app I am there and which parking spot and honestly I am almost always the only one in a spot at this time. The employee comes out and I pop my hatch and do not even get out of my car. Oh, what a time to be alive!

Those of you all doing delivery…I don’t think I can get my Kroger plus card discounts if I were to do Instacart and I don’t think Kroger has their own delivery.

And, you are winning when you include your Trulys in your order! Ha!

Wearing sneakers to work – where has this trend been all my teaching career? Of course, I could have always gone this route, but now it’s actually trendy and you don’t look like Tootsie in Working Girl. Is that the correct reference?

Having fun things on the calendar – I keep it pretty positive around here, but I struggle with my kids leaving the nest. It helps me to have things to do with Tom and our friends at this time of year. First of all, how am I old enough to have kids in college? How am I old enough to qualify for retirement? I loved being a mom of babies, toddlers, pre-schoolers, elementary aged kids, and even middle school kids. High school was touch and go – lol. I totally enjoy this age, too, but it’s definitely different. For one thing, my kids are horrible texters and phone conversationalists. I get one word responses from most texts. I feel so much closer to them when we are in person. But, they needed to move back to campus because I could tell at the end of the summer they were ready. We started annoying each other more.

What’s saving you right now?

Amy

Monday, August 29, 2022

Linking up with Holly and Sarah for Hello Monday!

How was your weekend? Did anyone set themselves up for whatever your idea is of a better weekend? I did my grocery pick up on Thursday, which again was so nice.

Let’s go back to Friday. It was a long week. I was ready to bust out those doors. Erica extended a happy hour invite to our entire faculty and about 12 showed up. It was really nice to talk to other teachers who we don’t get to see.

Bourbon slush!

I left around 4:00 because I had other plans…

All of my high school and college friends are turning 50 this year and I am lucky that many of them live in my city.

My friend Mike had a bucket list item to play guitar and sing publicly and he picked this gorgeous brewery that used to be a greenhouse.

They also have great food – like surprisingly great. Tom and I had brussels sprouts…

I had salmon with sweet potatoes and zucchini and it was delish!

Tom had pulled pork but I forgot to take a photo.

Mike was amazing and played a song that Tom really likes so Tom dropped him a tip and that started something!

Mike’s wife Beth, who I also went to high school with:

We stayed until about 8:00 and then we crashed!

Saturday morning I started my day with some reading and my coffee. Tom started his day with a 32 mile bike ride. Opposites attract, right?

I was so behind on responded to blog comments from the week! Eek!

Anyone peep their name on my comments? He, he!

I did have to do Costco. I got there right when it opened – I thought. How are there already so many cars all the time?

I stuck to food items and paper products that we needed, but I went a bit overboard.

$330 dollars later…

I bought this and it’s good! I am wanting to pick a cleaner protein shake.

I also picked this – a box comes with 6 of these little cartons equivalent to 10 eggs I believe. Someone – sorry! – recommended them and they are really good. Thank you!

I went ahead and made 5 breakfast burritos and put them in the freezer. This time I did the Kirkland egg whites, a bit of cheese, and an Amy Lu breakfast sausage link. I did not do any potatoes. I hope this turns out! I also used a Costo low carb tortilla so I hope that I like it as much, too.

Then, around 2:00, it was time for Part 2 of Mike’s birthday!

They just built a gorgeous pool and this was a real pool party where people actually wear suits and get in the pool – not a fake pool party where people stand around a pool in white jeans, you know?

Complete with bar and bartender. I was informed the bartender is not usually there! But, how cool if you just hired a bartender for 3 hours a day during happy hour?

The cake was gorgeous and was a bourbon barrel!

Theme cups:

and Koozies:

Tom was one of the first in the pool!

A couple of our best friends drove in from Cincy!

The food was catered and delish. I think I have enough pickles, but maybe not…

We got home around 7:00 and ate some leftovers for dinner.

Sunday I slept in a bit and did my weekend morning routine, some meal prep, and you know, made some more strawberry freezer jam – ha!

Then, it was time for Sunday Fun Day…

Our friends were able to join us for lunch at Captain’s Quarters…

and a lot of time just bobbing in the water.

I had very little time at home but it was worth it! I am hoping for a way less busy week this week and I am ready for Labor Day weekend.

What was the highlight of your weekend?

Amy

Thursday, August 25, 2022

Linking up with Fashion Files here! Also, check out Jen’s super cute teacher outfits from yesterday. I love them all!

Who wants to see what I have been wearing? I see one hand raised in the distance. Ok…

Thursday, I wore this fun linen printed skirt with black on top. Have I told you that I try to make sure all my printed skirts and pants work with black – or white?

Friday Spirit Wear for game day, but make it more professional.. I wore my Walmart Scoop scuba blazer – still the best I have found for me, Target jeans that took effort to put on, and my gifted school t-shirt. Spoiler alert: it was men’s cute and stiff…

Someone got out the scissors…

I followed Wardrobe Oxygen’s advice and felt like a freaking fashion designer! I did it to another t-shirt, too. The key is to have the t-shirt a little bit bigger than you need, I think. Also, be very conservative in cutting and you can always go back and cut more.

Boxy, men’s cut t-shirts look horrible on me, but that is what they always give teachers. Tiny violin being played…I showed my creation to lots of our office staff and they all wanted to do it, too. The cut on the neckline opens it up and helps it lay better. The cut on the sleeves makes them not so tight on the upper arms and the cut on the hem helps it to lift away from the tummy.

By the way, Wardrobe Oxygen is a top notch fashion blog. I have been reading it for years.

Mondays call for easy and that is just what the infamous Target Universal Thread dress is. I wore my orange Topo Chico earrings (non-alcoholic, of course) and my patent Birks, which are really getting a lot of love so far. If you are new around here, I am wearing everything I have once before repeating it.

Tuesday I wore my Walmart Scoop dress. I’m still debating if I should have gone down a size. It’s a bit voluminous. My feet were happy in my Shu Shop sneakers. I did not try on the smaller size, so there is where I may have made a mistake. Walmart returns are not like Target returns, though, you know?

Kristin started talking about flats the other day and then it made me fixate on flats. Teachers know their flats. Period. Exclamation point!

If you want me to be real, real honest…the most comfortable flats I have ever worn were my Rothy’s B.W. (That means “before washing”) and my Hush Puppies. Tieks are ok, but they rub on my big toe bone and I don’t have bunions to speak of. Tory Burch are even more painful. Hush Puppies need to work on their name, ok. It’s not good. We all think of a saddle shoe from the fifties, right? But, Kristin was talking about Target flats and I really trust her. She did not steer me wrong on my new J.Crew Factory biker shorts. But, I have been burned so many times by Target shoes.

I went to the Hush Puppy/Puppies – which is it? – website and I audibly gasped. I almost fainted when I put in my teacher credentials for a super generous teacher discount.

Meet my new loves…

My old Hush Puppies were basic black, and when they had to retire I kind of forgot about the brand. I love the look of my Tieks and my Torys, but I have been living a lie.

These have not come in yet, but I am hopeful that they will become my go to flat.

Not all people think flats are comfortable, but I love a flat.

So, what have you been wearing? Are you preparing for fall like I am? I am starting to look at fall clothing and plan for my fall wardrobe.

Amy

Wednesday, August 24, 2022

Tom is on his third champagne colored Suburban. You could say he doesn’t like change…

He started with a 1999, then had a 2005, and now has a 2013. I drove the 1999 before I got my minivan when our twins were zero-three years old. Tom had to drive my two door red Honda civic during this time.

I’m not the first Spanish teacher Tom dated. I’m the second. Red flag?

He told me he broke up with her after she tried on purses on the floor of Macy’s. What does that mean? He said she took all of the contents out of her current purse and then put the contents in all the purses she was considering buying to see how they would fit. Let’s just say I would just “eyeball it”. This leads me to believe she and I were quite different except for the Spanish teacher part.

My students really think this story is funny and they tell me not to bring Tom to school for fear he will leave me for another Spanish teacher. Thanks, students!

Tom and I both worked at Pizza Hut. I worked at one during college and he worked at one during high school. Remember when Pizza Hut was the move?

We share stories of just how much oil went in the bottom of a pan pizza. Tom’s sister said his jean jacket reeked of “Pizza Hut” and she could hardly ride in the same car with it/him.

Tom and I both went through a name change phase as children. He changed his name to “Thom” and I changed mine to “Aimee”. Ha!

My Dad was a pilot and we once got to use the company private plane to go to a family reunion. It was my Dad, Tom, my sisters and their husbands, and me. We had maybe 6 bags of chips and some appetizers for the get together. I am a nervous flyer and every little bump and noise puts me on high alert. We had just reached our cruising altitude when we heard a loud POP. I thought for sure we had blown something important to keep the aircraft in the air.

It was all the chips simultaneously popping open due to the pressure!

I hope this post made you smile! What’s a weird thing in your life?

Amy

Tuesday, August 23, 2022

Let me start by saying it ain’t easy…

My friends are very important to me and I really do try to be a good friend. I fall short more than I would like, I know!

Adult friendships can be hard. We have preschool until college. Then, we enter the “real world” and things get trickier.

I keep in touch with several friends from high school and college. I only live about an hour away from my hometown and an hour away from my college, so geography makes that easier.

These are my two best college friends, but there are lots of other college friends that I don’t see enough! I am grateful for social media to keep up with those friends I don’t see regularly.

I am not from the city where I currently live. Most of my first friends here were from Tom who lived here first.

When my kids were born, I didn’t do much other than try to survive. I didn’t have much of a social life for quite a while!

Then, I started meeting people because of my kids. We had some playdates and I made some new friends. I joined a club for Moms of Multiples – twins and triplets – ha! My favorite mom from that group moved away.

I remember trying to befriend some moms in different places during those early mom years and feeling that they already had their friend groups established. I felt kinda sad and rejected.

Here are some of the best places to meet friends as an adult:

-neighborhood

-church

-work

-kids’ schools

-kids’ athletic team parents or other activities’ parents

-a sports league for yourself like tennis

-a class to learn an art form – cake decorating, knitting, etc.

-exercise class

Work friends are great and you bond quickly because you are in the trenches together. I feel like the pandemic made us closer. Here are my work besties Elizabeth and Erica. Elizabeth left our school this year to work in another field, but we are commited to still getting together.

I think it enriches your life to have friends of different ages. Elizabeth is a whopping 20 years younger than me and Erica is 10 years younger.

It’s great when you make a friend and your husbands also click. I know this is a hard thing for my divorced friends when they stop being part of a couple. Make it clear to your friends that you are fine being a third wheel, fifth wheel, seventh wheel, which you won’t be anyway because usually the men group together and the women group together like they are at a Mennonite church or something – no offense to any Mennonites reading this.

Also, if you are on the other side of the coin, be the one to ask your divorced friends along. And, pick up their tab if you can so they don’t feel weird at the end of the meal. A couple of years ago, I went without Tom to something with a bunch of couples and it would have been no big deal for one of them to put me on their tab as my bill was very small. They didn’t, but I would have if it was on the other shoe. #iguessimstillbitter

My husband is way less social than I am. He basically gets all the interaction he needs at work lunches each day and with us – his family. But, he usually goes along with my plans. I am so glad he was already friends with my college roommate’s hub. In fact, that’s how we met. Heather said she wanted me to meet her new bae’s friends.

My best guy friend from high school – Hi Dan!- adores Tom and I also adore Dan’s wife. And, by the way, I am the reason they met!

I consider my sisters my best friends and I wish we lived closer.

I have a wonderful sister-in-law that I also consider a friend.

I acquired my friend Beth at my second school. I taught at one school for four years, then moved to another for two and there was Beth. She taught science and I taught Spanish but we had chemistry. Please don’t hate me. We did crazy things like run some races together. We once did a half marathon and now we sit on rooftops and drink bourbon.

Even though we only taught at the same school for two years, we have remained friends and our husbands also are friends.

I collected a wonderful friend in Victoria at my third and current school but she left for greener pastures five years ago. That’s ok – I’m not mad at her anymore. Just kidding! She is very intentional about making plans and we see each other quite a bit.

Victoria is Greek and I loved to eavesdrop on her Greek phone conversations during our planning period. She was about to pop with her first baby when I told her I was pregnant with twins. We did a lot of life together as next door teacher neighbors. Victoria’s husband used to teach with me, too, but he went to dental school and he and Tom are also friends.

Jessica is the stepmom of one of my kids’ friends. We think that she and her husband Scott are such positive people and we enjoy hanging out with them. We went to the concert Saturday night together!

I deeply value and am blessed by these friendships and more that I didn’t mention.

Actually, I kind of went off on a tangent and I could have said much more.

I try to be open to making new friends because I really do enjoy meeting new people!

My biggest advice would be to put yourself out there and invite someone to do something. Maintain or re-kindle old friendships if you can. If it is a season of life where you are really busy, send a text saying you hope they are well and you hope to see them when things calm down. Write down important dates in your calendar and text them on those days. Write down when their first kid is moving to college and text them the next day to tell them you are thinking of them. These things go a long way. I know that I am always super touched when someone remembers something like this in my life.

Don’t hold grudges. I am a person with a really good memory, which isn’t always a good thing. You know the quote by Audrey Hepburn about having a thick skin and a short memory? I am your classic candidate to be a grudge holder because I am pretty sensitive and I remember every transgression. Let whatever go if you can. It’s hurting you more than it’s hurting the person who probably doesn’t know. I have found this easier to do as I have gotten older.

Your friends will not be all things to you. You might not be able to talk politics with certain friends, but you still adore them and enjoy their company. Don’t write people off because of one thing they say.

A potential problem would be when friends are in different socioeconomic groups. Be honest and just say that you need to do something inexpensive when you go out. Nine times out of ten, the other person will say they need to watch their pennies, too.

Now, I am not saying to stay in a toxic friendship. If remaining friends with someone is doing you more harm than good, then I think it’s ok to simply say that you need to part ways for now. Boy, that is an awkward conversation.

If you find yourself in these giant friend groups, you may want to spend some one on one time with one of the gals; maybe ask one that you seem to click with to get a coffee or have lunch. It’s much easier to get to know someone when it’s a smaller group.

Social media can really make you feel bad. You may see photos of what looks like everyone hanging out with their friends and you just don’t have that. I guarantee the photo is not reality.

Did the pandemic change any of your friendships for the worse or the better?

What are the biggest challenges you face with adult friendships?

Are you satisfied with your friends or would you like to widen your circle?

Your friend,

Amy

P.S. – I dedicate this post to my friends in real life and my blog friends!

Monday, August 22, 2022

How was your weekend? I hope it was great! I am linking up with the ladies here for Hello Monday…

Thursday evening I tried another Impress brand press on mani. The hardest part is finding which press on fits which of your nails correctly. You want to go a little smaller and never bigger than your actual nail. Then you press them on, cut and file, and you are done. Still going strong as I type this on Sunday evening…

I was told to use dental floss for removal when they start to lift. We shall see… I think the removal is what kept me from trying another set after the last one. Has anyone tried these?

Erica made our lunch on Friday and it was delish! It was a Greek bowl with ground turkey ,quinoa, and all the toppings.

Our school has been having food trucks come since last year for lunch on Fridays, but it doesn’t really work for the teachers. We only have 20 minutes for lunch so by the time we wait in line, order, and then get the food, we must go back and teach. I think the administration, counselors, office staff, etc. are enjoying it, though! Ha!

The three of us had seriously not seen each other since early June at the middle one’s daughter’s graduation party. These are my college besties and I’ve seen the one on the left a bunch, but the middle one has had all the stuff with her first graduating from high school and heading to college. We met at 4:00 and did some boutique shopping with to go frozen sangrias in hand – yum!

Then we got to go margaritas!

The bathroom wallpaper called for a selfie!

And, finally, we enjoyed dinner on a patio…

with some goat cheese and garlic…

and I got a roasted vegetable sandwich and “fries”. We all loved our food.

We talked non-stop and still could have talked more. But, we said good-bye around 9:00. It was so good to catch up!

Saturday morning I broke out the pumpkin spice skinny syrup – yes I did!

And, I made mini pumpkin chocolate chip muffins!

I also prepped breakfast burritos for this week. I microwave a baked potato and then dice it, add bacon bits, a bit of cheese, and a bit of scrambled egg.

I wanted to shorten my nice, but faux pearls so that was one of my Saturday morning errand stops. They are so nice and so helpful. I love this local business. They said they could have them in a week and they are one of the only ones who still do this – have you seen anyone hand tie a string of pearls? I learned something new when the employee explained it to me and then I went home and watched a YouTube video!

I did an Amazon return and a Nordstrom return at Nordstrom Rack and then I relaxed.

And, so did Ernie. He gets himself in some funny positions!

Then, I did all the laundry and cleaning, washed and changed sheets and tried to help pack for college. We loaded up a car in preparation for Sunday morning move in.

Tom and I met our friends at a concert – the last one of the season…

and ate food truck food. I got a Venezuelan chicken bowl.

I also tried a strawberry beer. I would get it again!

It was a lovely evening and we had a great time!

Sunday morning I had my coffee on the patio.

Then, I made egg roll in a bowl for our Monday lunch.

It actually worked out really nicely that one kid had a 10 am Sunday move in and the other has a 1 pm Monday move in. They are both in the same dorm this year, but different floors. We all helped with the move in today and then they will help each other again tomorrow while Tom and I are working. It’s a bit anticlimactic after freshman year for us. They are only 20 minutes away, so it’s all good. Plus, they just don’t want much help, nor do they want an over the top decorated room.

The dorm provided these nice bins to help:

Textbook pick up:

A couple of really, really nice things about our college:

Every dorm room has a microwave and a larger dorm fridge provided.

Textbooks are included in tuition.

I spent some time Sunday afternoon reading on the porch. The weather was weird. It would rain off and on and thunder and then get sunny.

My new chair:

My old anti-gravity chair died after 10 faithful years of service, so I replaced it this weekend on Amazon. Words cannot express how much I love this chair. Ha!

What was the highlight of your weekend?

Amy