Tuesday, June 28, 2022

It’s time for another edition of “Eating Lately”. You all seem to really enjoy these posts and I get a lot of comments. I think we are all constantly struggling with what to make and eat, no?

I’m not doing great in the eating department – let’s just get that out there. We have had more treats in the house with Tom’s birthday, Father’s Day, the college kids at home, and the list goes on. Also, I am staying up later and that makes me more snack-y!

I am waking up the next day and just telling myself it’s a new day and a new chance to eat well and feed my body well. I am trying not to over-obsess. I do want to lose more weight, but I am also ok with maintaining for now.

I am really learning to plan, prep, and cook before I get to the point of “starving” because that’s when I make the not so good choices.

Because I’m not meal prepping like I do in the school year, I feel like I’m cooking a lot.

Here is a common breakfast for me. This is a Spanish omelette. They don’t flip their omelettes, but rather, they keep it more like a pizza. The potato or potato and onion omelette is their most popular. I make a smaller version and use two eggs and two egg whites and some water. I usually will slice up an already cooked baked potato and only use about half.

This is Shay’s Spicy Asian beef bowl, which I highly recommend – except use oyster sauce instead of the chili paste. I felt that tasted really harsh and way too spicy. I have made this three times now. I tried it once with ground turkey and didn’t like it nearly as much. I am now sticking with Laura’s lean ground beef.

Can’t stop and won’t stop on the Greek bowl. I usually have this for a lunch because my family is not as excited about this.

Buffalo Chicken with cauliflower rice, homemade light ranch, celery, and a steak roll from Walmart:

Tip on the cauliflower rice. Some people think they don’t like it, but I have cracked the code and I’m obsessed. Always use frozen. Let it thaw on paper towels for quite awhile and then really cook it – let it get brownish. Add a little olive oil, salt, pepper, and garlic powder. It really makes a difference.

Another omelette but with mushrooms and onions:

Boca burger and one of those side salad mixes from Kroger:

Trying to choose proteins and salads at restaurants, but I try to always get to share some fries, too!

I almost always choose fajitas at Mexican restaurants now.

I usually leave the rice and beans alone.

I made a couple of new things for lunch this week. I used English muffins and on the left is a buffalo chicken open faced sandwich with a little bit of cheese on top. On the right is chicken, roasted tomatoes, mozzarella, and balsamic.

I’m still loving this grilled chicken from Costco in the refrigerated section. It is the best I have tried. Many of the already grilled chicken products I have tried are slimy. I don’t do slimy chicken.

If I want some bread, a great option are these cute little frozen Trader Joe’s baguette breadsticks.

Whole wheat bowtie pasta with jarred Prego and Laura’s lean ground beef. I really like whole wheat pasta now! The secret is to cook it a bit longer.

Burrito bowls are usually a once a week thing for us. This was Tom’s with regular rice and mine is the same but with cauliflower rice.

My skinny margarita, too!

I love having this frozen vegetable mixture on hand from Costco. Sometimes these can be bad, but this one is excelllent. I sometimes will have this with some eggs for breakfast.

I have also been eating a lot of my veggie sandwich – vegetable cream cheese, cucumbers, tomatoes, pickles, lettuce, or whatever you want. In addition, I have had a few deli turkey sandwiches. My goal this week is to eat at least one salad a day. I have been slacking on my salads lately!

What have you been eating?

Amy

Friday, June 24, 2022

It’s Friday and that means it’s time to share the favorites from the week along with many others here!

Here are mine from the week!

Have I ever told you we use cloth napkins? I bought a nice pack or two at World Market a long time ago and I keep them in a wooden bowl. We fancy! Just kidding – we are most definitely not, but I really don’t like paper napkins and I really do like cloth. We used cloth napkins in Spain when I was an exchange student and you had to use the same napkin for a week. You knew which yours was by which napkin ring it had on it. We don’t use ours for a week! I have about 20 of them in all different fun, bright colors. I am very picky about the feel of the material and these from World Market are perfect. Which makes me think…I need to go there! I love that store! Do you have one?

I’m really enjoying my new plant head I got last weekend and I think she looks great right here. One of my three flowers from Trader Joe’s already died, so this replaced it.

And, I finally filled my pot for this season. I wanted yellow because of my loose lemon theme on my back patio.

Summer Reading!

I finished this and I was so sad! This may very well be my favorite book of the summer. It is summer chick-lit at its finest. Now, I did have a few problems with some parenting decisions made – like you wouldn’t really do that…

And, I started this. This was on the shelf at my library and I picked it up on a whim. I think it’s going to be really cute, but a little far-fetched. A major league baseball player is being sent down to a lesser team and a girl buys him a coffee in the airport… you get the drift!

Ok – this was recommended by Jennifer and by a sweet man in the Target wine aisle a few months ago and I had forgotten to go back and get it. I actually found this bottle at Total Wine. It has a bit of a sparkling quality to it and it is pineapple! So good! And, it would be great with a wedge of fresh pineapple in it, too!

I personally love a screw top. It just makes life easier! What, you say? You never need this because you never have leftover wine? Ha!

I did my own pedi with…

OPI Gelato on my Mind:

I just put $40 into my clothing budget by doing my own pedicure! By the way, I almost always do it outside and then I read while it’s drying.

I may have mentioned this before, but it really works:

Poo-Pourri! If you are staying in someone’s home, it might be nice to have and I think I picked it up in the Target travel size bins. I keep it in our upstairs bathroom because we only have one bathroom upstairs right now.

I bought this amazing and only 30 calories a serving cocktail mixed for a bourbon old fashioned. It is so good. My friend Victoria made us drinks with it. She added a bit of lemon juice and diet gingerale so I did the same.

I added a $5 bag of birdseed to my last Kroger pick up order and this gives me so much enjoyment.

I have two bird feeders and the squirrels also get into them.

What did you do on the longest day of the year on Tuesday? It was a hot day for us, but in the shade there was a nice breeze and it felt great after dinner. I took my shoes off and put a chair in the grass and read my book. It made me think that I need to sit in different parts of my yard for different perspectives. Deep thoughts!

This is how Ernie spent the longest day of the year:

I got more than I bargained for at my dentist visit this week. My dentist is my college roommate’s husband, by the way. My kids and I have always had 3 cleanings at the same time with 3 different hygienists, by the way. It’s super efficient and I love it! So, this was the first time they drove separately because one of them had plans afterwards. About mid-way through our cleanings, we had to evacuate because there was a fire right outside the office building and right by our cars! We had to move our cars quickly and wait until it was safe to go back in the building.

I have the perfect summer lip color. It is kinda old lady in Florida, but I love it. You might, too, and the price is right. This is my second stick because I lost my first one that I bought last year. It is Katy Perry lipstick, by the way! Ha!

On my old looking hand:

On my lips – awkward!

And, I like to pair it with my second NYX “This is Milky” gloss. This gloss has a weird name, but it is seriously good. I am very picky about glosses.

This is “Milk and Hunny” and I have the pink, too.

Here is an awkward photo of what that combo looks like:

Those are not great photos, but I hope you get the idea!

I started eating one of these in the late afternoon and I really think I’m sleeping so well! Of course, I also might be sleeping so well because I’m out of school! Lol! You can actually take up to four a day, but I am just doing one. This was recommended by Melanie Shankle on The Big Boo podcast. They taste yummy, too! What the heck is Ashwagandha? I just enjoy saying it! My kids are tired of me saying it!

I bought a whole watermelon last week and it was the best one. I keep it cut up in this really old Tupperware container.

I had a fun late lunch this week with my friend Beth. She gets off of work at 1:30 on Wednesdays and agreed to try this new place. It is kind of Hawaiian/Mexican? I think.

We had a Painkiller cocktail.

Cauliflower tacos!

And some chips and queso.

We agreed we would definitely go back. We really liked it!

A couple of Facebook memories popped up this week!

First, this was my morning strategy for the summers of my kids’ childhood. I would find a forgotten toy from the playroom toy closet and bring it to the family room. This day was the good ol’ set of Lincoln Logs.

And, a sweet reading at the pool photo!

So, what were your favorites this week? I hope you had many!

Amy

Thursday, June 23, 2022

Ok, let’s see what I wore on the days I actually took the time to put together an outfit!

Look at me getting a cool “real blogger backdrop” with the help of my friends:

I wanted to try a “lewk” here. I wore my newish Amazon Cushionaire (lookalikes for MIA brand) clog sandals, my old Target Universal Thread cut offs, a target tank, and an old Nordstrom palm print kimono to go to lunch. I realized the kimono had a rip in it (and I had another kimono with a rip – is this a pattern for me?), so I took both of them to my tailor this week. I love getting clothing repaired because I feel like I’m making an item new again. I do consider the cost involved and try to ask myself if I would buy the item again today. I love this kimono and I think by tucking in the bottom tank it looks more flattering – maybe? I was trying to shy away from more voluminous clothing, but I really like the kimono shorts look and I hope it’s still on trend!

This is what I wore for the flea market and the Pride parade:

Same shorts, one of my Amazon woven belts, a Spanish t-shirt that tells you how to do a shot – ha! (It says “Up, down, out, in your body” basically – No, I don’t wear it to school!), my clear sandals, and my brown crossbody with my Gucci-esque strap.

That night, I wore the same shorts, my new Target plastic Birkenstocks, and my new Loft parrot shirt that had arrived – more details coming. I also used my Lululemon belt bag.

Do you have cutoffs yet? See how much I wear them?

And, for a trip to the dentist, I wore my Old Navy dress (still haven’t cut the lining out – I am a little afraid, but I think it needs to happen because it makes the dress a lot in the heat) and my new Amazon Essentials espadrilles.

A better look:

I bought a pair of espadrilles in Spain (because they are from there, I think?) back in 1989 and I wish I had kept them. I had a pair from Payless years ago, too! I think they are classic and comfortable and I had been wanting a new pair. I like the v-shaped indention on these. Also, my girls at school told me they don’t want to see “anyones’ dogs”. I guess this is a new thing that they don’t want to show toes at school? If you have teens have they mentioned this? Socks with Birks, you know? So, I think they will be good for school.

Now, let’s talk more about recent purchases:

I visited my consignment store and they had another check for me! I took my too big spring and summer clothes there in March and now have received $255 and I noticed that many of my things are still on their racks, so hopefully I will make a bit more to put back into my wardrobe. My consignment store stopped accepting summer stuff quite awhile ago! They start accepting fall on July 31st! Wow!

I also took my loose change to the Coinstar machine at Kroger and “made” $34. I always did this with my kids in the summer when they were little. They thought it was so much fun! Then, I would give them some money and they could buy something.

So, I took that money and went a’shoppin’.

I bought the above espadrilles.

This is a Loft mixed media shirt which means the material is different in the front than in the back. It’s super soft and I loved the parrots and I love orange.

And, I have been needing/wanting a solid black tank bathing suit. When I saw this and the fact that it was on sale, I gasped! Now, we will see if I picked the right size.

And, I usually add one new coverup to my collection each summer and then I keep it for years. I wanted something longer and a bit elegant? We will see if this works. It might be too long on me.

I picked yellow because the color makes me happy and it would work with my pink and black suits.

And, I needed/wanted a more elegant beach/pool bag and this was a good price, and I believed someone recommended it. But, if anything isn’t perfect, I will return it!

So, what have you been wearing and buying lately?

Get ready to hear all about the Nordstrom sale from everyone and their brother/sister in the blog and influencer world! You won’t see much from me about it – at least I don’t think you will! Also, are you ready to see fall clothing in the stores? It’s almost time for summer to be greatly discounted to make room for fall! Eeeeekkkkkk! I am not ready!

Amy

Wednesday, June 22, 2022

I don’t know if this will appeal to all of you today, but I know there are some readers who are wondering about this stage of life that I am in. Some of you are close to this stage and some of you are beyond. You may have some wisdom to share!

First of all, I have said this many times, but this bears repeating. This is MY blog and not my kids’, so I try to really think about what I share from their lives. I also took this policy with social media when they became teens. I asked permission before I posted anything and the answer was usually “no” – ha! Most of my Facebook memories that pop up about them are from before age 13. They are not big into social media and never have been and I respect that. If I had started this blog earlier, you would probably have seen too much of my kids! Ha!

So, my twins are 19 and have completed two years of college. Without telling each other, they both decided on the same small liberal arts college 20 minutes from home. As a parent, this was a huge blessing to have them on the same schedule and to have the knowledge that they can help each other. Also, sending kids to college at basically the beginning of the pandemic was stressful. So, having them together and close was so helpful.

Don’t overlook colleges nearby because it makes everything easier – moving in and out, illness, getting to see some events that they are in, etc. I do wonder if they will feel they didn’t spread their wings enough, but there is time for that after graduating, too. We did feel that it was important for them to live on campus, but we knew that they could live at home if we had the need at some point. They have never roomed together and were in two different dorms most of the time, by the way.

Also, they did not have a car on campus the first year but then we bought them a car to share for their second year. They have to communicate with each other about using the car, which I think is just fine.

They moved back home for this summer mid-May and had about a week off before starting jobs. I told them to put all of their college stuff in the basement storage room, but to make sure it was all clean before doing so. I offered help, but they weren’t really interested in my help. I don’t go in their rooms. Their rooms are very messy and I hate it, but I also know that I am not going to drive myself crazy over it. They do not have food and drinks in their room, so that’s good.

They do their own laundry (and have for years) and it is both a good and bad thing. They take 3-5 business days to complete it and it ties up the washer and dryer. Tom also takes this approach, so go figure. I do my laundry and the house laundry and finish it in 2 hours. It’s not that hard!

They are pretty good about keeping their stuff contained to either their rooms or their basement hang out room.

I have noticed that they do more and more without being asked. They empty trash and recycling and put things away more than ever before. There is growth from the high school days when I had to constantly remind.

Jack is working at a dry cleaners with no air conditioning this summer and he says he hates it, but I think he would complain more if he really hated it. He can be dramatic. Sometimes he has funny stories to tell us or comments on the type of clothing he sees.

Mason is working outside (so no air conditioning here, either!):

So, Jack gets off work at 4:00 and Mason goes to work at 4:45. Mason has off on Mondays and Tuesdays and Jack is off on Tuesdays. They are sharing the car and it works out perfectly. They seem to appreciate the time they do get to spend together more, I think, because it is more limited than any other summer. They have a really nice relationship. I know not all twins do. Jack made sure the gas tank was full to save Mason time the other day.

I think this summer is building character. Neither of them have AC at their jobs and guess what…the AC in their car is broken, too! We are getting that fixed next week, though. I bought this little portable AC unit that plugs into a USB as a temporary fix. They said it doesn’t really work well.

I am a firm believer that we want our kids to have something to work toward and not to hand them everything. But, let’s face it – all American kids are spoiled to some degree. We have a lot in this country.

I also think they will be eager to be students again after their work experiences this summer. That’s not a bad thing. I still remember the switch from full time worker to full time student every August.

I started to write their work schedules in my planner and then I stopped myself. Nope – that’s on them.

I started to remind them when to leave for work and nag them about leaving earlier, but then I stopped myself and said nope again. It just makes them mad at me and then I get mad that they are mad.

Mason doesn’t get home until 11:30 pm-ish and I was waiting up when he first started, which was really hard for me. Jack told me that I shouldn’t because he is up anyway. I didn’t think I would be able to sleep, but I know Jack will come wake me if he is worried. And, of course Tom has no trouble not waiting up because MEN!

I had to realize that this summer we are not really spending a lot of quality family time, but we do have dinner twice a week on Mason’s two nights off – Monday and Tuesday. And, it makes the time we can spend together more appreciated.

I was also hesitant to plan my stuff for times when they would be home, but I realized that I can’t really do that.

Tom keeps the same schedule in the summer – up at 4:30 am, gym at 5:00 am, leave for work at 7:00 am. I love knowing that my kids are here asleep under my roof and I really love the quiet time after Tom leaves. He is loud! Ha! I try to go to workout and then get home before anyone wakes up, too.

Mason asked if he could spend the night with a friend the other night and I was thinking – you really don’t need to ask anymore, but it was sweet that he did.

Also, we went from 3 bathrooms to 2 because of our renovation project and it’s been ok. We decided to halt the third bathroom project while they are home because the disruption is a lot. I want to have it ready to go by August, though, with a goal of it being finished by winter break, at the latest.

So, it’s kind of a weird summer, but it’s all good. It took us a bit to find our footing with two more people in the house. I want our house to still feel like home to my kids and that is more important than every room being perfectly tidy all the time. I know that many kids this age start living in apartments and stop coming home in the summers.

I feel like I understand my parents more. You do get used to a neater house very quickly. You become more stuck in your routine after the kids leave the nest.

So, that’s where we are right now!

Amy

Tuesday, June 21, 2022

I thought I would write about my experience trying Jazzercise. This would also apply to any type of group exercise class, I think! My first experience with Jazzercise was in college. Some friends and I went to a church near campus and it was a ton of fun; heck, it just felt like dancing! Then, I did it again as a young teacher with another teacher friend – Hi Sheila! You can burn up to 800 calories in a class is what I have read.

The classes are either 45 minutes or 60 minutes. All of the classes I have been to start with dance and end in some strength training.

The name stinks in my opinion. It is outdated. Everytime I tell my sister Molly that I am going to Jazzercise via text she sends me a 70s aerobics gif. Thanks, Molly! But, it has name recognition and has been around for a long, long time. I feel like such an old fogey – I do Weight Watchers and Jazzercise now. Could that be any more basic? Middle aged woman basic! Ha! But, as you may know, Weight Watchers is now called “WW”. Lol! By the way, my WW app gives me 5 activity points for a 60 minute class and 4 activity points for a 45 minute class, while walking or weightlifting only amounts to 2-3 points.

My apologies to the folks in this photo. They are older than me and way fitter so they should take it as a compliment. Also, I am positive they don’t read my blog.

Here are your paybacks, ladies – my face gets as red as a beet. Why is this photo so big? Ha!

Here is what I like about the classes so far:

-they play really upbeat music and you do feel like some of the moves can translate to da’ club. Not that I go to any clubs. Why aren’t there dancing opportunities that happen before 9:00 p.m.? Anyone? There is a lot of bouncing for those well endowed ladies, so get you a decent sports bra. But, they also give you adaptations if you need low impact.

-there are maybe 6 cardio based songs and then 4 strength training based songs at the end. I could be totally wrong about this. They change routines often.

-they don’t just have one type of class. You can also choose traditional class and there are strength classes and HIIT classes. You can read the descriptions on the website. Also, you can stream any class. I decided I didn’t want the app to do this because I need to go in person.

-they have multiple class times from 5:45 a.m. until the after work hours.

Other thoughts so far:

-I don’t really like having to plan my day around the class times. I like the freedom of going to the gym whenever. I have gone to 7:00 a.m., 8:10 a.m., and 9:30 a.m. classes so far. I decided that I like the 7:00 the best.

-I like that my location doesn’t have mirrors, but also mirrors would help me with my form, which leaves a lot to be desired, I’m sure.

-Some of the routines are kind of hard to learn. Or, they don’t repeat long enough for me to get a hang of one thing before moving on. This is probably a good thing for the more experienced folks.

-I am probably the youngest or one of the youngest in the classes I have gone to. The instructors have been younger, though. There are some really fit older ladies in the classes, like I said. They are inspirational to me, though!

-The earlier in the day I go, the less crowded the classes are. I went to a 9:30 class and it was too crowded.

-I was super annoyed by two Chatty Kathys in their 60s that kept talking in front of me while I was trying to learn the routine and hear the instructor. Go get a smoothie after class, ladies!

-I have just worn shorts and a tank. They keep the room really cold and have fans, so that is really nice. I don’t feel like it’s a Lululemon fashion show at all.

-they don’t call you out or tell you that you are doing anything wrong. It is very non-judgey.

-It is really hard to try something new as an adult and risk not being very good at it. I didn’t know if I could make it through 60 minutes but I did on the very first time!

-I walked up to the instructor before each class and said I was new and that if I couldn’t make it through the whole class “it’s me, not you”. They were all so nice and then commended me at the end of the class (even though I didn’t deserve the praise!)

-It really has gotten easier each time I have gone.

Have you tried anything new lately? It doesn’t have to be a physical activity. I think it’s important as we age to try new things (not drugs, though – unless you want to, I guess). I think it’s good for our kids to see us try new skills, too (again, not drugs, though).

Amy

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Monday, June 20, 2022

Ok, June, you need to slow down! Eek! Who is ready to see lots of food photos? I debated including all of these, but sometimes I think it gives readers ideas and sometimes I think it’s good to show you reality. It’s all about balance!

I am linking up with Sarah and Holly, so here we go…

Friday I was supposed to go to the pool with Erica and Elizabeth, but the weather was dicey so we did lunch instead at Hillcrest Tavern. I had a grapefruit shandy. I was first introduced to this in Germany and it’s so good!

I had a really good salad with grilled chicken and…

we shared some parmesan truffle fries! Yum!

I had a nice stack of books to pick up at the library after that.

Jack got home from work and then Mason left for work and I asked Tom if he wanted to hit the gym on a Friday night with me. We had both been lazy Friday morning!

Above photos for proof!

Oh, and I made chili Friday morning. It was rainy and dreary and Mason had asked me to after having subpar chili Monday night at the restaurant. I added the soy noodles to mine. I think I’m taking a break from these noodles – I think I will do whole wheat, spaghetti squash or zoodles if I am not splurging. These noodles just get really soggy.

And, I had a sandwich on a 3 point Walmart steak bun and some salt and vinegar chips.

Saturday morning was cool! We had high 90s all last week, but then this weekend was beautiful! It was the perfect June weekend – weather-wise.

My hydrangeas are blooming! I know that I probably should have cut back the stalks and the dead flowers last season but I was afraid.

I met Elizabeth and Victoria (both French teachers!) at Paristown Flea.

I bought this cool plant head.

And, I bought real fruit earrings that are covered in resin.

Strawberries:

Blood oranges:

Yup, I am not delving into the realm of fruit earrings.

Then, we went to the Pride parade. It was so cool to see so many people out and happy to march for the first time in a few years. We all saw some people we knew, too. We caught some free stuff that was thrown out, too.

After the parade, we went to The Café and I copied off of Victoria because I hadn’t eaten there for a long time. We got tomato dill soup:

and a pimento cheese pizza on a pita. It was really unique and yummy!

We parted ways and I rested up for a bit and then…

Boat to dinner time! We had our friends Eric and Heather on the boat and we took about a 30 minute ride to a restaurant on the Indiana side called Summers.

They mostly have pizza so we shared a Hawaiian and…

a meaty pizza called The Captain.

The pizza was really good – all of us agreed!

We had a lovely ride back as the sun was starting to set. I put on my summer bucket list that I wanted to do more evening boat rides and this is why!

I was wiped out from all the sun and took a shower and watched a show with Jack.

Sunday morning Tom requested avocado toast and he wanted to spend the day doing yard work. He said the weather was so cool that it was the best day to do it. He did also go the the gym and take his best friend Ernie for a swim. Don’t think I forced him to work on his day!

We also made him cinnamon rolls:

I finished this:

Wow! I won’t say anything else, but I do recommend it. My favorite Sally Hepworth is still The Good Sister.

I started this next without realizing it is the same author as The Float Plan, which was my favorite summer read of last season. This is about the sister of the main character of The Float Plan. It made me so happy to realize that. And, I have a feeling this will be my favorite read of Summer 2022. Beach Read by Emily Henry was my favorite of two summers ago.

What makes this type of book the perfect summer read to me? They are well-written, but still rather light for summer, have characters that you enjoy and have some depth to them, and they are books you just don’t want to put down. They are kind of like the Top Gun Maverick of the women’s fiction world. They are just enjoyable!

I’m so happy to have my cake batter Premier Protein again, too. They took a sweet forever to get here – enough time for me to miss them. And, I looked on several store shelves to no avail!

I did laundry, cleaned a bathroom, cleaned my closet, went to The Fresh Market, but other than that I sat on the patio and read while I watched Tom do yard work – ha!

In the afternoon, I enjoyed a Truly. Then, I started cooking.

I made Sloppy Joes/Toms for Tom:

And, I made broccoli salad:

I also finally framed my two photos. They aren’t hung yet, but I think I love them!

I know this is a lot of sky, but I kinda like it like that.

This is our water company’s pumping station and water tower that houses an art museum. I think they are so pretty from the water and Tom’s sister had her wedding reception here!

Ok, I can’t be held responsible for the last piece (get it?) of information I am going to share. The Fresh Market has an even better chocolate cake than the one we had from Harry’s/Malone’s Monday night for Tom’s birthday. It is cut into slices and I just buy one at a time. I cut this into 3 or 4 portions depending on how many of my family want some.

If you have The Fresh Market, they may make this at yours. Again, I cannot be held responsible for anything that may happen if you try it.

How was your weekend? I hope it was a good one!

Amy

Friday, June 17, 2022

Happy Friday to all! I am linking up here where we share some favorites for the week. I have a quite a hodge podge for you this week.

First. let’s start with summer reading! I would recommend all of the books that I have finished so far this summer!

Emily Giffin books are always good summer reads. This one was inspired by JFK, Jr. and the Kennedy family and I really liked it!

This was a great read. I didn’t want to put it down.

I probably liked this one a little bit more because of the character named Fern.

Now I am reading this one and I am really enjoying it so far. I am so sorry Sally, for not picking up your books sooner.

I have a nice list of books requested at my library so this was totally free entertainment for me. I love having the time to read in the summer! I read year ’round, but I love reading outside, as you probably know!

Monday we celebrated Tom and his official senior citizen status. Yes, he turned 55! We are 4 and a half years apart in age. I always asks what he wants to do – dinner at home, dinner at a restaurant, an activity…

This year he chose for us to meet him at a restaurant after work. Luckily both kids were off work, so that was really nice. We went to Harry’s/Malone’s. Harry’s is the more casual part of the restaurant, but you can still order from the Malone’s menu.

I know his eyes are closed, but there is a smile, so I will take it!

I got a grapefruit sangria!

Their bread and butter are to die for!

We shared some edamame.

I got an amazing Thai salmon bowl. I could only eat half so I enjoyed the other half for lunch the next day. I will definitely get this again.

I think Tom chose this restaurant for their salmon salad.

Mason got chili? Ha – he said mine is way better so I put that on the menu for next week. My kids feel strongly that food should not be seasonal, so we will go with it. Chili sounds good to me, too, actually!

Jack has the palate of a kids’ menu so he got the cheeseburger and fries.

And, we took home their amazing chocolate cake.

We had a really nice evening, but we couldn’t believe how crowded and loud the restaurant was on a Monday night at 5:30!

I was happy to receive these this week, especially because groceries are so expensive and I have been buying way more than usual. Kroger no longer sends me the checks so I had to figure out how to redeem the points. I got $200 worth of gift cards from doing this. I am sure I will not remember how to do this again.

One day for lunch I had the dill pickle salad again – with added grilled chicken and cut up dill pickles! Yum!

One way to help me save money is to use what I have, know what I have, and communicate what we have. I keep this list (and add to it or change it) on our memo board so that J and M know what to make for their meals.

How are you dealing with higher grocery prices?

I finally got smart and am keeping all the little membership cards in my car so I don’t have to dig for them in my wallet.

It’s been super hot this week. June is usually super mild for us with temps in the low to mid 80s. This is August weather for us. Jack is working at a dry cleaners without air conditioning and Mason is working outside. This will build character, right?

This was kind of an impulse buy:

I had been wanting to try it. It has a cult following and often sells out. I saw it at Ulta about a month ago and I really like it. It costs $30, but hear me out – this can double as a light summer fragrance. I really like the scent.

My aloe vera plant and my

jade plant…

were given to me by my friend Beth because she has a kitten that was getting into them and they are not good for her. I am really enjoying my new plants!

My niece turned 21! I gave her money, but also my margarita recipe! I did the same for her sister.

Ernie has to stand watch over the yard to protect it from all of the squirrels, bunnies, and chipmunks and he takes this job very seriously.

Good boy! Ernie hates the heat. He was born in January and I always tell Tom that the cold weather energizes him. He is super dramatic about getting hot.

I am working on some wall decor for my bathroom. I don’t know if I did a good job with one of the photos but I really like how the other turned out. It was so cheap to enlarge these at Walgreen’s that I may re-do the one I don’t like.

So, what were your favorites this week? I hope you had many and thanks for reading!

Amy

Thursday, June 16, 2022

Hello all! How is it already Thursday? I don’t know if today’s post will be very exciting, but here we go!

I have been wearing my Target Universal Thread dresses a lot. I now have white, black, and mauve and I’m done.

I wore white to a graduation party:

I wore mauve to a wedding dress shopping event for my friend:

I also wore the mauve as a bathing suit coverup on the boat. You know sometimes when you feel more comfortable wearing street clothing over your suit? These dresses are great for that.

I wore my new half price boutique dress for Tom’s birthday dinner outing: yes, his eyes are closed but he is smiling, so I’m gonna take it!

I wore this coverup to go to my friend’s pool: I did have to stop in Target to do a return on the way. This coverup is really old from TJ Maxx, I think.

Jen influenced me to buy these pajamas.

And, I love my new Target slides! Yes, I have a no Target shoe rule (it’s loose), but I made an exception for these. I am thinking I should have gone down a size.

I wore them here to pop into my nearby boutiques that I hadn’t visited in about two months. My cutoffs are old from Target and my blouse is from this spring at Loft.

I feel like I have more than enough summer clothes because I just don’t go that many places. But, this is my favorite season to buy clothes and I have the time to peruse!

And, one last thing…my cocktail lightweight beaded earrings are getting worn pretty much any time I go out! They are so fun and I get tons of compliments. They are in all of my local boutiques. But, here are some on Amazon, too. They make a great gift – maybe along with a matching bottle of said alcohol! Ha!

Look at these for the 4th!

What have you been wearing lately?

Amy

Wednesday, June 15, 2022

Is any banana bread really hard? Probably not, but hear me out. I discovered/adapted this recipe recently and I think it’s probably the best I have ever had!

We are going to start with a cake mix! I have done yellow and white and they both worked.

You need:

a cake mix

a greased pan

2 Tablespoons of vegetable oil

3 eggs, beaten

1 and 1/4 cups of water

2 ripe, mashed bananas (could probably do 3 for even more banana flavor)

1 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. vanilla

Mix everything together with a wooden spoon or a mixer. I did both and both worked.

Bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes. I had to put mine back in for a bit because of the pan I used. Anyway, just bake until a toothpick comes out clean.

I hate nuts, but you could add them if you like them.

Let me know if you try it!

Amy

Tuesday, June 14, 2022

I looked around the other day and saw so many things that make me happy. I added to this list over the last few days. Now, there are plenty of things that I would like to change, but I like to focus on the positive as much as possible. I would love to hear your simple pleasures in the comments!

Gosh, I love an empty dishwasher. Does anyone else have problems with the timing of an empty dishwasher – like it’s full and dirty when you need it to be empty and ready to be loaded? It’s an art. I have found that I really just need to run it every day. I put most everything in my dishwasher, too. I used to hate unloading it but I timed myself again recently and I had it unloaded in 4 and a half minutes. Have you ever timed a task you hate? Now I happily unload it to get this empty dishwasher feeling rush! Ha!

I love drinking out of mason jars. When a restaurant serves me a drink in one, I am giddy. Bonus points if they serve me a cocktail in one!

My favorite drink is water, though. My Dad called it “faucet juice”. Louisville water is the best. Have you tried our water? It makes it hard for Louisvillians to travel because we love our water. I’m serious – we have won awards! Lol! My kids hated bottled water when they were growing up.

Rain! I love rain in all seasons, but there is something about a summer rain.

Ernie licks the rain off of our deck railing.

I enjoy mopping my new mudroom floor. I also love that I repurposed old trashcans for a new use. The one on the left is for dirty dish towels and the one on the right is for lint and dryer sheets. I realized I needed a trashcan near the dryer for these things.

A fresh mani and I am pleased when I do it myself.

Same with a fresh pedi.

I love color. I like to have some disposable cups on hand but I try to mostly use real cups. The stack of colors makes me happy.

I love these tumblers for my protein shake and for just water, too. I saw these in multicolor and I was smitten! I used my Starbuck’s gift cards to get these!

A candle always makes me happy.

A good book that I can’t wait to get back to.

Seeing water – even if it’s brown.

Something I’ve cooked makes me happy.

A new bottle of wine – especially when shared.

A cocktail with a straw. Please don’t give me a paper straw or a metal straw. Yuck! I can do plastic reusables but I do not want to suck on metal. All the chills. And, paper straws? I might as well be sucking through a noodle like at some Italian restaurants.

Wind in my face. I roll my windows down a lot in all of the seasons to get this feeling. It’s really good on a boat! I know why dogs love this!

So, tell me what are your simple pleasures?

Amy