justem: little bits of this and that

Five for Friday

The last time I did a "Five for Friday" post was in January of 2015. Think of how many fun Fridays I missed sharing with you all (and by "all" I mean "all three of you who still follow this blog!")  Five for Friday was always one of my favorite ways to share a bunch of fun, things quickly and rather easily, so maybe it will be one that I can commit to trying this year? I'm a bit out of practice...here goes nothing:

1. I know Christmas is over, but I just had to share my new holiday jam - Sharon Jones was one of the many amazing entertainers who passed away during 2016. This song has been on replay at my house for the past couple of weeks...it's pretty much perfect. :)

2. My husband and I had a little holiday party for some of our local couple friends last week. I love entertaining, but I never do it! On a whim, we decided to have an adults-only gathering, and it was a huge success. We were lucky enough to have a wine distributor as a guest, and he brought a bunch of really amazing bottles of wine...or so my wine-drinking friends tell me. I am more of an egg nog + extras girl, myself! I made a bunch of food to serve, including this Crostini with Thyme-Roasted Tomatoes (decent) and this Walnut-Pepper Spread (kinda weird), but my favorite was the charcuterie board I made including lots of Wisconsin cheeses, some meat, fruit, and nuts. It was so pretty and delicious that I made another one for Christmas Eve with my family. I know I'm late to the party when it comes to food trends, but this might just be my new go-to thing make when I have to bring an appetizer someplace.

3. Did you make it to any great after-Christmas sales? I just may have gone to Target...twice. ;) 70% off?! Can't beat that! The first trip I saved $134 and the second time I saved over $30. I stocked up on tissue paper, wrapping, labels, teacher gifts for next year, and of course, a few things I didn't really need but couldn't resist. My favorite finds were a pair of green tree lanterns and a cute Christmas Tree throw that ended up costing me about 7 dollars (in-store deals appear to be much better than online deals!). Next year when I want to buy everything at Target for full price before the holidays, remind me of this post!

4. Do you have a New Year's Eve tradition?  For as long as I can remember, my husband and I have stayed up late and cooked for each other. I don't eat meat, and he doesn't eat dairy, which means many of our favorite meals cannot be shared between us. I love this tradition, though I still haven't decided what he is going to make for me yet!  It's probably between my old favorite standby (leek and lemon risotto) and homemade vegetable potpie. I'm clearly a comfort foods kind of girl! We also usually have a special desert with the kids and do something fun like play games and put on funny mustaches. It's not very exciting, but it's something I look forward to every year! I'd love to hear about your traditions! 

5. Are you in need of something to do on New Year's Day?  Never fear PBS (maybe just in WI?) is running an Anne of Green Gables Marathon! It's settled...I will be in front of the television all day watching Anne with an E. (Okay, in reality, I will tape it all and hopefully watch it at some point in the next couple of months...but oh, how lovely it would be to have an entire day to watch a childhood favorite!) I wonder if Gilbert Blythe will be a dreamy to me as he was when I was 12. ;)

 

Five for Friday

1. Monday evening, my friend Barb and I went out to dinner for Madison Restaurant Week. We ate The Wise. My three courses included a roasted carrot salad, beet and goat cheese ravioli, and a lemon tart.  My favorite part was the salad, which is very unlike me. I am not a salad lover but it was so pretty and tasted just as good!

2. I finished three books already this month!  That's like half of what I read all last year!!  Two were for my book club, and one was just for me. Promise Not to Tell was a murder/ghost story mystery type book. It was scary. I was not a fan. The Midwife is written by an author who lives in Wisconsin and was raised in the Mennonite community. I wasn't expecting to love it, but it was very, very good. The author is a great storyteller, the characters were compelling, and there were some nice unexpected twists at the end!  Finally, Looking for Alaska is a book that pretty much everyone I know has read.  I read it in a few days, and it kept my attention. I thought there were some pretty predictable parts, but it was still very enjoyable.  The characters were interesting and I love reading young adult books as a grown-up...it really makes me think a lot more about my kids when they grow up. ;)

3. My mom is coming to visit this weekend and into next week! I am very excited! I am going to take her to my favorite bakery and try to convince her to help me with some sewing projects. ;)

4. Um...only ONE more episode of Parenthood left!! Who watches?  This is really the only show that I watch on a regular basis.  I love it so much, and I'm prepared to cry for 60 solid minutes next week!!!

5. I haven't gone thrifting in months.  I'm not always too keen on the idea of bringing the kiddos with me when I go searching through piles of crap hoping to find one good item. ;) ;)  I did take a little trip to Goodwill yesterday while my middlest was at pre-school. I got two picture frames to paint and a lidless blue mason jar. It gave me the itch...now I want to get back out and find MORE treasures! The best part about yesterday - when my husband send me a frantic text saying, "That flower picture is not going in our house, is it?????" Ha.  No, honey. Just the frame. ;)

 

Five for Friday:

1. I must say, this week flew by.  Wednesday was a little dicey, but other than that, it's been a fast, fun week! This weekend we are tailgating with friends, attending our first Badger home football game of the season, and having a grill-out with friends on Sunday.  Next week is also my birthday...yikes.  How did I get so old? 

2. I realize I am probably the last person on earth to read the book Eleanor & Park, but I finally read it last week...and I read it in less than 24 hours.  I loved it. LOVED it.  It was the first book I've read this year that just made me feel good. I realize it's a young adult book, but honestly, the writing was better than the Orphan Train book I talked about last week.  That book was mediocre in comparison.  The author, Rainbow Rowell, was basically spot-on in her descriptions of young love. There were so many perfect parts that I highlighted (thank you, Kindle app!) just because they made me smile or made my heart go pitter-patter nostalgically.  I seriously might buy a physical copy of the book to keep it for Mirielle when she's old enough to read it...with all the best parts highlighted in good old fashioned yellow highlighter of course. ;)

3. Do you like meatballs?  I don't.  I don't like meatballs, because I don't eat meatballs or any meat, for that matter.  However, I did make a meatball recipe at the first birthday party last weekend that was, according to those in the meatball-know, supposedly far superior to other more common meatball recipes out there.  I felt that perhaps it was my duty to share this exceptional meatball recipe with my meat-eating, meatball-making readers. ;) And honestly, wasn't it kind of fun seeing how many times I could say meatballs in a single paragraph.  Meatballs.

4. Guess what happens next week? Parenthood - Final Season.  YES. (And by yes, I really mean noooooo. I only watch two shows.  Whatever will I do without the Bravermans??)

5. I shared this photo on Instagram, but I've been doing a little bit of painting.  I bought an older "step table" a couple months ago that I intended on painting, but I never got around to it. When another similar table popped up on Craigslist, I picked it up, and I finally painted them both!  I'm not exactly the world's greatest chalk painter, and there is definitely a learning curve when it comes to the waxing process...but honestly...I LOVE how they turned out.  I also just bought a 10 dollar Craigslist coffee table that I want to paint, too! ;) Once I get it finished, I will share some updated photos of the living room, which already looks quite different from this post from earlier this year! And, as I mentioned on Instagram - someday that ugly loveseat will be replaced with a fantastic sofa. Maybe this one.  A girl can dream, right?

 

a saturday song...

Remember last week when I was in need of a new song?  Well, I found one! ;) Last night we rented "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty" (Side note - it's seriously embarrassing how long it had been since I watched a movie - months!)  It was a fun movie with great music. As the credits rolled, I thought, "Gee...this is an excellent song!" It was totally an "Emily" song. ;)  I shazammed it  (that's totally a word, right?) and was pleasantly surprised to see it was José González, a musician whose music I have liked for awhile! Of course I immediately downloaded it and have listened to it about five times already this morning. Take a listen...and have a great Saturday!

Five for Friday:

1. Right after I posted my question about books to read, I was invited to join a book club!  The June book was Sea Creatures, which was written by local author Susanna Daniel.  I didn't love it...there were some things I liked and some that really bugged me. Have any of you read it??  I am now trucking away at The Goldfinch. Holy long book, Batman!!

 

2. I have some seriously creative friends. My friend Katie Licht is doing this amazing summer project with her kids in which each week they "visit" another country.  It's genius!  I cant wait to see all of the places they go!  Check it out!!

3. Last weekend we went to the Dane County Farmer's Market (my favorite!!!) and picked up some fresh asparagus and some really fantastic bread from Madison Sourdough. I made roasted asparagus with eggs and parmesan and paired the bread with some super tasty cream Havarti. It was really, really good.

4. After all the hype over Orange is the New Black, I started watching it last week...and I'm HOOKED.  I have lost a lot of hours the last week binge watching (14 to be exact yikes!). I just finished the first episode of Season 2 and I can't wait to watch more!!  

5. I can't believe the first week of summer is over already. I still didn't make a summer to-do list - it's been so dreary and stormy this week that we didn't do much of anything!!  Next week I vow to start the fun. ;) Have a great weekend!

Five for Friday:

Inspired by my oh-so-creative friend Kelly Purkey, I thought I'd give 5 on Friday a try. I tend to epically fail and just about every blogging endeavor I begin (Ventage Tuesdays, Lists with Friends, Pinterest Proves...) so if this one lasts more than a few weeks I will consider it a success. ;)  

1. I finally got caught up with Parenthood. I hadn't watched a single episode since the show came back after the Olympics. In the last week I think I watched 6 episodes.  This is just about the only show I watch on TV (though, Call the Midwife is back now, yahoo!) so I didn't feel all that guilty about spending 5+ hours in front of the tv! I SO want Joel and Julia to get back together. He has been one of my favorite characters on that show since the beginning...so glad to see signs of the old Joel sneaking in!  And - I want to buy the Braverman house! I love that house and yard!!

2. Taken straight from my FB page today: "Today a boy in Mirielle's class told her that she looks like Elsa. That kid has got the pre-school pick up lines down..." ;)

3. Speaking of Parenthood - I was excited to hear this song pop up a few episodes back!   

4. The last thing I pinned...Banana Blondies.  I want to make them...right now. :)

5. It's spring. Finally. Thank goodness.