Coffee and Cocktails at the Casa

Thursday, November 2, 2023

It’s time for another edition of Fashion Files today with Kellyann and Jill!

Today is my birthday! I have always loved having a fall birthday and have used it as a time to spruce up my fall and winter wardrobes. Clothing and accessories have always been my favorite gifts to receive!

I ordered a Sorel boot dupe made by Bob’s Skechers in black. I hated the toe (it was not smooth, but rather bunched up – made to look that way) and I thought they looked cheap. I didn’t even try them on. I have found a lower heeled Sorel that I would like to try in store. I just need to get out and look. I am looking for a black waterproof bootie, but I do have my short black rain boots that I absolutely love and have worn so much, so those might just do.

Let’s talk about the camel coatigan. I ordered the size down to compare and the shoulders and upper arms are too tight.

Here is the larger size that does fit:

I love the color, the feel, and it is incredibly warm. Do I try another brand or does this look ok? I want to wear it as a coat and as a third piece, I think.

I’m trying to really take my time with my purchases and be thoughtful. If you read my October Spending Diary, I didn’t spend much on clothing.

Ok, so let’s see what I’ve worn over the last week..

I wore this to school Monday. The gauzy pants were too thin by the end of the day when the weather turned colder, but I was comfortable all day. The poncho thing is made of scarf material, and I bought it from an online boutique years ago because I loved the “fall” print so much.

I had also worn it Sunday like this for Jack’s church performance:

Friday night happy hour on the Osteria patio:

I wore my Dillard’s Westbound jeans, my Hush Puppies pumps, a white button down, and a wrap my sister in law gave me for my birthday a couple of years ago.

I wore this to school last week and a student said I looked like a pirate. I’m wearing the other style of Matilda Janes in a dark cinnamon brown (they flare and have layers on the bottom), my Old Navy blouse, and my Danskos from last year. You are seeing me wear these brown Danskos to school a lot now.

Tuesday at school my department (6 Spanish teachers, 1 Japanese teacher, and 1 French teacher) had a costume. We were supposed to wear all black under, so I went fancy. I wore my Chico’s pleather pants from last year (have them in brown, too), a TJ Maxx sweater with sheer sleeves, and old black booties from Costco.

We were the game “Cards Against Humanity” World Language Student style. So these were things students might say.

When Target had 30% off clothing last week, I ordered a few things to try. I ordered this silk skirt in black. I have a silk skirt in leopard and really like this look. I thought black would work with so many sweaters and tops I have. I have not tried it on yet.

And, a big thank you to Lindsay for posting about these tops. They were down to $8.40 each. You all know that I need more solids in my wardrobe and I have so many vest and third piece items but don’t have many things to wear under them. I ordered this top in black, wine, camel, brown, and this really cool light mauve metallic. I am going to link the mauve metallic here because it is a slightly different material and would even work for a holiday party or New Year’s. You can’t tell from the website that it is metallic or that the material is a bit different. The tops are now back to $12, but still!

Sometimes we can’t wear everything in our closets because we lack some basics we need, you know?

So, what have you been wearing lately?

Amy

Wednesday, November 1, 2023

Happy Wednesday! Who has a Halloween hangover today? Please pray for teachers everywhere as it’s not easy to teach the day after trick or treating – even at the high school level! Ha! And I was informed on Monday that today is “Senior Skip Day”.

I am joining Jennifer for her monthly Currently link up. I always find it hard not to be redundant in these posts, but I will try this time!

Loving

Well, I hope that by this afternoon I will be loving my new refrigerator! And I know you will be ready to stop hearing about it! You know you’re old when you are happy about an appliance, you’re happy when your favorite knife is clean, or you’re happy when your dishwasher is empty – lol!

I am also loving the leaf colors and the fact that I get to live in a place where we have a true fall. It seems like the leaves turn quickly and then don’t stick around for long so I will let myself snap tons of pictures and I will talk about the beauty ad nauseum!

I am also loving my fuzzy socks. I used to be really anti-sock. Like, I avoided socks until I had to wear them, you now? Now, I have a small collection of maybe 6 pairs, and I sleep in them. I keep them on in the morning until I get dressed. I keep them in my nightstand, and I need to add some sort of foot cream to this sock routine.

Buying

I started buying train tickets for our trip. My regular readers know we are going to England and Scotland next month at the tail end of our son’s semester abroad in England – wow, did I just say next month? I still need to book lodging for a few of our nights and finish buying train tickets. I am trying to arrive in our destinations close to check in time to avoid having to pay for luggage storage. Most train stations apparently have a place where you can leave your luggage for a fee (and with a reservation is probably a good idea), but I think that sounds a bit stressful to have to make our way back to the station. Since we are staying in mostly or all Airbnbs, we can’t really drop off luggage early that I know of.

There are so many moving parts, but I have a Google Doc with all my details, and I think it’s kind of fun. Tom wants no part of this leg work and I have always been our trip planner.

Pounds!

Preparing

I could really fill in all the rest of the prompts with trip stuff. I took pictures of clothing items I think I want to take. I am really going to pack lightly (I say this every time!) and we are doing carry on only, so I guess I have no choice. My color scheme is black! I will be auditioning my items by wearing them to school to test for comfort and wearability. Ha!

Pretty sure this is coming because it can work well with black leggings:

Pretty sure the Wit and Wisdom pants are coming. They are so comfortable!

Excited for

I can’t wait to see my Mason! I know it’s still a long way off, but gosh will I be so excited to hug my kid!

He continues to be very communicative, and I really appreciate that!

He texts in Spanish quite a bit, too! His texts really make me laugh many times. Mason has always had a dry sense of humor and a quick wit.

Planning

I am planning out the rest of the semester for school. I keep telling my students it will be winter break before they know it. Kids don’t realize how quickly time passes and maybe it really doesn’t for them. I start every week with a “so, this is the last of our series of 5-day weeks, next week is___, and then we only have one more full week until that awkward 2 day week of Thanksgiving break”. Our school calendar is easily accessible online, but I swear they don’t pay attention. They have told me I’m the only teacher that keeps them up to date on the calendar and what to expect? Our students have 7 periods a day that meet every day of the week. We are not on a block schedule.

At home I am planning for restocking the new fridge and for the things that need to happen for the trip. I am simply adding things to my Kroger app and my Google doc as I think of them.

For my own kids who are college seniors, they are already planning out their final semester of classes. Mason had a Zoom session from England with his advisor.

So, that is what I’m up to Currently over here. What are loving, buying, preparing, excited for, or planning?

Amy

October 31, 2023

Happy Halloween! You want to see something scary today? It’s my October Spending Diary! Ha!

I decided to post this today because I have a lot of other things to post this week. I do have plans today to get a few things at Kroger for tonight – having no fridge just means more trips to the store and luckily my Kroger is a stone’s throw away, so it hasn’t been too bad.

Ok, here we go! I am writing a bit more in my spending diary this month. Maybe I am getting more into the psychology of my spending? Gosh, I have now done this for 10 months!

Our fridge went out October 15th, so we spent half the month using our cooler set up in the mudroom. I can’t believe that was literally half of my October! It was also a stressful month with dealing with Mason’s debit card situation. But, I did also have a lot of fun and I enjoyed the beautiful early fall and fall weather!

Here we go…

Oct. 1 – $0 spend Day – Way to start out the month, no? Tom and I (and Ernie!) went boating with a picnic I packed – Go Amy!

I was on Fall Break, so that means more time to spend money…uhoh!

Oct. 2 – $41 pedicure including tip, $34 bougie French lunch with friend, $59 TJ Maxx

Oct. 3 – $15 boutique hotel pool entry, $49 drinks, lunch, and tip

Oct. 4 – $0 Spend Day – lunch at friend’s house and she ordered delivery and wouldn’t let me pay

Oct. 5 – $32 Lunch including tip at BJ’s, $12 Bath and Body lotion and body wash with coupon, $0 dinner with Tom’s work friend at Bonefish – the friend insisted on paying

Oct. 6 – $34 DSW new shoes for Amy!, $26 Blaze pizza with Jack

So, as I said, it was my fall break and I let myself have the treat of going out to lunch, but man was it expensive especially when I added a glass of wine – ha! I also bought 3 tops and one pair of shoes but made $74 at the consignment shop so it wasn’t that bad! So, my fall break basically cost me $302 and I had tons of enjoyment! If you subtract $74, then it only cost me $228!

Oct. 7 – $120 Aldi, $26 Liquor Barn (Tom’s beer cheese – it is a staple in our house, along with his Ale 8 One soda)

Oct. 8 – $12 Old 502 Winery listening to music and having some wine, $8 gelato for Tom – his friend brought him back a cone from Italy and he went to get it “filled”.

Oct. 9 – $0 Spend Day – Back to school after Fall Break!

Oct. 10 – $0 Spend Day + NO PRIME DAY SPENDING!

Oct. 11 – $0 Spend Day + NO PRIME DAY SPENDING!

Oct. 12 – $0 Spend Day – did have my friend over for a French happy hour! Heather and her gold retriever Sadie came and hung out and we had truffle fries (Trader Joe’s frozen and I add truffle oil), truffle popcorn (add truffle oil to my kernels), and a French white Bordeaux. It was so fun and I already had everything!

Oct. 13 – It’s Friday and we made it! Erica and I were finally able to go to a new place at a marina for happy hour. We got a margarita, a beer, chips and chorizo queso and guac for $18 each so not bad! I came home and was full but Tom and Jack had a combo of chicken nuggets from freezer, curly fries, ham and swiss sliders, and Totino’s pizza. I guess we will get our vegetables another day! I did have a couple of fries and one slider later.

After a stretch of 4 no spend days, I am happy with that price!

Oct. 14 – Saturday means spend all the money and make up for lost time! $131 Aldi, $44 Waldo’s Chicken and Beer

Oct. 15 – $36 Aerie black tank swimsuit on clearance, fridge goes kaput and we bring out the coolers, buy ice, and save what we can save from fridge and freezer

Oct. 16 – $25 Paul’s Fruit Market – needed a wedge of parmesan cheese and left with a few more things – oops – cooking whole wheat penne pasta with bacon and brussels sprouts (managed to save these and put in cooler)

Oct. 17 – $52 Panera dinner delivery with tip – crazy expensive for what it is but I just couldn’t cook again from my coolers.

Oct. 18 – $49 Kroger pick up order to make yum yum bowls and Mexican. With only coolers, I guess I am planning for two meals at a time so yum yum for tonight (Wed.) and the Mexican for either Thursday or Friday depending on whether we go to a bluegrass concert Thursday night. If Mexican is Friday, I may grab chips and queso from a Mexican restuarant to go along with it.

Oct. 19 – $0 Spend Day

Oct. 20 – $13 happy hour with Erica but also ordered dinner to take home from Boombozz for $40 more, $50 birthday gift in same shopping center

Oct. 21 – $ 120 Amy hair including tip, $34 lunch, $70 birthday dinner

Oct. 22 – $131 Kroger – bought very little refrigerated stuff because living out of our coolers. I focused on pantry things for the week as much as I could

Oct. 23 – $0 Spend day

Oct. 24 – $18 Texas Roadhouse take out – had a $15 gift card and the 3 of us split 2 meals

Oct. 25 – Too much! $16 Mexican happy hour, $30 decided to bring Mexican takeout to Tom and Jack, $20 Kroger ice for the cooler and milk and chicken for Tom and Ernie

Oct. 26 – $0 Spend Day – had an old friend over to my patio for water and popcorn. She was on her way to an exercise class, so no wine! She now works at the elementary school behind my house so she walked over after work. So fun!

Oct. 27 – $50 Friday Happy Hour at Osteria with my friend Heather. I took a pasta dish home after she and I had two glasses of wine over a span of 3 hours! We also had frites and baguette.

Oct. 28 – $95 Trader Joe’s groceries, $15 Trader Joe’s wine, $0 library

Oct. 29 – Jack’s concert at a church and early dinner after $55

Oct. 30 – $0 Spend Day

Oct. 31 – guessing $30 grocery run

How did I do?

Clothing – $173- 3 tops – 2 from TJ Maxx – bright colors, woodland print and 1 top from brand Umgee from a local boutique, $34 black Mary Janes, $36 Aerie swimsuit online clearance, not counting my camel coatigan yet because still waiting on the size down. They sent me a second of the same size on accident so now I will have the two to compare, so that’s good. I made $74 at my consignment shop, so this would take it down to $99 – Woohoo! Fall is usually the time I shop a lot, but I am really proud of myself this month. I was thoughtful and careful about my purchases.

Beauty – $161 – one pedicure and one haircut and color

Groceries – $551 not including what I pick up today.

Meals Out/Take Out/ Happy Hour – $575 – this includes happy hours, lunches out over fall break, takeout, dinners out. Towards the end of the month I was over really over trying to cook from my cooler.

Zero Spend Days – 10 – Kind of pleased with this!

Refrigerators – $2500 – ouch!

So, are you sufficiently scared? I have learned so much through doing this each month.

Amy

Monday, October 30, 2023

It’s Monday again and time to link up with Sarah and Holly!

How was your weekend? Did you celebrate Halloween? It’s weird being in this stage where there are no kid activities and we also don’t know anyone who has a Halloween party anymore.

Let’s go back to Friday after school. Ernie and I walked in the leaves. Political signs ruin the fall views for me. Ha!

Ernie likes to do a little back scratch roll at the end of the walk and he looked so cute in the leaves!

I had happy hour plans with my friend Heather. We met at Osteria which you have heard me speak about – it’s an Italian seafood place that has a sweet happy hour deal.

We had half price wine and shared some bread, butter, and frites. Is there anything better? We had only planned to stay for an hour or two, but it turned into 3 hours chatting! We both found out our hubs were fending for themselves for dinner and the night was so lovely, the setting was so perfect, and the conversation was flowing. Her son is also in England this semester and her daughter is getting ready to do Spain in the spring!

I think we finally left around 8! Jack was out pretty late so I didn’t see him. I went to bed around 10 and was up with the birds and wanted patio time before it rained.

I spent the morning doing all the things I neglected during the week. Tom and I also worked together on a few things and he went to start unloading the boat for the winter and I went to Trader Joe’s, TJ Maxx, and the library.

I took a minute to admire the view from my bedroom window as I was getting ready:

I spent a delightful 30 minutes or so in Trader Joe’s. It was rainy and grey and not that many people were there when I arrived, but then all of a sudden it got so crowded! I was so sad to have to bypass the frozen foods since I was still freezer-less. I focused on the produce, the cheese, and a few other things.

I went home and unloaded and made myself breakfast, did a few more chores, and then went back out. Look at all the Christmas stuff! Also, the traffic and parking lot were insane! It really reminded me of shopping on a December Saturday. What is going on?

I left empty-handed and it was a good thing because when I left, the check out line was also of December proportions!

Patience is a virtue, right? I held off and waited (didn’t buy it) and this finally became available. A rainy Saturday and time to read? Yes!

An afternoon coffee was enjoyed on my covered patio…

And then, some popcorn was also enjoyed…

For dinner, we just ate a big salad and a grilled cheese.

Sunday morning, I enjoyed more of my book.

I took a shower and did my legs with this. I put on one rubber glove to do both legs. I hadn’t done this in a long time, but my legs are so, so white!

And, I removed the grey with dental floss. Most popped right off. So, that set lasted 8 days. Only one nail was starting to peel off at the edge. I am super hard on my nails, too.

I replaced it with this black:

I timed it for you, and it took 10 minutes to pick out the right size nail and to stick them on. It took another 5 minutes to cut and file them.

And, that’s about it!

What about you?

I wish I had a chance to dress up and go to a party this year, but my department at school has a group costume we are doing for Tuesday.

Thanks for being here,

Amy

Saturday, October 28, 2023

It’s a Saturday bonus post with Jennifer and Share Four Somethings!

I’m coming to you a little bit late as I waited to finish this post until this morning while sitting on my patio in the mild fall temperatures. Ahh…Saturday….I love you!

Loved…

Nature is really showing off! I hope the overnight rain didn’t speed things along too much.

Ernie and I walked after school yesterday and enjoyed more fall leaves…

We live in a neighborhood with lots of mature trees and it’s important to both Tom and I to have that. We love our trees!

Learned…

I am hoping I am on my last days living out of a cooler. Wednesday is the big day. I learned I can do this, but it’s not fun. Tom has re-stocked the ice and made things fit and we have worked together. I am tossing some things today that have hung around the cooler for too long. It’s going to be so nice to have a brand new refrigerator and I’m looking forward to organizing things! Should I buy some acrylic baskets for the fridge?

Read…

This has not been a big reading week! My book is ok and it will be abandoned today when I get to pick up these two books! I’m so excited!

Ate…

Mason just texted that he misses queso! I got to enjoy some after school this week.

Texas Roadhouse take out was another hit for us…

And, Jennifer and others recommended this and it’s really good. I have enjoying frothing some up! Also, I bought decaf coffee and thought this could be a “dessert” after dinner. I have only done one night so far, but it hit the spot.

Mason’s cooking in England!

I’m pretty impressed!

Enjoyed…

having nice nails all week long. I did this grey mani I did on Saturday afternoon that is still going strong today a whole week later!

How did I achieve it? In about 15 minutes with press on nails! These are not your mom’s press ons from the 80s.

My two favorite brands are Kiss and Impress and I have found them at Kroger, CVS, and Walgreens. Then, I placed an order off of Amazon for a dark blue and a black set. You can find them here.

I buy them in short length and then after they are on, I cut and file them to a more active length, because “short” is still kind of long for me.

Tips:

Cut your natural nail to a pretty short length. Use the alcohol wipe included to really clean the nail. Take a really long time to pick the nail size for each finger from your pack of press ons. Lay them out in order on your table. Do the thumbs last.

If I can do it, anyone can. It’s really easy. They don’t bother me, either. I think they bother me less than dip or gel did. Let me know if you give it a try. I will probably take the grey off today just because I want to try my black or blue ones and I get tired of colors quickly.

What would you share today?

Happy Saturday1

Amy

Friday, October 27, 2023

Ah, Friday! I am linking up with Andrea and Erika for Friday Favorites. I really wanted to take a day off last week and then this week, but I pushed on through. Who else thinks we should abolish the 5-day week?

The road really close to my house has gorgeous trees and with the sunlight streaming through – so beautiful!

Just since I took these photos, the leaves are falling off so I know I have to drive this way as much as possible to appreciate their beauty.

Sunday we went to Captain’s Quarters for a breast cancer fundraiser and it was gorgeous out. This is their charter yacht where you can have a catered meal and cruise:

The idea is to catapult a pumpkin to hit the targets in the river.

Big ol’ boy in a little boat – the dog, not the man.

The catapults:

A photographer took our picture:

I think it was this time last year that my facial skin became painfully dry. I took a break from the coconut oil but got it back out again. I didn’t even think of adding a little spoon, but that works great. You only need a bit and then you rub on your face and it melts your makeup off. I do this before showering. Then, your face is left very soft afterwards. Thank you to Jennifer for the spoon idea. Well, she is responsible for the entire idea. My only complaint is that I smell like baked goods for a couple of minutes before I get in the shower.

Erica made a baked eggplant caprese thing with whole wheat linguine for one of our lunches.

She also made acorn squash stuffed with a ground chicken sausage brown rice mixture.

This week I made white chicken chili and roasted taters, broccoli, and turkey sausage. We are just doing 2 and 2 this week and doing our own leftovers for the fifth day.

I am still living out of my Yeti cooler without a fridge. It is supposed to be here Wednesday. Because of this I cashed in a Texas Roadhouse gift card and split two meals between Tom, Jack, and I and it hit the spot.

Did you see that Kendra Scott has a line for Target?

Erica can’t do happy hour this Friday so she suggested a crazy Wednesday one at the Mexican place right by school. This margarita was big enough to swim in.

And, a bit of queso helps, too…

We had important school stuff to discuss complain about.

So, what were your favorites this week? I will be here tomorrow for Share Four Somethings!

Amy

Thursday, October 26, 2023

It’s Thursday again and time to link up with Kellyann and Jill!

This is actually from last Wednesday. I think I had so many outfits for last Thursday’s post that I cut if off early.

I am wearing my Wit and Wisdom Itty Bitty bootcut jeans, my gold clogs, and a Target blouse from last year or the year before.

I threw on the coatigan and wore it to school but I kept the tags on. I am still debating if I should try the size down. What do you all think? I need room for sweaters but I want to make sure it doesn’t look too big and frumpy. It is incredibly warm. I was sweating!

Tom, quit getting in my photos! This was Thursday and I wore dark jeans that look black from Old Navy last year, a black t-shirt, and my beloved star cardigan. I love the weight of this cardi. While I love the pleather/velvet headband that was a gift, I think it’s too high/big and I feel weird. I need to find a black headband replacement.

And, Friday I wore Target jeans and one of my new TJ tops. You will be happy to know that I did put on shoes! I think I wore my white Reeboks.

Saturday night for dinner I wore my black pencil skirt. black cowboyish suede boots from Target a few years ago, my hot pink cougar top, and then I threw on a light vest to add a third piece and give it a bit more structure. I will be wearing this outfit again! I was very comfortable!

This is what I wore Sunday to a breast cancer event. I bought this sweater from an online boutique a few years ago.

Someone was walking around with an ipad offering photos and this was what she snapped of Tom and I:

Tom has no pink. Many days I accuse him of wearing “50 shades of blue”.

Monday for work, I wore my black Umgee pants and a really old Umgee sweater with my really, really old Tory Burch flats.

And, Tuesday, I wore this:

It was going to be in the 70s after school so I wore a short sleeve top in fall colors with this sweater, Target jeans, and old MIA clogs.

I am intrigued by these Bobs Skechers that look like Sorels but have a lower heel. I have loved the Sorel boots but don’t think I can handle such a heel, you know? I ordered them in black from Amazon and I will report back!

Oh, my nails are still going strong 5 days later – Kiss press ons and I don’t know the name but I picked them up at a drugstore.

Each nail has a peeling that you remove and stick and hold on your nail. Then you are able to cut and file without them coming off. I have ordered a couple more sets to have on hand.

What have you been wearing lately?

Amy

Wednesday, October 25, 2023

Now is the time for those holiday conversations. In fact, it’s probably past the time!

One of the best books I ever read and that greatly impacted me when I was a mom with young kids was Unplug the Christmas Machine. I highly recommend reading this book!

We are not buying gifts this year due to our trip. Jack suggested we each look for a small gift for each other on the trip and I thought that was really sweet.

But first…

Let’s start with Thanksgiving…

Have you talked about who is hosting? If it is you, delegate. Even if it is only family, people do want to contribute. Maybe they suck at cooking? They can bring dessert paper plates, napkins, Solo cups, rolls, drinks. If you are ever assigned these items, that means you can’t cook. Just kidding!

Set a budget. What is most important? If you know the family really cares about a certain dish, then that is a non-negotiable. But, if they really aren’t big into the turkey, you can outsource that or just do a breast or something easier. If they don’t really care about homemade cranberry sauce and they like seeing the can indentations on the stuff that slides off a plate, then you can just do that.

If you are the host, give people an arrival window and a time for the meal. If you know the people tend to be late, then tell them earlier! We all have some of those, right?

I think a theme would be so fun. What about “70s Thanksgiving” – ha! What about everyone wear something orange? That could make for funny photos.

If the weather is nice, encourage people to hang out outside. Bring a tv outside so people can watch football and stay out of your hair.

So, after Thanksgiving, we have about a month until Christmas.

Most of the Thanksgiving stuff applies for Christmas, but I think you can be more flexible with your meal. I like the idea of appetizers only for Christmas Eve and that can include a ham and buns for people to make a sandwich. I like a brunch on Christmas Day. Last year, we did a pasta bar the day after Christmas at my mom’s and it was a big hit! I did a “butter board” for the bread one person brought, each of us brought a pasta bake, my mom did spaghetti sauce and spaghetti, and one person brought the salad. It was a hit with the kids that outnumber the adults, too!

Now remember for both Thanksgiving and Christmas to use grocery pick up or delivery services. This is the time! It will save you so much time and energy!

When you add up decor, wrapping supplies, food, the gifts it can be staggering. With the increase in food, gas, and just the cost of living in general, you may have to/want to scale back your budget. And, what about if you have family members who are struggling? It might be better for you to scale back just so they don’t feel badly.

In my family, we only did grandparents and kid gifts starting many years ago. As the family grew, it just wasn’t possible to do gifts for all. On my side of the family, we have the cousins draw other cousins’ names out of a hat and then they are supposed to observe them on Thanksgiving and think about a gift they might like. We have done the same for adults some years, but in recent years, we have done “white elephant” gifts for the adults. We bring something from our house that we don’t want that is wrapped and then play “Dirty Santa”. The kids have sat around and watched and we have had some laughs. This has been fun in the years since we lost my Dad because he was such a big part of the holidays. I think we all needed a new tradition and something to laugh about. My sister also wrote down all my Dad’s quotes and we enjoyed those.

If you have lost a loved one, think about changing up the holiday in some way. I think it really helps. Gosh, I still can’t believe my Dad is not with us and that this year will mark 5 years. Depending on how long it’s been, your family might appreciate a tribute to the person or their photo at the table. Everyone is different and I think you just have to gauge the comfort level.

I love the “something you want, something you need, something to wear, and something to read” and tried to do that for my kids. We also are big stocking people and I may take our stockings/or use socks on our trip. They would definitely laugh if I did that.

I also liked to do themes and some years my grandparent gifts would be cozy stuff for winter, personalized stationery, or an experience.

I am not your girl for tons of Amazon links, but I hope I have given you something to think about and a few ideas.

Leave your best tips and ideas in the comments and I might re-visit this topic and publish them.

Amy

Tuesday, October 24, 2023

I have mentioned that I have had an adjustment to my schedule changing this year. I was 7:30-2:30 for 23 years! That’s a long time, right? Now, our official workday is 8:30-3:30. I guess I am getting used to it, but I wouldn’t say I like it. You wouldn’t think an hour would make much difference, but it does. I can’t get out of the parking lot until at least 30 minutes after school lets out and then traffic seems crazy and it really doesn’t seem worth it to run any errands. So, work and home. Rinse and repeat. I guess I like having a more relaxed morning, but I get up at the same time basically.

5:30 – go to gym on gym days – Just trying to get this started up again. I was sick, then had fall break, and just haven’t been motivated – to keep it real. I know I need this in my life because I just haven’t felt great. It’s a cycle, right? You are too tired to go, but going would give you more energy.

6:15 – coffee, devotional, write my next day blog, read other blogs, pack lunch, unload dishwasher usually.

I timed myself unloading!

I used to hate unloading, but then I timed myself and couldn’t believe how quick I could do it. I usually listen to a podcast and that makes it better, too.

7:30- get ready for school – I take a quick shower (no hair washing – I do that every other evening), have a 12 minute hair and makeup routine, get dressed. I leave the house at 8 or a little bit before depending on when I started getting ready, unless I have a morning meeting, which is only a couple of times a month, if that.

Makeup first – I really don’t do much anymore on school days.

Not sure why it took me 7 minutes, but I timed it.

Then, hair was done, too.

And, hair only took me this long:

I don’t really lay out my clothes, but I usually have an idea of what I want to wear, so it doesn’t take that long. I leave for school and arrive somewhere between 7:45 and 8 I like to be on the earlier side so I don’t have to wait to park. It just makes everything easier to arrive on the earlier side.

8-8:40 – prep any last minute things for the day and eat the breakfast I brought.

8:40-3:20 – teach, teach, teach with a 50 minute planning period thrown in and a 20 minute lunch thrown in.

3:20 – done for the day, get stuff ready for next day

3:45 – head home unless I have a meeting

4-5:15 – read on patio, piddle around house, do laundry, clean, etc.

5:15 – start dinner after Tom calls to tell me he is on way home. Tom calls like clockwork everyday to tell me he is on his way home. I think he is gauging my mood so he knows what he is coming home to!

5:45ish – Tom gets home – if dinner is done I walk with Tom and Ernie

6ish – eat dinner and hang out in the living room with Tom

7:30ish – take shower, put on pjs, watch a show on my own

9- take my Ashwaganda gummy and head to bed

So boring! I literally do this Monday-Friday but on Friday I do go out for a happy hour usually.

Any thoughts? I love hearing others’ routines!

Amy

Monday, October 23, 2023

Well, you all…it’s Monday again! Why does this keep happening? I am happy to link up with Holly and Sarah for Hello Monday where we share what we did over the weekend.

Also, today makes one week and one day that I have not had a refrigerator! It’s not fun anymore and I no longer have a good attitude. Our new one is supposed to arrive on my birthday, so Tom knows what he is getting me. An added gift to me will be the job of restocking all the stuff.

Let’ s go back to Thursday night and my field hockey girls wanted me to see their region game. The weather was lovely as you can see by my photo.

Seriously, half of these are my girls! And, I taught 3 of their coaches! They won!

Friday after school Erica and I went to Boombozz.

I had an apple cider sangria and it was delish!

We had pretzel sticks and queso and we were starving because Erica’s lunch was so light. We had fish, corn on the cob, and green beans. We were like, “give us some carbs!”

I ordered salad and pizza to take home and then went walked over to buy a birthday gift I needed for the next night. Who is working smarter and not harder? This girl!

Jack, Tom, and I ate our pizza and salad and Jack and I watched an Outlander. We can’t get Tom on board!

Saturday morning I went out in the cool crisp morning for my coffee.

Then, it was hair day! I got new highlights and about an inch and a half off the bottom.

We had been trying for weeks to take our friends out on the boat and we finally arranged it for Saturday at noon. It was heading towards 70 degrees so it felt great with a sweater on. We stopped for lunch and this may have been our last ride of the season. I told Tom not to commit to winterizing quite yet!

We got home around 3 and I did these press ons that I have had for a while.

Then, it was time to celebrate my friend at dinner at Malone’s – a steakhouse. I love steakhouse sides so I ordered a potato and lobster mac and cheese for my meal and had some of the really good salad for the table.

Their chocolate cake is a show stopper! This provided over 6 slices!

We even got a photo with the guys. Why do Tom and I look so short? We also look like we were photoshopped in! But, Tom is smiling! He had his favorite salmon salad so maybe that’s why?

Jack had been at a friend’s house and got home a bit after us. He and I watched Outlander and I couldn’t keep my eyes open toward the end.

I was up bright and early Sunday morning to work on my to do list, my grocery list, and work on trip planning. I booked our lodging in two of our cities (the ones we are staying in the longest and the one where we will be from the 24th-27th) a few weeks ago and made reservations for a tour and three meals, and things are coming together. We are considering not going to London. If we do go it would be after Christmas and for only about 36 hours and one night’s stay. I am inclined to still do London, but Tom proposed just picking another place closer to the previous destination. Sorry I am being vague, but I am not sure if I want to share my itinerary before the trip. I will definitely share it after!

Pretty soon I will work on the other nights’ lodging and the train tickets. The train doesn’t run on Christmas or the day after which is Boxing Day so we knew we had to stay put from the 24th until the 27th.

I also have a Google Doc because of course I do! I enjoy the planning process and researching different locales, but I really have little to no time to work on it during the school week!

So, that’s about it for my weekend!

What about yours?

Amy