Season 5 of “Sweet Magnolias” Is Coming Soon!
With a new season of Sweet Magnolias premiering soon, I’ve been binging the previous seasons in anticipation of the release of this new season. The fifth season is reportedly bringing us 10 episodes that will be dropped simultaneously and we’re headed to the Big Apple!
I discovered this wholesome series just last year and quickly fell in love with Maddie, Dana Sue, and Helen. Their friendship, their love life’s, their hardships, and their messy “pour it out” nights have felt like being wrapped in a warm blanket, with a good book in hand, on a rainy day. It’s definitely one of my favorite Netflix series.
To celebrate this new season of Sweet Magnolias along with this years summer season, I’ve created a special Mango-Peach Margarita recipe. This Mango-Peach Margarita paired with blue corn chips and salsa make a perfect pairing to host your own watch party/summer kick-off celebration to celebrate friendship, motherhood, womanhood, summer, and all the small blessings sure to come this summer.
The Longing Peach Mango-Peach Margarita
Mango-Peach Margarita
You will need a blender to mix everything together until its smooth and the ingredients are already frozen, so you do not need ice. This will keep the flavor strong and sweet.
Ingredients:
1 ½ cups of frozen mango chunks
½ cup of frozen peach slices
2 ounces of Silver Patrón Tequila (about 4TBSP)
2 ounces of Minute Maid Mango Punch (a generous splash to help it blend)
2 fresh limes
½ ounce of fresh lime juice (optional)
Tajin Clásico Chili Lime Seasoning Rimmer
Directions
Put the frozen mango chunks and frozen peach slices into the blender first. Pour the Patrón tequila and mango punch over the frozen fruit. If you want a little bit of sour flavor to balance the sweet juice, squeeze in a little fresh lime juice. Blend on high speed until smooth like a slushie. If the blender gets stuck, add another splash of the mango punch to thin the mixture and help the blades spin.
How to Serve
Slide a slice of lime around the rim of the margarita glass to wet the rim, place the glass rim down into the Tajin seasoning and lightly spin to coat the rim of the glass with the seasoning. Slide a thin slice or a wedge of lime onto the rim of the glass as garnish, serve, and enjoy!
As you can see in the photo above, I love tajin seasoning but feel free to use as little or as much as you’d like. You can also use sugar instead of the tajin or skip coating the rim all together.
If you don’t care for tequila, you can replace it with Malibu rum for a tropical mango-peach cocktail instead of a traditional margarita. This can also be made without alcohol by replacing it with the mango punch. My kids have tried it that way and love it.
The whole point to take a moment to enjoy yourself and celebrate not only a new season of Sweet Magnolias but starting a new summer season full of small joys, love, friendship, and messy moments when we feel the need to slow down and “pour it out” from time to time.
Thanks for stopping by and feel free to save this recipe or share it with someone you know that would enjoy it! I’ll be back will a full update and my opinions about Season 5 of “Sweet Magnolias”—Take care!
When the Sandhill Cranes Returned
Some sounds do not belong to the present. They arrive carrying the memory of something older than ourselves.
As I ventured outside this afternoon to welcome my girls home from their day at school, I was met with an unusual sound coming from the sky. I looked up to see what I thought were geese flying in their usual V-formation, except these birds were not making the typical honking sound we’re familiar with. The sound they made as they flew high above in flocks of thousands demanded my attention. They carried the sound of something ancient.
As we walked home, we took in the sight and sounds of this mysterious species flying too high to identify. We questioned what we were seeing, what we were hearing, and why we didn’t recognize them. A neighbor happened to be outside tending to his gutters and offered an answer to our bewilderment.
He stated, “They’re Sandhill Cranes. They’re migrating to Canada. Some of them are coming from as far south as South America and will only stay here to rest, or they’re too old or injured to travel that far.”
I was stunned by not knowing about these cranes. I knew what cranes looked like. I’ve seen them throughout my life at small ponds. I’ve been in awe of the few I’ve seen, but these seemed new to me. Their sound and the sight of so many of them flying overhead all day was new bird behavior in Indiana for me.
A few moments later, we went for a walk to soak up the long-awaited, gentle air that was briefly visiting. As we walked to the park, we continued to be amazed by the flocks of Sandhill cranes making their long journey to their chosen destination. Their unique sound played as our background song along the way.
Upon walking home, the sky was no longer filled with that magic. The cranes had completed their journey over this small path we call home. I was happy for them. They knew instinctively, of course, that this was their perfect time to travel over Indiana. It was a cool mid-60-degree day, sunny, and only a slight breeze flowed through the trees. But the next day was set to be relentlessly windy, with the wind chills making it feel like a bone-chilling 7 degrees.
Once home, I looked the cranes up online, and waves of memory washed over me like high tide as I recalled my dad and me stopping each time we could to watch these exact cranes. We had witnessed them together many times and even seen a couple of the more rare (and nearly extinct) Whooping Cranes.
I can still vividly recall the look on my dads face when we saw the elusive white crane. His smile that was as golden as the sunsets in Georgia, and the twinkle in his eyes sparkled like stars in the night sky.
There are days such as this one that gently remind us how beautiful life can be. How one ordinary day can become filled with wonder, magic, and loving reminders that memories we once held so vividly -even those that quietly slipped to the back of our minds - still exist and still evoke the same joy.
Memories transcend time if we just slow down enough to notice.
And to the neighbor who rekindled memories I had locked away, I’m thankful he offered his knowledge to us. It’s very fitting that a dormant memory of mine was awakened by the Sandhill Cranes returning from their winter escape.
Some migrations happen in the sky. Others happen quietly within us.
Foggy Mornings
There is beauty in the grey. A peaceful exhale from Mother Nature under a veil.
This morning brought with it the magic and mystery of fog. As we opened our blinds, my daughter noticed it immediately and excitedly asked if there was a school delay, only to become rather deflated when I told there was not. While fog doesn’t promise school delays, it does promise something else - magic, mystery, and a quiet calm.
As a child, I imagined unicorn flying freely and unseen behind its veil. As an adult, I share that same mystery with my children in hopes they keep that childlike wonder with them into adulthood. We call foggy weather, “unicorn weather.”
Fog isn’t just something you see. It’s something you step into. It wraps around you gently, like a hug from the morning itself. The world softens inside it. Edges disappear. Sounds grow quieter. For a moment, everything feels suspended between what was and what will be.
You’re no longer standing apart from the world. You’re inside it. Held by it.
Maybe the magic comes from its reminder of what it feels like to belong to something we don’t need to understand. Fog doesn’t demand clarity. It invites stillness.
To witness it, and feel its embrace, is enough.
Welcome to Field Notes
Field Notes is like catching up with a friend while walking through a field. It’s where the ordinary grows: everyday life updates, small-town news, recipes, and even a few behind-the-scenes glimpses. Nothing polished, just what I found on the way, written in the margins of real days.