Month: October 2021

Eight years.

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Today we celebrate eight years of marriage! It feels like a blink and it feels like ages. Isn’t it weird how it works that way?

Kevin and I started dating when I was 30 years old. It was the end of the Reds baseball season and he asked me to go to a game. I said yes without any hesitation. I knew that a future with Kevin would make his path part of mine, but twelves years together, and eight years married? Who, at thirty, can look forward to that long with any clarity?

I am glad that I couldn’t. I am glad that when I looked forward it was an abstract idea that was worth exploring. And I am glad that we have spent the last twelve years turning that idea into something that works for us, one day at a time.

Brady is sixteen, Natalie is fourteen, and Hadley is six.

There have been a lot of mistakes. There have been some crap days. But damn I’d do every lay off, every third shift, every panicked moment, every new job, every fight over nothing and every fight over something again to get right here.

I love that today is a new starting line. I love that tomorrow will be one too.

Marriage is just as much work as everything else in life. Parenting. Jobs. Being healthy. Being happy. Choosing your best and do the right thing, even when you may not want to. I am so grateful we are in this season of our lives, and even more grateful to have this man in my life.

Thank you for choosing me to be your wife. ♥

From the weekend.

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Our weekend started off with cheering for the last home football game! Hadley lead the crew down to the field, which she was super excited about. And it was a “pink out” game for Breast Cancer Awareness month, so they all wore pink and the coach gave the cheerleaders a pink sticker for their cheeks.

After the football game, I got a walk in. I love to go to this trail by our house, it’s the perfect spot and it’s so pretty to walk through. I usually get in a three mile walk, but lately part of the path has been closed due to construction so I’ve shortened the walk to 2.5 which is better than no miles!

Saturday night we went to a wedding, it was beautiful outside! The ceremony was outside, and the reception was partially outside/inside. The reception was in a barn type building that had these huge sliding doors that opened to let the fresh air in. It was a great date night!

Sunday morning, I went to the trail for another walk. My partner in crime joined me on her bike. I just love it when she wants to come with me, it gives her exercise and she has fun riding her bike. I just wish she would try and learn how to ride without training wheels one of these days.

Sunday afternoon, Hadley had her last soccer game for the outdoor season, and they won! I’m so proud of this girl. She went from not knowing much about soccer, to learning how to dribble in and out of other players, and just learning the basics of soccer for her age. She had the best coaches, who were so patient yet determined to teach these girls. Her team learned how to play together by the end of the season, and it was so fun to watch.

We had a busy but fun weekend! Now back to the grind.

Fall decor.

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Happy Friday everyone! Welcome to the fall decor post for the year. There’s not much that makes me happier than decorating a home for the different seasons! It always takes me a bit to transition from summer to fall, but once it’s here I slowly get on board with the changing seasons.

Fall can be difficult sometimes, as I never know how to incorporate Halloween into Fall. This year, I decided to just add a little mix of both. The decor is mostly Fall, with a touch of Halloween I would say. We don’t have pumpkins for the front porch yet, it’s still a tad warm for that and I like to wait until it gets a little closer to Halloween for those. Our yard is like a zoo, we have all different kinds of animals that come out at night so I’d rather the porch be pumpkin free for awhile.

Without further a do, come on in!

The fireplace mantle! All the pieces are from random places, and some pieces are old that I’ve had awhile. I like the look of different items placed all over the place, it gives it a warm vibe.

As you head into the kitchen from the family room, we have some fallish flowers on the table. Kevin got those for our dating anniversary of 12 years! In the cabinet above the countertop, I have some pumpkins and Turkey things displayed. On the chalkboard, I wrote on chalk “trick or treat” with some fun spider webs and a ghost. By the sink, I have a small pumpkin by the kitchen sponge. And by the way, if you haven’t tried Dawn’s PowerWash yet, you’re missing out! And then on the stove, fall towels and Thanksgiving salt and pepper shakers!

As you enter the dining room, I don’t have much except for a fall tablecloth, and then candy corn in a glass container, candy in the pumpkin basket, and “Hello Fall” on the mini chalkboard.

In the downstairs bathroom, I have Happy Harvest hand towels. Always try to have fun towels in there for the kids! The pumpkins and signs on the bathroom shelves are from the Dollar Tree years ago, and Target Dollar Spot last year. Love Mrs. Meyers hand soap and all the seasonal flavors each year. Fun Halloween napkins, even though the kids aren’t really fans of the napkins. And the Trick or Treat wood block is from a store in Brown County, Indiana from years ago.

Down the hallway to the front door, an Autumn Leaves and Pumpkins Please sign from Target Dollar Spot, Thankful and Blessed sign from the Dollar Tree, sign on the front door and planter stick are from Gabes a few years ago. I tried to make a fall wreath for the front door, and I just can’t get the ribbon to go right. So this will do!

Hope you enjoyed all the fall decor for our home. The seasons are changing, and I’m ready for it!

DIY Skinny Chai Latte.

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Have you ever tried to make one of your favorite drinks from Starbuck’s or your favorite coffee shop? I feel like they never really taste just the same, like something is always off. After lots of searching on the internet, I finally found a good recipe for a chai latte!

Ingredients:

  • Tazo chai latte mix
  • Milk of choice
  • Ice

The chai latte mix can be found at your local Target, or even Amazon. I picked the skinny version, but they also have the full versions which I haven’t tried before.

Put ice into the glass, and pour half of the chai latte mix into the glass. Pour the rest of the glass with the milk of your choice. And that my friends, is it! How easy is that? And it’s delicious! You can tell it’s the skinny version, which taste lighter but it’s still taste pretty close to the one I get at Starbucks. I order this with skim milk at Starbucks, so I’m used to it tasting pretty light anyways.

I’m soo glad I figured out how to make this, and how unbelievably simple it is! Now I can save some money on Starbucks drinks!

Happy October! Can’t wait to make more of these for the fall months that are finally here.