I was doing a little blog organization this week, sketching out the posts I want to share before the end of the year, and it turns out there are 20. (And these are, in my mind, just the must-dos – gift guides, year-end round-ups, major events I want to capture in the same calendar year, etc.) This is not great news, as I average 5-8 posts per month and November and December are busier than usual months, but I’m looking forward to all of them and I am determined!
So – let’s kick things off with a recap of our late summer/early fall visits to Atlanta, specifically the neighborhoods of Decatur and Virginia-Highland! We parked in Atlanta on both ends of our vacation to Florida’s 30A – it was the perfect midway stopping point to break up an epic road trip. On the way down, we stayed in Decatur, a small-ish city outside Atlanta proper, and on the way back up we stayed in Virginia-Highland, a neighborhood near midtown Atlanta.
These were very brief stays – just one night in Decatur and two nights in Virginia-Highland – but they were both an absolute delight! As I wrote about here, we were hoping to go deep instead of wide on these visits. In the past, we’ve found ourselves criss-crossing cities to check off “must visits.” Instead, we wanted to pick a neighborhood, park ourselves there for the day, and leisurely walk from a breakfast spot to a park to an activity to lunch and back to our Airbnb. And that’s exactly what we did! (This was especially helpful after a long car ride for little kids who were eager to stretch their legs.)
I’m happy to share a little peek into our adventures in case it might be helpful for a future trip of your own!
First: Decatur! We left the Triangle on the Friday of Labor Day weekend, and opted to stay with my sister and her family near Charlotte that night to help break up the drive. From Charlotte, it was about a 4.5 hour drive to Decatur; we left early enough to arrive in time for lunch at the Brick Store Pub on the Square. It was a gorgeous day and we were able to eat outside at their cafe tables (they also have a beer garden with more outdoor seating in back!). We didn’t sample any of the beer, but the sandwiches were delicious. Their menu is American with a European twist: I had a chicken salad melt with havarti and marinated tomatoes and John had the turkey sandwich with smoked gouda and peppadews. Yum.
After lunch we drove about five minutes outside of town to pick up our timed tickets for the Fernbank Museum. We were trying to limit our time inside at this point, so we opted to mostly explore the grounds with our crew.
The museum has 75 acres, including walking trails, a canopy walk, and nature playgrounds. It was nice (and again, a beautiful day!) but we are absolutely spoiled by our local Museum of Life and Science and Fernbank fell a little short for us given the ticket price. My favorite part might have been spotting the most ridiculously beautiful home through the woods on one of the walking trails, ha! To be fair it was magical:
We spent about two hours at the museum, and then hopped back in the car to check in at our Airbnb (about a five-minute drive away). As always, John did a phenomenal job scouting our stay – this Airbnb was one of our favorites we’ve ever stayed in! Everything was sparkling clean, there was music playing when we arrived and chocolates to greet us, a cute porch swing, and comfy beds. The only slight drawback was that the driveway was very intimidating – it was long and seemed to rise almost straight into the air, without much room to turn around at the top. But we managed!
After feeding Annie, exploring the house, and freshening up, we drove back into the Square, Decatur’s town center. We chose this Airbnb because it was close enough to walk to the Square, but in the end we opted to drive to dinner because our crew hadn’t napped that day and we felt like a 20-minute walk there and back would be pushing our luck (plus, we’d be in the dark). But if you stay in this Airbnb, you could totally walk! It would be a bit hilly, but would take you through an adorable neighborhood and there are sidewalks on the main road. I snapped a few photos out the car window, thoroughly embarrassing John per usual.
For dinner, we ended up at Leon’s Full Service. We were hoping to eat at No. 246 (an Italian spot next door to Leon’s!) but they didn’t have any availability until 10. At Leon’s, a former gas station, we were seated right away on their outdoor patio. Our food was good, but the menu was a little exotic for even our adventurous eaters. After dinner, we walked across the Square for ice cream at Jeni’s (delicious, as always!). We ate it on the green space in the middle of the Square, which was so neat.
The next morning we picked up bagels from B-Side Bagels for a quick breakfast, again eating them on the Square. Yummy, though we’d try something else if we returned. After that, we hopped back in the car and got on the road to Florida!
You all were so generous to share SO many great Decatur restaurant suggestions, and we wished we had more time to explore them! On our short list for next time: No. 246, Chai Pani, Victory Sandwich, The White Bull, Iberian Pig, and Sweet Melissa’s. They’re all grouped right around the Square and they all looked good.
Up next: probably the first gift guide, then our stay in Watercolor, Florida!
This month, I’m trying something new – assigning an Admin, Analog, and Connect day each week. (Side note: I find it fascinating that I can think so much about household and life management and STILL come up with new ideas I want to try. It kind of feels like I should already have thought of them all, ha!)
You may remember that I use a simple Word doc for my perpetual to do list. This system works well for me, but when I stumble in how I spend my time, it’s usually because there are too many loud, competing priorities and I can’t decide which one to work on, so I work on none. And, I find it hard to switch from one type of task to another – specifically, as lazy as it sounds, once I’ve sat down on the sofa in the evening, it’s hard to get up and do anything else :)
So this is what I’m going to try: on Sunday of each week, I’ll look ahead at our schedule and choose an Admin, an Analog, and a Connect day. (Fridays and Saturdays cannot be assigned, and I should really say I’ll assign an evening, because these boundaries are for the hours between the kids’ bedtime and mine.)
On Admin days, I’ll plow through management tasks – think: placing online orders, booking travel and appointments, updating the budget, or email upkeep.
On Analog days, I’ll do non-computer things, like house repairs or projects, tidying or cleaning, making a new letterboard, arranging a new mantel, writing thank you notes, painting my toenails, working on Halloween costumes or my Advent calendar, reading a magazine or book, and if all else fails… going to bed early (what a concept!).
On Connect days, my schedule will remain open and available for connection with John. We might watch a show or movie, play a game, go for a walk, or just chat. This day was a compromise born out of the fact that I have a dozen pRoJeCtS going on at any one time and he mostly just wants to hang out with me in the evenings, ha. It’s not that we won’t connect on other days, just that this day will be specifically set aside to do so!
There’s more I could say, but I want to try it first! Will most definitely report back if it’s a success :) Here’s to another month of exploration, examining what’s not working, and trying new things.
On my calendar this month: — Making a family gratitude poster. Even though people have been doing these for years, it’s new for our family! Shep and I cut out a bunch of leaves and I put them in a little bowl in the center of our table with a glue stick and marker so it’s easy to each fill one out at dinner every night. Two thumbs up so far! — Sharing gift guides! I have been thinking so much about gifting this year, not in the least because it already feels like we have everything we could ever want, and am excited to share some of these thoughts – and gift ideas, yes! – soon. — Clearing the decks. This is a favorite part of my November holiday prep, and it’s always a breath of fresh air!
What I’m loving right now (media edition!): — Speaking of a breath of fresh air, Bari Weiss’s podcast Honestly definitely qualifies. The description: “The most interesting conversations in American life now happen in private. This show is bringing them out of the closet. Stories no one else is telling and conversations with the most fascinating people in the country, every week from former New York Times and Wall Street Journal journalist Bari Weiss.” I find this to be an interesting, serious, and engaging listen every week. You will surely not agree with everything you hear, but Bari and her guests will leave you thinking (and wanting to continue the conversation with a friend!). — Another podcast rec: John and I listened to two episodes of the Live No Lies mini podcast by John Mark Comer (with David Brooks and Jon Tyson) on our drive home from Black Mountain, and they were fantastic and filled with wisdom. Even if you don’t consider yourself a Christian, I HIGHLY recommend the David Brooks episode. — The new season of the Great British Baking Show is an utter delight. The contestants are just perfectly-pitched and so quintessential GBBS. This is cozy fall and post-partum content at its apex.
You can see all the things I’ve loved in my goal posts over the years right here!
What I read in October: — The Dearly Beloved | Finished it, loved it as much as I thought I would. In fact, I loved it so much I sent copies to two friends who I thought would also enjoy it. — Ignore It! | John likes to tease me that all of the non-fiction books I read could be half as long. I strongly disagree in most cases, but in this one, yes, it probably could have been a tidy PDF or at least fewer than 100 pages. I was hoping she would address two specific issues we’re dealing with, and she didn’t really, but it’s still a worthwhile read if you’re dealing with annoying behaviors in your kids.
A little update on my 2021 reading list: it’s trucking along! So far, I’ve read 14 of the 24 books on the list. It doesn’t seem like I’ll get to all of them before the end of the year, but I hope to finish 7-8 more before December 31st! Next up: Next up: Self Portrait in Black and White and Nobody Will Tell You This But Me.
Revisiting my October goals: Complete the backing for our Advent calendar (The embroidery is *almost* complete – I actually ran out of floss, so Purl is sending me a bit more!) Create our Halloween costumes(Yes! Loved them!) Listen to an upcoming sermon series for a church we’re exploring (We listened to the first of six on our drive home from the mountains! There have been three so far, so this is a partial completion.) Plan and enjoy our Black Mountain trip(Yes! It was really, really wonderful. We had perfect weather and truly so much fun together! Recap coming soon!) Re-introduce our evening Peloton stretch sessions (This was largely a fail, ha. Exercise of any sort is just not a top priority right now!) Find that lumbar pillow(Done! I chose this one.)
As a reminder, many of these are drawn from my 2021 goals!
November goals: — Complete the backing for our Advent calendar: finish embroidering the numbers, sew the pockets, sew the tree — Finish the sermon series — Make gift plans for all the people and execute as much as possible — Edit Sheptember — Embroider shirts for I, J, M, C, and T — Do my November holiday prep (including designing and ordering our Christmas newsletter and card and making a spiritual formation plan for me and the kids) — Begin my 2022 PowerSheets
Let’s discuss: have you tried anything new with household/life management lately? I’d love to hear!
Hope you all had happy Halloweens, friends! Before I share my November goals, I thought I’d pop in with a quick post on our DIY family Halloween costume – the weather!
Most people who know John know he is an amateur weatherman. It is probably his main hobby – researching weather, looking at all the apps and websites, listening to podcasts and periscopes, following weather people on Twitter. Obviously, he is the go-to guy for any weather-related questions in our circle of family and friends! So when it was time to choose a family costume this year, this was a perfect pick.
But it took us a bit to land on it… June’s first suggestion for our family was the Frozen cast. I know it’s a popular one, but I didn’t feel like we had a strong-enough connection to the movie for it to be meaningful for us. When I gently explained this to her, she said, “Oh, that’s okay. I know: we can all be My Little Ponies!!” Oops, ha.
In order to not subject Shep to dressing up as Twilight Sparkle, I knew I had to come up with something good. Weather popped to mind – I had saved this costume concept from Studio DIY years ago because I knew it would be a good fit for our family – and when I dangled a rainbow costume in front of June she latched on hook, line, and sinker. And the rest unfolded from there! If you’d like to try your own weather costume in the future, here are a few details!
DIY Rainbow Halloween Costume
This was probably my favorite of the bunch – I was so happy with how it came together! We started with a rainbow dress from Hanna Andersson and added a rainbow sash to the top. For the sash, I bought tulle in a rainbow of colors, cut it into strips, and stitched them on (I just cut the stitches at the end of the night to turn it back into her normal dress!). She wore pink leggings and pink sparkly shoes she already had. We did her hair in two high buns and pinned in some white cotton stuffing for “clouds.” The final touch? A rainbow of face glitter (her favorite part, for sure!).
DIY Lightning Halloween Costume
For the most part, I like to keep it simple for the parent costumes. I used yellow reflective tape to make lightning bolts on a black shirt, and John wore gray pants he already owned. He played a noise loop of a rainstorm with thunder and lightning on his phone all evening as we walked around, ha!
DIY Rain Cloud Halloween Costume
I wore this white shirt, this light blue dotted skirt, and navy shoes – all items I already owned. My biggest moment was carrying a clear umbrella studded with felt rain drops, including ones suspended from the rim with fishing line.
DIY Tornado Halloween Costume
No costume could be more perfect for a three-year-old boy than a tornado, amiright? :) Shep’s costume was definitely the roughest of the bunch – I wasn’t positive I could get him into it if I created it beforehand, so I opted to construct it on him… and then I remembered little boys don’t like to stand still, and then we were running late, and then I ran out of hot glue AND staples in the course of making it (!!).
The basic construction was a tomato cage with one rung cut off with duct tape straps across the top to rest on his shoulders. I wrapped strips of cotton batting and gray tulle from top to bottom. I was planning to taper the shape more and twist it off to the side to create more of a funnel, and add little farm animals with hot glue, but alas, supplies and time were not on my side.
In the end, it was tough for him to move in and the metal was banging into his shins, so we shed the cage midway through the night and just wrapped the tulle over his gray shirt and joggers to turn him into a storm cloud :)
And of course, twisting up his hair with a little paste to mimic a stiff wind was the best part.
DIY Sunshine Halloween Costume
Sweet Annie, the very epitome of sunshine, joined us in a yellow onesie (I hot glued on an orange heart!) and yellow leggings. I bought a half-round foam circle from Joann, painted it yellow, hot glued on triangles cut from stiff yellow and orange felt, and hot glued the whole thing onto a headband she already owned. She could even wear the ensemble in her stroller!
There you have it – hope the weather is fine wherever you are today! :)
