Friday Favorites, May Edition

Since it's the end of May, and I can only manage to publish a Favorites post once a month, here it is! I'm headed to Scottsdale later today for Girl's Weekend, which is my favorite thing of all, but there have been a few other things worth mentioning for the month.

First, Kristi gave me a baby from the spider plant in her office. When the new roots were finally long enough to transplant, I planted it in this vintage milk glass vase (candy dish? Compote? Who knows?), and I love how it turned out.

Secondly, I recently purchased this automatic can opener at Marshalls, and I adore it. It's small, so it takes up hardly any room in my utensil drawer, and it works like a charm, with absolutely no effort on my part.

Thirdly, last night, Kristi and I attended a book fair hosted by the small independent bookstore in Hooterville. They chose to hold the fair at a recently renovated potato cellar, now a thriving co-op of food vendors, featuring a fantastic bar. I love it when historic buildings are repurposed, and this particular renovation was impressive. The variety of vendors is also noteworthy.

Kristi and I chose dinner from Layered, a pop-up that specializes in dishes that are, well, layered. I had the southwestern quesadilla, layered with chicken, cheese, corn salsa, onion jam, and grilled corn, and it did not disappoint. Kristi had a pot roast sandwich, layered with meats and cheeses (hence the name), and she enjoyed half of it before having to call it quits and request a box.

The book fair itself was so much fun! I loved book fairs as a child and was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed one as a grown-up.

The bookstore hosts the Boozy Book Fair quarterly, and I am already looking forward to the next one.

And, that's it for today! I'm driving to Neighboring City to meet Jules for our flight to Phoenix (which has already been delayed by almost an hour, definitely not a favorite). We have pedicures scheduled for later this evening, shopping on the agenda for tomorrow, a cabana booked for Sunday, and five women desperately in need of some quality time.

FAVORITE!

What's Up Wednesday, May 2025 Edition

 

Happy almost June! May went by so quickly because I have been so overwhelmed at Not So New Job; we are still down two full-time employees, and picking up the slack has been time-consuming and stressful. Happily, I filled one of the positions, and our new advocate started yesterday, so things should begin to improve. I really hope so, because I would like for June to be a lot less anxiety-riddled.

Fingers crossed! Anyhoodle, on to this month's edition of What's Up Wednesday, courtesy of Sheaffer and Shay.

What I've Been Eating

I've had some truly delicious meals this month! While I don't consider donuts to be an actual meal, the Mennonite donuts that we had at this season's edition of Pickin at the Pea were a good substitute.

We ate at an authentic German restaurant earlier this month, and I enjoyed the appetizer sampler that we shared, along with the pickled beets on the salad. My main entree wasn't typical German fare, but the Chicken Cordon Bleu hit the spot.

I also had the Back and Bleu burger at a local brewery. I don't eat hamburgers very often, but slather one in bacon and blue cheese and I'm all over it.

It's also charcuterie season! Kristi and I kicked it off this weekend.

And, finally, I had a croque madame for Sunday brunch this past weekend. It was so rich, I couldn't finish it.

What I'm Loving

I spied this painting at Pickin at the Pea and was immediately smitten.

It looks great over the fireplace.

I mentioned earlier that it is charcuterie season, which means that it is Porch Night season; Kristi introduced me to a new friend of hers, and I hosted them on the porch for the official kick-off. Cheers to that!

What I'm Reminiscing About

I planted the garden last week. To say I missed this sweet face would be a vast understatement of my feelings.

Not having him following me around the raised beds is going to take a lot of getting used to, but I'm eternally grateful for the memories of our years in the garden. Every time I pluck a tomato from the vine, I'll remember how much he loved them.

What I've Been Up To

I've mentioned Pickin at the Pea several times in this post. This season's show had a Kentucky Derby theme, which was fun. Mom and Kristi accompanied me to the sale and we each left with some treasures.

Hugh was inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame as the Official of the Year, so we all headed to Colorado Springs for the induction ceremony.

Mom flew Queen B in as a surprise for Hugh, and he was so excited to see her. We spent the weekend shopping, dining out, and visiting with family members who also attended the ceremony, including my mom, Oscar, Emily, and aunts Connie and Laurie, as well as uncles Gale and Greg.

What I've Been Working On

I've been teaching myself to do ribbon embroidery, which I am finding a bit more challenging than regular embroidery. I have one project that is 99% complete; I just need to mount and frame it.

I planted my flowers in my grandpa's old wheelbarrow and in the wicker planter that sits on the porch.

And I planted the garden, as I mentioned earlier.

What I'm Dreading

I am so tired of dreading things at Not So New Job, and have done a lot of work on my attitude when it comes to the things that stress me there, but, I would be less than truthful if I said I wasn't dreading the possibility that our upcoming golf tournament won't be as successful as prior tournaments. Things just aren't aligning as well as they usually do. And I'm tired, y'all. I'm just tired.

What I'm Excited About

I'm taking next week off, which naturally excites me, despite the gnawing sense of guilt I have about leaving my staff to handle the workload alone. But, see above: I am tired.

What I'm Watching

Mom and I attended A Walk in the Woods at the community theater; it was the final play of this year's season, and we are already looking forward to purchasing our tickets for next season.  

Otherwise, I haven't really watched much of anything; I have barely turned the television on when I am home, and I haven't really missed it.

What I'm Reading

I have finished the first two books in The Compelling Fates Saga, and now I am eagerly anticipating the third book, which is set to be released in August. The fantasy genre is an excellent escape from the stress that my work life throws at me, and I'm not ashamed to admit it. These books are jokingly referred to as "romantacy" online, but who doesn't love a little romance mixed in with their fantasy? Also, the spice is nice. Just sayin'. 

What I'm Listening To

I finally broke down and downloaded the Audible app, so I've been listening to books that I've already read. It's great background noise for when I'm cleaning or embroidering, and I've caught things on the Audible platform that I may have glossed over when reading.

What I'm Wearing

The weather has finally become consistently warm enough to abandon dressing in layers, so I am embracing it. I also pulled out my white jeans from winter storage, which makes me happier than it probably should, but it was a long winter, and I'm delighted to wear lighter colors and fabrics.

What I'm Doing This Weekend

Two words: Girl's Weekend!

Friday, I will meet Jules at the airport in Neighboring City, where we will board a first-class flight bound for Phoenix. At roughly the same time, Tee and Phoebe will be boarding a flight in the City of Our Alma Mater, set to arrive in Arizona at exactly the same time our flight is scheduled to arrive; we didn't even plan it that way, it was just a serendipitous turn of events. Reece will pick us all up and we will head to the resort, where we will spend the next four days reliving our youth. I am so ready for this trip that I cannot even put it into words.

What I'm Looking Forward To Next Month

I am looking forward to the official start of summer. I'm hopeful that we'll get a chance to spend more time on the lake and that we'll get to go camping at least once. 

Favorite Purchase This Month

This is somewhat silly, but I'm delighted with the automatic can opener I picked up at Marshalls. It works like a charm; all I have to do is position it on the can and push a button. Easy-peasy.

It's Lieutenant Dan!

Not really! It's Lieutenant Hugh!

Hugh was promoted recently, and the family attended the pinning ceremony celebrating this achievement on Tuesday evening.

Hugh had warned me that I would be doing the pinning, which was a terrible idea considering the fact that I have never managed to pin so much as a boutonniere without drawing blood.

Luckily, Oscar has a long history of bloodless pinnning, so I deferred to his superior skillset and handled the camera, which is more in my wheelhouse.

Plus, I love that Oscar gets to pin his son, given his history in the fire service. Their shared love for the work is commendable and should be recognized.

I love these side-by-side photos of Oscar and Hugh, each captured at the site of actual fires, and taken decades apart.

Congratulations, Lieutenant Dan Hugh!

Weekend Snipets

I had a busy and productive weekend, which was both necessary and rewarding.

I started by picking up my bedding plants from the nursery on Thursday afternoon. The selection this year left something to be desired, but I did manage to find some purple petunias that looked healthy enough.

On Friday morning, I commenced with power washing the porch. The project took the better part of the day, with a quick break to run into Hooterville for soil conditioner and potting soil. I also picked up Chinese take-out, so that I wouldn't have to cook dinner.

By the time I was finished, my hand was sore and stiff, as was my back, but, I had a pretty, clean porch as a reward for my efforts.

Saturday morning, I finished arranging the furniture on the porch and tackled the mess in my garden shed.

Then I got busy planting the petunias into my grandfather's old wheelbarrow.

Once that was accomplished, I headed to the garden, where I spent the next several hours amending the soil in my raised beds with the soil conditioner that Hugh and I had purchased the previous day. The Happy Frog soil conditioner that I got was a rich black color, with generous green streaks, thanks to the bat guano in it. Sounds gross, but should add a ton of nitrogen to the soil, which should improve the quality of my vegetables.

I mostly planted seeds this year, with the exception of five heirloom tomato varieties and four types of peppers. 

I had to giggle when I discovered a volunteer zinnia that had sprung up from last year's wedding flower experiment. I decided to work around it, and I'm hoping it will bloom.

I finished with the planting just in time to jump in the shower in order to be ready for dinner and a play at the community theater with Mom later that evening.

We chose to eat at a brewery in Hooterville and invited Hugh to join us, although he had opted not to join us at the play.

It was his loss, because the theater company's production of A Walk in the Woods was amazing.

Sunday morning, I slept in before grabbing a cup of coffee to savor while enjoying the view of the porch. The day was predicted to be chilly, but the wind hadn't started to blow yet, so the morning was pleasant.

I spent the remainder of the morning washing and filling my hummingbird feeders and getting them hung up before going into the hardware store to run payroll and pay bills.

Then Hugh and I went into Hooterville to make an appearance at a crawfish boil hosted by one of the firemen from Hugh's station. I am no fan of eating bugs, but Hugh was stoked.

I made him take me to Culvers for dinner after we left the party but not before stopping at a local mattress store to try out a new mattress.

Our old mattress is too soft for our aging bodies, so we were in the market for something more firm. We didn't intend to make a purchase, but wanted to know what we wanted prior to the upcoming Memorial Day sales. However, the mattress we liked best was already on sale, so we went ahead and pulled the trigger on the purchase. The new mattress will be delivered Friday.

And, that was our weekend. I'm thrilled that I accomplished everything on my To-Do List and that the porch is now ready for the season. The first event of the year-our June Bunco game-is scheduled for the 5th.