Weekend Wrap Up ~ We Won a Pie!

Happy Monday :)

My oldest began homeschool classes for her senior year 2 weeks ago.  Where did the time go???  When you work full time, have a senior who drives to her own classes, sometimes you get a stain on the sign and take the picture a little late, but that's okay!

After several other planned events we had for Friday night changed, we had a fun, much needed family dinner at a Mexican restaurant we had not tried before.  The food was good and I ordered a bow lof soup, which was huge!

I had a chance to watch the Hallmark Fall preview special, along with a Hallmark movie this weekend.

After church Sunday, we were sitting at the table finishing lunch when we heard a noise outside.  I went outside and found this surprise...........

A fresh, homemade huckleberry pie from Montana! 

When we were in Montana this summer, I signed up to win a pie and I won!   

This was the first time I have been eating a meal, and literally, a fresh pie was delivered at our door as soon as we finished lunch. 

We served it with some ice cream, and it was delicious!!

We went back to church Sunday night and heard Isabella and another team member from her mission trip to NYC this summer speak to the kids of the church.  They did a great job. 

So thankful for the opportunity she had to go on this trip and to share it with others.

How We Fall

Today I am talking about How We Fall and also Fall Fashion.

Here are some ways we embrace fall around here.  I have some fall foods and crafts listed on my fall Pinterest board.

Hot Drinks

I do enjoy hot drinks in the fall and winter.  I am not a coffee drinker, but enjoy hot tea or hot chocolate.  If I am out and about, I enjoy a Starbucks hot chocolate.

If we make hot chocolate at home for the family, it is usually Colombian hot chocolate.  We have had several people bring us some so we have some in stock. 

The Colombian hot chocolate comes from these chocolate bars you see below and cooked on the stove in an aluminum pitcher, called a chocolatera and mixed with this special wooden mixer, called a molinillo.

Candy Corn

I love candy corn, but I also like it in this autumn mix with the pumpkins.  I try to indulge in this snack only once during the season, but it brings joy when that happens!

Pumpkin breads

I just began embracing pumpkin flavored food about 4 years ago.....silly me!  Now, I love having cans of pumpkin in stock at our home in the fall.

The only downfall for me is that most pumpkin recipes I like are not the healthiest, but they sure are delicious.  Here are two of my favorite sweet pumpkin recipes.  I do have one low-calorie pumpkin recipe on my pinterest board however!

Pumpkin chocolate chip bread

Pumpkin chocolate chip cookies

Boots, leggings, tunics, and scarves

This is my fashion look for the fall.  

These leggings are my favorite.  Like most things from Nordstrom, I bought these during the anniversary sale.  I have several tunics from Old Navy that I like and of course my favorite boots are the ones I talk about every year...these Uggs.

Evening walks

I am hoping as the weather gets cooler, I will have the energy in the evenings for a walk to our neighborhood lake.

Football games

We have been to one high school football game and will attend at least one more.  I am not a huge football fan, but I do like football season.

Birthdays

My husband has a September birthday, my youngest daughter has an October birthday, and I have a November birthday, so we celebrate birthdays in the fall.  (My oldest has a winter birthday, so we all have cool season birthdays :)).

Decorating

I plan on decorating for fall this weekend, even though it isn't going to feel too cool.  That's okay.  I know it is coming.  I will be sharing these decorations next week on the blog.

Woo hoo, glad we are at the mid week point.  Enjoy your day!

Life Lately...........

Alright Monday, I'm ready for you.   Here are a few photos from the last 10 days or so.....

I spent last Saturday at home the entire day.  It was glorious not having to go anywhere and I cannot remember the last time that happened.  I watched a Hallmark movie and got caught up on some magazine reading.

Avery began a bathroom floor remodel, which I will blog about in a few weeks.  I spent some of my Saturday doing some painting while he installed new tile.

Isabella's car she drove had troubles , so I had to rent a car for a few days.  Sadly, her car didn't survive any repairs so now we will do some car shopping.

Buying my favorite fall snack helped make Friday better!

My girls attended an 80's Tacky Prom over the weekend.  The back of their dresses had ruffles and trains.

I am so looking forward to the Thanksgiving holiday and having an extended time off work.  In the meantime, I am grateful to have a few days of cooler weather to dream of fall!  

Fly Away Day Trip to the Game

Happy Friday!  Oh I am sad I don't have another 3 day weekend, but this is how we spent our extra day this week and is definitely my Friday Favorite.........

Avery and I had a day trip to see the Atlanta Braves and Boston Red Sox play Monday.  

We were both off work for Labor Day and headed to the airport that morning.

We had the VIP treatment with the Delta 360 club and the Sun Trust Club.

We traveled with some co-workers.

We had pretty close seats....like the 2nd row!  Avery enjoyed ballpark hot dogs.

I enjoyed some lobster mac-n-cheese.  We had unlimited food and drinks.  I am talking for food we had crab meat, lobster, tenderloin....and there was typical ball park food as well to enjoy in the clubs.

Mookie Betts....one of the top players in Major League Baseball right now on the team with the best record.  I am a Yankees fan, but I am not going to lie, it was fun watching the Red Sox.  They are so good this year!

I was served this delicious frozen lemonade smoothie, which was good for a hot day.

So was ice cream delivered to us on a silver tray!

Atlanta Braves players...We were this close to them.  This is without a zoom!

And we were so close to the Boston Red Sox dugout as well!  I was so intrigued and found myself staring over there most of the game.

Inside the club, we saw Golden Glove awards and a baseball signed by Hank Aaron.

It was a great day at the ball park!

There was a beautiful rendition of God Bless America sung during the 7th inning stretch and I was able to meet him right after that.

We left the game at that time to head back to the airport for our flight home.

Even on an airplane, I found some episodes of The Office to watch!

It was a whirlwhind of a day.....12 hours door to door with 2 flights and a ball game, but it was fun!

Fall Favorites ~ Crock Pot Meals

I am loving that it is already Wednesday and I am linking up with a fall themed blogpost.  

I do love using my slow cooker, however, like most people, I use it more in the fall and winter.  These are 3 of my go-to quick recipes.  For more recipes, check out my slow cooker board on Pinterest.  Can't wait to read others recipes as well!  

**On a side note, before I cook any meat in my crock pot, I spray it with cooking spray to make a clean up a little easier.  

Crockpot Chicken Tacos

Recipe from Tasty Kitchen

1 1oz Envelope Taco Seasoning

6 Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts, thawed

1 16oz jar Salsa

Dump all ingredients into a crockpot and give it a little stir to blend the seasoning with the salsa. You do not need to add any water to the taco seasoning. Cook on high for 4 to 6 hours or on low for 6 to 8 hours. When done, the chicken should shred easily when stirred with a fork.

For tacos, serve the chicken with soft flour tortillas, guacamole, lettuce, shredded cheese and/or sour cream. This is very versatile and can be used for enchiladas, nachos, quesadillas, etc. Any leftover chicken can then be used for tortilla soup (make it the next day or freeze the chicken to use at a later time).

Pulled Pork

Pork loin

BBQ sauce

BBQ seasoning

Add pork loin to crockpot.  Pour bottle of BBQ sauce over meat and sprinkle BBQ seasoning over meat.  Cook on low for 8 hours and shred meat.  Serve as BBQ sandwiches, for BBQ nachos, or over salad to make a BBQ salad.  

Easy Tortilla Soup

Chicken - 1 lb. thawed chicken breasts or 2 large cans of chicken in water

2 cans of cream of chicken soup

1 can of rotel

1 can of corn, drained

salt, pepper and garlic to taste

*can add a can of beans if prefered

Add ingredients to slow cooker and cook on high 6 hours or low 3 hours.  Shred chicken.  Serve with cheese, avocado, tortilla chips, sour cream or other options.

* To thicken base of soup, at the end of cooking, you may add 1/2-1 cup of milk and blend with an immersion blender.  

TBB Asks ~ September Edition: How Do You Cozy?

Happy September and Happy Labor Day!

I am starting this month's blog posts with a link up to The Blended Blog all about being cozy.

1.  Slippers:  Yes or No?

Yes!  I just received my UGG slippers for a Christmas gift and have them on as I type this.  They are so comfortable and I think will last a long time.

2.  What is your favorite blanket? 

 I am good for any cozy, soft blanket really.  

3.  Thin or thick pillow? 

 I would say a thicker pillow.  We just bought these new pillows at the beginning of summer and like them so far.  We bought these when we bought a mattress, so they were discounted on top of a sale they had for Memorial Day weekend.

4.  Favorite warm beverage?

 hot chocolate for sure

5. Robe:  Yes or No?

  I have a cozy robe that I like, but rarely wear it because you can usually find my in my blardigan.  I recommend looking for these on sale at the Nordstrom yearly anniversary sale every July or on black Friday.

6.  Favorite comfort snack foods?

A warm dip and chips come to mind.  Check out some of my favorites on my Pinterest page.

7.  Movies or TV series binge?

In this category, I would say Hallmark or Christmas movies. Regarding tv, we binge watch The Office a lot.

8.  Actual PJ's or leggings?

I do like my pajama pants but they are for sleeping and lounging.  I do like my leggings too, but I wear those outside the house all the time in the fall and winter.

9.  Do you cozy up on the couch or a chair?

I don't have a strong preference, but I do usually end up in our chair.

10.  Hoodie, t-shirt or sweater?

If I am thinking of being cozy, I would say a sweatshirt or long sleeve t-shirt.  I have a few sweaters that I like and are comfortable, I just don't think of wearing these when I want to be cozy!

Enjoy your holiday!  We are off to do something fun, which I will blog about later this week.