Can you believe summer is about halfway over? Me either! And just for clarification, when I say ‘summer’ I mean summer break not summer weather. The smothering heat and humidity will continue unhindered for at least 2-3 more months. But in only about five weeks my kiddos will be headed back (or for the first time!) to school, which means I’m feeling the pressure to squeeze out every drop of summertime fun I can. Which leads me to the first of six things I’m loving right now…
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The Summer Reading Program at our local library
I’m sure exactly no-one will be shocked to hear that my family actively participates in the summer reading program. The thing I love about it is that we get rewarded for something we would be doing anyway. We always read, but in the summer time we get prizes for it! I think last year we (me and the girls) read around 150 different books together. This year we are trending for less than that, but they’ve still gotten to spin the prize wheel several times, and you better believe I’m dropping my entries into the grown-up prize drawing box.
Garlic spread from Food City
This stuff is the bomb, man. You can find it in the bakery section of your local Food City and all you have to do is spread a thin layer of it over pieces of freshly sliced bread, bake at 350 for about 5 minutes, and serve next to your favorite pasta dish. You can also buy bread that already has the spread on it, but I find it’s more cost effective to spread it yourself, plus you can control the amount.
The timer on my washing machine
Since I went back to work outside the home in April I have been heavily utilizing this feature on my washing machine. I put the laundry in as I walk out the door, set the timer so that the washer starts about an hour before I get off work, and when I get home I can switch the clean laundry to the dryer as I walk in. This gives me time to fold it and put it away before bed, without worrying about leaving wet clothes in the washer all day to get stinky and gross. It’s the little things.
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I mentioned this in my last Books in Progress post, but it bears repeating. I’m straight up obsessed with the Montana Rescue Series by Susan May Warren. These folks get in so many dangerous situations as a search and rescue team, and they’re all falling in love with each other and working through lots of issues, and there are mysteries, and it’s just a really fun series. I read them out of order by accident, starting with book four. Since then I’ve gone back and read the first two and I’m about the move on to the third, then I’ll skip to the fifth, and then I’ll be ready for the sixth one that comes out in November.
Weekend trip to Nashville, TN
The thing I’m most excited about is an upcoming weekend trip to Nashville with my man! We are going to lots of cool historical sites like The Hermitage, a planetarium/science museum, and a bakery called Five Daughters Bakery that has something called a ‘100 layer doughnut’. I don’t know what that is exactly, but I feel like it’s something I need to investigate. I’ll report back once my ‘research’ is complete on that. Have you been to Nashville? What are some can’t miss attractions and/or restaurants we need to check out?
Garlic spread puts me in the mood for warm garlic bread. Slurp. So nice to know what you enjoy. Inspires me for sure. Thanks for sharing.
I’m always in the mood for garlic bread!
I briefly visited Nashville for a work trip last year and have been wanting to go back and explore more. Adding Five Daughters to my list!
There’s a lot to do and see, we definitely can’t fit it all into one weekend.
I’ve gotta start using the timer function on my washing machine!!
It’s the best!
OMG I need to see if my washer has that feature haha! That is genius and SO helpful! I always end up forgetting I have things in the wash!
Yes, you need to check it out! It’s a laundry game changer.
Where are you from?? My husband and I are from Maine and that’s literally the ONLY place I know with Food City haha he’s military and we’ve lived all across the country and have never seen a Food City anywhere else lol but that timer feature on your washer sounds wonderful! I’m very fortunate to work from home full-time, but even then, I completely suck at doing the laundry AND putting it away all in the same day haha it usually stays in the dryer for a day or two.
We live in Tennessee! There are others in bigger cities around us, but we just got our Food City in our little town a few months ago and I love it!
First of all…don’t remind me summer break is almost over. Before I know it, I’ll be back at homeschooling the boys and I’m trying to soak up every ounce of summer that I possibly can.
Secondly, um…your washing machine sounds freaking amazing. Mine doesn’t have a self timer, that I know of, and it sounds life changing. There have been so many times I’ve forgotten about clothes in the washer.
It really is amazing because I forget clothes too and then they stink like crazy and you have to wash them like three times to get the smell out ha ha.