Firstly, thanks to everyone who read and commented on Friday's post about our engagement. It's so fun to hear how excited everyone is for us.
We had a packed Saturday but we were able to relax (okay, semi relax) on Sunday which was nice.
FRIDAY
Friday night we had plans to go to a mass dedicated to Sammy's grandfather who passed away about a month ago. I had some time to kill after work, so I surprised my grandma (my new office building is only about ten minutes from her condo) with a visit. She was SO excited to see me, as if I don't see her almost every week haha. I snapped a picture of her making me pastina like the amazing Italian grandma she is ;)
Sammy picked me up from her condo and we headed over to the mass. After the mass we went by his grandma's for some coffee and cookies and to spend time with family.
While the reason for the mass was somber, it was a nice way to remember and celebrate a wonderful man's life. It feels weird to mention something that was "fun" on this night, but it was fun to see family in person since getting engaged and show off my ring ;)
SATURDAY
Saturday morning we had a memorial service to go to for my SIL's grandmother. We went to church and then the luncheon afterward and it was a lovely morning and early afternoon celebrating her life.
After that, Sammy had plans with his cousin, so he dropped me off at my mom's since I had plans with my girlfriends (who live by my mom). I hung out at her house a bit before running to Target (my first solo trip!!) to grab a few things before heading to my girlfriend's sister's house.
She and her husband were hosting a Hocus Pocus viewing party in their backyard and omg was it fun. They have two daughters who also invited some of their friends and it was such a fun event for all ages. *fair warning, it turns out I took terrible photos BIG SHOCK so please know these don't do anything justice*
When you walked up to the house, Sara had hung candles from the porch ceiling with like floss or something because it looked like they were levitating which was SO cool. But I mean could this picture be more blurry?...
She's literally the cutest human. They had bowls of candy out and served hot cider (that you could spike!), cookies, and popcorn.
They had glow sticks for the kids and just about the cutest little details all throughout.
The labels on the cups matched the invitations she sent out because of course they did.
Everyone brought chairs and blankets (it was pretty chilly that night, dipping into the 40s) and huddled around the screen in their yard.
And it's hard to see but all the little kids got up and danced next to the screen during "I Put a Spell On You"and it was so cute haha.
I left pretty soon after the movie was over because we had to get back to our boy. My mom is a saint and has stayed with Henry several times since we've gotten him whenever we've had plans that would mean he'd be in his crate for an extended period of time, so she had been with him since about 1 p.m. that afternoon.
But he had the best day with her and fell asleep immediately haha.
SUNDAY
We deemed Sunday family day and really wanted to spend it just the three of us. We got up and did a little yard work after watching Ellen and snuggling on the couch for a bit. We had to pull up all our summer flowers, bring in some things for winter, and clean the front stoop in preparation for our Halloween decorations.
We headed out to Party City and Target to see what kind of outdoor decorations we could get before heading back home. I started on our dinner which I insisted be a crockpot meal because #FALL
I found a recipe earlier this week for creamy chicken noodle soup and knew that's what I wanted to make. Who can resist, right?
And I had my little sous chef who was on his best behavior.
I made some butter biscuits as well and they were pretty darn good. I'll be taking one for lunch every day this week though haha.
After I had the biscuits made and the crockpot going, I threw a pizza in the oven and we sat and had some lunch while watching the Bears game.
Then we headed outside to start decorating! I'm going to do a fall decor post this week, so I'll share inside and outside pictures later!
Our guy had a few mishaps while on the lengthier leash. He loves our neighbor (so do we!) and she called him when she came outside and he RAN to her and flew backward when the leash yanked him back. I couldn't believe how he cried (I was inside and Sammy was on the ladder, and our neighbor didn't realize he was on a leash because it's almost clear in color otherwise she said she wouldn't have called him like that). He bit his lip a tiny bit, but everything else seems okay. We think he scared himself more than anything, but I felt so bad for our little man. He was pretty chill the rest of the day because I think he was expecting a surprise at every turn haha.
I really liked how the soup turned out and would definitely make it again. It made enough for Sammy and I to have two huge bowls for dinner, me to pack a large container for work today, and to fill an even bigger container for leftovers throughout the week.
After dinner, Sammy ran out and got pumpkins (3 for $12 at Jewel people!) so we could do our annual carvings and our boy snuggled under our feet the whole time.
We normally take a cute picture with our pumpkins but this is the best we could get this year haha at least Sammy and Henry look cute!
We watched Monster's Inc. while we carved and Under Wraps afterward because we are CHILDREN.
For the first month that we've had Henry, he has decidedly been a non-cuddler. Whether this is because of his age, energy level, or personality, we don't know, but last night, he stayed with us UNMOVING for several hours. It may have been his traumatic day ;) and he wanted to be by his "parents" so we'll see if it's a fluke, but we are majorly crossing our fingers that we have a cuddler in our midst after all.
Sunday was the kind of day I imagined having whenever I thought about having a house. Spending time as a little family, holiday festiveness, traditions, being cozy, something warm on the stove (or in the crockpot), and that's exactly what it was. As always, blessings on blessings.
Last week was our first week back after our trip, and I was very happy to get back into the swing of things, but things were still so out of the ordinary with fielding calls from family and friends (which was amazing!) and getting ourselves organized at home (we still have an empty fridge!) that it didn't feel totally like our routine. I'm looking forward to the mundane this week and getting ourselves back to the familiar as the holidays approach.
Have a great week everyone! xo
