What I Learned in September

And just like that, September is over. Wasn't it just beginning? Wasn't I just headed to IKEA with Amber right at the first of the month? And now we sail headlong into the final quarter of the year, and I'm already heavily dependent on my day planner to keep me organized on my meetings, appointments, and obligations!

I did learn a few things in September, and here they are (in no particular order):

1. I don't hate color-coded book organization.

Most of you know that I tend to buck a good trend. I come to like things just as they go out of style, it seems. This month I finally decided to try organizing my nonfiction books by color, rather than alphabetically. I've had my books alphabetized since high school, and I adored the ease of finding the book I wanted based on the author's name. But my bookcase felt chaotic in my little office. So early this month, I took down all the books and sorted them by spine color. I will have to relearn all the locations of the books on the shelves, but I love the increased beauty of the room now that they're color coded. One of my friends saw a picture and said it seemed to be calmer this way. I'll take that! Guess this is a trend I should have been willing to try earlier!

2. We enjoy playing Dutch Blitz.

My game night friends are hard-core Dutch Blitz players, and they started teaching me the game about a decade ago when we began our semi-annual game nights. When Ryan and I got married, they gifted us our very own Dutch Blitz deck, but we never played. It wasn't that we didn't want to or didn't like the game; we just never spend much time at home playing games. But after our last game night, Ryan and I decided it would be fun to add at-home game playing to our list of things we enjoyed. I pulled the cards out of storage and several times throughout this month, we've played in the evening before we go to sleep. It's fun! We should have done it before now!

3. Linda Purl and Desi Arnaz Jr. were married for a year.

Ryan and I love to watch Matlock, and the series started over on TV this month. We were looking up something about Linda Purl, who plays Ben Matlock's daughter Charlene in the early episodes, and that's when we learned that many years ago, she was married to Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz's son, Desi Jr. Who knew????

4. Writing for a jewelry website is fun.

I've been helping Ryan's cousin get her jewelry website up and running. She's a fantastic artist and designer, and she asked if I would help her write descriptions for her jewelry. I nearly wore out my brain a few times as I wrote, but it was a really fun project and a completely different kind of writing than I've ever done before. (It kind of threw me back to my promo-writing days at the station!) I've learned many things about the world of jewelry, and I've also learned how to sit back and look at pieces to see what sort of description inspiration hits me!

5. Air shows are fun.

Ryan and I went to our first ever air show this month. It was a free event just a few miles from our home, and we had so much fun! We aren't huge plane junkies, but we loved seeing them up close and getting to see all the many talents of the stunt pilots. (We also learned that air shows last much longer than we imagined they would!)

6. My cousin won an Emmy.

(Picture was from Facebook)

I had to include that because let's be real here...how many of us can say that? What makes that whole sentence even stranger is I really don't have very many cousins. My family is extraordinarily small in number - on both Mom and Dad's sides. (Which is why marrying into something like 80 immediate family members was somewhat of a culture shock event for me.) Anyway! I don't really understand all the rules for first/second/third cousins, and I certainly don't understand the removed thing, but I have a couple of cousins whose grandpa was a brother to my grandma. They're younger than I am by just a few years (not too many) and when we were all kids, I really enjoyed the chance to be around them whenever I could. We would play together if there happened to be a family event. I haven't been as close to them in our adult years, but I did learn that one of them, Michael, won an Emmy for his production work on a Netflix series. (We don't have Netflix, so I know nothing about anything on there.) Still - pretty cool to see red carpet pictures and photos of him up on stage accepting his award!

7. Life in Pieces was canceled.

It was one of our favorite shows, and we are sad it won't be back this fall. Apparently this news was actually released last May, but we're the last ones to know about it.

The Shafferland Shuffle

First of all, HAPPY NATIONAL COFFEE DAY!!!! We hope you celebrate (and heartily, at that)! Secondly, we hope to have enough energy today to lift our coffee cups up to our faces. We are pooped! (You'll soon see why.) And here's a look at our week!

* Our church had a baptism service last Sunday, and we really enjoyed hearing the testimonies of those who participated! We had Phoebe with us for most of the day, and she was a good little Shaffer-like family member and took a proper Sunday nap. I tried so hard to cheer for the Colts, but I slept through the entire game. I was so tired! 

* Monday morning, Ryan sent me this GORGEOUS rainbow picture. He saw it from work, and I'm so glad he did, because I couldn't see it very well from our house. I have to show you these other two pictures I took that just cracked me up. I was getting ready to work out, and I found Braeya sitting with the weights, as though pondering a workout of her own. Five minutes later, I took the next picture. Ha! 

* I worked in the office all day Tuesday, printing out new planner pages for next year, writing for the church, and knocking things off the to-do list left and right. We're in the middle of planning for our fall event for women, so I'm staying busy! But that night, after both of us were done working, we watched a movie and ate popcorn. Kind of like a little midweek mini-date!

* Wednesday (and several other days this week) had a beautiful sunrise that I thoroughly enjoyed! It was Bible study night for me, so Ryan made me a latte and sent me on my way to learn! (One of my friends that comes with me to Bible study also has dinner with us on Wednesdays, and we always love having her join us!)

* I noticed on Thursday that the trees in the woods down the road are starting to turn! They always turn red, and I love that! I spent some time organizing blankets that ladies from our church made and donated for a service project. They donated forty-eight! I was impressed! We went to Wendy's for dinner that night, where the cashier said to us, "Oh hey! I know you guys! You're regulars!" Then he said to Ryan, "It's Kevin, right?" So now Ryan is Kevin when we go to Wendy's. :) 

* And that brings us to our huge weekend project, which started on Friday. To round out the projects we've had done outside this summer, we wanted to lay down some stone to finish the landscaping. When we moved in, the landscaping stone ran all along the front of the house, down one side of the driveway, and down one side of the house. We wanted to take it across the back, down the other side, and then match up the driveway. So we borrowed a truck, went to get stone, and hauled a load home. We planned to work all evening, but we got hit with some pretty hefty rain, so we had to take occasional pause breaks in the worst of the rain. (Ryan still worked through a lot of it, though.) We thought we accomplished a decent amount, considering that little hiccup!

* Then yesterday, we got up early and finished the project! It took two more trips for stone, but we completed it! It took something like 8 ton of stone and 45 wheelbarrow loads to get it from the truck to the house, but we did it! And that is why we probably won't be able to move today. Ryan always has such great vision for these projects, and he works so hard. I'm proud of him!

The Saturday Six

One.

I love this idea. Imagine removing the knife block from cluttering up the counter top!! (It is my least favorite counter item, actually.)

Two.

This gift idea made me giggle. It's like your very own version of awkward family photos! (And let's face it...most of us could easily make this.) If you do make one of these, please make sure your family has a good sense of humor!

Three.

As you might remember, I'm on the lookout for some DIY ornaments so I can theme up a couple of new trees this year. I found this post with some ideas for dressing up clear plastic (or glass if you don't have kids, pets, or a clumsy nature) ornaments. I have actually made ornaments using that glitter method before, and they turn out quite stunning. (And it's not as messy as you might think, for those of you who aren't glitter fans. I mean it could be a lot worse.)

Four.

We have a monthiversary, engagementversary, and anniversary coming up over the next three months, so this was a fun post to find: anniversary food ideas! If we're not going out to eat (or out for a treat) I try to always make something special to eat on our monthiversary, so it's always good to have some new ideas. And of course, good food isn't just for the married. Treat yourself, even if you're single! I remember doing that now and then in my single days, just to celebrate who God made me to be!

Five.

I'm super excited to share this one with you! Ryan's cousin is a talented jewelry designer, and she just went full time with it, rather than doing it on the side as she has been. Angie launched her website yesterday, and I am just so proud of her. I helped her with the writing, so it's been a fun project to share with her. Go check out her work!  (Fun fact: She made the bracelet Ryan gave me on our wedding day, and she also made his wedding tie chain to match it.)

Six.

I read this idea a while ago, so I bought the Epsom salts to actually do it. (I need to make that a priority in the next week or two.) You take your old essential oil bottles and take off the lids/droppers and then let the last bits of oil mix with the salts. I use bath salts when I do pedicures, and I ran out of the bottle I had. Rather than buying an expensive new bottle, I just purchased Epsom salts and will scent them with my leftover oils. Much cheaper.

October Goals

Next week brings about the final quarter of the year, and (at least here) that means the beginning of even heavier list-making so I do my best to make sure I don't forget anything major that needs to be accomplished before the landslide of November and December.

I'm sure I won't accomplish every single thing on this list, but here are some hopes I have, anyway, for the month of October.

* Annual family photos. This one is already on the calendar, but I'm listing it first in case any of you have forgotten to schedule pictures! Ryan and I got engaged in the fall back in 2012, so we had fall engagement photos taken. We've made it a tradition to get new pictures every fall, and we use those for our Christmas cards, too. We'll hope for a decent-to-good weather day on the day of our appointment!

* Find clothes/ideas for said photos. Having the appointment is only half the battle. We need to figure out our clothing scheme for this year and come up with some creative photo ideas. We have a fantastic photographer who always comes to every shoot extremely well-prepared, but I have a little theme idea to throw in the mix this year, so I need to at least met her halfway!

* Organize our bedroom. As you know, we spent the month of September doing a major cleanout of our office. I started it, but Ryan jumped on board and over the last week, he has worked so very hard to go through boxes and piles, throw things away, organize paperwork, and make sure the office looks and stays in great shape. Now we need to take all that cleaning and organization energy and move it into another room! We've declared the bedroom to be the next room to tackle. It's really not in horrible shape - until you start opening drawers. Eek!

* Finish the book of Luke. For my devotions this year, I'm reading very slowly through the Gospels. I counted out my remaining sections in Luke and I should finish the book in October, which will bring me to the very last Gospel! I'm excited for that! (I also need to order my commentary to read along with the book of John. Yes, I just used my blog as a personal sticky note to remind me to do that.)

* Continue my 21 Day Fix workouts. You might remember that about 3 years ago, I did the 21 Day Fix to lose weight. Though we have tried to keep up the eating principles of the Fix, I can't do the workouts every single day of the year. Eventually my body gets used to them and they stop working. So I'll take breaks and come back to them periodically. I just finished up my second week of using them again, and I think I have a few more weeks of doing that series every day before I need to switch up again.

* Plan out all the Christmas ornaments I need to make. I'm adding two trees to our house this year, and for at least one of them, I plan to make all the ornaments. The tree I know I'm DIY'ing will be our office tree, so I want to make ornaments from book pages. I don't think it will be hard to do, but I need to just carve out the time to do it. November is crazy crazy busy, so I need to get this at least planned, if not underway, in October.

* Go on a fun fall outing with Ryan. We have our potential days set aside (since we don't have many free ones to choose from) but we haven't yet figured out what we plan to do. Hiking is at the top of the list!

And of course, there are all the regular things we have on the calendar: leading small group, getting the women's ministry ready for our big fall event, finishing up my participation in women's Bible study, keeping up with life. And maybe somewhere in there: sleeping?

The Perfect Fall Day

I have really enjoyed writing for these fall blog prompts. It's gotten my heart all ready for fall, and it's been fun to have some writing direction each week! Today is the last prompt in the series, and it's about the perfect fall day.

At first I planned to write about things that would make up my ideal fall day, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized I've lived some of those days right out loud before. During the last couple of weeks, I've learned of the deaths of a couple of young friends - friends who had a lot more perfect fall days to live in the dreams of their hearts, but the Lord called them Home to Heaven. (And let's face it: ALL the days are perfect there, so I can't mourn anything for those people, because every single day is perfection for them now. But for those who wanted to share perfect fall days with them here on this earth, that reality is fresh and painful, and it has reminded me of the importance of making the most of those opportunities with our loved ones while we have the chance to do so.)

So in the spirit of celebrating the perfect days I've had a chance to live, let me share a few of the highlights with you! (I tried to pick one from each year we've been together, including the year we were engaged.)

* Our Day-Trip to Brown County. If you're not from Indiana, then Brown County likely means nothing to you, but if you're from here, and you hear Brown County and fall in the same sentence, you know it means BEAUTIFUL LEAVES! The day after Ryan surprised me with an on-air proposal, we both took the day off work and drove to Brown County to spend the day hiking, looking at pretty leaves, and planning our wedding. It was an absolutely gorgeous day (until the end when we got drenched in a downpour) and when you get to combine a vacation day, an all-day date, pretty leaves, AND wedding planning all in one occasion, that may actually be THE perfect day.

* Apple Orchards and Pumpkin Carving with Friends. We had been married about 7 months when we headed to the Chicago area for a weekend to spend some time with one of my friends from college. She (and her husband and two kids) hadn't met Ryan yet, so we drove up, stayed with them, and had the best time enjoying all that fall has to offer. They took us to their favorite orchard (photo props galore!!) and then we had a pumpkin carving contest. Even though pumpkin guts gross me out and I'm quite terrible at carving, it was SO MUCH FUN. We took pictures of our carvings and put them on Facebook for people to vote. The combo of friends and fall made it a winner of a weekend!

* Work Days at Home. WHAT?! How is that a perfect fall day? Well, I'll tell you. This memory comes from back in 2014, when Ryan and I were exhausted double-commuters. We were never home, because we were always either at work or in the car. (Separately.) Days at home were absolute gold, and they were about as rare as finding gold, I might add. This day was gorgeous where the weather was concerned, but it also included sleeping in, getting to spend the day together, accomplishing much, eating outside, and being oh-so-grateful for a husband like Ryan to share some of these chores that would nearly undo me in my single days. (There was a giant spider involved.) It may be a different kind of perfect day, but it still was perfect!

* New York in the Fall. In 2015, Ryan and I took a giant vacation in the fall. We started out in Virginia and then made our way north to New York before coming home. It was SUCH a fun vacation in a billion different ways, but our time in New York was picturesque for sure. We spent a day in Letchworth State Park, which was stunning in all its fall foliage glory. And then we spent a full, full, full day at Niagara Falls. I'd been there before, as a child, but it was Ryan's first visit. And I had no idea that the beauty factor goes up tenfold when you visit in the fall. WOW. If you've never gone there in the fall, DO IT.

* Christmas Pictures and County Tours. If you're new here, you might not know this, but Ryan and I are on a quest to visit all 92 counties in our state and do something fun while we're there. As you can imagine, when we get to see counties in the fall, there's the potential for much beauty! Back in 2016, we visited Delaware County (which is where Muncie and Ball State University are located, if that helps you have a point of reference). We happened to have our annual Christmas photos taken there that day, in this beautiful nature area, and then we ate at a delicious restaurant full of character, got to see some unusual things in the city, had donuts from a great bakery, and of course: coffee. We both loved that day so much!

* Corn Maze and Apple Orchard. We took another long weekend trip in the fall of 2017, and we knocked three more counties off our list while we were gone! All these were in northwest Indiana, up by Lake Michigan. To this day, we maintain that for whatever reason, that trip was one of the most relaxing times away we have ever enjoyed. We hiked dunes, we shopped, we slept in, we had so much fun. But one of the last minute additions to the trip was a stop at an apple orchard and corn maze that we hadn't even known about when we went on the trip. We spent a whole afternoon there, and it was so much fun! And those donuts...

* Hiking with Friends. Last fall was SO HARD. We had an insanely busy season on our own anyway, and then late October was when we found out about Ryan's mom's brain tumor, and then she had surgery, and then she lived with us for a while, and then we were busy visiting her in hospitals and out at her house...it was quite a lot for one fall. But smack in the middle of it all, we had one day that we were able to sneak away (and we each took a friend) and hike a GORGEOUS state park here in Indiana. I wrote about it here, here, and here - because I had way too many pictures for one post. It was kind of a chilly day, but we adored the chance to be away, be out in nature, be with our friends, and sort of talk through life. We both loved this day.

And so we have yet to make a proper fall memory this year. We'll get there! (Fall is just starting to arrive, weather-wise, so we will be sure to do something fun and memorable.)

I am so grateful for each of these days from each of these years. I am grateful for a husband who loves to make memories with me, and I'm grateful for friends who add to the joy, too!

It's All Random

If today's post were a Jeopardy category, it would be "Potpourri for 200, Alex." I present to you, in no particular or coordinating order, the randomness of my brain.

* Yesterday morning I worked on archiving some old blog posts, and I've entered into the posts from early 2010. They are particularly intriguing to me, because I know in the ones I'm reading right now, I had just officially entered into my relationship with Isaac, but I never blogged about that in real time. I see my giddy grins and know I was crazy happy, but I also know the hard fall of lost love is about to take over those posts. I didn't blog about that in real time either, so I'm interested to see if I succeeded or failed in keeping an even tone in blogging while my personal life went through its biggest upheaval ever.

* And speaking of old blog posts, I found one from early 2010 where I posted a picture of myself and commented that I seemed to "suddenly looking 40." Hey there, Baby Bekah. Calm down with the 40 trash talk. It's not so bad! (Here's the photo.)

* For the last couple of evenings, Ryan has been cleaning out his side of the office, which, by the way, has given him the same sort of glee that cleaning my side gave me earlier this month! Anyway, he found all the old paperwork from when I first bought our Marion house. He was still almost 10 years away from being part of my life, and I was terrified. I told him to keep everything - just for nostalgia's sake. That way when we "suddenly turn 80" we can sit around and drink (decaf) coffee and comment on when we were whippersnappers and houses were cheap.

* Yesterday I printed all my monthly calendar pages for 2020. I'm so excited about it! Planning ahead is, as you know, one of my love languages, and I already have a few things to scribble in the squares of 2020. I have them all hole punched and in my binder, and I'm ready to get a full set of Flair pens again so I have all the colors I need to properly color-code.

* We haven't yet had a fall fire pit extravaganza, and I'm itching for a s'more. In all of our yard sprucing up, Ryan wasn't sure he even wanted to keep the fire pit, because we don't use it regularly. But I feel a bit more complete as a homeowner with a fire pit in the back yard, so I convinced him to keep it a little longer. Hopefully this weekend will be a perfect weather moment for just such an occasion!

* Ryan told me that Life in Pieces was canceled, and I'm sad. That was one of our favorite shows.

* Speaking of TV, we were so exhausted last night that we fell asleep on the couch after dinner and woke up to the Andy Griffith theme song whistling away. Ryan said, "Well, I guess we're the people down the street, now." When we take evening walks, there's a house down the road that ALWAYS has the Andy Griffth show playing and the windows open. We've never seen the people who live there, but apparently we're becoming them.

So there you have it! Not exactly a life-changing day of posting, but I would like to take credit for more content than the day back in 2010 when I posted to say I had nothing to say.

True story. 

Miss Pheebs the Cuddler

Fall is officially here!! (Maybe not in weather, depending on where you live, but it's here on the calendar!) We're celebrating its arrival with a fun fall Q&A! It's a fall this-or-that, and we're weighing in with our personal favorites. Hope you enjoy!

Listen here!

Miss Phoebe came to hang out with us this weekend. She absolutely cracks me up. This is absolutely her second home, and she doesn't even hesitate when she waltzes in the front door. I love it!!

As usual, we turned into the Barones, with blankets covering the couch, and she'd pick among red, tan, and blue every time she jumped up. This picture was during the red blanket visit.

Trying to take a picture in motion is easier said than done. I should have turned on the live feature. :) We started out on our evening walk and about a block into it, she was ready to go back home, but we convinced her to finish it, and by the end, she owned that walk!

We went to visit Ryan at work on Saturday. She cheered up a few people and then we came back home!

Lunchtime naps...

We had dinner plans that night, so we took her back to her house to hang out while we went to our friends' house. (We try to give Braeya breaks from hiding from dogs whenever we can.)

On the way home, we had to make a Lowe's run, and she loved visiting the Christmas section. (That is my chosen interpretation of that visit, thankyouverymuch.)

She went back to her house for a little bit on Sunday while we went to church and then she crashed HARD with me all during the Colts game. I was the worst fan on Sunday!! I was so exhausted and absolutely could NOT stay awake no matter what!!

Phoebe's people came to get her right before dinner, but we sure loved having her for the weekend! Puppy snuggles and cuddles for the win!

A Husband's Grace

Friday I told you about the grace of my high school chemistry teacher. Today I have another grace story for you, and it features my very favorite person: Ryan.

I tell this story partly because I love telling people the wonderful things he does, but I tell it also because a very small gesture made a very great impact, and I think we need to hear of those moments we can take every opportunity to make them happen for others!

***

Money.

Boy, that's a subject in just about every marriage, isn't it? It's actually never been a big deal for us, and when I say that, I don't mean that we have an unending supply and never have to worry about it. We've certainly had our share of financial blessings and hardships, but it's not a subject we fight about. We're both interested in saving as much as we can, and neither of us leans toward being the last of the big-time-spenders. We know what we have, we know what we need, we give, we save, we spend, and we don't have secrets from each other about what we're doing with money. (Other than gifts FOR each other, of course.)

We don't have his-and-hers money. We have our money, and that's what works for us. Maybe it works differently in your house, and if that's what works for you, that's fine, too!

In our current life situations, Ryan works outside our home and brings in 99% (+) of our income. My income ebbs and flows with writing assignments and speaking engagements. This working arrangement of ours is what we feel called to in this season, and Ryan never makes me feel inferior in the times when I'm not bringing in much income.

(That's all background you're going to need to know in a moment.)

Because I'm not out and about all that much, I rarely need cash, but Ryan tries to make sure I always have at least a twenty on hand just in case I need or want it. (Then I proceed to play a self-induced game of seeing how long I can make that twenty last!)

A couple of weeks ago, he'd given me a new twenty, as my previous one had given up its final ghost at a Goodwill sale. I began my new game of seeing how long I could make it last, and I was happy as a little lark. (Out of curiosity - how happy are larks, anyway?)

We had a busy week and Ryan asked if I would have time to mow the yard for him, because he just didn't have enough daylight hours to get it done that week. Of course! No problem. I was happily buzzing through the yard when I heard a MASSIVE grinding sound and bits of green plastic went flying everywhere.

Uh oh.

I forgot to go around and pick up the drain pop-ups before I mowed. The grass was tall enough around that one that it had blended right in, and I hadn't even seen it.

I properly destroyed that little piece of plastic. It never felt a thing. I picked up all the shards, threw them away, removed the REST of the pop-ups before continuing and mowed the whole yard. When Ryan came home for lunch, I confessed my mishap, and while he wasn't angry by any means, he did grimace a little. I thought that was kind of strange, so I said, "Well how much do they cost?"

He said, "Oh about twenty dollars."

TWENTY DOLLARS!?!?!!?!? FOR A LITTLE GREEN PIECE OF PLASTIC????

I should add that in addition to the one I had just destroyed, our cement workers had destroyed two more on the other side of the yard. You see how this bill is rapidly adding up here, don't you? I figured they cost maybe five to seven dollars each, so with the other two, we were looking at no more than twenty dollars TOPS. Not twenty dollars EACH.

Gulp.

After he went back to work, I went to my wallet and pulled out my beloved twenty and laid it on Ryan's nightstand.

When he came home and saw it, he said, "What is this?"

I told him I wanted to pay for what I destroyed. He said, "It's all our money anyway. You don't have to give me this. Just keep it."

I said, "I will be certain to be more careful in the future if I donate my fun money to the pop up drain fund." (I am a great self-mom.)

He never said anything else, and we went on about our day.

The next day I had to look for something in my wallet, and when I opened it, I found my twenty with a pink sticky note that said, "I love you."

I may never spend that twenty. I may frame it and hang it in my office to remind me of my husband's great grace.

It's not about twenty dollars. It's not about his money/her money/our money. It's that he saw my guilt and set me free.

I love how he teaches me grace.

I love him, too!

The Shafferland Shuffle

Morning!!! Happy Sunday! Hope you're having a great morning! We are knee deep in refereeing Braeya/Phoebe interactions, but I thought I'd pause the shenanigans to fill you in on our week!

* Last Sunday, Ryan and I went to "Church in the Barn" and loved it! It was a service in an actual barn - and we got to meet up with friends we see a few times a year when I speak at their church. Great morning! We took log afternoon naps and ended the day with the Colts game (viewed on a delay here because of the aforementioned church and subsequent dinner).

* I knocked out so much work in the office this week, starting with some podcast editing on Monday. Love my new little setup in that room. Ryan and I had to run some errands that evening, so we stopped by Starbucks for coffee on the way. (We've been so busy enjoying gift cards to local coffee shops that we hadn't been to Starbucks since JUNE if you can believe that!) I also found the Christmas tree section of Lowe's and was in the happiest possible place.

* Ryan had THREE lunch meetings this week, so I was a lunchtime widow most of the week. On Tuesday I hunkered down with my lunch and Matlock and pretended like he was there anyway. Ha! And then someone showed up for dessert. She was so hopeful. She did not win. We hosted small group at our house that night - almost a full house! We had a great time and were so glad that so many hung around after it was over to talk!

* I spent some time writing in the office on Wednesday, and before I went to Bible study that night, Ryan started spray-painting another piece for our office! (I was so glad my friend Amber suggested the paint job, because it was pretty boring-looking before that.) Our Bible study that night was about Jesus being the Bread of Life, so our leader made bread and brought it. It was so pretty!

* We are repairing our yard from all the damage done by the construction workers when we had our projects this summer, so Ryan began his Thursday by spreading straw over the newly planted grass. (I proceeded to entirely soak myself in the sprinkler when I went out later to move it to another direction. Sigh.) It was therapy week at Ryan's work - and they had ice cream sundaes to celebrate that day! AND!!!! I got pretty new fall flowers for my table that night!

* Phoebe came to stay with us starting Friday, and we had fun taking her on a walk that night. (She was done with the walk about a quarter of the way through it, but I convinced her she could persevere and she did.) My favorite part of the walk? WE GOT TO SEE A REAL DEER!!!!

* Ryan worked yesterday, so Pheebs and I went to visit him. One of the patients asked me if Phoebe was a therapy dog. Well, no, but she would make a good one! After Ryan got off work, we had dinner with some friends, and it was SUCH A FUN NIGHT! I fear we may have overstayed our welcome, but we loved talking with them! (And they make delicious food!)

The Saturday Six

One.

This blogger says this post is for nursery décor (and indeed this would be very adorable in a nursery) but I think it could just as easily be used or adapted for a playroom, classroom, or any room occupied by a person who loves fun things and is essentially an overgrown child. (Ahem. Bekah.) I mean, who doesn't love pinwheels? It appears to be both simple and cost effective to make, which makes it an all-around win in my budget-driven book!

Two. 

My friend Kari introduced me to this site this week. Here are some two word phrases to describe it: uh oh and yes please, and then to Ryan: I'm sorry and blame Kari. Seriously. Go look.

Three.

I think I may have asked about this before (probably last year) but don't remember seeing an answer, so I'll ask again just for kicks. Has anyone ever used the website "Checked Twice?" I read about it in a list of suggestions for gift registry sites (like for birthdays and Christmas and such) and it topped the list for being user-friendly and for allowing people to add an item from any site on the web. (And that's what I want.) I just wondered if anyone had experience with it and had particular feelings in either direction.

Four.

In a little bit of essential oil fun, I thought this article about lavender essential oil was extremely informative and helpful. I love the smell of lavender oil, and we diffuse it often around here. I've also used it to help reduce mosquito bite itch (since I'm a buffet, you know) and curling iron burns. (Ryan tends not to get those as often.) But this article even taught me a few things I didn't know about lavender! Side note: I would love to see a huge lavender field someday. I think it would just be lovely to experience.

Five.

I love her fall home décor - AND her pantry door. Uh oh.

Six.

Maybe I'm about three seasons behind on this, but I've started noticing the layered doormat look in many of the home tours I've seen on blogs. I really like that look! (I think I love it partly because our doormat is a personalized one that we received as a housewarming gift, so that part of our porch always looks the same. Layering would change up the look.) I found this very detailed post on how to make a layered mat yourself! (If you check out the post, it is very long, so the DIY portion for the bottom layered mat is clear at the bottom. If you'd like to also learn how to stencil your own doormat, the first part of the post teaches that.)