Coffee and Cocktails at the Casa

Tuesday, October 28, 2025

Now, I don’t want you to get mad at me because I do realize Halloween hasn’t even happened yet. If you have littles that is a big one for you! Maybe favorite or screenshot this post for after you get through Halloween!

Here are some things you can start doing right now to be calm in the next two months.

Clean out freezer – I did this recently and we still had last year’s ham, some Christmas gift bacon?, and Tom’s bean soup from January. You will need your freezer space, and nobody got time for Salmonella!

Clean out coat closet and try on – People need your coats that you aren’t wearing! I plan to do this soon. Tom and I have way too many jackets and coats. We have started needing to wear them and this is great motivation for us to see what we have.

Make plans with family, reservations, order food – It’s time to start talking to people about the plans. I have been bugging my sisters already because this is going to be a hard year for us. I think we have figured out our plan.

What will you buy and what will you cook? I have started seeing Thanksgiving offerings from restaurants and markets.

Buy plane tickets if you need to and haven’t already if you have to fly.

Reflect on last year – what went well? What didn’t go well?

What matters? If there is something you did that doesn’t really matter and it stressed you out – let it go.

Make list of who you will buy for – I usually just put this on my phone and I can add ideas as I get them.

Some of you have gained fiances, sons in law, daughters in law, etc. this year. How will you stay flexible to allow for more complicated family dynamics? That’s a tough one!

Do you plan to bake? Make a list of what you plan to make; the stores are already discounting baking supplies. You could add a few things each week to your grocery order.

Buy this Fiona Ferris book! It really made my holiday last year! I do believe that I had a chic and simple Christmas!

I enjoyed my red/green purse strap and got dressed in somewhat festive attire to run my errands last year. I ordered what I could to help make it easier on myself, but when I did need to go in person shopping, I felt happy and lucky to get to do these things.

Advent calendars – if this is your tradition, there are so many cute ideas out there. Some are pricey so really think about if this matters to you. I know I am getting Mason a tea advent calendar!

Look at pictures from last year to jog your memory as you are making plans.

Start marking down community events in your calendar so you can plan to do some of them.

Start going to stores for inspo if you have time. World Market, Anthropologie, Hobby Lobby, TJ Maxx might get you in the mood!

Do not buy anything until you look at your holiday bins. You might want to do that early to see what you have.

Donate any holiday stuff that you don’t love. Others can use it and you will feel happy making someone’s day! If you have a kid who has just gotten their own place, they might want some. They also might not and don’t take it personally.

I incorporated some fun things we saw in England, Scotland, and Spain because it was so special to me. For example, last year I did an appetizer spread like what we would have in Spain.

If you do the new pajamas, now is the time to start ordering those. I have looked at Old Navy’s offerings.

Last year, we did a new tradition of a new book and good chocolate on Christmas Eve and we all loved it. I think we might do that again.

On Eve, we(I) decided to eat at an Irish restaurant and I loved it!

Is it Christmas morning if you don’t have monkey bread? You decide.

We got to go to this quaint church on Eve! Jack sings there.

Tom and I give each other magazines in our stocking, and it was mild enough last year that I got to read them outside!

Chex Mix! Why is it a Christmas thing? I don’t know!

Eddie Otis also wanted to hand out puppy chow.

Buy your pets their gifts! Eddie took up smoking last year.

I love going places that have decor and twinkle lights. Life is short; wear the Prosecc Ho Ho Ho shirt.

Personal opinion: I think the reason why we as women get stressed out is because we don’t do the above things and we don’t take the time to reflect and be intentional. I ask my kids what their favorite things are and what matters to them. Keep it simple and don’t do things that are causing you stress. Delegate. You know what has always come up with the best gifts for our kids – Tom. Yup, shocking.

Your teens and adult kids want money. Period.

We always did the “something you want, something you need, something to wear, and something to read”. Loved it!

This year is going to be hard. If you are in a similar situation, try to do something different. Can you go away? Do a scavenger hunt? Do a Goodwill fashion show? Prices have gone up. Can you do a talent show and give a gift of your talent instead of tangible gifts? Can you just draw names? Can you do a group charity gift and feel good about helping others? If you bring this up with family, you might be surprised at the relief of the others.

Change is hard and change is scary, but sometimes you gain a lot from doing things differently.

I hope I have given you some food for thought and not given you a whole new bundle of things to stress about! I hope I have helped more than I have hurt!

Leave your ideas and suggestions in the comments and I am sure I will talk about this topic again!

Amy

Monday, October 27, 2025

Well, here we are – last week of October. Ay ay ay as they say in Spanish. Did you have a good weekend? Let’s link up with Sarah and Holly and share…

In my new role of SAHDM (stay at home dog mom) and TW (trophy wife) I don’t have much of a routine. I want one. The Type A First Born person that I am wants to have a certain day to go to the library but I don’t have a certain day yet. On Thursday I had a book request ready for me and I made it one of my errands.

I snapped a photo of the Halloween/scary book display:

Over the weekend I finished this:

It wasn’t nearly as good as a Kristin Harmel – The Winemaker’s Wife, The Stolen Life of Colete Marceau, or The Room on Rue Amelie – but I did like it. A couple of the details were confusing and a couple of things bothered me, but I did like it.

I stayed in Paris for my next book – he, he

I just barely started it. All this Paris is gonna make me crave some baguette!

Thursday afternoon I went with my friend Jessica to a fashion show! She snapped my outfit pic for me…

First, we had drinks from a mobile bar…

Then we had a food from each of the restaurants in the shopping center…

Then we saw fall fashions from all the boutiques in the center. There were also models with doggies up for adoption because the humane society was a sponsor.

It was a fun thing to do!

Friday little boy jumped up on this bench to be closer to me and it was so cute!

He seems to enjoy laying outside more now that it’s cooler outside. He is a little stinker because I always use a torn piece of paper for my bookmark and he loves to pull it out of my book and eat it. He’s part goat.

Ok…short story time…

Have you heard of Storyworth? It would make an excellent gift for someone this Christmas, I think.

So, I gifted this to my mom about 3 years ago. You receive a question about your life via email, and you answer it and add photos where you see fit. The gift includes one hard back book where all of your answers/stories are compiled. My mom loved this gift! She did a great job answering her questions and adding photos. I am super impressed that she added so many because sometimes technology was not her friend.

My mom loved it so much she bought herself another year’s worth of questions and bought three more book credits for each of us.

I gave the job of editing and creating the final book to my sister Kate in exchange for writing her thank you notes. Lol. I said, “I will do your thank yous if you do this huge project that is daunting to me”. We had hundreds of thank you notes to do and we divided them up based on who knew who and then some were just random. Yes, our mom taught us to write them as children and Kate always cried over hers and never did some of them!

I did her thank yous and she didn’t do the Storyworth project. But, she did do so much of the getting ready for the estate sale and so much more. I have talked about this before, but we really did divide up the work according to each of our strengths. I took on most of the business and phone calls where they were better at the cleaning out and dealing with the stuff.

So, since I retired the Storyworth was mine to do. It wasn’t super user friendly at first and I got frustrated. I had to call a couple of people from the company. I’m not selling this gift very well now, am I?

Also, it was quite emotional to read my mom’s stories to be honest.

Well, Friday was the day that I called the customer service again and got help and finished the editing and designing of the book. I added one more copy of the book and one will go to my sisters, me, and then my mom’s two siblings.

Anyway, it felt like a big accomplishment!

Tom and I are trying the Scandinavian way and it looks a bit weird but we really like it. We have two twin sized down comforters and two twin sized duvet covers. Here is what our room looks like now…

We need to get rid of the armoire that used to house our smaller tv…

My favorite red trees by my house are showing off!

Saturday, I had an Anthropologie return that I had ordered online and I browsed around…

They have shoes now in my store…

I bought these two from the sale room…

Love this mug and love this drinking glass. Yes, I only bought one of each!

Test run…

Eddie Otis cannot get close enough to Tom -look at EO’s smile…

We had some Saturday sports ball and a fire!

At 5:00. we went to a pizza place for a going away gathering for our friend…

She took pictures with the different groups that came trickling in. We stayed to eat with her.

Tom and I split a yummy salad with focaccia and then ordered, as well…

The guest of honor gave me an early birthday present of this pretty mug! How thoughtful!

Sunday morning, I researched Diane Keaton movies and watched part of one I had never heard of.

Tom and I went to Costco and did a Kroger pick up, too.

I missed my Amylus and I need the protein.

I was most excited about these wedge salads!

“Daddy went to Home Depot without me”, said EO.

Not a fan of falling back…

By the way, I have to fall back on my birthday!

Loved this…

I planned out my meals for the week…

Chili, Grilled cheese

Burger bowls

Chicken, potatoes, broccoli

Fish, peas, Mac n cheese

Mummy dogs, fries, salad

Leftovers – chili again, hot ham and cheese

Amy

Friday, October 24, 2025

This week flew by! Did you have a good week? I am linking up with Andrea and Erika to share some faves! I know my Tuesday post kind of read like a Friday Favorites, but it was all about the little things that are saving my life right now! Go back and check it out if you missed it and make your own list, too! I really enjoyed the comments on that post, too.

Thanks for being here! I haven’t said that for a while. I am really having fun blogging lately and having more time to do so has made it even more fun!

I enjoyed one of my cans of Trader Joe’s peach wine one night while dinner was cooking. Always put it in the pretty glass!

This week held hair day! I always do my makeup so I don’t scare myself looking in the mirror. I get highlights and now that I am seeing some grays I am doing lowlights to cover those up.

It’s not just hair day, but it’s catch up with my stylist Laura day. She is so fun to talk to and is also like a therapist. She’s my hairapist.

I sent my hair day selfie to Tom and…

Unbeknownst to me, he had hair day, too! He doesn’t like to tell me when he has a haircut appointment because hair is a sensitive subject for him but aren’t we in synch? N’sync?

Grown men taking selfies is weird, no? I can’t take one either, though.

Let’s talk about Mah Jong. I took a lesson at the beginning of June and haven’t played since. I have seen leagues you could join for $300 and events that were really pricey and I didn’t want to pay that amount or commit.

My friend found out about a free play at Captain’s Quarters (we go there all the time, close to home, on the river) and I went and I was mortified as I had forgotten all the rules. Also, we played with tiles that looked different from the ones we learned on. The beginning of the game where you discard and pass to the right and pass to the right takes a sweet forever. Then the game starts and some people are super slow. I just don’t know if I like it that much. I like Euchre. I like Rummy. I like Go Fish. I like Slap Jack. I also would rather play during the day when I can focus more. I was fading as 8:00 approached.

So, a favorite is that I am glad I tried again and went to this free play but I am not sure it’s for me. Chime in if you have opinions!

I definitely do not want to be a sheep and just play it because everyone is doing it!

I found this book really cute!

Then, I went back to WWII Paris!

I had a Crumbl gift card with some money left on it so I bought this Fruity Pebbles cookie…

and this M&M cookie.

I think there’s something weird about Crumbl that I can’t pinpoint. I don’t plan to go back unless I have a gift card. It has an artificial aftertaste? I’m not sure. Mason and I split them over a couple of days. So, I didn’t have trouble eating them; I’m just making an observation. I mean even a bad cookie is still a cookie, no?

Tomato soup and grilled cheese hit the spot for dinner one night this week…

Tom and I are trying the Scandinavian way. We bought two twin sized comforters and duvets for our bed. I am so happy with this print and I think it looks really good in my room. I will take an updated photo soon of the whole room. It’s not quite done but it’s getting there.

It turned cold this week. EO and I got out early and it felt so good!

My shadow…

Tom’s lap dog…

I have been watching Real Housewives of London through an app called Hayu using a VPN. Yes, Amy understands all this now. It is not shown in the US so this is what I had to figure out. Look at the striped jeans one lady is wearing.

Mason went to Kroger with me on Sunday. I had no inspiration for meals. Nothing sounded good. Nothing looked good.

So, we basically just bought snacks.

Bacon was $9.49.

I did a black mani that will hopefully last til Halloween. I decided not to go with any fun mani this year because I couldn’t find one I really liked.

If you haven’t watched Season 1, get on it! It’s so cute. Mason loved it, too. We are so excited to start Season 2.

Die, mosquitoes!

I grabbed this from my Facebook memories. I have not made it yet this season but plan to make it soon.

I need to get on some of my fall bucket list items!

Do you have fall plans this weekend?

How was your week?

Amy

Thursday, October 23, 2025

It’s Thursday and time to link up with Kellyann and Jill for Fashion Files!

Today is even more fashionable for me! Want to know why? I get to go to a fashion show! There is a shopping center near me that has restaurants and shops and many of my favorite boutiques are located there. They have an annual fall fashion show, and I get to go this year! 5:00 starts the food and cocktails and 6:00 starts the fashion. There is shopping starting at 7:00 with some discounts involved. You also get a swag bag.

So, last week I told you about my two little Old Navy skirts that pull on. I wore the burgundy (the other is black) with this fall blouse from last season and my new Frye & Co. vegan boots to brunch for my friend’s birthday last week.

When I went to my friend’s new distillery I bought a sweatshirt and paired it with my gray Amazon leggings for Friday errands.

I wore this blouse and jeans to dinner Friday night.

I thought my Spanish burgundy velvet Mary Janes looked good with the sunset. The brand is Cayumas if you are curious.

I love wearing my Adidas to run errands. I hope these don’t look summery.

I had fun getting some fall aesthetic photos in my boots…

Tom and I ran some rainy errands Sunday and I just threw on my pumpkin graphic v-neck tee with my rain jacket.

I wore my Witching Hour with jeans and my new scalloped cardigan for dinner the night before.

Monday I ran errands in the softest J.Jill consignment fall vibes button up blouse (several years old), jeans, and my Adidas.

And, Monday night I wore jeans, my leopard Mary Janes (Dolce Vita), and my new black Umgee blouse for a game of Mah Jong.

Instagram knows how to get me!

Look at this Old Navy SLEIGH sweatshirt!

Look at this one!

Monday’s errands took me near one of my consignment stores – Clothes Mentor. I popped in but didn’t see anything I needed. I would say I leave empty-handed about half the time. You just have to browse frequently, you know?

I’m not technically a boomer, but apparently leggings are a sign that you are not young!

Are we gonna stop wearing our leggings? I’m not!

I said I was going to try not to shop in October and I wasn’t able to make that goal. I bought two Umgee blouses, a Old Navy Christmas graphic tee, and two Old Navy skirts. I think that is all I bought so that isn’t too bad!

Amy

Wednesday, October 22, 2025

It’s Wednesday and Hodgepodge day with Joyce!

1. What do you like most about your family? 

We love to laugh and there are some really funny people in my family! Did you catch my kids’ funny things post last week? My Dad loved to laugh and joke, and my sisters and I laugh together so much. I think we value humor quite a bit. Tom and I laugh together, and we think we produced some funny kids. I have some funny nieces and nephews, too. We are either laughing at you or with you! That causes problems sometimes, too, if you are the butt of the joke.

I also have some very creative people in my family, and I have always valued creativity, too.

2. What’s something nice that’s happened to you recently? 

I got to retire! Ha!

It’s still so weird! I am on an emotional rollercoaster most days flipping between feeling so free and lucky to questioning my life’s purpose and how I got to this age/stage so quickly.

3. Do you like the color orange? Besides a pumpkin and an actual orange, what’s something orange you love?

I love the color orange! I have a few orange pieces of clothing, I love an orange sky, I like orange in decor sometimes. I like orange candy! I like orange mimosas a lot! I like aperol spritzes! Orange is a happy color to me.

At my friend Erica’s birthday, I wore an orange/salmon dress and it matched my orange aperol spritz.

4.  What’s something you have now you couldn’t have imagined having five years ago? How does that make you feel? What’s possible now because of it? 

Time. I have more time. It is a gift to have more time at home now. It makes me feel a bit unanchored at times. I remember reading blogs of people who didn’t work or didn’t work full time and just feeling so envious. I am figuring it out and trying to give myself grace. I am a stay-at-home dog mom right now. I am a trophy wife. Ha! But seriously, I have always had to be so organized with me time and now I can slow down. What’s a First-Born Type A to do?

5. Let’s wrap this one up with an October this or that…

• pumpkin bread or apple cider donut – I just picked the bread, but I don’t think I have had a really good cider donut.
• cozy sweater or cozy hoodie – I am not a big hood person.
• apple picking or pumpkin picking – Neither. How about wine picking in a vineyard?
• scary movie or Hallmark movie – Hallmark movie – My job was scary enough.
• hay ride or corn maze – Hay ride. I have gotten lost in a corn maze. It’s terrifying. Have you seen Children of the Corn? I’m from Indiana. Enough said.
• twinkle lights or candles – I like both but fire over electricity, you know?
• autumn hike or autumn bonfire – I like both, but I love sitting by a fire. I love the smell of fire on the crisp fall air.

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

It’s so exciting that it is feeling like fall! I tried to take an aesthetically pleasing photo in my new boots and my new burgundy Old Navy skirt!

I have not bought any more pumpkins (just have the two snowball baby pumpkins) or mums. I am enjoying seeing the fall displays around town but maybe I am ok with not buying and killing mums this year. Lol. I do so love watching the squirrels eat the pumpkins, though.

Amy

Tuesday, October 21, 2025

This is a bit dramatic sounding, but I am going the route of Modern Mrs. Darcy and The Lazy Genius because I enjoy these so much! It could be a show, a book, a product, a song, really anything!

It’s a way to put a positive spin rather than a negative spin on life, too. It’s easy to sit around and say what’s driving us crazy, right? I don’t ever want to fall into that trap where all I do is complain. I would rather say to someone, “tell me what’s really working for you right now.” The conversation suddenly becomes so much more uplifting.

My frother! I splurged (relative) and got the frother that isn’t handheld and I love what it does to my coffee so much!

My library and all the great books I get!

Reading outside!

Old Navy graphic tees! They are soft as soft can be, good quality, and the price of a coffee. I think they are so fun to throw on.

Phone calls, texts, and usually one on one brunches, lunches, happy hours, and dinners with friends! I try to connect with someone once a week.

Press on nails! But only Impress brand!

Pull on jeans by Halara!

A smallish fall wardrobe of things I really love! Getting dressed is easy!

My old Swiffer and my new heavy duty cloths!

This creamer! Yum!

Love is Blind! It’s been fun!

What is saving your life right now? What’s really working for you or enhancing your life?

Amy

Monday, October 20, 2025

I had a really good weekend! Let’s link up with Sarah and Holly to share! And all of a sudden, it’s looking and feeling like fall here in Louisville, Kentucky!

What about you? Did you have a good weekend? Is it looking and feeling like fall? And, just like that we only have eleven days left of the month! Talk about scary!

Let’s go back to Thursday. It was Brunette Heather’s birthday and we knew we weren’t going to be able to go to dinner as couples for a few weeks so we spontaneously did a brunch during Brunette Heather’s workday. She works from home and we picked a place close to her house.

As a reminder, I met both of these girls on day one of college. Well, I met the blonde at orientation in July and then we decided to room together. Then, we met the other one like day one and we have been tight ever since. We all live within a few miles of each other now.

It was so lovely out and we sat on a patio! After we ate we went across the street to a couple of little boutiques. I went home and napped! Tom came home from work, we ate Mexican lasagna for dinner, and that was that.

Friday I went to Trader Joe’s – it had been a few weeks!

I bought these brie bites and the best rice cake I have ever tried. Seriously. Both of these will be repeat buys!

Even though I like pumpkin, I didn’t enjoy it in this kringle.

I didn’t like cinnamon bun nearly as much as brown sugar so I am going to stick with my Starbuck’s brand creamer from Kroger since brown sugar is gone from Trader Joe’s now.

I love this salad mix and I had this for lunch with Trader Joe’s already cooked chicken on Friday.

Fig butter for grilled cheese and raspberry to go with the brie bites…

Jack came home to do laundry, and I made lunch for him and he and Mason spent some nice time together all afternoon. I offered to buy them dinner if they went out together because neither of them had plans. This has been a big change for both of them, and I will never understand the twin bond but it’s a special thing. I remember Gretchen Rubin saying her parents paid for her sister to travel to her and vice versa so I try to help with that bond when I can.

Tom almost always says “yes” to my schemes. He had had a long week at work, but I wanted to go to this bar in the river/on the river before it closes at the end of October…

I do feel that going out on a Friday (even briefly) makes you feel like you had more weekend.

You can park your boat there or go by car and we went by car. I had a delicious blackberry margarita.

They had an authentic-ish Mexican food stand on one end of the bar. Ok!

Neither of us felt really confident that the floating barge bar would hold up but sometimes you have to live on the edge.

We saw the most gorgeous sunset from the bar. The drive home with the horse farm fences and the sky darkening was gorgeous, too.

This little outing made me so happy! Maybe I am a quality time person instead of words of affirmation person now?

Tom brought me home a new laptop! His work allows them to buy old phones and laptops. He was worried about my lack of Ls on my old laptop even though I bought a new keyboard. My new laptop is so nice!

I woke up Saturday and immediately went outside. Then, I decided to spend some time reading outside and it was a nice way to start the day. Saturday is my day off from Eddie Otis – lol.

He hung out on the porch with me for a bit and then he got to have a field trip with Daddy. I balanced so much cleaning with a bit of self-care and reading before they returned home…

Tom had to mow before the rains came and then he blew some leaves and Eddie Otis “helped”. Eddie Otis was beside himself when Tom climbed up on the garage roof to blow leaves and clean gutters. He just didn’t know how to get to Daddy to “help”. Yes, we do call ourselves “Daddy” and “Mommy” to Eddie Otis. What are you even doing if you don’t? Also, what do people do without a dog?

We did sheets, more cleaning inside, watched some football, and all kinds of boring things and then Tom and I went to my favorite street to get a gift from the bookstore and to eat at our favorite pizza place currently. We usually just order it but we wanted to go eat there.

We came home and watched a bit of tv and then woke to rain yesterday…

I lit my new Trader Joe’s vanilla pumpkin…

Tom and I ran a couple of errands together, but it was a cold, windy, lazy Sunday for us!

Amy

Friday, October 17, 2025

How was your week? Mine flew by! It’s Friday and time to link up with Andrea and Erica to share some of my favorites from the week.

I had a rare Monday night dinner out this week! I have to say it was fun to go out on a Monday. I met Erica on this lovely patio.

And, one of my students from last year works there and wanted a pic!

Do you study a menu ahead of time? I usually do. I decided I wanted the warm bacon spinach salad with grilled chicken and stuck with it. It was delicious. I need more real estate, though. I like a bigger plate to spread my salad out. Lol.

Tom’s office had to be evacuated Monday for a gas leak and Eddie Otis benefitted because he got a weekday river swim out of it. I am still laughing at his Monday afternoon swim where he found a big piece of floating pumpkin from all the pumpkins that had been chucked in up river the day before!

Sometimes I like to let myself run out of a product and see if I miss it. I ran out of dry shampoo and I missed it badly! It hides roots in between salon visits and it gives your clean hair a bit of boost if you need it while styling. Basically if you don’t have dry shampoo in your life, you need it. I ordered a new brand from Amazon and I love it and the smell. This is less than $7 and my old brand was $10 or $13 in the grocery store last time I checked. Now, if you are brunette you might need to get one specifically for a brunette. This does come out light in your hair.

I enjoyed wearing my new boots this week! Check out my post yesterday for more details.

If you don’t have one of these chairs in your life, you need one. You also need to give this to someone for a gift if they don’t have one. I have put in some time in this chair this week reading.

I know I’m sounding like a Karen but I don’t think there is enough learning going on at the school behind my house. They are always on recess. Get in class, kids!

I did not finish this book. The guy was quite a bit older but the big deal they made about it and the slow pace of the relationship you knew was going to happen…

I didn’t finish this, either. I took back the sequel, too. It moved too slowly for me. It was such a long book, too.

Holy dirty book, Batman. My sister warned me and I thought how bad could it be? I like the golf story line but man, oh man, are the physical romance scenes graphic.

I picked up these two from the library this week:

I don’t like to recommend a product to you all right away, but I have been using this for about 3 weeks now, I think. I love this product! It’s so good! I got mine at Walgreen’s.

The elementary school starts at 7:30 so Eddie Otis and I can walk without kids out at the start of the school day. He needs to be off leash and I need him to be off leash as much as possible.

You guys – the number of bikes at the school just makes me so happy!

Eddie and I went to the nature preserve again, too.

Eddie met a new friend named Abby. Abby’s Dad must have hot boxed before walking so we didn’t stay together for very long.

While I was waiting for more Love is Blind Season 9 I started Season 3. This group is from Dallas. It’s really good, too. I can’t tell you how much enjoyment I am getting from the memes on Instagram about LIB Season 9.

Then, LIB 9 came back on Wednesday night and Annie and Nick’s conversation was hysterical. Nick, “I just want to eat my chalupa”.

I made Mexican lasagna for us and someone who had surgery this week…

And, I had a patio wine pairing with Elizabeth this week. It was her idea for each of us to pick a wine and something that went with it. I used my cute little guest check plates. I am so mad that I forgot a picture! My wine was this cabernet sauvignon and it is so good! I paired it with a sharp cheddar and it worked. Elizabeth did a beaujolais and paired it with a cranberry goat cheese.

Do you ever go to The Kitchn website for recipes?

They are looking for people to submit a week’s worth of grocery diaries! Think about it! I got paid $150.

Here is mine and it’s kind of depressing because it’s before the prices went up!

Thank you for your sweet reactions to the funny quotes from my kids on Tuesday. I found some other old pics when I was going through things this week:

Our first family of four photo – I think we went to JC Penneys!

I love this pic!

This was on the stairs at my mom and dad’s. Look at those sweet faces!

And, yes I did have a lot of fun dressing them!

Happy Friday to you! Do you have something Halloween/Fall on the agenda? I am working through my Fall Bucket List pretty well!

Amy

Thursday, October 16, 2025

It’s already Thursday and time to link up with Kellyann and Jill.

Loving my new leopard Mary Janes but darn it, it’s 2025 – why can’t we make shoes that don’t rub your heel. I put a piece of duct/duck tape on the back. Classy!

I got a pedicure last week because I am still showing the toes sometimes. I really like this color but I have already chipped one toe and I messed up the big toe when I removed the toe separator.

I’m going to go back and get them fixed this week.

And, this is my current press on mani. I bought Olive and June brand press ons and it was a disaster. Impress brand for life.

These are my burgundy velvet Mary Janes from Spain. They were pinching the toes a bit so I did the old ice in a baggie in the freezer for 24 hours trick and it worked!

Yes, yes I do want to wear Mary Janes! Do you remember me telling you a year ago how many Spanish women were wearing these?

I wore this outfit in order to match the leopard:

Straight leg Halaras, new black boutique blouse by Umgee, and Dolce Vita leopard Mary Janes. Sorry I cut off the feet but you can see the photo of the Mary Janes above. I like the contrast of a light jean with a black top. I wore this to run an errand.

Boy, I am getting my money’s worth out of this Umgee blouse below. I wore this to the distillery event last Saturday. It was going to get pretty warm so I did sandals with my medium wash Halaras. You tired of seeing me in this outfit yet?

I wish I had taken a better picture but on Sunday I wore the tiny pumpkin tee with my pink sweater for the breast cancer fundraiser punkin’ chunkin’ event. Most people try to wear pink. It was pretty warm so I did flip flops.

Monday I broke out the Amazon pocketed flare leggings/yoga pants that could almost be a dress pant, my Halloween tee, and my scalloped cardigan. You need both the pants and the cardigan in your life. They are both excellent Amazon buys. I got to thinking I needed to start wearing my Halloween tee or I would run out of time! By the way, the pants and the cardigan come in multiple colors.

I had a dinner out on Monday night and got to wear my new blouse with my Walmart mini skirt and my new banana boots! The blouse is Umgee from a local boutique (I swooned when I saw the print) and the skirt was like $12 from Walmart! The boots are Frye & Co. I measured my calves and ordered the wide calf version but I am right on the border. The real leather Fryes are $500 and these were $140.

They gap a little bit but I think the regular calf would have been uncomfortable. The other nice think about wide calf is that I think they don’t come up as far to your knee. I have had boots before that came up too close to my knee.

Remember when I said I was going to try not to shop this month? Yeah, I don’t remember that, either. Let’s go with that.

I placed an order from Old Navy for a Christmas graphic tee (I got to thinking about having one after receiving my Halloween one) and happened upon these little elastic waist skirts, too.

I got black and maroon.

Since I am 5’4, I got the regular and it will hit me a little lower than you see on the model, which is what I want.

The graphic tee:

I think I can wear the skirts with my boots and the graphic tee will be fun under a cardigan.

I took a trip to DSW the other day and I was pretty shocked that the boots and booties look the same as the boots and booties of the last several fall/winter seasons. I need to replace my dressier black suede bootie because mine were too worn. I haven’t found the ones I want yet, though.

Remember my fall shoe post?

I didn’t show you many black shoes but they are a necessity and they look great when one is wearing a black pant or jean. It makes a continuous leg line.

I love these booties below so much that I ordered a second pair when my first was showing too much wear and tear. These are teacher approved. I love that I can wear them sockless and slip them on. They are by Lucky:

They have tiny little perforations and I like that they are a little bit western.

I also have these booties:

I have two other pairs that aren’t shown here – one is a light brown Jack Rogers brand and the other is a gray/tan that might look dated.

Do you have a shoe horn? If you have any boots or booties that are harder to put on, you need a shoe horn.

I am glad I have kept my very old Target suede look/slightly Western vibe boots, too.

I have these in black, too. See, sometimes I do make Target exceptions and they pay off! The heel on this isn’t too high, either.

I think I have basically made myself a fall capsule, you guys. I might do a post on it.

What have you been wearing? Shopping for?

Amy

Wednesday, October 15, 2025

It’s Hodgepodge day with Joyce! Are you a fan of candy corn? I like the Brach’s brand the best and yes, I am a fan! I only buy a couple of bags a year. It’s best mixed with lightly salted peanuts. Yum!

1. Do you make an effort to see/hear live music? Last time you went somewhere for the live music? 

I love live music in smaller venues or outdoors. I had a great time at the music festival in my hometown in September. I have also gotten to hear my friend Mike at a cute little venue and a Nashville Australian singer at a small tavern recently.

I want live music to start earlier! Who said “music shall start at Amy’s bedtime”?

2.According to HGTV the colors of the year for 2026 are mostly decided. Top paint companies declare a color of the year, and decorators will incorporate that into their new year home and room designs. Here’s what’s on tap in terms of paint trends for 2026 (check out the link here to see photos)

• Sherwin Williams-universal khaki (inspired by heavy canvas and outdoor gear)
• Behr-hidden gem (a confident shade of teal)
• Valspar-warm eucylyptus (a warm sliver tinted green)
• Dutch Boy-melodious ivory (a honey tinted beige)
• Glidden-warm mahogany (a classic brick red)
• Krylon-matte coffee bean
• Clark and Kensington -Hazelnut Crunch (warm reddish-brown)
• Graham and Brown-Divine Damson (cherry red with a subtle violet undertone)
• Dunn and Edwards-midnight garden (the green that works everywhere) 

I love hearing the names of paint colors, nail polish colors, etc. In fact, I would like to have the job of “color namer” but my two Heathers were talking about shades of white paint the other day and I was so bored.

I believe the announcement of colors of the year to be marketing and a ploy to get people to buy new paint.

I have PTSD from the crazy wallpaper that was EVERYWHERE when we moved into our house. There were stripes, florals, black wallpaper, red wallpaper, pandas with bouncing balls…I stripped it all myself and it was a nightmare. Now I am such a neutral paint color person (my kitchen and dining room are yellow, but soon to be changed) and I feel like some of these colors listed are too much for me.

My bedroom and bath are Egret White and my mudroom and hall bath are Agreeable Gray. Blonde Heather told me her mom’s new house was done in these colors and I said “done”. We have lots of paint left for our remaining rooms we need to do.

Now, with that said…the swatch really doesn’t look the same as it does on the wall.

Exhibit A:

I held these up in my Agreeable Gray mudroom. It’s not nearly that dark.

My mudroom (it’s still waiting on cabinetry):

I know that people are saying that the gray trend is over but it just looks neutral to me with the sunlight coming in and whatever decor you put up.

Hall bath:

First question-did you know there were so many different paint manufacturers? Which color on the list most appeals to you in terms of your own decorating style? Do you have plans to do any painting in your home in the coming year, and if so might you choose a color from this list? 

I had not heard of some of these. No, I did not! I am pretty loyal to Sherwin Williams but I’m not sure why.

I guess I would have to say Universal Khaki. That is basically what my basement is. I would like to go lighter down there, though, and maybe I will see if we can re-paint the basement, too.

Yes! We need to paint kitchen, dining room, living room, and Mason’s room and Jack’s old room. We are hiring painters. Tom and I both hate painting and think it’s worth hiring it out.

No – I really don’t like any of those colors. I already have all the Egret White and Agreeable Gray I need.

This topic is boring me. I’m sorry. Tom is the design person in our relationship. He has an idea and asks if I like it and I always do. He has great taste. In his line of work he sees lots of design elements.

Now, forget painting walls, which color name appeals to you most? 

I guess the food names are my favorite like “hazelnut crunch” and “matte coffee bean”.

3. What’s something in your life you have to do-watch-or participate in that’s about as exciting as ‘watching paint dry’? 

Nothing anymore. It used to be school professional development!

4 . Tuesday, October 14th is/was National Dessert day…did you/will you celebrate? Tell us how? What’s your absolute favorite dessert. Yes, just one. I know!! 

I made and had some of the candy corn/peanut mix!

5. Perhaps today is the day I will __________________________________. 

I need to shop for my brunette Heather’s birthday present! I love gift shopping. Sometimes I accidentally find something for myself. Oopsie.

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

Remember how on Sunday we went to an event where they catapulted pumpkins into the river?

Eddie Otis got to do a swim the next day and look what he found down river…

He got a piece of pumpkin! Good boy!

Happy Hump Day!

Amy