Friday, October 18, 2019

Five on Friday - October 18, 2019

Happy Friday! For the last several weeks, I feel like I've been chasing my tail so today I'm taking a vacation day. On the agenda are several me things and I can't wait to get started! First up (right after I get this blog published) is a hot stone message. Yes, I'm excited! Then I'm going to do a little retail therapy. So let's get this day going! Here's my five ~

1. National Mammography Day
Okay girl friends - have you had your annual mammogram? If not, what are you waiting for!?! Let today serve as a reminder to get your appointment scheduled and encourage all your friends to do the same. Early detection saves lives. Just do it!

NATIONAL MAMMOGRAPHY DAY – Third Friday in October

2. Pumpkin Rolls from Trader Joe's
With pumpkin season in full force, now is the perfect time to indulge in some pumpkin rolls from Trader Joe's. I'm going to have to make a trip to pick up this seasonal item because now that I've seen the picture they are all I can think about! The package comes with five ready-for-the-oven rolls and pumpkin spice icing. Can you imagine munching on these Thanksgiving morning. Or Sunday. I'm going to load up before they disappear.

Product in packaging - Pumpkin Rolls with Pumpkin Spice Icing

3. Olive Again

Were you one of the millions that read and loved Olive Kitteridge? Well, guess what - Olive Again hit the stands this week and is waiting for you to pick up your copy. Here's the summary from Amazon ~

Prickly, wry, resistant to change yet ruthlessly honest and deeply empathetic, Olive Kitteridge is “a compelling life force” (San Francisco Chronicle). The New Yorker has said that Elizabeth Strout “animates the ordinary with an astonishing force,” and she has never done so more clearly than in these pages, where the iconic Olive struggles to understand not only herself and her own life but the lives of those around her in the town of Crosby, Maine. Whether with a teenager coming to terms with the loss of her father, a young woman about to give birth during a hilariously inopportune moment, a nurse who confesses a secret high school crush, or a lawyer who struggles with an inheritance she does not want to accept, the unforgettable Olive will continue to startle us, to move us, and to inspire moments of transcendent grace.

4. Swing Dress from Walmart
Guys - Walmart is really bringing it this year with their Time and Tru items. I've already added a few of their flats to my closet this year, but last week I ordered a couple swing dresses. Love them! This 3/4 sleeve swing dress can easily go from work to evening. My favorite aspect is the pockets! Oh wait, my favorite part might be the price - $12.96. Get it quick because they are selling out fast. Click HERE for yours. To complete the outfit, I added a necklace from Amazon (HERE).

5. Typical day...

Thanks for popping in today. Hope you have a great weekend. I'm headed to Kansas City for a Halloween party and some fun with friends. Next week I'll be sharing more of our Halloween decorations. If you missed our three-tier stand all decorated for the holiday, you can catch it HERE. See you next week!

Linking up with:

Erika at Little Bit of Everything

Simply Sweet Home
High Five for Friday

This post contained affiliate links. I may receive a small commission if you click on the link and purchase. Thanks

Thursday, October 17, 2019

Friday Favorites Linky Party - October 18, 2019

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Book Review: Save Me the Plums

Welcome to Thinking Out Loud Thursday! Today I'm sharing a book review from a book I read while we were vacationing in Ireland - Save Me the Plums - My Gourmet Memoir. Have you read it?

Click HERE to purchase

Part of planning a vacation for me is making sure I have a couple good books loaded on my Kindle. Sometimes I have an opportunity to read them and sometimes I don't. I do know when we are travelling internationally I'll be sitting on a plane for several hours so the chances are pretty good that some of those hours will be spent reading.

I'll be honest, I've found that reading on the plane is one of my most favorite times to enjoy books. Distractions are at a minimum. Even when I've carved out a bit of time at home to read and I'm sitting in my favorite chair with a cup of tea in my hands, the laundry seems to call me or that pile of mail is in my peripheral vision. But if I'm sitting on a plane, those distracts are nonexistent!

Save Me the Plums had shown up on some blogs I read and I thought it sounded like a good vacation book. Here's the summary from Amazon ~

When Condé Nast offered Ruth Reichl the top position at America’s oldest epicurean magazine, she declined. She was a writer, not a manager, and had no inclination to be anyone’s boss. Yet Reichl had been reading Gourmet since she was eight; it had inspired her career. How could she say no?

This is the story of a former Berkeley hippie entering the corporate world and worrying about losing her soul. It is the story of the moment restaurants became an important part of popular culture, a time when the rise of the farm-to-table movement changed, forever, the way we eat. Readers will meet legendary chefs like David Chang and Eric Ripert, idiosyncratic writers like David Foster Wallace, and a colorful group of editors and art directors who, under Reichl’s leadership, transformed stately Gourmet into a cutting-edge publication. This was the golden age of print media—the last spendthrift gasp before the Internet turned the magazine world upside down.

Complete with recipes, Save Me the Plums is a personal journey of a woman coming to terms with being in charge and making a mark, following a passion and holding on to her dreams—even when she ends up in a place she never expected to be.

A book about food and a magazine - two of my most favorite things! How could it not make it to the top of my reading list! And let me tell you, it did not disappoint. Ruth gave an honest and humble account of her rise, and eventually fall, from her Cinderella life. Through the pages of the books she intertwines family favorite recipes such as her German Apple Pancakes and Spicy Chinese Noodles.

Several times in the book there were comments that were so profound. I love when there are statements that make you truly stop and think. Here's a few examples ~

"Luxury is best appreciated in small portions. When it becomes routine it loses its allure."

"I'd learned an important lesson: When something frightens me, it is definitely worth doing."

"Nothing feels as good as building a team and empowering people, watching them grow and thrive."

This is a book I would love to get in hardback and keep on my shelf. I imagine it with post it notes on the recipes I want to try and eventually it would have stains and spills on the pages like my other favorite cookbooks. And if Ruth Reichl is ever speaking in a 200 mile radius of St. Louis, I'll be figuring out a way to be in the audience!

Author Ruth Reichl

Add this one to your reading list. It would also make a great gift for a food-loving friend.

That's what I'm thinking about today. What's on your mind? Link up and share!

Tuesday, October 15, 2019

Wonderful Wednesday Blog Hop - October 17, 2019

Welcome!

Our hosts just want to say THANK YOU to all those who contributed to last week's party and WELCOME to all the new bloggers who have joined our weekly blog hop. Please invite your blog friends and social network to join us.

Fall has arrived and I'm loving all the links on things to welcome the season! You guys rock at posting wonderful material.

Let's Get Inspired!!

Top Viewed

A Day of Small Things

Very Popular

Little Frugal Homestead

Eclectic Red Barn

Our Smallest Wonders

Chas' Crazy Creations

Hammers N Hugs

Editors Choice

Artful Homemaking

Thanks to our co-hosts who share our party on their blogs every week ♥ Please follow them and share our party, too?

Welcome to the Wonderful Wednesday Blog Hop where we enjoy linking up posts about recipes, crafts, DIY, everyday life and more. The party starts every Tuesday at 7:00 pm EST. Come and join!! #wwbloghop

DUCKS ‘N A ROW [Sinea] – FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM | PINTEREST | TWITTER

ECLECTIC RED BARN [Beverly] – FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM | PINTEREST | TWITTER

ENGINEER MOMMY [Jennifer] – FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM | PINTEREST | TWITTER

LeCULTIVATEUR [Emily] – FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM | PINTEREST

MY LIFE ABUNDANT [Tammy] – FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM | PINTEREST | TWITTER

PENNY’S PASSION [Penny] – FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM | PINTEREST | TWITTER

SIMPLE STEPS FOR LIVING LIFE [Cindy] – FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM | PINTEREST | TWITTER

STILETTOS and SHIPLAP [Tara] – INSTAGRAM | PINTEREST

THE SNYDER FAMILY [Brittany] – INSTAGRAM | PINTEREST

A MEAL IN MIND [Beth] - FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM | PINTEREST | TWITTER

Please TWEET our party ♥
Add as many of your family-friendly posts as you would like to. No Etsy shops, adult sites or blog parties, please.
Visit others. Let them know you stopped by!
If you are NEW to Wonderful Wednesday Blog Hop, let us know in the comments so that we can follow you back. ♥ Help us find your posts – tell us the title.
NOTE: party entries appear in REVERSE. i.e. the most recent entry goes to the top! That way all of our guests will have a really good chance to be seen no matter when they arrive.
Thanks! ♥

So, now, let’s get this party started!

...

Halloween Three-Tier Stand

Halloween is fast approaching and we are getting in the spirit around our house. One of the new areas we decorated this year was our three-tier tray that sits in our kitchen window.

It was fun picking out the pieces. After several shopping adventures, it all came together. Let's take a look ~

Most of the items came from Michael's and Kirkland's - two of my favorite places to shop! It seems stores are starting to carry more and more Halloween decor. Where are your favorite places to shop for Halloween decorations?

Friday, October 11, 2019

Five on Friday - October 11, 2019

Happy Friday! Fall has definitely arrived in our area this week with the leaves slowly starting to show their colors. With the high temperatures this weekend being in the 60s, I'm looking forward to dragging out my fall clothes and boots.

Enjoy the five for today ~

1. El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie
Were you a Breaking Bad fan? It took me a few attempts, but it eventually grew on me and we were hooked. Netflix is bringing us the next chapter in the form of a movie and it drops today. El Camino picks up as fugitive Jesse Pinkman attempts to outrun his past. We will definitely be squeezing in watching this one sometime over the weekend!

2. Treat Yo Self Day
Thanks to Parks and Rec, October 13 (this Sunday) will forever be known as Treat Yo Self Day. What is one thing you would really like to treat yourself to? A day of shopping? Taking a bubble bath? Grabbing lunch with a friend? Heck, do them all! Treat yo self!

3. Pumpkin Spice Liquidless Diffuser
In the fall, I love the scent of pumpkin spice. I was always reluctant to use an oil diffuser at work because I was afraid it would somehow get knocked over and spill oil everywhere. I've found the most perfect solution at Pier1 - liquidless diffuser! That's right, they are sticks you put in a little vase and the wonderful scent of crushed vanilla beans blended with cinnamon-spiced pumpkin puree and pure nutmeg, sweetened by brown sugar and warm cloves fill the air. Just by using one stick, my office now has the essence of a crisp, fall day. Makes me love going to work! Need some in your life? Click HERE to purchase.

Purchase HERE

4. The Giver of Stars: A Novel
Earlier this month, Jojo Moyes newest novel was released. I absolutely loved her Me Before You trilogy and am excited to add this one to my TBR list. Here's the synopsis from Amazon:

Alice Wright marries handsome American Bennett Van Cleve hoping to escape her stifling life in England. But small-town Kentucky quickly proves equally claustrophobic, especially living alongside her overbearing father-in-law. So when a call goes out for a team of women to deliver books as part of Eleanor Roosevelt’s new traveling library, Alice signs on enthusiastically.

The leader, and soon Alice's greatest ally, is Margery, a smart-talking, self-sufficient woman who's never asked a man's permission for anything. They will be joined by three other singular women who become known as the Packhorse Librarians of Kentucky.

What happens to them--and to the men they love--becomes an unforgettable drama of loyalty, justice, humanity and passion. These heroic women refuse to be cowed by men or by convention. And though they face all kinds of dangers in a landscape that is at times breathtakingly beautiful, at others brutal, they’re committed to their job: bringing books to people who have never had any, arming them with facts that will change their lives.

Based on a true story rooted in America’s past, The Giver of Stars is unparalleled in its scope and epic in its storytelling. Funny, heartbreaking, enthralling, it is destined to become a modern classic--a richly rewarding novel of women’s friendship, of true love, and of what happens when we reach beyond our grasp for the great beyond.

This book is already slated to become a motion picture, so if you like reading the book before seeing the movie you better get on it!

5. My kind of National Day....

Enjoy the fall weekend! We'll be watching our beloved Cardinals take on the Washington Nationals tonight and tomorrow. I'm also having a meeting with a couple to discuss their upcoming wedding. Lots of fun stuff in the works! Pop back in next week to see our Halloween decorations.

Linking up with:

The Peaceful Posse

Erika at Little Bit of Everything

Simply Sweet Home
High Five for Friday

This post contained affiliate links. I may receive a small commission if you click on the link and purchase. Thanks