Happy Friday Everyone!
One – Brian’s Birthday & Valentine’s Day Recap
Happy Friday, friends! It has been maddening busy around here. I really don’t know how I’m keeping this blog afloat right now. Whew. But, let’s get this Friday Five started!
First off, Brian and I had QUITE a delicious Valentine’s Day dinner at Tony’s in Clayton. We went the weekend before Valentine’s Day. They used to be in downtown St. Louis on Market Street, but they moved to Clayton a couple of years ago. We had been wanting to check out the new location and we had SO much fun. I don’t know if this is THE restaurant to go to in St. Louis anymore, but back when I was in high school it was THE place. There really isn’t a shortage of excellent restaurants in St. Louis, but I would say this is in the TOP FIVE! We started with their scallop appetizer, then their original pasta con broccoli and salad. Yes, I was getting full after all that! For my main entree I ordered the Filet Mignon, Chianti Sauce (pictured above). It was really, really good… especially the sauce.
For dessert I ordered one of their house made limoncello drinks. Dessert was a chocolate chocolate tart, banana ice cream (!!) and the creamiest, most delectable cappuccino. Mmmm. Now I really want to go back!
We celebrated Brian’s birthday in January! We usually go to the Ritz once a year, but since we had the kittens this year we decided just to go to our favorite restaurant inside the hotel, which is Casa Don Alfonso! It did not disappoint and they have the BEST Espresso Martinis AND lasagna! Brian landed up getting Covid (his second time, boo!) on his birthday, so I surprised him with a dessert sampler and ice cream from Cake House Design Bakery by our house. It definitely cheered him up!
Two – Teen Updates
Autumn had a Backwards Dance at school, where the girl asks the boy! And, she asked a boy… to go as friends. Oh my, I will say… the teen years are quite an experience. I don’t even really know what to think, say, do, etc. half the time. And they grow up so fast in these years, it is so busy with all their activities and there are just SO many more friends in high school that I struggle with even remembering all their names. And the next thing I’m doing is looking down at my hands on the steering wheel (because I’m driving her still!) and I’m wondering when did my hands start to look so old. So, I went home to look at my wedding album from 2003 and yes, my hands looked good back then. And then I remember I was 27 when I became a mom and now I’m 46… I was practically a baby bird. And now I’m an… old fart bird? Ha, ha. Oh, man… the teen years are a trip. Plus, add on aging parents (especially one parent in particular that has nonstop crap happen to him), it really is such a wild ride… Some days I struggle, some days I enjoy it… most days I probably look like that scared emoticon, you know, the one holding its face (and the face is blue on the top) and its screaming. I use that emoticon a lot these days. But, really… I try to just take it one day at a time. It’s best to do it that way.
So, I did get permission to share this from Autumn. It will be cute to look back on this someday! A few days after the dance Autumn came home with this… the sweet boy she went to the dance with as friends asked her to be his Valentine and girlfriend. Aww. When did she grow up so quickly?!!
Meanwhile… Nathan has chosen where he will be attending college next year. He will be at Maryville University! This is a college in St. Louis and yes, he will be living at home still. He does have the option to live on campus and he can decide each year if he wants to change that. He will be majoring in Computer Science and I’m SO excited for him! He also plans to get his FIRST job this summer… he needs a new car desperately, so the timing will be perfect for that.
Nathan automatically received Maryville’s highest merit based scholarship, but they also had a Scholarship Weekend in January where he interviewed and participated in some group activities to try to earn an additional scholarship. Some of these scholarships are FULL room/board or full tuition along with a lot of $3,000 scholarships they’ll be handing out. I was just happy for the experience for him. We won’t know until sometime in March if he will be selected for any of the additional scholarships.
Three – Radon
Since I’ve been using the basement more with my home office being down there, we decided to get the radon levels checked down there. When I purchased this house back in 2003, we had a test done and the levels were ok, but just a little above the baseline. So, we had it tested again and the upstairs was ok, but the basement was around a 7~ (it is supposed to be at a level of 4 or below). We had the radon mitigation system installed and our levels are now around 1~. I’m so thankful to have this done, it has been on the back of my list for awhile.
Four – Latest Books I’ve Read & Show I’ve Watched
Yellowface by R. F Kuang – Yellowface was a really unique read that nails on the head just what it is ‘most likely like’ for big time writers, content creators or anyone famous that has social media accounts and a huge following. We’ve all heard of cancel culture and how many times have we read about it, participated in it (would I ever?) and witnessed it on social media with our own eyes. I went into reading this book, thinking that this topic has been covered before in TV shows, etc. and I would get bored quickly. However, the story was REALLY clever and I got pulled in instantly. Juniper is someone I wanted to hate, or feel sorry for, but after I finished the book I could really see that her temptations were very real and the path she followed was one that most would have followed along. However, how she continued to bring herself upright, especially at the end and it made for an unforgettable ending (and book!).
Feeding The Mouth That Bites You: A Complete Guide to Parenting Adolescents and Launching Them Into the World by Kenneth Wilgus – Wow. This is probably THE best teen parenting book I’ve read! It had really concrete instructions to follow, advice, example situations and covers a VAST amount of topics most parents need guidance with while parenting during these turbulent and unpredictable teen years. The author is a teacher and counselor to teens and their parents and is a parent himself, which makes him even more credible. I like that he is a Christian and instills some guidance in that area in the book. (Even if you aren’t a Christian, this book will help you a lot!) This book will help you to parent your teen so that by the time they reach adulthood, they will be well rounded and independent.
Oh, and I ready some books on anxiety… because, everyone knows how big of a stress head I am. They helped, they really did. But, I’m still a stress head. 🙂
Don’t Believe Everything You Think by Joseph Nguyen – This was a quick audio book in that I finished it in 2.5 hours. I think the main takeaway I got from it is that thoughts are idea that pop into your head and thinking (a verb) is what we do after those thoughts pop in. That it is better to stay present and not worry about the past or future to truly stay in a state of bliss/happiness. That when we are in this state, we are our most creative and happy. That we don’t even realize until later that we were swept away in it and didn’t have time to think, worry or shame. Not a bad book, especially if you want something that is quick to read with a lot of great advice.
Stop Overthinking: 23 Techniques to Relieve Stress, Stop Negative Spirals, Declutter Your Mind, and Focus on the Present (The Path to Calm) by Nick Trenton – This book was helpful, in that it gives you techniques on how to manage your anxiety/stress. It talks about how ‘overthinking’ really is anxiety and how it doesn’t really help or benefit you. I like that he says that we think we are doing something to help the problem by overthinking about it, but really we are just making it worse. He talks about working on what we can change, versus what we can’t. I liked his 4 A’s of Stress Management: avoid, alter, accept and adapt. He talks about meditation in this book, such as body scan meditation. If you struggle with ‘overthinking’ this books will give you some great ideas and options on how to overcome it.
It took us awhile, because we’ve been so busy… but, we finally finished The Crown, Season 6… the final season. We really enjoyed it! It was about Queen Elizabeth’s sister Margaret and how she had strokes/finally passed away (so sad!), Prince William’s time at the university and how he met Kate, the Queen planning her ‘future’ funeral and SO much more. Kind of more of a sad season. Next up, we plan to finally watch the latest season of Virgin River (Season 5), which OH do I love that show!
Five – Latest Finds that I Love
Click HERE to Shop Pom Pom Sweater AND get 15% Off w/ code CURLYCRAFTY15
I’ve been sharing a lot of pieces from Avara recently and it’s been fun to be a brand ambassador for them! I wanted to let you know that for a short period, they are letting me invite others to apply to be an Avara ambassador themselves! If they approve your application, you’ll receive a welcome gift with 1 (or up to 3) pieces AND you’ll receive your very own 15% ambassador coupon code. What do I get out of this? For every ambassador that signs up under me and they approve their application, I receive 3% for their sales AND I get to select a free piece. So, it is a WIN-WIN for both of us! If you’re interested, SIGN up to be an Avara Ambassador HERE or if you have any questions, be sure to email me at [email protected].
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I recently purchased this desk lamp, charging unit (for phone and watch) and pen storage organizer for my desk from Target. I love the compact design of it!
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I go 8 weeks in-between my hair appointments (considering switching to 6, agh…), but this Color WOW Root Coverup Powder helps me during those last few weeks till I get my hair touched up. I use the medium brown color, which I tried out in store before purchasing.
I hope everyone has a nice and relaxing weekend!
