Coffee and Cocktails at the Casa

Monday, May 11, 2020

I am linking up today with Heather, Tanya, and more so go right here to see some more posts! How was your weekend? Mine went by quickly! I feel like I am in a weird time warp now where time is speeding up! Anyone else feel that way?

O.k., I am actually going to take you back to Thursday because I did my Friday post a bit early.

Thursday was a big day and here is why…

I finally took my horrible end of February pedicure polish off and did my own pedicure with OPI Strawberry Margarita that I had and I put on my white distressed jeans that zip and button. That’s it. Did you think it was going to be more exciting? Ha! Photo evidence below!

The weather became sunny and beautiful again and I took one of my last Corona Seltzers outside. I am going to buy more, you guys. If you like hard seltzers, give it a try! I think my favorite is the mango as pictured below.

A sweet boy emailed me and asked for my address. I didn’t realize he had delivered this or his mom had delivered it or I would have said hello. It was chocolate chip pumpkin bread and a Chick Fil A gift card. How thoughtful! I told him not to use my home address for evil and he promised he wouldn’t.

Friday was rainy and cold but it felt good to get a walk in with Ernie. This is the elementary school behind our house and he was concerned about safety.

I worked all day Friday and then had a Kroger pick up and my sweet student was the girl who brought my groceries out. It was nice talking to her. Then, we ordered pizza for dinner.

Saturday hub and I went to a locally owned nursery for my plants I have been wanting for Mother’s Day. We had to wait in line because we were early. We were the first two in line. When they opened they told us that we couldn’t go in at the same time because we were a couple. There were only 5 people allowed in this outside space that was at least 2 acres in size. So, had we stood six feet apart and pretended we didn’t know each other we could have looked at plants together. It was kind of ludicrous. It worked out, though. We picked out one plant we could both see from the fence, I picked my geraniums, and he picked our ferns. I do understand they are just following state rules. Have you experienced anything while out shopping? This is really the only retail place I have been to.

My red geranium for front porch.

Floral arrangement for new deck.

Ferns for patio.

They look great and I hope we can keep them alive.

I baked some bread. I did an egg wash on top and it looks prettier. This is the same no knead recipe.

I added italian spices to one loaf this time and it smelled like a pizza place in my kitchen and turned out really well.

I put the new arrangement on the deck in my ceramic planter I already had.

I read my next book. It was a bit slow to get into but now I am liking it. Anyone else read this?

I made enchiladas and homemade queso for dinner and then we had a fire. Jack sat outside with us but Mason had a game he had arranged to play online with some friends.

Ernie has never gotten on the new sectional but Tom invited him up and Ernie acted like it wasn’t big enough. He stayed in this position for at least 20 minutes and we were all laughing at him.

We remembered we had these lights to turn on!

I went to bed around 10 which is pretty much my new normal on weekdays and weekends. I have stayed up until 11 some nights. I was really tired for some reason!

Oh, I forgot to tell you that on Saturday I made breakfast casserole for Sunday morning. I made Mix and Match Mama’s version with cornbread. I really like the cornbread touch and it just so happened that I saved cornbread and froze it from the last time we had it so it worked out great. Here is the recipe if you want to try it. I think it could work as lunch or dinner with a salad, too! So, we enjoyed this on Sunday morning.

We took Ernie swimming. The river has gone down a lot. I am hoping to go out soon! After the river, my side of the family had a Mother’s Day Zoom call.

I didn’t end up going to the Saturday morning farmer’s market because of our plant excursion but we went Sunday afternoon to the other one. We bought a watermelon and this is how Tom put it in the car. Mason loves watermelon.

And some Lebanese/Middle Eastern dips from a guy who makes these. He told us all about them and how to serve them.

We came home and ate Costco salad for lunch (Tom had braved Costco alone on Saturday) and then Tom mowed and I piddled around. For dinner, Tom went to pick up a family bundle at Aspen Creek. It was probably the least healthy food we have had the whole quarantine, but I decided on the chicken tender family bundle with macaroni and cheese and fries. The fries are in the air fryer in this photo. The boys enjoyed this meal. Do your restaurants have these meal deals? We have a bunch here that are doing this for $20 or $29. It think it is great for larger families. We will have so much leftover from this meal!

And, that is about it.

I sent gifts to my mom and my mother – in – law, but they are running a bit late so I can’t tell you what I sent. We still aren’t supposed to travel or gather. One of my sisters lives in Indiana where they can travel and gather now so her family went to my mom’s house Saturday and spent the night and one of my nieces stayed on with my mom so that will be fun for them.

How was your weekend? Any highlights? Do you feel like time is flying, too?

I hope you had a wonderful one and I wish you a productive Monday!

Amy

Friday, May 8, 2020

Another week down! I didn’t have a great week for mostly reasons in my control. I wasn’t as productive as I would’ve liked, I let little things get me down, I didn’t get “ready” for the day like I should have. How was your week? I will be linking up with Andrea, etc. right here.

Mondays are the busiest and we started the week with a nice walk around noon. Tuesday and Wednesday were cold and rainy or just cold – sorry Ernie! But, we turned it around on Thursday and Friday.

I bought some pineapple juice and am working on creating a good cocktail involving it. This one needs some work still.

My mom sent these funny t-shirts to my boys. I guess we will look back and laugh? I’m not in that place yet!

I had told you I would cook on Cinco de mayo but I decided to order carry out at 4:45 before the rush. I also included a swirl margarita which is part margarita and part sangria!

One of my students sent me this below!

This popped up on my Facebook feed. I still remember this day.

This weekend I am going to try to go to a socially distant farmer’s market on Saturday morning and Sunday afternoon. This is the one on Sunday afternoon.

And, this is the one for Saturday morning.

How was your week?

What are your weekend plans?

Are you celebrating Mother’s Day?

Amy

Thursday, May 7, 2020

Have you heard there may be a chicken shortage? My bff reported that there was absolutely no chicken to be had at her butcher. I bought some chicken and put it in the freezer last week and I am also getting my Dinnerly box each week that always has one chicken meal in it. I wonder if that will change? Apparently it has to do with processing plants being shut down. I would love to buy directly from a farmer. I am excited to go to a farmer’s market Sunday afternoon. It is supposed to be a socially distant one so I hope that works out. We are still not supposed to travel or gather for Mother’s Day. I wonder if people will break that “rule” here in Kentucky?

Anyway, I feel it is time to branch out from the standard chicken and ground beef based meals. I hope to make more fish, brats, and salads as the weather warms up. Maybe I will try my hand at grilling steak and shrimp, too?

If you have a Fresh Market, they offer (offered? Don’t know if this will change?) $5 rotisserie chickens on Thursdays. I went there last Thursday morning and bought two. I served the first one just as is with a side of broccoli and a side of crispy roasted potatoes and the homemade no knead bread.

One of our Dinnerly meals recently was ravioli lasagna. I don’t really know what qualified it as lasagna as there was no ricotta/egg mixture. You just boiled two packages of cheese ravioli and baked it with sauce and cheese. I had a bagged Ceasar salad on the side with it. This would be an easy meal to pick up on your next grocery order, cheese ravioli, jarred sauce, mozzarella would be all that is required.

Another Dinnerly meal was lemon pepper chicken, broccoli, and potatoes and I had some more of the homemade bread. The Dinnerly meals have lots of fresh broccoli, fresh green beans, and fresh potatoes involved. That works out for us because everyone likes those and I don’t have to buy those things at the grocery because they come in the box.

This is the no knead bread below. It is just flour, yeast, water. If you are having trouble finding yeast, I think they sometimes have it at CVS and Walgreen’s. The little markets are also a good source for things like yeast.

Here are the Dinnerly recipes that I still have to make:

French Onion Soup burger and oven fries.

and Chicken Fried Chicken with mashed potatoes and green beans. I have never made this so I am excited to try it and I think my family will like it.

Other meals I will make in the next week:

spaghetti (already have homemade sauce in the freezer)

tacos

sloppy joe’s

quesadillas

My Thoughts on my Borrowed Air Fryer:

My sister in law generously offered to let me borrow her air fryer. She has a Ninja that is not the Ninja Foodi, but just the regular one. The basket is not that big so anything for a family of four would have to be done in batches.

I tried:

Reheating husband’s leftover pizza (Worked great and re-energized the crust)

Frozen Trader Joe’s hashbrown patties (tasted better than McDonald’s)

tator tots (excellent, but had to be done in two batches)

WW 2 ingredient bagels (excellent but had to be done in two batches)

panko breaded chicken (pretty good but had to be done in 3 batches for a family of 4)

Bacon (really good – but had to be done in 4 batches)

So, I am torn. I don’t have counterspace for this appliance, nor do I really have storage space.

What have you been cooking or want to cook? What thoughts do you have on the air fryer?

Amy

Wednesday, May 6, 2020

I am calling this pandemic products even though most of us have probably been almost product free during this time. But, this is not the time to take chances on products when we cannot easily return them or we cannot browse the aisles, you know? So, I am relying on recommendations from my friends and favorite bloggers. And, you may start going more places in the near future and you need to be ready!

First of all, have you heard of Lipsense? If you need a hook up, Heather of My Glittery Heart is a rep. This stuff really works and is really worth the money in my opinion. If you need your lipstick to last for a party or for a special occasion, this really works. I save it for those times and I do not use it all the time. Maybe no one will see my lipstick because of my mask? This does not come off on your glass. It is pretty amazing. You use the middle color for 2-3 coats, then add the gloss. You have to have the remover to take it off. I have a trick. I use one coat of the color and then a normal lipstick sometimes. It lasts pretty long that way, too.

Do you suffer from allergies? I keep this in my shower (I buy it in a 3 pack at Costco but you can find it at any drug store or grocery store) and use it every day whether I am experiencing symptoms or not. It keeps those nasal passages moist and I swear it helps my seasonal allergies.

I get my hair highlighted. This seems to help me wait a bit in between salon visits so I only go every 3-4 months now. I have been using this during quarantine and it has been a lifesaver. It may not work for everyone but I really like it. I get this on Amazon now because I cannot find it where I used to – at my Kroger.

I usually just spray a bit at night and then sleep on it but lately I have been going into the sun to activate it a bit more and I am trying to get more to the roots. You can also spray it and then blow dry. Here is an up close shot of me doing my own highlights in the sun.

The best hairspray is below. It smells nice, has a great price point, and works great for my fine but thick hair! I have to get this on Amazon now because I cannot find it in stores. This used to be at my Kroger. Notice a pattern? My bff and I swear that Kroger takes away all of our favorite products.

Nancy, my reader, recommended this heat protectant. I love the smell and the price. I will buy it again. Thanks, Nancy!

I love the texture of this light feeling makeup. I will wear a CC cream under but it feels great and blends nicely. Lindsay of Lindsays Sweet World blog recommended it. She says to order off Amazon because it is hard to find in stores and has limited shades when you can find it.

Where has cream eye shadow been all my life? I love the consistency of this Charlotte Tilbury Eyes to Mesmerize. I got it in the shade Bette but I really want to buy another shade, too, since I like it so much. It looks so nice on and really lasts. I apply it with a small brush. This is a bit pricey but it lasts forever. That is what I find with more expensive makeup by the way. It is highly pigmented, you do not need to use much, and it ends up being a better bang for your buck in the end.

Where has cream blush been all my life? I love this little stick that I found on Amazon and I want to buy more shades. I think I like the moisture that the cream eye and cheek products give and the fact that they do not settle into fine lines like a powder? This again is a bit pricey at $18 but it seems like it will last a long time, too. I like that you can build up color. You can do one layer or more.

I will never go without mascara primer. It helps so much. I really like this Voluminous.

What are the products that you would buy again?

I swear I get my best products from the blogs I read and from my readers!

Amy

Monday, May 4, 2020

My blog friend Kristen alerted me that my post disappeared again! Ugh! I think it has something to do with my WordPress app which has acted glitchy lately.

I will give you the Cliff Notes (showing my age) version!

Friday morning successful Trader Joe’s and Target runs. I am feeling more bold with my mask. That is not a good thing: I need to continue to stay home!

I hurried home for a faculty meeting. I set up shop in the dining room to see the sunlight.

One of the main reasons I went to Target again was to get my second Bromance series book!

Breaks were spent getting Vitamin D and around 4, I tried my Paloma. I am buying more Q soda. It is so good!

Went to a friend’s patio to sit 6 feet away. We did not enter the house, nor did we share food or drink.

Coffee on my deck.

River swim for Ernie. The river is so high from the recent rain!

My generous SIL is letting me borrow her air fryer. Anyone have one? Fave foods?

These 2 ingredient WW bagels turned out great!

Saturday was supposed to be Derby so I had a mint julep. They are nasty!

I shopped my house to spruce up the patio.

And, I made Tom and I a snack board lunch.

After dinner of many air fryed experiments, we had a fire on the patio.

The Happy Ever Playlist – I can’t put it down. I am finally able to read again! I think it was a combo of a busy mind and not great books.

And, Sunday bacon in the air fryer.

And, hash browns.

I started a brunch board for Sunday.

One of the highlights was my former student bringing me masks she made and bringing her new puppy. We caught up from a distance. Don’t worry – I zoomed in for the photo.

And, nachos and leftovers for dinner.

How was your weekend?

Amy

Saturday, May 2, 2020

I originally thought I would do Kentucky Derby recipes today because the Derby is always the first Saturday in May. But, it doesn’t feel like Derby because it has been moved to September 5 (Jack and Mason’s 18th birthday!). There is talk that it will be held without spectators. Anyway, I changed course after making this recipe this week. It is too good not to share immediately.

You may have everything needed for this recipe except the strawberries. Run, don’t walk, while wearing your mask of course, to buy strawberries today and make this recipe. If your state is opening up this would be an excellent Mother’s Day recipe.

I usually am a chocolate is for dessert person, by the way. This won me over!

It comes from the May issue of Southern Living.

You need:

2 quarts fresh strawberries, hulled and halved with the larger ones quartered – about 2 lbs. strawberries

2 tablespoon lemon juice and 1 tablespoon lemon zest (I left the zest out and used the juice from the bottle)

1 cup sugar

1 stick butter

1 cup flour

1 and 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt (I’m sure regular would be fine)

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup whole buttermilk (I used skim and did the vinegar trick)

1 teaspoon vanilla

You will do:

Preheat oven to 350

Gently stir sliced strawberries with juice, zest and 1/4 cup of the sugar until combined well and let stand for 15 minutes until juicy (this would be a good time to do the buttermilk replacement trick because it has to stand, too)

Place butter in 13 by 9 pan and put in oven to melt

Remove dish from oven after 8-10 minutes when melted

Whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, baking powder, remaining 3/4 cup of sugar.

Whisk vanilla into your buttermilk

Now add buttermilk mixture to your flour mixture and whisk until smooth

Pour evenly over melted butter

Do not stir

Now use slotted spoon to scatter strawberry mixture over the top of batter

Drizzle 3 tablespoons of the juice and discard the rest

Bake 40-45 minutes until puffed and slightly golden around edges.

I served with a scoop of ice cream on top.

Let me know if you make it! I cannot wait to make it again!

Amy

Friday, May 1, 2020

The fact that I was able to type May made me feel just a bit more positive. April was hard, you guys. I think we can all agree on that. But I did learn some lessons and I hope I am a better person for the last 7 weeks.

This week went by really fast for me. I guess I was busier with more live classes and a training and a couple more errands outside of the house?

I am linking up today with Andrea, etc. so go right here to see more Friday Favorites. I am so glad so many are still blogging. It is a ray of light in all of this and I like to hear first hand what life looks like in other states. I feel like my state (Kentucky) has been one of the most strict? We had some medical services open up this week – chiropractors, some dentists, and more. We got word this week that some other businesses would open May 10 with certain guidelines, retail could open May 20 with limits on numbers of people and mask requirements, and May 25 – wait for it…. social gatherings of 10 and some beauty services like hair salons. Would love to hear what has already opened in your state and how it is going! I am currently determining who my favorite 10 people are for May 25th – Just kidding!

So here are some highlights from the week…

We had really nice weather Monday and Tuesday and Ernie and I benefited from a walk. Wednesday and Thursday the weather turned rainy and cold – sorry Ernie.

Bravo re-played a show called Gallery Girls that I enjoyed. New York City art gallery employees and their drama was the theme. If I watched it when it aired originally I really cannot remember it!

I made a spiked Limoncello lemonade for a virtual cocktail hour with my sister Molly on Tuesday.

I made a strawberry cobbler from Southern Living Tuesday night and it was to die for. I halved the recipe and used too big of a dish but it was probably the best dessert I have had in months. We put a little scoop of vanilla ice cream on it. I will share the recipe soon if you are interested.

I took a silly photo to send to my friend when I was getting ready for one of my live classes. There is one of my black tops I told you about on Wednesday!

I got fixed Monday-Wednesday this week. Thursday I took a morning shower but just left it at that because there were no video meetings. It really made a difference to get ready this week.

Wednesday night we had a surprise delivery of these signs for the boys. I cut out most of it but you get the idea. I will tell you our school but it feels a bit weird putting too much out there, you know? (She says, entirely too late!) Anyway, it says our school name and Congratulations Class of 2020.

Evidence of Thursday hair below – I tried to go to Trader Joes at 9:30 thinking Thursday may not be a popular day to shop and thinking that the opening rush might be over. Think again, Amy – the line was longer than the last time I tried to go. We are talking 40 people standing 6 feet apart with masks on.

So, I drove to Fresh Market and was happy to see only about 8 cars in the parking lot. I wore my new cloth mask for the first time. Um, it does not work with glasses. I will wear contacts next time. I read that you can put shaving cream on your glasses and wipe clean and they will not fog up. I guess I should buy some and try it. It feels so weird to wear a mask and I cannot fathom trying to teach in one next school year. I pray that will not be our reality. Our governor asks that we wear masks starting May 11, but people have already been doing it. I feel like I have aged 10 years lately – the lines on my face!

And, the sign asks that you wear one.

I got two $5 chickens, fresh chicken to put in the freezer (butcher says they are running low?), elote corn salad for Mexican tomorrow night, Q grapefruit soda to make a paloma cocktail, and gourmet tater tots that Melanie Shankle recommended.

So, my two outings for the week were to buy face masks and to go to Fresh Market.

Today I have a virtual faculty meeting and then a Kroger pick up and I am going to try to get my lessons ready for Monday so I can avoid so much Sunday work. We will see if that works out.

Our family is still eating dinner together every night and I cooked all but Wednesday when we got pizza. We are still watching Community together on Netflix and really enjoying it. The boys are working second shift on school work or getting up a bit earlier when they have live classes.

How was your week? Any faves?

Have a great weekend!

Amy

Thursday, April 30, 2020

It is the last day of April! Good riddance, I say! What a weird month. In some respects it went by quickly and it other respects it lasted 724, 000 days.

I thought I would document my day this past Monday.

I am still an early bird. I get up around 6 and start my day with coffee, a devotional, and my favorite blogs!

At the end of my blog reading, I pouf the pillows, open all the blinds, and do a bit of straightening in the family room.

I head into the kitchen and deal with any dishes from the night before that need to be put away. I turn on the news while I am doing this.

Hub leaves for work around 7:30 after walking Ernie. Yay – I can turn on Bravo and eat bon bons without anyone judging. Just kidding! Yes, my boys are here, but they work second shift, as I am calling it.

I do a bit of list making/calendar perusing upstairs in the kitchen while I watch some news and eat breakfast.

Mondays are the busiest days of distance teaching. My Google Classroom tells me that all of my assignments for the week have been released. After this happens, I send a message to each class about what I expect for the week and when our live classes will happen.

A mom of a student gave me a jar of jam that I did not open until Quarantine. It is low sugar mixed berry and it is delicious.

Around 9, after I did some emails and school things I went to fix the hair.

My hair is getting really long. Notice the white Amazon top from my post yesterday?

I went to my basement desk and worked for an hour grading the work from last week and entering it in our grade system and then came outside to enjoy an iced coffee and read.

During the break, I texted with a lady I wanted to buy cloth masks from and I made a plan to go pick them up later.

I went back down to work some more and then I drove about 10 minutes to get the masks from the porch of the lady who makes them.

The boys were up a couple of hours before I left (remember they work second shift) and I offered to get Chick Fil A as a treat. Mason was bummed about the workload he was facing this week and felt a bit discouraged. He has 5 AP classes. This was the first time I had been through a drive through since Quarantine, can you believe that? I got very emotional seeing all the workers in masks and gloves in the hot sun. It is such a weird feeling. I felt kind of normal driving to do my errand but then I realized my errand of retrieving masks was not normal. Then, a drive through would be normal, but it was anything but normal. I miss normal.

I brought the food home and they were happy. I went back to work and talked on the phone to two of my department members. Then, all of a sudden it was like 4:00! This particular day went by so fast. I took Ernie on a walk, then sat outside for a bit more.

My Dinnerly box arrived but I had already decided to do BLTs for dinner. The Dinnerly box comes on Mondays any time between 8 a.m. and 9 p.m. This is the latest it has ever arrived because usually I have it by noon. This is everything from the box.

Tom came home and walked Ernie. Ernie gets at least 3 walks a day now.

We ate dinner as a family and watched two episodes of Community. Jack and Tom are playing guitar together a bit and they messed around with those for awhile. Mason did the dishes by himself because of this but he did not complain.

Tom went out to mow while I piddled around straightening some things and then I sat outside.

I started this even though my last book is not complete. This is cute and I am going through it too quickly!

Then I checked school emails and did a little more work and settled in to watch Below Deck Sailing Yacht by myself. Some nights Tom and I watch a show but he is not interested in my Bravo shows! I went to bed around 10.

If you are still here, thanks for reading!

Amy

Wednesday, April 29, 2020

But I sure want it to be in my closet these days!

I am gravitating toward black and white tops right now.

Disclaimer: Remember that your white might not last as many seasons as your black. And, black can be worn more of the year, in my opinion.

Here we go…

I did an Old Navy order the first week of Quarantine. I got this top for around $16 with the promotion that was going on at the time. The online prices seem so much better, by the way, which works out great for us since we cannot go inside anyway.

It is a 3/4 lightweight top with boho details and ties with tassels. I leave them untied. This has been my number one top for virtual work meetings and virtual classes I am teaching. I think it runs true to size or a bit large. I wanted it to be a bit oversized. This works now and it will work in the fall. I have lots of patterned pants and skirts and I love black tops with interesting details.

Now let us talk about white. This was another Old Navy $16 top from my same order. This will require a cami underneath but I thought it had a Madewell or J.Crew vibe. White tops like this only feel right to me from about April through August. After Labor Day, they just seem too summery in a locale that has four distinct seasons like we have. This will look great with bright colored statement earrings.

Now this next top is knit and so, so soft. I ordered this – just this one item – from Loft at the beginning of Quarantine. It was under $20. This is my second most worn top for my virtual life. This is a bit oversized and you do not have to unbutton it to take it off or to put it on. Again, I think this will work with all of my printed skirts and pants and also with denim shorts, olive shorts, white shorts, and so much more this summer.

Back to the same Old Navy order as the black and white tops at the beginning of the post, this is very similar to the Loft knit button down, but in a different material. It is a bit of a dressier fabric. It was also around $16.

This next white top is from Costco last year. I was thrilled to find it and this is perfect for our spring weather. It is starting to look a bit worn in the armpit area. Remember that white tops may not last as many seasons. I am o.k. with that. I kind of wish I had bought a second one of these last year – at only $14 I think that would have been smart. This is by Gloria Vanderbilt. I will probably only wear this through May and then it will be too hot.

And, this is the Amazon $16 top from my Friday Favorites post. I wore it on Monday even though it was a bit cool for these sleeves.

This is my Target Knox Rose top that I bought way back in February. The collar comes up a bit higher than I would like but it is such a cute top. You will never believe this – the Target top is the most expensive of this post coming in at $29. Knox Rose seems to be one of the pricier brands at Target.

So, you can see why I want everything to be black and white right now, true? I think I am set!

I started making more of an effort to look put together this week, you guys. It really helped me to feel better throughout the whole day.

Where do you stand on black and white tops? Are you gravitating to these neutral basics or do you need color right now?

Amy