Weekend Wrap-Up ~ April 19, 2021

 Happy Monday!  It was a great weekend with another quick road trip.  My sister, daughter and I headed out Thursday afternoon to go visit my oldest daughter in her college town.  We had great weather, beautiful sights, yummy food and good hugs :).

We saw a waterfall

Crossed a suspension bridge

And enjoyed our little hike!

I love going in a college bookstore!

We also drove to a hangliding place where we have watched people take off from here in the past. It is a beautiful view.

Me and my girls :)

This sign below made me laugh!

I tried a cookies and cream frozen hot chocolate.  It basically tasted like a milkshake, but not as thick, but still very good.

We got some hot drinks at a local coffee spot...

Then took a walk across one of the bridges there.

It was another great weekend!

Linking up with Tanya today :)

Let's Look ~ April 2021

 This month's Let's Look link up is about our fridge and pantry.  This is an interesting topic to see how we are all different!

First, is a quick picture inside our refrigerator.  I am sharing this one basically because of the little tray.  I bought two of these from Costco earlier this year and they are little "lazy susans".  They are advertised to be used in a pantry, but I use both of mine in my refrigerator.  I have our soda of choice, Coke Zero, on this, but usually have a few more options and it is easier to turn the table than move things around inside.  Staples I keep on hand are greek yogurt, almond milk, string cheese sticks and eggs.

Next, is my pantry area.  The pantry is the small door and the other doors lead to laundry, where I do keep some overflow pantry items.

These rolling trays have been great storage areas and easy to access with the wheels.  I can easily move them to look for something, since I keep these in my laundry area.  I have some Costco box finds usually stored here, along with paper products.

Speaking of Costco, these are now two of my staple Costco items we like to have on hand.  The rice can be microwaved and ready in 90 seconds.  The brownie mix is so good.  It is healthy and actually taste like a regular mix to me, yet it is sugar free.  

Inside my pantry door (and a hall closet too), I have the Elfa storage system.  Elfa is a storage system The Container Store sells and they have a sale on this every January.  They have lots of options, but I love this for my pantry & it basically holds spices and some baking essentials.

I usually organize/clean my pantry at least once a month.  Well, of course, it had not been done when I took these pictures, so I am not sharing too much :).  I do have baskets we use for chips, snacks and some breakfast goodies. On top shelves, I do have some clear, labeled containers for baking goods.

On the bottom floor, I have cereal containers and this bread box.  My husband bought this for me, but it was also fun for me to see this is sold at Ree Drummond's Pioneer Woman Mercantile store in Oklahoma, when I visited there 2 years ago.  I actually use this for tortillas and buns, but store my loaf bread in the fridge.

Nothing to groundbreaking here, and even though I can always use more storage, I am thankful for this system!

Enjoy your day and the rest of your week!  I am off for another little adventure, so won't be blogging anymore this week.

Weekend Wrap-Up ~ April 12, 2021

 Happy Monday friends! 

Today, I am starting my week getting vaccinated.  I was scheduled to go last Friday, but for a few reasons, I delayed it until today.  It seems like another busy week ahead, but hoping it is a good one.

Once again, I am thankful to say we had a really good weekend.  Friday night, I cooked dinner and we watched the most recent episode of "Rock the Block" from HGTV.  It was low key, but good.  

Saturday, we dropped off our daughter at an event and we drove to Birmingham.  First stop for us was Buc-ess!  We went to our first Buc-ees in Texas in early 2020.  I was so excited to hear there was a new one, just a short 3 1/2 hours away :).  This location outside of Birmingham just opened in January, so it was still pretty crowded and it was a Saturday when we visited.  As crazy as it seemed when we walked inside, it was pretty efficient with lines.  It was just crowded!  This is a gas station (120 pumps!), but is also a gift store and has unique snacks and hot food, like Texas brisket.  The first time I went to Buc-ees last year, I actually bought a wedding gift there.  This time, I just bought some good 'ol brisket to eat, some snacks to share, and some souvenirs. 

The main reason for the trip was to see Nate Bargazte perform.  He is a comedian who has two Netflix specials and has been on a lot of the late night talk shows, like Jimmy Fallon and Conan O'Brien.  He is a comedian you can watch with your family.  Let me just say, I laughed until I cried.  He was so funny and we had front seats for the show.  

We were back home at lunchtime Sunday to eat as a family, relax and then we went to our small groups with church. 

Enjoy your day and week ahead!

Linking up with Tanya today!

Friday Favorites ~ April 7, 2021

 

Well, Friday is upon us and our first week in April is in the books.  It has been a busy week. I have just a few favorites to share from the week.

ONE

I bought a set of 3 small, glass jars from the Target dollar spot and found some flowers at Hobby Lobby to arrange in them for a touch of spring.  I found the bird decor on their Easter clearance.

TWO

I also found this bunny door hanger at Hobby Lobby in Easter clearance.  I went Monday morning to see what goodies they had.

THREE

In keeping with the theme of Easter clearance, I also had a weak moment and bought Easter candy.  My favorite are Robin Eggs and I found some that are dark chocolate.  I have no self control when it comes to eating them, but they sure were good.  On a bright note, I have exercised more this week, but not enough for how much chocolate I ate.

FOUR

I attended an Italian cooking class on Wednesday.  I went to a friend's house, but the class was taught virtually from a teacher in Italy.  Three participants were from the UK, one from Germany and three from the USA, so it was an international class.  We made spinach ricotta ravioli.

FIVE

I sometimes come across the special deals on Good Morning America or Live with Kelly and Ryan, even though I don't watch these two shows on a regular basis.  A few weeks ago, I saw a product called Bed Scrunchies on sale.  I had struggled with my fitted sheets sometimes not staying on the mattress, but this product fits around the sheets and mattress to keep it in place.  This is also sold on Amazon and from Macy's.  So far, I have been pleased with this random purchase!

SIX

Today, I am getting my vaccination and then going to a local home show. Hoping I don't feel too bad afterwards to be able to enjoy walking around the exhibits.

Hope you all have a great weekend!

Currently ~ April 2021

 Good mid-week morning!  

I am linking up with Anne for her monthly series, Currently.  Here are the topics:

Arranging

The first thing that came to mind for this is arranging paperwork that has been piling up, which needs to be filed.  This is one of those little things I often put off doing.

I have also started arranging my summer wardrobe now that the temperatures may consistently stay above 70.  My daughter helped me last season to arrange my clothes by color in a gradient style.  

Craving

Of course, when I hear cravings, I think food! Most of my cravings for food are my sweet tooth favorites like chocolate, yogurt and strawberries.

I am also craving a sense of purpose as I plan for the next few years.

Discussing

A lot of discussions around here are about college and vacations.  I have a junior in high school and she is thinking of what to do and where to go for college.  She definitely has ideas and interests, but the more we look into things, it seems the more overwhelming the process is.  

So on a light note, we have been discussing upcoming vacation travel too!

Enjoying

I thoroughly enjoyed our time this past weekend with my family. Click here to see pictures that were posted on my blog Monday.

Preparing

I am still in tax preparation mode, trying to get that complete sooner than later. 

 I am also preparing for lots of little things going on this week and some upcoming weekend trips.  

Thanks for reading and have a wonderful day!

 

Prime Purchases ~ February & March 2021

It has been a few weeks since I have posted 2 days in a row :).  Yesterday, was all about our Easter weekened. Today, I am linking up with Tanya for Prime Purchases.  I have a few items from the past 2 months to share, but not too much :).

Real Touch Artificial Tulips

I read about these somewhere in the blog world....sorry I don't remember where to give you credit! But, I ordered these and have been pleased.  They do not feel plastic and while I love fresh flowers, these are a good substitute.  The first picture is Amazon's photo and the second is mine.

Tablecloth

It seems like every year I buy a new basic tablecloth for our dining room table.  Ignore the wrinkles that were still in it at the time of this picture :)

Mailbox number stickers

Our mailbox did not have numbers and the ones on our house are hard to see, so this was a good addition and these stickers are reflective as well. (this photo is from Amazon...not our street/house)

Disposable Masks

I needed some new disposable masks to wear while traveling on a plane last week.  We also use disposable masks when we go to the gym....so not that often, ha!  These were recommended by Melanie Shankle of the Big Boo Podcast.

Sacred Tears book

This is a book from a neat ministry called Bottle of Tears.  This was a gift for my niece.  

That's all for today!  I plan to be back tomorrow with the Currently series.

Weekend Wrap-Up ~ Easter 2021

Happy Monday!   We had a great Easter weekend around here.  I think it was my favorite weekend so far of 2021!

It started Friday when our college girl arrived home.  We went to dinner downtown and then went to the Memphis Grizzlies game, which was my first NBA game!  Granted, going to a sporting event looks so different these days, but we still had a lot of fun!

Saturday, my husband took up his tradition of doughnuts with the girls, which has turned more into a lunch outing than breakfast!  That afternoon, I took the girls for pedicures, which was their Easter present.  I was trying to get creative for a gift at this age for my girls.  I am past the point of where I can pick out clothes, shoes, or swimsuits for my girls :).  The pedicures were a fun outing and good to have that done for Easter and the warmer weather trends.

That night, we ordered our favorite local pizza for take out to eat at a park.  Afterwards at home, we dyed Easter and eggs got in the hot tub.

I hung up one more Easter decoration for the weekend.

Sunday morning we had beautiful weather for Easter and our church offered an outdoor service.  It was great and seemed so redeeming after such a different Easter 2020.

I did give the girls some candy in their Easter sacks.

  We went to my parents house for lunch and my sister and her husband joined us.  My niece and her kids stopped by for a quick minute, but always good to see these faces!

Our Sunday afternoon/evening was spent with a canoe ride on our neighborhood lake, then dinner sitting down together as a family.  We ate a simple dinner....grilled chicken, salad and sweet potatoes (we had a big Easter lunch!), but we did sit in our dining room. We watched a movie then went to bed by 10pm because we all had an early morning today back to work, school and college.

So thankful forever for this time and hope you had some sweet memories made as well.

Linking up with Tanya today!