Coffee and Cocktails at the Casa

Tuesday, January 28, 2025

Sorry, Gretchen Rubin – I didn’t do very well with your January Happiness! We will get to that in a minute!

I am wrapping up January a little early. It’s been long enough, right?

However, I did pretty well with my own January list:

-wear my blues, burgundies, white, and other non-Christmas colored winter clothes and toward the end of the month start wearing my Valentine’s Day sweaters – Yes! Still doing this!

-read more and tv less/read more and scroll less/really try to stay off social media as much as possible – I read 3 books! My neck light is one of the reasons, but also I just had more time at home with snow days. I also scrolled less!

-plan something fun to do on MLK Day since I am off school – It was just too cold! I enjoyed my day mostly at home and made chili!

-at least one coffee shop date with Mason – this will have to be on a weekend or on MLK Day unless I get a snow day. We want to try a witch/Halloween coffee shop that is relatively new – We only did the Con Huevos breakfast but it was great!

-just found out one of my favorite restaurants is having a January special Tuesday through Thursday in the month of January so I plan to do that– I did this with a friend last week and it was lovely!

-bake/cook a new dish – Mexican beef in the crockpot. I finally bought crockpot liners so I am more motivated to crock. I only rock the crock on the weekends because it’s just too long during the week to be away from whatever I make.

-enjoy a snow day – if I get one – if not…might be making my own if you know what I mean (I swear I wrote that before Snowpocalypse and 4 snow days for teachers last week and 5 for students!) – this is hilarious!

-get excited about meal prep again – this is hard to do when I’m off my routine/still on winter break mode – yeah, not really. I’m not feeling too inspired.

-walk with Eddie Otis after school even when it’s really cold – no – it’s just been sooooo cold.

-listen to more music in the house – the Echo Show is already making this easier – I am not really doing great with this yet.

-go to a speakeasy – not yet. Did I mention it’s cold?

-plan some cozy happy hours at places that have fireplaces or a dark ambiance– went to Mojito for tropical ambiance!

-work smarter, not harder with home chores-create a routine and assignments for people inlcluding myself, of course – stick to it. – doing ok with this. My laundry and dish routine are going pretty well

-work on January happiness project – much will be the declutter part – not found the motivation yet

-read How to Winter when it comes in at the library for me – with my luck it will come in on the first day of spring!

-start a bath night ritual – I have a wonderful tub and never use it -too cold! I have been wanting to shower quickly!

-re-start my spray tan membership to fake Vitamin D toward the end of the month- it really helps! This time I will go clear and light or medium and no double leg. That’s too much. I just want that – ‘did she or didn’t she just come back from vacay?’ look – not yet but they are running a 5 spray deal for 7.99 if I can buy that by the end of January

-see friends that I haven’t seen– saw one and that was great!

-continue with “Soup Sunday” where I make a different soup and use that for one of my lunches during the week – some Sundays I have done this but not every one

-start planning my spring break whether I plan to go somewhere or stay home – not yet

I am sure I am forgetting things! As you can see these are very “low level goals” in the words of the Big Boo podcast. They just help me to be more intentional with my time and help me to enjoy life more, frankly.

What about you? January goals?

Some unexpected things that happened in January:

So many salads! Erica is doing the garden cup salad delivery thing and we are having that for lunch plus I have been bringing salads to go with some of my meal prep meals. I have been making my own simple dressings and craving salads at dinner, too. Crazy!

I read 3 books in January – that is about my summer number! I can’t believe I have read this much!

I have had an unintentional damp January where I haven’t had alcoholic drinks very much.

Official Happiness Project:

I was supposed to get more sleep and declutter. My sleep was really good after I was sick and felt better and then my sleep was very good when I had the one 5 day week of school. My problem was lack of consistency. When I knew I didn’t have school I stayed up about an hour too late which makes it harder to fall asleep right away – missed my sleep window? – and I still get up about the same time. The sweet spot for me is 9:30-5:30 or 6.

I just wasn’t in the mood to go through areas of the house. I did do the front hall closet but then it was mainly just a shuffling of junk to another area. I do plan to come back to this!

I really enjoyed January! It went by faster this year for some reason!

How did you do in January?

Amy

Monday, January 27, 2025

How was your weekend? I am happy to link up with Sarah and Holly to share a bit about mine!

Thursday at 5;00, to be precise, I had a reservation at Grassa Gramma with my friend Jessica. I don’t think we had seen each other in person since August? The restaurant was offering 50% off entrees to celebrate their anniversary. I got homemade pasta for $13!

The decor is so cool in the restaurant and we had a really nice dinner getting caught up on each others’ lives.

Friday at school was a day. We had a pep rally. Here are half of the Spanish teachers being “peppy” in the senior section.

After getting my pep on, I went home to get my “boots and bling” on. Tom’s company has moved their holiday party to January the last couple of years and it’s kind of nice since December is so busy. They were doing a casino game night and boots and bling theme and Tom picked me up at 5:30 without coming in the house. He wore his boots and bling to work.

I wore my old black suede Target boots that have a western vibe, my Old Navy sequin skirt – can you even believe how much I wore it this year?, my Chico’s black silk button up (turned out to be a great purchase), and my old TJ Maxx fringe sweater vest (another rock star piece in my closet that works as a great third piece). I wore my sparkly bourbon earrings, too.

I didn’t have to buy a thing!

The sky was just stunning! I don’t get out much this late!

Tom and his first work friend…

I only took three photos but it was a nice evening.

Saturday I got myself up and ready fairly early. I put on my new Old Navy graphic tee with French on it with my Paris hat – too much French stuff at once? It was going to warm up to 40 degrees. 40 degrees is still pretty cold I found out.

I went to the library because some requests came in:

And, I had to grocery shop in person!

I bought 4 boxes of the cookie mix! I thought I could give a couple to friends…”I don’t like you enough to actually bake them for you; bake them yourself”. Just kidding!

I was super lazy after the grocery. Both kids were off working and Tom had requested Velveeta Rotel dip so I made that for him and a salad and tuna for us to have for lunch. Then, he and I, and Eddie Otis lounged in the living room all afternoon with sports and stuff on the tv. I also read and napped.

We made a last minute dinner plan with friends and I kept the same outfit on but did my hair and changed from my Uggs to my clogs.

We went with our friends to a new to us pizza and beer place called Hop Atomica. My friend and I shared a flight of beers. Little baby beers.

Tom and I split this glorious salad!

I forgot to take a photo but we split a pepperoni pizza and a fig and pig pizza with bacon and fig jam.

After dinner we went to a dessert place called Baked AF. It was next to Breakfast AF and Pizza AF. Young people these days!

Yesterday I slept in until 7:00 am! Woohoo!

I was excited to try a new flavor! I ran into a former student and she said this one is good – agreed!

And we still have lingering ice and snow…

We are supposed to have 50s and sunny on Wednesday! Happy hour on my patio? I just hope it all goes away by the end of the day Wednesday!

And those are my highlights!

What about you?

Amy

P.S. – The Bachelor starts tonight if you are going to watch along with me!

Friday, January 24, 2025

What a weird week! But, it’s Friday so who cares? Hehe. I could use one of the above!

I am happy to link up with Andrea and Erika today to share some eclectic favorites that I collected on my camera roll.

I had off Monday for MLK day and then due to the cold we did online school from home on Wednesday. It was so nice not to have to get out. I actually had a nice day and got to respond to some emails from students and they did their work like good girls and boys.

We went back to school yesterday and today we have a pep rally at the end of the day. Send Advil.

Are you a fan of Nate Bargatze? Tom has been showing me and the kids clips of his stand up or skit comedy and we have watched a couple of his Netflix specials. We both hate that music and comedy happen so often on week nights rather than weekends and so late, but I said let’s live a little and we purchased tickets!

We have always enjoyed going to see comedy! So, I am proud of us for making plans.

I had chili envy during Snowpocalypse 2025. Everyone was making and posting their chili pics on social media. I had lentil soup and thought it would be enough. It wasn’t. But, I will tell you that lentils will clean out your system.

So, I made chili on Monday and it was good. Here you see the fat macaroni noodles from Trader Joe’s. and Frito’s Scoops. My chili is my preferred. It’s hard to go to someone’s house for chili when you don’t know their chili religion. I believe in noodles (only macaroni) on the side, cheese on the side, and the chips on the side. Let each do their own. You are gonna cook a pot of chili and throw in fat spaghetti strands? NO! My chili is also pretty tomato forward and has a dash of cinnamon and a dash of sugar to cut the acidity. My mom likes to say this is called “chili mac”. I grew up eating chili without noodles but when I met Tom I converted.

I made the most delish yogurt bowl that day, too. Frozen fruit, vanilla Greek yogurt, and granola.

I’m back to using Chobani creamer. Cookie Dough is my fave but they are all good. I like their stout cartons, too.

This stance cracked me up. EO was acting a little weird Monday like he was on high alert. Can you see his dog bite wound on the left? He looks like a doggie model. Blue steel.

Cute boy with lambie gigante:

I am ready to wear V Day sweaters! I like this green and white with pink trim because it’s kind of unexpected. I went into Old Navy out of cabin fever boredom Monday and I bought a long sleeve ribbed tee to wear under this for $4.99. I have never seen ON prices so low in store. It was literally like a garage sale. Jeans for $6.47, t-shirts for $8 or $5. I bought the aforementioned white ribbed long sleeve tee and two graphic tees. I guess they are getting ready for spring stuff. I get kinda giddy when I see the spring stuff come out in stores. Do you?

I feel like a CareBear in this one:

No truer words were spoken:

Nah, honestly, January has been a nice month of hunkering down.

I bought this mix on a whim while I was in person grocery shopping…

It was on closeout for $2.80. I’m impressed and I tagged Chrissy Tiegen on IG and she said thank you!

My kids are cc cookie snobs and they were super impressed as well.

How cool is that? Love you, Chrissy! Say hi to John!

I talked about my hair woes in my Tuesday post in regards to wanting the L’ange Le Duo Grande to work for me. This is my hair clean (washed the night before) and curled with my regular one inch barrel curling iron:

I am due for a highlight, by the way. I think my last one was the day before Thanksgiving?

This is my daily makeup:

I have no mascara on. I only have a little eye liner done with a tiny brush and eyeshadow.

You’ve got to go back and read the comments to the Tuesday post – my Buy or Bye Bye – Beauty Products post. There are some great recs!

Anywho, tell me one of your faves from the week!

Amy

Thursday, January 23, 2024

How you doin’? Have you had much fashion lately? I am happy to link up with the fashionable Kellyann and Jill today!

I warned you that all I wanted to style lately were my Halaras. I have denim flares and light black flares and I am waiting on my third (and hopefully final – lol) pair in a light denim. They are really taking a looooonnnnnggggg time to get to me. (Update: they came Tuesday after school!)

The denim ones had a very bad smell. I soaked them in a vinegar and water solution over night and then washed them. Now when I wear them I get potato salad cravings, but they are better. The black did not smell at all! I read that this smell is from denim dying techniques and it is common. The light denim that just arrived on Tuesday had a mild smell and I washed them right away.

So let’s see how I have been wearing them…

Friday I wore black on black. I love this slightly puffed sleeve Amazon Basics sweater. I coudln’t find it on Amazon but this is similar. I put my black puffer vest over for my outerwear and I was fine. I am wearing my Koolaburra Uggs and carrying my Clayton and Crume tote with a little scarf tied on it.

I changed after a few periods into my new polka dot stocking socks from World Market (bought over the break before Christmas) and my velvet Cayumas Mary Janes from Spain.

Wednesday I wore my hot pink savage blouse, the black Halaras again, and an old black cardi with the Uggs.

Thursday I wore the blue vinegar Halaras, a white button up, and a white/cream sweater with the Uggs.

Yes, I do recommend the Halaras. I ordered short and as you can see, they are still a bit long on me at 5’4″. But, you can pull them up a bit higher on the waist. They would also look cute cut and frayed, but I don’t think I will do that.

New reading glasses but I really don’t need them? I need to go to the eye doctor my vision is confusing. It’s improved? It’s different?

This short four day week is our Winter Homecoming and therefore spirit week. Tuesday after MLK day was Twins Day and Erica and I twinned. I ordered this sweater in a smaller size and then it was too small after I gained some weight back and then re-ordered it in a larger size since I loved it so much. So, Erica was the recipient of the smaller size.

Being silly for our photo…

I thought about making this a separate post, but I was too excited for this topic!

Spanish women are very stylish. They seem effortlessly so! I have been following “mamainmadrid” for a bit on IG and I have been seeing my former student Ali’s ‘fits. So, I got the idea to ask her to collab on a post!

Here she is with her classic camel coat, nice jeans, white bodysuit top, and quality shoes. You walk so much in Spain that you really need to wear quality shoes.

Classic trench:

I want one of these big scarves in a colorful motif.

Her friend in her classic blazer and cute scarf:

Jeans and sweaters:

I like the cream sweater vest over button up look with jeans and sneakers:

So, sometimes WordPress lets me edit photos in a blog post and other times it doesn’t. ugh.

So, here is what Ali said about favorite stores/brands of Spanish women:

Zara, Bershka, Mango, Mulaya, and Primark are their favorite stores. She has seen a lot of trench coats, fur coats, scarves, hats, matching cute sets that are fashionable, tall boots, long skirts, and Adidas shoes.

She said that she and her friends have commented that if you put on an outfit and it doesn’t seem quite right to your American brain that it is probably Spain stylish.

So, sorry for the messy photos! Do you have any comments on any of my fits, Ali fits, or Spanish style?

Amy

Wednesday, January 22, 2025

When I got tired of the above, I faked a tropical environment below! Is there anywhere in your area where you could also “fake it”?

It’s Wednesday and time for Hodgepodge with Joyce!

1. What’s a winter memory you treasure (can be from any winter in your lifetime)? 

I grew up on a lake and when the lake froze all the neighborhood kids would gather to skate, play ice hockey, sled down the hill onto the lake, and have all kinds of fun. I had a ton of neighborhood kids around my age – mostly boys. There were a couple of girls and we could hang. This was only an hour away from where I live now and the lake always froze over. This is how I know it’s not as cold as it used to be. We all owned our own skates, of course.

2. Tell us about the last time or a recent time you were caught up in red tape. Does it send your frustration level off the charts or is it something you’ve come to expect when dealing with any sort of bureaucracy?

I really can’t think of anything, but I think working for a large school district involves a lot of red tape. I feel like they can’t think outside the box and they continue doing things the way they’ve always done. Like our snow days – we don’t have any built in days. Do you know the last time we didn’t need to cancel school? It’s been like never. Each snow day gets tacked on at the end of the year. We don’t even know our graduation date until late March. It’s no way to plan or ask others to live their lives. Also, we are we not using the technology that we have? Did we learn nothing from the pandemic?

3. Do you eat/like fish? Do you cook fish at home? What’s your favorite fish dish? Ever been ice fishing? 

I do! I mainly just cook salmon at home. I would like to get more types of fresh fish at the local fish place I have never been to. I love a bourbon salmon dish at a restaurant but my kids are saying my salmon is as good or better than many restaurant versions they have had.

I always think of the movie Grumpy Old Men when I think of ice fishing. The men at my lake growing up would drill for ice fishing to make sure the ice was safe enough for the kids and then I got to watch them fish!

4. Did you watch any of the US President’s Inauguration coverage on Monday, Jan 20? On a scale of 1-10 (with 1 being not at all and 10 being very very) how interested are you in politics in general? Do you follow/keep up with/ get involved with local politics? 

I just watched a little bit. I got home from the grocery after it had started. I think politics are so messed up in our country. It’s all about power and money and self-gain. There are very few public servants anymore. With the said, I am a very patriotic person and I appreciate our country because of the travel I have done.

5. What’s the coziest thing you own and what makes it so? 

I would say my Ugg comforter that really should be replaced. Tom and I bought it a few years ago at Bed, Bath, and Beyond. I even like it in the summer, but should use a summer weight quilt.

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

We are going to think the temps in the 40s are practically spring like next week! It’s all about perspective, no?

This week we have lows of 2 degrees and highs of 14, 24, 32, and 28!

That’s all anyone can talk about right now it seems.

Amy

Tuesday, January 21, 2025

I was at a loss for a blog post idea – this rarely happens! I realized I hadn’t talked about beauty or beauty products for some time and an idea was born.. – buy this or bye bye to this product.

Now, you must know that I am no expert. I am willing to spend some pennies if a product really works and/or lasts a long time and I honestly don’t have that many products.

I am kind of embarrassed by this first one…

I succumbed to the many, many ads I was seeing for the L’ange Le Duo Grande. These women were achieving such nice curls. Um, mine fell flat. I tried a few times. My co-worker Erica has the regular Le Duo and she confirmed the same to me. She doesn’t think it gets hot enough.

I achieve a much better curl with a standard classic one inch barrel curling iron. I don’t have a flat iron but Erica says her flat iron does way better curls.

So, tell me…is there something I haven’t figured out?

I don’t want such curly curls. I was hoping for more of a flat iron curl look, I guess.

This is a bye bye for me. $60 down the tubes.

This is a great winter moisturizer for the whole body and a little goes a long way. It is so thick but in a good way.

This is a definite buy for me in the winter. I don’t need this intense of a lotion in the summer.

My hair loved the water in Madrid this past fall. It tasted great from the tap and several people told us it was great and my hair and skin also loved it. I think it was soft water. Tom says ours is in the middle. Medium hard? I don’t know. Why am I talking so much about water? I was able to curl my hair and achieve very soft bouncy curls. I took a travel size of this and that combo was chef’s kiss for my hair. I’m not able to achieve quite the same here but this is a really great holding spray.

This is a buy for me.

This was a Christmas gift from my mom per my request. It ain’t cheap. I didn’t realize it was a spray on wet hair and then dry with a hair dryer product. I just thought I could spray on dry hair for shiny locks. I don’t blow dry my hair very often.

This is a bye bye for me. Maybe I can put it on wet hair and go in the sun in the summer. I absolutely hate blow drying my hair. It takes too long, it’s noisy, and I get really, really hot.

I was told you could use this everyday and my personal theory is that our screen-tired eyes need all the lubrication they can get. Dry eyes are painful. If you have a Costco membership, that is the most economical way to add this to your repertoire.

Thiis is a buy for me.

I must admit I haven’t used this since late fall. But, it is so worth the money. This and Tan Luxe The Butter are the best I have used, but this gives you a quicker result and more bang for your buck, I think.

This is a buy for me.

These are great in my opinion but I must admit that I have only tried a few brands. I also found that they feel great when one has sinus pain and pressure. You can lower them a bit if you want. Nothing bad will happen. I keep them on until they dry out. Nothing bad happened.

These are a buy for me until someone tells me a better option!

This sucks! My favorite dry shampoo is Batiste. I bought this at TJ Maxx with a gift card so there is a chance that it’s expired or not as good as it’s supposed to be. TJ Maxx had not Batiste at the time. Bummer.

This is a bye bye bye for me.

I have been really lazy about mascara lately to be honest. As long as I line my lids I feel like I look ok-ish. My eyes seem to water more now and mascara really bugs me. My favorite for a long time was Thrive but I heard that tubing mascara can take off your lashes and I don’t have much to begin with.

This coupled with my primer looks really good. The price wasn’t bad either at Ulta.

It is a buy for me. I would get it again!

This is one of the Trader Joe’s dupes and I have to be careful not to use too much because I love it and it smells so good. If you use too much it does weigh your hair down.

This is a buy for me. My tangles are so much better using this, too. I don’t use a detangler anymore.

So, what have you used lately that is a buy or a bye bye? I get so many good recs from my readers and other blogs!

Amy

Monday, January 20, 2025

I am linking up with Holly and Sarah to share my weekend which is still going on.

I chose some quotes of MLK Jr. in Spanish so my students will translate and talk about how they feel about them and pick a favorite tomorrow.

I taught a five day week last week after what turned out to be three weeks at home! So, Friday definitely called for Starbuck’s. I had a gift card that I was anxious to use. I feel urgency at using gift cards. Do you? They burn a hole in my wallet. The line was so long at the drive thru but I waltzed in (saw it had been remodeled!) and I was out of there in a flash.

I ordered peppermint cold foam cold brew or however you say it because of Jen and I loved it!

Friday was a good day at school and I was in a really good mood.

After school it was happy hour! I have been going here a lot, I know. It’s close, it’s fast, and it’s always good. It’s Mojito. It was nice to sit in this tropical heated area!

I tried a special smoky mezcal margarita.

And, we had queso with chorizo.

I went home and found Tom and Mason bathing Eddie Otis in the mudroom. He had been bitten by a dog who has a yard that backs up to the school playground like ours does. EO was sniffing under said dog’s fence and the dog didn’t like it and he grabbed hold of him and bit him. They had to clean it up to see the extent of the damage and I, of course, was freaking out.

Saturday morning Tom took him to the vet (just to be sure) and he had to stay so they could work him in. I went and picked him up around 1:00 and he didn’t need stitches but came home with an antibiotic. Here is his wound:

Can you see the little patch of white above his orange collar on the left? It was so weird having him out of the house from 8-1 and I missed him so much. I stress cleaned and made a mushroom and caramelized onion quiche – as one does.

When I picked him up the sweetest old basset hound was brought in on his dog bed and I knew what was happening. I got teary-eyed and couldn’t focus on paying my vet bill. I’m getting teary-eyed typing this. Why am I telling you all? I guess I want you to share in my pain.

I also picked up some library requests. I have an awful lot piled up right now so we will see what I get to;

I’d rather have too many books than not enough. Anyone with me on that?

We had rain all day Saturday pretty much and the temps got up to the 40s. I still went to the car wash and felt better about getting all that salt off. My black SUV was grey!

Kinda cool photo? I’ve only been able to go through an automatic car wash for a handful of years now. I was scared about all the directions and getting it wrong. So proud of myself! I was also scared of the spray tan booth and had a bad experience ala Ross from Friends many years ago. As you know, I faced that fear again a couple of years ago. Bravery comes in many forms and don’t you forget that.

I sat outside a bit in the morning…

and with a hot chocolate later on…

The rain wasn’t able to melt everything away, but it’s definitely much better before this extreme cold hits us next! Are you expecting really cold temps, too?

I ordered a dog toy remote on Amazon and it came just in time for EO to enjoy after his vet adventure. He loves to steal our remote and I thought this was funny but maybe it was going to encourage that behavior.

He loved it and promptly had it in four pieces! oops!

Tom was in a bad mood because his team lost but he channeled it by making two trips to Home Depot and forgetting his wallet and coming back home to get his wallet and me telling him to use Apple pay on his phone and him finally adding cards to his phone. But, he finally changed a light bulb that had needed changing. Baby steps.

So, Tom could do with never going out to dinner. His idea of a good dinner is truly frozen fish sticks, canned peas, and Kraft mac and cheese. He goes to make me happy because I eat breakfast and lunch at school during the week and cook dinner most week nights. He goes out to lunch everyday like a normal person – just kidding. I hate that he does this but I don’t fight the battle.

So, Jack had asked me to dinner to have some one on one time and Tom was all too happy to stay home and eat leftovers with Eddie Otis. We tried a new to us Mediterranean place called Charcoal.

It was really good and we have tons of leftovers. I still love my Shiraz better, though. It’s also closer to home.

I was so tired Saturday that I had already fallen asleep multiple times when I sat down to watch something and I did that again in the evening so I finally gave up and went to bed.

I woke up Sunday to this:

I don’t like Tik Tok, but I had fun making Spanish lesson videos and I kind of don’t want to lose them. Jack told me Saturday night that people have already gone to “RedNote” which is another Chinese app. That was the first I had heard of that one? I had heard this was coming Sunday but I didn’t know how it would go down.

And, then it was back!

It snowed much of the morning and I felt like making bread. I am not part of the sourdough sorority so this is just no knead bread that rises for 2 hours. I failed at the sourdough starter. Maybe I will one day try again.

I gave EO all the attention. He likes to let you participate in his bone chewing. He lays it on your leg.

I didn’t go out until 4:00 and then I promptly regretted it. It had stopped snowing but it was so cold. I went to Fresh Market and Aerie.

Hardly anyone was out! We still have the ugly piles of dirty snow.

I picked up 3 Blaze pizzas for us to split and went home and made a salad to go with it.

And, that’s about it for my wild weekend. I’m grateful EO’s bite wasn’t that bad and I’m grateful for a warm house. Even though it’s so cold, I’m also grateful that the roads are clear now!

What about you?

Amy

Friday, January 17, 2025

OMG it’s Friday! A 5 day week after a 3 week winter break? I have lots of happies this week, though, so hope you will join me along with Andrea and Erika and all the other blogs in Friday Favorites.

There could be a spoiler coming so scroll down if you are scared. My first favorite is that I am loving the ads for the new Bachelor starting January 27th. This show has been hit or miss for me with the exception of The Golden versions in the last couple of years, but now I’m all in because…

as you may remember I saw some filming taking place in Madrid, Spain at the end of September. So, if he chose Spain as one of his places I immediately like him! Plus, I am hoping to see the cute little patio where I was eating lunch with my fam and my former student Madeleine! I’m also hoping to see a few more Madrid stops. Madeleine texted me later that day that she ran into the film crew again.

He was playing soccer with kids in a small plaza between the patio and a church and this girl was also playing. I don’t know if that necessarily means she makes it far because he could have brought the whole lot of them to Spain.

And, this gal below is from my city of Louisville!

So, yeah, I’m 53, but let me have my fun, ok?

I finished two books in the first 2 weeks of January! Go me! I have been a bad winter reader in the past so I am happy.

I recommend this:

If you want to drink more tea and you need it to be caffeine free, this is so good and can be found for not too many doll hairs (isn’t this weird that internet people say this instead of dollars? Why?) at your local supermarket since it is Celestial Seasonings brand.

I made myself a cute little Greek yogurt parfait. I like frozen fruit because as it melts it gives you the juices and I learned not to put the granola on top because it gets soggy. I will have to keep it in a separate bag.

Cute boy:

My camera roll is either Eddie Otis or snow photos right now!

Remember Eddie Otis’ parents? As he approaches one year old next month, we have been comparing.

Here is his Daddy Terry:

And, here is his mom Aly:

We think he favors his mom!

So, we went back to school on a 2 hour delay on Monday and the neighborhood roads were still so icy really until Wednesday after school. But, our temps have been so low that not much could change. We have had really bright brilliant sun all week, though!

They didn’t even shovel this pathway that the teachers have to use from the parking lot to the building. We have a pretty long walk in, too.

Ugly snow piles in our parking lot:

I changed to this mani:

I left my room and my desk super organized and it made me so happy on Monday. I had all my copies already made for this week, my makeup midterms ready for those kids, and I just had my work life as together as it could be. I’ve got my piles, but I must have a clear desk in order to function.

These boots have been the rockstar of my week and I have worn them in and kept them on all day.

Enjoy my pale freckled legs!

This is such a good breakfast! I have a few roasted sweet potato chunks, Amylu chicken breakfast sausage and…. one egg scrambled with some Kirkland liquid egg whites. Y’all – with the current price of eggs I decided to try this and you know what – it’s better than just eggs. It makes them super fluffy.

Erica my co-worker, fellow Spanish teacher, and meal prep partner is trying something that I wanted to share with you. She ordered 6 garden cups to try. 6 is the minimum and it says they stay fresh for 5-6 days after delivery. One cup is one serving. So, for our lunches one day she gave me a Cobb salad, and one day a Caesar. They include protein in the form of chicken cubes and bacon.

It makes so much the plate was almost too small. They were really delicious!

Now, I brought a bagged salad and used a washed empty container of hers and it’s about the same without the protein. The gardencups are about $10 each, but if you are in a busy season it might be good for you. My mom is trying it.

Here is Erica’s link if you want to help her out and plan to order anyway. She will get some money off her next order. This link also gives you 10% off your first order. The different types of salads are interesting – Asian, Buffalo Chicken, Southwest. The nuts, seeds or crunchies are in a little plastic pouch as is the dressing.

I did a Wednesday pick up. I went to the store on Sunday but decided to get ahead of the weekend this time and it was great. Why do I feel like I need to go to the store all the time lately?

If I post something on IG I usually get a comment from a former student. They just warm my heart so much.

This cute graphic gave me some hope, but for now I will just be happy if this snow and ice melts already!

How do you northerners do it?

I am looking so forward to 41 and rain!

What made you happy this week?

Amy

Not chic! I think I need to order Fiona Ferris’ book How to be Chic in Winter!

I don’t have a lot to show you from the past week (the above photo will justify that!) but I am happy to link up with Kellyann and Jill for Fashion Files!

So, closet goals right now are to wear my winter things that are non-Christmas colors that I haven’t worn yet. I have some royal blue, wine/burgundy, cream, and lots and lots of black. Another goal is to wear jeans and sweaters. I need to wear jeans that button and zip for accountability. I want to wear my Halaras everyday but as they are pull on, they might not keep it real. Maybe I will buy another pair of straight leg?

I love looking ahead to spring! I think spring is my favorite shopping season. I also like fall, but those bright colors after winter really have my heart!

One day I looked up some fashion trends and here is what I found and my thoughts…

2025 Fashion Trends

peep toe shoes – These look very retro to me and I’m just not sure. I guess you would only have to polish your big toe and your second toe.

no purses – Who are we kidding? As I enter menopause, I need more stuff, not less. I need a tweezer because of all my new facial hair (each day I find a new one!), dental floss as my teeth are getting closer together (?), eye drops for my dry eye, multiple pairs of glasses, a roller stick for a hot flash, gum, mints, bandaids (life is hard), and so much more!

sporty style – rugby tops – I would be open to trying this

statement collars – When you have a larger chest I’m not sure you need to make a lot of statements

loafers – I like my one pair of driving mocs/loafers, but I am not sure I will go in too hard on this

ruffles – in small doses

polka dots – would like to add a polka dot blouse perhaps

What do you think of these trends?

To go back to school Monday, I wore my black flare leggings, my short black boots (later changed into sneakers), Sweater Weather sweater, and black vest:

Tuesday I wore Halaras, Koolaburra Uggs, white button down, and star sweater:

Is it my head or this hat?

Looking to spring…

These caught my eye in a big way! I just plan to collect fotos right now.

And, this gave me some hope:

What about you?

What have you been wearing?

Amy

Wednesday, January 15, 2025

I’m really late with this! Oh well! Can you even believe we are halfway through January?

-wear my blues, burgundies, white, and other non-Christmas colored winter clothes and toward the end of the month start wearing my Valentine’s Day sweaters

-read more and tv less/read more and scroll less/really try to stay off social media as much as possible

-plan something fun to do on MLK Day since I am off school

-at least one coffee shop date with Mason – this will have to be on a weekend or on MLK Day unless I get a snow day. We want to try a witch/Halloween coffee shop that is relatively new

-just found out one of my favorite restaurants is having a January special Tuesday through Thursday in the month of January so I plan to do that

-bake/cook a new dish

-enjoy a snow day – if I get one – if not…might be making my own if you know what I mean (I swear I wrote that before Snowpocalypse and 4 snow days for teachers last week and 5 for students!)

-get excited about meal prep again – this is hard to do when I’m off my routine/still on winter break mode

-walk with Eddie Otis after school even when it’s really cold

-listen to more music in the house – the Echo Show is already making this easier

-go to a speakeasy

-plan some cozy happy hours at places that have fireplaces or a dark ambiance

-work smarter, not harder with home chores-create a routine and assignments for people inlcluding myself, of course – stick to it.

-work on January happiness project – much will be the declutter part

-read How to Winter when it comes in at the library for me

-start a bath night ritual – I have a wonderful tub and never use it

-re-start my spray tan membership to fake Vitamin D toward the end of the month- it really helps! This time I will go clear and light or medium and no double leg. That’s too much. I just want that – ‘did she or didn’t she just come back from vacay?’ look

-see friends that I haven’t seen

-continue with “Soup Sunday” where I make a different soup and use that for one of my lunches during the week

-start planning my spring break whether I plan to go somewhere or stay home

I am sure I am forgetting things! As you can see these are very “low level goals” in the words of the Big Boo podcast. They just help me to be more intentional with my time and help me to enjoy life more, frankly.

What about you? January goals?

And, now for Hodgepodge with Joyce…

1.  It’s been said January is ‘the month of opportunity, inspiration, and change.” Which of the three do you need most right now? Elaborate. 

I think inspiration – for lesson planning, meal planning, how to use my free time wisely!

2. Do you consider opportunity as something that comes to you or something you create for yourself? 

I used to tell my Dad I was lucky if something good happened and he said, “that’s got nothing to do with luck; it’s your hard work” or something like that. If you are a spiritual person you probably believe that opportunity comes from above. I think the opportunity might be there for the taking but that you have a part in making it happen for you?

Here’s a story…

When I started at my current job I was 28 and freshly married. Two years later I got pregnant and I knew that eventually my twins would go to elementary school from 9:05-3:45 and I went to school from 7:40-2:20 because this was how my district was set up.

There was a teacher who had a deal where she came in late and stayed late to do detention (just sitting in a room and having the kids do homework) so she could be on her elementary daughter’s schedule. I asked her if I could take that over when her daughter was in middle school and no longer on that schedule. She agreed and the principal agreed and I got to do that for 6 years and it kept me from having to take my kids to early care and I got a nice easy morning out of it. I was still done in time to pick them up at 3:45. So, I saw that opportunity and it made our quality of life so nice. I loved getting to both take them and pick them up. Picking them up meant walking to get them, too! How nice is that?

There is a lot of guilt about being a full time working mom but I think I was able to have a really nice balance. So, I think I helped to create that for myself. We also bought a house in front of an elementary school and near a middle and high school so that could also be a form of creating an opportunity for a simpler life. Our kids went to all three and it enabled them to walk, have friends over all the time, help other parents out that needed their kid to walk home with ours, and stuff like that.

Dropping them off to walk to school down the little pathway:

3. The British Museum opened on this date (January 15th) back in 1759. Do you like visiting museums? Do you have a favorite? 

I like a museum in small doses. I don’t think I need to see everything and I don’t need to spend more than a couple of hours at once. The coolest museum I have been to is a tour of a certain longitude line around the world. It is in Germany and I hope I get this right – a man traveled the same longitude line as his hometown of Bremerhaven, Germany and you experience the animals, the terrain, the temperature, and the culture as he rounds the globe. Tom’s family took us there and even rented it out for us to sleep in overnight! That was crazy!

4. It’s National Oatmeal Month (yes, apparently it gets a whole month as opposed to a single day)…do you like oatmeal? How often do you eat a bowl of oatmeal? How do you like yours? What about an oatmeal cookie? Is that a sweet treat you enjoy? 

I love oatmeal and don’t make it nearly enough. My favorite is instant brown sugar or real oatmeal where you add your own brown sugar. Now I want oatmeal! I don’t want it in a cookie form and the worst thing you can do to a person is offer them a cookie that looks like chocolate chip but then you find out it’s oatmeal. Womp. Womp.

5.What’s something useful you learned in high school? 

Gosh – everything? I loved high school. I loved interacting with the teachers and I loved my journalism class and my US History class junior year because of the dynamic teacher. I thought my Spanish teacher was boring, but I loved the subject, of course. My Spanish teacher stood at a podium and read from her notebook. I do like her as a person and she helped me a lot, but I don’t remember it being very interactive. I was in a ton of clubs and I just loved it all, I think. I also remember so much since it’s still the world I live in!

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

What is up with slow deliveries lately? I know we had some delays due to the winter weather, but it seems like my orders are taking 2-3 weeks to get to me when they used to only take a matter of days. Are you experiencing this? Also, I am talking non-holiday related deliveries since Christmas.

Another random thought…

I tried to place a grocery order Sunday morning and they wouldn’t have slots available until Monday. So, I took about an hour or so to make a short list, drive to the store, shop in store, pay, go home and unload. It got me thinking about how much brain space doing pick up takes. I think about what to order, when to order, when I will pick it up (and the last 5 times or so it’s been at least an hour late and they call me and tell me to wait), then I go pick it up. Do you know what I’m saying? Is this helping me or is it easier to go back to the way I used to shop?

Ok, your girl is out of words!

Amy