Viewing friday finds

This final stretch before Christmas is when I like to enjoy a bit of quiet time to reflect on the year and enjoy the simple contentment I find in life. For me, it’s therapeutic to recognize the small pleasures in life that tend to bring great joy. Sometimes that means slowing down to see the…

Next week my family and I head to Galena, Illinois for our annual Christmas trip. We always rent the same house and enjoy its familiarity. We all have our designated bedrooms and each morning starts with a fire in the fireplace and a round of lattes and cappuccinos. It’s so nice to chill and spend…

Twenty-two more days until Christmas, but who’s counting? I am, because I need to get my shopping done, pronto! This weekend I’m heading to Lake Geneva, Wisconsin for a girls’ trip, so maybe I can get most of it done while I’m there. I’m headed north with my daughter and her daughter, Zoe. Lake Geneva…

Christmas season is officially here now that Thanksgiving is over. I hope you all had a peaceful, enjoyable day. We’re celebrating with our kids on Saturday. It’s too hard to go two places on a holiday and I really don’t mind getting together a few days later. For me, it’s about being together and having…

Tis the season for Christmas inspiration and this week’s Friday Finds includes a few goodies. Along with a bit of holiday DIY are a couple of European travel dreams you might enjoy. Maybe not this year, but once travel restrictions are loosened up and it’s safe to travel to other countries again. Still, there’s no…

Here we are in November and in the blink of an eye, Christmas will be at our doorsteps. Funny how this time of year flies by but January and February seem to drag on forever. Sigh. I do love the coziness of this end-of-year season and look forward to the upcoming festivities. This year I’ve…

This is the big weekend! The kiddos will be out trick-or-treating and I’ll be cleaning up the garden and prepping flower beds and the pond for winter. According to the upcoming weather forecast, this will be the last foreseeable weekend above 50 degrees. The cooler weather always seems to come on so quickly. As we…

Welcome to the weekend before Halloween! Fall colors are just starting to reach their crescendo here on the outskirts of Chicagoland. Later today, hubby and I are off for our leaf peeping weekend where President Ronald Reagan grew up. We’re staying in a tiny town with no streetlights so it will feel a little like…

Happy Ides of October! We’re mid-month and only have a tinge of color on the trees. It seems like peak fall season keeps getting a little later. Next weekend we’re going on a “leaf peeping” getaway and I think the colors will be in full swing. I’m looking forward to spending time in the small…

Hello friends! How are things in your corner of the world? I’ve been feeling a little overwhelmed because I’m spinning a lot of plates these days. But the good news is I recently wrapped up a 300-page coffee table book project at my day job. My co-worker, Lori, and I celebrated the completion of the…

Happy October!! It’s probably the most favorite month in the United States and is celebrated across the country with fall festivals, corn mazes, and more. Leaves are just starting to change colors and folks are planning their leaf-peeping trips. I’m always checking the fall color report for both Wisconsin and Illinois. Luckily we’ve got a…

Wow! Our temperatures plunged from 80 degrees down to 50 degrees at night. What a shocker to my system! LOL. And of course, we’ll be back up to 80-degree temps early next week. Welcome to Illinois weather – I’m used to it at this point. Since it got so cold last night, I had to…

Today marks the final full week of summer in 2021, but one thing I’ve noticed over the last several years is that summer weather is extending further into the fall season. This is great for someone like me who craves warmer temperatures, although I do enjoy the cooler mornings and evenings of autumn. Here in…

Happy Friday, friends! This Labor Day week has flown by and I’m anxious to enjoy the weekend. I’ve decided to pull the plants in my front flowerboxes which are looking rather sad. A trip to the nursery will result in getting cool weather plants and flowers to replace the dying petunias and lantana that never…

Welcome to September! The days are a little shorter, the temperature has dropped about 10 degrees, and the humidity has subsided. All within a few days time. And now it’s Friday which means it’s time to take a look back at the week. I’ve got a couple goodies from the Midwest. Since I mentioned the…