Weekending

It's crazy how rejuvenating a random long weekend can be-- I advise every single one of you to take advantage of one before the holiday crazies commence!

Call me crazy, but one of my favorite ways to spend a weekday not working is to get things done at home.  I was up with the sun to hit the gym for a good workout, which I was in desperate need of.  It's so hard finding the time to get to the gym these days-- I am definitely more of a morning workout person than an evening person, but we have to leave our house by 7am during the week.  My gym opens at 5, which means I would have to be there when they open and cram in 40 fast minutes then book it home to shower by 6 or so-- that's EARLY, y'all.  The other option is in the evening, but at the end of the day I want to just lounge with Molly, cook dinner, and hang out with Brian while he studies.  Ugh, the struggle is real-- I basically need to just bite the bullet and make one of them work, but still-- yay for a casual Friday morning workout!

Post-workout, I had to swing by Target to stock up on spooky surprises for my Halloween care package to send to the nieces and nephew in Baltimore.  They're still at the ages where the tiniest thing, like a light-up bracelet to wear while trick-or-treating can MAKE THEIR DAY, so I hit the jackpot at the Dollar Aisle-- holla!

As a sidenote, I feel that I should also share with y'all the news that the back aisle of my Target was already decked out for Christmas. I mean, the light-up reindeer were practically mixed right in with the screaming ghosts and monster bags of candy.  Christmas is my jam, but I enjoy taking my time to soak up Halloween and Thanksgiving first, thankyouverymuch.

Anywho, after Target I went home to my Molly girl and deep cleaned our house, then decorated for fall/Halloween which made me feel all festive.  I decided that with the weather cooling off and it being such a gorgeous fall day, that my nails were in desperate need of their first official fall mani!  I've been trying to scale back on gel and opting for polish (the gel wreaks havoc on my nails if I get it too many times in a row without a break) but it had been a while and I'm so hard on my hands that  sometimes splurging on the gel is just WORTH IT.  After a coat of OPI "Magala Wine" at my favorite little salon, I picked up Brian, pizza, and a bottle of wine, and we called it a night.

Saturday had us up and moving early-- the gym and a trip to Trader Joe's and Starbucks for me while Brian studied, and then we reconvened for breakfast and enjoyed a bit of College Gameday before we played the #basichomeowners card and geared up for a trip to Lowe's.  

I've been realllly wanting a firepit in our backyard since... well, since before we made an offer on the house.  I combined three or four Pinterest tutorials and after a solid two hours of work, including the two trips to Lowe's to transport all of the stones and pavers, we had a firepit!

Call me crazy but I kind of love it.  We've yet to have a fire in it, but I can't help but smile every time I see it out in the yard!  We took it easy that night and picked up burgers from a local spot and watched Southpaw (didn't love it).

Molly woke me up at 7am on Sunday and of course I couldn't fall back asleep, so we snuggled on the couch with coffee while I browsed Pinterest until Brian woke up.  We had to hit Lowe's for more stones to add around the firepit and pick up mums for our porch, then continued our weekend tradition of bagels and coffee at Gunther Tooties (alleluia, amen).

I worked in the yard for a couple of hours while Brian studied (are you sensing a trend with the studying?  Yes, it is ALL OF THE TIME and it's only been a month or so) and watched the Pats game.  After a quick shower, I decided that with my early wakeup call behind me, I was in desperate need of a nap, so while Brian made football snacks (love that husband and his knowledge that I will almost always choose apps/snacks over a meal), Molly and I did a lot of this:

I had an urge to make soup for supper, so I copied Chrissy Teigen and went for Ina Garten's Roasted Tomato Basil Soup-- holy goodness, y'all.  We made grilled cheese to go along with it, and it was just the best way to end our weekend. 

I would make a few modifications next time-- it didn't have a TON of flavor, and I would use different tomatoes, but all in all, it was so good.  I was prepared for it to be heavy and high in calories, but the only dairy in the soup is 2 tablespoons of butter that you use to saute the onions and garlic before blending, so it's not terribly unhealthy at all!  

We did stay up to watch the Supermoon/Eclipse, but I am feeling that late night this morning for sure.  Hopefully today flies by and I don't need to funnel coffee to survive!