10 Things That Made Me Happy This Week

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

1. So grateful that Raphael is feeling better.

2. Health insurance

3. Signing up for the Sketchbook Skool's Your Illustrated Life course. I'm so excited to dive into this class.

4. Homewrecked by Adéla. It's been on repeat.

5. Organizing my crafting and memory-keeping supplies. 

6. Reading Hero's Prize by Janie Crouch

7. Two of my favorite things are ghosts and ghost stories, especially during fall. I mean, it is spooky season. I have been obsessed with Lina Forrester's gouache ghost paintings. These paintings are gorgeous and spooky. 

8. It's finally really beginning to feel like autumn. We actually had to turn on our heater this weekend.

9. Celebrating the upcoming arrival of my baby niece at my little sister's baby shower.

10. Instagram and Substack. I have been so inspired by my favorite artists and writers. I can't wait to dig into my sketchbook and play.

What made you happy this week?

Thanks for visiting!

Until next time...

Target Finds

Happy Wednesday! It's time for another Target Finds! I have found so many great things at Target over the past few weeks. I mentioned last month that I would probably post a few Halloween-themed items on my list this month, but I may make a bonus Target Finds post later this month or just share a few things on my weekly happy list. But for now, let's check out my favorite not-so Halloween-themed items.

Pepperidge Farm Goldfish Sour Cream and Onion Crisps

This was an impulse buy and one I didn't regret. These Goldfish crisps are so good. They are crispy and airy. I love that the flavor is not overpowering. They reminded me of sour cream and onion chips and are a nice alternative to regular chips.

Small Hops Potted Arrangement

Since we repainted our entire downstairs living area and made a few other fixes, I have wanted to add decorations everywhere. I really wanted to decorate our new dining room table with a simple but cute centerpiece. After searching for weeks, I finally found everything I needed at Target. I found this fake potted arrangement and knew I wanted to use it for my centerpiece. I love the color of the florals. It's the perfect size. I also bought a couple of small woven pumpkin figurines (how could I not buy them) and a scented mini broom to go with the pumpkins and potted arrangement. You can check out my fall centerpiece here.

Natural Woven Bathroom Tray

I bought this bathroom tray and decided to use it as the base of my dining room centerpiece. I love that this tray can be used in various rooms and for multiple uses. 

Cinnamon & Sugar White Fudge Covered Mini Grahams

Oh my goodness! These mini grahams are absolutely delicious! They are one of my new favorite treats. The cinnamon and sugar flavors blend perfectly together. These are similar to Cinnamon Toast Crunch, but they taste almost as good as, if not better than the cereal. John and the boys love them, and I have gotten some of my coworkers obsessed with these mini grahams. 

What are some of your favorite Target finds?

Thanks for visiting!

Until next time...

October Goals

Happy Monday! I can't believe we're already a week into October, but I'm excited that it's finally here. October is one of my favorite months of the year. I absolutely come alive during the fall, especially during October. 

Last month was a busy month. We went to a food festival in our city, where we bought some treats, and the boys played on some of the bounce houses. While on fall break from work and school, we also went to the North Georgia State Fair. We also went to the farmers market a couple of times throughout the month. 

We celebrated John's birthday. John and I explored the Marietta Square and found a new-to-us bookshop. We also found some new-to-us stores that carry some of our favorite hard-to-find (aka usually found in online stores) products. 

John and I went on three dates—seriously, three in one month. We had brunch at Atkins Park Tavern, lunch at Cousins Maine Lobster, and dinner at Siete Tacos and Tequila. I absolutely recommend the Banana Chocolate Foster Pancakes from Atkins Park Tavern, the Lobster Grilled Cheese and Lobster Quesadilla from Cousins Maine Lobster, and the Beef Quesabirria Tacos from Siete Tacos.

I bought some new Halloween-themed mugs and decorated our dining room table. It's incredible what a simple change on the dining room table can make for the room. Our new pantry cabinet was delivered, which John and I were both excited about. 

I'm excited to go to our city's Spooky Festival this month. I also hope we get to attend a couple more Fall Festivals. I'm looking forward to watching a few scary movies and series, reading some good books, and listening to all the Fall and Halloween music. I'm also really excited to take the boys trick-or-treating. It's hitting me a little hard that Michael and Gabriel are getting to that age where they don't seem as interested in trick-or-treating. In fact, they almost opted out of getting new costumes this year. I'm so glad that they didn't.

I'm also looking forward to spending time with my family. My little sister's baby shower is in October, and I can't wait to help her celebrate. It's her birthday in October, so I'm excited to celebrate her day.

Before I continue to ramble about everything I want to do this month, let's get to the point of this post, which is to share my goals. But first, let's recap my September Goals and then jump to my new goals for October. 

Recap of September Goals

• Read 5 books: I read a lot of books in September. Once again, it was a mix of different genres—children's books, poetry, romance, nonfiction, and even a biography. My favorite read of the month was Snowed In & Snuggle Weather by Elise Kennedy.

• Try 2 new recipes: I honestly can't remember if I made any new recipes, so I assume I didn't.

• Work in my sketchbook/art journal: I didn't work in my sketchbook as much as I wanted to. I'm really hoping I have enough time to work on my sketchbook this month.

• Participate in Exhale's September blog hop: I'm disappointed that I didn't participate in the blog hop. I really wanted to, but I got stuck on what I wanted to share. I'll probably try to work on my piece some more because I really do love the prompt.

• Work on my Savannah and Tybee Island album: Yikes! I definitely forgot to work on this album. I really don't want it to be an unfinished project, so I'm planning to schedule time to work on it.

• Go to at least one local event: We had a blast at the North Georgia fair. Going to the fair during the fall is one of my favorite fall traditions. We got on a bunch of rides and ate some treats. We loved the fried Oreos (10/10 would recommend) and strawberry swirl soft serve ice cream. 

• Publish a post for the Atlanta Mom blog: I did share a new post for the Atlanta Mom Blog. I shared a post on sangria recipes. You can check out my post here.

October Goals

• Read 6 books

• Try 1 new recipe

• Work in my sketchbook/art journal

• Participate in Exhale's October blog hop

• Work on one of the past Exhale blog hop prompts I didn't finish

• Work on my Savannah and Tybee Island album

• Go to at least one local event

• Go to the Silver Comet Trail at least twice in the month

What are your goals for October? How did you do in September?

Thanks for visiting!

Until next time...

Photo by Aggie Marder on Unsplash

September 2024 // A List

September, September, September.

My, oh, my, what a month you were.

A month full of dates with my love.

A month of fun events with the kids.

Festivals, farmers markets, and a trip to the fair.

A month full of encouraging words.

And finding little sprinkles of wonder and magic on the Silver Comet Trail.

A hectic month with a much-needed and much-welcomed break towards the end.

A month full of seasonal treats and drinks.

September, there were some difficult moments, but as I look back, I see they were mostly good days.

And for that, I am so incredibly grateful. 

A month of getting things back on track.

A month of welcoming my favorite season.

With fresh flowers and lovely fall home decor.

I smile every time I walk through the door and am greeted with the scent of cinnamon.

Feeling so much joy and love at the sight of my dining room table. 

Deciding that the dining room with its bay window is fast becoming my favorite spot in our home.

A month of welcoming all the comfort vibes.

The beginning of the end of my creative block.

Welcoming the transition of the season.

Saying goodbye to Summer.

Saying hello to Fall.

September, you were a joy.

An adventure.

A comforting month even when I've felt unsettled.

Thank you, September, for everything.

Hello October.

As always, I've been waiting for you.

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. We're on fall break, and it's been glorious. This was a much-needed break from work, and it's been nice to relax. 

2. We are safe from the impacts of Hurricane Helene. We got a lot of rain, but luckily, our home and vehicles were not damaged. We were lucky because many people in our area were not as fortunate.

3. While we waited out the storm, I made chocolate chip cookies. They were delicious. I'll have to make some more soon because the boys devoured them.

4. We got our kitchen pantry delivered on Thursday. It looks amazing and holds a lot. I'm so glad we could organize everything, so now there are not a ton of boxes around the kitchen and dining room. 

Side Note: I was actually surprised we got it that day, considering it was raining and many places closed early due to the storm. I hope the delivery driver made it back okay.

5. I bought some Halloween leggings from Target and love them! They fit well and are so cute. 

6. I had a brownie batter cookie from Crumbl Cookies for dessert and topped it with vanilla ice cream. It was delicious. 10/10 would absolutely recommend.

7. I've been listening to Delicate Problems by Benson Taylor & Carolanne Busuttil on repeat. 

8. I love that my house smells like fall. I bought some scented mini brooms, and they smell amazing. I also can't wait to order a couple of Fall simmer pot packs. I may even try to make my own simmer pot recipes.

9. I have been sleeping in a lot this week, and I love it! I remember on Monday, I woke up early because I'm so used to waking up early to go to work, and it was nice when I remembered I had the entire week off.  

10. It may be fall and my favorite season, but I also have Christmas and the holiday season on my mind. I even started reading holiday-themed novellas. I just finished reading Snowed In & Snuggle Weather by Elise Kennedy and absolutely loved it. 

What made you happy this week?

Thanks for visiting!

Until next time...

Fall 2024 Bucket List

Happy First Day of Fall! My favorite season is back! The signs of fall were here for the past week, and I absolutely loved that it's been in the mid-60s during the mornings; however, summer seems like it wants to stay. It's been in the low 90s in the afternoon this weekend. I'm not going to let the summer weather bother me. I'm in complete fall and spooky season mode. My fall and Halloween mugs are out. I have stocked up on hot chocolate bombs and seasonal treats and bought a few things to decorate our home. 

We're currently on fall break, and I am so excited. I love that our break happens to be during the first official week of fall. We'll stay in town but have a few fun adventures planned for our break. As usual, I had a pumpkin spice latte to celebrate the first day of fall and played some fall-themed songs. 

Of course, I also made a fall bucket list. This will forever be one of my favorite traditions. I've added my usual favorite fall activities and a few new things. I may even add a few more things to my list in the coming days. 

• Read 12 books

• Read 3 spooky books by October 31

• Watch a new-to-me scary movie

• Finish Season 1 of A Discovery of Witches

• Go to the fair

• Try 3 new recipes

• Make apple cinnamon donuts

• Declutter the boys' closets

• Document fall

• Work in my art journal

• Go to the farmer's market

• Finish my Savannah and Tybee Island mini-album

• Participate in at least 2 Exhale blog hops

• Publish a photo essay

• Go to an apple orchard

• Drink apple cider

• Participate in a Fall reading challenge

• Visit a pumpkin patch

• Buy Halloween costumes

• Go to a new-to-me coffee shop

• Go to a new-to-me bookshop

What is on your fall bucket list?

Thanks for visiting!

Until next time...

Photo by Rithika Gopal on Unsplash

If You and I Had Coffee

If you and I had coffee...

We'd meet a new-to-us local coffee shop and order some seasonal lattes. Of course, I'd order a pumpkin spice latte because how can I not. I'd also order a few pastries...perhaps an apple cider or pumpkin spice donut. We'd stay at the coffee shop instead of going for a walk because it's been raining the past few days, and it looks like it might just start raining again.

If you and I had coffee...

I'd tell you that I'm so excited for the official start of fall. Even though I consider the fall season to start once the boys start school again, there's something about finally sensing the actual transition of the season. It's been getting cooler, and we've had a few rainy days. We even had to break out our sweaters over the weekend. I've started cleaning and decluttering again...it feels like I'm nesting, and no...I'm definitely not pregnant. I'm in a full-blown, comfy, and cozy mood. And I absolutely love it.

If you and I had coffee...

I'd tell you that I recently found another writer on Substack. I've been enjoying reading Brittany's Notebook. Brittany has some really great series in her newsletter, like her "Lovin' Lately" series and "What I Read" series. 

If you and I had coffee...

I'd tell you that after feeling unsettled for the past few weeks, I'm starting to feel more at ease. I've been trying to come up with a better routine and have been focusing on self-care. Things have been too hectic, and there simply isn't enough time for everything I have to do. 

That said, I'm looking forward to the fall break. I hope to relax and spend as much time with my family as possible. I'm also looking forward to reading some good books and getting some crafting time.

If you and I had coffee...

I'd tell you that I'm glad we were able to catch up. My coffee chats are always one of my highlights of the month. I can't wait for our next coffee chat. Until then, here's to hoping for more peaceful weeks ahead. 

What would you tell me?

Thanks for visiting!

Until next time...

Photo by Breakslow on Unsplash