(even more) summer things, Fashion Files, & Tuesday talk

Happy Tuesday, friends! I'm talking about more summer things today. I'm also linking up with Amy for the weekly Fashion Files and Joanne for Tuesday Talk. I'll jump right in! 

Here are some easy summer things that I'm loving at this moment in time: 

• easy mornings that feel luxurious
• iced coffee while reading blogs
• using my living room fan
• fresh flowers in my home
• using the most adorable cup that Drew's girlfriend Mallory brought home for me from the beach

• afternoon drives around town
• finding beautiful flowers to look at
• saying yes to lunch with friends
• staying home in the evenings after a full day
• pool time while I keep the dogs of my friends and neighbors (this is happening again starting tomorrow and going through Sunday)
• a full house and kitchen table of my sons, a girlfriend, and the mom of Mallory (her mom is also Jennifer) and her mom's best friend (Tammy)
• reinstating family dinner night once a week and having most of them show up for the first installment
• more time with Chris that feels like a special treat
• sunset watching
• unwinding after a full week of work

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And now for the fashion files portion...

I'm currently in love with chunky gold jewelry; I actually have been for a long time now, but I'm showing you pictures of what I've worn and loved recently. I'm getting into the habit of wearing a ring again...but I'm not wearing that one on my left hand. I like to wear a ring on my right hand, and this one is my favorite; it was my grandmother's wedding band, and I love the simplicity of it and that it's vintage. When I marry again, I want something simple and similar to this. I recently bought these chunky gold bracelet stacks, but had to return them when they turned my arm. 

Do you have any recs that you can send my way? I am big boned, so they need to be stretchy. I hate things that are tight! I also love the bronze colored knock off Buddha bracelets that you see pictured. These are a few years old and were purchased from a local boutique. I also have them in pink! 

I need your help with something: I tried these two dresses on virtually over the weekend; what do you think of them on me? I'd love your honest opinion. I'm looking for a new long dress for a formal wedding I have coming up in August; I am looking at this dress in one of these color options above, and I'm also looking at another dress in a magenta color, which is my favorite. Help me out please, and send me your advice! 

For the last part of today's post, here are a few things I did this weekend:

• enjoyed an Amy-inspired progressive dinner at a new to me sushi place, then Salad Station after
• watched the sunset from my favorite park in Memphis with my guy
• drove around to look at and dream of homes that I'd love to live in when I sell in a few years
• admired the little free libraries I kept seeing and dreamed of having one of my own
• set up the new Bible I bought for myself to replace the one Rocket ate

It's a good thing he's cute.

• added tabs to my new Bible
• wrapped Chris' birthday gifts
• spoiled him on his birthday that was Sunday the 12th
• attended church at Living Hope for the third Sunday
• went to my favorite bookstore in Memphis, Novel
• bought a couple of book related things
• admired the motorcycle that Chris built for the upcoming race we're going to for him to enter into in St. Louis at the end of the month
• enjoyed a new flavor of a soft serve margarita (mango and strawberry)
• made breakfast on Saturday (scrambled eggs and air fried pork chops)
• enjoyed seeing all of my sons on the same day for the first time in a while

What are your thoughts about all of these things I mentioned today? I'd love to hear from you. Thanks for reading my blog today, friends; I'll see you back here tomorrow. Love to all!

Jen 🖤

p.s. I wrote a bonus blog post yesterday! Here's a link if you want to check it out.

everyday images

 

Happy bonus blog post day! If you're here reading this, I also shared a blog post earlier this morning called Share Our Lives, in case you want to check that one out after this one. For now, I'm linking up with Kym for this edition of everyday images. 

Our topics this time are at home, who I'm spending time with, what I'm working on, where I'm going, when I'm taking a break, why I'm happy today, and signs.

at home

who I'm spending time with

what I'm working on

(Bible study and eating healthier again...)

where I'm going

(I'm going on a road trip with Chris the last weekend in July! We're going to St. Louis for a race he's entering into; in case I haven't mentioned it before or in a long time, he builds and races motorcycles. The one pictured above is the one he'll be racing that weekend; we're camping for this! He has a small camper that we'll be taking, and I cannot wait.)

when I'm taking a break

why I'm happy today

signs

Thanks for reading my blog today, friends! This is my second post today, so if you have some time, I'd love for you to check out the one below this one. I'll see you back here tomorrow; love to all!

Jen

Share Our Lives

 

Happy Monday, friends! I'm linking up with Jen and friends for the July edition of Share Our Lives. This month the topic is our favorite room at home. I'll jump right in! 

The kitchen has always been more than just a place to cook; it's the heart of my home. It's where conversations linger over drinks after dinner, where meals bring people together, where laughter fills the room, and where memories are made one ordinary moment at a time. It witnesses celebrations, quiet mornings, laughter, tears, Bible reading, simple conversations, a full table, and an empty table. It reminds me that love is often found in the simplest acts of sharing meals, and gathering around the table. To me, the kitchen isn't just a room; it's where my home feels most alive. 

On a lighter note...

I shared this picture above last week, but it's worth repeating. I bought this piece of furniture last year to help keep the kitchen counters free of clutter, and I still love it today as much as I did the day I decided to make the purchase. This was something I found on Facebook Marketplace; I may not love Facebook, but I love Marketplace! I paid about $50 for this heavy piece of furniture.

I also love having a freshly painted kitchen, even though it's been a little over a year ago since I painted the room. For reference, please note what it used to look like before I decided to make the downstairs all neutral.

I love a good before and after pic; do you? I love seeing it in transition as well! I remember being giddy at this point in the process of painting; I took a three days the week I painted to do this. A half day was spent on trim alone, then I did the wall you see painted lighter above, then on a Friday (my off day that year as I was working in the church bookstore still) I finished it all. I even hung things up before the sun went down that night! I could barely move the next day, but I was proud of myself for getting so much done that day.

I remember after it was finished, wanting to make it less cluttered; even today, I don't want a lot out on the counters, and I don't want a lot of things hanging on the walls. I am keeping things simpler and more neutral, because I really do plan on selling my home in a few years to downsize. It turns out that I love it more minimally decorated than I ever thought I would. Some people are maximalists, some are minimalists. I'm not totally minimal, but I definitely lean more towards that that being a maximalist. You know John Mark here in town that I always share about? He is a maximalist! 

Here's the proof of that in his store; and here I am when I met him for the first time. He's a phenomenal and talented young man, and he has created an empire! He's famous all over the world as he travels fairly often to cities both near and far. 

The cabinets in the kitchen used to be the natural oak color that they are; I am glad they're white now. They need some touching up at the least, but I'd love to sand and repaint them since they weren't done right the first time. I won't complain about them, because I've seen far worse, but I'm just talking and dreaming here. I'd love to have them as a color instead of white, maybe a pretty blue gray color. 

I love a tea towel! I use them often when I make sourdough bread; a few years ago I bought these towel rods that are hung with peel and stick tape. I love changing out the towels for whatever season it is at the moment. These got changed Friday, because I needed to wash the other ones that had been hanging there. 

I have had a love/hate relationship with this table and chairs; I am currently in love with it, though. I'm so glad I didn't get rid of it when I wanted to years ago! Now it's the only table with chairs that are in my home. I have a leaf to add to it when I have more than a few people here, but I love that it was given to me by Mom. It used to have a hutch, but I sold it a couple of years ago, and I'm glad I didn't keep that one heavy piece of furniture.

I love cooking for people I love, it's one reason why I love this room. I made breakfast Saturday morning! I made scrambled eggs with cheese, and air fried pork chops. This was delicious!

The reason I love it the most is because of the people I often see in there. I love it when Chris cooks for me, or when I cook for him or my sons. It's not at all the room or how prettily decorated it is, it's about the people who fill the space. 

What's your favorite room in your home? I'd love to hear from you! Thanks for reading my blog today, friends. Love to all!

Jen