Where I've been

 

Hello Friends,

I just wanted to pop on real quick and explain where I've been.  What started out as a scratchy throat last Sunday developed into a full blown flu, the worst I've ever had (fever, chills, body aches, headache...tis the season!). I don't think I've ever been that sick in my entire life.  This one really knocked me out.  I have been doing an awful lot lately and I think my body just slammed on the brakes.  

Well, that flu has developed into pneumonia. The good news is that I did see my doctor and I'm now on two antibiotics and a prescription cough pill and am finally (after 9 long days) starting to feel better.  I see light at the end of this tunnel.  I've been in bed most of the time and basically quarantining in my bedroom because I don't want anyone in my family to catch to this beast.  So far so good (knock wood!!).  

The most interesting part of this week is that during my fever haze, I decided it would be a good idea to host Thanksgiving.  It will be an even better idea if I ever get out of this bed.  At least it's giving me something to think about while I'm lying here :)

Thank you, friends.  I'll be back when I'm feeling better.  Hopefully sooner than later. 

xo 

Happy Halloween and weekend plans ♥

Hello Friends! ♥

I hope you all had a Happy Halloween! John had a fun night with friends while Rob, my Dad, and myself were home giving out candy.  I made a quick pizza for dinner and we took turns going to the door.  The weather here is unseasonably warm right now so I expected more kids. 

We got a good amount, but not as many as past years.  This only means I have a lot of candy left over.

This is both good and bad : ) 

Another Halloween celebration with great friends.  The same ones he's been with since elementary school. 

And just like that it's November.  Here we go....♥

We have a busy weekend ahead.  Tomorrow, we have a tree company coming to take down some trees in our backyard that are dancing dangerously close to the roof. It will be good to get it done and something we won't have to worry about anyone (I'm saying novenas every time there's a storm!).  It's going to be loud and hopefully my neighbors won't be too mad. I'll be so glad when it's over. 

John is working at the theater this weekend, but we do have time to squeeze in a coffee date for 3 tomorrow morning before the tree guy comes and he goes to work. Some families like to go out to dinner, we go out for coffee and pastries.  It's just what we do.  We have our best talks in coffee shops.  I'm not even kidding ♥

I really love the first few weeks of November.  It's still Fall but the excitement of Christmas is coming.  We get the best of both worlds.  I'll start making Christmas lists and mentally planning for the festive season, but I'm not ready to give up my pumpkin spice just yet.  I've waited so long for it.  Where I am we are in peak foliage too.  The leaves are so bright!  And they are falling!  Rob and John will be out raking in a few weeks.  All the stores around me are starting to look Christmassy and I like seeing that. 

I've been thinking a lot about my mom this week.  This will be the first holiday season of my life that she won't be here to celebrate with me.  Last year she was in the hospital, but she was still here. Not this year. No planning meals together or talking about who's getting what gift this year.  We won't shop together or wrap together or anything like that.  That makes me very sad.  However, I know she's still with me.  I feel her presence every day and that brings me comfort.  I know she'll be with us this Christmas.  She wouldn't miss it.  I'll try to make it as special as I can and carry on her traditions.  I am excited to put up her tree and bring out her decorations.  I think she would like that too.  

On Sunday I'm devoting a little time to give my plants some love.  I have a bunch that need to be watered, deadheaded, and one in particular that needs to be repotted.  I've been so busy lately I've neglected them!  Do you ever forget about your plants and then catch one in the corner of your eye one day and it looks like it's been in a dessert for a month?  Hello, that's me! I'd show you a picture but I'm too embarrassed. 

Well friends, I'm off to watch the Martha Stewart documentary on Netflix. Have you watched it?  I've always been team Martha!  I miss her old shows!  I used to love the craft segments.  Would I like to be her best friend? Probably not.  But I'd go to her house for lemon cake and I'm sure it would divine. 

I hope you all have a cozy weekend! See you Monday! ♥

xoxoxo

Halloween this or that 👻

 

Hello Friends!  

Since tomorrow is Halloween, I thought it would be fun to do a quick Halloween this or that.

Please leave me your answers down below so I can see how you like to celebrate your Halloween! 

 Trick-or-treating or handing out candy?

Trick-or-treating! It's where all the fun is!  Sadly, our trick or treating days are over. Now I'm the candy-giver-outer, which is dangerous because I have to stay awfully close to the candy bowl! 

Scary movie night or costume party?

Scary movie night for sure! That's my kind of Halloween party...but not too scary of course : ) 

Gory makeup or cute spooky makeup?

Oh, I don't like gory at all. 

Candy apples or caramel apples? 

Caramel! Even better if dipped in chocolate! 

Drink apple cider or a pumpkin spice latte? 

Duh?!  Just kidding! I love hot cider too! But if given the choice I will choose a PSL! 

Scary costumes or pop-culture costumes?

I think the fun costumes are so much better than the scary ones.  There is nothing more terrifying than a scary clown.  No. Just no. 

Haunted house or corn maze?

Corn mazes can be just as scary as haunted houses.  They remind me of those creepy fun house mazes that are all mirrors.  Every turn looks the same and you can't escape. I would rather a haunted house (especially if it's the one in Disney...which isn't scary at all! : )

Bobbin for apples or carving pumpkins?

We carve pumpkins every year! I've never bobbed for apples.  Come to think of it, I don't think I've known anyone who's ever bobbed for apples.  Have you? I just know it from the Charlie Brown Great Pumpkin movie (which I watched last night!). I mean, who's dunking their head in a bucket of water to get an apple?  

Would you rather be a vampire or a werewolf?

Well, I've seen Twilight so naturally I'd rather be a vampire! 

Happy Halloween eve, friends! What are your plans for tomorrow? 

xx 

A big thank you and a walk on the beach ♥

Hello Friends! Happy Tuesday! ♥

I want to send a BIG thank you to my friends who commented on my post about John not going to traditional college.  Your kind words and comments made me feel like we aren't alone in this decision.  It happens more than you think these days, but people rarely talk about.  People automatically assume failure if someone doesn't have a college degree and that's just not the case. 

 Thank you for your support.  

As parents we just want what's best for our kids and that's different for everyone. 

♥

In other news...♥

Today was another beautiful fall day.  It was sunny and blustery.  Leaves were flying everywhere!  

It's hard to believe that only 15 minutes down the road from our house is this beautiful beach, where it doesn't look like fall at all.  On Sunday Rob and I took a walk down here.  It's so nice during the off season. The crowds are gone and it's so peaceful.  

I've been coming to this beach my entire life and I've never loved it more than I do now.  

I find it's a perfect spot to escape to and embrace the quiet (especially when the world seems overly loud right now...) 

I hate the heat in July & August.  I hate the crowds. I hate finding parking (and paying through the nose for it!)

But in October there is none of that.  It's cool and you can actually feel the ocean air going into your lungs when you take a deep breath in (I love that in January!). 

 There are people walking, all bundled up with coffees or hot chocolates, and there's always dogs which is nice too.  Also, no crowds and plenty of parking : )

The ocean and sky were like glass on Sunday.  

We walked and talked and then we came home and it was still fall 🍁

That's what I call the best of both worlds.  

Have a cozy evening friends! xx 

Pumpkin Spice Crumb Cake ♥

Hello Friends!  ♥

Happy Halloween week! Wow, that came fast.  It's hard to believe Halloween is on Thursday, but here we are. 

I hope you all had a nice weekend.  Ours was very good.  The weather was perfect October.  Cool, crisp, and colorful.  

We got some things done around the house, but also took some time for R&R which was very needed and honestly, the best part of the weekend. We ran errands Saturday morning and then Rob suggested a walk on the beach, which was wonderful.  It beat cleaning the bathroom, which was my original plan, so I was in!  

 I'll share pics of that tomorrow : )

All of our Halloween decor is up, and YES I did finally get the Halloween candy! :) 

The bags I got have Charlston Chews in them and it's taken all the willpower I have not to rip a bag open. They are so good!!  Especially frozen!! Am I the only one who freezes candy? It's something I've always done and on any given day you will find some piece or random candy in the back of my freezer. 

Sunday morning, I wanted to do a little baking, so I tried a recipe from Pinterst called Pumpkin spice crumb cake.  It came out delicious. The only change I made was adding a half tsp of cinnamon to the batter because I wanted to punch up the flavor a bit. We had it warm and it was delightful.  I might add chocolate chips next time and maybe a drizzle of icing.  

I added the link below if you want to try it.  I had a piece for breakfast this morning with coffee and I can confirm it's just a good the next day :) 

Pumpkin spice crumb cake 

I hope you had a nice weekend and a lovely Monday.  I have a busy week ahead but will be sure to take some time for myself to enjoy these last few days of October.  Hard to believe another one has come and gone (almost).  And I still have never seen Hocus Pocus! 

Stay cozy and see you tomorrow! xx

Weekend plans 🍁

Hello Friends! 🖤

We have arrived at the end of the week. Today was a beautiful fall Friday. I worked for most of it, but I was able to sit out on my back porch for a bit this afternoon and sip a coffee while taking in the foliage. That's all I needed and it was lovely. 

Nothing exciting going on this weekend and that's just the way I like it. I love a slow, boring weekend. It's honestly my favorite thing! (I'm not even kidding :)

Tomorrow John has a driving hour in the morning and then the three of us are going to our favorite coffee shop. Later in the afternoon/evening John is going to something called "screamfest" which sounds terrifying to me, but he and his friends are awfully excited about it. It's a haunted amusement park... 

Rob and I have some projects and chores to get done around the house. I'm planning a roast chicken for dinner and I'd like to make a fall-ish dessert (that I haven't decided on yet). 

We'll go to mass Sunday morning before breakfast. John is working at the theater in the afternoon, so I'll probably drag Rob to Walmart with me to get Halloween candy, before settling in for a cozy day of football watching, reading my book, and maybe a nap :)  Sunday night I'll catch up on blog reading and get ready for the new week. 

It's almost Halloween! 🎃 

And I think that's all the excitement I can cram into one weekend...lol

Whatever your plans, I hope you have a cozy October weekend! 

Xx

 (Thank you all for following along with my daily ramblings. I'm enjoying posting every day!)

What's on my mind ♥

Hello Friends!

All day today I kept thinking it was Wednesday. Thankfully I was wrong because it's Friday eve and it's almost the weekend.  Today was pretty uneventful...well to blog about anyway.  All blogs aside, I worked all day and caught up with paperwork and emails that had been piling up.  I had lunch with my Dad which was nice, and I also managed to get three loads of laundry done in between emails.  A perk of working from home : ) 

John and I had a long talk tonight about the future and his schooling.  He's decided not to go to a traditional 4 year college after high school.  He says it's not for him and Rob and I respect his decision.  However, he would like to study music, so we are looking at local schools in and around Boston with music programs.  He wants to live at home and work while taking courses.  There's a lot of options out there, we just have to find the right fit for him. I've always felt that it would be wrong to push him into going to college if it wasn't something he was truly passionate about.  College isn't for everyone and that's OK.  There are plenty of other options out there and opportunities for kids to have successful careers. We found a few prospects online and will look into those next week. He's also making an appointment with this guidance counselor.  Stay tuned for updates ♥

So that's what I'm going to bed thinking about.  That and the fact that a week from tonight is Halloween and I don't have any Halloween candy yet! I have to get myself to Walmart this weekend and pick some up.  Hopefully they aren't sold out of all the "good" candy.  Do you have yours yet?  If so, have you dipped into it?  Maybe it's a good thing I haven't bought it yet.  It could be gone by next week! LOL

Have a wonderful night my friends.  Maybe by the time you read this it's already Friday! YAY!

Xx