This and That Faves

 

Friday!  A busy week has occurred around our house this past first full week of August but we are enjoying every moment of Summer and are thanking God that the weather has vastly improved this month compared to July!

I'm pausing in the busyness and thanking God for the blessings He's brought to our lives this week.  I'm  choosing the top five....faves...and linking up with other bloggers who do the same.  Our gracious host is Susanne.  Head here to join in!

FIVE FAVES

our upstairs bathroom 

• NEW CURTAIN: Our summer shower curtain, which was a light breezy gauze material with pastel flowers and butterflies along one edge, developed a large hole (how does this happen, especially when one has no little ones around and we're full time empty nesters??) and I've been wanting to replace it for the last several weeks but every time I went to Target or Boscov's, I just didn't see one that said "buy me".  Yes, I change up the shower curtains depending on the season.  I love decor! Our upstairs bathroom is all white tile so it's fun to switch up the colors/patterns. I found this gorgeous thick cotton shower curtain at Target amongst their "new items" shelf.  I love it!  The yellow pops and what's not to love about the deep blue and greens on the white background?  It's so summery! I just happen to have yellow and dark blue towels so now I am looking for dark green towels as well.  I'm thankful for Target because with the red card, you save 5% on your purchases.  Thankfully, the shower liner behind the curtain is still like new so I only needed to replace the curtain. 

backyard bliss

• QUIET TIME!  I've had some wonderful quiet times this past week. Early morning devotions and chats with my husband before he goes off to work; some nice morning brisk walks in the neighborhood before the sun gets too hot (I love to pray while I walk or listen to worship music) and I've spent some late mornings in the sunny backyard just reading and relaxing. There's nothing like a nice summer day.  I'm thankful for quiet moments in busy days of chores and errands. 

Wedding favors were a packet of wildflower seeds!

Garden outside the wedding/reception venue
in Cooperstown NY
Sunday 6 August

• WEDDING: Dave and I attended the wedding/reception of a young couple from our church.  We had to drive west to this place. It only takes 1.5 hours to drive there from our town. Although we've been to Cooperstown numerous times since childhood, I had never seen this place.  I had only heard of it and I didn't know one could have a wedding there. It was gorgeous!  The wedding was very different...very Gen Z. However, the food was fantastic and we were at a table with other church folk we know.  We ended up spending the night in one of the hotels nearby and it was a lovely, perfect summer evening for a wedding. I'm thankful that her party favors were practical.....wildflower seeds!  We had never seen favors like this! I'm planting them in my front flower bed. 

image courtesy of n*tflix

• LAUGHS:  Dave and I were both kind of "down in the dumps" Tuesday night...for different reasons...but we both needed an evening of just comedy and laughs.  He seemed mentally exhausted from work and I was just tired from dealing with broken appliances and hanging laundry all day (we're waiting for our dryer to be serviced....apparently these service guys are booked a week in advance!) I'm also dealing with a friend who has reams of issues and I need a break from stressing about it.  We realize some of our week were just "first world problems" compared to other folks in lesser developed countries but we were just tired. When we are tired, we get grumpy! So we decided to watch a movie Dave had seen years ago but that I had never seen.  It's an Eddie Murphy movie and has some great actors in it.  It's total comedy and just hilarious. It's currently on Netflix if you're interested.  I'm thankful we could sit together in the family room, curled up on the  couch and let laughter be the "medicine" we needed. (see Proverbs 17:22)

Wednesday evening on the deck

Colonie Bike Path heading west
parallel to the Erie Canal/Mohawk River
Thursday morning 10 August

a restful spot along the bike path

overlooking the Erie Canal
10 August

my nature plate
Plate is French Bone China
bought by my dad for my mom when he was stationed 
in France during the Korean War

late summer decor
family room 

• NATURE TIME! Yesterday morning I had 2 errands to run and before I went on those errands, I popped over to the bike path along the Erie Canal to power walk since it was a cool, partly sunny morning. I only had time for 1.2 miles but it felt so good!  I collected some nature items on my way back to the car and arranged them on one of my fave plates that I reserve for special occasions as the china was bought in France. I also own the Serving bowl and  a smaller plate. It's all dad had left of this which became mine after Mom died.  Anyways, the time in nature, collecting bits of nature for my family room, made me thankful for what God has created. I'll add to the plate later today as I'll be hiking up north and I'm sure I'll find some treasures. I changed up the Independence Day decor for sunflowers and late summer  colors throughout my home. I'm thankful for all the seasons and most especially for what we find in nature. 

That wraps up my week of favorite blessings.

I hope you all have a restful, fun weekend!