Monthly Musings, May 2026

 

Happy bonus blog post day! I love being off work for this kind of thing...these posts rarely happen during the school year for me. I wanted to post again, because I love reading these types of things! I'll jump right in, but I'm linking up with Patty over at Good, Better, Best for this extra little tidbit today. 

1. Tell us about your Memorial day weekend. It was rainy and very low key because of that. I spent the better portion of Saturday exploring my city with my guy, which was fun. We went to a new to us car museum, and had breakfast at a place we'd both heard of but had never been to. It was a fun day! The rest of the weekend was very chill. I missed doing something this year, though...not that we usually do anything from year to year, my sons and I, but this year it would have been nice. 

2. What were your summer jobs when you were younger? My best memories are when my mom and sister owned a flower shop with a tanning bed salon upstairs. I loved working there at the florist with them, and our friend Patti (and owner of the tanning salon) would ask me to work for her on occasion. And I got to tan for free! Don't come at me for this, please...it was something almost all of us did. I loved laying in the tanning bed! It felt like I was at the beach with the smells, fan blowing, and music playing. My other summer jobs were always babysitting. 

3. Ice cream or popsicles? Favorite flavors? Ice cream all the way, please! I love chocolate and strawberry mixed. 

I often go out with Chris at night to make an ice cream run at the local Baskin Robbins! The first picture contains my all-time favorite flavor and brand of ice cream. I became obsessed with this on the first ever blogger's trip I took in the spring of 2024; Jeni's ice cream shops are all over Nashville.

4. What do you like on your hamburgers and hot dogs? On my hamburgers, I like lettuce, onion, pickles, and mustard. I'm my dad's daughter! On my hot dogs, I like mustard only or sometimes grilled onions and mustard. I rarely eat hot dogs...and I don't know why. They're so delicious, even if they're not great for you. One every once in a while never killed anyone. 

Huey's is a local favorite; I love their hamburgers! I also really love a Sonic burger.

5. Beach, lake, or mountains? Yes, please! I love them all, honestly. It'll be a lake season for me this summer, and I'm okay with that! But I do love the beach and the smell of the salty air the minute I reach the ocean. 

The first lake picture is Drew jumping into one several summers ago; that was one of the most fun days we had as a family of six. We spent the day of the fourth of July with our friends Tiffany and Jeremy. I was in a boot that summer, so I did a lot of sitting, but my sons all had the time of their lives. 

6. Share any travel for summer of 2026! So far I have two long weekend trips planned! One will be visiting Amy in Louisville, and the other will be with Chris when we celebrate a year of us being together. I'm excited for both! I don't know what else is in store, though.

7. Do you visit any amusement parks in the summer? Tell us your favorites. I'm not one for amusement parks, to be honest. 

8. Do you enjoy dining outside in the summer? I love dining al fresco when the weather's nice! I love doing this while I'm on vacation and there's water nearby. 

9. Favorite summer beverage? My favorite adult beverage would be a margarita or some other cocktail with coconut flavored anything. Rum comes to mind? Or maybe this year it'll be this new viral soft serve pineapple margarita!

10. Favorite side dish for summer parties? Feel free to share recipes! My favorite summer recipe is hands down this key lime pie.

It's so easy! All you do is mix together the juice of 6-10 lemons or limes and zest, two cans of condensed sweetened milk, and 1/2 a cup of sour cream; pour into a graham cracker crust and bake at 350 for ten minutes. It's amazing! Another side that I like in the summer is a cold pasta salad; I use the boxed kind, but I spice it up with Olive Garden Italian dressing, olives, capers, and lemon juice. 

Thanks for reading my second blog post of the day, friends! I'll see you back here tomorrow for Friday Favorites. Love to all!

Jenn