Gratitude Sunday

I am joining Taryn of Wooly Moss Roots in celebrating a few things that I am so very thankful for. 

This week has been kind of a long one so reflecting is all the more important.... 

- Amazingly wonderful people in my life; friends family, coworkers, everyone really! :) 

- Hugs from my Shane and snuggles from my Macabean. Coming home to love is such a blessing! 

- The temperature, smell, and fell of fall all around me. Despite a warm start to the week the last few days have been sweaters and snuggles weather! I am so ready for it to keep getting colder and colder! 

- My new fitbit ultra! I have been losing weight and inches as I watch more carefully what I eat to avoid all of my assumed allergens and I am just feeling so much better in general so I decided I would step it up a notch and get a fitbit to help me track calories, steps, etc. I was also happy to find that it has a spot to track how my allergies are impacting me. It's keeping me honest and I like that! 

- The chance to meet a colleague from across the country and share what I have been learning in my job over the past year and learning a lot from her too! 

- A few beautiful sunsets I was fortunate enough to see this week. 

- The peace one can feel when they are "understood".

- Pumpkins! I love them so much!!! 

- It's 9 days until my birthday! You would think at almost 33 the fun of birthdays would have worn down but notsomuch! :) 

What are you thankful for this week?! 

For the Love of Fall!

Last weekend my sweet husband and I went on our annual fall date day and picked a haul of apples at a local apple orchard. The weather was wonderful in the mid 50s with overcast skies that make the leaves look even more vibrant and warm. The farmer at the orchard informed us, and we already knew, it had been a rough year for the apple crop in Indiana because of the early spring and then terrible drought and he was selling all of the "Pick Your Own" apples at the price of seconds (half price) but assured us they tasted great. I think had experienced a few disappointed customers at this news but we assured him this would be a wonderful adventure and that we were looking forward to making applesauce, dry some apple rings, and eat the rest. He smiled, we thanked him for his work, and he handed us an apple picker and directed us to the back of the orchard. 

It was absolutely beautiful and so much fun to wander through the trees with the man I love scoping for "good ones", filling our bag, and enjoying the amazing day! . We ended up with about 10 or 11 lbs of apples, 5 beautiful acorn squash, another peck of a different variety of apples, apple cider, and nearly a patch of pumpkins from the farm. Yah! 

We have been enjoying apples all week and tonight I put the first batch of apples into the crockpot for applesauce! I use this recipe I found on a Year of Slow Cooking  and add about a teaspoon of clove because, well, I love clove and it is always wonderful! I always plan to freeze some but we always seem to eat it up before it makes it there :) 

Have I mentioned how much I love this time of year?!!!!! 

Gratitude Sunday (er... Monday)

I am joining Taryn of Wooly Moss Roots in celebrating a few things that I am so very thankful for.

We spent the entire weekend with our wonderful nieces and nephew while my sister and her husband celebrated their 22nd wedding anniversary! We had a wonderful time and I am so very thankful for the entire weekend and as such am a tad late in expressing my gratitude this week but I know you understand :) 

- Obviously, I am overjoyed and so very thankful for the weekend with family and with my bright, talented, beautiful, and amazing nieces and nephew. I am also thankful for the love that my sister and her husband share with their children, with us, and each other. They are truly the coolest couple I know and I am blessed to have them in my life! 

- Monday off! (it's gonna be a double post day around here)

- Finishing the single lace scarf and starting on my Nati sweater. For those of you that are familiar with the Stitch and Bitch series, I am truly a project knitter. I do find a certain zen in the process of knitting but I do love finishing a project! 

- Betty Crocker Gluten Free Cake Mix and the fact that it can be mixed using purred pumpkin! My allergies are happy and so are my taste buds (another post will come on this soon). 

- Macabean snuggles!

- The beautiful fall weather! 

- Finally meeting our next door neighbor after making friends with their super cute dog and getting him home safely. 

 - Finally feeling organized and in sync.... I am so not a summer person and the change in weather has me feeling so much more like me! :) 

A Peek Around Our Compound

For whatever reason, we have called wherever we are living the Chapman Compound. Chapman being our last name and Compound because we are prepping for the zombie apocalypse?

Now that it is feeling a lot more like my favorite season I thought I would share a little slice of life at the Compound as we welcome this much needed fall weather and feeling! 

Welcome to Our Home! (All decked out for fall!)

Yellow mums make me so happy! I love coming home everyday and seeing them all happy and loving this fall weather just as much as I do! 

I decided this year we needed a few white ones too! I love that as they finish their blossoming they turn a pretty shade of purpley pink. 

The squirrels have decided that our potato plants are the perfect place to stash nuts for the winter. Sadly, I'm going to have to disappoint them when I harvest the potatoes. My plan is to put them together so the little guys can re-bury them. 

Our rock star jalapenos are still going strong! It looks like might get two small harvests before they finish for the season. Yah! 

This past weekend I found a good deal on wool and scooped up enough for a sweater for me and a throw for the living room. My poor knitting bag is overflowing and said overflow is resting comfortably on the hearth while I work my way through projects. 

Last but not least, Macabean Butters Coon Kitty, aka Fluffy Puff, has decided that he MUST snuggle with one or both of us at all times. I can't say as though I mind (most of the time). In fact, he is laying on my arms while I type this... silly kitty! 

How are you welcoming the season into your corner of the world?

Gratitude Sunday

I am joining Taryn of Wooly Moss Roots in celebrating a few things that I am so very thankful for.

Throughout the Week I Have Been Thankful For; 

- My super supportive (and super silly) husband. He's been trying all kinds of wonky things this week as I continue with my allergen free eating journey. For a steak and bread and potatoes guy he sure has been eating a lot of greens :)

- That I have not taken my acid reflux medication in a week and have had no real signs or symptoms. I attribute this to eating (even more) whole foods and cutting out my suspected allergens. Although, I could really go for a strawberry cupcake right about now! :)

- Temperatures in the 60s!!!! Seriously, it is though Mother Earth knew I needed hoodie weather!

-Extra Macabean snuggles and the first signs of his winter ruff! Macabean is a Maine Coon mix kitty and he gets so super fluffy and puffy when it gets cold which is adorable and then because he's cold (despite the extra pounds of fur), he wants to snuggle... a lot! Which we love!! Warm snuggle kitties for the win!

- A new bag full of wool to start on a Nati sweater for me and a blanket for our living room. Both will be knit on big needles! Yah!

- My oldest nephew is now a teenager! Where on earth has the time gone?! He is so sweet, caring, goofy, and just plain awesome. I love being his (and the girls) Auntie! :)

- Meeting a new friend at knitting group that reminded me a lot of my stepmom. Fun stuff!

- Did I mention fall weather and kitty snuggles (and Shane snuggles too?!)

- Hugs! I'm a hugger and I have had a few good ones this week!

- Supportive emails from friends I don't get to see near enough. Even a line or two makes a huge difference in someone's day. I would like to give that to others more often.

- Hoodie weather!!!!!  (Okay... I'll stop now... until next week that is :)

Gratitude Sunday

I am joining Taryn of Wooly Moss Roots in celebrating a few things that I am so very thankful for. 

Throughout the Week I Have Been Thankful For; 

- Even though I am not happy with the initial answers, I am happy to get some clarity on the allergies that have been plaguing me my entire life and have been terrible this year. Not only am I allergic to lots of environmental type things that I had suspected for years (molds, pollens, etc), I also showed allergy antibodies to wheat, corn, eggs, peanuts, walnuts, and sesame seeds. I am in the process of finding an allergist to have some additional testing done to better understand the initial results. On a related note, if anyone has any recipes or meal suggestions, please let me know. Thankfully, I am an adventurous eater for the most part so I am using this as an opportunity to try lots of new things!

- The weather this week has been absolutely beautiful! I am so thankful for the cooler temperatures, the wee chill in the breeze, and the need to wear a sweater in the evenings! Yah!!!!!! :)

- Apples and almond butter! Between the weather and the fact that it is one of few treats that I have figured out for myself to enjoy this early in my allergy journey, they have made the week a tad bit sweeter! :)

- I wrapped up teaching two classes this week which will leave me more knitting time in the evenings.

- A date night on Thursday with my hubby and a great night with a few girlfriends on Friday night!

- On that same note, we saw Jason Mraz under the stars on Friday! It was a beautiful night, I was with wonderful friends, and of course the music was fantastic!

- The kitty snuggles and nap that prevented me from posting this earlier :)

- Iced chai!!! The perfect transition beverage into the hot tea of fall :)

What have you been thankful for this week?

Happy Critters!

While I will spare you the photographic evidence (and because every battery in this house seems to be dead right now), I gave Shane a much needed haircut on the back deck tonight. Based on the amount of soft Shane locks on said deck, methinks the birds, squirrels, and other creatures will be very happy (and warm) this fall and winter! 

The best part was not being bitten by mosquitoes but the cool, crisp breeze reminding me that fall is SO close! 

Yah! 

Gratitude Sunday

I am joining Taryn of Wooly Moss Roots in celebrating a few things that I am so very thankful for. 

Throughout the Week I Have Been Thankful For; 

-The weather yesterday! We woke up to slightly overcast skies, rain soaked earth, and 50 degree temperatures outside. The high warmed to 70 and the skies cleared (boo, I really love overcastedness), and a cool breeze moved through. It reminded me that my favorite season is just around the corner! It felt so real and so exciting! 

- A good surprise visit with friends yesterday that took us away from yard work for a bit (yah!). 

- The Best Mail Day Ever!!!!! (P.S., Taryn, I am wearing my new earrings today and I love them even more on!!!) 

- The smell and warm hugs of my husband. Cheesy as it may sound he completes me! 

- A long and wonderful phone call with my Neesebug (my sister Denise) :) 

- A cozy and cheerful knitting group with my favorite knitters on Wednesday night. Complete with local wine! 

- Game of Thrones... after finishing Entourage last week I was anxious for another TV series to get engrossed in and it totally delivers nerd style :) 

- The way that yarn feels as it turns into a shawl (that is ready to bind off methinks) as the temperatures turn a shade cooler and not as blistering. 

- Crockpots! I have been making loads of chicken broth and black beans to freeze for fall and winter and crockpots make it so easy! I can't wait for some local apples to make butter and sauce! 

- More lavender drying. I just love the stuff! 

- Mums! We bought mums yesterday and planted them in pots around the front door. Just another reminder that the beauty of fall is *this* close! 

- Orthodontist free! I was released from my Orthodontist this week. After 4 years in braces in high school and then a second round as an adult to help with my TMJ I am now Orthodontist free (not retainer free mind you as retainers are forever :D

- Water! Clean drinking water, rain water, the feeling of a good shower after a long day of yard work, water! 

What have you been thankful for this week? 

I Love Pumpkins!

So one of my favorite things about fall is the return of the pumpkin! I have always loved pumpkins as evidence by a really adorable picture of me from when I was about 2 or 3 hugging a giant pumpkin with a big smile on my face. While I can't seem to locate the picture, I assure it has made the rounds.

I don't tend to like to carve them however, I do enjoy pumpkin ice cream, pumpkin bread, pumpkin muffins, etc... which makes this time of year absolutely wonderful!

Yesterday, Shane and I visited Tuttles Orchards, a you pick it farm, about half an hour from our apartment. We picked apples, our pumpkins, and got some local honey and apple cider from the farm store. It was a perfect day with my adorable husband and my favorite little orange friends!

... and a few extra little beautiful things we saw along the way...