Festive Friday Favorites

I've been a Monday-Wednesday blogger all year lately, but thought today I'd join in the Friday Favorites link up (hosted by Erika and Andrea) with a few bits of holiday miscellany. 

1. I spent all day yesterday baking. It was such a joy to be at home, no where to go, nothing to do but spend the whole day in my kitchen. I know that doesn't appeal to everyone, but it's definitely my jam. I also did five loads of laundry,  and sorted out some Christmas gifts and decor that needed sorting. I made two kinds of cookies, two loaves of cranberry bread, and a chicken pot pie for our dinner. 

2. My daughter called on her way home from school pick up and asked if we were around and if so they'd drop by and say hi. It's one of the happiest parts of life right now y'all. A daughter living close enough to drop by. 

Also, I played at least 47 games of tic-tac-toe upon their arrival. My sister-in-law sent this fun set at Thanksgiving and the boys love it. So fun! 

3. I bought two of these little spoon rests at Hobby Lobby back in November and it's a sweet addition to my coffee set up. The other is by my stove. 

I bought these mugs the year hubs and I got married and while there are so many super cute Christmas mugs out there, these remain a sentimental favorite. There are four in the set illustrating the twelve days of Christmas. 

4. I like to leave a box on my front porch for my friends aka the Amazon-UPS-Fed Ex drivers. 

They're here often this time of year, and I know the days are long. I put bottled water and some snacks inside-chips, bars, clementines...that sort of thing. It gets taken so I think it's appreciated. 

5. I took the dog out this morning and was greeted with this-

Let heaven and nature sing!

Friday Favorites

Trying to jot down some of life's little happies this month...linking with Erika and Andrea today for their Friday Favorites party. I always aim for five. ish. 

Holiday Dinner Parties 

We had friends over for dinner Monday night. Yes Monday. I know!! But sometimes a spontaneous weekday dinner party works well for everyone. The weekends are filled with activity and a relaxed dinner with friends on a weeknight is really enjoyable. 

Hubs made a yummy holiday cocktail called Rudolph's Tipsy Punch and it was a hit (recipe linked here). Earlier in the day I opened a box in the garage looking for something and landed on these fun glasses we forgot we bought last year. Perfect for our gathering.

Bonus, hubs sugared cranberries to add to the garnish. 

I love a pretty place setting, Christmas dishes, candlelight, and friends around the dining room table. Question-do you post pics of friends on your blog without mentioning it to them first? I typically do not. 

I didn't take a picture of the main, but I made Pioneer Woman's Spicy Lemon Garlic Shrimp which was served over Pasta al Limone (recipe here) . I've made the shrimp before and normally just serve it with bread for sopping up the juices, but felt like we needed something more substantial to go with this meal. We loved the pasta and I'll definitely repeat this whole dinner. 

Including the pie, which I already posted on the blog once this week but it deserves another mention.

Holiday Fashion

In other holiday news, hubs bought me this cute sweatshirt and I love it. It's comfy, warm but not too bulky, and the sleeves are the right length. 

The sleeves! All my grands are listed there which makes me smile. 

Scattered Smothered And Covered 

Hubs had a doctor's appointment first thing Tuesday morning so I tagged along because he asked me to. We had a Waffle House date on the way home. 

Don't knock it til you've tried it. 

Christmas To-Do's Getting Done

It took me most of the day Wednesday, but I finally finished wrapping all the gifts I needed to send via the US Mail. I kind of wanted to do a little dance when I left the post office. So nice to have everything mailed that needed mailing. 

I had a completely free day on Thursday. Not a thing on the calendar which is so rare. Normally on Thursdays I volunteer, but a church had people filling the slot this week so I sipped coffee in my pjs til 9:30, Facetimed with my daughter, then baked cookies and dehydrated some oranges old school (aka in the oven) for a little project I have plans for this weekend. It was nice. 

A Cuppa and a Homemade Cookie 

Ended the day with a cup of tea in my favorite Christmas mug-

I'm off to the salon this morning. Today is 'make my hair great again' and that is for sure a favorite. 

Enjoy your weekend everyone! 

Five On Friday

Actually I have seven not all that important things to share but Seven On Friday isn't a thing in the blog world and Five on Friday is. Quite often you have to use your imagination here. 

1. It's been a really rainy day here and we've taken advantage of the 'at home' time to get a few things done that needed doing. We've been gone more than we've been home these past two months and it feels good to slow down (ish) and catch our breath before the holidays roll in.  

2-I'm so excited to have my whole crew here for Christmas this year and we got the very first bit of decorating done today. I don't put my Snow Village out every year because the set up/take down is a bit tedious, but I know the grands will love it so up it went. 

I love it too. Takes me back to Christmases at my momma's as some of these buildings used to be hers. 

We won't put up any trees until after Thanksgiving, but I'm doing bits and pieces starting now to get  ready for the holidays. I've got my card sorted, stockings ordered for the two newest littles, and a few gifts bought. Baby steps. 

3. Last weekend daughter2 and her hubs and the cutest little boy in the world spent the weekend at a college reunion in Charleston. 

We were on their route home Sunday so they stopped for an overnight visit. We loved the unexpected snuggles with this munchkin. 

I could eat him up with a spoon. We Facetimed with the cousins and I cannot wait to have all four grands in the same house at the same time. 

42 days, not that I'm counting. 

4-We started watching the new season of The Crown and I have to say I'm not loving it as much as I enjoyed the previous seasons. I think the Diana storyline is still too fresh, and it feels strange to see the current royals in the news, then watch them fictionalized on tv. I bet it feels strange to them too. 

5-I loved the Amor Towles novel, A Gentleman in Moscow, and I saw this week it's being made into a Showtime movie starring Ewan McGregor. I'm excited.

6-This was the entrance to our neighborhood just a few days ago-

I'm sure all this rain will mean the end of the gorgeous color but we have really soaked it up these past several weeks. We've had beautiful moonlit nights too and while I love summer, it's the autumn skies that are my favorite. 

7-Heading to a little neighborhood Veteran's Day recognition ceremony this evening. My heart is so tender towards all who serve and towards their families too. I grew up in a military family and am not sure I truly appreciated the load my mother so often carried in my father's absences due to wars and other responsibilities relating to his service. 

And now I have a son-in-law in the Army and their various postings have once again given me the chance to spend time around the military community. These men and women and their families give so much that goes mostly unrecognized and is very often under appreciated  I'm glad we have this day to acknowledge all those who have served. 

"As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation 

is not to utter words, but to live by them." ~John F. Kennedy

Five Things Friday

Three posts in the same week-whoohoo! I haven't done that in a while. And there's not even a whole lot to say or maybe there's too much to say? but either way it feels good to try to get back into some sort of rhythm here. 

I say that a lot but maybe this time it will stick. 

Since it's Friday let's go with an old fashioned list of five unrelated things, which used to be a regular occurrence in the blog world on Fridays. Like most things online the blog world is also topsy turvy, but don't worry...today's post won't strain your brain.  

1. This bit of loveliness bloomed big on Wednesday and makes me so happy. 

2. Daughter2 teaches in a snowy state and y'all!!...her students tote their snowpants and boots to school and she helps her entire little flock of 7-year old cuties get into that gear and then outside for recess. Prior to moving to said snowy state the bride spent her entire teaching career in the sunny south so helping a classroom full of second graders into snow gear every day is something new for her. 

I'm so happy they are in person learning and also in person playing. And I guess if they didn't go outside when the playground was covered in snow they wouldn't go outside for a big chunk of the year, so hooray for parents who remember to send snow pants and hooray for teachers doing what needs to be done.  

3. Remember this? 

Three months later and the repair is almost complete. Crazy I know, but the windows for the dormer were backordered and didn't arrive in the shop until January. They couldn't finish the dormer rebuild without the windows and then there were a bunch of other things that needed to happen, but they're happening now and it's just about done. I've almost forgotten what my house looks like without the blue tarp front and center. 

The sky looks almost the same today as it did three months ago. 

Minus the hurricane thank goodness.  

This post is interesting so far, isn't it? Ha! 

4. Something else you'll find super interesting...the TV situation here. It's so annoying. Hubs would add the amount of time I've spent mentioning how annoying I find the whole thing is also annoying but whatever. 

In hindsight we are wishing we'd made a different choice, and probably if we'd been less distracted during the sales call we would have. The agent, who was perfectly nice, turned up at our front door at 6 PM on a chilly evening, three days before the wedding. We reluctantly listened to his entire lengthy spiel and conducted all the signing and account set up on our front porch, six feet apart, because we weren't letting anyone whose level of Covid exposure we didn't know inside the house two days before the wedding. It just seemed easier to say yes, plus the new option was quite a bit less expensive which at the time seemed worth it. Now not so much. 

We're not tech people. I just want to turn on the tv in a single step and have it work. Same for my computer, although the internet portion seems fine. Long story long, hubs called in the professionals and we have someone (not the cable company!) coming to sort everything out for us and I really hope I don't have to be present for the sorting. Ha! Just make it work please and thank you. 

5. Let's finish on a high note...the winter sunrise sky. Swoon! 

Happy Weekend Everyone...may your souls find rest and beauty there. 

For Certain

Happy Friday everyone! I know it feels like forever and a day I've been at this A-Z Blog challenge, but we're nearing the conclusion so hang in there. Talking to myself now because wow the alphabet has felt especially long this year. 

Today's word comes from one of my lake friends and no we're not related-ha! We do however have many things in common including both of us once upon a time working as speech-language pathologists. We're also members of the same church, have two grandsons very close in age, love to read and talk and play cards and go out for brunch and the list goes on. She reads my blog and encourages me to keep writing, so thank you C for your friendship and the word of the day. 

Day 21-U is for Uncertain

It's a beautiful day here today and I want to think happy thoughts, so I'm going to turn this word on it's head. I can do that ya know.

The word uncertain makes me feel that other 'u' word-uneasy. There are things in our everyday lives that we count on, regardless of whether or not we should, and when the world tilts we aren't quite sure what to do about it. So we freeze.

We wait. We pray. We hope. 

There's a debate in certain communities as to whether or not we can truly know anything for certain, and some will want to argue the point, but I'm a dreamer not a scientist and I say yes. 

Here are a few things I know for certain. Things of which I am absolutely and completely positive. Beyond a shadow of a doubt. No ifs ands or buts. Come hell or high water or quarantine. 

1. My grand babies are sunshine and pure sweetness. 

Please don't even try to dispute it. 

2. I'm going to look older than I feel if the salons don't reopen in the next few weeks. Hopefully I won't have to prove it.

3. We cannot control the actions of others. Only our response to them. 

4. Life can be pared down very quickly to what's most important. 

5. Jesus loves me this I know. For the Bible tells me so.

Happy weekend everyone!

Long Time No Blog

I do still have a blog, I just haven't been here in a while. Nearly a month but who's counting? No worries, I excel at cramming a month's worth of happenings into a single post so strap in.

Actually no need to strap in because it's been a pretty low key month round here. Our definition of low key that is. Other people might say we're still awfully busy but we've managed not to leave town so that's something.

Wait. Hubs left town. He popped over to Tennessee for a couple of days to visit his mom, but other than that we've been planted here at the lake.

And maybe instead of telling you ALL the things I'll pick just five that stand out in my mind-

1. The dogs. Y'all. It's almost like hubs has a job, and the responsibilities of that job are focused primarily on wearing out the newest addition. Hubs takes the little brown dog for long walks, he swims with him, he kayaks with him...well hubs kayaks and little brown dog sits on hubs lap the kayak, but even when he's just sitting he's on alert. He knows as soon as that kayak hits the beach hubs will throw the baton into the water approximately 47 times and he will fetch it all 47 times. Then they'll kayak back to the dock and little brown dog will launch himself off the dock after that same baton another 47 times, and even after all of that the little brown dog will not seem overly exhausted.

Hubs on the other hand...

And Daughter2's dog has been sick since Sunday so she has needed watching. Normally the greyhound is super low maintenance, in fact we joke she's like living with a stuffed animal, but then hubs spent all of Tuesday morning with her at the vet because Daughter2 needed to go to work and great dads step in where they're needed. Hubs is a great dad.

For people and for animals.

2. Also he's a whole year older.

He had a big birthday recently, and we had the best time celebrating his special day. We invited a whole slew of friends and neighbors to bring their favorite raft or noodle and come for a 'float party'.

The weather could not have been more perfect and it was a great way to ring in a new decade.

photo credit: Pam N. 

Still young at heart!

3. We've done lots of face timing with our daughter and grandson in South Korea this past month, and we love that. Facetime really does make them feel not so far away. Daughter1 generally calls in the evening which is their tomorrow morning and that works on both sides of the world.

photo credit: Sincerely-Shannon

They've settled in beautifully and if you're not following her blog and/or YouTube channel you should. She has made several short videos that are wonderful and give you a fun glimpse into life overseas. Click here for her YouTube channel and click here to visit her blog.

4. We've had lots of relaxed evenings with nearby friends and neighbors, most recently at a local brewery where the Cousins Maine Lobster Truck made an appearance.

It also happened to be the night of the Clemson home opener (they killed it btw) so downtown was hopping, but we enjoyed that. Even better Daughter2 offered to hold a place for our gang in the super long line, and we all gave the lobster rolls two thumbs up! You should know that lobster tots are a thing and they're delicious.

The Cousins have a great story, but essentially they got their big break on Shark Tank after being asked more than once to audition for the program. Turns out producers of the show were some of their earliest customers and eventually convinced them to try out. They have over twenty trucks now in something like thirteen cities, and ours was I think from Charlotte.

5. Lastly but not leastly we have marveled at God's handiwork in a water colored early morning sky-

Been sun kissed-

And heaven blessed-

Not quite ready to let summer go...

The Friday Five

I'm not sure The Friday Five is officially a thing, but I'm declaring it officially a thing on my blog today. I'm so out of sync with my blog and know I need to dive back in and write more often because that makes my writing better. Today you'll have to settle for this-

The Friday Five

I hope I've got Five. It might be The Friday Four. Or The Friday Fourteen.
You never know what you're going to get on This Side Of The Pond.

1. When I flip the page to May at a glance in my calendar I feel a little dizzy. There is so much happening here next month beginning with a hair appointment (that's half a day for me), the dentist, the eye doctor, a wine dinner event, cards and gifts to send for nephew and niece birthdays and a nephew's graduation, Mother's Day, lots and lots of company including college sorority sisters, a high school/camp friend, my mom, my mother-in-law, my daughters, son-in-law, and the cutest baby boy in the world.

photo credit: Sincerely Shannon

Seriously he's the cutest.

2. In preparation for his visit I've purchased a few small toys and a highchair. I've borrowed a pack and play from a friend, but bought a mattress to add to it so he'll be more comfortable. They have a full day of flying plus a couple hour car ride from the airport, plus a three hour time change so we want to do everything we can to help him sleep sweetly once he's here.

Also, it's fun to walk through my kitchen and see a highchair. This one is a Graco and was a literal snap to put together. As in you snap the parts in place. It also converts to a booster seat which is a nice feature and one we'll need down the road.

3. Do you jot notes in the Notes feature of your phone as a reminder of things you want to mention on your blog? I do that sometimes and one thing I'd written there was Big Little Lies. Did anyone watch it? What did you think? We don't get HBO here, but Daughter1 has it so we watched Season One when I was out west a couple of weeks ago.

I really enjoyed the way the show was produced and thought the acting was great, but here's my rant. I don't know why they had to use the F word as much as they did. I have a lot of women friends and nobody I know regularly drops that word a whole bunch into everyday casual conversation. It seemed unnatural and distracting.

4. Turning to the world of fashion...I don't get these tops with the super long wide bell sleeves that come down over your hands. I think some of them are so cute, but then when I imagine trying to do anything at all while wearing one the style seems completely crazy.

5. You know what they say...April showers bring May flowers.  Here's hoping! We've had so much rain this spring, three days this week it's just poured and it rained again last night. On the bright side the weekend weather and next week too all look lovely. We have a fun weekend planned with friends we haven't seen in a while and I'm excited for sunshine and warmer weather.

We did manage a boat ride on Wednesday afternoon while hubs mom was in town with some friends. Hubs was not happy about it at all. Ha!

photo credit: Sincerely Shannon

Enjoy your weekend everyone!