Friday Favorites - Adios September

It's the weekend again - this week seems like it passed so quickly! The week was a fairly routine week and I know I've said it so many times before, but goodness time passes so quickly! Especially when you're just living life... going to different activities... just living life according to a routine! 

Week Things - Like I said, life has just been rolling right along! Monday night was our football and soup night (at least, that's what I tell myself, ha-ha). I just think nothing screams Autumn more than a chill in the air, a warm bowl of soup (or stew, or chili) on your lap and a football game on the TV! Tuesday evening Ryan's office hosted a Chamber of Commerce event and I was able to attend and support him and his office!

Wednesday after work, I headed straight to the home of one of the sweet ladies in my church group for our twice monthly Bible study! Our host cooked authentic Indian food: chicken curry, chickpeas and some divine bread (I don't think it was naan). The meeting was a wonderful time and on Thursday evening, I worked to get some exercise in and relax as the weekend approached!

Autumn Dresses - I'll preface this by saying I don't technically have one of these... but I've been told I might get it for my birthday, ha-ha! It's the burgundy dress on the left and I've had my eye on it for a little while... I actually have the same dress in a lovely hunter green and I wore it for my bachelorette party! It was flattering, comfortable and so cute - so I can't wait to have another awesome color!

The other dress is made by Terra & Sky and I spied this on my friend Nicole's Instagram stories! She was wearing an adorable tan version - but once I saw the black plaid, I knew it would be perfect for me! It will be great as the weather gets cooler and then once winter is in full force, it will look great with tights and boots! I can't wait to put both of these awesome dresses into my Autumn/Winter wardrobe!

To Be Read List - I just finished A Discovery of Witches and Counting the Cost, I'm in the midst of The Stranger Upstairs and if you've ever read my blog at all, you know I've got plenty of books on my to be read list... I love having Book of the Month and because October is my birth month, I got an add-on book for free as a happy birthday to me! 

I chose Starling House as my book of the month and added on The Unmaking of June Farrow - both seem like they will have a bit of a supernatural/fantastical/mysterious element and I love books like that! I can't wait to read those books and hope to also read Shadow of Night and The Book of Life (the second and third books that follow A Discovery of Witches) and I've also heard good things about the A Court of Thorn & Roses series. As you can see - I have plenty of things to read!

Thrift Store Finds - I did a little bit of thrifting with one of my dear friends this week and for $12, I think I found some quality items! I found the cutest little mountain shelf for $3 and it will be perfect in my office - it's very travel themed and so I can't wait to get it up and on display. It will definitely add a more unique feature to my walls!

I also found a weekly planner/white board bulletin board and it was only $8! These things retail for $25-$45 depending on how fancy you want one to be, but this one is essentially in perfect condition! I would love to sand and paint the border, but otherwise it's ready to be hung on the wall and put to good use! Loving my finds and can't wait to see them in action!

Weekend Plans - There is a Girls Nite and Autumn Market in Ryan and I's former hometown of Woodstock tonight; at a spot that I love, The Buttercup! They will have bites to eat by Flour & Water and of course, The Buttercup will have their awesome clothes to peruse and pick from - and they will also have vendors on the sidewalk to look over and enjoy! Otherwise, our Friday will be pretty low-key.

I am very much looking forward to sleeping in on Saturday and doing some planning for the future with the hubby. Later in the day, we are going to see The Blind at the movies and grabbing some dinner out for a nice date night... and Sunday will be October 1st - can you believe it? I'm not sure what we'll get up to on Sunday, but either way it looks to be a relaxing weekend and I can't wait. 

************************************************

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend, that your September ends peacefully and your October begins joyfully!

Way Back (Wag) Wednesday

I came across this picture on my TimeHop this morning - and goodness I sure do miss this precious little spirit so much! He was truly the most perfect little companion and he brought so much joy to my life, my husband's life and basically everyone he met and interacted with! 

I'm glad he's running free in Heaven - but I certainly miss him running free with me at the Arboretum. 

The Final Weekend of September...

Can you believe that this past weekend was the final full weekend of September? It was both a busy weekend - and then a very lazy weekend! It also rained all weekend long - whoosh! Thanks for that Tropical Storm Ophelia! 

Friday evening as soon as work was done, I headed home to change clothes, scarf down a sandwich and then headed to church for the annual women's conference! The theme this year was "All Together" and when I arrived, I was greeted with lemonade and a candy bar to help myself to some after dinner treats! We spent time worshipping and listening to a sermon from one of our speakers, named Kelli - she was great! 

 

 

When the evening's festivities were completed, there was a smore's bar and Crumbl cookies for everyone as they headed out the door! I was really glad to get home and pretty quickly crawl into bed; Friday was a long day ya'll! Saturday morning I was up early to get ready for day two of the conference and my sweet hubby got me some coffee from Dunkin before I headed out for the day! 

 

I snapped pictures with my Mom and friends and I even met new friends! I was so blessed when - during the Friday night service we were told to get in groups of 2-3 and answer a break out question - with the idea being to talk with someone you didn't know. I am usually terrible at things like this, but as I started talking to the girl near me, she realized she knew my Mom and she told me that she'd been praying for me! What are the odds that out of 300+ women, I'd be sitting by her? That's a God wink! 

There was a fancy coffee bar on Saturday morning - my church knows what ladies love - and everyone was gifted a cute little compact as they entered the sanctuary! The worship music was excellent again and the speaker(s) on Saturday... well let's just say they brought the word! It seemed like the morning passed so quickly... 

The conference ended around 1:00 - everything about the conference was excellent and I'm always so thrilled to have been able to experience such a wonderful weekend with ladies in Christ! I have to confess that once I got home, I ended up eating a late lunch and then took sinus headache pills, before falling asleep on the couch for almost TWO hours! 

Thankfully Ryan also napped and when we woke up, he tuned in to the Colorado/Oregon game (woof) while I went on a quick Wal-Mart run! I whipped up an amazing Potato and Ham Soup for dinner, we all ate and watched Mississippi State play their game, which also didn't end well. It wasn't a great football day for the Lapp household... although Penn State did win! 

Sunday after church, we headed to our favorite Mexican restaurant and I had my favorite meal - the Enchilada Trio! It's so delicious! Ryan and I popped into a couple thrift stores and then we popped into our local Puppy City and guys - this isn't a new pet announcement - this is mostly just me showing you a puppy that looks so much like my boy Watson! I haven't thought much about getting another dog, but this little lady pup just broke my heart open - she was so much like my boy W - and now I'm confident that when the time comes, I'll want to look for another Russell! 

We ended our afternoon errands with a stop at Ollie's where we found an awesome multi-use oven from Oster and then we grabbed a few things at Costco! We spent the afternoon getting ready for the week ahead, watched some NFL games and my hubby cooked a ton of pork belly and made beef jerky in our new Oster oven! I leave you with a snap of my Yoda Chia Pet on my desk this morning - he's really growing like crazy! 

The First Day of Autumn

 

Happy First Day of Autumn!

Friday Favorites

It's Friday guys! This week has flown by and also - September feels like it has flown by as well! I keep seeing the jokes that say August lasted forever but September is going 75 in a 25 and zipping past, and it's so true! The final week of September is on the horizon and the first of the "ber" months has absolutely sped by!

One. We are DEBT FREE - What an absolute blessing and goal achieved! We placed our house on the market in mid-August and an offer was made within four days of the house going onto the market. We set a closing date and on Wednesday, we closed on the house - no hiccups or issues - it all went so smoothly!

The proceeds from the sale of our house have allowed us to achieve our goal of being debt free and we could not be more thrilled! This is something we prayed about, planned for and have taken steps toward for the majority of our marriage - and what an amazing blessing to be able to say we are debt free with about six weeks until our first anniversary! Thank you Jesus for this blessing!

Two. New Hair - It has been a bit of a minute since I got my hair done and I finally went to the salon on Wednesday afternoon... and I went with something a little more dramatic than I have in recent months! I am absolutely in love with my new deep brown and copper hairstyle - and it even made the salon's Facebook page!

It's amazing what a new hairstyle can do for a person's mood - it just makes me feel refreshed and restored back to my usual, ha-ha! I think it's the perfect Autumn look and I'm so thrilled with it!

Three. Autumn Weather - The weather this last week has been so perfect! Autumn is making itself known and I am absolutely thrilled about that! The highs have been in the mid-70's and the lows in the evenings have dipped into the low-50's! It's been absolutely lovely!

Autumn is my absolute favorite time of the year - I love the cooler temperatures, the arrival of sweater weather and of course, soup season is my favorite! I love a nice sweater, a big bowl of chili, a chill in the air and football on the TV, as the leaves turn brilliant colors outside. It's the perfect time of year!

Four. Lavish Conference - It's lavish weekend at our church! When I get off work today, I'll be headed home to get changed and then off to church I will go! There are special speakers lined up to preach into the lives of the women that are attending and I cannot wait to worship, listen and just have a Jesus-filled weekend!

I should also mention that they always have the best little surprises! I know this year we will have a bougie lemonade stand, Crumbl cookies, s'mores and a candy bar... who knows what other awesome surprises we have in store! 

*************************************************

That's all I've got for this Friday y'all - I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend and hopefully wherever you are reading this from, you are enjoying lovely Autumn weather!

Virginia Beach Weekend

I am not much of a beach person - but sometimes there is such joy in being on a beach! Even for just a few hours, hearing the roar of the waves as they roll in and out, it can be so peaceful. I certainly enjoyed our weekend in Virginia Beach and especially enjoyed the waves rolling in and out!

We rode down to Virginia Beach with my parents on Friday night and arrived shortly after 10 PM - so it wasn't too bad of a drive (I say this as a passenger - but it seemed alright). We stayed at the Surfbreak Hotel, which was right on the beach and we were lucky enough to be on the seventh floor, so the views were incredible! I suppose since Ryan and I get up shortly after 5 AM during the week - we both woke up shortly before 6 AM on Saturday and crept out onto the balcony to watch the sun come up!

After getting ready and grabbing a quick breakfast from the front desk, we headed to NAS Oceana, the real reason that we came to Virginia Beach! The NAS Oceana Air Show was this past weekend and so we went to see the F-22 and the US Navy Blue Angels, as well as plenty of other planes, zooming around in the sky and performing death-defying feats of flight.

 

We perused all the static displays and the multitude of booths selling anything and everything you could think of - including a really cool booth dedicated to reading, which I loved! We had some pizza for lunch, applied plenty of sunscreen and watched all the planes swoop, spin and roll throughout the day. The air show started around 10:30 and went until a little after 4:00, so it took up most of the day.

The Blue Angels closed out the show and then it was back to the beachfront for dinner and a walk on the beach! We ate at Waterman's Surfside Grille and the food and service were both stellar - I'd highly recommend this spot if you're ever in Virginia Beach! The restaurant is family-owned and all the food is incredibly tasty! Not to mention - the beautiful beach front location makes for a wonderful ambience. 

Once we finished our delicious dinner, Ryan and I headed for the beach front to walk back to the hotel along the beach and I enjoyed every moment of our walk. Racing into the surf, watching the sand pipers rushing back and forth as the waves rolled in, watching my goofy husband run away from the waves as they encroached on him... in his sneakers!

The sandpipers were the funniest thing I think I've ever seen - I absolutely loved them! They would race after the waves as they went out, poking their little beaks into the holes that would pop up as the waves receded, looking for a bite to eat. Then, when the waves would rush back in, they would flee away from the foam, making sure it never touched their teeny feet. And they would do this over and over and over again! 

I guess the airshow and the delicious dinner just did me in - because I fell asleep before 9:30 and slept like the dead, ha-ha! Ryan and I woke up again shortly after 6 AM and this time, we headed down to the beach, padded across the chilly sand and (I) plopped down on the beach to watch the sun come up. Ryan didn't want to get sand on his butt - but I wasn't too worried, ha-ha!

 

 

We got to witness another spectacular sunrise - it was a wonderful moment and will be a precious memory. Sitting on the beach at sunrise with my favorite person in the world and a cup of blueberry coffee. What could be better? After getting ourselves put together for the day, we cruised around to see the Neptune statue and the US Navy Seal statue before getting breakfast at Mary's Restaurant - another spot I would highly recommend! It's classic diner food with excellent service and divine meals! It was a perfect breakfast spot! 

 

We made another quick stop at the Cape Henry Lighthouse - supposedly the spot of the first landing site of settlers en route to Jamestown to settle the first colony. Ryan and I elected to climb the 191 steps to the top of the original lighthouse to see what we could see - and while I didn't love that the steps had open space in between each step - I conquered my fears and made it to the top! The views were beautiful and I'm so glad we were able to take the time to see the views from the top!

Our final stop was at Langley AFB to visit with some family friends and get an up close look at the F-22 Raptor! We were able to learn a little more about the plane and snap pictures (from a distance) before heading to the BX (base exchange) to peruse the goods and then drive home.

We made a dinner stop in Fredericksburg at the Sunken Well Tavern (another very tasty spot) before arriving home around 8:15. It was such a great weekend - it just passed too quickly! Isn't that always the case though?