Favorite Blogs

Cupcakes and Cashmere
I've been reading this blog for several years now. (I think I found it when I was wedding planning.) I love Emily's style, recipes, and home decor advice. She's like a modern-day Martha Stewart!

The Kitchn
It's kind of funny that I check out this blog everyday and then don't cook anything. But I do... I pin lots of recipes, and I've made a few. The recipes on the site are always fairly simple (read: Aileen doesn't completely destroy the kitchen making them), and they always have interesting articles about kitchen gadgets, organization, and cleaning. I also like the articles they share from sister site, Apartment Therapy, for home decor inspiration.

Wit & Delight
Kate Arends is the original author of this blog, and has fairly recently added a few contributors as well. I love the all-encompassing reach of the posts: fashion, food, travel guides, business/creative advice. This post and this one back in the spring were particularly inspiring and interesting to me.

Tomboy Style
Fashion, old photos, quotes from and interviews with awesome ladies, peeks at adventures to beautiful places and the occasional discussion on feminism... I just love all of it! And blog author Lizzie Garrett Mettler just announced a new project that looks very exciting for future wish list pinning! (We'll see if I'll be able to afford it in real life.)

Lucille and Found
This is my newest blogging discovery! I love everything about this concept... couple Adam and Mary saved up their money and quit their jobs to travel across the U.S. on a (mostly) unplanned trip in their restored trailer, Lucille. Also, they just got engaged... Congrats!

yepindeed
Of course, I can't leave out my local favorite and the creator of this November's #30for30 blog challenge. Without this blogger, you wouldn't be hearing so much from me this month! Thanks Gray for the motivation and inspiration!

What are some of your favorite blogs to read everyday?

*All photos are linked to their respective blogs, or I've linked to them in each blog title.

TGIF!

It's Friday! I love Fridays for two reasons. First of all, my work schedule is more flexible and I get off earlier on Fridays. I work in an after school learning center and we have classes on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday, so on Fridays I get the center to myself to organize for Saturday/recover from the first three days of classes. I listen to WFPL and WFPK (the public radio stations here in Louisville) as I work. For an introvert like me, that one day of working alone is awesome (after three days of constantly talking to students and parents)!

Second, even though it's not my real weekend yet, it's Sean's and it still feels like one for me too! We usually get "dressed up" (not really... just a little more fun than the normal work week) and go out to eat, where there's more than likely some beer involved as well.  Today we're headed to the St. Matthew's Holiday Walk. Hopefully I can get started on that November Christmas shopping goal.

Cheers to Friday everyone!

Mondays...

What are the little ways I cope with Mondays? Actually, my Mondays aren't so bad with my work schedule being Tuesday through Saturday, I'm off on Mondays. So for today's 30 for 30 blog post here's my list of ways that I "cope" with Mondays:

-Do Nothing :) Mondays are my day for relaxing in preparation for the work week. I have the house to myself so I usually have a lazy day at home sleeping in a bit, catching up blog reading, binge watching a series on Netflix, or making to do lists for the rest of the week.

-Laundry: This might be contradicting my top item on the list, but at the very least while I'm sitting around the house, I try to get all the laundry finished so we can dress ourselves for the rest of the week!

-Running errands: One of the perks of having Mondays off is that I can do all of my errands like appointments and phone calls that you can only make during business hours without having to take time off from work. Oh, and I also do a lot of my shopping on Mondays... without all of the crowds out on the weekends.

-Blogging/organizing posts for the week: I'm starting this new Monday ritual for the November 30 for 30 challenge and hope to make it a habit for the future. I have time to brainstorm what I'm going to post for the week, organize photos, and general housekeeping with the blog.

And just to give you a laugh on this Monday: Sean found this video over the weekend, and I'm filing it away for whenever I'm having a bad day. I don't know why I find it so funny, but it cracks me up every time!

Post by Ryder.

1 Photo

Photo of my parents' house circa 1924

Today's post is coming in just under the wire. I thought this photo would be appropriate since we spent the day in Northern Kentucky with my family. Another reason this post is so late: we really know how to squeeze in every second of that extra hour we got with the time change last night! 

I'm adding a second picture of what the house looks like today, even though the assignment is one photo. I thought it would be torturous to you readers not to include it. :)

My parents' house on November 2, 2014

30 for 30 November Blog Challenge

I know we haven't been posting much over here for a long time, but I want to get back into a regular posting routine. Especially with the holidays coming up, Sean and I will be busy with family doing lots of fun things, and I think it would be great to have a kind of journal of it all to reflect on in the future. I hope that this daily posting challenge will give us a boost to continue with more regular blogging throughout the year.

A local blog I read, yepindeed, did a blog challenge for October, and author Graylin decided to make up her own challenge for November: 30 for 30.This challenge is part of a bigger event for the month of November, NaBloPoMo (National Blog Posting Month) inspired by NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month). Sean's sister Allie participates in NaNoWriMo every year, and she is such an inspiration! I've never thought that I could write an entire novel, but posting every day for 30 days (with a little help) sounds like something I can do. So I hope you're all ready for a whirlwind month of posting as I accept this challenge (maybe Sean will help a little bit too!)

First up for today, the topic is November Goals:

-Obviously this blog challenge: 
It's at the top of the list and a priority for the month.  Any encouragement you can offer along the way will be greatly appreciated!

-Start (maybe finish?) Christmas shopping before the end of the month:
Last year I had the flu about two weeks before Christmas, and shopping on December 23 is just not fun for anyone. I'd like to avoid that for this year.

-Book Club re-boot:
I started a book club earlier this year with some ladies, let's just call them all my Louisville sisters, and we got off track over the summer because *someone* went to Europe, and then we never got back on the train because *someone else* got married! I know this is the busiest time of the year, but let's be honest, another excuse to get together for food, champagne and excellent conversation seems like a good idea to me!

-Bake/cook more:
This is kind of a cheat item on the list because I already end up baking more around the Holidays. (It's like adding that thing to the list just so you can cross it off!)

What does everyone think of this challenge? What are your November goals?