Merry Christmas!

 Merry Christmas, friends! Hope you've all had a wonderful day celebrating.

A New Ornament

 

Hello friends! I treated myself to a new ornament as I do most every year. It's a Linzer cookie ornament and I just love it. I came across it online, but it was sold out. I searched and searched and finally found it at a little online shop in NY, so I ordered it and they shipped it to me very quickly. It's a great addition to our tree. 

I finished the last of my Christmas shopping online today and that makes me very happy. I'll have lots of wrapping to do next week and lots of cookie baking, as well. I always gift cookie boxes to friends and neighbors, and family, too. Charlotte's last day of classes is on Thursday, so Christmas break begins for us on Friday. We are very much looking forward to a relaxing two weeks. We are meeting up with friends for dinner on Saturday night and I'm looking forward to catching up with them. We'll likely stroll around and look at the Christmas lights afterward.

 I'll be back next week to share pictures from our holiday cookie baking!

It's December

 

Hi! Just a quick hello and a few Christmassy photos. Charlotte and I decorated the little area behind her desk where she sits for homeschool classes with a cute garland and lights - I think it looks very festive. Life has been busy (it's December) and I haven't had much time to update this space, but I'll be back soon! Hope you are enjoying this holiday season as it seems to be racing by too quickly.

November

 

Hi everyone! I hope you are enjoying your weekend so far. I made cream of mushroom soup for dinner tonight and it was very good, although Charlotte wasn't much of a fan. I can't believe we are coming up on the week of Thanksgiving. Wow! That happened fast. We are putting up our Christmas tree tomorrow. Yay!! I just love all the lights. I had hoped to put it up today, but we didn't get around to it. I also made a cake for my dad's birthday today and one for my husband earlier in the week whose birthday was on Monday. It was a busy week full of birthdays!

I went grocery shopping yesterday and also made a stop at Trader Joe's. I love to look at all their fun, seasonal stuff. I picked up the truffles above as a little treat for myself and they are so good! And Rosie insisted on being up on my desk as you can see above. She's very curious and always wants to see what I'm doing.

It's been a bit of a weird fall with several of my family members being sick - for the most part, they have recovered. My grandmother, who is 89 and in a nursing home, fell ill on Thursday and is currently in the hospital. She's very weak right now and we are praying for healing and strength for her. Please keep her in your prayers.

Anyway, I'll share photos of our tree soon and I'm hoping to make a batch of chocolate shortbread cookies tomorrow. I'm off to get cozy and watch a Christmas movie. Have a great weekend!

Pumpkin time!

 

We carved our pumpkin last night! We really don't celebrate halloween, but we do enjoy carving a pumpkin and all things fall. I think he's rather cute!

Autumn days

 

Hi. Happy Autumn! Here we are in late October already. Where did the month go? I've been baking and cooking all our favorite soups, stews, and yes, pumpkin cinnamon rolls, too. I made them from scratch for the first time! It was a bit easier than I expected and my house smelled amazing. Needless to say, everyone loved them. I topped them with a cream cheese frosting after they came out of the oven and they were perfect.

We spent yesterday in a town about an hour away in the mountains. We enjoyed seeing some beautiful leaf foliage. I especially love the red leaves! The weather was perfect - sunny and 65 degrees. We spent a lot of time outside which is so good for the soul. It was a great way to spend a Sunday. After we returned home I put a whole chicken in the oven which roasted alongside baby potatoes and carrots. It was perfect and so cozy. There's something so comforting about a simple roast chicken, I think.

As you can see in the picture above little Rosie has taken over my yoga mat. I've started doing stretches most every evening for my hips which I was having some off-and-on issues with. They seem to be helping which is good news. Over the past two years, I think I've done way too much sitting and not enough walking/moving and it's become obvious to me that I have to move my body every day. I just feel so much better physically and mentally when I do. 

Homeschooling is going well and we seem to have the hang of it now. We are both enjoying our days at home together. I'm so thankful we are schooling at home now.

Have a great week!

Almost Autumn

 

Happy Saturday and happy almost autumn! It's still hot here, but I'm hopeful it won't be for too much longer. Summer wants to keep hanging on, but I'm ready for a new season. I suddenly want to bake and cook all the cozy foods - like soups and stews, and anything and everything pumpkin. I'm also enjoying eating blackberries this year. I picked up a few more pints yesterday. I like to have them alongside my breakfast which usually consists of a bagel, oatmeal, or maybe a pumpkin muffin, and pancakes on the weekend. I occasionally have eggs for breakfast, but not too often. I enjoy eggs more for brunch. 

Homeschool/online learning is in full swing over here. This past week was our first full week of school. We are slowly getting into the groove of things and it's going well. I will say I was super exhausted at the end of this week. We are so happy to have our daughter schooling at home where we as parents can also be very much involved. It's such a blessing. The last photo shows a very tall pile of books which is just for her Humanities class (which is a combination of History, Bible, and Literature) - lots of reading in that class for sure. She also has Science, English, and Math classes. 

Rosie got a new, cozy bed and she loves it. She loves to snuggle up in it. At first, we thought it was too large, but now I think it's the perfect size for her to be able to stretch out in. 

Well, that's about it for today. Oh, if anyone has any recommendations for a cozy, fall book please leave a comment (nothing sad or scary) - I love sweet, romantic comedies. I'm almost finished with my current book and am looking for a new one to start soon.

 I hope you are having a great weekend! I'm thinking we will watch a movie tonight but I'm not sure what. We watched You've Got Mail last weekend and it was perfect, as always. One of my very favorite movies of all time.

Random Stuff

Happy Saturday, everyone! I hope you are having a great weekend so far. We went out to lunch today at the cute restaurant in the top photo. It's an old house that was turned into a quaint, little restaurant many years ago. I managed to not take any food pictures today. We were quite hungry, as we ate a late lunch, so maybe that's why. I had a burger along with the best hand-cut fries - it was so good!

Earlier in the week, Charlotte along with my mom and I treated ourselves to pedicures and a delicious brunch. It was a really fun girls' day. I could go for another cappuccino right now - it was perfect in every way.

My flower garden is coming along nicely. The jug above is filled with flowers I grew myself from seed. They make me very happy. I keep a jug full on the kitchen table these days - they brighten up the whole room.

Rosie got a haircut last week and she wasn't very happy about it. The groomer cut her a bit too short and she was shivering, even though it's super hot here, she was really missing all of her fluff so she wore her sweater for a few days. I prefer her a bit more fluffy, as well. I'll be sure to tell the groomer to not go as short next time.

Anyway, we a gearing up to start homeschool in about two more weeks. It's hard to believe summer is almost over. It'll be nice to get back on a schedule though. Oh, and Charlotte gets her braces off one week from Wednesday and she is so excited! I'm also looking forward to fall and much cooler days, and wearing sweaters again. My favorite outfit is a nice pair of jeans and a v-neck sweater or a comfy, long cardigan. I could wear that every day.

I'm trying out a new recipe for pumpkin spice pancakes for breakfast in the morning. About this time every year, I start craving all things pumpkin. I made a batch of pumpkin chocolate chip muffins for breakfast and snacks earlier in the week and I'm making our favorite pumpkin chili for dinner one night next week. Pumpkin is so good for us and we should all eat it more often, not just in the fall or late summer in my case. Rosie loves it, too!

Thankful

 

Just wanted to pop in and say hi! I hope you all are having a nice first week of August. It's been a busy and hot one for us with an appointment for my daughter yesterday (allergy check-up) and a follow-up doctor's appointment for me on Tuesday. I'm very happy to say that I received good news at my appointment which I am so thankful for. God is so good and always hears and answers our prayers.

I ordered a new cookbook which I had been eyeing for a while now. It's full of not just healthy, but also delicious-looking recipes. I made the brownie bites yesterday and they were a hit. Energy bits and granola bars are up next along with a Tuscan white bean soup which looks fabulous. I know it's hot and not really soup weather but I'll turn the AC down and we will pretend that's it cool outside and enjoy our soup. 

My flower patch is coming along quite nicely. I'm so glad I added Black-eyed Susan seeds to the mix this year - I love all the pops of yellow - they are such a happy flower.

I'll be back soon! Take care and stay cool. Oh, the blueberry crumb cake is from here and it's delicious and a perfect way to use up all of those late summer blueberries.

Hello, July!

 Hi friends! I hope you had a nice and relaxing weekend and a very happy 4th of July this past week. We were home for the 4th and grilled hamburgers and hotdogs along with my homemade chocolate cherry ice cream. It was a nice day for sure. 

Rosie had a vet emergency on Wednesday morning which explains why she is wearing her suitical suit in one of the photos (so much better than the cone they sent her home in) curled up next to me on the sofa. She had a ruptured anal gland, but thank goodness the vet was able to quickly take care of it and get her back on the road to recovery.  She felt very poorly on Wednesday and Thursday but began to feel much more like herself by Friday - thank goodness. She'll go back to the vet for a re-check on Wednesday, but I believe she is definitely getting back to her normal, playful self.

I made a birthday cake for my mom last week and we celebrated together. She loves my homemade chocolate cake with cream cheese/buttercream frosting and I was happy to make it for her. I also picked up a lovely bunch of dahlias for myself at the farmer's market last week!

We spent the day in Asheville yesterday having lunch and just walking around the city and I didn't take one picture. Not sure how that happened, but anyway it was a fun, family day.

I hope you have had a nice weekend. Did you do anything special this weekend? I'll be back soon with some photos of my flower garden - with all the rain we have had I'm sure they are about to pop!

Trying to stay cool

 

Hello and happy summer! It's hard to believe yesterday was the first day of summer. It sure feels like it with temperatures around 100 degrees. We are spending lots of time indoors in the AC where it's nice and cool. I'm honestly not a fan of heat, although I do like to see the sun shining, I just prefer not to be out in it. 

My hollyhock plant flowered this year and I'm thrilled! I planted seeds last year and the plants basically were small and green with no flowers. I'm thinking it's about ten feet tall. It's gorgeous and makes me very happy. My raised bed is also filling in nicely with more wildflower seeds I planted last month. I should start to see blooms within the next few weeks. I'll be sure to share pictures soon. 

We ran a few errands today and went for pedicures with my mom followed by brunch. It was fun hanging out and spending the day together. I bought all the ingredients to make homemade chocolate cherry ice cream and smores because that's what you do in the summer when it's super hot. What have you been up to? I hope you are having a nice summer so far. 

It's been a while

Hello friends! I hope you are all well. Oh my, it has definitely been a while since my last post. I wasn't sure where to start - so we will just skip over April and concentrate on the current month. We went to St. Simon's Island, GA the first week of May for vacation - it was wonderful to get away. We had a great time and thoroughly enjoyed many walks on the beach and many meals eaten outside. Beach walks are my favorite, especially in the late evening when the sun is about to set. The ocean is so healing to me - not to mention we had no seasonal allergies when we were by the sea. It has me thinking that maybe a move closer to the sea is in our future at some point. Wouldn't that be wonderful! We rented a pet-friendly condo so we were able to bring Rosie along with us and she loved the beach. We also celebrated my 47th birthday when we were away. We went out for a nice dinner and a glass of prosecco - I thoroughly enjoyed celebrating with my people. When we returned home it was almost Mother's Day. Charlotte made me a Belgian waffle as you can see in the photo below, and it was delicious!

Our daughter will have her last week of 6th grade coming up next week. It's so hard to believe summer break is almost here and we are looking forward to it. It'll be nice to not have a daily schedule for a while. And we are excited about homeschooling for 7th grade. 

So, what have you been up to lately? What are you looking forward to this coming summer? I hope you have something fun planned!

I'm also trying to eat more salads. Green apple is surprisingly very good on a salad!