• Home
  • About Me
  • Recipes
  • Contact Me
  • Mary’s Musings

Pretty is

...My Life and Style

You are here: Home / Archives for books

Friday Favorites

August 7, 2026

There has been a whole lot of nothing going on this week so I am going to have to reach into the recesses of my mind for 5 Friday Favorites.  This is actually a good thing because Friday Favorites are partially about making a list of things that I’m Thankful for.

I look forward to seeing what I come up with ☺️

 

I started a new book this week.

Favorite # ONE

A New Book

This Book Made Me Think of you by Libby Page has 4.32 stars on Goodreads

I’ll let you know what I think in a future post.

~

LB wants to travel.  In my heart of hearts, I want to stay home.   LB has an intangible bucket list.  Coincidentally, I have a bucket list in my blog website that I created in 2019.  This bucket list DOES include travel.

That said, we have begun planning a big trip.

Favorite # TWO

Planning a Trip

 LB has a theory that after retirement, there is a window that will close causing the retiree to not want to do anything anymore.  Interestingly, I found that window before retirement lol.  But I suppose I do need to continue to cross off some of the bucket list items.

More to come.

~

Favorite # THREE

The Ninja CREAMi

The Ninja CREAMi is basically an ice cream maker.  I received mine as a Christmas gift a few years ago.  This is a perfect appliance for people who want to try to eat clean.  Lately LB and I have been using this fairly often.  There are many recipes on the website and on Pinterest.  You’ll need to plan and prep ahead to freeze for 24 hours.  And then enjoy while you watch your favorite Marvel movie.

Favorite # FOUR

Easy Recipe

by Ninja CREAMi

Vanilla Ice Cream with Chocolate Chips

  • Servings: 4
  • Time: 24 hours+prep time
  • Difficulty: easy
  • Print

Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon (1/2 ounce) cream cheese
  • 1/3 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 3/4 cup heavy cream
  • 1 cup whole milk
  • 1/4 cup mini chocolate chips, for mix-in

Instructions

  1. In a large, microwave-safe bowl, microwave the cream cheese for 10 seconds. Add the sugar and vanilla extract and with a whisk or rubber spatula, combine until the mixture looks like frosting, about 60 seconds.
  2. Slowly mix in the heavy cream and milk until fully combined and sugar is dissolved.
  3. Pour base into an empty CREAMi® Breeze™ Pint. Place storage lid on pint and freeze for 24 hours.
  4. Remove pint from freezer and remove storage lid from pint. Please refer to the quick start guide for assembly and unit interaction information.
  5. Select ICE CREAM.
  6. With a spoon, create a 1 1/2-inch wide hole that reaches the bottom of the pint. Add chocolate chips to the hole in the pint and process again using the MIX-IN program.

I’m not gonna lie.  I’ll try this with substitutions: almond milk and Stevia.

~

So I was thinking about what I spend most of my time doing and the answers were cleaning my house, tending to my kitten, and working in my yard.  I am thankful for the opportunity and ability to do each of these.  Today I’m focusing on working in my yard, as my favorite.

Recently I asked ChatGPT to help me landscape the west side of my pool enclosure.  This is one of the photos I submitted

This is the landscape plan ChatGPT returned…

 

and this is the photo of me working on that landscape plan that ChatGPT returned…

Favorite # FIVE

of course I don’t wear makeup when I work in the yard, and I typically have my hair up and sunglasses on, and I will NOT be kneeling down in my yard since I saw a snake yesterday.

But I like the photo better than anything LB might have captured 🤪

~

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

1 Comment
Filed Under: books, Friday Favorites, Vacation

Friday Favorites

July 31, 2026

I absolutely cannot believe July 2026 is coming to an end.  Time flies when you get old!  Today is the last Friday of the month and I have some weekly favorites to share.

Last week I mentioned that I had finished our Book Club book (Cold Sassy Tree) and was looking for another book to start.

I picked one and finished it in 3 days…

Favorite # ONE

Mad Mabel

The story is about the life of Elsie [Mabel Waller] Fitzpatrick, an 81-year-old woman with a horribly troubled past. It is told in a dual timeline format , moving between past and present.  One thing I liked about this story were the characters, especially Elsie Mabel and her best friend Daphne.  From the moment I started,  I found myself looking for quiet time to move on to the next chapter as I couldn’t wait to see what happened next.  I’ll give it 5 stars for that.

Goodreads book review

~

This favorite is a stretch.

On Tuesday I had an appointment to get my teeth cleaned.  You would think that I would work that in to my favorites somehow, but no.  I HATE getting my teeth cleaned.  It doesn’t feel good at all.

After that, LB and I went to ACE Hardware to walk through the garden center.  Since I’ve planned to landscape the west side of my pool enclosure we purchased several plants

Favorite # TWO

LIRIOPE

I managed to get them all planted before the rain came on Thursday.

~

LB and I used to visit the beaches in town at least once a week.  We had stopped doing this in the past few years so, knowing how much he always enjoyed it, I suggested we go this week.  We went to Little Talbot Island.  It was hot and overcast and the biting flies were abundant.  We only stayed for an hour.  Needless to say, my next favorite is not the beach.  It is this little guy who landed on LB’s hat…

Favorite # THREE

It looked like something was wrong with him so he just held on to LB for comfort while we were there.

~

In last week’s favorites I mentioned the faux suede jacket I had purchased, but I didn’t mention that it was only part of an order…

Favorite # FOUR

Early Fall Haul

with some pretty sweet deals…

~

Ozzy has a favorite this week to share…

Favorite # FIVE

Ozzy’s New Kitty Toy

Interactive Cat Toys for Indoor Cats

~

This is a public service announcement:

It is not recommended to go to the beach while the temperature is in the upper 90s!

~

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

 

1 Comment
Filed Under: books, Friday Favorites

Welcome!


I’m Kim… and I love Pretty clothes, Pretty décor, Pretty days, and Pretty much anything that involves family and fun.  Growing up, My Mama told me more than once “Pretty is as Pretty does” …encouraging me to focus on the inner pretty girl, as she is the one that matters most.

Here on my blog, I’m sharing what I see as pretty.  Whether it be an outfit, an experience, an event, a memory or thought.  Hopefully I’ll share something that will be interesting, useful, or make you smile along the way.

  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter

Follow by Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Looking for Something?

Archives

Connect

  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter

Read More…

Copyright © 2026 · Design by Boutique Studio ·

Copyright © 2026 · Silver on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in

Loading Comments...