Happy October everyone. I can’t believe how fast September blew by! We are definitely into pumpkin season and while I’d rather have a chai latte than a pumpkin spice latte, I do love having pumpkins everywhere. I’m not a fan, however, of super scary movies or scary things. I even struggle with those Scaregrounds billboards that pop off all over town. During spooky season I stick to light, funny, or kids classics when it comes to Halloween movies. Caz and I put our heads together and compiled our favorite spooky season movies (for those of us who are a little more jumpy than others).
We hope that your October is off to a wonderful start and that your candy dish is never empty.
Over the weekend I had the opportunity to celebrate my sweet Cazlin. 11 years. She is an incredible kid and so funny. Every year she and I try to think of fun ways to celebrate her birthday and this year everything lined up for her to have an incredible boho brunch with a few of her friends.
My hairstylist has the most beautiful building downtown. The building has the cutest back yard and covered patio. We decided to use the back yard for the boho brunch. If you are in the Lexington area and need a space for a gathering, this space is available to reserve. If you’d like more information you can contact them at …..
We didn’t expect for it to rain the night before but it didn’t dampen our spirits. We moved all of the party under the covered patio just because the ground was still wet from the rain.
The menu consisted of donuts, bagels, fruit, and cake (of course).
Cazlin’s absolute favorite cake in the world is the Chocolate mousse cake from Costco. I added some chocolate and vanilla macarons and some edible glitter to shake it up a bit.
Tweens are an interesting age. I wanted to make sure they had things to occupy their time without it being too juvenile or too grown up. We kept with the boho theme and got supplies to make flower crowns and to wipe on henna tattoos. We made a great tween playlist and everyone had a great time.
My sweet friend, Melinda, helped with the tattoos and corralling of giggling girls Friends like this are the best kind of friends! All in all this was quite possibly the best birthday party we’ve ever thrown together. We hope your fall is off to a great start!
Last Friday I was heading back home from the morning school run when I had one of those moments. You know what I am referring to. One of those moments when you look around and cannot remember the last five minutes of your trip. You think “how in the world did I get here?” You then realize you’ve been driving on autopilot and you are just happy you aren’t in a ditch somewhere.
It hit me, in that moment, that I have been living in autopilot for the last few months. I really struggle with staying present. As a single mom I am constantly problem solving (mostly for problems that technically aren’t happening but could.) I try to stay ahead of anything that might come our way. (It’s a defense mechanism and I’m working on it). So if we add that to the things that ARE currently happening, it’s just the perfect storm for living in my head. And while there are times a visit to my brain is important, it is no place to live.
So the work begins. Work on being present. work on remembering things that I am passionate about and supporting those desires and dreams. Making sure that things and people I love are one my calendar. It is important to tackle the heavy things of the world, but if we aren’t taking care of ourselves it becomes impossible to improve anything else around us.
Back to the basics. More time outdoors. Regular exercise. Fueling my body better. Spending time with people who challenge me and encourage me. Making sure that I am being authentic about who I am. Setting time aside to recharge and rest. It’s easy to put ourselves last, but it’s important not to.
A few weeks ago I was asked to partner with such a cool company. GetOutPass! And no sooner had I downloaded the app when winter decided to finally arrive here in Lexington. Caz and I had been stuck inside for a couple of days and I knew there would be a mutiny if we didn’t get out and shake off the dust so we took an afternoon when we had a break in the weather to try out one of the many activities they offer.
GetOutPass started in Utah in 2018. One of the founders wanted to find a way to try lots of new activities with his family without breaking the bank and so GetOutPass was born!
It’s a great app that takes several activities in your town and surrounding towns and allows you to pay a low price to have access to all of them in one spot . There are few different pricing options which makes it really affordable for everyone.
Cazlin and I tried Wacky Walks for our first activity. It’s a scavenger hunt/ quest and cazlin loved it. We used the link in the GetOutPass app and we were off!
We had to play Rock, Paper, Scissors to decide who was the queen of our quest.
I’m sure you realize that it really didn’t matter who won this match. Cazlin would always be the queen.
Our quest was lead by an online host. We were tasked with different missions that lead us around our town. Each mission had a different points value! We could play against each other or as a team.
We had to find some street art and moonwalk in front of it! We had to find a sign with the name of our town and she had to box in front of it.
We had a great time and got out into the fresh air and laughed so much. I’m looking forward to trying several new activities with my crew.
In early December I had the opportunity to spend an evening with some fellow creative minds at the Lexington Brewing Company and Town Branch Distillery. It was full of history, tasty beverages and snacks, and laughter. Oh so much laughter. I wanted to share my experience with y’all because I sometimes forget how incredibly cool it is to live here in Lexington and how many wonderful experiences we have right at our fingertips.
The main doors to the welcome center (and the welcome center itself) were still decorated for Christmas. It is quite possibly the cutest welcome area ever. It had such an Irish feel! They had lots to offer for purchase. Everything from t-shirts to beautiful bottles of bourbon.
We were introduced to our tour guide and let me just tell you that I’ve been extremely lucky to meet some incredible people on these types of tours. I’ve never had a bad tour guide but our guide from that evening was so fabulous. (If you go and can request Boyd you will not be sorry!) He was so animated and joyful and we soaked up the history about the distillery/brewing company.
We hopped over to the brewery first and learned their process and sipped on some of the delicious creations. (I swear it’s like an amazing science laboratory that makes yummy concoctions)
I have to also say the company I had that evening was impeccable. I always leave these meet ups so creatively charged and excited about doing something new.
Love these girls.
After tasting some of the brewery’s offerings we headed over to the distillery.
I find the history and the actual process of bourbon so fascinating and no matter how many times I do a tour like this I always learn something new.
We sipped. Tried some of their other spirits(our bartender, Dave Bob, was fantastic) and had some light bites.
Photo courtesy of Muse Marketing!
I absolutely adored this tour. The company didn’t hurt either. I encourage you to check out the Lexington brewing company. Go with a group of friends. Take out of town guests. Go enjoy the history tied to our lovely little town.
You can find them nestled at 401 Cross st. Lexington, KY 40508. Check them out online at http://www.lexingtonbrewingco.com for tour info and hours.
I’ve decided to share with you snippets from my week each Wednesday. (So Wednesday to Wednesday like the Kroger circular) We are knee deep into my favorite time of year. I don’t even mind that it gets darker earlier, I just snuggle down with a good book or with caz for a good movie.
The past week has been pretty full. Starbucks released all things holiday.
I enjoyed some great music at The Burl. If you haven’t heard Cole Chaney you need to get on board quickly! For such a young man he has quite a seasoned voice.
We hiked in Frankfort with one of our favorite humans, Courtney, and our favorite dog, Remus.
I drove Caz up to see our state capitol. She had a Rocky moment (although I’m pretty sure she doesn’t know who that is)
We celebrated my little Sister’s Birthday. Y’all this dessert was so good.
And enjoyed that extra hour on Sunday.
And now the work week has begun and I’m looking forward to all the things in store this week. I hope y’all have a great hump day and that the rest of your week brings you nothing but joy.
Hi friends! It is time once again for my Friday favorites! I’ve been loving the cooler temps and I’ve got the house in full Christmas mode (don’t come at me, it brings me joy). But I thought I would pause in the middle of my coffee to bring you a few of my favorite things.
1. I’m loving my laundry detergent from Buff City Soap! I made my own scent in the store (I combined their Queen scent with just a splash of coconut). It is the most luxurious smell especially on my linens.
Side note- if you wash your rugs with this your entire home will smell like heaven!
2. I heart radio. Y’all. Mixmas is here! I’m just over here listening to it on the i heart radio app at all times. (Again, mind ya business because I love me some Christmas.)
3. I was gifted some amazing skincare from my sweet friend Priyanka and let me tell you it is a game changer. Our skin changes so much as we age and these products have my skin feeling so fresh! I plan on doing a bigger post about these products with some before and after photos later on, but in the meantime I wanted to share them with you!
So there you have it! A few of my Friday Favorites. I hope your November is full of love, family/friends, and gratitude.
Last night I put my earbuds in. I touched the small screen in my hand and had access to an entire library of the music that I’ve loved for most of my life. (If you received music from me last night just know that I love you dearly). I then stared at my ceiling just letting waves of emotions roll over me. I have been struggling. I’ve been struggling with single motherhood. Struggling with loneliness while surrounded by plenty of people. Struggling with balancing a relationship and trying to meet the needs of another human while trying to communicate my own needs. But somewhere in those lyrics last night something ignited.
Y’all right now the world is a mess but we also have the opportunity to make it so much better. We are inundated with contradictions at every turn. We are screamed at from every angle about what we should believe. We have stopped being genuine with each other and started using sarcasm and hatefulness as defense mechanisms. We’re frozen with a fear of making wrong decisions, when we should be loving each other and loving our communities because that’s were it starts. It starts within ourselves.
So I’m making some big changes. I’m tired of living inauthentically. I’m tired of making myself try to fit into just one space. I’m more dimensional than that. We can be pieces of all the things we love and I intend to live the next half of my life being all the things that I want to be and pouring out love on others. So much love to every one of you.
I’ve been trying to travel more around the state and visit cool things we have close by. I had seen people post about the Giants at the Bernheim Arboretum and I knew that was something Cazlin would love so we got up Saturday morning and headed out of Lexington and toward the Forest.
First thing I want y’all to realize is that my children can not travel 100 feet without picking at one another, so a car ride longer than an hour is a real act of motherly love. They were arguing before we ever hit the interstate… and I had to listen to the same two songs for the length of the ride. I say all this to say that parenthood (or any relationship really) is just working through the rough stuff to get to the good stuff. So now I’ll show you the good stuff.
We arrived a little later than I would have liked to so it was a little warmer than I had hoped to hike in. The trail does, however, offer quite a few shady nooks and places to stop and rest. The kids and I did the 2 mile loop to see all three of the giants.
The beginning of the trail (from where we parked) had a beautiful little pond, which was a really nice way to start our hike.
It wasn’t long before we were upon the first Giant
Bernheim has several different areas, so depending on where you are you feel like you are in a whole different place.
The Second Giant was the largest and the crowd favorite.
This area had lots of play and shade for kids. Several benches were close by to rest and a plaque that told the story of the giants resides in this spot.
Cazlin’s absolute favorite was the one furthest away.
It was a great day trip (even if there were a few cranky moments). The kids and I enjoyed it and have talked about going back in the fall.
This pretty much sums up their relationship.
If you are wanting to make the trip to see the giants there is not cost to enter the arboretum. A $10 donation is encouraged and well worth it! The Forest is located at 2075 Clermont Rd, Clermont KY 40110.
It has taken me quite a few days to put words together about my oldest child graduating. I sometimes joke (when it is his birthday or he has hit a milestone that it is the longest I have ever kept a pet alive). I literally am a parent to an adult human being which a weird thing to grasp, especially considering he still asks me how long to cook certain things. But the last few weeks have been filled with love, tears, fears, and laughter. Here is an overview of this strange phenomenon of having a high school graduate.
It didn’t hit me when I thought it would.
I was fine through graduation and all the events leading up to it. However, one evening I was folding socks and literally burst into tears at the thought of this transition in his life. I think this is the way I have always tackled Motherhood. Get through the moment….. Process it later. I’m sure I’m not alone with that type of mindset, but it did take me completely off guard to have that sort of moment during mundane household chores.
2. All the Fears.
I know I am not alone in the “worrying mom” club or the “I feel like I fall short” club. I know I am a good mom, but the “did I teach him enough” fear keeps eating at me. I’m pretty sure that he is going to hate me the rest of the summer as I shove life lessons down his throat. I mean every kid needs to know how to do laundry, grocery shop, and clean the bathroom properly, right?
3. I like my kid.
I’ve learned over the years that I not only love this kid, but I like him. That’s a powerful thing. I really enjoy doing things with him. I enjoy his perspective and his sense of humor (which is totally like mine) Motherhood is a weird journey and I am very lucky that my journey with this kid has been incredible.
4. Learning to let go is a process. (I’m doing the best I can)
For the longest time, Aidan was mostly a homebody. He had a couple of good friends that usually came his way, so me having to worry about where he was or what he was doing wasn’t something I stressed about. In the last few months he has changed a bit and is going out more and hanging out with his friends at other places. I’m still having to tell myself that I can’t hold his hand or hover forever and it’s uncomfortable, but I also know that it’s necessary. My job is to prepare him for a life without me and I can’t do that if I am always with him.
5.This transition changes my relationship with Cazlin.
My youngest and I are preparing for a completely different shift. Soon It will just be me and her. It’s never been just me and her. The thought is exciting and terrifying all at the same time. Hopefully this gives her a sense of independence as well. She has always had the older brother around to call the shots.
All in all this season of life has been a joy. I’m so proud of my big kid and I cannot wait to see what this next part of his life looks life. If you have kids in any transitional phase of their life (be it big or small) please know that I am praying for you and cheering you on from my little neck of the woods!!!
Caffeine and Courage 