Five on Friday - September 27, 2019

Happy Fall Friday!  Can you believe we are already at the end of September?  This month has flown by!  So here's my last Five on Friday for September ~

1.  Candy Eyes
We're in the last week of September friends and Halloween is going to be here before you know it.  Have you seen all the adorable treats made with those candy eyes?  Pop them on just about anything and it becomes a cute treat worthy of top mom honors.  They are available HERE, from Amazon, and will arrive at your doorstop.  You know you're busy - just order some and have them on hand.

Picture by Dessert Now Dinner Later

2.  Fall Pillow Covers
I invested in a set of 18x18 pillows last year and have been changing out the covers for each holiday ever since.  Best.Decision.Ever.  After your initial investment in the pillows, the covers are relatively inexpensive.  Example - for all four pillow covers shown in the picture, it's under $20.  And you can use them for years to come!  They add such a fun pop of fall to our furniture!

3.  National Coffee Day
Calling all coffee drinkers - Sunday is your day!  It's National Coffee Day!  Some stores are giving you a real reason to celebrate.  Pop in a participating Krispy Kreme to get a free Original Glazed Doughnut and one free brewed coffee - no strings attached.  Dunkin' is offering a buy one, get one free deal.  Barnes and Noble will give you a free iced or hot tall coffee with a purchase of a bakery case item.  I couldn't find anything on Starbucks so I called their headquarters.  The gentlemen I spoke with, after putting me on hold for a bit, said they weren't aware of any specials that day.  Really Starbucks - you disappoint me.

4.  Judy
Oh man - I'm looking forward to seeing this movie!  There's something about Judy Garland that just intrigues me.  Can't wait to see how this one plays out.  Here's the synopsis from Rotten Tomatoes:

Winter 1968 and showbiz legend Judy Garland arrives in Swinging London to perform a five-week sold-out run at The Talk of the Town. It is 30 years since she shot to global stardom in The Wizard of Oz, but if her voice has weakened, its dramatic intensity has only grown. As she prepares for the show, battles with management, charms musicians and reminisces with friends and adoring fans, her wit and warmth shine through. Even her dreams of love seem undimmed as she embarks on a whirlwind romance with Mickey Deans, her soon-to-be fifth husband. Featuring some of her best-known songs, the film celebrates the voice, the capacity for love, and the sheer pizzazz of "the world's greatest entertainer."

5.  Mrs. Crawley truism:

This is going to be an epic weekend.  I'm taking the Amtrak train over to Kansas City this morning for Girls Weekend!  The itinerary for the weekend is packed with all things fabulous.  Some of the highlights are going to see the Downton Abbey movie (second time seeing it for me), doing high tea and meeting Delia Owens who is the author is Where the Crawdad Sing.  Enough with all those things planned, the thing I'm really looking forward to the very most is just hanging out with my friends.  Yes, I'm so darn excited to get this weekend started!  Pop back in next week to hear how it all played out.

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

Friday Favorites Linky Party - September 27, 2019

Please support and follow our lovely blog party hostesses:

Jerri at Simply Sweet Home - Twitter | FB | G+ | Pin | Inst

Lisa at Condo Blues - Twitter | FB | G+ | Pin | Inst

Amy at A Day of Small Things - Pin

Penny at Penny's Passion - Twitter | FB | G+ | Pin | Inst

Kelly at Under a Texas Sky - Twitter | FB | G+ | Pin | Inst | BL

Jennifer at Busy Being Jennifer - Twitter | FB | Pin | Inst

If you are featured this week, be sure and grab a featured button for your blog!

<a href="http://www.simplysweethome.com/category/friday%20favorites/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img src="http://www.simplysweethome.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/Friday-Favorites-Button.jpg" border="0" /></a>

You can show your love for this week's favorites by going over and commenting on the posts and by pinning or sharing!

And if you love all of this week's favorites, please pin, share, and invite your friends to this week's linky party!

Ireland - Day 6

Welcome to Thinking Out Loud Thursday!  Today I'm thinking about the last full day of our vacation in Ireland.  If you need to catch up, you can read my previous posts here ~

                 Day 1  &  2     |     Day 3     |     Day 4     |     Day 5

The agenda for Day 6 of our Ireland trip was one I had been looking forward to since way before we left home.  We would be having high tea at the Westbury!  But before tea time, we visited the famous Book of Kells.  Throughout the week, when we had mentioned that going to see the Book of Kells was on our itinerary, it was met with mixed reviews.  Some people told us not to waste our time, while others said it was a must do.  The Book of Kells is one of Ireland's most prized possessions and is tucked away in the Old Library at Trinity College.  We purchased tickets ahead of time online and had chose to go when the library first opened in the morning.  This proved to be a great decision because we didn't have to wait in line to get in or to get an up close and personal look at the book itself.  No pictures are allows of the book, but you can snap away at the large displays leading up to the calfskin vellum creation.

After seeing the actual Book of Kells, you can then wander into the Long Room library.  We found this long hall of books to be most fascinating!

The Long Room has the reputation of being one of the world's most beautiful libraries and I would definitely have to agree.  And yes, the books get dusted daily!  (Not a job I would be very good at!)

After soaking up all the things about The Book of Kells and the Long Room we had just enough time to wonder around Dublin soaking up as much of the atmosphere as we could before going to the Westbury for high tea.  We had the most perfect spot right by the window overlooking Grafton Street.  We sat in our luxurious chairs enjoying the sun that was streaming in the windows.  Ahhh, it makes me smile just remembering how wonderful it was!

Tea was delivered in the most divine silver pots.  They had over 30 different teas to choose from and you could try as many as you liked.

We sampled the selection of sandwiches, scones and pastries all while enjoying the beautiful music being played on the grand piano.  Truly a magical experience!

I could have sat there all day - and someday when I go back I will - but we needed to move on to our next activity.  We were taking the train to Malahide to visit the Malahide Castle.

This location was high on my list of things to see because for generations it was occupied by the Talbot family.  My maiden name is Talbot and I just know that one of those Talbots that lived there must be related to me!  Can you see the resemblance??

On the tour, we heard the Talbot story while exploring the private rooms and collections.  After touring the castle, we visited the gardens and butterfly house located on the property.

It was getting close to dinner time and our goal was to get to the village of Howth for our last supper in Ireland.  It was a short train ride away and so worth it!

The quaint little village sits right on the northern boundary of Dublin Bay and couldn't be more adorable.  We had heard you can often see seals playing on the shores, but unfortunately we didn't spot any while we were there.  Just another reason we need to return!

We found a pub to sit down and enjoy our last seafood chowder and fish 'n chips.  I'll be honest, we picked the pub just because we liked the name - The Brass Monkey.  Luckily for us, it was a great choice and the food was wonderful.

Not wanting our time in Ireland to come to an end, we had a seat by the shore and soaked up all we could before catching the last train back to Dublin.

And that my friends is a recap of our last full day in Ireland.  Would I go back?  YES.  Did we enjoy this trip immensely?  Absolutely!!

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 - September 25, 2019

Welcome!

Did anyone see the Harvest Moon on the 13th? It was spectacular! It was a bit spooky but beautiful, all at the same time.

This week seemed to have turned the corner and, even though the temperatures are still a bit high in my area, it's starting to feel like fall.  I love seeing all the links about fall things and I'm sure this week will bring on even more!

Let's get busy with this party, but first some posts from last week.

Top Viewed

Follow the Yellow Brick Home

Very Popular

Lazy Gastronome

Across the Blvd

Penny's Vintage Home

Ridge Haven Homestead

Jessi Fearon

Editors Choice

Petals, Pies and Otherwise

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

BAKES AND BLUNDERS [Colleen] – FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM | PINTEREST | TWITTER

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

• 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!

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Weekending - September 20, 2019

Weekends.  Boy, do they fly by!  This past one seemed to go by in a flash of an eye.  The highlight was celebrating our favorite newly 4-year-old nephew!

But that wasn't until Sunday so let's rewind all the way back to Friday.  When I got home for work, I was done.  It had been a long work week and I truly just wanted to relax.  However, Saturday I was hosting a wedding work day for a bride I'm work with, so I worked on wedding stuff for a bit and then landed on our new reclining loveseat to settle in for the night.  

Have you guys seen the Netflix show Workin' Moms?  A friend of mine recommended it so I did a little binge watching this weekend.  Guys, I think it's so funny!  Don't tune in with kids in the room - there's bad language.  Parts I could relate to and others I totally disagreed with, but overall great show to binge.  There are three seasons out there to view.  

Saturday morning I was up bright and early to get to the final meeting with the caterer for the above mentioned wedding.  After the meeting, everyone followed me back to our house to do a little wedding crafting.  We worked on the favors and got that chore checked off the to do list.  Bride Megan has been so fun to work with and I know she's going to be a beautiful bride!

Saturday night Eric and I had a date night.  We went to see Brad Pitt's new movie Ad Astra.  I love Brad Pitt and I absolutely hated this movie.  As a matter of fact, I might have even dozed through some of it.  Have you seen it?  What did you think?  I talked to someone who liked it and got their perspective.  Still don't like it.  With that being said, I wouldn't be surprised if it was nominated for Best Picture.  It just had that vibe to me.  We'll see.  But remember, if it is nominated you heard it here first!  :)

Sunday was the big birthday party day so we headed to my home town.  It rained the entire day.  And not just a light little drizzle.   I'm talking poured rain.  Luckily the location of the party had a nice cover, so we could carry on with the festivities.  

The kids did love playing in the rain!  They were a wet mess but it was fun watching them enjoying it.

The bubble machine was a huge hit! 

And snuggling with my newest nephew was definitely a hit with me!

The birthday cake (which was actually cupcakes) was adorable!  My sister-in-law had the cutest decorations.  

My nephews and niece pretty much have me wrapped around their little fingers.  Just look at these eyes.  Who could think about saying no to them?!?

We also celebrated my dad's 81st birthday.  I'm so thankful that he is still in great health and is able to help my brother and nephew with their construction needs.  He's definitely helped us out too on many occasions!  

Sunday evening I finished reading my book club book just in time for the meeting on Monday night.  This month we read The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend.  It was a cute little story and I'm excited to see what everyone's views on it are at book club.

                        

Then we got ready to face another work week.  This is going to be a short one for me because I'm heading to Kansas City this weekend for girls weekend.   I'm going to need to be extremely intentional getting all the things done this week, but it will be worth it!  Hope your week is off to a great start!