currently, 11.03.21

 

Happy Wednesday, friends! I'm linking up with Anne at in residence for this monthly blog post. Each month we talk about what we're currently appreciating, getting, making, sharing and wearing.

I am currently appreciating the cooler weather and an easy week. I LOVE starting my week off with a day at home and I got to do just that on Monday. It was just me and our three dogs...without little Oakley, our grand puppy. Things are definitely quieter without her here, but midway through the day, I  started missing her! I did a bunch of laundry and some light cleaning and straightening up around the house, I watched two Hallmark Christmas movies, read a book and made us a yummy dinner. 

I also appreciated the fact that my husband was home on Halloween night so that we could sit outside in the driveway and pass out goodies to all the little ghosts and goblins that came our way. He's not usually home on this night, so we took full advantage and handed out things we had from our pantry like slim Jim's, fruit snacks, Hershey's candy and fudge rounds. (There was no candy to be found, so we improvised.)

Next week, I am getting ready to transition from fall decorations over to Christmas. I know it's early, but let's not judge one another, okay? There are some strong opinions on this controversial topic! I used to feel strongly about it too, but truthfully, I love the entire holiday season so much that I want to enjoy it in our home for as long as possible. I'm saying next week...I'm going to try to wait that long! No promises, though.

I am also getting my fill of my favorite movies! I watch one every single day while I eat lunch...and sometimes I watch two in one day. 

I am enjoying making dinner on Monday nights these days...usually on these nights there are just three of us that eat at home: Todd, Noah and me. On these nights I find myself making things like charcuterie boards and soup/pasta, or putting out a tray of shrimp cocktail with some other munchies. I'm writing this on Monday night, so we had smoked sausage, cheese cubes, crackers and buttered noodles with parmesan cheese for dinner that night.

With the holidays almost upon us, I'm about to making plans for gifts from us this year. Each year I make out a list of people that we buy for, and I start paying attention when I go out with my mom and sister. Sometimes I order online, but I'd love to shop small this year as much as I'm able to do so. I have some ideas floating around in my head already and I've already started a note on my phone. I know that I don't want to wait too long to do this and I like to wrap several presents at once so that we can have a stash going under the tree. This will be easier than ever this year, since I'm home alone. I love to wrap gifts!

I'm currently sharing gift ideas of my own. My birthday is in December, and I have been asked to come up with some gift ideas for my mom and my mom-in-love. I like to really think on this and I love to pick out something meaningful, or something that I would love and wouldn't want to buy for myself. I've asked for things like a new Bible, slippers that are pricey and that I wanted and needed, a pretty necklace to remind me of something special, a new purse, a coat I'd been eyeing...you get the idea. It's hard to come up with gift ideas! Honestly, I'd prefer a day out with each of them over a gift any day. Quality time is my top love language.

Currently I am wearing pajamas, because it's Monday night. It's been cooler here, so when the weather dips, I pull out my favorite hoodie to wear at home.

We keep it colder in the house in the fall and winter, so that means we dress accordingly. We switch over to fleece or flannel pajamas, sweatshirts, fuzzy socks, house shoes and that sort of thing. We sleep with a heavier blanket on our bed, as do all our sons. We love cold weather! When I'm not wearing pajamas, I'm wearing jeans or leggings with tunic style shirts or cardigans. I'm not the kind of person who likes boots, though I wish I did! So, I wear flats or my favorite slip on tennis shoes when the weather changes. I will say about boots that this year I love the kind that are trending. They take me right back to my high school days and remind me of that infamous grunge style that was prevalent in the nineties. I even found cute ones at Target over the weekend, but if I buy shoes I like to go to DWS or Rack Room.

I also love poncho style sweaters/tops, like this one I had on when we went out to dinner last week with our sons, their friends and my in-love's. Basically, I'm a boring dresser. I wear lots of similar things and in  color that are more neutral. I could actually use a few things to add to my wardrobe and went to one place on Saturday to look, but they were closed due to staffing issues.

Y'all. Our world has officially gone crazy! I've heard of more places closing because of this and it's so sad. It's scary to think about what this is doing to our economy and what it will look like for my sons and their future families, Lord willing. This is why I'm determined to shop smaller more this Christmas! It's also a great reminder for how we should treat the ones who do show up to work—with kindness, grace, patience and love. I'm reminding myself of this, trust me.

Thanks for reading my blog! Love to all. ❤