Coffee and Cocktails at the Casa

Wednesday, May 15, 2019

Happy hump day, all!  Did you read my “rule of 3” post yesterday here?  See how well I did below – or not – with following the rule!  

So, the temps over the past week have been in the 60s and 70s.  It’s been so nice during the week and mostly cold and rainy on the weekends!  The AC is cranked in the school building so it’s been nice to have long sleeves or a sweater.  

This is my uniform as of late – Old Navy blouse, Matilda Jane pants, sweater.  I am loving my spring 2019 Old Navy blouses – I have a couple floral and this butterfly/insect print.  I usually size up one at Old Navy and make sure to line dry them.  

Allergy eyes called for glasses on this day!  I think it’s figure flattering to go monochromatic with black pants and tank and throw a kimono over it.  I love this kimono from Nordstrom.com last summer and it can double as a swim cover up.  I can use these two basics and throw many a kimono over to change it up.  This would be a great travel outfit.  

I love these palazzo pants from last season.  This is how you get away with essentially wearing pajama pants at work.  This is a consignment orange blouse and a necklace I’ve had for a long time.  

Here is a student of mine who said I could use her photo- love her pants and as you can see, even the young girls are wearing these fun printed pants. These platform tennis shoes in white seem to be all the rage with the young girls and many fashion bloggers.  

Here is a weekend outfit for you:  This is what I wore Saturday to run errands and watch my son’s Shakespeare play.  I wore my $124 OTBT consignment sandals that I got for $18 for the first time and they were surprisingly walkable and comfortable.  

So, my weekend wear is often the same-ish as my work week wear!  

What have you been wearing lately?  

Thanks for reading!  Be sure to come back tomorrow for an exciting coupon code!  

And, don’t forget if you want help getting dressed next week, here is the schedule:

Monday – stripes

Tuesday – floral

Wednesday – something you haven’t worn yet this season

Thursday – swing dress or any spring/summer dress

Friday – graphic tee with a cardigan or kimono

Amy 

Tuesday, May 14, 2019

I was first exposed to the “rule of 3” in fashion and design by one of the first blogs I ever read – Everyday Mom Style.  The blog is no more, but I have kept what I learned from reading it.  

Examples:  

If I wear just a blouse and a skirt it may not provide much visual interest.  

If I wear a blouse, a skirt, and a vest it adds more visual interest to the outfit.  

I can also wear a blouse, skirt, and a bold necklace to make three items.  

From Obsessions Fashion online article, “When choosing an outfit, our natural tendency is to put together a bottom and a top, or just a dress, and although there is absolutely nothing wrong with this, just by adding a third item, you can instantly transform an other wise simple outfit to one that looks put together and complete.”  

A blogger than exemplifies this is Audrey at Putting Me Together.  She talks about “completer pieces” that act as her third pieces.  A completer piece can be a sweater, a vest, a kimono, a jacket, a blazer – something that ties it all together.  A slimming way to do this is to wear the same color top and bottom and add a third piece that is a contrasting color.  

If you feel you are stuck in a mom uniform or a work uniform, you might be surprised by how easy it is to just add one more thing.  Let’s say your typical outfit is a t-shirt and yoga pants.  Throw on a kimono when it’s time to go to the grocery.  Throw on a jean jacket as your third piece.  Or, wear your favorite jeans, a graphic tee instead of a workout tee, and then add the third piece.  Is this shallow?  Not really, in my opinion.  When I feel put together, I am more outgoing and more productive.  

I have taken some spring outfit examples to illustrate this point:  

I don’t love the outfit below, but the vest is my third piece.  It adds more interest than just the pants and top alone would.  I don’t love the red and blue and don’t feel as much myself in these colors.  I think pairing the red pants with white and the blue top with a neutral will feel more like me.  But, this illustrates my point.  

The outfit below really only has two pieces and I don’t love it – nor is it that flattering.  I guess the necklace could be my third, but…a vest would add another element.  

Same for this outfit – it’s just boring.  I don’t have my third piece.  

Now, look how much better the below outfits look.  

Do you agree that the third piece adds more to the outfits?  It really doesn’t take more effort to add a third piece and it helps when you have temperature variations during your day.  I like to “pin” my favorite outfits on Pinterest and I notice they all seem to follow the rule of 3.  

The third piece gets harder to do as the weather warms up.  I will be experimenting with this soon!  

Anyone interested in another outfit challenge?  The last one I did was in the winter, so let’s try it with our spring and summer clothing!  I’m trying to wear everything in my closet or donating it so this will be fun!  Email me your photos each day or at the end of the week or just tell me that you are participating!  Don’t buy anything – simply substitute when necessary.  This is just for fun and to help you and me get dressed each day!  

Monday – something striped

Tuesday – something floral

Wednesday – something you haven’t worn yet this season

Thursday – a swing dress or any spring/summer dress in your closet

Friday – graphic tee with a cardigan or a kimono

Amy 

Monday, May 13, 2019

Well, hello again, Monday, and hello to all of you dear readers!  I’m linking up today with Heather, etc. so go here and maybe find some new blogs?  

Friday night we stayed home with nothing we HAD to do.  I recreated this pasta from about a week ago and it was good.  Bowties, bacon, broccoli, a little bit of EVOO and spices.  I used fresh broccoli this time and I really think frozen is the way to go.  

Then, we watched some t.v. and I participated in a Facebook Matilda Jane sample sale for women.  I think I successfully snagged a couple of pairs of pants for $17.  

My Mother’s Day gift came a bit early and I was anxious to try it out.  I have been feeling bad going through so many K cups so I am going to try a more traditional coffee route.  This was on Amazon for only $39 and it made my husband happy because I told him what I wanted!

My sister recommended this coffee and it comes from Kroger – it’s really good.  I also ordered Nut Pods for my new creamer from Amazon.  Have you heard of Nut Pods?  Apparently it’s Keto and a bunch of other diet friendly and it’s made from almond and coconut milk.  

I had a few errands to run before we saw my son in his opening play for the Shakespeare Festival. 

There is a really good new Trader Joe’s product below if you like goat cheese.  I stuffed it in some peppers and I spread on some bread. 

We had our library open back up!  It is beautiful and I found a few new books. 

We spent most of the day trying to understand Shakespeare – lol! 

When I got home, my mom had sent me these cool and super lightweight earrings for Mother’s Day.  One sister and I went in on Rothy’s for her and for my mother in law, I got Birkencrocs!

Saturday evening we sat on the patio after dinner and enjoyed the light drizzle.  

Sunday morning I slept in until about 7!  After drinking coffee and reading, I made myself a mimosa to go.  I got some sweet cards from hub and the boys.  

We got Panera take out and let our Ernie swim in the river.  We had hoped to take our boat out on her maiden voyage of 2019 but it was cold and rain was in the forecast.  So, I enjoyed my mimosa with a bagel.  

The rest of the day was really lazy.  I did some meal prep and a couple of errands.  Then, we had to get son to his next play and the other 3 of us went out for a quick dinner.  I have not been counting my points for a few days so I’m trying to get back on track tomorrow.  I have no real good excuse but it’s been Easter, Derby, Cinco de Mayo, Mother’s Day, and my big exam and I’ve just been busy and doing WW requires some prep and planning.  So, I need to get rid of temptations and do food prep and meal planning to get back on track.  

How was your weekend?  

Thanks for reading!

Amy 

Friday, May 10, 2019

Hello Friday!  I’m so happy to see you!  I still have exactly a month of school to go; but it’s getting closer.  Students get out June 7 and I have my last teacher day on June 10.  What a year!  

I’m linking up with Andrea, etc. to share a few faves today.  Click here to find some new blogs to follow!  

This is teacher appreciation week and we had Salsarita’s Mexican food catered for us on Wednesday.  It was a nice treat!  

It was fun to put this spread together for my students and you can read more about it  here and get my recipes, too!  

I had seen some yellow manicures and picked up some OPI in yellow for myself.  I love how it matched my Swig cup!  

My teen boys were huge Pokemon fans for several years – in fact, my mom thinks the Pokemon cards helped them learn to read!  They went with a group of 5 guys to the 4:00 showing yesterday after school and really liked it .  

Fellow Bravo fans, did you watch Texicanas this week?  It is set in San Antonio and I think it’s going to be good! 

My sister in law introduced me to the generic line of shampoos and conditioners at Sally Beauty Supply.  This is a dupe for the “It’s a 10” line.  It smells really good and I think it’s helping my hair.  I had been using cheap grocery store shampoo.  

I forgot about this but it’s the best carpet spot remover out there in my opinion.  I originally found it at Bed, Bath, and Beyond but this time I ordered it off of Amazon.  If you have kids and pets, you may need this!  

And, that’s all I’ve got today!  Do you have any favorites?  What are you up to this weekend?  My son starts his Shakespeare A Winter’s Tale play and that will be performed both tomorrow and Sunday.  

Hope to see you back here on Monday!

Amy 

Thursday, May 9, 2019

I don’t know if this is a “thought” per se, other than me thinking “what am I thinking by doing this?”.  Ha!  Maybe you are hosting a brunch for Mother’s Day on Sunday?  In my experience, everyone loves a special breakfast, so I thought I would share what I did this past Tuesday morning for a group of 36 students.  It ended up feeding many more, though.  I had extras for some other students and a few colleagues, as well.  We have a two week period right now of students taking 3-4 hour long exams to try to earn college credit.  My exam was at 8 a.m. and the students had to report at 7:45, so I planned a 7-7:30 breakfast. 

I was so busy that I didn’t get great individual food photos, but here goes…  Also, if you are still in need of gift ideas, check my post here for a few!  

When doing something big like this, do your shopping a couple of days in advance if you can.  I did grocery shopping on Sunday so that all I had to focus on Monday was the cooking.  I had to have it ready for 7:00 a.m. so all I wanted to do on Tuesday morning was reheat and transport food.  I shopped for the table wear about a week before so that helped, too.

Monday after school I set up the tables with tablecloths and laid out the placards stating what each food was.  I laid out the plates, forks, and napkins, and spread mints down the middle of the table.  I also had the ketchup and syrup ready to go.  In addition, I had the platters for donuts set out.  

Here was my menu:

salami and cheese cubes

fruit salad (recipe below)

donut holes

glazed donuts

tater tots (cooked from frozen on Tuesday morning) with ketchup

Betty Crocker coffee cake mix (2 boxes) – this is so good.  I also love Krusteaz brand, but Betty is cheaper!

Mexican egg casserole

Normal egg casserole

French toast casserole with syrup

*Note:  I left out meat/pork products except for the salami because I have few vegetarians and a few who avoid these for religious reasons.  You can add diced ham to the egg casseroles.  

**My other advice is to not cook everything.  Do a mix of store bought and home prepared or you will drive yourself crazy.  I spent about 4 hours on Monday afternoon cooking.  

Fruit Salad (The kids commented that it reminded them of Chick Fil A’s)

I cut up fresh strawberries (2 lb for only 1.99), added one container of fresh blueberries, added two full sized cans of mandarin oranges drained, sprinkled 2 TBSP of vanilla instant pudding powder and used 1/2 cup lime juice.  This turns a fruit salad to magic.  I can’t even describe how yummy this was.  

Egg Casserole:  

The key is to use the same number of slices of bread as you do eggs

For a 13 x 9 I used 6 eggs and 6 slices of white buttermilk bread

Crack your eggs in a bowl and break up the yolks, add 6 slices of bread torn or cut into pieces, add a few shakes of salt and pepper or cajun seasoning, add about a cup of milk, add green chiles if desired, add ham chunks if desired, add about 2 cups of any type of shredded cheese.  Pour into Pam sprayed pan.  

Bake at 350 for 30 – 45 minutes until golden on top

French Toast Casserole:  Does best when you prepare the night before and bake next morning.  I prepared it and let everything soak together for about 3 hours before baking.

5 eggs in bowl (using fork break the yolks), a cup of milk, a splash of vanilla (maybe a TBSP.), and a sprinkling of cinnamon.

In a saucepan, melt a stick of butter with a cup of brown sugar.

Break up about 10 pieces of bread.  I used a loaf of Texas toast.  

Pour the butter/brown sugar mixture over the bread pieces in a 13 x 9.  Then, pour the bowl of egg, milk, vanilla, and cinnamon on top.  Stir around with a spoon and refrigerate.  If you think it looks too dry, you can pour more milk.  You can also sprinkle more cinnamon at this point.

The next morning, bake at 350 for about 30-45 minutes.  Cut into squares and top with syrup.  This tastes a bit like a bread pudding, too and could easily be a dessert food!  

Bon apetit or as we say in Spanish class, Buen provecho!

Amy

Wednesday, May 8, 2019

So, yesterday was my AP Spanish exam; I teach a course where the students take an exam to try to earn college credit.  It’s a lot of pressure to prepare them.  I made a breakfast for them yesterday and it will take me a few days to recover – haha!  

So let’s go back to last week… I’ve started wearing many of my dresses.  This is one of my horse scarves for Derby week!  On the last day of our school week, teachers were encouraged to wear Derby attire.  I got this fascinator for $12 on Amazon.  Oh, the dress is also from Amazon from last summer and it’s what I wore on the first day of school.  

You saw my rainy Derby party outfit on my Hello Monday! post.  I wish I had a matching fascinator!  

Cinco de mayo Sunday Funday outfit.  I think this dress is too short for school after putting it in the dryer – lesson learned.  I line dry most of my stuff so I don’t know why I didn’t do that with this dress.  

I picked up this Universal Thread for Target dress over the weekend for $19.  A blogger talked about it – can’t remember who.  I think it is sold out online but you can still find in stores according to the blogger.  

And, that’s all I’ve got!  Are you wearing dresses more now, too?  Any favorite outfits?  

See you tomorrow – I hope!  

Amy 

Tuesday, May 7, 2019

Today’s post is short and sweet because it’s a big day for me – I have 36 students taking the AP Spanish exam.  I will tell you more about it tomorrow!

I’m sure you do this, too – from time to time I will look back at my phone’s camera roll to see how I’ve been spending my time. I took a bit of time to do that this weekend and this is something I saved back in January.  

As many of my sweet readers know, 2018 ended in a very sad way for our family. We lost my Dad pretty suddenly.  He was diagnosed with cancer and was gone in seven weeks.  I know that some people lose loved ones much more suddenly, but it was still a shock for us.  I am trying to do the things above in honor of him and in honor of being the best version of myself that I can be.  This quote does not encompass everything, but it’s a good start.  I love quotes and collect them from time to time.  

I have recently taken some risks – not huge ones – but I have “put myself out there” as the expression goes. It may sound silly but I felt my Dad’s encouragement in doing so. He was always our biggest supporter. It made me feel good to think/know I was channeling his support.

I have done really well with going to bed early and getting up early. My Dad always said the morning was the best time of the day.

I have unfollowed negative people. I have shown gratitude.

I still have a ways to go with many of the above – but I plan to continue working on it.

How about you?  Does the above quote speak to you? 

Thanks for stopping by!

Amy 

Monday, May 6, 2019

How was your weekend?  Our was in a word – rainy!  Everything is so green around here, but why can’t it rain during the week while I’m working?  

We didn’t have school Friday due to the Derby weekend and I enjoyed some drizzly patio reading – one of my favorite things to do.  

Then, I did laundry, grocery, and some other odds and ends before my friend H picked me up for lunch.  We went to Waylon’s Feed and Firewater and had a view of the street with the garage doors of the restaurant open.  The weather had improved.  We split some nachos and had some bourbon and just got caught up.  I think it had been since March since I had seen her in person.  Too long to go, in my opinion.  

Then, we ventured to a consignment boutique and excuse my Flinstone looking feet, but I found one of my better consignment scores.  These look like they hadn’t been worn at all or if they had only a few times.  

I got them for $18 and they retail for $124 on the Nordstrom website.  I know a lot of bloggers have them.  The brand is OTBT, which stands for “Off the Beaten Track” and the style is the “Bushnell”.  They are high, but really comfortable because of the way they are made.  So, I think I scored!  

That evening, I threw together an easy pasta with bacon, bowties, and broccoli, and just a bit of EVOO.  It was really good.  

Saturday was busy getting ready for the same Derby party I went to last year.  And, guess what, the weather was just as bad this year.  I had to change my outfit idea to incorporate my Hunter boots!  I made country ham and biscuits, hot brown dip, and bourbon brownies – all Kentucky specialties.  

I would say more than half of the ladies wore hats or fascinators.  I had a fascinator to wear with my original outfit but when I changed I didn’t have a new one to match.  But, with the rain I ended up with my jacket hood up most of the time anyway!  

I thought I would leave you with some fun photos!  Sunday was about getting work done – my students take a big exam tomorrow for college credit and we have entered into the busiest month for teachers aside from August!  So, this was short and sweet!

I hope you had a great weekend!

Amy 

Friday, May 3, 2019

Hello!  Happy Friday!  I’m linking up today with Andrea, etc. so check out other posts here!  

My first fave is that I’m off today!  Come back Monday to see what I did!  

My second fave is early morning elliptical at the gym!  It’s hard to get up and go but I’ve been so proud of myself when I’m done!  

My third fave is looking for pockets of time during the week to have fun!  So, we had to pick up son from theater at 8 and we made a reservation for this restaurant that has a tableside magician every other Tuesday.  

It was so fun and something different!  Do you ever feel like you just live for the weekends?  Of course!  It is nice to be able to do something fun to mix up the week.  I will admit I’m the worst at it because I have an early bedtime and a routine.  I’m trying to work on it!

How was your week?  

Thanks for visiting me!

Amy 

Thursday, May 2, 2019

When I did my post last week on the evolution of my blog I asked for blog ideas and requests.  (Thank you, by the way for all of the lovely messages about my very simple and amateur blog.)  Many said they’d like more recipes, so my thoughts today involve either what I’ve been eating or what I’ve been feeding my family.  Sometimes they aren’t the same! 

Easter and the week following were rough for me.  I did go to the gym 3 times at 5 a.m., but I indulged in Easter candy and bundt cake and just kind of fell off the wagon slightly – not nearly as badly as I would’ve if I hadn’t been on WW, but still – I was disappointed.  So, this past Monday I was ready to get back on track.  I did make it to the gym every other day again and I did improve my eating during the first part of the week.  

I love a buffalo chicken salad.  I have romaine lettuce, already cooked chicken from Trader Joe’s, and some Frank’s Red Hot and Bolthouse Farms dressing.  This does not taste low cal in my opinion.  I also had some celery sticks on the side.  This makes a great dinner salad or a lunch option.  

I made Lisa’s shrimp and “grits”.  The shrimp are frozen from Kroger and the “grits” are mashed cauliflower in a bag in the freezer section from Trader Joe’s.  This was really good!  

I made the boys fettucine alfredo.  I added the same cooked chicken and we add this creole seasoning to so many things.  It just gives a ton more flavor to veggies and more!  This is also great on eggs!  I melt 2 Tb. butter in a skillet and add about a cup of heavy cream and just simmer for awhile.  I know you can add cheese, but this is fine for a simple weeknight meal.  And, no, I did not eat this!  

On Sundays, I spend at least an hour making sure my week runs smoothly.  I made a baggie of taco meat and a baggie of ground beef for spaghetti. One night they will have tacos and corn on the side and I will have a big taco salad.  Another night I will open a can of Prego chunky garden and add the lean ground beef and serve over angel hair pasta – that’s what we prefer around here.  I may get crazy and add Texas Toast for them.  I will serve my sauce over zucchini noodles or zoodles.  I just make these simple swaps and it works great for me.

I have also been loving this – have made it twice so far.  Erika talked about this on her blog.  Take a bag of frozen okra and roast from frozen on a cookie sheet at 400 for 10-15 minutes and maybe broil for a couple more.  I added EVOO, pepper and the cajun seasoning.  This is so good and gives me another green vegetable option!  

For lunches this week, I’m taking Premier protein shake in iced coffee, a banana, a hard boiled egg, and a low carb wrap with my bean dip inside. 

For the bean dip: (zero WW points)

one can fat free refried beans

1/2 packet of taco seasoning

1/2 cup salsa – the jarred kind – not the fresh

Heat these up together and spread as much as you want in the tortilla.

Yum!

Got any ideas for me?  

Bon apetit!

Amy