Saturday Snack {fall popcorn}

I love making homemade popcorn.  My whole family loves it!  I usually make it at least once a weekend and it is SO good!   I made this popcorn last night  for us as a treat.  I love the mix of salty and sweet.

I always make my popcorn on the stove using Orville Redenbacher oil and popcorn.  It is so good!  

Pop up your popcorn and then add salt to taste and add some candy corn..

It's an easy, delicious fall treat!

Happy Saturday!

Xoxo 

Friday Favorites

Hello friends!  September is kicking my butt.  Graig and I are SO SO busy at work.  I haven't had time to blog at all.  This weekend is our Family Weekend at the College where I work so I'll be busy with that, the Graig and I are going to work on a few house projects tomorrow afternoon and then Sunday I am going hiking and out for lunch with friends.  It's going to be a great weekend!

Today I am linking up with Erika, Narci and Andrea to share my Friday Favorites.

1.  I have three friends that had September birthdays so we went to celebrate them in two seperate nights in Cooperstown.  It's been absolutely beautiful here and we got to sit outside and eat at the Otesaga which I always love to do!  I just love celebrating my friends birthdays!



















2.  Ava is still getting settled for her year in Czech Republic.  Some days she loves it and other days she is so homesick.  Her host mom is a complete doll and sends me pictures of Ava all the time. I love that she does that.  It's so good to see our girl.  This weekend she is going on a two night retreat with other rotary students.

3.  My father in law brought me about 25 pounds of tomatoes so I could make pasta sauce and pizza sauce.  I spent some time last weekend making the sauce.  I am going to post more pictures and the recipe I used soon.  I have enough sauce to last us through the winter!

4.  My friend M and her husband had a goodbye to summer party last weekend.  The weather was beautiful and it was great to be outside in the sunshine.  It was a great night!



5.  I went to a Ted Talk event last weekend in our town.  The speakers were amazing.  I am so glad I went.  My friend Rachael's father in law was one of the speakers.  He talked about gratitude.  Another talk I went to was on entrepreneurship.  It was a fantastic event!

6.  We also had our monthly craft night for Branch and Bloom!  We made DIY beer flights at a local brewery.  It was a fun night and I will have a blog post up about our craft night soon!

That's it for me for Friday favorites this week!  I am hoping things calm down and that I'll be back to regular posting soon

Have a great weekend!!

What's Up Wednesday

Today I am linking up with Shay, Mel, and Shaeffer for  What's Up Wednesday where we share random things that we've been up to this month.  August flew by for us!  Brock was home for a week and we got Ava ready to go for her year in the Czech Republic.  You can read my past WUW posts below

July

June

March

January 

What we're eating this week....Yesterday I started my fall diet.  I'm tracking everything in my fitness pal and I'm hoping to lose a little weight.  

What I'm reminiscing about....The summer!  We had a great summer but it flew by.  I loved having both of our kids home for a week in August.  It's crazy to me that Brock is all grown up and Ava is almost all grown up.  I am so proud of both of them and I love when we are all together.

What I'm loving...I love everything about fall and I'm excited that it's that time of year.   On Friday I am going to pull out all of my fall decorations and I can't wait!

What we've been up to...The school year started for Graig and I last Monday so we have been busy, busy, busy at work.  I work with fraternity and sorority students and last Friday we had our annual Greek phot shoot. I had to be on the roof with the photographer during the photo shoot and I took some pics with my phone.  I hope we have a great year! 

What I'm dreading...Thankfully nothing at the moment! 

What I'm working on....Fall is my busiest season for work and in my volunteer activities.  My day is busy working with college students, I also work part time for a non profit and in the October we have our annual donor reception so I'm busy preparing for that.  I am also on the committee that plans the annual Pit Run.  This year I am also the race director. The Pit Run is a road race in memory of a state trooper that was killed in Oneonta in '94. The annual event raises money for his foundation.  This year is the 24th annual race!  We plan and prepare all year for the race and I'm really excited for it!  

What I'm excited about...I'm really trying hard to say no to things and slow down and enjoy the fall and quiet time st home with Graig.  I feel this past few years has been SO busy for us and I'm looking forward to slowing down and enjoying time together. 

What I'm watching/reading...I haven't been watching TV but I've been reading a lot of books.  You can see my July/August book review here.  

What I'm wearing...cardigans!  It's been a little cool here so I layer cardigans over my summer dresses. I find the best cardigans at Target! 

What I'm doing this weekend...I'm working a little because it's the end of fraternity and sorority rush and I'm going to dinner Friday and Saturday nights with friends and I'm working on a project for the garden club, and I'm going to learn how to make empanadas. I'm exhausted just typing all of that but I'm looking forward to a fun weekend!  

What I'm looking forward to next month...We are putting a new fireplace in our living room.  I can't wait to get started on that project!  

What else is new...We have a temporary empty nest and though I miss Ava like crazy I am trying to enjoy the time that she is gone and concentrate on things I want to get done this year.  I have a big list and I hope to do a blog post soon about my plans!  She is enjoying the Czech Republic and that makes my heart happy ❤️❤️

Friday Favorites

Happy Friday friends!  We are finally settled into our house and this weekend I'm going to decorate for fall. I also have two birthday parties to go to, some flower arranging to do and my friend is going to teach me to make empanadas.  It's going to be a great weekend!     Today I am linking up with Erika, Narci and Andrea to share my Friday Favorites.

1.  Ava started school this week in the Czech Republic.  Her host Mom sends us pictures almost every day.  I always love getting them.  Ava is settling in to her new routine and she is going to start practicing basketball with a team on Monday.

2.  The first few weeks of the semester are crazy busy for me!   I work with fraternities and sororities and there are a ton of events plus rush week the first few weeks of the semester.  Bid Day is tomorrow and then hopefully things will calm down.  Last week we did a photo shoot with our entire Greek community which is always fun.  This pic is from my phone I can't wait to see the official ones from our photographer. 

3.  I always love canning and freezing stuff in the fall for the winter.  This week I froze some sweet corn.  I will have to post this recipe on my blog soon.  I love having freezer corn all winter!

4-On Fridays we wear red at work to show school spirit.  We are the red dragons.  I have been buying some red things because I don't have a lot of red clothes.  I am more of a black girl.  But I got out of my comfort zone and bought these cute red Toms this week to wear on Fridays.  I have black ones and  they are so comfortable so I'm excited to try these.   I think these will be fun to wear in Friday's.  

Have a great weekend!!!

Xoxo

Crafty Wednesday {bathtub tea}

A few weeks ago Rachael and I did a craft class at a 4-H camp for adults.  They asked us to do a simple, inexpensive craft and we thought Bathtub Tea would be perfect!

Bathtub Tea is a cute little name that we came up with for scented bath salts.  We made two kinds lavender and rose hip.  I'll give you the recipe for both in case you want to make them.

 

Bathtub Tea recipe

1 cup epsom salt or Himalayan sea salt 

1/4 cup dried lavender or rose hips

A few drops lavender or rose hip oil

You can double or triple this recipe depending on how big your container is.  We used small jelly jars so one cup was plenty! 

Lavender is a scent used for relaxation and rose hips are used for detoxification.

We found epsom salt near the beauty and bath products at Walmart. 

We found dried rose hips and lavender in the bulk section of the organic grocery store in our town.  

We also got the essential oils at the organic grocery store.  I have also seen essential oils at TJ Maxx and Amazon. 

We added a round sticker to the top and you can also add ribbon to your jars too.

I have used these salts in my bath and they are wonderful!  Very fragrant and they would make the perfect little gift.

Enjoy!  

Happy Things {July and August}

Each day I write down one happy thing that happened that day and then at the end of the month I do a post about my Happy Things.

You can see my past Happy Things posts below

January

February

March

April

May

June

and in 2016 I did a whole huge post at the end of the year.  You can read that here.

July
1-visted Lake Champlain and Troy Farmers Market with Ava, Anne and Sabrina
2-Erica's 4th of July Party-so fun!!
3-quiet dinner at home with the family
4-fun Fourth of July-parade, cookout, fireworks!
5-Anne's going away party
6-Bunco Night!
7-Girls Trip to Ithaca
8-Girls Trip to Ithaca
9-Ran the Boilermaker, Ava in Gus Macker
10-Cooperstown for Amy's Birthday
11-Quiet night at home
12-Watched Ava play summer basketball
13-Monthly craft night-Made monogram wine glasses!
14-Celebrated Sabrina's birthday!
15-camp fire with friends
16-Lake Day!!
17-Cocktail party at Rachael's
18-swimming at Vicki's
19-Mid Summer Night's Dream in Cooperstown
20-Fireworks at the Country Club
21-date night at home with G
22-Pool Day!
23-Saratoga with the girls
24-Saratoga with the girls
25-100 women who care fundraiser
26-Kelly's member/guest party
27-Bookclub and fireworks!
28-walk with Ava in the park
29-craft day at the library
30-Boat Day with friends
31-Walk with friends after work

August 
1-two great fitness classes
2-Fireworks at the Country Club
3-Girls Night
4-Cooperstown with Vicki and Stephanie
5-Brock came home!
6-Family dinner with friends
7-Celebrated Brock's birthday in Saratoga
8-Quiet day at home with Brock and Ava
9-Family photo shoot
10-Fireworks at Country Club
11-Dinner with Inez, Donna and our boys
12-took Brock back to the airport after a great visit!
13- tried Paddleboard yoga
14-Dinner out for Stephanie's birthday
15-prep for Ava's going away party
16-fun lunch with friends
17-drinks on Amy's porch
18-Bon Jovi Concert
19-Quiet day at home
20-Ava's going away party!
21-David Sedaris talk in Cooperstown
22-Swimming with friends
23-Ithaca trip with Sabrina, Ava, and Eliza
24-Bunco night!
25-Moved back to our house!
26-taught craft class for kids at Farmer's Market
27-dinner out with Ava at Mt. Fugi
28-took Ava to the airport in Philadelphia (not happy but definitely a memory!)
29-Book club at Rachael's
30-fun lunch with friends

This summer has been crazy busy and filled with fun!  I am hoping September slows down and we can enjoy

Weekend vibes and Ava update

We had a nice weekend.  A mix of work and fun.  I love weekends like that!   

Graig and I spent all day yesterday organizing and unpacking.  We are almost moved back into our house.  It feels good to be settled!

Saturday my friend T had an end of summer brunch.  It was a beautiful day.   We are and swam in her pool.  It was so fun!

Ava is finally starting to feel at home in the Czech Republic which makes me so happy! The first few days were hard.  She was very homesick and wanted to come home. Now she is feeling better and she started school today.  She lives with a great family and they are showing her a great time in Czech.  She visited a gorgeous castle yesterday. 

 And she loves her host sister Stef.  I'm so happy that she is happy and is finding her way there. 

I hope you had a great weekend!

Xoxo