Madeleines and a special anniversary! ♥

Hello Lovely Friends! ♥

Good afternoon and happy Monday! Guess what? It's almost over! YAY! 

Actually, I shouldn't complain.  Today has been a beautiful day (I mean, for a Monday and all...it hasn't been half bad ♥)

The weather is absolutely gorgeous! It's high 70's, sunny, with a nice light warm breeze.  I have all my windows and sliders open.  I can faintly smell the lilacs in yard blooming, and all the birds are singing. They don't mind one bit that it's Monday.  Maybe I should take lesson from them.  I even have some laundry hanging outside to dry which reminds me so much of my mom. 

Anyway, all is well over here.  I had a nice weekend - naturally it went by all too quickly, but I did enjoy it as it whizzed by! Rob and I did our usual coffee and shopping on Saturday morning.  I even convinced him to go to the thrift store with me afterwards.  We had fun looking at the leisure suits in the men's section!  

Funny random fact - Saturday was the anniversary of the day we met.  And the only reason I know this is because we met at my cousin's wedding and I saw on Facebook that it was their anniversary on Saturday.  I wished Rob a happy 33 year anniversary of meeting me! I kept reminding him of this fun fact all weekend! :) 

**back when I had bangs and he had a lot of hair....LOL**

(ages 19 & 21)

Sunday was hot.  It was SUMMER weather.  I put my capris on for the first time of the season! We went for a nice walk on the beach after church.  There were a thousand other people doing the same thing, but it was still nice.  Then we hit Lowes to look at some house things.  I wandered off to the garden section while he looked at some kind of tool for something I don't even know what.  I love fun weekends like that where we just wander around and browse with no real stress.  It was fun. We got iced coffees and talked about summer plans too.  

Meanwhile...my Dad was generous to treat us to an order of meat from Omaha Steaks, so we planned burgers for last night.  Spoiler - they were delicious!  I wanted to make a little treat for dessert.  I remember seeing a madeleine pan in my mother's pantry not too long ago.  I don't remember her ever using it, so maybe she never got the chance.  I've never made madeleines either, but I thought why not give it a try.   

I found a recipe online.  Not too many ingredients and they only bake for 10 minutes.  

Simple ♥

Plus, the batter has lemon zest in it and anything with lemon zest has to be good.  At least I think so! 

  

 

The recipe comes from Mon Petit Four  ♥

A gorgeous website with all things French. I'm a bit obsessed TBH.

Dusted with powdered sugar they are absolutely divine.  Very light and lemony.  More like a little cake than a cookie which surprised me in the best way possible.  

Next time I'll try with orange zest.  I think that would be good too! ♥

And now I'm off to wrap up work for the day.  

I just poured a tea and it's time to start to think about dinner.  

Tonight is melt in your mouth chicken.  I'll share the recipe tomorrow! 

Have a great night friends! I hope your week is off to a good start! ♥

Mother's Day Weekend ♥

Hello Friends! Happy Tuesday! ♥

 How are you?! 

I hope you all had a nice weekend and a happy Mother's Day. I am coming off a busy weekend, and it took pretty much the entire Monday to get me motivated for the week. I really don't like Mondays...but you probably already knew that. I had lots of coffee and survived :)

 I was able to get to the movies to see Michael on Friday night with my sister-in-law.  We both loved it.  The actor who portrayed him (his real-life nephew) was incredible. As was the music! Michael Jackson was such a misunderstood person. It's sad to even think about.  But his talents in music and dance were beyond genius and I felt this movie focused more on that which was interesting to watch.  As a kid born in the 70's who grew up in the 80's and 90's it really brought back memories for me.  I've had some of the songs stuck in my head for days : ) 

Saturday was filled with errands, laundry, and house chores. Rob took me to Panera in the morning, we went to the farmers market and the library. I think he was being extra nice to me because it was Mother's Day weekend! LOL  

Anyway, on to Sunday....John gave me this pink rose he got at church.  So sweet! ♥

We were invited to Rob's sister's house for brunch (my favorite meal).  There was 12 of us and it was a lot of fun.  I was missing my mother of course and thought of her often, but I was also very grateful to be surrounded by family. 

 

I offered to bring dessert. I decided on trifle! So easy and everyone loves it (and is pretty much impossible to mess up!) On Saturday I baked a chocolate cake and made the pudding.  I put it all together Sunday morning before church so it had enough time to set, but not too much time to be soggy.  It worked out just fine :)

We were blessed with a 73 degree day!  I opened my sunroof for the first time! I just got this car in January, and I've never had a sunroof before.  It was lovely!  Fresh air but I wasn't windblown. 

That's a win-win for me! ♥

Rob's sister and her husband did an amazing job hosting us.  We were greeted with mimosas!  

We had two kinds of quiche, bacon, hash browns, bagels, and a yogurt bar.  My other sister-in-law brought a delicious blueberry coffee cake.  It was all so good! 

Needless to say I didn't need lunch after that!  We got home early afternoon, and I went for a nice walk, then promptly hit the couch.

Bliss! ♥

 

Meanwhille Rob planted some tomatoes and basil for me.  He filled big Terracotta pots with soil and put them in the sun.  He's hoping for a garlic, tomato, and basil pizza in the future.  I hope so! Fingers crossed I'll have good luck this year.  

I have a few more pots I can fill and I'm still deciding what to plant in those.  I don't have a ton of room, so it has to be small.  I'd like some more herbs (definitely mint and parsley) and maybe some cucumbers. I also heard radishes are easy to grow and I do like them in salads. We'll see.  

OH HOW I WISH I had room for a big garden. Sadly I don't, so the pots will have to do for now.  Someday when Rob and I retire and live in my dream countryside cottage somewhere, I'll be sure to have enough room for a garden with a white fence around it and I can grow everything I want. Including pumpkins in the fall! #goals 

And now here we are.  Tuesday, it's a beautiful spring day, and it's just about time for tea and my afternoon walk.  I was thinking this morning how so very different this spring has been from last spring.  This time last year I was planning for John's graduation (and all the feels that went along with that) and my Dad was also very sick.  He was in the hospital for weeks and it was very scary.  Balancing those two things is something looking back I can't believe I survived.  Thankfully John is doing great (more on that later...) and so is my Dad. We just had lunch and he's currently sitting at the table across from me watching YouTube videos on his phone and laughing his head off.  He loves the Carol Burnett show!  I like to work down here at the kitchen table so I can keep an eye on him, but honestly, it's quite entertaining sometimes! 

This is much better than the hospital ♥

Hope you're having a great day, friends! What are you cooking this week? I need ideas! 

Be back soon! xo 

Happy almost Friday! ♥

Hello Lovely Friends! ♥

I'm coming to you this afternoon from the "quad" at John's school. He had an appointment with one of his teachers this morning and I decided to bring my laptop and go along for the ride.  It's a beautiful day and I was dying for a change of scenery.  While I was here, I made a quick appointment with financial aid to answer a few questions I had about summer courses.  I like talking face to face instead of a phone call if possible. It all worked out very well and now I'm just waiting for him to finish up so we can head home for lunch.  I'm sitting at a table outside in the sun, working, getting some lovely fresh air.  Don't get me wrong, I do love being home, but once in a while I need to get out beyond those four walls.  And Rob is home today so my Dad has company.  A few hours away can do wonders if you know what I mean! 

Anyway.... Tomorrow is Friday! YAY!  I had a good week.  I was very productive at work.  I had a zoom meeting this week where I had to actually TALK. Do you know how much I hate that?!  I got through it.  I did get my walk in at the ocean early one morning. It was glorious!  I did my best to eat healthy, drink lots of water, and get my rest in too.  Oh, and I had a dental appointment because I needed a routine cleaning and a filling. Thanks to nova cane it wasn't painful, but even so, I do not consider that as "getting out." And FYI: the noise of that drill is almost as bad as actual pain...eeeek! 

♥

On Saturday Rob is taking me to the nursery to get tomato plants, herbs, and some flowers for the porch.  He doesn't know it yet, but we'll be stopping off at the farmers market too! It's Mother's Day weekend after all, so there can be no complaints : ) 

I'm looking forward to it ♥

We had beautiful sunny weather this week, with a few showers sprinkled in here and there.  I noticed buds on my hydrangeas which is very exciting and my peony is really taking off.  I can't wait for it to bloom.  It's amazing how flowers and sunshine can make me so happy.  I've been working very hard to keep my stresses at bay, so whatever helps...I'll take it! 

I enjoyed the company of this little guy too : ) 

I'm a little obsessed.  As my neighbors are actively scaring them away, I'm discretely trying to make friends, hoping desperately one day one will let me pat him.  So far it's not working...♥

It wasn't a very exiting week in the kitchen, but you know, some weeks are like that.  In fact, last night I made omelets because I didn't feel like doing anything else.  And guess what? They were delicious so sometimes it works out.  We had some left-over veggies in the fridge so the one I made for myself had cheese, spinach, and mushrooms in it.

I'm making up for it tonight with roasted chicken, stuffing, squash, and green beans.  

We are due for a comfort meal over here ♥

I finished a book that I absolutely hated. It was called The Good Daughter by Karen Slaughter.  First, I found it to be very depressing, and then it got very boring. I kept waiting for something good to happen.  Something interesting.  Do you DNF books? I do sometimes, but this time I was really hoping for an incredible twist.  Some kind of payoff for the long boring hours I put into this book. You know what I got? Nada.  It wasn't worth it. Oh well.  Not every thriller is thrilling I guess... I will definitely read Karen Slaughter again. This story just wasn't for me. 

The good news is now I am reading an absolutely CHARMING book.  

I'm LOVING it! ♥ 

This is not the type of book that I would normally pick up, but it came highly recommended to me and I'm so glad I gave it go.  Basically, a woman's life story is told through various letters she's written and received.  I don't want to give it away, just know it's soooo good! Half my weekend will consist of a hot beverage and this book.  I'll be sad when it's over : ) 

We are heading to my sister in laws for brunch on Sunday. I am bringing a dessert but I'm not sure which one.  I'm going back and forth between a custard pie, a trifle, or classic chocolate chip cookies. I'm leaning toward the trifle but it's not in stone.  I'm going to flip through some of my cookbooks tonight before I make my shopping list.  It's still so strange to me to plan for Mother's Day without my mom.  I noticed today that the lilies of the valley are starting to pop up in our front yard. They were her absolute favorite.  I'm going to pick some for her and put them in the kitchen.  

I know she would have loved that ♥

Well, I hope you all have a wonderful end to the week and a beautiful weekend! 

Happy Mother's Day! 

And if you're missing your mom like I am, just know you're not alone ♥♥♥

Update - I'm home now.  John and I had a fun morning together.  The ride to the school is about 40 minutes, and honestly - it was the best part ♥ 

After lunch, I finished the rest of my work for the day, got a load of laundry going, and now I'm about to put that roast chicken I mentioned in the oven.  He's stuffed with lemons and onions just like Julia Child taught me. I can't wait to crawl into bed tonight with my book!

Byeeeee!! Xx 

Happy May! What's up for the week? ♥

Hello Lovely Friends! Happy Monday and happy MAY! I have moved my office to the back porch this morning because it's so beautiful out.  It's just me and birds and I couldn't be happier.  My Dad still thinks it's "too chilly" to be out here, but since it's 70 degrees (??!!) I'm just dandy with it! 

We had a very nice weekend that went by too quickly like most weekends do.  On Saturday we had some friends over for a pizza game night, that ended up being more pizza (and Kentucky Derby watching!) than actual game playing, but it was a great time.  I made the pizzas which was super fun. Our friends supplied the apps and desserts.  I didn't get to bed until midnight which hasn't happened in ages! ♥

On Sunday we went to my sister in laws for my niece's 2nd birthday party.  She always does a beautiful job hosting! (She's hosting Mother's Day on Sunday as well!). We had a great time with family! After the party I came home, got into some comfy clothes and took a nice rest before dinner.  I had to get a little self care in there too : )  

** Me after an unusual amount of socializing in one weekend! LOL **

♥

And now here we are on Monday morning already.  I have lots of work to do this week and hopefully if the weather stays cooperative (which I'm hearing it will, for the next few days anyway) I'll be doing it from this spot.  I just made my to-do list for the week.  It includes a dental appointment, a few errands, bills to pay, blah, blah, blah.  Real life stuff that mostly stresses me out. I've been getting so stressed over the littlest things lately.  I must work on that.  So, my plan for the week is one day at a time, one task at a time, and try not to worry about things I can't control (Amen!).

It's May so I'll focus on all the lovely things about Spring.  It's finally time for to make that trip to the nursery with my iced coffee and get some flowers for the front garden.  I'm also thinking about taking a ride to a local farm for strawberry picking on Saturday.  I did it a few years ago and loved it.  If not picking, I'll at least visit the farmers market.  That atmosphere always lifts my spirits. Wish we could all go together ♥

Also lots of walks, water for hydration, good food, and rest. I would like to take at least one walk on the beach this week.  I feel I need to inhale some salty ocean air and it's finally warm enough (although not according to my Dad :) to do that.  

Yup - so happy May, my friends! What's on your weekly agenda? ♥

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I also have few letters to write because some of you reached out to be pen pals! I couldn't be happier and it will certainly be a bright spot in my week.  YAY!  I'm so thankful for this space and the friends I'm connecting with.  It truly means the world to me, so thank you!!!  

I also LOVED reading your comments on my last post ♥

Have a lovely day! I hope the sun is shining on you today!  Talk soon! xo 

In Case You Didn't know... ♥

Hello Friends! Happy hump day! ♥

We are halfway to Friday and that's something to smile about.  It's a gray and overcast day here and we are expecting a monsoon of rain tonight.  It will be good sleeping weather. Do you ever wake up in the morning and think about how nice it will be to get back into bed later? I do...all the time! And especially tonight because it will be raining which will make the warm bed extra cozy!  I cannot wait. But I digress...♥

I thought I'd have some fun today and share some not very important facts about me.  

Every word is true :) 

In case you didn't know... 

#1. I absolutely hate clothes shopping.  I would rather go to a Home Goods or Hobby Lobby any day rather than a clothing store.  I hate trying things on (because nothing ever fits) and once I get home, I always have regret.  "What was I thinking?" is usually my response to whatever it is I purchased.  It's an ongoing battle. I have the same issue with shoes! Maybe I'm shopping in the wrong places.  Where do you all buy your clothes? 

♥

#2. I eat a small cup of dry cereal before I go to bed every night.  Yup. Every night.  It's a small cup, but I do it.  Sometimes I add a few chocolate chips into the mix, just for a bit of sweetness. My body needs it to sleep through the night.  The cereal varies.  This week it's Cheerios.  Sometimes it's some of Rob's healthy stuff like Total or Grape Nuts (which is like eating gravel, but when you mix in the chocolate chips its actually tasty).  Side note about Rob - he's very health conscious.  Never would he touch a Pop Tart or Twinkie.  He works out every morning before work at an un-Godly hour and is the most discipled person I've ever met when it comes to dessert.  I say this because I most certainly am not that.  If I have cottage cheese or half an avocado at breakfast, I feel like I'm a champion.  Like I'm winning at life.  It doesn't last though, because come 10 pm out comes the cereal and chocolate chips. 

♥

#3. I love the ocean.  I love to look at, smell it, sit by it, walk along it.  I would do that all day every day. It's peaceful, serine, and wonderful.  But you will never see me swimming in it. I will put my feet in.  Maybe on a hot day go in as far as my shin, never above the knee.  I never learned to swim so I have an intense fear of deep water.  As a kid, I never loved getting dunked under water either, so I hate getting my face and head wet.  I'll take a shallow wading pool or a lazy river sure, but that's about as far as I go.  I have no desire to ever snorkel, scuba dive, or worse - parasail!  I mean, that's a whole other fear, but nope - I'll never do those things. Ever.  Watching the sunset on the beach though.... perfection.  

♥

#4. A grilled cheese sandwich is my favorite thing to eat.  I'd choose it over a steak dinner. If you want to win me over, invite me over for grilled cheese sandwiches.  Bonus if you serve tomato soup on the side.  Just thinking about that makes me happy. Sitting by the fire at a Panera Bread, with a grilled cheese and a bowl of tomato soup.  I've spent many an afternoon doing that. Let's go! 

♥

#5.  I love Hallmark movies and want to live in a Hallmark world (who doesn't?), I'm left-handed, I wear contact lens and wear readers over them because I haven't made the leap to bifocals yet, I color my hair (myself) every 5 weeks to cover the grays and have no intention of ever stopping. If it were socially acceptable, I would wear my slippers everywhere.  I'm obsessed with all things British (hence my LOVE for Downton Abbey and everything on PBS), I love antiques, anything from the 1950's (especially I Love Lucy, which you probably already know :), carnations are my favorite flower, I would die without coffee, I love be home, hate large crowds, love game shows, documentaries, and reading books - especially thrillers. I adore twinkle lights, Christmas, fireworks, vanilla cake with vanilla frosting, I never leave home without makeup, love Alfred Hitchcock films, flowered wallpaper (can we bring that back please!), bunnies🐇, Peanuts (the Charlie Brown kind), New Hampshire trips, and Marvel movies (yes, that is true!!). I hate driving at night, am a terrible parker (my family can attest to that for sure), have bad habit of biting my nails, never have a lip balm out of reach, and really hate it when people lean on their horn the millisecond the light turns green.  What is your rush?! 

I think that's enough info about me!! If you didn't already me, you do now.  

Now tell me some things about you so we can be even :) 

Have a wonderful evening friends! ♥

We are having breakfast dinner tonight - eggs and pancakes.  Another thing I love...in case you didn't know... 

Stay cozy! Byeee! xx 

How about this? ♥

 

Sounds good to me :) 

Hello Monday! ♥

Hello Friends! Happy Monday! ♥

Well, look who went walking with her clippers this weekend...:)  

This is literally a branch that I clipped of that big wild bush I showed you on Friday.  I put the whole thing in vase and called it a day.  It's so wonky and makes me laugh when I look at it.  However, I love the yellow and it's screaming spring to me so she's staying! 

Yay! ♥

We had a very nice weekend, although some things didn't go as planned.  John's event ended up getting cancelled by the venue.  Something to do with overbooking.  He was very disappointed!  However, when one door closes another opens. He and his bandmates have a few other irons in the fire for upcoming performances so there's more to look forward to.  This place will also be rescheduling so hopefully he'll have a busy summer.  That's life in show biz I guess.  Never a dull moment.  

As for me, I didn't end up going out to dinner Saturday night.  It turns out staying cozy in my sweats was more appealing to me in the moment (typical me), so we stayed in and watched a movie instead.  We did go out to breakfast after church on Sunday and went for a nice walk on the beach after.  

It was sooo lovely and made me really excited for the summer ♥

Around the house I was pretty productive.  Little touches of spring as still appearing around here and I keep reorganizing things.   I have way too many dishes and teapots and I struggle to find places for everything.  I just can't put things away.  

Especially if they have flowers on them ♥

I had to run to CVS to pick up a few things and this candle caught my attention.  

I decided to treat myself.  It's heavenly! ♥

I made the custard pie I'd been craving.  I remembered I had a recipe for coconut custard pie that was pretty easy.  I whipped it up in minutes and it came out DELICIOUS!  I did have some crust issues so don't look too closely at it. 

Thankfully it still tasted yummy!! ♥ 

I'll link the recipe HERE if you want to try it.  I blogged about it back in 2016.  

A custard pie (with or without coconut) is pure old fashioned comfort food. 

♥

I cleaned out my closet and filled a donation bag that I need to drop off this week.  The hard part is done.  Now I have lots of room in my closet.  I need to make a point to do this more often.  

There's a coat closet downstairs that I will tackle next time I'm motivated ♥

I also cleaned a cabinet that I store craft supplies in.  It had really been bugging me because it had gotten so disorganized!! Unraveled rolls of ribbon everywhere! Going through all my stuff I really began to miss crafting and decided I need to get back into it again.  I was very into rubber stamping for a hot minute and have a very big supply of them that I totally forgot about.  How cute is this bunny one?! I must use it on something soon! 

♥

If I have your address, you'll probably be getting some type of correspondence from me with stamps all over it. Actually, if anyone wants to be pen pals, let me know : )

After getting coffee at Panera, I took some time on Saturday to read an actual MAGAZINE and loved every minute.  

My Dad and I shared an orange too ♥

Out back is slowly turning greeeeeen 💚

And the evenings are starting to stay lighter longer.  I enjoyed this view last night.  

Very peaceful ♥

I hope to see many more sunsets from my deck this summer.  

And that was pretty much my exciting weekend in a nutshell.  

Here I am this morning trying to take a selfie without feeling silly. 

It's not easy! LOL 

But I was up early, showered, and dressed on a Monday morning. A big accomplishment when you work from home. I felt it should be documented.  Does this mean I'll have a productive week? We shall see. 

Fingers crossed! ♥

Have a wonderful evening friends! ♥

I'm making a lemon pasta for dinner tonight that I am very much looking forward to.  I'll definitely need my after dinner walk....I'll leave my clippers at home this time. 

 Talk to you all soon! Bye! xx