five on friday

HAPPY FRIDAY FRIENDS!! I'm so ready for the weekend. I'm linking up with Five on Friday again this week. Let's jump right in...

We've been playing a family game every night before Landon's bedtime lately. Our favorite is this Alphabet Go Fish game from Peaceable Kingdom. The cards are big, bright and sturdy and it's a great way to review letters while still having fun. 

I'm taking my niece out to dinner tonight to celebrate her 18th birthday that happened while we were out of town. I gave her a choice of several restaurants and Red Lobster won out. I wonder if endless shrimp had anything to do with her choice. 

I ordered this cozy cardigan last week and it arrived a few days ago. It's so warm and cozy, perfect for cool fall days. I chose the cocoa color but think I may need one in black too.  

My sister is hosting a little Halloween gathering tomorrow evening. I'm making mummy dogs and, of course, Halloween punch. This is one of my favorites - we actually served it at our wedding.

And now in book news... I'm expecting an early copy of Joanne Fluke's Raspberry Danish Murder soon. If you've been reading here for a while, you know the Hannah Swensen series is my favorites in cozy mysteries. I believe this will be book 20 in the series. If you're looking for something new to read, start from the beginning with Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder. 

Have a great weekend! Next Friday I'll be kicking off All Things Thanksgiving. 

five on friday

Hooray for Friday! Goodness, what a week it's been. I'm looking forward to a relaxing, but fun and busy weekend. I'm linking up with Five on Friday this week. Here's a peek at what's going on around here. 

Mike & I are headed to the beach next week for our anniversary getaway. We'll be celebrating 19 years of wedded bliss. How have we been married that long?! I truly can't imagine a day without him by my side. I give God all the glory for our marriage and the love that keeps us happy and strong. We're not making lots of plans and will just go with the flow most of the week. I did make dinner reservations at one place - Wicked Tuna. I cannot wait to get to that Ahi Tuna. Yum!

I have a confession to share with you all. I am crazy about these Go-Mart potato wedges. Yep, gas station food. We went to see my mother-in-law Wednesday evening and the Go-Mart we pass is one of the few that still sells them. Any time we drive past, you can bet I'm stopping. And I may or may not have emailed the home office to get a list of all the locations in WV that have them. Mike got tired of me stopping to run in every Go-Mart we passed if we were traveling. They are just that good. If you're a local and want a copy of that email, just let me know. 

 

Ya'll know about my pajama addiction for Landon. Well, this time I bought some cute pajamas for mommy. These owl print pajamas are so soft and fit perfectly. They are packed and ready to go on our anniversary getaway. I also got this because sometimes it's fun to be fancy.

 

Landon loves Mad Libs and the Charlie Brown Halloween special, so I picked these up at Walmart earlier this week. He still struggles a bit with his reading, so we're working really hard to encourage him and make sure his self-esteem doesn't suffer. We'll be adding a few more new books to our Halloween collection, so I'll probably do another post to share those.

And now for more book news... If you've been reading here for a while, you know I love cozy mysteries. I got an advance copy of Turkey Trot Murder by Leslie Meier, the latest in the Lucy Stone Mystery series. I've been saving it for fall and it's packed in my bag and ready for beach reading. For our fall getaways, I always like to read an autumn or Christmas-centered mystery and holiday recipe magazines or cookbooks. It really puts me in a festive spirit.  If you're looking for a new series, give this one a try. Be sure to start from the beginning so you can watch Lucy's family grow up as the series goes on.

 

Have a great weekend! If you want to see snippets of our getaway, follow along on Instagram - I'm tonia_thc.

five on friday

Hooray for Friday! We're on vacation next week and have a few fun day trips planned. School starts back up in a few weeks (BOO!!!), so we wanted to sneak in one last week of family fun. I'm linking up with Five on Friday again this week. Let's jump right in. 

We're going out for pizza with the family this evening. Frank's Pizza in Montgomery is one of our favorites. Landon likes sausage and cheese, so we'll get that and one with everything. I haven't had pizza for a while, so I can't wait. 

We're headed to Durbin later in the week to ride "The Durbin Rocket". Landon is so excited. His last train ride was when we rode the Polar Express a few years ago, so he's really looking forward to this. It's two hours round trip, which I think is just perfect. And the train itself is powered by a very rare steam locomotive – Old #3, one of only three operating Climax geared logging locomotives on earth! You can read more about the train here.
 

Did you shop the Nordstrom sale? I got just a few things and have to say not much tempted me this year. I did get this shirt in ivory and black, this throw in pearl blue for the family room and two of these signs (one for my sister). The signs weren't part of the annual sale, but they were still marked down almost 50%. Oh, I also went back the next day and ordered these jeans. 

For the past few months I've been buying pictures and accents for our living room. Our walls have been pretty bare because I could never really find or afford what I wanted. I shared one picture last week and here's another set of prints I found at Country Door. I love the muted colors and vintage look. I got these for half price, which always makes me happy.  It looks like they are out of stock now, but they may be back soon. I'm hoping to get the room pulled together in the next few weeks. Then I'll share how everything came together.

 

And in book news this week... Yesterday I received an advance copy of Turkey Trot Murder, the latest in the Lucy Stone Mystery series by Leslie Meier. I've been reading this series for a while now and it's definitely one of my favorites.  It's set in Maine in a little town called Tinker's Cove and you really feel like you're there from the author's description. If you like cozy mysteries, give this series a try. 

Have a great weekend!

- Tonia

 

summer so far

Our summer is off to a great start. We've been spending time at the pool, enjoying evenings on the front porch and watching marathons of Naked and Afraid. Here's a few things that's keeping us busy...

I ordered this Octopus sprinkler from Pottery Barn Kids back in 2012. I had big plans for it and then it seemed to disappear. Mike and I both thought it had got thrown away with some other boxes and I was so disappointed. Imagine my surprise when we found it with some old Christmas decorations back during the holidays. We are loving it!!

 

Landon LOVES building forts and usually has one one built on our couch or chair at all times.  It's usually covered with all my throw pillows and blankets. He loves it, but it can get to be a bit of a mess. Well, last week my mom scored a Crazy Forts building set at a yard sale for $5. What a fabulous find!! He loves it and I'm so glad.  Just build the frame, toss some pillows inside and a sheet or blanket over the top and you're all set. She's keeping the yard sale find at her house and ordered this one for him to use at home. I'm so excited to have our living room back...and still let him have his fort.

We're doing a summer reading program that starts on June 25th. It runs for 6 Sundays. I'm excited that I'll have a few free hours for Target while he's busy learning. In the meantime, I found some fun worksheets here.

We're heading to Tennessee later this month to see the Titanic exhibit. I'll share more on that soon.


xoxo

 

five on friday

Happy Friday! We're kicking off spring break this afternoon....with snow. We're having the craziest mix of weather I've ever seen.  I can do without the snow, but I would like a thunderstorm that lasts for hours instead of a few minutes.  If only mother nature took requests.   I'm linking up with Five on Friday again this week. Here's what's going on for us right now...
 

I'm a little obsessed with Ancestry.com. I've been researching my dad's side of the family and it's truly amazing to go back and see records and stories about people you never got a chance to know, but still feel that connection to. The more you find, the deeper you want to dig.  If you've been thinking about researching your own tree, I definitely recommend it. Mike even has me doing a tree of his family. It really is interesting. 

I've been looking for an area rug for our living room.  I saw this allen + roth Kincora Beige woven area rug at Lowes and it's absolutely gorgeous. I think the colors would  work well in our room and the pattern is not too busy.  The price isn't too bad for an 8x10 size. I'm going to move our furniture around tomorrow to see if it could work. 

 

I have some Hilda cookie dough in the freezer, left over from Christmas. I'm going to use it next week for some fun Easter cookies.  I got these cute little Easter cookie cutters from Amazon last month and I can't wait to use them. Hilda cookies are very similar to Linzer cookies, but the dough has a cream cheese and butter base and it is so good and rich. My aunt's German mother-in-law passed down the recipe from her mom.  I like to use peach, apricot or blackberry jam. Check back next week to see the finished cookies. I'll share my dough recipe too. 
 

Landon can't get enough of watching "Sing".  He watched it at school last week and we purchased it on Amazon Instant Video that same afternoon. He loves singing along and performing.  Last night we downloaded the soundtrack. It's so cute to hear him sing along. He has such a good voice and some really good dance moves. We may just have to put him in dance class. My little Sinatra.

 

And now in book news...  I found a new cozy mystery series to try. The first book is Murder on Bainbridge Island by Dianne Harman.  It was a suggested title on Amazon, so I decided to give it a try.  The book is set in the pacific northwest and the main character has a catering business.  It's my first time reading this author and I'm hoping I enjoy the series.  I'll let you know!

Have a great weekend!

 

five on friday

Hooray for Friday!! We made it through another week. We're getting some rain and cooler weather here, so it's finally beginning to feel like fall. We don't have anything planned for the weekend. I'm going to work on getting our Halloween decorations out and Landon has a new movie on Netflix that he's been wanting to watch.  Sounds like the perfect lazy weekend to me. I'm linking up with Five on Friday again this week. Let's get right to it...

Landon is into all things spooky right now. I've always let him watch gently scary shows like Scooby Doo, but he was wanting something a bit scarier. I decided to let him watch a few episodes of Are You Afraid of the Dark and he was instantly hooked. We've ended up buying all the available seasons on Amazon Instant Video. I loved this show myself when I was younger, so it's fun to get to watch all the episodes again. We've also been watching Deadtime Stories, which is good too. 

 

I got this picture to hang up during the month of October and I'm completely in love with it.  It's called The Witches of Black Mountain by Ann Stookey. You can find the details here, including how I get a canvas look for a much more affordable price. 

I've been looking for a new hairdryer. Last week I read about this one and I think it might just be "The One".   I've never spent quite so much for a hairdryer, but it's not something you have to buy very often.  Plus I LOVE the pink color.  The only thing I don't like about having my hair long is how long it takes to dry. If this cuts down on drying time, it will be money well spent. I'll let you know how it works.

There's nothing like plaid when it comes to decorating for fall.  I found these cute plaid pillows at Target. They match our floral porch cushions, so I got two of them to go on our rocking chairs.  I need to find two matching throws to put on the chair backs.

And now for some book news... Mike and I are going on a little getaway for our anniversary soon.  I'm taking a few books along and I also purchased Firefly Beach to read on the Kindle app. A friend recommended it and it sounds pretty interesting. The reviews are kind of split, so I'll give it a try and let you know if it's a must-read.   I think this sounds pretty good too.

Have a great weekend!

five on friday

Hooray for Friday! We're off to Amish Country tomorrow for a weekend getaway. It's so beautiful there in the fall. Cooler temps are expected while we're there, so I'm super excited.  I'm linking up with Five on Friday again today. Here we go! 

We're taking my mom along to Amish Country with us. When several of us go, we like to stay at the  Dutch Host Inn. It's nice and quiet and there's the sweetest gazebos to swing in. It's the perfect spot for coffee and conversation. We're going to do a bit of shopping and eating and then we'll take Landon to the petting zoo and pumpkin patch.  (Note - when Mike and I go for a couples getaway, we like staying here).

I ordered this vintage Cosco utility cart from a seller on Etsy. I can't wait to show you all what I'm going to do with it. It's in perfect condition.  It is a bit smaller than I'd imagined, so it doesn't fill the space I had picked out for it like I thought. I'll make it work though. Stay tuned...

I finally shared my cinnamon roll recipe yesterday. I still can't believe I've been using the same recipe for over 20 years. You can read about it here... 

I got this fun phone at Target on Tuesday to add to our Halloween decor. It actually rings like a real phone and speaks spooky, eerie phrases. It's motion-activated, so I have it tucked away until I put our decorations out on Monday. Landon will be so surprised. 

We love the Noosa yogurt. We've been eating a lot of the pumpkin flavor. I like to add a handful of pumpkin spice Cheerios to mine just to add some crunch. It's great for breakfast or an evening snack. 

Have a great weekend!

five on friday

Hooray for Friday. We're finally expecting some rain this weekend and I couldn't be more excited. Hopefully some cooler temps will follow. It's hard to celebrate all things fall when it's 100 degrees outside. But don't despair;  I'm still enjoying all things pumpkin. I'm linking up with Five on Friday again this week. Let's get right to it.

  

I've been looking for a particular cookbook for a while now. It's one my mom had when I was younger. You guys, I spent so much time looking through that book back in my younger days. It's the book I got my cinnamon roll and baked spaghetti recipes from. Anyway, that book has been gone for quite some time now, but I've always remained on the lookout for it.  I thought it was by Pillsbury, but earlier this week I looked on ebay under Better Homes & Gardens and there it was. It's now on its way to me. I can't wait to show you some of the fun pictures inside. It's definitely retro!  I'll share my cinnamon roll recipe next week too!

 

I know where I'll be Wednesday evening. I'm so excited for the season premier of Law & Order: SVU. Eighteen seasons later and that show is still going strong. Who else is watching?  

I love all things pumpkin-flavored...except for my coffee. My sister loves the pumpkin spice coffee drinks and creamer, but it's not for me. I do, however, LOVE this pumpkin spice chai latte. You can also get the tea bags, but I prefer the concentrate. I get mine at Target. It's so good with a bit of whipped cream on top. It's like autumn in a mug!  

I'm in love with this Sejour cardigan from Nordstrom, especially this soft pink shade.  I might have to have it in the silver pink AND blue cameo colors.  I'd pair it with jeans as shown or a jean skirt.  It definitely works with my capsule wardrobe style. I'm all for having just a few basic pieces that I can mix and match.

 

And now for book news... I'm so excited to be sharing my love of Laura Ingalls Wilder with Landon. I started reading Farmer Boy to him earlier this week and he is loving it.  We're reading two chapters a night, but last night Landon was enjoying it so much he wanted to read an additional chapter. Of course, I was happy to oblige. I have two sets in paperback, but I'm using this Kindle version right now.  It's easier for bedtime reading and the color illustrations are great.

Have a great weekend!