Happy Friday, y’all! These first few weeks of the school year we’ve had lots of slow nights and chances to just hang at home, watch Friday Night Lights, and snuggle our puppy. This week was our first busy week with church stuff back into gear for the fall and some other random commitments and we both felt a little frazzled for a while there.
We intentionally try to keep our lives and our schedules slow for lots of reasons, and this week was a reminder of why! I love all the things we’re involved in but also love having slow time at night to rest, recharge, and reconnect with that husband of mine. Our lives are usually pretty slow and I wouldn’t have it any other way! Anyway…here are some updates and pictures from our busier than usual week!
1) Kicking off our church small group for the fall!
We started hosting/leading a small group through our church last year and have loved getting to know these folks. I learn so much from them each week and love getting to share life with them. Most of them live pretty close and I love getting to share walks, coffee dates, pedicures, and shopping trips with all these lovely ladies (and the occasional double date with our hubbies too). We kicked off the fall with a big family meal and I made one of my favorites for big groups: this meat sauce from Lexi’s Clean Kitchen with a huge pot of spaghetti and some roasted spaghetti squash for the non-gluten inclined folks. It’s so easy to make and works for large groups of people. You’ve definitely got to try it if you need an easy recipe for a big group of people!
2) Putting up our fall decorations
Like I shared on Instagram, I’m venturing into the world of fall decor for the very first time! Now that we have a house and I’m making decorations that we might actually use for a few years, I’m having a lot of fun dreaming and creating new projects. So far, I’ve made a pretty “rag” garland for our mantel, worked on a rustic burlap fall wreath, and started arranging our mantel and some other fun spaces around our house to include some fun metallic and neutral fall accents (with a touch of orange because I’m feeling crazy). I can’t wait to share some of these projects with you all soon! Stay tuned!
3) Lots of reading – not Netflix!
I’ve been trying to move away from always having a show on in the background while I cook, clean, or blog, and it has been so good for me. My introverted soul is soaking in the quiet and trying to sit down with lots of good books. This week I finished Brené Brown’s Rising Strong and am moving on to Jen Hatmaker’s For The Love. So much goodness on our bookshelves, y’all. My heart feels so full when I can curl up on the couch with my puppy and a good book! Now if the weather would only cool off I’d be about as happy as can be!
4) Maternity shopping
In cased you missed my very first “bumpdate” yesterday, I am officially entering the world of maternity clothes. I wrestled with this a bit this week but finally admitted that even though my casual clothes fit, my more fitted work pants and skirts do not. I need to invest in a few pieces that will last me through this whole pregnancy business or I will go crazy with constantly adjusting my Bella Band and feeling like my pants are unzipped in front of 150 middle schoolers. I ended up buying two pairs of dress pants and one pair of skinny khakis I can wear with boots to work and I think those will be perfect. But honestly, all I really want is for the weather to cool off so I can wear a vest and comfy flannels/scarves all day every day like in this pin below I found this week. Come on, fall! I’m ready for ya!
5) The return of Sunday lunch and the Kansas City Chiefs
One of my favorite parts of living in Kansas City is how close we are to Jordan’s family. Every Sunday after church during the fall, we head over to Jordan’s parents for a yummy lunch (my father-in-law is an excellent cook and makes the best chili in the world). Then, we hang out together for a few hours while we watch the Chiefs games, drink coffee, and catch up about our weeks. I love this time spent with my in-laws and my nieces/nephews and am so grateful to live close enough to them to have this weekly family tradition. When your niece is the most adorable thing in the world like mine is, you’ll take all the snuggles (and wrestling!) you can get (even if it does mean you have to watch a few hours of football).
Happy Friday, friends! Enjoy your weekends!
That meat sauce looks amazing, when I first saw the picture, I thought it was a chili! Yum! Love the fall decor, looks great! I am thinking of getting mine out this weekend too!
Sandy recently posted…Friday Favorites
i really enjoyed your post. I am in Australia so we are gearing up for spring. I love autumn and winter better. Good luck with your house and your baby.
Ooooo! I need to get back to reading too! I have Ruth Soukup’s book waiting for me to come back to it!@
Kristin C recently posted…The Uselessness of Regret
Don’t you just love sharing community with a bunch of kindred spirits … there … and here?!
Weekend joys to you, girl.
;-}
Linda Stoll recently posted…A Journey Through Grief
I have been trying to read more after Ginny goes to sleep – I’m reading Orphan Train. How is that Blogging for Profit book? Oh and I adore Friday Night Lights!!
Lindsay recently posted…The Comparison Game: Where’s the Line?
Oh I love your fall tablescape! As a Clemson girl, fall is my favorite decorating season because of all the orange so go crazy! 🙂
Rachel recently posted…Year One Lessons and Year Two Goals
It looks like you’ve been super busy but having so much fun along the way. I host small group at my house as well and I looove having my ladies over each week. It’s a highlight for sure!!
Isn’t it the best? I’m so glad we’ve been able to get plugged in with a small group we love! I’m glad you have been too 🙂
Your fall decor is amazing! I need to start working on mine 🙂 I also need to do more reading and less Netflix! I keep buying more books and then rewatching shows on Netflix I’ve already seen 10,000,000 times.
Erin @ Very Erin recently posted…25 Things I’ve Learned in 25 Years
Thanks, Erin! Haha you’re talking to the girl who rewatched Gilmore Girls this summer and is currently rewatching all the seasons of Friday Night Lights. I feel your pain!
The fall decor is beautiful! I am also getting into fall decorations for the first time.
Thanks, Ros Emely! It’s so fun to see the house transformed for the season!
Love your fall decoration! Oh my goodness, cannot wait for more pictures! We (I mean, I) am slowly going through and deep cleaning the house and then bringing out a handful of decorations. One at a time. I love fall, and cannot wait to finish decorating!
Ashley recently posted…Two Deeply Personal Stories from WordPress.com This Week
Thanks, Ashley! It’s so fun to start to put up decorations and see our house transform and change for fall. Can’t wait to see pics of some of yours!
sorry you can just delete that previous comment!!
Just wanted to say for maternity clothes makes sure to buy some that you can wear after pregnancy too 🙂 I bought a lot of maxi dresses that I could wear after pregnancy. I feel like despite being pregnant in the winter I was always so hot that I didn’t mind wearing dresses in the winter.
Liz Jo recently posted…wishful wednesday
That’s a great tip! I’m excited to find some cozy sweater dresses I can wear post-baby too. Even though I have a feeling I’ll rock my comfy clothes for long while too!
Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh! For one, I am so excited to see you are reading Brene Brown! My Counseling professors just introduced her into our lives and she’s amazing! I was planning on reading this book! Also, love the fall decor! I put mine up last weekend- super early, I know!!
Chelsea recently posted…Renewed Intentions and Clearer Focus
Isn’t she amazing? I’ve learned so much from her books! I’m all about the fall decor. Now if only the temperatures would cooperate with my decor we’d be good to go!
Maternity clothes are a game charger. I was pregnant last fall into winter and found GAP to work out the best for me. I also bought “boyfriend” fit tops so I could keep wearing them after baby.
Tiara recently posted…Fitness, Food & A Giveaway!
I found some cute stuff at Gap too! I’m waiting to find some good steals there and can’t wait to buy some jeans/dresses from there! Thanks for the tip 🙂
That meat sauce looks divine! I love your fall decor and that box is amazing! I need to start turning off Netflix and reading more books. Looks like your week was good, even though it was busy. Hope you have a great weekend!
Lexi recently posted…Chloe + Isabel
Thanks, Lexi! I hope you have a good weekend too! 🙂
I really want to read Brene Brown’s book! I have heard from so many people about how good it is!
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