Shew…re-entry after a week off has about done me in. It was a good week, but it was also a busy one.
As always, I’m linking up with Erika and Andrea for Friday Favorites.
Here are some favorites from the week:
While leaving the beach is never a favorite, arriving home to fall-like temps definitely was a favorite. This whole week we’ve had beautiful weather.
Today, I’m sharing some fall “faves” from the week.
I really do love Trader Joe’s candles, and I’m a sucker for a variety pack of fall scents. This week, I’ve already burned all of these, and they are fabulous. I think Maple Sugar is my fave.
Trader Joe’s has had their pumpkin bagels for a while, but just last weekend we finally spotted the pumpkin cream cheese. Hadley was so excited.
*not me buying more mums because I thought the little pot was cute*
I saw these smaller mums when I went to TJ on Sunday, and they made me happy.
I like to change the background of my flat panel to fit the season…
…so this is my classroom view when I don’t need to use my flat panel:
I’ve seen some fun fall content on Insta…
How cute is this graphic from @bloomdailyplanners:
I loved this little Diet Coke ghost from @ashton.creates
Check out her “Let’s go ghouls” series on Insta.
I’m not sure when it happened, but October has been a favorite month of mine for a long time.
I’m not sure about a scary movie, but I love fall movies. It will be pumpkin carving time soon! Apple cider has been a staple in our home since September. You know I love to light a fall candle, and I’ve been enjoying the cooler morning air. Yay! I’m 4 for 4 with my workouts this week. I’m trying to get back on track!
Favorite outfit:
How cute is this quilted top from Shop Style Your Senses? It’s the “Ava” top, and I got so many compliments when I wore it on Tuesday.
Favorite Mom Meme:
We made it to 8th grade before I really started feeling this way, but here we are:
Bonus Fave: Flashback Friday:
There’s a big game this weekend…My MIZZOU Tigers are coming to Lex to play the Wildcats. Both teams are 5-1….and while I don’t get my hopes up for a win for MIZ, I hope it’s a good game.
I think 2011 was probably the last time my kids were Tigers fans. haha
What are your weekend plans? We have a lot of fun going on. Hayden has the state cross country meet, UK plays Missouri in football, and Hadley has cotillion dance that she’s really looking forward to. Hayden’s supposed to go as well, but apparently he “can’t miss” a football game!
If we can find some time for the pumpkin patch, I hope to do that too!
I shared my post yesterday about all the fun we had on our 30A vacay last week, and today I’m sharing some of the logistics as far as traveling with a group.
Tip #1: Travel with people who you enjoy spending time with…haha.
I truly feel blessed that we are 2 for 2 traveling with this group for an extended amount of time for two fall breaks in a row.
Here’s a few of the logistics:
Lodging:
One of the families took the lead on renting the house way back in February. Since we had rented the year before, we got a bit of a discount on being a returning customer. That family paid the first half of the down payment, and we reimbursed via Venmo.
Again, the second half was due in August, and we paid our shares via Venmo to the lead family. Then, they also paid for the golf cart, which is optional with this rental, a couple weeks before our trip. We reimbursed via Venmo again.
Planning:
The moms met beforehand to plan the meals and groceries. Last year, we all got together, and it took some time to plan everything. This year, I wasn’t able to meet up with the ladies, but it was basically a “rinse and repeat” of last year.
We collectively placed an Instacart order of quite a few things we needed like milk, cereal, eggs, chips, etc. Then, we divided up other items like trash bags, ground coffee, paper plate, board games, chips and salsa, coffee pods, waffle maker, and more to bring as well.
One of my friends had the family list from last year, so we just pretty much kept it the same.
We reimbursed via Venmo for the Instacart order.
We had a plan of grilling out the first night and making tacos in the slow cooker the second night. The third evening, we met up at the food trucks in Seaside after happy hour. The fourth night, the parents went out and the kids had pizza. Then, the last day, families did what they wanted for lunch, and we just cleaned out the fridge for dinner.
For breakfast, we did something different every morning. We had waffles in waffle maker, pancakes, cinnamon rolls, eggs/bacon and other items. I don’t feel like I was a big help with breakfast, but the kids were fed thanks to the other moms.
For the beach, we had sandwich stuff, chips, and fruit.
One dad made a Publix run most mornings for odds and ends, and we just tried to keep track of that to reimburse or buy something the next round.
Rooms:
As far as rooms go, there’s a primary bedroom upstairs that also has a secondary room with bunk beds. One family has a boy my kids’ age and two younger girls, so that room made the most sense for them.
Then, there’s a Jack/Jill bathroom that connected two bedrooms. The boys were in one room, and Travis and I shared the other room. One of the boys went to the primary bed/bathroom with his parents as needed. We figured, it made sense for Travis and I to share the bathroom with Hayden. There was one other full bedroom and bathroom upstairs as well as downstairs, so that covered the other two couples. Then, the girls had the carriage house with three beds and a full bathroom.
Venmo:
Obviously, Venmo was very handy for this trip for both paying for things in advance and to reimburse. The night we ordered pizza for the kids, it was $10/kid, and we all just paid immediately, so we didn’t have to keep track of that anymore.
I’ve heard of the “Splitwise” app, and maybe that’s something we can use in the future. I think everything came out pretty even. We tried to follow up at the end of the trip to make sure.
Since we knew the kids would be on their own a bit, we put about $100 on their debit cards, so they could pay for ice cream, food truck, etc. when they went to Seaside. I’m really glad we did that.
Activities:
There are some families that want to stay at the beach all day while others are good for a few hours. We just went with the flow the best that we could. One dad was at the house quite a bit for work, so he didn’t mind coming back and forth a few times with the golf cart to pick up. The house came with quite a few bikes, so the kids could bike back and forth to beach or back and forth to Seaside as long as they were together and we knew where they were.
The neighborhood has two pools, so those were options for our kids too. We laid out the rules/expectations and they knew if they broke the rules, all would suffer a consequence.
The fishing trip happened because another friend of mine was in Destin, and her husband wanted to fish. Our guys were interested, so they organized that.
The moms and dads each had a happy hour as well as a combined one too.
There are definitely things that we all think are important, and I think we all do a good job respecting that. By now, they know I love a beach sunset (I’m sure I’m not the only one), but it’s also fine with me to only go a couple nights.
Others want to go to happy hour. Some want to play pickleball. Some beach most of the day while others are fine with just a couple of hours. Some of the boys love to fish while others don’t as much. I think it helps that our kids are mostly older, so they had a bit more freedom and flexibility this trip.
Thoughts:
I’m so very thankful that we’ve had two successful fall breaks with this same crew.
I know our kids will look back on these trips with great memories. I’m not sure what next year’s plan will be. With fall high school sports and what the expectation of those might be, this might be it for at least a bigger vacay in October….but who knows?
Let me know if you have any other questions about our group vacay. We don’t have all the answers, but I’m thankful we are all still friends at the end of it. 😉
Well, we’ve been back from the fun in the sun for a few days now, and today’s post is all about our trip to 30A with friends.
This is the second year that our district has given us a week long fall break, and we decided back in February to make this trip happen again.
Here’s what went down:
Saturday:
There were five families going, and everyone left at different times. It’s about a ten hour drive to Destin/30A from Lexington, and we didn’t get our rental house until Sunday late afternoon.
Like last year, the plan for most of us was to leave Lexington in the morning and stop in Birmingham for the night. Well, of course, Kentucky football takes precedence, and they were playing Florida at noon. So…Travis and Hayden stayed back for the game with another family’s guys, and Hadley and I left with the girls in that family around 12:30.
I was glad to have the morning to sleep in a bit, pack, and then leave around lunchtime. So, we had a car of girls while Travis, Hayden and three others drove after the game.
We made it to Birmingham around dinnertime along with a couple of other families.
We met for dinner at Taco Mama which was perfect for all of us. There was an outside sitting area, and we enjoyed the weather, tacos, and margs.
We went to the hotel around 8:00, and the guys arrived around 9.
Sunday:
On Sunday, we were all up and eating breakfast by 8, and we left the hotel around 9. We drove the rest of way, about 4 hours, and stopped for lunch at Hurricane Oyster Bar in Grayton Beach like we did last year.
After we ate, we drove about twenty more minutes to our house. Last year, we got lucky and the house was ready around 3. This year, it wasn’t ready until the “guaranteed” check in time of 5:00.
We stayed in the same house in Seagrove Beach as last year which was the perfect fit for our four families. The fifth family that was a part of our crew found the cutest house in our same neighborhood, and they let us hang until our house was ready for check in. We were so excited that it worked out to have them nearby.
The groceries were delivered, and we unpacked before heading to the beach.
We were there about an hour before sunset. I will say that’s a “downfall” of going to the beach for fall break…the sun sets so early!!
I had cute cups made again thanks to @cupsoncochran and they were perfect for sips at sunset.
Like last year, we just grilled out the first evening. It was nice to have that option after a long day. The Chiefs were on tv, so some of us watched the game before hitting the hay.
Monday:
We had a slow start to the morning, and I enjoyed my coffee on the front porch.
Then, we headed to the beach. (Our house was in a neighborhood across the street from the beach.)
We were there a few hours. This trip, the kids kind of went back and forth from the house more than last time…teenage perks, I guess. Our house came with quite a few bikes, so they would bike about a mile to Seaside to walk around, get food or get ice cream…or they’d bike to and from the house to the beach as needed.
That evening, the adults headed to Seaside after the beach and look who we saw:
Haha…they were living their best lives.
The adults enjoyed happy hour and apps at Great Southern. They have a delicious mojito.
We walked around for a bit afterwards…
…before heading to the beach for sunset.
Then, we went back to the house and had tacos for dinner and s’mores by the fire.
Some of of use played the card game Phase 10 while our friend played his guitar. We were spoiled with nightly entertainment.
Tuesday:
Tuesday morning, everyone kind of did their own thing. Travis and Hayden went on a run while some played pickle ball. There was a pickleball/basketball court in our neighborhood.
A few of us walked to Seaside to get a Modica Market mimosa. Try saying that three times fast. You can’t after having one of these! haha
After that, we headed to the beach. I was thankful to snag this pic of my fam before the kids ran off…
I was at the beach for most of the day…which isn’t my norm. I’m a three or four hours at the beach type of girl…on this day, I was there for about six!
I got lots of reading time in which was great. Have you read Mad Honey? It was my book for the week.
That afternoon, the guys went out for oysters and when they got back, the moms went to Wine World in Watercolor.
We had a “girl” dinner…wine and charcuterie.
Then, we met the guys and the kids back at Seaside. Everyone kind of did their own thing for dinner. There are lots of food trucks, so the kids got what they wanted for dinner. Modica Market has wine and beer by the cup, so we all had a glass while the kids walked around and ate.
The post office in Seaside is soooo cute. So, of course we had to take more pics.
Once we were back at the house, some of us placed Phase 10 again before bed.
They caught a few fish, but unfortunately my guys were very seasick the entire time. Very sick. Ooof. So sick that they had to cut the trip short. (Apparently, the waves were super high and the water was far from calm.)
After the beach, we were at the house most of the afternoon, and then it was our night for the adults to go out. We ordered pizza for the kids, and they hung out and watched a movie for the couple hours we were gone.
Before we left, I snapped a pic of the girls in their Seaside sweatshirts. I wasn’t sure if we’d get a beach pic of them like last year, so we went with this option.
We ate dinner at Old Florida Fish House which is where we ate last year.
Then, we drove to Rosemary Beach. I’d never been there. We went to the Pearl for a drink.
We were home by 9:00 because we are such party animals…haha
We hung out on the front porch for a bit before going to bed.
Thursday:
On Thursday, my friend and I went and got a permanent bracelet at a pop up shop called Spark Collection in Watercolor.
The girls tagged a long and then we went to Seaside to shop a bit. I even checked out the cute bookstore!
Then, it was beach time…
The boys graced us with their presence…
…and then they were back at the house…lol
We spent most of the afternoon at the beach. We all kind of took turns using the golf cart to leave the beach for lunch and come back. We wanted to make the most of our last day by hanging at the beach as much as possible (at least that’s what the adults wanted to do…) but also eat out once more for lunch.
My family and Hayden’s friend had a late lunch at Great Southern before going back to the beach until sunset.
The kids joined us back at the beach…and the girls were in their Seaside sweatshirts again. haha
Here they are last year:
…and we wrangled the kids for a sunset pic…
…and a few group pics.
Before taking in one final sunset.
Once we got back to the house, it was time to shower, eat dinner and start packing. For dinner, we just raided the fridge and freezer. There were lots of pizza rolls, chicken tenders, and tater tots to eat. My friend Megan fried and grilled the fish the boys brought home, and it was so good.
My friend Allison was the brave one to go check out the girls’ carriage house situation. We thought it was best not to go up there until we absolutely had to. haha
Thankfully, they did a good job packing up.
After dinner, we hung out in the backyard by the fire before going to bed around 10.
Friday :
We were up around 7, and hit the road around 8:30.
With no one winning the Powerball earlier in the week, we all said we’d buy lotto tickets at random towns on the way home. It’s always the random small town gas station that has the winning numbers, right?
(Plot twist: we all headed to work this week…lol)
What should be about a 10 hour car ride was more like 11 hours. Oooof. We were so happy to see Homer when we finally got home.
Much like last year, one more day would have been nice, but it was great to have the entire weekend at home to just relax, unpack, get groceries, do laundry and more.
This trip was similar to last year in how we meal planned and spent our time, but the kids did have a bit more freedom and I think we found a good compromise on mixing in family time, girl/guy time, kids time, beach time, and more.
I had a few questions about logistics and travelling with a group, so I hope to get that post out tomorrow.
Thanks for following along on our fun in the sun vacay.
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Well, this Monday hits different as we head back to school after a week of fun in the sun. That’s ok though…it’s always good to get back in a routine, and I always love the month of October and all the fun we have in store.
Today, I’m co-hosting our monthly Not Just a Mom link up with some of my favorite boggers:
If I had to guess, I think Travis would say a money saving tip is to not get married 😆…and I’d say don’t have kids haha
I am not necessarily an expert on money saving tips, but I do try to save money whenever I can.
Seriously, I try really hard not to buy something unless it’s on sale or I have a coupon.
Here are a few tips that came to mind:
Coupons: I don’t really use paper coupons anymore because they don’t seem to exist! I always check apps for deals and coupons. For example, before placing my Kroger order, I always click on the digital coupons.
Meal plan: I try to have a plan for our meals and tailor our grocery list to that plan. I do think using Clicklist helps with not overspending even though some weeks I still buy more than others. Also, I try to make a meal or two based on what’s in our freezer. So, if I have ground beef in the freezer, I will plan for tacos or spaghetti for dinner. That means, I have less to buy at the grocery store.
Look for discounts: There are quite a few stores that have teacher discounts like Michael’s, J Crew, and Vineyard Vines. Now, some places only offer discounts during Teacher Appreciation Week, so sometimes I wait and stock up on items then. Listen, I will flash my teacher badge for just about anything free or discounted. haha My school district just started letting teachers get into school/district athletic events for free. Like…what took so long?! Of course, I could get in free to my school events, but I always thought it was odd that they didn’t let teachers in at any school. I’m about to save $5/game during my kids’ sports seasons!
Library: As much as I love to read, I know I save money by getting books from the library versus purchasing them. I probably only buy one or two books a year, and those are usually books I want to read in the summer.
Wait for sales: Of course, there are Prime Days and Black Friday/Cyber Monday where you can take advantage of major sales. By now, I kind of know when some of my favorite stores will have sales. Also, again, sometimes there are sales that are only on the app. For example, Target had 30% off women’s boots recently, and that’s when I would buy boots if I needed them. I don’t think I’ve ever paid full price for a Bath and Body Works candle. They always have a deal on two single wick candles or half price three wick candles. Vineyard Vines will always have an “end of summer” sale, and since those are the swim trunks Hayden loves the most, I buy a pair and save them for his Easter basket. Old Navy was having a huge sale on pjs this weekend and I had $10 Old Navy cash. I always get the kids Christmas pjs for their November birthday (mostly just pj bottoms now), and I get them when Old Navy has a sale. Because I also had the $10 cash, I didn’t pay much at all for two pj pants and a Christmas sleep shirt. Of course, just because there’s a sale doesn’t mean you have to buy anything. That being said, I really try to buy as much as possible when there’s a sale or I have a coupon or points to use on something I would buy anyway.
Space out spending: I try really hard to space out spending. By now, I kind of know when the kids will have sports fees or other things that cost money like a school trip. With the kids having November birthdays and then Christmas in December, we try to not spend as much in September/October. That being said, kids are expensive. lol We just do the best that we can.
Plan: We try to plan for yearly trips and save accordingly.
Save: Of course, having a savings plan is always a good idea.
Girl math: I always return things I don’t want. If I order something and don’t absolutely love it, I will return it. Most stores make returns easy, so that helps! When I took Hadley back to school shopping, she got two pairs of shorts at Pac-Sun. One pair was $40 in store, but then I looked online, and they were $18!! I emailed Pac-Sun, and they gave me a refund for the difference. Girl math: when I return something, I’m saving money 😉
Cancel apps– Apps like Apple TV, Canva, etc. add up. Sometimes in the summer when we have more time, we will get a month of Apple TV or Paramount to watch a few shows, but then I put a note on my calendar to remind me to cancel. I love Canva, and thought I’d try out the “Pro” version for free for a month. I do love it, so I might keep it for another month, but I will just put a note in my calendar to remind me to cancel if/when needed. Little things add up.
The kids: They’ve earned some money this summer, and we’ve made sure they put some in their savings account. Since they mostly get cash, they put some in their piggy bank, sometimes they give for offering at church, they have some on hand in case they need it, and then Travis will also put most in their account. Also, for example, I will pay for Hadley to get a manicure as a “back to school” treat, but I always have her pay the tip with her own money. I want her to learn what it means to tip 20% for a service. If there’s a random time she wants something like a new shirt or manicure, she knows she will typically have to pay for it.
What money saving tips do you have? Again, we’re definitely not perfect, and I lean on Travis most for our budgeting…but I get him fed, so we all have our strengths!
Next month, we’re talking about comfort food. I’m kicking this week off with comfort food thanks to the cooler temps. For dinner this week, we’re having chili and Chicken Tortilla soup!
I hope you’ll check out the other ladies’ posts and link up with us if you can!
We are hosting our monthly link up on Monday! This month’s topic is money saving tips. Well, that’s great timing with us coming home from vacation. haha
We’d love for you to like up with us and join us.
While we’re always sad to say goodbye to the beach, we are excited for the cooler fall like temps that await us back home.
I hope you have a great weekend! It’s back to reality for us!
Well, last week, I shared my first “Five Things” post highlighting some things in my kitchen.
Today, I’m sharing another post…but I’m still in my kitchen.
The post last week included items in the cooking part of my kitchen, and today, I’m sharing the other half of the kitchen.
1. Hutch
This hutch was my dads grandma’s hutch. He doesn’t know the history, but he remembers it at her house when he was a kid. He said it’s at least 80 years old.
I’ve only had it a few years, and we actually rented a small U-haul trailer to bring it back after a visit. I just didn’t have anywhere to store glassware and other odds and ends, so I appreciate this gift.
I’ve thought about having it painted, but I don’t know.
This little nook in our kitchen would be perfect for a coffee bar/wine fridge, and that’s on our somewhat short list to do. I have another wall this hutch could go on if we end up doing that.
In the hutch, I have glasses, some Bourbon (fun fact: Travis loathes bourbon…won’t touch it…but it tends to be a common gift in the horse biz…lol), a few personal touches, and then I store place settings and seasoning things in the drawers.
Anyway, it’s a sentimental piece that we have in our kitchen.
2. Woven basket
My mom was cleaning out her garage (I think) and found this basket that she’d made years and years ago. I typically keep it on top of the hutch (see photo above), but I’ve used it to store dinner plates when we’ve had people over.
3. Window pane/shutters
We’ve lived in our house for nine years now, and when we first moved in, I wanted to hang a window pane for a farmhouse vibe. We found this window at Re-store I believe. Travis hung it for me, and I added the wreath.
There’s a story with the shutters. They aren’t actually shutters. The previous owners had taken down swinging doors that went from the hall to the living room. We found them in the garage, and Travis cut one in half for me. I painted it, and he hung it for me next to the window pane.
I will say that after living in this house for nine years, I kind of want to clean things up a bit…but I know that takes a vision and time (and probably money)…haha. I still like the farmhouse vibe, but I do want to update some things and maybe simplify some of our walls. We have a gallery wall on the other side of the kitchen that I’d like to simplify one day as well.
4. Wine rack
This wine rack was a gift from my Gma when Travis and I bought our first house. It’s from Pier One, and I still love it.
5. Wine bottle
How fun is this wine bottle? For Trav’s birthday, one of our friends gifted it to him. There’s a local artist (@holidayroaddesigns) who hosts painting parties and designs and paints bottles as gifts.
This bottle has his initials, UK and horse references.
So that wraps up a peek at the other side of our kitchen. I don’t know which area I will tackle next, but I’ll move on from the kitchen. haha
Well, I felt like I was a little late getting my porch together, but really, it was probably only about a week later than I have done it in previous years.
Every year, the porch looks similar but different. We always buy a couple of cornstalks, a few mums, and lots of pumpkins!
Here’s a peek at the porch:
I’ve had this cute garden flag for years. I love the mix of orange with black and white.
I went to my favorite spot to pick up a variety of pumpkins, but the goose neck gourds came from Trader Joe’s.
The “mum man” comes to my husband’s work, and he always has the best price on mums.
I’ve had these pillow covers for a couple of years, and the jack-o-lantern is from a friend.
On a whim, I recently bought a new black and white plaid rug at Aldi’s, and then I’ve had the door mat and door hanger for years.
I always love pulling up in front of my house this time of the year. ‘Tis the season!
I’m linking up with Tanya today to share my Amazon purchases for the month.
I had a few clothing purchases this month, but a few other odds and ends too.
Oops…I did it again!
I purchased this cardigan in black. I now have it in three colors. I did replace a black cardigan that I’ve had for probably ten years with this one. My previous one was showing its age, and didn’t have pockets. I need pockets, especially when I wear cardigans to school.
Also, I picked up this over-sized shirt (again!), and I now have it in three colors. It works with leggings, jeans, as a sleep shirt, or wear under a cardigan, etc….so that’s why I love it so much. It’s versatile.
Ok…these next two waffle sets have been all over the internet, and I wanted to give both a try. I did wait to purchase both until they were on sale and had a coupon. I’ve seen others share these as lounge wear and/or pjs.
…and this set as more loungewear (meaning — I will leave the house to run errands in it). I’m sure it doesn’t matter either way, but I have been wearing them as such.
Both feel “high end” and are comfy and cute. I did size up one in both just in case they shrunk with washing. I haven’t washed either, but I’m glad I sized up one size.
I needed another bottle of my daytime Vitamin C serum, so I ordered it again. I’ve been using this brand for probably close to a year.
We needed a new kitchen faucet, and Travis ordered this one. I think he liked that it had the sensor, but I turned the sensor off because I like to pull the hose over to fill up our Keurig/coffee pot…haha. Anyway, it’s been a good upgrade from what we had.
My dad wanted a knife sharpening set, so he asked me to send him this one. He gives it two thumbs up!
What’s your best Amazon purchase this month?
{This post contains Amazon Affiliate links. Thanks for supporting my blog.}
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