Amazon Lately

If you have been following along with my crusty finger journey over on IG you know that I've been battling some weird reaction on my ring finger and this CeraVe healing ointment has been a GODSEND!  I had a spot lanced/shaved off my ribcage this past summer by my dermatologist and he gave me a semple to use on the spot and it's awesome.  It's not greasy and absorbs nicely and has helped a lot!

SaturDAY In The Life

 This past Saturday was our first one without a cross country event so when I finally managed to get up I thought it might be a fun one to document!  Griffin had dance rehearsals starting at 8 a.m. so Dave took one for the team (BLESS HIM!) and got her up and to the studio.  I was up around 9:00 and took a few iutes to look ato ur calendar for the week, make a quick meal plan and order groceries from Costco and Walmart. 

Halloween 2024

 

Happy Monday, friends! I was too wiped out on Thursday night to recap our Halloween so I'm sharing here and, honestly, it will probably be the last year I recap Halloween as anything more than a blip on my Friday Favorites since long gone are the days of the family costumes and pre-trick-or-treating spooky punch and all of that ;) Bittersweet for sure but WHAT A FUN season this is!

Thursday afternoon was the last football game of the season so G cheered at that and Mason hung out with friends...

Friday Favorites!

Happy Friday, friends! Erika and I are so excited that lots of y'all are linking up with us every week.  Make sure that you're grabbing our graphic, linking back to us and sharing your own Friday Favorites post ;)

First up on my list of FAVORITES are these pictures that our niece, Logan, drew of all of us.

Happy Halloween!

 HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Today I thought it would be fun to share some of my FAVORITE costumes from over the years!  Honestly, I just wanted an excuse to get all nostalgic and is there anything cuter than a costume? NO!

For Luke's first Halloween he was a "Halloweenie" and I remember this VIVIDLY!!!

What's Up Wednesday

  Today I'm linking up with  Shay and  Sheaffer to talk a little bit about what's been going on around here!

We literally can't stop eating the zucchini bread I posted about last week.  I've made it twice since I posted it and will probably make it again this weekend.

Waco for State

Sunday night Mason and I headed down to Waco so we could watch the XC team compete at State on Monday morning.  We left a little later than we thought and had to abandon ship on our plans to grab pizza at a little place in Waco and instead stopped in at a random Popeyes off the highway - hahaha

Back Tomorrow

 I didn't plan this out well - Mason and I spent the night in Waco last night so we could watch Luke run in the State XC meet this morning.  I had planned on finishing up my blog post at the AirBNB tonight BUT we're sharing a house with friends and I should have known we'd be up late talking ;) 

All that to say - see you back here tomorrow! ;) 

Friday Favorites

 Erika and I are so excited that lots of y'all are linking up with us every week.  Make sure that you're grabbing our graphic, linking back to us and sharing your own Friday Favorites post ;)

Happy Friday, friends! Well - here we are again ;) I SWEAR it was JUST Friday!

These pics of G with all the pups are my new FAVES!!!

Brown Paper Packages

 I shared this last year - but it was mid-December and it was too late to really jump on the brown paper package train so this year I'm sharing extra early so you can start gathering supplies in case this is up your alley. 

The past few years I've mixed and matched several different wrapping papers to coordinate with a super pretty nutcracker giftwrap I found online.  This year I stumbled upon  this floral velvet ribbon and it was love at first sight so I decided to work around it and I'm so glad I did!

Carrot, Apple, Zucchini Bread

 

We had a quick taste of fall weather last week but we're back to summer over here but I'm TRYING to get myself in a Fall mood by doing some baking.  Monday night I whipped up this recipe and we're alreadhy down a loaf.  The original recipe called for a cream cheese icing BUT we loved it so much plain that I never made it.  I like a slice a little bit warm with some butter but it's delicious as is as well.  

What You'll Need

1 cup unsalted butter, melted

2 cups granulated sugar

3 eggs room temperature

¼ cup fresh orange juice

1 tbsp vanilla extract

3¼ cups all-purpose flour

½ tsp salt

2½ tsp baking powder

¾ tsp baking soda

1 tsp cinnamon

pinch of ground cloves

pinch of ground nutmeg

2 cups shredded carrots

1 cup shredded zucchini

1 cup diced peeled apple

½ cup pecans chopped

What You'll Do...

1) Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

2) Spray two loaf pans with Baker's Joy.

3) Place zucchini in a large kitchen towel. Bring up the four corners and twist. Squeeze the towel to extract all the liquid from the zucchini, or as much as you can. Set aside.

4) In a large bowl, whisk together flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg together. Set aside.

5) In a separate large bowl, whisk together the butter and sugar.  Add eggs, orange juice, and vanilla and whisk until combined.

6) Fold dry ingredients into wet ingredients along with the shredded carrots, shredded zucchini, apples, and pecans.

7) Pour into prepared pans.  Bake until golden brown, 55 to 60 minutes, or until loaves spring back when gently pressed with fingers.

If you don't already have this grater it's an absolute must.  I upgraded from a smaller one I had and I'm so happy I did - the barrel is huge and nothing gets jammed up in there and it makes shredding veggies (and cheese!) so quick and easy.

Also - I know the step about squeezing the water out of the zucchini is strange... essentially I just use a clean dish towel, throw the zucchini in there and squeeze it over my sink until I can't get anymore water out.  

I'm guessing these would make great muffins as well - I'd do 375 for 15-16 minutes and check them and adjust as necessary.  

If you make this I'd love to know what you think!

HAPPY Fall, y'all!

Halloween Touches 2024

 So my Halloween bins have been sitting in my dining room since the end of September.  Like... at least 4 weeks.  I have had approximately zero time or motivation to get it done, but after a crazy busy week last week I had some time this weekend and decided that it was now or never.  I'm SO GLAD I ended up putting things out becuase I really do love making the house feel festive and Halloween decor is my official gateway into the holiday decorating season and I'm PUMPED!

So without further adieu here are the Halloween touches I put up around our house this year!