Friday Favorites

 

Hi Friends and Happy Friday!  I took the day off today to do a little decompressing...and yes get my roots done....way needed (especially for my work Zoom calls..hate seeing my roots- ha!)  I am also looking forward to lunch with my Mama and all of the Nutcracker prep work tonight...T minus 7 days until the start of filming!

 

Anyway, I digress...linking up with the lovely ladies HERE and sharing some faves from our week...

 

 

 

State Champs!

 

Diana's Middle School Field Hockey Team won the State Title on Monday..they were so excited....we are sad that the season is over but I will tell you just so grateful for this experience...best medicine for Middle School for sure!

 

 

 

Election Day

 

Well we expected nothing less than a circus in 2020 but I don't get political here....just proud of our freedom and privilege to have a say....I voted :)

 

 

 

 

 

Sephora's Semi Annual Sale!

Friends, if you have Sephora VIB and other status's then this is the time of year to stock up on all of your cosmetics and such!

Also a great time to snag some Christmas gifts....

I scored this fragrance variety pack...

and one of my eye essentials..some glittery shadow..

 

 

 

and my daily requirement...a nice neutral, matte lipstick from Bobbi Brown

 

 

Decorating for Christmas

 

 

Taking one room at at time...and slowly adding to the yard...we need this extra joy this year!

 

Full Christmas Home Tour coming later this month or in early December :)

 

 

 and I have picked up the final pieces for our new Christmas Bedroom...our new bed gets delivered next week so once it is all set up, I will be so excited to share some shots with you!

 

 

 

That's a wrap!  Short and sweet this week- have a wonderful weekend!
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hot Buttered Rum Cider

 

 

 

 

 Friends I have an amazing recipe for you today.  Our friend Shelley made this for Halloween and since it was so cold up here in New England...it truly helped to warm our insides!  It was so so delicious and buttery and so good I was obsessed after the first sip!  I have decided to make it for Thanksgiving...in the morning to help warm up after our Turkey Trot and later in the day when everyone is getting sleepy after an amazing turkey dinner.

Shelley kept hers hot in a carafe...I think I will do the same or even keep it hot in our slow cooker.  You need to make this....I guarantee love at first sip!

 

Ingredients

Half-gallon (64 ounces) apple cider
1 stick (1/2 cup)unsalted butter, cut into tablespoons
1/4 cup dark brown sugar, packed
1-1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/8 teaspoon salt
Dark Rum (or Apple Brandy)
Cinnamon sticks (optional)
 
 

Instructions

Bring the apple cider to a simmer over medium heat in a large pot, then turn the heat down to low. Stir in the butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and salt. Continue stirring until the butter is melted and the sugar is dissolved.
Ladle the buttered cider into mugs. Top each drink off with a shot of rum and garnish with a cinnamon stick, if desired. Serve hot.
 
 

 

 
Linking up with Joanne and the Crew for Encouraging Hearts and Home HERE

Prime Purchases: Fall 2020

 

Hi Friends!  Thought I would join Tanya HERE today and show you some of our Prime Purchases over the past few months.

 

 I don't really go into stores anymore...maybe the grocery store and Target occasionally (Rob does the grocery shopping for me on Sundays because he loves it) but most of shopping occurs online and via Amazon...so not going to show you everything because who cares about our home cleaning products, supplies for our offices and printer, etc...showing you a few fun recent finds!

 

 

Gloves

 

If you saw my post about Halloween, then you saw that it snowed...it was a very cold Halloween.  I was anticipating this weather and wanted to snag some gloves for all of the kids.  Found this awesome super pack HERE

 

  

 

 

Jimmy Fallon's New Book- 5 More Sleeps 'Til Christmas

 Find it HERE

Eva actually read this out loud to us last night and we all loved it!  We all love Jimmy Fallon too :)

 

 

 

 Eva's Favorite Mask

You can find it HERE

 

Eva was obsessed with her popsicle mask that I snagged at Target on line over the summer BUT it broke...so she was devastated but Amazon to the rescue once again- I found another one and I swear she hasn't taken it off- ha!

 

 

 

 

 Romantic Christmas Sign

We are waiting for our new bed to be delivered in a few weeks...we are so excited because our mattress and bed are so old!  Anyway, I digress.  Due to us dialing up our bed game, I really wanted to dial up our Master Bedroom Christmas game as well so I snagged a few more pillows and a fur throw and then found this adorable sign on Amazon.  You can find it HERE

 

I think it will be perfect to hang above our bed- what do you think?

 

 

Turkey Hat

You may have read here that our Annual Turkey Trot is virtual this year so I had to get really creative and map out our family route....but I also decided to get really fun and snagged some fun garb for the fam- Turkey Hats for the guys and Thanksgiving Tutus for the girls- can't wait to dress up and "trot" with the fam on Thanksgiving Morning!

You can find the hats HERE 

 

 

 Just a few of our fun and recent purchases!  What have you been "prim'ing?"

Halloween Weekend Recap and Hello Monday!

 

Hi Friends and Happy Monday!  This weekend, we enjoyed Halloween and started planning for Thanksgiving and decorating for Christmas so we, I mean I, may be having an identity crisis- ha!  Anyone who knows me is not surprised...they just go with it and #followthejoy

 

Linking up with Tanya, Heather and the Crew HERE

to recap our weekend and say Hello Monday!

 

 

Friday Night

 

After a day of snow, UGH....I was ready for some girl time...too early for this nonsense and we got 4 inches!  Anyway, I digress.... I enjoyed a girls' night and it was much needed and good for the soul!  It was our friend Suzy's 16th wedding anniversary and her husband Jimmy passed away 6 months ago after battling esophageal cancer for over 5 years...she requested a girls' night out for dinner and laughs and she got just that.   

 

We headed up to Portsmouth (my favorite town in America) and hit a shop that has such funny gifts...the laughs started there....then we walked to Surf for some oysters and a cocktail...it was wonderful...we were the only ones in the shop and then pretty much the only ones in Surf!

 

 From there, we walked to find the restaurant where we had dinner reservations but because I was struggling with the map on my phone, our laughs got more intense and we could barely walk to find our next destination...I knew my stomach would hurt but it was worth it AND worth so much more to hear Suzy laugh and laugh....my heart was warmed!  Portsmouth was decorated for Halloween too- so cute!

 

 

When we FINALLY found our next destination- Wrangler- we laughed some more and cheered ourselves on- ha!  It is such a funky little spot and the food was delish!  The cocktails were a bit "smokey" which caused even more laughs....in between laughing, I got to have a heart to heart with Suzy about her hubby and how she took care of him until the very end...she is the most inspiring person to me...so strong....so warm and able to live the best way she knows how for her two sons...we shared some tears...and then more laughs when I made fun of Beth Ann's cocktail and her and Laurel's love for "the shrub cocktails"

 

 

Suzy requested that this be an annual tradition...it is exactly what the doctor ordered and we all were and are happy to oblige!

 

 

Saturday

 

 

Rob and I started our day with my very favorite part of the week- Our "Saturday Morning Date Walk"...to say it was a little chilly was an understatement...hello 19 degrees- eek!  That is REALLY COLD for October in New England...that is more like February weather but it was sunny...the snow was over and we bundled up and sucked it up! 

 

When we got home, the chaos ensued....Diana got dressed for her Saturday morning ballet class and they were asked to wear some type of costume, so we threw a halo on her and called it a day...it was funny when she said "I am actually the opposite of an angel"...we had a laugh...at least she is self aware ;)

 

 

and...our dishwasher died so we had our repairman here replacing it with our new one...and while he was doing that, I had to whip up our Halloween appetizer for Lea's house later on...I went with the Halloweeno Jalapeno Poppers...they are little mummies..cute right?  Thanks again to Pinterest for the idea!

 

and then my mom "Mimi" came over for a spooky breakfast...she wanted to see Eva in her costume and I got her to stay for quiche and skull cinnamon rolls...I can't help myself...I need to go with themes

 

 

 

and then Diana got home to spend some time with Mimi too :)  She spoiled the girls with Halloween baskets full of candy....eek!

Later on, after more running around, we got dressed in all of our garb.....

Eva was Dorothy (if you couldn't tell)

 

 

 

 

 and Diana and a couple of her pals dressed as the Mean Girls (Sidenote: we were supposed to see the show on Broadway during April vacation but I am sure you can figure that one out....and it won't be happening in 2021 either as Broadway will be closed through at least May)...so they brought Mean Girls to Windham ;)

Costumes were required so Rob and I went with our favorite medieval...he loves Game Of Thrones...I haven't seen it yet but I went along with one of his faves....we wore old costumes we have had

 

 Then we headed to Shelley's to pick up our rented golf cart and drove to Lea's for a spooky Halloween dinner and some fun photos....

Have I mentioned that Lea is the Queen of Halloween?  Best decorations...best costumes..you can't help but get into the spirit!

 Then it was time for Trick or Treating....we were so impressed with how safe everyone made it....the big theme was tables at the end of driveways with candy bags...the kids made out like bandits and had so much fun...we were so happy for them to get a "normal" Halloween!

 

 and after Trick-Or-Treating, we headed back to Lea's to catch up with friends....and warm up by the fire pit!

 

 

 

 

 Sunday

 

 

We headed to mass and did our part in contributing to "Operation Gratitude"...the girls donated a bunch of their candy to the troops...warms my heart

 

 

and then Nutcracker rehearsals ensued...and Mama got started on Christmas decorating...would you expect anything else?

 

 

I plan on doing a full holiday tour this season...stay tuned and hope you enjoy your week!