Five on Friday - Charcuterie Sunday, Christmas Tree Sale, and Christmas Music

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Yes, yes, you did read that right… it’s not even Halloween yet and I’m already talking about Christmas over here.  Haha.  I can’t help myself, I just love it so much!  I figure, if Hallmark can start their Countdown to Christmas already, then I can start talking about it here on the blog!  We could all use a little bit of extra cheer this year anyway, right?  Okay, let’s get down to the favorites from the week!

O N E – Charcuterie Sundays

Pre-Covid, we went to my parents’ house every single Sunday evening for a traditional Sunday dinner, and it has always been my favorite way to end the weekend.  Since the pandemic started, we decided to put our Sunday dinners on hold to ensure that everyone stays safe and healthy, and while I know it’s the right thing to do, it still makes me incredibly sad to be missing so much quality time with my parents. 

Since our long-standing Sunday tradition has been put on hold indefinitely, we had to figure out what to do with our Sunday evenings, and since I’m always tired of cooking by the time the weekend rolls around, I decided to implement Charcuterie Sundays as a fun (and easy) way to end the weekend.  Grazing has always been my favorite way to eat, and our kids could not agree more!

I’ve been doing charcuterie boards nearly every Sunday evening for a few months now, and we’ve all been enjoying it so much.  I try to change it up from week to week so we’re having a variety of things, and it’s been a lot of fun to get creative when putting the board together each week.  This past weekend, I did a Halloween-ish charcuterie board and it was one of my favorites yet! 

If you want to see some of the other holiday boards I’ve done in the past, the links are below.

Valentine’s Day Board

4th of July Board

Halloween Board

T W O – HUGE Artificial Christmas Tree Sale

Last year, I bought this 7-foot, pre-lit pencil Christmas tree from Michael’s in their HUGE October artificial tree sale, and I loved having it in my office so much that I considered leaving it up year-round.  The tree looks great in-person, the branches are thick and fluffy, it already contains lights, and it’s the perfect width for small spaces.  I love that it’s tall and skinny because it doesn’t take up much space, yet it has ample room for ornaments.

I loved mine so much last year that I tried to purchase two more, one for each of the kids’ rooms, but they sold out very early in the season online and in-store.  I put a note in my planner for September 2020 to remind me to start looking for them early this year, and I’ve been stalking them ever since. 

They’ve been sitting at regular price, which is $109.99, since September, and then a couple of weeks ago, they put them on sale for $30 off.  I knew I had gotten mine way cheaper than that last year, so I held out, and I’m so glad I did, because this past weekend, they dropped the price by $60!!  That’s right, right now, they are on SUPER sale for just $49.99!!  I added two of them to my cart last weekend, and we did curbside pickup on Sunday to get them.  They do ship free, too, so that’s also an option if you don’t have time to go get them. 

We’re going to get these put up in the kids’ room next week and I’m soooo excited, y’all!  Just wanted to give y’all a little PSA about the sale since so many people asked about mine last year.  Make sure you grab one early because last year they weren’t in stock for very long… I want to say that they were sold out by the end of November!  And all of their artificial trees are on sale right now, so even if you're looking for a different size or style, now would be the time to check them out!

T H R E E – Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month

October is Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month, and I am one in four.  After my miscarriage, I tried tirelessly to make sense of everything that had happened, and although I’ll truly never understand, I found some solace in knowing that God’s plan is always bigger than mine.  As I healed, I clung to one single bible verse and it’s still my favorite to this day.

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.”  Proverbs 3:5

Weathering that storm is one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do, but the rainbow that came afterward has been so sweet.  Jacob has been, and always will be, one of my favorite things.

F O U R – My Mini

Sometimes I look at Olivia and all I see is Brian’s two sisters, but most of the time, I look at her, and I swear, it’s like looking at a picture of myself when I was six.  My little girlfriend has my eye shape and undereye bags (sorry, Olivia!  Haha), my smile, and my SAME EXACT hair line, part, and almost (real – lol) hair color.  I took this picture of her the other day and it just blew me away how much she looks like me when I was little. 

I thought it would be fun to do a little side-by-side comparison so I dug up this old picture of myself from when I was about her age.  I wish I could find one of myself smiling bigger, but I couldn't.  What do y’all think? 

F I V E – Christmas Music

And finally, our local radio station already started playing Christmas music, and I’m not the least bit ashamed to say that I’ve been listening to it pretty much nonstop all week while I’ve been working… and it’s not even Halloween.  I typically wait until November 1 to start listening, but blame it on the ‘Rona, because I decided to start a little early this year.  It brings me SO MUCH JOY, so why not?

Friday Funnies

Just kidding, I already know.  ;o)

At every. single. house.  Lol.

Lol.  Why is this so true?

Except replace peanut butter cups with Kit Kats.  ;o)

On the Blog This Week

 Our Week – The One with Quarantine, Week 32 (Elbow Update, Halloween Activities, and Family Pictures)

What I Wore – September 2020

The Best Fall Books for Kids

Happy Friday, y’all!  I hope you all enjoy Halloween weekend with your favorite people!

*Linking up with A Little Bit of Everything for Friday Favorites.