“…all creation’s revealing his majesty. We’re invited to join with all nature in manifold witness to his great faithfulness– and since creation is going to declare it either way, we might as well jump in with our half-finished songs and join the chorus.”

–Andrew Peterson, Adorning the Dark

November is more than half over and last month truly was an Octoblur. Lance and I kicked off the month in New York City & Boston, feeling fancy, and we finished October trick or treating around our ‘hood with one Hermione Granger and one Woodland Fox. Both bookends were sweet & memorable.

How was your October? Before we launch into the second half of what is one of the greatest months of the year– I’m sharing just a few things I’m loving lately.

In the BlueHouse Kitchen

• This White Chicken Chili (Wait. Don’t keep scrolling. This is not your ordinary brothy-soupy chili. This is prize-winning chili. Seriously. It has one more than two chili-cook-off’s 🌶🌶) I add lime and cilantro and it is A++!
• Brown Sugar Syrup for coffee-shop quality lattes at home. Mmmm. We had the first real drop in temperature this month and I immediately made a batch of this syrup to have on hand.
• The Harvest Salad with Cider Vinaigrette and Maple Pecans from Feasting & Foraging (free with Kindle Unlimited right now. wink wink.) Seriously. This salad screams fall & will look gorgeous on your Thanksgiving table. Or the day after with some leftover Turkey on top.
• Also. These Spaghetti Squash Lasagna Boats are everything. We served them to our Monday night life group fam a couple of weeks ago and I’m already planning them on an upcoming meal plan. SO good you don’t even miss the pasta. (I know. Carbs are Life. But I stand by what I said.)

On the BlueHouse Bookshelves

• Adorning the Dark by Andrew Peterson
• Caroline, Little House Revisited by Sarah Miller. (I just finished Little House on the Prairie as a read-aloud with the girls, so the parallel story line has been enjoyable.)
• Write Better by Andrew T. LePeau. LePeau worked for over 40 years at InterVarsity Press as the associate publisher of the editorial division. I snagged this book at the Hopewriters Conference last week and am so excited to dive into this one.
• What the Wind Knows by Amy Harmon. I finished this spell-binding book a few weeks ago– it was so good, that I read the last page and immediately sent a copy to my mom. Note: there’s some time travel in this book so if you’re a realist who doesn’t like to set that aside when you read, be warned. 🙂

Making Life Easier

• In my diffuser: Siberian Fir & Peppermint. Thanks to Amanda from Birdsong Design for sharing this tip– It smells like a Clean Christmas Tree!
• Pick-up. For everything. I’ve been using the Target app to order what I need and then free curbside pickup to grab it. Granted, part of the fun of Target is lingering long in all the different sections, but that doesn’t usually fit into our schedule– not to mention this way saves money- Ha! I’ve also been using Kroger Click-List for awhile and THAT has truly made me a better meal-planner and grocery shopper. I still wish Publix had the feature because well, Publix has my heart.
• Rethinking the idea of hiring a staff to help keep things running has helped me immensely. My current staff members are 10 & 7 and they really only unload the dishwasher and do a few small chores … and they’re obviously my children, not employees. But re-framing this idea of “farming out” things on my to-do list has helped me juggle more. Being intentional to plan ahead and be sure that I am using all of the things at my disposal instead of lamenting my limitations. (i.e. using Target pick up & Kroger Click-List, making sure we all have a bit of margin to actually pick up after ourselves daily, utilizing the library hold system and pick-up, etc. to name a few.) It may seem so ordinary, but assessing and using what I have at my disposal at this stage– is saving my life!
• Getting back to getting up early. I was sick a couple of weeks ago and it threw me completely off course with getting up early, but I’m back and I love it. There is no substitute for this introverted Mama to having a few quiet minutes at the start of the day.

One final thing I’d like to share with you— If you are one of the dear hearts who have left a review for Feasting & Foraging, thank you so much. I am grateful for you. Thank you for every tag and message and text!

If you have read Feasting & Foraging, and haven’t had a chance yet, would you consider leaving a quick review here? Authors are immensely grateful when you share a few words about their words, because it helps others find the book they’ve labored over.

What’s on your fall loving list? Big or small, I’d love it if you would reply or comment and tell me one thing that you’re enjoying right now.