Hello beautiful Friends!
How are things looking in your part of the world?
It's a gray and rainy one here this morning and it's been that way all weekend. I can't say I'm mad about that. We really needed the rain and it's been kind of chilly and cozy. It is supposed to get warmer today though (80's). But this past weekend it was rainy and chillier 60's each day. A bit of Autumn preview heaven that's perfect for the beginning of September tomorrow. Last night I fell asleep to the sound of a thunderstorm outside. Is there anything better than falling asleep to that sound? A bit of lightening brightening the room now and then. Soft rumbles and the calm tapping of rain on the window. Blissful 💗
This past weekend flew by. Friday we went and helped my Mom and step Dad with some chores at their apartment and got out their Fall decorations for them. We also brought dinner and played some cards with them. I treasure the time with any of our parents as it is precious as they are all basically in their 80's. I'm so grateful for the gift of them all!
My Mom got a new little Christmas tree recently. They only had a table top one and she decided she wanted more of a real tree this year. She's already had it up with just the white lights at night. Well I surprised her with some cute little Fall ornaments I had picked up and dolled it up for her. She just LOVED it! I wish I had taken some photos. I found some cute knit pumpkins in different Autumn colors. And some glass looking (but they are plastic) little Fall ornaments that are things like acorns, pinecones, squirrels, pumpkins etc. It's adorable! 🍁🎃
Then Saturday we went to church and then met up with our besties the Conleys for dinner. We saw them at their daughter's wedding - but only briefly. We have all had busy summers and so we hadn't seen them much. So it was so nice to get a great night of gabbing and catch up! Then they came back to our house and we played cards until the wee hours. It was awesome!! We're going to one of their daughter's volleyball games this week. Back to school and back to sports time. 😊
Yesterday was a nice lounging day. We got some things done around the house but then we just snuggled in and hung out, played cards, watched shows and it was wonderful. :)
Sorry for the long intro so let's get straight into the week ahead (& bring on the BER months, yay!!).....
THE WEATHER OUTSIDE IS:
ON THE BREAKFAST PLATE THIS MORNING:
hot coffee today and a bowl of cereal I got in our thrive box - seven sundays cocoa cereal (it's all natural and organic and high in fiber and low in sugar) I had it with banana on top and my protein milk and a little bit of natural almond butter mixed in. Tasty and healthy 😋
ON MY TO DO LIST THIS WEEK:
groceries, errands, watch volleyball game, home projects, hospice work
THINKING ABOUT:
All things Fall and BER months to begin! I sent Annie some boxes of goodies with some Fall decor and useful things for her new apartment. She loved it! :)
I have been planning some crafts projects as some Fall gifts and have some to begin for Christmas gifts. I haven't gotten out my Fall decorations yet, other than some Fall soaps and some sunflower things. I will get to decorating soon though!
THINGS THAT MAKE ME HAPPY:
seeing my old Ruby girl (she is 14 &1/2 already!) still run for the frisbee and get excited to play and the way she loves to snuggle. I know my time with her is precious and she sleeps so much nowadays.
CURRENTLY READING
Lately some magazines and Fall cookbooks
ON THE TV TODAY:
Big Brother (& still old seasons too), Ted Lasso, I am watching Sanditon, I think we're going to get back to House of the Dragon. We may start a new series soon too, but not sure what yet?
ON THE MENU THIS WEEK:
MONDAY - roast chicken, pasta salad, veggies
TUESDAY - sheet pan chicken fried rice(new recipe), cukes from our garden, fruit
WEDNESDAY - beef stroganoff over noodles, steamed veggies
THURSDAY - probably eat up leftovers ahead of the holiday weekend
FRIDAY - out for dinner
*for the holiday weekend I think we plan to get some time out on the water. For food I think we're going out for brunch one day, making tacos with fun dip and fixings one day, and grilling brats and having fun sides (probably do that Monday).
I also plan to bake up some monster cookies 🍪
TO RELAX THIS WEEK I WILL:
work on projects/craft
TIPS OR SOMETHING TO SHARE:
I found this cozy Anne of Green Gables ambiance recently (always loved those books so much) and thought I'd share 💚
This is someone I follow on youtube and have for a while now. She is an American pastry chef, that trained in Paris, and lives in a cute little apartment in Paris with her French hubby and adorable dog. Many of you know I have always loved Paris (and been fortunate to visit a couple of times) and I passed that love on to my daughter. As Annie has also had many years of french language classes and has been to Paris a few times as well. This pastry chef is named Ainsley and she shares cooking and baking videos, tours around different parts of Paris and France and shares history & info about it, and also lots about going to flea markets and finding treasures. I just love her channel!
FROM THE CAMERA:
I made a yummy new recipe this past week for a slow cooker honey garlic chicken over rice. I sauteed some broccoli and some green beans from our garden as a side dish. It was so good and I'll share the recipe later this week. Along with a fun little thing I made with the leftovers for our lunch the next day.
There was also a cool clear evening last week we played some ladderball in the yard and enjoyed the glimpses of Autumn around our yard and listened to some geese honking on our bay.
Our cozy rainy weekend. Yesterday while Matt was downstairs in the media/gamer room for a while, and the pets were napping.... I was snuggled up with my ipad and some hot tea and pretty ambiance on the tv in the background.
I tried the cranberry hibiscus and it was delightful ☕️
Then later Matt and I were sitting at the dining room table playing cards and I was staring out our kitchen window and he asked me what I was looking at...so I took a pic and then showed him. Lol Just like I see things in the clouds - I make out things in the trees too. Do you see the dinosaur in the first photo? Or am I just a weirdo?
(wait, maybe don't answer that😂)
