2023 Fall Goals

Thanks for popping into Thinking Out Loud Thursday!  I'm going to share something on my mind and invite you to link up and share what you're thinking out loud about today.

Tomorrow is September!  What happened to summer?!?  Even though fall doesn't officially start until September 23, it seems like when we flip the calendar from August to September, fall is officially on the way.  (Queue all things pumpkin.)  Today I'm thinking about what some of my fall goals are and wanted to get them down on paper.  Here goes ~

Spend some time in the leaves

I love the changing of seasons.  When the leaves begin to transition to their wildly beautiful colors, I love being amongst them.  Hiking in the fall fills my cup.  This fall I'm hoping we can visit a few new hiking locations and revisit some of our favorites.

Clean out and purge my closet

A few years ago I spent quite a bit of time cleaning and reorganizing my closet.  For months it was in tip-top shape.  Now, it needs a little TLC.  It's time to do a purge to get rid of items I haven't worn in a while and throw away things that are beyond their best life.  In case you're at a point of organizing your closet, I'm linking a few of my favorite items I used in my closet.  That hanger organizer was a game-changer!

Research our next vacation

We are taking a cruise in a couple months and I want to familiarize myself with the places we are going.  I haven't been on a cruise for years and, to be honest, cruising wasn't one of my favorite things.  But my husband, son, and daughter-in-law have had wonderful experiences so I'm giving it another try!  

Plan a party at our house

Hosting events at our house is something I absolutely love!  I have this vision of a fall party outside and I'm going to work hard to make it happen!  

Make some notes about things I want to do next summer

This summer was a blur.  I had so many grandiose ideas and then my dad got sick.  Our summer vacation was cut short and many of the things I had hoped to do just simply did not happen.  To be better prepared for next summer, I want to make some notes on things we want to make sure happen next year.  Watch out summer of 2024 - I'm coming for you!

What's on your list of things you want to do this fall?  I would love to hear them!  

Now it's your turn.  What are you thinking out loud about?  Link up and share!

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2022 Fall Goals

Hello!  Welcome to Thinking Out Loud Thursday!  Yesterday our temperature in St. Louis reached a balmy 95 degrees.  And Mother Nature must have gotten the memo that today was the first day of fall because our high today...71 degrees!  The perfect temperature to usher in autumn!  I'm thinking out loud today about some of our goals for this season.

Sort through my fall and winter clothes.

This hasn't happened in a few years and I know I could make a massive donation of clothes I haven't worn in a while.  It seems that since the pandemic, I really don't have a grip on what clothes I even own.  Who knows what treasures I'll find buried deep in my closet!  

Take a Scenic Fall Foliage Drive

I'm putting Eric in charge of finding a scenic route for us to take.  He loves reading Midwest Living Magazine and I'm confident that he will route the perfect weekend drive for us to enjoy the beautiful fall colors!

Make Apple Butter

Years ago, making apple butter was an annual ritual in our house.  Somewhere over the course of time, I've lost my recipe and stopped making the little jars of spicy apple puree.  Even if I can't put my hands on my old recipe, with Pinterest around I'm sure I can come up with something close.  

"Boo" My Friends at Work

Who doesn't like to get to work and have a little surprise waiting on your desk?  Fall is the perfect time to leave a little "boo" treat for friends to brighten their day. 

Create Thanksgiving Cards

Thanksgiving is one of my most favorite holidays.  It's the perfect time to send a note of thanksgiving to family and friends.  If I start thinking about it now, maybe I'll actually get a few cards made and in the mail by November!

Go to the Farmer's Market

We have the most wonderful farmer's market in St. Louis in the Soulard neighborhood.  Fall is the perfect time to visit.  Can't wait to meander up and down the rows of freshly harvested fruits and vegetables!  There's also a fabulous Bloody Mary stand that's hard to walk past.

That's a few things on my fall goals list.   What's are yours?  I would love to hear some of your ideas!

Now it's your turn.  What are you thinking out loud about today?  Link up and share!

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

2022 Goals

This time of year, you see a lot of bloggers posting their goals.  To some, this may be inspirational and others, not so much.  Many times, reading others' goals prompts me to remember things I would like to accomplish or achieve.  It ignites energy and motivation that wasn't there until I declared it on the list.  I hope some of my goals do that for you!

It's a New's Years tradition for me to travel to Kansas City and ring in the new year with friends.  When my son was little and I was single, he and I would make the trek across the state, and on the way, we would talk about things we wanted to do in the coming year.  Some years I traveled alone and it's a wonderful time to reflect and plan and dream of what's to come in the next 12 months.  This year I made the trip with Eric, my husband, and we talked about vacations we would like to take and things we'd like to do around the house.  

Here are some of the things I'll be focusing on in 2022 ~

Hike to a waterfall in Tennessee

Waterfalls are one of my very favorite things and I'm willing to travel to see them.  Tennessee is a comfortable weekend trip for us and I would love to see a few of their beautiful waterfalls.  

Collect enough green dust jacketed books to do this:

Read the Louise Penny Detective Gamache Series

I've heard so many people who have loves these books and I've not cracked a single one open.  Many of them are free to read on Kindle Unlimited.  I'd like to read at least the first one to see if I like it.

Try a New Decluttering Technique

There's not a single drawer or cabinet in our house that couldn't use a little decluttering.  This year I'm trying a new technique.  On Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday I'm going to set a timer for 15 minutes and work on one area.  It might be a drawer or shelf, but for 15 minutes it's getting my full attention.  Hopefully, by the time 2022 is over, I'll be able to see some real results!

Be More of This...

Continue My Spiritual Journey

Our church has had a three-year plan to read through the Bible and we are entering our third year.  By the end of the year, I will have read through the entire Bible!  I'm also in a couple Bible study groups and have learned so much from them.  Looking forward to further exploring and understanding the word in 2022!

Hoping we can put the pandemic behind us and all learn to be kinder to each other.  Now let's get busy making 2022 the best year yet!  

2020 Goals

Happy New Year friends!  Welcome to the first Thinking Out Loud Thursday of 2020.  I'm excited to start the year (and the decade!) with a clean slate.  I'm also determined to make this year the best it can possibly be and I'd like to do that with you.  So, with no further ado, let me share my 2020 goals ~

The Blog

It's hard to believe, but I've been blogging for five-and-a-half years!  One Thousand and Ninety-Five total posts!  In the beginning, I was all about learning as much as I could and growing the blog.  Then after about two years, I was pretty much on autopilot.  My desire is for this to be a year of growth.  I'm also going to try to be more transparent on how I feel over here.  Things aren't always rainbows and butterflies, but I rarely open up about the things that aren't great.  Not that I'm planning on being a Debbie Downer, but I think it's important to let you know that things aren't always perfect and share how I feel.  I'm excited to take this little space of mine to the next level and raise the bar a bit.

Use the Things I Have

We have an entire room in our house dedicated to my crafts.  I have enough ribbons to wrap the planet Earth four or five times and enough scrapbook paper to make every living human a personal card.  And yet, with each project I start the first thing I do is head to Michaels to buy more stuff.  It's crazy!!  This year I'm going to make a gargantuan effort to use what I have.  Now, this does mean I'll need to get myself a wee bit more organized so I can actually find and use the items already purchased and in my stash, but the end results will be so worth it!

Personal Development

It's no secret that I'm a HUGE Rachel Hollis fan.  In June, me and a friend are headed to San Diego to her RISE conference.  Yes, I'm ecstatic about going!  But I want to extend my personal development beyond just that one experience.  Not long ago, someone I know that is in her 70s mentioned she wasn't interested in the personal growth stuff anymore.  Honestly, her comment has haunted me ever since she said it.  No matter your age, you need to continue to grow!  If you're not growing, you're dying - and who wants that?!?  Age should not be a factor in wanting to be the best version of yourself and to do that we all need to grow and develop.  This year I want to be more intentional in my personal development and lay the groundwork to make life better.

Home Organization

We've lived in our current house for twelve years.  As things do over the years, we have an accumulation of things in cabinets, closets, and drawers.  Things that we don't need anymore, or want anymore, or are so outdated that we won't use anymore.  Those things are going!  I know I'll feel so much better when I open a closet door and things don't come toppling out at me.  

Plan Vacations

Vacations are something I love!  It seems Eric and I connect so much more when we are on vacation.  I love coming home and having made the memories we will talk about for years to come.  We've floated ideas out on where we want to go this year, but haven't firmed up any definite plans.  This is a goal I won't let slide!

Enrich Friendships

My friends mean the world to me!  This year I want to spend some intentional time enriching current friendships, making new friends and letting go of others.  I love the quote by Mandy Hale, "Letting go does not mean you stop caring.  It means you stop trying to force others to."  I'm sure I'm not the only one who has friends who just aren't that into you.  I've spent so much time worrying about what to do to make those friendships better.  It might just be time to move on.

Expand My Cooking Life
Do you find yourself cooking the same things over and over?  Man, I sure do!  I have a cabinet full of cookbooks and enough recipes printed that I could try something new every day for the rest of my life and still not tap into half the recipes I have.  We're trying new stuff this year.  Period.  Get ready because there's a big chance I'll be sharing those new recipes on the blog!

When I accomplish these goals in 2020, I'll be able to look back and see it was a pretty fantastic year!  Just writing them down makes me enthusiast to get started.  What are some of your goals for the months ahead?

So that's what I'm thinking about today?  What's on your mind?  Link up and share!

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Welcome July! Goals and Thoughts

It's July!  How did that happen so fast?!?  Half of the year is behind us and we have the other half laying out all nice and pretty in front of us.  It seems I've not lived as intentionally the last six months as I would like, so my new plan is to make the six months that are left in 2019 the best they can possibly be.  

So, for starters I'm going to try very, very hard to lay out my monthly goals.  Some will be simple.  Some will be hard.  And some will carry over from month to month.  But at the end of each month I want to have tangible things that were accomplished and celebrated!  Want to join this ride with me?  Make your list and get started!  Watch out July - we're coming for you!

Here's my July list ~

Pick my free book(s) selection from Amazon Prime First Reads

This seems so simple, but some months I get this done and others I waste the opportunity.  Are you an Amazon Prime member?  Each month Amazon lets you choose one Kindle book for free from a selection of eight books.  In July, Prime members can choose TWO Kindle books for FREE.  Here's the books to choose from for July ~

Get my July decorations up

That's right, it's July 2 and I still do not have a single red, white, or blue decoration up at my house.  Be on the look out - hopefully I'll get it together in time to post something on Thursday.  Just in time to celebrate the 4th!  It will stay up for the entire month so not all will be wasted.

Put the finishing touches on our vacation plans

Eric and I are headed to Dublin, Ireland in August.  After the initial planning and making our flight and hotel reservations, I've stalled.  No further planning has happened other than ordering Rick Steve's travel books.  I need to dive in and map out our week so we can make the most of our trip.  I love the vacations we take where nothing is planned and we relax for several days in a row, but our international trips we like to pack in as much activity as possible.  That takes some planning and I need to get on it!

Available HERE

Available HERE

Plan book club at my house for July

My Kansas City friends recently started a book club and of course I wanted to join.  I'm hoping (with all my fingers and toes crossed) that we can meet at my house in July and turn it into a girls weekend.  The book this month is The Lilac Girls and it's been on my list of books I want to read for a while.  If you remember, I had the opportunity to meet the author, Martha Hall Kelly, and loved her book Lost Roses.  You can read about that HERE.  So my mind is swirling with all kinds of thoughts on lilacs and what I can do to make our book club session fun!

Available HERE

Paint the dresser that's in my closet

There's a dresser in my closet that I've used literally since I was born.  It's followed me to college, my first apartment, first house and now resides in my master closet holding my underwear and camis.  It's in great shape, but I've had the burning desire to paint it for years.  No one sees it.  It sits hidden in my closet.  Maybe that's why the task of painting it has never risen to the top of the list.  Regardless, the desire to fancy it up has been burning inside me and the time has come to take action.  I have a sneaky suspicion that I'll be begging asking Eric for help with this project because he is just such a better painter than I am!  

Exercise and drink more water

Guys, I've really let my health take the backseat for a while.  No more excuses - I need to be walking / exercising more and drinking more water.  Eric and I got up before work yesterday to walk and it actually felt great.  Hopefully by doing more of that and drinking more water, a few pounds will go away too.  One can only hope!

Blog with more consistence

I really do love this little space on the internet that I have, but sometimes it takes the backseat to everything else I have going on.  There's lots of ideas floating around in my head about things I want to blog about.  There will be a concerted effort to get them down in writing during July.

Work on the wedding I'm helping with in October

I'm helping with a couple's wedding in October and I want to get some of the items I'm responsible for done this month.  Helping brides make their wedding day perfect is a passion of mine and I feel so lucky to have them trust me with their special day.  This won't be a hard task to check off the list because I love working on wedding stuff so much!

That's some of the things I'm hoping to focus on this month.  What's on your list for July?

Thinking Out Loud Thursday - September 29, 2016

Hey, hey!  Welcoming to Thinking Out Loud Thursday!  Thanks for stopping in today and glad you joined me and Vanessa from X-tremely V for this week's version of Thinking Out Loud Thursday.

I honestly don't know where the month of September has gone.  The trip to Hong Kong kept me busy the first half of the month and the last half I've been busy with work.  A reminder of fall arrived in St. Louis on Monday with much milder temps and I'm determined to not let the month of October just slip away without enjoying the spectacular display of autumn sights, sounds and tastes.  So today I'm thinking out loud about my fall to do list.



~  Family pictures
For the last gosh knows how long, I've wanted to get family pictures taken against a backdrop of fall leaves.  Well, this year I'm well on my way!  The date is booked with my favorite photographer, Erica Turner of Turner Creative.  Now, I just have to figure out what we are going to be wearing!

~  Go to the drive in
I absolutely love sitting under the stars watching a movie on the big screen, especially in the fall when there a chill in the air and you can wrap yourself up in a blanket.  We have a drive in very near us and don't go there nearly enough.  Time to get this accomplished before they close for the season and I'm not able to cross this off the list.

~ Pick apples
Eckert's is our go-to apple picking spot and while we're there gathering apples there is a ton of other fun things to do.  Their restaurant has the best fried chicken around!  We also typically take a spin around their country store.  Great way to spend part of a day!

~ Try some new soup recipes
You've probably heard me say this before, but I'm definitely a seasonal cook.  In the heat of the summer, I never cook soups.  But as soon as the temps head south, bring them on!  Two of my favorites are the Tuscan Tortellini Soup and Loaded Potato Soup that I've blogged about before.  This year I have a couple more in my recipe box that we'll be trying and if they are worthy, I'll share them with you on the blog.

~ Clean out my summer clothes

What better time to sort and donate summer clothes than when you're putting them away for the season.  The American Red Cross will be in my neighborhood picking up donations mid-October and that is the perfect time for me to ditch all the clothes from summer that I never even put on my body.  I'll be honest, getting rid of things is NOT something I do well.  I hang on to far more than I should and I'm going to make an honest effort to release some of those garments I know in my heart I will never, ever wear.  Do you have some of those hanging around your closet?

~ Be a better blogger

I've been a bit lax in the blogging world lately...and frankly, I've missed it.  I've let the daily grind of life bog me down and I haven't been as intentional as I'd like to be.  As much as I absolutely love reading your comments, I'm not so good about always leaving them for others or commenting back.  My bad!  And I hope to change that moving into forward.  

So that's the highlights I'm hoping to hit this fall.  What about you?  Do you have a fall to do list?  Would love to hear about some of the things you are hoping to cross off your list.

Now it's your turn -- link up your favorite post and let us know what you're thinking out loud about today.  I promise to visit and comment each and every post.  :)

Enjoy more Thoughts for Thursday at:

Home of Malones

East Coast Chic

Thursday Favorite Things Blog Hop

The Deliberate Mom

This is How We Roll

Bows and Clothes

Party at My Place
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