oh the places you'll go - my travel bucket list (so far)

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as far back as i can remember, which some days isn't very far, i always have had the list of places that i love traveling to & then places that are "must visit before i die" places. and some of them have fallen off that list over the years because i have either a.) visited them or b.) they just don't appeal to me anymore.  the latter happens very rarely, but i know it has happened a time or two.  

something about fall & changing colors, plus all the holidays coming up, stirs up those travel all over the world feelings inside & it has me adding and wishing and checking out all those travel sites, because well, who doesn't just because, in case there's a great deal out there.

here are some of the places on my travel bucket list currently:

montana/wyoming: this is on both husband's and i's travel lists. and i'm not partial to time of year to visit, but i'm pretty sure they get lots of snow (which is fine with me) but for airplane reasoning, maybe a late summer, spring travel time would be ideal. hubs wants to go on a hunt and all that manly stuff while there, but i'm totally ok driving the roads looking at trees and rivers & hanging out at the "lodge" enjoying all the scenery.

new england: can i just take a week long tour of this area? seriously, not even kidding. maybe even two weeks. in the fall. all the small towns, fall colors, leaves, b&bs.. like what i am waiting for. maybe this hasn't helped my situation any, but new england has always been at the top of my travel list. 



ireland: well europe in general has been on my list for quite some time, but with all the current political/war garbage happening, traveling overseas has been not a priority of mine. but ireland (and all that green!) has always given me the feels when i see images in movies & tv shows.  like that time that was it kaitlin (??) from the bachelorette went to ireland with her remaining men - that place is so dreamy. and all those small towns - i think is my main reason for europe. all the same towns and marketplaces and little cities of castles and homes and old buildings. days and days of wandering could happen here. easily. i'm a sucker for small towns. again its that gilmore thing i think.



japan: i've always been intrigued by the japanese culture. all the lights of their cities, their food (well most of it) & they have some pretty amazing scenery too. this one is so far down on my bucket list, but its always been there. maybe i'll just live through anyone who visits and enjoy looking at travel books.  this apply to asia in general. hong kong is on the list too, but its far fetched enough that i just enjoy seeing travel book photos. hah.

seattle: the fish market has always been on my list (well maybe since the year they did the real world in seattle, circa 1998) & the needle. plus right there by all the water of the pacific ocean. and whale watching has always been on my bucket lists. not many reasons to visit seattle particularly, but its there.

and a few more places on that list: alaska, georgia (savannah to be more specific), and the Caribbean (all those islands), plus hawaii (mainly because of this

while this list will take some time to complete, i'm determined to check most of these off.  what items are on your travel bucket list? 

little letters


a cool front decided to make it's way through our area last night & i am really hoping, crossing my fingers & praying that these cooler temperatures stick around until spring.  i'm definitely a cool weather girl & always dread the summer months... i become a hermit around may. not even kidding.

dear hobby lobby,
if you could really restock your cotton stems that would be fantastic. i've been dying to get some for decoration making and well you have been out. and i really don't want to order online and pay the ridiculous shipping prices because well i'm a cheapo.

dear ups,
my christmas present is on your truck & is supposed to be here monday..  please drive quicker, i'm dying here. well not really i'm just really excited about it.

dear zoo,
get used to seeing us. now that its cooling off, i'll probably be there at least once a week. and we are definitely excited about the expansions.. but one question, where did the warthogs and cheetahs go in the mean time?

dear sonic,
thank you for your 99 cent large drinks before 10 am and your half price happy hour.. i dont know whats better, the cranberry limeade or the grape limeade. i'm currently addicted to both.

dear pinterest, husband, home depot, bob villa,
with my christmas gift coming, i'm rearranging my craft room (aka the guest quarters). updating it, organizing it better (for the jillionith time) and making it all swoon worthy (hopefully)! please be patient with me. give me great ideas, wisdom, skills & everything else i need to pull this off.  before thanksgiving.  yeah. 4 weeks. if  you follow me on social media (hit up my sidebar!) or have my email, i'll take any picture suggestions you have.

happy pre friday!

Snacking with Gerber




as a stay at home mom (MOPS mom), i try to fill out schedule with a few play date outings a month. this is basically for both of our sanity levels. plus it gives me a reason to put myself together in the mornings rather than frumping my life away in leggings (holla!), sports bras & messy buns for the sake of being comfortable. all you other moms with me?

but part of this too, is because then i can sit with the other moms, drinking our caffienated mom drinks, talking about mom crap & watching our children act like somewhat civilized members of society. but dont let that fool you, because once those hunger pains hit, so do the Jekyll & Hyde switches and those once, so cute, precious, two legged lovebugs become vicious monsters who follow absolutely no instructions are completely inconsolable until they get something in their stomaches. which is why i do my absolute best to make sure my bag is packed full of snacks before heading out the door.



walmart makes it terribly easy to make sure we are always fully stocked on snacks, whether we are on the go or staying in for the day to complete mama's never ending to-do lists. and lucky for us, our local walmart is just a hop & skip from our driveaway.

once i heard about  lil' beanies by Gerber, I knew I had to give them a try. Benjamin exclaimed that they looked like chips, and started munching as soon as we could get them opened.  they come in two delicious flavors, original & white cheddar & broccoli.  


and while benjamin was excited about them looking like chips, i was not feeling an ounce of mom guilt about him eating  these. not only do lil' beanies taste good, they are good for you as well. made from actual beans (navy beans to be exact), they provide 2 grams of protein & 1 gram of fiber per serving. they also provide 10% daily value of vitamin e per serving, are non-gmo (!!!) and contain no artificial flavors, colors or preservatves.  plus no messy fingers in the end; can i get an amen?


next time you're at your local walmart, be sure to head down the toddler snacking aisle, and throw a couple of gerber's lil' beanies in your cart for your next playdate, field trip or general snacking session. also be sure to take advantage of their savings offer that you can find on  ibotta!

corn dog muffins



when it comes to normal, ben usually parallels your typical 3 year old boy in everyway. with the exception of two things. potty trainin, which hasnt happened in this house just yet (thank the lord for pull ups going up to 5t) and eating habits.

we got a great eater for a child. he very rarely complains about what we're eating at meals & usually gobbles it down like i haven't fed him in a few days. he eats from sun up to sun down & it doesn't matter where we might be, he's always starving.

until it comes to your typical kid foods.  mashed potatoes? you can forget it! mac and cheese? its touch and go. scrambled eggs? yeah heck no? hot dogs? oh please, save your trouble for someone else. even this child rarely eats french fries as a side dish like typical children. while i could imagine all my dreams coming true with endless french fries at places like chick-fil-a, ben eats a few and then hes done.

and while this should elate me as a mother (it does, i promise,) it makes mealtimes & parties sometimes difficult because yeah hes the weird kid who would rather have a cheeseburger than a hot dog.  challenge accepted! and by that i mean, i was determined to find a way that he could enjoy them on the rare occasions when, well, that's what's on the menu.

corn dog muffins:

1/2 cup melted butter or margarine
1/2 cup sugar
2 egss
1 cup buttermilk (no buttermilk? make your own!)
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 cup cornmeal
1 cup flour
1/2 tsp salt
all-beef hot dogs, cut into 1" pieces (our favorite are oscar mayer selects angus all beef or hebrew national hot dogs)

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Grease mini muffin pan with nonstick spray and set aside.

Mix together sugar and melted butter. Add in eggs. Stir in the buttermilk. in a seperate bowl, combine flour, cornmeal, baking soda & salt.

Add half the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and mix well. Add remainder of dry and mix well.


Spoon a tablespoon of batter into each muffin cup.

Then place a hot dog piece into each cup.


Bake at 375 degrees for 10-12 minutes or until cornbread is slightly golden brown.

Cool for a couple minutes before removing from pan and serving.  Enjoy with ketchup, mustard or another favorite condiment.

Yield approx 40 muffins.  Also reheats great for leftovers.



tools used for this recipe below: (amazon affiliates)

mini muffin pan: https://goo.gl/bTbEyD 
pyrex 8 cup measuring cup: https://goo.gl/5s3pwV

a day at the zoo


over the weekend, we visited on of ben's favorite places on earth, the zoo. anytime we go on an adventure to a new city, we try to make it a point to visit their zoo. he usually demands to seem the rhinos. but this time around, it was different. elephants. and more elephants. with a few giraffes thrown in totally satisfied him.

we used to have a membership which we let expire, but while we visited, we decided it was a worthy investment to renew our memberships again since its a great day activity for ben and i during the week. picnic lunches & a day full of animals. plus the fact that we can gain early admission in the summer months before it gets too hot totally seals the deal for me. 

here's some photos of our fun morning:



penguins are one of my favorite parts of the zoo - they also always have me wanting to watch mr. popper's penguins when i get home.

fun fact: the galapagos penguin is the only species that ventures north of the equator in the wild?





we're already looking forward to dressing up in costumes for boo at the zoo in a few short weeks + another 12 months of zoo visits.  

harvest pendant banner


i think one of my favorite times of year is when the seasons change from summer to autumn & i can drag out all my pumpkiny things & leaves & scarecrows. because it literally is just the beginning of all the wonderfulness that i look forward to every year.  ask damon, he knows just how excited i get when its finally appropriate for me to decorate for the cooler seasons, months & holidays.

quick & easy hair ties


I don't know about you, but i am one of those people who can't keep up with hair ties to save my life. and having a cat who is a kleptomaniac doesn't help my situation either. i've been making these for some time now because their so easy & inexpensive. so now i have a plethora of them stashed away for those days when i reach into my bathroom drawer and its sad and empty of all those hair ties that i had just purchased days before.  plus these guys don't eat your hair like those elastic goody-goody kind.

where i've been sorta + a southern staple


it's a funny thing, this blogging business.. whenever i don't blog for awhile, i get all the feels and miss blogging tremendously. and i tell myself to get back to it, make a schedule and start posting regularly. then life happens, i get sidetracked and my blog goes untouched for months. and i see/read all these blogs that have some kind of direction & well mine tends to be a place for my scattered thoughts, favorite things & life happenings...that's probably more of what i am at a standstill. it's what to write that people want to actually read & keep coming back for.