Mandii's Muse

Happy Friday! I hope everyone had a great week and has something fun planned for this weekend. This week was pretty good. Anytime your Monday starts off with a 2 hour delay, it is always good. We had some crazy wind in our area Sunday night and into Monday morning, so lots of trees were down and people without power. Somehow we managed to keep our power, and have limbs down and no trees. Thank God! Another favorite of this week was getting our Women of Faith group together. I so, so, so look forward to these get togethers. We had a great discussion about our fear and faith. It is such an amazing feeling to be surrounded by like minded women, and I strongly encourage you to find your faith tribe. So far we’ve made plans to do a 40 day devotional on the Bible app for Lent. Another favorite has been that I have consistently stuck with reading my Bible. I have tried in previous years and fizzled out, but I have remained consistent so far. Now that I am in the book of Leviticus I have b...

Today is Friday and I am still thawing out from the Polar Vortex. My parents and I braved the cold Thursday, and I stepped outside to pump gas, and I was FROZEN when I got back in the car! I linked up with Andrea to share with you some of my favorites with you.  I made this Creamy Pesto Pasta from the Pioneer Woman, and it was absolutely delicious! Don’t worry, recipe coming soon to the blog! You’ll want to add this one to your collection!   This is the reason why I braved the Polar Vortex. You’ve heard me say it before, but this is absolutely my favorite pizza. It’s in Ohio, and I use their cheap gas as an excuse to go and get my pizza fix. Haha!   This was on my TV Tuesday night before the cold blew in. I thought it was fitting, and funny!   I made my first chai tea latte, and it was pretty good. All I did was make a decaf tea bag, then I added some chai latte powdered mix and use my milk frother to blend it and make it foamy. Then I spri...

Hallelujah, today is Friday! I’m linking up with Andrea today to share with you some of my favorites for the week! I;m keeping it short and sweet today with my favorites. It’s the little things that make me happy. Up first, today is payday! I have not gotten paid since December 23, due to the holiday’s. I’m looking forward to it, but I know that my bills are going to take up a nice chunk of my paycheck. #adulting Next up is the weather. We are expecting some record snowfall here in Western PA, but I will believe the numbers when I see it for myself. I will say this, it will be nice to see some snow, and be able to stay nice and cozy with lots of coffee and warm drinks. It’s a three day weekend, so that will be nice to have a Monday off. This next week will be busy and fun at the same time. Tuesday is the Duke game, and I am hoping the weather holds off, and it is decent weather to travel down and back to Pittsburgh in. What are your plans for this weekend? I’d love to hear wh...

Can you believe that tomorrow is December?! Where did November go? I have plans to put my buffalo plaid flannel sheets on tomorrow, but it is supposed to be 60 on Sunday here in Western PA, so I might hold off on that. Haha! Here are a few of my favorites from this week! P.S. I am writing this from my iPad, so the pictures won’t be formatted the way I want the to. Ugh!  My first favorite is these Praline Pecans from Costco. You guys! These are so good! They are actually cheaper than regular pecans, and they have the topping already on them! My parents and I may or may not have bought two of these. We will use them in baking too. We’ll just cut back on some of the sugar since these are already topped.  My next favorite is watching TV by the Christmas trees. I watched Rudolph by the Christmas tree we have downstairs. Then, I went upstairs and watched the Duke game by the tree upstairs. So relaxing. It just happened to be my dad’s birthday when both of those were on, so he...

It is Friday, we are in the swing of the Holiday season, and the weather is turning chilly. Now is the time to put the iced coffees away, and tap into the hot drinks. This weekend is a busy one. There are a few craft shows my mom and I want to hit up on Saturday, and then that night is our church's Thanksgiving dinner. We signed up to make food, I'm making a dessert, and she's making sweet potatoes. I don't know why I always sign up to bake something-I usually don't have the patience to bake. It is so precise. Cooking is more my cup of tea, I can throw a little of this and a little of that in and be set. Haha! I love this time of year. I love the traditions, the food, the family time, all of it! Anyway, I'm getting ahead of myself. Let's stick with this Friday's Favorites! My first favorite was seeing this sweet deer outside of my chiropractor's office. Maybe she wanted to get an adjustment too! Next was getting to vote! It is a right that I ...

I want to share a few favorites with you on this Friday! The weekend is near, readers! My first favorite is that I had my favorite Wedgewood Pizza recently, and I think this might have been the best one ever. Now, I've had this pizza MANY times, and all of them were delicious, but I really think this particular pizza was the best one I've had. I also wanted to share that I did not pay this much for this book, but it took a lot of searching on Amazon to find. I needed the third book to finish my collection. P.S. This is such a great read, and book series if you like Christian books! It's Karen Kingsbury's Above the Line series! One non favorite is how my Cleveland Indians played in the playoffs. We looked like a completely different team. Maybe next year!  How are you enjoying your Friday? Leave me a comment and let me know! Thanks for the linkup Andrea !

Wanted to share some quick Friday Favorites with you! This week was a busy one with birthday's! My best friend Courtney celebrated hers on the 1st, and my mom celebrated hers on the 2nd! I celebrated my friend's by taking her out to lunch, and then we went to our local animal park to feed the animals. Then I treated her to a manicure! It was the most perfect girls day, and I was so happy that I got to celebrate her birthday with her! For my mom's birthday, my dad and I prepared breakfast and cleaned it up. She went to lunch with her brother and sister in law, (Hi Aunt Mare!) and then we all went to dinner at our favorite restaurant. I had the tacos, the best! She said she had a wonderful day! Also this week, it was my turn to host our monthly "Faith Group." We continued our study on Max Lucado's book Anxious for Nothing, and it was a great night. I also tried my first ever pumpkin spice coffee. I don't know what took me so long, but I ...

I'm linking up with Andrea today to share some favorites with you! The first favorite is that I am on my way to Erie, PA for their annual wine festival! Last year was my first time, and I am hooked! The wineries are beautiful, and they have so many fun events going on throughout the region. (I'm sure I'll be Instagramming a lot, so be sure to check it out throughout the weekend!) Another favorite has been my new iPhone. I got the 8, and so far I am really liking it. It is definitely a significant upgrade from my 5s that I had. Something that hasn't been a favorite has been searching for the third book in a series that I am reading. I have read the first two books of Karen Kingsbury's Above the Line series. I found the 4th book at Ollie's for $2.99. I have not been able to find the third book, so I figured I'd try Amazon. Um, are the joking? This book better be written in gold for that price! My final favorite has been watching my Grandma throughou...

Ah, Friday. A welcome sight. I mean, I guess I'm glad it is Friday, but that just means August is just that much closer. Womp, womp. Anyway, here is what I'm loving this week! First, I have been loving the show Greatest Hits on ABC. I'm a music lover from all genres, so hearing songs that I love being sung by the original artists, and modern artists is just so cool. Plus, I *might* have fangirled a little bit when Hanson, and Backstreet Boys were on. ;) Something that wasn't a favorite was waking up with a strained muscle in my neck. I woke up with it last Saturday, and it still isn't 100% better yet. I took lots of Advil, had my Tens unit on, and ice. My parent's and I had cocktail hour outside last week. It was so nice, and you can't beat a fuzzy navel. Thanks Andrea for the link up!

I really don't feel right posting about my Friday Favorites, in spite of what happened in Dallas. I heard that one of the officers that got killed had only been married two weeks. Two weeks. These officers left behind family and friends who are in shock, and grieving. Our country needs Jesus, now more than ever before.  Whew, one successful week of blog posts down! I think I can, I think I can! I'm linking up with Andrea today for some Friday Favorites! My family and I dog sat this weekend. Lacy is my Cashew's sister. They had a great time together, and they were so good. They are seriously so cute, and I can't stand it! I was listening to my Music Choice channel, and these two songs popped up. Feels So Good was a song that we played in jazz band, so I was remembering playing that in high school. Always by Atlantic Starr, was played at my aunt's wedding. I was 9 months old when she got married, but I was OBSESSED with her wedding video growing up. ...

Ladies and Gents, can I get an amen for 4 day weekends?! I mean who doesn't love a four day weekend? I know my fellow teachers do! I'm linking up with Andrea today to share with you my Friday Favorites! I got my DIY message board ready for Valentine's Day. I'm not a huge V-Day fan (#singlegal), but I've learned to embrace the holiday. 1 Corinthians 13 is my absolute favorite Bible verse on love, so it was only appropriate to put on the board. This little thing is so darn handy I can't stand it. It was perfect for my after work snack of iced coffee, and white cheddar popcorn. There was no spillage, and I didn't have to have both of my hands tied up with a drink and snack. Definitely a favorite! My parent's and I went to $5 burger night at a local restaurant. I don't know if the food was especially good, or we were just starving but it was out of this world! I had to laugh at my mom and I's conversation about Grease Liv...

I was looking through photos on my computer, and realized that there were some that I never shared with you! My cousin makes and sells handmade jewelry, so my aunt had a party to showcase her work. My mom, grandma, aunt, and I all went, and had a great time! On the way home however, we got stuck in the Liberty Tunnel for 20 minutes! Us girls had fun chatting in the car during the stoppage. For Christmas, Cashew got stuffed Rudolph and Clarice toys. He loves them! Clarice is definitely his favorite, so I couldn't resist doing a little photo editing. ;) Do you think that I have enough lip balm? My mom got me all of these for Christmas. I NEVER go through lip balm, but before all of these were bought for me, I had already gone through 3 of these! That never happens!!! I posted a review of this lip balm a long time ago, and you can find it here ! What kinds of odds and ends do you have? Leave me a comment and let me know!

I am so stinkin' glad it is Friday! It is payday, and dress down day, so it can't be all that bad! Even though it was a four day week, they usually seem to drag on. Why is that? I definitely plan on enjoying every bit of this weekend. I'm linking up with Andrea to share with you some of my Friday Favorites!! Image I have been watching and loving the Hallmark Winterfest and Countdown to Valentine's Day movies. More info on this book later but, this books has absolutely changed my heart. Who are you rooting for this weekend for the football games? I like Peyton and Tom, so I don't know who to root for! What are your plans for this weekend? I'd love to hear about them! Leave me a comment and let me know!

I'm back! I swear I have one good week of blogging, and then a horrible week. I need to really get better at this. Those of you that know me and read this blog, know that I am a frugal gal at heart. So that is why today's link up is perfect! I'm linking up with Andrea today, to share with you my favorite Fall finds under $50. Image My first favorite is this boutique called KenLeeCait . I bought this top (and could not love it more!), and I have another few items in my cart. Most of her pieces are under $50, and so darn cute. Definitely check it out! My next favorite is gel nails. My mom and aunt got manicures with gel nails on Friday. I wanted to wait until closer to Thanksgiving and Christmas to get mine done with gel. So I painted mine at home. But they are already starting to show some tip wear, and have sheet marks (the worst) in them. So for the $30 at the nail place, I think it is worth it. There is no cure time, and it lasts. A win, win! Most of you know ...

Today is Friday! We made it! Only a little while longer and the weekend will officially be here! A bonus for me is that today is payday! Too bad most of my money will be used for bills. Womp womp. Today, I'm linking up with Andrea to share with you some of my Friday favorites! My best friend and I enjoyed some delicious Greek food a few weeks ago, and I have been craving it since then! There was so much food! This picture doesn't even include the Greek salad they gave me. It was definitely worth the money plus, I got to spend the day with my bestie! Close to my house there has always been a man who plants an endless array of flowers. He goes on the honor system, and you can cut your own. I love having fresh flowers in my room! So since anyone has never bought me flowers, I took matters in my own hands! There is a family of three deer living in the field behind my house. While the quality is really blurry in this picture, this is one of the deer!  Even though t...

Can I get an amen for 4 day weekends?! There are so many exciting events happening this weekend that it will be busy, but full of family, friends, and good times. I'm linking up with Andrea today to share with you some of my favorites! Ladies and Gents, this outfit was on repeat this Summer! It was definitely a favorite for sure! Those shoes...there will be more in my closet. So.Comfortable! I know it is horrible for you, but this is a favorite breakfast from McDonald's! Sausage biscuit and a hash brown. I found this canvas at Marshalls, and regret not buying it. :( I have been more into quotes, and Scripture verses this Summer. Finding quotes like this one is definitely a favorite! What are some of your favorites? I'd love to read about them! Leave me a comment and let me know!

Well it is Friday. That's always a good thing! For me, I'm savoring this Friday because it is my last one of the Summer. I officially start subbing on Tuesday. Where did the Summer go?! I have a few fun things coming up in the coming weeks so I have those to look forward to. Here are a few of my favorite things for the week! McDonald's hamburgers are a favorite for this fella! He always gets one after his bath as a reward for being a good boy! I have been wearing my hair straight recently, and when it looks nice (like this picture) it is a favorite! This quiche is a favorite! I will post a recipe soon, but paired with shredded hashbrowns it becomes even more delicious! Those were just a few of my favorites! Savor those last remaining days of Summer! Thanks Andrea for hosting this link up!

Well it is Friday yet again! Where does the time go? I want to tell August to take a chill pill if you get my drift. I'm linking up with Andrea to share some of my favorites with you! Seeing baby bunnies are a favorite! These cuties have been living in our garden. There are 4, and they are just so stinkin' cute! Gerbera Daisies and Sunflowers are my favorite flowers. They just make me happy when I see them. Gerbera's are just so colorful. Love! Fresh vegetables from the garden are a favorite! This was only a small haul, there's still a lot to pick! Muddy Buddies are another favorite. So delicious, bad for the waistline. I could eat myself sick with those little suckers. What are some of your favorites? Leave me a comment and let me know! Have a great weekend!