Coffee and Cocktails at the Casa

Wednesday, January 10, 2024

This post is all in good fun, but I hope you have also taken stock of your year. What are you proud of, ladies? Yes, you absolutely should be proud of your accomplishments – big and small. Also, this is just my way of re-capping 2023! 

Here we go!

That I could go viral on Tik Tok as a middle-aged Spanish teacher! Yup, this will still go down as one of the biggest surprises of my life. I posted Spanish learning videos from January until May and then took a break. My students want me to start back up this month so I am going to see if I can do it. I just feel that I have “used up” most of my good material, but they say that I can re-do things? I still have over 200, 000 followers even though I haven’t posted anything new since May. Honestly, it made the first part of 2023 really fun for me. 

Very cringey, but I am proud of how much I learned and how my videos improved as I went on. 

This is my “2 lls make a Y” chant and dance that started it all: 

At the end of January, Ernie was acting lethargic so we took him to the vet and the vet told us he was bleeding internally, did an xray and ultrasound and found what he thought was tumors all over his spleen. He said you couldn’t be sure without cutting him open and that he did not recommend that for a 10 year old dog. He told us we could buy some Chinese herb powder to help stop the internal bleeding. We did and he perked up! Since January, I have boiled Ernie so much chicken and I rush home most days to walk him and spend time with him. He is still doing well and this is a recent picture of him: 

So grateful for this extra time with him. We love him so much!

That I can hang with girls 20 years younger than me at a bachelorette weekend and say yes to being in a wedding. This may sound silly, but I really questioned if I was “too old”. I felt proud of myself that I not only could hang, but that I had a really good time and made some connections. Both weekends were really fun!

The bachelorette party:

Tom took me down to the hotel and dropped me off on the wedding day and I hung out with all the gals and got ready with them. We met at the wedding later and I thought he looked so nice. 

That I really enjoy seasonal clothing and earrings! I added Derby earrings and enjoyed wearing my St. Patrick’s Day beerrings (beer earrings) for the second year. 

That press on nails really work for me and I am having fun with them.

That I really love good white wine. I started spending a little bit more per bottle and now I love a Pinot Gris, a Sauvignon Blanc, a white Bordeaux and a few more. 

Gin sucks. I am going to finally stop ordering gin cocktails in an effort to like gin. 

That Walmart has some really great clothes – Free Assembly has become a favorite! I think this is my favorite Free Assembly dress. I am still mad at myself for not getting this dress in solid black, too. 

That I can’t walk in mules – love the look but just can’t keep them on! I was so sad about my Olukai mules. I may just wear them when not much walking is required. I also have the cutest black bow mules. 

That sneakers are the key to a good day at school. I’m just over my feet hurting. Can’t do it anymore. 

How strong my mom was and is after her stroke and how amazing modern medicine is!

I tracked my own discretionary spending for 11 months of 2023! I learned so much! I learned that I was spending way too much on groceries and little things to treat myself. 

I still love gold shoes and they feel very “me”. 

I also grabbed any outside time I could in 2023 and it really made a difference. 

I learned that Donna Karan Cashmere Mist is absolutely worth it and the Lume is horrible. Lume worked for me for a bit until it didn’t. I hated the smell putting it on, too. It ain’t cheap, either! So, for now, I am loving Donna again. 

I learned how important your hamstring is to any basic movement. I pulled mine slipping on water on the kitchen floor in August and had the bruise of my life. I think this was also the first sign that our refrigerator of 23 years was going to go kaput. The freezer was leaking water and not fully freezing anymore. This was as the bruise was healing, so you can imagine how bad it looked at first. 

I learned that I can be a more chill hostess (and that I have stressed too much in the past) when I hosted our German relatives for over a week in August. I had a really nice time and did well with my hosting duties if I do say so myself. One of the things we did was tour a distillery: 

I learned that communication is key and was so appreciative to start most days September through December with a What’s App message from Mason in England. 

I learned that my Diva laundry detergent is absolutely worth it and I only add a capful to my liquid laundry detergent and it gives me that wonderful smell I want. I didn’t let myself refill it for several months and really truly missed it. 

I also learned that Dawn dish soap on my stains works better than anything made for laundry! Game changer!

I learned how much I need a fridge after living that cooler life for a few weeks in October! We had to wait for our new one to come in and it was a pain. 

I learned that if I see something being influenced or advertised constantly to be very wary. Yup, I fell for a couple brands and learned my lesson. Merit Beauty is one that I don’t love, but I plan to use up. 

I learned that it’s on me to create work/life balance and to keep my boundaries. It was really hard in August to change my school schedule to 8:30-3:30 from 7:30-2:30 even though it was only an hour. This is a work in progress, but I am getting more used to this schedule. 

I am sure I could write several more words on this topic, but what did you learn in 2023? 

Amy

Tuesday, January 9, 2024

Molly is my sister and she’s a really great cook! For Thanksgiving on Thursday with Tom’s family, we had the traditional foods, but on Black Friday, we had a pasta bar with my family to mix it up and it was a huge success. We had 3 or 4 types of pasta, salad, bread, and cake for dessert. No one had too much work and the kids really liked it, too. 

Molly brought her lasagna and I am not kidding when I say I hadn’t stopped thinking about it. Ha! 

I missed cooking and my kitchen while I was gone and decided to finally make this when I got home from my trip.

This post is by request from so many people (one person!) and I think it’s just such a solid recipe that it should live on the blog. 

This is the easiest and yummiest lasagna I have ever eaten or made and it might shock you that it has no ricotta cheese – it has cottage cheese! 

Here’s what Molly says to do: 

Preheat oven to 350

Here is what you need: 

no boil lasagna noodles (1 package)

2 lbs. ground beef (I only did one)

one onion

a couple of garlic cloves

1 tsp. red pepper flakes

1-2 bags of shredded mozzarella cheese

2 jars of your fave marinara sauce

one large container of cottage cheese

1 tsp. garlic powder

1 tsp. parsley flakes (not fresh)

She does not like oregano but you could do it if you do like it.

What you do:

Brown your ground beef with your one onion diced up. I diced mine really, really fine and then I drained the grease on a plate lined with paper towels even though I used a really lean ground beef.

Add your red pepper flakes.

Add your jars of marinara – Molly and I both used Prego Garden

Now make your cheese mixture by adding your garlic powder and parsley directly into the cottage cheese container if you have room and if not, just do it in a bowl. 

In your 9 x 13 pan, put 1-2 cups of your sauce mixture

add layer of lasagna noodles

spread the cheese mixture over the noodles

sprinkle some mozz

more sauce, more noodles, more cheese until gone

End with just lasagna noodles on top and do last of the sauce mixture with more mozz on top

Cover with foil and bake for an hour

Take foil off and do another 20-30 minutes until golden brown and bubbly.

Mine turned out perfect! Maybe I don’t like oregano either because the flavor of this was so good. No eggs and no ricotta required, either! I loved the not messing with the noodles and just taking them straight from the package and I think that the really long cooking time made this dish so good. Also, I could taste a bit of a kick from the red pepper flakes in a good way. 

Let me know if you try it and I will send the love to Molly!

I would like to try this with fat free cottage cheese and ground turkey – what do you think? 

Amy

Monday, January 8, 2024

Well, as you are reading this, I am off to work – early because I have to pay the piper and get caught up as I am writing this, I am a little scared to see what my desk and classroom looks like in the aftermath of me taking 3 personal days before the break. I’m working for the first time since December 19th! What do I even do for a job? I have forgotten? Ha! I did take care of my future self back on December 19th and I have the students presenting Google Slides for the first couple of days back. Pats self on back. 

I am happy to link up with Sarah and Holly for Hello Monday and Tanya for Prime Purchases. I am also happy for the blogging world to get back to normal! I’ve missed my blogging friends. Are you like that, too? 

I got back to posting last week but my three UK Christmas posts dominated. Thank you for your comments! And, if you missed it, here they are:

UK Christmas Trip Part One

Part Two

Part Three

Just click on the red font to go back to posts or to see things I have linked. 

Let’s go back to NYE even though it feels really long ago. I just never had a place to talk about it last week. We arrived back at home on 10 p.m. on December 29th and I was raring to go on Saturday morning and did an in person grocery shop. I was actually really excited to see all the American foods! Ha! I went to bed really early that night- 7:42! Sunday was NYE and we had reservations with our friends at the Cuban place called Bodeguita de Mima. 

We had plantain nachos to start and my friend loves the passionfruit mojito so we ordered a pitcher. It’s really just a bit too sweet for me, but I’m a team player. 

Then, my friend and I split a fish meal with rice and sweet plantains and it was so good. 

Photo as we were leaving - I was home by 9 and stayed up until 11 – I haven’t made it til midnight for quite some time – ha! I thought I had no jet leg, but I have been so tired. Erica thinks I’m just coming down from the whole semester of school and it’s not just jet leg. She’s probably right. 

On NY day, we saw a movie as a family of four! We saw Poor Things – super weird. It had lots of sex scenes and I really don’t recommend. Anyone else see it? Tom loves a movie and loves his buttered popcorn but does not love a surprise photo from his blogger wife!

For good luck, I made long noodles for longevity and…

fried rice for something good with rice and something good with cabbage. I can’t remember why you are supposed to eat these things!

We also had oranges for something else good and maybe one other thing. It can’t hurt! 

And, now for the rest of the week that I had at home.. 

Tom went back to work January 2nd. Mason moved into his dorm room January 3rd, but came back home Friday to hang with us. 

The next day I helped Mason go get his expired license renewed very early in the morning. We happened to see Jeff’s Donuts on the way home and our car happened to pull in. OMG. I had not had a donut in a really long time, and these are worth it! 

I went to a local boutique’s warehouse sale in a furniture store – random. I didn’t buy anything, but it was fun to look. The winter stuff is on major sale everywhere you look but I really don’t NEED anything, you know?

Mason and I made the French meal again that we had wanted to make on Christmas Day (the Airbnb wasn’t conducive to cooking this) boursin bacon wrapped chicken, broccoli, au gratin potatoes, and bread with roasted garlic and goat cheese. 

I had a dentist appointment one day – try to do one in the summer and one during winter break. 

I met Erica for breakfast at BBB to get updated on what both of us had been doing over break: 

I made Chex Mix! Why is this so good? 

I made peanut butter blossoms! So good! 

I started this – so cute! 

And, I returned library books and also got these off the shelf because they looked like they had potential: 

I had Erica and Elizabeth over for happy hour with totchos – tater tot nachos! 

I made bagel thins breakfast sandwiches for back to school: 

Mason and I made challah French toast: 

Mason got a haircut and I took an unsanctioned photo from behind. I love the change and I think he will get used to it!

I’m trying to start drinking more seltzer waters again:

It was mild enough to read outside for a bit!

I had a double fire – Mama Solo Stove and baby solo stove in unison!

I had a good week and weekend – it was so nice to have a whole week at home after our trip. 

Now, let’s talk about Amazon! Pretty much all of my recent purchases were travel items!

I ordered the bag for my carry on personal item and I used it as a school bag leading up to the trip. I am torn between backpack or crossbody for my personal item for travel. I kind of missed having a backpack at times. 

I ordered the portable charger and it is a must have for travel or being out and about for the day. 

I ordered the adapter and the set of compression packing cubes. 

I feel like the repellant worked – I sprayed both pairs of shoes even though the boots were water resistant and my carryon and my suitcase. 

And, I just love this deodorant. It is great for travel as a solid and I seriously consider it my fragrance, too. And, before we left, I washed all of my clothes with a capful of Diva combined with my regular liquid detergent and my stuff stayed smelling nice but not too strong the whole trip. Worth it! 

What was the highlight of your weekend? What have you been ordering from Amazon lately? 

Amy

Friday, January 5, 2024

So, we left off at the end of Christmas Day in Edinburgh, Scotland and are ready for the morning of December 26th or Boxing Day. We have already spent December 19th-25th during Parts One and Two. This will probably be the shortest post because after the 26th, I think we all started to weary of travel. Tom was sick with a cold and Mason was up next to get the cold. We found over the counter medicine and no one was that bad off, but we all had a touch of this cold throughout the 10 days. It was ok, though. Jack and I had had the shortest bout of it and I’m not convinced it wasn’t just allergies for us. 

I bought this book in the train station and read it during the trip usually right before I went to sleep. It was so cute! I did bring a library book – Wreck the Halls – but it started to bother me and I didn’t finish it. If you have read it, do you feel the same? The intimate scenes are what I’m talking about, and I am not a prude by any means, but it was a weird and overly talked about part of the story. Anyone? 

Also, I wore the shiny dark red press on nails for the first 6 days and could have gone longer, but I changed to this press on mani: 

The results are in, y’all. Press ons work great for travel! Another couple of sets don’t take up any room and I just brought a nail file and clippers along with them and I probably would have brought those anyway. 

On the morning of the 26th, I made us some breakfast sandwiches before we left for the beach! Yes, I said the beach on December 26th! We had some bagels and some sandwich bread so I just made a few and cut them in half so people could mix and match. 

Yes! Portobello Beach is only 3 miles from the city centre and it’s on the North Sea. We have been on the other side of the North Sea in Germany, so I really wanted to make this happen. 

It was a gorgeous day and we saw people who had just taken a plunge in the cold water! 

After this, we visited Dean Village, and it was adorable. I actually thought it was a benefit to be doing some of the touristy stuff during the holidays because it wasn’t crowded at all. 

Then, we went to The National Museum of Scotland – did you know most museums in the Uk are free? Mason had told me this, too. We were feeling a bit peckish so we shared a…

scone with clotted cream and jam in their little restaurant: 

I got to see Dolly, the sheep that was cloned in 1996. We read an article about this in my AP Spanish class, so I can now say I saw her! 

We had a 2:00 reservation at Tolbooth Tavern after our museum visit and it was delightful. Its location was also really cool on The Royal Mile. 

Mason and I split a burger, and it was really good! 

Tom had a steak pie: 

Jack was the smart and healthy one with this salad: 

We split up because Jack and Mason wanted to go to some stores they had seen on the way and Tom and I wanted to walk the rest of the way to Holyrood Palace which is where the British royals stay when they are in town. Unfortunately, this was closed during Boxing Day. The distance between this palace and the Edinburgh Castle is called The Royal Mile. We started back up The Royal Mile because we had a 5:00 reservation somewhere else and were meeting back up with the boys. But we had time to wander in and out of several shops. We found the shops to be super touristy with the same plaid scarves and umbrellas and t-shirts that said Edinburgh. 

A close is a name for a street and we were going below the current streets of The Royal Mile to see the best preserved street called Mary King’s Close for our 5:00 reservation. Mary King was a merchant and was famous/lucky enough to have a street named after her. We weren’t allowed to take any photos of the tour, but we really enjoyed it! Our guide was an actor in period clothing who told us very entertaining stories. 

And, at the end they took our photo with the ghost of Mary in the background on the left!

We continued walking up The Royal Mile and enjoyed all the lights now that it was dark!

We saw and heard a bagpiper! 

We walked all the way to Edinburgh Castle lit up at night! We also had a gorgeous view of the city down below!

We had a great Boxing Day and there was definitely plenty to do! 

The next morning, it was time to bid farewell to Edinburgh and go about an hour to Glasgow. The train station was super busy! This was a bit awkward as we had to be out of the Airbnb at 10 but our train didn’t leave until 12. That happened sometimes, but it never really bothered me. Again, I just enjoyed the people watching and could always find another coffee to be had! We also always enjoyed buying some little snacks in the train station. 

We arrived in Glasgow a couple of hours before we could get in our next apartment and paid the station to keep our bags while we explored the city centre. Then, we made our way to our apartment which was across a cool pedestrian bridge and in a great area that was also walkable to shops and pubs. 

Here is the view from the bridge later that night when we walked to dinner: 

We walked to a cool spot called The Duke’s Umbrella: 

No one had tried haggis yet, so Tom decided to order a haggis quesadilla. I did try a tiny bite and it was ok, but I can’t get past the idea of haggis. 

Glasgow was a whirlwind, and we left the next morning to be back in the city where our flight would leave the next day – Manchester, England. Our last apartment was in an old perfume factory which was cool. 

When we arrived in Manchester, we were just exhausted because the last train ride was our longest and had a connection. We rode for two hours, got off, and had to quickly get on another one for another hour. The last trains were really crowded, and it was a struggle to get off and on with all of our luggage because of all the people. It was a bit of a close call and Tom and I were a bit stressed. So, we walked to get pizza and just ate in the last apartment. So, our first and last meals were pizza! Ha! So American of us! 

The next day we paid an Uber to get us to the airport because we just didn’t want to wrestle the luggage on a tram, train, or bus. Tom really took to Ubering after being totally against using Uber until this trip. He can be so weird! 

We probably should have skipped Glasgow and spent two nights back in England, but we were just trying to see as much as we could while we were so close. While I was planning the trip, I struggled with how to get to London and fit it in and in the end, we had to ditch London because we wanted to include Scotland. I would have loved to have made it to London, but we had to make choices. I also was very afraid of how crowded it would be at Christmastime. So, there are a lot more places we want to see for sure! 

It was an amazing experience, and I am so glad we did it. Tom was really sweet when we got home and thanked me for all the hours I put in to plan it. I wouldn’t have it any other way, but it was a lot of work during a busy, busy semester at school. We didn’t buy our plane tickets until late September, and I was pretty stressed at times trying to put it together. And I seriously learned so much and feel like I exercised my travel muscle again after a really long time. 

I really loved traveling with Tom and my adult children! I feel so grateful and so blessed and my heart is full. 

Here is the breakdown or as close as I can come:

I share this not for any reason other than there might be readers out there who think they can’t do this. I think there are lots of shiny blogs that never peel back the curtain, you know? I have been quite transparent over the last year about my spending. My regular readers know that I spent the entire year of 2023 meticulously recording my spending so that I could do this trip. 

Also, we had some unexpected expenses come up that could have threatened our trip – Tom had a big car repair this summer and then our refrigerator went kaput. I feel like some other things came up, but I can’t remember now. It’s always going to be something!

Flights: $3600 – Delta/Virgin Atlantic (not including Mason because he was already there and received a scholarship to study abroad that covered his flight basically)

Lodging: $2500 – I tried to keep each night in the $150-200 range but Scotland was pricey. I found the cities in England to be much more affordable, but they were also smaller cities. We could have saved here, but I wanted us to have some space. I do know, also, that had we done London, the prices would have been higher or on par with the Scotland prices. 

Food: $991

Trains: $400 approximately- I will be honest that I did a very bad job of recording what we spent on trains so this could be off a bit. 

Ubers: $191

Experiences: $160 – Mary King’s Close and York Chocolate Story

Dogsitter: $650

Long term parking at airport: $106

$8598 is the grand total

It may seem like we tried to be frugal especially in the category of food, but we really didn’t. That is just how we eat on vacation. We are not a three restaurant meal a day family and no one is a big eater in one setting. Tom, Jack, and Mason are major snackers, though. I honestly didn’t think about prices much at all because that is why I was so careful last year. We will now be eating tuna packets and ramen for the next few months, but it was worth it! Ha!

Whew, I’m tired! I now need a vacation after my trip and after writing so many words about my trip!

Let me know if there is anything else you want to know! 

Amy

Thursday, January 4, 2024

Did you read Hello Monday and UK Christmas Trip Part One? If not, go back and read those first!

I am a bit sad today as semester two begins for my college seniors! Jack is still living at home like he did last semester, but Mason has moved back on campus with his roommate of all four years. Jack will be super busy again like last semester, so we won’t see much of him. And, now with Mason on campus, I am sure he will hang with him while there, too. Campus is closer than England, so I am all good with that! I still have until Monday, and I guess I am looking forward to a bit of alone time at my house to get things in order. 

Back to the trip…

I left off with our arrival in York, England on December 22nd and this view from our roof windows in our charming Airbnb: 

The host left us this and a bottle of prosecco in the fridge: 

After checking in around 1:30, Jack and Mason wanted to settle in and rest and chat but Tom and I were raring to go out and explore our neighborhood and we could see the wall from our flat! I definitely had the most energy on the trip. I was not the fastest walker, but I needed the least amount of down time in the apartments. 

How cool is this? I was so excited! 

We noticed people on top and we decided to explore: 

We found a coffee shop inside the tower!

And, on the next floor up was the cutest little area and I was really in heaven!

Tom had a Coke and a lemon bar and I had a coffee and a millionaire shortbread bar. Tom had to help me eat mine and we both agreed that millionaires eat well – it was so good!

We kept walking and it just kept getting cuter and cuter…

And, you could see the York Minster cathedral in the background…

We walked around for a few hours, but then had to head back to get ready for our dinner reservation and to pick up Jack and Mason. 

We walked back to the same area where we had been to go to Guy Fawkes Inn, which was recommended by Joanna who used to blog. She is still on Instagram as jgardnerbarlow and some of you might follow her? 

Cheers! It did not disappoint! 

I had my first fish and chips of the trip! Don’t worry – I only had two total on the whole trip!

Tom had “3 little pigs” which was pork done 3 ways: 

Jack had a burger:

Mason had the steak pie: 

After dinner, we walked around the quaint streets and the Christmas market – the lights and atmosphere were so festive. 

None of my people like having their pictures taken, but they were happy in real life!

We walked back to our apartment and fell asleep shortly after.

The apartment had a fancy coffee maker that I really enjoyed the next morning!

We left around 10 to walk up to the same area for our chocolate tour, but first we wanted to find some breakfast. We didn’t quite have enough time for a sit-down meal, so we went to a fabulous bakery. It was December 23rd, so you could tell people were preparing for their Christmas meals. It was hopping! 

Then, we did the York Chocolate Story which was really cute and fun and went back to the very beginning of chocolate’s history. They gave us tons to sample and now we are in love with British Kit Kats. They are so much better! 

We each got to make our own lolly: 

After that, we split up to do some Christmas shopping and I went in Poundland – their version of Dollar Tree. It was fun!

We met back up and were hungry, so we found ourselves at a Spanish tapas restaurant. 

We split several things, and it hit the spot!

After we ate, we walked around and shopped some more. 

Walking the wall: 

We went back to the apartment for a bit and then went out to the fish and chips place on our street for dinner – yum! This was even better than the restaurant the night before!

After that, we popped into the cute pub on our street for a drink; 

I did not want to leave York the next morning! I fell in love with it! Tom and I took one last roof photo, or as I called it “a roofie”: 

We Ubered to the train station and boarded the train for Edinburgh! It was about a two hour ride and we saw the most beautiful rainbow!

Again, we couldn’t stop staring out the window and loved seeing the landscape. I love train travel so much! 

Our train was a bit late getting in, so this was a bit hairy. We had a 5:00 reservation for Christmas Eve dinner and had to meet our host of the Airbnb to get our key and I wanted to get groceries for Christmas Day in case we couldn’t find anything open. Mason had said he wanted to cook with me for Christmas Day. 

The Edinburgh apartment was two stories with really high ceilings, and it felt like staying in your Scottish grandma’s house. It was charming but a bit rough around the edges! Ha!

It was in a great location with a Sainsbury’s around the corner, so I took off on my own and did the quickest shop I have ever done. I did make a list prior, so I knew what I was looking for.

I wasn’t in too big of a hurry that I couldn’t snap a picture, though! I felt like Cameron Diaz in The Holiday throwing festive things in my basket. 

I made it back to the apartment and we left for our Christmas Eve dinner at The Auld Hundred. So, it all worked out ok!

Our dinner place was super quaint and festive and let you order off of the regular menu. We didn’t want a special Christmas menu or anything like that. How many times can I use the words “quaint”, “festive”, and “charming”? 

We all had variations on this, but Jack had the macaroni and cheese, which looked really good, too!

They bring you “tablet” which is a Scottish candy at the end of the meal with your bill. 

I loved it! 

The next morning was Christmas, and we woke up slowly because we had had a lot of activity up to this point. We had done laundry in York and that was the only time we did laundry on the trip as it turned out, even though we had washer/dryer combos in most of the apartments. 

I bought a roll of wrapping paper, and we had a little spread next to the plant that had been decorated with beads by the host: 

Mason and I had prepped our French Toast casserole the night before and the oven did not cooperate, and we burned it. Oh well. We realized this flat was not going to be conducive for cooking the meal we had planned for dinner after all, but we made some scrambled eggs and toast. 

I got a Scottish scarf, shawl, and hat! 

I had joined a Scotland Facebook travel group during my trip planning, and they were very adamant that nothing would be open or available on Christmas Day or Boxing Day December 26th. I found it to be similar to here on Christmas Day – there were convenience type stores open and a few bars and restaurants open. And, on Boxing Day, it looked pretty much like business as usual. So, take that kind of stuff with a grain of salt, I guess. The Facebook group was also kind of nasty and judgey. Ugh. I hate that. But, I did get some good information there, too. 

That is one potential pitfall of traveling for the holidays. Also, it did not get light out until about 9:00 a.m. and it started getting dark around 3:30 p.m., but for me, this added to the festive atmosphere and the street and holiday lights they had were just so perfect. 

After opening gifts, we decided to explore the city because we really hadn’t seen much the day before. It was perfect. We were in a very walkable location, and we headed to the city centre and the monuments you could see from outside. It was very mild out and only slightly drizzling. 

I wore my Aldi turtleneck sweater dress and my Scotch tape plaid leggings on this day and I was cozy. Ignore Tom’s face – this is when he started to get sick I think! He looks like he is about to sneeze!

We had 1:00 reservations for a fancy bar in a hotel: 

I thought this would be fun since the boys turned 21 right before Mason left for study abroad. As it turns out, I don’t think anyone is into cocktails in my family and I am just fine with that! 

After drinks, we walked into Old Town and on The Royal Mile. 

We headed back to the apartment after walking around for a while and made it in time to hear the King’s Christmas Day speech on tv, which I thought was really cool! I made some snacks!

And, for dinner we decided to wander around our street, and we found a Japanese restaurant open, and all really enjoyed our food!

I can’t even remember what we ordered, but we all loved it!

And that is where I will leave you! We will start again on the morning of December 26th and should be able to wrap this trip recap up in the next post. I will also give you the breakdown of what we spent. It will hurt me more than it will hurt you! 

Amy

Wednesday, January 3, 2024

We left Louisville at 4:45 on Tuesday, December 19th. I taught until about 1:30 and asked a teacher to cover my 6th period (I had covered a class for her several times a few years ago and never cashed in on her reciprocal offer and Erica covered my 7th period (Tom was off all day doing the last minute house preparations for the dog sitter and Jack was home, too) and then I rushed home and took a quick shower (travel is dirty and gross so I wanted a fresh start!) and then the three of us headed to the airport. We had a quick flight from Louisville to Atlanta and a very short one hour layover and then left from Atlanta to Manchester, England. We only had a total travel time of about 9 hours – one hour from Lou to ATL, one hour layover, and then a 7 hour flight across the pond due to the jet stream being in our favor. That’s how I like it. I would pay a bit more money to have a quicker travel time with less waiting around in airports and fewer connections, you know? But, our tickets were about $1100 each – economy and no checked baggage. Well, when we got to the gate at Louisville they said they didn’t have enough overhead storage on the flight and they gate checked our bags for free. The bags arrived in England with no problem and it was fine. We all had our personal items – Tom and Jack had backpacks and I had the crossbody that hooks onto the handle of your rolling carryon suitcase. 

Also, I had to take all three of my personal days to make this happen – we were still in school Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. I have never done this before and I planned well and provided a project for my students to work on. It was a bit stressful, but it worked out. 

The flight was ok and we did have lots of leg room because we were in the bulkhead, but the seats felt pretty uncomfortable and I did not sleep a wink. 

We arrived at 8:11 a.m. England time – early! Do you like it when you have to climb down from the plane into the open air? I do! Then, we had to board a bus to get to the terminal. 

We collected our bags, cleared customs, and had a train reservation to take us about 30 minutes to our first destination of Liverpool. 

I was so tickled that our first airbnb had a Christmas tree! 

We had a happy reunion with Mason who had checked in the night before. He really liked the apartment and had room to spread out after 3 months in a tiny dorm room. He had planned to go to the grocery for us but ran out of time. Such a sweet thought, though! Liverpool and Manchester are the closest big cities to the tiny college town he was in, by the way. 

We freshened up and went out exploring. The airbnb was in a really great walkable location. We were even able to walk from the train station to the apartment. I was so excited and taking pictures of everything! 

My first need was coffee and we were all hungry, too. Mason suggested a pizza place and it hit the spot. 

After we ate, we found a church that had been bombed during WWII and toured it. 

We walked around a bit more but Jack started fading fast. He had the most trouble with jet lag. I think Tom was also done but he might have just offered to go back with Jack to keep him company. But, Mason and I stayed out. 

Mason and I found the Liverpool Christmas market and wandered around, then we went to the grocery and Ubered back to the apartment because we had bags to carry. I love going to the grocery in other countries so much! My family is a family of snackers and I knew we needed to have stuff on hand, too. We Ubered a lot and it was super easy and cheap. It was actually cheaper for our family of four to Uber than to take the city bus most of the time. 

I fell in love with the tiny milk! 

We had some snacks in the apartment and tried to order food because we were all just too tired to go out, but the Uber Eats guy dissed us and said he couldn’t find the apartment so we just gave up. 

So, Mason made us omelettes for dinner and we couldn’t get Jack to wake up. Tom, Mason, and I watched tv and played cards. It was kind of nice because we got Mason all to ourselves to tell us all the details of his semester. He was super chatty and I was just so happy to be sitting next to him on the couch!

See how the cute apartment mugs say “Be Happy”? I must have said “I’m so happy” one hundred times. 

Our little dinner of omelettes, crumpets, pistachios, and cheese: 

We all went to bed early and then by the next day we felt almost back to normal! Jack definitely felt better! 

We headed to the train station around 9:00. I was able to make coffee in each airbnb each morning which is a requirement for me, but sometimes I also got a coffee in the train station. I loved their lattes and flat whites. 

And, we all ordered bacon cheese rolls for breakfast. 

Our plan for the day was to visit Ormskirk and Edge Hill University which was about a 30 minute train ride. Mason was explaining something to Tom while waiting in the photo below. Mason splurged and bought the famous umbrella when he was in London and he loves that thing. Ha! 

We got off the train in Ormskirk and had about a 15 minute walk to the campus. It was a lovely crisp day! We walked through a little park and a landscape worker came over to tell us all about a monument we were looking at. We found everyone to be super friendly and we really didn’t see any other Americans anywhere we went. I was surprised! 

Campus: 

My first sighting of the postal boxes: 

This was my first time to visit the UK and everything was new and exciting and everything warranted a photo! 

I saw so much growth in Mason through this experience and it makes my heart so happy that he was willing to take the risk to do it. I wish Jack would have wanted to, as well, but he has a different personality and it wasn’t something he wanted to do. My semester abroad during college was life changing and I am so glad I did it. As hard as it is for us as parents, encourage your kids to do it! 

After visiting campus, we strolled around the adorable little town of Ormskirk…

Mason had a restaurant in mind for our lunch – Nordico Lounge. I felt like I was in a dream with the amazing people watching and just feeling like I was in a movie most of the time. 

Throughout the whole trip, dogs were everywhere. They are allowed in the grocery, pharmacies, restaurants – everywhere. We often saw them wearing their Christmas sweaters. Humans and dogs alike were so festive!

We all really enjoyed our lunch. I ordered 3 tapas from the tapas menu. We noticed several Spanish restaurants throughout the trip! The ketchup came in a bottle shaped like a tomato! 

I was just enthralled with this quintessential English couple on the couch near us. The way he looked at her was just so sweet. Yes, I am a creeper according to my kids. 

And, then we headed back to the train station. This was a regional train and we didn’t have reservations. We just bought the tickets at the station when we wanted to leave. 

We arrived back in Liverpool and Mason wanted to show us the art museum and a quaint little book store. 

Liverpool is really lovely! 

For dinner, we popped into a place I had read about called Ma Egerton’s next to a theatre. It was really something out of a movie! 

Jack ordered a flat bread and…

the rest of us tried Liverpool’s signature dish – scouse – which is like a beef stew. I loved it! I think I will try to make it here at home. 

We wanted to do more in Liverpool, but the time just went by too quickly! We also basically lost a whole day due to jet lag! I had typed up a 5 page document of our itinerary and things we could do if time permitted. I took pictures of it for my phone, but also enjoyed having a hard copy to refer to and write on. 

The next day we had tickets for the train to York, England so it was time to check out of our Liverpool apartment…

I brought a reusable grocery bag that said Merry Christmas and that was our “food bag” and we carted it from one apartment to the next. 

I had made egg bagel sandwiches with bagels I bought in Ormskirk at a cute little bakery and we ate those on the train. 

We almost always had the seats with a table and two of us would face forward (me – all but once!) and two of us would be backwards. 

I love train travel and we saw so much beautiful landscape out the windows. I had a book, but the scenery was just too good! Tom and I would look at the Google map on my phone to see all the places we were passing. I had the international plan on my phone and everyone else just used WIFI. It is almost a must to have a smart phone to travel these days. So many things were on my phone – the Airbnb app, the train apps, etc. Most of our train tickets were kept in my Apple wallet. 

Our next host in York let us meet him at 1:30 instead of 3:00 and he personally gave us a tour and handed off the keys. This was my favorite airbnb! It was a converted convent and it was so charming. My kids had said they wanted places that felt like the UK and not modern flats that could be anywhere and this place delivered. It turned out to be my favorite of all 5 airbnbs. This one even had two bathrooms. We also had two bathrooms in Edinburgh but one was just a half bath. Most of the apartments had a queen sized bed in one bedroom and two twins in the other bedroom. I think there were two that had a double or queen for Jack and Mason to share but they were fine with that. 

Roof windows were so cool! 

Jack and Mason were tired and wanted to rest, so Tom and I went out to explore our surroundings. I had told Tom going in that it would be ok to split up sometimes and that we didn’t all have to do everything. It turned out that we rarely did split up, but I think it’s important to manage expectations and be realistic. 

We were all surprised at how tiring the getting to the train station with all of your luggage, riding the train, getting off with all of your luggage, and the Ubering to your next accomodations can be! We liked to have an hour or two to settle in at our new places before going out. 

And, that’s where I will leave you for now! We arrived in York and settled in, and then Tom and I went out alone around 2:00! 

Amy

Tuesday, January 2, 2024

Yesterday was Hello Monday and I am planning to share more details, but here are just some quick thoughts on our trip before I can get to that!

I was a bit vague about our plan before the trip because I felt weird giving all the details for privacy reasons and because I am a bit superstitious and didn’t want to jinx anything – yes, I am weird! 

But, now, in the next few days, I am going to give you all the details – probably more than you want to know. I am even going to tell you exactly how much it cost – as close as I can get, at least. 

The Plan: 

December 19 – Mason moved out of his dorm at Edge Hill University in Ormskirk, England and went to our first Airbnb in Liverpool, England by train. We left Louisville for Atlanta and then Atlanta to Manchester, England and took a train to the Liverpool apartment. It was within walking distance of the train station – Score! Our flight landed at 8:11 am and I knew we would want to immediately have a place to go, so this plan worked out great. Liverpool is the closest big city to where he had gone to college. 

December 20- we arrived at apartment at 11 a.m. and got to hug Mason! He had enjoyed his night in the apartment and cooked his dinner and enjoyed having more space to spread out than he had had in the dorm room. Even though none of us had slept on the plane, we rallied and went exploring and had lunch. He and I grocery shopped when Tom and Jack started to fade and headed back to the apartment in the late afternoon. 

December 21 – traveled to Ormskirk, England by train, had lunch there, went back to Liverpool to explore more.

December 22 – headed to York, England and stayed there until the morning of December 24.

December 24-morning of December 27 – Edinburgh, Scotland and spent our Eve and Day there: 

December 27 – Glasgow, Scotland

December 28 – Manchester, England

December 29 – flew home from Manchester, England

We did not make it to London this trip, because we were so close to Scotland we wanted to include that instead. Our next trip will be London and south of England, for sure! The trains don’t run on Christmas Day or Boxing Day, so we knew we had to have a “home base” for those two days and we made reservations for Eve dinner, drinks on Christmas day, and then a restaurant meal on Boxing Day, too, just in case. It worked out great! I don’t always like to have reservations because I think it keeps you from popping into interesting looking places, but we knew we needed some for the holidays. 

Some highlights…

Tolbooth Tavern, Edinburgh meal:

You can see our Airbnb from this vantage point in one of the gates of the wall in York:

Walking the wall in York: 

The trip was better than I had hoped!

We saw the sun more than I thought we would with about 3 sunny days! It didn’t get light out until about 9:00 am and it started getting dark around 3:30! That is something to consider when you travel at this time of year. 

The weather was not colder than here and when we stepped off the plane in Louisville it was much colder than it had been on any day in the UK! My rain jacket was the jacket that I wore the most on the trip. It usually was just a slight drizzle. My kids and I love rain! Did you know that? I also sprayed my sneakers with waterproofing spray and my feet never got wet. 

We stayed in 5 Airbnbs and I now know that Iove Airbnb and the app! Two of our hosts met us with the keys and it was really cool getting to meet locals and actually talk to them. 

Our flights were amazing! We took Delta from Louisville to Atlanta and Virgin Atlantic from Atlanta to Manchester, England. Delta and Virgin have a partnership, so it was sold as all one flight. Our flights were all early. The best flight was on the way back from Manchester to Atlanta – the seatbelt sign never came on and it was so smooth. I am a nervous flyer, but this time I really did great. I know it was due to the great weather while flying and the smooth flights, and maybe a couple of cans of wine? 

I love train travel and we traveled by train from each city to the next with no one train trip lasting longer than 2 hours. I found the tickets easy to buy online or on the apps. We chose tables when we could – two of us facing forward and two backward and a table in between. We had train snacks! I dubbed the term “trainchooterie”. My family didn’t think it was as funny as I did. 

We all got sick, but it was ok – just colds – and we were still able to do everything or most everything we planned.

We made it with carry on only (Mason had a large suitcase that rolled really well and Tom was point person on that along with his carry on and it was fine)

Waiting in one of the train stations and this gives you an idea of what we carted around: 

I packed really well and could have left a few things out but I wore everything at least once. 

Ernie did really well with his dog sitter! We had great peace of mind and communicated often. 

I think 8 days is when we all started to be over travel. This was a 10 day trip. I remember this also being my struggle time during our 12 day trip in Germany. 

I brought Chelsea boots and sneakers and only wore the boots for the first day and one other time. I stuck to sneakers the rest of the time. That’s all I saw on women, too. They all either wore black Chelsea boots of various brands and styles or sneakers.

My plan was to buy a curling iron over there, but I never did. I just wore my hair straight. 

I missed top sheets and washcloths! The beds just had a fitted sheet with a duvet over them. And, we never got or saw a washcloth. Ha!

I am really freaking proud of myself. I planned everything from the flights to the accommodations to the train times and the activities and the reservations for meals. It was a lot of work, but I really do enjoy it. Tom thanked me for planning it all and said I did a really good job. That’s all I need – words of affirmation!

It was a bit tricky when we changed locations because I wanted to arrive in the new place at the time we could check in to our new Airbnb. Most are check in at 3 and check out at 10 or 11. Many hosts will let you either check in early or check out late if you ask. There was only one time that we paid the train station to “watch” our luggage for a couple of hours because we arrived too early and wanted to explore the city centre without luggage and that was in Glasgow. It was fine and most stations offer this service for a small fee.

My family is a family of really great travelers. No one is high maintenance, no one complains, and everyone is really able to go with the flow. Jack is the biggest homebody, but he did great. Mason was great with teaching us what he had learned about the way things are done over there. I loved traveling with Tom, and we make a great team. It was a joy to travel with our adult children, too. 

We can’t wait to be able to plan our next trip! 

Coming tomorrow – much more detail about the first few days of our trip!

Amy

Monday, January 1, 2024

Well, that looks weird to write 2024, doesn’t it? Happy New Year’s Day! I am linking up with Sarah and Holly if they are doing their link up today…

I’m back! I left home December 19th and returned on the 29th. I’ve missed you! It’s good to be back in the blogging world with you all!

I will have a lot to tell you about this week – if you care to read!

Let’s go back to Friday as it approached our 1:00 p.m. flight. I was in the Manchester, England airport sharing this baguette with Tom for breakfast!

And, I had a couple of cans of vin du can – Jack and Mason made fun of this. 

We boarded Virgin Atlantic and I had an aisle seat! 

We had chicken casserole for lunch and before we landed they gave us a…

“tea” in a cute little box with a scone, too. Their food was really good.

Our flight was about 9 hours long and the seat belt sign never once came on. It was a really smooth flight, thankfully. 

Our flight from Atlanta to Louisville was a bit delayed and there was no air circulating and at that point we were just done with travel. But, we made it home around 10:00 p.m. and our furry boy was so happy to see us. Ernie did great with his dog sitter!

We all went to bed not long after and I was up and at it Saturday morning excited to be home with my own coffee and ready to cook in my own kitchen! 

I headed to Kroger. It was also great to see my clothes I had to leave behind. I also enjoyed curling my hair for the first time! I didn’t bring my curling iron and I had planned on buying one there, but I just realized with the rain and the wind it just really wasn’t necessary, so I wore it straight the whole time. 

I did pretty well at Kroger – $150 for this cart. 

I made my sister Molly’s lasagna, chili, and Chex Mix. I had to make up for lost time!

I walked and the sky was so pretty. 

We ate the chili for lunch and the lasagna for dinner and I crashed at 7:42 p.m. 

That meant I was up at 5 a.m. and look at Ernie guarding Mason’s door – I thought this was so sweet. He missed him!

I drank my coffee, did some cleaning, watched some tv, did a NYE press on mani. I started with plain white and

added two coats of glitter and then a top coat. I will report back on how long it lasts. 

I made saltine cracker toffee, ham and swiss sliders, and watched a lot of tv and napped. I guess you could call it jet lag or just laziness – not sure! 

I will be back tomorrow with some trip deets, but it was better than I imagined. My heart was so full getting to reunite with Mason and to have my whole family together on an adventure. I must have said “I’m so happy” at least one hundred times. I loved it all. I did get “in trouble” for reading out place names, store names, and street names too many times, but we all got along really well all in all. 

Hope you have a great first day of a fresh new year!

Amy

Thursday, December 21, 2023

I just want to say thank you for being here with me/for me during 2023! I really have the best readers. You all are kind and give me encouragement when I need it. I try to be an open book in this space when it’s my story to tell! 

What would you like to see in 2024?

I do have some ideas!

What do you think about…

some clutter challenges

some wardrobe/clothing challenges

exploring your own city/area challenges

friendship challenges

marriage challenges

some frugality/grocery challenges

I guess I am all about the challenge – but you know what it’s really about? It’s really about loving what you have, using up what you have, being content, and living life to the fullest. Maybe that is my current mindset and maybe this is a reminder to myself! 

I am so, so flattered when I get your comments saying that I (me? little ol’ me? a middle-aged Spanish teacher?) inspired you to get out more, make the most of your city, spend more time with friends, and up your fashion game. Wow! There is something about my personality (Enneagram 2/Helper) that really, really wants to help people and when I am able to, I light up. Seriously. It’s weird! It also gets me in trouble sometimes – some people don’t want my help! Can you imagine? 

But, honestly, what do you want to read about in this space? I am all ears!

Wishing you the merriest of Christmases and remember that it’s also ok if you don’t feel merry. Many people just wait for the clock to strike midnight and for the day to be over. If you are in that place this year, my heart goes out to you. 

Be kind to yourself, take time for yourself, you are an adult and can do whatever you want! When someone says something offensive, rude, passive aggressive, remember that it’s a character flaw in them and not in you. 

Get excited about whatever you want – maybe it’s the sales on the 26th, maybe it’s a Chick Fil A peppermint mocha shake, maybe it’s embracing a little hygge at home and just doing nothing. 

And, one little piece of advice – stay off of social media and don’t make comparisons. I bet there is a “true” story behind every perfectly curated photo you are shown! 

Seriously, thank you, and all the best wishes for you from me,

Amy

Wednesday, December 20, 2023

I stewed and stewed, planned and planned, ordered and returned and ultimately I realized I am not going to a remote place without stores! Also, we will have the ability to do laundry if needed in the Airbnbs. 

We are changing where we lay our heads 5 times and exclusively staying in Airbnbs. With our family of four I thought it would be the best way to go both economically and comfort wise to have a bit of space to spread out. 

We are not generally people that eat 3 meals a day at restaurants on vacation, so it will be good to have the ability to have a bit of food there, too. We also like to go against the grain on timing of our meals, so this helps with that, too! We might have a little bite to tide us over. 

Because we are changing locations so much and using trains, we felt very strongly about being COOs – Carry On Only! We have done this before and love the freedom of not having to wait and take the chance on lost luggage. Just ask me about losing my luggage for 5 of my 8 day Germany trip back in 2000 – that sucked! We also will have to help Mason who is not COO after being in England for a semester. 

The fact that it is winter did give me pause and the fact that I have “lost” my travel muscle because it has been so long made me start thinking about packing very, very early. 

The goal: Comfortable, cute-ish, seasonal, and appropriate!

The other goal: We did COO for a two week trip to Germany in 2016 and I really hated my clothes and didn’t pack well. I stuffed it too full and it just made it harder than it needed to be. I wanted to leave breathing room. 

Plane outfit:

black leggings with pockets, black short sleeve v neck tee, striped top over the tee, tan coatigan, black Chelsea boots, black crossbody with red/green strap – hopefully tucked away in my personal item bag, personal item crossbody that hooks onto carry on wheelie suitcase

In carry on suitcase:

Color Scheme: black, cream,/white, camel, green, red

Bottoms: Kut from the Kloth light jeans, Spanx black faux leather leggings, American Eagle black velvet leggings, black Chico’s pleather pants (will also have the pocketed leggings from the plane outfit)

5 bottoms total if you include plane outfit

Pajamas: Scotch tape plaid leggings that can also go out on the street, Prosecc Ho Ho Ho that can also go out, one pair sleep shorts, one tank that will also go under a sweater

Tops: cream Walmart sweater, Target red sweater/cardigan with Christmas tree buttons, black long sleeve knit tee, black feminine sweater from Amazon Essentials with puff sleeves

5 tops including the striped shirt from plane outfit

Dress: turtleneck Aldi black sweater dress – can wear the plaid leggings or the Spanx faux leather leggings under

1 dress total

Scarves: tan plaid, neck scarf in black, white

2 scarves total that can make different looks of the tops

Shoes: black and white Nikes, black short Chelsea boots

2 shoes total

Coats: coatigan, emerald green packable down coat, Columbia rain coat, black down vest

3 coats, 1 vest total

Jewelry:

wedding rings, Prosecco earrings, black/gold studs, pearl studs, small gold hoops, Kendra Scott small black pendant necklace

4 earrings total, 1 necklace

Bags:

black crossbody with red/green strap

1 bag total

Toiletries:

The goal was as many solids as possible and I’m not super picky about brands of shampoo, condition, body wash, etc. I also enjoying shopping in other countries to see what products they have!

All solid makeup from Merit to save my liquids allowance for other things:

Solid Donna Karan Cashmere Mist deoderant – this doubles as my fragrance and is very light so I don’t think it will bother anyone

Quart size bag with refillable bottles of shampoo, conditioner, lavender body wash for night, Into the Night body wash, and Cerave face wash. Contact lens case of night cream and day cream for face. 

Copied off of Kellyann – lol:

white/black Nikes

black/white neck scarf (can’t remember who got it first!)

We shall see if this worked out! 

I will be sure to report back!

Amy