Happy Monday, all!  Welcome to Monday Notes at My House…

Monday Notes at My House begins an exciting week for me as a lengthy process of cataract surgeries, hopefully, comes to an end.

As we get closer to the end of the week, I hope to return with more posts featuring…Me!

I am so ready to be back to be able to go out and about more and plan better for the blog community and my family.

I know it was a busy weekend, and I hope the team and the Olympians you support were winners.

So, let’s keep the excitement going as I ask for your participation once again.

MONDAY NOTES AT MY HOUSE:  YOUR FAVORITE COLORS

Now that I have the ability to curate collections together with you in mind in MY SHOP, I need to hear from you.

If you do not know your best color palette, that is perfectly fine….I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW FROM EACH OF YOU YOUR FAVORITE COLORS TO WEAR.

Even if you know your season palette, still share your favorite colors to wear…I know I do not wear all recommended colors in my SPRING PALETTE.

And, is anyone shopping for special events right now…how can I help?  It does help me to know the time of year, time of day, and any important details of the event.

I know if you told me you were shopping for a Spring Break event that could still mean cold weather clothing…so be as specific as you can…then I can go shopping for you.

Also, I think I know your favorite brand for most of you, but if you would like me to add one that you do not see, then please let me know.

I think this is so much fun…so do not worry about overwhelming me with information.

MONDAY NOTES AT MY HOUSE:  A NEW BRAND TO ME

Since beginning MY SHOP,  I have been contacted by more brands asking to send samples of their products.

I will share with you the ones I like on the blog and my IG/FB accounts.

Nopalera was a new brand to me and these two products do have my attention…I love the aromas.

The NOPALERA CACTUS HAND CREAM is my favorite…it feels luscious and smells amazing.  

I am going to empty this tube quickly.

I also like the aroma of the NOPALERA BOSQUE MISTICO PERFUME…it is a sweet smoky smell…but the Cactus is my favorite…I guess that comes with the Texan in me.

They have gift sets that I believe would be perfect to send to a mom, sister, friend, or someone you would like to bless.

So, far I like the products they sent.

MONDAY NOTES AT MY HOUSE: PANTRY GAMES

This is the second time I have gone pantry diving because I was stuck at home and did not want to pay expensive delivery fees.

So, here is what I pulled out…I used everything here EXCEPT the vegetable stock.

And created a Mexican Stew!

First, I browed a chopped yellow onion with avocado oil in a soup pot.

I added three minced garlic cloves.

Then I added one pound of ground beef…I wanted it to be chicken…but all I had in the freezer was this ground beef which is very high quality from Good Ranchers.

I stirred a tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce and all of these ingredients together until the meat browned.

Notice on the Mixed Chili Beans and the Mexican Street Corn that it came with its own spices.

But, I decided to risk it and poured all of these together…the black beans, chili beans, street corn, tomatoes & chilis, and the whole bottle of mild green sauce (Fire Roasted Salsa Jalapeno).

I stirred for a little while…tasted…and decided to add a package of McCormick taco seasoning…that has been in the spice cabinet for a few months. (but I did check expiration dates!)

I also added a tablespoon of fresh ground CUMIN, and a 1/8 teaspoon of salt and pepper.

I did not add any stock because it did not need anything else…this was very good.

I love to do this type of experimentation…especially when it works.

If I was not on WW, I would have made a pan of cornbread to eat with it.

The WW points are low here…I calculated four at the most.

The best part of being at home the last three weeks has been pantry games…what can I make with what I find?

MONDAY NOTES AT MY HOUSE: THIS WEEK

If everything goes as planned, I will be sitting in this chair on Wednesday in the Optomitrist office for a final verdict.

Then let the fun begin.  Thank you to everyone who voted on my hair color for Friday….and with thoughts on frames for readers and sunglasses.

You can still give your opinion at TIME TO CELEBRATE NEW STYLE DECISIONS.

Thank you for joining me today for MONDAY NOTES AT MY HOUSE…I hope to be here tomorrow…so until then….

EMBRACE TODAY & KEEP SMILING!

By Pamela Lutrell

For all your shopping, please use the links on my SHOPPING PAGE…thank you, thank you to all who shop this way and show support for this blog.  It means the world.

AND…visit my NEW CURATED SHOP where I will be adding my finds on a regular basis.

Happy first Monday of 2026!  And welcome to my weekly post now called Monday Note at My House.

Before you wonder, no this Monday Notes at My House is not featuring a picture from my actual house.

I will explain in a moment about the feature photo today,

But first , please make sure that you read my New Year’s Day Post, 2026 Word-of-the-Year, so that you understand when I discuss the word.

That is where I want to begin today with a few Monday Notes about the word I am giving my focus to for this year.

MONDAY NOTES AT MY HOUSE: TODAY

As promised in my new year’s day post, I did ask Beck, a 7-year-old grandson to draw my word for me and decorate it.

And I placed it on one of my bathroom mirrors to see first thing every day.

I am not sure who the long nosed man is on top of the “a” (at least I think it is a man) but I do like his interpretation of the trees, flowers, sun, and butterfly.

He is very creative, and this serves to remind me every day to awaken with intention to live that one day as full and grateful as possible.

To rejoice in the gift of the day and begin to ponder what the day might hold.

I have a bad habit of pushing some things on my to do list aside and think…I will do that another day.

To begin 2026, I am now determined to finally clear some of the things on my list.

For example, organizing my favorite (most often used) recipes into one place has been on the list for a long time.  But, I got this done over the weekend!

I have made my own “tweaks” to many of my recipes, but they were in my head.  I needed to make sure I recorded the full recipes for family in the future.

Right now, all I need to add is Thanksgiving…how I do the turkey and dressing.

I did not record black eyed peas…but I do love them and made sure Mr. B and I ate them on New Year’s Day.

So funny, I personally do not believe they bring good luck for the year, but I do have my mother in my head telling me to never test it.  She did believe in the myth.

I wanted to add cornbread so bad, but resisted temptation.

After a little over four weeks, our beautiful live tree did motivate us to go ahead and get Christmas decor down.  It was brittle, but still lovely.

Everyone agreed that Home Depot provided our best live tree ever.  I cannot wait to get back into their Garden area when it is time to plant for spring.

I am gradually working on the rest of the decorations and it is at the top of a priority list.

MONDAY NOTES AT MY HOUSE: I MUST RETURN

The feature photo today and the following photos are from a place that I must return to soon.

Carol Hicks Bolton Antiques in Fredericksburg, TX is a warehouse full of fun.

My son’s in-laws introduced me to this incredible antique store, but when I arrived Mr. B began to call me to come eat with him and a high school friend.

I was only able to do a quick walk around, and shot enough photos to know that I must go back.

Maybe with the time to spend an entire morning here.

Maybe when I know where my permanent home in Abilene is going to be, then I will better understand how I want it to look and what will be passed along.

I am excited to return, perhaps this spring, to this wonderful place…if you like rustic chic like I do, this should be at the top of the list.

MONDAY NOTES AT MY HOUSE: CHALLENGING WEATHER

The January skies are beautiful, but the warm winter is a bit challenging.

One day very warm…one day very cool.  It is hard to know how to dress for the day, so I find myself dressing for cool in the mornings, and changing in the warmth of the afternoons.

I will show you some of the looks I have been wearing to meet the challenges this week, and, of course, they hopefully speak to my new style adjectives.

For me, coffee weather is every day…love my coffee, and I tried a new cream this weekend that I really like, it is the CHOBANI ZERO SUGAR SWEET CREAM CREAMER.

It does not have the bitter after taste that many of the sugar free creamers have.

This is one more little sign from Fredericksburg.

Thank you for joining me today for Monday Notes at my house.

Let me know if you have any thoughts or questions…I hope to be back tomorrow…and until then….

EMBRACE TODAY and KEEP SMILING!

By Pamela Lutrell

For all your shopping, please use the links on my SHOPPING PAGE…thank you, thank you to all who shop this way and show support for this blog.  It means the world.

Happy Monday!  Welcome to Monday Notes at My House….

Let’s just call this Monday Notes the Christmas wrap up edition.

I was so blessed to have the majority of my family in town with us for three days over Christmas…and we missed terribly the ones not here.

Our crew included seven grandchildren from ages 1-12.  

I can now share with you what the favorites were for Christmas 2025 and some things I can recommend …because they are family approved.

With a warm Christmas, we were able to do many things outside and enjoy some lovely mild temperatures for the kids to play.

 But now, the cold weather has returned to us in West Texas, so let’s get a cup of warmth, a cozy blanket, and go over my Monday Notes: The Christmas Wrap Up.

MONDAY NOTES AT MY HOUSE: FAVORITE GAMES

This year we played many games…including a lively Family Feud Christmas Game divided into two teams.

But, the game my daughter brought over on Christmas Eve was by far the favorite and, at first, I was appalled.

She called it the poop game and all the kids laughed so hard.  It is actually called THE HASBRO GAMING DON’T STEP IN IT! BOARD GAME.

The goal is not to step in the piles of poop…which feel like squishy balls.  The kids had to walk the board blindfolded, after picking which animal-walk they must copy.

They laughed and laughed and thought is was so funny.  So, by far, the poop game wins the favorite!  (But, I do not know if I would give this one as a gift!)

MONDAY NOTES AT MY HOUSE: FAVORITE FOODS

The fact that there were really no leftovers from the meals attest to the success of the meals.

I was so busy cooking that I barely remembered to take pictures and wish I had more of the favorites…but I do have a few.

I have selected favorites from the meals based on the fact that children and adults both loved these selections.

I do not have a picture of the salad, but it was a hit.  Since I have so much to share today, I will include the salad in tomorrow’s post.

Everyone loved the beef tenderloin (Chateaubriand).  Which is great because it is Super Easy!

I purchased 6 lbs, and marinated overnight in Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper.

It needs to sit at room temperature 90 minutes before cooking and during that time, I rubbed it down with the following:

2 minced garlic cloves

1 teaspoon of dried rosemary

1 teaspoon of dried basil

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon all spice 

1 teaspoon salt…whatever salt you like

1 teasppon pepper

2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

I actually mixed all of these together in one bowl, and then rubbed them on the meet while it sat at room temp.

Before cooking, pour one stick of unsalted melted butter all over it.

Then place it in a pre-heated oven at 500 degrees!  For medium rare, cook for 25 minutes, for medium cook 28 minutes, and well done 29.

It needs to rest about 20 minutes before serving.  Delicious!

I was surprised at how everyone loved the onion gravy for the mashed potatoes….and it turned out to be a unique creation of mine!

I followed this recipe from last year’s Southern Living Christmas Cookbook.

However, I discovered the afternoon of Christmas Eve that I was out of cornstarch and the stores all closed at noon.

There is a gravy mix that I love and keep in my pantry…I guess for times like this.

So, to the onion concoction, I added a packet of PIONEER BAKING COMPANY ROASTED TURKEY GRAVY...Pioneer Baking is a business in San Antonio.

The gravy was heavenly…you kind of wanted to lick the pan…all of the mashed potatoes and gravy were completely gone!  The turkey gravy mix went so well with the homemade chicken stock.

On Christmas Morning, our family ate every bit of two PIONEER WOMAN MONKEY BREADS.  They love it.

The only thing I do different is to add a dash of nutmeg.

And, the adults all loved Sally’s Easy Make Ahead Breakfast Casserole….I did leave out the mushrooms.  It is very good and I served it with green salsa.

Finally, a favorite of all was my German Chocolate Chocolate Sauce that I put over balls of ice cream rolled in crushed Archway Windmill Cookies and frozen individually the day before.

You can use any ice cream, but by request of a grandson, I used Blue Belle’s Christmas Cookie Ice Cream.

This was one of the desserts I did for Christmas Eve.

GERMAN CHOCOLATE SAUCE (The picture shows a double portion- makes great gifts too)

1/2 cup butter

1 4oz package of sweet German Chocolate…I use Baker’s In a green package

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/8 teaspoon salt

1 5 oz can of evaporated milk

In a small pan, over low heat, melt the butter and add the chocolate pieces to melt as well.   Stir it often until all is melted.

Next stir in the sugar, vanilla, salt and milk and bring to a boil increasing the heat to medium.  Cook at least five minutes and don’t stop stirring.

I store it in the refrigerator and then reheat the sauce in the microwave. before pouring over ice cream…it is so good!

MONDAY NOTES AT MY HOUSE: FAVORITE GIFT

The gift that made everyone cry out and me actually cry was this little painting.

My precious daughter-in-law married to my youngest son, took a picture of our San Antonio home and using Canva, made it look like an oil painting on canvas.

My son said that she worked very hard on it.

The picture is from the time my oldest son and his family lived there and those are three of the grandchildren on their bikes in our little nook.

This house goes on the market on January 2, and we all loved it…and have special memories there.  This was an emotional gift for everyone.

May the new owner sense the love inside, and hear the laughter in the walls.

I will cherish it always.

And these two 7-year-old cousins both received football jackets for their favorite college teams.

It is a great reminder that college rivals can love each other and be in the same family…they were so cute and even wanted to sleep in the jackets.

Tomorrow, I will share with you a couple of the favorite gifts from Dillard’s.

MONDAY NOTES AT MY HOUSE: DON’T PACK IT AWAY

As you begin to put away your decorations this year, remember not to pack away your JOY.

Our deep joy is something we should maintain all year.

So, keep Joy hanging around throughout the year.

I so hope you had a precious celebration as we did and I am happy to share with you the favorites in the Monday Notes At My House.

Let me know if you have any questions…for us, Christmas 2025 is a wrap.

I hope to see you tomorrow…until then…

KEEP SMILING!

By Pamela Lutrell

For all your shopping, please use the links on my SHOPPING PAGE…thank you, thank you to all who shop this way and show support for this blog.  It means the world and keeps me here.

Happy Monday, everyone!  Welcome to my weekly Monday Notes for Women over 60.

Monday Notes has been fun to write during the holiday season and it is more fun to include some of you in these posts.

Today…I am featuring three of you in this wonderful blog community.

Also,  today I will discuss a little more about my Christmas cooking plans for the week…it will be a busy one.

I am in charge of two meals for 13 people…and right now I am honored to still be cooking for them.

So, let’s get started today with our Monday Notes starring…You!

MONDAY NOTES FOR WOMEN OVER 60: READER FEATURE

Our sweet friend Connie in Oregon was blessed by a neighbor this week who brought her a beautiful handmade wreath.

I love how she created something that can stay on the door past the holidays…the roses are such a nice touch.

And what a great way to do something special for a neighbor!

I also like that in the feature picture today, I can see Connie’s reflection in the door!!  How I would love to meet so many of you face-to-face.

This is the second Christmas decoration picture that our friend, Audrey has sent.

And you know me…I cannot see the word JOY too much.  She is showing us her porch decor today.

The reason for the season…love how you included it, Audrey.

We have a rustic artwork on our front porch that is spotlighted at night and says: A Savior is Born.

This beautiful card featuring a vintage Santa came to me from Katherine in Arizona.

This is a keeper for me, Katherine!  I keep a small few that I desire to frame and use for decorations the next year.

Your card will join four others I would love to frame.

Katherine also included a thoughtful quote, “When the people of all the nations of the world understand each other, then we shall indeed have peace on earth.”  -G. mistral.

I love how all of the women over 60 here are using their talents or the talents of others to make their worlds more beautiful and peaceful. 

MONDAY NOTES FOR WOMEN OVER 60: BACK TO CELEBRATION PLANS

I switched out my centerpiece for the big Christmas Eve Dinner from the poinsettias to one of my Christmas cactus plants.

The flowers are beginning to drop some leaves (after a month in my house) and I think this is a safer choice …plus it does go well with my rustic vibe.

Saturday was the big shopping day and it went well…though HEB had their heater on and it was one of our warmest days.

I absolutely love living in a smaller town and the improved service I receive…plus the sense of community from those who work in various stores.

The butcher was amazing and helped me immediately with what I plan for the main dish of the meal…he even tossed in free butcher’s string!  

Everyone in my family…even children…surprisingly voted for beef..we are Texans after all.

I will be trying my hand at Chateaubriand…though I have not done this before…call me brave or stupid, we will see.

I am also making for the meat and for masked potatoes a Carmelized Onion Gravy.

The recipe calls for chicken stock and I personally believe the flavor has more depth when I make my own in a crockpot with celery, onion, garlic, rosemary and salt ( and, of course, a chicken!).

So, this past weekend…we had chicken soup so I could grab the needed chicken stock and provide Mr. B and I good meals.

Chicken soup is a good way to build immunity when going into a potentially exhausting week.

I even used extra chicken to make Street Tacos…so yummy and on my diet!

Ok, Back to the gravy…

1. Melt the butter in a large pot skillet.
2. Add onions and stir often…reduce heat and cook for about 25 minutes, stirring often.
3. Add 1/3 cup dry sherry and cook 5 minutes until liquid is evaporated.
4. Stir 1 1/2 tablespoons of cornstarch together with two tablespoons of the chicken stock.  Then add it to 1 1/5 cups of chicken stock.
5. Then gradually add it to the onions with 2 teaspoons of fresh thyme and a dash of salt and stir until slightly thickened.

NOTE:  I may replace some of the chicken stock with juices in the pan from the Chateubriand. I will taste the juices to see what I think.

After Christmas, I will share with you what I did that was successful.  Believe me, the family will let me know if something doesn’t work.

Thank you for joining me today for Monday Notes for Women over 60...I will have a winter outfit inspiration post for you tomorrow…until then…

CHOOSE JOY & KEEP SMILING!!

By Pamela Lutrell

For all your shopping, please use the links on my SHOPPING PAGE…thank you, thank you to all who shop this way and show support for this blog.  It means the world.