on cookbooks.

I have a decent number of cookbooks, but I almost never use them to find recipes when I sit down to meal plan each week. I usually just grab my laptop and peruse the hundreds of recipes that I have pinned on Pinterest. I love making recipes from food blogs, especially ones that have given me great recipes, because I know that 95% of the time our meal will turn out well. However, I want to break open my cookbooks every now and then and find recipes the old-fashioned way. I also have a few cookbooks on reserve at the library that have been released in the past year (and many of them are from food bloggers - go figure). Here are a few that I can't wait to check out:

Joy the Baker Cookbook

Check out Joy The Baker's blog!

The Pioneer Woman Cooks

Check out The Pioneer Woman's blog!

The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook

Check out the Smitten Kitchen's blog!

True Food: Seasonal, Sustainable, Simple, Pure

*All images from Amazon.com*

What cookbooks do you love? What cookbooks are you eager to check out?

Organization. I need some.

In my resolutions' post I talked about wanting to come up with a cleaning schedule. I still want to do that, but while browsing Pinterest the other day I came across the 21 Day Organization Challenge. I fully intend to start this challenge, and just hope that I can find time each day to tackle each item on the list! There are a few items on the list that don't apply to me, so I came up with my own list instead. (see below) I think I will feel much better once this challenge is complete because it will give me a fresh slate to work with when I start my cleaning schedule. We typically move a lot due to various circumstances and that's when I usually purge and organize things, but since we are actually staying put this year I don't have that to fall back on! Anyone care to join me in this? Let me know in the comments. :) And please go to Holiday Sparkle and let her know too!

My list, inspired by Holiday Sparkle.

Are you good at organizing? If so, please share your tips! 

twenty-thirteen.

Happy New Year! Last night we hosted a fun little party at our place which was complete with dinner, drinks, games and a lot of laughs.

My friends asked me what my resolutions are for the year. I responded with the simple fact, "I don't do resolutions." They urged me to think of something and I relayed a cliche response of wanting to be the best mom I can be. While that is 100% absolutely true, a part of me DOES like making goals for myself. I've had a lot of time today to think about what is important to me and what I would like to accomplish this year and thought I would share them with you (or at least write them here for myself since I have all of 2 readers left, I'm sure).

• Be present. It is SO easy to get lost in technology and check the various websites I frequent on a daily basis (or play many games of Words with Friends!). I usually try to put my phone away when my husband gets home from work, but I've found that I haven't really been doing a good job of that lately. And since I stay-at-home it is all too easy for me to hop online whenever I want. However, today I didn't get online as often as I normally do and I spent more time interacting with my adorable son. I need to do this every day. Time goes by so fast and I don't want to miss these moments. I also want to focus more on interacting with my husband because it's so easy to just sit back at the end of the night and zone out after a long day.
• Get back into the Word. I go to church on a weekly basis (usually), but besides prayer I don't do much beyond that if I'm being honest with myself (and all of you). I have heard a lot about She Reads Truth and decided that I want to participate this time around. I signed up today and it already feels good to get back into reading & thinking about truth.
• Organize. There's a lot that I want to do with this one word, but in general I want to create a cleaning schedule, menu plan for breakfast and lunch (I have been menu planning dinner for a long time, but now I have a child who eats real food!), and have a general idea of how I want our days to look.
• Read more. I really don't have an excuse for not reading more. I knew that I wouldn't have as much time to read once I became a mom, but I spend entirely too much time online during times that I could be reading. That needs to change. I love to read and I don't want to lose that part of myself.
• Get crafty. I have actually started working on this goal already when I made new decorations for the fall and Christmas seasons. I want to do more of this. I also want to start sewing. I loved sewing when I took Home Ec in school and always find cute little things I would like to make. I also want to learn to knit. I have put this off for a long time because I don't have much patience when it comes to learning things I don't know anything about, but there are so many things I could make if I would just sit down and learn. I might even try to take a class at JoAnn Fabrics with a friend!
• Socialize. Being a stay-at-home mom tends to keep me cooped up at home a lot. This week has been the worst in awhile. I literally have not left the house since Friday. That is insane. I met another stay-at-home mom randomly at the library a couple of weeks ago and I am hoping that we can hang out soon. I also want my son to engage with other children and adults as well. I need to be creative in finding new ways to get us out of the house and socializing with others!

I'm going to stop there, but I'm sure I will expand on these goals (and add new ones) as time goes on. These were just the ones that I have been thinking about today!

What are your resolutions for this year?

The holiday season.

Free printable that I am using in our Thanksgiving decor! Download here.

Well clearly blogging has taken a backseat to other things in the past month or so, but I've decided to blog whenever I get a chance. Hopefully it won't be another month before it happens again!

We've been gearing up for the holidays around here. Usually we switch to all Christmas music around the beginning of November. I've been blessed with a husband who loves it just as much as I do! Now, I know some people think it's crazy to listen to it before Thanksgiving, but I honestly love Thanksgiving too. Thanksgiving just doesn't have any festive music to go with it. Unless you want to listen to that terrible Thanksgiving song that got released this year. If you don't know what I'm talking about, google it. But I apologize in advance for submitting your ears to it.

We are hosting Thanksgiving for my husband's family and I am pretty excited to cook. I got most of the necessary ingredients at Target of all places over the weekend. I am hoping to grab the last few things at the store today before the big crowds take over. Here's our menu! --

Main Meal
Turkey with Herbs & Citrus + Homemade Gravy
Parmesan Smashed Potatoes
Sausage and Cornbread Stuffing
Brown Sugar Carrots
Rolls
Cranberry Sauce with Orange Zest
Green Bean Casserole - my sister-in-law is bringing this

Desserts
Apple pie - my mother-in-law is bringing this
Pumpkin Roll - my mom gave me one which is stashed in my freezer
Turtle Cheesecake - my sister-in-law is also bringing this

Are you hosting Thanksgiving this year? What's on your menu?
Have you started listening to Christmas music yet?

Little touches of fall around the home.

I love decorating for fall and finally got around to putting most of my stuff up last week.

Candles make up 75% of my fall decorations!

So apparently this one is blurry. Sorry about that. I love that little pumpkin. That picture in the center is one of Jon and me when we first started dating over 9 years ago!

This sign has yet to be hung, but I included it anyway.

Just a little corner of the bathroom. And there's the warm apple cider hand soap! It smells great.

These towels hang out on the stove as decoration.

Have you decorated for fall yet? What's your favorite fall decoration?

Hello, October!

So this picture is a little blurry - I was trying to take it while holding onto my crazy child.

How did it get to be October already? Seriously. September flew by and I can't imagine how fast the rest of the year will go. But, that's usually what happens during the autumn and holiday seasons. Today has been a fantastic fall day. I had my favorite oatmeal of choice lately (pumpkin, naturally) and the windows are blowing in the crisp air. I did my usual Monday grocery shopping this afternoon and came back with some honeycrisp apples! Finally. I enjoy them on their own, but figured dipping them in peanut butter would add some good protein. ;) I am looking forward to this month and hope to post some goals once I get a chance!

What are your favorite apple dippers?
 -- I like peanut butter and caramel!

Weekend re-cap...a day late.

This was not taken this weekend, however we did walk along these same paths! I will try to get some cool pictures my husband took on his phone.

It was a lovely officially fall weekend! Here are some highlights:

• We took a family walk through one of the local metroparks (we can cross that off the fall bucket list!).  Eli had a great time riding on Jon's back in the carrier and eventually fell asleep. The leaves are just starting to turn around here and the air was nice and crisp so it was a great time to be outside.
• We took Eli to the store and picked out a couple of new toys for him. He loves to bang things together so we got him a little toy drum. We also got him some wooden blocks that he will be able to use for a long time. Right now he likes to knock them over and stick them in his mouth. :)
• Saturday was our 5 year anniversary so Jon and I had our first date night since the baby was born. We ended up going to see The Dark Knight Rises and I thought it was excellent. We ended up not having time for dinner so we just ordered some subs once we got home to enjoy with our Sam Adams harvest pumpkin ale while we watched the Notre Dame game. 
• Sunday is always a football watching day so I got to watch the Browns lose, again. I also made some sausage and white bean soup (based off this recipe, but I made it in the crock pot and added and omitted a few things) and cheesy Italian bread for dinner. I am really starting to love soup & bread Sundays! 

What were the highlights of your weekend?