weekending/Hello Monday

 

Happy Monday, friends! I'm joining up with Holly and Sarah for today's weekly blog post. Before I get started, I thought I would give an update on my sister Lisa, whose house flooded while we were on Cape Cod. I shared about that last week on Monday's vacation recap post, but if you need a refresher, you can click here. She stayed with her daughter for the time between when we got back, through this weekend. Thankfully she had people she could stay with! I am happy to say that yesterday she got moved into her new and temporary home, which is a townhouse in a beautiful area of the town she already lived in. It's extremely comparable to where she lived and she loves it so much that she said she's considering that for a future home if she ever doesn't want to be in an actual house that she is solely responsible for. This townhome has an HOA, and she loves that. I am so happy for her! I wish I was there to help her, and though I will be there next weekend, she'll be finished by that time. I can't wait to see it in person! I know she will having it looking beautiful in no time flat. Have I mentioned that my mom and sisters all decorate really well? They do. I'll try to take pictures while I'm there week after next. I will be blogging while I'm away. so come back during the week of the 17th-21st. 

 

Now, onto the weekend! I got started with Dad on Friday, as usual. We had a really nice time together! I decided to stay in the whole time he was here and I made us shrimp fried rice for lunch. He said he liked it and I hope that's true. It didn't seem very satisfying to me. After he left I took a nap. I'm always so tired on Friday afternoons! I got comfy very early and settled in for a quiet evening at home alone. I had leftovers for dinner and I watched two new episodes of shows that I like: Chesapeake Shores and Grey's Anatomy. Do you watch either one of those? I went to bed early. 

(The image on my television is a YouTube screensaver. Calmed By Nature is my favorite channel for these, but this one was playing soft jazz music in the background.)

On Saturday, I went out with my mom and Trish, as usual. This will be the last time I do this for three weekends in a row, because I'll be out of town for all of those. We had so much fun! We went to some new places in nearby small towns and enjoyed ourselves immensely. 

My uniform on repeat: jeans, graphic tee, cardigan, neutral shoes. We went to a store called Kindred Spirit, which is owned by a friend of mine that I used to go to church with. I've been meaning to get by there, but because it's so far off my beaten path, I always forget. I actually bought a few things here that I love: a new beautiful red cowl neck sweater to wear over the coming months, a Christmas gift for my sister and a sticker for my water bottle. 

I got this idea from my boys years ago—they always used to cover their Nalgene bottles with stickers and they'd all be messy and overlapped. Because I'm like a teenager, I suppose and not a middle aged woman?

They had the cutest things! I love this little area where they do live videos. After this we went to a cute little décor shop and florist, Twigs-N-Things, which was equally as adorable. 

The issue I had with these adorable shops is that they made me want Christmas really bad! I cannot wait until it's acceptable to put up the Christmas decorations. I love this fall season we're in, but I really love Christmas. My mom got the most amazing scented candle I've smelled in a long time, one that was peppermint scented. I can smell it even now! 

We ate lunch and went to a couple more places, one of which was the Dollar General. Look at the adorable Christmas plates they had that I bought all of!

I also bought a new Christmas welcome mat. Please don't unfriend me for these things. I anticipate decorating for Christmas early in November! Not the first week, but definitely in that second week. I know it'll be early, but I love it so much, I want all the extra time to enjoy it all. 

I was back home around three, so I changed into my comfy clothes for the evening and Noah went to pick up the pizza we ordered from Lost Pizza. Graham had gone to Nashville for the day and both Jonah and Noah were gone all day as well, so it worked out that they were all home around the same time to eat dinner with us. I am always glad to have them back safe and sound, after a day spent traveling. After I finished my dinner, I started watching The Good Witch movies on Hallmark Movies Now. I'm watching the show again, but I came across these movies and realized I'd never seen them. I love them all! I love the show too and it's the perfect time of year to watch. Have you seen either of these? I really love Catherine Bell and think she's a really talented actress.

I was up early and at church by 7:45 yesterday. It was my Sunday to run the lyrics on the giant screens for the choir and our worship leader, which I was glad to do before missing church for the next three Sundays. 

I always feed the dogs a little earlier than their usual 7:30 a.m. feeding and I was trying to coerce them all back inside so that I could leave. They all love these crisp fall mornings and always act frisky while they're outside. I always end up having to whisper scream at them to come back inside. 🤣 After church I came back home and got comfy for the rest of the day. 

It felt so good to be here and comfy for the rest of Sunday. I ate lunch, turned on my fall playlist, and worked on the blog for this week. It's fall break here this week for our community. so I have some free time. Instead of going to Bible study on Wednesday, I'll have some free time. Also, I'm only working Monday and Tuesday this week, in preparation for leaving town on Saturday. I haven't told anyone that yet, but it won't be an issue. It was a good weekend, just one that I didn't see my husband a whole lot. We're used to this most of the time, so it's nothing new. I'll spend time with him during the week, but I'm glad he loves going into work on the weekend nights. Those guys always have a blast together. Actually, Todd has the ability to have fun no matter what he's doing. I walked in on him in the video room at church yesterday, when he'd just finished being video director for the service and he and Kurt the tech director were laughing over something. I love this about my man and I love that he makes me laugh harder than anybody else. 

What about you? How was your weekend? I'd love to hear from you! I'll be back tomorrow with some pictures of my house all dressed up for fall. I hope you'll come back to read! Thanks for reading my blog, friends. Love to all!