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…a little annoyed at Spotify. What is up with playing these awful HIP HOP ad things right in the middle of my sleepy Baby Einstein playlist?!? Pick something a little more soothing, PLEASE. Ain’t no one falling asleep with that kind of stuff coming out of the speakers.

…drinking a coconut water, fruit juice, and sparkling water concoction. Coconut water is sorta like nature’s version of a gatorade, full of good-for-you goodness, but I can’t easily drink it on it’s own. So I like to mix equal parts coconut water and sparkling water and then add either some fruit juice (orange, grapefruit, etc.) or some lemon and honey. It’s a perfect afternoon refresher!

…majorly craving a beach vacation. Sometimes I can just feel that sunshine and salty air and sticky sand. We’re hoping to take a little family vacation to either the South Carolina or Florida coast this fall sometime, and I can’t wait! #isitfallyet

…mentally packing up my house. We move in less than a month (!!!) and I feel like I should be doing something to pack up…but basically the only thing left to pack up is things we will use up until we actually move. It’s surreal to think about relocating to a brand new city, and sometimes it feels a little overwhelming…setting up in a new house, finding a new church, making new friends. But we’re excited and it really does feel like the right thing for our little family.

…a part of a ladies Bible study where we’ve been going through the book Me, Myself, and Lies by Jennifer Rothschild. The study focuses on identifying and cleaning out the things in our mind that don’t belong…like the lies we believe and the negative self-talk we so easily give ourselves. We’ve been doing the study for four weeks now, and even though I still have yet to receive my book, the teaching videos we watch each time and the discussions afterwards have been so good. I can’t wait to get my book and dig into it more!

…giving my nails a break from polish. I always notice that if I go too long with keeping polish on my fingernails, my nails start to get brittle and unhealthy. I love wearing polish, but every few weeks I give it a break for a while. But I’m itching to get some polish on them again, especially since one of my sweet friends gifted me a new bottle of pink-nude polish after I saw it on her and thought it was the most lovely color. Some people are so thoughtful!

…reading The Scarlet Thread. I love Francine Rivers, although I have to admit this isn’t one of her best works. My favorites from her collections are The Mark of the Lion series and Redeeming Love. I’ve spent most of my reading time the past months reading pretty much only pregnancy and baby books, and finally it was time for a good ole novel again. The thing I love about Ms. Rivers writings is that they offer so much challenge, truth, and inspiration even in the middle of a fictional story. I often feel like I’m reading more of a devotional book than a novel when I read her stories!

…soaking up the gorgeous summer days that upstate New York offers this time of year. I’m not sure how I feel about trading in this perfect summertime weather for the heat and humidity of the south…

What about you: what are you reading/drinking/learning lately?

I’d love to hear your thoughts!

This weekend was all about quality time together.

Ben was away most of last week at a work conference and we missed him terribly while he was gone! My sister is staying with us right now so that was a huge help, and at least I had one person to look forward seeing come home from work each day and eat dinner with and help with Ayla in the evenings. But let’s be honest…a sister isn’t a husband, hehe (but i still love you sis!). The week really did go well though, and I kept myself pretty busy with a trip into town, women’s Bible study, and hosting a breakfast with some friends. And before I knew it, it was Friday and for real this one felt like a Fri-YAY.

Ben’s flight came in at midnight on Friday night, so we didn’t get home until the wee hours of the morning. Ayla woke up at five to nurse and then slept until eight o’clock the next morning (thank you sweetie!), and we snuggled in bed with her for a while once she woke up. Those mornings stretches, smiles, and faces are the best! We had a leisure breakfast together and then basically just had a leisure rest of the day. It was the best kind of day! We decided to finally go check out The Olney Place on Keuka Lake for lunch, since we’ve been hearing rave reviews from some friends for a while now. It was the cutest place with a gourmet grocery section plus a deli with some really great sandwiches. Gourmet groceries are my weakness (because #foodie) but I managed to escape with only buying on a jar of harrisa (which i’ve been trying to find for forever!), chipotle aoili (because we are suckers for anything chipotle), and some seed crackers that are insanely delicious. We did a few errands in town and stopped to see my sister at the peach stand and finished out the Saturday at home with taco salads, hanging out on the deck, and an early bed time (because #we’reold).

We spent the day at home on Sunday…grilling steaks for lunch, making a bunch of peach crisps for our church snack that evening, and napping. We had church in the evening, and then hung out in my sister-in-laws gorgeous backyard afterwards for a big bon fire and snack together with our church family. Such a nice day! Although we did finish it out with another one of Ayla’s famous Sunday evening melt downs…I really just don’t know what is up with her Sunday evenings?!?

Here are five things I love:

– this article
– this clever hack
– this cute diy
– this gorgeous crepe cake
– this cool tip

Have the best week!

What about you: what was the best moment of your weekend?

I’d love to hear your thoughts!