Five on Friday - August 21, 2026

 Happy Friday, friends! We made it to the end of another week, and you know what that means—it’s time for another Five on Friday! I’ve rounded up five things that caught my attention this week, including a little entertainment, something to add to your reading list, and a few fun finds you might want to add to your cart. So grab your coffee, get comfy, and let’s jump right into this week’s five!

1.  The English Bookstore in Bologna

Boo Walker’s newest book, The English Bookstore in Bologna, hit the shelves this week, and it immediately earned a spot on my TBR list! The title alone caught my attention—because really, how can you resist a story centered around a bookstore in beautiful Bologna, Italy? It sounds like the perfect mix of books, friendship, fresh starts, and a gorgeous Italian setting. And here’s an added bonus: it’s currently included with Kindle Unlimited, so if you’re a subscriber, you can add it to your reading list without spending anything extra. I have a feeling this one might not sit on my TBR list for very long!

Against the sunlit backdrop of Italy, five expats discover each other—and rediscover themselves—in a charmingly funny and poignant novel by the author of An Unfinished Story and A Spanish Sunrise.

Tucked away on a cobblestone street in enchanting Bologna, Italy, is the only English bookstore in the city. It’s owned by prickly Sandy Cooke, who keeps love, and even romantic fiction, at a distance. Her employee, timid and hopelessly optimistic Moira, dreams of transforming the struggling shop into a vibrant community hub. Against the odds, one Bolognese summer, it becomes a haven for fellow expats at their own crossroads.

Bianca is a psychotherapist escaping both a breakdown and withering reviews of her new self-help book. On her heels is her father, George, wrestling with retirement—and regrets. He’s had a few, but the light of his life has always been his daughter. Then there’s Harold, a young and awkward barista from Denver recovering from his first belly-flopping high dive into love. Maybe it’s time for reinvention.

At the only English bookstore in Bologna, paths converge for five damaged souls who discover that healing doesn’t require much—just honest connection and an open heart.

Available HERE

2.  Tony

If you’re looking for a new movie to check out this weekend, Tony hits theaters this week. The film takes us back to the younger years of Anthony Bourdain, long before he became the famous chef, author, and television personality we all knew. Starring Dominic Sessa as Bourdain and Antonio Banderas, the movie gives us a glimpse into an important summer in his life and the experiences that helped shape his future. I think this one sounds so interesting!

3.  Cordless Table Lamp

I’m loving the look of these cordless rechargeable table lamps that are so popular right now, and I spotted one on Amazon that’s on sale! I love that you can put these little lamps practically anywhere without having to worry about hiding an ugly cord or finding an outlet. They’re perfect for a kitchen counter, bookshelf, dining table, nightstand, or even outside on the patio for a little extra glow in the evening. Many of the rechargeable styles also have touch controls and adjustable brightness, making it easy to create just the right amount of cozy light. Functional, cute and on sale—this is one of those little home finds that can make a big difference!

Available HERE

4.  Mint Crunchy Cookie M&Ms

There's a new treat exclusively at Walmart - Mint Crunchy Cookie M&M’s! If you’re a fan of that classic chocolate-and-mint combination, these sound like a must-try. They have a crunchy cookie center surrounded by minty chocolate and that familiar colorful M&M’s candy shell. I’m thinking they would be perfect for an afternoon treat, movie night, or even tucked away for when you need a little something sweet. If mint chocolate is your thing, keep an eye out for these on your next Walmart run!

5.  Hmmm...

Have a wonderful weekend, friends! Ours is going to be all about golf! The BMW Championship is right here in St. Louis, and I’m so excited to spend the weekend soaking up all the action. You’ll find me somewhere around the course, hopefully catching some great golf and enjoying the excitement of having such a big event in our hometown. It should be a fun weekend, and I can’t wait to take it all in. Hope your weekend is filled with a little fun and something you love, too. See you back here next week!

Let's Make Cabbage on the Grill

Hello and welcome to Thinking Out Loud Thursday!  This is a time when I share something I'm thinking out loud about and invite you to link up and do the same.  Today I'm reminiscing about a recipe I blogged about way back in 2022 - Cabbage on the Grill!  I thought before summer completely slipped through our hands, I'd share one of my favorite things to make on the grill.  Let's go ~

Here's What You Need

1 Head of Cabbage

1 Onion

1 Stick of Butter

Garlic Salt

Seasoned Salt

Heavy Duty Aluminum Foil

Here's What You Do

Tear off a couple large pieces of aluminum foil.  We like keeping a roll of the heavy-duty kind on hand and the pieces we use are about 18" square.  Lay one piece on top of the other for double thickness.  

Chop up the head of cabbage and onion.  Lay on top of the foil.  Cut the butter into squares and dot the top of the cabbage and onion.

Sprinkle garlic salt and seasoned salt on the top.  My brother likes to pour some beer on top.  That does change the flavor a bit, so if you're a beer fan give it a try.

Close up the foil to make a foil packet.  If your square isn't big enough to close the top, put another piece of foil on the top to close it off.  Place the foil packet on your hot grill.

Let the foil pack stay on the grill for about 30 minutes.  Your cabbage will cook to a nicely flavored, tender doneness.

This is one of our favorite side dishes to have with barbeque!  It's so easy to make and you don't even have to dirty any dishes making it.  Definitely a win-win!  

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 - August 19, 2026

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.

1. Penny – PENNY’S PASSION | FB | IG | PINTEREST
2. Sinea – DUCKS ‘N A ROW | FB | IG | PINTEREST | X
3. Tammy – MY LIFE ABUNDANT | FB | IG | PINTEREST | X | YOUTUBE
4. Denise – THIS IS MY EVERYBODY | FB | IG | PINTEREST | X | YOUTUBE

HIGHLIGHT LINKS

35 Cozy DIY Craft Project Ideas

Fresh Pear & Walnut Crisp

Flowers From My Own Garden

Easy Delicious Peach 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.

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 - August 14, 2026

Happy Friday, friends! We made it to the end of another week, so let’s jump right into this week’s Five on Friday. I’ve got a fun mix of things to share with you today, so grab your coffee and let’s get to my five!

1.  SIX:  The Musical Live!

SIX:  The Musical Live! is hitting the big screen today and it's going straight on my watch list!  If you're not familiar with this musical, it's the story of Henry VIII's six wives.  The smash-hit musical puts a fun, modern spin on their history and tells their side of the story.  It's full of catchy pop songs, fabulous costumes and tons of girl-power energy.  I was lucky enough to see the play on Broadway during my last trip to New York and am excited to see it on the big screen.

2.  What to Cook When You Don't Feel Like Cooking:  Make It Fast

That dreaded daily question: What in the world am I going to make for dinner? We’ve all been there! This brand-new cookbook just hit the shelves this week, and it might be the answer to that question over and over again. Packed with fresh ideas and plenty of inspiration, it could make deciding what’s for dinner a whole lot easier!

Caroline Chambers famously doesn’t feel like cooking―and she’s built a whole brand on that premise. Her superpowers are eliminating unnecessary steps; minimizing dirty dishes; and making dinnertime as simple, stress-free, and fun as possible. While plenty of obstacles stand between you and a delicious meal, being short on time is probably the biggest one.
This exciting follow-up cookbook is once again organized into three time-based chapters. You’ll find recipes for 100 dinners, all of which are complete meals and can be made with no more than 30 minutes hands-on time in the kitchen―and yes, that includes chopping, marinating, and all other prep! Delicious meals include:

Flank Steak with Elote Salsa
Fish and Veggie Curry
Rotisserie-ish Chicken with Schmaltzy Lemon Dressing
Smoky Black Beans
Fried Rice

Every quick and easy recipe features Caro’s signature swaps, riffs, tips, and shortcuts to empower you to make these recipes work for you―not the other way around! You’ll also find special treasures throughout the book, including anchor recipes you can spin into five different dishes so you can DIY your favorites.

Plus, helpful back-of-book indexes allow you to search by both ingredient―useful when, say, you’ve got ground meat in the freezer―and occasion or mood―like when you cannot be bothered to chop a single thing. Even on the nights when you think there’s no way, no how, What to Cook When You Don’t Feel Like Cooking: Make It Fast will help you get a full, flavorful meal on the table in basically no time.

Available HERE

3.  Teeth Whitening Strips

I restocked one of my tried-and-true favorites this week—whitening strips! I love having these on hand whenever my smile needs a little refresh. They’re such an easy way to brighten things up at home without adding another appointment to the calendar. If you’ve been thinking your smile could use a little boost, these whitening strips might be worth adding to your cart!

Available HERE

4.  Mosquito Coils

I’m always looking for ways to keep mosquitoes from ruining our time outside, and these KING Citronella Coils caught my eye! They’re a favorite in Hawaii and are made with citronella, a plant-based oil traditionally used outdoors. Each coil burns slowly for up to eight hours, making them perfect for evenings on the patio, backyard BBQs, camping trips, or even taking along to the beach. I also love that they come in both 10-coil and 60-coil packs with reusable metal stands, so you can choose the size that works best for you. If mosquitoes love you as much as they love me, these might be worth having on hand for your next outdoor adventure! 

Available HERE

5.  Oh no...

Have a great weekend, friends! We’re kicking ours off with our church small group tonight, followed by dinner with friends tomorrow evening. Other than that, I plan on taking it easy and staying inside where it’s nice and cool because it’s going to be a HOT one! I'm reading The Divorce by Freida McFadden and can hardly put it down. Whatever you have planned, I hope your weekend is filled with a little fun, a little relaxation, and plenty of air conditioning! Stay cool, and I’ll see you back here next week!

Let's Make Tomato Pie!

Hi friends! Thanks so much for stopping by Thinking Out Loud Thursday! This is a time when I share something that’s on my mind and invite you to link up and do the same.

Today, I’m thinking about tomatoes—lots and lots of tomatoes! Our little bitty garden is producing them faster than we can eat them, and I’ve been trying to figure out what in the world I’m going to do with all of them. Then I remembered a Tomato Pie recipe I shared on the blog four years ago. It was so good then, and with all these fresh-from-the-garden tomatoes sitting on my counter, I decided it was definitely time to bring this recipe back for a revisit!  Here's the post from 2022 ~

Our little garden has been overflowing with ripe tomatoes recently.  Even after sharing tomatoes with anyone who will take them, our kitchen counter is still lined with the ripe red gems.  I looked through my recipes to find one that used tomatoes and found one for Tomato Pie.  I whipped one up and it was delicious!  So delicious that I want to share the recipe with you.

Here's What You Need

1 9-Inch Deep Dish Pie Crust

4-6 Tomatoes (depending on the size)

10 Basil Leaves (julienned)

3 Green Onions (chopped)

1 Cup Shredded Sharp Cheddar Cheese

1 Cup Shredded Mozzarella Cheese

1 Cup Mayonnaise

Salt and Pepper

6 Slices Thick Cut Bacon

Here's What You Do

Bake the pie shell according to the directions on the package.

The tomatoes need to be peeled.  An easy way to do this is to place the tomatoes in boiling water for about 30 seconds, then immediately put them in a bowl filled with ice water.  This little trick makes the skins on the tomatoes peel right off.

Slice the tomatoes and place them in a strainer.  Salt and let set to drain for 10-15 minutes.  Lay the tomato slices on a paper towel and pat them to remove as much liquid as possible.

While the tomatoes are draining, mix the mayonnaise and cheeses.  Set aside.

On top of the two layers of tomatoes, spread the mayo-cheese mixture.

Sprinkle the bacon crumbles on top and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

This dish was quick and easy to make.  We served it with a salad and enjoyed every bite!

Now it's your turn.  Link up and share what you're thinking out loud about today!

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Wonderful Wednesday Blog Hop - August 12, 2026

 

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.

1. Penny – PENNY’S PASSION | FB | IG | PINTEREST
2. Sinea – DUCKS ‘N A ROW | FB | IG | PINTEREST | X
3. Tammy – MY LIFE ABUNDANT | FB | IG | PINTEREST | X | YOUTUBE
4. Denise – THIS IS MY EVERYBODY | FB | IG | PINTEREST | X | YOUTUBE

HIGHLIGHT LINKS

How To Decoupage Oyster Shells into Trinket Dishes

Bacon Ranch Roll Recipe

Make Marbled Paper with Shaving Cream

Simple Blackberry Cobbler

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 - August 7, 2026

We've made it to Friday!  Let's hear it for the weekend!  I'm kicking it off by sharing by Five on Friday ~

1.   The Unknown by Riley Sager

If you love a good thriller, add The Unknown by Riley Sager to your TBR list! This brand-new release sounds like the kind of book that will have you saying, “just one more chapter” until suddenly it’s way past your bedtime. Riley Sager is known for delivering plenty of suspense, twists and turns, and I have a feeling this one will be no exception. It might just be the perfect book to toss in your beach bag this summer!

Struggling actress Marin Keane is shocked when she lands a role in a major motion picture about the unsolved mystery of New Avalon, an island on sprawling Lake Faraday in Vermont. She’s even more surprised when she learns that the role requires a weeklong research trip to that very spot.

Because New Avalon isn’t your ordinary island. A century ago, it was a commune for spiritual mediums—until they all vanished in 1926. The only trace of them was five dresses hanging from the branches of an old oak tree in the middle of the island, one for each missing woman. Some locals say they simply left. Others think they were murdered. But the prevailing opinion, thanks to a diary left behind by one of the vanished, a young woman named Daisy Rue, is that a séance gone wrong conjured something supernatural that took them all one by one.

Not long after arriving, Marin and her castmates, including legendary actress Violet Wright and white-hot director Ronan Peters, begin to realize all is not right with New Avalon. They hear strange noises in the night and notice mysterious symbols left behind by the island's previous occupants. And after a sudden health emergency leaves Marin, Ronan, and the other actors stranded on the island, the disappearances begin again.

Is it the work of someone trying to derail the movie? Or is the island’s alleged supernatural past catching up with the present? As fear and suspicion mount, Marin turns to Daisy’s diary, hoping it holds the key to figuring out what really happened to the women of New Avalon—and how to keep the island’s terrible history from repeating itself.

Available HERE

2.  Ted Lasso - Season 4

Ted Lasso is back! After a three-year break, Season 4 premiered this week on Apple TV, and I’m so excited to have the gang back together. This season has 10 episodes, with a new one dropping every Wednesday through the finale on October 7. Ted returns to Richmond for a whole new challenge—coaching AFC Richmond’s newly formed second-division women’s soccer team, the Lady Greyhounds. And thankfully, plenty of our favorites are back, including Rebecca, Roy Kent, Keeley, Coach Beard, Higgins, Nate, Sam and Jamie Tartt. The new storyline introduces several new faces as Ted and his team take chances they never thought they would. If you’ve missed the humor, heart and feel-good moments that made this show so special, it looks like Season 4 is going to give us plenty more reasons to BELIEVE!

3.  Sunglass Case

I’ve been throwing my sunglasses in my purse all summer, and every time I do it I know I’m taking a chance! It’s only a matter of time before I pull them out and discover a big scratch right across the lens. I finally decided to get ahead of the problem and ordered these sunglass cases. They’re such a simple little thing, but they make a big difference! I love that they protect my glasses without taking up a ton of room in my purse, and now I don’t have to worry about my keys or everything else floating around in there scratching them up. They’re also great for keeping an extra pair of readers or sunglasses tucked in your car, beach bag or travel tote. If you’re guilty of tossing your glasses straight into your purse like I am, do yourself a favor and grab a few of these cases. Your sunglasses will thank you!

Available HERE

4.  Velvet Hangers

I added more of my favorite hangers to my closet this week, and there’s just something so satisfying about opening the door and seeing all the hangers match! It instantly makes the whole closet look neater and more organized. These hangers are slim, so they take up less space than bulky plastic ones, and I love that clothes stay put instead of constantly slipping onto the floor. They’re sturdy enough for everyday use while still giving your closet that clean, uniform look. If your closet could use a little refresh, swapping out a hodgepodge of hangers for a matching set is such an easy and affordable upgrade. Fair warning—you might love the look so much that you’ll want to replace every hanger in the house!

Available HERE

5.  Oh no!

And that wraps up my five for this week! We’ve got a fun weekend ahead, and I’m more than ready to close the laptop and get it started. I hope your weekend is filled with a little sunshine, plenty of relaxation and something that makes you smile. Thanks so much for stopping by today and spending a few minutes with me. Have a wonderful weekend, friends, and I’ll see you back here next week!