Hello, Monday

 

Happy Monday, friends! How was your weekend? Mine flew by! I'm linking up with Holly and Sarah for today's blog post. I'll back up to Thursday evening and will jump right in!

This new bookshelf finally came on Thursday afternoon! Chris put it together for me that night. I was so glad that he was here to do me such a huge favorite! This kind of thing is way above my pay grade. I can put smaller pieces together, but this would have made me bonkers. I mentioned last week that I sold the bookcase that had been in this corner; I love this airy and lighter piece of furniture that holds my books and beloved trinkets. 

Just for reference, this is what this corner looked like before. Isn't it so much better?! 

For the rest of that day, I met Marilyn for lunch, then did laundry and home stuff. Once again, it felt good to be home to be able to do all of this! 

It had been ages since we'd been to Salad Station! It was good to see her and catch up; I also got to give Brook a quick welcome home hug when I picked up Marilyn.

Chris and I went to dinner and then we drove to the town square. We decided to get out and walk around a bit before finding a bench to sit on. We also got Sonic ice cream before we did this! We've been on a kick with that lately. Ha!

Saturday we got some breakfast, then went to swim for a few hours at my friend's house. The water felt great, but the sun went behind clouds for practically the whole time we were there. We didn't stay long. That night Trish and I went to see Beauty and the Beast at The Opheum. This was the last of my season tickets that I bought in my dad's memory for the 2025/2026 season. The best was saved for last!

It was a beautiful night to be downtown! This show was incredible; it was my favorite movie once it came out around my sixteenth birthday. I have a snow globe from the movie that Dad bought me that year that still sits in my room today! I was living my best life and dressed in my yellow dress, because why not? 

It was amazing! The costumes, acting/singing/dancing were all phenomenal, and I was blown away by the talent. I know I sat there smiling the entire time! Dad would have loved that we did this together, and I'm so thankful for the year of shows I've been able to attend. It was a great way to honor my dad's life, because he was the one who taught me to love theatre from a very young age. 

And then on Sunday, I tried a new church!

This one is so outside of the normal that I'm used to; it's small, and I really enjoyed that several people spotted us immediately and came to talk to us when they saw that we were new. I loved this! We might go back next week or we might try another small one that's near my house. Either way, we will be back to this one. This is in a small neighboring town about ten minutes down the road. For the rest of the day I did laundry, I took a nap, I went to Kroger, and I made dinner. 

What did you do that you loved this weekend? I'd love to hear from you! Thanks for reading my blog today, friends. Love to all! 

Jenn

P.s. In case you missed it, here's a link to the bonus post I made over the weekend. I'd love for you to check it out!

everyday images and weekly gratitude

 

Happy Saturday and bonus blog post day! I thought I'd combine a couple of things in today's post...this everyday images challenge that Kym hosts each month, and some things from the week that I'm grateful for. I'll jump right in! 

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simple/complicated

I've enjoyed some simple dinners this week; this one was marinated steak tips, rice, and zucchini/squash that Chris brought to me from work.

at home

Wednesday weather

doorway

movement

I love how the water moves with the wind.

branched

And some things I'm grateful for this week:

• beautiful weather
• time with Chris
• a new piece of furniture to represent my new life
• good talks with my sons
• an amazing second week of Summer 
• the friends I have
• plans to look forward to
• clean sheets
• being home to clean and stay caught up on things
• music
• a catchup phone call with my best friend, Missy, on her birthday
• having a plan to visit a new church on Sunday
• a week to be social while I'm off for summer break
• friends who have pools I can use
• Saturday night plans with my sister
• a home that I love
• all the things I have that I don't ever want to take for granted

I hope you're enjoying the weekend, friends. I'll see you back here on Monday! Love to all. 

Jenn

Friday Favorites, 6.5.2026.

Happy Friday, friends! I hope you've had a great week! My week was excellent; the first week I was off, I was getting used to being off work and catching up on things. This was the week that I fully embraced my days off. I was out every single day doing lunch, meeting friends by the pool, and shopping. I won't do that every week that I'm off, but this week it felt amazing. It's been a busy one for me, but here are some of the things and moments that stuck out to me. 

I introduced Chris to one of my favorite places last weekend: Taziki's! Their hummus and oven baked pita chips are my favorite. I could just about eat this hummus with a spoon! That olive you see in the picture was scrumptious!

Going to the pool with Marilyn on Monday was my favorite! She has the best pool where she lives; those chairs in the water are amazing. The water felt amazing, which I was surprised by, since it hasn't been that hot for too many days in a row. How cute was our little friend we were sharing the pool with? 

Bread making day is complicated, but it always ends up being a favorite when it's all over and done with. I say bread baking "day" like it's just a day, but it's not. It takes the better part of a day and a half! The day you pull the starter out to discard and start the rising process is not the day that you bake; you won't do that for at least twenty four hours more at that point. My bread didn't want to rise this time, so I didn't actually bake it until the late afternoon of day two. Isn't she pretty, though? The heart is my signature design; I don't have tools for this, I just use the tip end of a very sharp knife and free hand it before closing the lid of the Dutch oven and baking. I've tried a fleur de Lis and a flower; neither turned out well. For me, a heart is the easiest, and it's kind of my thing.

 

Dinners this week have been a favorite! Monday night was Mandarin orange chicken and chicken fried rice from Trader Joe's; Tuesday night was hamburgers (not pictured), and Wednesday night was steak, fresh squash and zucchini, and sourdough bread. 

I loved this image that I saw on Instagram this week! It's all true, right? As I went four days without washing my hair, I'm grinning. I was going to wash it Wednesday night, but I skipped it since I knew I'd be at the pool on Thursday. 

I had a fun day out Wednesday! I'm hosting Bunco next week, so that means that I get to shop for the gifts and provide the food for our next get together. I don't love shopping for these gifts, though...it's harder than it sounds. My friend Teresa loves to shop, so I asked her if we could go and do that together before I hosted in June. Wednesday was that day! I picked her up and we got started immediately. We went to Ross, then Marshall's, then John Mark's (I didn't buy anything there), then to lunch at a new to me place called Rio Lobo (which is in the building where another restaurant was that I went to for my senior prom), then ended the day at a cute little place called The Truffled Pig. 

It was such a fun day, and we got some great gifts! I would love to win any of them, honestly, which is how I like to go about shopping. We got some great things at Marshall's! I also have the menu planned for that night: rotisserie chickens with dipping sauce, chips and guacamole, a summer salad of some sort, sourdough bread, fruit, and key lime pie (with cool whip) for dessert. 

On a side note, the margaritas we had were delicious! I got a regular; hers was a mango one. The food was just mediocre and the service wasn't very desirable. Twice this week I've been out and had wait staff that weren't friendly. What in the world? I sound like I'm full of complaints today...I'm not usually like this, but with everything being so expensive, you would think that people would be friendly in restaurants. Am I being unreasonable? 

This song is a current favorite; have you listened? It's Younger You by Miley Cyrus. I don't typically listen to her music, but my sons watched Hannah Montana when they were young, and I was a huge fan of the show and of her for a long time. She went a little haywire as she got older, though, so I haven't listened in a long time. This song is a tribute to her younger days and to the show as it was the twentieth anniversary of when it first aired. That doesn't even seem possible, but I guess it's true! Anyway...this is a great song and I love what the lyrics say.

This was another favorite from Instagram this week. I love what this says about who God is! 

Having a second pool day yesterday was a favorite! My friend Wendy came over while I floated and we caught up on all of life. I haven't spent time with her in ages, and it'd even been months since we'd spoken. She is a friend I met through choir; I've traveled with her, and she and I went to see Peter Pan together at the Orpheum in December of 2024. It was so good to see her!

Lastly, reading has been a favorite this week! I finally finished this book; it was so, so good. I will be thinking about some things I highlighted for a long time to come! 

What was a favorite for you this week? I'd love to hear from you! Thanks for reading my blog today, friends. Love to all!

Jenn 

random things from the week

 

Happy Thursday, friends! I thought I'd talk about some random things on my blog today; I hope you enjoy today's post.

My house has been a bit of a mess this week. I decided to sell the bookshelf that I had in the living room last weekend; it was the last thing in the house that was tied to a memory of my past. It felt great to get rid of that heavy piece of furniture! I know it sounds weird that I would do such a thing, but it's honestly hard to understand unless you've walked through divorce; I hope that's something none of you ever have to do! It was terrible to go through, but now that I'm on the other side, it's great. 

All that being said, I bought a new piece of furniture to replace the old! I found a great deal on Amazon, and it's supposed to arrive today. Hopefully it'll be a part of tomorrow's Friday Favorites post. Stay tuned! But this mess started to drive me a little crazy on Wednesday. Another thing that is driving me crazy is the dog hair! Noah's dog Rocket is sweet and beautiful, but his hair is horrible and he's the worst shedding dog ever to have lived in this house. 

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I listened to an interesting podcast yesterday; it's one by Lysa Terkeurst, called Therapy & Theology. The episode I listened to was called Prayer Framework--Does Praying For Our Family Make a Difference? My answer to that question is a resounding yes, by the way, and that was the sum of their talk as well. Anyway, that led me to thinking about prayer and how I've had times where I've had a rich prayer life and in other times I've had a very dry and sparse prayer life. I'm just being real here, friends. They talked about how the enemy works in us to keep us from praying, and I believe that to be true. He works in the way of distracting us; please tell me I am not the only one in this! I am often distracted due to several things: my phone, a computer screen before me, in mismanaging my time...I could go on. 

I mentioned in a blog comment to someone yesterday that I tend to overcomplicate things, and I think I do that with prayer. As I've gotten older and my life has changed so drastically, I no longer have the time that I used to have. When I do have the time, my mind very easily wanders. Prayer doesn't have to be the book, so to speak. I've been taught certain ways to pray, and while there's nothing wrong with that, prayer just doesn't have be so long and drawn out. It doesn't have to be in a certain order. I don't have that in me most days, if I'm being honest. I'm more likely to pray when I've learned something hard. I think it's important to thank God and to offer Him praise for who He is, but it's okay if you don't always do that. These are things I'm learning more and more as time goes on...

Does any of this resound with you? I'd love to hear your thoughts on this topic.

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I'm excited to go sit at a pool again today! I'm starting to dog sit for my friend Heather today; they left early this morning, so I'm going to pack up my lunch and pool bag and head over there around ten thirty. I hope to sit out there for at least three hours! I need to run to the Dollar Tree first, though...I love to use pool noodles to float on while I'm in a pool, and I need to replace mine. 

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I have two days of in-service next week. I am excited to be working with my friends for four weeks of summer school this summer! It's a more relaxed version of school, so the days are Monday-Thursday and I'll be off by 3;30. It's four weeks in a row, so I'll have two weeks off at the end before going back to work full time at the end of July like I did last year. That's not too bad, in my opinion! I'm already a little bored with staying home, if you want to know the truth. It's nice, don't get me wrong, but I just can't take too much of it. 

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This is my friend, Heather. She and I will be roommates this year at work! I can't wait to move my stuff into her room and to be in a different hallway. I made this decision when my friend Karen got a new position at school staring August. I decided that since she was my home base, that instead of being with someone I don't know as well, that I'd much rather be with someone I'm already familiar with. I reached out to Heather about this, and she was super excited for me to share her room. 

She and I have been talking recently, and made plans to attend an Indigo Girls concert together in September! We're the same age and love all the same things, which we've talked about before. We wanted to go see them in Nashville last year, but it would have been over fall break, when I was already  traveling. When she saw that they were coming here, she immediately bought two tickets and promptly invited me to join her. Of course I said yes! 

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I went on a little shopping spree this week! I met Mom and Trish for lunch, then I went over to Old Navy afterward to see if I could find anything. I've been wanting to replace some things in my closet lately, since I've worn it all for several summers in a row by now. Amy and I had been talking about this, and she is the one who encouraged me to go over to ON to try on some things in store. 

So I did, and I hit the jackpot. I had some money put aside for this, and am super excited about all the new things I've added to my closet. I'll give you a more detailed post about this next week for Fashion Files, so stay tuned! I even went back for two other things that I put down on the first day. I needed some clothes! 

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What's random in your life right now? I'd love to hear from you! Thanks for being here today to read, friends. Love to all! 

Jenn 

the Wednesday hodgepodge & Currently

 

Happy Wednesday, friends! I'm here with Joyce again today for the weekly hodgepodge...this is a post that I dearly love; thank you, Joyce, for your inspiring and thought provoking questions each and every week! I'll jump right in! 

1. What's something you find that is extremely difficult that most people would say is simple? Why am I struggling with this question? My mind is drawing a complete blank. I consulted Chat GPT, and this is what popped up:

"You seem to be someone who loves deeply—your sons, your family, your faith, your writing, your relationship, the people around you. People who care that much often carry a quiet tendency to keep looking ahead: the next responsibility, the next prayer, the next thing to fix, the next person to encourage. The simple thing is sitting in a good moment and saying, "This is enough for today." 

Simple doesn't mean easy. 

It can be surprisingly difficult to receive joy without immediately turning it into gratitude, a lesson, a plan, a memory to preserve, or a worry about how long it will last. 

A sunset with your guy. A family dinner. A peaceful morning with a book. A laugh with your sons.

Sometimes the hardest thing is not creating, fixing, teaching, helping, or preparing. 

Sometimes it's simply being there.

And allowing yourself to enjoy it."

Well, alrighty then. Why does this sum me up so well? 

2. "And so with the sunshine and the great bursts of leaves growing on the trees, just as things grow fast in movies, I had that familiar conviction that life was beginning over again with the summer." —F. Scott Fitzgerald

Does the season of summer make you feel this way? Elaborate. I do feel this way about summer! I just feel like there is something magical about the days getting longer, the air getting warmer, and the prospect of sitting by a body of water and chatting with a friend or a significant other. I thoroughly enjoyed doing this with Marilyn on Monday! I love listening to music that screams summer and have playlists that I like to listen to during this season. I also love sunsets more at this time of year; they seem move vivid and spectacular than ever before. I love eating outside if it's not too hot and muggy, and bonus points for twinkling lights and great ambiance. I always loved date nights at this time of year, so I'm glad to have that chance this year with Chris. 

3. Pickles. Love them or no thank you? What's your favorite type of pickle? What's something you eat that definitely needs a pickle included? I love pickles! I'm a purist and prefer the dill variety. I always enjoy a pickle with a sandwich or with chicken salad and crackers. 

4. Tis the season...do you know any June brides? Are there any weddings on your summer calendar? What's your favorite movie wedding? I don't know any June brides, but a friend of mine has a daughter getting married this summer in August. I'm excited about going to this! I got the invitation in the mail recently, and it was addressed to me and Chris. I loved that! I don't know what my favorite movie wedding is...I know what it used to be, but that is no longer the case. 

5. June 1st was National Say Something Nice Day...say something nice here. I'm going to quote a line from Steel Magnolias...maybe you'll recognize this.

"I'm pleasant! Damnit! I saw Drum Eatenton this morning at the Piggly Wiggly, and I smiled at the son of a bitch before I could help myself!"

Do you remember that quote? In that movie, Ouiser and Drum had a love/hate relationship; mostly it was hate. Ha! The reason I shared this quote is because I had such a moment last weekend; Jonah and I were talking and I sincerely asked him how his dad is doing. I haven't heard anyone say anything about him in a while, and I was genuinely curious, but also I said it in a nice way and with no agenda. I just made myself laugh at this statement, but ever since he's been remarried, things have been so peaceful! I don't say this lightly. 

I also really liked this one that I saw when I was searching for her exact quote.

6. Insert your own random thought here. And with this last thought, I'll transition over to Currently with Amy.

This month I'm currently: 

enjoying

being able to sit by/in a pool!

I'm currently wearing

pool attire and sunscreen! 

I'm currently watching a few things...I alternate between movies and shows. I want to start watching Mad About You! I'm watching a couple of shows that I don't care about, so I may quit them. 

I'm currently listening to a Ben Rector radio playlist as I write. I'm still listening to Ella Langley and Dandelion Radio on Spotify

I'm buying a few different things...one I'll share on Friday, so stay tuned. I bought some dresses recently that were on clearance...I'm crossing my fingers that they work! I need to buy a few wardrobe essentials that I'm missing. I need some casual summer clothing the most right now. 

Thanks for reading my blog today, friends! I'm excited to read your answers to all of these prompts. I'll see you back here tomorrow! Love to all. 

Jenn