Snapshots Into My Life

What I am seeing through my lens this week.

This may not be the prettiest picture, but it is the season of comfort food. I made a cornbread tamale pie. It was so good!

We have a great farmer's market in Toledo. I love the colors of the mums and the pumpkins!

I walked out of Michaels the other day and was amazed at how beautiful the sky was. The pinks, blues and yellows were unbelievable!

These two. They may not ever want to admit it, but they are buddies. They were keeping the neighborhood safe from UPS trucks, squirrels and blowing leaves.

Snapshots Into My Life

What I am seeing through my lens this week.

We have a yummy cupcake shop in Toledo called Cake In A Cup. I picked up a few and they were so good!!

Luna lives such a charmed life. There are times when I wish I could sleep and run around and have fun all day. But someone has to pay the bills.

My mom and I are a part of a CSA and we picked up our first bag of locally grown vegetables. Everything looked great and I can't wait to see what else pops up over the summer months.

Snapshots Into My Life

What I am seeing through my lens this week.

Last week was the Glass City Marathon. It is such a fun environment. My mom and I picked up our packets last Saturday. My brother and sister-in-law weren't able to come this year. which was a little bit of a downer.

This year, the 5k participants received medals for completing the race. It was a nice little bonus this year even though I only walked. :)

It is not uncommon for me to wake up and see Luna with her head on a pillow and body all covered up. She is like a little person. It cracks me up!

My precious Brynley! Before my mom and I went up for Easter, my sis-in-law was teaching her how to say my name to see if she would come up with a nickname. Of course, my niece is the smartest kid out there and can say my name with no nickname!

Snapshots Into My Life

What I am seeing through my lens this week.

I don't think my kitchen has ever been this clean before. The backsplash was reflecting on the countertop like glass. I was pretty impressed with myself. It also made me not want to do anything in my kitchen for several days.

My mom and I have tickets to the Pop Series at the Toledo Symphony. Last Saturday, they showed The Wizard of Oz and the orchestra played the music. They did an amazing job!

I was under the impression that it was spring, but we have had cold and snow several days this week. Luna is so ready for warmer weather...and so am I!

I have been on the hunt for a table or something to go in my entryway. I finally found something! I really like it, but it took me a few days to get used to something being there instead of it only being in my head. Now I am looking for a mirror to go above it and some cute decorations for the top. More to come...

Another little girl will be joining our family in June and I couldn't be more thrilled! I LOVE being an aunt and I am already getting a head start on spoiling this little one.

Snapshots Into My Life

What I am seeing through my lens this week.

This picture is actually a few weeks old. My mom and I drove up to Ikea so I could pick out a desk for my craft room/home office. I knew exactly what I wanted to see just had to navigate through the wandering crowds. I am pretty happy with how it looks. If I ever get my craft room in shape, I will share it.

When I was in NYC a few weeks ago, we had Thai food. I had been craving it ever since. It is so yummy! I was able to satisfy my craving with my favorite Pad See Ew.

I have been in the mood to make cookies for a while, but since I have so many frozen from Christmas I didn't feel it too necessary. I finally caved and made these to-die-for Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies. This will not and forever be my go to recipe. I also froze the cookie dough so I could have some self control.

This week we found out if my brother and sis-in-law were having a girl or a boy. I chose the blue nail polish, but I was wrong. It is another GIRL! I couldn't be more happy!

Since my mom and I couldn't be at the reveal, I got us cupcakes to celebrate. I think I need to get cupcakes to celebrate more things....like finishing a load of laundry or going to the grocery store. These need to be celebrated too!

Snapshots Into My Life

What I am seeing through my lens this week - NYC Edition.

Last week I traveled to NYC for work. Instead of working from home like I normally do, I was flying for my Monday morning commute. Unfortunately, my commute was not smooth sailing - delayed flights, missed connections, luggage at the wrong airport. It was quite the trip.

I participated in 2 days of department meetings outside of the office. The building where they took place was across from Radio City Music Hall.

Since there were several out-of-towners, we walked through Times Square to get to dinner. And I walked by the studios of my beloved GMA.

This was the view from my co-worker's hotel room. My view wasn't as nice. I literally looked right into the office building next door.

On Friday morning, I walked to the 911 Memorial. It is quite unimaginable to think what happened in that space. Quite sobering.

Friday's commute home was much smoother. My flights were on time and my luggage arrived at the right airport. I was very excited to get home and sleep in my own bed!

Snapshots Into My Life

What I am seeing through my lens this week.

I forgot to add this picture last week. My mom graciously brought me a Shorty's chopped salad and soup. I LOVE this salad! It was a good way to end the week.

It was really cold last week. Thankfully, the temps have started to rise a bit. It isn't a good sign when 20 degrees feels warm.

I am proud Ohio State Buckeyes fan! This was a fun little treat to have during the game. True confession - I couldn't stay awake to see the whole thing.

Yes, that is an entire stick of butter on my pot roast. You must try this Mississippi Pot Roast! It is so yummy and super easy!

I went to the gym 3 times this week - twice bright and early in the morning. It has been good to start getting active!

Snapshots Into My Life

What I am seeing through my lens this week.

We had some significant snowfall this week, so it was my first time shoveling my driveway. I even got to experience it twice! :)

I will try to get more veggies into my diet, but I am not very good about it. I do like putting them in my sandwiches - spinach, carrots and cucumber.

With the snow came frigid temps. This is a sign that I desperately need new windows. Ice was creeping up my bedroom windows.

These two....Luna really wanted Libby to get up and play, but Libby just wasn't having it.

Snapshots Into My Life

What I am seeing through my lens this week.

Oh, how I love this girl! My mom and I drove up to spend some time with my brother and his family for Christmas. And we got to spend lots of quality time with my niece. She is so much fun!

On the way back, we stopped at Mars Cheese Castle. Not only do they have tons of cheese, but they have a bakery. I may have gotten a kringle. Yum!

For Christmas, I got some puzzles. They have been fun to work on. I finished 2 100-piece puzzles. Now I am working on a 300-piece one. It a relaxing way to finish the day.

No more Christmas decorations. While I was sad to see the festiveness go, I was happy to have my house back in order. Now on to the cleaning!

Snapshots Into My Life

What I am seeing through my lens this week.

One of my new favorite things are these Pillsbury pumpkin cinnamon rolls. They only make 5 rolls, so it makes a nice little treat for me without making a bunch of rolls. I definitely needed a cinnamon roll to get my week started.

Monday was unbelievably windy. I was so thankful to be inside working next to my pretty Christmas tree.

I have made zero attempt to clean up my leaves this fall. My front yard doesn't have any trees and doesn't get a lot of stray leaves in it. My backyard was a sea of leaves. My mom and I were going to attempt to tackle the leaf situation, but decided to pay to have it done. Such a good decision.

My family room is quickly becoming my favorite room in the house. I finished decorating my tree on Wednesday and I couldn't be happier with how it turned out. And I love my tree collar from Crate and Barrel.

It was a very quiet Thanksgiving for me this year. It was just me and my mom. I made mini pumpkin pies, which turned out very yummy!

Snapshots Into My Life

What I am seeing through my lens this week.

Last weekend started off with the start of a little sickness. Thankfully, the essential oils did the trick!

The sunset on Monday was so beautiful! Of course, the camera didn't do it justice.

Starbucks has a new holiday flavor - chestnut praline latte. It may be my new favorite. It was so good.

My mom and I went to see Saving Christmas on Friday. It was a wonderful way to start the season and not forget the real reason why we celebrate.

My Christmas party is in 3 weeks. I am not ready for it at all, but I started decorating by putting up a tree in my office.