10 Things That Made Me Happy This Week

Happy Friday! Today I'm linking up with Charlotte, Lindsay, and Beth for their weekly grateful and happy list link up.

1. Good news

2. Smallcakes

3. My favorite Fall shows are back

4. Cooler weather

5. Rain

6. Fall is finally here

7. Buying Halloween costumes and candy

8. Halloween is almost here

9. All of the creative energy that I'm feeling

10. My boys

What made you happy this week?

Thanks for visiting!

Until next time...

My Favorite Fall Things

Fall is here! Fall is here! You have no idea how excited I am that it's finally fall! Last fall was amazing! We found out we were expecting our little boy last year and made the announcement on Halloween. We made so many awesome memories and I just can't wait to make some new ones with my family.

Because I'm so excited about fall, I decided to dedicate this post to all of my favorite fall things.

Fall Colors - I love when the leaves are changing colors. I've been noticing that the leaves are changing colors and it always brings a smile to my face.

Crockpot Meals - Cooking tends to be so much easier during fall and winter. There are so many delicious crockpot recipes. My favorite food to make are BBQ and Jelly crockpot meatballs.

Carving Pumpkins - This is a family tradition. Ever since we had our oldest son, we have always carved a pumpkin.

Watching Scary Movies - I love watching scary movies. They are even better during fall. I've watched Dawn of the Dead so many times and it still scares me every single time.

Reading - I've noticed that I tend to read a lot more during fall. I tend to read horror, mystery, and supernatural stories. I recommend The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman, anything by Edgar Allan Poe, and Things We Lost In The Fire by Mariana Enriquez.

Long Walks - During summer, it's way too hot to be outside for a long time and it's way too cold during winter. Going for walks during spring is a bit better, but then I have to deal with pollen. Going for long walks during fall is the best! The weather is cooler, the colors are changing, and it's 100x easier going for walks during this time of year with my entire family.

Cooler Weather - I am so over the heat. Summer has never been my favorite season and I am so glad that we are starting to have cooler weather. I am all for wearing comfy sweaters and leggings.

Taking My Kids Trick or Treating - I love taking my kids to trick or treat. It's one of our family traditions to trick or treat and then give out candy. My boys love seeing everyone's costumes and they love helping me pass out candy.

Fall Festivals - I love going to fall festivals. We always go to at least two fall festivals and it's always so much fun. Last year was a bit too cold, but we still enjoyed ourselves. Hopefully, it won't be too cold or too hot this year.

Apples - Oh apples. It's a fall staple. I don't really have a favorite kind of apple, but don't they just taste better in the fall?

Candles - I love candles, but rarely buy them. However, I tend to light at least one candle during fall. Bath and Body Works has so many great candles this year and I think I may buy one.

Halloween - If you know me then you know that my favorite holiday is Halloween. I love everything about Halloween. It's such a fun holiday and I always look forward to it every year.

What are your favorite things about fall?

Thanks for visiting!

Until next time...


Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash

Happy Fall

Pleasant Sounds by John Clare

The rustling of leaves under the feet in woods and under

   hedges;

The crumpling of cat-ice and snow down wood-rides,

   narrow lanes and every street causeway;

Rustling through a wood or rather rushing, while the wind

   halloos in the oak-toop like thunder;

The rustle of birds' wings startled from their nests or flying

   unseen into the bushes;

The whizzing of larger birds overhead in a wood, such as

   crows, puddocks, buzzards;

The trample of robins and woodlarks on the brown leaves.

   and the patter of squirrels on the green moss;

The fall of an acorn on the ground, the pattering of nuts on

   the hazel branches as they fall from ripeness;

The flirt of the groundwork's wing from the stubbles -

   how sweet such pictures on dewy mornings, when the 

dew flashes from its brown feathers.

Photo by Vanessa von Wieding on Unsplash

10 Things That Made Me Happy This Week

Happy Friday! Today I'm linking up with Charlotte, Lindsay, and Beth for their weekly grateful and happy list link up.

1. Peanut Butter - I've been craving PB&J sandwiches so much! I've also been devouring peanut butter and pretzels.

2. Glenn Weiss proposing to his girlfriend, Jan Svendsen

3. Bloglovin'

4. Hot chocolate with marshmallows

5. Writing blog posts in advance

6. Barnes and Noble Member Appreciation Days

7. Chick-fil-A

8. Awesome surprises

9. It's finally Friday!

10. Naps (I think I've put this down for the past two or three weeks lol)

What made you happy this week?

Thanks for visiting!

Until next time...

Summer Stories Travelers Notebook

Hello! We still have a few days left of summer and I thought it would be fun to share this project. You may have read in previous posts that I was making a Summer Stories travelers notebook and planned to document my summer stories and adventures. I finally completed this little project and I'm so happy with how it turned out.

Please be warned that this is a photo heavy post. 

The lighting was not so great in some of my photos so I apologize for that. The majority of the supplies that I used came from Freckled Fawn. The rest of the supplies are from my scrapbooking stash.

Have you been documenting your summer? If so, please feel free to share how you document your stories and adventures.

Thanks for visiting!

Until next time...

10 Things That Made Me Happy This Week

Happy Saturday! Today I'm linking up with Charlotte, Lindsay, and Beth for their weekly happy and grateful list link up.

1. Celebrating John's birthday

2. Ice Cream Cake

3. New book

4. Pizza

5. My boys

6. Taste of Smyrna Event

7. Spending time with my mami

8. The Matilda Challenge

9. Naps

10. Mayans M.C.

What made you happy this week?

Thanks for visiting!

Until next time...

Bringing Raphael Home

If there's one thing I've learned, it's that being a mom can be so freaking scary. I guess you could say that I'm a natural worrier. Sometimes I overthink stuff and I tend to think of worst case scenarios when I have to make a decision, but isn't that "normal"?

Most people just assume that since Raphael is my third son that I know everything there is to know about being a mother and parenting. However, this time is different. My two oldest sons were full term babies and Raphael came five weeks early. He is considered a late preterm baby. Raphael had some feeding issues and jaundice so he had to stay in the NICU. When I was told that I was being discharged and he was staying in the hospital, I felt like someone just ripped my heart out. I felt light headed and out of breath. Walking out of that hospital without my baby was one of the hardest things that I ever had to do. That first night being home without Raphael was brutal. I don't talk about that night, but I can tell you that I cried so hard. A million thoughts and questions ran through my head.

"What if he bonds with one of the nurses and thinks that she's his mommy?"

"What if he doesn't remember who I am?"

"What if he gets scared?"

"What will we tell his big brothers?"

Some of those thoughts may seem a bit silly, but it's what I felt. Thankfully, we had amazing NICU nurses. They always kept me up to date and were so incredibly kind. I called almost every hour. I went multiple times a day to the NICU to visit Raphael and bring breast milk. And it was so hard to leave every time.

Raphael stayed in the NICU for about four days. When we were finally told that we could bring him home, my heart felt like it was going to burst. I was so excited and couldn't stop smiling. We watched videos, like how to do CPR on babies and we showed the nurses his carseat.

Then when it was finally time to leave, I stopped dead in my tracks. I remember just looking at Raphael and being so worried and afraid. One of the nurses noticed and asked me what was wrong. Once again a million thoughts ran through my head, but this time I blurted them out.

"He's coming home!"

"He's so tiny. Are you sure he's ready?"

"What if I mess this up?"

The nurses immediately comforted me and told me that I could take my time. They even offered us to room in for the night. We decided not to and after my nerves settled down, we finally decided that it was time to go home with Raphael.

Once we got home, we settled in before John went to pick up Michael and Gabriel from my mami's house. We had a very eventful night and I barely slept. I smiled and realized that a new adventure was beginning.

Raphael is now five months old and he is doing so well. He is gaining weight and growing. I love seeing how he is changing and developing. There were a few days where I would worry, but everything has been okay. Bringing Raphael home was quite the adventure. I'm looking forward to the days ahead and experiencing new adventures as a family of five.


Thanks for visiting!

Until next time...

What I Read in August

Happy Monday! Last month, I was able to read two books. I remember when I was younger, I used to read all the time. Unfortunately, I haven't been reading as much as I'd like so I had to make some changes. I have been finding time to read in a lot of different places. I've been reading while Raphael naps and sometimes before bed. Doing this has helped me reach my reading goals and I plan to find some other ways to squeeze in time to read.

Well, here are the books that I read last month.

#NeverAgain was such a great read. The book is about the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. The book also describes the student's movement that began that day. 

There's not a lot of books that will make me cry and this book had me in tears. I was only 13 pages in before I started crying. I really liked that there were two different point of views in the book. I think it's important to listen to children. This book made me think about how I have to talk to my kids about school shootings and if they know what to do if there ever was one. 

I thought of this book again when a couple of weeks ago, I saw that the high school I graduated from was in a code red lockdown. My heart sank, but luckily no one was hurt. 

I really loved this book. It was a quick read, but the tales were so good! My favorite tale in the book is The Tale of the Three Brothers. I think if you love the Harry Potter series then you will love this book. I really liked that there were also notes by Professor Albus Dumbledore and there are a few footnotes throughout the stories as well.

Another thing that I really love about this book is that for every sale of The Tales of Beedle the Bard, Scholastic will donate to Lumos. Lumos is an international nonprofit organization founded by J.K. Rowling. The organization works to end the institutionalization of children throughout the world. I'm all for helping amazing organizations so I was happy to find out that I helped.

What did you read in August?

Thanks for visiting!

Until next time...

10 Things That Made Me Happy This Week

Happy Friday! Today I'm linking up with Charlotte, Lindsay, and Beth for their weekly happy and grateful list link up.

1. Sun Chips

2. Starbucks Molten Chocolate Latte

3. Show Your Work by Austin Kleon

4. Working in my travelers notebook

5. Journaling

6. Hints of fall

7. This bookstore - I would love to visit one day

8. God is a Woman by Ariana Grande

9. My boys

10. H&L Writes 

What made you happy this week?

Thanks for visiting!

Until next time...

Currently List

Happy Thursday! It's time for another Currently List.

Watching: I finally watched Avengers: Infinity War. I really liked this film and can't wait for the next one. Random note: I was going to watch this movie at the movie theatre since it was supposed to be released before my due date. However, as you may know, Raphael arrived earlier than expected.

I'm really excited that so many of my favorite TV shows are coming back. The second season of The Good Doctor will premiere on September 24 and Grey's Anatomy will premiere on September 27. I also plan on watching Mayans MC and The Purge. I was surprised when I found out that there will be a 10 episode series of The Purge. I have never watched Sons of Anarchy so I may have to check that out since Mayans MC is a spin off series.

Reading: I have been reading Show Your Work by Austin Kleon and so far I'm loving it! I have been taking notes and I can't wait to share my review of the book.

Listening: I love Love Lies by Khalid and Normani. The song is amazing. You can check out the song and the music video here.

Making: I've been working on my Summer Stories travelers notebook. I only have about two or three pages left. It feels great to finally have some time to scrapbook and craft.

Feeling: Everything has been going well. I'm making changes and I'm sensing a shift in my emotions and energy. I never knew how much I really needed to take care of myself. Self-care is amazing.

Planning: I have to finish planning for the rest of the month and I'm hoping to plan for October as well.

Loving: There are so many hints of fall and I'm loving it. We've been getting some cooler weather in the mornings (still in the 70s, but much better than being in the 80s and 90s) and there are so many leaves on the ground. It's beginning to look a lot like fall.

What are you currently up to?

Thanks for visiting!

Until next time...

September Goals

Happy Tuesday! I am so excited that it is finally September! I love this time of year and am ready for all things fall and Halloween! Are you excited for the new season?

Since it is a new month, it's time to share an update on my goals from last month and set my goals for September. 

Recap of August Goals

• Read 1 book: I met my reading goal! I read #NeverAgain: A New Generation Draws the Line and The Tales of Beedle the Bard. 

• Share at least 1 personal story or essay on the blog: I finally shared a personal story on the blog! I shared a story about self-care which you can check out here.

• Start working on my Instax mini album: I did work on my Instax mini album, but not as much as I would have liked. I also worked in my Summer Stories travelers notebook. I have about two pages left and then it'll done.

• Pitch at least 3 brands this month: This was a success! I pitched three brands and have heard back from one of them. Fingers crossed that they accept my pitch.

• Start new workout plan: Hooray! I started my workout. I started by walking with Raphael. I am loving my baby carrier and carrying Raphael while walking has been a great workout. My neighborhood has a lot of hills which has been a bit challenging, but I have been enjoying our walks. 

September Goals

• Read 2 books

• Publish 12 blog posts

• Make 3 greeting cards

• Try 3 new recipes

• Go on a "No Spend" month

What are you goals for September?

Thanks for visiting!

Until next time...

Photo by IN BOSSMODE on Unsplash

TBB Asks: Cozy Q & A

Happy Monday! It's finally September and I'm so ready for fall and Halloween. I hope you all have been enjoying the long weekend. Today I'm linking up with The Blended Blog for TBB Asks. TBB Asks is a monthly questionnaire and link up series.

1. Slippers: YES or NO? I love slippers, but rarely wear them.

2. What is your favorite blanket? My favorite blanket is from Starbucks. I received it in a giveaway that I won. It's so big and the color is so pretty. My kids love the blanket too.

3. Thin or Thick Pillow? Thick pillow

4. Favorite warm beverage? I love hot chocolate. I could drink that year round. I also love caramel macchiatos. 

5. Robe: Yes or No? No

6. Favorite comfort snack food(s)? Pumpkin pie, chicken noodle soup, and BBQ and jam meatballs

7. Movies or TV series binge? Anything fall or Halloween related. I also love watching horror movies during this time of year. 

8. Actual PJ's or Leggings? Both. I wear PJ's all the time when I'm home. I'm usually in leggings or yoga pants when I have to go out.

9. Do you cozy up on the couch or a chair? Always on the couch

10. Hoodie, T-Shirt or Sweater? This is a tough one. I love hoodies and sweaters. I honestly can't choose. I think it just depends on my mood. 

Thanks for visiting!

Until next time...