It's time to reflect back on the week and share FIVE of our FAVE moments or blessings that God brought into our lives.
Join in with us by going over to Susanne's site and linking up. Her guidelines are over there as well.
FIVE FAVES
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| Courtney (age 25) and Claire (age 19) at Thompson Hall University of New Hampshire 13 October |
- GIRLS DAY! Courtney and I got up early last Saturday and traveled the 4.5 hours north-east to the UNH campus to see Claire. We hadn't seen her since we moved her in back on August 18th and Courtney had never been to the campus before. The girls had fun and I loved every minute of our time together from eating lunch at Roots in Dover, to fighting the Homecoming traffic, to hanging out at the beach in Rye, to walking around some of Claire's fave parts of campus. Here are a few photos of our day. And yes, Courtney and I then had dinner together on the way home in the town where the huge gas explosion was, and then drove the 4 hours west...all in one day. We were tired but content. What a fun day!
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| one of our fave spots on campus (Thompson Hall is where all the admin offices are) |
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| Claire and I at the beach! |
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| Courtney on the lawn at Thompson Hall |
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| the girls at the ocean |
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| the walkway leading away from Claire's dorm |
- PUMPKIN SQUARES! Every October, when I have a fairly free afternoon, I bake a batch of homemade pumpkin squares. They are similar to a cake-like brownie and so decadent. I didn't snap a pic of them but let's just say they are YUMMY!! and quite high in calories. (4 eggs and 2 c. of sugar go into the mix....yikes....but....once a year is ok, right??!) I cut half for us and from that half, froze half. The remainder I shared with co-workers. I'm thankful Sunday was a free day for me to do some baking and treat my husband to all that pumpkin goodness. Now we will be careful with desserts until Thanksgiving time!
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| photo from Brand New Vegan website |
- SIMMERING SOUP! One thing I'm thankful for is my slow cooker and in the autumn months...especially late October until Christmas, it gets used a lot. (and yes, even in the winter months and into early spring!). Sunday I decided to put together a new-to-us minestrone soup. I found the recipe in my Forks Over Knives fall issue and tweaked it a bit to use some fresh veggies I already had on hand. (butternut squash, red potato, carrots, celery, white northern beans, peas, onion, garlic, thyme, basil, oregano, rosemary. It was so fragrant while it simmered for a couple of hours. I served it with garlic bread and we also had some fresh fruit.....clementines, our first of the season. I buy them several times a month as we all just love them for breakfast, snacks and lunch. I'm thankful I found an easy vegan soup dish to cook.
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| image courtesy of NorthStyle website |
- BAMBOO ROBE: I had a fave organic cotton bathrobe that I've owned since 1998. I kid you not. I ordered it when I was first pregnant with Claire from V*ctoria's S*cret. Well, that thing was almost 20 years old this past spring and had holes all along the back of the neck and in a couple of spots in the front. So, I started looking for a similar style and found it at NorthStyle. I ordered the one pictured above but I chose the light grey instead of this olive green. It's made from bamboo fibers and is absolutely amazing. I love the shape too! I'm thankful I could find another robe to replace my fave....it was really hard to give it up but out it went. I wonder if this new one will last 20 years?!
- PERSONAL DAY: On Monday I had taken a personal day from work as I had one to use up before the end of the year. I wanted to get a start on some Christmas shopping and I really lucked out with finding what I wanted. I buy less and less as the girls get older but we've added exchanging family gifts with my 3 sisters and their families so I try to get them out of the way first. I also did some gardening.....trimming some bushes before winter, putting away some things from the deck, and finding a new tarp to place over the kayaks. I'm thankful I got alot accomplished in that one day.
That wraps up my week. Nothing spectacular but just little things that made me smile. How about you? What made you smile this week?
8 comments:
I love weeks of little blessings as well as big ones. Glad you and the girls had a great time together! The pumpkin squares sound really good! I love soups this time of year through winter. That robe looks so nice! You got a lot of on your personal day.
mmm that soup looks delicious. I love using my crock pot in the cooler months. That robe looks perfect for me too. I like them long. It seems like your legs would get cold in a short robe. They must be for people who live in the south, up here we need long robes.
Wow, you were busy on that personal day. You did get a lot done!
Your girls day sounds wonderful! It is totally worth the drive to spend time with your girls.
Have a wonderful weekend!
Oh...that soup! I make a vegan minestrone soup with lentils that sounds almost exactly like the soup you described! And I have a vegan recipe for zuppa toscana which I made this week. Yum!
Such a sweet picture of your girls! Your day together sounds so lovely. I had a chance to go to the beach about a month ago. I love the way it feels in the fall, the water is rough and the sky so clear, and so few people around.
My mom used to make pumpkin squares with a cream cheese frosting. They were delicious, I'll have to dig out the recipe. Thanks for the idea!
That robe is so cute! I'm in need of a new one, as well. I tend to hang on to them for years and years, too!
I started a bit of Christmas shopping a couple of weeks ago. It's fun to do at this time of year before everything gets so crazy.
I hope you are enjoying your weekend, Faith!
Zuppa toscana-- Olive Garden has a soup called that. Just google zuppa toscan recipe and it pops up. I make a vegan version. If you want it, I'll email it to you.
Both the soup and the pumpkin squares sound like lovely treats. I want to get out my crockpot and get some simmering goodness happening at my home. What a great idea to freeze some of those decadent bars.
What a lovey time you had with your girls. You three packed a lot of living in that one day. {I NEED to get to the beach soon.} I can see WHY you'd need a personal day afterwards. ;) So glad the explosion didn't impact you.
Personal days are the best - whether we sit and read all day or take care of odds-and-ends. I am going to take one soon, I need to take care of a few things first.
My weekend wasn't restful, but it was good.
Have a loving week, Faith.
What a great girls trip. I kinda laughed when fighting Homecoming traffic made the list of things you loved about the trip. That soup sounds so good. Love using my crockpot for soups in the fall. That looks like a nice robe. My robe is so old too but it's because I can't find one that isn't all polyester or that soft fuzzy unbreathable stuff. I'll look into this one. Nice that you are able to take a personal day!
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