Friday Favorites ~ Happy Birthday Alise!

I have a confession: I've been to our new laundromat twice this week. Our comforters, duvets, and curtains haven't been this clean in an awfully long time and it feels so good. It's been years since I've been to a laundromat and let me just say that I was very impressed with these new machines. Each trip only lasted about an hour and that's only because I double dried everything. Those 20 minute machines were awesome! Another item marked off the Covid-19 To Do List!

As I mentioned on Wednesday, we had a pretty big celebration on Tuesday night featuring our new fifteen year old. Alise wanted to keep things simple this year with a small pool party with her friends and a family dinner out on her actual birthday so that's exactly what we did! She wanted a small cookie cake and chocolate cupcakes. Alise actually dipped and decorated the strawberries herself after getting some inspiration from Pinterest.  I thought she did a great job! 

Baby Girl has spent her week in Driver's Ed. She hasn't been happy about getting up early (class starts at 7:30am!), but it's a rite of passage and it was her time. I told her that she would be thankful that she went ahead and got it out of the way. I'm still trying to fathom my kid being old enough to actually drive a car - by herself! - this time next year. 

We realized at the restaurant, when we put the "one" and "five" candles on her cookie, that we could "repurpose" the candles in July for Wayne's birthday since he will be 51.  We had a great laugh about that! I thought it was kinda neat that they were both able to use the same numbers in the same year, just in reverse.

I know I've said it before, but we are so proud of our Girl. Alise is a great kid with a heart for others and always tries to do the right thing. God is doing amazing things in her life and it has been an adventure the last fifteen years watching her grow and become the wonderful young lady that she is. Raising a daughter has been fun, and sometimes challenging, but I wouldn't change it for anything. I'm trying to savor these last three years and enjoy the moments.  

Other favorites this week...

My gardenias are blooming and they are so fragrant this year. Every other day, I am cutting and bringing in new blossoms to put in the kitchen and beside my bed. Gardenias just scream summer to me! 

Alise and I visited Hippie Chicks Sno Balls one afternoon. She got the Strawberry Cheesecake Sundae and I got the Ruston Peach Sno Ball. Both were absolutely perfect for a rather warm afternoon.  Our days here in Louisiana are certainly heating up fast! 

And yes!!  That's a nice sized slice of cheesecake hanging out of that jar with the biggest strawberry I think I've ever seen!

I mentioned on Wednesday that I'm totally in to dresses this summer. Last week, I picked up this cute baby doll tee shirt dress at Target when I saw it on a rack all alone and it just happened to be a size medium.  I never get that lucky, but because it was all by itself, I decided it had my name written all over it. 

The cotton is a little thinner than I normally prefer, but it is so comfortable and perfect as a day dress. I love it and it will be on constant repeat this summer.

Have a great weekend, Friends! I'll be in and out this summer in Blog Land and social media.  I'm taking a little break and continuing to enjoy our new relaxed routine. I hope you and your family have found your new rhythm of renewal as well. 

Blessings always! 

               

What's Up Wednesday With The Style Six

It's the last Wednesday in May (where has the month gone??) so I'm joining  Sheaffer and Shay for What's Up Wednesday. Here's an abbreviated post of what we've been up to! And be sure to link up with my Style Six Sisters below!

What We've Been Up To || First and foremost, HAPPIEST OF BIRTHDAYS to my FIFTEEN year old Baby Girl (yesterday)! I'll share more about her birthday on Friday, but I just have to say that Wayne and I are so blessed to have such a great kid! 

Let's just say that I have been kicking butt on the to do list I began when Covid started. It has ranged from simple things like, "start an Amazon play list" to "vacuum the ceiling." But what I have found is that I enjoy marking things off a list and I knocked out three more things this past weekend (one of those may have had to do with the ceiling). 

Love having my walking partner with me most mornings! We're up and walking by 5:45 just about everyday!

Alise started driver's ed this week and even though she wasn't happy about doing it during her birthday week, we feel fortunate that we signed her up early because it seems the other classes were canceled. Last Tuesday morning, we got to the DMV at 7:10 and stood in line for three hours with everyone else in our city to get her TIP card (for driver's ed).

What We're Eating This Week || I made this glorious chocolate trifle for a pool party on Memorial Day. It's a fun twist on a favorite recipe from my best friend called, Better Than Sex Cake. Chocolate, caramel, and condensed milk. Need I say more? Everyone loved it.

What I Am Excited About || Let Summer Begin! School is officially over and I think Alise has come to the conclusion that she's not a home-school kinda girl. She's too much like her Mama and needs interaction and friends. Plans are being made at the Mother Ship to bring our department back aboard, but nothing definite.  I still go in the office once or twice a week because I am so much more productive when I'm there. I'm looking forward to seeing my friends and co-workers again. 

What I'm Zooming || Had anyone heard of Zoom three months ago? I must say that I'm loving this new app, especially when I can get together with my favorite Style Sixers. We recently had an evening social hour. My Life Group class is also using Zoom for Bible Study and for staying connected until our church decides to bring back our groups. Our church has reopened, but we're staying at home and continuing to watch our service by streaming it to our TV live. I'm also enjoying "attending" other church services on Sunday (it helps that so many rebroadcast them!). My favorite is Long Hollow Baptist Church. I love Pastor Robbie. He is originally from Louisiana and his testimony is amazing. 

What I'm Listening To || I've discovered a new podcast called, Culpable. Murder or suicide? I love it because it takes place in Meridian, Mississippi, and that's about three hours from us. If you enjoyed Up and Vanished or Cold, you would enjoy this podcast, too.

What I'm Watching/Reading || A friend suggested Evil Genius so Wayne and I watched the 4-part series and enjoyed it. Y'all, there are some crazy, messed up people in this world and someone is making a fortune off of other's craziness, too. Kellyann suggested Reckoning and we're nearly finished with season one. Cannot WAIT for Yellowstone to start back June 21st! I'm seriously considering a watch party at the cook shack complete with BBQ. So, so, SO excited that our library has opened back up! I read another FIVE STAR book titled, "Truths I Never Told You." If you're a Jackie Kennedy fan, you might enjoy, "And They Called It Camelot." 

What I'm Wearing || This picture is an advertisement for Walmart with a little Nickel & Suede and Victoria Emerson thrown in. Oh, and the Kate Spade flip flops that I bought last year at TJ Maxx and have been on constant repeat. Who says you can't mix discount brands with upscale pieces? Truth be told the blouse and shorts are several summers old. This was a rare occassion for me wearing shorts as I normally find myself wearing dresses these days. Don't laugh, but I recently read a Southern Living article that says the 1950's "house dress" is making a comeback. Not the same style of course, but swing, tunic, and maxi styles are quite popular and I say, Bring it! Love dresses in the summer! Maybe I'll feature a few later this summer! 

What I'm Looking Forward To || Summer in general and just continuing our new, easy and simple lifestyle.  I was talking to my hair stylist yesterday (Insert praise hands for being blonde again!) and we both agreed that we've realized that it's okay for life to be simple. We don't need all the the "things" we thought we needed. We don't have to "go" all the time. It's okay to have more quiet evenings at home surrounded by family and friends. If Corona has taught us anything during this season, it's the reminder that faith and family are what mean the most to us. What about you? I would love to hear what C19 has taught you. 

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Mental Health Wellness Month

Did you know that May is Mental Health Awareness month? Most likely you or someone you love will, at some point in their life, experience a situation that will impact their mental health. And don't you think a world wide pandemic can be one of those situations!? Even without contracting the virus, there are consequences of it that can affect our way of thinking. 

Amid the disappointments and what can seem like total disruption or our regular routines, life can and does go on. We simply have to find new ways to cope. I have the sweetest friend, who unfortunately suffers from depression and anxiety. By just looking or talking to this person, you wouldn't think that their illness is hereditary, but my heart still goes out to them. I've tried to do exactly what #4 says below and that's to reach out to them and let them know that I was thinking about them. I found these "Be Kind To Your Mind" steps from the CDC online and thought I would share:

Be Kind To Your Mind

1. Pause
2. Take Breaks from Covid-19 content
3. Make time to sleep & exercise
4. Reach out and stay connected
5. Seek help if you're overwhelmed or feel unsafe.

Not to be a totally Debbie Downer today, but I just finished reading a fiction book called, Truths I Never Told You, by Kelly Rimmer and it is totally FIVE STARS! It's a book about mental illness with a totally different spin and I highly recommend it. The book was insightful and gave me a whole new perspective for those suffering from this illness. 

In the last two weeks, I have been blessed with hearing from two friends that I hadn't been in contact with for a few years. It has been fun and rewarding to rekindle those friendships and laugh about old times. I encourage you to reach out to people that you may not have talked to in a while.  Send them a card. Text them. You never know what someone else is going through.

So today I am wearing GREEN in honor of Mental Health Awareness Month and those that I know - and don't know! - that suffer from this issue. 

Lastly, most of you know how much I love Matthew McConaughey, right? Well, as I was getting this post ready, I came across an interview he did on social media. Now, I don't walk around with my head in the sand, but I don't listen to a whole lotta news, either, so when he said in the interview that there was this division about some people wearing masks and some not; some people going back to work and some not, I was pretty surprised by that. I am aware of the political division, but what he said, I found to be spot on. We're ALL facing this disease together and it doesn't matter which side of the political ticket we're on. The best thing we can do for our neighbors, our friends, for the entire American race is to simply wear a mask. And I agree with that whole heartedly.  That's why I said last week that after this pandemic is over, I surely hope that we come out of this as a kinder, gentler people. Our mental health friends need that.

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Shopping My Closet With The Style Six

I'm a little embarrassed to be sharing these knit guachos with you today. "Why?" you ask? Because they're nearly FIFTEEN years old!!

You might remember after having a baby that hardly anything fits like it should. Remember being in between maternity and "normal" clothes? Well, post-partum, I didn't want anything touching my mid-section. Even elastic waist band maternity shorts were uncomfortable, so when I found these high waisted black knit guachos in a JC Penny sale circular (remember getting those in the mail?), I immediately ordered them and my new mom life changed for the first time evah!

Fast forward to about two weeks ago when I was shuffling spring and summer items around in my closet and found these babies.  They are SO comfortable and I wore them to work two days later with this cute Amazon top! I certainly can see them as a summer staple whether I'm working from home or the office.

Ok, so technically I've bought ONE new item during this whole quarantine period (at this time!) and it's this new tote purse. It's a little smaller than I normally like, but big enough to still get all my necessary, "big" things in it!  And I love that the inside of it is black and white polka dot (you can see a sneak peak in the first pic). It's perfect for summer! 

I had a wonderful Mother's Day with my family this past Sunday! How was your day? Did your family spoil you, too? I laid out by the pool, read a book, had steak and my favorite salad for lunch and then went to my parent's house that afternoon for this wonderful cake and ice cream. I may have ordered an extra present for myself, too! Can't wait for it to arrive this week!

I may be holding a chocolate cake, but I just wanna say that the scale FINALLY - and I do mean FINALLY! - moved this week.  I've been walking 3-5 miles for about 5-7 days a week for seven weeks and that stupid scale would NOT move! Just trying to get back to that pre-King Cake weight and it has been extremely difficult this time. I'll get a more "official" number when I got to my annual checkup next week!

Before we get to the link up, I want to say that I feel so extremely blessed that Wayne and I both still have our jobs. I read a statistic last week that 15% of Americans are out of work right now and that's concerning. We have friends that have lost their jobs, some whose businesses are suffering, and some who are on furlough. If you are in any of those categories, please know that I am praying for you and our country. May we come out of this pandemic alot stronger and kinder.

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Style Six With The Scarf Lady

I'll be honest.  I had never even heard of Dr. Birx until about a month ago thanks to Covid-19. I don't spend alot of time watching the daily White House briefings just because, well? I have better things to do. So when a friend mentioned Dr. Birx and her scarf setting trend, I had to find out what all the hoopla was about.

Apparently, Birx's signature style is making a comeback for scarf lovers and is a nice change from the traditional dress and pant suits that most females wear in Washington (I think I even saw Nancy Pelosi wearing a scarf a few days ago). I remember wearing them in high school around my shoulders in the late 80's, so seeing this classic style come back around made me smile. 

There is now even an Instagram account dedicated to Birx's scarf wearing and has over 30,000 followers. I'm its newest. 

So what do you think about the doctor and her scarves? I just think it's fun to see how she styles them with her daily wardrobe. Not sure I'll be exactly sporting a scarf anytime soon, because, let's be honest, I barely wear a bra these days! Unlike my beautiful counterparts below, I feel like getting dressed is so overrated these days. Working from home has done a number on my desire to put myself together most days. For now, I'm sticking to swimsuits and t-shirts and shorts. Speaking of swimsuits, did you see Kellyann's post on Monday!?

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