Author: Allie Zottola

Our Weekend: Chewed Up Diapers and Powerful Words

How was your weekend? I totally forgot to take a photo of the cupcakes I made for my sister-in-law’s birthday, but they were thoroughly enjoyed at her party. Afterwards, Sadie slept over my parents’ house on Friday and Saturday night and what a treat that was. Thank you mom and dad!

Niva and I went on a few one-on-one walks, which are rare for us! 

Black and white Siberian Husky on walkNature grassy hill while on walk

The couches got another deep cleaning with this after Niva found and tore apart a pee-filled diaper on them. Somehow I couldn’t get away from diapers, even while Sadie was away this weekend. 

Couch with chewed up diaper

I also enjoyed some beautiful flowers my mother-in-law gave me as a belated birthday gift. I put them on our front porch bistro table (<–one of my favorite places to sit and relax!) and Jimmy and I ate dinner and admired them on Saturday evening! It felt downright luxurious.

It’s the little things 🙂

Bouquet of flowers

I was able to get some real estate work done, took myself on a date to Joann Fabrics with a gift card I was given for my birthday, mowed the yard, and Jimmy filed our taxes. It was the perfect mix of relaxation and productivity. 

I also picked the first cherry tomato of the season from our garden, too!

Tomato from vegetable garden

We went to church this morning and were reunited with Sadie girl! The sermon was great and I took lots of notes.

One thing from the sermon that really stuck out to me is how we should assume the best in others because that’s what God does for us. Powerful words.

Sermon notes in dot grid journal with Christian stickers for Bible journaling

We’ve spent the afternoon at home, and then we’re headed into church this evening. You’ll never guess what I totally ruined by accident today. I’ll have to take some pictures to share tomorrow because man is it a disaster!

Tell me about your weekend!

More Gardening and Five Things I’m Loving

Happy Friday! Do you have any fun plans for the weekend? We’re going to my mother-in-law’s to celebrate my sister-in-law’s birthday. I’m baking strawberry cupcakes with vanilla buttercream frosting for the occasion and I’m pretty pumped 🙂

Sadie and I did more gardening yesterday. The squash are really coming in–a few each day–and we also picked a cucumber. The cucumbers don’t seem to like the heat this year, but they’re still growing! 

Yellow squash, zucchini, and cucumber from vegetable garden

I also cooked a batch of baby potatoes with Niva keeping a very watchful eye on the whole process.

The potatoes are really simple to make: coat baby potatoes in olive oil, sprinkle with salt, pepper, and your choice of spices and bake on a cookie sheet at 400 degrees until fork-tender. 

Baked baby potatoes with a husky watching

In the evening, Jimmy had to run an errand for work, and Sadie and I needed to get cupcake liners, so we parted ways and each got our stuff done. 

Sadie and I got drenched in a thunderstorm on our way out of Walmart and it was kind of fun 🙂

Toddler soaked from rain in a thunderstorm

She was well behaved in Walmart and I was tempted to buy her a little toy or a balloon (her fave!), but I’ve been trying to give her my attention more than anything. 

Instead of giving her a toy, a snack, or turning on the TV when she’s whining or pulling on my leg, I try to give her me instead. Because what’s more important–what I think I “need” to get done now, or being present with the child God has blessed me with? I think I know the answer to that. It’s much easier said than done, though. 

Alright, onto five things I’m loving at the moment:

  1. Butterscotch candies. For some reason, I had been dreaming of having butterscotch candies all week and I finally picked some up last night while Sadie and I were out and they totally hit the spot. 
  2. Sermon Notes Journal. Now that we’re back to church, I’m back to taking notes in my sermon notes journal and loving it. It’s a great tool for reviewing sermons, lessons, notes, scriptures, etc.
  3. Scrapbooking. I finished up the scrapbook pages I made from our camping trip, and now I’m moving on to photos from the Fourth of July.
  4. Honey cinnamon peanut butter. Enough said, right? I’ve seriously considered making a blog solely dedicated to peanut butter reviews. I feel like I would be the only reader, haha.
  5. Passing down clothes. Whenever Sadie grows out of clothing, I pass it down to my sister’s daughter, Caroline, and I love seeing her wear the outfits I have so many memories of Sadie wearing. So special ❤

Do you like butterscotch-flavored things?

What are you up to this weekend?