Friday Favorites

November 29, 2019

It has been a busy week!

Richard, Emily, and the baby girls came to Jacksonville Saturday to spend the weekend and share in our annual Sunday before Thanksgiving Dinner.

A Saturday night slumber party commenced. Lydia and Rory slept in Glammy’s room. And they managed to get [maybe] six hours of sleep. They were being OH So quiet Sunday morning; I thought they were getting some much needed sleep.

But when I sat up in bed I saw two little sets of bright eyes, wide awake and ready to PLAY

Favorite # ONE

Lively Little Girls

I assumed I would wake up and tiptoe out of the bedroom leaving them to have sweet dreams, but they were quick to jump up. As I made my stop into the kitchen to make coffee they headed to the “Barbie room”. It wasn’t long before they quickly returned to ask “Glammy won’t you come play Barbies?”

Well YES!

And we played various things throughout the day. There was one “game” I particularly enjoyed

Favorite # TWO

Playing Sous-Chef

This little one assisted several times in the kitchen, she aided in egg cracking for breakfast, she [nearly] single-handedly prepared a corn casserole, and arranged the appetizer platter.

And because pumpkin pie and pecan bars were not acceptable choices for dessert that evening, she made chocolate pudding.

When all was finished she asked “what can we do next?”

We can do dinner!

Table setting courtesy of Emily

Favorite # THREE

Sunday before Thanksgiving Dinner

I love the almost traditional Thanksgiving dinner with turkey and all the sides.

And nobody can carve a turkey like LB!

Favorite # FOUR

Leftovers on Monday

it was back to work as usual – I took leftovers for lunch

and LB enjoyed leftovers for dinner.I didn’t take a picture of my lunch as it was much less impressive.

Tuesday

was typical with the exception of an impromptu taco dinner party with Stephanie and Amanda.

Wednesday

was an exceptional day which included very light traffic, very light work, and a visit to the theater later that evening to see

Favorite # FIVE

Wicked

seated right behind the orchestraIt was an exciting way to begin our Thanksgiving holiday vacation!

~

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

Friday Favorites

November 15, 2019

We experienced a cold front in Florida this week which was perfect timing as I’ve begun to experience personal hot flash heat waves on a fairly regular basis.

Not kidding.

Keeping a positive attitude is a challenge to say the least, but I’m going to give it the old college try.

Favorite # ONE

This stuff

I read some of the reviews first, and the positive reviews were more impressive than the negative reviews. According to the reviews it either works VERY WELL or not at all.

so what do I have to lose?

Fortunately it seems to be helping. If anyone has a better suggestion I’ll be grateful to hear about it!

I was hesitant to add this to my favorites, but who am I kidding, it IS a favorite today.

And apparently nothing is off limits on this blog.

~

To celebrate the arrival of colder-than-usual weather, I pulled out some of my fall/winter favorites including these

Favorite # TWO

Corduroy Pants

Top // Pants // Shoes

and

Favorite # THREE

Velvet Pants

Top // Pants // Shoes

~

The weather is somewhat of an inspiration to begin thinking about the upcoming holidays, but with our recent painting endeavor, I’m behind schedule with the fall décor!

Favorite # FOUR

Fall Décor

Let’s see if I can do something with this stuff!

~

There are several weeks left before we say goodbye to this year, but I recently came across a post on social media that makes 2020 a year to look forward to

Favorite # FIVE

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

Friday Favorites

November 8, 2019

The first full week of November began with a challenge from my November 1^st Birthday Girl

Stephanie

She sent me a pin on Pinterest which was a link to the current birthday cake of her dreams.

This qualifies as one of my Friday Favorites!

🎂

Favorite # ONE

The Birthday Cake Challenge

I’m always up for a baking challenge and I’d likely be more successful if I’d follow the recipe.

The Frosted Animal Cookie Cake with four layers of cake, three layers of filling, and white chocolate buttercream frosting topped with pink ganache (pause to catch breath) took me three evenings to complete.

For the most part, I followed this recipe from lifeloveandsugar.com, however in order to finish quickly, I used a box white cake mix:I think she likes it!

Bonus information: 1,088 calories in 1 slice of a 14 serving cake

😱

Favorite # TWO

Birthday Dinner

with three of my favorite ladies

The family was scattered on Stephanie’s birthday and we weren’t able to gather together to celebrate. In an attempt to make her day special, I had Mama, Stephanie, and Amanda come to my house for dinner.

We had something I never imagined I would include in my blog

🍟

Favorite # THREE

Poutine

It sounds weird and it is weird, but it was Stephanie’s request.

The meaning of the word poutine is from a Québécois slang word meaning “mess”.

It is fries with gravy and cheese curds and MUST be eaten with a fork.

THIS RECIPE is a good one!

~

Favorite # FOUR

Face-Time

While we were together, Emily and the baby girls face timed Stephanie to wish her a happy birthday.

We all enjoyed a teeny little visit together.

It is essential to stay in touch with family!

Moments after I left for work today, LB received the news that his Dad passed away early this morning.

For the past few years LB has made regular visits with his Dad, typically on Friday afternoons. Although this is a heartbreaking time for him, LB is happy for making time to visit and maintain a close relationship with his Dad.

We have attended church with him on Father’s Day a few times and it was on one of those occasions that I snapped this photo

Favorite # FIVE

A picture is worth a thousand words but the memories are priceless!

~

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

Friday Favorites

November 1, 2019

November is an exciting month because there are so many events to look forward to!

However there is one event to look back on that took place on October 31^st.

LB and I went to the annual Ballasso Halloween Party last night where we encountered every kind of character you could imagine.

Dressing up is one of my favorite things; almost everyone enjoys getting into costume for Halloween.

Favorite # ONE

Dressing Up

Here are some members of my family who showed their Halloween spirit this year:

Sydney as Sally

Dillon as the Joker

Levi as Owen of Jurassic World

Thea as Princess Anna from Arendelle

Chynnaand her lil’ pumpkin

Gina and Sydney a Classic Halloween Witch and her Black Cat

Lydiaas Glinda the Good Witch

Rory as Dorothy Gale with her bothersome ruby slippers

and even McCartney (Amanda’s dog)there’s a dinosaur mask around here somewhere.

They are all fabulous!

One costume that I thought turned out particularly well is my

Favorite # TWO

LB as Woody

This may be the best costume LB has ever donned!

~

Favorite # THREE

Costume Concepts

The inspiration for this year’s Halloween costume came from a recently watched movie

Toy Story 4I had my heart set on being Bo Peep, but there were no Bo Peep costumes to be found.

Since LB already had his heart set on being WOODY, I chose to dress up as

Jessie the cowgirl.~

Richard, Emily, Lydia, and Rory were inspired by the Wizard of OZ

~

Favorite # FOUR

Trick or Treat

One of my favorite TREATS this year is this ORANGE KIT KAT.Since it is TRICK-y to remove and replace my plastic mouthpieces, I’ve only had one…

but it was tasty!

~

I would be remiss if I submitted a post on November 1^st without mentioning my firstborn.

Last but certainly not least

Favorite # FIVE

StephanieHappy Birthday Dear Stephanie!

~

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

Friday Favorites

October 18, 2019

Today a coworker asked me if I have stopped blogging:

“Are you still doing that, or did it run its course?”

(you know who you are and [even now] I’m glaring).

I explained that I enjoy blogging, but can’t seem to make time to publish my posts.

😢

Right now I have 52 drafts waiting to be finished.

Nevertheless, I try to add a Friday Favorites post each week.

That said, my Friday Favorites from last week is still unfinished. Reason being, last Friday Rory spent the night.

And Glammy let her do whatever she wanted to do

which was…

watch Peppa Pig take a bubble bath with ducks… and eat scrambled eggs… The little angel is no trouble at all, and I loved every minute of her company, but she and Lydia have my undivided attention when they visit.

I’ll finish that blog post eventually.

As for this week…

Favorite # ONE

Sleepover at Glammy’s

Peppa was the word of the day.

If we were in the living room, the television was tuned in to Peppa Pig.[with the exception of the few times that I tried to find Toy Story].

If Rory said “Toy Story” once, she said it 100 times.

After an unsuccessful attempt to find Toy Story on YouTube, LB searched online and ordered all four DVDs:

On Saturday afternoon, Lydia joined the party at Glammy’s.

Or rather…

Lydia hosted the party

Favorite # TWO

Happy New Day Party

Lydia set the table for all of her guests.

Once everyone was comfortably seated, she declared a need for party hats. The only party hats available were Happy New Year hats, which she agreed would be fine.

Lydia exclaimed “Happy New Day!” and served a healthy helping of salad (Easter basket grass) to her guests.Lydia is very particular about when her picture is taken.

In addition, she is VERY imaginative and and creative.

Our Tuesday visit included a Barbie night out at the movies. Glammy’s treadmill is in the “Barbie Room” but that is certainly not a hindrance.

The treadmill served as seating for the girls as they enjoyed a showing of My Little Pony.

Favorite # THREE

Movie Night~

Favorite # FOUR

With all the recent discussion of Mema Reid’s recipes, I decided [to attempt] to recreate her multi-layer cake with chocolate fudge frosting.

Don’t judge.Okay so I don’t know what I’m doing.

This is going to take some practice.

Fortunately it tastes pretty good.

~

Favorite # FIVE

I mentioned previously (here) that Grandpa left us on Monday.

He went to Heaven and we’ll see him again.

Members of my family have been sharing pictures of him on social media.

These are a few of of my favorites:

~

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

Friday Favorites

October 11, 2019

it’s

Favorite # ONE

Family Photos

Grandpa hasn’t been feeling well so everyone has been going by his house to see how he’s doing.

During a recent visit, my aunt shared several photos that she had discovered:

~

Favorite # TWO

Grandpa wanted to go to church for Founders (Homecoming) Day on Sunday. Several members of the family also went. One little family member who was displaying her creativity, kept Glammy busy holding the notebook during the service.While she created a masterpiece:

Once finished, Lydia handed the notebook to LB and asked him to draw himself:

Favorite # THREE

LB’s Self Portrait

She liked it!

~

Favorite # FOUR

Making a Change

Since the new sofa and rug purchase, LB and I decided to change the red walls in the kitchen. The problem has been finding a color that we both like.

The Sherwin-Williams app will allow you to see your own room painted in the color of your choice:

But not very well.

LB decided to take a cue from a well-known trademark and

Just Do It

Favorite # FIVE

Yes we sampled all three colors: Sherwin Williams Raisin, Reticence, and Nuthatch.But, alas, we are no closer to picking a winner.

~

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

Friday Favorites

October 4, 2019

YAY!

While Friday is my Favorite Day, National Day Calendar provided great reasons to CELEBRATE EVERY DAY this week.

Saturday was National Strawberry Cream Pie Day!

Favorite # ONE

Strawberry Cream Pie!

And I made this one!

Strawberry Cream Pie

Servings: 8
Time: 60 mins
Difficulty: easy
Print

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs (or 10 graham cracker sheets)

• 2 Tablespoons sugar

• 1 Tablespoons brown sugar

• 7 Tablespoons butter

• 1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk

• 1 (8 ounce) block cream cheese

• 1/3 cup lemon juice

• 1 cup strawberries

• 1 cup sugar

• 2 Tbsp cornstarch

• 1/3 cup water

• 1/4 tsp vanilla

Directions

Pulverize graham crackers in food processor until finely ground into crumbs.

Combine graham cracker crumbs and sugars in a mixing bowl. Add melted butter and use a fork to combine ingredients well.

Firmly pack crumbs into the bottom of a pie pan and gently press up the sides. Use your fingers to pack crumbs tightly into the sides of the pie pan.

Bake or refrigerate the crust: If desired, bake at 375º for 7-10 minutes. If crust is for a no-bake recipe, refrigerate or freeze for 10-20 minutes before filling.

Add 1/3 cup water to strawberries and puree.
Combine sugar and cornstarch in a saucepan. Stir in strawberry puree.
Cook over medium heat, stir constantly until mixture thickens and come to a boil, about 15 to 20 minutes.
Allow to boil for 1 minute, then remove from heat.
Stir in vanilla extract and allow to cool for about 10 minutes.

Cream together cream cheese and condensed milk until smooth. Add lemon juice and blend well. Pour into graham cracker crust. Top with fruit pie filling. Chill for 2 hours before serving.

prettyis.me

~

Tuesday was National Homemade Cookie Day!

Favorite # TWO

Baking Cookies

With Lydia

How exciting!

Lydia practiced cracking eggs and learned how to use the stand mixer.

She helped put the cookies on the cookie sheet.

And helped get them into a preheated oven.

which was VERY hot!

But her favorite part was decorating…

and she did a great job!

~

Thursday was National Boyfriend Day!

Although he is SO MUCH MORE than a boyfriend, LB is the only one who fits the description for me!

Favorite # THREE

LB

He is the BEST!

~

Recently we said goodbye to the living room furniture (here).

A buyer and her entourage picked it up last Sunday. She was a sweet young lady and explained that she recently lost her husband. She was excited to have my red furniture and I was glad to see she had such a strong support system with her.

My living room furniture is gone.

Now that we have a clean slate, the decorating has begun.