Random Stuff

Happy Saturday, everyone! I hope you are having a great weekend so far. We went out to lunch today at the cute restaurant in the top photo. It's an old house that was turned into a quaint little restaurant many years ago. I managed not to take any food pictures today. We were quite hungry, as we ate a late lunch, so maybe that's why. I had a burger along with the best hand-cut fries - it was so good!

Earlier in the week, Charlotte, along with my mom and me, treated ourselves to pedicures and a delicious brunch. It was a really fun girls' day. I could go for another cappuccino right now - it was perfect in every way.

My flower garden is coming along nicely. The jug above is filled with flowers I grew myself from seed. They make me very happy. I keep a jug full on the kitchen table these days - they brighten up the whole room.

Rosie got a haircut last week, and she wasn't very happy about it. The groomer cut her a bit too short, and she was shivering even though it's super hot here. She was really missing all her fluff, so she wore her sweater for a few days. I prefer her a bit more fluffy, as well. I'll be sure to tell the groomer not to go as short next time.

Anyway, we are gearing up to start homeschooling in about two more weeks. It's hard to believe summer is almost over. It'll be nice to get back on a schedule, though. Oh, and Charlotte gets her braces off one week from Wednesday and she is so excited! I'm also looking forward to fall and much cooler days, and wearing sweaters again. My favorite outfit is a nice pair of jeans and a V-neck sweater or a comfy, long cardigan. I could wear that every day.

I'm trying out a new recipe for pumpkin spice pancakes for breakfast in the morning. About this time every year, I start craving all things pumpkin. I made a batch of pumpkin chocolate chip muffins for breakfast and snacks earlier in the week, and I'm making our favorite pumpkin chili for dinner one night next week. Pumpkin is so good for us and we should all eat it more often, not just in the fall or late summer in my case. Rosie loves it, too!

Thankful

 

Just wanted to pop in and say hi! I hope you all are having a nice first week of August. It's been a busy and hot one for us with an appointment for my daughter yesterday (allergy check-up) and a follow-up doctor's appointment for me on Tuesday. I'm very happy to say that I received good news at my appointment which I am so thankful for. God is so good and always hears and answers our prayers.

I ordered a new cookbook which I had been eyeing for a while now. It's full of not just healthy, but also delicious-looking recipes. I made the brownie bites yesterday and they were a hit. Energy bits and granola bars are up next along with a Tuscan white bean soup which looks fabulous. I know it's hot and not really soup weather but I'll turn the AC down and we will pretend that's it cool outside and enjoy our soup. 

My flower patch is coming along quite nicely. I'm so glad I added Black-eyed Susan seeds to the mix this year - I love all the pops of yellow - they are such a happy flower.

I'll be back soon! Take care and stay cool. Oh, the blueberry crumb cake is from here and it's delicious and a perfect way to use up all of those late summer blueberries.

Hello, July!

 Hi friends! I hope you had a nice and relaxing weekend and a very happy 4th of July this past week. We were home for the 4th and grilled hamburgers and hot dogs, along with my homemade chocolate-cherry ice cream. It was a nice day for sure. 

Rosie had a vet emergency on Wednesday morning, which explains why she is wearing her suitical suit in one of the photos (so much better than the cone they sent her home in), curled up next to me on the sofa. She had a ruptured anal gland, but thank goodness the vet was able to quickly take care of it and get her back on the road to recovery.  She felt very poorly on Wednesday and Thursday but began to feel much more like herself by Friday - thank goodness. She'll go back to the vet for a re-check on Wednesday, but I believe she is definitely getting back to her normal, playful self.

I made a birthday cake for my mom last week, and we celebrated together. She loves my homemade chocolate cake with cream cheese/buttercream frosting, and I was happy to make it for her. I also picked up a lovely bunch of dahlias for myself at the farmer's market last week!

We spent the day in Asheville yesterday, having lunch and just walking around the city, and I didn't take one picture. Not sure how that happened, but anyway, it was a fun, family day.

I hope you have had a nice weekend. Did you do anything special this weekend? I'll be back soon with some photos of my flower garden - with all the rain we have had, I'm sure they are about to pop!

Trying to stay cool

 

Hello and happy summer! It's hard to believe yesterday was the first day of summer. It sure feels like it with temperatures around 100 degrees. We are spending lots of time indoors in the AC, where it's nice and cool. I'm honestly not a fan of heat, although I do like seeing the sun shine; I just prefer not to be out in it. 

My hollyhock plant flowered this year, and I'm thrilled! I planted seeds last year, and the plants were small and green with no flowers. I'm thinking it's about ten feet tall. It's gorgeous and makes me very happy. My raised bed is also filling in nicely with more wildflower seeds I planted last month. I should start to see blooms within the next few weeks. I'll be sure to share pictures soon. 

We ran a few errands today, went for pedicures with my mom, and then had brunch. It was fun hanging out and spending the day together. I bought all the ingredients to make homemade chocolate cherry ice cream and s'mores because that's what you do in the summer when it's super hot. What have you been up to? I hope you are having a nice summer so far. 

It's been a while

Hello friends! I hope you are all well. Oh my, it has definitely been a while since my last post. I wasn't sure where to start, so we will just skip over April and concentrate on the current month. We went to St. Simon's Island, GA, the first week of May for vacation - it was wonderful to get away. We had a great time and thoroughly enjoyed many walks on the beach and many meals eaten outside. Beach walks are my favorite, especially in the late evening when the sun is about to set. The ocean is so healing to me - not to mention we had no seasonal allergies when we were by the sea. It has me thinking that maybe a move closer to the sea is in our future. Wouldn't that be wonderful! We rented a pet-friendly condo, so we were able to bring Rosie along, and she loved the beach. We also celebrated my 47th birthday when we were away. We went out for a nice dinner and a glass of prosecco - I thoroughly enjoyed celebrating with my people. When we returned home, it was almost Mother's Day. Charlotte made me a Belgian waffle, as shown in the photo below, and it was delicious!

Our daughter's last week of 6th grade is coming up next week. It's so hard to believe summer break is almost here, and we are looking forward to it. It'll be nice to not have a daily schedule for a while. And we are excited about homeschooling for 7th grade. 

So, what have you been up to lately? What are you looking forward to this coming summer? I hope you have something fun planned!

I'm also trying to eat more salads. Green apple is surprisingly very good on a salad!

A March Birthday

 

Happy first day of spring! I'm sitting at my desk by our bedroom window, and the sky is so pretty as the sun is setting at 7:40pm. It looks and feels like a spring evening.

We celebrated our darling girl's 13th birthday yesterday. I can barely believe my baby is 13!!! We went to her favorite brunch cafe, did a little shopping, and came home for cake and pizza for dinner. It was a really fun day celebrating her. One of her gifts was a new telescope, and she seems to really be enjoying it. She has the day off from school tomorrow, and we have an appointment for her yearly eye exam. I think it may be time for a new prescription. And we are visiting my parents in the afternoon, so they can have a belated birthday celebration with her. It should be a nice day.

I hope you had a great weekend! Have a great first week of spring!

What I've Been Up To Lately

 

Hello everyone! I hope you are all well. It seems like January and February are somewhat slow months, but once March arrives life seems to just get busier, and I'm okay with that. Our sweet daughter will celebrate her 13th birthday this month and I can barely even believe it! She asked for us to go to brunch at her favorite French brunch cafe and for pedicures in the afternoon and maybe a little shopping. I've made the reservation and pedicure appointments so we are all set. It should be a really fun day celebrating our girl! I'll also have a homemade cake waiting and ready for us when we return home. She's going back and forth with getting her ears pierced, so maybe that will happen too. I want to buy her a nice pair of birthstone earrings -  I think that would be extra special.

Okay, so I recently bought a new plant, a nice bunch of spring flowers at the grocery store last week, and made a batch of ridiculously delicious frozen mango margaritas yesterday that we had alongside fish tacos. It was a good Saturday just pottering around the house. What did you do this weekend? I hope it was a good one!

 Have a great week, everyone. I'm off on a field trip with my daughter for the day this week and we finally have someone coming out to replace our fridge/freezer lights on Thursday. Yay!

I've also been watching way too much news and constantly praying for the people of Ukraine and for our world.