Saturday Suggestions

 

ONE. 

One of the things I worked on this week was planning our meals for the month of February. I already told you I’m working on a bigger, long-term plan to have a year-long rotating menu plan. Though I am not following this plan layout specifically (at least yet), I loved the idea of having a theme for each day of the week and using that to drive your planning. I could absolutely see this becoming a planning theme for us over time, especially if my current method becomes cumbersome as the year goes on!

TWO. 

I told you this week that we hosted our friends from out of state who come to see us almost every year on their way to a marriage retreat. They’ve stayed with us four times, and two of those were right around the losses of Allen and Nita, so we were a bit out of sorts. This time we’re in the process of moving, so we’re kind of a mess. We have great hopes that one day we’ll feel like good hosts when they arrive. I am keeping this in my backpocket for when that day comes. SO many ideas for double dates and group dates. While I might not feel that every idea presented is a fit for us personally, there are some really fun finds in here!

THREE. 

I am so excited to get our new home at least partially assembled so I can start showing you some of the things we’ve done and how it’s all coming together. We are officially in the finishing-touch stage, and it’s SO EXCITING to think this will really be happening soon. I have a Pinterest board with tons of ideas for colors/furniture placement/fixtures, etc. thispost has served as an inspiration piece for our  home office and guest room. This is the first time ever that we’ve had to combine the function of those two rooms. (We are going from a three-bedroom home to a two-bedroom home, so the guest room and office will have to share a space. I’m not replicating this room exactly, but she gave me some great ideas of how to make it work. (Her furniture is similar to ours, so that helps.) I also just want to go stay in her guest room! Looks so inviting!

FOUR. 

I was hunting around for a dessert to make for Valentine’s Day and happened upon this one. I don’t know if I’ll make it or choose something else, but I thought these were so pretty! The author of the post shares the recipe, which isn’t overly healthy (hello, butter and sugar) but it DOES teach you how to make a frosting that relies on the color from raspberries, rather than red food coloring. I know there are many people who can’t have red dye in their diet, so this is a fantastic alternative. Also, the lemon/raspberry flavor combination sounds pretty delicious to me. I may have to try it for that alone.

FIVE. 

Earlier this week, I talked about teaching ourselves to look for God in all the big and small areas of life. When I took the “One Thousand Gifts” challenge from Ann Voskamp’s book a decade ago, I used a composition notebook to keep track of them all. But I love the idea of using this five-year diary book to count those gifts of seeing God at work. This particular book is undated, so you can start it at any time. Each page is meant to serve for five years, so you can, by the end of that time, look back and see what was happening on that day each of the years prior. You could count as many ways you see God at work as you can fit into the lines and have a beautiful record at the end of that time!

SIX. 

Ryan and I did a do-over on last month’s semi-failed monthiversary date. We had extra fancy hot cocoa bombs this time and although we didn't do the popcorn on this particular night, that had been part of the plan, so let's talk about popcorn! We've been using a really yummy white cheddar seasoning on ours lately, but I found this post with ideas for homemade popcorn seasonings. I haven’t tried them…yet. But once we get moved and settled a bit, I absolutely want to try some of these!

Hope you find something that fits you this week. Happy weekend, my friends!