Penny's Passion

Thursday, November 3, 2016

Five on Friday - November 4, 2016

Happy Friday guys! Today is a very special day around our house ~ it's Eric's birthday! Happy birthday to my dear, sweet husband! We have a fun few days planned to celebrate, but more on that in another post. For now, let's take a look at my five for today.

1. Ash Wood Cheese Serving Set
Pampered Chef recently came out with their winter items and the ash wood cheese serving set is one of my favorite new items. This would make an excellent board to have cheese (and other appetizers) on at our Thanksgiving day feast. I'm also thinking it could make an excellent Christmas present for that hostess-with-the-mostest on your list. Visit my Pampered Chef website to order. I would truly appreciate your business!

2. The Crown on Netflix
The day has finally arrived -- The Crown is available on Netflix!! "This drama follows the political rivalries and romance of Queen Elizabeth II's reign and the events that shaped the second half of the 20th century". Rumor has it we get a view of Queen Elizabeth's lavish wedding just 12 minutes into the opening episode. Be still my heart!! Sounds like a show I'll love and I can't wait to start watching. Could be my next binge watch. Is it on your watch list?

3. Bialetti 7265 Trends Collection 5 Quart Pasta Pot
Oprah's favorites things Christmas list is out and this snazzy pot made the list. Check it out -- it has an oval shape so your noodles will fit in the pot without breakage. The lid twists and locks in place for easy straining. The handles don't heat up so it's easy to lift. What more could you want in a pasta pot?!? And the price is only $29.99! Holy cow ~ this thing is amazing! Want one? Click HERE to check it out. Act fast because I doubt these babies are going to last long.

4. Change Your Clocks
So it's that time of year when we fall back. November 5th is the day to wind back the hands on our clocks. Ready for an extra hour this weekend? What are you going to do with your extra hour?

5. Ever have one of these....

Have a fabulous weekend! I'm taking off next week and Eric and I are going on a little road trip. Should be a fun few days and hopefully the fall foliage will still be beautiful. I'll be back on Monday with all the weekend happenings!

Linking up with:

Jennie at The Diary of a R eal Housewife

Amy at The Farmer's Wife

Amanda at Meet At The Barre

Erika at Little Bit of Everything

Simply Sweet Home
High Five for Friday

5 on Friday
Why Girls Are Weird

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

Friday Favorites - November 4, 2016

Welcome to Friday Favorites! This week I'm sharing my feature with a few other girls in the group -- Easy Homemade Cranberry Sauce from the Gracious Wife. I guess with Thanksgiving knocking on our door, several of us were thinking this will make a great addition to our table. Check out the other features ~

Please support and follow our lovely blog party hostesses:

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

Christine at Light and Savvy - Twitter | FB | G+ | Pin | Inst

Jen at Creatively Homemade - Twitter | G+ | Pin

Dawn at LeroyLime - Twitter | FB | G+ | Pin | Inst | BL

Maisy at Becoming Alice - FB | G+ | Pin

Sheree at Stage Presents - Twitter | FB | Pin | Inst | 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

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

photo Friday Favorites Featured Button.jpg

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!

Thinking Out Loud Thursday - November 3, 2016

Welcome to Thinking Out Loud Thursday! Thanks for popping in to join me and Vanessa from X-tremely V for our little linkup party.

Today - the day after the Cubs won their first World Series in more than 100 years -- I'm not thinking about a lot. We stayed up and watched the game last night, which lasted way too late for me to get a good night's sleep. I'm operating on 4 hours of shut eye so forgive me if my thoughts today are not all neat and tidy.

I thought many of you might be facing a candy overload at your house after Trick or Treating on Monday. After tolerating your over-sugared children all week, you might need the below chart of wine and candy pairings. Grab all the Snickers and a nice bottle of Cab!

Now that Halloween is finished, my thoughts are quickly turning to Thanksgiving. I love Thanksgiving! Are you with me?!? And it's the first of November that I start thinking about the Christmas gifts that need to be purchased. It seems every year I buy more and more online. Two things I just don't know what I would do without are Amazon Prime and Ebates.

Have you tried Prime? If not, I'm here to say IT.IS.WONDERFUL! Love the two day free shipping! Makes things a little easier for a procrastinator like myself. Here's another thought -- you could actual give Amazon Prime as a gift! Super easy - just click the below picture to check it out.

Now let's chat about Ebates. Any day now my big fat check is going to be landing in my mailbox for this quarter. Ebates is so, so simple. You just log in to your Ebates account, search for the store you wish to shop at and you will be directed to their site. Shop away and a percentage of your purchase will be deposited in your Ebates account. Once a quarter, Ebates will issue you a big fact check. It truly is that simple! Don't waste another day -- sign up and start adding to your own big fat check! Click HERE to sign up.

That's all my thoughts right now. Have a wonderful Thursday and hope to see you back tomorrow for my Friday Favorites linky party and my Five on Friday post. Link up below and let us know what you're thinking about today!

Enjoy more Thoughts for Thursday at:

Home of Malones

East Coast Chic

Thursday Favorite Things Blog Hop

The Deliberate Mom

This is How We Roll

Bows and Clothes

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

Monday, October 31, 2016

Weekending - October 28, 2016

Happy Halloween!! I left a little surprise on some of my work friend's desks this morning. Love the free printable (found HERE)! Print, cut and mount on some fun orange print cardstock and you are set to go.

Behind the cute sign is a shot bottle of Captain Morgan Jack-O-Blast. Perfect for this little adult Halloween goody!

We experienced summer like weather in St. Louis this weekend and it felt great! As far as I'm concerned, the longer we can put off cold temps, the better.

Friday night we did nothing -- and it was so refreshing! We opened a bottle of wine and emptied our DVR. I did snap a few pictures of our Halloween decorations. Since today is Halloween, I thought I'd share them with you.

Saturday night we enjoyed having dinner with Kayla and Ian. A couple months ago we joined Cooper Hawk Winery's wine club. With the membership comes two free wine tastings each month. Love them! You get to sample eight different wines each month with the tasting and, I have to admit, I love the crackers they give you with the tasting as much as I love trying the wine! We jumped ahead a few days and sampled the November menu.

On Sunday after church, me, Eric and Tracy headed to the polls for some early voting. You never really know how long the lines will be on election day and by voting early you don't have to worry about it. Do they offer early voting where you live? I opted to wear my "I Voted" sticker and Tracy is saving hers until the actual election day. Either way, it feels great to be an American and have the privilege of voting. Hope you're planning to exercise your right as an American and vote!

Sunday night Eric and I joined some of my work friends for the Bret Michaels concert at River City Casino. We ate at The Beerhouse before heading to the concert venue. Even though I've seen Bret in concert ~~183743874~~ a lot, I never tire of seeing him. He's full of energy and plays all my favorite songs. Great way to end the weekend!

Tonight I'm being a Halloween scrooge and having dinner with Ian instead of handing out candy. I felt guilty about it for a nano second, but Eric is working late and jumping up and down to open the door all night just really didn't sound fun to me. I know, that's bad. Does anyone else feel this way?!?

Whatever you're doing this Halloween eve, hope you have a great time!

Check out what others were up to this weekend.

Champagne and Suburbs

B Loved Boston

More Pieces of Me

The Quinntessential Mommy
How To Get Organized At Home
Over the Moon

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

Friday, October 28, 2016

Five on Friday - October 28, 2016

It's the weekend!! Oh my goodness -- I'm so excited for the end-of-day bell to ring today and it officially be the weekend! I'm actually going to sleep tomorrow until my eyes open on their own. No alarm clocks. No jumping in the shower immediate after waking up. No looking at the clock every five minutes to make sure I'm not running late. It's going to be glorious!! But before any of that, I want to share my five for today with you ~

1. SipCaddy

Are you a person that loves a long, leisurely bath? This accessory might be just what you need to make that bath even better! The SipCaddy suction-cups to your wall and will hold a glass, bottle or can. How cool is that?!? I'm thinking of several people who might love a SipCaddy for a birthday or Christmas gift. Got any of those on your list? They are available to purchase HERE.

2. Lady Liberty
One hundred and thirty years ago today the Statue of Liberty was dedicated. President Grover Cleveland presided over the event, which was really cool considering he was the former New York governor. I remember the first time I saw her, standing so proud on an island across the way. It literally brought tears to my eyes. I can't even imagine how the countless number of people felt that saw her from the other side as they were coming to the United States with so much enthusiasm and promise in their hearts to be on our soil. Our country is something many Americans take for granted ~ and sometimes I think I do too. On this day, let's all stop and be thankful for what we have here. It may not be perfect, but it's pretty darn close!

3. Inferno
Tom Hanks is back in Inferno! It seems like forever ago since I read the book, so I'm sure I won't remember most of the story. Ha! But I am looking forward to this movie. Tom Hanks plays Robert Langdon who wakes up in an Italian hospital with amnesia. He then teams up with Dr. Sienna Brooks to solve a murder and prevent a terrorist act against the Vatican. Even if the movie is bad, I'm looking forward to seeing the scenery.

4. Cooking for Jeffrey: A Barefoot Contessa Cookbook

I have a thing for cookbooks -- I love them ALL!! The new Barefoot Contessa cookbook hit the stands this week and it's going on my Christmas list. Good 'ole Ina loves to cook for her Jeffrey so I'm sure the concoctions in this book are to die for. Want one? You can purchase your very own copy HERE.

5. Some days....

Enjoy the weekend! We are having dinner with Kayla and Ian on Saturday. Then on Sunday we're going to see Bret Michaels!! I love him and can't wait to sign loud and off key at the concert. What's on your agenda? Hope it's amazing whatever it is!

Linking up with:

Rebecca at XOXO Rebecca

Jennie at The Diary of a R eal Housewife

Amy at The Farmer's Wife

Amanda at Meet At The Barre

Erika at Little Bit of Everything

Simply Sweet Home
High Five for Friday

5 on Friday
The Triplet Farm
Why Girls Are Weird

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

Thursday, October 27, 2016

Friday Favorites - October 28, 2016

Welcome to Friday Favorites Linky Party! I'm excited to try the White Bean and Sausage Chili that I picked as my favorite from last week. Can't wait to see what you link up today!

Please support and follow our lovely blog party hostesses:

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

Christine at Light and Savvy - Twitter | FB | G+ | Pin | Inst

Jen at Creatively Homemade - Twitter | G+ | Pin

Dawn at LeroyLime - Twitter | FB | G+ | Pin | Inst | BL

Maisy at Becoming Alice - FB | G+ | Pin

Sheree at Stage Presents - Twitter | FB | Pin | Inst | 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

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

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!

Thinking Out Loud Thursday - October 27, 2016

Welcome to Thinking Out Loud Thursday! Thanks for popping in to join me and Vanessa from X-tremely V for our little linkup party.

Is anyone else shocked that today is Thursday already?!? After my whirlwind week last week preparing for the wedding on Friday, this week has been total catch up. But I can't quite stop thinking about the wedding and all the stuff that went along with it.

I'm a ~~little~~ lot disappointed in myself for my lack of thinking like a blogger last week. I didn't do a good job AT ALL documenting my activities in photographs. There was no remorse at the time, but now I'm feeling a little sad about it. All the little details I spent hours working on for the wedding is just a memory in my head right now. Hopefully pictures will start surfacing of some of the little extras like the placecards on the head table, the Mr. and Mrs. signs on the bride and groom's chairs at the reception, etc., etc.

But besides the actual wedding stuff, I'm also thinking about the week in general. On Monday night I called my friend Tracy in a mild panic because we were having family pictures taken on Saturday and I could not find a necklace to wear with my dress. Every other night my calendar was full and Monday was the only day I had to shop for the needed jewelry. After scouring five stores - nothing. I called Tracy on my way out of the mall, explained my situation hoping she would be able to pull something out of her closet for me to borrow. She calmly told me to get home and start working on wedding stuff and she would take care of my jewelry issue. Take care of it she did! A few hours later she was standing in my kitchen with multiple options that were perfect. We chose what we thought was the best thing and she returned the rest. Now that's a true friend! It's not the first time she saved my bacon and, knowing me, I'm sure it won't be the last. Love you Tracy! Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Me and my friend Tracy

Speaking of not having enough time to shop ~ week before last I started thinking that I might not have time to get a dress for the wedding so I tossed caution to the wind and bought a dress off Amazon using our Prime account. Hadn't done that before and it paid off BIG! I seriously don't know what I would do without Prime. Click below if you want to give it a try.

Two days after I found this dress on Amazon, it was in my possession and I was trying it on in my bedroom. Maybe I just got lucky this time, but I'll take it! Loved the dress! The quality is great and it fit wonderfully. Saved me a ton of time and money (it was only $31.50). Yes, I'll be doing that again. Have you ever bought clothes off of Amazon?