Kroger Click List

Earlier this month one of my nieces here in Ohio was talking

about trying out the new Kroger Click List.  This is where you do

your grocery shopping online and the next day you go pick it up!

So, last night I did my shopping online.  Since

 I already have a "Kroger Card" (membership card),

they have a record of my regular purchases online.

That made it really easy to scroll through the things I

needed to buy and add them to my virtual cart.

This afternoon I went to pick up my order!

I didn't even have to get out of my Jeep!

I just drove into a designated spot, called a hotline and let

them know I was there and they brought my bags 

 out to me and loaded them!  I paid right there in my seat.

Amazing!

It took just 5 minutes and I was on my way today!

And I have to say, they did a great job with my order.

The bags had been stored in a refrigerated holding place

so everything was nice and cold.  They did a great job picking

out my produce and I was totally pleased with the entire process.

It saved me an hour of shopping time!  

No crowds, no loading everything in the cart, no loading

on the checkout line, no waiting, no loading my Jeep!

I'm totally doing this every week!

Now where was this when I had 4 babies under 2 years old???

That would have been life changing!

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Fall Foyer Table

  

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Painted Acorns

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Slice Of Life Saturday #1

  

I thought I'd start a fun new post category!

No words necessary...just my Saturday in photos.

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Welcome Autumn

There are little signs of the coming season

all over the place!

Autumn is always most welcome here.

One of my favorites!

And look at that big black spider spinning her web.

Gargoyle looks like he isn't appreciative of her choice

of his mouth as a connecting point.

♥

Funfetti Flowers

My birthday bouquet.

How appropriate that it looks like funfetti cake, don't you think?

I had a very nice birthday.

And thank you so much for all of your comments, notes, e-cards,

phone calls and other birthday wishes on IG and FB.

I have the best friends, really!

♥

On Turning 55

That's right... September 21st is my day!

I asked The Mister recently to take a picture of me.

"You?" he asked in a sarcastic tone.  Well, yes...me!

He is not into photos, selfies, social media or any kind

 of sentiments.  If I didn't take photos of our kids the last

25 years, there wouldn't be any photos at all! haha.

If I didn't take selfies, there wouldn't be any photographic

documentation of my existence in decades. 

And no, he didn't take the above picture. :)

Some day when my great granddaughters inherit my

finer jewelry, I want them to be able to see who I was

  and laugh at the styles of clothes and hair "back then".

I hope they will hear something about who I was, too.

Good things, I hope.  And as I get older, the legacy I leave

 behind becomes more than a passing thought.  

There are quite a few things I enjoy about getting older.

Hopefully, we become wiser. :)  We aren't as shy.

We are more sure of ourselves.  We know when to stand

up for ourselves.  We know what we believe and why.  

Our faith is stronger.  We seem to be able to keep 

perspective when bad things happen.

We've learned how strong we really are.  We've learned from

our mistakes and we've learned from others' mistakes.

We've learned what toxic relationships look like.

We've learned to say no.   We've learned that quality is
better than quantity and that goes for everything from
friends to possessions.  We can laugh at ourselves.

We've learned that happiness is a choice.

We've learned that our story is just a thread in the tapestry

of history and it's up to us to make our little thread 

as beautiful as we can.  Since I love gray, maybe mine 

will be gray?  haha.  Or maybe it will look silver. :)

And just as importantly, our little thread of a life isn't

running through that tapestry loose and independently.

It is connected to those threads around us...every other life

we've touched.  They are all sewn together and influenced

by each other.  The length of the thread isn't as important

as the color, strength and beauty of it.

Didn't I read somewhere recently that the 50's were the new 30's?

Yes, I like that thought. You're only as old as you feel, right?

♥

This and That

1. Mourning Dove after a rain shower.
2. Documenting a clean kitchen.....
3. and the other end of the counters, too!
4. We're on our third honey dew melon in 2 weeks.  Just too good!
5. Baby tears.  One of my favorite plants!  It's a sentimental one. 
6. We're still knee deep in tomatoes.  Loving it since it's only once a year!
7. The kitchen, just as the sun was coming up this morning.

♥

I Just Wanna Break The Rules

I got dressed for church this morning and it wasn't 2 seconds

after I zipped up my dress that I thought, "Oh, crap.  White

dress?  It's after Labor Day."  Cue Charli XCX and Break the Rules...

haha...  Yeah, really...who gives a flip?  I didn't have time to

change my clothes anyway. lol.

A little Google search this afternoon tells me that this rule

is passe!   It's perfectly fine to wear white through the warm

fall days and you can rock winter white wools all winter long!

Come to think of it, I break a lot of those rules that used to be

so important.  Things like mixing yellow gold and sterling silver,

non matching manicure and pedicure colors, florals with checks

and way too many bracelets at once.

My purse doesn't usually match my shoes!

And my 'go to' look is jeans with heels.

~gasp~

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Cherry Tomato and Goat Cheese Tart

Our one little cherry tomato plant has become like Jack's

Bean Stalk!  It's way taller than me and producing like I

never would have guessed!  I thought a savory tart would

be a good way to use up some of the tomatoes and I combined

several recipes I found online to make up my own version.

It was delicious...and so pretty, too!

See all these?  They are taking over the refrigerator!

I cut one pint of tomatoes in half and laid them cut side down

on a few paper towels to drain.

I took one sheet of puff pastry that was thawed and rolled in out

just a little with a bit of flour.

I scored the pastry to form a lip about 1/2" from the edge

and pricked the inside part with a fork.

I sprinkled the crust with some crumbled goat cheese, 

Parmesan and mozzarella.  The cheese was about 1 cup total.

I sprinkled the tomatoes with Italian seasoning, salt, 

pepper and drizzled them with garlic infused olive oil.

Then I laid the tomatoes cut side up on top of the cheeses.

This way the juices won't make the crust soggy.

Bake 400F for 20 minutes.

Serve immediately.

We didn't have any leftovers so I don't know if they keep,

but I doubt it.  I think it would loose it's crispy-ness.

It was very yummy!

I think I'm going to try a mushroom and vidalia onion one next!

♥

Thoughts

Be sweet.

Notice the little things.

Let your words heal and not wound.

Be thoughtful.

Look for ways to spread love.

Stand up for yourself.

Be appreciative and express it.

Choose to be happy.

Be kind to yourself.

Don't loose site of the big picture.

Smile.

♥

Bees At The Zoo

Bees have taken over my ivy topiary!

I put it outside for the summer and now it's a hub for

busy bees going in and out all day long.

Reminds me of sitting at an airport watching the

jets coming and going! ha.  

I've made this topiary years and years ago...kind of sad to

let it go, but it's not like I can bring it inside when it gets

cold this fall!  I wonder if the roots are sitting in honey. 

When I water the ivy, I have to dump it and run. haha.

FB friends, click on picture for video.

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Back Home

Me, today.  Home again and jumping back into the routine.

The Mister did a great job holding down the fort!  He even

did laundry (which is usually forbidden. ha.).  I got home

around 11:30 last night and the house was quiet and clean,

boys tucked into bed and the kitties laying around purring.

Home, sweet, home!

This morning, the boys peeked in our bedroom and when they

saw me sitting in bed drinking coffee, they were so cute!

Their eyes got big and they came over and initiated 

 giving me a kiss.  Aw.  So good for my heart!

I can ask for a kiss, but the rare times they

do it without prompting are just the best!

You know how I love clouds...had to take a few pictures 

from up in the sky!

This is my niece and her daughter who I went to visit.

Her husband is a musician and on tour in Europe and with

a second baby on the way, she needed someone there to help

out.  I was more than happy to go and we had so much fun!

We did some running around, ate out, shopped and even had

a therapeutic massage on our necks and backs, one at a time,

and we took turns holding that beautiful little one!

We stayed up late chatting....so good for both of us!

The boys' teacher sent me this photo of Spencer while I was

gone.  He was doing a craft on a field trip.  I love the light,

the softness and the look of concentration on his face!

And here is Alex today, all smiles when he came home to

find me still here! hahaha...he has serious anxiety

when I'm gone or even look like I might go somewhere,

(like fixing my hair or putting on shoes).  I guess he 

staged a hunger strike while I was gone until pizza

was served the third day and he couldn't resist. lol...

Well, I need to catch up with all of you!

Hope you had a great week.

I'll be around to say hello over the next day or two.

I have a studio full of etsy orders that I need to get

into the mail!  I've hit the ground running!

It's good to be home, but it was good to get away, too!

♥

See You Later!

I loved how Marmalade looked relaxing in the yard

this evening.  He was aware of me taking his photo, though!

Notice those ears turned back? The were following me! ha. 

I'm all packed up and ready to leave on my trip Thursday morning!

  I won't post while I'm gone but may occasionally pop on here

 and read/respond to anything you all have to say!

And I'm sure I won't be able to resist a few pics on IG.

I'll miss you!

  Have a wonderful week!

♥

Butterfly Watching

The butterflies were loving my sedum the other day so

I took my camera, walked around the yard,

 and took some photos.

This gorgeous one is an American Lady.

This blossom seemed to be the most popular!

And look who rolled out from under the flowers!

Slate!

and I love how this Bumble Bee's wings match the flower!

And a Silver-Spotted Skipper!

And a silver colored cat. :)

♥