Fall Wedding Festivities

  This past weekend (well even a lot of last week, during the weekdays) was BONKERS! But in a wonderful, happy, too much laughing, not enough sleep, a little too much drinking, lots of events, and friends everywhere kind of way.  That kind of way that reminds me how much slower I bounce back vs. in my twenties... But all I can think now, however, is that the memories made and fun had with this group of people was totally worth it.
My husband and my good friend married this past weekend. And with the occasion, friends and family came to town and we had a houseful of people! This is our college group of friends - and this group knows how to have a blast at a wedding. I joked that we really should rent ourselves out to other weddings as a guaranteed way to get a party started and keep the dance floor alive all night long.
And while the wedding was obviously not about MY dress - I have to mention in as I got several DMs on Instagram after I posted a pic, and I really did love it. My navy, off-the shoulder dress was super comfy, flattering and fun to dance in. It would be a great holiday party and/or work dress, too!
But the dress that was the talk of the night was the gorgeous bride's. I loved the low back and lace details, and her hair was flawless. The whole event took place on their home's property, never to a lake, on lost of land and under a lit tent.  You can see some photos from the wonderful night below (taken in between dancing, so not a clear of photos...but you get the point!).

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 Congrats to the happy couple. We had an absolute blast celebrating and dancing the night away. Can we do it again next month?

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Farmer's Market Challenge: Healthy Dinner Substitutes

  One of my goals (starting now, who needs to wait until the New Year?!), is to utilize my healthy resources I already have within my reach. LIKE, local farmer's markets.  I always find the best stuff every time I go, and love the overall ambience of them.  I was recently invited to the downtown Overland Park Farmer's Market by Shawnee Mission Health, as they have been working with the farmer's market in partnership with their MyHealthKC resources this fall. 
MyHealthKC is an online, community-based, healthy living environment that shares content created by health professionals at Shawnee Mission Health for parents and young professionals alike. MyHealthKC is your resource for living well in Kansas City. You can explore recipes, guides, local wellness events, and more to support your daily health journey.
My favorite part about the MHKC site is that the SMH Nutritionists share their favorite well-balanced meals and snacks - showing you how easily you can swap in healthier options.  They also provide healthy living guides, that are easy downloadable PDFs, so anyone can read, take and implement (like the Farmer's Market Cookbook). 
Eating well and healthy doesn't have to be hard when you can utilize your community's local flavors and items that are in season. I picked up a few things, but most excited about getting Spaghetti Squash.  These are currently in season, and a great substitution for carb heavy pastas!

The biggest draw back to buying squash is how hard it is to cut! But the nice lady who sold these two to me gave me an awesome tip! Use a fork to poke holes all around the squash, wrap a wet paper towel around it, and then microwave ~5 minutes (pending your microwave power).  This really softens up the outer, and allowed me to cut them in half much easier!

Taking a note from Bev Cooks, I made spaghetti boats with these cooked babies - using a bit less cheese, my favorite, no added sugar tomato sauce from Thrive Market and 1/3 of sausage.

And it was delicious, and SO filling.  From farmer's market find to dinner:

I'm already excited for the next Farmer's Market challenge I give myself - and can't wait to make more Spaghetti Squash boats this fall and winter.  Thanks to Shawnee Mission Health and MyHealthKC for sponsoring this post!

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First Jump on the New Bed!

 
There are things that get my kids really excited that often surprise me... like in the early years, a simple box vs. the actual present. I'd laugh and wonder why I even bothered to get them a present vs. just wrapping paper and a box.  And recently, a new bed for Liam was the talk of the week! Now, I concur in the excitement, as a good bed is one of the most important things to how well we can live the rest of the day, but their excitement was through the roof.
Turns out, they were just mostly excited to break it in with that first jump. :)
Liam's bed was the oldest in our house, and we also use that bed as our guest bed when we have family visit - so when Tuft & Needle offered up the internet's most love mattress and Amazon's Choice bed to review, I jumped at the chance. And because their mattress shopping and buying process is so easy, it was painless.
You can see below the process,  but it really was as easy as it sounds and looks.  We got a queen size one for Liam (fun fact, we actually all have queen size beds - even my and my husband!), and it arrived in a big box on our front step less than a week after it was ordered. My husband and I easily got it up to my son's room, my husband unpacked it with little helpers and we rolled it out. 
The kids were very excited to watch the mattress literally come to life, and after just a few minutes of it expanding into what now looked like a real mattress, the kids broke it in. We just placed it on our existing box spring, but with this adaptive foam bed, you actually don't even need a box spring, you can use a more supportive frame like this, or you can get their box replacement and use a traditional  bed frame.
You have 100 nights to test out your new bed + a 10-year warranty, so really no pressure. And so far, Liam is loving his new bed! 

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