If my lack of blogging in November didn’t make this obvious, November was a busy month. Dance, gymnastics, school, Christmas decorating, baking, Thanksgiving, and more!
Traveling to Disney World - October 2021
Not much fun is involved on travel days to Disney World. Especially when you are driving 10-12 hours. We got up as early as we could and headed down. We had to make the trip in one day, and we needed to get down to Orlando early enough that we could go to Shades of Green to get our park tickets before the ticket office closed.
Red Ribbon Week
Melody’s elementary school celebrated Red Ribbon Week back in October along with most of our state (maybe nation, I don’t know much about how far it extends beyond Alabama). While I love dress up days, I do hate that it landed the week of Halloween when I was already working on our Butterbean Costumes. But we managed to come up with all the outfits for the week after a run to Walmart and Hobby Lobby!
Disney October 2021 Planning
Months ago, we found out both our in laws (brother/sister/nieces) and best friends were both going to Disney World during Fall Break. While it sounded fun to plan and tag along, several things kept us from booking a trip: money, 50th anniversary, Brad’s travel, crowds, etc. We also didn’t want to invade on their vacations. Well about two weeks before fall break, we still were not sure if Brad would be home or not. So I started looking at several options for Melody and me, including Disney. A few days before fall break, Brad found out he would be home, and we started floating around the idea. We kept going back to not going due to money and just the exhaustion of driving and a short trip. Melody was clueless about our family and friends going. But that changed the Friday before fall break. Her best friend, Lydia, found out she was going, and Melody started asking to go to Disney too. After a lot of talking, negotiating, and even some arguing, we decided Saturday morning we would head to Disney on Sunday. THE NEXT DAY! Thankfully I am a seasoned Disney goer, so this wasn’t impossible.
Brad's Birthday Dinner
So while we celebrated Brad’s birthday after he arrived home for his long work trip, we celebrated his dinner the weekend after. He wanted to give Texas de Brazil a try. We love eating there, but with COVID, we had not been there in person in around two years.
Grille on Main
Our favorite brunch spot was Grille 29. We loved going there, and it was our go to spot for out of town guests. Unfortunately they did not survive COVID. I am not entirely sure COVID was the true cause of their closure. Rumor is they had issues with their landlord. But the closure happened during the pandemic, so it is hard to really know for sure why. But it was replaced with a restaurant named Grille on Main. While similar in name, it is a different owner and different foods. They do offer a brunch they we visited a while back. Check it out below.
Thanksgiving 2021
Thanksgiving definitely did not go as planned. This year was my family’s year for Thanksgiving. It would be the first time seeing some of my family in quite a few years (most in two due to COVID). But the day before, Brad came down with strep. Melody and I still were able to visit my parents’ side of the family on Thanksgiving day however.
Santa Pictures 2021
About two weeks ago, we visited Santa. Melody was nervous but also so excited. Kindergarten has really brought out the bravery in Melody. My aunt got some great pictures of Melody with Santa. And she even spoke with him for about ten minutes afterwards all about what she wanted and his favorite cookies and candy.
Butterbean Costumes
For Halloween, Melody wanted to go as characters from Butterbean’s Cafe. She wanted to be Butterbean, Brad went as Jasper, and I went as Poppy. This was definitely one of the more DIY Halloweens, so I thought I would share most of what I did to make our costumes.
Halloween 2021
We had such a fun Halloween this year. We kind of went all out in the costumes this year which required a lot of work from me, but Melody loved it. So I supposed the work was worth it.
October Fun
So I have definitely been MIA the last few weeks (and basically the last two months). Things have been busy around here it seems like. And I just have not had the time to really sit down and concentrate as much as I would like to on my blog. I hope to make up for that over the next month or so. I have a lot of content planned including all about the holidays and more! But let’s wrap up October. We had a busy month with Brad being back home (for the most part). Check it out below!
Ice Cream Diner Pictures
Back in September, my aunt did a photoshoot at an old diner back in Florence. She had an opening, so Emily and I took the girls. We went vintage with blue jeans and white shirts. I think the pictures turned out adorable!
Pumpkin Patch 2021
So unfortunately we have missed the Pumpkin Patch the last two years. In 2019, every chance we could go it rained. In 2020, COVID happened. So this year I was determined we were going to go back. Once again, our opportunities to go were limited. We finally narrowed down a date, and it was supposed to rain. But we decided to go anyhow. The forecast projected it to miss us until later that evening. Unfortunately Brad was told to travel for work last minutes, so he was unable to go. But we met up with the Owen clan.
September Fun
September was a full month full of a lot of carlines, football, and family fun!
Halloween Happy 2021
October has been quite the busy month, and it has yet to slow down. But I finally have some time to sit down and blog again! One of the many things I have thrown together is Melody’s annual Halloween happy. I try and give it to her on October 1st. This year I got her a Pete the Cat book, Halloween puzzle, glow stick set, and some Halloween pajamas that matches my pair.
Summer Laking
I felt like the summer flew by. And with that, I feel like we didn’t get as much time on the boat as I had hoped. I guess that is life these days though. We did go a few times to Smith Lake, however. Usually when we go, we either camp overnight or at least spend time at the campsite. So you’ll see some of that too. We even got caught in a not so fun storm at the end of the summer.
Simplified Monthly Planner - Keeping up with Melody
Back in April, Simplified released monthly planners. Ironically a few months prior, I started keep my own monthly calendars with all of my household tasks. I plan to speak to that later however. When they were released, I decide to buy a couple. I bought one for the household tasks I was already doing. Then I bought two for back to school teacher gifts. I was not sure if Melody would have just one teacher or a teacher aid/assistant too. Once school began, we found out Melody only had the one teacher. So I had an extra monthly planner. I went back and forth and in many different directions on how to use this extra planner. I already had a meal planner, and I didn’t think a workout planner would be useful. After talking with my best friend, Emily, I decided to make it a planner all about Melody. It can help me just keep track of all the things going on with Melody beyond just going to school. Check it out below.
Green Chef
I have wanted to try a meal delivery service for quite some time. My problem has been the overall cost, lack meal options that both Brad and I both like, and delivery day. Ideally I would like something that could delivery on a Monday so we can eat on it all week, but that has been near impossible to find. One day while listening to a podcast, I heard about Green Chef. The meal option sounded good, and they delivered on Wednesdays. Price was not great, but I did have a decent discount to at least make it reasonable to try.
Baked Feta Pasta
A few weeks ago, my mom and I decided to make the infamous Tik Tok feta pasta dish. I have wanted to try it for a while, but I know Brad isn’t the biggest fan of pasta with his diabetes. While it turned out good, it wasn’t as amazing as everyone says. I think it would be great if you added in some chicken or shrimp to offset the richness of it.
Rainbow Ranger Party Decor
Decorating for parties is probably one of my favorite things when planning. For Melody’s Rainbow Ranger birthday party, finding all things rainbow was a lot of fun.