Hello, beautiful friends. I hope you all have had a good end of the week. I wanted to share more of our vacation from a few weeks ago. After our exploration of Wakulla Springs, Florida, we headed right after dinner to St. Mark's National Wildlife Refuge and Historic Lighthouse in St. Marks, Florida.
I LOVE visiting Lighthouses. This one DID NOT DISAPPOINT.
We took a lovely walk and explored the area!!! The sunsets were absolutely breathtaking! We also saw a little (not so little) creature. :)
My husband and I are being silly for our children. We always take a goofy picture and send it to them. It is just our thing!! :)
After we explored the lighthouse, we took a lovely walk along the Apalachee Bay and enjoyed the beauty of it all.
These are nothing but shells!!! Thousands and thousands of shells. This whole path was crushed and whole shells! It was so weird and neat.
On our walk, we looked over and saw this alligator. It was swimming right towards us. I will be honest, I speedily walked to the car :)
We headed to our hotel after this. We were super tired. Our hotel was nice and cozy. I went to the pool and read and enjoyed the pool and hot tub for a bit.
I'd like to share one last sunset photo. It is just breathtaking. I sure thought it was.
I hope you enjoyed visiting me and letting me reminisce about our vacation with you.
Hello, beautiful friends. I thought I would share a few fun things that happened this week so far. From Chili and Cookie Night and Downton Abbey Movie Girls Night Out! Thanks for visiting my little cozy space!!! 🍂🍂
My daughter and I are huge Downton Abbey fans! We have never watched any of the movies in the theater. It was a real treat to go to the movie theater and get treats. It is usually so expensive. We chose the half off night and we had a nice time. I enjoyed spending time with our daughter Hannah! I don't see her but a few times a month now that she has her own place.
I truly enjoyed the movie. I will not share much because I don't want to spoil it for those who haven't seen it. But I sure did miss Maggie Smith. She was the queen of the show.
I so enjoyed the movie, though. It was bittersweet for the movie and series to end!
I truly will miss it, but can't wait to watch it over again in a few years.
Monday, I decided to change our menu from seasoned chicken to chili. I had the ingredients on hand and it sounded good to me. I invited all our children to stop by if they wanted to and grab some cookies and chili. It was so nice to see them all. They all popped in at random times, but at one point they were all here together at one point. It felt like old times.
Tuesday, I had a nice morning with some coffee and Bible time. I had a lunch planned with our Ladies Ministry organizer (I am the Pastor's Wife but work alongside our organizer) at Jason's Deli and it was such a nice time of fellowship. We planned our next few Ladies' Events and I am so excited about them.
I popped by Kirkland's to look at some home fall decor. It was a fun day and then I went home and enjoyed a nice walk and worked on blogging. I am seeing some signs of fall!!!
The leaves are slowly turning and falling, but it is probably because of no rain and everything is dry!!!!
I have taken a few evening walks this week, too. I truly enjoy an evening walk. It is always peaceful.
Thank you for popping by this little space and for all your previous comments on my past posts. It means a lot to me. I am so thankful I have started blogging again. I love coming and visiting a lot of your blogs as well. It brings me such joy.
Hello Beautiful friends! If you haven't noticed yet, I am all about cozy. It is my language. I love slow and calm moments, even in the midst of busy must live life moments. Join me as I share about a much needed restful day simply saying yes to things that make me feel refreshed, slow me down and enjoy some COZY!
When our children were little, I read a parenting book and there was a suggestion to have a say yes day (within reason) with your kids. If they want to paint, then paint. If they want to cook with you, let them. If they want to build a fort, let them. As a very routine person and super type A I needed this balance in my life. It was a wonderful tip and it was foundational to me as a young mom.
Well, every now and then we need to say yes to ourselves too!!! I am an empty nester now and so it is a little easier BUT even when our children were at home, I was very good about balancing a day of slowness and coziness to recharge myself during our busy lives.
So, I had one of those days this past Saturday! I slept in. Enjoyed a cozy bath, cup of coffee, read my devotions and then ordered take out! YES! Yes! I did. I never ever do this but I did. I enjoyed my early lunch while reading and catching up on blogs and watching my favorite YouTube creators.
I picked up this delicious fall scented bath wash from Bath & Body! It is so perfect for this time of year.
I enjoyed a body scrub, face scrub, a face mask, and pampering my eyes and nails. LONG OVERDUE!!
While I was doing this I curled up in my cozy bed to finish reading my book on my Kindle. It was pretty good. I began reading it on vacation and finished it up on Saturday.
Then I continued curled up and watched an older Fall Hallmark Movie called, Falling for Vermont, that Sandra at Diary of a Stay at Home Blog suggested. I loved it. It was fitting for MY COZY day!
I decided I needed to move my body and work my mind a little besides staying in bed ALL DAY! So, I worked on my Book Nook and took an evening walk.
It was a perfect ending to a lovely SLOW COZY SAY YES DAY!!!
I hope this will encourage you to take a day, a morning, an afternoon or evening. Or even take an hour to slow down and get cozy. Say yes to something you keep putting off that will refresh you!!!
Hello, Beautiful friends! Welcome to this cozy spot! I am sharing our vacation adventures. We took a very long overdue vacation to celebrate a few years of missed anniversaries and vacations. Empty Nesting allows us to do this now. :) I am sharing our first stop as we travelled to Florida. Grab a drink and a cozy blanket and let me take you on a little trip.....
We hit the road bright and early from the good ole' state of Mississippi. We headed toward Tallahassee, Florida. This was our first stop of MANY stops. We started our explorations at Wakulla Springs State Park in Wakulla Springs, FL.
The first thing we did was hop on a boat to tour the spring. We saw a ton of alligators, birds, and ducks, and the sounds of these birds were absolutely amazing. One literally made a sound like a monkey. I cannot for the life of me remember the name of it.
The boat ride was well worth the $7 a person. It costs a few dollars to enter this state park. There are many hiking trails, swimming, and so much more. We were pressed for time, so we just enjoyed the boat ride and made reservations to eat at the only lodge in a Florida State Park. It was good. Nothing fantastic, but it was nice to eat there after our boat ride. We planned our boat ride at 4 and then dinner at 5:30. It was a perfect plan.
I saw my first manatee in person. I know I shared this on Sunday, but I am so in love with them. They are gentle, loving creatures, so they say.
Wakulla had no shortage of wildlife. We saw more alligators here at this stop than we did on our tour in the Everglades National Park.
I had a hard time catching images of them because they were well hidden. But we did see a 12 ft one, according to the guide. He was massive!!!!! Here are a few shots of some wildlife and our tour.
The film from the 50's called the Creature of the Black Lagoon was filmed here as well as a Tarzan film in 1941. I could totally see how this location would be perfect for it.
This was the lodge where we had dinner and dessert. It had beautiful architecture. The Chocolate Torte was delish.
Here is a mama gator and she had some babies close by.
The spring was absolutely clear and and overall, I give this place a 4 out of 5 trees (trees besides stars when it comes to rating parks and outdoor things), and I would love to go back when I have more time to really take advantage of hiking the trails.
Hello Beautiful friends! I hope you all had a lovely weekend. I had a beautiful Slow All Things Cozy Saturday where I said YES to things I wanted to do. I will share that tomorrow with you, but for today, I want to join Sandra at the Diary of a Stay as Home Mom for Happy Homemaker Monday! Check out Saturday and Sunday posts! I am glad to be back from our vacation. I hope to share more about our adventures this week.
The weather in my neck of the woods ~
HOT! That is all I can y'all! It is HOT! I am craving cool air!!!! Highs are the 90's all week and no rain. Lows 60's.
As I look at my window ~
It is partly cloudy with a little sun shining. Green leaves are starting to get more lighter!! Hope for fall coming!!
Right now I am ~
Finishing up my quiet time while listening to my instrumental cozy music. About to get moving and tackle the to do list!
Something fun to share (a blog, video, or tip) ~
Thinking and pondering ~
I am thinking about the deep cleaning and home projects I want to do and plan for the month, along with items I need to replace this year for fall needs. I am also thinking about all the busy things that are planned for this time of year that I have to organize for church and family.
I am thinking of creating a fall bucket list.
Planning my fall hikes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
On my bedside table ~
My Kindle and current reading and a cup of coffee with water bottle
What I am currently reading ~
I am starting to read all things cozy mysteries for the fall!!!! Check this one out here!
On my TV ~
YouTube instrumental fall and cozy playlists
Listening to ~
One of my favorite things is to have instrumental music playing throughout my day. Piano, indie folk, jazz or Christian instrumental music. I love Cozy folk indie by Andrew Gialanella and Solo Moody Modern Pianist James Malikey.
On the Menu this week ~
Monday- Seasoned Chicken Breast, Veggies, and Sweet Potatoes
Tuesday- No Cooking (Hubby has a work dinner & I have a dinner & movie with our daughter)
Wednesday- Smothered Chicken and Rice with veggies
Thursday- No Cooking (Hubby & Sons dinner out, and I have a church ladies dinner)
Friday- Sheet Pan Ham & Pineapple, green beans, baby potatoes with parmesan
Apple Dumplings for dessert
Saturday- Homemade pizza night
On my to-do list ~
Personal quiet time
I have a lot of church bookkeeping to catch up on since I was on vacation for 10 days
Laundry
Do checkbook and pay bills
Vacuum
Start getting fall boxes down from the attic
wash car (it is covered in bugs from our trip)
make church deposit
water plants
grocery shop
Pick up some medication
Walking
What I am creating ~
I am working on a book nook. These are little things you build and create that are like miniature bookstores that light up. If you are a book lover, then you will love these little nooks to add to your shelves. I am almost finished with this one.
My simple pleasure ~
This week, it is cozying up with a book or watching an inspirational YouTube video and some chocolate.
I would love to hit a trail. Nature and hiking are calling my name.
Looking around the house ~
I see subtle hints of cozy as I slowly transition from late summer to fall. I see a collection of cozy books, fall candles, and new soft white bedding that I am planning to add "fallish" color throws and pillows to add the autumnal feel. I also see very neglected windows that need a good scrubbing on the outside.
From the camera ~
Cozy at its best! Isn't this lighting divine?
Bible Verse, Prayer, Journaling, or special devotional ~
I hope you have a fantastic Monday!!! Go pop in by Sandra's sweet spot (Link above) and join in. I love reading about others' day and weekly menu plans.
Welcome!!! I am a wife to a Pastor & Empty Nest Homemaker. A little about me...I love Jesus. Reading, nature, outdoors, hiking, walking, 5k's, tea parties, tea time, all things feminine, diamond painting, coloring, wax sealing and stationary art, cave and cavern exploring, cruising, traveling...all while balancing each new season life throws. I also like serving in my local church and volunteering where I can. I love to teach and lead bible studies for women. I enjoy hosting book clubs too!
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