Little Happies -- One Last Link-Up, At Least for Now

Hi, friends!

After much thought and 37 Little Happies link-ups (dangggg, that's a lot of happy!), I've decided to put Little Happies to rest, at least for a while now.

While I love love love this link-up and love love LOVE reading about all the happy things going on in all of your lives every week, AND while I still think it's mega important to take out time to reflect on all the little joys in life, actually sitting down to type the posts has become a chore. Womp womp.

So, for now, we break.

BUT, I promise... Little Happies is not gone forever. I'll definitely write more LH posts in the future every once in a while, and include a link-up for anyone else who wants to join in, but it won't be a regular Monday thing anymore.

Also, PLEASE don't hesitate to write your own Little Happies posts whenever the mood strikes, even if I haven't created a link-up. We don't need a link-up to post about all the happies in our lives, right? :)

So yeah, I'll still be reflectifying on all the little joys in my life, and thanking God for each and every one of them, I just won't be posting them here for a while. In the meantime, if you're devastated at missing out on my weekly happies, you could follow me on Instagram and catch many of my happies there. Just sayin'. No joke, about 1/2 of my LH pictures come from my Instagram anyway. Catch me @stephschweitz if you're interested.

Until next time!

An InLinkz Link-up

Little Happies -- Holidays, Henna, Hot Peppers (and a Little Bit of Fashion Too)

Hello, friends! And welcome back to Little Happies, the link-up in which we share all the little joys of life.

This week's Happies are brought to you by a modge podge of happy!

--one--

Pediatricians dress up as Mario characters and win the hearts of all their patients. 

(That's what the headlines would read if this one went viral.)

Above you see my husband and his team of residents dressed up for Halloween. Pretty awesome if I do say so myself. And he said rounds took foreverrrrr because all their patients and patients' families wanted group pics with all of them. How adorable!

But seriously, my husband's Wario mustache cracks me up most of all. 

--two--

Remember how I mentioned that Pumpkin Patch fundraiser a few weeks ago?

Well, PRAISE GOD, it's finally done! That means my hours will be shorter again, I won't have to work every stinkin' day of the week, AND I've got a successful fundraiser behind me. The teens raised lots of moolah for our youth group summer mission trip, so I'm super pumped about that. It makes it all worth it. But oof, that was a lonnnng month of work!

Here's what makes this one a Little Happy. We cleaned up the patch and moved out all the extra pumpkins this past weekend. I had a handful of teens show up to help and thank goodness for them! They made the work very easy on me. We also found ways to make the work fun, including moving the pumpkins into a giant pile by bowling them across the grass. And though there aren't goalies in bowling, we also had a teen goalie-ing and blocking the pumpkins / direction poorly bowled pumpkins into the pile. It made me smile. :)

--three--

Henna!

Once a year, Memphis has an India Fest that we just have to go to. All the food, the dancing, artwork, and shops... it's always a fun time. I also splurge a little every year and get a henna tattoo. The artist draws on your skin with a thick lavender-scented paste which dries within 30 minutes. After 6 hours, you remove the dried paste and what remains is a really beautifully designed tattoo that lasts about 2 weeks. I'm definitely not a permanent tattoo kinda gal, so this is perfect for me. Plus, they're always so pretty! I can't help but stare at my hand all the time until it fades. 

--four--

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Ok, so I know I'm mega-early on this one, but I decided to have a Thanksgiving feast at youth group last night and the teens loved it. Look at all the tasty food! I was in charge of the turkey, so obviously that meant calling up the nearest BBQ joint and ordering several pounds of sliced, smoked turkey. To be honest, I'm not usually a big fan of Thanksgiving turkey, but this smoked turkey was amazing. And easy. Win-win!

The reason for the early celebration was so that I could chat with the teens about making the whole month of November a month of giving thanks. We created little Thanksgiving bags so they could remember to write one thing they're thankful for each day, place it in the bag, and then hopefully include it in their prayers before bed. It's easy to remember to ask for things in prayer, not as easy to remember to thank, especially at that age. So, hopefully the bags will encourage them to offer prayers of thanksgiving more often. 

But if not, at least the food was good. :P

--five--

Stitch Fix part 8.

Eek! I can't believe I'm on my 8th fix! 

This time around, they sent me a maternity dress, cowl neck seater, maternity leggings, blue blouse, and heavy cardigan. 

The dress was cute, but already super tight around the chest and hips, so I figured it wasn't a good idea for a woman who's about to get BIGGER all around. Also, you might think that's a baby bump you see, but it's just the stripes on the dress and the ruching of the material that give the illusion of a bump. Still no bump here. 

The oversized cowl neck sweater was almost a keeper, but at the last second (seriously, minutes before sealing the bag of clothes to be sent back) I noticed the bottom of the sweater had an uneven hemline. Can you see it in the pic? Right in the middle of the sweater, the two panels don't match up. Perhaps it's part of the design, but it really bugged me as soon as I noticed it. Sayonara sweater!

The maternity leggings are AWESOME. Super high quality material and plenty of room for a big belly. Kept.

The blue blouse is hard to make out in the pic, but it had ruffles and a criss-cross tie up the front, plus cuffed sleeves, so it totally looked like a pirate shirt. Bummer, because it definitely had potential.

And finally, the heavy cardigan. It was way too big and bulky. Plus, John said it looked like the color puke. 

And that was that! I kept the leggings and am very happy with that decision. :) Also, overall I reeeeally liked this fix. The only thing stopping me from buying more was that things didn't quite fit right. Oh, and that one item had the asymmetric hemline. But I definitely think they have my style figured out now. Wahoo! Next one arrives in mid-December.

--six--

These musicians impress me so much. You've gotta watch all the way to the end though. Now that's dedication!


And that's all for this week, folks! Hope you have a happy one. Catch ya next time. :)

An InLinkz Link-up

Little Happies -- Candy & Costume

Hey there, friends! And welcome back to Little Happies, the happiest little link-up on the internet. Let's all take a second to share some of the small joyful things going on in our lives, shall we? :)

--one--

These candies!

Two of my all-time favorites. And I've been craving them hard lately, so hard in fact that I dreamed about them! 

I was having trouble finding them at the local grocery store, so I kinda shrugged it off and pushed past the craving, but when I finally spotted them at a more fancy grocery store in the bulk bins, I just HAD to purchase. And eat and eat and eat. Yum! 

They're fruit shaped, though. So it's healthy. :P

What are your favorite candies? 

--two--

My last minute Halloween costume!

Can you guess who I am?

The mockingjay pin, the bow and arrow, the sideways braid...

Why, clearly I'm KATNISS EVERDEEN! 

Which, btw, is a super cheap and easy costume to throw together at the last second. Wear a black shirt, dark pants or jeans, boots, print out a mockingjay pin, throw a funky braid into your hair, and buy a $10 bow and arrow set at Target.

Voila! 

We attended a youth group Halloween party last night and let me just tell you, the teen gals loved my costume. I seriously felt famous for like 2 seconds. "OMGosh! You're Katniss! SO COOL!" It was silly/fun.

What are you wearing for Halloween?

An InLinkz Link-up

Little Happies -- Even More Pumpkins

Why, hello! And welcome back to Little Happies, the link-up full of all the things that are small and joyful in our lives.

Just like last week, I've just got one pumpkin-related Happy for you today.

--one--

You may recall from last October that I run a pumpkin patch as a fundraiser with my youth group every year. We spend the whole month trying to sell over a thousand pumpkins. It's always a successful fundraiser, though tons of work. So that's what I've been super busy with lately. 

The Little Happy related to all this happened earlier last week. I was walking around the patch to check out the pumpkins, making sure there weren't any rotten ones hiding about, when I discovered that several of my pumpkins had tried to make a run for it! When I closed the patch the night before, all those pumpkins were safely nestled on a pallet. When I arrived the next morning, about 20 of them were hanging out on the grass!! And all over the patch! I still have no idea how they did it... Perhaps a very strong squirrel was playing a trick on me? Maybe some neighborhood kids? Or maybe it was the Great Pumpkin? 

The world may never know.

:)

Have a happy week, friends!

An InLinkz Link-up

Little Happies -- Carving Pumpkins

Hey, friends! Welcome back to the Little Happies link-up, in which we all share our small happy moments and things from the week past.

This week, I've got one Little Happy brought to you by a fun night with friends.

--one--

One night last week, John and I were just sitting around with no plans in sight. So on a whim we texted some friends who are kinda stuck in their house these days (they just had a baby) and asked if they'd be up for some pumpkin carving and cider sippin' later that evening. I offered to bring all the supplies and they excitedly said YES PLEASE! 

3 pumpkins, 2 carving kits, 6 bottles of hard cider, 2 jugs of virgin cider, 1 apple pie, and 1 big carton of vanilla ice cream. . . sounds like fall, doesn't it? 

We made our way over to our friends' place with all our supplies and just had a fantastic evening celebrating the turn of the season. They even lit their outdoor chimney for us!

Also, I was shocked to find out that the wife of the couple had never carved a pumpkin before!! What?! Crazy!! By the end of the night, she loved communal pumpkin carving so much that she asked if we could make a tradition of it every year. :)

We all agreed that our favorite moment of the night was lighting these bad boys after all our hard work. 

And then we posed with our pumpkin. We've learned over the years that carving a pumpkin, especially one that size, is best done as a team. When my arms would get tired, John would take over, and vice versa. Plus, I was able to convince him to do all the gut scooping while I did all the seed sorting. I think I got the easier job. :)

Hope you're all having a lovely fall, friends. Have you carved any pumpkins yet? 

An InLinkz Link-up

Little Happies -- Fashion Show, Watching Movies, Eating Junk, and a Dog Fail

Why, helllloooooo! And welcome back to Little Happies, the most cheerful internet link-up in which we share all the small joyful things going on in our days. Would you care to join us? :)

Let's dive right in... --one--

I got another Stitch Fix! 
Striped dress, maxi skirt, floral blouse, teal dress, and gold collar necklace.
And I kept . . .
The teal dress!!! I know it doesn't look that great in the pic, but trust me when I say it's awesome. The draping in the front is a lot of fun and it looks great with a pair of boots. Plus, it gives me plenty of room for the belly to expand, whereas the other pieces I really liked (the striped dress and maxi skirt) didn't. And that floral blouse. My husband really disliked it and I thought it was a bit baggy, so bye bye! Oh, and the necklace. It was so hard to part with, but in the end it didn't seem worth it for $36. 
Also, another reason I didn't keep the striped dress: I found one similar at Target for $12 the day before I sent the Fix back. And actually, it fit even better that the Stitch Fix one! Winning. 
Btw, the day I found out I was pregnant, I noticed Stitch Fix now has an "I'm pregnant" checkbox on their style profile, so I'm going to try that out for the next few months and hope they can accommodate my expanding waistline. We shall see!

--two--

source

Excuse my language, but . . . 

Harry Freaking Potter!!

Once a year, right around J.K. Rowling's and Harry Potter's birthday (July 31st, duh!), John and I start a Harry Potter movie marathon. It's taken us a while to get through them all this time around, but we're on the last movie now and it's just been so fun hanging out with some of my favorite characters again. Watching them grow from movie to movie is adorbs. And now that we're watching all of them for like the 10th time since they first came out, it's given us a chance to really appreciate some of the smaller details, like the gorgeous, eerie music and the beautiful cinematography of each scene. 

Fun fact: The last movie, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2, came out the night before our wedding. While I really wanted to see it after our rehearsal, John thought this plan was (obviously) crazy, so we held off a few days and enjoyed it during our honeymoon in Aruba. Good times.

Who else out there is a HP fan? 

--three--

Ok, don't judge, but in my early post-college years, I was a bit of a freezer meal junkie. 

I know, I know, I know. . . so gross. But, it was cheap and easy and some of the meals were dang tasty. As time went on, I figured out how to follow a recipe and quickly learned that fresh cooked meals are way yummier than the ones hanging out in the freezer aisle of Kroger. So freezer meals were done-so from then on.

That is, until I started growing another human. 

Me and food are in a weird relationship right now. I definitely don't like most foods at most times and mild nausea is a pretty normal thing these days. Plus, I'm lazy/tired as can be and don't want to spend even 30 minutes in the kitchen putting together a meal that I probably won't even want to eat once I'm done. SO, freezer meals have made an appearance in our kitchen once again. (So sorry, John.)

My past addiction taught me that Smart Ones breakfast quesadillas are where it's at. So, it was the first freezer meal I looked for. You can imagine my immense sadness when they were no where to be found at Kroger. Wahhhhhhhhh. And then you can imagine my immense joy when I found them at Target a few days later. I'm not going to admit how many I've eaten since then, but they've hit the spot lately and for that I'm grateful.  

--four--

Ok, call me immature, but this made me laugh a lot. 
Annnnnnd that's a wrap!

Have a lovely week, friends! <3

An InLinkz Link-up

Little Happies -- My Cousin's Wedding

Howdy, y'all! And welcome back to Little Happies, the happiest little link-up on the planet, in which we share the happy little things going on in our lives currently.

This week's Little Happies are brought to you by a short trip to Rhode Island to attend my cousin Sarah's wedding.

--one--

Sarah asked me to do a reading for their ceremony, so of course I said yes! And come to find out, it was the same first reading we had at our wedding!! It's such a beautiful reading, I couldn't help but share here:

Hark! My lover! Here he comes,

springing across the mountains,

leaping across he hills.

My lover is like a gazelle

or a young stag.

See! He is standing behind our wall,

gazing through the windows,

peering through the lattices.

My lover speaks and says to me,

"Arise, my friend, my beautiful one, and come!

My dove in the clefts of the rock,

in the secret recesses of the cliff,

Let me see your face, let me hear your voice,

For your voice is sweet, and your face is lovely."

My lover belongs to me and I to him,

He says to me,

Set me as a seal upon your heart,

as a seal upon your arm;

For Love is strong as Death,

longing is fierce as Sheol.

Its arrows are arrows of fire, flames of the divine.

Deep waters cannot quench love,

nor rivers weep it away.

Song of Songs 2:8-10, 14, 16a; 8:6-7a

My husband gets teary-eyed whenever he hears it. So sweet.

--two--

We got pedicures! My mom, my sister, my niece, and even the little nephew joined in on the fun. Although he was just hanging around. No painted toes for him.

Pedicures are always a fun treat, no? 

My niece got bright pink toes with pink glitter hearts, obviously, and then tried to get the rest of us to add glitter to our toes. It was cute.

And I got this fun color that I totally spied on some random lady's toes as they were finishing her pedi. I had already picked out a color, but that went out the window when I spotted that purpley fun!

--three--

My husband is holding the flower girl's bouquet. Your argument is invalid. 

--four--

It's fun getting all snazzified for a wedding. Totally rocked that Stitch Fix dress. And my husband always looks dapper in a suit. Dapper, I say! 

That's all for now, folks! Peace and love and a happy week to you all!

An InLinkz Link-up

Little Happies -- A Photo of Me as a Youngster, Special Emails, and an Application

Well, hello there! And welcome back to Little Happies, the happiest little link-up this side of the universe, where we all share our small joys from the past week. Won't you join us? :)

Before I start, I must mention that while my biggest dream has finally come true, that doesn't mean I have no need for Little Happies anymore. I promise you, that while I'm happy as a clam over our pregnancy, I also still have my daily ups and downs and need to be sure I'm focusing on the little positives often. So, without further ado, here are those little positives from my past week...

--one--

My mom sent me a few pics of me as a youngster! She was going through some old files and stumbled upon the pics and I just thought this one was too cute not to share.

I'm on the left, btw. And my sister, Lauren, is on the right.

Look at that bright red hair!! And those extra cheery smiles.

There's just something so fun about looking at pics of peeps as babies. Like, "Awww, look at all that cuteness I used to have!"

--two--

I love waking up to three very special emails every morning...

Blessed is She reflections on the daily readings (even though I really do think they based their name off of my blog name... NAME COPIERS),

Novenas from Pray More Novenas,

and a short gospel reading from Gospels in a Year.

I've only started doing all three of these things in the past few months, but it's a great way to start my morning, and I don't even need to leave the comfort of my bed to read them! (Thank you, cell phone.)  I love waking up to all three and enjoy such a positive, prayer- and gospel-centered start to my day.

--three--

John applied for the job in Johnson City, TN this past week!!!!! We're still waiting to hear back and that could take a week or two. But even though there's not much to celebrate at this point, just the process of applying is so exciting! We get to daydream now about what life would be like on the other side of TN. And with family only a few miles away! And buying a house! And making new friends! And all the fun things that come with moving! Eeeee!!

Have a blessed and happy week, friends! <3

An InLinkz Link-up

Little Happies -- a Quiz, a Salad, and a Painting

Hi, friends! And welcome back to Little Happies, the happiest little link-up on the planet, in which we share all our little happy joys from the past week.

Let's get right into it...

--one--

Remember that really weird Who Should Be Your Patron Saint? Quiz I shared a few weeks ago? Yeah, it was pretty dang weird. Well, to make up for it, I've found a MUCH better one.

Which Saint are You? Quiz

I got the awesome St. Augustine this time! Ahh! Much better!

Now you take it! And tell me who you get. :)

--two--

I love it when my husband makes my lunch for me. It takes about 15 minutes off my getting-ready-for-work routine and it always tastes great!

This past week, he sent me off to work with this fancy chopped salad in a ginormous, heavy salad bowl. Ha! He's not really into tupperware as it turns out. But still! A great salad it was.

Not to mention, the iced pumpkin coffee was a lovely addition!

--three--

I went to a paint night with some gal pals this past weekend and painted the Memphis skyline. It was a blast spending the evening with some good friends being all artsy fartsy. The instructor was fantastic and made painting super easy for us. A great way to spend a Saturday night. And now I have some wall art for our apartment! Win win!

That's all for now, friends! What are your Little Happies from the past week? I'd love to hear! And hope you're all well. :)

An InLinkz Link-up

Little Happies -- Long Hair, Don't Care

Hey, friends! And welcome back to the happiest little link-up on the internet, in which we all share the joyful little things going on in our lives. Won't you join in?

Let's get right into it...

--one--

I got some hairs cut! Took off about 5 inches and instantly felt 10 pounds lighter. It's been two years since a big chop like this and it was time. Isn't it fun to sport a new do? 

--two--

This guy continues to crack me up.

See what's on his wrist there? Yep. It's a hair tie. And not just any tie. No, this long haired man-diva much prefers those knotted hair ties. In fact, we were shopping around J. Crew the other day and I overheard him asking the sales person if they sold any "masculine-colored fancy hair ties." Ha!! I laughed so hard inside. 

He's also starting to learn some long hair lessons:

Pulling back your hair too tight can give you a headache.

Rubber bands DO NOT work well as hair ties.

Shedding will happen A LOT.

You can be pretty dramatic with a good hair swoosh. 

Product helps a bunch. (Seriously, he uses more product than I do.)

And if you take off your rubber gloves in a hurry, you risk accidentally throwing away your beloved hair tie. Let's just say I've lost many a hair tie from my collection because of his rubber glove issues. 

Men with long hair are comical!

--three--

Annnnnd I got another Stitch Fix! Can you tell which ONE item I decided to keep? The options are bird shirt, color block dress, blue and white dress, cardigan, or necklace. If you guess right I'll give you a virtual pat on the back! :)

Can't wait to read your Happies, friends! Have a lovely week!

An InLinkz Link-up

Little Happies -- Happies in a Flash

Top o' the morning to ya. And welcome back to the happiest little link-up on the internet, in which we all share the teeny tiny happy things going on in our lives. Won't you join in on the fun? :)

This week's Happies are brought to you inaflash mostly because we spent about 8-hours on the road last night returning from a fantastic week and a half vacation with family in East Tennessee and this chica is too tired to elaborate. The trip was nothing short of a-maz-ing, so I'm prob going to write a more detailed trip re-cap post real soon, but for today's post, I'm going to keep all the trip Happies short and quick. Now hold on tight, 'cause away we gooooo!

My Happies are...

 --one--

Singing "Happy Birthday" and watching the birthday boy blow out all his candles on the first try, followed by enjoying the extremely delicious, though ever-so-slightly more waxified cake. 

 --two--

Making homemade pizza dough (the birthday boy's party request) and watching it rise! Oh, and who can forget that wonderfully yeasty, doughy smell? Mmmm!

--three--

Standing on the peak of a mountain and taking in the beautiful 360 view. 

(I take no credit for the climb. The car did most of the work.)

 --four--

Extremely geometrical things, like this ceiling and chandelier combo. 

 --five--

Breaking my diet and EATING ALL THE THINGS, especially these bad boys. You didn't think Oreos could get any better, but then they did. They truly, madly, deeply, totally did. 

 --six--

Another Schopped Challenge!

I competed against my husband in a cooking competition based on the show Chopped and what you see above is my final dish. Stay tuned for more details on the secret ingredients, what we ended up cooking, and who won, all in the form of a video recap, coming soon to a Blessed to Be blog near you!

 --seven--

Randomly discovering the coolest tea shop ever. 

Yes, even that glass on the far right is tea. Beer-like in look, but definitely not in taste. My father-in-law ordered it because he wanted his tea to be "as manly as possible." His words, not mine. He's a funny one!

--eight--

Playing the heck out of some board games with the in-laws, including Dominion (above) and King of Tokyo (below).

--nine--

Hanging out with my furry friend, Cholmondeley (pronounced Chum-lee). He likes long walks, getting you to throw things so he can catch them but then not return them to you, ice cubes, slobbering, and mostly my father-in-law. It's his dog, after all.  

--ten--

And still following along on your blogs amidst all the family fun. Sorry there hasn't been much commentage on my part, but I promise I read and enjoyed every last bit of your updates.

Oh, plus...

I'm thankful that this little Catholic community caught my blogging dodo mistake and gently called me out on it. If you read this quote in my Little Happies last week and believed me when I said C. S. Lewis was Catholic, I apologize. I was misinformed and am now saying a big OOPS for creating another internet lie. OOPS. As it turns out, he was about as close to Catholic as it gets, but never quite got there. There are some rumors floating around that claim he did become Catholic right before his death, but rumors they remain. Thanks for being gentle on me, friends! 

And now it's your turn! What little blessings have brought you happiness this past week?

An InLinkz Link-up