Friday Favorites, 3.21.2025.

 

Happy Friday, friends! I totally meant to publish a blog post yesterday, but the day got away from me and I had Wednesday night plans; my life feels full and busy right now, so don't be alarmed when you see me skip a day of blogging. Everything is well, I assure you; I'm out enjoying life to the full. I have no idea when days like that will strike, so I just wanted to mention it here this morning. Also, I have some more life changes coming up after the summer, so my life will be even busier then. Stay tuned until the end to find out what's up with me lately! 

Meanwhile, here are some favorites of mine from this week. 

This was my favorite meme that I saw this week! My best friend sent me this Sunday or Monday, and it pretty much sums me up as a person. As I've been saying lately, I'm just here to make everyone else feel great about their lives! 🤣 

Another favorite perk of my job is meeting new friends, like sweet Andrew. He comes into the bookstore each and every week, and he's one of my weekly highlights. He's the nicest and most joyful person I've ever met; he inspires me every single time I talk to him! As a whole, the world could take a lesson from this dear man. 

I had such a jam packed weekend last week that I forgot to take my vitamins and anti-inflammatory before I left and was super sore from that, so I sat outside in the lobby for church on Sunday instead of going into the sanctuary! It's not necessarily a favorite of mine to sit out there, but I'm always grateful for that as an option on the days when I don't feel good or am really late (from working in the bookstore), or sore like I was last weekend. I had a friend who sat out there with me during the service; it's always nice to have company! 

Sourdough day is always a favorite! I sent one of the loaves home with my friend Teresa when she left Sunday. 

Going to Mom's with windows down and music blaring was a favorite this week! Does anyone else think that's therapeutic? I was so tired that day, and this revived me for the rest of the evening. I did the same thing going back home, but I had the heat turned up to high in my car!

Being at Mom's was a favorite! I love how her mantel is decorated, and I loved watching Gilmore Girls while I was there.

Any meal I don't have to cook is always a favorite! This one that Bill made was exceptional. 

Speaking of my dad being exceptional, so is his handiwork on this new screened in back porch! And yes, I refer to Bill as my dad now all the time; he's stepped up in my life in a big way since Dad died last summer. I'm grateful for his love and support and fierce dad-like tendencies. I assure you, nobody wants to mess with any of his girls! 

Sunsets always have been and will always be a favorite! 

Wearing this blue dress on Tuesday was a favorite! 

And changing into something more conducive for walking was also a favorite!

Another beautiful day, another moment of time in the car with the windows down and the music turned way up! 

I went to Mare's for dinner Tuesday night! We had cauliflower crust pizza, and then we went on a walk in her very hilly neighborhood. It was so much fun and it felt amazing outside! 

Color is my favorite, and so was visiting The Dixon Art Gallery in Memphis to walk through their stunning tulips! I'm so glad Marilyn was up for this; anytime with her is always a favorite! 

Perspective reminders are always a favorite for me!

And so was yesterday at work; I got to help out with preparations for a big event coming up for the kids in our town, and work bestie came to eat her lunch with me when she got back from running an errand and picking it up. We sat and listened to music for thirty minutes, and I then I sat and worked on this blog when she went back to her desk. I'm always grateful for fun times, laughter, and the gift of friendship! This was me taking my coffee into work with me yesterday and sending this picture to a friend of mine. 

(I saved the best for last.)

I decided after 28 and a half years, that it was time to unbreak the sealed up wedding dress I wore on October 4th, 1996. My divorce will be fully official next week, friends, and you'll never guess what I'm going to do to celebrate opening up a new chapter in my life. I'm going to burn my dress in a bonfire! I'm going to keep part of the train and beadwork as a memory, but the rest of it will be lit on fire. I am pretty sure people may think I'm delusional, but I want to do this, and it'd either be given away to Goodwill or I could try to sell it (but nobody would want to buy this). Not only did I open the boxes containing the dress, I tried it on, and it still (mostly) fit! I wish you could have heard me laughing hysterically over this; I literally cried I laughed so hard at myself. I really am fine, I promise, and I felt like it was a joyous occasion worth mentioning here; I even sent this picture of me in the dress to Todd and he joined me in laughing. I'm glad we can laugh together, even if it feels a little darkly humorous to do so; I'm just glad to be laughing instead of crying! 

And onto my life update, one more time within a year: I gave my official notice at work this week. My last week here will be at the end of June, and I'll be going to work full time in the Collierville Schools. There's a teaching assistant position opening up, and I'm 95% sure that it'll be mine; I've been in touch with the principal already and I'll be returning to the school I was at in 2023! I'm beyond excited at having a school schedule, for full time work, and for summers and holidays off (and paid)! I'll make more money at this job than I do right now at my church, even with full time hours, the pay still wouldn't be enough for me as a newly single woman. I had to take a step out in faith now so they can start praying about finding my replacement and so that I'll have lots of time to train her; it'll take a hot minute, because my job is a big one and there's a lot of moving parts! 

I hope you're not sad for me when you read this, but life will begin to look different yet again. I'm excited for the upcoming change, and for being able to be back in a fun and fast paced environment! I feel like God provided me this opportunity two years ago when he led me to the schools again to begin with; I formed friendships and connections there that are still strong today, and that's why I've been able to be in contact with the principal. Those are my people, and if I can't be at my church, I'd rather be there! This will also afford me the chance to get back into choir and singing again, and I'm grateful for that. I hope this makes you smile like it has me this week! 

What was a favorite of yours this week? I'd love to hear! Thanks for reading my blog today, friends. I hope you have the very best weekend; love to all! 

Jenn 🩷❤️

the Wednesday Hodgepodge

 

Happy Wednesday, friends! I'm joining in with Joyce today for the weekly Wednesday Hodgepodge. I'll jump right in!

1. St. Patrick's day was celebrated on Monday March 17th. Did you mark the day in some way? Wear green? Make a special meal? Watch or participate in a parade? I didn't mark the day in any particular way this year, and I usually don't, honestly. I was tired that day, that I didn't even care about it or green or anything. I went to Mom's for dinner that night, and I rested all day long, trying to catch up on sleep. While I didn't participate in anything that weekend, some people that I know and love did! 

Drew always seems to be living his very best life!

And one friend went to Chicago for the weekend to witness the river being dyed green! How cool, right? 

2. Do you think luck plays a part in your life? Explain. I'm not a believer in luck; I believe that life plays out how God ordains and that we can put in the hard work to accomplish certain goals and achievements. But everything is for Him, from Him, through Him, and to Him (Romans 11:36). 

3. Of the fifteen foods listed, which is your favorite and how do you like it prepared? Are any on the list a hard no for you? In general, do you like fruits and veggies? As a kid, did you eat them willingly or did you hide peas in your napkin hoping your mom wouldn't see? 

Asparagus, avocado, broccoli, celery, cucumber, grape, green beans, kale, kiwi, lettuce, lime, 

pear, peas, pistachios, spinach

I love all of these foods, honestly! I'm not a picky eater at all and will eat just about anything. Of these, my favorite is avocado. I like them alone, sliced, with salt, and eating it with a spoon. I love guacamole! I eat one avocado a day, most weeks. I ate things willingly as a kid; Mom always had a rule about trying everything, and after that if I didn't like it, I didn't have to eat it, but I at least had to try. 

4. What's something that makes you turn green? (With envy or with illness, whichever way you want to run with it.) I cannot handle being around someone who has a stomach bug; that's all I'm going to say! I also never enjoy seeing blood, mine or anyone else's, and I have to turn away from the one drawing my blood. 

5. Did you spend a lot of time outdoors as a child? Doing what? Do you spend a lot of time outdoors now? Doing what?  I was outside the majority of the time as a young girl! I lived in the country, so this was inevitable. I loved to climb trees and did that all the time! I don't spend a lot of time outdoors now, but if I do, and it's a hot day, I like to be by a body of water. 

6. Insert your own random thought here. I don't have any new music for you this week, so I thought I'd share some pictures I took driving home from Mom's Monday night. 

Look at this amazing screened in porch that Bill just added to their house! The porch was there, but he finished framing it out and adding the screen. I thoroughly enjoyed sitting out there with him after dinner on Monday, and look at that sky as I drove home! God is an amazing artist. 

Thanks for reading my blog today, friends! Love to all! 

Jenn 🩷

weekending

 

Happy Monday, friends! I am trying to do better this week by writing this post as I go along in my weekend. I completely forgot about this last week and didn't share a post until later in the day; it's very uncharacteristic for me! I've been majorly distracted lately. 🤣 My weekend was amazing! It got started when my friend Teresa drove in from out of town on Wednesday; she stayed with me that night until after church on Sunday! I loved every minute of having her in my home all week, and it was a balm that I desperately needed. Back to the weekend: I kicked it off Friday with working for about an hour, then signing my divorce papers. What a way to start the weekend, right?? Here's what I did this weekend with my friends; I'm backing all the way up to Thursday.

I worked on Thursday, but after that, Teresa met me and we went to run errands for my work. While I was in the area, I stopped by to see a friend at work, and then we came back to The Ville to make a drop off and let Chloe out. We had made the decision to have dinner at a Mexican food restaurant that night, at my favorite: La Perla; I had the chicken fajita nachos, which were amazing as always! We came home after this and immediately got into pajamas (and I showered). 

Marilyn called and ended up coming over with food for our weekend! She had leftovers from a work event, and brought a lot of them to me. How sweet, right?! Chloe was ridiculously excited to see one of her favorite people! 

Teresa and I watched episodes of Reba, then we tried to catch the lunar eclipse before it started happening. After we realized what time it would be taking place, we went to bed and I set my alarm to wake up at 1:30 so that we could try to see it in person. We did that and caught a tiny glimpse of the red at the bottom!

This is a terrible picture, but can you see it? It was so cool! We promptly went back to bed and laughed at ourselves in my front yard at 1:30 a.m. in nightshirts. Memories! I had to work for an hour on Friday, and after that, I went to sign my divorce papers. I went home for a bit afterward, feeling weird about what I'd just done, then met up with Teresa again around 1:30. I took her to my favorite place: John Mark's!

This may sound strange, but I wanted to dress confidently on the day that I signed my divorce papers. I did the same thing on the day that I filed, and wore green dresses both days. 

His bathroom wall art kills me!

I came home and changed out of my dress because I kept flashing people, thanks to the intense winds! It was a big day for me, so I made reservations for us at a favorite place of mine, an authentic Irish pub called Bog and Barley. It was amazing! We picked up Missy on the way there. 

We sat upstairs, which I loved. 

Teresa ordered beef tartar as an appetizer, and then I ordered pan seared trout with crispy potatoes for dinner. 

It was such a fun night! We ended the night by taking care of Graham's dogs, since he was at a Memphis Grizzlies game, then we came home and stayed up late. We had bad weather predicted for the next day, so we knew we had a day that we could sleep in and take it easy the next morning. 

And that's what we did, except that my body refuses to let me sleep past six a.m. I came downstairs and watched tv while they slept in a little, then I got started on making bread. I was supposed to have done that Friday night, but I completely forgot about it. 

 

We took it easy that morning while it rained cats and dogs outside; then we got dressed and left the house for lunch. 

We went to my favorite place: The Salad Station! I introduced T and Missy to it, and they loved it as much as me. I went to my friend's house after this to let her dog outside while they're on vacation, then we came home and got comfy again and settled into an afternoon of watching movies. We watched two: a Hallmark one about sisters (can't remember the name) and Fly Me to the Moon. 

Post dinner game night selfie; you know it's serious because my hair went up. 

Meanwhile, me and my brother Trey kept talking on the phone, because Trey made the trip to Dallas from where he was in Oklahoma to see my boys while they were together. I love this! When I got this picture, my heart grew three sizes. I love their bond! My nephew Jax is in the middle of them. 

We went to bed pretty early, but I laid awake for half the night and watched the numbers on my phone go by slowly. I was up early on Sunday for work and also to let my friend's dog out again. After church I came home and showered/took a nap, and then Marilyn came over in the afternoon. We talked on the phone to Amy, we cleaned up my porch from the storm, we talked and laughed, then we went to dinner at McAlister's. It was a great weekend, and I was so glad to end it with Marilyn! After I got home, she left, and Jonah had made it home from Dallas. He proceeded to stay downstairs with me for an hour, and we talked about everything. I missed having him here last week, and we had a ton of things to catch up on! 

What did you do that you loved this weekend? I'd love to hear from you! Thanks for reading my blog today, friends. Love to all!

Jenn ❤️