Monthly Musings ~ November

 I am linking up today with Patty and Holly for the Monthly Musings link, all about the holidays!

1.  Favorite holiday traditions?

I like to put out decorations the week before Thanksgiving and decorate our tree Thanksgiving Day.  Other traditions are looking at holiday lights, making cookies, watching Christmas movies and listening to Christmas movies....all the usual things.

2.  Favorite holiday fashion?

I do like a festive sweatshirt/sweater/jewelry this time of year, but don't have too much in wardrobe.

3.  Favorite holiday recipes?

Cranberry Pineapple Punch

Pioneer Woman Cinnamon Rolls

This one sounds good to try this year...

Cinnamon Roll Monkey Bread

4.  How do you celebrate the holidays?

Typically, we have a Christmas Eve gathering with my side of the family & attend a Christmas Eve service at church.  Christmas Day after opening presents, we go to a brunch at my parents and spend the rest of the day at home.  Christmas night, we eat pasta and watch the movie, The Nativity Story.  This year, however, we are going out of town, so our schedule will change.

5.  Do you go see holiday lights?

Yes!  This is something I like to do every year.  This is a house I shared recently that is in our neighborhood.  Each year they have a different theme.

6.  How do you decorate your house?

I am going to share my Christmas decor tomorrow!

7.  Christmas tree real or fake?

We always had a real tree until about 5 years ago and we got an artificial tree. When both girls were at home and I went back to work full-time, a real tree was just too much on me, so we got an artifical tree and I have really enoyed it.

8.  Favorite holiday treats?

I love the Rolo, M&M's and pretzels treat.

9.  Pet gifts?

We do have a dog this year and have bought him some chew toys.  My daughter put his paw in clay this week to make him an ornament.

10.  Tips to make holidays less stressful?

I would suggest to limit your activites and not overdo spending and going.  Enjoy the simple things at home and do what you love. Give your self grace and no obligation to go overboard just because everyone else is.

What's Up Wednesday ~ November 2023

Here we are at the close of November, about to welcome the last 31 days of 2023.  

Here is the recap of November....

What we're eating this week.......

Monday - chicken tacos w/avocadoes & healtheir cheese dip

Have any of y'all tried this?  Mix 1 cup of cottage cheese and blend with 1/2 cup of shredded chesse and a tablespoon of taco seasoning.  It is actually pretty good!

Tuesday - chicken pesto pasta with Rosemary sourdough bread 

Wednesday - hamburger & fries

Thursday - Chick-fil-A 

Friday - BBQ & veggies

What I'm reminiscing about........

I am always thinking back to the time when my girls were at home & while life was busy, it was simple and sweet.  I miss those days all the time.

What I'm loving.........

I loved having my girls together for a few days last week.  I am also enjoying looking at twinkling lights in the house.  I will highlight my Christmas decor Friday!

What we've been up to........

I have spent the last weekend & Cyber Monday doing  A LOT of Christmas shopping!  Honestly, I am so glad I am done with it all as I am tired of all the emails, ha!  Now to await all the packages!

What I'm dreading........

As much as I love the holidays, there are some feelings that come along with it that are difficult as well.  I am trying to stay positive and stay focused on God's promises I know to be true.

What I'm working on.......

I am working on some planning for a Christmas trip, which is pretty low key, but I am a planner no matter how small the trip is!  

I am also working on collecting coats for a coat drive my sister and I host each year.  We collect coats in memory of my great-nephew who was born into heaven in 2020. If you are interested in learning more, follow Callaways Coats on Instagram.

What I'm excited about......

I am excited about a few days off at Christmas.  My family is going out of town for a few days to unplug and hopefully relax and spend some good time together.  This is the first year we are planning a trip to be out of town Christmas Eve and Christmas Day with no other family.  We just need some downtime together, so hoping we can put our phones down and do just that! 

What I'm watching/reading......

A few things I have watched lately are Hallmark Christmas movies, SEC football, Virgin River, The Voice, the new episodes of The Crown and still working our way through Murders in the Building.  

I listened to 2 books on Audible this fall....Beth Moore's autobiography, All My Knotted Up Life and Becoming Free Indeed, by Jinger Duggar Vuolo.  

What I'm listening to.......

I am always playing catch up with podcasts it seems!  I am trying to keep up with Let's Read the Gospels each day & some weekly regulars are The Big Boo, Relationship Radio, and Therapy & Theology with a few others as well.

What I'm wearing........

It has been cold this week!  I have worn sweaters and pants most days to stay warm.  I also love a sweater/tunic with leggings and boots.

What I'm doing this weekend......

I don't have any concrete plans, but I may try to go to a Christmas parade and probably just catch up at home on all the little things.

What I'm looking forward to next month.......

I am looking forward to looking at Christmas decorations, listening to Christmas music & cooler weather.

What else is new.........

I feel like most of my time is spent working or watching tv these days, so not too much is new with me at the moment.  

Thanks for reading and stay tuned for Christmas decor on Friday!

 

Thanksgiving Weekend Wrap Up ~ November 27, 2023

 

Happy Monday!  It was so nice to have a few mornings free last week where I didn't have to work at home or the office.  I glanced at a few emails that popped up on my phone, but didn't respond to any and will tackle those this week.  

Here is a re-cap of our Thanksgiving week....

My oldest came home Wednesday and we went to the new Top Golf in Memphis.  It was fun, but none of us are golfers.  It reminded me of bowling, but golf!  After Top Golf, we went out as a family to our favorite pizza place.

Thursday morning, we watched a little of the parade.  By we, basically I mean me.  My girls have outgrown this so I have come to terms to lay aside any high Hallmark expectations of a family event of decorating the tree with Christmas music and/or movies in the background.  And that's okay!  By Friday afternoon, I finally got my my tree decorated.

We took a walk and then later that evening, we went to a friends house for Thanksgiving dinner.  

Friday, I stayed at home and did Black Friday shopping via the computer.  Later Friday afternoon, we went to my sister's house for pizza because my brother came in town with his family.  We brought my niece home with us to spend the weekend with us.  These cousins are just 6 weeks apart in age and have been close since day 1!

Saturday, we went to my parent's house for our family Thanksgiving lunch.  

I made this dessert that Joanne blogged about this year.  It is a brownie base, then pudding mixed with whipped topping and oreos is layered on top and hot fudge sauce.

I loved seeing my oldest for a few days.  She left Saturday afternoon to drive back to Chattanooga.

I wore my new leather pants and boots I bought with birthday money.

My girls!

Here are 2 of my greats just watching older cousins play a game.

Below are 2 of my 8 greats!  It is so fun to have littles around at the holidays.

Sunday,  I went to church, we took my niece to the airport, then just relaxed at home.  The break was good, but sure went by fast.

Happy Monday friends!

Weekend Recap ~ November 20, 2023

 Good morning! I wasn't quite as early with my post today, but wanted to do a quick post this holiday week!

My weekend was good in the fact that my youngest daughter came home! 

I worked Friday until early afternoon and then finally went to a clinic to get some medicine for a cough I have had the past 2 weeks.  Brook came home and we went all out with dinner.  By all out, I mean, she made Ramen and I had a bowl of cereal.  Just keeping expecations low this season!

Saturday, she went with me to do my birthday shopping.  I make a list of stores that have birthday deals and ususally hit those stores in one day.  We went to Ulta, DSW, Sephora, Altar'd State, Madewell and Loft.

I was able to get some freebies and use my discounts.

I even heard my favorite Christmas song by one of my favorite artists!  This was the first day I listened to Christmas music.

We have a house in our neighborhood who decorates with a different theme each year.  This year's theme is the movie A Christmas Story.  Look at this yard! Notice even the flagpole to the left.

She went out with friends Saturday evening, so I was home alone (my husband has been out of town for a few nights now).  I watched 2 Hallmark Christmas movies in the background while I began decorating for Christmas.  I hope to have my tree up by Wednesday and decorate Thursday while watching the parade.

Do you watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade?  We have a Memphian who will be in the parade this year!  Drew Holcomb, a singer with Drew Holcomb and the Neighbors will be in the parade this year.  He and his wife, Ellie Holcomb, are both performers and I know his parents.  

Sunday, I went to church, a book signing for a local author, visited with 4 of my greats, which was awesome, and back to church for a Thanksgiving dinner.

I work today through Wednesday afternoon, so that will be somewhat of a normal routine for me.  I will be back next week blogging, but with work and family events, this is my post for the week.

I do want to say how thankful I am for this blogging community of friends.  I especially want to thank you for saying a prayer on my behalf and would continue to ask for that as I come to my mind.  Quite honestly, I can say it has been the most difficult year of my life.  I am not seeing a lot of hope for next year, but will keep putting one foot forward.

I wish you and your family a Happy Thanksgiving!

Friday Favorites ~ November 17, 2023

 Happy Friday Favorites!

Today, I am sharing a few favorites from the past few weeks.

ONE

Last week, my co-workers had a little hot chocolate bar at work with donuts to celebrate my birthday.

They also gave me these fun presents, along with a Christmas candle for my desk, not pictured.

They know I like snacks and the El Arroys box is a puzzle, which I love!  My office roommate gave me the 2 disco pinatas.  These are perfect because I had just talked about needing a punching bag or a pinata!

TWO

Another favorite is treating myself to my favorite frozen yogurt, Menchies.  I redeemed by birthday credit to get this.  Speaking of which, redeeming birthday credit at stores and restaurants during your birthday month is a favorite of mine too!

THREE

I went to Chicago last weekend and did a recap of it here and here.  Classic Chicago view with the train track!

FOUR

I went to dinner with 3 friends Wednesday night and we celebrated my birthday, along with one other friend who has a November birthday.

FIVE

My youngest comes home for the holidays today!  Her school is on the quarter system, so she starts the Monday after Labor Day and ends the Thursday before Thanksgiving.  Because so many of the students come from such far locations, it would be so difficult for students to travel home for Thanksgiving and then back for a week before the Christmas break.  So I have her home until January!

I will probably bring out some Christmas decorations this weekend and catch up/clean a little bit around the house.  Do you have any big plans?  Have you decorated for Christmas yet?

Enjoy your weekend!

Birthday & Chicago Part 2

Good morning!  I hope your week is going well.  In case you missed my late post Monday, I shared about part 1 of my trip to Chicago.  Today, I will pick up with 11/11.

Saturday morning, I woke up to spend my 53rd birthday in Chicago.

Chicago is such a fun city!

We stopped at Starbucks to redeem my free drink!

There were so many beautiful buildings as we walked and shopped along Michigan Ave, the Magnificent Mile!

John Hancock building

We stopped at Ghiradelli and this was my lunch/birthday dessert.  This was the sea salt caramel sundae:

caramel sauce, vanilla ice cream, handmade dark chocolate hot fudge topped with whipped cream, sea salt and a dark sea salt caramel.  It was delicious!  I tried to get something I probably wouldn't make at home.

After spending the morning walking and shopping, we took an architectural boat cruise down the river to learn more about the buildings.  It was so interesting to know these buildings were all built within the last 150 years after the great fire of Chicago.

If you're a Seinfeld fan, you will remember the episode name which was on the side of this boat "The Summer of George"!

This is the Willis Tower and you can barely see in this picture the ledge where we were standing the day prior.

This is the NBC Building that is based on Rockefeller Center in New York City.

This is the tallest building (below) in the world designed by a female architect.  Notice it has 2 floors that are open for the wind to pass through.  My youngest daughter is an architect major!

Navy Pier in the daylight

I am wearing my 11:11 bracelet all month in honor of my birthday month!

We walked and ate dinner at House of Blues and listened to some blues muisc.

Chicago never felt very crowded and it was easy to walk most everywhere downtown.

They were beginning to put up Christmas displays, but all of their festivites really begin this weekend.

I would love to go back and take the girls and do a shopping/Christmas weekend here like we did in New York City last year.  

I will be back Friday with a few more favorites/birthday items.

Enjoy your day!