Category: Uncategorized

Happy Friday everyone! We have been pretty lazy this morning (and by we I mean me + little, but we wish daddy was able to be bummin’ it with us!) and it has been fantastic. Every day this week has been filled to the brim with errands and activities so after breakfast this morning we skipped out on our usual bootcamp routine and played with a new (to us) Little People Zoo/Jungle and I was able to leisurely drink my coffee. We did eventually make it out to Trader Joe’s to get a few things, but back we came for naps and more lazing around. Mornings like these always recharge me and I never really realize how badly I need it. I hope you’re having an equally refreshing Friday, and if not that’s ok because Saturday is right around the corner. Here are a few quick takes from the week including but not limited to: blog links + my overly emotional self thinking about my child turning one year old next week (cue welling up of tears).

1. BLOG | I really enjoyed Elise’s blog this week about marriage, obedience, and vocations. As someone who has always struggled with identity and my plan vs. God’s plan this post really rang true for me. It reminded me of this time last year when I was really going back and forth on whether or not to stay home and what God wanted me to do vs. what I wanted to do. Really good stuff!

2. BABY | We are gearing up for party things next week. I need to get a few things but for the most part it’s going to be a lot of family and friends and babies hanging out and eating good food. My favorite kind of celebration. I am on the lookout for some simple yet entertaining things for the kiddos to do. Any and all recommendations on baby friendly activities/toys to have out during party time are greatly welcomed! I don’t want to go overboard but I also do want kiddos to be bored/cranky due to boredom. We went to a friend’s birthday last week and she had a bunch of balloons for the babes to play with which I thought was a really good idea.

3. BLOG | Something I have been trying to do as we have been unpacking and settling into our new home is to purge a lot of the unnecessary. We have made great progress throughout our cleaning endeavors but still have a LONG way to go. It’s keeping in theme with my word for the year and I think will help us to have a more organized + happy household in the future. Kelsey is an inspiration to me in the organization overhaul and has really been able to pare down and live a more simplistic life style. Teach me your ways!

4. BABY | I have been having SO many overly emotional moments this week (not pregnant). Just yesterday M was cruising between the coffee table and the couch and would walk over to a box of toys we have in the living room. She would pick one up and slowly toddle over to be and bring it to me. I would act so surprised and happy and give her a huge hug and she would break into this cheesy, toothy grin and then repeat the entire toy-to-mom-make-mom-happy transaction again. UGH. RIGHT IN THE HEART STRINGS, BABY GIRL. STAY LITTLE FOREVER.

5. BLOG | I met Amber at The Hundred Event back in August. Not only is she the sweetest person you’ll ever meet, but she is a registered dietician and twin mom (with another little one on the way!) and is ALWAYS posting about delicious, healthy, smart and most of all actually do-able recipes and ideas for families and kids. I really enjoyed her recent Toddler Snacks post because I feel like my child has recently started really snacking during the day and I was running out of good + healthy snacking ideas (and I’m sure she was tired of her 100th cheese stick I had given her for the day).

6. BLOG | Katrina has been a regular read/blog friend for quite sometime now and she has always had a way with words where I find myself nodding in agreement at my computer screen. She has really been knocking it out of the park lately with some posts about family + pregnancy. Here are two that I really enjoyed reading: click and click.

7. DAD | This past Wednesday was my Dad’s birthday so I thought I’d wrap up with post with a little shout to him. Happy birthday, Dad! Thanks for being a constant source of humor in my life + a great grandpa to M. We love you! (and below, quite possibly my favorite photos of me and my dad before my wedding ceremony – photos: Jessica Renee Photography)

Happy weekending!

Last week we celebrated the feast of St. Joseph, one of my absolute favorite Saints. There have been so many times that I have prayed novenas to St. Joseph and always, I am given reassurance and answers through his help in those prayers. He is also my husband’s patron saint so between all those times St. Joe has helped me out + to celebrate my husband I thought it was only appropriate to bake up a sweet treat in honor of the day.

In New Orleans St. Joseph altars are apparently huge thing (but not surprising since I feel like any excuse to celebrate down there is welcomed with open arms;). I was seeing friends post about them on the feast day and so I did a little research on my own and found out some pretty interesting information. They are a Sicilian tradition and are a grand presentation of food and thanksgiving to St. Joseph for answered prayers and devotion. Lemons are frequently found on these altars, and it is believed that a woman who steals a lemon from a St. Joseph altar will get a husband.

Well I am a sucker for traditions and anything hopelessly romantic. So inspired by the lovely lemons, I decided to make some (super easy!) lemon cupcakes. I am calling them ‘rustic’ because they are a little rough around the edges and I did a quick/not piped icing job on them.

Recipe: Rustic Lemon Cupcakes

Ingredients for cupcakes:

• 1/2 a box of Trader Joe’s Vanilla Cake + Baking Mix
• 1 large egg
• 1/4c + 2 tbsp cold milk (I used whole)
• juice of 1 whole lemon
• zest of 1 whole lemon rind

Ingredients for flour buttercream frosting: 

• 1c milk
• 1c granulated sugar
• 1c unsalted butter
• 1tsp vanilla extract
• 1tsp lemon juice
• 1tbsp lemon zest
• 4.5 tbsp all purpose flour

1) Instructions for cupcakes: 

• In a stand mixer combine egg + milk + lemon juice + lemon zest and beat until well combined. Slowly add in cake mix until smooth consistency. Pour into a greased (or lined) muffin tin until each cup is about 3/4 full and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. (I checked on them at 20 minutes and they needed a bit more time – just keep and eye on them.) Remove from oven and let completely cool before icing.

2) Instruction for flour buttercream frosting: 

• Combine flour, milk and sugar. Whisk over low heat until the ingredients come to a boil. (You will need to continuously whisk until it comes to a boil to avoid lumps, clumps and over heating your milk)
• Turn off heat and continue to whisk while warm for about 1-2 minutes.
• Transfer to a large mixing bowl/stand mixer and continue to beat until cooled to room temp.
• Add butter one tbsp at a time until eat tbsp is completely combined into your liquid, then add the vanilla.
• Add lemon juice and then fold in your lemon zest.
• Frost cooled cupcakes immediately + enjoy.

Happy eating!

This weekend kicked off a string of busy weekends for the Martin family! This weekend a housewarming, next weekend a wedding shower for my sister and then the weekend after that we have the first birthday (WHAT!?) of a pretty special little girl + Easter to celebrate! Busy + blessed over here, that’s for sure.

So like I said, we hosted a housewarming party at our new home for family and friends to come and see the new little space we have been settling into. I will say that setting a date on a calendar, when you know people are going to be looking around your house, is a great motivator to unpack the mountains of boxes that come along with a big move. I am pretty proud to say that we only had one box that we had to hideaway for the big event and we didn’t have to stay up too late unpacking the night before.

We were sipping on a Lemon Berry Rum Punch while we chatted with everyone and I would say it was a hit! A nice little fruity beverage to welcome in springtime and warmer weather. I think it would be a great sweet cocktail to drink by the pool this summer as well.

Recipe: Lemonberry Rum Punch

• 1 – 3qt bottle of Lemonade (I used Kirkland Signature – Costco has my heart forever)
• 1 – 64oz bottle of Cranberry Pomegranate Juice (I used Ocean Spray Cran-Pomegranate Juice)
• 1 – 1L bottle of club soda
• 1 – 12oz bag of frozen mixed berries
• 1-2 cups of white rum (or rather, to your taste)
• 1-2 shots of either berry liquor or orange liquor (I used some Guavaberry Liquor we got on our honeymoon)
• 2-3 cups of ice

Mix all of that fun stuff up in a large punch bowl or pitcher, serve and enjoy!

Everything went so well on Saturday. It was great to see friends we hadn’t seen in a while, catch up and just hang out in our new place. My mom was a lifesaver and showed up early to help ready a few things while I was able to get ready (not entirely sure our guests would have appreciated me still in my jammies upon their arrival;). It was such a great day and after the last guests left Eric and I were smiling from ear to ear. There really is nothing better than spending time with those people that just fill your heart up in all the right ways. After our little shindig we ventured out to the mall and did a little shopping. Got a few end-of-season deals on sweaters for both of us and I found a dress for Easter – so all around a winning day only to be topped off by coming home, putting a sleepy baby to bed, and watching the rest of Game of Thrones Season 4.

Sunday was our usual grind of planning for the week + practice and mass in the afternoon. We were able to go out to eat with Amanda and her boys after Mass and it was such a wonderful little family date (that hopefully we can have more of in the future;)!

Happy Monday! On to another week, living this good life.

On Monday we hosted a whole passle of kiddos at our new house for a play date and later that night I joined up with some girl friends to watch The Bachelor Finale (note: I was all the way #teambecca, but honestly after seeing him and Whitney and reading some stuff online they seem pretty legit)! Along with some veggies + hummus I was able to pop these yummy Spinwheels in the oven – not only did the mommies love them but some of the babies liked them too! So here you have it, a super simple, quick and easy recipe based off of your traditional tortilla-cream cheese spinach pinwheel.

Basil Parmesan Spinwheels

Ingredients: 

• 2 cans of crescent roll dough
• 1 8oz package of Greek Cream Cheese (a greek yogurt + cream cheese spread)
• 2-3 tbsp of chopped fresh basil
• 1 tbsp of chopped fresh garlic
• 1 cup fresh baby spinach
• 1/4 cup graded parmesan
• salt + pepper to taste

Instructions: 

1. Preheat oven to 375 F*
2. Roll out crescent roll dough on a lightly floured surface and pinch together the perforation for the crescent rolls making it one large sheet of dough (I know Pillsbury makes a perforation-less version of their dough so by all means use that and save a step!)
3. Soften the Greek Cream Cheese in the microwave until easily mixed with a spoon (about 30 seconds-1 minute)
4. Fold chopped basil, garlic, parmesan, and salt and pepper to Greek Cream Cheese until evenly distributed throughout the entire mixture.
5. Spread a thin layer of your cream cheese mixture on to your crescent roll dough using the back of a spoon or small spatula.
6. Lay baby spinach leaves in a layer on top of the cream cheese.
7. Roll up your crescent roll dough + cream cheese + spinach.
8. Cut your crescent roll log into 1/4 inch – 1/2 inch slices and lay flat on a baking sheet.
9. Bake for 11-13 minutes in the oven, let cool, and enjoy!

Happy eating!

Well well well…look who’s back? The biggest slacker in all of blog land! I realized the other day just how long this hiatus had become but I promise there are solid excuses backing my absence from the internet. 

As I had previously mentioned, for the past few months we have been on the hunt for a new house and lo and behold – we got one! After a seriously crazy process and two very long months, we closed and are now officially home owners. We have already made too many Home Depot trips to count and spent this past weekend taping, painting, and touching up a few rooms. We have a bit left on our lease before we have to be out of our current abode so we are taking this time to make any changes that are easier sans furniture (and baby when we have generous, wonderful people wiling to babysit:). 

With all of these changes have come some seriously sparse meal plans and recipes, as well as any thoughts other than nesting into our cozy new place. But, I am hoping to sneak out for a bit this weekend to recharge and refocus on some blog related things. But for now, just wanted to pop in with a ‘hello’ and a wave to let you all know that we are doing so well over in our neck of the woods, and I’m hoping to be back soon. (: 

Happy Tuesday.

Drinking: lots of water and tea in the afternoon. Yay new year! Yay motivation! I really feel like I am doing alright with this “resolution”/goal that I have set for myself to drink more water. It also helps that I got a fitbit for my birthday/Christmas and am OBSESSED with it. I’m always a little more willing to accomplish things with more motivation.

Reading: finishing up this book: MWF seeking BFF (I know, it’s taken me FOREVER) and adding a few more to my list. I cleaned up our bookshelves yesterday and saw a lot of books that I am going to try and read in the near future. Also, reading a lot of kiddo books because our little lady is in love with her board book collection. Some favorites of hers right now: The Snowy Day, Good morning, Goodnight, and pretty much any Karen Katz book.

Wanting: for house things to settle down. We have been in a crazy whirlwind of option periods, appraisals, inspections, etc. and we are both really ready for things to close and move on to our new home. I’m hoping that in the next couple of weeks I can mark this want off the list because everything will be good to go and we will have a new house!
Listening: lots of podcasts and exploring some of the premade playlists on Spotify. I think my favorites right now are “Evening Chill” and “Toasty Fireside.”
Eating: relatively healthy lately. Like I said previously, we are really trying to cut down on the amount of leftovers wasted at the end of the week and cook smarter. Something that I am wanting to try this new year is Nature Box. It seems as if every blog I follow and podcast I listen to is advertising for them and I think that it might be worth looking into. Anyone have any personal experience?
Smelling: the honey sesame chicken I have cooking currently in our crock pot…trying out this recipe and so far my nose is not disappointed. Another smell I have been enjoying lately is this candle by DW Home – it’s called gingerbread man and smells rich, and warm without being overpoweringly sweet. It was gifted to me by a student’s mom at christmastime and I have not been disappointed. I will definitely be checking out their other scents once I have burned this one out!

Enjoying: NAPS. My child has been pretty fickle about regularly napping. Especially in the afternoon, and honestly the past month or so with the holidays, two ear infections, a cold, and just no routine at all has really thrown the both of us for a major loop. HOWEVER, yesterday I think we may have turned a corner (really hoping that since I have typed this and am sharing with the world our napping successes that it all doesn’t come crumbling down today…) and Madeline slept 3 HOURS during the day and 10 STRAIGHT HOURS LAST NIGHT. THIS IS ALL CAPS WORTHY PEOPLE. I honestly didn’t know what to do with myself for the majority of the time she napped yesterday because I am not used to it. This is what nap time is like! Laundry is getting done! Books can be read! Blog posts can be written! HALLELUJAH!
Loving: going through things and getting rid of stuff. I have been purging my closet slowly but surely these past few months. Getting rid of things that a) don’t fit my new mom bod b) I haven’t worn since college or c) don’t really jive with my current style. If I’m being completely honest I had to get rid of a few things I hadn’t worn since highschool. I know. This purge was long over due. But along with that I have been looking at some of the many things we have acquired since getting married and I’m hoping to get rid of more stuff in order to stick to my word of the year and make our prospective move as simple as possible.
Hoping: I think this goes along with my above ‘wanting’ – we just really want all of this house stuff to calm down and once it does I promise a bit more insight into what we have had to deal with for the past few months.
Feeling: healthy and happy. I think between working out more lately + being able to accomplish a few things I have been wanting to that I have been able to settle into a relatively peaceful state of mind (even with all of the craziness going on around us).

Wearing: Lots of layers. It’s been chilly in Dallas and as much as I love scarves and boots I am kind of a wuss when it comes to lower temps. It’s supposed to be in the 60’s this weekend though so maybe I’ll be able to peel off a layer or two.
Noticing: That I haven’t posted a new recipe in forever. Time to get on that.
Bookmarking: A few new lovely blogs that I have stumbled upon from the Blessed Is She daily photo challenge (#projectblessed) it’s been refreshing to add a few new instagram accounts to my feed and find some new blogspiration!

Happy Wednesday!

I am fully aware that most “recapping the year” posts have been published, shared and that the blogging world is moving on into this new year. However, I stumbled upon Dwija’s blog (and link up) and her idea to sum up the year in twelve photos for twelve months. I am all about efficiency and I think my nostalgic heart will appreciate posts like these as I continue on my blogging journey. So here we are: twelve photos for the twelve months that made up the wonderful year that was 2014. Enjoy!

January

January was kicked off by a small celebration with friends at our apartment. We played some games, chatted, ate and drank (welch’s sparkling cider for this chick) and were excited to begin a year that was sure to be life changing for our little family. I enjoyed my winter break from school with a few good workouts, some slow mornings, and nesting to get ready for our little lady’s arrival! We had some snow fall once school started back up along with an unexpected trip to the hospital and attending allll of our many baby-readiness classes.

February 

We celebrated Valentine’s day by getting all dolled up and heading out to the opera! This was also the evening when I realized why you shouldn’t wear heels 7 months pregnant (or at least I shouldn’t). The rest of the month was filled with school, school, and more school. We prepped our students for upcoming standardized tests and I prepped my classroom for my long term sub. We also had some baby practice by babysitting a friends sweet girl.

March

March was the month of baby showers…or rather downpours, because we were swallowed in gifts! I enjoyed spring break researching daycares and prepping our freezer for when the little lady would make her arrival. I really started to give some thought to whether or not I should stay home once the baby came. We took some fantastic maternity photos with our favorite photographer in Dallas, Kate Love Photography. And all of our friends started to place bets on whether or not I would make it to our due date.

April

She came! Our little Madeline made her way into the world on her due date and not a minute after. We hunkered down and started living our life as a family of three. We had family come and visit and help us as we transitioned and I healed. In all honesty, besides visiting with family and giving birth April (and most of May) were pretty much a blur of sleepless nights and nursing marathons. But we were oh so happy that our baby was finally here.

May

We took our first road trip down to NOLA to attend the wedding of some dear friends and visit with family. We were also preparing for another wedding in Dallas that would be happening in June. Attending a bachelorette party and helping with whatever we could. I chopped off all my hair and started sporting a pretty stereotypical mom cut and we continued on with our sleep deprivation and adjusting to our new normal.

June

The month started off a little somber when I finally made my decision to stay home with our girl. It was by far the hardest decision I have ever had to make to date. But the month ended on a high note when we celebrated yet another wedding of a local friend in Dallas. After all of the festivities settled down we were able to have a bit of a breather.

July

This month was filled with making routines, taking walks with friends, and then celebrating the baptism of our little one. There really is nothing quite as exciting as welcoming a new little Catholic into the church and her baptism was the highlight of my summer. We had so many friends there from our parish and youth group – it was so beautiful.

August

August brought our second wedding anniversary & attending my first blogging conference! I really stepped outside of my comfort zone to attend The Hundred Event but it was a fantastic experience and I met some wonderful new blogger friends and finally got to meet a few women behind blogs I have followed and gathered inspiration from for quite sometime.

September

We had two more weddings to attend to round out the summer. One in Dallas and one in NOLA. We also took our little lady on her first plane ride and were pleasantly surprised by her behavior on the plane. Crossing our fingers that it wasn’t just a fluke and that we actually do have a good little traveler! This was also the month that I started working part time as a teacher at Madeline’s school. We were able to get her into a one day a week Mother’s Day Out program and along with that I was able to start working there during the day she attends. This was also the month that I think we started to get into a real routine and I started to really accept my position as a stay at home mom.

October

Cooler weather, craft fairs, and a long awaited engagement were a few of the things we found in the month of October. A couple months prior I was lucky enough to tag along with a friend to go ring shopping for my old college roommate. This was the month he popped the question and I honestly could not contain my excitement. We also had a lot of fun dressing up our little one for Halloween for the first time. I won’t lie, she totally had three different costumes for different events we attended and we even took our 6 month old trick-or-treating…the life of the first born!

November 

We continued our house hunt during the month of November and even found a few that we liked! We also took our annual family photos/christmas card photos with Kate again. Thanksgiving was celebrated in Dallas for the first time in years and we enjoyed a day of parade watching, cooking, and eating with our family. Then we started decorating for Christmas and celebrating advent. It was a really good month.

December

December was spent working on more house related things as well as attending a few Christmas parties and lots of holiday baking! We also traveled to NOLA for Christmas. It was our first Christmas as a family of three and our first Christmas down there so it was exciting on all counts. Then we spent New Years Eve playing games and catching up with friends. It was the perfect low key night considering how busy the past two months had been. Oh yeah, and I turned another year older! It’s funny because I almost forgot my actual birthday AND almost forgot it right now. Hah, I guess that’s the life of a mom right?

So that was our year! 2014 was a good one with more changes and challenges that I could have ever imagined. But it was good nonetheless and I’m really excited to see what this next year brings.

I hope you all had a lovely celebration ringing in 2015 last night. We had a friend from college in town and played some (extremely nerdy) board games after our little babe went to bed. It was such a nice evening and exceptionally low key, which was great considering how go go go everything has been these past few weeks. I think tonight we are going to go on our annual Christmas light drive and spend some time as a family of three.

I have never really been a resolution type person. I always feel like I fail come the end of the year and that’s never a fun feeling. But last year I chose a word to focus on for the year and upon my reflection of 2014 I think I definitely chose wisely. Last year’s word was trust. Trusting God and all of his plans for me and our family. If I had only known what was to come with this past year. Making one of the hardest decisions I have had to make in my adult life and choosing to stay home with our little girl. Pushing my comfort zone and attending a (fantastic) blogging conference in August and learning some pretty humbling lessons in our house search. Just to name a few, 2014 required a lot of trust and by trusting in His plan I was given more than I could have ever imagined.

While I still have a few smaller goals in the works, I have decided on a word for this fresh and shiny new year.

Simplify

We are officially into the beautiful month that is December. I realize that I may be a tad bit biased in my favoring opinion of this month due to my upcoming birthday but I know that I am not alone in my love for the holiday season. Honestly, once we approach Halloween I am ready to bust out holiday decorations and let the festive moods commence. I love everything that this season brings – family, friends, memories, food, drink, etc. Just recently, a week or so before Thanksgiving, I was shopping with my husband at Central Market and while wandering aisles, searching for new and interesting ingredients to craft with later in the kitchen, I turned to him and said, “Thanksgiving is coming up! I can’t wait to cook and eat all day!” He laughed at my sentiments, but we both know that there is nothing better than waking up and spending the rest of the day in and out of the kitchen, music playing, snacking happening, with the end result being a beautiful dinner and evening spent with people we love while consuming delicious food.

One of my absolute favorite things about this holiday season is baking. While I was in college, we had a women’s small group that was a part of our college ministry group and we met on Wednesday nights at my apartment. We would sit, chat, and usually someone would bake something to share as we talked and prayed together. This was really my introduction into the wonderful world that is baking. I began experimenting with different recipes and came to love this beautiful art. I always feel that the holidays are the best time to experiment with new baking recipes for two reasons 1) with cooler temperatures come the actual desire to turn on the oven and 2) all of the holiday flavors and spices make me want to make something delicious and sweet.

While on that Central Market trip a few weeks ago, I picked up a big bunch of fresh rosemary. One of my all time favorite herbs to cook and bake with. It is so fragrant and I love that hours after I chop it all up, my hands will still smell of the beautiful herb. I found this yummy recipe for spicy rosemary cookies as well as a rosemary old fashioned (coming at you later this week!) and decided that they needed to be made because fresh rosemary should never be ignored. I can honestly say that these cookies didn’t last very long in our home. My husband and I kept sneaking back into the kitchen and grabbing one (or three) for the days following. I can’t wait to share these with family and friends this holiday season!

These cookies were made based on this recipe from Running to the Kitchen. I followed the recipe exactly and was really pleased with the end result. I was initially intimated by the use of Cayenne in a cookie recipe but felt that the proportions were perfectly balanced. Something I might do next time is add a little sprinkling of Cayenne pepper on top of the cookies – but only a light dusting as to not over power. More for a garnish if anything.

The most useful tip I learned from this recipe was microwaving the chocolate chips with coconut oil! I had actually never made a dipping chocolate like this before – I usually use almond bark and was pleasantly surprised by the result. I even incorporated this little tidbit while dipping holiday pretzels last week in conjunction with my usual almond bark and I felt like it only enhanced the taste and made for a smoother chocolate. Definitely something I am storing away for further use in the kitchen.

Happy eating!

Happy Friday! This week has been drastically different than last week. Thank goodness. I feel like my mood, my child’s mood, everyone’s mood has just been significantly better and on the happier side than last week. Because of this change in temperament at the Cafe du Martin I’ve been able to crank out TWO blog posts. It’s pretty crazy.

1-4. BLOGS | There have been so many great blog posts I’ve read this week. A lot of inspiration and good floating around the interwebs that I’ve really been connecting with as of late. So if you’re in the mood for some good reads this weekend I would check out these lovely ladies:

• My beautiful friend and former coworker, Heidi, wrote about some of the life lessons she is teaching her students. I have always admired her drive to really reinforce life skills within her students and always tried to do the same in the classroom.
• Kate wrote about motherhood + her vocation in this post and it really hit home with how I have been feeling these past few weeks. It’s hard being a mom, but it’s even harder when you are feeling left out and like other bigger + better things are going on around you. She definitely left me with some new found energy and focus after reading her post. It’s always nice to know that we aren’t alone in the struggle.
• I just recently found Erica’s blog, LADDventure by way of one of my favorite podcasts. She is posting a new soup recipe every week in October and I am super pumped to try out her black bean vegan soup next week.
• I met Sarah at The Hundred Event and have been loving keeping up with her via her super cute blog, Tucker Up. She is currently doing a Whole30 Challenge which is something I have been thinking about doing and I am loving her determination to power through and honesty about some of the recipes she has been trying.

5. BABY | My baby has been wonderful this week. I really think that I could let this take lie with that sentiment because I’m pretty sure anyone with a baby can understand how blissful it is when your baby is sleeping well, eating well, and in a GOOD MOOD. The past couple of weeks we were struggling in the sleep department. Combine that with shots, general fussiness, teeth cutting and you can probably see why blogging has been kind of infrequent lately.

6. BOOZE | Per the suggestion of a sweet friend I picked up some of Trader Joe’s Pear Cinnamon Cider and their Sparkling Apple Cider to make a new yummy cocktail for next week. It is seriously delicious and I’m really excited to share. Here’s a little preview of it for now:

7. BEAUTIFUL WEATHER | The weather this week has been GORGEOUS. While I’m pretty sure it’s nearing the mid 90’s outside, the mornings have been glorious. They have had that fall crispness to them that is life giving. I have felt so refreshed and so happy to get outdoors and do some things. Consistently beautiful weather in Texas has to be celebrated because who knows what tomorrow is going to look like? Hail? Tornadoes? Crazy cold front? I’ve lived here my entire life and unfortunately know that all of these things are completely possible.

Linking up with Jen + the gang over at Conversion Diary. I hope you have a wonderful weekend!