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Friday Favorites

As always, I’m ready for the weekend!

This week started out pretty good.  LB and I finally attended a concert that he bought tickets for in 2020.

Favorite # ONE

Covid is gone and BACK STREETS BACK.

Other than the Backstreet Boys concert, LB and I have been working on our yard getting ready for summer, which  finally arrived on Tuesday!

Favorite # TWO

(I am posting this late.  We are well into summer and getting close to fall.  Today is August 26th and I wrote this 2 months ago.  My little secret garden has changed in two months, but I won’t have another picture until it stops raining long enough for me to go outside again!)

Speaking of working in the yard, I mentioned my secret garden this this post.

It was looking pretty sad that day, but I’ve been adding to it

Favorite # THREECUTE!

Although I’m not finished working, it has shaped up a lot in the past few weeks!

Also in the post about my secret garden I mentioned the french drain system we put in the back yard.  [Yes LB and I did it ourselves].  That has all been taken care of and the yard is starting to look normal again.

We had a sidewalk installed for easy access to the pool enclosure.  This week LB is installing lights and I get to shovel lava rock

The lava rock is not my favorite, LB’s landscape lighting is…

Favorite # FOUR

LB’s Landscape Lighting

It lights up the landscape AND the woods!

Favorite # FIVE

Keto Brownies

I found it on Pinterest and added it to my kETO board.

These brownies are pretty tasty for the type of ingredients it contains AND it was MUCH easier than Dr. Berg’s chocolate-scrambled-eggs-and-butter brownies.

~

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

Summer Vacation 2022

My vacation began on Friday May 28th as soon as I logged out of my company pc.  If I am off work, I feel like I am in vacation mode.  However, this one would be special because I wouldn’t be returning to work for 10 days.

LB and I had an appointment on Saturday afternoon, and a graduation event to attend on Sunday afternoon.  On Monday, May 30th, the kids came over to enjoy hamburgers and pool time.  It was a beautiful, sunny day!Summer has begun!

Then on Tuesday afternoon, LB and I kissed Elvis goodbye and headed to St. Petersburg

Treasure Island

by the time we arrived it was raining and we were starving.

It is typical for us to look for a Mexican restaurant when we are out of town.  We found Grand Hacienda Mexican Cuisine not far from our hotel.  After fasting all day, it was a much needed treat!

On

Wednesday, June 1st

I was awakened to the sound of Ronnie Milsap singing “Happy Happy Birthday Baby” on LB’s iPhone.  LB had put together a ‘Kimberly’s Birthday Playlist’ to serenade me while he presented birthday gifts.

The favorite had to be

The Green Purse

I’m spoiled.

We spent the entire day at the beach.

There were occasional grey clouds, but overall the weather was perfect.  The water was a beautiful jade green which is why I like the ocean on the west coast of Florida.  It is much prettier than the brown ocean on the east coast.  We stayed under the umbrella for the most part, and used sunscreen, but still managed to get a slight sunburn.

After a day at the beach, LB wanted to go out for a nice dinner.  We went to the Middle Grounds Grill.

I can’t recommend this place enough.  If you are in St. Petersburg, go to the Middle Grounds Grill!

Dinner was unbelievable!

We packed up to head home on Thursday, but stopped in Live Oak to check out some property for sale.  As it turned out, the land was great, but the surroundings not so much.  Lesson: never buy ANYTHING sight unseen!

On Thursday night, LB had made plans for us to attend the Happy Together Tour at the Florida Theater.

We had a great time!And there’s still 3 more days of vacation to go!

~

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

 

 

Friday Favorites

Hopefully everyone had a happy Mother’s Day this week!

I did!

Now it is time to think about having a

Happy Friday!

Or we can think about both.

This Friday’s favorites is dedicated to Mother’s Day and the sweet gifts my children bestowed upon me.

Here they are in no particular order…

Favorite # ONE

Everyone knows I love tulips!  But I have never seen tulips in this form

That was on Sunday.

This is how my tulips were progressing later in the weekBeautiful!

~

Favorite # TWO

Kate Spade is one of my favorites!

This necklace and earring set is so pretty.

~

Favorite # THREE

Hand made by Lydia and Rory for Glammy This sweet little flower pot is adorned with fingerprint flowers, one red and one yellow.  The flowerpot reads:

We love you Glammy – Lydia – Rory – 2022.

With the flowerpot was a Lavender growing kit

~

Favorite # FOUR

Joanna Gaines does it again!This giant candle is from the Hearth and Hand collection at Target.

~

Favorite # FIVE

It wouldn’t be right to not include a giraffe in some form.

With the Mother’s Day gifts, I received two forms of giraffe 😁

~

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

Throwback Thursday

Throwback Thursday

…is an excuse to muse over days gone by and the enjoy resulting good feelings.

I enjoy seeing sentimental posts/pictures from “friends” on social media. It’s always fun to see a high school classmate post their senior picture and I love it when my kids post a collage with pictures of themselves as babies.

Throwback Thursday is all about sharing posts and pictures that bring back memories. Memories of our childhood, old friends, past relationships, past pop culture trends, anything that evokes nostalgia.
I enjoy sharing such posts as well.

Enjoy my photos from decades past and the happy thoughts that follow

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

Mother’s Day Weekend

Would you believe my Mama didn’t want to have a family gathering on Mother’s Day?  She must have been anticipating being exhausted from her Saturday outing.

My kids still wanted to get together like we always do, so they asked me what we should do to celebrate the day.  I thought about having them to my house right away because is always nice to get to feed them. lol

Steph wanted there to be a theme.  LB and I thought a Kentucky Derby theme would be fun.Right away I started working on dessert.

Lemon Chess Pie

Brownie Bourbon Bites

On Saturday morning, after Mama left for her lunch date with the sisters, I walked over to her front yard and trimmed her rose bushes for her.  Our party menu included Southern dishes inspired by the Kentucky Derby official menu.  When the kids got to my house at 6, we ate dinner: Brisket, Mac & Cheese (thanks girls!), succotash, rolls, and all kinds of good stuff.

After dinner everyone picked a hat…

And at 6:57 we were dressed in our fancy hats and poised to watch The Run for the Roses.

Although we didn’t place bets, we all picked a horse to root for and Richard’s horse won.  If you haven’t seen the last leg of the race, featuring Rich Strike coming from behind to win, watch this

It was very exciting!

And a wonderful time was had by all!

~

On Sunday

Amanda came by and took me to get a pedicure.  We chatted the whole time and I completely forgot to take a picture!  You don’t want to see our toes anyway.

Sunday evening LB took me to see Troubadours Tribute: the music of Carole King & James Taylor @ Alhambra Theater & Dining.And once again, a wonderful time was had by all.

~

 

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

What’s Up Wednesday

What’s Up Wednesday is a monthly compilation of

What’s Up

 posted on a

What’s Up Wednesday?  Here’s whats up…

starting with

What we’re eating

I have been using recipes from the ruled.me website.  This is a KETO diet website with some of the yummiest low carb recipes I’ve ever tasted.

Some of my favorites are:

Keto Shepherd’s Pie
Roasted Chicken Thighs in Red Pepper Sauce
Cauliflower Pizza Casserole

~

What I’m loving

LB bought me a lemon tree!

And not a moment too soon… there were NO lemons to be found at the grocery store this week!

~

What we’ve been up to

Lots of yard work

~

What I’ve been working on

Front yard landscaping and flowers

LB and I added stepping stones to the area near our water hose.  It looks a bit unfinished at the moment, but that is because it is.  I’m still working on it.

I moved a lot of amaryllis that I divided last fall.  They are likely the red ones Wendy told me about, but I haven’t seen them bloom yet.  Hopefully they will like their new home.

Back yard landscaping

We have also started construction on what I will call a french drain.  I don’t have pictures because I’ve been digging.  We are hoping this drain will help fix the back yard flooding that we now have to endure [thanks to the neighbor to the north, who filled in the retention pond behind our house, and raised his yard by two feet].  There is nothing like a good neighbor!

~

What I’m excited about

FINALLY Truth Social LET ME IN!

I am @krstar0601

~

What I’m dreading

ummm… just work.  Monday through Friday.  That’s the only dread-worthy thing in my life.  However, I am thankful and blessed to have a job.

~

What I’m watching/reading

At the moment, I am watching the latest from X22 report.  Dave has a lot of great information that you may not hear about if you only tune in to the main stream media.

What I am reading is “The Healthy KETO plan” by Dr. Eric Berg.  The book is good and I’ve learned a lot about how good health is necessary to prevent excess weight and even hot flashes.  It has been quite a learning experience.

~

What I’m wearing

Nothing fancy.  I pretty much live in my Old Navy jeans, but I have ordered and received a couple of jeans from other brands.  Gloria Vanderbilt jeans have not changed.  Wearing these jeans will make you look like “mom”.  Lee jeans are a little better, but still not very flattering.  My current favorites are Sofia Vergara, but [sadly] they are SO LONG I am going to have to have them altered.

~

What I’m doing this weekend

This weekend nothing major is happening.  No family gatherings.  No parties.  LB and I will probably be working on the drain if weather permits.  If we go anywhere it will probably be to COSTCO to get some more mulch.

~

What I’m looking forward to next month

May is going to be great.  Hopefully there will be a vacation sometime along the way.

  We are planning to have a sidewalk put down in the side/back yard.  It will be nice to be able to walk in the yard without having a flip-flop sucked off by the soggy ground.

~

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

Friday Favorites

I think it has been a week since I published a blog post!  The last time I posted even a photo on social media was April 10th when LB and I went to see Rock Of Ages at Alhambra Theater and Dining.  I’m not sure what is going on with me.  It isn’t like I have too much to do!

Anyway, something has prompted me to create a Friday Favorites post today, so here it is:

Favorite # ONE

Spring is in full bloom and so are my

Amaryllis

Wendy (my friend from the office) gave me the bulbs from her Nana’s garden several years ago.  She told me that there were some red and some white, but I’ve only seen the white ones.  They have a faint pink stripe on each petal.  I’ve been lucky enough to see them bloom every year.  I’m not always this lucky with plants so I’m enjoying seeing these beauties every day.

Favorite # TWO

Coloring Easter Eggs

These 2 little peeps came by to help.

After they left I got busy setting up for

Favorite # THREE

Easter Sunday surprises

Rory let me know right away that she owned the same Barbie Puppy Party that she found in her Easter basket.  She knew that it was very expensive… “at least 30 or 45” (LOL!) but she already had one just like it.  Apparently I’m not the only one buying Barbies for the Glambabies.  The Barbie Puppy Party will be exchanged asap.

Favorite # FOUR

Seven Layer Salad

We made short work of this salad.  I think it was the 2 cups of mayonnaise on top that made it a hit.

The recipe that I used can be found here.

Favorite # FIVE

Easter Sunday with Family

Happy Easter 2022!

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

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