SOCIAL MEDIA

Monday, November 30, 2020

Books I Read in November

Hi there! It's time for my monthly book review and I read some pretty great ones this month. I can't wait to share them with you! 

You all know the drill here, I read some books and grade them on a letter grade scale (once a teacher, always a teacher), and then if you've read them I'd love it if you left me a comment below telling me your thoughts. 
Friday, November 27, 2020

Holiday Cards

 Good morning! I hope you all had a happy Thanksgiving! Today's post is going to be short and sweet because we are still up here celebrating and having all sorts of fun. Our Christmas cards have been ordered and are on their way to our house as we speak. I wanted to share what ours looks like and tell you about some of the holiday card sales the card companies are doing, just in case you haven't ordered yours yet.

Thursday, November 26, 2020

Zuppa Toscana

 Happy Thanksgiving friends!!! Okay so true story about this recipe, the first time I made it I thought it was a complete bust. This was one of those "we are having pizza as a backup" kind of recipes because I thought there was absolutely no way this would turn out. So I sent Devin to run out to the grocery store and grab a frozen pizza, and by the time he came back, the recipe had come together and we ended up freezing that pizza to use another day. Not only did this turn recipe turn out okay, but we actually LOVED it and have made it multiple times since! So if you're making this and you think "there's no way this is going to be good", stick with it! I promise you won't regret it!

Wednesday, November 25, 2020

What's Up Wednesday

 Hi there! Before we begin today I want to kick off this Thanksgiving season by telling you how thankful I am for YOU! You have made this blogging hobby of mine so much more fun by interacting and engaging with me through my posts, comments, emails, and messages on Instagram. Today I am piggybacking off of Erika's post yesterday by doing a giveaway on Instagram. I am hoping to buy a handful of you a cup of coffee in appreciation for all you've done to make this blog of mine even more special to me. Check out my Instagram stories to enter! My handle is @dontmindourmess See you there 😁
Monday, November 23, 2020

Beauty Products Gift Guide

 Hey there! I hope you all had a good weekend. My sister was asking for a list of my favorite beauty items because she wasn't sure what she wanted for Christmas. I put together a little list of my favorites, and then decided to share them with you too! Just in case you know someone who loves beauty products/hair products/all that jazz but don't know what to get them for Christmas! These are all items I have tried over the years and love. Let me know if you use any of these-- I'd love to know what you think of them!

Friday, November 20, 2020

Fall Family Pictures 2020

 I mentioned a few weeks ago that we had a family friend take our Christmas card pictures. Our friend Kendall is incredibly talented and our group of girlfriends has been trying to convince her for years to start up her own photography business. You'll clearly be able to see why! She does such a wonderful job of making everyone feel relaxed enough to be themselves-- which then shines through the pictures. It's very easy to see what a quirky bunch the Darrell family is... but I love that! Now the only tough thing will be trying to pick which one for the card. 

I hope you enjoy the pictures! Happy Friday!

Wednesday, November 18, 2020

Boursin Garlic & Herb Mashed Potatoes

 Hi there friends! Last week we were talking about our Thanksgiving menus and I shared that we love to add Boursin Garlic & Herb cheese to our mashed potatoes. I decided to whip them up last night and double check the recipe so I could share it with you guys today. If you decide to give this recipe a try, let me know!

Embrace the Hygge

 Good morning friends! I recently read a book called The Cozy Life, which is all about the concept of hygge. In case you aren't familiar, hygge is the Danish and Norwegian word that more or less means coziness, comfort, warmth and an overall feeling of content. I have a feeling we are going to be spending a lot more time than usual within the 4 walls of our homes this winter, so it might be time to start working on ways to embrace it. I know we are all feeling the fatigue of our lives being turned upside down, but I'm trying my best to stay positive and find the hidden blessings within the awfulness that has been 2020. If I have to be cooped up inside, I might as well attempt to have fun with it and make it as positive an experience as possible. Meaning bring on the hygge! 

Monday, November 16, 2020

Life Lately

 Hi friends! I hope you had a nice weekend. Our Saturday was super busy and then Sunday was a whole bunch of nothing-- it was perfect! I wanted to give you a little update at what life has looked like around here lately. 

Well first of all we are in the midst of renovation craziness over here. I swear 80% of my conversations these days are about light fixtures/sinks/faucets/hardwood floors/paint colors. I'm sure I'm very interesting to talk to... not! 😂

Drywall is up!
Friday, November 13, 2020

Gift Guide for Adults

Good morning friends! I hope you've all had a good week. This week flew by-- I can't believe it's already Friday! Earlier this week in my Not Just a Mom post I mentioned that I would be putting together a little gift guide of things I've already purchased/plan to purchase for our family. I separated them by categories in order to help make it a little easier for you to navigate. Hopefully you come away from this list with a few ideas! 

Thursday, November 12, 2020

Berry Kiwi Smoothie Bowl

 Good morning friends! I was on a big smoothie kick there for awhile and was making different ones for breakfast each morning. This is one I made a few weeks back but never got around to posting. Enjoy!!

Wednesday, November 11, 2020

Let's Look: Your Holiday Menu

 Good morning everyone! Hope you're having a great start to the day today. Today we are looking at everyone's holiday menu, and if I'm being honest.. we are pretty basic around here. We have your typical turkey/mashed potatoes/stuffing/rolls like everyone else, but then a few other goodies mixed in! 

Before we start though, I have to let you in on a little family battle we have every year...

Monday, November 9, 2020

Not Just A Mom-- Shop the Holidays

Good morning friends and happy Monday! I hope you all had a nice weekend. We took our fall family pictures this weekend and I wanted to share a little sneak peak with you. 

Friday, November 6, 2020

Monthly Goals-- November

 Good morning friends and happy Friday! Anybody else happy for this week to be over? What. A. Week. 

Ugh. 

If anybody needs me I will be over here hoping and praying for ANYTHING positive in the news next week. 

On a brighter note, we are in a new month and with a new month brings a new feeling of being refreshed and starting over. I'm trying very hard this month to look for the positive in every day. Which brings me to my #1 goal this month:

1. Bring Back the Positivity/Gratitude Journal! For awhile there I had been doing so well with my positivity journaling and I had noticed a significant impact in how it was affecting my mood/how I viewed my days. I got away from it for awhile because it felt like "one more thing to do" when I was getting ready for bed at night, but I think it's time to bring it back! As we are all struggling with going into month 9 of COVID and all the anxiety that causes (not to mention the stress of the election!), I think it would be beneficial for me to start physically writing down 5 positive things that happen each day. Each and every day has a multitude of things to be grateful for, and I think taking the time to actively seek them out will be beneficial!
2. Train for and Run the Turkey Trot- Another thing that is always a helpful mood booster is exercise-- so I'm hoping to get back into running consistently. I have been sporadic with my running regimen since COVID started just because our routine changes frequently and it's hard to find the time. I have signed up for a Virtual Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving weekend and I am super excited to have something to train for again. If you are looking for a virtual race to run, check out www.virtualturkeytrot2020.com . You can run anytime between the Thursday of Thanksgiving through Sunday, submit your time online, and then you get a t shirt and a medal! Not to mention you are doing something healthy for your body. You don't even have to run, you can walk it! There's really no reason to say no 😉

3. 1 Minute Planks- I was doing this over the summer and for the first time ever I had actual noticeable abs! Devin wanted us to try some different ab exercises for a few months, but I swear simple planks caused the most noticeable difference I've ever seen. So I'm going back to it!

4. Read 4 Books-- My New Year's Resolution this year was to read 40 books (one more than last year). Then life got crazy and I didn't read nearly as much as I was hoping to. I probably won't be able to get to 40 books this year, but I'm hoping to get as close as I can. I think I can average 1 book a week this month, especially if audiobooks count!

5. Have Christmas Cards Ordered by Thanksgiving-- I have noticed that the longer I wait to order cards each year, the longer the turnaround time. I'm hoping to avoid that by ordering them by Thanksgiving, then they'll hopefully arrive the following week and I can get them out ASAP.

6. Have Most of Our Christmas Gifts Ordered By the End of the Month- I did this last year and it made the holiday season much more enjoyable since I wasn't rushing around/stressing about who was going to get what gift. Then I could focus all my attention/energy on baking, going to see Christmas lights, crafts with the kiddos, and all the holiday fun we love so much. 


What about you? Do you set goals for each month? If so, what is one of your goals this month?

Thanks for reading along today! Please know that one of the things I am grateful for is YOU. Thank you for reading this blog of mine and for making this hobby more than just a hobby, but a way to interact with like-minded women who support each other. 

Today I am linking up with Andrea and Erika for Friday Favorites. Have a great weekend!





Thursday, November 5, 2020

Southwest Quinoa Bowl

 Hello there! I don't know about you but Mexican/Tex-Mex food is probably our favorite cuisine around here. We have some form of Mexican/Tex-Mex food for either breakfast, lunch or dinner probably 5 days a week, no exaggeration! Between Breakfast Burritos, Southwest Salads, Tacos, Quesadillas and Chipotle Bowls there's so much variety. It's convenient too since the various recipes use pretty all the same basic ingredients. Even the kids love it all, we just use less spices when we make theirs. This is one of my favorites to make for lunch-- it keeps me full for hours and I don't get that afternoon energy slump since it's all healthy/nourishing food.

Wednesday, November 4, 2020

October Book Review

 Good morning friends and happy Wednesday! Today I am sharing my monthly book review-- I would recommend 3 out of the 4! Let's get to it, shall we?

Monday, November 2, 2020

What I've Been Priming-- October

 Good morning friends and happy Monday! I hope you all had a wonderful Halloween weekend. Hopefully you had very few tricks but many treats 😁. Lily Grace had a last minute costume change on us at the beginning of last week but we were able to pull off the new costume-- a witch and her "witches bro" (witches brew).

It's hard to tell in the pictures but I attempted to make Liam a cauldron costume. It's kinda easier to see here:

And here is his brew spilling out of the cauldron:


For having absolutely zero sewing skills, I'll take it! 

Anyway, today I want to share my Prime post for the month of October. I LOVE reading other people's Prime posts-- I always leave with an idea sparked about something we need/want. Hopefully this post does the same for you today!