What’s Up Wednesday

Happy Wednesday! It’s time for everybody to join up today with Shay and me and let us know WHAT’S UP with you this fine Wednesday!

***********************

SIGN UP FOR E-MAIL!

Before we get started today, hop over HERE to follow me by e-mail. It takes under 5 seconds to sign up, and you will get all of my blog posts sent directly to your e-mail inbox!

 

***********************

WHAT WE ARE EATING 

This past weekend at the ranch we had an absolutely amazing dinner. I mentioned it on my Wayfair backyard post that went live Sunday morning, but I thought I would show it off today. Doesn’t it look amazing? I love a dinner with lots of different little bites. #mamalovesabuffet

Steak, grilled shrimp, stuffed jalapeños, a twice baked potato, and a cold fresh green bean and tomato salad!

My favorite part of the meal were these stuffed jalapeños. They are stuffed with cream cheese and shrimp and wrapped in bacon. I marinated 1/2 of them in Italian dressing and I basted the other 1/2 with barbecue sauce.

These stuffed mushrooms are ones that I buy from Market Street in the prepared food section.

And we all split this wagyu steak. Dang it was good.

 

So this is a meal that Carter and I have been eating on repeat at least once a week. We can’t get enough.

I air fry the salmon with Magic Salmon Seasoning for like 7 minutes, I sauté the fresh green beans in olive oil and my favorite seasoning blend (kosher salt, pepper, lemon pepper, and garlic powder), and then I microwave a packet of Trader Joe’s jasmine rice. The TJ’s rice is a new find for me, and we can’t get enough of it. It comes out perfectly every time! Oh, and the whole family is obsessed with the Japanese Barbecue Sauce. We usually buy it at Costco in really big bottles, but we were out of it and not planning on going to Costco for a bit, so I paid a lot more for it HERE on Amazon.

I eat a lot of salads for lunch, and my current favorite combo includes these 3 ingredients: Texas Toast CAESAR croutons, Marinated Artichoke Hearts from Trader Joe’s, and Ken’s Lite Blue Cheese Dressing.

In addition to the above, this salad also has mixed greens, fresh grilled corn, cherry tomatoes, and avocado.

A couple of more Trader Joe’s finds I’ve been loving…. the Crunchy Chili Onion Hummus is spicy, but not too spicy. YUM.

And these sweet treats are both delicious.

 

***********************

WHAT I’M WORKING ON

Y’all need to get excited!!! I’m already starting to prep for some HUGE posts in July.

One big advantage of being partners with some of our favorite brands is that I get early access to certain information, so I’m already starting to work on creating content for the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale and Amazon Prime Day!

Amazon Prime Day is July 16th and 17th, but first we’ve got the N Sale (dates below).

***********************

WHAT WE’VE BEEN UP TO

We’ve been having the best time going back and forth between here and the ranch all summer. And I hate to be a Debbie Downer, but I could bawl about the fact that we are already halfway thru summer. HOW.

 

***********************

WHAT I’M REMINISCING ABOUT

So when I got to this part of the today’s post, I didn’t have anything that immediately came to mind, so I decided to scroll to June from a couple of years ago. Well, it seems that in June of 2021 I was at my parent’s house one night, and I took some pictures of pictures that are on the game room wall upstairs. I thought y’all might enjoy seeing a couple. The quality isn’t great, but they’re still fun to see.

I think I was in 1st grade here. I’m dying because I barely have any teeth, and it looks like I barely have any hair either! 🙂 I actually had a lot of hair, it was just pulled back in barrettes because EIGHTIES, Y’ALL. I’m also dying because my love of a stripes and a ruffle sleeve apparently runs deep.

It appears this was from my serious era. I have no idea how old I was here, but I remember LOVING this costume. What strikes me about this picture is I think I look so much like my mom looked as a little girl! I need to have her send me a picture so we can do a side by side.

Now a couple from high school…

I was very involved in theatre in high school, and this shot was in the yearbook I think either junior or senior year. I think it was the fall show that year, although I have no memory of what it was. The other girl in the picture is Amy Acker, one of my high school besties. She went on to major in theatre as SMU and has been a working actress ever since. She’s been on tons of well-known shows over the years, but I think her longest stints were on Angel (the Buffy spin off) and Alias.

And because I knew y’all would enjoy this one, your girl was on a country and western dance team in high school! 🙂 We were called the Wildcat Wranglers, and the team was so much fun. This team actually started when I was in high school (brought to the school by one of our football coaches who had been an Aggie Wrangler), and the Wildcat Wranglers still exist at my high school today.

 

**********************

WHAT I’M EXCITED ABOUT

This launch isn’t happening until September, but y’all need to get excited…

 

***********************

WHAT I’M WATCHING

So I started rewatching Grey’s Anatomy on Netflix from the beginning. It’s quite an undertaking because there’s like 700 seasons :), but I’m really enjoying it! I do not love the current Grey’s, but I love me some vintage Grey’s.

Chris and I started watching Your Honor on Netflix, and we binged the entire 1st season over like 3 evenings. We are about to start the 2nd season and we highly recommend it. Brian Cranston is so talented, and the story line will draw you in from the very first episode.

Oh! I almost forgot! We also binged the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleader documentary on Netflix called America’s Sweethearts, and we were INTO IT.

 

********************

WHAT I’M WEARING / SHOPPING FOR

Did y’all see Monday’s post? You’re about to see some of the outfits I highlighted in that post, but now you’re going to see them in mirror selfies. I know some of y’all prefer the selfies, and I’m happy to oblige. You’re going to see some NEW stuff too.

I’m completely smitten with both the cardigan and the dress. The cardigan is $22, the dress is $28, and I think they are both awesome.

So this is the outfit I highlighted on Monday.

The poplin mini dress is FABULOUS. It’s 97% cotton with 3% spandex, so it has the perfect amount of stretch in it. It’s a lightweight poplin that I’m in love with. It’s got a great plunging v neckline (but it’s not too revealing), and the tiered hem and pleating are perfection. AND IT HAS POCKETS! This feels very much like a J Crew or Anthropologie dress to me. For size reference, I’m wearing a medium.

This short sleeve cardigan is super soft, super cute, and super affordable. I love the little pleats on the shoulder, and I know that this is a piece that I now happily own in 3 colors. I have the stripe, I have this red, and you’ll see in just a sec that I got the white too.

poplin mini dress / short sleeve cardigan / hammered hoop earrings / straw tote / barely there flip flops

When I showed the black dress earlier this week, I talked about how I liked it so much that I was thinking of getting it in another color. Well, I bought two more colors, and I want y’all to help me decide which one I should keep.

HOW CUTE IS THIS DRESS IN THE BLACK AND WHITE FLORAL!!! It’s cute with the cardi…

poplin mini dress / short sleeve cardigan / chunky hoop earrings / multicolor beaded bracelet stack / matte gold bracelet stack / barely there flip flops

And it’s cute with a denim jacket too.

poplin mini dress / denim jacket / chunky hoop earrings / multicolor beaded bracelet stack / matte gold bracelet stack / barely there flip flops

And here’s the pink with the white cardi! The pink is gorgeous, and it looks so fresh and summery with the white cardi and colorful jewelry.

poplin mini dress / short sleeve cardigan / chunky hoop earrings / multicolor beaded bracelet stack / matte gold bracelet stack / barely there flip flops

And here I’ve styled it with the red cardi and the denim jacket.

poplin mini dress / short sleeve cardigan / denim jacket / chunky hoop earrings / multicolor beaded bracelet stack / matte gold bracelet stack / barely there flip flops

So what do you think? Do I keep the black and white floral or the pink? I’m thinking pink!

This split neck top is a fantastic deal. I think it looks very much like a Caslon top from Nordstrom, but it’s from Walmart and only $14! It’s a lightweight woven fabric with a split neck, 3 covered buttons, and a little flutter sleeve. It’s easy and breezy with a relaxed fit.

AND THESE SHORTS! So the top might be a fantastic deal, but you’re gonna have to give some cash for the denim shorts. They are a great length at 4 1/2″, which I feel is now the perfect length on me.  I still wear shorter shorts, but these are actually very appropriate for my advanced age. 🙂 They don’t have a ton of stretch in them, but they are still very comfortable. I did size up 1.

split neck top / denim shorts / chunky hoop earrings / multicolor beaded bracelet stack / matte gold bracelet stack / barely there flip flops

Same top, but black.

split neck top / denim shorts / chunky hoop earrings / multicolor beaded bracelet stack / matte gold bracelet stack / barely there flip flops

And here are the cardigans styled with the jeans….

short sleeve cardigan / hammered hoop earrings / bracelet / jeans / designer inspired tote / barely there flip flops

short sleeve cardigan / hammered hoop earrings / cross necklace / straw tote / bracelet / jeans / barely there flip flops

The square neckline, the exaggerated flutter sleeves, and a very relaxed fit. I love it all. For size reference, it runs on the big side, so I sized down to a small.

It’s a total steal at $22.

square neck top / hammered hoop earrings / bracelet / jeans / strappy wedge sandals

This tiered dress is another total bargain. I love the color combo, the pattern, the ruffled sleeves, and the tiered skirt. And it’s just under $18!

tiered dress / hammered hoop earrings / bracelet / barely there flip flops

 

***********************

WHAT ARE MY RECENT AMAZON PURCHASES

LADIES.

This orchid is BEAUTIFUL. Like it’s seriously stunning. It was the perfect touch for this little tray on the bathroom counter. I grabbed the tray at Homegoods, but you can find a similar one HERE.

orchid

The colors are so pretty, it’s very lifelike, and the $20 price tag is so reasonable!

orchid

This next one is SO GROSS, but I’m actually super excited about it. The flies are uncontrollable right now and this fly trap is supposed to get the job done. We are at our wits’ end, so here’s hoping!

fly trap

Okay, ladies! I’ve talked about a couple of different counter sprays from Amazon, and I’ve loved them. But I started using this Capri Blue Cleaner last year and it is NEXT LEVEL. It smells phenomenal, and you can use it to clean countertops, bathroom fixtures, sealed stone, granite, porcelain, finished wood, and tile floors.

I finally ran out of it, so it’s a recent purchase because I just reordered it.

Non-toxic; Vegan formula; Cruelty-Free; Formulated without gluten, parabens, sulfates and phthalates; No synthetic colors

Click HERE for other items in the Capri Blue line including candles, car diffusers, laundry fragrance oil, air freshener, hand cream, hand wash, and other items!

Capri Blue Multipuprose Cleaner

I ordered this single cup Keuring coffee maker for the ranch house last year (I think during the October Amazon Big Sale), and we’ve been loving it. I’m not a coffee girl, but I sure do enjoy drinking salted caramel cappuccino, and I’m so happy to have it for the guests at the ranch. NOW ON SALE!

I also ordered this dress! I’m pumped. It’s supposed to be here next week. I’m smitten with the double ruffle sleeve.

 

 

************

That’s all for me. Don’t forget to link up and let us know what’s up with you!

Filed Under: Fashion 13 Comments