Happy Homemaker Monday

Hello, Happy Monday and 

Did you enjoy the extra hour after changing your clocks back? Doesn't it feel like we are speeding rapidly to the end of this year already?? It sure looks like November here. Very few leaves on the trees. It's cold and rainy today. But it just brings on the cozy vibes and I'm not mad about that. :) 

How was your weekend? For those that celebrated Halloween I hope you had fun. 🎃 

On Friday I did hospice work and then in the evening Hubby and I ran some errands and went out for a nice dinner. On Halloween we went to evening mass. And then we brought snacks to contribute at Mr. C's Aunt's home. She hosts a fun Halloween pot luck party every year and this is our 3rd or 4th year going? So we hung out with our besties, the C's, and also the family and friends at the party. It's always such a fun time! 

Then yesterday we did some cleaning around the house. Watched football and overall had a nice chill day. 

To me November is a month of gratitude and quiet preparation for the holidays ahead. I usually don't put up Christmas decorations until after Thanksgiving. Sometimes when it falls really late in November I may start putting up a few things right before Thanksgiving. And we do oven put the outside Christmas lights & decorations up this month before it gets too snowy and cold. Oh, and I do start listening to Christmas music this month! Yay!! 

 I actually have already done a big bulk of my Christmas shopping. I have our Christmas cards for this year already too! So I like to do as much of that kind of prep before December as I'm able to do. I like December to be more focused on the fun things like: baking, watching movies, wrapping gifts, and going out to holiday events/concerts etc.  😊❤️💚

I just love the Fall vibes to last a bit longer and to focus on the thankfulness of this month. I also host Thanksgiving... so maybe that is why I like it to still feel like Autumn around here. I love focusing on the gratitude most of all, including you dear Friends! I love gathering here with you each week and sharing our lives with one another. I appreciate every visit and kind comment you make here. I read them all and love when you share what's going on your world too. So in this month of gratitude I just want to say thank you so much for your friendship. 🍁🧡

Now on to the week ahead...

THE WEATHER OUTSIDE IS:

ON THE BREAKFAST PLATE THIS MORNING:

raisin bran cereal and coffee

ON MY TO DO LIST THIS WEEK:

they're coming to install the shower doors and then our new bathroom is complete -yay! pickleball (& may start volleyball league next week), errands, bday dinner with a couple of gf's (we all have Fall bdays), Christmas projects, hospice work

THINKING ABOUT: 

how it looks like it's supposed to rain most of the week - but I'm just going to embrace the cozy and work on projects (& maybe bake something fun?)

THINGS THAT MAKE ME HAPPY:

Being wrapped up in a soft fleecy blanket on a cold night -  all cozy in my favorite recliner and watching football or a movie (or working on embroidery). It's all about the cozy vibes.

 

CURRENTLY READING

I probably won't have much to add here, other than holiday magazines, because I have mainly been working on craftsy projects.

 

ON THE TV TODAY:

 Jeopardy,  Best Medicine, Survivor, Dancing with the Stars, Youtube things, Holiday Baking Championship, Great British Baking Show, The Gilded Age is back on (yay!) - it's very Downton Abbey-ish if you've never seen it (on HBO max), Love is Blind, Nobody Wants This

ON THE MENU THIS WEEK:

    MONDAY - eating a hodgepodge of leftovers from the weekend (pasta dish & some pork chops & sides)

TUESDAY - taco salads

WEDNESDAY - Breakfast for dinner....Italian version of shakshuka (spicy egg dish) with added protein and skillet sourdough toasts to dip in it, veggies/fruit on the side

THURSDAY - out with gf's - but for Matt creamy potato soup and side salad

FRIDAY - out for dinner?

TO RELAX THIS WEEK I WILL:

work on holiday projects, might start wrapping gifts I have tucked away

TIPS OR SOMETHING TO SHARE:

FROM THE CAMERA:

We've been getting our cozy on with the fireplace some evenings (now that most nights are in the 30's - brrr). Bubba loves to come snuggle with us by the fire too. :) 

When I was outside with Ruby one night I took a pic from the outside because I loved all the lamp glow with the trees reflected on the window. And I caught a pretty sunset. I also caught some of the last leaves in our backyard through the view in our patio door.... and now they're not even there anymore. 😢

This past Friday I was up at the hospice house to volunteer and they had all the Autumn cozy going on. Pretty pumpkin and mums and the cook there had just baked her Grandma's recipe for homemade caramel rolls. She gave me a taste and they were out of this world! 😋

My poor Hubby had to be out-of-town for work for a few days (including his birthday) - so we celebrated with a nice dinner and his favorite dessert he requests every year - a peanut butter pie. You can find my recipe here. Every year Matt adds more to it though. Lol He can never get enough peanut butter. This year he had me throw some pb m&m's into the filling. And you can see how I initially decorated it and then the next photo is what he added. 😂 But I was just happy to make him what he loves and to celebrate him on his 49th. Next year is the big 5-0 for him! I'll have to think of something extra fun for that one. 😉

And speaking of peanut butter - I made my friend Billie Jo's (at the blog Afternoon Coffee and Evening Tea) spiderweb munch to bring for the potluck Saturday. It was a hit! It's such yummy chocolatey peanut butter goodness. And I also made some cream cheesy ranch tortillas roll-ups (that also had some pepper jelly on them) - but I forgot to get a photo. I didn't get a photos of us, but because we went to church first I was dressed tastefully in dress pants and a black top. But I did take a photo of the jewelry I wore. I was channeling my Bubba black cat vibes for Halloween this year. 🖤

Sunday we spent down in the media/gamer room. We have plans for things we're going to change in there next year (we tabled it to do our new bathroom this year). So eventually that room will get some new paint, carpet and furniture. Matt's office is down there too. 

But the things we have changed includes Matt's touches. A 77 inch big screen and big sound bar (and he brought one of our old tv's down to watch multiple games). And he added a special camera that detects what you're watching and a light strip behind that lights up in colors and moves to match what is on the screen. Lol It was so cool when we watched an Avengers movie the other night in the dark! While we watched football I was working on the last of my other embroidery project. Only a little bit left now and I will definitely have it done for our gf bdays Thursday this week to give both as gifts.

 And our Packers weren't on so Matt half watched football and half did this: 

zzzzzzz

And when we were cleaning and tidying up this weekend I turned some of my jack-o-lanterns around to just look like pumpkins. And took down my black cat print and put up my Thanksgiving one. 

PRAYER LIST:

 For an end to the conflicts all over the world and anyone living in war & fear, especially everything going on in the middle east right now. For peace and unity in this country, especially from hate and shootings or violence.  For anyone sick, suffering, in pain, fear, loneliness etc ... that God bring them comfort and peace. 

For the Lord's love and peace to fill all ❤️'s.

For Christ's Light and Love to cast out the darkness everywhere and help the world find its way to loving our neighbors as ourselves. 🙏🏻

PRAYER, INSPIRATIONAL QUOTE OR DEVOTIONAL:

Why do Mondays often feel that way? Lol 

Wishing you a cozy and wonderful week ahead Friends. I'm sharing this with Sandra of Diary of a SAHM for Happy Homemaker Monday.

Happy Homemaker Monday

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😂)

PRAYER LIST:

 For an end to the conflicts all over the world and anyone living in war & fear, especially everything going on in the middle east right now. For peace and unity in this country, especially from hate and shootings or violence.  For anyone sick, suffering, in pain, fear, loneliness etc ... that God bring them comfort and peace. For a neighbor friend that recently went through a break up. For the kids to have a safe, healthy and happy start to the school year. 

For the Lord's love and peace to fill all ❤️'s.

For Christ's Light and Love to cast out the darkness everywhere and help the world find its way to loving our neighbors as ourselves. 🙏🏻

PRAYER, INSPIRATIONAL QUOTE OR DEVOTIONAL:

Happy BER months beginning to you dear Friends. 💛🍁

I'm sharing this with Sandra of Diary of a SAHM for Happy Homemaker Monday.