Fall in South Carolina

Fall in South Carolina has been out of control gorgeous. The weather has rarely been below 65 degrees. We've had a couple spells in the low 60s or high 50s, but otherwise it's been in the high 70s, low 80s. Seriously, gorgeous.

It's been a jam packed fall. We've been trying to take every opportunity to spend time outside in the beautiful weather. We been playing in the leaves, making hopscotch games, playing in the front yard, playing on the back porch, taking walks to the park, you name it. I'm so sad to see fall go! It's by far, the best season.

I passed this tree every day on the way home. Loved it. 

Fun day at Panda!

Veterans Day Parade

Trying to sneak candy while I check out. 

Friend's birthday tea party. So cute. 

Piper eats a lot of dirt...haha

S

Thanksgiving in Simpsonville

This year, Morgan and Jenn hosted Thanksgiving dinner at their new home in Simpsonville. We drove there on Wednesday and spent the evening talking and cooking in preperation for Thursday. On Thanksgiving we woke up and watched the parade (a must) and cooked most of the morning. We ate dinner around 1pm. As always, dinner was delicious! Turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, cranberries, creamed corn, delicious rolls by Jenn, green beans, frog eye salad, pretty much everything. We also had a chocolate cream pie, a pumpkin pie and an apple pie which I made from scratch and was so yummy! My first apple pie. My second pie, ever. Eek. Yep, not a baker.

After dinner we cleaned up and went on a walk. The weather was gorgeous so we did a big lap around the neighborhood. The kids sat in the wagon and it was just beautiful out. We hung out, put the kids to bed, and ate dessert and then headed out early the next morning becaue Josh had to get back to work. We had such a great time! Thanks Morgan and Jenn for being such great hosts!

I'm so thankful for this time of year. I love all the extra opportunities to focus on what we're thankful for and what's most important. We are so blessed.

NEWSIES

My sister and I always loved the movie Newsies. She gets all the credit for that one. She loved it long before I did. She is definitely the reason I love it. But regardless, we love it. So when we found out during TOFW that the Newsies Broadway Tour was showing the next weekend in Richmond, we quickly made plans to make it happen!

Since Jamie and her family didn't get to see the girls when I was in VA for TOFW, I decided I better take them with me this time. Plus, the only time they would need watching was during the show which was right around bedtime. Very limited work for Mark. ;)

So I drove up on Wednesday and we had the late afternoon and evening together. We went grocery shopping and stayed up talking that night.

On Thursday we ran to WalMart and grabbed a stroller (forgot mine, whoops!) and then headed to the mall. We walked around and saw a million things we loved and wanted. Can you say Pottery Barn Kids?! Holy smokes. After the mall, we headed over to Cafe Rio for lunch. Yep. You heard me right. Cafe Rio. Best. Day. Ever. I wish I was still 5 minutes from Cafe Rio, but 5 hours could be worse. Right? Haha.

On Friday we went to a little store called Lazy Daisy that sells adorable home decor and furniture. We were so tired on Thursday because we all stayed up late on Wednesday talking. I also had both girls in my room so I didn't get the best sleep in the world. Haha. After that we just bummed around the house until the kids got home and then spent our afternoon hanging out and trying to pass time before the show. Newsies was that night at 8pm. So we got ready and I put Piper down right before we left. Mark put Elliott down that night for me! So sweet.

We got there just as the doors were opening. So we snapped a few photos and went in to find our seats. Our seats were so good. And the show was phenomenal. There was just something about seeing all those dance scenes live in person. The singing and dancing was amazing and it lived up to every expectation I had of it. It was such a fun few days in VA! So glad we can do things like this!

Whole30

I learned about Whole30 a few months ago when my sister read the book and did it for herself. Then our friends Jacob and Valerie did it. Then my friend Alyson and her hubby did it! I wasn't convinced, considering it made both my sister and Valerie sick (totally normal). But, after reading the book, I was ready to try it and see if a) I could figure out what was causing my stomach issues and constant headaches and b) to get eating healthier! I just felt like I needed some kind of reset. And it has been wonderful.

We are just finishing day 13. Almost halfway! It's going pretty slow, if I'm being honest. But not in a bad way. Just slow. I have actually really been enjoying it. I definitely still want to stuff my face with cake and cookies all the time, but I push through and eat my nuts or fruit or veggies. :)

The first few days were pretty stinky. I had terrible sugar withdrawal headaches. But, those wore off after about 72 hours and I've felt better and better ever since. The dinners have been incredible. I haven't ever felt so healthy as I do now. It's almost freeing eating like this! Maybe that's weird. But that's how I feel. I literally know what every single ingredient is in everything I'm eating. I love it. It will definitely affect how I shop and eat from now on! I will update once we finish!

Meatballs and marinara. One of my favorites!

Chicken Curry with mashed potatoes. yum.

Meatloaf. Just had to substitute almond meal for oats and then used Whole30 approved ketchup. 

***UPDATE!***

Whole30 is officially over. I learned so much during those 30 days. I learned that what I eat greatly impacts my mood, energy, happiness, and overall health. I had less stomach aches, less headaches, better sleep, way more energy and was so much happier during Whole30. (Not to mention the 10 pounds I lost). I couldn't believe how different I felt. There were so many subtle things about myself that have just kind of always been that way, that I didn't really think of them as symptoms. It was just who I was. Tired, all the time. Turns out, a lot of it was what I was eating. 

I finished my Whole30 on November 3rd. Then I did 13 days of reintroduction. I reintroduced beans, gluten free grains (rice and quinoa) and dairy without any problems. I couldn't believe it! Hooray. I saved gluten for last. Boom. It hit me. Gluten just doesn't agree with me. Who knew?! I never knew gluten affected me. I felt awful after my day of gluten. I felt nauseous and bloated and I woke up the next day with a terrible headache. So I'm cutting way back on gluten and using gluten free whenever I can. 

I've been eating almost completely Whole30 even since stopping. It's scary to jump back into normal eating. Whole30 seems more natural now. And most my old recipes seem so unhealthy, I don't even crave them. 

So that's where we are at. I was the only one that stuck to it completely and did the reintroduction so I can't speak for anyone else. But it was life changing for me!