Month: October 2019

Currently – October 2019

/ Cami Grace / Leave a comment

This month has been pretty relaxed…and I’m perfectly okay with that. I created a fall bucket list, but we haven’t been very proactive with it. It’s good to have this check-in because I’m determined to check at least a couple items off the list!

The highlights of the month happened within the last week. I was able to meet up with a dear friend of mine for lunch. She is expecting her second baby and she’s having a girl! She was there for me during one of the scariest moments of my pregnancy and showered us with gifts after Gryffin’s arrival. She will always be near and dear to my heart. Aaaand the second highlight is that Mikey and I were actually able to go on a date! More on that below. :)

Here’s what else we’ve been up to this month.

Currently Watching

Friends…kinda. Our 2 1/2 year old has been really struggling at bedtime, so Mikey and I really haven’t had time to watch anything before he goes to work, but we try and catch an episode here and there when we can.

Currently Reading

Unseen: The Gift of Being Hidden in a World that Loves to Be Noticed by Sara Hagerty

Cold Tangerines: Celebrating the Extraordinary Nature of Everyday Life by Shauna Niequist

*gasp* I’m reading two books! I am loaning both of these from the Hoopla app through our library. I downloaded Unseen as an eBook and Cold Tangerines as an audio book. I’m finding it much easier to find time to listen to the audio book than to sit down and read the e-book. My loan will expire before I get a chance to finish Unseen, so I will check it out as an audio book next….and stick to just one book at a time.

More on these later (I think I always say I’ll do a review and then never do. Hopefully I can actually do one this time!)

Currently Making/Baking

I’ve finally started cooking again. I made Tamale Pie again and a super easy sausage and rice dish.

I thought about taking pics for the blog and then chickened out because I was using different colored plates, and then the lighting was bad, and then I was worried about “what if someone thinks my food looks gross?” lol. But really, I probably just need to get over it and post some pics.

Current Obsession

The Dating Diva’s

This site is the best! There are tons of date night ideas and free printables on their website – everything ranging from stay-at-home dates to more adventurous date nights. If you are running out of date night ideas or just want do something different, go check them out!

I’m not going to lie, after having Gryffin our date nights became almost non-existent. In the early days we were tired and trying to figure out home and work life after a baby. After that there was guilt of asking friends and family to watch him. Then there were times that money was tight. On and on our excuses went…

I have been following The Dating Divas on Facebook and Instagram and watching their stories and seeing the feedback from other couples, and that’s when I realized we needed to get back into the dating game with each other again.

We’re on a roll now. The first date we tried from the Dating Diva’s was the Internet Scavenger Hunt. It’s super easy to prep and very low key, which was perfect for easing ourselves back into date night. Also, this can easily be done after the kid(s) go to bed.

Then, we went on a bigger date. We actually got a babysitter (ok, well, my brother and his family watched Gryffin for us) and we went to an actual sit-down restaurant just the two of us. It was soooo nice.

We started with some garlic and onion bread and I got the French Dip. They won the award for the most unique French Dip I have ever had. It had a caramelized onions – almost like a relish, and horseradish mayo. It was very interesting, but in a good way. Mikey got the Shrimp and Scallop Linguini, which he thought was amazing. It was a really great ending to our week and we felt so re-energized after. Much needed.

I’m super thankful for the Dating Diva’s and helping us get our date nights back.

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I hope you all have had a wonderful October and have a Happy Halloween!!

Much Love,

Cami

The Importance of Taking a Mental Health Day

/ Cami Grace / Leave a comment

I ended up taking a last minute mental health day this past Friday and I haven’t been able to stop thinking about how good it felt and how needed it was.

We will often take a sick day when we are physically ill, but how many times have we been in a mental state of mind that is causing our internal “check engine light” to come on and we don’t do anything about it?  We know the issue is there, but we ignore it until the stress continues to build, and we start to feel that we are going to snap if one more thing happens.  

Going weeks and months running on empty is just not healthy and taking a mental health day can do wonders.  If you have the ability and the vacation or sick time to cover it, I strongly urge you to plan a mental health day. It’s a day for you to do what you need to recharge and re-set your mind.

For me, it’s taking my little boy into daycare and going home so I can sleep and get things done. Here’s a small snapshot of what I did.

~ Target for Starbucks coffee and shopping

Maybe shopping doesn’t seem like the thing to do on a mental health day, but just getting out of my own routine during the week was so nice. I didn’t plan to buy a single thing, but then of course I found a cute shirt and I had a little spending money this month, so I splurged. We (my husband was with me as well) also found a cute trick-or-treat bucket for Gryffin in the $1 section…which actually really was only a dollar.

~ Went out to lunch

Azteca to be exact. I love Mexican food and we don’t eat out at sit-down restaurants very often, so it was a nice treat.

~ Read a book and took a nap

Yes, I actually picked up a book! I found “Unseen” on a different e-book app. I’m happy to finally be reading again. It didn’t take long before I fell asleep, but it was sooo nice to do both.

~ Yard work

This might not sound very fun, but it felt good to be out in the sunshine. They say being out in nature is a huge stress reliever and I have to agree.

It was nice to have something productive done by the end of the day. Finding a mouse at the edge of the garden bed….not so nice. Yes, I screamed bloody murder, more by the surprise of it rather than over the mouse itself. *shiver*

Anyway, here are 10 more ideas to do on a mental health day

  • UNPLUG – I can’t stress this enough. Get off the internet and your phone
  • take a bubble bath
  • work on a craft project
  • journal
  • take a long walk
  • sleep in and/or take a long nap
  • pajama and movie day
  • get a massage (only if you have the money)
  • get a mani/pedi (only if you have the money)
  • Do something productive – tidy the house, deep clean a room, do the one item you keep putting off in your house. Finishing something on your to-do list can feel so, so good.

I hope everyone tries taking their own mental health day. If you have other ideas to add to this list I would love to hear them!

I hope you have a wonderful week!

Much Love,

Cami

Fall Bucket List

/ Cami Grace / Leave a comment

I had debated on whether or not I was going to create a fall bucket list this year, but after pinning things to my “Fall” Pinterest board (which, if you haven’t already, you can read more about these pins here) I decided I would go ahead and make one after all.

So here it is!

We had such a fun time with our summer bucket list this past summer, and although we didn’t finish everything on our list, the fact we even created one helped us to make an effort to get out and do more. I’m looking forward to having some fun this fall!

I hope you all are having a wonderful week so far!

Much Love,

Cami

Currently – September 2019 (and posting in October)

/ Cami Grace / Leave a comment

Soooo…I did mean for this to go up yesterday, but after having a full day I didn’t quite make it. Since I know it’s not the end of the world to anyone, I figured it would still be acceptable to still post a day late, even though we’re now in October.

It is officially fall, but it feels more like winter here. I’m calling it Finter (Fall +Winter = Finter). We already had our first snow fall in SEPTEMBER! It usually averages 65-70 degrees still in September during the day, but we’ve been hanging around the 50’s and 60’s, with the last weekend being in the 40s. Bbbrrrrr!!!

We haven’t been up to too much this past month, except we did manage to make it the fair and that was fun! Gryffin still loves horses, as do I, and the Mutton Busting (kids racing on sheep) is still a favorite to watch.

Here’s what else we were up to this past month…

Currently Watching

Friends!

Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, Matthew Perry, and David Schwimmer in Friends (1994)
PC: IMDb

I’ve seen episodes here and there, but I’ve never watched actual seasons, until now. I’m bummed we waited so long to get into it. I know Netflix lost the contract and I haven’t looked up to see when it will be leaving, but I know it’s coming at some point. *sigh*

Currently Reading

Ugh, I promise one day you will see something here that I’m actually reading!! I refuse to take this section down.

Currently Making/Baking

Great Value Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough

Image result for great value chocolate chip cookie dough

This is my favorite pre-made cookie dough. I even like it better than Toll House cookie dough. I don’t typically make so many brownies or cookies, but I just can’t seem to help myself lately, especially with it being cold now.

I do plan on making a few recipes from scratch soon, so stay tuned for a more exciting Making/Baking section next month!

P.S. I definitely need to increase the amount of workouts I do each week, because this sweet tooth I have is just not good.

Current Obsession

Azazie Online Bridal Dress Shop

A very dear friend of mine is getting married next summer and I couldn’t be more happy for her! She has asked me to be a bridesmaid and I haven’t been able to stop looking at dresses ever since! She was a bridesmaid in my wedding 11 years ago and I’m honored to be in hers. The Azazie website has an amazing selection and I love their prices.

I’m not 100% sure yet if this is where I’m going to get my dress, but we shall see. It’s between Azazie and David’s Bridal.

Let me know if you’re interested in seeing what I pick out!

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I hope your Fall season is off to a great start!

Much Love,

Cami