Hey, Friends! How are things? Life has been busy over here. Our library is migrating to a new library system so I’ve been spending a lot of time in training and prepping for the changes that are coming with that. And, on the personal front, the Alexandria Pineville Visitors Bureau invited me to be an Alexandria Pineville Ambassador. This is an opportunity to share things I enjoy about the community. You can read more about that here. And, last but not least, I’m working with Laurie Felt as an ambassador for her line of clothing, Felt Denim, sold at QVC.

Oh, I did have my appointment since our last chat and the doctor gave me a clean bill of health. Although he did say I need to lose weight. I kinda knew that already. LOL He also said some of my “problems” may be menopause related. Menopause ain’t for the weak, ya know? But millions of other women have survived it. I will too.

Anyway, on to today’s post…

THE PROMPT: Five Simple Fall Pleasures

Fall has always been my favorite season. I love the coziness — the cooler temps with chunky sweaters, hot drinks, mysterious books… This is the time of year that makes me want to just be at home. Summer is too hot and winter is too cold, but Fall is just right.

Except I live in Louisiana. It’s always hot here. Still, I can pretend, right?

So here are my five Fall pleasures:

1. Seasonal coffees from the local coffee shop – Right now, I’m obsessed with Pecan Pie Pour from Tamp & Grind, the local coffee shop down the street from my job. It has a nutty flavor, enhanced by the crushed roasted pecans that top the caramel laced whipped cream. The coffee itself is warm and creamy. Just delicious. Like coziness in a cup.
2.  Cozy sweaters in warm colors – I have a chunky old sweater that I brought with me from Pennsylvania that I loooove pulling out when the weather finally does turn.
3. Psychological thrillers – There are few things I love more than curling up with a blanket and a good book. I don’t know why Fall makes me want to pull out all the Frieda McFadden and Alice Feeney books.
4. Gumbo – Louisiana is famous for its food. And, you have not lived until you’ve had Louisiana gumbo. Eating it makes  you feel like you’ve just taken your first breath.
5. The Festivals – Around here, they’re called Fêtes. They’re community events centered around the arts, music, and crafts. The city blocks off a section of downtown Alexandria and the whole area turns into a giant community play yard with live music, petting zoos, food trucks, and more.

ABOUT WHERE BLOGGERS LIVE

Welcome to the monthly edition of Where Bloggers Live. It’s kind of like HGTV’s “Celebrities at Home,” but…Bloggers! Who doesn’t like to peek behind the scenes and see inside people’s homes? Over the next few months, we’ll share about our work spaces, home towns, and more!

I should note – because this is super important – the creative brain behind this project is Bettye at Fashion Schlub! Love her!

The Celebrity Bloggers

Bettye at Fashion Schlub
Daenel at Living Outside the Stacks
Em at Dust and Dog Hair
Jodie at Jodie’s Touch of Style
Leslie at Once Upon a Time & Happily Ever After
Sally at Within a World of My Own

Make sure you visit everyone to see where the magic happens!

IT’S YOUR TURN

What Fall activities do  you look forward to?

BOOKISH THINGS

Bookshop.org – Shop for books selected by me, for you!

NetGalley Professional Reader – I receive free ARCs from NetGalley to review on my blog and share on Instagram.

The StoryGraph – A reading app that shares all the nerdy details of my bookish life.

THANK YOU

Thank you for stopping by my blog. I hope you enjoyed this post and learned something new. If you like what you read, please consider sharing this post on Facebook or Pinterest. While I pay for many of the items I share on this blog out of my own pocket, some items are gifted to me {I always disclose those items}. If you’d like to connect on a more regular basis, I’m on Facebook and Instagram.

Come back soon,

LET’S CONNECT

Click Here to See Where I Link Up

AFFILIATE INFORMATION

As the blogger and photographer behind Living Outside the Stacks, I independently select and write about stuff I love and things I think you’ll enjoy too. Living Outside the Stacks has affiliate and advertising partnerships so I get revenue from sharing this content and from your purchase. Thank you for your support.

Reading and reviewing books brings me a great deal of happiness. If you’re a reader, I’d love for you to visit my online bookstore, Living Outside the Stacks, to make your purchase. If you purchase from my shop, I’ll receive a small commission and you’ll also support indie bookstores. If you need help staying organized, but want to keep it pretty, I invite you to give Artful Agenda a try. It’s a digital planner inspired by paper planners. Use my code: RD1191716. Artful Agenda connects effortlessly to your Google and Outlook calendars and works across devices.

When I saw the call for ambassadors, I immediately sent in my name and contact information because I wanted to give back to a the community that has given so much to me. Like I said, The Hubs and I have lived in Alexandria for eight years now, and I’ve made so many connections and participated in quite a few leadership programs that helped me to see how much this community has to offer.

Additionally, I don’t want to be one of those people who just complains about the area, I want to help shape it into what I need it to be. I want to live in a community that is:

• safe
• culturally rich and diverse
• supportive of small, locally owned businesses, and
• provides educational and workforce training opportunities to help support growing families

I want to live, work, and play in a place that I can be proud to call home.

That being said, I’m not naïve, I know that the Alexandria Pineville area has its issues; I will work to improve the lives of my neighbors. I will vote for people who have the best intentions for those of us who live and work here. I will spread the word about the good that I see in our community and I will speak out against injustices.

MY FIRST PROJECT: Fall Bucket List

I found the Alexandria Pineville Fall Bucket List on the Explore Alexandria Pineville website and thought it looked like fun. Also having a little activity planner never hurt anybody, ya know?  I know probably won’t do everything on this list, but, I do want to check off as many things as I can. I’ll write about my experiences here on the blog and share photos and videos on Instagram and Threads. Even if you don’t live in the Alexandria Pineville community, I hope you’ll follow along.

BOOKISH THINGS

Bookshop.org – Shop for books selected by me, for you!

NetGalley Professional Reader – I receive free ARCs from NetGalley to review on my blog and share on Instagram.

The StoryGraph – A reading app that shares all the nerdy details of my bookish life.

THANK YOU

Thank you for stopping by my blog. I hope you enjoyed this post and learned something new. If you like what you read, please consider sharing this post on Facebook or Pinterest. While I pay for many of the items I share on this blog out of my own pocket, some items are gifted to me {I always disclose those items}. If you’d like to connect on a more regular basis, I’m on Facebook and Instagram.

Come back soon,

LET’S CONNECT

Click Here to See Where I Link Up

AFFILIATE INFORMATION

As the blogger and photographer behind Living Outside the Stacks, I independently select and write about stuff I love and things I think you’ll enjoy too. Living Outside the Stacks has affiliate and advertising partnerships so I get revenue from sharing this content and from your purchase. Thank you for your support.

Reading and reviewing books brings me a great deal of happiness. If you’re a reader, I’d love for you to visit my online bookstore, Living Outside the Stacks, to make your purchase. If you purchase from my shop, I’ll receive a small commission and you’ll also support indie bookstores. If you need help staying organized, but want to keep it pretty, I invite you to give Artful Agenda a try. It’s a digital planner inspired by paper planners. Use my code: RD1191716. Artful Agenda connects effortlessly to your Google and Outlook calendars and works across devices.

Hey, Friends! How’ve y’all been? Things have been wild over here. About a year ago, I noticed that my hands have been shaking to the point that doing little things like writing with a pen or pencil or using eating utensils is sometimes difficult. The Hubs has gotten to the point where he helps me out with things like opening packages because gripping things is sometimes difficult and my hand strength is nil. We still don’t have answers for why this is happening, but two new things have started to happen: my short term memory is awful and I’ve had a cough with shortness of breath for a few months. Yeah, a lot. At first, I pushing things off as menopause, being overweight, and other things. But, a few weeks ago, I was giving a presentation about the library and completely forgot what I was doing/saying. And I panicked. I could not get it together. Then about three weeks ago, I walked up the stairs at work and could not breathe. Literally thought I was going to pass out because I couldn’t get any air. I’ve had a chest X-ray and a CT scan, both normal. Now I have an appointment with a cardiologist next month. Like I said, a lot.

Along with that, the Fall 2026 semester started lasted month and things have been hectic. As you know, we have five campuses and I’ve been trying to maintain my normal travel schedule but it has left me exhausted. Still, I love traveling and visiting our campuses. Getting to know our students is always so inspirational. This year, I had library branded fidget clickers made to give to the students. They look like computer keys {with a QR code to our library website} because our library is online, you know, I wanted them to make the connection. They’ve been a big hit. Along with the bookish stickers and tattoos. LOL

Now that I’ve kinda sorta caught you up, let’s get on with today’s post…

THE PROMPT: Things I always say

I say a lot of things, so I thought it’d be fun to ask my family what I always say. I didn’t expect them to answer, but they did. We also had a few laughs and took a stroll down memory lane in the family chat. Anyway, here are their answers:

• The Hubs: “Don’t ask for nothin’…” When the kids were little, I used to give them a little warning before we entered any store that basically ended with me telling them not to embarrass me or I would embarrass them.
• Jazmine: “Dance with me.” When they were little I used to pull the car over and tell them we weren’t moving until they danced with me. I don’t get to do this often now that they’re adults, but when I get the chance, yep. 
• Brandon: “….” I do type that a lot when I don’t know what to say.
• Bryanna: “Um.” Another thing I type when I don’t know what to say.

And here are my answers:

“Yeah, no.” I’m not sure why I say this, but it’s my general response when someone asks me to do something. Most of the time, I end up doing it anyway. But, for a minute, I am standing my ground.

“Duuuude.” My general exclamation when I find something negatively or positively surprising. 

I’ve also started saying a lot of not-so-nice things because what the hell is going on in the U.S.? To counteract those negative feelings, I’ve started reminded people to check their registration status now and make a plan to vote early to ensure their voice is heard. If you don’t know where to check your registration, start with Vote.gov. Once you get in that booth, I beg of you: CHOOSE WISELY!!

ABOUT WHERE BLOGGERS LIVE

Welcome to the monthly edition of Where Bloggers Live. It’s kind of like HGTV’s “Celebrities at Home,” but…Bloggers! Who doesn’t like to peek behind the scenes and see inside people’s homes? Over the next few months, we’ll share about our work spaces, home towns, and more!

I should note – because this is super important – the creative brain behind this project is Bettye at Fashion Schlub! Love her!

The Celebrity Bloggers

Bettye at Fashion Schlub
Daenel at Living Outside the Stacks
Em at Dust and Dog Hair
Jodie at Jodie’s Touch of Style
Leslie at Once Upon a Time & Happily Ever After
Sally at Within a World of My Own

Make sure you visit everyone to see where the magic happens!

IT’S YOUR TURN

Do you have a favorite saying?

BOOKISH THINGS

Bookshop.org – Shop for books selected by me, for you!

NetGalley Professional Reader – I receive free ARCs from NetGalley to review on my blog and share on Instagram.

The StoryGraph – A reading app that shares all the nerdy details of my bookish life.

THANK YOU

Thank you for stopping by my blog. I hope you enjoyed this post and learned something new. If you like what you read, please consider sharing this post on Facebook or Pinterest. While I pay for many of the items I share on this blog out of my own pocket, some items are gifted to me {I always disclose those items}. If you’d like to connect on a more regular basis, I’m on Facebook and Instagram.

Come back soon,

LET’S CONNECT

Click Here to See Where I Link Up

AFFILIATE INFORMATION

As the blogger and photographer behind Living Outside the Stacks, I independently select and write about stuff I love and things I think you’ll enjoy too. Living Outside the Stacks has affiliate and advertising partnerships so I get revenue from sharing this content and from your purchase. Thank you for your support.

Reading and reviewing books brings me a great deal of happiness. If you’re a reader, I’d love for you to visit my online bookstore, Living Outside the Stacks, to make your purchase. If you purchase from my shop, I’ll receive a small commission and you’ll also support indie bookstores. If you need help staying organized, but want to keep it pretty, I invite you to give Artful Agenda a try. It’s a digital planner inspired by paper planners. Use my code: RD1191716. Artful Agenda connects effortlessly to your Google and Outlook calendars and works across devices.