Five on Friday - January 19, 2024

Happy Fri-nally!  This has been a week and I'm so, so glad Friday has arrived!  Let's get straight into my five for today ~

1.  Hostess Valentine Ding Dongs

I'm not going to lie, I love Ding Dongs.  So, when I spotted the Valentine's Ding Dongs I was overjoyed!  These heart-shaped chocolate-covered cakes are available at Sam's and I hear they are also at Aldi's.  What a fun little treat to slip in your lunch bag.  They are out for a limited time so get them while you can!

2.  Valentine's Window Clings

Speaking of Valentine's, I bought a pack of these adorable window clings and I'm going to decorate like crazy with them!  They are going on the sidelights by my front door, mirrors in the bathrooms and any place else they will stick.  The package comes with a total of 100 heart clings so there will be plenty to spread them around everywhere! 

Valentine's Window Clings

3.  Rechargeable Hand Warmer

We have had some VERY cold weather this week.  My husband, Eric, has to work in and out of the elements all day.  One thing that helped him make it through the week was a rechargeable hand warmer that was gifted to him.  The charge on the hand warmer lasted all day and was a life saver in the kind of weather we had.  I wish I would have had one back in the day when I was sitting on the sidelines of Ian's sporting events!  

Rechargeable Hand Warmer

4.  Jack Black NightMode Lip Treatment

A friend of mine gave me a tube of Jack Black NightMode Lip Treatment.  This stuff is amazing!  Her daughters had turned her on to it and it definitely lives up to the hype.  I've been using it at bedtime and it was made my lips feel and look so much better!  The winter has been hard on my lips in years past, but this year I'm winning the battle of dried, cracked lips thanks to this lip treatment.  

Jack Black NighMode Lip Treatment

5.  Common Courtesy...

Have a fantastic weekend!  We have our Bible study group meeting tonight and then I have girls' night out tomorrow.  We're hoping the Kansas City Chiefs bring us a big win on Sunday!  Oh, and I still have a little bit of Christmas decorations to put away.  See you next week!

In case you missed it this week ~

Wonderful Wednesday Blog Hop

2024 Valentine's Porch

2024 Valentine's Porch

Welcome to Thinking Out Loud Thursday where I talk about something I'm thinking about and invite you to link up and do the same.  Today I'm thinking about the touch of Valentine's decor on our front porch!

When the Christmas decorations come down, I'm anxious to get the Valentine's decorations up!  I started with our front porch this year and added a new wreath.  

For years now, we have had two tall planters on each side of our front door.  They have held up so well and my love for them hasn't waned.  We usually have holiday decorations in them or ferns through the summer.  After Christmas, I decided to add two fern balls to the planters.  That decision was a winner!

We hope our Valentine-decorated front porch radiates love and warmth for this season.  Now I need to get busy with the inside!  

Shop the Post

Planters

Fern Balls

Entrance Doormat

Mat

Now it's your turn.  What are you thinking out loud about today?  Link up and share!

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Wonderful Wednesday Blog Hop - January 17, 2024

 

Welcome to the Wonderful Wednesday Blog Hop!  We are so glad that you stopped by.

Here you will find inspiration from dozens of bloggers including recipes, home DIY, gardening, decor, family fun, traveling, fitness, and so much more.

A friendly reminder to our guests that as a courtesy to the hosts, we ask that you follow every host on at least one social media channel.

If you are a blogger, then be sure to link up below. You may be our next feature! 

Before we get this party started, let’s meet the hosts and check out this week’s featured favorites.

MEET THE HOSTS

1. Bev – ECLECTIC RED BARN | FB | IG | PINTEREST
2. Penny – PENNY’S PASSION | FB | IG | PINTEREST
3. Sinea – DUCKS ‘N A ROW | FB | IG | PINTEREST | TWITTER
4. Tammy – MY LIFE ABUNDANT | FB | IG | PINTEREST | TWITTER
5. Tara – STILETTOS AND SHIPLAP | IG | PINTEREST
6. Denise –THISISMYEVERYBODY | FB | IG | PINTEREST | TWITTER

TOP VIEWED

Being Happy and Healthy in my 60s

VERY POPULAR

Chicken Orzo - One Pan Dish

Fun New Ways to Share Recipes

EDITOR'S CHOICE

No Bake Peanut Butter Pie

LET’S GET THIS PARTY STARTED!

Please follow all hosts on AT LEAST 1 of their social channels.

Add as many family-friendly posts as you would like to. NO Etsy shops, adult sites, or blog parties please.  Visit others. Caring is sharing. Like, comment, and pin posts.

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Let’s Party!

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Five on Friday - January 12, 2024

Let's hear it for Friday!  I'm so ready for the weekend to begin.  Monday is a celebrated holiday at my work so I'm looking at a three-day weekend!  Woo Hoo!  Starting it off with my five for the week ~

1.  All Creatures Great and Small

One of our favorite series, All Creatures Great and Small, returned this week with Season 4.  This PBS show is full of warmth and humor.  It's based on the stories by best-selling author James Herriot and is set in beautiful Yorkshire Dales.  It picks up in 1940 as Churchill takes office and Europe is under serious threat.  We can't wait to see what the veterinarians are up to this season!  

2.  The Heiress by Rachel Hawkins

A new book hit the shelves this week and it went straight on my TBR list.  The Heiress sounds like a great read.  Here's the summary ~

When Ruby McTavish Callahan Woodward Miller Kenmore dies, she’s not only North Carolina’s richest woman, she’s also its most notorious. The victim of a famous kidnapping as a child and a widow four times over, Ruby ruled the tiny town of Tavistock from Ashby House, her family’s estate high in the Blue Ridge Mountains.

But in the aftermath of her death, her adopted son, Camden, wants little to do with the house or the money—and even less to do with the surviving McTavishes. Instead, he rejects his inheritance, settling into a normal life as an English teacher in Colorado and marrying Jules, a woman just as eager to escape her own messy past.

Ten years later, his uncle’s death pulls Cam and Jules back into the family fold at Ashby House. Its views are just as stunning as ever, its rooms just as elegant, but the legacy of Ruby is inescapable.

And as Ashby House tightens its grip on Jules and Camden, questions about the infamous heiress come to light. Was there any truth to the persistent rumors following her disappearance as a girl? What really happened to those four husbands, who all died under mysterious circumstances? And why did she adopt Cam in the first place? Soon, Jules and Cam realize that an inheritance can entail far more than what’s written in a will––and that the bonds of family stretch far beyond the grave.

Click HERE to purchase

3.  Heart Earrings

Valentine's Day is right around the corner!  I'm getting my accessories lined up for a couple of Valentine's events I have coming up.  Look at these adorable beaded earrings!  They are going to add the sparkle I'm looking for to my outfit.  They are so cute!  Grab a pair for yourself and your friends. 

Click HERE to purchase

4.  Honey Vanilla Chamomile Tea

It's hot tea season around our house!  We love enjoying a mug of hot tea before bed.  Our new favorite is Celestial Seasonings Honey Vanilla Chamomile.  It's caffeine free so we don't have to worry about it keeping us awake at bedtime and the flavor is so delicious!  I like to add a little honey to mine.  You'll enjoy the aroma first before you ever start drinking the tea.  So, so good!

Click HERE to purchase

5.  Good to know...

Have a fabulous weekend!  We are bracing for some cold weather so I'm looking forward to staying inside and watching football this weekend.  I hate to admit it, but we still have our Christmas decorations up so we'll be working on getting them down and put away over the next few days.  See you back next week!

Celebrating Turning 60!

Welcome to Thinking Out Loud Thursday where I talk about something I'm thinking about and invite you to link up and do the same.  Today I'm reflecting on my recent birthday.

Back in November, I celebrated a big birthday.  Turning 60 still seems a little unreal to me.  I swear I was just turning 40 a couple years ago.  But here we are and we decided to celebrate big.

We celebrated my birthday for most of the month of November.  We kicked off the month-long celebration with a weekend in Kansas City orchestrated by my friend Linda.  I blogged about that wonderful weekend HERE.  

The celebration continued by going on a Virgin Voyages cruise with our son and daughter-in-law.  A post on the cruise will be coming at some point, but let me say it was a blast! 

We wrapped up our celebrations with a party at Boarding House Bistro.  This cute little place is a favorite of ours and we were so glad they allowed us to take over a portion of it for the party.

Blouse   |   Pants

I waffled on if I wanted to do something like this for my birthday.  I'm so glad Eric talked me into having a party!  Celebrating my birthday with friends was a joyous and memorable occasion filled with laughter, warmth, and shared moments.

The staff at Boarding House Bistro put together the most delicious grazing table.  We munched on it all night!

My daughter-in-law, Kayla, baked the most delightful almond cake with raspberry filling.  

Every good party needs a signature drink or two.  For the birthday party, we served the Berry Old (red sangria) and The Golden Girl (bourbon apple cider sangria).

We needed minimal decorations because the elegance of the location was beautiful enough.  I brought in a few centerpieces just to add a pop of color.  We also put a look back sheet of the year I was born on the tables.  

The wine wall made a perfect background for photos.  We used these for our Christmas cards.

The guests took home a bag of my favorite flavored popcorn thanking them for "popping" in.  

As the celebration drew to a close, I had such a sense of contentment and fulfillment, knowing that we shared this special day with the people we love.  The shared joy, laughter, and camaraderie created lasting memories that I'll carry with me always.  

Now it's your turn - what are you thinking out loud about today?  Link up and share!

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Wonderful Wednesday Blog Hop - January 10, 2024

 

Happy New Year!  Welcome back to the Wonderful Wednesday Blog Hop!  We are so glad that you stopped by.

Here you will find inspiration from dozens of bloggers including recipes, home DIY, gardening, decor, family fun, traveling, fitness, and so much more.

A friendly reminder to our guests that as a courtesy to the hosts, we ask that you follow every host on at least one social media channel.

If you are a blogger, then be sure to link up below. You may be our next feature! 

Before we get this party started, let’s meet the hosts and check out this week’s featured favorites.

MEET THE HOSTS

1. Bev – ECLECTIC RED BARN | FB | IG | PINTEREST
2. Penny – PENNY’S PASSION | FB | IG | PINTEREST
3. Sinea – DUCKS ‘N A ROW | FB | IG | PINTEREST | TWITTER
4. Tammy – MY LIFE ABUNDANT | FB | IG | PINTEREST | TWITTER
5. Tara – STILETTOS AND SHIPLAP | IG | PINTEREST
6. Denise –THISISMYEVERYBODY | FB | IG | PINTEREST | TWITTER

TOP VIEWED

A Table from a Door

VERY POPULAR

December Favorites

Top 10 Most Viewed Posts in 2023

EDITOR'S CHOICE

Indoor S'mores

LET’S GET THIS PARTY STARTED!

Please follow all hosts on AT LEAST 1 of their social channels.

Add as many family-friendly posts as you would like to. NO Etsy shops, adult sites, or blog parties please.  Visit others. Caring is sharing. Like, comment, and pin posts.

Party entries appear in REVERSE. This way your entries will be seen no matter when you arrive. Please TWEET our party and invite others to join.

Let’s Party!

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Five on Friday - January 5, 2024

Happy Friday!  Welcome to the first Five on Friday for 2024.  I'm still writing 2023 more than 2024 and having to correct it.  Hopefully, my brain will catch up soon and I can stop trying to make my "3" look like a "4".  Now, on to my five for today ~

1.  Fire Blanket

This one comes with a personal story.  My friend at work's daughter-in-law had a close call this week.  Her son had gotten a drone for Christmas and it was plugged in overnight charging.  Her husband smelled smoke in the wee hours of the morning, got up to investigate, and found flames shooting out of the outlet where the drone was plugged in!  They had been given a fire blanket for Christmas (which was still under the tree).  They grabbed the fire blanket and extinguished the fire.  I went from never having heard of fire blankets to wanting to buy one for everyone I know!  Do you have one in your house?  

Click HERE to purchase

2.  Good Grief

Netflix will be streaming Good Grief as of today and it's going to be our featured film this weekend!  I'm a fan of Daniel Levy and he has his hands all over this film by being the writer, producer, director, and star.  I've seen mixed reviews, but I want to judge it myself.  Here's the summary ~

Marc (Daniel Levy) was content living in the shadow of his larger-than-life husband, Oliver (Luke Evans). But when Oliver unexpectedly dies, Marc's world shatters, sending him and his two best friends, Sophie (Ruth Negga) and Thomas (Himesh Patel), on a soul-searching trip to Paris that reveals some hard truths they each needed to face.

3.  Fragile Designs by Colleen Coble

Fragile Designs hit the stands on Tuesday and it's going on my TBR list.  I've not read a book by this author before so I'm anxious to see if I like her writing.  The genre is listed as contemporary romantic suspense.  Here's the summary ~

There’s only one thing more dangerous than family secrets.

Since her police-officer husband Eric’s mysterious murder, Carly Harris has been struggling to support herself and their infant son. Her career as an antique dealer isn’t sustainable, nor is her dream of becoming a novelist. So when her grandmother proposes she and her two sisters restore the family’s large Beaufort home and turn it into a bed-and-breakfast, she immediately gets to work clearing out the house. In the process, she uncovers a family secret that Eric kept hidden. And an heirloom that the wrong person wouldn’t hesitate to kill for.

Homicide detective Lucas Bennett isn’t his neighbor’s biggest fan, not since she broke his brother’s heart years ago. But when Carly turns to Lucas for help, believing she’s found a lost Fabergé egg that would be worth millions and that could put her family’s lives in danger, he can’t help but get involved. Soon, they’re entangled in a mystery with threads that lead all the way to the Russian mafia. Lucas has gotten in deep, and while he trusts his ability to keep Carly and her family safe, he begins to realize he’s vulnerable to an unexpected kind of danger. And he’s helpless to stop the freefall. As they continue working closely together, Carly and Lucas realize they may have found something more precious than gold. Yet it’s only a matter of time before Carly—or, worse, someone she loves—gets hurt.

Click HERE to purchase

4.  Sale at Loft

The Loft is having an awesome deal right now!  Their sale merchandise (which is about everything they sell) is 50% off with an extra 20% off.  I'm going on a girls' trip at the end of the month so I picked up a couple of things that are going straight into my suitcase.  I've been looking for a denim shirt and found an adorable chambray oversized style I love.  I'm pairing it with some faux leather leggings and a sweater that's already in my closet.  This weekend I'm going to peruse their website a bit more to see what other big bargains I can find!

HERE

HERE

5.  Just a thought...

Have a great weekend!  I'm going to start taking down the Christmas decorations.  Yuck!  It will be nice when it's all down, but the taking it down is not my favorite thing to do.  I just need to power through (and hope Eric does a lot of helping!).  See you back next week!