Coffee and Cocktails at the Casa

Friday, July 28, 2023

Friday – why you gotta come so fast? I am linking up with Andrea and Erika to share some faves from the week, though!

Monday I was downright mad to see rain. The forecast said sunny skies! It was not in my plan! My kids have been playing basketball in the school yard behind our house this summer and the pink pool was for Ernie and he showed no interest!

Not having the rain face:

But, this smile means that the rain went away and the sun came out for my Omni Hotel pool day! This is through a website called Resort Pass and there is only one hotel who does this in Louisville. You might want to check for your city or a city near you. You pay a fee to use the pool from 9 a.m. – 10 p.m. This pool is considered “rooftop” but it really is only on the 3rd floor. On the ground floor, they have a Con Huevos, Heine Bros. Coffee, market, bar with pizza oven, hot dog stand, and more. We checked it out a bit.

Ahhhh the pool…

We lasted from about 10 until about 5 and had a lovely and very relaxing day. We had some hummus for a snack and then ordered lunch poolside. We might have had a couple of cocktails, too. I hardly took any photos. Beth was my partner in crime for the second year in a row. This was a much-anticipated day and definitely a favorite of the whole summer!

Even though I’m not quite ready for school to start, I really miss my students. I posted this on Instagram and got some sweet messages.

Tuesday was Burrito Bowl night and it was really good due to…

this magical sauce! You only need a little, but it’s Amy approved. This is one reason why it’s good to go in the store from time to time (rather than just do pick up) – there are always need products that help me get meal ideas. This time I specifically looked for this on the app because Costco does not have the avocado crema sauce anymore! I am so upset!

Tom had a real highlight of his week when he was asked to go “wake surfing”. This requires a special wake boat and he’s pretty good. I got this video sent to me, but I didn’t get to go.

Not bad for a person eligible to be a member of AARP?

Look at my little cuties from a Facebook memory:

This was on Assateague Island, I believe. They used to get so tan. They had dark hair for a bit, then really blonde hair, then sandy brown hair, and now it is dark brown again. I need to show more photos of them as little blondies. My sisters said it was the color I paid good money to have.

I don’t know if this is a favorite, but maybe this means I will be awake for more sunsets? Ha!

Ok, forgive this photo, but the Wit and Wisdom dress pants are really awesome. I ordered my normal jean size and they pull on but do have two hook and eye closures and a button. They do have pockets. I did not get the petite and I am 5’4. I feel like I can wear a flat or a heel with this length. Sheaffer has been singing their praises and I finally did it. The sizes are limited, but $50 for a good and comfortable pair of dress pants is really good. I realize this is a really bad photo, but I will try to style them soon!

I have actually been going through my fall and winter clothing for a couple of reasons. My favorite consignment store is starting to take fall and winter clothes next week and I have an appointment. I am being ruthless and going through each and every thing to see if it still fits my style, fits my body, and if I wore it last season. This is really helping me to not be emotional about it.

The second reason is that I am working on a blog post of my favorite clothing items for all the seasons. I plan to show pictures, talk about the most common retailers, break down the colors of my favorite pieces, etc.

My school bestie Erica has been a busy gal this summer. I had not seen her since the end of June. She had an opportunity to spend 12 days in Egypt after leading a trip to Greece and Italy for adults. She is a traveler and is able to do this more easily as she and her husband have decided not to have children.

We met at a new place called The Goose that used to be Goose Creek Diner and has changed locations.

I had a Rhine Guist Glow from draft. I love this so much! It’s even a pretty color! It is considered a fruited sour beer.

We shared mozzarella rounds and they were the best mozzarella “sticks” I have ever had.

I had fish and mashed potatoes and the tomato slices were perfection. They were perfectly ripe!

Isn’t this pretty? Erica brought me this bracelet from Egypt.

Mason and I had the opportunity to visit a coffee shop yesterday and we found a gem. Haraz is a Yemen style coffee shop with amazing European style pastries. I should have taken more pictures.

I also made Mason a naan pizza for lunch and we are loving this option around here.

This week held lots of good stuff! I don’t have a photo, but I donated 8 bags of stuff that we didn’t need. It feels so good to purge. Talk about a way to keep you from shopping for more stuff you don’t need – you look at this stuff and just think that enough is enough!

What was the highlight of your week?

Amy

Thursday, July 27, 2023

I thought I would recap my Summer List to see how I’ve done and maybe give myself a “grade”! My original goals will be in bold type and my comments will be in regular font.

Read! – I think I am on my 10th book.

This was one of my favorites:

You can see my other books here!

Catch up on movies and tv – Yes, I would say I have watched a good deal, but I rarely have turned on the t.v. during the day. I usually don’t watch anything until after dinner. It’s funny because I keep a very similar routine in the summer as I do in the school year, just with times slightly later.

I have also gone to three movies at the theater! I saw Asteroid City, No Hard Feelings, and Barbie.

I got a trial of HBO for the Sex and the City reboot and I also enjoyed The Sex Lives of College Girls – not as bad as it sounds!

Go to the movies with the whole family – Saw Asteroid City

3 pm coffee or iced coffee – I have only done this a couple of times. It just hasn’t appealed to me and I am trying to get the rest of my water in, I think!

Start a stretching routine – I did not do this. I am still not flexible! Ha!

Move body each day/start a good exercise routine again – I have gone to the gym on average 2 -3 times a week, but I would not say that my heart is fully in it.

Try some new recipes – Yes! I especially enjoyed potatoes au gratin.

Celebrate Tom’s birthday – Yes! We had a nice family time!

Celebrate Father’s Day – We made a nice meal and gave Tom movie tickets!

Take a wine walk with wine in my Stanley Cup. This will also serve as a weighted walk since the Stanley is so heavy – Ha! – I did not do this. It’s just so heavy. I decided I don’t really like my Stanley. I am a Tervis Tumbler and a Yeti girl. Don’t fix what ain’t broken.

Buy a bag of Chick Fil A ice to keep in freezer – Yes, but not that impressed. I did it, though!

Shop at Asian Market and see if I can try something new to me – I did go, but left empty handed. It was very interesting, though!

Shop at Mexican market and see if I can try something new to me – I did and I left with a few things. I enjoyed buying some spices there.

Eat more fish/cook more fish/visit a local specialty fish market called Lori’s Fish Market – I ate fish a few times, but did not go to the market yet.

Go to farmers market – I went twice!

The Asian Market:

Go to adult pool – One of our pools has an 18 and over pool. It’s nothing inappropriate! – I went once with Beth.

Go to Omni rooftop pool – I just went this past Monday with Beth! Apparently Beth is my pool friend.

Enjoy the boat with just Tom – Yes! We have gone out several times with just the two of us.

Sunset on boat – we don’t often go out in the evening but everytime we do I wish we did it more – Once at the beginning of summer we were out until sunset, I think.

Invite different friends on the boat – Yes, we have gone out with friends more than with just the two of us.

Walk to breakfast with Tom – we have at least 3 breakfast places in walking distance – Tom is just so busy on weekend mornings! I can try to push this to the fall!

Make strawberry freezer jam – I did one batch.

Make pickles – Yes! I just plan to buy them now – they weren’t that good!

Use up gift cards from students – I used my Target and Taco Bell!

Declutter and prepare a nice area for houseguests at the end of August – I have started in the bedroom where they will be staying. I cleaned out an entire closet!

Go through my list of spaces and totally clean things out. I have already done my silverware holders. I need to do spices and things like that. – I have done spices, one closet, and silverware, and have plans to do more.

Try to play pickleball – No – the two friends who play are very busy. The one goes to play at 8:30 usually and that’s just too late for this gal.

Go to festivals and music events – I went to the Greek Festival and this outdoor concert.

Go hear live music – I only went to the concert in the above photo.

Have a picnic – maybe at the Sunday afternoon farmer’s market in the park nearby – I have not done this yet. Do you count a picnic on the boat?

Spend time in my hometown and hopefully match schedules up with all the busy teen nieces and nephews – I got to see all of them and look at their press on nails:

Go to my hometown by boat– We usually do this in September when it cools off a bit.

Celebrate our 23rd anniversary – Tom and I went to River House!

Take a short overnight trip with Tom – No – we talked about it, but had a lot of expenses come up and we are saving for something.

Try new restaurants with Tom, friends, and our kids – We have mostly been to old favorites.

A wonderful happy hour lemondrop martini with Elizabeth:

Hotel Genevieve with Heather:

Spend as much quality time as possible with my kids as this could be the last summer they live here – cue the tears – Yes! In fact, I have planned many of my days around when they would be home and waited until they were busy to do my things.

Go hiking – No I have not done this yet.

I had 38 things on my list and I did 29 of them according to my count. I guess I would give myself a B, maybe?

How about you? Did you have a list? How did you do?

Amy

Wednesday, July 26, 2023

Well, no offense to my dear readers, but I am not especially excited to be marking the last Wednesday in July!

I will set up my classroom one day next week (we can pick any day and get paid so I will probably pick a rainy day – ha!) Then, I am back full time Monday, August 7th. We have two days for teachers and then the kids come August 9th. So.darn.early. In fact, I can’t remember starting this early in August. So, for the rest of my “free days” I am going to try to summer the heck out of them along with checking off some of my to do list items. One of those is to stock up on easy meal ingredients from Costco!

I am linking up with Sheaffer and Shay to fill in most of their prompts!

What We’re Eating…

Well, I kind of lost my dinner making mojo. Here is what is on my list for the week, though, in case it gives you any ideas: BLTs, burrito bowls, bacon tomato pasta, and still going to Slender Kitchen for inspo. I feel like I’m in a rut and just making the same things over and over.

For breakfast, I love AmyLu chicken sausage, veggies, and egg for breakfast and this really keeps me filled up for a long time.

I’ve been playing with ham, cheese, and fig jam on Crescent Roll dough and puff pastry and in grilled cheese form.

And, such an easy recipe – from our French dinner – Take one thin chicken breast and spread Boursin cheese on it and roll it in bacon and bake at 350 for about 20 minutes.

Anyway, I’m trying to use the things we have and make some decent meals for four most nights. I am doing really well with food waste (reducing it!) so that is great! My friend thinks food prices are going down, but I disagree. What do you all think where you live?

What I’m Loving…

Of course, I love having my kids home from college!

I love all the summer things!

I love this purse strap and put it on my cream purse and like how it looks. I am trying to replace my cognac bag with possible gold but I want light gold.

I bought some small hoops that are really nice!

I had my now annual Omni Hotel rooftop pool day Monday!

Outdoor concerts!

What I’ve been up to…

Summering! Relaxing! Reading!

I froze my Sun Tan City membership and this is me doing my own legs with a mousse self-tanner I had – not too bad!

What I’m Dreading…

This is me last year during the two teacher days where we have all.the.meetings, all the training videos, and all the things that we really need to do to get ready for kids. I found this in my camera roll – I think I sent it to Tom!

What I’m Working on…

Cleaning and purging!

What I’m Excited about…

We are not going to Germany, but Germany is coming to us! Tom’s German cousins are coming next month.

What I’m Watching/Reading…

I am reading this – I’ve just barely started. I am watching Bravo Real Housewives of NY and Below Deck the most!

What I’m listening to…

Right now, Mason’s clothes in the dryer. But, I absolutely love hearing my kids laugh together. They have the most special bond. They have never been apart for 3 months before. Mason will be in England and Jack will be on campus and I do worry. I hope they can regularly Facetime and stay connected with technology. I know my other twin moms out there get it.

What I’m Wearing…

I wore my fancy muumuu to the rooftop pool!

I wore my Old Navy dress to the art museum on Sunday!

Lots of pink!

My Barbie tee!

What I’m doing this Weekend…

Come back for Hello Monday!

What I’m looking forward to next month…

Meeting my new students, German visitors, and the start of Jack’s senior year (Mason has an extra month of summer!)!

What’s up with you on this Wednesday?

Amy

Tuesday, July 25, 2023

My sister had on a cute top and I complimented it, to which she replied “Shein”. Of course, I have heard of the brand and I have seen their ads. My sister told me to look to the “Curvy” part of their website and order up at least one size.

The prices are scary cheap. I read about the company after the order came and honestly, I probably won’t order anything else because of what I read. But, it got me to thinking – how different is this from other fast fashion I have purchased in the past? Does the fact that I have so much stuff in my closet from consignment help to offset some of the downsides of purchasing fast fashion?

Here is what I picked:

The three shirts are polyester and honestly feel not too different from the blouses that are $60 and up in my local boutiques. I have not worn anything out yet just because it just came and I really haven’t gotten dressed much. The fabric feels lightweight and cool to the touch but it also feels kind of flimsy. I steamed everything because it arrived very wrinkly.

I also bought these earrings:

I have worn the ones on the left 3 times already!

I also bought this headband:

Have you ever shopped Shein? The order took a little over a week to arrive. It was slightly quicker than my sister said it would be.

I want to buy less and more quality stuff and this definitely does not fit with that goal, but now I have it and I hope that I wear it and then pass it along to consignment when I finish with it.

Amy

Monday, June 24, 2023

Hello to all and happy Monday! I am linking up with Sarah and Holly to recap the weekend. Did you have a good one? Boy, the weekends are ticking off on the ol’ calendar quite quickly.

I went to Barbie last Thursday night to start off the weekend and it was silly and cheesy which is what I thought it would be. I have a few more thoughts but don’t want to give anything away if you haven’t seen it yet.

Also, I wore my Barbie shirt a few times this weekend and got so many comments. I got it from Amazon for $13.

I used my new TJ Maxx OPI to do a Barbie mani to match my Barbi pedi. I really do love hot pink, so this was no sacrifice!

This book took me a sweet forever to finish, but I did. It could have probably had 100 pages cut out and still had the same ending. I really did like how it all wrapped up, but lawd.

Then, I started and finished this so quickly (in 24 hours basically) and it was just the type of summer chick lit I needed. It is rated R and there were things/details that bugged me, but I forgave it after Someone Else’s Shoes.

Don’t you love when your mani matches your book cover. Just me? Ha!

Friday dawned bright and sunny and I had a beautiful leisurely morning (after the gym) and then I took myself on a window-shopping spree. I didn’t buy a thing but I browsed in 5 stores and enjoyed just being out with myself.

This shop had just moved into a larger space and I hadn’t seen it yet.

My sister texted me that she had ordered a Barbie drink at a restaurant, so I tried my own version with what I had on hand and it turned out great!

I did rum, Crystal Light lemonade powder, pineapple juice, hibiscus syrup, and a coconut La Croix. Also, I used my Chick Fil A ice!

Friday night, Tom wanted to go to Costco so that was our date night – ha!

But, after a week of cooking a lot, he took me to one of our favorite Mexican restaurants near Costco.

I got a skinny margarita with a bit of strawberry puree that the waiter suggested and it was so good!

We split my favorite dish – the fajita bowl.

After we had been there about 15 minutes, they sat our friends next to us! We invited them to join us and it turned out quite nice!

It’s almost time for me to be “Señora” again so I used my mug Saturday morning.

I had another leisurely morning on the patio before it got too hot. There’s a theme here. Lots of outdoor time and reading is my self-care.

I finally used this mix I had gotten weeks ago. Can Krusteaz ever go wrong? Other than the 2 hours and 40 minute wait time at two different stages, this turned out so awesome and really sour if you like sourdough bread. It’s supposed to be one of the best breads for you, I think. It’s not “ready in about an hour” so they do lie on the box.

I have to show you something really cute. Tom goes on a 32 mile bike ride most Saturday mornings. I track him on my phone to make sure he is ok and to see how he is doing. It takes him about 2 hours and 15 minutes. So, at about the end of that time, I tell Ernie we are going to go wait for “Daddy” and we go out front. Doesn’t it look like he’s smiling? This dog is obsessed with Tom. It’s so funny, too, because Tom took the loss of our first dog so hard and didn’t want to adopt a new puppy. He really didn’t spend as much time with Ernie as I did during the first 6 months we had him, but then something happened and Tom fell hard and Ernie harder.

I try to remind Ernie that I’m the one who boils his chicken multiple times a week!

I didn’t leave the house Saturday until it was time to meet our friends at the outdoor concert. I don’t love this about myself, but it’s almost like I can only do one activity a day. If I have an evening activity, I stay home in preparation. Are you like this?

My friend had staked out a bit of shade and it felt so nice. We got food truck food and enjoyed some live music.

Sunday morning I started this:

Then, I ordered the groceries for the week and wrote down my meal plan and did lots of hardcore cleaning.

Here come the 90s! Maybe it won’t be so bad with clouds involved. Do you see something missing from my forecast? Rain! We shall see!

I really love where I live. It’s gorgeous in the fall and spring and our winters aren’t too bad. Summer is really quite pleasant for the most part, too. I feel so bad for some people who have the unbearable sticky heat for the majority of summer.

Tell me the highlight of your weekend!

Amy

Friday, July 21, 2023

It’s Friday again (eek!) and that means time to link up with Andrea and Erika for our weekly favorites.

As usual, I have a random set of photos from the old camera roll – lol!

Also, if you missed my Wine Down Wednesday post and you are a wine drinker, go back and check the comments for some suggestions and thank you for helping a girl out with her wineducation!

I think we are into summer enough that we are taking some things for granted, so check out my things that are making me happy post and maybe consider doing a list of your own.

I plan to do a Summer List report card next week to let you know how I have done.

Ok, on to my favorites…

I love egg salad! I used 3 eggs but only one of the egg yolks to make a single serving for my boat lunch Sunday. Do you like egg salad? I kind of forget about it. Growing up, we only had it at Easter and the egg salad was colorful because of the egg dye getting to the whites a bit. Also, my mom didn’t make deviled eggs. We only had those at church potlucks! Gosh, that is some good food. We often stayed after church for those. Did you?

We had Slender Kitchen’s beef bulgogi one night this week – it has become a family fave. I cooked the carrot and cucumber this time and I will go back to quick pickling them next time. I didn’t like this as much.

I picked up two good books from the library and sadly, had to make some hard decisions with books I had. I returned the majority of my stack that I wasn’t as excited about. Lol! So many books and so little time.

I really have not been shopping at Target as much in the last few years. I was just dropping so much money on impulse purchases and kind of using Target as my stress reliever. I did have a mission – to buy some Lume deodorant and a new lunch bag that Jack can use for his lunches at his opera program and that I could use when school starts. I avoided this section but took a funny picture to put on IG for my students, mostly.

I finally tried the Chick Fil A cobb salad with the ranch and buffalo mixed and I can attest that it is “fire” as the kids say. I also like my lettuce very chopped so I did that and mixed it all really well in a big mixing bowl with tongs. I will be doing this again.

I got a bag of ice! Will I do it again? – probably not. But, it was on my Summer List. I realized that I don’t mind my standard icemaker ice. Lol! And, never would I buy a countertop maker. I don’t care THAT much about the shape. I do like my big blocky ice cube tray for bourbon, though.

I used it in my iced coffee along with my water. I found it melted super fast.

It seems like all bloggers talk about the weather at some point, right? We have had a weird summer. I can’t remember having this much rain. Remember that we had a really severe storm at the end of June and lost power for 36 hours. There was some major damage in my area. Anyway, we have had so many days that started out rainy and then turned ok and lots of incorrect forecasts, too. So, it’s been hard to make plans. My friend Beth and I tried to go to the pool last week and then again this week. We decided to just go even though the day was iffy. We lucked out and got two hours of mostly sun but then the skies looked like this and we had to get out due to thunder, so we just ended our pool time. Neither of us belong to a pool so we go to one where you can pay as you go but the price has gone up to $16! It does have the adult pool and you can use your floats in it.

We really enjoyed my two “saddle” floats from last year.

I came home from the pool and Mason was off work and wanted to cook dinner with me. Um, ok! We did the whole shebang of looking for recipes, shopping at Kroger together, and then cooking. Darn if it didn’t take us about 3 hours, but we did it. He settled on a French dinner!

We made:

Bacon wrapped Boursin chicken:

Potatoes au gratin:

Haricot verts (French green beans):

Baguette:

Chocolate souffle that fell but still tasted great:

It was so much fun and we even played French music while cooking. We have decided we will definitely make it again!

I had a happy hour with my friend Victoria at Caffe Classico – one of my faves.

We had some wine and some Belgian frites with dipping sauces and I had a side salad.

I made a dinner with crescent rolls, fig jam, ham, and Havarti cheese. I rolled out two cans of dough. On the bottom one, I spread fig jam, then added the ham and Havarti. I covered it with the second can of dough and then put a mix of butter, Worcestershire, and brown sugar, and then added everything but the bagel seasoning. I baked at 375 for about 15 minutes I think – until it was golden. This was delish and I got some compliments. I also have some puff pastry in the freezer and I bet that would be next level.

This book is taking me forever but I do like it!

Hoping to finish it this weekend!

What were your favorites this week?

I hope you had many!

Amy

Thursday, July 20, 2023

Well, I bought one thing from the Nordstrom sale – I have thought about buying these Wisdom black pants for years and I really do need a nice pair of work pants. I have so many blouses and not many nice pants in solid colors. Did you purchase anything? I will let you know when these arrive if I keep them!

I am linking up with Kellyann and Jill today!

I haven’t done Fashion Files in a few weeks and seriously, it has taken me this long to have some outfit photos to do a post! I have been living in my lounge clothes/jammies, exercise clothes (love my two pairs of black biker shorts with pockets!), and bathing suits and coverups.

I wore this to go out to eat with Tom a couple of Saturdays ago. The skirt is from TJ Maxx, the top is J.Crew new with tags from consignment, and the sandals are Target. Yes, I did make a good purchase with these. I would say they are the most worn sandal of Summer 2023.

I wore this to the social security office and it was my goal to put on jeans to “keep it real”. Well, it was kept real. The jeans are Target Universal Thread, the top is J.Crew Factory that I got for $13 this summer. And, the Target sandals – of course!

I need to replace this brown purse with another purse that I can use all my straps with. I am thinking gold. I just haven’t found what I want at the price I want yet.

For our anniversary, I gave Tom a choice of 3 dresses and he said the floral so this is what I wore. The dress is from Walmart and the sandals are a few years old – Coconuts by Matisse. What is going on with my mirror?

And, let me introduce you to my new blouse. I purchased this from a local boutique but the brand is Umgee. It looks like a pajama top, but I love it. I wore it to run errands to try it out. I wore my cut offs and my gold lace up Marc Fisher sandals that are a few years old. I can picture this with black pants in the fall and winter and I think it will be a fun blouse to have. The print is jaguars or cougars or some kind of wild cat. MEOW!

Look how cute my friend Beth looked at the pool. She said this is a dress she has been using as a cover up:

And, that’s all I’ve got for you today! It still isn’t too terribly hot here. We have had a few unbearably hot days, but we aren’t to the sticky heat yet. It’s coming. That is the point of the year when you can hardly even put on real clothes and right when we go back to school – ha!

What have you been wearing lately?

Amy

Wednesday, July 19, 2023

Are you a wine person? As you can tell by my blog name, I would have considered myself a cocktail person until this summer. I do love red wine, but that is mostly in the cooler months. It just doesn’t seem as summer or warm weather appropriate to me!

Well, I have been embracing the ease and the deliciousness of wine this summer.

I have to tell you that I pretty much stopped drinking all whites except for champagne or prosecco because I thought they were all headache inducing.

I have found that really isn’t the case. I have been picking slightly more expensive wines and I really think that makes all the difference. That and that I am not picking the super sweet wines.

Here are my favorites:

Red blends

Pinot Noir

Prosecco – My favorite brand is La Marca

Pinot Grigio

Chablis – new and very surprising to me!

Rosé

Here are the places I normally shop for my wine:

Trader Joe’s – easy to navigate and the employees are so helpful

Costco – my friend recently told me to shop their wine selection and I have been pleasantly surprised!

Kroger – I know the wine shop manager and he is very helpful, plus I get fuel points with my Kroger card

Total Wine – So big that it can be overwhelming!

I am also trying to take pictures so that I remember what I like.

This was really good and recommended by the Kroger wine shop manager:

This is the famous Cheese Gal on IG recommendation and I love it – from Trader Joe’s:

This is great for a mimosa because of the screwtop from Trader Joe’s:

And, don’t sleep on the now $5 Buck Chuck ($4.99) – I thought this pinot grigio was really decent!

I think I like all Apothic wines. This one is so good and summery! I am currently saving this for the right moment!

This was really too sweet for me, but if that is what you are looking for you might enjoy it. It’s very inexpensive, too:

I used to find it very hard to spend more than $10 a bottle, but now I am up to $16! Ha!

Are you a wine drinker? Do you have any favorite brands? I’m here for the recs!

Amy

Tuesday, July 18, 2023

Summer isn’t perfect, but it sure is filling my cup! I want my summers to feel different than the school year, so I have been taking steps to eek all the summer out of my summer. I create a list of summer goals that are fun (for me!) and I have a list of just things that are easier to get done in the summer – dentist appointments, social security office for a new card, car registration at the county clerk – definitely not fun, but it you are a teacher you understand!

I thought today I would put together a list of things making me happy….

I would love to hear yours, as well!

Summer mornings – I am getting up, going to the gym, and then the morning is mine for my devotional, candle, coffee, blog reading, writing, and commenting, and then I usually do some tidying and get dressed for whatever I am doing that day. I just love a slow morning! I also love being able to drink my coffee outside!

That my mom is doing so well and for modern medicine. My mom is seriously back to normal and crafting it up, planning an art show in a gallery, and getting ready for houseguests and another small trip!

Seeing my kids’ car in my driveway – IYKYK, moms of older kids!

My iced coffee in my iced coffee cups!

A chilled glass of white wine or rosé – wine post coming tomorrow!

A salad that I have made with homemade dressing – bonus points if it has hard boiled egg and avocado!

Fun summery clothing – tomato girl summer, too!

Seeing friends more often!

Reading!

Here are the books I have read so far this summer:

8 books don’t seem like as many as normal, but I do read all year, too.

Going to the movies!

We have seen Asteroid City as a family:

Tom and I saw No Hard Feelings:

And, I have tickets for Barbie this week!

What is making you happy this summer?

Amy

Monday, July 17, 2023

How was your weekend? Mine was good! I am linking up with Sarah and Holly to share a bit!

Friday I took a trip to Trader Joe’s to look for this wine and get a few other odds and ends. I really like a screwtop! It makes it easy to save the rest of the bottle. Classy, right? Some of you may never have leftover wine – just kidding! While the bottle is beautiful, this will not be a re-purchase for me.

Ok, guys – I’m obsessed. Carolina Charm posted about this on Friday and it is something I have made before, but her recipe was way better. Have you heard of Sub in a Tub? I think I could eat this every day for lunch.

For dinner (remember we usually stay home on Friday night!), I made the nachos my sister told me to make. She said to put Sweet Baby Ray’s on top (weird, I know) and to cook the chicken from frozen tenderloins in the crockpot all day. Restaurant quality! Yum!

Here it is with toppings added and a side salad:

Friday night was good because all 4 of us were home to eat together and then watch The Bear. We are loving it!

Saturday morning I got outside in the light rain. Wait – it was raining on a Saturday? How odd! I’m being sarcastic as we have had so much rain this summer. I guess it’s a good thing, but could I order it on a week day?

This is my favorite mug because Mason bought it in Prague on his junior year trip and brought it back to me. I collect these mugs and wish they still made them. They are the perfect size and heft. Thanks, Starbuck’s!

I’m reading this and it’s good so far!

I cooked up some mushrooms and spinach and had a nice veggie breakfast bowl.

Then, I started my tomato pie project based on Jennifer’s post. I had been wanting to try it and the starts aligned.

I used a store bought frozen pie crust and followed Jennifer’s instructions, but added an extra egg because it didn’t look like enough to top the tomatoes. OMG – this tastes like pizza! It is so summery and yummy and I definitely will make it again.

Saturday was our anniversary so I used our leftover napkins for Tom’s lunch. If you were ever curious about how long napkins last – the answer is at least 23 years.

Our anniversary reservation was at River House. The weather had cleared up and we decided to sit outside.

I had a piña colada with a carmelized pineapple!

The best part of my meal was the salad with fried onions on top!

Tom loves a chowder!

He got salmon and I got grouper cheeks on a po’boy but didn’t eat the bread. We also got a squash casserole.

Mason ate my leftovers after work and loved it.

We are too old to know how to take an “usie”. That is “selfie” with more than one person and it’s from Ted Lasso!

We started the movie The Outlaws on Netflix but I fell asleep!

Sunday morning I read a bit on the deck…

Then we got out early on the boat…

Here is the river view of where we ate Saturday night!

We bobbed around in the cove – just the two of us – and had a picnic lunch and it was so nice.

We came in around 2 and Tom mowed while I showered and then relaxed a bit…

Then, Jack and I went to Kroger to get some stuff for him to pack for lunches. He is starting a summer opera program today!

And, we had beef bulgogi bowls for dinner:

What was the highlight of your weekend?

Amy