Books I've Read - September 2026

September 3, 2026

 

Hello friends, happy September 🍂

I'd love to share with you the books I've read recently.



Beach Reads and Deadly Deeds by Allison Brennan



Amazon

I read this on my Kindle using the Libby app.  I enjoyed this cozy beach read.  This book had a combination of mystery, humor, and romance.    

The Lion Women of Tehran by Marjan Kamala



Amazon

I finally read this book after my daughter gifted it to me for Christmas.  This was an interesting read involving the friendship of two young girls from Tehran.  

Summer Reading by Jenn McKinlay



Amazon

I enjoyed this cute rom-com.  I love that it took place on Martha's Vineyard, and this was the perfect summer read.

Local Woman Missing by Mary Kubica



Amazon

I was gifted this book to read by my sister-in-law.  I love a good thriller/mystery book.  I'm glad my sister-in-law gave me this book, as it's the first time I've read a book by this author.  I'm hooked!  I liked this book and have, She's Not Sorry on hold by this author.  I can't wait to read that book soon.


We Love to Entertain by Sarah Strohmeyer



Amazon

This was another good thriller/mystery book that I read on my Kindle using the Libby app.  This was a fun read.

The Night We Lost Him by Laura Dave



Amazon

I read this on my Kindle using the Libby app.  This was another good twisty tale and mystery.  I would like to read more books by this author.



If you have book recommendations, please let me know.


I will share this post at the monthly book link-up party, Share Your Shelf.  It's held on the first Thursday of each month.  Slices of Life
 

Click HERE to see the blog parties I will be linking up to.


Julie
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Currently - September 2026

September 2, 2026

 

Hello friends and happy September! 🍂




I'm joining Amy from the blog, Coffee and Cocktails at the Casa, for her Currently link-up.  It's held on the first Wednesday of each month. 


We will be sharing this month:  Adjusting to, Baking/Cooking, Decorating, Balancing, and Learning.



ADJUSTING TO:  I'm adjusting to it getting darker at night and the end of August.  I can't believe it's the beginning of September.  I am trying to clean out closets and donate clothes to Goodwill.  I will be transitioning my wardrobe to fall clothes.  I have two bags of clothes and coats to donate.  I hope to do more!   

BAKING/COOKING:  I haven't been baking lately.  We are trying to be good right now after having a fun summer of eating ice cream.  Although I do love eating pumpkin bread/muffins and apple bread/muffins for fall.  I may bake once the weather cools off.

DECORATING:  I have been crocheting pumpkins to decorate my mantel in my living room and kitchen.  I love giving them to my daughter and her friends too.  I like decorating my stoop planter with fall flowers.  

BALANCING:  I thought that we would've done more grilling this summer than we did.  We didn't because I was on vacation in London with my daughter in June; July, I went on vacation with my husband to the Bahamas; and in August, we took a family vacation to the Jersey Shore.  I want to get back to eating healthy meals and meal planning.  I love making soups and Italian dishes, and I will also incorporate Hello Fresh meals for a while at least twice a week.  I love that I have two meals that I know what I'll be making, and everything that I need for the meals gets delivered to my house.  I'm hoping to get on a more regular schedule with the gym and get back into blogging more and visiting blogs.   

LEARNING:  I love crocheting seasonal items like this crochet pumpkin I made recently.  


I love making crochet projects with new free patterns.  I like finding crochet patterns from bloggers, Pinterest, and Instagram.  I have bought some crochet patterns on Etsy.  The details on how to make this pumpkin is here.  I love decorating my mantel and the kitchen with these pumpkins.  I usually use leftover yarn in different colors.  

What is currently new with you?


Click HERE to see the blog parties I will be linking up to.

Julie
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Long Weekend in London, England 2026

August 11, 2026

 

Hello friends. 

My daughter and I took a trip to London in the middle of June.  We took a late flight on Thursday, June 18th, and arrived in London on Friday, June 19, 2026, in the afternoon.  

Come along with me as I share about my trip to London, England.



Once we landed, my daughter and I took the tube to the Kensington area where we would be staying in an Airbnb.  This was a new area for us and we both liked it.  

We found a cute restaurant called Maggie Jones to sit and cool off for a bit and have lunch. 



The restaurant was cozy and rustic, decorated with dried flower-filled baskets that hung from the ceiling.  The food, service, and staff were great.  My daughter had steak and fries, and I had Dover sole with veggies and mashed potatoes.   


This is what the block looked like where we were staying in our Airbnb.  We had a studio located in a fourth-floor walk-up.  There were over 80 steps to get up to our apartment!  The room was small, but it was clean with a bathroom.  Just perfect for the two of us.  


We were able to go to our apartment to unpack and relax.  We were in walking distance to the Kensington Gardens and decided to spend some time in the park.


It was a beautiful day to walk around the park.



My daughter and I posing in front of the Queen Victoria statue.



It was so nice to sit and relax on a bench and watch the ducks swim in the water.


After we left the park, we went back to the apartment to relax.  We found a restaurant in the area called Eve.  It was a lively restaurant with good food.


We shared a pasta dish, French fries, and a Cesar salad, which were all delicious.


This was our view of the sky from our room.  The sun set late around 10:00 pm each night.



We both had a great first day in London.  To be continued...

If you would like to read more about my trip to London, England last year, you can click here.  I also went to London, England in 2023, and you can read about that here.




Click HERE to see the blog parties I will be linking up to.

Julie
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Currently - August 2026

August 2, 2026

 

Hello friends and happy August!  


I'm happy to be still enjoying the rest of the summer.  I will be sharing what is currently new with me.



I'm joining Amy from the blog, Coffee and Cocktails at the Casa, for her Currently link-up.  It's held on the first Wednesday of each month. 

This month we are sharing:  savoring, wrapping up, preparing, remembering, and organizing.


SAVORING:  I'm savoring all the foods of the summer right now.  I'm enjoying not using the oven for dinner and am happy when we use our grill.  We had steak for dinner one night, and another night my husband made burgers on the grill.  We shared some clams on the half shell one night when we went to an Italian festival, which was fun. 
 

We've been enjoying eating ice cream flying saucers that we bought at Carvel.  

WRAPPING UP:  This month I will be enjoying every bit of summer.  I love sitting outside in my yard and reading a book with an iced coffee. 


I enjoyed going to the beach at the Jersey Shore with my brother-in-law and sister-in-law.
 

I had fun going to the nail salon and getting my nails painted a bright red color.  This nail polish color is called Watermelon by Essie.


PREPARING:  I will be getting my basil ready to freeze.  I take the basil leaves and wash them and dry them.  Then I add them to a blender with olive oil and put it in a plastic bag in the freezer.  The basil can be added to tomato sauce, pasta, or soup. 


I'm happy that my pepper plant did well and I'm growing a few peppers.


My herbs are doing well, and I need to pick some mint to add to ice tea.


I love how pretty my stone pots look in my yard with pink flowers.


REMEMBERING:  I'll be remembering how I had a great summer and how fast it went by.  I took a trip in June with my daughter to London, England.  I will be writing and sharing a post about our trip.  I also took another trip with my husband to Paradise Island, Bahamas in July.  I will be sharing a post about our trip.

My trip to London, England with my daughter.


My trip to the Bahamas with my husband.


    
ORGANIZING:  I've been trying to organize my bathroom.  I'm trying to get rid of any old products I don't use anymore.  I have so many bath towels, and I will give some of them to Goodwill.  I will be organizing my summer clothes and changing over to some fall clothes at the end of the month.  This part always makes me sad because I love the summer months and wearing shorts, T-shirts, and sandals every day.


What is currently new with you?



Click HERE to see the blog parties I will be linking up to.

Julie

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Italian Tuna and Cannellini Beans

July 20, 2026

 

Hello friends.  I hope you are enjoying your summer.  The weather has been a little crazy here, but I am still having a nice summer.  I have the perfect side salad to share for your next BBQ, potluck dinner, or picnic.


I've made this salad a few times as a side for our BBQs and it's one of my husband's favorite sides.



This side salad is so easy to make and tastes great with hamburgers, hot dogs, chicken, steak, or fish.  I hope you give this a try.


TUNA AND CANNELLINI BEANS



INGREDIENTS:

  • 1 - 15.5 oz. can Cannellini beans - You can use any brand of cannellini beans - I used Bush's Best
  • 1 - 5 oz. can Italian Tuna - I used Genova Yellowfin Tuna in olive oil
  • 3 tablespoons Apple Cider Vinegar
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • salt & pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS:

Add the tuna and the oil from the can to a large bowl.  Chop up the tuna in a bowl with a fork.  Add into the bowl the drained and rinsed cannellini beans.  Next, add in the rest of the ingredients and mix everything together. 





Click HERE to see the blog parties I will be linking up to.

Julie

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