Monday

Positive thought to start the day: 

How lucky am I to have such a beautiful family and so many amazing life friends?! 

I've been blessed with an abundance of wonderful people that surround me. 

That thought alone is enough to put anyone in a good mood. 

It Feels Like Fall

Tell me those aren't amazing boots... Thorogood's- $44.00 on Ebay (which is a great price). They would be perfect for today. 

I actually have my windows open (and my "Autumn Leaves" Yankee Candle lit and a cinnamon stick in my coffee).... It's Still September - open windows before mid October is unheard of in Florida. Crossing my fingers that this trend continues. 

On rainy Saturdays like this yard work is out of the question and I already cleaned the house which means we have an entire day open to enjoy... What to do??? Linda's Diner for Breakfast? A little Halloween shopping? Head over to the Willow Tree later for cold beer and a stroll down 1st? Maybe a quick road trip to Cassadaga (today is perfect for it)... So many possibilities. 

Warped Speed

*Thrifted vintage cups and saucers

There are so many things I want to photograph, write about and make but there is no time. None. By the end of the day John and I are spent... I'm not saying this is a bad thing, it means our life is busy and full. I'm just saying that it would be nice to have some balance. Maybe equal parts of quite to match all of the crazy. 

Thursday

He comes back tonight (been gone since Tuesday on a work trip to Raleigh). I don't like when he leaves. I'm stuck driving, cooking, cleaning and keeping the peace between 5 kids. I epitomize the frazzled mom look. I wanted the big family and I got it. 

Mostly, I don't like when he leaves because I miss waking up next to him. I miss his familiar warmth and scent and the way he latches on to me and says "five more minutes". Five more minutes of alone time together before the kids start to wake up and the cats let us know that it's time to eat. Five more minutes before the coffee starts to brew and the phone starts to ring. Five more minutes of alone time together before the life we created won't allow it.

(Currently both the dogs are camping out on the bedroom floor and the 12 year old is hogging the bed. It's nice but it's not the same.) 

Friday

It's time to go back. This is a need not a want.

This past week (like all the others) has flown by. 

This past week is the first time I looked in a mirror and thought "I look old". In the past I've noted that my reflection was overweight and frumpy. I can own those things. I can change those things... But age? Age is a different creature all together.  You can restrain age for a while but, eventually, it's going to get you... And there is nothing you can do to stop it. (Midlife crisis anyone?)

This past week I saw a flickr of what could be in regards to the business I've wanted to start for years. (If it was possible to procrastinate while procrastinating, I would).  Needless to say - I'm motivated. 

This past week I decided that there has to be some sort of balance between being a fashionista  (keeping my weight down / wearing nice clothes) and being a foodie. I'm making it my mission to find said balance and liveitbreatheitbeit (love to bake, love to cook, love to eat.... Love clothes.... Do not love the size I'm currently wearing. Most definitely do not love rotating the only 3 outfits that fit). 

This coming weekend = sleeping in with my guy, deep cleaning the house, shopping for (more) Halloween decorations (because the three big boxes I already have are not enough), Sunday afternoon football, possibly baking some oatmeal cookies and then riding my stationary bike for the next 90 minutes, possibly getting out at sunrise to take some photos. Cheers. 

Starting Today

I'll let you know how it goes. :)

So True

Morning walks, time with my kids, unexpected surprises (spotting a Barred Owl perched on a fence), the warmth and familiarity of walking through the side door and into your home, dogs and cats happily greeting you, morning showers, mid-day phone calls from old friends, the smell of dinner baking, kisses from the man you love when he gets home from work, the smell of clean sheets as you fall asleep... 

I feel blessed that I am aware enough to appreciate the little things that really aren't that little. 

September Soundtrack

September 1st = dropping a small fortune at Yankee Candle on fall scents, crockpot dinners (even though it still feels like summer outside), seasonal decorations, mums on the doorstep, football games on the television echoing through the house, 30 days until the greatest month of the year (30 days until it looks like the Great Pumpkin went spastic in our home), 60 days until my birthday, 61 days until Halloween and roughly 91 days until us Southerners can walk outside in the morning and note a difference in the air. Finally.

Rainy Day, Pancakes and Celebrity Chef's

Heavy humidity followed by down pours is a Southern norm in late August. What do you do with a high energy 3 year old that does not want to be cooped up inside? You let him play in the rain (providing there's no lightening.). Catching rain drops in your mouth and jumping in puddles is a childhood right of passage. It's the simple things...

We are all full from Saturday morning pancakes (cinnamon, chocolate chip and apple). The upside: they were tasty and now the house smells good. The downside: I need to take a carb nap and it's only 11:00 am). 

Later today I will be holding a phone interview with Chef G. Garvin (of the Cooking Channel). He's doing an event here in town and his publicist approached me to write about it along with promoting  his cookbook and his "One Bite" foundation. I'm psyched because this guy is an actual "chef" that worked his way up and not just a celebrity spokesperson hosting a cooking show. Also, he knows an old friend of mine that does directing and camera work out in Los Angeles. I've been asked by my friend to say hello and advised not to tell the chef he looks like LL Cool J.... Which he does... Which I think is a compliment because LL is sexy... But according to my friend it's probably a bad idea. Hahaha... 

Friday

Simple things that make me happy:

time with the 3 year old

kick ass thrifted shoes

black bottom pie (recipe coming)

fall fast approaching

a relaxed week

Chinese takeout on rainy days

the "Fishermans's Blues" album

road trips with the 12 year old 

an extra day this weekend to go explore

~me

Feeding The Ego

"Feed the soul not the ego". I read those words on an inspiration board yesterday and I'm not sure if I agree. I mean, in theory it sounds good. It sounds right. But in reality... (Closet binger, here).

Monday