Oh, I'm a sucker for some dramatic sitcoms... I'm also a sucker for humorous ones. Really anything with a great story line, believable characters, and can take me away from reality for just a little while.
Summer can be quite annoying (especially since it isn't my favorite time of year anyway...) when they all go off air. And hardly anything good comes on in its place. Boo on that.
BUT, premiere week for our Fall shows has finally arrived! Here's our lineup...
(Embarrassingly enough to admit, our summer addiction has become Big Brother--thanks to Hunter and his MALE work buddies...the show is nothing but drama and silliness, but once you start watching, it sucks you in like a black hole. Anyway, the Finale of that show also comes on this week. We're rooting for Derrick!)
Tonight, The Blacklist kicks it all off. We started this one last year with episode 1 when the show first aired, and we were pretty much immediately hooked. As soon as you think you have something figured out, they throw another twist in. It can be a little creepy and is always suspenseful (the fact that it comes on so late isn't great since it's not the best show to try to go to sleep after watching--your mind is racing!). I'm excited for Hunter to get home from work and settled so we can watch it ASAP!
The Biggest Loser kicked off a few weeks ago, but it's still a Fall show so it's going on the list. We started watching this several years ago when someone my sister went to college with and I knew from years and years of youth rallies was a contestant. We really fell in love with it. It can be a little dramatic at times, but it really is reality TV. These are real people facing and working through real issues that so many others are going through as well. Plus, the lifestyle changes it implements and encourages are just wonderful. Good, positive, life-changing stories--you don't find that often anymore.
Parks and Recreation comes back too. Hunter's brother got us watching this (their Libertarian views connect them with the Ron Swanson character and they giggle at him like school children). We got all of the seasons and caught up with the characters' stories as we started watching live. We actually started watching this during The Office's last season and it has helped fill that dry, goofy humor void.
Parenthood...oh man. I also started watching this one on its actual premier. And again, I was immediately hooked. I love the Bravermans. Don't tell me they aren't a real family because they so are. The characters and story lines are so believable and the drama they go through together shows the strength of family bonds. This is their farewell season, and I'm already getting weepy thinking about it (I already cry in pretty much every episode)... I hate, hate, hate that these shows have to end. Have I mentioned I get really connected to the characters and stories and almost convince myself they're real?! Goodness.
And finally, Grey's Anatomy! I'm a little anxious to see how this season goes since Cristina's character is no longer on it; but they left so many loose ends (major ones) with the finale that I cannot wait to get back in that hospital and figure out. This show has me hook, line, and sinker.
What shows are you excited to have come back this week?
In this house--yes! Anyone who knows me even a little knows that this is my favorite time of year...Fall and Winter: all the holidays, colors, decorations, weather changes, snuggly clothes, good smells and great food, school starting, football returning...what is not to love?!
I've been fooling myself this past week. When the calendar switched over to August, that gave me full permission to burst into Fall mode. I started that with one of my absolute favorites--burning a Leaves candle from Bath and Body Works. That smell alone is enough to send my heart a flutter! So a few days ago, I woke up and lit one of those babies...and immediately felt the warmth of Fall time take over my house. My house was still holding the chill of the night (we like to sleep with it cold), the sun shining through my windows was so pretty, and that smell made everything feel happy. I had convinced myself it was actually Fall! And then I stepped outside... Big mistake. Hello 95* and 200% humidity. Bleh.
BUT. I will continue burning my yummy candles and next week I plan to pumpkin-ify this house like nobody's business :) I may even have to make some of these little morsels (I used a spice cake mix) to help me stay in my happy little fall world, away from the hot, sticky yuck that is still the reality of Southeast Texas...
So down here in the south, we don't get a true fall. Or Spring. Or Winter. It's pretty much chilly, warm, hot, and hotter...
But September 1 signals FALL in my brain! And since it, all the way through winter/December, is my absolute favorite time of year, I don't care what the temperature is outside--it's fall, y'all!
Fall=football season. Mmm Mmm Mmmm. I love football season! It might have something to do with my high school marching band career placing me at every Friday night game; it might have something to do with living in the south; and it just might be because I'm me. But the rush of the crowd, the intensity and pace of the game, the support of the fans, the talent of the players, the thrill of a win--I just love it! High school, college, NFL--I'll take it!
The fact that Sean Payton gives the pep talk at the beginning of this video just completely made me love it! WHO DAT!!
My boy also jerked me on to the Fantasty Football bandwagon this year (along with his brothers and their ladies in the league). I'm somewhat excited, simply because I love football anyway! But I also got to name my team--and that's a big deal, right? I mean, it's your name; it what people know you as. Second to your drafted players, it's big! (not to mention I'm a major word nerd...so maybe it's a little more important to me than most). I wanted a pun, something witty and humorous, but nothing I could find or think of seemed to fit me. Until I found this quote from The Great Gatsby: "he would drift on forever seeking, a little wistfully, for the dramatic turbulence of some irrecoverable football game..."
Hence, my team "Dramatic Turbulence" was born :)
Fall=beautiful colors. Have you ever really taken in the richness of the colors of fall? My house is pretty much decorated in these hues year round because I'm drawn to them. But bringing out my fall decor amplifies them and it makes my heart smile! Not to mention the pumpkin patches, store fronts, and changing leaves (we get a couple of trees that change down here...but I can look at pictures too!)...
Fall=delicious smells. It is amazing how busy a kitchen can become in the fall! Between pumpkin and sweet potato pies; coffee and warm apple cider simmering; courses cooked with love and warmth. My stomach, my nose, and my heart can't get enough! Not to mention the candles...Oy, the candles! Yum-O!
Fall=cooler weather (eventually...). And therefore it equals boots and sweaters and scarves and sweatshirts and comfort. All of this=snuggles! And I love to snuggle (even if it's with myself...). These are my comfort clothes, the ones I feel the best in...and I love getting to wear them!
So, I'm gonna turn my air conditioner down, put on some warmer clothes, and ball up on the couch with some candy corn while the scent of my candles wafts my way...because it's September, and that means it's fall, y'all!
I'm not sure if anyone ever read or "followed" my blog to begin with, but I'm sure I lost all two of them with my ridiculously long absence!
I cannot even begin to explain to you the craziness that our life has been. We have been going non-s.t.o.p. since March...March, people! It's August--that's six months without slowing down at all! These past two weeks have been my hibernation phase and I'm finally starting to feel like a normal human being again.
I've thought of blogging again several times throughout those two weeks, but I could never settle on what direction I wanted to head after being gone for so long. I still don't really know, but I had to make myself break my writer's block--I love this blog too much to just let it drift away!
First of all, let me remind you how cute my kid is... That may sound pompous, but I'm her mama so I get to be :)
We had family pictures taken last month, and this one is our favorite...she's just perfect.
It has been so much to go through this age with her. She is talking like nobody's business, learning new words and phrases daily (it seems hourly...) and we are constantly giggling at her little personality that's beginning to bloom. It's just cool.
Second, I will be buying The Great Gatsby when it's released on Tuesday. Because of that craziness I mentioned earlier, I wasn't able to go see it in the theaters; and the major English nerd inside of me was not happy about it. I'm ready to get swept back into the world of literature--even if this time it's on the big screen.
Look at those characters--so much depth, even in a still shot. Take me away Daisy; Nick; Gatsby...
Third, I am so ready for Fall that I can hardly stand it! September through December is my absolute favorite time of year, hands down! Granted, being in the deep south, we don't get to enjoy the full color and temperature changes that Fall brings in the more northern areas. However, we still get our own version of cooler temps and I love em. Plus it's FOOTBALL season, baby! And the colors, and the smells, and the food, and the family gatherings, and the joy...it's just a time of joy...for months in a row! And I just love it.
October really is a swell time...
So you better believe that come September 1, I will be busting out the full on Fall decor. I. Can't. Wait!
Man it feels good to be back! Hopefully my posting will find a regularity to it again now that I finally broke through my post-crazy writer's block. I've missed you friends!
Halloween in our neighborhood is something we look forward to every year. We live in a big loop, so we get tons of guests on top of the people who live here. Plus, all of our neighbors are outside and we cook and visit together--great times.
This year, Hunter's dad, stepmom, and grandparents were able to come join in on the fun which made it even more enjoyable.
And since this was Bella's first Halloween to enjoy (6 days old last year...snuggled up on my chest under a blanket; she didn't really get into the spirit...), we all had even more fun.
Just reminiscing about my little bug last year on Halloween...
She did fabulous. Stayed in the wagon without a fight; left her costume on the entire night without a fight (even the hat!); figured out that sweets are really tasty; got to check out all of the crazies and their costumes; and she was the star of our corner, hands down.
I just love my little hoot owl!
Why have y'all been holding out on me? These sucker things are goo-ood.
I think her eaten sucker tally for the night was 4. She got her mama's sweet tooth :)
Paw Paw toted her everywhere she needed to go in her wagon, and she loved it.
NOM NOM NOM!
Daddio manning the grill. We always fix hamburgers for dinner and eat outside as the festivities start. We are the adult trick or treat stop as well--we cook sausage and hand it out to the parents every year. It's a big hit!
She loved digging in that bucket--and she already knows how to pick out the good stuff.
Snugglin' up with Grandmaw and Paw Paw Newby
Happy Halloween!
(my door sign has already been traded out for my Turkey!
We went to the Pumpkin Patch by mom's yesterday to get some pictures with AJ and her cousins. But the hours they are open are horrible for taking pictures (as far as the sunlight)! Top that with four children, ages 1-6, running around in all different directions, it's amazing we got anything!
Hunter and I took Arabella out to the Pumpkin display here at home tonight at dusk. I don't like to brag, but we think she's just the prettiest thing we've ever seen.
I absolutely LOVE this time of year. From here until January...mmm! I mean, really. Everybody just seems to get a little happier; the weather is crisp; the smells are fan-tas-tic; you can drink wassail and hot cocoa; the colors are beautiful; it's football season!!!; you can start playing Christmas music soon; it encourages snuggling. What exactly is not to love about September-December?!
A lot of people may be the Spring and Summer type--not I. I would so much rather be bundled up in cozy clothes or my favorite blanket than lying on a beach somewhere. It probably has something to do with the fact that I've always lived in the true south...so our winters rarely get below 30 degrees and it is a major deal when we get snow :) I would also get super tired of the extreme cold if we lived up north. But after a summer of 100-110 temps ALL summer, I am SO excited for Fall! I mean how sad is it that it's 80 degrees out, and we think there's a nip in the air?!
1. So that's reason number one I'm excited--cooler temps (meaning snuggly clothes weather is close!).
2. Football season has begun! I love football--live and on TV. We were able to cheer on LSU this weekend and our Tech Dawgs--great times! Also...the NFL season is getting kicked off tomorrow by none other than our Saints!! It shall be fabulous!
3. Fall decorations (and eventually Christmas!). This is really the only time of year I change the look of our house in the slightest. I just love putting it all out--again, it just puts me in a more chipper mood!
4. Yummy treats! Something about the holidays just makes people want to cook! And thanks to Pinterest, I have so many new cute and easy ideas for themed snacks. Not to mention candy corn!! And after a few more drops in temp, we'll get to make some wassail and break out the peppermint bark. Yummo!
Granted, we don't get to see the trees change quite like this down here, but the colors are still beautiful and we use them to decorate with!
Who doesn't love a good pumpkin patch?
6. Specific to this year--we get to welcome our sweet little Arabella Jolie into the world! Nothing better...and she's coming during the best time of the year!
BUT. I will continue burning my yummy candles and next week I plan to pumpkin-ify this house like nobody's business :) I may even have to make some of these little morsels (I used a spice cake mix) to help me stay in my happy little fall world, away from the hot, sticky yuck that is still the reality of Southeast Texas...
