Last summer we drove to Lexington Kentucky and stopped at every TJ Maxx between here and there. My mission {other than to visit every single TJ & Homegoods in the country}?? To find these galvanized buckets. I found each one at a different Maxx and Mom sent me the No. 5 from Muskegon. I couldn’t wait to use them for plants {that Thom so lovingly takes care of for me}. I’m still searching for the No. 7 bucket.
Search Results for: summer list
…One Last Summer Hurrah!
Officially, there are a couple more weeks of summer left. But for me, September the first has always marked the beginning of fall. Back in {Michigan} it’s back-to-school time. At the store, we’ve been in BTS and fall mode since just after July 4th. And now, according to a {probably not-so} secret email I received in my inbox yesterday- This is currently available. You know my affinity for this fall-time treat since I’ve blogged about it before. I’m holding off until Wednesday.
After all…I did just get around to item #1 on my Summer List. It was the perfect thirst quencher for Sunday.
…My Summer Reads
Rachel Pastanâs first novel is pure pleasure-a crisp and witty page-turner for smart women everywhere. The Rubin daughters are three eligible sisters from an affluent suburban Philadelphia family whose well-meaning but domineering mother is single-mindedly determined to see them all happily married.
The book opens at a Sunday brunch where Dr. Rubin, mother and obstetrician, is scheming to introduce her eldest daughter, Alice, to a doctor who is almost too good to be true. But why hasnât Alice been able to find a husband on her own? Is her sister Isabel, the real heroine of the story, genuinely happy in her marriage? And is Tina, the youngest of the sisters, as shallow as she seems, or is she something worse than shallow?
Reminiscent of the work of Laurie Colwin, This Side of Married is a brilliant, ironic domestic comedy of manners. Full of surprises, yet filled with feeling, This Side of Married is witty, intelligent, and utterly delicious.
A fresh and hilarious debut novel about commitment, competition, and the occasional joys of unencumbered sex, for readers of Pride and Prejudice to The Girls’ Guide to Hunting and Fishing. Sometimes being left in the lurch is the best thing that can happen to you. Alison Hopkins’s live-in boyfriend, Tom, goes out in the middle of a dinner party to buy a jar of mustard, then calls her from a pay phone to tell her he won’t be coming home. He’s left her for his beautiful ex-girlfriend Kate Pearce, the kind of woman about whom men say rhapsodically, “She’s like a drug.” Alison had always feared that Tom’s looks would land her in trouble–having a handsome boyfriend is like having a white couch, an invitation to disaster. But if Tom isn’t her Big Love, who is? Alison embraces her freedom, buys “hiking boots and lacy underwear,” and sets out on a stroll down the midway of love. From an eye-opening fling with her new boss to an unexpected proposal from an old friend, Alison samples love’s many varieties–all the while talking obsessively with her girlfriends, comparing stories, and working through a lifetime of conflicting beliefs about trust, faith, and commitment. In spite of (or perhaps because of) her neuroses, Alison finds a surprising kind of triumph–and an irrational faith that the Big Love may be nearer than it appears. Sarah Dunn wrote on the staff of Murphy Brown, Veronica’s Closet, and Spin City before leaving TV to write this novel. She lives in New York City.
Images and Descriptions courtesy of PaperbackSwap.com.
Use to be that this number of books would be my weekly reading list back in the days before work and other committments. This year I’ll be lucky to finish them by the end of summer. That’s part of the beauty of the swapping site….read at my leisure, re-post, and re-order new books.
Eat Your Heart Out Fried Avocado
Have you ever had a Fried Avocado? Me neither, but after seeing these amazing pictures, I’m dying to try. I’m a total avocado newbie of recent years. Thom’s guacamole gives me life. In fact, there is a huge bowl of it in the ‘fridge right now just calling out to me, but I have’t eaten “just avocado” very much; on toast a couple of times over the summer, but honestly it got kind of boring eating avocado the same way. Today, though, that’s about to change…
** Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links.See my full disclosure here. **
Friends! I have such a treat for you today; a mouth watering, delicious recipe from my favorite food blogger and friend, Lacie from Easy Peasy Pleasy.
[Read more…] about Eat Your Heart Out Fried Avocado5 Best Succulents for Beginners
Since I’ve been succulent gardening for a couple of years, I’m always asked what are my favorite plants for starting a succulent garden. Here are my top 5 best succulents for beginners.
A beautiful garden doesn’t have to take a lot of time and maintenance to provide hours of natural beauty. Consider the succulent garden; making a resurgence of popularity on platforms like Instagram right now, these hardy plants come in all shapes, sizes, colors, and varieties. Their trademark shiny, thick leaves are able to store water making caring for them easy and less time consuming.
As with any new endeavor, creating and maintaining a succulent garden may seem intimidating to a beginner. Choosing the right varieties to start with will transform the beginner into a succulent whisperer in no time at all.
Vegetarian Sloppy Joe Recipe for Two
I was sitting in the associate lounge at work yesterday, eating my lunch; leftovers from the night before. Thom’s Vegetarian Sloppy Joe recipe is a delicious combination of sweet and spicy and it smells amazing reheated. There were the usual comments as my coworkers filed in for a meeting; rumbles of “that smells so good” and curious glances at my lunch led most of them over to see what I was eating. I laughed as their eyes widened as they observed my loaded bun and the remains in the bowl I had used to reheat.
** This post contains affiliate links, which means if you click on a link and make a purchase I will receive a few pennies to afford a cup of coffee. **
“Hey, I thought you didn’t eat meat?” The look of confusion on my coworkers’ faces was enough to make me chuckle. I love it when they figure out that just because it’s meatless, doesn’t mean it’s tasteless and boring.
DIY Pumpkin Hoop | Fall Decorating
To celebrate the arrival of Autumn I’ve been busy in the craft room making more pumpkin hoops. Version 2.0 is a DIY Pumpkin Hoop using a seriously LARGE embroidery hoop I found at a flea market last summer. It’s perfect for fall home decorating.
**This post may contain affiliate links, meaning, if you click on a link and make a purchase I will receive a few pennies for coffee at no extra cost to you.**
Pumpkins, mums, and burlap, OH MY! Don’t you just love fall crafts? Click through to get your *FREE* DIY Pumpkin Hoop Supply list.
Memphis Day Trip | Tips for a Quick Getaway
It’s Spring Break here in Arkansas which means the kids are out of school and parents are packing them up and whisking them away for a week of family fun. College kids are off on adventures or working more hours to save up for some suburb summertime fun. In both instances, I’m completely envious. My official vacation time doesn’t roll over until the middle of April so an extended trip away from our cottage in the cove is still a ways away.
But! A day trip is certainly doable. Hence, a Memphis Day trip was born.
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5 Gilmore Girls Confessions | Friday Five Live
With the revival of the Gilmore Girls on Netflix, I thought it appropriate to share 5 Gilmore Girls confessions I’ve been holding close to my chest since I finished watching the series last summer. It’s easy to fall in love and get lost in the hype about Lorelei and Rory, Stars Hollow, and the other crazy town characters but it can become a bit uncomfortable talking about the things we don’t like, don’t get, or don’t agree with.
We like to practice full disclosure here at Desperately Seeking Gina. And by we, I mean me. Ahem. There’s only me here.
Lets jump in…
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Planting a Succulent Pot
Planting a succulent pot is one of the very first things I did as a beginning succulent gardener. Succulents are a great for a beginner gardener because you can plant ’em and forget ’em, for the most part.
** Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links.See my full disclosure here. **
I love Spring. I feel like I’m awakening after a long winter’s nap and it’s time to get up, get out, and get dirty. Or, at least, watch as Thom gets his hands dirty while planting my succulents. I’ve been wanting to put together a succulent fairy garden for a few years and when I found the perfect pot at our local nursery/herb store, Ozark Country Market, I knew this would be the perfect time to do it.
I spent a lot of time picking out succulents that I loved from the Walmart, Home Depot, Lowes, and Ozark Country Market. I tried to pick out different varieties, ones with blooms, ones that would grow to different heights.
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