Learning to be a Wife

This is what the past week looked like.

I made chicken in the crockpot with corn and black beans, added rice, and made the dip from this recipe.

E.T., errr, Manny.

I'm honestly surprised at how well these flowers are thriving two weeks later.

In this week's edition of "What I Added Cottage Cheese To" (and it was amazing).

Spooky season is here.

Treated myself to a pedicure.

I'm more of a cute and cozy Halloween girlie.

Wine Wednesday with a sweet friend.

He prefers a morning dip while I prefer an afternoon dip.

10/10 recommend this wine.

This made me giggle because he is always out walking his dog.

October sunrise.

G and I took Friday afternoon off to extend our weekend and soak up one of the last boat rides of the season.

Boat rides aren't his favorite in his older years, but I figured he should join us for one of the last rides.

He understood the assignment and relaxed into the ride.

Michigan's fall collection is stunning.

The family joined us for one of the last rides of the year and we couldn't have asked for a more beautiful day.

Mary Poppins spotting? :)

Epic sunset.

These are definitely a repeat purchase for me.

Katherine Center is an automatic read for me, and while this wasn't my favorite of her books, it was still a cute and enjoyable read.

Favorite quotes:

"I want the details of a story to be endlessly surprising. My greatest hope when I start reading a new story is that it will take my heart on a Tilt-A-Whirl carnival ride of every single possible emotion along the way. But - and this is essential - by the end I want us all to be okay. Better than okay, if possible."

"Falling in love bolsters your immune system. Love soothes anxiety, prevents colds, mitigates depression, lessens pain, and promotes healing. New studies on the biochemistry of love shows that experiencing loving feelings lowers stress. It counteracts the production of cortisol in the body, and it strengthens the vagus nerve - which calms and regulates mood, heart rate, digestion, and inflammation."

"A really well-done story of any kind makes you believe it's real. The best stories make you forget you're reading at all - and the boundaries between you and the characters dissolve. You emphasize so hard that you step into the shoes - even climb into the skin - of those people. Their story becomes your story. It's happening all around you - and to you."

"There's a reason we love reading love stories. They're good for us... One of the big lessons that the main characters in love stories learn over and over, story after story, is to choose love over fear."

Official last ride to wrap up an epic boating season.

Fun fact: I can't stand anything pumpkin flavor... except pumpkin beer.

Sunday supper was an old favorite, but G swapped the peppers for artichokes and it was the best version yet.

Work has felt extra hard lately and it's been easy to fall into a negative mindset, so this verse has been on my heart lately.

Love this question shift.

Food for thought.

The more you know.

Still thinking about this as an enneagram one.

Bahaha.

I feel seen.

Guilty of doing this.

You had to be there.

Raises hand.

For more life lately:

This is what the past week looked like.

Monday vibes.

New week, same lunch.

Embracing my sleepy girl mocktail era.

My sweet sugar face.

I was captivated from the very first page and adored this book.

Favorite quotes:

"I recently read a book by C.S. Lewis in which he says that you don't really know what you believe until the truth of it becomes a matter of life and death. It's one thing to have faith that a rope is strong when it's coiled in a box. But would you dangle from that rope over a precipice?"

"The secret to happiness is freedom and the secret to freedom is courage."

This company name made me giggle, and of course I had to send it to my girlfriend, whose husband is named Dan.

My take on the viral feta baked pasta, but swapped out the pasta with spaghetti squash.

Swimming and floating my way into October with no regrets.

Had to drop off the summer tax check, so naturally I rewarded myself with a little treat afterward.

I firmly believe errands deserve a little sprinkle of fun.

I’m reading through the Bible chronologically, so I’m jumping around a bit.

I had Chat make me a little checklist to keep track so I can check off each book as I go (which is very satisfying).

I love using The Everygirl wallpapers to create a fresh desktop background for my computer each month.

It’s such a fun little way to switch things up and get into the spirit of the season.

Not my prettiest meal, but “salmon risotto” sure does sound fancy.

Fall flowers make me happy.

I love a book that challenges the way I think, and I know I’ll be thinking about (and talking about) this one for the rest of the year.

Favorite quotes:

"Live a more engaged and interesting life and you will have more of yourself to share with others."

"Maximize total life enjoyment."

"For every moment, there is an ideal experience to be having."

"The business of life is the acquisition of memories. In the end that's all there is."

"Although we all have at least the potential to make more money in the future, we can never go back and recapture time that is now gone. So it makes no sense to let opportunities pass us by for fear of squandering our money. Squandering our lives should be a much greater worry."

"What I am an advocate for is deciding what makes you happy and then converting your money into the experiences you choose."

"What good is wealth without health? In other words, to get the most out of your time and money, timing matters. So to increase your overall lifetime fulfillment, it's important to have each experience at the right age."

"Many psychological studies have shown that squandering money on experiences makes us happier than spending money on things."

"Start actively thinking about the life experiences you'd like to have, and the number of times you'd like to have them. Think about what you really want out of this life in terms of meaningful and memorable experiences."

"The main idea here is your life is the sum of your experiences. Everything you do in life - all the daily, weekly, monthly, annual, and once-in-a-lifetime experiences you have - adds up to who you are."

"You retire on your memories. When you're too frail to do much of anything else, you can still look back on the life you've lived and experience immense pride, joy, and the bittersweet feeling of nostalgia."

"The key takeaway is to strike the right balance between spending on the present (and only on what you value) and saving smartly for the future."

"Being aware that your time is limited can clearly motivate you to make the most of the time you do have."

I'll never get over the lake sparkles.

I guess in his old age he doesn't have to sleep on his blanket anymore. ;)

Took a little risk and tried a new wine, and we actually liked it quite a bit (definitely gave us Sauvignon Blanc vibes).

Don’t sleep on RHONY.

The Martha Stewart scene alone was absolute television gold.

This week was a really good reading week.

Favorite quotes:

"The best stories are the ones that fill you with wonder. The ones you almost believe."

"It's a privilege to waste time - waste as much of it as you can. On things you love, on things you enjoy, on moments that make you so happy you could burst. And in the end, if you do it right, none of it will have been a waste at all."