Happy Birthday Matt!

 Happy Birthday Matt!

We've been together for 12 years. We've been married for six. We've been parents together going on two years. And every single day has been made better because you are a part of it.

You are an amazing husband and dad. Watching you grow into your roles has been inspiring. You tackle life in a  straight-forward, easy-going manner that helps calm this frazzled working mama.

You make us laugh every day. You make Violet and me feel like the luckiest girls in the world. Because we are.

Happy birthday, my dear! We love you!

Clean Sweep

Remember how excited I was to get a housekeeping service when I finally started pulling in a real salary? Well, it's just as awesome as I thought it would be. To come home one day and everything be clean and lemon-fresh smelling. Ah. Naturally, we have it back to Loughman style in three days or less, but for those few hours, it is wonderful to know my whole house is clean at the same time and I don't have to think about it.

Of course, one of these days Violet will be old enough to start pulling her  own weight when it comes to housekeeping.

I swear, she got the broom out all of her own accord. Totally her idea.

It's not child labor if they volunteer, right?

Aaaaand... she's over it.

Full Circle

Maybe it's the rapidly approaching holiday season... (Oh, you didn't know the holidays were right around the corner? Well, when you're as busy as I am (without another day off until Thanksgiving) you have to start planning the holidays early or they'll creep up and bite you on the butt. I just now managed to procure a Halloween costume for Violet and we're already halfway through October. But that's another story.)

Maybe it's the need to create and control something in my whirlwind life.

Whatever it is, I've been a little DIY obsessed lately. Not the actually "do" part, mind you. In my case, the D in DIY stands for Dream. But anyway, lately I've been dreaming about do-it-yourself wreaths. Check out the two I recently pinned over at Pinterest.

via Tanda Plain and Tall

Check out this amazing wreath made of coffee filters! That's right, coffee filters. How cheap and easy does that seem?! Now the only question is, how would it hold up? I'm concerned about the dust it would collect. Something this delicate seems difficult to keep clean. But how stunning would it look against a dark wall?

The other creation I keep coming back to is this:

via living with lindsay

It was made with a dollar store foam wreath and a one dollar paperback novel. That's right, this wreath is made from a ripped up book. I don't know why I find this idea so appealing - I love books! Maybe it's because my Kindle has made paper pages obsolete? Maybe because, despite my Kindle, I still want to find a way of preserving those pages?

What do you guys think? Should I make an attempt? Would it look right in my house? What fun DIY projects have you attempted (or dreamed about) lately?

Currently Reading

Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly by Anthony Bourdain. I got it for cheapo as a daily deal for my Kindle. Fans of the his Travel Channel show No Reservations would love this book - your can totally hear Bourdain's voice and mannerisms come through the page. He is smart and irreverent and a perfect way to wind down from a long day.

And in case you're wondering what the ol' book club is up to, here are the picks we made to round out the year:

October - Something Borrowed
November - The Pelican Brief
December - A Little Princess

We were shocked to realize that of all the books that have been turned into movies, we've never read one by the illustrious my-book-just-got-made-into-a-movie-starring-someone-hot-like-Matthew-McConaughey author John Grisham. The guy has had eight best-sellers turned into blockbusters! So of course we had to remedy that before the year was out. And of course, we're always looking for suggestions! Any favorite books-turned-movies you care to recommend?

Morning Person

Don't you wish you could be this cheerful pre-7 a.m? And she doesn't even need coffee (yet).

Not sure what's happening here...

This little noodle just make my day!

Raspberry Cordial and Turkish Delight

You either know exactly what I'm talking about when I say the magical words "raspberry cordial" or, alas, you don't. But I hope you do, because you will love this hilarious post I stumbled upon the other day. May I introduce you to "Foods from Fiction" and the hilarious undertaking of two cheeky chicks who attempt to make Anne (with an 'e') and Diana's devilish concoction, and the alluring Turkish Delight straight from Narnia itself. The results are... well, here's a sample to whet your appetite:

"In summary:

Things Turkish Delight Looks Like:

- Vaseline

- Lush bath bar

- A human being’s insides

- A lemon bar injected with blood

Things Turkish Delight Doesn’t Look Like:

- Food

Things To Do With Turkish Delight Instead Of Eating It:

- Build a bomb, maybe (?)

- Home insulation

- Put it in your hair, see what happens

- Throw it at the house of someone you dislike

Maybe it was because we tried it after the Turkish Delight, but the raspberry cordial was GOOD. Too warm? Yes. Too sweet? Yes. But it reminded me of other things I’ve appreciated having in my mouth, food-wise, which is more than I can say for the Delight. This isn’t sanctioned by the book, but Emily and I feel that a little vodka mixed in with the cordial and seltzer would go a long way. Or maybe just a glass of vodka with a splash of seltzer and cordial. Or just a glass of vodka with some cordial off to the side, for the pleasing color. Who knows!"

Who knew food from fiction could be so fascinating?! Do yourself a favor and just go read the post. You can come back here later and thank me lavishly in the comments.

Pumpkin Patch

Beautiful Kinsey Family Farm. Mental note: come back at Christmas for a tree.

Yesterday we introduced ourselves to Kinsey Family Farm. It was a beautiful, warm fall day and we decided spontaneously to visit a pumpkin patch. Visiting a pumpkin patch is one of those things I felt like I had to do now that we have a child. I never grew up making this traditional October pilgrimage, so it's never been a big deal to me. But it seems to be a thing you do with your kids, so gosh darn it, I was going to do it with mine.

A pumpkin for my Pumpkin!

Piles 'o pumpkins.

\

The variety of pumpkins was really quite astonishing. I had no idea they came in white, green, or striped.

One of the things I appreciated about this particular pumpkin patch is that it cost us nothing to get in, probably because there wasn't a corn maze or face painting or other hoopla. But that suited us fine, since Violet chose this particular outing to assert her independence. Sure, there was a two-dollar hay ride, but she wanted nothing to do with it. If we wanted her to pet the goats, she insisted on going the opposite way. She wanted in the wagon, then out, then she decided to lay on the ground and refuse to budge. So it's just as well that the upfront cost was zero and we could leave whenever we needed to without feeling conned out of any fees.

Pumpkin hugger.

Plaid shirt and overalls. Yes, they dressed the part.

Heading towards the animals. How perfect is this day?!

Violet kept her distance from the animals.

I've started realizing that there just aren't that many pictures of me and Violet... I'm always the one behind the camera! Then finally seeing some pictures of the two of us make me realize, we might be ready for a camera upgrade. I know lots of you have invested in the fancy cameras, and Matt was even planning to get me one this year until I nixed the idea. I love the results, I just can't imagine lugging a big camera like that around when I have my little convenient pocket-sized point-and-click. What do you guys think? Are they worth the investment? Do you use your pricey one as much as your old one? Anyway, off topic.

How about this one?

Good choice!

So many pumpkins, so little Violet.

Sitting pretty.

So there you have it, our first family trip to a pumpkin patch. We came home with two pumpkin pie pumpkins (we'll see how that turns out), a mini pumpkin for Violet, and a jar of local honey (I've heard it will help soothe my throat/voice). It was fun, low-key, and I can totally see us coming back here one day. In fact, Matt and I have pretty much decided to make a return visit in December for a tree. We've always wanted to do the whole walk into the woods and chop down your tree thing, and this is the kind of laid-back farm where I think we could accomplish that goal.

It's funny, I was all prepared to be totally stressed out this weekend, with grades due and conferences coming up. But I got a lot done on Friday, finished up a few things here and there, and actually managed to enjoy myself. I'm totally going to credit God with giving me peace and the ability to put distractions away and really concentrate on my family. Hopefully this week will go well, or I'll wonder if I should have spent more time holed up in front of my computer. But for right now, I'm really thankful for a wonderful, relaxing weekend that reminded me of the many blessings in my life - I have an awesome husband, a sweet little girl, we're happy and healthy, the sun is shining, all's right with the world.