Saturday Suggestions: Ideas for Your Weekend

As I write this to you, we are anticipating a winter storm, so I have no idea if today will be a day we can get out of the house or hunker down inside it. But just in case hunkering down is on your to-do list, I have some things for you to check out while you sip your coffee! (Or hot chocolate. Or tea.)

ONE.

I told you earlier this week about our January monthiversary, and that made me go on the hunt for good ideas for winter date activities. I found this list, which has a lot of fun ideas! We’ve done many of them over the last decade +, but I found some intriguing ideas for more fun! In particular, I liked the idea of looking for a local winter festival (since we haven’t really explored that in this area too much), visiting an indoor botanical garden (WARMTH!), learning to paint (since Ryan just got a kit for Christmas!), and going on a winter scavenger hunt! BONUS: I also have been praying through this daily list every single day this month. I pray for Ryan regularly anyway, but having these specific prayers to pray over him this month has provided a great intentional practice for me. If you aren’t praying regularly for your spouse (or future spouse) I encourage you to do it!

TWO. 

After my aesthetic disaster with my tasty layered cake over the weekend, I looked for ways to do better next time. I found these ideas for making the cake look more cohesive once the layers are stacked and the frosting is applied. I still think part of my problem was that my frosting wasn’t quite stiff enough, but even so, I learned a lot from this post! Stay tuned to see if I can put any of it into practice!

THREE. 

If you survived reading my Day in the Life post, you’re my hero! That was LONG!!! I mentioned in that post that we were expecting some winter storms this weekend, and I feel like that is probably true of everyone across the country, regardless of where they live! (I had one family member in a blizzard path and another in a tornado path on the same day this year!) But if the storm hitting you today is more a storm of life or the soul, maybe these words will be helpful to you! I know some of you are going through some really tough things!

FOUR. 

I shared with you how we decorated for the winter months here in our home, and I found some additional inspiration for how to do that in YOUR home if you haven’t already! Yvonne at the Stone Gable blog shared her ideas – which are largely about neutral colors, bright whites, green plants, and soft light. But it’s beautiful – including the throw blanket she made! BONUS: I also found this winter home tour that has subtle (and not pink!) nods to Valentine’s Day. There were a BUNCH of things I loved in this one, including her wooden snowflakes on the living room wall, the wreath on the INSIDE of her door, the burlap that covers her faux stems in her glassware, and her use of winter candid photos in frames. I really need to do some digging for great winter photos we can use in framing. Why do I not think of these things???

FIVE. 

Yesterday I encouraged you to write about the places you’ve lived in your life, and I found this post, written by a military wife who spent some time in England. I find England fascinating anyway, but this entire post about what life is like living there was such a fun read! This is the kind of thing I hope you’ll write for your own experiences! (I couldn’t handle the roundabouts there, by the way. I can’t handle them HERE. I really couldn’t handle them there!)

SIX. 

Back in 2010, when I was in the thick of the desert, I went on an overnight personal retreat, to spend time alone with the Lord. I had gone on such a retreat before, but this was the first time I’d ever gone to a Bed and Breakfast. I wrote about my time away here, and I still cherish this trip and the conversations I shared with the innkeepers. I have followed that BnB ever since and was so sad to read this fall that they had to pause hosting while the wife, Sherry, went through chemo treatments. I was sadder yet to see that the house is now for sale. The house is listed here…and if any of you buy it and need innkeepers, call us! 😊 What a sweet place with deep meaning!

CAPSULE RECAP: As you might remember from last week, I am experimenting with a capsule wardrobe for winter. I thought I would share my daily photos here, and later this month I will share with you the pieces I chose for my capsule and how I acquired them. Here are my outfits from last Saturday until yesterday.

January 06, 2024:

January 07, 2024:

January 08, 2024:

January 09, 2024:

January 10, 2024:

January 11, 2024:

January 12, 2024:

            Enjoy your weekend, friends! Stay safe in whatever weather you have!