Simple Pleasures | Inspiration for This Season

Is it just me or is it hard to find a new idea out there?  After years of blogging and pinning and scrolling, I find I'm looking at the same concepts over and over, season after season.  I'm also anti-trend, so that makes it harder.  The trends hit you over the head.  Of course, I could do another post about a charcuterie board or a charming picture perfect picnic on a plaid blanket, but that is everywhere.  You can't search on Pinterest for one minute without coming across 10 photos of the most charming things you ever seen, except you've already seen it 10 times before.  Searching out fresh inspiration that isn't already the "big thing" has become my goal.

For me new inspiration has to come from sources other than what everyone else is looking at.  And it often comes in real life.  A great meal at a restaurant, a discovery of an old favorite, a new combination of familiar things.

I set out this morning to make a list of simple pleasures for this season that would light my fire a little bit.  New recipes, new weekend activities, new family traditions that would help us embrace the next month before the Fall season is here.  I don't want to spend the next month pining after pumpkins spice everything, but enjoy what we have to experience right now.

Apple Party

I'm planning a little family party this weekend to embrace Apple Season.  I know I just dis-ed on overly styled picnic images, but this one did inspire me : )   I've grown into a place with entertaining that is sort of anti-styled, real life.  I hardly share our real entertaining anymore, because it isn't really photo-shoot worthy.  It is real and normal and we do it all of the time - which is my favorite kind of entertaining.

For the party, I'm thinking bonfire and weenie roast with caramel apples.  I'm going to make some individual boxed sides, too.  I'll share the menu once I get it planned.

Simple Nature Walks

You know my love for walks (post here).  Our favorite days of our England vacation were spend walking about the country side.  We kept saying, we need to do more of this at home.  More that ever, this new Back to School season leaves me needing to be recharged over the weekend.  I need to feel that life giving feeling of slowing down and getting in touch with nature again.

This month we are going to set out on some country paths and breathe in some fresh air.  I'm hoping to pack a picnic (not sure if it will be Pinterest worth or not... but it will be yummy) and make a day of it.  We need to clear our heads after weeks of work and school.

I have big opinions about the 'hiking' industry (and that it has convinced people that you need to be in the mountains, and need tons of gear...) and will do a post later about how we like to go on simple nature walks.  A favorite weekend activity for us that costs nothing and is easily found all over the country.

Family Card Games

Now that family dinners are back in full effect,  we've started playing card games after dinner.  I love that we are teaching Emma classic pastimes that can all be played with a simple deck of cards.  Here is a list that will remind you of some classics.

Taking the Paper

In this photo you'll also see a newspaper, specifically the funny pages.  We started taking the paper twice a week, Wednesdays & Sundays.  It seems like a step backward, but as we try to unplug more at home, it is a fun old fashioned way to spend some time.  Emma's obsessed with the comics and will spend a half hour on the sofa reading them - a fun new, old fashioned tradition that keeps her from asking to watch a show a couple times a week ; )

New Recipes for This Season :

Along the way, I came up across some new dinner recipes.  My goal is to try at least a new recipe a week.  Here are some that I'll add to our rotation of favorites.

Chicken, Potatoes & Spinach Skillet Dinner

We made this last week - so good.  Very easy, all made in one skillet.  Mike kept saying, "oh, like a skillet sensation"... now, we all refer to it as that, against my wishes!

This tortellini soup looks really good, but I'm not sure about the sausage... I'll let you know what I think.

I'm also really interested in this dish for some make-ahead dinner ideas.  Emma's favorite green is broccoli, so I think this might be a big hit.

This caramelized sweet potato and kale rice looks really yummy for the fall.  I'll probably make it along grilled pork tenderloin.

To see what else is inspiring me this season, see my Pinterest Board that I've been updating lately.  Also, I'd love to see what new inspiration you've come across.

Walking | Simple Pleasures

I'm going to start a new blog series on "simple pleasures."  It falls under my "everyday occasions" category, but it is also something different.  In our lives that seem to get bigger and busier, I try to keep a habit of lavishing in simple pleasures.  Good cups of coffee, getting up early, lighting candles, steamy showers, bubbly baths, slow Saturday mornings, nice pajamas, fresh sheets, and daily morning walks.  All of these things are simple, tiny and mostly easily attainable, but could be overlooked or forgotten in hectic schedules.  So this series here to remind all of us of the little moments that make big impacts.  The first in the series is absolutely essential for me everyday.  I would love to hear about your favorite little everyday moments.

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Daily Morning Walks

I have walked (almost) everyday for 12 years.  Before that I did lots of various "workouts" from aerobics classes (that's what they were called 20 years ago...), yoga, running, etc.  Nothing really stuck for me or added anything to my life except to check the fitness box - not that I was even that 'fit.'

It all changed for me when I got Mr. Darcy.*  He was a puppy and he needed walks.  Lots of long walks. I found what started as a new daily chore has become my lifeline.  I have to walk everyday, no longer for Mr. Darcy, but for myself.

My walks are when I do my best thinking.  Almost instantly when I leave the house, I can feel how it opens my head, clears my mind and lifts my mood.  Literally, just steps outside of our drive I take that big deep breath and feel refreshed.  If I'm ever feeling at a creative impasse, or struggling with something (as simple as a new product idea, blog post or as complex as a tough relationship), I know I can always contemplate it most clearly on a walk.  I always come back from a walk full of energy, ideas and happiness.  My lungs are full of fresh air, my posture is improved, my body feels leaner and stronger and my head is clear.  Life can be so simple sometimes.



My favorite time of day to walk is early each morning as the sun comes up.  In the wintertime, our schedule is a little off as the sun is coming up at about 7:45.  Emma gets up at 7am and leaves for school by 8am, and I don't want to miss time with her in the morning, so my walks get pushed to 8am in the winter.  But soon, I'll be back on schedule, leaving the house at 6am and being back home by 7am, catching the sunrise at about 6:30.  Sunrise in the middle of the summer can be before 6am, and can be as late as 8am in the winter.  You know things like this when you are a morning walker.

This year, I've incorporated walking to my favorite coffee shop into my early morning walks.  They open at 6:30.  It takes me 30 minutes to walk there and 30 back, so being out of the house at 6am is always my goal so I can be back in time for Emma to wake up.  It is a 3 mile loop for me and I always come back warmed up from walking and coffee and it feels great.

To be up, outside before anyone else and to witness the sunrise on a daily basis is so special.  On most days, it is my motivation to get up and out early - to catch the sunrise.  In the warmer months, we often take sunset walks as a family.  I'm trying to pass on my love for walking to Emma, as it has been such a saving grace for me.

My minimum temperature is about 15 degrees.  I bundle and even wear ski pants if necessary.  It is amazing how toasty you get after walking about 10 minutes outside in the cold.  I always come back sweating and red cheeked - perfect start to a winter day.

The other benefit of walking outside is getting to observe nature.  We don't live next to a great park or have any trails to walk on, so I rely on finding the prettiest natural spots I can in our neighborhood.  We walk along a creek that lines a golf course where we observe ducks and ducklings, and watch the water freeze, thaw and observe the life that happens around it.

In the next couple of months, I'll watch tiny buds appear on the trees and get excited to see their progress each day.  I'll notice as more birds appear each morning and their songs increase.  I'll rush home to share the quince and daffodil report to Mike and Emma in March when I see the first ones appear, or in September when I notice the first maple tree begin to turn.  Such simple things.  All things that are within our grasp each day if we take the time to look.

In preparation for this post, I did a little looking around for great walking quotes.  Here are some that resonated with me.

All truly great thoughts are conceived while walking.  -Friedrich Nietzsche
An early morning walk is a blessing for the whole day.  -Henry D. Thoreau
The most ancient exercise and still the best modern exercise.  -Carrie Later
And into the forest I go, to lose my mind and find my soul.
The sovereign invigorator of the body is exercise, and of all the exercises walking is the best.  -Thomas Jefferson
Thoughts come clearly while one walks.  -Thomas Mann

There is also so much data on how healthy a daily walk is - mental health and physical health.  Reading the results to these were so fascinating - like mood-lifting depressed patiences as much as medications can do, adding seven years to your life (!!) and curbing sweet cravings.  I'd include the stats (you can find them here), but I really wanted this to be more of my testament.  Also, when I try to motivate myself with longterm goals it doesn't really work for me.  I am more of an instant gratification person and that is what walking does for me - instantly I feel better for the entire day.  That's what keeps me getting up every morning because I know I will feel great immediately.

Do you walk?  I'd love to hear the benefits you get from walking.