• Gardening

    Early Winter Garden Videos

    Edible Garden Tour Flower Garden Tour A conversation with my brother kind of lit a fire under me to make more videos of the garden this year. Actually, I’ve been really lax in making videos of any kind over the last year, even with Forest, and I kind of regret it. I think I did so much that first year of Forest’s life that I really wanted to pull back a little there for awhile. I do miss being able to watch videos so I’m planning to be more proactive this year. Expect more!

  • Gardening,  Outdoors,  Thoughts

    Hello 2017!

    The last week has been quite the lazy one around here. Chris and I were off work and the first half of the holiday week was warm and pleasant and we spent a lot of time outside playing. However, by Wednesday Forest’s cough that had started developing last Monday grew worse and we had a camping trip planned for New Years weekend and I didn’t want to go without getting him checked out. So, off to the pediatrician we went. She prescribed some cough medicine—so nice that we’re finally getting into the ages where more medicine can be prescribed for him!—and thought it was RSV or some similar virus and…

  • Creative,  Reading

    Reading Year in Review for 2016

    I tried to find a post for my ‘word’ of 2016 but I guess I didn’t end up writing one. I decided my word would be ‘read‘ which seemed more actionable and doable than anything else. If I had chosen ‘run‘ I’m not so sure I would have been very successful. I have yet to figure out a word for 2017 but it may be a phrase instead. So, here’s my round up of total number of books read for the year and what they were. I was aiming for about 25 books, approximately two a month; let’s see how I did! In alpha by author: The Highly Sensitive Person…

  • Gardening

    The Garden Before the Freeze

    I took all of these photos earlier this month, before we had any actual cold weather. We had a night or two early in the month that might have touched freezing for an hour or two overnight but for the most part we just stayed shy of that line. After last year’s mild winter I was kind of hoping for more of the same this year but that was not to be. The strong front came through late evening Saturday the 17th and we woke up the next morning to temperatures around freezing or just above that. The sensitive plants in the garden still looked pretty good but I knew…

  • Family

    Cookie Monster

    Last weekend I finally got around to making cookies with Forest. He’s become more and more interested in watching us do stuff in the kitchen and I figured it was about time he got a little more involved. I’ve had him mix batter in bowls before with my help but this was the first time we’ve done cut-out cookies. He’s a Play-Doh loving toddler so he’s already familiar with making snakes and balls with that and I have little cookie cutters for him to use with the Doh as well but he hasn’t quite gotten the process down yet. I totally forgot to take photos mid-process so I have after-the-fact…

  • A Month of Faves

    December Loves | A Month of Faves 2016

    Remember when he was just a baby??? Thu. | Dec. 22 – I Love … December #AMonthofFaves2016 – Favorite holiday festivities, favorite ornaments, home decor, places to go, holiday drinks, holiday eats, holiday themed reads I have a love/hate relationship with December. It’s the darkest month, it’s cold, it’s busy—but for all of that, it is a time to huddle up in the evenings and a time to think over the previous year and ponder the coming year. My kind of December involves mostly wearing pants of some kind but also short-sleeved shirts; a temperature that’s mild with maybe a couple of cooler nights here and there. I actually prefer…

  • A Month of Faves

    Must Haves + Best Ofs | A Month of Faves 2016

    Tue. | Dec. 20 – 5 Must Haves for Winter Survival – shout out your favorite brand or stores or favorite items Lotion: I don’t know about you but my hands are super sensitive to winter’s dry air, even here in humid SE Texas. I have two lotions that I alternate between at home, one is a homemade concoction that my mom made based on a recipe I sent her that uses coconut oil, cocoa butter, and essential oil, and the other is a run-of-the-mill scented variety from Bath and Body Works. I use the latter in the mornings before work and the former at night and whenever my hands…

  • A Month of Faves

    Author & Audiobook Discoveries + Outside My Comfort Zone | A Month of Faves 2016

    Thu. | Dec. 15 – 5 Fave “New to Me” Author Discoveries or Audiobook Narrations This Year #AMonthofFaves2016 I read a lot of new authors this year but I think Roxane Gay goes down as an author to follow from here on out. Bad Feminist was my first book of hers to read and I suspect not my last. She has another non-fiction book and several fiction books out, including the soon to be released Difficult Women. I think Roxane will be on my to-read list for years to come. Mon. | Dec. 19 – Reading Outside My Comfort Zone #AMonthofFaves2016 – Surprise Find(s) This Year At one point this…