Five on Friday - September 20, 2024

Whew - the week is almost over!  Welcome to Five on Friday.  I can't wait to share my five things with you so let's go ~

1.  Super / Man:  The Christopher Reeve Story

We already have our tickets to see the Super/Man:  The Christopher Reeve story on Saturday.  It's only playing in movie theaters for one day, so if you want to see it get your tickets!  Here's the summary ~

The story of Christopher Reeve is an astonishing rise from unknown actor to iconic movie star, and his definitive portrayal of Clark Kent/Superman set the benchmark for the superhero cinematic universes that dominate cinema today. Reeve portrayed the Man of Steel in four Superman films and played dozens of other roles that displayed his talent and range as an actor, before being injured in a near-fatal horse-riding accident in 1995 that left him paralyzed from the neck down. After becoming a quadriplegic, he became a charismatic leader and activist in the quest to find a cure for spinal cord injuries, as well as a passionate advocate for disability rights and care - all while continuing his career in cinema in front of and behind the camera and dedicating himself to his beloved family.

2.  Starbucks Pecan Crunch Oatmilk Latte

Starbucks has a new drink out and man does it sound scrumptious!  Step aside pumpkin spice flavor - the Pecan Crunch Oatmilk Latte is available now.  I'm hearing this latte is like homemade pecan pie in a cup.  It's made with blonde espresso, creamy oat milk and hints of browned butter and nutty pecan.  They finish it off with a sprinkling of pecan crunch topping.  How good does that sound!  It also comes in a cold version.  With the iced version, you also can get a layer of salted pecan cream cold foam on top!  I might have to try both to see which one is my favorite!

3.  The Third Gilmore Girl:  A Memoir

Attention, Gilmore Girls fans! A new book has just been released for you. The Third Gilmore Girl, Kelly Bishop's memoir, hit the shelves this week. Here's a quick summary ~

Kelly Bishop’s long, storied career has been defined by landmark achievements, from winning a Tony Award for her turn in the original Broadway cast of A Chorus Line to her memorable performance as Jennifer Grey’s mother in Dirty Dancing. But it is probably her iconic role as matriarch Emily in the modern classic Gilmore Girls that cemented her legacy.

Now, Bishop reflects on her remarkable life and looks towards the future with The Third Gilmore Girl. She shares some of her greatest stories and the life lessons she’s learned on her journey. From her early transition from dance to drama, to marrying young to a compulsive gambler, to the losses and achievements she experienced—among them marching for women’s rights and losing her second husband to cancer—Bishop offers a rich, genuine celebration of her life.

Full of witty insights and featuring a special collection of personal and professional photographs, The Third Gilmore Girlis a warm, unapologetic, and spirited memoir from a woman who has left indelible impressions on her audiences for decades and has no plans on slowing down.

Available HERE

4.  Pumpkin Mailbox Wrap

Our mailbox is about to get a seasonal upgrade with a pumpkin-themed wrap! I love refreshing its look as the seasons change. Currently, it's decorated with sunflowers, but pumpkin season is just around the corner! These wraps are incredibly easy to install—just slip the vinyl over the top, and the magnets keep it securely in place, no tools are needed.

Available HERE

5.  How long would it take you to put this puzzle together?

Now let's get this weekend started!  We don't have a ton on the agenda.  Having just returned from vacation, there's a lot of catching up to do.  If you missed the recap of the first two days of our trip, you can catch it HERE.  I'll be back next week with more.  Hope to see you then!  Have a great weekend!

London - Days 1 and 2

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 our recent vacation!

Last week we had a wonderful holiday in London! I’m going to record some of our activities here so we will be able to remember them and hopefully help anyone else looking for reviews or things to do in London.

We left St. Louis Friday afternoon, flew through Chicago, and landed in London on Saturday morning ready to start our vacation. Our son, Ian, was meeting us there and had landed just before we did.  It was exciting to be in London and also exciting that we were going to get to see the city with our son!

Our home for the week would be a flat we booked through Booking.com. Since our son was joining us, I thought it would be more comfortable to have some space larger than a hotel room. I found a 2 bedroom, 2 bath flat right across the street from Buckingham Palace. The location was perfect! With a full kitchen, we could have made meals in the unit. As it turned out, we ate breakfast in the flat each day but ate out for the other meals. Having a refrigerator, we were able to keep drinks and snacks on hand. There was also a washer/dryer unit if we needed it.

Upon meeting up with Ian, we picked a ramen place close to our unit for lunch and talked through our plans for the week. Our check-in time wasn’t until 4:00 pm, so we had a few hours to kill before we could get into our unit and drop off our luggage. 

It's true that phone booths are everywhere!  I couldn't resist getting my picture with one straight away.

After lunch, we spent the time roaming around Buckingham Palace and St. James’s Park grounds.  The architecture was beautiful!

For dinner, we walked to Golden Union for traditional fish and chips. The walk was about a mile and it took us past Big Ben and Westminster Abbey. It felt good to be out and about stretching our legs after a long day of traveling. 

 We were treated to the most beautiful rainbow right behind Big Ben!

Golden Union offered several types of fish with their fish and chips. They even have plant-based options if that appeals to you. We landed on sharing the Haddock and Cod. It was so tasty! One of the reasons we chose this spot for fish and chips was they had milkshakes and that sounded pretty good to all of us. Turns out, only 1 out of the 3 of us loved their milkshakes. But 3 out of 3 of us loved the fish and chips!



After dinner, we had a leisurely stroll back to the flat while soaking up our surroundings.

Sunday morning we were up bright and early so we could get to the British Museum. Entry into the museum is free, but they encourage you to book tickets online.

The articles we were most interested in seeing were the Rosetta Stone, the Lewis Chessmen collection, and pieces of the Greek and Roman pantheon. Just roaming through the exhibits brings an awareness of how long the world has been in existence and how much history has gone before us. 

We left the British Museum in time to walk back to Buckingham Palace for our tour of the State Rooms. The Royal State Rooms are open to visitors each summer. This year you could book tickets from July 11 to September 29. This is a must-do if the rooms are available to tour while you are there! An audio guide was available free of charge and was very informative. I’m not going to lie, I was devasted when they said we would not be able to take pictures!

Every room was breathtaking! It was incredible to stand in the same spaces you see in royal photographs and reflect on the historic events that took place there.

Even though no photos are allowed inside, you can snap away once you exit the building.  The exit opens to the gardens in the back of Buckingham Palace.    

Reservations had been made weeks ahead of time for the Gordon Ramsey’s Savoy Grill restaurant. We wanted to indulge in Beef Wellington and Savoy Grill had great ratings. Dinner was mouthwateringly delicious!

As we meandered through the streets on our way home, we popped in Amorino for gelato. So scrumptious! And I loved the presentation! 

This trip was shaping up to be pretty amazing! I’ll be sharing additional activities from our trip soon.

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 18, 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 | X
4. Tammy – MY LIFE ABUNDANT | FB | IG | PINTEREST | X | YOUTUBE
5. Denise – THIS IS MY EVERYBODY | FB | IG | PINTEREST | X | YOUTUBE
   

TOP VIEWED

Fall Carts and Wagons and a Porch Peek

VERY POPULAR

Things I Found On Amazon

Cranberry Bread

EDITOR'S CHOICE

Easy Halloween Dollar Tree Craft

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 - September 13, 2024

Hello from London!  We are having the best time on vacation and I can't wait to share it with you, but in the meantime here's my Five on Friday for today ~

1.  Here One Moment by Liane Moriarty

Liane Moriarty has a new book out this week!  Get ready - it's a long one at 505 pages! Since I spend a lot of time commuting to work, this might be a good one for me to listen to.  Here's the summary ~

Aside from a delay, there will be no problems. The flight will be smooth, it will land safely. Everyone who gets on the plane will get off. But almost all of them will be forever changed.

Because on this ordinary, short, domestic flight, something extraordinary happens. People learn how and when they are going to die. For some, their death is far in the future—age 103!—and they laugh. But for six passengers, their predicted deaths are not far away at all.

How do they know this? There were ostensibly more interesting people on the flight (the bride and groom, the jittery, possibly famous woman, the giant Hemsworth-esque guy who looks like an off-duty superhero, the frazzled, gorgeous flight attendant) but none would become as famous as “The Death Lady.”

Not a single passenger or crew member will later recall noticing her board the plane. She wasn’t exceptionally old or young, rude or polite. She wasn’t drunk or nervous or pregnant. Her appearance and demeanor were unremarkable. But what she did on that flight was truly remarkable.

A few months later, one passenger dies exactly as she predicted. Then two more passengers die, again, as she said they would. Soon no one is thinking this is simply an entertaining story at a cocktail party.

If you were told you only had a certain amount of time left to live, would you do things differently? Would you try to dodge your destiny?

Liane Moriarty’s Here One Moment is a brilliantly constructed tale that looks at free will and destiny, grief and love, and the endless struggle to maintain certainty and control in an uncertain world. A modern-day Jane Austen who humorously skewers social mores while spinning a web of mystery, Moriarty asks profound questions in her newest I-can’t-wait-to-find-out-what-happens novel.

Available HERE

2.  Emily in Paris Season 4 Part 2

Okay Emily in Paris lovers - part 2 of Season 4 is here!  We have 5 more episodes to soak in.  Emily Cooper is off to Rome for a European adventure and I can't wait to see what transpires.  I'm hearing there's a new love interest as Emily moves on from Gabriel.  Hopefully, we'll hear more of Mindy's voice too.  Can't wait to see all of it!

3.  McCormick Finishing Sugars

I was so excited when my daughter-in-law showed me this limited-time collection of finishing sugars by McCormick.  I want to try all of them!  They are perfect for elevating your beverages, breakfasts, desserts and more.  I'm thinking these would be perfect for a hot chocolate bar or rimming the glass for holiday cocktails.  For more ideas and recipes, check out McCormick's website HERE.

4.  Apple Watch Band

I love switching up my watch band and this one is one of my favorites.  I've had it for a couple months now and it still looks the same as the day I got it.  The size can easily be adjusted for any wrist.  Mine is rose gold, but if that's not your favorite this band also comes in gold, silver, and silver gold.  

Available HERE

5.  Just a thought...

Have a great weekend!  We are in vacation mode for a few more days, and then it will be back to reality.  Can't wait to share details from our trip!

Let's Make TikTok Cinnamon Rolls

Thanks for stopping by Thinking Out Loud Thursday where I share something on my mind and invite you to link up and do the same. Recently I decided to see if the TikTok Cinnamon Roll recipe lived up to the hype. I’m here to report that it definitely did! So today I’m sharing the recipe ~

Here’s What You Need

1 can of cinnamon rolls (I used the Pillsbury Cinnabon ones)

½ cup-ish heavy whipping cream

¼ cup butter

¼ cup brown sugar

2 teaspoons cinnamon

Here’s What You Do

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray the bottom and sides of your baking dish with cooking spray.

Place the cinnamon rolls in the pan. Make sure your pan is big enough so the rolls are not touching each other, but not spread out tremendously either.

Melt the butter in a saucepan. Stir in the brown sugar and cinnamon. Heat until the brown sugar has melted.

Pour the heavy whipping cream over the cinnamon rolls. With a pastry brush make sure the top of the rolls are coated with the whipping cream. This is where the “ish” in the recipe comes into play. If you use a bigger dish, you might need a little bit more heavy whipping cream to cover the rolls. 

Top with the melted butter mixture.

Pop in the oven and bake for 25-30 minutes. The tops should be golden brown.

Remove from the oven and ice using the icing from the can.

Just this little bit of added work makes the cinnamon rolls extra moist and fluffy! This is definitely my new way of preparing cinnamon rolls!

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 11, 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 | X
4. Tammy – MY LIFE ABUNDANT | FB | IG | PINTEREST | X | YOUTUBE
5. Denise – THIS IS MY EVERYBODY | FB | IG | PINTEREST | X | YOUTUBE
   

TOP VIEWED

Blueberry Buttermilk Cake

VERY POPULAR

Currently in September

Original 1954 Old Fashioned Coffee Cake - Los Angeles Unified School District

EDITOR'S CHOICE

Snickerdoodle Cupcakes

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

What We Did in August 2024

August was packed with fun activities! We kicked off the month by meeting our friends' new Bernese Mountain Dog puppy, Teddy.  He is adorable!  We wanted to see him right away because we knew he wouldn't stay little for long.

Next up we celebrated our daughter-in-law’s birthday. I always let the birthday person pick what I fix and Kayla chose Chicken Enchiladas and Mungo Salad.  For dessert, I whipped up a made-from-scratch funfetti cake. Using my Silhouette machine, I made a pattern to lay on top of the cake of her name and filled in the space with sprinkles. I must admit, I was pretty proud of the way it turned out!

Way back in December, my friend Jodie and I bought tickets to see P!nk. The date finally arrived for the concert on September 10! P!nk was a bucket list entertainer for both of us and she didn’t disappoint. That lady has talent! We met up with some other friends who were also going to the concert for dinner and then went to the show. The opener was Missouri native Sheryl Crow. She was fantastic also! The whole evening was a blast!

The week after the concert I flew out on Thursday to spend the day with my family on their beach vacation. They were in the Rosemary Beach area, which is a spot I had not been to before. The water was crystal clear and so, so blue!  A highlight was seeing our niece and nephews playing in the sand.  Aren't beach days the best!

It was fun spending a bit of time with them on the beach before picking up my friend Debbie from the airport on Friday. We were spending a few days in Orange Beach at a condo, Regency Isle, that I had been to several times before.

 We relaxed on the huge balcony and took in the surf and sun. Any stress I had in my body melted away laying there listening to the waves crash to shore while reading my book. We did a little retail therapy at the nearby outlet mall, Door Dashed, and took an awesome dolphin cruise with Surfs Up.

My love for sunrises drew me outside every day to watch the show in the sky as the day began. Sunsets are a favorite of mine too. But on this trip, the moon put on a show as good as the sun. My pictures really don’t do justice to the beauty of the moon reflecting off the ocean.

Our window area got a makeover into the Sunshine Shroomscape.  I blogged about the new design HERE.

The weekend after I got back from the beach we hosted our friends TW and Mary at our house. We planned an antique weekend where we went to an estate sale and to several antique stores in the area. By the end of our day, the car was loaded with all our found treasures.

September is shaping up to be a busy month! We're off to London for vacation and can't wait to explore a new city. While I'm a bit sad to say goodbye to summer, I'm excited for the fall ahead!