Currently: Fall Fun

Current Book

Current Song

Trent introduced me to this one!

Lil Nas X Industry Baby

Current TV Show

They're back!!!!!!!!!!!

Current Podcast/Audiobook

I just finished the 8th Outlander book in my re-listen.

Perfect timing since the 9th book comes out NEXT month!

I'm also on the last episode of season 2 of the Cold podcast. It was excellent!

So next month, I should have some new stuff here.

Current Drink

Pick your poison...

coffee, an energy drink, liquid collagen {grin}

Current Food

Brent is making steak tonight, and I am PUMPED.

Current Shame-Inducing Pleasure

I am ashamed it took us over 5 months to hang the hooks for our built-ins.

It took less than 5 minutes to do - not sure why we were dreading it so much?

But how cool do they look? I still love all our new woodwork!

Current Outfit

How cute is my new Halloween shirt?

It says 'Booooooks!' HA!

A fashion blogger I am not {grin}

Current Celebrity Crush

I've pre-ordered her new album and cannot wait.

I love her so much!

Current Mood

Things are feeling good right now, and I have no complaints.

Work is busy but productive.

The kids are doing amazing in school.

Brent and I just celebrated our 17th anniversary.

Overall, I am just happy.

Current Anticipation

This is the start of my favorite time of the year.

I LOVE all the upcoming holidays.

Current Wishlist

I can't remember if I've shared that we're taking a trip with friends after Christmas.

It's to a cold place, and if our snow days last year proved anything...

we Texans aren't prepared for snow!

Little by little over the last few months I've been buying stuff for everyone.

Snow pants, gloves, balaclavas, everything! I'm ready to be done!

Current Movie

This is getting pathetic.

Allison and I can't find ANYTHING we want to see! So upsetting.

If we can find a time that works before this leaves the theaters, this will be next.

Current Picture

A Halloween event at the library with our littlest {favorite?} neighbor!

I Spy: Week 41

I haven't done an iSpy link-up in a long time. And Lysha's prompts are always really fun, so I'm not sure why I let these slide. But I'm back!

{mess}

Keeping Tiger for a week made a mess out of our house!

There was hay everywhere, and I don't think I've ever sneezed so much.

But I will say that I loved having this little guy with us.

{patch}

Got all the patches sewn on for Drew's Brownie vest.

We've got a Girl Scout here!!!

{mystery}

Can someone solve the mystery for me of how these children are so big?!

{funny}

The antics of this girl keep us in stitches - she is so funny!

{your choice}

A date night with this guy is always my choice!

[Even if he looks like he hates me]

10 Q&As About Dressing Up

I love doing these Q&A posts that are normally for 10 on the 10th. But how about 10 on the 14th?

1. When do you most often dress up? 

Weekly I get dressed up for church. I almost always wear a dress or a skirt to church. They aren't fancy {mostly coming from Target or Old Navy}, but I always try to look nice. Brent and I do have occasional date nights/nights out with friends, and I always aim to look 'cute' - dresses, jeans with cute tops, rompers, etc.

2. What does a dress up outfit look like? What makes you feel fancy and dressed up? 

We used to go to more weddings and that would always entail a dressier outfit. Now the time I get the most dressed up are for Brent's work events. He had a work event in June that will be annual that spouses are invited to that is on the dressier side and then they have an annual Holiday party which is a cocktail party.

3. Share a time when you felt especially dressed up and pretty. 

The last time Brent's company had a Holiday party, I wore a velvet jumpsuit and LOVED it. My hair and makeup were on-point, and I felt pretty.

I can't wait for this year's party!! I got the most amazing shoes and will be building my whole outfit around it.

4. What does getting dressed for the day mean to you? 

Workout clothes! I have a work-from-home full-time job and I exercise almost every day, so my daily uniform is leggings and tank tops.

Studio selfie!

5. Do you wear make up every day? If so, which cosmetics do you wear?  Do you do anything different for special or dress up occasions? 

I do NOT wear makeup everyday. I only wear it for the places I mentioned above: church, date nights, weddings, work events. I don't use fancy products or spend much money on them either. I DO spend money on skincare. For both makeup and skincare I am constantly looking for the cleanest products I can find. I struggle with foundation because I like Bare Minerals but it isn't super clean, so that's been my struggle with makeup.

Regular makeup day...and honestly a regular face for me {grin}

6. What is your skin care regimen? What issues do you address with your routine and choice of products? 

I am 41 and trying to slow down the aging process. I am all about wrinkle creams, eye puffiness reduction, diminishing fine lines...all that stuff! BUT I also have oily skin and still get pimples, ugh. So most of my skin care is super clean but the only thing I've found that helps with my occasional acne is a Neutrogena face wash that is TERRIBLE.

7. Do you wear heels? A slip?  Foundation garments like Spanx or, heaven forbid, a girdle?

I wear heels when the occasion calls for it. A slip or Spanx only when needed!

8. For dress up occasions, do you prefer costume jewelry or better jewelry? What is your go-to piece of jewelry?  Describe any vintage or heirloom pieces you have.

I have a mix of jewelry, but I don't wear much jewelry unless we're going out. I do have my grandmother's wedding ring that I wear sometimes and love it!

9. Do you have pierced ears? If so, what age were your ears pierced?

Yes, I have pierced ears. I got them pierced when I was 3 or 4. At one point, I had 3 holes in each ear and my cartilage pierced but now just have 1 hole in each ear. I do think I might get my 2nd holes repierced. I almost always wear a pair of diamond earrings I have but do like to switch them out with some fun dangly earrings I have too.

10. Did you dress up for Halloween as a child? As an adult?  Describe a favorite costume you or your children wore for Halloween.  Will you be giving out candy this year?

I did dress up for Halloween as a kid but now just wear themed t-shirts. I actually had 2 made this year that I can't wait to bust out!

Matching pumpkin tanks with Karin last year

Are We Crazy?

The kids start their Fall Break today and are off school for all of next week. I love that our school has a little bit of a longer school day every day so that we can have more vacation days throughout the year. BUT this year we're doing something a little different.

We're pet sitting all week for Drew's class guinea pig!

Meet Mr. Tiger!

When I picked up Mr. Tiger today, Drew's teacher told me 'Drew knows what to do.' and handed me a bunch of supplies and we left. So I guess my 8-year-old is in charge of caring for this living creature?!?! {A quick Google search has me feeling pretty good that Drew's instructions were good. Whew!}

But please pray for us that we don't kill Mr. Tiger!

Paige's Accent

Pretty early on we knew Paige had inherited my tongue thrust {just like her big brother}. Her tongue was constantly hanging out of her mouth. She was just a few month's old when Trent was doing speech therapy - for the second time - and his therapist would coo at Paige 'I'll be seeing you in a few years.' and we'd laugh about it. Because yup we knew we'd get there.

Cutie pie 4 month old Paige with her tongue hanging out

Then add to it that around 5 months old she started sucking her thumb...and we were 100% sure we'd need some speech therapy to tame that tongue. And braces of course to fix those teeth!

But try and tell me this isn't the sweetest and cutest face.

What we didn't expect was for her to sound like she's got a New Yorker accent...or maybe Cockney with some of her words! {grin}

Brother, Mother, Father are all udder words - Brudder, Mudder... okay sure that's pretty a normal speech impediment. Water is another funny one - 'I need some wuh-dder.' She totally sounds Cajun or like she's in the Italian mob!

We had a really funny 'whose on first' conversation trying to ascertain if her friend at school was Wayne or Reign because she kept saying 'Wayne' but then saying I was wrong when I said 'Wayne'! Spoiler alert...it was Reign!

But the funniest was the other day when instead of saying 'or' it totally sounded like 'oi'! The big kids and I were cracking up, and Paige kept saying 'I don't sound like that.' Um sorry, sweetie, you totally do!

Please remind how cute I found all of this when we're doing our therapy in a year or two, okay?

Jacked up mouth and all...I sure do love this little girl!

September 2021 Reads

I cannot believe we are 3/4 through 2021! This year seems to be flying by. But here we are starting a new month with my favorite post!

I read 8 books this month to get my total to 91! 100 will not be hard obviously, so I'm hoping to get to 120 - basically 10 books/month the rest of the year. This was NOT my most diverse month of reading, but I enjoyed everything I read!

The Brilliant Life of Eudora Honeysett by Annie Lyons - This was a little gem of a book that reminded me of A Man Called Ove. Eudora is a curmudgeon who is ready to be done with life, but meeting her new neighbors gives her some pause about those wishes. This book goes back and forth from Eudora's childhood to what made her who she is as an adult. I felt this one in my heart, it really tugged at me, and it was a good one!

The Bright Side of Disaster by Katherine Center - The more I read by Katherine Center, the more I like her books. This was about a new mom whose boyfriend leaves her when their baby is born and how she rebuilds her life. I loved how realistic Katherine described new motherhood, and I thought this story was good. Her books can be a little cheesy, and this one was, but that isn't always a bad thing! I'll keep her books in my rotation for sure!

Her Last Flight by Beatriz Williams - I liked, but didn't love, this story. The first book I read by Beatriz Williams, The Secret Life of Violet Grant, sucked me in within a few pages. This one took a LONG time for me to get into - a kind of Amelia Earheart mystery - and I struggled with it for probably 2/3 of the book. When it finally did pick up {with a DOOZY of a reveal I did NOT see coming} I was hooked and stayed up until 1:00 AM to finish. I just wish it hadn't taken so long to get me really engaged.

Invisible Girl by Lisa Jewell - This was the most non-thriller thriller I've maybe ever read. Lisa Jewell knocked my socks off with the first few books of hers I read, and while I liked this one, it wasn't my favorite. A girl is missing and we go back and forth from her therapist and his family to her POV to figure out why she is missing. The big reveal was different than what I expected but just not the most exciting of surprises.

Firekeeper's Daughter by Angeline Boulley - We read this for BFBC and we all really enjoyed this! I haven't read anything from a Native American perspective, and this definitely makes me want to read more. The main character is a teenager helping solve a mystery for how meth is being trafficked through her reservation. It was a slow building story but I really got invested in the characters and story and thoroughly loved it by the end!

The Paris Library by Janet Skeslien Charles - A WW2 book with an alternating timelin AND it's set in a library?!?! Sign me up! This wasn't my favorite but it was good. I really liked the development in the present day storyline (actually in the 1980s) and figuring out how the character from the library in Paris ended up living in Montana.

The Last Thing He Told Me by Laura Dave - Ooooh this is my kind of thriller! I struggle to connect with characters in thrillers but since the main character is the one who is trying to figure out what happened to her husband, it was just different enough to really hold my interest! I read this on the plane ride home from Florida and couldn't put it down!

The Duchess Deal by Tessa Dare - Very standard Regency romance but I super enjoyed it! Cheesy but had some heart to it and definitely great passion! This is a series, and I am for sure going to keep reading.

I'm excited to see how the last few months of the year go with my reading - I've got a lot of great books on hold, whoo hoo!