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Friday Favorites

It has been so long that I don’t know if I remember how to do this.

Hopefully its easier than riding a bike.

~

We celebrated my middle child’s birthday on Monday evening.

Favorite # ONE

AMANDA

I’ve published several posts featuring Amanda.  Some of my favorites are here and here.

All three of my children were born in the fall, so while the rest of the world is anticipating Thanksgiving, for my family, starting November 1st the celebrating begins.  November 1st is Stephanie’s birthday.  While she didn’t specifically request it, her birthday dinner was a fish fry.

It was EPIC.

Richard’s birthday is November 9th.  Amanda thought it would be a good idea to have a low country boil for Richard’s birthday dinner.  Since he didn’t object, that is what we did.

It was also EPIC.

Amanda asked for an appetizer/Hors d’oeuvres “dinner”, which isn’t really a dinner, but very fun and filling.

She also asked for a slab pie in lieu of a birthday cake, and so…

Favorite # TWO

SLAB PIE

A slab pie is baked in a sheet pan and is designed to feed a crowd.  For Amanda’s pie I used my pâte brisée recipe and canned pie filling: apple, blueberry, cherry, and mixed berry.  The pie turned out pretty good.  Either that or no one was brave enough to tell me the truth.

With Amanda’s birthday past, on Wednesday LB began setting up the Christmas trees.  We have two and they are both special.

Favorite # THREE

THE PURPLE TREE

This was our first Christmas tree with baby Elvis, which makes it 15 years old.

These days he doesn’t have the impulse to climb the purple tree, but he still likes it.

Putting it up was a bit difficult this year because LB had to strip the lights and add new ones.

Now I get to decorate.

~

This year my team at work decided to have seafood for Christmas dinner

Favorite # FOUR

BONEFISH GRILL

and my Team

Most of us went out on Thursday night for our Christmas dinner together.  It may be the last one.

More on that later.

~

Favorite # FIVE

this little tree

that lives in my front yard.

This fall his leaves turned yellow.

Now I call him Arnold

~

Thank you for taking time out of your day to stop by my blog.

Friday Favorites

This has been week 2 of the CWA strike.  I’m still not working and not getting paid.  I’m also not complaining.  Here are my Friday Favorites for the past week.  I’ll start with Saturday date night…

Favorite # ONE

LB took me to see a very interesting performance at the Florida Theater.  Neither of us had ever experienced this type of performance.  The actors were in costume, but there was no set.  There was, however, a full orchestra and choir.  We both agreed that it was weird but enjoyable.

But date night is always a favorite!

~

Favorite # TWO

from Aldi

This stuff is tasty.

“Hibiscus tea is an herbal tea that’s made by steeping parts of the hibiscus plant in boiling water.  It has a tart flavor similar to that of cranberries and can be enjoyed either hot or cold.   Research has uncovered a range of health benefits linked to drinking hibiscus tea, showing that it may lower blood pressure, reduce the growth of bacteria, and even aid weight loss.  This article reviews 8 benefits of hibiscus.

~

Favorite # THREE

Eighties Night

at Music By The Sea

LB and I enjoyed music by Slang

and our favorite lemonade 😁

~

Favorite # FOUR

The country white bread that I made on Thursday…

I’ll post the recipe soon because it is foolproof.  And I should know.

~

Favorite # FIVE

Don Eduardo Cocina Mexicana

It isn’t a new restaurant, but it is new to me.  It is very cute… decorated nicely.  The fajitas are good, but they do not come with guacamole, which made me kinda sad.  It was, however, still nice to go out for Mexican 😁

 

~

Thank you for taking time out of your day to stop by my blog.

Friday Favorites

This week’s Friday Favorites begins with Saturday, August 17th.

This day is very important because on August 17th, 54 years ago, my baby sister came into the world.

Favorite # ONE

GINA

Happy Birthday to my lil’ seester!

~

August 17th is also National Black Cat Appreciation Day.

No one appreciates Black Cats more than I.  No, it isn’t because I identify as a witch.  It is because my little Elvis is such a big part of my lfie and he is a mostly black cat.  And I appreciate him.

Favorite # TWO

ELVIS

He is My Precious Angel

~

LB purchased tickets to an Alhambra show on August 17th a long time ago.  I mentioned to him that it was my sister’s birthday and he said we could invite them.  When I started to mention it, Gina announced she would be spending her birthday at Disney.

With that, LB arranged for his friends to join us.They are on the other side of the table.

Favorite # THREE

That’ll Be the Day

A Tribute to Buddy Holly

at the Alhambra Dinner Theater.

It was mostly fun, and the performers were very talented.

The next day I was exhausted but, I managed to make the requested lemon flavored birthday cake.

AND

since I missed the birthday gathering, LB and I took my sister and bro-in-law out for Mexican on Tuesday night.  We had a GREAT time and left each other saying “we need to do this more often”

just like we always do 🥰

~

It has been a mostly laid-back week because the CWA union where I work went on strike.  All I’m going to say about that is that I’ve been home and unpaid this week.  I fully expect to be back at the office next week, however, if that doesn’t happen, I’ll continue to enjoy my free time.  I’ve slept late, enjoyed morning coffee with Elvis, logged 5 treadmill miles every day, and still have energy.  Tomorrow my kids are coming over for a barbecue.  For dessert we’ll be having peach cobbler.

Favorite # FOUR

Peach Cobbler

 

Peach Cobbler

  • Servings: 16
  • Difficulty: meh
  • Print

Ingredients

  • 8 cups canned peaches [trust me don’t use frozen]
  • 1 cup softened butter
  • 1 1/2 cups sugar
  • 2 cups flour
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1 cup milk
  • 2 Tbsp cornstarch
  • pinch of salt
  • 1/2 cup boiling water
  • Recommended for topping: vanilla ice cream, whipped cream

Directions

  • Spray 9×13 baking dish with nonstick cooking spray and preheat oven to 375°
  • Drain and arrange sliced peaches in bottom of baking dish
  • In a medium bowl, cream together 1 cup sugar with softened butter
  • Add dry ingredients (salt, flour, baking powder) and milk to make a batter.  Batter will be thick
  • Spread the batter over the peaches
  • In a separate bowl, whisk together 1/2 cup sugar, cornstarch and a pinch of salt.
  • Sprinkle sugar mixture evenly over batter completely covering the surface.
  • Slowly pour boiling water over the top
  • Bake at 375 for 45 minutes or until the cobbler is golden brown and bubbling

 

prettyis.me

~

Thank you for taking time out of your day to stop by my blog.

Friday Favorites

Friday is my favorite day of the week and I’ve got Friday Favorites to share!

I’ll start with the previous weekend.  Saturday & Sunday  There was nothing pressing to do.  I had the opportunity to go nowhere and remain at my favorite place…

HOME

Favorite # ONE

wizard of oz toto GIF

It was a joyful couple of days that came to a screeching halt on Monday morning.

~

On Wednesday I learned that it is a code of business conduct violation to work during my lunch.  I was told “they’re really coming down on us for that”.  So, I wanted to complain, but, LB tells me to always be positive with what I write.  So I’ll try to keep it positive.

This week my team was awarded a lunch from the LOOP.  I ordered the

Great American Cheeseburger

 Favorite # TWO

with steak fries.

Now for the real positivity:

One day I will walk out of that building for the last time.  I will walk away and find a place to have a party 😊

~

I’ve been listening to a YouTube influencer talk about these jeans for Idk how long.  Last week they were on sale, so I ordered them

Chico’s No Stain Girlfriend Fray Hem Ankle Jeans

Favorite # THREE

Color: Alabaster

They arrived on Wednesday and I wore them to work on Thursday.  As luck would have it, for the first time my mixed berries splattered and landed on my new pants.  But it was only a temporary splat.

The claims are real… these pants will not stain.

~

It has been a long time since I made LB something sweet, so I did some baking this week…

Favorite # FOUR

LB’s Favorite Oatmeal Cookies

I shared the recipe in this post.

~

its been a weird week and I thought I may not find a fifth favorite, but Amanda sent a photo of her cat Bunny and I thought it was adorable.

Favorite # FIVE

~

Thank you for taking time out of your day to stop by my blog.

Friday Favorites

Making a list of happy thoughts is an easy way to find the good in every day.  Finding the good in every day is key to personal happiness.

Today is

And I’m going to share a list of my favorites from this past week.

Favorite # ONE

The Garden Center

at Hagan Ace Hardware

Recently my “cube mate” Michelle told me that whenever she is in a bad mood, she goes to the Ace Hardware on San Jose.  I wasn’t in a bad mood on Saturday, but we were in the area so LB and I decided to check it out.  $65 later we came home with 7 new plants.

It was SO hot Saturday afternoon as we walked around that expansive garden center, but all of that changed when the rain came on Saturday night.

I was pretty disappointed because it was date night and my outfit was cute.  The rain WOULS NOT STOP and the street was flooded.  It was impossible to step up onto the sidewalk from the street without wading through at least 4 inches of water.  We walked all around that block looking for a place to step up, but it was not to be.  My shoes were soaked.  My pants were soaked.  It was not a pretty sight after LB and Iwalked only one block to see

Favorite # TWO

Donny Osmond

 at the Florida Theater

This man is a true entertainer and his show was great!

Later that evening when LB and I got home, my pants and shoes were still wet.  It occurred to me that my shoes may be ruined which was a good excuse to buy a new pair.

 

~

Favorite # THREE

New Shoes

Metallic shoes are supposedly trending and I’ve been looking for a style that I like.  I saw some on the Chico’s website, but when I clicked on them, and was redirected to the shoes and accessories, they were not to be found.  So I looked to Amazon for help and sure enough… there they were.

~

Favorite # FOUR

A Day OFF

And I’m fixin’ to be out of vacation.

LB had a death in the family and needed to drive to GA to attend the funeral.  Needless to say, he wanted me to come along.  Thursday was not available, but the attendance manager helped me add a vacation day because she could see that someone was releasing their vacation day.  That was such a big favor and I just love her.  The only reason I didn’t use her as a favorite is because I didn’t get permission.

I decided my last Friday Favorite would be one that I have used many times.  LB and I ended the day with my favorite quisine… Salsa’s Fajitas

Favorite # FIVE

~

Thank you for taking time out of your day to stop by my blog.

 

Bon Voyage Barbie

Birthday Barbie was my sister’s genius idea to surprise me for my birthday.  She and my daughters and brother-in-law brought her to me on the Sunday before Memorial Day.

I wish I had a video of them marching into my house to present their creation.

They were so excited and apparently had a lot of fun putting Barbie into the cake and covering her with sprinkles.

LB had made last minute plans to take me on a cruise to celebrate my old age aka birthday.

So… since I would be away on the actual day, someone decided that we would celebrate my birthday early.

We enjoyed the Barbie dress for dessert at the Memorial Day Pool party.

It was 3 layers: white, strawberry, and lemon.  Very tasty.

I can’t remember who had the great idea that Barbie should come along on the cruise to help document the event.

But Barbie was all in… she even helped me pack…

When we left Wednesday morning for Miami, she called “shot gun”, but I outranked her.

We made it safely to the port in Miami and found our living quarters.  Here’s Barbie enjoying a seat in the living area of the cruise cabin.  Birthday Barbie became Bon Voyage Barbie.

And on the balcony just before we sailed…

Barbie enjoying a chocolate chip muffin for breakfast on the balcony

[Yes, that is a choc chip muffin she’s holding].

~

Barbie in Key West

Our first stop was Key West where we WALKED for miles (it seemed) to reach the

SOUTHERNMOST POINT

OF THE CONTINENTAL U.S.A.

It was SO hot in Key West that Barbie broke a sweat.

Before we made it back to the ship, we stopped at Margaritaville and let Barbie indulge…

 

Stop #2 was in Bimini Bahamas.

Barbie on the beach

 

 

Did I feel like an idiot carrying a Barbie doll around?

You bet.

But it was still a great time!

~

Thank you for taking time out of your day to stop by my blog.

 

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It’s Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas

Just three days after Thanksgiving, LB and I started our annual Christmas festivities.  This year the festivities began with date night at the Alhambra for dinner and the show

Miracle on 34th Street

As usual an evening at the Alhambra always begins with soup and salad.  LB has the soup and I have the salad.  Then for the entree I will typically have salmon and he will have the traditional holiday feast.

The stage was beautiful and the performance was great 

LB says he has never seen the movie Miracle on 34th Street, but I just can’t imagine having never seen such a classic.  I will make a point to have him watch both versions with me this Christmas season.

While the movie isn’t a musical, you can’t have an Alhambra production without music.  One of the songs that was incorporated into the production was

Pine Cones and Holly Berries

and it carried me right back to childhood.

LB had never heard the song.

He was amazed that I was singing along…

Pine cones and Holly Berries
Popcorn for you, apples for me
Red strip-ed candy, nut cracker handy
Kettle a-bubbling hot as can be.
snow clouds hang low and threatening
Maybe in won’t, praying it may
the brightest fireplace glows in every face
Waiting for Christmas day.

There’ll be walk-a-round songs and
talk-a-round songs
Songs of the inn and stable.
There’ll be morning time songs and
evening time songs
And grace at every table.
And Jingle bells will jingle all the way all day.

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas
Everywhere you go;
There’s a tree in the Grand Hotel,
One in the park as well
The sturdy kind that doesn’t mind the snow.
It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas
soon the bells will start
And the thing that will make them ring
is the carol that you sing
Right within your heart.

I knew this song as a little girl from Mama and Daddy’s 1965 record

This morning I found it on YouTube and listened to the whole thing.  LB and I plan to visit a vintage record shop soon and this will be one that we’re looking for.

~

Thank you for taking time out of your day to stop by my blog.

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