READING, MIMOSAS, & CHOCOLATE: ENJOYING THE MOMENTS — JUNE 3

When life hands us unexpected challenges, our “guilty pleasures” have to fall into line with the new reality.

That’s what I’m telling myself on the first weekend after my oral surgery.  The upside:  the pain is now gone.  The downside:  soft foods reign.

But since I’m no longer on antibiotics, I can enjoy my Sunday mimosas!

And I actually have a Mounds bar waiting for this afternoon’s snack.  Soft…right?

Meanwhile, reading books that I enjoy has to be up there on the list of fun things to do on a Sunday.  I’m totally loving a couple of my reads:  check out my Sunday Salon post to find out more.

It has been very hot here, which was compounded on Friday by a power outage that lasted more than an hour.  I know, not long…but we don’t have them that often, so we feel quite deprived when we do.

Yesterday was a fun day of eating out and movies with my granddaughter Fiona…..

She is enjoying her summer break, having worked very hard this past year.

Today….I can feel the morning breeze coming through the patio door…and I’m hoping we don’t hit the triple digits.

What guilty pleasures are you enjoying today?  What favorite things capture your imagination during the summer months?

GUILTY SPRING MOMENTS — READING, MOVIES, & A STROLL — MAY 6

Welcome to another Sunday of mimosas and reading.

And let’s not forget the movies, with a little bit of popcorn and chocolate.  Yesterday, I watched New Year’s Eve, a fun foray into the lives of several intersecting characters.

And today I’m reading The Guy Not Taken, by Jennifer Weiner:  a collection of short stories that follow the tender, and often hilarious, progress of love and relationships over the course of a lifetime. From a teenager coming to terms with her father’s disappearance to a widow accepting two young women into her home, Weiner’s eleven stories explore those transformative moments in our every day.

 

 

I had a great week, with lovely weather and one book that knocked my socks off.  The three books I read and reviewed are all here at My Sunday Salon post.

As I finished off the last of my mimosas today, my thoughts started wandering toward the outdoors.  There is a lovely park in my area…and despite the brisk walk I would face that would take me there, I am tempted.

 

A truly guilty pleasure.  I should definitely indulge!

Where do spring days take you?  What lovely spots call to you?

 

A WEEKEND OF GUILTY PLEASURES — APRIL 16

A Nice Mimosa Starts the Day Off

 

Yesterday was one of those “guilty pleasures” days.  You know the kind…waking up slowly and gradually; sipping the coffee while creating posts and visiting blogs; then grabbing that mimosa that reminds you that it’s Sunday.

Then on to the reading.  I didn’t really plan to read all day and finish Come Home, by Lisa Scottoline (click title for review), but that’s what happened!

Have you ever had one of those reads you just couldn’t put down?  I’m sure you have…and this one was one of those.  Fast-paced, full of suspense and excitement…and those delicious family dynamics that I love in a book.

After I’d finished…and posted my review, I played around with themes here at this blog.  Yes, while I enjoyed the previous one, I didn’t like the tiny header space.  And while this one isn’t as generous as the ones on another theme I use (on other blogs), I like it.  And I love the color scheme.

What do you think?

After I posted my It’s Monday entry, I curled up in my bedroom, pictured below, and settled in to watch my favorite Sunday shows.  I watched The Good Wife before falling asleep….and today I plan to catch up on the others that are on the DVR.  Delicious kind of Monday!

Comfy Reading/TV Watching Place

 

What are your favorite kinds of “guilty pleasures”?  What did your weekend look like?

 

IT’S MIMOSA TIME! — A SATURDAY TREAT — FEB. 25

MIMOSA TIME!

The morning started with coffee, oatmeal, and my favorite weekend blog post:  Saturday Snapshot!

After visiting several blogs and oohing and aahing over their photo treasures, I read Whole Latte Life for awhile. (Check my Rainy Days and Mondays blog on April 4 for the review:  blog tour).

A DELICIOUS READ!

Don’t you love this cover?

Finally, after enjoying the reading and blogging moments for awhile, I did my dreaded weekend chore.  One I’ve been postponing for…well, several weeks.  I must admit that the huge piles of leaves on my patio made me keep closing the blinds, refusing to acknowledge them.

But if I want my delicious mimosa treat, I must do this dreaded chore.

So out I went with trash bags, a broom, and a cloth to dust things down.

Surprisingly, the task didn’t take as long as I thought it would, and I didn’t even fill up one trash bag!  Amazing…

Now I can start to enjoy my patio, as spring approaches.

Why did I procrastinate for such a long time?  Of course, I’m now sneezing like crazy, since I’m allergic to almost everything out there!

But all I have to do is a quick sweep-up every Saturday and I won’t have to deal with this huge pile again.  Maybe I should also go out there with the pruning shears and clip back those plants.

Okay, I’ll think about that tomorrow.

My pile of leaves was brown and ugly…dead.  Perhaps if they’d been lovely, like those in the photo above, I would have enjoyed this task more…lol

What is your least favorite weekend chore?  What guilty pleasures do you promise yourself after you’ve finished?

MIMOSA TIME! — A NICE READING OR WRITING COMPANION — NOV. 10

Okay, now that you know that chocolate and mimosas are two of my guilty pleasures, you probably also know that I reward myself with one or both of these things.

I also like to pour a glass (or two) when writing or blogging.  Especially on Sundays.

Mimosas mean brunch for me, but if I’m not at Mimi’s Cafe on a Sunday (another guilty pleasure spot), I might be visiting Sunday Salon posts.

Or on a weekday, after I go to the gym, I reward myself with something chocolate with coffee at Barnes & Noble…or a mimosa in my office at home while I blog or write.

Now why do I need these little rewards?  These guilty pleasures that weren’t part of my days when I was doing the social work thing?  Well, there’s your answer.  As a reward for all those hard years in the trenches, I am now savoring the guilty pleasures in life.

What do you like to do to reward yourself?  Do you enjoy chocolate?  Mimosas?  Or something else entirely?  Come on by and share, please.  It’ll be our little secret!  (Oops, guess not, since we’re on the Web!).

MY “CHEERS” BAR — GREAT PLACE FOR MIMOSAS, ETC. — NOV. 7

PARTY TIME AT "THE OFFICE"

If you have a yen for a convivial watering hole, it helps to have a daughter who is a bartender at such a place.

My daughter works at one, called The Office, funnily enough…

Can you imagine husbands and wives throughout the city calling home to say that they’re still at The Office?

Whenever I go into this place, this bar that’s in my neighborhood, I feel ready to partake of another of my guilty pleasures.  Moderately, of course, and not too often.  But just enough to feel the connections you can find in places like this.

Do you have a favorite spot like that?  Maybe it’s a restaurant, or perhaps it’s a neighborhood pub or watering hole.  What do you like most about this corner of your world?