Coffee and Cocktails at the Casa

Wednesday, December 28, 2022

I have so much to tell you! I really didn’t take many photos and tried to be in the moment, though. How was your holiday? It sure has been quiet in blog land and I miss my normal morning reads.

It’s weird when you get out of school so early – December 16 – and have so much time before the holiday. But, it’s also super nice because I really wasn’t that stressed about shopping. Luckily I had all of my gifts and most of my food shopping done by Thursday. We got notice of a Winter Weather Advisory and I did run to the Kroger Wine Shop and grcoery for a few things I forgot from my pick up. In Kentucky, the wine and liquor stores have to be separate stores. But, they are right next to each other and have adjoining entrances. Stupid, right?

The store was crazy. The parking lot was crazy.

The weather was super mild Thursday – the calm before the storm – so I made sure to make a fancy coffee and relax on my patio before it turned cold.

I also made homemade chocolate chip pancakes for my kids. This is Mel Larson’s recipe and it is so good. I love my non-stick electric griddle, too. Don’t be daunted; this is so much better than a box mix. Maybe this would be a good repeat for NY Day? But, of course, I also need to order all the lucky foods!

I really enjoyed this matte navy press on nail mani this week. It is by Impress and it lasted about 7 days and I could have made it last longer, but I took it off.

Thursday afternoon I made Chex Mix. Tom’s last day of work until the new year was Thursday and he likes to have lots of snacks around!

Ok, so this was not my favorite type of snow. I like when the snow starts falling during the day and I can be all cozy watching it. This time the snow started as I was going to bed and then I woke up and it was done.

Friday the temps were so cold. We were in the negatives and the wind chill was even colder. I tried to walk with Tom and Ernie and turned around. This is Tom looking at me like I was weak. I am, Tom. I am.

I think we got 3-4 inches total. Ernie is a madman in the snow and cold. Tom walked him about 3 times a day each of the coldest days, too!

Friday was a lazy day and no one was going out. The roads were very bad. We lounged and watched tv and I made three meals a day. I was happy to do so!

Saturday I made my own “honey baked ham” with Allie Carte’s recipe. It turned out great and I will definitely do it again. My ham was only $10 at Kroger.

We had our Christmas Eve dinner with homemade macaroni and cheese, green beans, and Sister Schubert’s rolls. We opened our pajama pants and played a game. We had some laughs during the game which was so nice. We didn’t have to change any plans because it was just going to be the four of us for Eve and Day this year. We also watched Wednesday on Netflix as a family and The Glass Onion on Netflix as a family.

My skinny white pencil tree made me so happy this week. I intentionally left it bare. What do you think about me moving this to the living room for January?

Christmas morning traditions of egg casserole,

monkey bread, and this year I added…

a breakfast board.

pomegranate cranberry mimosa for me, too!

fuzzy Christmas socks are the best!

Tom and I don’t really do big gifts right now, but he got me a really thoughtful one of a cutting board for meal prep that also came with meal prep containers. It is called a Tidy Board.

Ernie loved his stocking! He got a Pupsi (Pepsi bottle), a fake wooden stick to chew on, and a giant tug rope.

Jack and Mason’s big gifts were a new classical guitar for Jack and a Steam Deck for Mason which is a gaming thing. They loved their smaller gifts, too.

Tom and I took a drive later in the afternoon and I made a hot chocolate. It was still brutally cold.

It’s cool to look at the river in the winter, too!

We had waffle fries and Hawaiian ham and swiss sliders with broccoli for dinner and watched tv together.

Monday morning we had snow flurries! We still had all the snow on the ground and some roads were still questionable, but this was the day we were celebrating with my side of the family.

We take a two lane highway to my hometown and it is so picturesque with horses and farms and horse farms. But, look how bad the roads were for about half of the drive. We were going like 30 miles an hour here.

My mom lost power for several hours but luckily it came back on just in time. Look how much snow she got!

We joked about the outfit my sweet niece arrived in (all her new Christmas garb) but she ended up being the smart one because my mom’s house felt tropical. We were all sweating except this one!

We snacked and did a white elephant for fun. We don’t do lots of gifts anymore because the three sisters wanted to reduce the consumerism for our kids and it is perfect now. My mom gives everyone lots of gifts and we give her lots of gifts.

I managed to get most of the kids in the photos. Jack and Mason are in the background somewhere here.

Tom and Molly’s husband Jason:

I started out in a red sweater, but switched to Prosecc Ho Ho Ho when I got too hot. I wasn’t mad!

We decided on Thanksgiving to do a pasta party and it turned out great. My sister Molly’s lasagna was amazing but she was tight lipped about her recipe. Hmmm…

I made baked ziti and bacon alfredo…

My mom made traditional spaghetti…

and I made a butter board with butter, goat cheese, roasted garlic, and copycat Pizza Hut breadstick topping seasoning…

We had Trader Joe’s ciabatta bread with it. I will definitely do that again!

I commissioned my talented niece Mia to draw Ernie for a gift for Tom and it was so good!

Right?

We had a really nice day and I will probably share my gifts in a different post.

Finally, on Tuesday, we loaded up for our final Christmas at Tom’s parents house about an hour and a half away.

Their dog Watson had fun with Ernie and carried his “blankey” around the whole time!

Jack did some guitar for the grandparents:

And, Mason got involved in a chess game:

And, Tom got his favorite chili dogs for the ride home. Yes, chili dogs in the car. Not recommended.

If you are still here, it’s probably because there are not many new blog posts to read today! Ha!

Amy

Friday, December 23, 2022

I don’t think the gals are doing the Friday Favorite link up, but I am here to do one last FF post of 2022.

And, YOU are my number one favorite! Thank you for being such a big part of my life. This hobby has been so fun for me and dare I say necessary as I started the empty nester chapter of my life. You have been more encouraging to me than many of my IRL folks. You show up and leave me the kindest comments. I don’t share everything here, of course, but I share a lot. Life is hard and one can never have too many cheerleaders, you know? Writing and having a supportive audience can be cathartic. The fact that you take the extra time to leave a comment warms my heart.

I am going to try to sign off and take a break for a week or so. I say this often and then I can never really stay away for long. I have some ideas about Best of 2022 posts so we will see if I can make that happen. Please let me know what you want to see more of in 2023, too!

I like my blog routine for the most part but sometimes I feel repetitive and stagnant.

Hello Monday, Fashion Files, and Friday Favorites are probably here to stay. Tuesday and Wednesday are wild cards some weeks and some weeks I am part of themed link up parties.

So let’s continue on with Friday Favorites…

I really want and need to just splurge and get more of the Donna Karan Cashmere Mist deodorant. I will probably do that soon. I can be really cheap about things I know would make me so happy or make my life easier.

I really like this – It was only $5 at Target. I do worry about deodorant showing up on all my black!

I gave my sister in law a pair of shoes that didn’t fit and she gave me this lip mask I have been wanting! I think I got the good end of that deal! Love it! My bedside table is starting to look high maintenance. I have my pillow spray, my Vick’s Vapo Rub, my lavender sleeping balm, ibuprofen, water – he, he. It was bound to happen. Is your bedside table starting to fil up?

If you saw my Festivus post, I complained about Target. But, I really like their beauty/Ulta section. You can return any makeup you don’t like! Makeup is so expensive and you do feel like you are taking a big risk. I have trouble with colors sometimes. Now, I will say that I have saved tons of money since using Seint makeup, but I still need eye stuff, and a few extras.

I bought some Burt’s Bees lip shimmer in the color fig. Love it! I am very picky about how lip stuff feels and this feels great.

I love Benefit products and the secret is buying the smaller size. Sorry for the blurry photo but I bought the color Starlaa for an added blush on top of my Seint.

I love this! I was looking for something creamy to put on top of my Seint makeup to give me more of a dewy youthful glow.

Moving away from beauty items…

I’m still loving my Winter Mint.

I am indulging in this most days. It’s tasting really good to me!

On the last day of school I treated myself to a good old Egg McMuffin. They are 8 WW points. It was so delish!

I know I said I was gonna do at home gel from now on and I am going to do it more now that I know how easy it is,but I am in need of a better curing lamp so I am waiting to see if I get one for Christmas.

So, in the meantime…

I had purchased this matte navy set a long time ago and put it on Monday. It is still going strong. This couldn’t be easier and it looks lip dip or gel. The hardest part is finding the right size for each of your nails. You want to go a bit smaller and never bigger because it will cut into your skin. First you use the enclosed wipe on your nails and then you simply take the sticker backing off and stick it on your nail. When you are ready to remove, you use dental floss by the cuticle. I am impressed!

Looks pretty good, right? Oh, I forgot to say that I cut them down after they were on with a nail clipper and then filed them with a regular nail file. At the time of this writing, they are still looking perfect after 4 days.

My sister once said that the more time off you have before Christmas the more you will spend spinning your wheels getting ready for Christmas, buying more gifts, overthinking your gifts, etc. I tried to be really intentional this week about not just being on the Christmas consumerism hamster wheel. I went to the gym. I caught up on tv, I cleaned and organized, and I spent time with a friend.

My friend Beth and I tried out Nouvelle Wine Bar.

We had a glass of red and then walked over to Bar Vetti for another glass of red and we shared a margarita pizza.

It was a lovely and relaxing couple of hours!

And, Tom was still working but we met for lunch one day. He had a project to look at and suggested a nearby bagel place. I got a veggie sandwich on an everything bagel.

So thankful for Kroger pick up. I think I have my meals planned and I placed a big order and picked it up. I will have to run in the store once more for a few odds and ends, but what a time saver. And, a money saver. I can be so impulsive when I shop in store. I especially get crazy with holiday items and then it derails me and I think of more recipes to make.

I also did a quick Trader Joe’s trip for a few items I can only get there. This came home with me and it is a winner! I like it alone or in some of my cocktails.

At Jennifer’s rec, I ordered this set of glosses. I love the texture and the staying power! It comes in quite a pretty box from Amazon. It has several different shades and a clear to put on top. The shades are all pretty matte which I do like sometimes. I have a lip product problem!

A text exchange with my sister Kate made me laugh this week. Kate is an art teacher and I love her clothing and her home decor style, but not her shoe style. She has made some very questionable shoe purchases. If you understand the sister dynamic, you know that I always let her know what I think. One time she showed up in high heeled yellow and purple soccer style shoes. I had a good one liner that I can’t remember now, but it was probably something about her having to play in a match but needing to hit the club immediately afterwards. Another time she showed up in bright red shiny lace up boots. I asked her if she had gone to Ronald McDonald’s garage sale.

Her most recent shoe decision:

My response:

Well, this is only part of my response. The rest wasn’t fit for this blog. Hey, she probably doesn’t like all of my shoes, either.

I abandoned Christmas in Vermont by Anita Hughes when this came in for me at the library. Let’s just say Christmas in Vermont was as boring as its title.

And, yes, I do judge a book by its cover. Look how cute!

Hallmark apparently has branched out. This was actually kinda cute and very foodie centered. It was set in New York, mainly. I feel like it used every Jewish stereotype, though. I’m wondering if it would be found offensive?

This could turn out to be a happy accident. I ordered canned biscuits for my monkey bread and Kroger gave me Sweet Hawaiian. Did you know this was a thing? I didn’t!

We are getting ready for extreme cold here, like many of you also are. I don’t think I even got out by big winter coat named “Darth Vader” last year. I can usually get away with just my North Face jacket for most of the winter.

So, here is my meal plan with lots of extras in case we can’t go out to get more rations.

Christmas Eve Day:

Make Spinach tortellini soup to have on hand for that day’s lunch and Christmas Day lunch if needed.

Christmas Eve Night:

Ham, macaroni and cheese, green beans, red potatoes, Sister Schubert’s rolls

Christmas Morning:

Breakfast Board – fruit, cheese, little donuts, monkey bread, egg casserole

Snacks: Mexican restaurant chips and salsa

Hawaiian sliders with the ham I made and swiss

Chili cheese enchiladas – this was suggested by Big Boo podcast and I am going to use flour tortillas and add chicken

None of this is set in stone, but it gives us options.

Day After Christmas at my mom’s house:

We are having a pasta party so someone is making spaghetti, someone is making lasagna, someone is doing salad, someone is doing dessert.

I am making Narci’s Bacon Alfredo Pasta Bake (couldn’t find the link) and Baked Ziti and bringing bread and a butter board.

I love having a plan, but I am not super rigid about it.

So, what were your favorites this week?

I need to get my Chick Fil A peppermint mocha shake sometime and I also want to try Wendy’s peppermint Frosty. My Wendy’s closes at 3 pm now? Is this a thing?

Merry Christmas and may you have a nice coffee and cocktail today!

Amy

Thursday, December 22, 2022

I don’t think Kellyann and Jill are doing the regular link up today, but I am going on with the show.

One day last week, this is what I wore to school. This blouse is short-sleeved and I love this option for not getting too hot. I had to take off the cardigan for most of the day in my over-heated classroom. The blouse is many years old from Old Navy and I seriously love it and I love black watch plaid so much. I paired it with Matilda Jane pants (did you hear they went out of business?), Tieks, and a Land’s End cardigan. I can honestly say that my Matilda Jane pants are some of the best pants I have ever had. The quality is amazing and they make the perfect “teacher pants”. They look presentable but feel like lounge wear.

I have told this story before, but I found 3 brand new pairs of Tieks for $30 each at my consignment store. If you are a flats person, I think they are probably the best out there – along with Hush Puppies. The only complaint is that your big toe shows. Rothy’s are great, but my feet weirdly sweat in them. I had a pair and wore them almost every day for two months. I washed them and they shrank. I probably should have only washed the insert. I sold them to my consignment store because they were just slightly too small and I wasn’t wearing them. I love the look of them, but for the price and the foot sweat factor….I just don’t know. Anyone else?

For Friday’s outfit, I wore jeans, gold Tieks, a Target green sweater, and a black knit top underneath. Meh – I don’t really like this outfit.

Friday night, I wore my suede dressy booties, my Spanx faux leather leggings, a new sweater from my last trip to TJ Maxx. It has a scalloped neckline and sheer sleeves. It is tunic length. The Spanx leggings are absolutely worth it. I have had mine for maybe 5 years. They do something magical to your legs. They feel amazing. I loved the sweater, too, and you can never have enough black in my opinion!

My friend’s multi-colored sequin blazer is amazing! I kept waiting for her to perform in it!

A closer look at the outfit elements:

Saturday night I wore my dressy suede booties again with my brown faux leather pants, and a simple black sweater tucked in. This was for Jack’s guitar concert. The pants feel like absolute butter and have a warm lining. Sometimes you don’t know how much you love a piece until you wear it multiple times. That’s why I rely on my fashion bloggers that I trust!

Sunday I stopped at Clothes Mentor and came home with four items that were new with tags still on them! I spent $60.

I brought this home to wear under my fur vests that I have in cream and black:

This looked Christmasey and I thought it would work with black pants or jeans:

The above two pieces looked like they came from TJ Maxx because of the brands.

I am so drawn to hot pink! This was Target A New Day brand.

I had a hot pink spring cardigan from The Gap years ago and I wore it until it had to be let go because it was worn looking and stretched out. This was J.Crew Factory.

It is really on my heart to try to do 23 in 2023 with my clothing. But, then I look at the four things I bought in one fell swoop and have no regrets! I think I scored! What do you think?

Amy

Wednesday, December 21, 2022

If your family is like mine, this is a very important post! Just kidding!

You can never go wrong with a mimosa, but why keep it traditional? Try pomegranate or cranberry juice instead of orange juice. I finally bought a set of 4 champagne flutes at Target last year. I like to use LaMarca brand prosecco and Heather talked about this drink here, too! I had a bag of cranberries left over from Thanksgiving and I washed them and left them wet, put them in a big Ziploc bag with sugar and shook them up. They are in my freezer waiting for me. You can also add a sprig of rosemary like my drink had on Friday night. Rosemary looks a bit like a Christmas tree! I had to remove it because it kept going up my nose, so beware.

You can’t go wrong with vodka and cranberry. Add a splash of Sprite for that fizzy element.

Trader Joe’s has a sparkling cranberry ginger beverage that is on my list. I plan to re-create the cranberry mule I had on Friday.

I love to “copy” off of restaurant drinks. Do you do that, too?

Lindsay has a winter white cosmo that I have yet to try. I can’t find white cranberry juice!

Do you watch Southern Charm or Winter House? Austen posted this family punch recipe and it is really good:

1/2 cup bourbon

1 cup pomegranate juice

zest of one orange (I left this out)

1/2 cup orange juice

1 bottle of Prosecco

Pom seeds or cranberries

I did test this out for you! It’s good!

Do you have any traditional cocktails? Egg nog? I like the stuff!

Cheers,

Amy

Tuesday, December 20, 2022

Festivus doesn’t actually happen until Friday, but I have another post planned! Any Seinfeld fans in the house? I have probably seen every episode ten times. Here is the clip about Festivus!

And, here is an explanation:

Festivus ( / ˈfɛstɪvəs /) is a secular holiday celebrated on December 23 as an alternative to the pressures and commercialism of the Christmas season.

Celebrations: Airing of grievances, feats of strength, the aluminum pole, Festivus dinner, Festivus miracles

I do celebrate Christmas, but I thought this would be a fun post!

Grievance Number One:

Target, oh Target. You have always been my happy place. Why you gotta go trying to look like a department store?

You don’t mess with perfection. I am kinda digging your Ulta section, but still, it’s confusing. I need things to stay consistent in my life, ok? I guess it’s Target.com for me. I am sad.

Grievance Number Two:

This month I have found myself at two round dinner tables of 8-10 folks. At both of these tables there was a bread basket.

Now, if you happen to choose the seat (or you are seated) by the bread basket, you have a duty. It is much like being in the exit row of an airplane. You have the responsibility of passing the bread basket. At the first event, they ran out of bread. It did not get passed and then there was NO MORE. Ok, I was fine. Do I need bread? That is not the point.

At the second event, I noticed a woman chewing on a pillowy white roll. She may or may not be in this photo. The person in front of the basket did not pass it. When, the lady next to me finally noticed the basket she had to ask for it to be passed. Then, she had to ask for the pats of butter. Have people never sat around a table family style before? You offer the salt and pepper, too. I made sure the salad dressing was passed. Pass the bread basket, people!

Grievance Number Three:

I have a love/hate relationship with Facebook. It’s been amazing for re-connecting with people from different stages of my life, but I have found out way too much about some people. Do not post 20 times a day on Facebook. I feel like it keeps me from seeing other people I want to see. You get one post per day or I will snooze you. Also, many Facebook posts could have been a text to ONE PERSON! Why do you need to put that on Facebook?

So, what grievance would you like to air? Or, do you want to do a feat of strength?

Let me know!

Amy

Monday, December 19, 2022

It’s Monday, but I’m fine with it because I am on Winter Break! I am linking up with Sarah and Holly to tell you what I did this weekend.

Friday was fine and I managed to get all of my semester exams graded and entered into our online grade program before I left for the day.

Also, I won a poinsettia! There was a thing for all of the teachers to put their name in a raffle and I won! Did you know the flower is from Mexico? So, yeah, it’s only fitting that a Spanish teacher won!

We had an after school Christmas happy hour at an Irish bar. The school bought the food and we had to buy our own drinks. I had a delicious cranberry mule.

I didn’t stay that long because we had evening plans. This was the only night that our two couple friends could coordinate to get together with us over the holidays. We started out at a pop up bar called Miracle on Market.

Look at the camera, Tom!

It was cute but one of those “I don’t really need to go again” type things.

We walked down the street to our reservation at Guacamole Modern Kitchen.

I got a drink called “Day of the Dead”. It was really good and smoky!

We got chips and guacamole and queso.

My friend and I split a salad and

fish tacos.

Everything was amazing! It was my first time going there.

I hit the gym both Saturday and yesterday mornings. Who am I? I will tell you who I am – a girl who plans to indulge in some holiday foods.

I am not a soft drink person but this is really good. Have you tried it?

Here is why I needed to go to the gym…I made Hi Sugarplum’s recipe.

I went down the Harry and Meghan rabbit hole. I am almost done with the Netflix series now. I have never been a royal obsessed person but I thought I would check it out. I believe everything in this docuseries. Tom says that is the point of it – to make me believe their side. I don’t know. I have read The Royal We. None of what they are saying seems far fetched, you know? Thoughts?

The German restaurant that closed has been offering take out nights once every couple of months so Tom said to definitely place an order. I went to pick it up and then brought it home to wait on us. Jack had a guitar concert in the college chapel even though the dorms closed Friday.

It was really good and we really enjoyed it. Jack played with 2 other kids, then alone and he explained what each song was going to be (no one else did that), and then the concert ended with the guitar professor playing a few songs alone. He was so good!

We went home – the kids rode home together and Tom and I rode home together and then ate our German food.

We are watching Wednesday as a family.

Sunday morning Tom and I went to the Argentinian restaurant to watch Argentina play in the World Cup.

breakfast empanadas:

It was really fun and I am glad we went. Tom had to be coerced a bit, but I think he liked being in that atmosphere.

I ran a couple of errands with Tom and then a couple alone and watch more of Harry and Meghan.

For dinner we had burrito bowls:

What was the highlight of your weekend?

Amy

Friday, December 16, 2022

It is everyone’s favorite day of the week and time for the link up of Friday Faves here!

Jennifer’s lipstick tutorial was a favorite this week! Check out her post and I hope she doesn’t get mad at me for sending you there! Her lipstick always looks so good! She gives you technique and product advice and she only uses drugstore brands.

Here is my new red combo – lipliner in Spice from Milani, Superstay Ink Crayon by Maybelline in Own Your Emprie, and then lip plumping gloss by NYX called Filler Instinct.

And, here is a more neutral look with my Neutrogena MoistureSmooth color stick in Soft Raspberry.

I am not sure what I’m doing with my tongue. It’s surprisingly hard to take your own lip photo. I am also doing this so Jennifer won’t be as mad at me. See, I put my lips out there, too!

Our school had a nice spread for us for lunch one day in our library.

Too bad they couldn’t give us more than 20 minutes to scarf it down. Teacher jokes, amiright?

I try to remember to turn on these lights as it is starting to get dark. I love these lights so much.

I’m reading this and it’s cheesy and predictable but I’m ok with that. At the rate I’m going (slow), I may not get any other Christmas themed books in this year!

If anyone wants a financial re-set after hemorrhaging money for Christmas and just LIFE in general right now, you should join this for free. I have been reading a blog called Frugalwoods for years. I do not aspire to be as frugal as they are, but I really enjoy hearing their story and seeing their photos of their Vermont property. Starting January 1, you will get an email in your inbox each day.

They don’t spam you or anything and the emails are well written with links to different articles from past blog posts. It is really informative and helpful. Let me know if you do it! I have learned a lot from reading this blog. Here is their basic philosophy that I happen to share;you might have been confused when you see me being frugal about some things and “spending out” on others. The most recent blog post reads, “My approach isn’t about depriving myself or cutting back in every single category, it’s about being strategic with how and where I spend my money” and “Save on stuff that doesn’t matter–or that you can get used for a cheaper price–to enable yourself the freedom to spend on the things that matter most”.

Speaking of frugality, I think this year’s Trader Joe’s bags are so pretty. I might use them to wrap some of my gifts.

I bought the cutest indoor doormat/rug from Costco.

We had “ugly sweater day” at school one day this week. I gotta go with “Fleece Navidad”, as you know!

This is making me so happy! I dedicate December to all things peppermint!

This is what my week has looked like – I created three multiple choice exams for my three different levels and I am still using good old Scantron forms. Yes, I am! I make some of my questions and answer choices funny and I told the students there might be some chuckling during the exam. I told them that there wouldn’t be any guffawing. Yes, they do think I’m weird. I am doing my part to increase both their English and Spanish vocabulary. By the way, there are so many words they don’t know in English that they need to know to understand the Spanish word.

Ok, put that cup of coffee down because I have news…

Our hall bathroom is getting closer to completion. Last week we had the tub/shower tile done and the floor tile done. We have the toilet and paint ready but are waiting on the plumber to come and plumb or do whatever plumbers do.

The walls are going to be Agreeable Gray by Sherwin Williams.

This is our vanity and it is on its way to us.

So, if you have been here for a while you don’t need this recap, but if you are new, this hall bathroom is the old hall bathroom (that I used) and Tom’s tiny bathroom combined. The tiny bathroom used to be in our old bedroom that is now our primary bathroom.

Next project is ripping up living room carpet and replacing it with wood (along with all of the other wood flooring on the main floor, painting all of the main floor, and re-doing the kitchen. Yup, we still have a lot of stuff to do, but it’s all good.

So, tell me a favorite of yours this week!

Happy Friday and happy winter vacation for those who finished school today!

Amy

Thursday, December 15, 2022

It is Thursday and that means link up day with Kellyann and Jill. Sometimes I feel really weird and awkward doing these, but I know that this type of post helps breathe new life into my closet. I see a color combo or an idea and think that I can try it, too. I especially feel weird with my IRL friends who read the blog. Sorry, guys!

I wore this last week to the charcuterie place Cultured and got a comment from an employee. I told him he could use me in their social media and he chuckled. I think that was his polite way of saying, “thanks but no thanks, you crazy middle aged woman”.

The sweater is last year’s Loft (look on Thredup or Ebay if you also love it!), the pants are this year from Chico’s, and the heels are this year from Hush Puppies.

Then, I saw Kellyann pair hers with a black silk blouse and now I can’t wait to try this combo. Doesn’t this look so chic? Or, so “drippy” depending on your age?

Speaking of drippy, I have to tell you a quick story. Monday a fabulously dressed 6’5 man was walking through my hallway and told me he was a substitute security administrator. He was dressed in navy pants, a cream turtleneck sweater, brown loafers, and a long camel coat. Someone mentioned him in every single class. The girls were saying they were going to get in trouble so he could deal with them. It was really hilarious. I saw videos and photos of him taken by my students. They all commented on how nice he was dressed.

Last week I wore this easy outfit one day. I have this old feminine flannel from Old Navy. I wore dark jeans and my gold Tieks. I do have to say that the Tieks were very comfortable.

After school, I changed into this (don’t worry – I do not wear this to school).

For a quick breakfast date over the weekend I wore all black – black leggings, black top, and black booties and threw this black and red poncho on top.

I learned this photo trick and this is what I wore to Tom’s holiday party. The outfit consisted of the same faux leather Chico’s pants in black, old consignment black pumps, new this year Loft sequin, and a wrap that I borrowed from Erica. I need to find an elegant black wrap of my own.

The color of the night was green – dark green velvet, green velvet, bright green, and…

a green jumpsuit.

I had thought about green, too, but didn’t find anything.

For school this week, I wore a cream blouse with greenery on it with green Matilda Janes. See, I did wear some green!

And, I tried out my new black tights (very comfortable and I made sure not to go too small. There is nothing more uncomfortable than too tight tights. He, he), an old black skirt, and a new Costco white sweater. Yup, Costco got me for only $11. When you buy your clothing along with your meat, you know there is a problem.

And, that is about it for what I’ve worn lately. I have an idea bubbling in my head for 2023, but I am scared to put it out in the universe and scared to fail at it. I am also scared that I will regret it. What do you think about me doing a 23 in 2023 and only buying/adding 23 items to my wardrobe? Yeah, see…it might be too radical for me. Anyway, you will be the first to know if I decide to do it.

Amy

Wednesday, December 14, 2022

There is such a sweet spot with kids when they understand and enjoy the magic of Christmas. I was telling Tom the other day I would love to re-live it but with my exact kids. We used to go to several events held by church, school, and community. I thought I would share our currest-ish traditions that have evolved since my kids were teens, I suppose. They are now 20. I was lucky to be in the same car with just my sweet college kids and we talked about some of their favorites.

We have always had an artificial tree, so picking out a tree was never a tradition for us. Also, I only had them sit on Santa’s lap once or twice and probably only if it was at a special breakfast like Christmas at the Zoo. We did all put the tree together and hang ornaments as a family. Now I like to have the tree set up and all the decor done by the time they come home for break. I didn’t have it up during Thanksgiving.

Here are some things that have pretty much stuck as traditions. Maybe some of these will appeal to you and maybe you can give me some ideas in the comments, too!

Church on Christmas Eve – a 4 or 5 o’clock service with just the 4 of us

Picking up Mexican restaurant chips, salsa, and queso to eat on Christmas Day – we like to have a breakfast casserole and then snack around. I haven’t decided what else I will make – maybe hawaiian ham and swiss sliders.

Opening Christmas pajamas on Christmas Eve – as they turned teens this became fleece pants and maybe a plain long sleeve shirt but sometimes just pants

Opening a new game on Christmas Eve and playing it

Christmas Day waking up and seeing the gifts and the stockings. No one opens until everyone is up. We enjoy stuffing Ernie’s stocking and watching him with his stocking, too!

Baking and having pink merengue cookies on hand. They are a couple of times a year treat!

I am not going to say I will never do Christmas cards again, but I am taking a break. I did photo cards for 14 years. I still love receiving them, but it’s one of those things that I have let go for now.

My hall table with my cards of past:

On my side of the family, we are doing white elephant gifts – including all of the kids and adults – you are supposed to bring a present that is something you already have in the house. It can be a re-gift but you cannot go out and buy anything. We will play Dirty Santa with the gifts. This is a new tradition that we started last year. We only give gifts to my mom now.

We also decided to do a pasta party – each of the moms is bringing one or two types of pasta and we are having salad, garlic bread, and dessert. I am making baked ziti and bacon alfredo.

Tom does my stocking and I do his stocking. We also put stuff in a stocking for Ernie, as I mentioned. Ernie’s stocking says “Archie” because our Pottery Barn stockings are no longer available but I also like seeing “Archie” as a tribute to our first sweet chocolate lab boy. Ernie doesn’t care. He is chiill about it.

Our kids still get stockings. We also put the Santa gifts next to our fireplace and our family gifts under the tree. The Santa gifts were hidden until Christmas morning. No one was allowed to open until the whole family was up.

Also, Tom’s family tore into their gifts simultaneously like animals (Ha!) and I was appalled when I first saw this. We take turns so each person can see what everyone received.

This year, I would like to take a night for all four of us to go out to eat and see our botanical gardens lit up. I would also like to find a movie for all of us to see together. Since we have not been all together much since August, just time at home eating dinner is special. Our kids just love staying home and staying in their cozy fleece pants.

Amy

Tuesday, December 13, 2022

Like many things in life, when you stop going somewhere frequently and then go back again, it can be a treat. I had not been to Trader Joe’s in at last a month, so this Saturday I got motivated to go early before the crowds.

And, it was, in fact a treat to peruse the aisles. I had a list of 5 things I needed and then many more made it into my cart!

For snacks, I was pretty disciplined. I wanted to try this popcorn and maybe thought it good on a charcuterie board.

And, Jack especially loves these plantain chips.

As for produce, I bought a bag of broccoli, a bag of red potatoes, a bag of russets, one purple sweet potato to try, a head of garlic, an onion, mushrooms, and brussels sprouts. I also bought a bag of Ceasar salad mix to go with spaghetti one night this week.

As far as spices go, I needed a refresh on the Everything but the Bagel (you can find this many places now but I think TJ”s does it the best) and sea salt, and I also picked up a truffle oil set I like to always have a can of green chiles in the pantry, too.

As for meat, I thought a short cut pot roast would be good one night. I will roast carrots, onions, and potatoes in the oven and then heat this up. I got ground turkey and ground chicken for meatballs and then I fell in love with the smoked salmon at the charcuterie place so I am hopeful that TJ’s will be good, too.

I love these tiny baguettes! I love this brioche bread for French toast and might do that on Christmas. I am not impressed with the Portuguese rolls so I won’t buy them again. And, the everything bagels are really good.

For dairy, I did some goat cheese and some lite shredded Mexican cheese.

And, frozen items are where many people thing TJ”s really shines. I got some fries, some waffle fries, and some Jasmine rice with my kids coming home and I got some Mexican cauliflower rice to add to my burrito bowls.

Don’t be discouraged if you don’t have a TJ”s near you; the regular grocery stores have many similar products so maybe this will give you some ideas of what to stock up on.

Amy