Sunday Sips November 8th, 2020

Good morning! What a week! Am I right?

Hope you made it through okay and are ready to tackle a whole new week in this new month. For now, let’s get sippin’.

My birthday was a couple weeks ago and I got this gorgeous mug from a dear friend. When there’s liquid in it, it makes a heart! How cute is that?? She got it from Sipsby if you’re interested in getting yourself one. I mean, think about the adorable pictures you could take with it. So fun!

And in it, I’ve been drinking and loving London Fogs. Ever heard of it? It’s actually plain earl grey tea but you add vanilla (syrup if you have it otherwise extract works too), milk (supposed to be steamed but I don’t have the time or patience for that lol), and a sweetener of your choice like honey or syrup (I always sweeten my tea with real maple syrup). I received earl grey tea by Ahmad Tea in one of my personalized boxes from Sipsby but was not very excited about it by itself. It didn’t taste very good alone or even sweetened but then I remembered being intrigued a while back about a London Fog so I googled the recipe and made my own. And success! I actually like it a lot. I’m a sucker for all things sweet, what can I say? Ahmad tea is a British family business with a long tradition of supplying tea for the Royal Collection, including Buckingham Palace! So cool, right? If you’d like to try them out use code SIPSBY15 for 15% off.

The cold weather has officially made itself at home here in upstate New York and I’m basically living in joggers right now. I found some online at Target and ordered a couple different pairs. Since i’m sitting at a computer most of the day (and night), I need comfort and these are actually kind of cute. Is that an oxymoron? Cute joggers? lol Oh well. I need to be comfortable or else I become grouchy and unable to focus. I don’t even want to tell you how many days in a row I’ve been wearing this lightweight, soft long sleeve i bought either. Both were found online at Target which is one of the main places I shop.

With my youngest daughter now using her school issued tablet for her remote schooling, essentially freeing up my laptop, I’ve got more time to write, write, write. And Marc’s next up on the schedule for his love story to be written. Can i tell you? Last week i did a very rough, light outline and I already teared up. Yeah, i know. I’ve been saying Beckett’s book is the tear jerker but maybe mysterious Marc will give him a run for his money. Time will tell. I just love those boys so much and i’m so grateful I get to spend as much time with their crew as I do. I never want to leave Creekwood. Speaking of Beckett, he’s with my beta right now and I’m hearing very good things so far. Basically, Beckett’s one funny MF. But we knew that. lol She’s also already cried and she’s not even done, sooooo…get the tissues.

My other daughter is having a major fashion moment right now even though we’ve been stuck inside the house since March. But she’s 10 and I guess this is normal. One of her things is comfort as well and I nailed it with this new sweater I got her from Target as well. Honestly, I wish they had this in a bigger size so I could wear the same thing. It’s super cute and so soft. She wears it almost every day over her other shirts because i bought her a size bigger than usual, knowing she’d want to snuggle in it. She even wore it for our family pictures I took of all of us a few weeks back.

I’ve been listening to a lot of different music this week trying to get the playlist for Marc’s book in order but “Princess” by FLETCHER is probably my current fave. It’s absolutely perfect and it’s been on repeat.

Since I started writing a little over a year and a half ago I pretty much stopped watching all tv altogether but am trying to find a balance to give myself a break and enjoy other aspects of life, not just writing. I can’t help it, writing is just so fun for me. Even though last season of Riverdale gave me nightmares, I decided to stick it out and try out season 4 but now there’s a whole other scary aspect. What happened?? It started out as a teen drama with some suspense but i swear it’s a full on horror show now. Maybe i’m just a baby though. I’ll stick with it but i guess i’ll be watching it during the day again. I’m currently holding off on watching the last episode of the first season of Outerbanks too because i love that show so much and am not ready to say goodbye quite yet. i did see they’re presently filming the second season so maybe I can finish it just before new episodes are available.

As for reading, I just finished Nightfall by Penelope Douglas and am ready to dive into some historical romance now. I swear this time of year is perfect for curling up under a blanket with a duke nobody would dare go near until some rough-around-the-edges “lady” catches his eye and turns him into a total marshmallow. My absolute favorite author of historical romance is Lisa Kleypas and I’m dying for a reread of her Wallflower series. It’s been a couple years since I’ve reread them and I miss the characters so much. Her Hathaway series is amazing too with a little character crossover occasionally from the Wallflower gang. If you haven’t read her before i highly recommend starting with Secrets of a Summer Night, book 1 in the Wallflower series. Simon Hunt is drool worthy. All of them are.

Okay, that’s it for this week. Hope you enjoy your upcoming week and stay safe and healthy. Thanks for hanging with me.

Ashley