5 on Friday!

  

It's Friday again and 5 on Friday is quickly becoming one of my favorite types of blog to post.  I love reading these posts on several other blogs and I hope you enjoy mine as well.   ~1~   I finally got started on all the sewing projects I had mentioned a few weeks ago.  My kitchen table becomes my sewing table when I am working on a project so it currently looks like this.   

  I plan to post back at the end of September to share pictures of my finished projects and tutorials on how to make them after I have gifted them all out.   I posted a burp cloth tutorial here once before and it was one of my most viewed posts despite the fact that I normally post about cooking. You can view that tutorial here. ~2~
Eric is having his wisdom teeth pulled this morning so I will be playing nurse at home for a few days.  He requested mashed potatoes to eat so I will try to come back and share a recipe for loaded mashed potatoes.  I remember when I got my wisdom teeth taken out back in high school, my mom bought me a Frosty and that was basically all I ate for a day.  I go back to work tomorrow night so hopefully he will be feeling better by then.

  ~3~   I picked up a new book from the library this week.  I know they say you are not supposed to pick out books by the cover but I always do and I am rarely disappointed.  I frequently browse the Target bestsellers and then go home and put the books on my hold list at the library.  Have you read any good books lately that I should take on our upcoming beach trip?  

    ~4~   I used some of my bowling prize money from last week to buy myself a present.  I picked up this Merona brand watch at Target last week for $19.99. They also have a similar one in gold, found here.

I like to think it is similar to this Michael Kors one which is way out of my budget since we have really been trying to save money.  The gold one is even closer to the MK look, but I tend to prefer silver. ~5~ Here's my Layla Jane.  She gets jealous when I try to blog and likes to stick her head between me and my laptop.  

  We previously joked that Layla was the only lab in the world that couldn't swim.  She loves water and she loves to splash in it, etc. but as for swimming she wanted no part.  We worked with her all summer at the lake trying to get her not to be afraid to jump into the water.  She had definitely made some progress but was by no means an expert.  Before we headed to the lake over the weekend I got her a new toy for the lake in hopes of encouraging her to want to swim.  It was an Aussie Floaties shark toy.  We tossed it out in the water and while she was hesitant the first few times, she finally started jumping in and going after the toy and she loved it!  She is finally swimming like a normal lab!  I wish I had some pictures, but I don't.    

Read.Watch.Listen!

No recipes today.  We had BLTs for dinner with our home-grown tomatoes.  I think most everyone knows how to make a BLT already.  But summer is a great time for BLTs because the tomatoes are so fresh.  Use your homegrown tomatoes or hit up your local farmer's market for delicious tomatoes to use in your BLTs.  You won't regret it!

 

Instead I will share something different.  A blog I used to read would do posts called Read, Watch, Listen so I thought I would give it a try.

What I'm reading... 

I had both of these books at hold on the library and just picked them up.  I am reading Second Honeymoon first as I know it will only take me a day or two depending on how much time I have this week with work.

The Silver Star is Jeannette Walls new book.  I read her memoir The Glass Castle and really liked it.  Also she lives in my little town so I definitely put this one at the top of my list.

Any book suggestions for me?  I have an OBX trip coming up in September and I hope to have lots of time to sit and read on the beach and pool.

What I'm watching...

Big Brother 15.  Things are about to get serious ya'll, that mega alliance has got to break up.  How funny was that clip in last night's episode where everyone said how they should be safe because they were friends with Andy?  Uh-oh Andy, I think you're about to make some enemies!

What I'm listening to...

The Courtyard Hounds, Amelita.  I loved (still love) the Dixie Chicks and I had no idea that 2 of them had gone out on their own as the Courtyard Hounds until my friend Sarah reviewed their new CD.  I haven't purchased the CD yet but I have been listening to it on Pandora and I need to buy it.

5 on Friday

I'm linking up with several other bloggers for 5 on Friday today.  I usually post recipes and on Friday's we almost always go out to dinner unless I have to work that night so I don't have a recipe to share.  This is a way to share 5 random happenings, thoughts, things I like, etc...

[one]  If you read here regularly you know that Eric & I are slightly obsessed with our puppy Layla Jane.  Although you can't really call her a puppy (or little) anymore since she is 1 1/2 and weighs about 70 lbs.  I just can't help myself and am constantly snapping pictures of her.  I took this one yesterday because you could see the flower on her collar which I have never caught a good shot of before.  I love this collar.  I bought it from a cute little Etsy shop called Collars by Design.  This is Layla's 2nd collar from there and it has held up really well.

[two] I'm sad that all my teacher friends are going back to work on Monday.  Since I work nights and three 12 hour shifts a week, I love having my friends off during the summer to hang out with.  I had one last summer day with my friend Terra (& HG) yesterday to Fredericksburg for lunch and a Costco and Wegman's shopping trip.  It was my first trip ever to Wegman's and it probably a good thing that the closest ones are 45 minutes away because Eric and I would be so poor if there was one close enough to shop at regularly.

[three] I'm going on a trip to Savannah, GA in November with my mom, gramma and aunts and am so excited.  I've never been to Savannah before and it (along with Charleston, SC) has been on the top of my list of places to travel for as long as I can remember.  I am always reading interesting things in my Southern Living and Garden & Gun magazines that make me want to go.  Does anyone have any ideas of what we should do/see/eat while we are in Savannah?

[four]  I went to the library today and picked up a few new books.  I have been trying to save money by not buying so many books on my Kindle lately which isn't easy.  I'm currently reading Revenge Wears Prada

[five] A few of my very best friends are expecting babies in the next few months and I have some sewing projects up my sleeve.  I love to give hand made baby gifts.  Today when I got home from running errands I found this on my porch which means it is time to get started...