Summer to Be Read List (Simplified)

Hello everyone! One of my spring bucket list goals was to make a Summer to Be Read List and purchase or collect the books before June 22nd. Here are the ones I have settled on for now. I actually have a few more books I plan to read but I will start with these because these books I own or can get access to easily. Also, have a I higher desire to read these books first.

🌞Here are the top choices for this Summer. I am currently reading Lies Women Believe. I am sure you have seen a little snapshot of it here and there this month. It is a read I am taking slow so I know that it will be something read over the summer as well.

This is the newer edition of Susan Branch, The Summer Book. I just love the artwork, recipes and the summer feel it gives. 

This is a collection of many short stories in one book. I love books like this. I think it keeps it interesting and will be easier for me to focus on due to my recovery from surgery.

Same as above this book is a collection of wonderful short stories or snippets from other stories from several different authors.

This book was recommended by a book youtuber that I follow that I "usually" appreciate her taste in books. 

A little overview...

"Mrs England follows Ruby May, a newly qualified Norland nurse in 1904 West Yorkshire, who joins the remote Hardcastle House to care for the England children. As their father charms and their mother withdraws, unsettling incidents and an air of isolation stir doubts—and Ruby’s own past shadows her every move."

I am excited about this book. It is a smaller book which will be perfect for me to soak in.

I think it will be a reminder of the importance of Words. 

Here is an overview of this book...

"Why Has Nobody Told Me This Before? distills Dr Julie Smith’s years as a psychologist into quick-access strategies for handling life’s emotional hurdles. In concise, practical sections, it offers tools to manage anxiety, lift low mood, build confidence, find motivation, and respond constructively to setbacks."

I purchased this book back in the fall when my eldest son and I went to a neat bookstore. I never read it. I decided to put this on the list for this summer to be read. :) 

Overview...

"Shady Hollow opens on a tranquil woodland village where animals live side by side—until the body of a bad-tempered toad surfaces in the millpond. Newcomer fox reporter Vera Vixen dives into the investigation, unearthing hidden dangers and town secrets that some will go to any length to protect."

I saw this book on a fellow blogger's blog that she wrote. I have purchased & downloaded the book to my kindle. I am looking forward to reading a fellow blogger's book. 

Please go check out Debbie's lovely blog here. Say hello!

Dianna at Joyful in His Presence blog shared a post on this book and I knew I wanted to read it. 

Check out her thoughts and what it is about here on her blog. Say hello!

While this isn't a long list, I wanted to set myself up realistically due to my surgery and recovery. I do not know how that will truly pan out and so I knew I would feel better keeping things light and simple this summer. As the summer goes and my healing takes place, I am sure more books will be added. I also want to practice really SAVORING a book. I am tired of rushing through books and not really slowing down to soak them in. 

Now, this list does NOT include my Bible Studies and some of my private personal growth books. I also read several short devotions daily all the time. I plan to do another Bible Study by Daily Grace Company on 1 Peter for the Summer. I also have several short devotions as well planned.

I may share a separate post on my Bible Study and devotion plan for the summer but for now here are my books! :) 

Do you have any fun books you plan to read this summer? 🌞

Blessings,

Chrissy T

Just a Little Indoor "Picnic" & Making a Blogger Friend's Recipe

Hello friends! Most of you know I am a Pastor's Wife of a "growing" church plant that is only seven years old. We do a bi-monthly or quarterly connect night for the ladies in the church as well as any friends they would like to invite. I honestly, cannot take credit at all for this event because of my current health (I am usually very hands on) but our lovely ladies event organizer along with some new church members jumped in and made the Summer Ladies Connect super special. I always share our themed fun nights here on my blog because some of you love seeing the special events. 

The theme was Indoor Picnic! It was so nice!!!! We had sandwiches, salads and desserts. We played some wonderful ice breaker games and had a sweet devotion from our Ladies Leader on Finding Joy in the Little Things and Pausing to Do So. 

Aren't these mini baskets they cutest??? They were our "happy" take home.

Our church is not big nor fancy! Again, we are only 7 years old. We actually rent buildings that we have set up and remodeled to work as a church set up. We do have to improvise quite a lot, but we make it work and everyone makes the best of it. 

We do fun door prizes, so the basket above had a lot of door prize goodies!!

I wasn't feeling well AT ALL! I had a set back with my "issue" and I had to rest all Saturday and most of Sunday to be able to attend. I just wasn't feeling like making sandwiches or salads. Really only because I didn't have the ingredients, but I do keep these little party seasoning cracker packets on hand for situations like this. I had a box of crackers, so I whipped these up. Took literally no time. They were a hit and I had hardly any to bring home.

I had bought ingredients to make Carrie's of Northwoods Scrapbook Blog recipe she shared for Homemade Twix Bars a few weeks back. I remembered I had the ingredients and decided to make them for the event. The original plan was to make them for my family but hey they got a few pieces. 

I CANNOT take credit for THIS DELICIOUS and DECADENT treat. Please visit my friend, Carrie's blog for the recipe here. Say hello as well!

This was pretty simple to make but was a wonderful treat. They were a HIT!! The ladies loved them, my family and myself!!!!

This is the result of piece my husband took before I left. LOL!!! Well, he said the Pastor, needed to taste test and approve. LOL! 

After I took this picture, I looked back, and even more was gone. LOL! 

It was a special and lovely evening. I was truly not feeling super but I was so glad I did get to go and have some special time and laughter before my surgery that is in a week from today. I know I will treasure this evening for the next few weeks as I will be limited getting out. 

As always thank you for visiting and commenting. I appreciate you all so very much!

With Love,

Chrissy T

Just a little Outing

My fun outing this month to mark off my Spring Bucket List was to head to Donna's Produce.  We have a very popular Produce Stand in our area. It is about a 30-minute drive. It has flowers, garden decor, a boutique indoors, all the produce, jams, jellies, fermented foods, boiled peanuts that you would want and homemade ice cream.

My husband had a rare day off and we had some lunch at Applebee's and headed to the produce stand. It has been ages since we went. I used to go every fall to get pumpkins and corn stalk to decorate our front entry. I no longer do that, so we haven't been a long time. 

We really just browsed around and looked at things. We ended up getting two tomatoes for tomato sandwiches this week, two bags of boiled peanuts for him and our youngest son (I am allergic to nuts) and we enjoyed a scoop of ice cream. 

I was on the lookout for some lavender, but they didn't have any. I was also looking for a bird feeder hanger, but I found them to be pretty expensive compared to other places. 

I thought this birdhouse made out of birdseed was so amazing. UNTIL I seen it cost $60.00 (US Dollars) Uh, no ma'am. I mean talented but nope. It stayed there. 

They had such beautiful windchimes. I loved this one so much. Once, again it was $60 so nope. :) 

I did enjoy looking at the gardening section. Everything was so pretty. It was nice to take a walk through and get ideas.

I do not use yard decor, but I did enjoy the sasquatch trio being an avid hiker! 

We were getting pretty toasty because it was 96 degrees outside this day. We headed inside to the little boutique to look around and get some amazing ice cream.

I get the same ice cream every single time I come because I have never had anything like it. I chose a mini kids cup today because I was still full from our lunch, but I just had to have some. I actually didn't finish it. My favorite is Blueberry Cheesecake ice cream. My husband got a cone with Black Walnut. 

It was nice little outing. Do you like produce stands? I normally do. I love this place but as I mentioned it has been a long time since I had been here and I was truly flabbergasted at the prices. Even the produce seemed extremely high. I think I will stick to more small produce stands locally and our local grocery store. We will visit again as always maybe during the fall months. :) It really is just a neat place to get ice cream, poke around and get a few things. 

I hope you have a good start of your week ahead!

Chrissy T

Just some thoughts...

 

With Love, 

Chrissy T

Lots of Fun Meals, Decluttering, and Home "Pottering" This Week (Weekly Recap)

Hello Friends. 🌞 I sure didn't mean to not blog since Monday, but I have been doing a lot of preparing for surgery physically, mentally and also on the homefront. I have tackled a few little Hidden Spots that I have procrastinated on for months partly because I just didn't feel well. Anyway, since I was released from bed rest until surgery I have been doing more around the home between resting and reading. I have found a good slow rhythm to my days finally and I love it. 

Flowers from my walk at the library nature trail! I just love my evening strolls. 

With all that said from the first paragraph.... I have not been online as much. But I know after surgery during recovery I will have more time to catch up on visiting all your blogs and posting here as well. I will have limited activity and more time to be online. :) 

I also have been working at chiseling my spring bucket list off!!! WOOHOO!!! I have had fun being creative and doing things in a simpler way, but simpler doesn't mean I didn't have fun! I actually like the more simplified version of my list I adapted to fit with my current health. 

I checked off doing a spring puzzle off the good ole bucket list. It is FINALLY complete. This one took a lot of time. It was a little more detail and more pieces than I am used to. 

I made this NEW recipe this Wednesday and it was a BIG HIT with my family. They want them on a regular basis. We love to do lighter meals in the hot months. It has been in the 90's here and we are on a heat advisory. 

They were Chicken Tender Sliders. Oh, my!! They were fantastic!!! Recipe on Pinterest. 

Cooked up some delicious garden fresh squash a man in our church brought us!!!

I enjoyed making me a cool yummy cucumber sandwich for lunch one day this week. A neighbor brough us delicious garden fresh cucumbers as well. 

We have been so blessed with fresh produce by friends and church members. It is so kind. 

Another light dinner I made this week was my version of a Chicken Caeser Salad Wraps. My family LOVES these. My youngest things these are the best thing. It is so funny! They are so easy and light!!

My recipe I have tweaked for our family is....

1 bag of Caeser salad kit

extra Caeser salad dressing

Caeser flavored croutons

shredded parmesan cheese

1/2-to-1-pound fried bacon crumbled (2-4 people 1/2 pound is good)

1-2 cups of pulled chicken (I use a rotisserie chicken that I pull for meals)

diced tomatoes

diced red onions

tortillas

I know I didn't add measurements and etc. But it really is a toss in a bowl and eye what you need for size of family. If it is just 2-4 people 1 Caeser kit is good. If you have more than that I would add another bag. I always have an extra bottle of dressing to add to the salad mixture because one you add the chicken, bacon, extra croutons, and veggies the one little packet in the kit is not enough. You do not want dry salad! :) 

DECLUTTERING NEWS.... TACKLING THE HIDDEN SPOTS, SNEAKY CORNERS & THOSE OUT OF SIGHT OUT OF MIND PLACES!!!!

Welcome to my dining room! It looks all welcoming but behind one of the doors I have had some clutter lingering for 3 years. Yes, THREE! No judgement. It is what it is. 😆

Here is the sneaky spot. Behind one of the doors......

I had tucked some artwork and frames that I didn't know if I wanted to use or get rid of. I have held onto them for Three years and never have so it is time to say goodbye. 

I also had our daughter's graduation picture display board from 2023!!!!!! It was tedious work taking all the pictures off but I eventually it was all done. It was emotional going down memory lane. Made me miss the homeschool family days. :( It also made me so grateful for all the wonderful memories we made. 

All the artwork was donated to the thrift store, and the pictures were removed from the board and stored in a picture box. 

I have tackled many other spots like this throughout the week. I did go on my fun outing, and I can't wait to share that later. 

Happy Friday!!!

Love, 

Chrissy T