Making blueberry muffins with Zaya 🧁

This morning, Zaya (5) was the first one of the children awake. She popped into the kitchen just in time to discover I was making blueberry muffins.

Naturally, she wanted to help me because Zaya loves cooking. 😊

After filling one muffin pan with liner, we realized we had run out of cupcake liners. So we made our own! 😁🧁

Using a sheet of parchment paper, you cut out squares. Then, make small slits along each side. Place the parchment paper in a well and use a small cup to help form the shape of the liner. Then, fill it with batter.

As she helped me fill the liners with the muffin batyer, Zaya said, “The batter looks like lava, and the cupcake cups are the volcanoes.” πŸŒ‹πŸ§

Days like this remind me how important it is to slow down and enjoy these ordinary momentsβ€”not stress about perfection.

The muffins don’t have to have matching liners or look Pinterest-perfect. All that matters to me is spending time together and the memories we’re creating. πŸ₯°

πŸ’œ XO

Enjoying the view

We had appointments and errands to run in the city, so we stopped by Michigan Central Station to take a break at Roosevelt Park in Detroit.

The kids really loved sitting on the swings at Roosevelt Park.

The kids were amazed by the view of the historic train station from the park, and it reminded me how much Roosevelt Park has changed over the years.

I really like the new walking paths and seating throughout the park, especially the swings.

I enjoyed seeing people walking, riding bikes, reading books, playing catch, and simply slowing down to enjoy the afternoon.

Lovely flowers at the park 🌸
Zaya enjoyed picking dandelions at the park. 🌼

I wish I had taken more photos, but honestly, I was feeling a little anxious after my annual doctor’s appointment. Now I’m waiting for my lab results, along with the biopsy results from an unusual spot I found on my skin.

I just needed a quiet moment in the park to slow down and let my mind rest. 😌

πŸ’œ XO


Happy Friday

Three things to reflect on in honor of September 11th.

Groceries and thrift store shopping day

The kids went to hangout with their big sis this afternoon, so Travis and I got some shopping done.

It was a nice break to get in and out of the stores without having to wait on children lingering in the aisles asking if we can buy them this and that or searching for one or two kids who suddenly disappeared to browse the store on their own. Lol πŸ˜† (Yes, sometimes that happens.)

Mj (24) and the kids heading out to her apartment. πŸ₯°
We shared a complimentary pink lemonade at the grocery store. πŸ₯°
Photo of me outside of the grocery market. 😊

I get it. Going to the store as a child must feel wondrous because everything is so big and there’s so much to see and do.

But as a grownup with a long to-do list, sometimes we just want to get in and out of the store as quickly as we can! πŸ˜„

After we got the groceries, we stopped by two different thrift stores. I wanted to see if I could find some inexpensive flower pots for my new houseplants.

I didn’t have much luck finding flower pots at the first thrift store, but I did happen to stumble upon a vintage-style Sacred Heart of Mary print.

At the second thrift store, I found a bunch of hanging baskets flower pots for 49 cents! 😲

These pots will come in handy for my new plants, plus my overgrown pothos and snake plants that need to be split and repotted. πŸͺ΄

Another great thrifty findβ€”these two repurposed folding tables for about $5 each!

I’m going to use the tables for my front porch so I can sit outside, enjoy a cup of my tea, and read a good book. πŸ˜ŠπŸ«–πŸ“š

I was excited to finally find folding tables for my porch. I’ve been wanting a bistro-style table set for sometime, but the cost of a table and chair set are pretty pricey at $100+.

Finding these two folding tables with the cottagecore-style art prints for $10 made me so happy! Now all I need to get are two folding chairs to go with the tables.

Aren’t these McDonald’s tin boxes so cute? They were only 49 cents, too! I bought one for myself and two for the kids to use for crafts or playing.

And I bought these vintage Christmas cookies trays for less than $5 total!

As soon as I saw the Santa Claus cookie tray, it reminded me of a similar Christmas tray from my childhood. πŸŽ…πŸΎπŸͺ

If I close my eyes, I can smell the M&M chocolate chip Christmas cookies we used to make during the holidays when I was a little girl. πŸͺπŸ₯Ή

I love family traditions, especially creating new ones with my own children. So, I bought the vintage cookie trays for us to use this Christmas. πŸŽ…πŸΎπŸŽ„πŸͺ

Have you bought anything fun lately?

πŸ’œ XO


Farm store day 🚜

It’s our favorite biweekly activityβ€”visiting the local farm store!

We always get a dozen cider donuts, deli meat, local bread, lollipops, and a plant or two for me πŸ˜„πŸͺ΄.

Today, we noticed the store is getting ready for the fall. There were a few new fall decorations out on display.

Yes, I was tempted to buy some of the fall decor 😏, but I will remain patient and wait until mid-August. Lol 😊

I love these cute fabric apples. 🍎πŸ₯°

I bought two small houseplants marked down to $2.99. I couldn’t pass up that good deal! πŸ˜…πŸͺ΄

A couple of years ago, I tried to grow prayer plants in my house, but fungus gnats devoured my poor plants. 😭 I had the hardest time getting rid of the nuisance gnats.

Since then, I have learned how to properly care for plants I buy from the farmers market or local stores.

For instance, before, I didn’t know it’s important to give your store plants a proper potting mix separate from the soil they are placed in at the store.

Caring for the eight houseplants I have now (5 pothos and 3 snake plants) and outdoor gardening has taught me more basic plantcare skills, so I am ready to add these two new plants to my indoor plant collection. 😊πŸͺ΄

The kids also helped scoop a pound of raw peanuts. We like to feed the squirrels at a nearby neighborhood park we frequent. 🐿

Picking out their favorite lollipops.
I need this vintage sign for my kitchen. πŸ˜‚

Great visit to the farm store today! I just might have to go back and get two more small houseplants. πŸ˜„πŸͺ΄

Do you have a favorite local shop you like to visit regularly?

πŸ’œ XO


Happy Friday!

Four fun things for Friday, including a new art exhibit I’m excited to see.

Somewhat clear skies

We’re still under an air quality alert (because of the wildfire smoke), but today the atmosphere was much better than last Wednesday afternoon.

And the temps were a little cooler with a nice breeze.

We’ve been able to get out and enjoy the park again.

I just love visiting parks tucked away in neighborhoods near our house. The neighborhood parks feature a playground with paved walking paths good for walking and riding bikes or even skating.

One of my favorite features is how the walking paths go around the playground making it easier for us to keep an eye on the kids while we walk.

It feels good to see people out jogging, walking, riding bikes, and playing at the playground again.

Last week’s thick smoke made everything look like a ghost town because no one was out walking in the neighborhood or at the parks. Traffic was even lighter than usual.

I know the kids are thrilled to be back at the playground.

They’ve had the best time going to the park three days in a row. They asked me if we can go everyday. Lol πŸ˜…

Travis and I enjoy walking together while the kids play at the playground, so I think we just might make evening walks part of our nightly routine! ☺️

πŸ’œ XO


Pool day β˜€οΈ

It was another hot day, so the kids and I spent some time at the pool today. The temps reached 94Β°F, but i think the weather app said it felt like 102Β°F! πŸ₯΅

I’ll be honestβ€”for most of the summer, I kept putting off going to the pool because I don’t particularly like wearing a bathing suit. 🫀

But once we got in the pool and started swimming around, I really started to enjoy myself! πŸ˜„πŸŠβ€β™€οΈ

It made me realize I need to just relax and take a break sometimes, stop being so hard on myself.

I mean, it is summer after all. Lol β˜€οΈπŸ˜Š

Mj (24), my oldest daughter stopped by to hangout with us at the pool after she got off from work.

She has her own apartment in our neighborhoodβ€”just three minutes walking distance from our house.

It’s nice having my daughter live in the same neighborhood as me. I really enjoy having her live so close by to us.

I’m so glad we went to the pool around 1 p.m. and hung out for a couple of hours because the weather unexpectedly got bad later in the day.

All of a sudden, around 6 p.m. the air quality became hazy and unhealthy because of the wildfires in Canada. 😲 (We live about 40 minutes from the Canadian border.)

The atmosphere became very smoky outside as if the entire neighborhood had finished shooting off fireworks. You could even smell the burning wood!

I’m keeping Canada and all U.S. states affected by these wildfires in my prayers! πŸ™πŸ½

πŸ’œ XO


Tattoo collector

American traditional tattoosβ€”I love the classic, vintage imagery and bold colors and lines.

Productive Monday 😎

I deserve an ice cream treat because I got SO much accomplished today. Lol πŸ˜„

Daily walk, laundry (wash, dry, fold, AND put away πŸ˜²πŸ‘πŸΎ), cooked three homemade meals, cleaned both bathrooms, made my bed, helped kids tidy their room, AND we completed homeschool lessons.

After all that we accomplished on this busy Monday, we took the kids to the splash pad for an evening cool down. It’s supposed to be another super hot week this week. πŸ₯΅

While Travis stayed with the kids at the splash pad, I enjoyed a short walk to the public library. I wanted to check out a few DVDs and story books for the kids.

Beautiful cone flowers at city hall. 😍🌸

I never realized how nice it is to walk in our city’s main park/public library area. I definitely need to walk here more often!

πŸ’œ XO


Flight of the bumblebee 🐝

I never thought I’d be so happy to see a bumblebee buzzing beside me, but I suppose that’s where I’m at now in my gardening journey! πŸπŸ˜†

About a week ago, it occurred to me I hadn’t seen any bees in the garden, even though I have plenty of pollinator flowers.

This morning, I was again thinking about the bees because I have a lot of flowers on the cucumbers now.

I started worrying what if the fruit and veggie plants don’t get pollinated (I know we can manually do this, but I’ve been waiting for nature to take its course πŸ˜‰).

And then later this evening, Zaya (5) came running through the front door into the kitchen.

She excitedly yelled, “Mommy! Mommy! I saw a bumblebee! There’s a bumblebee on a white flower in the garden!”

So, everyone rushed out to the garden, and the six of us (me, Travis + 4 children) huddled together to watch this little, fuzzy bumblebee wiggle its tiny behind from flower to flower. πŸπŸ˜„

πŸ’œ XO


The old journal

A visit to an art thrift store leads to a journal discovery.

Church hop β›ͺ️

We went to a different parish for the 11:30 a.m. Mass today. (That’s where I took these rainy Sunday pictures, by the wayβ€”in the peaceful parish garden. 😌🌧🌻)

It’s the third church we visited within these last seven days.

We like to do what Travis and I call “church hop.” That means visit different parishes throughout the week.

(Okay, this next part might sound a bit confusing. πŸ˜„)

During the work week (Mon. – Fri.), our family attends the 7 p.m. daily Mass two to three times a week, and each evening Mass we attend is at a different parish.

Then, on the weekend, we attend either the Saturday Vigil Mass or a Sunday morning/afternoon Mass at a nearby local parish.

For the daily evening Mass, it is generally offered only once a week at select parishes. Not every Catholic Church offers an evening Mass.

The evening Mass may be at 6 p.m. or 7 p.m., just depends on that particular parish’s Mass schedule.

Whereas, early morning daily Masses are offered pretty much at all parishes (there are a few exceptions, of course) four to five days out of the work week.

Morning daily Mass times range from 7 a.m. to 9:30 a.m.. Also, each daily Mass, mornkng or evwning, is about 30 minutes long.

We’re just not able to go to a daily Mass in the morning right now. Travis has to be at work by 6 a.m., and we only have one working vehicle at the moment.

But boy, are we thankful we found a few evening Mass options at several local parishes during the work week! πŸ˜ŠπŸ™πŸ½

After today’s morning Mass, we went to say hello to the priest, and he said, “Don’t I know you?!” πŸ€”πŸ˜†

We explained he probably remembered us from a different church we visited a couple of weeks ago when he was the celebrant at that Mass.

“Oh, yes!” he exclaimed remembering where he had last seen us. πŸ˜…

We do have a “home church” that we make the best effort to attend on the weekend a few times in the month.

However, Travis works a lot (six days a week), and life gets pretty busy with the kids, so having the flexibility to also attend a Saturday Vigil (at 4 p.m., 4:30 p.m. or 5 p.m.) or a Sunday Mass time (at 11 a.m., 11:30 a.m., 12 p.m., or even 5:30 p.m.!) that fits our schedule works best for us.

As you can see, living in a metropolitan means we have A LOT of options! πŸ˜‚ And that’s another great blessing for us. πŸ™πŸ½

This is just the stage of life we’re in right now, ya know. πŸ˜„ #busybigfamilylife

Honestly, I wish we would have thought to do this (church hop) when the kids were babies and toddlers instead of always being late to church. Haha πŸ˜‚πŸ«£

πŸ’œ XO


Happy 4th of July! πŸ‡ΊπŸ‡Έ

Happy 4th of July! β€οΈπŸ€πŸ’™

It’s a chill Independence Day holiday for us. We are enjoying a family cookout πŸŒ­πŸ— , and later on, we will light a bunch of sparklers (the kids’ favorite!) and watch the fireworks in our neighborhood.

Photo of me from July 2019. πŸ˜…

Travis is grilling chicken and hot dogs, and I cooked homemade macaroni and cheese and corn on the cob.

I didn’t feel up to cooking a lot of food this holiday because it has been so hot this past week. πŸ₯΅

Hope you have a fun and safe holiday!

πŸ’œ XO

πŸ“Έ Feature image of Zhen when she was 4 years old. πŸ₯°β€οΈπŸ€πŸ’™