A New Morning Routine + My Reading List

Not too long ago I read this post by Nancy Ray. She talks about how she starts her day by quieting her heart, spending time with the Lord and simply enjoying peace before jumping in head on to her day.

Like Nancy, I too can become easily overwhelmed and stressed, but stress and anxiety are not how I want my life to be defined. In an effort to change this pattern I decided a couple of months ago to give this new morning routine a try. I am so glad I did. It may sound crazy but it is really something I look forward to now every morning. While I still enjoy sleeping in occasionally on the weekends, there is something so peaceful about a quiet home, a warm cup of coffee, a cozy blanket, the Bible and a good book.

I have always loved reading, but was simply never able to make time during the day to sit down and enjoy a good book. However, with this new routine, I've given myself time to first and foremost spend time in the Word, whether it's simply reading a book or passage, or doing work for one of the two Bible studies I'm participating in. After that I get out my journal and write out at least three things I'm thankful for. This really helps bring perspective to my life and reminds me just how blessed I am. I think we often forget that and it's such a great way to look back and really thank God for what he has done and given us.

Lastly, I spend 10-20 minutes reading whatever book I'm in at the time. While I love fiction books, I decided recently to spend more time reading books that will help me grow and learn. So I've been reading more books on business, finance, spiritual and physical growth. I love that I feel like I'm learning so much!

Here are the books I've read over the past 2 months:

EntreLeadership - Dave Ramsey

Women of the Word - Jen Wilkin

The Meaning of Marriage - Tim Keller

Love Does - Bob Goff

Good to Great - Jim Collins

November Goals

Can you believe it is November already?! The holidays are knocking at my door. We have had a pretty busy fall again this year, but as always I'm excited about Thanksgiving and Christmas. In fact, I'm hoping that my goals will help keep me on track so I can not only begin implementing new routines but ultimately so that I can enjoy what matters most during the holidays; family and relationship with others.

I'm sharing my goals with everyone as way to keep myself accountable. I have a lot of big, scary, and crazy exciting things in the works and while I often feel silly sharing them here on my little blog, doubting myself, my creativity and my ability, but I'm learning to be bold again by simply being vulnerable.

Here are my goals for November:

- Revisit my guest room/office decor (I've been saying this for months and finally feel like I've got a more solid direction about where I should go with it as far as organization and decor)
- blog at least 3 times per week (if I'm being totally transparent, I'm obviously not doing well here, but giving myself grace and room to grow)
- organize linen closet
- take family photos for holiday cards
- purchase holiday cards
- create 2 more products for my etsy shop (yup, you ready that right! eeeeekkk! So excited to share more as this evolves!)
- sip on a pumpkin spice latte with my love


What are some of your goals this month?

Photo courtesy of the crazy talented Shay Cochrane

September Goals

Can you believe it is already September? Seriously, where did the summer go? Well I don't know about you but here in Houston, I am welcoming fall with open arms, as long as it brings in some cooler air! While it was a bit late this summer, the heat and humidity finally reared it's head and if you aren't indoors in the blasting arctic AC then you should be in a pool.

August, was busy as usual, but I'm so thrilled that I've started focusing on monthly goals because it's keeping me on track to really focusing on things that matter most to me. While I wasn't able to finish a lot of my August goals, I can say, I am well on my way and I am excited for September. Not only do I love the fall, but this new months gives me a new opportunity to finish up Augusts goals and begin new ones! It's not about perfection people, it's about making strides that will help us focus on working towards a life filled with the things that are important to us.

I also want to start sharing things I'm thankful for from the previous months. So here is what happened in August:

- goal setting with the hubby (we both post our goals on the fridge and intentionally share them with one another to help encourage one another)
- a surprise weekend getaway with the Mr. to Austin
- taking more photos - I LOVE taking photos, I've been hauling my camera everywhere and I've been learning so much
- planning upcoming trips/holidays

Those are just a few of the things standing out to me right now, I know there is so much more I could share.

Now for a recap of last months goals and some revised goals for this month. Last month I realized I needed to break out some of my larger goals, like my guest room/office overhaul, into smaller goals to make them feel a bit more attainable so this month I'll be focusing on working towards each of those smaller goals.



August Recap/September Goals


- finish reading "Wheat Belly" 
- read "Women of the Word" by Jen Wilkin and "Smart Money Smart Kids" by Dave Ramsey and Rachel Cruze- finish pantry overhaul and reorganization
- do 5 things that create a cleaner more "honest" home (I recently read Jessica Alba's "The Honest Life" and was encouraged to make a few changes in our home, more on that in a post coming soon).
- guest room/office overhaul 
        - create an inspiration board
        - save for and purchase bedding
        - save for an purchase accessories- do at least one photo shoot a week to work on styling and overall skill
- continue working out 5 days per week: including weight lifting, one class, yoga and running
- make 80% of meals at home

A Weekend Getaway - Austin Edition

A few weeks ago my husband surprised me with a weekend getaway to Austin. Our schedules have been almost polar opposite lately so we hadn't seen each other much and date nights were few and far between so he decided to plan a quick overnight trip for the two of us on a weekend that worked for both of our schedules.

While it was just a quick trip, it was exactly what we needed. Time together.

We drove about 2.5 hours to Austin and spent the day at Barton Springs. I'm going to be super honest, it's a little weird to see a spring, enclosed like a pool in the middle of Austin, but was a lot of fun. And for the few dollars it cost us to get it in, it was so worth it!

After spending a few hours out in the sun, we stopped at a favorite spot for many locals, Sno Beach. It's a little snow cone food truck in a random parking lot! I can't tell you how long it had been since I've enjoyed a snow cone but it was the perfect way to cool off in the 100 degree heat.

For dinner that evening we went to another well known Austin destination, Moonshine Patio, known for their classic American comfort food. Let me tell you, if you haven't eaten here, you should! They have the most quaint atmosphere built in an old home, and they have tons of outdoor patio space. You sip on drinks from mason jars, snack on spicy popcorn and savor the jalapeño cheddar cornbread! We ordered the Moonshine "Corndog" Shrimp with honey mustard blueberry swirl as an appetizer and I ordered the Cornflake Fried Chicken Salad and the Mr. ordered the Seared Rainbow Trout. It was all amazing!

On Monday, we woke up early, grabbed a quick breakfast and made a 40 minute drive to Hamilton Pool, not too far from Dripping Springs, Texas. Hamilton Pool was probably my favorite place all weekend. We arrived early enough that we decided to go for a short hike to Padernales River first before the heat set in. We were the first guests to arrive at the river that day so we enjoyed the peaceful sound of the running water. It was perfect! The water at the deepest was only about waist deep so we were able to wade out to the middle of the river and hang out on some large rocks and take in the view. 

We spent the rest of the our time at Hamilton Pool. Again, if you haven't been you should definitely go. The pool is surrounded by a collapsed canyon and has a 50-foot waterfall. The park limits the number of guests allowed in to maintain the natural surroundings, so get there early to avoid the 1.5 hour wait in your car!

Overall the trip was amazing, it was great to get away from the hustle and bustle of life and enjoy nature and catching up with my sweet hubby!

August Goals

As I mentioned in this post a few weeks ago I am trying to be more intentional with my time. I want to live with more joy and more purpose. In order to do so I am going to write out and share my monthly goals here on the blog.

My goals may seem a little strange or scattered to you but each of them reflect things that are important to me. I want to live a fulfilling healthy life, one of simplicity, order, and beauty and most importantly one that glorifies the Lord. By writing my goals out monthly I hope to find myself working towards them more often working less out of habit and more from intention.

August Goals:

- finish reading "Wheat Belly" by
-pantry overhaul and reorganization
-do 5 things that create a cleaner more "honest" home (I recently read Jessica Alba's "The Honest Life" and was encouraged to make a few changes in our home, more on that in a post coming soon).
-guest room/office overhaul
-do at least one photo shoot a week to work on styling and overall skill

A Gift For Baby

Last month I became an Aunt for the first time! My husbands brother and his wife welcomed Baby Clive to the family and we couldn't be more thrilled. Unfortunately, with us living in Texas and them in Brooklyn, NY it can be challenging to share lifes little moments with them so I opted to put together a quick gift box to send them instead. There is just something so sweet about getting an unexpected package in the mail!

I've been reading a lot about the importance of keeping a cleaner, safer home when it comes to kids and I have been doing a lot of reading about Jessica Alba's new brand The Honest Co. I couldn't wait to get my hands on some new cleaners to try out myself and I was over the moon when I found out they carried some of the baby products at Target. I snagged some samples and of course their Organic Healing Balm for my sis-in-law. And I couldn't help but throw in a toy, an adorable onesie and the sweetest pair of baby shoes ever!

I added some shredded colored paper filling and a card and voila! Gift in a box! This will do for now until I can spoil the little man when I meet him in September!

It's Never Too Late...

As you know I've had this blog for a couple of years now and I've never been able to fully commit myself to doing regular posts. Blogging is hard ya'll! It takes a lot of time, patience and persistence!

But as I've reflected over the last few months, I realize it's not just blogging that I find difficult, it's life in general. I have always considered myself a "go-getter," a hard worker, achiever, organized, etc. However, I have felt like a complete mess the last few months. So I recently sat down at a local coffee shop and did some soul searching, I realize that not only do I not set goals, but I also live in a lot of fear.

Let me expand on this a bit. My husband, bless his heart, is the biggest goal-setter, goal-achiever I know. He writes out his goals for the day, week, year, 10 years....and on and on. He knows that sometimes God has different plans for him and he is totally okay with that, He simply revises his goals to align with those the Lord puts on his heart. I, on the other hand, have dreams, big, fluffy, head in the clouds, audacious dreams. But the difference is that I dream these dreams with no sense of how to make them a reality. I find myself floating through life day-to-day with no real plan. Not really working towards any one thing, getting easily distracted and not enjoying life to it's fullest, because I lack intentionality. At the same time, I also live in fear of how people will view me and my life. I know in my heart that I am a daughter of the King, I should not live in fear, but I let the world flood my mind with doubts and anxiety. I let fear put a halt to my dreams and the desires on my heart, before I even attempt to make them a reality. This is the enemies goal, he wants us to fear, to think we are weak and unworthy, but that's a lie. We have all the strength and ability we need through Christ.

All of this being said, July starts a new chapter for me. I am going to stop living in fear and start being intentional with my life, my walk with the Lord, my home, my career and my family. So, moving forward I will be sharing my monthly list of goals on the blog. Many bloggers already do this and I want to do these same, because it creates amazing accountability. Over the past few days I've been working on setting small goals for the remainder of July, and a more solid list for August. I'm so excited to share some of those with you in the next few days. And I'll also be sharing how we as a family, create and help one another work towards our goals.