Wednesday, May 7, 2025

the Wednesday hodgepodge

 


Happy Wednesday, friends! I love hodgepodge day and am so thankful that Joyce comes up with such amazing prompts from week to week. I don't know how she does it and manages to keep things fresh, but she does! Sometimes blogging is a second part-time job! When you're done reading this one, I have another post for Wednesday right under this one, the Currently link party. You should keep reading and join in with me as well, if you have a post in you! I keep the link open for two weeks each month. I'll jump in with today's fun hodgepodge post.


1. Let's compare to this May to last May. What's changed? What has remained very much the same? Oh, boy. I think a more appropriate prompt for me would be what hasn't changed. 


Last May I was happily married and had five people living in my home. I had three sets of parents, and five dogs. This May I am happily divorced, and it's down to just Jonah and me at home, and we live as roommates and ships passing in the night. My dad died and my stepmom and I no longer speak. I lost my in-law's and am no longer in contact with them, not by my choice. Noah moved to Dallas at the end of last May, and Graham bought his own home last August. He took his dog and my oldest dog Crash with him when he moved, and my ex came to get the other two that belonged to us while we were married. For a while, the only dog in our home was Chloe; now we have two since he added his newest edition Stella. (Who I am ready to pass along to someone else.) 


Throughout the turmoil and trauma of the last year, I can say that what has very much remained the same is that God is always good, He has been faithful to me my whole life, and His word is true. 


2. What's something you may do this month? I may find myself in a swimming pool before month's end! I hope to, at least. 



3. Mother's day is approaching (in the US)...in what way(s) are you like your mother? I've been told I look a lot like Mom, which I'll always take as a compliment. I am like her in that I am particular about things: the upkeep of a home, a made bed, for things to be a certain way. I don't think these things are bad, but I have to keep my head about me my being realistic as well. 


4. Did you have a favorite book as a child? What was it and why was it a favorite? I can't remember a favorite book, per se, but I loved the Ramona series. Remember those? I also loved to read Nancy Drew books, The Babysitter's Club, and Sweet Valley High. I don't know why these books stood out to me the way they do today, but it's obvious that I have always loved a good series of books. The same rings true today.


5. Are you more of a tortoise or a hare? Explain. When I looked at the definition of the two, I decided that I am leaning more towards being a hare, not because I am fast physically, but because I prefer to move along at a swifter pace. I don't like to dally when I know something needs to be done, said, or acted upon. I am one to "rip off the band-aid", so to speak, just to get it over with, which I'm equating this with these two animals.


6. Insert your own random thought here. 


Ummmm, it's late and I can't think of one, honestly. I never do that, but I need to leave and go back to my house. Thanks for reading my blog today, friends! There's another post under this one, if you missed it, the May edition of Currently. I'll see you back here tomorrow. Love to all!

Jenn 



Currently! May 2025

 


Happy Wednesday, friends, and welcome to a bonus blog post day. There will be another post that publishes today after this one goes live at midnight. I hope you read both! I'm glad you're here for Currently this month! Today we're going to talk about what we're currently loving, looking forward to, leaving behind, letting go of, and looking at. I'll get right to the post!


loving



I am currently loving the opportunities to eat outside! April and May are the perfect times of year to do enjoy al fresco dining; I did this Monday night when I met my friend Andrea for dinner. It was lovely! I am also loving reliving the travel recap posts that the six of us are sharing on our blogs from the Louisville trip last weekend. Here's mine that I shared yesterday in case you haven't read it yet. 


looking forward to


I am looking forward to the new job I have! I'm looking forward to the ribbon cutting ceremony that will be happening soon; the elementary school I'll be at added a large edition to the back of the school, and there will be a big event happening for the big reveal of this soon. I'm looking forward to seeing my co-workers again and some of the students. I will be so glad to be back in a school environment! 


leaving behind


I'm always working on leaving behind my past, focusing not so much on what would have been and looking ahead at what is to come. I read a book this winter called God's Got You, and one thing the author said over and over again was that one small shift in wording can make a lot of difference. For instance, instead of saying, "I have to start over again", I can change the wording and my thinking to, "I get to start fresh with my life!" See how that works? One small thing makes a big impact. 


letting go of


I hope to be letting go of some clutter soon! I am waiting on my ex to get his things out of the house, and then I hope to start going through things and reorganizing the spaces to make it more mine again. I need to go through my shoes and some clothes that I haven't worn in a while. I love doing this kind of thing and would like to spend part of my Friday this week working on my closet, at least. 


looking at 


I'm currently looking at Marilyn's walls while I write this post. I didn't want to stay home last night, so I came here to work on blog stuff, catch up (it'd been a whole 48 hours since I last saw her), and watch Ransom Canyon. 


In June we'll talk about what we're currently loving, doing outside, cooking/grilling, excited about, and wearing. I'm so glad you're here today! Thanks for reading my blog, friends. Love to all!

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Tuesday, May 6, 2025

Louisville (bloggers trip 2025)




Happy Tuesday, friends! I wanted to spend today talking about the epic bloggers trip I went on last weekend. I have a lot of pictures, so I'll try to be sparing with the words; I'll jump right in!


Marilyn, Tanya, Joanne, Amy, and Maria and I met in Louisville last weekend on Friday afternoon. Mar and I left that morning and stopped to pick up Tanya along the way; our first stop was lunch at Cava!



It felt great to be reunited! We got back on the road shortly after this, and were excited to make it to Amy and Joanne at the Air BNB. Maria was the last to arrive, thanks to traffic on her drive, but the last four of us arrived within in an hour of each other. 







The Air BNB that Marilyn picked for us was so charming and quaint! I loved the decor and special touches of things like the books in the fireplace. Amy and Joanne had quite the spread of food and wine waiting on us when we arrived. We sat around talking and reacquainting ourselves with each other for a long time; one thing we did that I loved was talking about the books we're currently reading and some of our favorite things, most of which were makeup related. We decided to have a late dinner eventually, but left Joanne at the house for an early bedtime; poor thing had been up since like three a.m. that morning and was exhausted.



We had dinner here, and then went back to the house for bedtime. I showered immediately and went to bed; I was up most of that night, but was ready to have some more fun on Saturday!



This was our adorable house for the weekend. 





Outfit check and breakfast chatting while we waited on the others!

 






We shopped at this cool place called Work the Metal that was a conglomeration of things for sale. As you can clearly see, we had zero fun. We all left with souvenirs, but how fun are our Derby hats! We ran into a group of women from Texas who recognized Tanya; one of them was the wife of her dentist. How funny is that?! They were fascinated that we were bloggers. 🤣 










We walked around this really cute and trendy area of Louisville; we all enjoyed seeing some of Amy's favorite spots around her town! We had cookies for lunch this day and stopped at two different spots to sample their offerings of the best cookies in the city.





I had to refuel with coffee at the first spot! My lack of sleep was catching up to me; shortly afterward we went back to the house. I laid down and took a nap for about a half hour to rest up for our fun plans that night! 




Amy arranged reservations for us at Barn 8; this was an old horse barn turned farm to table restaurant on Hermitage Farm. It was gorgeous!




This wasn't the restaurant, but an actual working barn. It's funny that on this trip, we never saw the first horse! Marilyn and I talked about that this weekend; it was ironic, actually. 







This was a beautiful place!









Cheers! We sat at the bar for cocktails while we waited; the man in the picture is the owner, and we got to meet him! He had on a jacket that looked like it was made from leaves. After dinner we did a nighttime art walk that was situated in the woods behind the barn, and thankfully we weren't murdered. It was a tiny bit creepy! 


We went back to Amy's house and then made our way back to the house for bedtime. It was a fun day! One thing I loved about this day was seeing Amy's home and meeting her husband Tom, and famous pup, Eddie Otis. He was such a good boy, but all of us women made him a little nervous. It was a bit before he warmed up to us! 




While I was on my way there Friday, I texted my ex about getting the number of John, an old friend that used to live in Memphis when I first got married. He lived here for several years before moving back to his home of Louisville; I'd lost his contact information over time, so the ex gave me his number and I reached out to him about meeting up while I was in town. He (and his lovely wife Stacy) came to pick me up early Sunday morning for breakfast. It was so good seeing them! John is one of those rare, lifelong friends who I'll always pick right back up with, no matter the time that passes or the distance we are apart. My family adopted him as their own when he lived here, so he was around for lots of birthdays and holidays; he remembers all of my sisters and their kids to this day! I think I've convinced him and Stacy to come to Memphis this summer; I'd love to show her around to all the places we used to hang out! 




They dropped me back off at the house, then we all left together to meet Amy for their brunch. We went to a fun place called Biscuit Belly, and I ordered the most delicious brown sugar Frappuccino. 








I *might* have taken home mine and Amy's glasses as souvenirs for Mar and me. 




Such a fun morning! I loved sitting outside. 


We shopped at a consignment store where I bought a new wallet and some earrings, then we went to a little boutique called A Darling State of Mind. I bought new readers while I was there, and I splurged and bought myself the most beautiful dress! It was very inexpensive considering the quality of it, and I will wear it next weekend on Mother's Day. I can't wait to show you! 





We grabbed a quick lunch at this yummy restaurant, and Amy, Mar, and I enjoyed $5 margaritas. They were delicious, and the sun felt amazing! Joanne got a lot of sun on this day and looked so healthy and tan when she left to go back home Monday morning.


We split ways after this; Amy returned to her house, and we went to the river in downtown Louisville.







I'll confess that I got a little sad at this point. My ex and I had been to this exact spot two years prior to this; we had such a great time and we sat on one of the benches for a while with his arm around me. I have a picture of him kissing my cheek in this location, and I kind of got quiet when I reminisced about that trip. I miss being married and having a constant companion. This is why I'm dating! I want to find someone to hang out with on a regular basis, and see what happens as a result. I'm too young to be alone, and truthfully, when I think about my lot in life sometimes I get really pissed off. Sorry for cursing at you, but I do this sometimes now. I'll say it again: this is why I'm dating! I am too young to be alone, and I'm only 48 years old and was not the one who wanted a divorce. 


Moving on...


For the rest of our time, we went back to the house and talked/snacked. I started to pack up and straighten up things in my little corner of the loft that Maria and I shared, and then we just sat around for the rest of the night. We finished up some food in the house, and I went to bed pretty early. Marilyn and I decided to leave a little early the next morning so that we could tour Churchill Downs, and I talked about that day on Friday's blog post. Here's a link if you want to read that




The car on the right is mine, and the other one belongs to Maria. To say that our weekend was merely fun is the understatement of the year! This will go down as one of the best trips I've ever been on; I can't wait to see them again next year. Thank you for reading my long recap! I'll see you back here tomorrow for Currently. Love to all!


Jenn ❤️🩷





the Wednesday hodgepodge

  Happy Wednesday, friends! I love hodgepodge day and am so thankful that Joyce comes up with such amazing prompts from week to week. I don...