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More Rainy Day Fun + A Few Favorites in Threes

We had another rainy day here in the ‘Burgh, so we decided to get outside and have some fun. We pulled on our rain boots and rain jackets and hung out outside for a bit!

Mother and daughter rain boots

Mom and daughter walking in rain

I’ve been working on teaching Sadie the colors of the rainbow, so we collected leaves for a little project.

She was so excited to show Jimmy her craft when he got home from work! The second he walked in the door, she took his hand and dragged him to the fridge and signed leaf. So sweet!

Toddler leaf craft for fall

Onto some of my recent favorites in lists of threes because I love a good list!

Favorite Moments Lately

  1. Playing Elefun with Sadie and Jimmy. Did anyone play this game growing up?!
  2. Working on Christmas crafts. I’ve been making wreaths and upcycled a mini Christmas tree this week.
  3. Hanging out with our church family. I love spending time after services just watching all the kids play and catching up with everyone!

Recipes I’ve Been Cooking and Baking

  1. Chickpea Soup
  2. Apple Cider Pork Chops
  3. Pumpkin Spice Ginger Cookies

Pumpkin Spice Ginger Cookies

Cookbooks I’ve Been Using Nonstop

  1. The King Arthur Flour Cookie Companion
  2. Artisan Sourdough Made Simple 
  3. Modern Jewish Baker

Things I’m Excited For

  1. Jimmy and I are doing a staycation this weekend!
  2. Thanksgiving–I have no clue what we’re doing but I’m pumped.
  3. Decorating for and celebrating Christmas.

Pet Products We’ve Been Using On Repeat

  1. Waterless Shampoo. This has been a lifesaver with the rainy weather we’ve been having and Niva smells amazing after I put this on her. 
  2. Car Harness. It’s perfect for keeping Niva secure when we drive her to and from doggy daycare.
  3. Cat Toothbrush Toy. That’s right… a cat toothbrush, haha. 

Cat toothbrush

Tell me some of your favorites!

Friday Thoughts

1. Baking. Yesterday I made oatmeal cookies from one of my favorite cookbooks and whipped up a batch of challot (challah knots) earlier this week. I’ve been having the hardest time finding yeast in stores. Has anyone else had that problem lately? I used up the last of my yeast supply on the challot but they were so worth it!

Challot Challah knots

2. Fall Decorating. We’ve been having some rainy weather here in Pittsburgh the past couple of days and it’s making me feel like fall is slowly ushering its way in. Do you decorate for fall? I have in the past, but I don’t know if I will this year.

In a spurt of minimalism, I got rid of a lot of outdated fall decorations in 2018 and now I have just a wreath and one wall hanging. I enjoy decorating, but I don’t know if it’s worth the money end effort for fall. I like the idea of Sadie having warm memories of the house decorated for different seasons, though. Hmmm. What’s your opinion?!

3. Vlogging. I’ve been having so much fun vlogging lately. There’s just something about looking back on what our days looked like a week, month, or year ago that is so special. Our latest vlog is here and includes gardening, cooking, baking, cleaning, and a trip to Sam’s Club!

Mom and toddler daughter smiling

4. Reading. I think I’ll always want to talk about reading. I just finished up this book by Beverly Lewis and added it to my growing list of Amish-based books I’ve read and enjoyed. 

5. Niva. Niva has been doing so well since being spayed! She somehow got her cone off all by herself so we decided to give her some freedom and see if she would bite at her stitches and she hasn’t so far. She goes for her followup appointment on Monday and I’m so thankful this has been a good experience and that her days of going into heat are behind us 🙂

Fall decorating: yay or nay?

What’s the last thing you baked?