Coffee and Cocktails at the Casa

Tuesday, April 15, 2025

Happy Tax Day!

I really didn’t know what to write about today so this idea came to me. Please know I mean it as no disrespect to my mom, but that I have a desire to learn something from every experience in my life.

My mom was pretty organized but had a lot of stuff. Her house is over 3000 square feet and it is a full house. My Dad was pretty minimalist and let my mom have control over the stuff for the most part. My Dad was an avid library goer and reader like me so he didn’t buy or keep books very often.

We filled two giant reusable shopping bags with OTC medicine, vitamins (never opened) and prescription medicine (not much). The OTC stuff had expiration dates as far back as 2005. I hear that was a good year for ibuprofen? I took them to the medicine drop off at CVS. This is a lesson to go through your meds once a year.

I found 8 curling irons!

We found the spices of our childhood. The realtor actually heard me say, “those spices were a big part of my childhood!” They came from a decorative spice cabinet and just never got replaced/changed out.

We found countless things with the tag still on them. I desire to use/wear anything I buy immediately and not keep tags in my closet. I feel like if I keep a tag on too long the purchase was a mistake.

We found scissors in almost every room of the house. We found emery boards in almost every room of the house. Marie Kondo says to put like things in the same place so you can see how much you have. It’s clear my mom had no idea how many of these items she had, like many of us. She had them in several drawers, bathrooms, the basement, desk drawers, little tiny drawers of stuff in various places.

Her freezers (one in the kitchen and one in the garage) were stuffed and many of the things were expired. The pantry items held many expired items as well.

We keep buying things when we have too much and can’t see what we have.

We found gifts we gave my mom that she never used. It hurt my feelings a little when I found a box of monogrammed notepads that I gave her. What do we save these things for?

We found bins of gifts that my mom planned to give us and other people. She loved buying and giving gifts. But, she had so much that it was clear she didn’t know what she had or remember for whom it was meant.

We also found boxes upon boxes of photos in addition to all the photo albums. My mom took photos and printed them out and labeled many of them. I am so grateful for all the photos that she took. It is so clear how much she loved us by all the things we found. We also have her Storyworth account and it will be such a blessing to have the words she has written and the photos attached to turn into books.

I wouldn’t change the two intense weekends my sisters and I have spent together remembering and honoring our parents by going through their things. But, also, I think it would be a missed opportunity if my sisters and I didn’t reflect on what we are learning.

Amy

Monday, April 14, 2025

It’s Monday already? It’s time to link up with Sarah and Holly to share our weekends!

We had a strange week last week due to the flooding. Monday through Wednesday were online and boy do I have a case of tech neck. I am not usually on my computer that much for my work. Thursday we had a two hour delay, and Friday was normal. So, Friday I came home from school with no plans. The weather was gorgeous and I sat outside and then I “doubled dashed”. Have you ever done this on Door Dash? We ordered our favorite Thai food and I got a wild hair to order the Kardashian Crumbls. Krumbls?

The cakes were for Saturday and just the perfect size.

I don’t get it. I don’t think Crumbl is that good. Anyone?

We have never had a dog that likes to “hug” so much. Don’t tell Tom I showed off his bald spot, ok? They were locked in an embrace when I came in the room Friday night.

Also, Tom told me that he had to stop to give EO hugs multiple times on Saturday while trying to do his backyard project. Lol.

So, Saturday I was up and at ’em bright and early for a hometown re-do. We canceled going to our mom’s house due to the flooding the Saturday before so we rinsed and repeated. My first job was to go sign my mom’s tax return and send in her money owed. Tell me that doesn’t suck to be deceased and still owe money. And, then, I feel like this was kind of full circle. I accepted my first teaching job in my hometown and I mailed my retirement docs in my hometown.

I’m getting really excited. I haven’t told my students yet. That is coming soon.

The view from my mom’s house…

Again, we worked and worked and found energy from somewhere. We took two trips to the dump and our biggest priority was to go through sentimental stuff. We stopped at 3:00 to talk to our realtor. This was not our childhood home but my Dad lived there for 13 years and my mom for 19 years and they really loved it. It feels wrong to sell it. It feels wrong to box up 76 and 82 years of life. So, when I tell you what we are doing please know that this isn’t easy. Those of you who have done it understand and most likely we will all have to do it.

After the realtor left we worked again for another hour and a half and then we revealed to Kate that we were celebrating her 50th birthday again but with sisters! We had a scavenger hunt with 5 clues. It was pretty silly and thrown together, but it turned out great.

The first stop was melancholy but we were so happy to see my parents’ gravestone back in place. So, the way it works in the veterans’ cemetery is that the service person is on the front and the spouse is on the back. We chose my mom’s quote to match my dad’s. My mom’s one big passion was art and learning about art through travel. So, “art is the journey of a free soul”. It encompasses art and travel.

My dad’s ended up with a small error. His passion was flying. He spent almost 56 years flying with the Air Force and then with a private local company. It says “The engine is the heart of a plane. The pilot is the soul.”

We liked that they both had the word “soul’.

Is it gauche to do a gravestone selfie? We toasted and talked to our mom and dad and it was really quite special. We told them what we were doing and we told them we were celebrating their 50 year old middle baby!

The clue had said, “Of you they were always in awe. Go to where you can toast your maw and paw.”

The next clue said “Go to where you can see the flood” and I can’t tell you all the parts of the clues – sorry.

The next one was a inside joke from our family European trip when we were 17, 20, and 23. And it told Kate we were going to the new duckpin bowling alley. But, we were just looking at it and instead going to the wine bar!

There is a basement speakeasy with a secret door.

There were no phones allowed in the speakeasy!

We decided to stay up top at the wine bar. Isn’t it gorgeous? We ended up in one of the round booths.

We then went to a live music venue for a bit and then we ended the night at this dive bar…

and had dinner!

We had plans to go through more stuff after we got home, but that didn’t happen. We had a little too much fun out and stayed out until 11!

We got up yesterday and worked, worked, worked again. We went and got breakfast of sandwiches and coffee.

Then, we got Culver’s grilled chicken sandwiches – yum!

I got home around 4:30 and Tom had made progress! Look at his assistant! He has a scrap of wood in his mouth.

I’d like to say I sat around when I got home but I had my work to do!

Maybe I’m glad to go to work today so I can rest? Just kidding!

How was your weekend? It was glorious to have no rain and 60 degrees!

Amy

Friday, April 11, 2025

It’s Friday! I am linking up with Andrea and Erika to share my favorites of the week.

The sun came out! Monday was warm enough to sit in the sun next to my deconstructed back deck; Eddie Otis looked like Mufasa from Lion King!

I had my laptop open and was working and he was like, “what do you think you’re doing?”

The historic flooding in my area was definitely not a favorite. We did online school from home Monday through Wednesday, went back on a two hour delay yesterday and then today will be back to normal schedule.

Tuesday I decided to work from a coffee shop because it would be something different. It was great!

When I returned home somebody was a little clingy. Eddie Otis loved online school!

Mason enjoyed the tea at the high tea we went to over spring break so much that he found and ordered it off of Amazon:

The little leaf sticking up from the tea bag is so cute. We enjoyed a cup of it this week.

I had more time to walk with Eddie Otis. He pulls on the leash but when I walk him off leash he stays right by me.

I finished this book this week and loved it! So cute!

Anyone else watch Clinton and Stacy back in the day? I am super excited about their new show! I love a makeover show and seriously learned so many style tips from them.

Is anyone going to try to see the pink moon this weekend?

I got out one evening this week. It was Erica’s birthday and she had a girls’ dinner Wednesday night at an Italian restaurant called Ciao. I met some new people, too.

I got an Aperol Spritz and a beet salad and some manicotti.

I shouldn’t tell you about my favorite thing I baked this week:

They were delicious!

Eddie Otis doesn’t do this with me but he does it with Tom. Look at him curled up and sleeping like a baby. He weighs 80 pounds. An 80 pound lap dog!

I found some great lounging shorts at Target and you can read about them here. Wednesday I did my hodgepodge post, Tuesday I talked about spring goals, and Monday I recapped my weekend and second half of spring break.

What were your favorites this week? I hope you had many! I also hope spring comes for all of us once and for all!

Amy

Thursday, April 10, 2025

I almost didn’t participate in Fashion Files today because I didn’t have much fashion in my files. Alas, here I am – linking up with Kellyann and Jill.

I think this was the last day I got dressed in a decent outfit. I wore my Aerie yellow button up on Friday. It was cold so I added a cardigan.

I am having trouble editing photos again – ugh! So, the reason why I have not been getting formally dressed for the day is that I have been on spring break, then it rained and flooded, and now I have been doing online school from home all week so far.

If you are a regular reader, here is the river view of Captain’s Quarters where we eat from our boat a lot in the summer:

This is a local news reporter. It made national news for its approach to protecting the property. They flood the interior with fresh water to keep the dirty river water out:

News Link – click on the red words to see the story.

Too funny not to share!

I wear lounge shorts around the house and found these Wild Fable by Target shorts for $14 in the store the other day. I have washed and worn the and I am super pleased. They have pockets! I saw they are down to $11. 20 so I ordered the yellow and grey and already have the light blue and a light mauve color.

I also ordered this clearance sweatshirt.

I feel like I only want to wear sweatshirts lately. It’s cold outside again and I am not going out much.

I have always loved cork and I ordered these on a whim. While I love them, the back strap is too difficult and tight to be honest to work for me.

They were going to charge me $10 to return them so I exchanged them for these, less practical, but fabulous shoes!

I am not getting to wear my spring clothing right now, but hopefully I will get to soon!

Sorry for such an unprofessional post, my editing wasn’t working on my phone, either.

What have you been wearing?

Buying for spring?

Amy

Wednesday, April 9, 2025

It’s Wednesday and it’s a weird week around these parts! I am linking up with the creative Joyce for Wednesday Hodgepodge.

I am writing this on Tuesday from a coffee shop. I am on my second day of online learning and I promised myself I would come to a coffee shop if I had another opportunity. I didn’t leave my house yesterday! I was outside for about 3 hours so that was great, but I probably should have gotten out after work hours. It was finally sunny and about 57 degrees. Today it is sunny again but it’s winter again! Seriously! We had a freeze warning today and another one tomorrow. And, we’ve had a historic flood. Mother Nature, what did we do to make you so mad? Are you also going through menopause?

1. What’s a lesson you’ve learned from a mistake? 

Gosh, how much time do you have? I sometimes have diarrhea of the mouth. I am consistently giving people more information than they need or want. Say less, Amy. I am working on it. I think I sometimes get too enthusiastic about things and need to tone it down.

2. Do you salt food while you’re cooking or let diners add their own?  What’s a food you think must be salted? Do you like pepper? 

I do season food but try to go easy on salt. I hate over salted things. If I use Cajun I don’t put much salt because it has it in the mixture. I like pepper but try not to go overboard. I try not to go too crazy with any seasoning. Potatoes always seem to need more salt than I think. My favorite seasonings are Tony Cachere’s cajun and the Cavender’s Greek seasoning blend. I also love ranch powder and taco seasoning and I think you can add them to more than you think. Have you tried taco potatoes? Ranch potatoes? Do it! Do it!

3. What was the last gathering you attended and what did you do there? 

A friend’s 50th birthday party. They had great food and we just stood around and chatted. It was the day after my mom’s funeral so I didn’t feel like myself, but I thought it was important to show up. We didn’t know anyone but everyone was so nice! People need to gather more and have more things at their home.

I saw something funny on Facebook talking about in the midwest every gathering was in your garage. I can remember many garage gatherings! Can you?

4. Your favorite shade of purple? What’s your favorite purple flower? 

I would say lavender. My favorite flower is probably clematis because we had some on our fence. I don’t wear a lot of purple because I don’t think it’s one of my colors and ever since Barney came on the scene it’s been a fear that I will look like him.

5. Share a favorite spring travel memory. 

My freshman year of college spring break was pretty crazy. 3 girls and I rented a car and drove to Clearwater, FL and stayed at Heather’s uncle’s condo. We met up with some fraternity guys from our college and got to know them better – as friends. We have some funny stories and photos.

With my kids and my little fam, we had an epic Florida road trip through the Everglades and Keys and to DC and several times to Great Wolf Lodge. We tried to go somewhere every year.

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

I had an extra long winter break this year due to snow and I’m having an extra long spring break this year due to flooding. Did I cause this because I needed more breaks?

Amy

Tuesday, April 8, 2025

I have been trying to revisit The Happiness Project this year and to be honest, I haven’t been very successful. Is this because I have done it before and many of the themes are already ingrained in me? Plus, I have listened to her podcast for many years? I feel like I get more inspiration these days from the Fiona Ferris books. Anyway, we will see if I continue or not after this month.

Gretchen Rubin’s April Theme:

Parenthood – Lighten Up

Sing in the morning, acknowledge the reality of peoples’ feelings, be a treasure house of happy memories, and take time for projects

I am in a new stage of parenthood. I have learned a lot this past year and throughout the college years. It frustrates me sometimes when my kids don’t do things the way I would do them, but I have realized that my relationship with them is more important than doing things my way or having the neatest most minimalist house. They leave 10 minutes later than I would leave for anything they go to – work, appointments, social things. I can’t be their alarm clock. I have had a hard time not reverting back to my old parenting style of the high school years. I try to say things like, “let me know if you need help with that”. I also try to tell them when I am stressed out and need more help in certain areas. I do ask them their schedules for help with Eddie Otis, but you would also do that with a roommate relationship.

I wake up in a good mood. I think I parented in a fun way when my kids were little and there was always lots of singing. I have thought a lot about my legacy and how people will remember me and how I made them feel.

Now, when Gretchen wrote the book she had young kids. She is now an empty nester.

So, I think skimming through the chapter was good for me. I also think many of the principles I talked about are helpful in a marriage.

Here is my spring list:

Decorate for Easter (then decorate for Derby) – it’s not extreme – just mostly my mantel- done for Easter

Start putting out bird seed again – have done it once and have more bird seed ready to go. I like to include it in my Kroger order.

Host friend and his family from Spain – they have reduced stay from two nights to one night so that takes the pressure off a little in a busy month.

Make an Easter brunch or lunch – family from Spain won’t be here anymore. They were originally going to be here and I was going to do an Easter basket for the little boy and probably be more fancy with my meal. They are coming Thursday night to Friday night now.

Go to Jack’s Macbeth play and enjoy and try to understand it!

Enjoy weekend with blogger girls coming to Louisville – try not to be stressed and be relaxed!

Do one Derby event – great steamboat race at sister-in-law’s business on the river. I don’t think I am doing anything else this year and that’s ok. I may need to go to my hometown Derby weekend.

Invite people to patio

Clean up patio first

Hope and pray that Tom can fix the back deck. I miss being able to go out the back door.

Work at my mom’s house

Wear all my spring clothes or they have got to go! I have already done my first pass through my clothing.

Start cooking more spring/summer foods

Buy grill and start grilling again

Plan for kitchen renovation – hopefully starting June 2!

Read outside!

Walk outside!

Well, I think that’s enough.

Remember that this part of the school year can be the busiest and most stressful for teachers. It can also feel the longest. It’s testing season and we are usually off the normal schedule and it is just hard.

So, I will give myself grace and try to live in the moment and enjoy what I can!

Do you have a list?

Amy

Monday, April 7, 2025

I don’t remember what the sun looks like…

So, if this could happen it would be great! I also don’t remember why I ever said I liked rain. Also, when the rain stops we are supposed to have a freeze warning. What a crazy weather year 2025 has turned out to be, no? How do you know you’re old? You talk about the weather this much!

Linking up with Holly and Sarah and you will hear all about it!

So I have been on Spring Break and I stayed at home. I was super productive at the beginning of the week and then the rains came…We had tornado sirens go off Wednesday night and then it just kept raining. I cooked a lot at the beginning of break and then I was tired and wanted my break to feel like a break so I started going out more. I went to breakfast once, tea once, lunch once, and dinner twice. That’s not too bad, is it?

I had lunch with Victoria at my favorite little French brasserie on Thursday. We split a croque monseiur – love that they let you do that. Half is definitely enough!

I was able to read in the rain on my covered patio so that was nice!

Isn’t that a pretty reflection? I love it!

I made Peeps hot chocolate and I think they look so cute floating there.

I’m reading two books at once because my Sarah Adams came in at the library and I abandoned this for a bit, but I love it, too! You will see my other book later on in the post. Both would be great vacay or summer reads.

On top of house chores, decluttering work, and just regular maintenance I usually only plan one thing for each day when I’m off work.

Friday Mason and I had a reservation for high tea. We have talked about going for a long, long time – like two years.

It was fabulous! We loved it! It was $35 a person.

After the tea, Tom and I met our friends for dinner. I didn’t want to say no to a social gathering and we hadn’t been together in quite some time. We took at least half of the tea food home because it was a lot and I didn’t stuff myself.

Paloma – yum!

Fajita bowl – took most of it home, too!

Saturday was a bummer. My sisters and I were supposed to meet in my hometown and my aunt and uncle were coming through on their way north from Florida and we had to cancel because of the widespread flooding. Molly’s road was flooded, Kate would have to travel through flooding, and the downtown of my hometown was flooded. It just didn’t seem smart to try to load cars in the rain, either. And, it was also storming.

The rain chain was off the chain!

So good!

Tom’s deck project got stopped, too. Major bummer. We drove around and went to Work the Metal Saturday and then came home and ate leftovers.

Guess what? More rain!

Sunday I did some meal prepping for the week ahead and that always helps me to feel ready.

Tom and I drove to see the river and then stopped at the prettiest bakery called Rose Bakery.

Wow! We brought these home to share with everyone. The croissant is a Dubai chocolate croissant.

We came home and ate lunch and then I went to Target and saw White Lotus creamers.

These are delish as a candy subsitute. My sister Kate discovered them.

Yesterday was one year of Eddie Otis! We brought him home on April 6, 2024!

The river in my hometown:

The river is supposed to crest tomorrow so let’s hope that happens and that all stay safe.

What about you? Are you experiencing the rain, too?

Amy

Friday, April 4, 2025

I’m sad! This is the final Friday of my spring break. My 31st spring break as a teacher, by the way!

I am happily linking up with Erika and Andrea for Friday Favorites. It’s a little bit of this and a little bit of that.

My first favorite is that I had a break at home! Travel can be great, but I have really been craving empty space at home. Did you read my post this week Leaving Space? I had some great comments!

Going in to my break I knew I wanted to sleep in, read, spend time outside, see some friends, spend some quality time with my little family, do some house decluttering and general maintenance of the house, and do a little shopping and a few restaurant outings.

I would say I did pretty well!

Other favorites were…

I loved using my gift card to get a fun and springy pedicure:

Bonus that I am wearing my new sandals!

I enjoyed putting on a fun summery salmon press on mani:

I supported Tom in his deck project. I watched him and brought him food.

I walked my Eddie Otis!

Tom and I had a fire one evening!

Tom brought out our old bedroom tv so we could hang out on the patio.

Little guy made me laugh everyday. This was one night when I came to bed and he was literally in my spot and sawing some major logs.

I cleared my closet and dropped off some donation bags. I loved having time to do this and my closet is so much more user friendly now!

I had a leisurely solo Target trip. Peep the doggy manta ray toy. Do you ever grocery shop at Target? I like doing this once a month or so. They have things I can’t get at Kroger and their prices are really good.

I made the last box of Chrissy Tiegen chocolate chip cookies. I am pretty sure they are no longer on the Kroger shelf. Best box mix I have ever used.

I made an electrolyte mocktail that was pretty good!

I finished this and really enjoyed it!

I made a Peep hot chocolate!

I was looking for something to watch one night and re-watched this. It’s such a cute movie in my opinion!

I needed new hairspray so I went back to this and I love it.

I did a Marshall’s trip and bought myself this cute little bag.

I did a practice run on these little yummy things for Easter. I bought just a small box of the Easter colors of M & Ms.

Tom did our first mow of the season and the grass looked so green!

It’s a luxury to do breakfast out and I went to Con Huevos with my friend Beth one day.

Cheers!

It’s tornado season in my neck of the woods. Sunday night and Wednesday night we had tornado sirens go off. Sunday they ended around 11:00 p.m. I think, and Wednesday they went off until 1:00 a.m. We are so thankful and lucky that we didn’t lose power or have any damage.

What were some favorites of yours this week? I hope you had many!

Amy

Thursday, April 3, 2025

I wasn’t sure how much I would have to show you since I have been on spring break, but I have a few outfits so I am linking up with Kellyann and Jill.

I had a really warm day last weekend and I broke out the favorite cut offs – from Target years ago. They have the perfect amount of stretch. I love this Soho ball cap I ordered from JCPenney back in the winter. I also ordered a green corduroy Paris ballcap and enjoyed wearing that a bit this winter. They were each around $6 which I thought was a steal. Have you seen what the ballcaps go for on sites like Anthro and Evereve? I have on my new this season Aerie button up. I like how it’s not super long. And, I am wearing my Target neutral flip flops.

I am not sure what is going on with the hair but Monday was cold, cold, cold and I was sad that it was cold. So, I tried to put on rainbow cardigan.

Breakfast out with friend outfit:

New sandals!

They are Dr. Scholl’s from the Amazon spring sale. I think they were around $35. I plan to wear them with pants and dresses.

Favorite flip flops when I got home:

Girls shopping outfit:

I love a white or cream blouse. This one is Old Navy this year.

Spring/summer mani:

Did you see the Target/Kate Spade collab coming up? I think I need the champagne and french fries clutch! I love the straw bag, too.

I am finding it so easy to get dressed with my new cleaned out closet. I know I need to be more ruthless and let a few more things go and it will be even better.

We really need so much less than we think!

What have you been wearing lately? Buying lately?

Amy

Wednesday, April 2, 2025

It’s Wednesday and that means hodgepodge with Joyce!

No foolin’ that my skinny margarita is better than many restaurant margaritas. I plan to have this on hand as well as some other things for outdoor entertaining. Keep a couple of chilled white wines, some nuts, olives, and potato chips.

1. No foolin’! April is here. What’s one fun thing on your April calendar? 

My April calendar is more packed than normal. I am so excited to host an old buddy from Spain and his wife and son. They are staying at my house for two nights so I have a lot of work to do. Then, the following weekend some girls are coming in town for a girls’ weekend and it will be a full one. My kid is in Macbeth -a community Shakespeare performance – both of those weekends so we have to figure out when to see him! Also, we are cleaning out my mom’s house and getting ready for an estate sale, along with talking to a realtor. So, yeah, April is going to be busy. But, I am really looking forward to my two fun weekends. My job is going to get in the way!

2. It’s often said, ‘A fool and his money are soon parted’…what’s the last thing you wasted money on? 

Well, I have been spending money on sneakers. I bought Vejas in the fall for Spain and they turned out to be too narrow. I bought another style of Vejas in the spring and then went and got fitted and found out I need a wide. Vejas run narrow, so they are just not very comfortable. So, I guess I wasted money on sneakers. They aren’t cheap, either.

3.  April 2nd is National DIY day. Are you a do-it yourself kind of person or maybe you’re married to one? If so, what’s the last thing you DIY-ed. If you’re not a DIY-er what’s the most recent job you had to hire someone to complete? 

We do most of our own stuff. We do our own taxes and many of our projects. This is Tom’s project this week. He is replacing all the boards in the deck.

4. Do you eat lamb? If so do you have a favorite dish that calls for lamb? 

I do not. Eddie Otis loves lambie and lambie gigante so much.

5. Do you fit a stereotype in some way? Explain. 

I don’t want to, but I probably look like the stereotypical middle aged high school teacher but then I start rapping or singing my Spanish songs and people are like – ok – she’s not normal.

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

I am using paper plates this week but there are still so many dishes! When you cook a lot, you have a lot of dishes. It’s annoying!

Amy