What We’re Eating This Week | The answer to this prompt is pretty funny, considering how I answered it last month. It’s been four weeks since we had a Hello Fresh delivery and I miss it (Save $40 off your first box!). I was standing in the kitchen complaining about what to eat a few days ago, when Josh said: Do you realize that you literally never complained once about dinner while we were getting that meal delivery service?! Ugh. I did sign up for emeals and I haven’t liked the way any of the meals sounded. I think we’ve decided to get a Hello Fresh box once a month and then use their recipes to create our own meals the rest of the time. Best of both worlds, right?
What I’m Reminiscing About | I shared a photo of Sophie’s Halloween costume on Instagram yesterday and it got me thinking about all of the fun things she’s been for Halloween in year’s past. Remember when she was The Tooth Fairy? And a jellyfish? And that DIY Unicorn costume she insisted on? She always has something fun in mind!
What I’m Loving | We are still pretty obsessed with the string lights in our back yard — I love them so much, that I couldn’t bring myself to turn them off the first night. I’ve been telling Josh for years that I wanted our backyard to look like the yard in Parenthood and these lights were step one in that transformation!
What We’ve Been Up To | As much as we loved Ella’s first season of cheerleading, we were all a little relieved when her football season ended. The past few months have been so full and fun, but I’m ready for things to slow down a little, so we can enjoy the cozy season. Basketball season starts soon, so our break will be short lived, but I’m enjoying it anyway. Sophie is taking both piano and baton this year and she really wants to play basketball again. How do parents of big families survive?
What I’m Dreading | We’ve decided on a no spend November and I’m a little nervous about it. We have been eating terribly for months, so we decided a month of eating all of our meals at home would really help to get us back on track. I’m going to try and curb any unnecessary spending, while we’re at it. I’m not sure how this will look when it comes to traveling for Ella’s games, but I’m hoping with a little planning, we can make it work.
What I’m Working On | I really want to reopen my etsy shop this fall and I’ve been thinking about how exactly to make that happen. I don’t have a lot of spare time these days, but I really miss being creative in my free time (what free time??). I miss designing birth announcements and painting house portraits, so I’m hoping to offer a few openings each month, to get my creative juices flowing.
What I’m Excited About | I know she’s probably way too young, but we’re taking Polly to Disney on Ice in a few weeks and I can’t wait to see what she thinks. My mom wanted to take the little kids for part of their Christmas and since Polly was free, I decided we’d risk it and see how she did. It might end in disaster, but I’m hoping she’ll enjoy seeing Mickey and Minnie!
What I’m Watching + Reading | The new season of Peaky Blinders came out earlier this month — I am a huge Cillian Murphy fan! It wasn’t my favorite season, but that usually means that the next one will be amazing. I also watched Modern Love (in less than two days) and thought it was beautiful. I had heard mixed reviews that several of the episodes were terrible, but I literally cried through every single one. I’m not always a fan of romantic television, but I thought this one was really well done! I shared a reading recap a few days ago, if you want to catch up on what I’ve been reading.
What I’m Listening To | I cancelled my Audible subscription this month — I do this every year or so, when the unused credits start to accumulate. I went ahead and downloaded a ton of books before cancelling, so I’ll have plenty to listen to for the next several months. I’ve also been listening to true crime podcasts again recently and have loved almost everything I’ve heard. Here are a few of my favorites from September and October.
What I’m Wearing | My current wardrobe consists of black denim, black leather sneakers, and oversized sweaters. I just want cozy and comfortable all of the time.
What I’m Doing This Weekend | We don’t have big plans for Friday, thankfully, but our Saturday and Sunday are packed! Josh is doing some excavating in our yard this weekend and we’ll be topping our driveway with a new load of pea gravel and winterizing our garden boxes. I’m meeting Jennifer for a long overdue lunch on Saturday and Ella is having a cookout with some friends under our new twinkle lights.
What I’m Looking Forward to Next Month | My fortieth birthday is next month and that seems a little ridiculous. Josh has been asking me for months how I wanted to celebrate, but I couldn’t think of something that would be fun and memorable, but not awkward or obnoxious (I don’t need a dinner party in my life.). He ended up suggesting something so fun, so we’re pulling together a very last minute celebration. Don’t worry — I’ll tell you all about it in a few more weeks!
What Else Is New | I am a part of the most wonderful small group, that I sort of stumbled into a few years ago. I only knew one person in the group, when I started, and now I consider these girls some of my closest friends. Some weeks we study the Bible or watch a video or someone shares about something going on in their life, but other weeks we tackle mom problems or talk about more practical areas of our lives and faith. Last night, Tara Bremer — from House Peace! — came to talk with us about organizing our homes and setting them up for success as parents. Guys, it was so good. Tara is such a great Instagram follow, so if you aren’t already stalking her Instagram Stories, I highly recommend you get on that.
