Monthly Musings ~ September 2022

 Today I am linking up with Patty and Holly for the Monthly Musings series.

1.  How do you decorate for fall/halloween?

I don't do much Halloween decorating, but I do decorate for fall.

2.  Do you decorate inside? outside?  Both?

I decorate inside and a little outside.  Here are a few pictures:

I add some pumpkin throw pillows on our sofa and have some on the beds too.

Simple dining room table decor...

3.  When do you do your fall decorating?

I decorated the 2nd week of September this year.

4. How do you pumpkin?  

I usually wait until October to add pumpkins or mums outside because it is just too hot until then.  In the meantime, I have this wood pumpkin on my front porch.

5. Do you add lights to your decorating?

I have these lights that I keep inside year round.

6. Do you do anything special for Halloween dinner?

Typically, I make chili and cornbread.  The last few years we went to a friend's house, but am not sure what this year will hold since we are empty nesters.

7.  Favorite Halloween candy?

I am one of the few who likes candy corn and prefers it with the pumpkin mix.

8.  Full size or fun size candy bars?

Fun size does seem to make it more fun to eat :)

9.  Best fall decor tips?

I like to add seasonal hand towels and hand soaps throughout the house, which add simple, but festive touches.

10.  Pumpkin spice - yes or no?

I am not a pumpkin spice girl when it comes to drinks, but love pumpkin flavor in foods, especially baked goods.

Happy fall y'all!

What's Up Wednesday ~ September 28, 2022

 Here's to the end of a hard month and moving on to October............

What we're eating this week......

 Meals are looking a little different these past few weeks.  We honestly have not had many nights at home together since being empty nesters.  With that in mind, here is the menu for the week.

Monday - crockpot gumbo

(I found a recipe online, did a screenshot, but now I can't find it to link the recipe.  If it turns out good, I'll write it out and post later!)

Tuesday - seasoned fish filets, salad, veggies

Wednesday - church

Thursday - out

Friday - out

Saturday - pork chops, potatoes, veggie

What I'm reminiscing about

Time with my daughter when we dropped her off a few weeks ago in Savannah for college

What I'm loving

I loved catching up with one of our favorite bloggers, Jennifer, this month.  This was such a highlight of the month!

What I've been up to

We went to dinner with friends to celebrate my husband's 50th birthday last week.

What I'm dreading

There's a few things, but they need to be done.

What I'm working on

This is a picture of my daughter and I from a work event that I helped with this month.  It was great to have some time with her one on one.

I feel like I am working on catching up on little things around the house I have just been putting off in between so many things going on recently.  I need to work on housekeeping and organizing!

What I'm excited about

I am keeping two of my great nieces twice a month and they are so fun.  I am excited about some trips in October, fall food, and just all things fall.

What I'm watching

I am watching the new season of The Voice & I am enjoying Chesapeake Shores on Hallmark & also trying to catch up on Hallmark movies.  I am kind of sad it is the last season.  I also watched some of the Queen's funeral.

What I'm listening to

I am listening to lots of podcasts and each week I feel like I need more car time to listen :).  I sometimes listen when at home but I feel like I have less distractions while driving.  

Some of my weekly podcasts include:

Story Tellers Live, First Thing,  Jesus Over Everything, I Hate Green Beans, Dwell Differently, The Big Boo Podcast, Office Ladies, The Open Door Sisterhood, The Proverbs 31 Ministries, TFH/OC's podcast, Don't Mom Alone, In the Face of Illness 

I know....that's alot.  I don't listen to all of these every week, but I really enjoy podcasts, especially since I'm not much of a reader.

What I'm wearing

I am starting to wear some lightweight long sleeve tops again.  I also started wearing some fall colors on my nails.  This color reminds me of pumpkin spice....not too orange and not too red.

What I'm doing this weekend

We hope to go to our local fair and I am hoping to clean up our yard and be outside with the weather finally being a little cooler

What I'm looking forward to next month

Oh my goodness.  I love a new month and a fresh start.  I am so thankful for cooler tempertatures. I am looking forward to a road trip with my husband and hoping we can see some fall colors.  My youngest daughter has a birthday, and even though it will feel different being the first one to not see her, I am still excited to celebrate her.  And a few days after her birthday, we fly to see her, so I am looking forward to that.  

What else is new

Now that I have a daughter on the coast, I am tracking hurricanes and getting text updates almost daily.

We had our first fire outside to kick off the fall season & look forward to many more!

Hope everyone has a great day!

Weekending ~ September 19, 2022

A little late good morning post, but good Monday morning!

Before I highlight a few things of the weekend, first, today is my husband's 50th birthday!

I found this Birthday Cake candle at TJ Maxx, my go-to candle place.

A few decorations I put up in our house

We will celebrate by having dinner with friends tonight.

Friday, I drove to visit my oldest and help with a work event.  I got there early and took in the beautiful scenery.  I was thinking how much I love the cities where my girls live!  I met Isabella for lunch and then I worked the rest of the day with my boss and volunteers.  Isabella was able to meet us for dinner too.

The sky captured my attention during this part of my drive where I could see the rays coming through the clouds.

We ate at one of our favorite restaurants and this is the only place I usually splurge on the bread.  It is so good!

Dinner Friday night was Mexican food.

I had to be at my work event at 8am Saturday morning and worked there until noon.  Isabella came a little later to help, then we went to lunch and I went on my way.  I was able to take her grocery shopping Friday and get her a tank of gas, so those are important roles for me when I come in town :).

I drove to my next work event, about 2 hours away.  It was a beautiful night in a beautiful setting.  There was food and live music from some of the top song writers in country music.

It is always strange, but a little nice to stay in a hotel room by myself.  I was so tired, I wasn't there much and never even turned on the tv.  I drove home Sunday afternoon and here we are for Monday.

Wishing you a good day!

 

Friday Favorites ~ September 16, 2022

Happy Friday friends!  I am sharing some favorites from the week.

ONE

With mixed feelings, we have almost made it a week empty nesting. Overall, it has been okay.  We have missed our daughter for sure, but we kept busy with our work schedules and other things.  Of our 4 nights so far, only 2 were spent at home, so having a mix of things to do has helped. This picture is from our trip last weekend to Savannah. 

One thing I did when I got home was put this new sticker on my car:

TWO

I am blessed to live near one of our favorite bloggers, Jennifer at Overflowing with Thankfulness.  We had met once before at bible study a few years ago, but were finally able to spend some time together at a coffee shop on the square this week.  Let me say to you, she is just as kind, sincere, down to earth and beautiful in person as you see come through in her blog.  We hope to do this again soon and wish we lived closer to more of you so we can all meet in person!

THREE

After our coffee date, I went to a new bible study and the book is What's She Doing Here?  It is talking about the messy stories of women in the bible.  I feel like this will be good to study since I often feel like a mess.  And I am, but I am encouraged to know the Lord still loves me and can use me.

FOUR

One of my other favorites will hopefully be happening this afternoon, and that is lunch with my oldest college daughter.  It is always good to see her and especially the timing is good after dropping off the youngest last weekend.  We should have about 24 hours together.  And even though I will be working at an event during most of that time, she will be able to be with me.

I hope you all have a great weekend and please Lord, let fall weather come soon. :)

 

Hello Monday ~ September 12, 2022/College Move In

 

Good morning & happy Monday!  I am back to link up for Hello Monday.

We left town last Wednesday to begin the journey for college drop off.  We took 2 cars so our daughter will have a car at college.  My husband and I were able to take turns riding with her which was nice and then we also had some time alone.  I spent most of my time alone listening to podcast, but I'm hardly ever caught up it seems. 

The packing wasn't too bad and everything fit in the back of both cars.

Of course we stopped at Buc-ees for brisket!

During my car time with her, I gave her a few last minute reminders of life and some throwback inspirational music such as this classic..."Oh Be Careful" reminding her to be careful in this new adventure.

We stopped at a hotel along the way and arrived into Savannah Thursday afternoon.  We drove to look at her buildings where her classes will be.  Her classes are spread out in the city since there isn't an actual campus of buildings in one spot.  We ate at this restaurant for dinner, which was very good.

We also saw these two fun marquees in town!

The next day was move in day.  It was rainy, but thankfully, we were able to unpack in a garage and got everything up in one load in a huge bin they provided.

There is an area for freshman dorms, which has a cafeteria and a fitness center.  We had lunch in the cafeteria.  

She had not met her roommate (or anyone else) until move in day.  Thankfully, she has a really sweet roommate from New Jersey.  We really like her family as well.  We all had some orientation meetings in the afternoon and then they had a meeting that evening.  We parted ways in the afternoon as she spent her first night in the dorm.

The next morning, we explored a little bit of beautiful Savannah before we picked her up for lunch.  We found a local hamburger place.

We then met a family who is related to one of our pastors here to make a local contact, which was nice.  We all met at this beautiful park.  In addition to this, Savannah has about 20 squares of green space with shops and restaurants surrounding them.  I am looking forward to exploring more of the city!

We then drove about 20 minutes to the local beach on the Atlantic to see the water.  

We sat outside at a local restaurant to eat seafood.

In a random series of events, I was able to connect with a friend I had not seen in 25 years who moved to the area last year.  We visited while my husband and daughter went grocery shopping.

Sunday morning, we went to her dorm to see it all put together.  She is all settled and ready for classes to begin today.  

We said farewell, shed a few tears and I ate my feelings on the way home, which also included another stop to Buc-ees.  

The new chapter begins and I think I shared enough pictures for a week :).  I appreciate all the encouragement here this past week.

Have a good Monday friends!

Linking up with Holly and Sarah