Friday Five {July 2024}

Happy Friday Everyone!

We are getting into the last few weeks of summer. Autumn starts her sophomore year in 3 weeks and Nathan will start his first year of college in 4 weeks! They got out of school the first week of May due to construction on their school, so this has felt like an extra long summer! I love the fall, but I also feel like it is bittersweet when the summer wraps up and school starts. Just a reminder that my kids are getting older and it is sad/different to not see around the house as much (even though they’ve been working jobs this summer and have been busy!). But, the fall brings fall clothing, cooler runs with pretty fall foliage and I can start to get back on track with content creation and the house.

One – Date Day with Brian

Every so often Brian will plan a date day/evening (I’m usually the planner- ha!). He planned a fun French day for us (he proposed to me in Paris) and it was a lot of fun… and very delicious! Ha! He must know food is the way to my heart. We started out at La Patisserie Chouquette and had coffees off their drink menu and selected some pastry/breakfast treats. The morning we went, they were having a special Juneteenth menu and I selected this delicious tomato and cheese tart (the tart itself was SOOO good) and a watermelon salad. But, I also enjoyed banana pudding with Nilla wafers from that menu and a couple macaroons later. I had a Dalgona coffee, which I am sure most of you remember making those at home during the pandemic! It was really good!

Next up we went to Pinot’s Palette, which is one of those instructed painting places. He picked a French inspired painting theme, Monet’s lilies. I was a little surprised he picked this for our date day! I had done this I think once or twice with Autumn for various school things, but it was fun painting with Brian. Ha, ha! I did really good on my painting until we got to the flowers… and then they all started looking like the Under Armour logo. I tried so hard! Ha, ha! Mine is the one on the right and Brian’s is the one on the left. We had fun and I enjoyed my glass of wine!

We finished the day with dinner at The Crossing. He had some other things planned that were outside, but it was SO hot outside that we had to nix them. Here I am enjoying a glass of limencello at the restaurant after our meal. This is my new favorite drink! It is typically a dessert drink.

Two – What We’ve Been Up To This Summer

I’ve been doing a little decorating this summer around the house. Mainly wanted to get some summer items for the new entry table I purchased and for the new basket on our coffee table. So far I like everything, except the clear glass on the one candle on the coffee table seems just slightly too tall (and afraid one of the cats or teens may accidentally knock it over), SOOO not sure what I plan to do to tweak that as I need something tall (but a little less so) in that spot. SIGH. I am really loving the sea glass ball strands, I found both of these at Hobby Lobby.

I have an egg chair downstairs in my office. At a recent Hobby Lobby trip I saw this cute little light up tree next to one of their egg chairs in their lobby. I may need it… I passed it by this time, but I may be back! Ha, ha!

We had Autumn’s room painted… she wanted to get rid of her colorful striped wall, so we had the entire room painted white. She loves neutrals, like her mom!

Autumn had her yearly UDA Dance camp in Peoria, IL and we volunteered to drive her and some of the girls back home. We stopped in a brand new local coffee shop while they’re named Reverence Coffee and OHHH do I wish this place was in St. Louis. My latte was the perfect shade of brown and SO good!

I enjoyed their fruit yogurt bowl and their Crookie, a house specialty that blends a chocolate chip cookie and a croissant into one big gooey deliciousness.

Three – Oliver’s 1st Birthday & Cute Photos

My sweet Oliver (Ollie Bear) had his 1st birthday on July 9th! He did not want to wear his birthday hat, so I put it next to him in this photo. But, he didn’t mind his Birthday Boy bandana! Oliver is SUCH a sweet cat… oh my… I just hit the jackpot with him! He is just the sweetest, most gentle and maybe spoiled (ha, ha!) cat of all time. I love him to pieces!! Princess Aurora will have her birthday in 2 months, they are very close in age and half siblings (same dad, different litters). If you want to follow Oliver and Aurora over on their Instagram page, you can HERE! I have a collab with KitNipBox that I’ll be sharing a HUGE summer box they sent me over there soon along with more birthday photos/videos of Ollie.

So, while we were on the cruise I had the kittens stay at my mom’s house. Rose, our older ragdoll stayed at our house. My mom kept sending me cute photos of the kittens while we were away. Ollie is standing up in his basket, because he heard a firework outside (he is SO tall!) and Aurora on the right is sleeping on her back. Such cuties!! These cats are already at 11~ pounds!! Ragdolls tend to be BIG and fluffy kitties! Aurora will get on our scale sometimes in the bathroom and weigh herself! It is so funny, because the scale turns on and weighs her when she lays on it.

Four – Latest Shows I Finished / Latest Books I’ve Read

I recently watched A Family Affair on Netflix and I REALLY enjoyed it… so much that I made Brian watch it with me a second time. I thought for sure he’d hate it, but he said it was cute. Ha! This movie has some big actors/actresses in it such as Zac Efron and Nicole Kidman. This movie revolves around a widowed writer (Nicole Kidman) who begins a relationship with a young actor (Zac Efron) whom her daughter works for (and loathes!). This is not the only movie out with an older woman and a younger man, I also watched The Idea of You, which has the mom of a teen girl connecting with a famous boy band rock star at his concert. The Idea of You was really cute too, but I much preferred A Family Affair. But, if you love rom coms (so excited they’re becoming popular again!!), you’ll love BOTH of these!!

I also watched America’s Sweethearts, which is about the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders. Autumn has done dance for most of her life and is on the dance team in high school, so this series is right up her ally. It is shocking the lack of pay and stress these girls endure to be part of this team. 11 p.m. weight checks?! Seriously?! If they’re too petite, lack natural curves or their belly button is more than 2″ away from the bottom of the tiny shorts they wear it can impact them ‘making’ the team. Just so, so crazy! And this is real life for these girls and yet it is still a LIFETIME dream to them to be on this team. It is definitely not for the weak!

Shop This Book:

Expiration Dates by Rebecca Serle – This is one of several books I have read from this author and I have loved every single one of them! This book is about Daphne who receives a little slip of paper each time before she meets someone new. It has written on the paper how long they’ll be together and it is always true! However, she receives a paper with something different on it… and, she thinks everything is going great until she realizes it wasn’t what she thought… and it isn’t until then that she realizes where her life is really headed. Daphne also has a deep secret she keeps from pretty much everyone but her parents and a couple of close friends. My heart went out to her when I read about this secret. Such a good read!! Highly recommend it!

Five – Latest Finds

It is always so hard for me to get to Trader Joe’s during the summer, but I got in a trip and it was SOOO much fun. I made myself up a little ‘snack’ plate to try some of the new to me and oldies but goodies that I bought. Ha, ha!! They had sunflowers and I got some of those for my kitchen table. Yay! Trader Joe’s makes me SO happy!

I’ve been addicted to Rush Bowls lately, mainly their Choco Strawberry bowl and I add banana, strawberries and NUTELLA (yes!!!) on top. Probably not the healthiest with the nutella, but it is OHHH so good. Cold treats are the best during this summer HEAT!

Jessica is the owner of the small shop Rural Cute Creations. I met her through blogging and we’ve kept in touch over the years with our seasonal gift exchanges! Jessica owns chickens (they’re her babies!) and brings me by eggs, she is SO sweet to do that! She told me I think at one point she doesn’t even like eggs, but she loves her chickens! Lol! Aren’t these eggs GORGEOUS?! I asked her and apparently the egg color goes by what kind of chicken lays them. Aren’t the earrings she made me so cute? I really love the mason jar ones!