fall bucket list

It's is an exciting week here! We close on our new house on Wednesday! Eek! So so excited! I can't believe that it's almost here, just as much as I can't believe tomorrow is the first day of October. Before fall gets away from me, I figured it was time to put together my fall bucket list! I love lists and especially love it when they include fun things to do. So here is this fall's list!

 

• Go to a pumpkin patch
• Make these apple donuts
• Paint our new house!
• Make lots of pumpkin bread
• Carve pumpkins from number one
• Go camping (this one is still in question) 
• Go through a corn maze
• Tailgate at a ND game
• Make apple cider
• Celebrate my birthday by moving
• Enjoy my hubby's pumpkin ale brew
• New blog design

Honestly, I don't expect to get a whole lot of activities in during these next couple months. Between vacation, painting, cleaning and moving, I figure most of my energy will be already taken up. But I can't let fall go on by and not enjoy all it has to offer. Oh, and we're leaving for Arizona on Sunday! Woo hoo! Can't wait for a vacation with the hubby. It's a partial work, partial pleasure trip and I'm really looking forward to it. I've never been to Arizona so this will be a whole new adventure.  Any suggestions on places to visit or eat? Ideas are welcome!

What other things are on your fall bucket list?

five on friday

Hey guess what? It's Friday again and that means I'm linking up with Christina, Darci, Liz and Natasha for Five on Friday.

 {ONE} Although it's already been a week, it was still a big highlight. Last Friday, I finally got to have lunch with two of my oldest friends. I have been friends with these two for a long time and since we live hours apart now our visiting is more limited. But Sara, Sophia (Sara's sweet baby girl), Kelly and I spent a few hours at lunch catching up and talking wedding plans for BOTH of them!

{TWO} Speaking of friends, this weekend I am heading to Indianapolis for a baby shower for a friend from college! I also get to meet another friends new baby boy and see some of my best friends from college. Babies, babies everywhere! So so so excited!

{THREE} Our apartment is back to looking like this...

which is totally ok, because that means we're moving into our house soon!!! Words cannot express my excitement!

{FOUR} Not sure if this counts, but I am tremendously pumped for next week. We close on our house on Wednesday!!! AAAH! I can't believe it. It's hard to believe it is actually happening. I'll be sure to share pictures soon!

{FIVE} Shhh...don't tell anyone, but I some how managed to find the first episode of Season 4 of Downton Abbey this week. And of course, I watched it. I am not going to say anything else just in case you are still in the process of catching up (like my mom and aunt). But I just love this show and can't wait until it premieres in the States!

Happy Friday to you!

pray for your marriage (even if you're not married yet)

via

While we've only been in the marriage boat for a little over a year, one of the biggest things that has been impressed upon me was to pray for my marriage. I am a big believer in the power of prayer. I know that God answers our prayers, even when we don't realize it and often in a different way than we think, but He still does. We pray for so many things for healing, forgiveness, direction, peace and most of the time those are in reaction to something else going on in our lives. And those things are important. But one thing I've learned is the importance of proactive prayer in marriage.

What would happen if we all prayed for our husbands and our marriages every day, even the days when it feels like everything is going just right and there isn't much to pray about. It's still important and it's just as important on those days as it is on the hard days. We can't be with or protect our husbands all the time, nor should we, but we can pray for them.

Praying for our husbands each day is one of the best gifts we can  offer them as a wife. God knows what they need far better than we do. This world is crying out for strong marriages and one of my greatest hopes in life is that I can be a part of that. I want to be able to look back and say that I did the best I could to keep my marriage healthy. And praying is crucial way to do that. It puts my marriage into God's hands instead of my own.

So what if you're not married? Still pray. Pray for your future marriage, for your future spouse and for a heart that is open to what God has in store for you in this area in your life.

One thing that helped me understand the importance of praying for my marriage was the book The Power of a Praying Wife. I received a copy of this as a wedding gift and I appreciate the insight the author offers. While prayer can be a difficult topic for some, the author does a good job of explaining how prayer can positively affect your marriage. It's a pretty easy read and even though I've read the through whole book, I still enjoy going back and reading the prayers over and over.

If reading is not your thing, that is perfectly fine. But I still want to encourage you, especially newly married couples, to pray for one another. Protecting your marriage through prayer will have an eternal effect and hopefully bring more joy and love to each day.

10 things I learned from friends

A little know fact about me, I love the tv show Friends. I mean really love it, like know all the words to each episode love it. And I am not alone in this, especially in my family. My mom, aunt, cousins and younger brother also love it. So much, that when we get together, it takes only about five minutes for some sort of Friend reference to come up. Oh, and my older brother hates it.

Yesterday marked the 19th year since the premiere of the pilot episode. I can't believe that is has been that long. I was only seven. And it is still my favorite show, ever. As much as the show is filled with sarcastic jokes and adult humor, it has taught me a few things. Here are the top 10 things I've learned from Friends.

1. How to always win at rock, paper, scissors.

 2. Everyone has issues. So don't judge people too quickly.

3. The best way to move furniture up the stairs.

4. That communication is essential in a relationship.

5. How to speak french.

6. That women have seven erogenous zones.

7. The ability to tell who my real friends are.

8. To not care what others think of me.

9. To proof read all my writing.

10. And most importantly, that real friends are really important!

first annual wine tour

Welcome to Friday again. Although I don't have a typical work schedule to where Friday is as exciting as it used to be, I still enjoy the weekend because it means the Jake doesn't have to go to work. So cheers to that! It has taken me some time to get this post up, so I apologize for the late report. Anyway, last weekend we held our first annual winery tour weekend! Eight family members joined us for a weekend of wine tasting and fun. We had such a wonderful time sharing our local wineries with them and I cannot wait to do it again next year!

Here are a few pictures from the weekend. Also, I did not take any of these beautiful pictures. My lovely cousin, Laura (the same one who designed the cookbook) did. So a big thanks to her for letting me show these on my blog and not requiring me to lug around my big camera all weekend. Without further ado, here are some photos.

 

As much as I enjoyed all three wineries we went to, the Round Barn has once again been my favorite. The ambiance is just so great and they have really great wine. There isn't a bad one in the bunch (at least that I have tasted). I think it was a family favorite too so I'm sure we'll return again soon.

Blake's Senior Pictures

Since it has already been a month, I thought I should finally share some of my recent photography adventures. I am in no way a professional photography. I just enjoy playing around with my camera, but my mom has the utmost confidence in my ability. As any good mom does. When it came time for my baby brother to have his senior pictures taken, mom asked if I would do it. So I did. And I was a bit nervous about it, since I don't really know what I'm doing. But when you have a great subject and a beautiful day, it makes it much easier.

Here are a few samples of Blake's senior pictures. I just cannot believe that he is a senior in high school. It seems like just a few years ago that we first visited at the hospital. Time really flies. I am so proud of the young man that he is and I know he will do lots of great things in the future. Love you peanut!

 

 

on finding peace

There is no hiding, or denying the fact, that I can be a bit of a control freak. When I feel stressed out or when there is a lot going on, my natural tendency is to grip tighter. Plan a little more. Make more lists. And while I think planning and lists are a great in moderation, it can be easy to fall into an exhausting trap.

I read once that excessive planning is our human reaction to trying to take control back from God and lacking faith in His goodness. And while that may not be our intent, there is some definite truth to that. But what a relief to know that God has it all under control. That regardless of what is going on in our lives, whatever mess we find ourselves in, we can find peace in knowing that God sees it all and far more than we are even capable of seeing.

So wherever your find yourself today, I hope you can find some peace in knowing that God has your back, so have a little faith.

what to do on a meatless monday

What do you do when you've got a giant zucchini, squash and extra carrots lying around on a meatless Monday? You make vegetable lasagna roll ups!

via Recipe Girl

Ok, so I haven't actually made this yet so I can't give you a full report of the recipe. However, I will be sure to provide a full report once we've tried it. But I assume when you combine any sort of pasta, cheese and roasted veggies, it's hard to imagine it not being delicious.

What are your favorite meatless Monday recipes?