10 Days of Thanksgiving: Day 1 - Oscar

Those of you that have been reading my blog for awhile may recall that each November, I spend 10 days focusing on what I'm grateful for. This is actually my 9th year of doing "10 Days of Thanksgiving."

It feels a little bit weird to post a series of posts about what I am thankful for given the events of this past week.  Our nation feels kind of broken.  But maybe now, more than ever, is the time to focus on what I'm thankful for and the many sources of blessings in my life.  I challenge you to play along by commenting on one thing you are thankful for each day, or doing a Thanksgiving post series on your blog.

Day 1:  Today I am thankful for our adorable cat, Oscar.

This photo from last November is one of my favorites.  It's like she was trying to look like a human! I can almost picture her saying,"hey, pass me the remote."

We've had Oscar for about 1.5 years now and I really cannot imagine our lives without her.  She is a bit temperamental and has to be in the mood to be petted or cuddled, but that just makes me appreciate times when she is affectionate even more.

We really bonded when I was home recovering from surgery.  She spent a lot time comforting me by cuddling.

While she's not always in the mood to cuddle, she is a very friendly and social cat (unless there are kids around - she hides from little people!). She follows Phil and I around like she is our shadow and it's very apparent that she likes to know what's going on.  When I'm in the kitchen doing meal prep, she's usually at my side, observing what I am doing, which I love!

Turns out cats are as entertained by empty boxes as kids are.

Now that the weather has turned colder, she spends a good chunk of the evening cuddled up on my lap. I spend a lot of evenings crocheting these days and I think the allure of the ball of yarn and the heated blanket on my lap are too hard for her to resist!

What are you thankful for today?

Shouldless Days: November

I had my 10th "shouldless" day of the year on Sunday. This shouldless day was SO necessary as I had kind of ran myself ragged in October due to a really packed calendar.  Here's how I spent my day yesterday!

I started off the day by waking up without an alarm, which is the best way to start the day! After having breakfast, I listened to a podcast while preparing the baked apples for the date sweetened apple pie oatmeal I eat for breakfast each day. I highly recommend this recipe to other oatmeal lovers! I always make a triple batch of it each weekend so my breakfasts for the week are all ready to go.

I had some downtime before going to church so I did some reading. I hadn't read To Kill a Mockingbird since I was in 8th grade. I highly recommend re-reading this classic novel!

After church, I hung out with Phil until he had to leave for his noon tee time. The weather has been gorgeous here so I'm glad Phil was able to get out for another round of golf (the season is usually over at this point of the year). After Phil left, I wanted to get out for a walk but I pushed it off for a bit as Oscar was super cuddly.

Our sweet girl loves it when I lay down so she can lay on my chest

After Oscar had her fill on cuddles, I headed out for an hour-long walk. Fall is such a beautiful season for going for walks. I just love the sound of the crunch of the leaves under my feet.

The trees in our neighborhood still have quite a few leaves. It looks more like early October than early November

When I got back from my walk, I had a late lunch:  an egg over-easy served over some green beans from my garden and a leftover baby potato I wanted to use up.  Kind of an odd combination but it was really good.

The rest of the afternoon was spent reading and relaxing. When Phil came home from his round of golf, we caught up on our days. watched some football together, and I finished getting dinner ready. We had slow-cooker chicken tikka masala. I HIGHLY recommend this recipe to those that love Indian food.  It's so easy and delicious.  I recommend doing the extra steps in the recipe (marinating the chicken in yogurt and sauteing the onion, garlic, spices, and tomato paste) as I think it enhances the flavor.

Not the prettiest dish, but it's so delicious!

We spent the rest of the evening watching TV (60 minutes + an episode of the HBO John Adams series on Prime) while I worked on some crochet projects. I started a new blanket that will be made of granny squares like the ones below. I don't like having multiple projects going but I wanted to get some help on how to join the granny squares at my crochet class tonight.

The first of the 100 granny squares that will be made into a blanket

I also worked on my chevron afghan, which is getting quite long!  I still have a ways to go but this project has come together very quickly!

Yesterday was pretty much the perfect shouldless day for me as it included good food, crocheting, reading, time outdoors, cuddles with Oscar and time with Phil!  I'm definitely going to continue to make it a goal to have a shouldless day each month in 2017 as they are so good for me!

How was your weekend?  Did you do anything relaxing?

Show Us Your Life: My First House Project

Shortly after moving into Phil's house this summer, I came up with a list of projects that I wanted to accomplish.  Phil and I have a lot in common but one thing we don't have in common is our desire and motivation to make changes around the house.  Phil is in the "it's fine the way it is" camp whereas I'm in the "but we can make it even better!" camp.  After a lengthy discussion, we settled on a finite list of projects that we'd try to tackle over the next year or so.

In October, I finally got around to crossing the first project off the list:  painting our doors. The previous owner painted them what I considered an obnoxious yellow color.  In fact, she must have loved the color so much that she painted some rocks in the backyard that color (I find this so strange).

I'd say about half the people who have seen them have said they liked the color or at least didn't mind it.  But I had a strong aversion to it from day one.  I just didn't think the yellow coordinated well with the cream color of our house.  And it's just a bit too 'out there' for me.

Picking the color:

Picking paint colors is kind of overwhelming to me as it seems like the color often looks very different once you start painting compared to what you were expecting based on the paint chip. So when I found a color on the door of a house down the block from us, I decided to be a sort of creepy neighbor, and I tracked down the color during National Night Out (a night in the Twin Cities when every block has a gathering).  The couple who owned the house wasn't at the block party, but their neighbors gave me their email address and after sending a couple of emails, I had the brand and name of the paint color.  Score! I ended up going one shade darker as I felt it would coordinate better with the dark brown siding on our house.

The painting process:

I used this 'how to' explanation from the blog, Young House Love, as a resource for how to paint the door. I used a similar technique as I used a 2" angled brush to paint the inset areas of the door. I used a 2" foam roller to paint the flat planks of the door. Our doors required 2 coats of paint + some touch-ups after the 2nd coat dried. It probably took me about 30-40 minutes to paint each door (I had 3 to paint). The most time consuming part was waiting for the first coat to dry.

The finished product!

Here is how it turned out!

I'm really happy with how it turned out.  And the project only cost me about $50 as the paint was 30% off at Sherwin Williams. It feels really good to have the first project crossed off the list, especially since it was one that dealt with the exterior of the house so needed to be done while the weather is mild.

Next up, I'd like to pick out some new furniture for our living room as Phil has some pretty ugly hand-me-down/garage sale pieces that are an eye sore and not very comfortable to sit in.

Are there any projects you'd like to do around your home?

No-Spend-ver'ish

Several of my friends have done "no spend" challenges, often in the month of February. With my upcoming trip to Spain and holiday shopping just around the corner, I thought this would be a good time to take on a no spending challenge. I guess I should say it's a No-Spend-ver'ish challenge because I leave for Spain on November 25th so the "no spend" period will end then. But I figure 24 days of not spending money will still be a good challenge.

So what are the rules?  Basically I will only spend money on essentials such a groceries, gas and household items we need.  So no lattes, no dinners or lunches out, no yarn or clothing purchases, and so on and so forth. I will be doing this on my own as I know I couldn't get Phil on board since he buys his lunch every day during the week (but usually spend $7 or less so it's not much). But he pretty much spends less money than any person I know so he really doesn't need to do a no spending challenge since he barely spends any money in the first place!

I will make a couple of exceptions for this challenge, though. I already have lunch and dinner plans with a couple of people so I will follow through on those plans, and I also need to purchase a gift for a friend's wedding shower. But those are the only exceptions I plan to make.

I think I do a good job of managing my finances, but there's always room for improvement. Plus I know I'm a better abstainer than moderator as I seem to do better with strict rules versus telling myself to 'spend less.'  Lastly. I think it's good and healthy to flex the 'saying no to yourself' muscle.

I think it's perfect timing to focus on spending less during the month of November as I try to focus on practicing an attitude of gratitude during the month. So by spending less and using what I already have, my hope is that it will push me to focus on how plentiful my life already is instead of thinking about what I need to add to my life.

Have you ever done a no spending challenge?

Podcasts, Books, Workouts and Looks of October + Halloween!

Happy Halloween, everyone!  Admittedly, this is not my favorite holiday as I don't enjoy coming up with costumes or dressing up. But these days I enjoy the holiday more than I did in the past as I love seeing pictures of everyone's kids in costumes and I really love the pumpkin carving event we host each year (pictures at the end of this post). Have a safe and fun holiday, everyone!

Podcasts:

As I mentioned in my currently post last week, I started listening to a new book podcast called "From the Front Porch." So far I've only listened to two episodes (episode 88 which is a discussion with a Penguin Random House sales rep about fall titles episode 90 which is an interview of Anne Bogel), but I'm looking forward to listening to more!  The main host, Annie, is so charming.  She's like a real life Kathleen Kelly (Meg Ryan's character in You've Got Mail, which is probably my all-time favorite movie).

Books:

I managed to read 5 books this month, which is a decent amount, but it wasn't a great reading month as some of the books I read were kind of 'just ok'. My favorite book was The Ramblers. I was expecting to love The Underground Railroad as I had heard so much buzz about it but the author sort of used a detached and slightly impersonal writing style and it just didn't work for me. As usual, the starred books are Read Harder Challenge books.

The Expatriates by Janice Y.K. Lee* - 3 stars
The Underground Railround by Colson Whitehead - 3 stars
Bread and Wine by Shauna Niequist - 3 starts
50 Simple Questions for Every Christian* - 2 stars
The Ramblers by Aidan Donnelley Rowley - 4 stars

Workouts:

October was the first month that contained a significant number of workouts since April!  It feels sooo good to be back to more rigorous workouts. Besides introducing walk/run intervals, I went to spin classes, lots of body pump classes, and I tried a bootcamp class. I'm still not working out as often as I need/would like to but hopefully my schedule will quiet down a bit so I will have more time for working out.

Looks:

So you can't see much of this top since my apron is covering it up, but I bought this new striped tunic from Target this month for Julia Child night.  I heart stripes and I heart tunics (tunic + leggings + boots is my fall/winter weekend uniform) so this top is perfect for me. I love cozy cowl next.  It's not super flattering but I just don't care because it's so comfy and warm!

Bonus:  Pumpkin Carving Photos

We had a blast hosting our friends for our annual pumpkin carving party. I made 2 kinds of chili (one with meat and one vegetarian) and the cornbread recipe that we made for Julia Child night last year. My friend made these pumpkin bars which were so delicious (and easy to modify to be gluten free!). 

Everyone's pumpkins turned out great! 

Of course we had to get a photo of Oscar with our pumpkin. It was National Cat Day that day! (but really, every day is national cat day in this household)

Meow!!

On Buying Books

Happy Friday!  I'm closing this week out with a fun topic:  BOOKS!!

You may recall that in February, I completed a purging challenge. The vast majority of the 550 items I got rid of were books as I donated 272 books that month. I've done a lot of book purging over the last couple of years as I had realized that my book shelves no longer reflected my taste. I went from 6 book cases down to 2. It sounds extreme but it didn't feel all that extreme when I was going through the process of purging as I didn't have much attachment to many of the books I used to own.

Aside from getting rid of lots of books, for the last several years I have really cut down on the number of books I purchase and instead I rely heavily on the library. Relying on the library does require quite a bit of patience. The library system in my county is extremely well-utilized so the wait lists for books can be looooong (for example, I'm #326 on the list for "Today Will be Different" and I was #900+ on the list for the Harry Potter play and after 3 months, I'm at #307!).

I think it has been a good change to buy fewer books but sometimes my book shelves seem a little sad.  And a friend was over this summer and asked to borrow a book and I had a bit of a hard time picking one out for her.  So I've been thinking about adding some books to my collection going forward but wasn't quite sure how I'd go about doing that.

Then I started hearing advertisements for the Book of the Month Club on the various podcasts I listen to, especially the bookish ones.  For those of you who aren't familiar with it, Book of the Month Club is a monthly book subscription service. Each month, 5 judges each select a book and provide an explanation of why they chose the book. Members have until the 6th of the month to select one of the 5 books. Most of the books seem to be hard cover newer releases. Once you've made your selection, the book is shipped to you for free. If none of the books interest you, you can skip the month.

I hemmed and hawed over whether to try this out for several months, but decided to take the plunge in October as there was coupon code for 30% off a 3-month subscription + canvas bag. So for a total of about $32, I will get 3 books. I figure I will hold onto the books I end up loving and will sell the books that don't resonate well with me, which will reduce the cost of the membership.

My selection for the first month was "The Wangs vs the World" which is a book I've heard a lot of buzz about. It arrived in mid-October. They do a great job with the packaging. The book included a note from the judge with her thoughts on why she loved the book. The box also included a canvas tote which was included with the 30% off deal as well as some "after reading mints."

My book, folded canvas tote, and mints

I figure I will give this 3 months and then decide whether to renew my membership. I'm really excited about the prospect of receiving some hot new releases at an affordable price!

Also, I noticed that you can gift someone a subscription to the service. I think this would be a fun gift for a book lover in your life as they'd get to pick something out each month and it alleviates the risk of gifting them a book they've already read.

Do you utilize any subscription services for food, clothing or books? I used to get StitchFix boxes occasionally and this summer we tried out Plated, which is a meal delivery service. 

I was not compensated by Book of the Month Club to write this post, but the post does include a referral link. If you signed up using the referral link you'll receive 30% off a 3-month subscription and I will receive a free book. 

Currently: October Edition

Oh hey, it's the last week of October. How did that happen? Here's what's currently going on in my world.

Reading:  Heart Like Mine by Amy Hatvany. This is a book I've owned for years that I'm finally getting around to reading. One of my goals for the year was to read 12 books I own, and this is the 10th book I'm reading for that goal, so I'm fairly close to completing that goal!

Loving: how cuddly Oscar has been lately. I haven't spent much time sitting on the couch lately since I've had a go go go schedule, so when I do sit down, Oscar jumps right up into my lap. I think it's her way of trying to get me to relax more.  It's pretty effective as who can resist a cute cat in their lap??

Frustrated: by all the political ads. I can't wait for this election to be over as I'm tired of listening to ad after ad after ad. I know advertising is part of the political process but I can't help but think of all the good that could be done if even half or one quarter of the money spent on ads was given to charities.

Feeling: a little overwhelmed by my schedule lately. I know I sound like a broken record saying that. October has been a fun month, but a bit over-planned. This week I've had a crochet class and book club, we have a wedding reception on Friday, I have a knitting class on Saturday morning and then on Saturday we are hosting some friends for chili + pumpkin carving and I have dinner plans on Sunday evening.  It's all fun stuff, but just a lot of stuff for one week! I really need a plan-free day soon! 

Thinking: about changes I need to make to avoid having an overly full calendar. I keep saying my schedule is too busy but I haven't really done anything about it.  I think I need to start to hold certain days of the week as plan-free nights. I did say no to 2 invitations for get-togethers this week so I guess that's progress... 

Anticipating: hosting our annual pumpkin carving party this Saturday. We host Phil's college friend each year and it's such a fun event.  This year we are having it in the late afternoon so that our friends with kids can attend. I'm serving 2 kinds of chili and cornbread and a friend is bringing pumpkin bars. It's going to be such a fun and delicious night!  I'll be sure to share pictures of our pumpkins works of art.

Watching: the 2nd season of Bloodline on Netflix. We don't like it as much as the first season but are going to see it through until the end.

Working: on crocheting a chevron afghan and knitting a pair of socks. Now that it's cold out, I'm all about the yarn crafts.

This weekend I will learn how to make the heel of the socks!

Sad: that the warm summer/fall days are behind us. I'm not ready for colder temps!!

Grateful: that I had more than enough airline miles to buy my Spain plane ticket. That significantly cuts down the cost of the trip!

Listening:  to a new book podcast called "From the Front Porch." It's a podcast hosted by the owner, Annie, and a staff member, Chris, of a bookstore in southern Georgia. I learned about this podcast when Annie was a guest on Anne Bogel's podcast, "What Should I Read Next." Warning - listening to this podcast might make you want to quit your job and buy an independent bookstore. 

Wishing: that there was one 3-day weekend a month. I do have a vacation coming up so I can't complain too much I'd love to have more long weekends!

What are you reading, anticipating, and grateful for these days?