Monday chatter and a treasure from the past ♥

Hello Lovely Friends! ♥

I was about to type "good Monday morning" but I just realized it's past noon and the morning is already gone.  I've been busy working at my desk this morning and drinking too many cups of coffee (not that I'm complaining), all while listening to a Hallmark movie playing on the TV in the next room.  I hate it when it's too quiet, so I need something to keep me company. 

I was up early this morning with John.  He has a long day of school and music rehearsals ahead of him today.  He won't be home till late tonight.  Me personally, I hate long days like that, especially on a Monday.  Honestly, I get anxious just thinking about it. I'm tired before it even starts. Him on the other hand....nothing could be better! He lives to be busy at school, playing music, and socializing.  Who is this person? He told me the other day that he is the happiest he's ever been in life.  

And even though he's 19 (which he reminds me every chance he can :) I still get up with him, pack him a lunch for the day, and make him a coffee and egg sandwich for the road - which he gladly accepts! It's better than drive through and I'm saving him a few bucks so it's a win win.  I will miss these days and this phase of life someday, so I'm doing my best to enjoy it now before life changes again.  

And we all know, it will.  It always does.  

And such is life....♥

We had a very nice weekend around here ♥

 It was very rainy on Friday and Saturday, but then on Sunday the sun came out.  It was a beautiful sight coming in through the windows.  The foliage is at it's peak now, which makes it even better.

Here is a picture of a little corner of our house.  It's an open sunroom off the kitchen.  The furniture came from my Dad's house when he was growing up. We don't sit in those chairs.  As a kid I was told not too (I still don't know why) but it's a moot point because honestly, they aren't very comfortable! 

Yes, of course I tried too!  

 It's merely for show at this point, but I don't mind.  I think they look pretty.  It's a corner room for plants and an old victrola that was given to my family as gift many years ago. This is what happens when you buy your parents' house.  You inherit all their stuff. 

Speaking of stuff, I have to show you something...♥

Yesterday I was getting something in the pantry and this book caught my eye.  It was my mother's and has lived in our pantry my entire life and for many years before that.  

I'm pretty sure it's from the 1960's ♥

I pulled it out, made a cup of tea, and went through every page - something I had never done before.  It's so fun to see what the recipes were back then. What the trends were and what was popular.  Better Homes and Gardens was so important to housewives back then.  

This book maps out daily nutrition (which has really changed since then!!), meal plans, shortcuts, entertaining ideas, and more. 

Can I interest you in liverwurst sandwich for lunch? 

No? Well, in 1960 I could. 

"Science has taken the drudgery out of kitchen life, but push buttons can't do everything".  

All this before microwaves and frozen pizza! ♥

What would the author of this book think of us now? 

There is a whole section on casseroles, which I was actually very interested in.  

I do love a good casserole ♥

However, I must say...some of the ingredients were a bit whack-a-doddle! 

One pot meals are great.  Especially if you need time to catch up on your "mending!" 

As you do ♥

I wonder if Rob would like some Baked Prune Whip with dinner tonight? 

Hmmm....♥

OH and the Jello molds! So many Jello molds. 

Breakfast, lunch, and dinner - there's a Jello mold for every occasion. 

This was interesting - 

Table Settings and Entertainment. 

I learned so many things, for real. 

For example, "everyone should stand behind his or her chair until the hostess sits." 

Also...

"Serve dishes to left, beverages to the right." And "never lift a glass from the table to refill it."

Noted ♥

 

A darling and very detailed section on hosting tea parties. 

And an absolutely hilarious section on menu suggestions for special occasions.

After skating or coasting - have turkey ala king on crisp waffles, jellied cranberry sauce, basket of crisp relishes, assorted fruits, doughnuts, and hot coffee.  

Make sure to prepare the batter before you leave, of course ♥

Hungry at 3 o'clock in the morning?  

Have mustard hamburgers on toasted buns with "plenty of hot coffee."  I don't know if that's a good decision at 3am, but whatever Better Homes and Gardens.  

You are the experts ♥

The dessert section is filled with cakes that look like this and I was in love with every page.  

It's a treasure trove from the past and I thoroughly enjoyed reading all the recipes.  

I definitely can't wait to experiment. The weren't all bad - honestly! ♥

  I have a few bookmarked that I will share with you as soon as I try them. Not the prune whip or liverwurst though...haha.

Reading this book made my day and took up most of Sunday afternoon.  

It was lovely! ♥

Well, I hope you enjoyed that trip back in time! 

Have a wonderful Monday, my friends! Let's all try to have a good week :) 

Byeee! xx 

Happy Halloween! ♥

Hello Friends! ♥

I hope you all had a Happy Halloween!

 It's hard to believe it's come and gone already and here we are in NOVEMBER. Wow.  I snapped this picture on my back porch Halloween morning. I was having coffee and I just couldn't believe how pretty the trees looked.  

Honestly, my phone doesn't do the colors justice ♥

Funny how this same thing happens every year and every year I run out here with my camera taking the same photos like it's something new.  

Clearly, it's not. It's just so pretty and I'm in awe of nature time and time again.  

We were blessed with an absolutely beautiful day on Halloween.  I can remember trick or treating in the freezing cold and John being mad at me for making him wear a coat over his costume.  Not this year.  The kids lucked out. It was in the high 60's, which we'll take any time for Halloween.  And it was Saturday night.  

Perfect! ♥

In the morning I carved our pumpkins (while my family watched me:), roasted the seeds, and got my candy station ready.  I was prepared for droves and droves of kids. We always get tons around here.  I had two big bags of candy and told everyone if we run out early, I'm shutting the light off.  

Well, turns out that wasn't an issue because I hardly made a dent into one bag.  We had probably 10 kids, that's it.  I couldn't believe it.  Where was everyone?? 

Have truck or treats killed old fashioned door to door trick or treating?? 

My neighbors and I had a good laugh in the middle of the street (in the darkness) about how dead it was.  We all have so much candy left over!  Really unheard of for my neighborhood. 

John had gone out for the evening with friends and texted me this picture that made me smile! :)

He was Buzz Lightyear for many years (I'm thinking at least 3 in a row!) when he was little so Buzz holds a special place in my heart (and he knows it! :) 

So anyway, I tried snacking on the pumpkin seeds in an effort to keep my hands out of the candy bowl. It worked for a little while, but once hour 3 went by and no one came - I dove into the milk duds.  It was all downhill from there.  It's over. 

Now there's no stopping me from now to New Years and I'm perfectly OK with that ♥

On November 1st I spent the day planning.  My mind was racing.  OH MY GOSH it's actually November.  Thanksgiving is this month!  I made my menus, printed recipes, and started a Christmas shopping list. I don't always feel that motivated, so I have to act on it when it happens! LOL 

It's been unseasonably warm this week too.  Today was 72 degrees!  Tomorrow we might reach 76!  I actually have my sliding door open at the moment because it's colder in the house than it is outside and I'm trying to get some warm air in here.  I think by the weekend this party will be over and things will go back to normal, but for now it's a week without turning the heat on (in November, CRAZY!)  and that's a reason to celebrate.  

We also turned the clocks back on Halloween night.  Sunset is between 4:30 and 5. Personally I don't mind it.  Candles and lamps go on a bit earlier and so do my pj's.  

It's cozy season after all, right?? 

Today is Tuesday and its election day.  We got up and out this morning and voted! 

It's John's first year voting.  He was excited about it! ♥

 

Fun fact - the place my precinct votes is actually my old elementary school.  I love voting day so I can come back here. I spent grades kindergarten to 6th grade here.  This is the cafeteria/gym. 

 Crazy that little me ate sloppy joes and played dodge ball in here in 1983 and now here I am with my 19-year-old son voting in 2026.  It's so strange but really cool at the same time.  

 Anywhoo...

I hope this first week of November is off to a great start for you. I hope you are enjoying lots of Halloween candy like I am (seriously, let's get rid of it because holiday baking is starting!) and if you find yourself here 🠋....

...then welcome! Please join me.  

It's a whirlwind time, but I'm ready for it ♥

Xx 

I just want to say...♥

 

I think you can probably see where my head was at when I woke up this morning :)  

Clouds in my coffee and dreaming of a life with one foot in the past.  Always.  I don't think it's too much to ask the universe to stop complicating things and slow down a bit.  What do you think? 

Just a suggestion, universe. Please & thank you ♥ 

Have a lovely, cozy day friends! We had FROST this morning, but the sun is out now and its warming up a bit. 

It's going to be another beautiful October day. Only a few left!  

Happy Wednesday! ♥

It's Halloween week! ♥

Hello Friends! Happy Halloween week! 👻

It's hard to believe we are at the end of October, but here we are.  It came and went so fast and I intend to enjoy all things spooky this week.  I'm feeling that holiday vibe sneaking up on me and come Sunday there is no holding me back!  HOWEVER, we aren't there yet, so let's soak up the last week of October and celebrate how absolutely beautiful she is ♥

Our trees are in their full glory now! ♥

This weekend we had full sunshine and milder temperatures which was glorious. It's going to be like that all week and Halloween night is predicted to be in the high 60's - no rain!  If this were 10 years ago (even 5 years ago, really) John would be jumping for joy because that would mean he wouldn't have to wear a jacket over his costume.  Halloween was serious business around here. We would trick or treat for literally hours, and then go back to his friends house whose mom would do an amazing spread on her front porch of hot chocolate, coffee for the grown ups, cupcakes, and snacks.  

We did that for years. It was so fun! ♥

John still sees the friends on Halloween, but parents are no longer needed.  

Rightly so, but I still miss those days :) 

Anyway, we had a very relaxing weekend.  Rob and I went out for breakfast, went on a few walks, and I made us hot apple cider for the first time this season.  

It was yummy! ♥

I made John a cup too and remined him not to eat the cinnamon stick. It's just for flavor, not to eat.  The first time I made cider for Rob (probably 25 years ago) he ate the cinnamon stick!  I was shocked when I collected his cup and it was gone.  He said he ate it because he thought he was supposed to and didn't want to hurt my feelings! 

That must have been awful...but very funny to think of him actually chomping on a cinnamon stick. 

I've never let him live it down :) 

I spent some time in our back room reading on Sunday.  It was quite cozy (there is no TV in this room) and as you can see, I've turned on my Christmas village lights.  

Saturday night we will turn the clocks back.  Sunset is at 4:30 and this village will be glowing.  I'm thinking about adding a string of lights across the border. What do you think? 

This is what I think about while sipping tea and sitting in this spot.  

Remember....no TV in here ♥

Did you see the moon Saturday night?  

I snapped this pick during my after-dinner walk.  

The moon was lighting my way ♥

The sky was so beautiful that night.  Are you a moon person like I am? 

I have a busy week ahead, full of work deadlines, doctor's appointments, and lots of laundry, and chores that I conveniently forgot to do over the weekend.  It always catches up with me!

I did manage to meal plan, which is a huge weight off my shoulders going into the week.  I have all my groceries, so I won't have to be running out this week because I'm short an ingredient. I love that! 

Menu is as follows:

Monday - American chop suey, garlic bread

Tuesday- meatloaf with mashed potatoes & gravy, green beans 

Wednesday- chicken and mushrooms over rice, mixed veggies 

Thursday - pork cutlets with roasted potatoes, spinach, apple sauce

Friday - baked chicken, stuffing, corn 

It's not set in stone but having a loose plan of what I'm cooking and having the ingredients ready is so helpful.  However, if Rob comes home and says "let do takeout" then this plan goes right out the window! That's real!

I also finally got my Halloween candy.  I spent $60 at Walmart on two bags of candy that I hope will be enough.  We always have lots of trick or treaters, but when my bowl is empty, my light goes off.  When did candy get so expensive??!! I will not be opening those bags until Saturday. I put them out of my sight just to be sure!  

Have a lovely Monday, friends! ♥

I will you a week full of spooky movies, hot cider, and sweet treats.  I'm craving caramel corn and I think that will be our late-night snack tonight.  Want to join me? (recipe here) 

Byeeeee! 

Xx 

 

October Friday ♥

Hello Friends! Happy Friday!  ♥

I hope you all had a wonderful week.  As I type this post it's late afternoon and I just finished up working for the day.  The best feeling on a Friday! I've eaten waaay too many candy corn over the course of the day and I can't imagine myself stopping any time soon. 

I've had a quiet week at home, keeping warm on cold mornings, and enjoying the warm sunshine in the afternoon.  This week I started cooking all my favorite comfort foods, including this chicken pot pie we had the other night.  It was so delicious.  I'll be making these on the regular until further notice! I had the leftover biscuits that I heated in the oven so they were warm and toasty.  

So so good : ) 

*chicken pot pie recipe*

 

This morning I noticed my mom's Christmas catus plant is budding!!! She always had so much more luck with hers than I did mine.  Mine, sadly, is no longer with us - her's on the other hand, is thriving!   I have her right by the front window and she's loving the sunshine.  See all those buds?  They will be beautiful bright flowers soon.  

I'm so happy ♥

We haven't had our first frost yet, but that may be happening this weekend.  We're getting awfully close.  I've dug out all my fall and winter sweaters and heavy socks to keep me warm.  

I have my pumpkins that we'll carve next week.  I didn't want to do it too soon.  Since Halloween is on a Saturday, I'll probably do it that day and cook the seeds that night. I'll snack on those while I give out candy to trick or treaters.  That will keep my hands out of the candy bowl! (hopefully!:) 

I LOVE roasted pumpkin seeds.  It was always a tradition of ours to roast them, coated in olive oil, salt, pepper, and garlic powder. 

They are slightly addictive ♥

*roasted pumpkin seeds*

The nature of October is so beautiful, isn't it? ♥ 

We have tons of yard work to do. There are so many leaves in our yard.  I honestly don't mind it though. I told Rob to let all the leaves fall and then we can rake just one time.  

Raking is highly overrated! ♥

The leaves are so pretty!  I say leave them alone....see what I did there? LOL 

So what are your weekend plans?  I want to make a squash soup and more cookies! Otherwise, I plan on reading and relaxing.  It's going to sunny but chilly so maybe a few walks here and there as well.  

I have some cards to write and phone calls to make.  It's going to be a weekend of catching up on things like that.  Nice and easy ♥

Nothing stressful.  

Just trying to enjoy the little things. 

I saw this on Pinterest the other day and just had to share it.  

It's so true ♥ 

And we know for sure that tree will be back in the spring - big and strong - sprouting new beautiful vibrant leaves.  I'll take that with me through the winter. 

Such a nice thought if you are feeling stuck ♥  

 

And with that lovely thought I'm going to have one of these pumpkin sugar cookies I got at the grocery store yesterday.  You know, because I haven't consumed enough sugar today with the candy corn! AHHH!  Hey, it's Halloween week.  Let the holidays begin! 

Have a great weekend, my friends!  ♥

I hope you get lots of rest this weekend and enjoy yourselves.  

Talk soon! Xx