Five on Friday - October 29, 2021

 Hello friends!  Glad you popped in for Five on Friday.  Let's get right to it ~

1.  Ed Sheeran's New CD 

It's here!  Ed Sheeran's new CD, =, is out today!  I just love him and his music.  If you see me with my earbuds in today, it will be a pretty good guess that this CD is what I'm listening to.  Ed has announced concert dates for 2022, but so far I've only seen European locations.  If things open up a bit, this might just be the time I travel to a foreign country to see a concert.  That's something that's on my bucket list and it would be so cool if the artist I saw was Ed!

2.  Ranch Water

I've been in Austin, Texas all week for work.  A colleague of mine who's also here turned me on to Ranch Water.  I'm not typically a hard seltzer drinker, but this stuff is awesome!  It's a mix of tequila, lime juice, and soda water.  Have you had it?  I'm going to have to look for it when I get back home.

3.  Best Wishes, Warmest Regards - The Story of Schitt's Creek

Were you a fan of Schitt's Creek?  We came to the party late, but Eric and I both adored this series!  Well, Daniel and Eugene Levy (or Johnny and David Rose) penned a new book about the show and it would make the perfect holiday gift for the Schitt's Creek fans in your life.  Here's the summary from Amazon ~

The official tie-in book for the beloved, nine-time Emmy® Award-winning series Schitt's Creek.

This beautifully produced, keepsake coffee-table book is the ultimate celebration of the series, the town, the characters, and the state of mind that is Schitt's Creek. Capturing the essence and alchemy of all six seasons of what is now considered to be one of the most groundbreaking comedy television series of the last decade, Best Wishes, Warmest Regards is a gift to fans everywhere who have made the show their own.

Included are character profiles from the cast of Johnny, Moira, David, and Alexis, and all of the characters that populate the town, major moments from Moira's endorsement of Herb Ertlinger Winery, to Patrick and David's first kiss, to Cabaret and the Rose Family Christmas episode. Also included are special features, such as the complete, illustrated catalogs of David's knits and Moira's wigs, Moira's vocabulary, Alexis's adventures, and behind-the-scenes moments from Dan and Eugene Levy and the cast of Schitt's Creek.

4.  Aldi's Advent Calendars

I know we aren't even past Halloween yet, but this coming week on November 3 Aldi is starting to sell their advent calendars.  They have ones with wine, cheese, beer.  Basically, you name it and Aldi's just might have an advent calendar for it!   But they typically sell out super fast.  So if you want to try one this year, mark your calendar and be ready.

5.  Eat that Halloween candy...

Have a fun and safe Halloween weekend!  I'm flying out of Austin tonight and straight into Cleveland.  My daughter-in-law and I are attending the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony!  I'll try to post about it next week.  See you then.

Thinking Out Loud Thursday - October 28, 2021

Welcome to Thinking Out Loud Thursday!  This is a post where I share something I'm thinking out loud about and invite you to link up and do the same.

Earlier this week I participated in a blog hop to share chili, stew and soup recipes.  When my blog friend Leslie ask who would like to participate, I couldn't type "YES" fast enough.  I have a bit of FOMO (fear of missing out).  I didn't want to see others participating in the hop and not sharing in the fun.  Today I'm reflecting on all the new recipes I'm excited to try.

For the blog hop, I shared my friend Donna's taco soup recipe.  You can find the recipe HERE.  I love making recipes my family and friends have shared.  You will love this recipe too!

Here's a few of the recipes from the hop that I'm excited to make ~

Casey at Get On My Plate shared a vegetable soup recipe that made my mouth water.  I love cooking hearty soups in the winter when it's cold outside.  This recipe sounds like it could warm you right up!

Easy Vegetable Beef Soup

My blogger friend Leslie from Once Upon a Time and Happily Ever After, and organizer of the blog hop, shared her recipe for Creamy Crockpot Tortellini Soup.  It sounds delicious and I can't wait to try it!

Creamy Crockpot Tortellini Soup

Soups this good deserve to be ladled into wonderful bowls.  Do you have a set of great soup bowls?  Here's a couple of my favorites ~

Soup is definitely what I've been thinking about since the blog hop on Tuesday.  I've been out of town this week, but am planning on making a big batch when I get home!

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

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Wonderful Wednesday Blog Hop - October 27, 2021

Welcome to the last week of October. Halloween is this coming weekend and we hope everyone has a safe, fun, & spooktacular time.  Let's continue with this festive time of year.  Join this week’s blog hop to find inspiration from dozens of bloggers for all things home and family including crafts, decor, DIY, fashion, recipes, fitness, gardening, travel, home improvement, and so much more!

     

 Welcome to another week of the Wonderful Wednesday Blog Hop! We are so glad that you are here and hope you find something new to love every week you arrive.  If you are a blogger, then be sure to link up below. You may be our next feature! 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. Before we get this party started, let’s meet the hosts and check out this week’s featured favorites.   

 

MEET THE HOSTS 

      

Please follow the hosts on at least 1 social media channel!

1. Ahna - HAMMERS N HUGS | FB | IG | PINTEREST
2. Anne & AnnMarie - SIMPLY 2 MOMS | FB | IG | PINTEREST
3. Angela - THE SHORT ORDER COOK | FB | IG | PINTEREST
4. Bev - ECLECTIC RED BARN | FB | IG | PINTEREST
5. Cindy - SIMPLE STEPS FOR LIVING LIFE | FB | IG | PINTEREST
6. Emily - LeCULTIVATEUR | FB | IG | PINTEREST
7. Jana - HARVESTING HOME | FB | IG | PINTEREST
8. Kera - HAUTE HOUSE LOVE | FB | IG | PINTEREST
9. Penny - PENNY'S PASSION | FB | IG | PINTEREST
10. Sinea - DUCKS 'N A ROW | FB | IG | PINTEREST | TWITTER
11. Tammy - MY LIFE ABUNDANT | FB | IG | PINTEREST
12. Tara - STILETTOS AND SHIPLAP | IG | PINTEREST

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 For those that love shopping at thrift stores, you want to make you check THE LATEST THRIFT STORE HAUL. 

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 If you plan on decorating your home soon, find some lovely inspiration with MODERN FARMHOUSE styles shared here. 

Editor's Pick

 

 This cheerful & festive home decorating idea is just darling.  There is something about welcoming visitors to your home with a lovely ENTRY WITH SNOW OWLS that says fall & comfort.   

 

Be sure to grab our Specially Featured graphic below if your post was featured this week, and hyperlink it to this post on your blog or sidebar. We love showing you off!

 

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Let's Make Taco Soup

Today I'm joining some other bloggers in a chili-soup-stew recipe swap!  As the temperatures outside begin to fall and comfort food is on your mind, this is the perfect time of year to add soup recipes to your arsenal.  

A special welcome to those readers hopping over from Leslie's blog at Once Upon a Time & Happily Ever After.  Leslie is the one who got this whole Blog Hop together, so a huge thanks to her!

I'm sharing a recipe that was recently given to me by my friend, Donna.  She made it when I was visiting once and I knew I had to have the recipe.  I had a hunch Eric would love it - and I was right!  It tastes great and is super easy to make, so I'm sure you are going to want to pin this for safekeeping!

Here's What You Need

1-1/2 lbs. of hamburger

1/2 of an onion

1 can of black beans

 1 can of pinto beans

1 can of corn

1 can of Rotel tomatoes

1 28 oz. can of diced tomatoes

1 package of taco seasoning mix

1 package of Hidden Valley ranch dressing mix

Optional

Sour cream

Nacho shredded cheese

Tortilla chips

Here's What You Do

Dice half of an onion.  Brown it with the hamburger.  When browned, drain and add to your soup pot.  (See that tool I use to chop up the hamburger?  If you don't have one, get one stat!  They are the best things ever!)

While the hamburger and onion are cooking, I added the cans of pinto beans, black beans, corn, Rotel, and diced tomatoes.  I dumped in the entire can, liquid and all.  

Add in the browned hamburger/onion mixture and sprinkle in the taco seasoning and ranch dressing mix.

Give it a good stir and heat on medium to medium-high heat until warmed and cook until it's the consistency you like.  For us, that was about 30 minutes.  You could also put this in the Crock-Pot on low for 4 hours or high for 2.  It's definitely one of those recipes you could make ahead of time and just reheat.  

To serve, sprinkle nacho shredded cheese on top and plop in a dollop of sour cream.   We crunched up some tortilla chips to add in also.  So good!

Do you have a chili, soup, or stew that's your favorite?  Link up the recipe and share!  Before you go, make sure to hop over to see the recipe Jo at And Anyways... is sharing.

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Five on Friday - October 22, 2021

Where did this week go?  It seems like just a blink of an eye since last Friday!  October is definitely flying by.  Thanks for popping in for my Five on Friday.  Let's get started ~

1.  Dune

Dune opens today and the guys in my family are so excited to see this movie!  I"m mildly excited to see it.  Jason Momoa's in it, so that makes me a little bit more excited.  You can watch it in the theaters or on HBO Max.  Even though watching it at home is tempting, it might be a great one to see on the big screen.  Here's the synopsis ~

A mythic and emotionally charged hero’s journey, “Dune” tells the story of Paul Atreides, a brilliant and gifted young man born into a great destiny beyond his understanding, who must travel to the most dangerous planet in the universe to ensure the future of his family and his people. As malevolent forces explode into conflict over the planet’s exclusive supply of the most precious resource in existence—a commodity capable of unlocking humanity’s greatest potential—only those who can conquer their fear will survive.

2.  The Judge's List

I'm adding yet another book to my TBR list.  John Grisham's new book, The Judge's List, came out this week and I typically love his stories.  This one is actually the second in a series.  The first was The Whistler.  I missed that one so I guess they are both going on my to-be-read list!  Here's the summary of The Judge's List  from Amazon ~

In The Whistler, Lacy Stoltz investigated a corrupt judge who was taking millions in bribes from a crime syndicate. She put the criminals away, but only after being attacked and nearly killed. Three years later, and approaching forty, she is tired of her work for the Florida Board on Judicial Conduct and ready for a change.

Then she meets a mysterious woman who is so frightened she uses a number of aliases. Jeri Crosby’s father was murdered twenty years earlier in a case that remains unsolved and that has grown stone cold. But Jeri has a suspect whom she has become obsessed with and has stalked for two decades. Along the way, she has discovered other victims.

Suspicions are easy enough, but proof seems impossible. The man is brilliant, patient, and always one step ahead of law enforcement. He is the most cunning of all serial killers. He knows forensics, police procedure, and most important: he knows the law.

He is a judge, in Florida—under Lacy’s jurisdiction.

He has a list, with the names of his victims and targets, all unsuspecting people unlucky enough to have crossed his path and wronged him in some way. How can Lacy pursue him, without becoming the next name on his list?

The Judge’s List is by any measure John Grisham’s most surprising, chilling novel yet.

3.  Microfiber Facial Washcloth

A few years ago, my friend Tracy gifted me a microfiber washcloth and I've been hooked on using them to wash my face.  I even took mine on vacation with me this year!  Well, it's time I replace it so I've ordered a set of these.  What I love most about them is the way they remove all my makeup.  With a normal washcloth, it seemed I was always using something else to get the mascara off the skin under my eyes.  Somehow the microfiber washcloths are magically at making those makeup circles disappear.  

 

4.  Day of the Dead Skull Peeps

People either love or hate peeps.  I happen to be a lover of them.  But whether you love or hate to eat them, you have to love all the things you could do with these Day of the Dead Skull Peeps!  Think about using them for cupcake toppers, lining the edge of a cake, or putting them on a dessert Halloween charcuterie board.  So adorable!

5.  Me and Directions

I'll be getting ready for a week of work travel with a personal trip at the end this weekend.  Hopefully, I'll only have to pack, and then repack a couple of times!  The goal will be to not overpack and drag a bunch of things I don't need with me.  Hope you have a wonderful weekend whatever is on your agenda.  See you back next week.

Frightfully Delightful Mantel

Halloween is creeping up on us!  Today for Thinking Out Loud Thursday I'm sharing our Halloween mantel.  This year we decided to go a little more spooky than we have in the past.  

At the base of the mantel, I used a lace scarf from Amazon.  This was the first year I used it with the garland I had made a few years ago.  

We pieced the decorations together out of our Halloween stash.  I didn't actually buy anything new for the mantel this year but gathered all our semi-spooky things to complete the look. 

I think we reached the perfect level of spooky!

Recently I've also been adding touches to each side of the fireplace.  

The overall look adds just the Halloween feel we were hopng for!  And we got it finished just in time.

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 - October 20, 2021

We are already past the midpoint of October and the holiday season seems to be getting into full swing! Halloween is almost upon us and the crisp air is settling in across many parts.  Based on the wonderful posts being shared here, we seem to be embracing it. Join this week’s blog hop to find inspiration from dozens of bloggers for all things home and family including crafts, decor, DIY, fashion, recipes, fitness, gardening, travel, home improvement, and so much more!  

       

 Welcome to another week of the Wonderful Wednesday Blog Hop! We are so glad that you are here and hope you find something new to love every week you arrive.  If you are a blogger, then be sure to link up below. You may be our next feature! 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. Before we get this party started, let’s meet the hosts and check out this week’s featured favorites.   

MEET THE HOSTS 

      

Please follow the hosts on at least 1 social media channel!

1. Ahna - HAMMERS N HUGS | FB | IG | PINTEREST
2. Anne & AnnMarie - SIMPLY 2 MOMS | FB | IG | PINTEREST
3. Angela - THE SHORT ORDER COOK | FB | IG | PINTEREST
4. Bev - ECLECTIC RED BARN | FB | IG | PINTEREST
5. Cindy - SIMPLE STEPS FOR LIVING LIFE | FB | IG | PINTEREST
6. Emily - LeCULTIVATEUR | FB | IG | PINTEREST
7. Jana - HARVESTING HOME | FB | IG | PINTEREST
8. Kera - HAUTE HOUSE LOVE | FB | IG | PINTEREST
9. Penny - PENNY'S PASSION | FB | IG | PINTEREST
10. Sinea - DUCKS 'N A ROW | FB | IG | PINTEREST | TWITTER
11. Tammy - MY LIFE ABUNDANT | FB | IG | PINTEREST
12. Tara - STILETTOS AND SHIPLAP | IG | PINTEREST 

Top Viewed

So many, including myself, are simply inspired by the heartfelt article LIVING WITH STAGE FOUR LUNG CANCER.  She is living her best life while waiting for news about a trial. Find out more and send some good vibes her way.   

Very Popular

 

I know my house is always in need of more organization and space.  Discover some great DIY ideas now for CREATING MORE STORAGE SPACE  

Editor's Pick

 

 I sure love a good bowl of comforting soup as the days get cooler. This CROCK POT LOADED POTATO SOUP looks like a great one to try soon.   

 

Be sure to grab our Specially Featured graphic below if your post was featured this week, and hyperlink it to this post on your blog or sidebar. We love showing you off!

 

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

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Five on Friday - October 15, 2021

It's Friday!  I was lucky enough to be on vacation Monday through Wednesday this week.  Eric picked me up from the airport late on Wednesday and we made it home around 1:00 am,  I am so looking forward to having a few days off to catch up on sleep and get all my travel gear put away!  Let's kick the weekend off with my five for today ~

1.  Hocus Pocus Baking Kits

Head to Walmart this weekend to pick up one of the cute Hocus Pocus baking kits.  The limited-edition kits come in five different forms: an Amuck Amuck Cupcake Kit, Binx Cookie Kit, Spell Book Brownie Kit, Potion Bottle Cookie Kit, and Hot Cocoa Bomb Kit, and are available for just $5 each.  This is the perfect Halloween activity for the kiddos!  You might want to pick up more than one!  If you don't want to pop in the store, they are available online also.

2.  The Pioneer Woman Cooks - Super Easy

It's almost here!  Ree Drummond's next cookbook will be hitting the stands on Tuesday and I'm so darn excited to get my hands on a copy.  In the star's new book, she will be sharing 120 shortcut recipes for dinners, desserts, and more in The Pioneer Woman Cooks - Super Easy!

3.  Stadium Seat Cushion for Chair Bench Bleachers

Have you been spending time sitting on the bleachers watching someone play a sport or instrument?  Does your back ache just think about it?  Buy yourself these stadium seat cushions!  You'll look forward to sitting on those bleachers when you have one of these to use.

4.  You - Season 3

Are you a You fan?  If so, today is your lucky day!  Season 3 is appearing on Netflix starting today.  I'll be honest, I watched the first season and loved it.  Never went back for Season 2.  We might have to rewind back to the second season to catch up and see if we still like this American psychological thriller.

5.  Thought of the day...

Okay, friends - let's get this weekend started!  We are joining our son and daughter-in-law for dinner tonight and have no plans for the rest of the weekend.  I'm sure we will come up with something fun to do!  Pop in next week to see what we were up to. 

Hocus Pocus Three-Tier Tray

Thanks for joining me today for Thinking Out Loud Thursday!  Halloween is just around the corner and today I'm sharing our three-tier window display.  A trip to Home Goods enticed me to shake it up a bit with a new idea this year and do a Hocus Pocus theme.  

Hocus Pocus is one of my favorite movies.  I'm thrilled and anxiously awaiting the release of Hocus Pocus 2 in the fall of 2022.  The two pumpkins that set me in motion were the I Put A Spell on You and Tonight We Fly.

A few of the elements like the "I Smell Children" plaque came from Etsy.  Don't you just love that site!  I'm looking forward to finding more things in the offseason and adding them to the collection next year.  

Overall, I love the way the window turned out!  With the movie coming out next year, I bet I'll be able to pick up some fun things relating to Winifred, Sarah, and Mary.  Until then, I'm going to enjoy the way it looks for now.

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

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