Friday Five

Happy Friday Peeps!!   It's been a short week but we're all ready for the weekend!

I thought another fun thing might be to showcase my Friday Five.   Could be anything that I'm enjoying this week; food, fun, clothing, oils, you never know but most likely it'll include something in my Amazon order.   These are also in no particular order!

You may remember that I got a free bag of these in my Fab, Fit, Fun box and I promptly ordered more. So good!!!  Just sweet enough to satisfy a craving without feeling too guilty.

amazon link

Today's #2 brought to you by alllll the flowers in the yard!  We've been getting so much rain (no we never complain about rain in May in Texas!) and the flowers look amazing.   It's a reminder that dryer and much hotter days are coming and we'll wonder if we will ever see the rain again.

Plumeria 

striped zinnia 

my little pollinator row of beauty 

One of two colors on my hibiscus    

the second color on the hibiscus 

This little brat (and yes, I'm well aware I'm the reason she's a brat) 

But she's so dang cute!

Coming in at Number 4 this week- 

A feel good movie- if you've read the book, see the movie.  If you've seen the movie, read the book!

Finally, a reminder from my post yesterday that this is such an incredible smelling oil.  I've got it diffusing everywhere!  

That's all for now....have a good weekend everyone!!

Peace, Love, and Rouxby Sue 

YL Spotlight: Stress Away essential oil blend

Got Stress?  Yeah, who doesn't?!!  Am I right?

Just recently I saw a post on one of the many Young Living Facebook pages I belong to and it stopped me mid scrolling because I knew immediately which item popped to my mind first and boy, it was the same for so many other people too!

In a BIG surprise to me, it was Stress Away.   Interesting choice for so many people to pick when it's not really one of the BIG idea YL items.  But oh honey, have you smelled Stress Away??   One sniff and you'll know why so many of us love it.

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The main scents that come across are Lime and Vanilla.  Aside from the amazing smell Stress Away is known for the ways in which it can support your day to day life.  Obviously, from the name...hello, this oil is most widely known for supporting you in everyday stressor situations.   One good whiff of this when  you are heavy on the traffic and light on patience and you can be transported to some island with water and palm trees.  At least you can go there in your mind even if traffic is detaining you. 

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We all know lavender is know for supporting us for a more restful sleep, guess what?  So is Stress Away.  Give yourself a big relaxing breathe of this incredible blend and let that mind relax so you can get some shut eye.  It has a spa like aroma that is often worn as a fragrance.   No nasty chemicals, just roll this on and smell good instantly.  

Some of the essential oils in this blend are vanilla and lime, cedar wood, lavender, copaiba, and ocotea.  These all work together to support a relaxed state of mind and with Young Living's seed to seal promise, you can rest easy knowing you are getting 100% pure essential oils with no added fillers or additives.

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Stress Away is Kosher, Vegan and Gluten Free but it is a photosensitive oil so watch the placement when out in the sun.  No sunburns allowed!   

                                       

   

Need a few ideas of how else you can use this amazing oil in your day to day?

1. Use it pre-meditation.   Roll it on your wrists, temple, or neck before you start your meditation to help you achieve a deeper relaxation.

2.  Bath time:   Add a little Stress Away and some Epsom salts to that bath and slip into a spa like bath experience.

3. Your Hair:   Here's a fun one, since this blend also contains Cedarwood, you can gently massage a few drops into your scalp and throughout your hair.  Shiny and smooth hair plus an amazing lingering scent.

4.  The beard:  Don't forget the fellas.   Blend a drop or two into some coconut oil and apply that to the beard.  Soft and supple and it smells good!

5. Find some inner inspiration:   Working on something that you need to get some more creative juices flowing?  A big whiff of Stress Away and you just might unleash your inner Picasso!

6.  Getaway on the Go:  Keep a bottle in the car, at your desk or anywhere you tend to find yourself tensing up.   Whenever you need a minute, take a deep breath and float away in your mind. 

7. Signature Scent:  You don't need expensive, chemical filled perfumes.  Roll this one on and find a signature scent with added benefits.

8. Diffuse it:  Ahhh, the obvious choice here is always diffuse.  Makes the room smell fantastic and helps you deal with whatever comes your way with a little more calmness and focus. 

  Speaking of rolling on oils, these handy little roller balls are easy to switch out from the plastic dropper that comes on the bottle.  Here's a handy link to some on Amazon:  Roller Ball for essential oils

I keep these on my Stress Away and Thieves for easy application.  I also have some on Valor and the M-Grain - pop them on any bottle for instant roll on support. 

There ya go?  Have you tried Stress Away yet?  Do you love it like me?  If you feel like you really need this one, just click on one of the links and it'll take you right to the page where you can add to cart and start your Young Living journey.

Peace, Love, & Relax

Samma 

The SammaSpot Snapshot

Hey Peeps!!

I'm a day late and a dollar short as they say but guess what?   I think I finally landed on the post name for my weekly post AND I've decided to kind of push the scope a bit.   Let's see how this goes.

Ok, first up I'm apologizing because I failed to take very many clothing pics this past week.  It was a holiday weekend, the girls were here and we just generally had some fun.    We did do a little shopping so eventually I'll have some cute new duds to show off to you because listen, J. Crew Factory was having a fabulous sale for Memorial Day.   

Let's start off with some food: I meandered out to the garden on the 20th and brought in all this yumminess.  That will be the last of the lettuce, kale and asparagus.  It's getting too warm for those things but we were richly rewarded this year.     The lettuce and kale beds will get Okra planted this week.

If you remember that last week I needed to figure out dinner and I grabbed a bag of this from the pantry, unthawed a nice bag of frozen shrimp and wah-la...dinner was served. 

Now I need to remember where on earth I found this because it was delish.

Frozen Shrimp is something I always keep in the freezer, it's easy to add to a pasta dish anytime there's a dinner emergency; i.e. a lack of planning on my part.

It doesn't look like much but it was quite yummy.  Hubster was licking his plate. 

Just to fill you in on the missing days, you know so you know I actually cooked.

Thursday the 21st we had cheese & jalapeno quesadillas for dinner.  We love the Siete Foods almond flour tortillas and there's always a pack in the freezer. Another great last minute dinner idea, depending on what's leftover in the refrigerator the fillings change.  

Friday the 22nd, we made a quick trip to the grocery and got ready for Merebear and Reygun to come over for the weekend.   Friday night we had home made pizza.  We were planning on cooking them on the Ooni oven but we ran out of propane so we just baked them in the oven.  They were still yummy.  Homemade pizza is another easy, quick dinner idea.  As a matter of fact, that's what we are having tonight

Saturday we did some shopping, went to the Botanical Gardens and then came home to Hamburgers, Hash Brown Casserole, and Baked Beans.  We also made some Wendy Frosty ice cream in the slushy machine. 

Sunday morning, I got up and made Vegan sausage patties and sheet pan pancakes then we just hung out at the pool until the weather turned stormy then came inside and watched Remarkably Bright Creatures on Netflix.  (sooo good) and the girls went home about 6 that night so Hubster and I just nibbled on leftovers 

Monday was Memorial Day and we had a lazy day at home. Well, I did, Hubster worked on adding a new sprinkler line.  He made himself and Roberto the neighbor Chicken Wings and Salad for dinner.  I done told ya'll I'm on a no chicken moment and I nibbled at their leftover salad.

Tuesday evening I figured I better get back to cooking.  

The asparagus is the last batch from the garden this year, I just roasted it with olive oil, salt & pepper. 

The corn is the amazing frozen white creamed corn.  Then I had some pork chops and just marinated those with mayonnaise and Casa M Spice Whole Hog seasoning.  I'm telling you, putting a thin layer of mayo on your meat, then adding the dry seasoning will make the best grilled taste.  Try it and thank me later!  

Also , try this corn, you won't be sorry but most good southerners already know about this goodie.

Today for lunch I picked all the over-ripe, slightly split open, about to go bad tomatoes out of the bowl and tossed in a fresh jalapeno, the onion I simmered in tomato sauce the other day, some leftover sweet peppers, salt, pepper, cumin and some milk.  Tossed it all in the Vitamix on soup setting and had me some soup for lunch.  

I'm telling you, there is nothing like fresh tomato soup even if it's hot outside.  Remember, we don't waste food so it's the perfect solution to use those tomatoes that have seen better days.

I had to run to the post office but when I got home I was a little snacky so I grabbed my fave summer snack.    

Fresh from the garden cucumbers, cut up with Tajin on them.  YUMMMMOOOOO!

Ok, let's get down to the clothing.

I wore this last Friday, those are the Mother the skipper shorts from my rental box.   This was the third month I've rented them and sadly, I'm probably done with them.  As comfortable as they are I'm just not splurging on another pair or denim shorts.  I enjoyed them while I had them.

The shirt is from Evereve and is the Nora Muscle Tee. This color says pink but it's really a purple-pink color.  I'm sure I put shoes on to go to the grocery but I have zero clue which ones.  I have 2 other Nora tee's from last year and this year they made it a V-neck and I have one.  They are the best basic t-shirt!

Let's take a peek at the other items from my Nuuly box.   I didn't really get a chance to wear them so I grabbed some pics, I wouldn't hesitate to rent any of them again.

This is the Iralanne dress from Lilly Pulitzer and it's a beautiful dress.  I'm wearing a size 2 in this one and I could definitely go down another size.  It's very loose and forgiving. 

Here's a close up of the colors, orange and pink is one of my favorite combos!

Next up is the linen shirt that I failed to get a picture of the last time I wore it.  Shrunken Bennet linen shirt

from Anthropologie.  I didn't see this color way on their site but it's a great linen shirt.  Would not hesitate to order again.   The shorts are a recent purchase from Target.  These are a size small and I've washed and dried them and I think I might should have tried the XS but never fear, they are loose and baggy and linen so I'll appreciate that later this summer when it's Eleventy billion degrees out and I don't want my clothes to touch me.    

Ok, back to the boring old clothes.

Yesterday I threw this on, those shorts (S) from Wallyworld in black and my old Black Keys concert t-shirt.   

And finally today, you have this. 

This skort from Amazon.  This is the one that is a size small but runs small so size up if in between.  

And obviously my Creed concert t-shirt from 2024.   Don't forget my little shadow who never lets me out of her sight.  

We've had so much rain (NOT complaining at all) and the weather gets hot then cools off so our pool is only 77 degrees but Hubster braved the chill after doing yard work one day.   I actually got in most of the way on Monday before it stormed.   I'm ready for pool time again!

You always get my little girl Rouxby Sue so I thought I should include one of our Reggie boy.  

Look at his ear, that's a bandaid because his feisty little sister bit his ear while they were playing and he was bleeding everywhere then he kept shaking his head and making it bleed again.   So he got a bandaid.  😂

Ok, that's a wrap on the usual things but now we're going to add a few more items of what's happening around here.   

TV shows:   We just finished up the second season of The Lioness on Paramount+   I thoroughly enjoyed it.   I guess we might start the new Dutton Ranch series now but House of Dragons is getting ready to come back on FINALLY!  

I am watching two shows from HGTV, although I think this coming Sunday is the last episode of this one.

I've loved getting to see the "framily" of Ben and Erin take the spotlight. 

And the first episode of this started this week, I love this show!

She inherited an actual castle in France and now they are renovating it.   It's so cool to see.

Movies:  You will rarely see this category on here because I'm not much of a movie person BUT this one is sooo good!!  I read the book and it was only better because it could hold more details but the movie stayed to the book and was excellent.  Also, the casting person nailed their job!!  

spoiler:  I still needed tissues 😢 (happy tears)

Reading:  This one will always have a rotating spot because I've always got several books going and pool season is also reading season around here!

I finished the ARC (Advanced Readers Copy) of this one last week.  It comes out on August 18, 2026 so you've got plenty of time to read the first one in the series, Marigold Cottages Murder Collective. It's a fun cozy, murder mystery series. You can read my Goodreads review here

Now I'm reading another ARC book from NetGalley,  My Sister I Going to Kill Me by Nina Simon.

This one is also set to come out on August 18, 2026.  

Nina Simon wrote the Mother Daughter Murder Night but these aren't a series.

I'm also STILL listening to The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt.  This was the last book of my Bucket List books class last semester and while I participated in the class discussion I'm forcing myself to finish this one.  I mean it won the fiction Pulitzer Prize but it hasn't been my cup of tea.  I need to get it done because I have several audiobooks I'm excited to get going just waiting in my library.   

We may add some stuff as it pops into my mind as we go but let's see if this sticks with me.  You can never tell around here! 

Peace, Love, & Pizza

Samma 

What's Samma Cooking & Wearing

Hey Peeps,

I'm trying out different titles for these Tuesday posts and I'm not committed to one just yet so we'll keep trying.  I'd like to keep the name consistent and the What the Heck is She Wearing didn't cover the other things we talk about so if you have any suggestions, shoot them my way!

Ok, hopefully this one won't be too long so let's get started.  I've been doing Amazon Vine reviews all afternoon so my eyes are crossing and good grief it's time for me to figure out what we're having for dinner. Where did the time go today??  

Pork chops & applesauce (IYKYK)

Let's hop way back to May 6th and let me show what I did with all those hamburgers we had leftover from the night we grilled out for our neighbors.   If you are new around here (welcome by the way) you need to know that one of my biggest pet peeves is wasted food.   I despise wasting food because I try to remind myself when I'm on the 3rd leftover meal of how fortunate I am that have food in my refrigerator and pantry.  Next time you grumble about your leftovers just remember, someone in this country would love to  have leftovers.    Anywho, about a dozen hamburgers seemed daunting but then again, no food waste so let's figure something out.   I did make a big batch of cheeseburger soup and Hubster and I were very pleased with how it turned out too but we still have a few burgers leftover so I decided to bake them in an egg mixture and make breakfast sandwiches.  Hubster loves a grab and go breakfast and this was perfect, leftover buns and burgers taken care of!   

I scrambled up some eggs, added in the broken up burger patties, added some milk and cheese and poured it into a baking dish and popped it in the oven.  If I had any leftover peppers, onions, or tomatoes I would have tossed those in as well.  It's a great way to use up those not so pretty veggies in your fridge too.

After they baked I used a drinking glass and cut circles out of the egg mixture.  If you look reeeeeaaaallll close you can make out the lines.   Then I scooped out those egg circles and plopped them onto the leftover buns.   No buns, use biscuits or English muffins, whatever you have.

I wrap mine in foil then pop them in Hubsters designated breakfast container in the refrigerator and they are ready for him to warm up when he needs something in the morning.  Because I put these in foil, he usually takes the egg off the bun, and puts it in the oven to warm up.    Against popular vote, we no longer have a toaster over, otherwise he'd heat them up in there.    Easy Peasy lemon squeezy! 

Don't think my resourcefulness ends with leftovers, oh no, let's put those herbs growing out of control from the garden to good use.  This was approximately my third batch of parsley this spring and honestly, there's probably enough for me to do more out there.    Take your herbs, whatever they are: parsley, basil, thyme, oregano and bring them in. Wash really well, I mean like really well and then lay them out on towels to dry thoroughly.   I like to let mine sit out overnight so I know all the water is gone, nobody wants soggy herbs Herb!   

Here you have the parsley drying out.  Notice I don't take the stems off, easier to leave it on for now.

Once those babies are dry, put them on parchment paper on a baking sheet in the oven on the lowest setting.   Let them bake for at least 30 minutes then start checking them.  You want them dried and crumble when you touch them but don't burn them.   

This usually takes me about 3 big sheet pans because you want them in a single layer.  

You can save your parchment for the next time you need to dry herbs too but using it makes sure they don't stick to the pan and it's easy to get them off.

Once those babies are dry, just hold the stem over a bowl and crumble the leaves off into the bowl.  You can pick out any small stems that fall in later.   Once you get it all crumbled off the stems, go in and pick out a small stem pieces that might have fallen in and crumble up your leaves.

Dump them in your spice container and voila - you have ground parsley!

The parsley is helping keep the bugs out of my cucumbers and keeping my pantry stocked.  It's a win-win plus your kitchen smells divine when they are drying!

Here's a sneak peek at my May Nuuly- I mean the month is half over and I've only worn the dress and two of the shirts.  I'm probably going on hiatus for a few months with my Nuuly unless we end up deciding to take a vacation but right now that's not in the cards.    

On May 11th we had the last Hello Fresh meal we've ordered.   I'm taking a bit of break from those now for awhile.   My classes are over for the semester and we're back into regularly scheduled routines around here.   However, I'll probably order a couple of kits that are vegetarian for Father's Day weekend when the girls are in town since it's often hard for me to come up with good meals for them.  

This was a Garden Spinach Ricotta Ravioli with zucchini ribbons, tomatoes and a creamy lemon sauce and I have to say it was delish!  I will make a couple of changes to the recipe but we really enjoyed it.  Actually, I might make it this weekend because the Merebear and Reygun will be here.  I can throw some chicken breast on the grill for Hubster and Reygun and Mere and I can enjoy as is.   Cause remember, ya girl don't eat the chicken no more.  

So now we're up to Tuesday the 12th and our first outfit, which is less than thrilling.

Nothing you haven't seen before.  My old Zelle skirt and Nirvana t-shirt.  We had roofers and solar company and insurance adjusters at the house for about 4 hours.  BIG claim from that nasty storm we had at the beginning of the month.    Thank goodness for insurance!

I did a fun little pollinator garden along the fence in our yard.  Happiness!!  Apparently the deer are also happy because overnight they managed to eat all the leaves off the morning glories and hollyhocks.  Silly deer, those are not for munching! 

Look at the pretty visitor we had!   Said visitor and a little Carolina Wren happened to have a battle over the blue bird house.  I suppose no matter what you are the real estate market is tough!

If you need a picture to demonstrate defiance...I give you this!

S-T-U-B-B-O-R-N. but adorable.  Yes, she was refusing to acknowledge me.

On the 12th we used up the hotdogs from another night of cooking for the neighbors and had ourselves some good old-fashioned beanie-wiennies!   Hubster was licking his plate and I have to admit, it was pretty delicious.   I added a cucumber and tomato salad (all fresh from the garden) to make it a bit healthier.

Wednesday the 13th we had another fast favorite of the Hubster's.   Fish sticks, biscuits and green peas.  

It's simple but yummy so no complaints from us.

I had an acupuncture appointment but I failed to take a picture I guess so it must have been a repeat outfit.

There's always lots of those.

Thursday the 14th I had to do a little notary work in the afternoon so I put on something a little less ratty. 

The shorts are new this year from The Gap (26), they are in my usual size 26 and are great basic denim shorts.  The t-shirt you've seen as well as my fave dog walking Birken-crocs.  

The flowers are really starting to bloom!!  It'll soon be pollinator heaven!

Now we're up to Friday.  

I was having fun playing with filters so you get a fun fireworks background.  It should be distracting since I had apparently just washed my hair, it's still wet.    

The t-shirt is a Nuuly rental. It's from Mother and is soft and comfy but definitely not worth that price tag.  I'll wear the devil out of it while I have it but it'll go back.

The shorts were the ones I purchased last month from my Nuuly rental and Joe's jeans and I love them!  Worth every penny.   The shoes were some I got from my Amazon Vine program.  They aren't walk all day in them comfortable but they are cute and take me back to high school and the old style jelly shoes.  

red jelly Mary Jane shoes.   I did get my usual size 8 in those too.

Saturday the Hubster and Reggie went up to work on the deer lease and little Rouxby Sue and I stayed home.  I did venture out after lunch to take a little trip to Target though but otherwise lounged around the house all day.    The shorts are from 3 years ago and are a bit big but they're linen and comfy so I still wear them.  These are similar just different colors.  Also wearing the ever popular Daydreamer Fleetwood Mac t-shirt.  That link is for the one they have now. 

I found my summer drink, it's the Waterloo Lemon Italian Ice with some lavender syrup and it is delicious!   Crisp and refreshing for the heat we know is coming soon plus it's such a pretty color.  

Sunday took us to brunch with the Merebear and Reygun at First Watch and we were all so hungry and enjoying catching up that I failed to take any pictures.   We were also so full from a late breakfast that we just grabbed whatever for dinner. I also failed to take a picture but I wore those amazing Joe's jeans shorts and the yellow and blue linen shirt from my Nuuly rental.  This brunch was followed by a Costco trip.

It's Monday again and I had nowhere to be and nothing on the schedule but I see that I failed to take a pic, must have been a sad selection of clothing choices.  haha.  However, we did have quite the delicious dinner.

Grilled steak & zucchini bowls with a creamy sauce.  I grabbed some pre-seasoned flap steak and cooked that on the griddle while the zucchini roasted in the oven along with some red onions.  

To make the sauce you combine ½ cup greek yogurt with ¼ cup mayo, 1 Tbsp. lemon juice, 2 Tbsp. chopped fresh parsley and 1 tsp garlic powder.  Mix those together and put in the refrigerator to set while making the rest of the components.  

Basmati Rice on the bottom then top with steak slices, zucchini, cherry tomatoes, grilled onions and then drizzle with the sauce.   Delicious and yummy!  You can grill the steak, zucchini and onions if you prefer.

We made it to Tuesday and with another wide open day we tossed on that old skort from Target and a new t-shirt I grabbed Saturday at Five Below.  I got my usual size small so believe it or not, it does run true to size.  Not bad for $5.55 and it's super soft.  

I even grabbed this super cute tote, I mean it was only 7 bucks so why not.   They only had the crab, teddy bear and sea shell at my store.  If they'd have had the bee or daisy pattern I'd have stood there forever trying to pick one.  It has some pretty cute details for the price.

Look at the little charms and I love how it has a little clip so you can switch out the bag charm if you want.

The little crab is embroidered onto the bag too!

And it has a pocket inside.   If you have a 5 Below near you, these are really cute inexpensive totes that would make a great gift bag, just saying.   

We had homemade pizza's last night for dinner as we are once again, trying to eat up all the freezer, refrigerator, and pantry stock that we can.   The girls are coming this weekend so I'm saving the grocery trip for Friday so I'll be menu planning for the weekend since we are just going to hang out at home, hopefully splash in the pool (hoping the rain holds off) and generally just be lazy.   The girls have been super busy and we all need us a good lazy weekend with too much coffee, junk food and slushes in the Ninja slushy machine.  

One more outfit and we're wrapping up this weeks edition of Cooking & Wearing.

It was drizzling rain this morning and a little chilly so I grabbed my old Judy Blue shorts and a long sleeve tee from Tipitina's in New Orleans.  

That gets us all caught up for another week so I leave you with this....

Her obsession with sitting on the lawn mower is hilarious.  She cannot go into the garage that she doesn't go straight for the lawn mower.  She leads a pampered life indeed.

Peace, Love, and Tote Bags

Samma