Coffee and Cocktails at the Casa

Friday, July 14, 2023

I had a good week! How was yours? Mine was a good mix of leisure and productivity. I am linking up with Andrea and Erika for Friday Favorites.

First, let’s start with productivity…I lost my social security card so I spent almost 2 hours in the local office waiting to apply for a new one. Adulting, am I right? I also finally purchased (after weeks of checking prices) Mason’s plane ticket to England. Eek! My twins turn 21 and then Mason leaves for England right after that. Thank you for the suggestions for how to celebrate. It will need to be low key and in town because of the timing of their birthday on a week night after Labor Day weekend and with school just ramping up for Jack and I.

Now let’s talk about the fun favorites…

I didn’t get a photo, but I got to meet with my former student (and recent college grad) for coffee this week! Madeleine was the winner of the Spanish award her senior year, by the way! This summer she is working for Jennifer Lawrence’s family’s summer camp, but she wanted to talk about applying for her master’s in teaching and starting in the fall. It was like no time had passed! I tried a lavender latte and no – just no. It just doesn’t work together. Also, Jennifer Lawrence went to the middle school where my kids went and she probably would have been at my high school had she not left for acting opportunities. My students several years ago were her classmates and I think one guy asked her to homecoming before she hit it big with Hunger Games.

Madeleine:

Last Saturday I went to Ulta on a mission. I bought this:

A little goes a long way and I really like it.

This:

It has a brow pencil and a spooly brush at the end. I still am using my NYX gel. too.

And, I have been so curious about Maracuja Juicy for years. I love it! It matches with your ph level and creates your unique color while giving you some plumping.

I love my bedroom. We haven’t done anything else yet like get a console table and put a flat screen above it or add a corner reading chair for me, but it makes me happy to wake up in my room every morning. I’ve been trying to open the French doors many mornings like they do in the movies…”Hello World!”

I’ve been pretty organized with meals this week.

We’ve had lemon grilled chicken with broccoli and whole wheat linguine:

Sheet pan fajitas with all the fixings:

Sheet pan turkey sausage with vegetables:

Yes, that is a cake spatula because all of my normal ones were dirty!

I visited the Mexican supermarket this week (Summer List item!):

I only heard Spanish and the cashier spoke to me in Spanish – so fun!

Cactus leaves:

I bought 2 giant carrots for 47 cents!

tomatillos:

I came home with a few produce items, pasta, and a couple of canned goods. It was very fun!

I finished this book and really liked it. I’m not sure it’s for everyone and some might think it moves too slowly. I liked the NYC and Jewish references and the characters and their relationships.

And, I have just barely started this. My library requests are coming in hot and I will have to make some choices.

After over a month of not meal prepping breakfasts this summer, I got back to a bit of it. I made my low carb egg caserole and cooked up some veg. I am obsessed with Amy Lu chicken breakfast sausage links.

I don’t think I will shop the Nordstrom sale at all this year and I haven’t for the past few years, either. Is it just me or does all the stuff look the same as last year’s stuff? Also, I think I am pretty set for fall and winter other than some waterproof short boots and some pants I would like to add. I may eat my words, though. What about you?

I did participate in Prime Days…

I needed new hairbands, a refresh of my pillow spray, and Ernie needed new treats. I have been unhappy with my eyeshadow situation so I’m trying these sticks, and I got new Pryrex lids – where do they all go?

The chargers have gotten swiped again! I ordered a two pack.

I also ordered a Barbie t-shirt!

What about you? Did you shop Prime Days?

I had a TJ Maxx gift card and wanted to get a pretty pink for my toes and found this color!

And, I scored my Barbie ticket for the Sneak Preview night with my besties.

I am trying to get outside early in the day because our mosquitos are just horrible by 5 p.m. ish. We have had lovely mornings this week!

This might be my new favorite scent for a candle. Have you smelled Lakeside Morning?

Yesterday I was supposed to go to the pool with Beth, but the forecast was iffy so we did breakfast at Biscuit Belly. We were kind of bummed when the day turned out to be pretty good for the pool but we had already pivoted.

And, yesterday afternoon, I got to see Elizabeth for the first time in about a month. We met at Napa and had lemon drop martinis – yum!

And, I got her wedding photos finally! She used Kelly Keene Photography.

Speaking of weddings, our 23rd wedding anniversary is tomorrow! We have dinner reservations and I’m excited!

Happy Friday! Any fun plans?

Amy

Thursday, July 13, 2023

Do you remember that I got up early the first weekend of May to watch the coronation?

Do you remember that I bought some British foods at World Market and Trader Joe’s?

Our favorite were the crumpets!

Well, my family wasn’t just celebrating the coronation, but the news that Mason would be studying abroad in England in the fall!

I have his permission to share this with you all. Fall of senior year is not the norm, but for some reason he and his advisor worked out that this would work the best for him.

He will be in the north of England about 5 hours away from London. I am nervous and excited! We knew that this would most likely happen, because Mason did a scholarship competition as a senior in high school (at his current college) and didn’t win the big prize but did win a scholarship toward study abroad.

He will be living in a dorm and have a single room but share a bathroom with 5 other students. They have a communal kitchen with a table with 6 chairs, which I think is nice and I pray he meets some friends in them. He will also have a meal plan but it won’t cover all of his meals.

So, I also had this experience during the spring semester of my junior year in Valencia, Spain. Spain, Germany, and Austria were other contenders for Mason, but he chose England and England chose him – the semester calendar had to match up with his current college and you had to be accepted.

I was the only one from my college who did my program, and I met my 29 other Americans upon arriving in Spain. I had a roommate from California, and we lived together with a 50-something lady and her 70-something mother. They tried to pair students together to live with different host families. This experience was nothing short of life changing and I still remember everything so vividly. My sister Molly also did this in The Netherlands. My photos are in my classroom, but I will try to remember to post some of them!

So, thank you for listening to my news! Tanya, do you have any recommendations? Anyone else? He will be very close to Wales and pretty close to Ireland and Scotland so I know he hopes to do some traveling.

Did you study abroad? Have your kids or do you want them to do this?

Amy

Wednesday, July 12, 2023

It’s a pretty big milestone in our country, right? My birthday is on November 2nd and I remember that my 21st fell on a Monday night. My friends accompanied me to Applebee’s! It was the bomb in the 90s. The year was 1992, to be exact. Potato skins, anyone? Spinach and artichoke pizza anyone?

So, my twins turn 21 in a couple of months. They are not excited about drinking alcohol – seriously – so I am looking for a fun way to celebrate them. Right now, my best idea is just a fancy dinner out where they can order a drink just because they can. Their birthday falls on a Tuesday so maybe they would want to do Mexican for Taco Tuesday?

I look like I’m in kindergarten, so I’m sure I was carded. I am the 2nd one from the end on the right. I wore a floral turtleneck? Or are those leaves for the fall? Oh my!

What did you do for your 21st?

What have you done for your kids?

Any ideas for mine?

Amy

Tuesday, July 11, 2023

Let me explain my title! You can find a million blog posts on the air fryer (guilty!), the instant pot, the crockpot (definitely not sexy!), and – not really an appliance – but the Our Place pans. It reminds me of all the hype regarding Buc-ee’s. Kentucky just got their first one fairly recently and so many people have talked about it. Guys, it’s a gas station. Just like…guys, it’s a freaking pan.

Let me talk about an appliance that I purchased maybe 10 years ago at Kroger for $19.99. It’s an electric non-stick griddle. Well, this isn’t that one. My colleague borrowed it to make arepas and then dropped and broke it so she replaced it with this about 5 years ago. Non-essential back story, but I want to make sure you have all the facts.

Here’s the box. I keep it in the original box, and it lives in my front hall closet because I don’t really have room for it elsewhere.

I recently took it to the bachelorette weekend where I was in charge of bougie brioche French toast and bougie brioche grilled cheese. You can fit up to 6 sandwiches, pancakes, etc. on it.

This would be great to take on a vacay where you will be feeding several people. Also, don’t forget that the knives always suck at rental places if you plan to do any cooking. BYOK!

Maybe this will go on sale more today during Prime Days?

You really don’t even need any butter or Pam because of the non-stick feature.

I use mine for French toast, grilled cheese, pancakes, and…

do you remember me getting to try out my friend’s Blackstone? I decided to do an indoor mini Blackstone hack.

Ok, this worked great! I need to get my hands on some of that magical Blackstone oil.

Does anyone else have one of these non-sexy appliances? Could you see this being useful for you?

What is your most sexy appliance? I am just getting weird now and I swear I am stone cold sober.

I also like saying the word “griddle”. I just don’t say it enough!

Amy

Monday, July 10, 2023

Hello Monday! How are you? Are you actually kind of glad we don’t have a holiday this week? I am linking up with Sarah and Holly today. In addition, I am linking up for 10 on the 10th here. I don’t think I have ever done this!

The beginning of last week was busy for me with 3 days in a row of boating (or trying to boat!) and a day trip to my hometown. Thursday, I woke up to nothing I had to do, and I was so happy. Don’t you love that?

Friday, Mason wanted to start our coffee shop mornings again that we did over the winter when we could. He chose Sunergos and the vibe is just so nice:

But, we chose to sit outside on their new patio:

Mason just had a little light reading of Francis Bacon’s poems and I had…

my new library request – The Soulmate by Sally Hepworth!

We enjoyed a nice time on the patio and then went to Trader Joe’s. Mason is my early bird and gets up around 8 most mornings. Jack is a late sleeper so he was up by the time we got home. He doesn’t drink coffee or really do breakfast foods, either. Jack works at different times giving guitar and voice lessons but never works after 6:30. Mason goes in to work at 3 and gets home around 9. He is hosting at a fancy Italian restaurant. I leave him a plate to eat when he gets home and he takes a sandwich to eat while at work.

I made the Peruvian chicken for dinner Friday night and added plantain chips and guacamole. I need to go back to Costco to get the avocado crema. I tried to make my own and it wasn’t as good.

I’ve decided/reinforced that I don’t want to fight the crowds and eat out on Friday nights and Tom would rather be home, too, after work. So, I usually cook on Friday nights in the summer as well as during the school year.

I do not want to cook on Saturday night, though!

When Mason got home from work I tried to make it through an episode of Abbott Elementary with both kids. They really love the show! I am going to bed around 10:30 lately.

Saturday morning I was anxious to get back to my book and I finished it by noon I think. It was good to have a book I didn’t want to put down. I really enjoyed the story. Anyone else?

I frothed up some instant coffee for an iced protein coffee. I love my new glasses if you are looking for some Prime Day items. Maybe they will go on sale? What’s your strategy? I am going to put some things in my cart that I need anyway or that I have wanted and see if they go on sale, but I don’t plan to go crazy.

Saturday was another rainy day for about half of it. It cleared up for a few hours and then rained again around dinner time.

I took myself on a fun shopping excursion around 3 when Mason left for work. I visited the Asian market (Summer LIst item) but didn’t buy anything, Ulta, Barnes and Noble, Bath and Body, Total Wine, and got a car wash. I know it rained but my car was in the garage and really dirty.

The Asian market had some interesting produce!

At the car wash – sing it! I used to be scared to go through them myself because of all the directions I thought I would mess up, but I faced my fear and now I kinda love it.

I got the Into the Night for free and the Lakeside Morning for only $13.

I really needed a new devotional book and I chose this:

I will show you my Ulta purchases on Friday (I think) after I have used them enough to say what I think!

Tom took me to dinner at a Venezuelan restaurant called Alchemy.

I chose a riesling and it was really too sweet. I am really loving chilled white wines, though.

We decided upon chorizo bread for a starter and then we split the national dish of Venezuela called pabellon al criollo. I forgot to get a picture of it!

Then, it started raining but we didn’t let it stop us from getting gelato!

Sunday, I got up and went to the gym and so did Tom. We drive separately because he takes way longer than I do. He is ready to leave the house before I am, too.

After that, I drank my coffee and Tom walked Ernie and started getting into this:

Tom, Ernie, and I decided to take the boat out. View of dowtown:

A good nap after swimming:

It was quite cloudy which made it very pleasant and not hot at all.

And, that was our weekend!

Now, for 10 on the 10th!

1. I am an early bird, so I would have to say sunrise. But, I really want to see some gorgeous sunsets this summer. My natural time to go to bed is by 10 and wake up by 6 without an alarm. That seems perfect to me.
2. Flip flops! Is there anything better than letting those dogs breathe? Students tell me they don’t want to see their teachers’ feet and toes exposed. I have conferred with my fellow teachers, and we don’t care. I don’t wear super casual flip flops to teach in, though. I have become more of a sneaker person in the last few years and they are so much better for your feet!
3. That’s a tough one. I would do both. I guess I will say tutu because I don’t want anyone to think that I think I’m a princess or a diva. I pride myself in being quick to get ready and pretty low maintenance.
4. Jello! I have great memories of jello shots and bad memories of having to take huge pills when I had mono in pudding because I couldn’t swallow them.
5. That’s too easy – a boat! If you are watching The Bear, a character stayed on a really cool boat in Copenhagen. Wait, that also happened on Ted Lasso when Rebecca was on a boat. I also love the House Hunters episodes when they show them a boat on a canal.
6. think a yurt. My aunt and uncle have done this. I grew up with a pop up camper and it was just cramped with 5 of us.
7. Sand, but grass is good, too. I just love being barefoot.
8. I used to water ski pretty well. I guess I would say tubing now. We have a tube and I should do it. I don’t know if I can trust my driver to not go too fast. True story- I bruised my eye tubing because I had a contact in and I was bounced super hard and my eye ended up being yellow until it healed.
9. Who writes these questions? Ha! Watermelon juice! The smell of ketchup sometimes is too much, even though I do like it.
10. I have grown up going to hot air balloon glows and races and it’s always scared me. I guess I would say helicopter.

Thanks for reading,

Amy

Friday, July 7, 2023

You guys! The calendar is scaring me! It just keeps moving along and it is now July 7th! I dare not go to Target right now. You know what one will see, right? My love for school supplies runs deep but your girl is not ready to see them. Also, my school district gives each teacher an Amazon business account and a budget of $250 to spend now. How cool is that?

I am linking up with Andrea and Erika for Friday Favorites if it is happening today! It’s so funny that the blogging world slows down so much in the summer, but I feel like I write more in the summer because I have more time. I also have more time to read blogs, so come on bloggers – I need your content! Just beware that you are going to see Prime Days and then the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale pushed here soon!

I thought I would start with a silly photo of me. My sister brought giant “noodles” to the river, and I could fit my cup in the hole of the “noodle” so I was able to “drink from my noodle”. My brother-in-law caught this flattering photo of me doing that.

Sister time is so rare these days with the ages of the kids, so It’s always a favorite.

The amount of stuff to go boating is comical! I snapped this picture before loading up.

We had a simple and cheap meal Monday night and then ordered pizza Tuesday night after being at the river all day. I have maybe 2 hot dogs a year, but boy are they good when I do.

One of my Summer List items was to make pickles. I did it, but they weren’t that good. I think I will continue buying my pickles unless anyone has a good recipe.

I’m still wearing my fun earrings. I wore these Topo Chico ones last week to hang with my friend at the new boutique hotel’s rooftop bar.

This rainwater scent is still making me happy every time I wash my hands.

One of our foods of summer has been naan pizzas in the air fryer. You buy the naan bread in the deli section of your grocery, and they come in various sizes. I put pizza sauce or just marinara and whatever toppings and then add fresh mozzarella. I bake it in the air fryer at a pretty high heat and they come out great. This one maybe was a bit overdone. Seriously, naan makes a great crust.

If you like sweet drinks, these are really good. A friend brought them to the pool party I attended recently and I forgot to share.

I also created a new drink with my hibiscus flowers and syrup, lemonade, vodka, and Fresca. Yum! I am calling it spiked hibiscus lemonade.

My twin niece and nephew turned 16 in March. They tried to get their license Monday in their city, but they were closed for the holiday. So, when they were at my mom’s house, they took the opportunity to get it there in my hometown. I got to go, too! How are they this old? Now we have my kids, my niece Samira, and Mia and Miles all driving.

I can’t even – Mia is so grown up. I have been helping her with summer school Spanish over the phone and it’s been so fun.

Wednesday, I went to hang out with everyone visiting my mom. The nieces drove themselves to Walmart for press on nails and junk food.

My mom took her three girls (my sisters and I) to lunch and she drove. I can’t remember the last time the four of us were all in a car together that my mom drove. I was maybe 15! It’s probably been more recent than that, but I can’t remember.

I got a mushroom panini and it was so good.

And, I got a cold brew after lunch. Yum!

I got to spend time with my newest nephew, Ezra. He is so chill for a puppy. He is obsessed with his mom, my sister Kate, and has to be in sight of her.

Ezra with Aunt Molly:

Ezra wanted my cold brew!

I made an easy chicken parmesan this week for dinner. I used whole wheat linguine and did my own chicken breasts with some jarred marinara, fresh mozz, and roasted broccoli. It’s starting to get hot now and hot dinners like this will not be the norm!

One of you may be wondering about the follow up from my Literal Coffee Talk post. For now, I am going to keep on with my original Keurig. The coffee is so much better than a pot of brewed. I am still loving Kuai brand and I like all the flavors. For now, I am going to use this until it goes kaput.

I use a bit of liquid stevia frothed with fat free half and half.

It was raining again yesterday morning, but it was already so muggy I didn’t go out and enjoy my covered patio.

I had some errands to run so I wore all Aerie. My Sunday shorts are amazing and I wish I could still find them. I got them last year. I got my Shell Yeah shirt this year. Am I too old? I don’t care. I usually get fixed up more to run errands, but I was feeling casual.

I picked up a small stack of book requests at the library!

I ran by my consignment store Sassy Fox and I had earned $40 on my items I sold and I found and bought this J.Crew blouse for $13 so still up $27 – woohoo!

I am trying to get back to healthier eating and made buffalo chicken, cauliflower rice, and Greek yogurt ranch for lunch yesterday.

Sadly, I had no celery.

What a hodgepodge! What were your favorites this week?

Amy

Thursday, July 6, 2023

 

Welcome to my adopted city! This post is inspired by a reader – Hi Becky! She is coming to visit this summer and asked for my favorite places.

A little history…I was born in Evansville, Indiana but moved to Madison, Indiana when I was five years old. Louisville was always our closest big city, so I came here often. We came for the zoo, The Old Spaghetti Factory restaurant, the Fashion Shop (anyone remember this?), the mall, and other things. I always felt that it was familiar. After college, I stayed in the city closest to my college (Lexington, Kentucky) for four years before deciding to move to Louisville.

I love living on the river – or any body of water!

If you are flying here, I think you will need a rental car if you plan to go to more than just the downtown area.

If you are a bourbon person, you will need a car to go to Bardstown, Kentucky, where many of the distilleries are located. It is about an hour drive.

If you are a horse person, you will need a car to go to Keeneland which is about an hour away, also. Keeneland and the surrounding area are beautiful and quintessential Kentucky. You do have Churchill Downs, here, but it has a much different feel. Both are very cool, though. You can only see live horse racing in Louisville in May, June, and November. You can only see live horse racing at Keeneland in April and October. Check their websites, but I think that is still correct.

I live in what is known as the “East End”. I love my area and it has quite the small-town feel. I cannot leave my house without seeing someone I know. Seriously. It’s kind of a joke among my kids and friends. I have lots of old trees and green spaces, but I can walk to many different restaurants, and I have a wonderful market in walking distance for fruits, vegetables, gourmet food items, and more. I have a Kroger within walking distance, too. I have an upscale shopping center nearby and much more.

Paul’s Fruit Market has several locations and would be a great place to get some snacks while you are here. They also make really nice sandwiches made to order. We also have a very popular Trader Joe’s if you don’t have one at home.

The major touristy things to do would be:

The Louisville Slugger Museum and Bat Factory

Belle of Louisville Ride

Churchill Downs Museum and Racetrack

Frazier History Museum

Louisville Science Center

Waterfront Park

The Urban Bourbon Trail

Walking bridge to Indiana

Bats baseball game

LouCity soccer game

Cherokee Park (designed by the same person who designed Central Park in NY)

My favorite areas of Louisville for eating and shopping are:

Frankfort Avenue:

I love this street so much. Some of my favorite restaurants are on this street. I love Parlour, Red Hog, Cafe Classico, Irish Rover, and more. There is also a shop called Bourbon Barrel Foods where we have gotten lots of fun gifts. I love The Champagnery for drinks with girls.

There is a bar/liquor store called Frankfort Avenue Liquors. My favorite upscale restaurant is Varanese and many people love Volare. I have not been yet, but a lot of people rave.

Do not visit chain restaurants in my city because we have a huge food scene here. We also have some amazing taco places – Taco City, Taco Luchador, and Agave and Rye. Agave and Rye is a small chain, so I will allow it.

I also love NULU so much. This is the Market Street district on the outskirts of downtown. It stands for “New Louisville”. There’s almost too much to name. La Bodeguita de Mima is the yellow house that serves Cuban food and immediately behind it is a fast casual Venezuelan food place called Señora Arepa. There is an Emme Squared Pizza (a chain, but I will allow it), Royals Hot Chicken (Nashville style), Grind (hamburgers), Feast (bbq), Bar Vetti, and the new Hotel Genevieve is fabulous!

I didn’t eat in the restaurant called Rosettes, but I went to the rooftop bar recently and it was gorgeous:

The store called Red Tree has a very photographed alley:

I have taken a few photos there myself, and I love that I went there in the snow with my friend Victoria for their holiday open house this year or last?

For the best rootop bars/views of the city:

Copper and Kings

Gravely Brewing

Upland Brewing across the river in Indiana has the best view of the city

Walking at Waterfront Park:

The horses:

Another area is the Bardstown Road area. I have two friends who live off of this busy and bustling street and this is the area where my kids frequent most often. There are lots of restaurants and shops, but not that many that appeal to me anymore, to be honest. Still there are lots of amazing places here that I love: Noche, Seviche, and Gralehaus are my favorites.

Here is us doing Bardstown Road Aglow this year:

Bardstown Road is very close to the beautiful Cherokee Park and this area is also called “The Highlands”. Highlands people usually can’t imagine living anywhere else in town, in my opinion. They are very loyal. Once a Highlands person, always a Highlands person.

Another place not to far from NULU is Butchertown Market. It is a great place to shop for gifts and they have $1 mimosas on Saturdays.

Captain’s Quarters is not a place you go for the food, but the food has definitely improved. You go for the views and it’s a hopping place, so be aware that there might be a wait. I try to go at off times or if you roll up in a boat, there is no wait and you eat on your boat! If you go, order the fish and chips, the spinach salad (add salmon), the pork nachos, or the fish tacos. Those are the best things on the menu. Also, the spinach and queso dip is great! Now, that I say this, there are lots of good things they make!

Some other great restaurants are: The Pine Room, Mesh, Havana Rumba, Mojito in Havana, Mojito Tapas, and Shiraz.

We have quite a few Cuban restaurants here. Bodeguita de Mima is the hardest to get into – you need a reservation – and it has an amazing atmosphere. Havana Rumba and Mojito en Havana are better food in my opinion. Mojito Tapas is excellent and has a Cuban/Spanish menu.

I love to shop at The Paddock Shops (an outdoor mall) and if I do go to a mall, it’s Oxmoor Mall. I also love Norton Commons. I would recommend hitting up the window of Commonwealth Tap or Seven Spirits for an alcoholic slushy while you walk around. This is a planned community (same person that designed Seaside, Florida) with lots of restaurants and shops.

We also have amazing breakfast places. Wild Eggs is a local chain and my favorite. Con Huevos is a Cuban/Mexican breakfast place and quite unique – tres leches pancakes! Morning Fork, Gralehaus, and First Watch (a chain) are also local popular spots.

I could probably go on and on. Can you tell I love my adopted city?

People will talk to you wherever you go. Be prepared for this. We make eye contact and small talk here.

Amy

P.S. – Let me know if you have any questions or if I forgot any of your favorites!

Wednesday, July 5, 2023

How was your weekend/holiday? I am so happy Tom took off on Monday. I think he really needed those four consecutive days off. He caught up on sleep, went to the movies, did a lot of boating, watched a lot of Tour de France (ha!), and spent time with his family. He didn’t do a ton of fix it jobs, but he did do some.

So, I left off after Saturday evening on my Hello Monday post...

Sunday we woke up to more rain! But, we were determined. Would there be a clear pocket to go boating?

But first, a gym sesh:

Ok, the sky doesn’t look too great…

Heather looks scared but she is just excited. She doesn’t let a few dark clouds stop her. I am getting a lot of Heather time right now.

We headed towards our downtown and we got to see The Nina, The Pinta, or The Santa Maria!

It was especially fun because Heather and Eric’s sweet college daughter got to come for the first time. Katelyn is a doll and complimented me on my pop culture knowledge.

Tom’s boat radio started blowing up about severe weather so we gave up and drove cars (instead of boat) to eat.

I got the salmon spinach salad!

We still had a nice time.

For dinner we were happy to have all of us home and I made burgers, corn, and potatoes.

Monday, we re-did our boat ride with our friends Scott and Jessica and finally, the weather looked amazing for us.

We ate on the boat and then hung out in the cove.

I finished this and really liked it! It made me laugh out loud or at least chuckle several times.

It’s by the same author as this:

I really liked this, too!

Then, on Tuesday…

My sister Molly and her hub Jason did their annual (3rd year running) trip from our hometown to Louisville by boat.

We had such a nice day!

Bye!

Now for Currently with Jennifer!

Loving –

Really, everything! I am loving having all four of us in the house, cooking for my family, electricity! (After having lost it for about 36 hours from last Sunday until Tuesday morning), time to read, time outdoors, unhurried time, lack of structure – all the things of summer.

We have had so many storms and so much rain, but everything is so GREEN!

Our happy place is definitely on the river. I pushed Tom to buy a used boat 8 years ago after talking about it for our entire marriage and we have gotten so much use out of it. Sure, a lake would be nice, but we can be on this river in about 15 minutes from our house.

Savoring –

With life being so busy for my friends at this stage in our lives, I am savoring any time spent with them.

And, add in a nice chilled glass of wine over conversation….ahhhh

Celebrating –

Anything and everything! We are getting ready to celebrate our anniversary soon.

Remembering –

Summers of the past and just trying to remember how quickly summer passes and to live in the moment.

Trying –

A few new things like this:

What about you? Anything you want to share?

Amy

Tuesday, July 4, 2023

Happy 4th of July (if you are reading this today)! Here is my “report card” for June. It ain’t pretty. Pour yourself something strong. I’m really not excited to put this month’s spending diary out here.

Initial Thoughts before the Tallies:

This month should be interesting. I usually spend more in the summer for sure! I am continuing to record because it is making me pause.

June 1 – $156 Walmart Plus grocery order including tip. I was excited to try my new grocery delivery! It was also the last day of school for students. Your girl was wiped out and it felt good to have this service. Groceries dropped off on my doorstep? What can I say?

June 2 – $35 Lunch at Captain’s Quarters, $17 for 2 bourbon slushies at Norton Commons (one for my friend), $54 dinner at Fiesta Time which included take home for a kid, $28 shirt on sale at a boutique. Your girl was feeling giddy that it was finally summer!

June 3 – $0 Spend – Tom drove me to ER in Madison (my mom had had a stroke), back to ER in Louisville, my sisters came and after a long and emotional day, I made dinner for my sisters with stuff I had at home – Greek Bowls – friend Heather dropped off Crumbl.

June 4 – $33 Treated my sisters to Taziki’s take out that we ate on the patio before one sister – Kate – went home – we discovered whipped feta, $ 139 Walmart + grocery delivery

June 5 – $0 Spend Day – Molly went home

June 6 – $0 Spend Day

June 7 – $0 Spend Day – my mom got released and I took her home

June 8 – Erica invited me to her pool because she knew I needed a taste of summer – $23 pool entrance fee and salad for lunch, $22 dinner at Alchemy with my friend, $167 Walmart grocery delivery

June 9 – $55 Trader Joe’s, +50 Old Navy return, $21 Greek Festival

June 10 – Buy Local Fair $28 – pretzel bites from a food truck and a cocktail mixer

June 11 – $50 graduation gift, $188 Costco, $10 Walmart on a graduation card and aluminum disposable pans

June 12- $50 Captain’s Quarters gift card for friend who helped my mom, $33 Trader Joe’s

June 13 – $ 74 Kingfish Restaurant for Tom’s birthday, $50 small gifts for Tom

June 14 – $0 spend day

June 15 – $0 Spend day

June 16 – $74 Lunch with niece Brooke for her birthday at Parlour (included a carry out order for Jack), $19 bottle of wine at next door wine store

June 17 -Farmer’s Market Haul: $8 Benedictine, $5 sandwich, $7 tomatoes, $3 kale, $3 popcorn, $6 kettle corn – I feel really great supporting these local people and oh my were the vegetables so good. I loved the grape tomatoes I got and will definitely look for that farmer again if I can, $81 gas, $35 Target, $22 Canes, $42 Felipe’s

June 18 – Father’s Day – $0 Spend Day – I cannot even believe this. I packed lunch for the boat after making breakfast at home and then managed to use all foods we had at home to make a dinner for Tom.

June 19 – $65 Kroger

June 20 – $170 Walmart Plus Delivery, $30 J crew, $40 Trader Joe’s

June 21 – $28 Fresh Market, $14 KFC

June 22 -$95 Amy hair, $5 sleep/lounge shorts from tent sale at local boutique

June 23 – $30 Mesh lunch with Victoria, $50 movie tickets plus snacks (Tom’s Father’s Day gift with the whole family)

June 24 – Farmers market $30, $130 Walmart Plus delivery

June 25 – $30 Cunningham’s for lunch with friends – power goes out at 8:20 p.m.

June 26 – $16 Starbucks coffee and breakfast, $15 lunch out with Jack, $7 baby pool, $10 chilled white wine at wine store, $25 Kroger s’mores stuff and batteries, $55 Qdoba dinner – power out all day and night

June 27 – power comes on at 5 a.m., $85 in person Kroger grocery trip to replace lost fridge food just to get by until next order

June 28 – $172 Walmart grocery delivery to continue replacing lost food- Why am I spending so much? I don’t know, but even a carryout Qdoba order on Monday night was $55 for 4 people. We are making our own coffee, breakfast, lunch, and dinner at home most days for four people most of those days.

June 29 – $15 bagels after dentist appointment (for 3 of us), $30 Hotel Genivieve and dinner for Amy

June 30 – $0 Spend Day

$0 Spend Days: 6

Groceries:

Walmart Plus:

I did a 30 day free trial from June 1-July 1.

June 1: $140

June 4: $139

June 8: $167

June 13: $219

June 22: $157

June 24: $116

June 28: $172

$1110 (each of the totals includes the tip which was about $20, I think. It was based on a percentage of the grocery total.)

I think I spent almost $200 replacing some things after losing power. Most everything in the fridge had to go and some of the freezer stuff had to go (and needed to be cleaned out anyway).

So, on June 30th, I cancelled Walmart Plus. I know it’s more me than them, but if you include $12 a month plus about a $20 tip for each delivery, I just am not sure this makes sense. I didn’t want another monthly charge and I didn’t want to pay $98 for the year.

One thing I think is happening is that I am not meal planning around sales and I just get what I want when I want. It was so easy to just place an order just like it’s so easy to do a pick up from Kroger and one thing leads to another and I end up with way more than the one thing I needed. There need to be more “this is what we have so we are having it meals”. Do you struggle with this, too?

Other grocery besides Walmart (gulp):

$578

This includes Kroger, Costco, farmer’s markets, and Trader Joe’s. Some of the purchases were not food, but things we need for household.

Meals Out/Take Out/Happy Hours out:

This is going to be super high due to celebrating! We had end of school celebrations, Father’s Day, Tom’s birthday, niece Brooke’s birthday, a couple of fun outings for me because I am off work, and a bit more take out than normal just for fun and for when our power was out.

Are you ready?

$601

OMG….This can really get away from you!

Amy clothing or accessories:

$28 – silky jaguar top

$5 white lounge shorts

$15 Pioneer Woman summer robe

$14 J. Crew Factory green and pink blouse

$13 J. Crew Factory black sandals

$16 Walmart fun printed leggings

$11 Walmart gauzy palm print blouse

$9.98 Walmart soft Pj set

$111.98 – Not bad! I am happy that I felt content with what I had and really only purchased things that I thought would work well and that were good prices.

So, I always want to put people before money. I will never regret treating my people or spending quality time that also involves spending money. When you are a teacher with a 20-minute lunch break, a summer lunch out is a total luxury, too, so this also counts as entertainment.

But, when I look at the food totals of $1110, $578, and $601 this makes me feel sick. I guess I should also say again that this includes Ernie food and toiletries/household supplies. But, still! What am I doing wrong? I really want to work on this. I thought Walmart Plus was going to be a big money saver, but if you go back to May, you will see it really wasn’t. I think this shows me I need work on meal planning, food waste prevention, and more. One idea I have it to buy less at a time so food waste doesn’t get away from me.

I am open to suggestions! Or, can you at least empathize with me? I am feeling pretty down about how I did this month.

How was June for you?

Amy

Monday, July 3, 2023

It’s time for both Hello Monday and Prime Purchases with Tanya.

On Thursday, late afternoon, I talked brunette Heather into checking out the new Hotel Genevieve’s Rooftop bar for $10 espresso martinis (spoiler – they ran out!). This boutique hotel is in one of my favorite areas of my city – NULU. Get ready because a Louisville favorites post is coming your way!

It was just so pretty!

It stormed while we were there! Unfortunately, we didn’t get to enjoy the open terrace.

Checking out the first floor of the hotel and being silly…

After, we walked down to Royals Chicken and split some chicken and potato wedges.

Friday morning was a nice and relaxed morning…

I made jam! It’s on my Summer List! Check!

I also threw chicken (not literally) in the crockpot with a can of diced tomatoes and a packet of taco seasoning for dinner.

Tom came home around 3:00 because Holiday Weekend! We took our boy down to the river and bought new boat batteries.

We had black beans, rice, Mexican chicken and tortillas for dinner with toppings.

Saturday morning I made homemade biscuits:

We enjoyed them with jamy (Amy’s jam).

Then, Tom and I went to see this and I didn’t have high expectations, but it was really cute and not too dirty or anything. Tom liked it, too.

After the movie, we did a quick Costco run.

I’m enjoying my glass iced coffee cups!

Saturday night we just had Costco Bare chicken patty sandwiches for dinner.

And, I will continue on Wednesday….

Now, for what I have purchased from Amazon lately…

I bought this two pack of 90s sunglasses on a whim. I bought these fly fans and I do think they work. These were a gift for Tom. I bought Turkish towels. We struggle to keep our glass shower door clean and I purchased this product.

Ernie loves these Rachael Ray treats. I am in a fight with the mosquitos already so I bought OFF and my friend swears this lotion helps keep them away. It is not totally working for me, but I do love the smell and the consistency.

I love my new iced coffee cups!

I bought these “sponges”. They are supposed to help your skin. I bought those for my kids. And, I bought myself a new watch.

What have you purchased this month? What have you done this weekend?

Amy