i'm back ... and five on friday

Finally it's Friday.  It's been crazy around here lately, so I haven't been posting very regularly. Things are starting to slow down, so I hope to be back to 3-4 posts per week. I'm jumping in with Five on Friday today to catch up on what's been going on around here. Let's jump right in.

Fun news!! I'm going to be doing macaron classes this summer. The first one will be on June 8th. If you're local and want to grab a spot, follow me on Instagram and Facebook for all the details. I'm really excited about the classes and so thankful for the opportunity.

We're leaving for our annual family vacation in a few weeks. I cannot wait to get away for a while and just enjoy my family. Relaxing is the only thing on my itinerary. It's our last big family vacation before my niece goes off to college in the fall, so it's kind of bittersweet. I'm looking forward to getting some good quality time in with her. 

I found this cute top at Dress Barn earlier this week. I had a few things to return and this caught my eye on the sale rack. Of course I had to get my sister one too. I'm packing mine for our upcoming trip. It looks perfect with jean shorts and sandals or my navy Tieks. Casual but still a little dressy. 
 

We're having a back yard project done when we get back from vacation. The pic above shows what we're going for.  It has to be scaled down a bit in size because our back yard is a good size without being huge. My cousin's husband is making this happen and I told him my only must-haves are the tin roof and that the swing fits a twin size mattress. I'm excited to see our back yard transformed and am already planning my summer naps. Yep, I'm old and exciting. I'll share the process on the blog once the project is underway. We're also adding a fire pit and eventually a storage shed. The storage shed may be a Father's Day surprise.

 

And now for book news... I have a few food magazines packed for our trip and also downloaded some new books to my Kindle app. I've talked about Karen MacInerney's Dewberry Farm series here before and she also has another cozy mystery series, The Gray Whale Inn Mysteries. I'm about to start book 2, Dead & Berried. I don't like this series as much as Dewberry Farms, but I'll give this second book a try before I give up on it. I'll keep you posted. 

Have a fabulous weekend!

- Tonia