Monday, January 20, 2025

weekending

 


Happy Monday, friends! How was your weekend? Mine was really good, and my favorite kind of time off: partly social and partly at home. Here's a few of my favorite moments, starting with Thursday. 




I love repurposing things in the bookstore at work as much as I love doing this at home. I have this little chalkboard that I like to change out with the seasons; it was due for a change. I made one side to use now and one for Valentine's day. I love doing this! I bought colored chalk right after I took over the store last year, and I usually spend some time browsing Pinterest for inspiration. 


And speaking of the bookstore...








I have so much fun buying things to sell there! I try to keep things fresh with each season, so I place pretty big orders every couple of months; I did this a week ago, and I added it all to inventory and put it out to sell last Thursday when I was at work. I have already sold out of a couple things I bought, so I ordered more yesterday while I was at home. I brought my laptop home to do some work over the weekend, because I have to figure out a couple of invoices to send out when I get to work tomorrow. 





I had an appointment in this high rise after work on Thursday, so I went straight there when I left my church. After my appointment I went to dinner with my Book Club; I loved the book we read in January! We met at a local pizza place, and I finished that for dinner last night since I only ate half on Thursday. 




I enjoyed my Friday morning at home, but I left around nine fifteen to meet my friend Dedee for coffee at this adorable shop, Congregation Coffee. This building used to be a church; when it was bought, the church asked that they would use something pertaining to church in the name of the new business. I love this place! It's really cool inside with a spiral staircase, which I went up not once, but twice. 🤣



After breakfast I met my mom and we made a stop at my happy place, also known as my beloved town library. We borrowed some books! After that we went to Marshall's so that she could make a return, then we had lunch at my favorite salad spot. It was delicious! 





You know I never say no to visiting John Mark's! I swooned more over the Valentine's decor than I did the Christmas. I love to go here for inspiration; look what he did in this picture above with the wall covering. He literally tore it in pieces and hung it to create this basket weave look. He is so talented; if you haven't already, you should follow him on IG by clicking here




Mom went with me to pick up my order for the bookstore from Sam's, then we parted ways. 




I ran into Kroger to buy some coffee, then I came home to hang this bow that Mom made on my front door. I love it so much! I love how girly it is and its vivid color. It's Chloe approved! 



Guess who came over for dinner that night? Marilyn! 




I spent a leisurely morning at home doing the things I love: I watched a movie while I drank my coffee...





...and then I moved onto tea at the kitchen table while I had my quiet time. I lingered over the reading again as I read in Genesis. I want to talk more about this tomorrow, so I hope you come back! 




I spent the morning cleaning out some shelves in the closet under the stairs and came across this picture and poem that I wrote for Jonah's and Noah's first birthday. Hopefully you can read the poem from the picture.




When I finished cleaning in that closet (and the downstairs bathroom cabinet), I got dressed for my day and left home to run errands. I ran to the library again to return books and get a few more, I washed my car, and I returned something from Amazon at the UPS store. That night I went to Mom's and Bill's for dinner, but I didn't feel great. I came home pretty early and watched TV for the rest of the night before going to bed. While I was scrolling social media, I came across these pictures below from two years ago. 





My friend Wendy (pictured in the very middle in the gray cardigan and glasses) was diagnosed with breast cancer that year; the morning after these pictures were taken, she had surgery. The reason we were at her house that night was to pray over her; I led us in singing her favorite hymn (It is Well with My Soul), and then we all took turns praying for her. The people pictured are some of her school friends, her small group friends from church, and her choir friends. This will go down as one of those core memories for me; how fortunate are we to have friends who uplift us, pray for us, and inspire us? It's a tremendous blessing to have friends and to be a friend, you know? 



I'm showing you my nails because I decided to stop getting my nails done. I went for a manicure on Friday only so I could have the dip powder properly taken off; I've decided that I need to get my nails back to a healthy state, so for the foreseeable future, I'll be using only regular polish that I will do at home. I'm actually excited about this, because I love polishing my nails! This is the OPI color, Let's Be Friends. My nail polish collection is one thing I cleaned out on Saturday while I was doing things here at home; I threw away all the old bottles that were beyond salvaging. 




The sons that live here came to my house Sunday after church for lunch. I immediately followed that by getting comfy with a cup of coffee and Chloe, and took a nap. 




Later on, I tried something new with my hair that I found in a video I watched on IG. I pulled half my hair up into this high(ish) ponytail, then secured it tightly with an elastic; I pulled a piece from each side then crossed them underneath the ponytail and tucked them in. It sounds complicated, but it wasn't, and I like how it turned out. Do you have thoughts? A funny fact about me: I never wear my hair up in public, not even halfway. This may be my new go-to style! 


What did you do that you loved this weekend? Do you have a favorite moment? I'd love to hear from you! Thanks for reading my blog today, friends. I'll see you back here tomorrow. Love to all!


Jenn 🩷❤️


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28 comments:

  1. Love seeing you and Marilyn together! So glad you had a cozy weekend and hoping you are feeling better!

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    1. We always have fun when we're together. We're thankful that we can spend time together like this! Thanks, friend. I woke up fine Sunday morning, thankfully. I hope you enjoy your day!

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  2. We had a great weekend; we celebrated Alec's birthday and then I took both him and Evan to one of those immersive Van Gogh exhibits. Now I have to try and navigate the snow to get Alec back to school today. I'm not loving that idea but I'm hopeful the roads will be mostly clear by this afternoon.

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    1. What a great thing to do for a birthday celebration! I have seen pictures of that and would love to visit one. Safe travels driving him back to school! Prayers for just that, my friend.

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  3. The bookstore looks so good! I really like Congregational Coffee. I am enjoying my nails and enjoyed the visit Friday. I am glad you enjoyed the rest of your weekend!

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    1. Thank you! I love it there and making it inviting and cozy feeling. I love Congrational Coffee, too! I had a cold brew this time, with a splash of cream; Dedee had their avocado toast, which was really good. She gave me a bite, but as it goes, I wasn't hungry and just wanted coffee. Thanks, friend! It seems like you enjoyed yours as well, and I'm glad you were able to be so productive. That's the best feeling!

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  4. The bookstore looks so good with gorgeous products!
    Your nails look professional! So nice to have a light color after a dark - I do that a lot!
    Does Chloe love Marilyn? I think Chloe likes everyone!
    Fun day out with your mom and you did a lot this weekend! Wow!
    I'm sorry you didn't feel great.
    Love the hair updo!

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    1. Thank you! I do have so much fun picking things out for people. I just buy things I love and I've had great success with that. I love having a light color after a dark one! I love knowing that it's just polish and that my nails are going to start getting healthy again. You are right about Chloe, but she LOVES Marilyn! I felt better yesterday, thankfully. I think I'm going to wear my hair like that again today! I have plans tonight that I'm excited about.

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  5. Hi It’s Jen - I had gel polish put on my nails 1/2. Within a few days my thumb chipped, a nail broke and several more are chipped. This drives me crazy. I am on the fence whether or not to get it done again.

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    1. Hello there! That is so frustrating when they chip like that; the dip powder doesn't chip, but my nails have been sensitive lately, and I feel like I need to get them to healthy again. It'll be just polish for me until that happens, but I did buy a gel nail kit from Amazon to do them at home (eventually). Marilyn tried it out Friday night, and she said it seemed like a good quality, and hers have lasted all weekend. I'll share a link here on Friday for the favorites link party with Andrea from Momfessionals.

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  6. Your hair looks cute! Sounds like a good weekend filled with lots of happy moments!

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    1. Thank you! It was a really good weekend and my favorite kind: equally social and restful/productive.

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  7. I like your hair in a partial updo. Alyssa has a style where a small part of her hair is up and I think it's super flattering just like how yours looks up is super flattering. I used to be like you and NEVER went out with my hair any way but down. But I have changed a bit in the past couple of years and now will go out occasionally with it in a ponytail or up! I love the signs you made for the bookstore- your handwriting is on point whether it's on a sign or in your Bible- very impressive! Have a great Monday!

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    1. Thank you! I'm going to wear it like that again today, because I really did like how it looked. It's funny how we think about our hair; I'd wear it like this in public, but I don't like how it looks when it's in a ponytail! I have worn a claw clip before on a very hot day, but you know I'm desperate when I do that. 🤣 Thank you! I love the art of handwriting and always have since I was a young girl. I hope the same for you, my friend!

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  8. You've made the bookstore such an inviting place for all who stop in, Jennifer! Looks like you had a wonderful mix of busy and cozy throughout your weekend, Jennifer! I love your hair partially swept up! Wishing you a lovely week ahead!

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    1. Thank you! I love accomplishing that for the people who stop in each week. I love when people come in to hang out or to meet a friend there. I always invite that kind of thing! It was the perfect kind of weekend, which is my favorite. I hope your week gets off to a great start!

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  9. The bookstore looks great and so does your front door. I love the picture of Marilyn and the doggie!

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    1. Thank you! I love changing it up often and making it a welcoming environment for people to come into. It's a hubbub spot in our church!

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  10. We had a lovely weekend staying at home, catching up on jobs and just relaxing.
    That chalk board is so cute and I love the bookstore. It sounds like you had a lovely time with your mom and what a sweet bow for your door.

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    1. Your weekend sounds so nice! I always love time like that: being productive and also being able to just spend time relaxing. Thank you! It was a wonderful weekend. I hope your week gets off to a great start!

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  11. A weekend filled half with cozy time at home and half socializing sounds perfect! I think your natural nails look just as good as the dipped. You will have fun trying all the colors with home manicures. I am so impressed with your chalkboard art! You have really neat handwriting. Hope you have a good week!

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    1. Yes! It's the perfect balance of a weekend. Thank you for that! I did get a manicure after she removed the dip powder; I am excited about doing my own again, believe it or not. I've always enjoyed doing that kind of thing, and I'm pretty good at it, if I do say so myself. 😉 I love the art of handwriting; I browse Pinterest for inspiration and then have fun making it my own. I hope your week gets off to a great start; stay warm!

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  12. You have some lovely things in the bookstore...wish I lived close enough to pop in : ) Your chalkboard art it pretty too! I give my nails a lot of breaks too. I'm not great at doing them myself but imagine if I did it more often I'd get better. Hope you have a nice week!

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    1. Thank you! I wish that you could do that; how fun would that be? I hope you enjoy your day and week with the grands being with you!

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  13. What a fun post. A pretty post! So many pretty things. Happy things! I just enjoyed scrolling all the pictures! I don't think I have thought of a big bow on my door - it looks great. Such a good idea! Now, if only I could make a bow that pretty!!

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    1. Aw, thanks, friend! It was a fun (and pretty) weekend. I honestly hadn't thought of a bow on the door either until just recently; I was inspired by my friend to go pink on the front door. Hers is painted pale pink, but I don't want to paint, so I got this idea for a bow instead. Bows are all the rage right now, and it's a fun (and relatively) inexpensive way to make a huge statement. I couldn't be more pleased with it if I tried!

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  14. I love your hair pulled up like that. I also love your nail polish color. It is a great opaque neutral! Your pink bow is simple but so lovely. Your mom did a great job! Looks like a fantastic weekend! Have a great week!

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  15. I always read bogs in Friday evening so late to the game. Love your hair part up like that. It made you look extra youthful.

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