Did anyone get a chance to see the lunar eclipse last night? We didn’t… it was hiding behind clouds and then it was too low and behind the trees for us to see. My husband even went out driving around trying to see if there was a better spot to see it, but no luck. This was disappointing, because Elizabeth was really excited to see a “Super Moon”. I even promised her as I was putting her to bed that I would wake her up to see it if it came out from behind the clouds. I’m sure she clutched her little blankie, in the dark, all excited that any minute now mommy will walk in and tell her it’s time for the “Super Moon”. Sigh….
What’s on your menu this week?? I’m trying to keep it fairly easy. We’ve got a busy week, so I was looking for either quick meals to get on the table or meals I could start early and pop in the fridge. We have a church potluck on Saturday… and I need to figure out what to make for that……. ideas? There is usually a million casseroles, but lacking in vegetables. So maybe I’ll make a batch of roasted veggies?
I’m most excited for our first Chili and Cornbread meal of the season! It’s basically the only soup my husband is happily willing to eat, so we eat a lot of it throughout the Fall/Winter, but I’ve been craving it recently!
As always, for more information on how I menu plan, look at this.
Monday: Taco Salad
Tuesday: Stovetop Mac & Cheese + sun dried tomatoes + carmelized onion
(we never got a chance to eat this. But recipe coming!)
Wednesday: Indian Curry
(pre-made, from Costco)
Thursday: Paninis with tomato, basil and mozzerella
Welcome to High Five for Friday – hosted by Katie, Tif, Della, and Caitlin! If you want to know more, read about it here!
This week’s featured blogger is Sheryl at How To Make A Life! She is such an inspirational blogger! She took a grief event and turned it into a blog full of encouragement and teaching women how to live full lives. I love her mantra – “Make your mess your message”. Brilliant, right? Go over and soak up some inspiration and motivation!
Who else is blown away with the fact it’s Friday again? Mercy me!
1. It’s officially Fall!! We are officially in “Katie’s Favorite Time of Year” from now until January 6. It takes forever for this time of year to arrive, but then once it starts, it goes so fast! I’m hoping to squeeze in some fun things this Fall, but I’m learning from my mistakes from the Summer Bucket List idea I talked about on Wednesday and avoiding a Fall Bucket List altogether.
2. Did you join us for the really hilarious H54F Hangout last night?? We chatted all about blogging and tips that we know about but sometimes don’t follow. If you missed it, you can watch it here! But really, it was a great time!
3. I’ve been getting out all my Fall decorations this past week. I’m determined to be completely done by early next week. Really, all that is left is my large urn over the fireplace… I thought I had leaf branches to go in it… but that must have been actual REAL branches I used last year! HAHA! So I need to track down some and do it up. Once it’s all done, I’m planning a little decorations tour. I was itching for something new though this year, and I found this beautiful centerpiece at At Home! I love the not-outrageously-fall color scheme.
4. This was also the week for second hand purchases! A few months ago I found Elizabeth a used play kitchen, and she loved it! But I only this week found her play kitchen materials (again, used!). And she played in that kitchen for hours! I also found her a doll cradle this week. I’m saving that for Christmas!
5. This was the week of seeing friends! We had quite a few play dates this week, including a Bible Study, a potluck dinner with friends, and a FaceTime chat! I was reading this blog post from Jaelen over at Making Mrs. M. She was sharing how hard it is to make good friends when you become an adult, and how hard it is to maintain those friendships! So true. I have no problem making tons of acquaintances and be really chatty, but close friends are harder to make. And then finding the time to catch up is really hard in a busy world, even if you live in the same town! What does adulting have to be so challenging?
And to finish up, Whitney from Come Home for Comfort and I were joking around and saying that every H54F post should include one Office quote. So why not 10?
So that’s that! Don’t forget to watch the H54F Hangout, if you haven’t had a chance to yet. And I hope you have a wonderful weekend!!
So what were you up to this week? Let me know! Or better yet, link up!
Fellow bloggers – ready to join in the link up? Just write a blog post about 5 things that made this week awesome! Add your link to your blog post down below (make sure it’s your blog post, not your blog home page!). And then grab the H54F button to add to your post! And go visit at least 3 fellow link uppers AND this week’s featured blogger! It’s just the nice thing to do.
And be sure to tag your posts/pics on social media with #H54F! We really do try to make the rounds and like, comment, retweet, etc! It’s so much fun to support one another, isn’t it?
It’s time for another High Five for Friday hangout with my buddies Della, Caitlin and Tif! We’ll also be joined by our sweet blogging friend Whitney from Come Home for Comfort!
Tonight is going to be such a fun topic – we’ll be chatting all about blogging. Mistakes we’ve made, tips for building up a community, and just having a good ol’ chuckle about this crazy world of blogging.
So join us TONIGHT at 9:30PM EST for the LIVE Google Hangout!
Here’s how it will work.
At 9:30PM you’ll be able to watch a live stream of me, Della, Caitlin, Tif and Whitney gabbing away!
There are quite a few ways to watch! You can watch right here, on this post!
You don’t need a Google+ account to watch. BUT you will need one if you want to ask us questions live. But if you don’t have one, no worries! You can still watch LIVE! You can also tweet us questions or comments using #H54FHangout
If you can’t make it, don’t worry about that either! We will be recording, and it will be available to watch later, whenever you want.
We are so excited to have you join us at 9:30PM tonight! We loved how engaged and chatty everyone was last time, so hope to see you all out again tonight!
Umm…. so Fall officially started today? Say what??? Guess it’s a good time to wrap up the Summer To Do List!
But first, a note about the whole to do list/bucket list thing… this falls into the category of “I really wish I was that girl that could set these goals and accomplish them!”. You’ll see soon, but I basically failed at this task. I have reasons – but the goal of a to do list is to check things off… which I didn’t….
Anyway, here’s what did/didn’t happen.
What we did do:
Visit the Farmer’s Market & Schedule Hookie Weekends | We had several hookie weekends, but one of them included a trip to the Farmer’s Market. And we also got to go to the Market in my parents’ town while we were up in Michigan.
Go to the Zoo | After I made this blog post graphic, I completely forgot that we went to the Binder Park Zoo in Battle Creek, Michigan, while we were visiting my parents! I decided that it was a dumb idea to try the “Visit the Zoo” in NC during the summer… that seems like a better Fall/Winter activity… But if you haven’t seen the vlog of our trip to the Binder Park Zoo, check it out. We fed giraffes!!
Road Trip | We did several road trips, some long, some short. But the longest was our trip to Columbus, and then Michigan, in early June!
Have Date Nights | My husband and I did a few “at home” date nights over the summer. We decided to eat dinner together once Elizabeth was in bed (so smart!). And, of course, our epic Jerry Seinfeld date a few weeks ago. We’ve already made plans for more dates, and have locked down a regular sitter.
Visit Kids Museum | This one was supposed to be visiting a particular one… but meh. Why go to a museum during the summer, when everyone is off of school, and everyone and their brother is there?? I opted to do a few trips to our favorite science museum in Durham instead, and that worked out just fine.
Organize Play Dates | I’m SURE I organized some! This summer felt like one big giant play date, so it’s hard to remember who organized what… but it was fun!
Beach Day | We didn’t go to the ocean beach this summer, but Elizabeth and I went to Jordan Lake for a birthday party a few weeks back and had a blast! We also did Silver Beach in St. Joseph, MI, back in June! That counts 🙂
And now… what we didn’t do… and I’m not ashamed of that….
Visit Every City Park in Durham (and see also “Go to Pullen Park”) | Y’all, this is ambitious even when the weather is cool… there are over 40 parks in Durham… and there was no way we were visiting them when it was 90+ degrees by 9:00 a.m. I have my limits.
Visit the Pool | I had intended this one to be easy! My husband and I were talking all summer about joining a gym/pool, but we talked ourselves out of it. So the pool thing went off the table. But we bought ourselves a plastic pool for the backyard!
Food Truck Rodeo | There is a big one on Father’s Day, and we must have been out of town! So… that’s that.
Bull City Craft | This one is getting moved to the Fall/Winter! It sounds like such a fun place (organizes open toddler craft time in the mornings). But right when I was ready to head over there, I discovered they were closed for renovations…. oops.
Attend Outdoor Concert | No excuses… just plain laziness.
So, here’s the thing.
Sure, half the list didn’t get done. And I have a million excuses for it!
But, we still had a summer FULL of memories! Even though we didn’t make memories, completing the list, we still made memories by:
Happy Monday, y’all! Hope you had a glorious weekend! Can you believe there is only one more weekend left in September? Um… I can’t.
Last week’s “try out the new skillet!” was a rousing success! I posted them up on Instagram!
I did forget, however, to snap a pic of the “on a whim!” recipe of potato breakfast hash I threw together on Saturday morning. It was tasty!
This week I’m making food for others. It’s not as philanthropic as it sounds. Basically two nights this week are potlucks with friends, so I’m bringing sides to share. And then Friday I’m delivering some food to friends from Bible Study who’s daughter just had surgery last week. I chose a meal that could easily double – so cook once, eat twice (one for them, one for us).
As always, for more information on how I menu plan, look at this.
Monday: Oven Fajitas
(although… I may just try this in my skillet! HA!)
Tuesday: Stovetop Mac & Cheese + sun dried tomatoes + carmelized onion
(in the skillet!)
