Taking Care.

Yesterday Caleb was out of town.  I love spending time with my husband, but I also value the occasional opportunity to spend time alone.  I'm sure all you moms out there are vigorously shaking your heads in agreement.  Even though we don't yet have any little ones it is easy for me to see the value in having time without interruption to organize my thoughts.

I love jumping in the car, rolling down the windows, and blasting a good song.  Those are some of my most treasured Perfect moments.  

So today I hopped in my car, played some Billy Joel, and drove to a new bakery that I had never visited.  I ordered a coffee and a sandwich and chose a window right in the sun.  Then I caught up on some letter writing {in case you have forgotten... letter writing involves real paper, a real pen, an envelope, and that medieval think called a stamp :)}.

I don't think we take enough time out of the week to take care of ourselves.  Whether its working full time, worrying about getting blog posts written, being a social worker {like me!}, or finding enough time to devote to our families, I think its important to realize that if we get stressed out everyone can tell.  Its like that example they give on the airplane... you have to put on your own oxygen mask first before you help your neighbor.  If you pass out then you can't help them.  If we aren't recharging our own batteries how will we be there for our client's/families/etc.   

This trip was so relaxing and so productive.  It left me feeling recharged and ready to take on the world {well, at least ready to go home and get some housework done}!  I have so many friends that are embarrassed to go places on their own.  Sitting in a restaurant or a movie theatre by myself is a real treat!  It makes me feel like taking care of myself is important.  And it is.

What do you do to take care of yourself?

Fall Decor... Check!

I shared some of my fall decor over at The Chronicles of Chaos a bit ago, but I wanted to share some of my favorites for those of you who missed it!

I am loving pumpkins right now (who isn't!).  Its amazing how adding something little into your existing decor can really set the stage for the season.

After putting out these pumpkins I decided that I like the color orange so much with the grey, turquoise, and navy color sceme in my living room that I want to incorporate this color into my decor on a more permanent basis.

I'm thiiiiiiiissssssss close to revealing my redecorating living room and hope to put the finishing touches in the room this weekend.

I can't wait to care a pumpkin with my love sometimes soon!  Do you carve a pumpkin for Halloween?  I always say I'm going to do something really creative... maybe this is the year?

Also, I'm taking part in a Fall swap and have been partnered with the fabulous Victoria over at One Crafty Momma!  Today she shared a fab recipe for pumpkin butter she found on Pinterest that I can't wait to try.  Go check out her blog... she is so crafty!

Fallish Things.

Over the weekend we did Fallish things.  We were fortunate to have our two good friends, Dianna and Tyler, visit from Indiana.  We took advantage of the turning leaves and cooler temperatures to indulge in some of my favorite things.

Scarves, and leaves, and warm blankets in the chilly air.  Homemade apple cider sangria, hot soup, and catching up with my friend that I miss so much.

I think the secret to a great Fall weekend is a warm cozy home, some good comfort food, and cider. Scented candles, a couple snuggly blankets, and something pumpkin won't hurt either.  Sometimes the hubby thinks I stress too much over the details so I have been trying to simplify (for my own sanity) and at the same time not give up some of the fun planning.  I've found that if I add in a couple of key details and let the rest of the weekend unfold unplanned I have so much more fun!

So before the weekend started, I scoured Pinterest to find a few recipes that I though would compliment our weekend.

I found the recipe for this Sangria on Pinterest.  I didn't think to snap a picture until I had already eaten out the apple chunks.  This recipe was great and you can find it here.  I will definitely be making it again.  One of the reasons that I loved it was because it didn't require a trillion obscure ingredients.

I also made this slow cooker cream cheese chicken chili.  It was super easy, very filling, and yummy.  Typically, I don't make meals using ingredients that aren't fresh so this soup with cream cheese and a ranch packet was an indulgence for us.  You can find the recipe at Plain Chicken.  I will definitely keep it in mind if I ever need to feed a crowd.  I doubled the recipe and we had tons leftover.

Picture found at Plain Chicken

Did you do any Fallish things over the weekend?

P.S.  I also put out some outdoor Fall decor and managed to get poison ivy ALLLL over my ankles... I would definitely appreciate any home remedy suggestions!!!

Linking up with:

Did I Mention Martha's?

Did I mention that I went to Martha's Vineyard?  Why yes, I think I did!  ;)  And I LOVED it.  

It rained almost the entire time.

I didn't care.

As soon as I stepped on the ferry I knew that I was going to like everything about this island.  The color of the water under the grey sky was a dark turquoise/gray/blue and I kept thinking how I wanted to paint a room that color so that I could remember it every day.  I even had a brief moment when I thought that I should decorate my entire house in a nautical theme because I was so entranced by the rope, the water, the boats, the houses, etc.  The weekend was definitely full of perfect moments.

Even though it was rainy, even dark and stormy at times, I think that in a way it added to the beauty of the island.  The color of the houses and flowers contrasting with the flowers and grasses was amazing.

We went shopping on Saturday before the wedding and the heavens had mercy on us and the rain stopped.  We were able to walk along the docs and waters were calm and glassy.  Maureen, my friend and travel buddy, and I ate at a yummy restaurant where we had omelettes, coffee, and cocoa.  

And the beach?  Beautiful would be an understatement.  

The grand finale of the weekend was Lauren's wedding.  The ceremony was held in this pretty island church and Lauren was absolutely stunning.  The details at her wedding reception were amazing.  There were little stations where you could write a message to send out to sea in a glass bottle and instead of signing a guest book we signed adirondack chairs for the couple.  I won't even talk about the crab cakes that were carried around on trays during the cocktail hour... DELISH!  

Maureen, Lauren, and I at the ceremony.

 Lauren and Derek,

Thank you so much for the amazing time.

The only downfall to the weekend was realizing how much I miss you both. 

{and I know Caleb does too!}

We can't wait to see you again!

Fall is Underway!

The month of September was definitely good to me.  In spite of a rough start to the month I would say that September finished strong with trips to a waterfalls and two amazing weddings... one of which lead to a trip to Martha's Vineyard.

Garrett and Jodi's Wedding in Brown County, IN

Derek and Lauren's Wedding in Oak Bluffs, MA (Martha's Vineyard)

I traveled to a friend's baby shower.

Got most of my Fall Decor out and already have had more than my fill of Pumpkin Spice Latte's.

And Fall has only just started!  If you haven't already checked it out, head on over to check out my guest post at Mia's fabulous blog The Chronicles of Chaos.  You can see more of my Fall decor there.

Also, check out the Fall favorites swap that she is hosting!  I can't wait to get linked up with another blogger to share some of my Fall faves!!!

Some back tomorrow to see details of my trip to Martha's Vineyard!