The Little List | October 11, 2021
Lately, we’ve been spending a fair amount of time throwing fallen leaves into a nearby stream and watching them gently float away. Thrilling? No. But the reminder to take it all in - cooler breezes, quieter paths, a slower pace - has been much appreciated and needed. As the air continues to cool, I think the pace will only get slower and slower from here. That’s exactly what I like about the changing seasons, though. The opportunity to embrace the ebbs and flows, the familiar and the new, the urgency and the necessary quiet. It keeps life fresh.
As peaceful and resolved as that sounds, life around here is very rarely that. These past few weeks have been tough. I love the toddler stage of parenthood, but I’ll admit that it definitely gives me a run for my money. I’ve caught myself looking back at the baby days with a sense of fondness (I can’t believe I’m saying this). Independence, strength, resilience, and intelligence - all wonderful qualities that I am proud to see my daughter developing - can also be my worst nightmare as an overtired parent. I’ve lost my cool a few times more than I’d care to admit and some nights I go to bed feeling like the worst mom in the world. But those difficult times also make the peaceful ones all the more sweeter and they have been challenging me to find ways to be a better version of myself. I’m trying to embrace this stage as gracefully as I can. Sometimes it goes better than others.
These are a few of the things that have brought me joy, made me think, or helped me grow over the past couple of weeks:
One of our Fall Bucket List items was to make homemade donuts. Although I still want to specifically do that, I made these homemade apple fritters the other week and they were just as delicious as I hoped they would be. It reminded me of beautiful fall mornings spent strolling through the farmer’s market and grabbing a fritter for the road.
Speaking of our Fall Bucket List, another item we’ve checked off is visiting a farm. I took Mabel to a local farm where they had a multi-acre area dedicated to kids! There were animals to feed, jumping pillows to bounce on, multiple jungle-gyms to climb, a hay mountain to explore, playhouses to pretend in, and a firetruck to climb around. Considering Mabel was silent the entire drive home (exhausted, much?), I think it’s safe to say that we will be visiting again soon.
I have been listening to this guided prayer podcast episode about being rooted in love on repeat. It’s based on the passage from Ephesians 3:14-21 and has been challenging me to wrap my head around the vastness of God’s love for me (and you too!).
Do you still make a Christmas list? As I was making my own the other day, I stumbled down an Etsy rabbit hole and found so many beautiful dainty necklaces. I am a wear-the-same-jewellery-24/7 kind of person, but my go-to necklace broke the other day and so I’ve been looking for a simple replacement. I love the simplicity of this one and I have always been a fan of pearls so I’m definitely loving this one. There are so many pretty and affordable options!
My husband has always loved this print that his grandma has hanging in her home, so I decided to incorporate it into our own dining room design. I’m a long ways from getting art up on the walls in our dining space, but I ordered the print and it arrived in the mail the other day so I couldn’t wait to test it out and see how it looks. It has made us both so happy to have it in our own home and I love how it looks styled on our cabinet next to this pretty vase.
I’ve had a lot of fun participating in the One Room Challenge so far, but one part of this challenge that I have especially loved is doing it alongside other people. I’m really inspired by seeing other people’s motivation and creativity and even though we are only a couple of weeks in, I’ve really been enjoying following this bathroom project and this dining room project. I’m excited to see how these spaces unfold over the remaining six weeks.
I listened to this podcast episode about money dials. I had never heard this term before, but the more I listened, I really started to like the idea of it. It got me thinking about what I consider my own money dials to be and it opened up a really interesting conversation between Curt and I one evening this week.
I usually publish our Little List every other Thursday, but with the weekly One Room Challenge progress updates taking the place of my Thursday post, I decided I would shift this series to run every other Monday until the challenge is over. I hope you are finding many ways to embrace the slower pace that this season has to offer. I know that not everyone appreciates the change of seasons, but there are always beautiful things to find in every season that life takes us.
I posted this round up of some of my favourite Old Navy fall outfit picks on our LiketoKnow.it account last week. I haven’t been purchasing many new items this season, but I did grab the jeans on sale and they are officially the comfiest pair of pants I own. I loved how versatile all of these pieces are. They could be endlessly mixed and matched!
Pocket Shirt // Mules // Jeans // Light Jacket // Sneakers
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