Life Lately & Garden Update

The last few weeks have been busier then usual in our house, and for the record, I hate being "busy" and I hate the hustle and bustle that everyone seems to strive for - in all honesty is kind of stresses me out and it makes me feel drained and frazzled.

It feels nice to just take a breathe and settle down a little bit after summer, three birthdays in two weeks, and the sad passing away of Nate's grandmother after her courageous battle with breast cancer.

I have been spending a lot of time in the garden, enjoying the last of the season, and the last of the produce.  It has been so fun, and I have learned so much, in fact I have a whole notebook for next year.

We picked another watermelon the other day, it was 31 pounds (14kg) and oh so delicious.

  We had a little one that fell somehow got lose from the vine (probably from some of the kids at the birthday parties) so Hayleigh took that one in as her own.  Her favorite thing to eat is watermelon, and she loved on this baby watermelon for days.

  Isn't she the cutest?

We have a ton of little spicy peppers (sante fe peppers, jalepenos, and chinese peppers) they have been fun to grow and watch.

  Some of the tomatoes have also started to slowly turn red - and this excites me.

  Also I have been hard as many green beans as we have had this summer - these to plants have pretty much been producing copious amounts, daily.  We love eating them with our lunch with some hummus to dip them in.

  Our mornings have been cool and fall like, so we love opening all the windows wide for some fresh air, and to just naturally cool the house.  The cat has enjoyed this practice so much.  I just can't get over how awesome she is, and what a perfect fit she is for our family.

  She will pretty much just sit like this for hours, watching the birds, and she is probably dreaming about catching one.

So we have lived in West Texas for three years already, I really can't believe it because honestly it seems like an eternity, and it also seems like it is never going to end - just being real here.

In our three years here, we have yet to see rattlesnake, hear me out - the kids and I just want to stumble upon one while driving and observe it from the safety of the truck, apparently that doesn't happen.  We have gone on so many aimless driving mission in hopes of seeing one, and nothing.

Lone and behold one of the guys we know in town happens to stumble upon them ALL the time, I am not even kidding.  So he bagged one for us, and boom we were able to go observe it from the safety of the back of the truck - and it was freaken awesome.

  Talking about snakes.  Nate brought home a snake in box this morning (a texas long-nose snake - non venomous) that he caught on a call last  night.  When we finally had time to open the box after church to show the kids and then release it we were met with an empty box.  As I am typing this I can't confirm neither deny that there might me a rogue snake in my house.  If any of you see Nate make sure he knows that he owes me fresh blooms for the trauma I sustained.

EDIT: I wrote this post but didn't publish it yet.  So at the time of writing it we still had a rogue snake.  Well the little fella was found - funny story - it goes something like this...

The Cooks walk out their front door, headed to a dermatology appointment.  We make eye contact with the neighbor.

Nate: "Good-morning!"
Neighbor: "Good morning (she looks at us hesitantly) just so you guys now we found a snake last night, since your kids are always outside."
Nate: (so much excitement in his voice) "what?!? What kind of snake?"
Neighbor: "Please tell me we didn't kill ya'lls pet snake!"
Me: laughing historically.
Neighbor: opens a bucket with a dead snake inside
Nate: "yep, that's the one."
Neighbor: "oh my gosh I am so so sorry, I just hate snakes"

Nate goes ahead and told her the story of how he acquired this snake - I just stood there in complete disbelieve - mean what are the chances - this snake escaped out of a box in the bed of the truck, drove all the way in the back from Odessa, probably went to church and lunch with us in the bed of the truck, and then finally fell really hard from really high, only to make it to the wrong house.

Neighbor: "well that is a crazy story,  I am so sorry."
Nate: "It's ok, if you ever find any out of the ordinary creatures around, it's probably mine, just come knock on our door."
Neighbor: Looks at us like we are completely crazy. "Ok, will do."

We are those people on our block.

Nate also found this sweet little guy.

I have been working on updating my little space here, and also on updating the recipe section at the top.  Make sure to check back often, as I am sharing some of our favorite recipes.  I get asked a ton on Instagram to share some recipes, so I will be working on that.

  Fresh ingredients makes me happy - especially fresh berries, anything citrus, rainbow carrots, and anything from my garden.

The other day we were having a rough day - it comes and go in phases because of our location, and well just constantly feeling stuck.

I always see this...

  and though is has a weird "beauty to it" it also sometimes makes me feel down, because it feels like everything here just dies...

but then a couple of feet away, I find this...

  and then all is well with the world.

We have three weeks left and then Ian will graduate first grade, and Hayleigh will be in kindergarten.  For real - where has the time gone?

This phase even though tiring, daunting and somewhat frustrating at times, it necessary for growth and other things not yet known - but I seriously can't wait for the day that I get to say peace out West Texas.  However far away that might be...

***
Everyone who knows me, knows I have an obsession with food - real nutritious whole foods.  I want to know what is in my food and where my food came from. I love learning about new foods, trying new foods, and providing nutrient dense food options all around.

The last couple of months I have been spending time educating myself on safer skincare and beauty products, and the effects it might have on our bodies.  I do have a personal story in this post about safer deodorant options.  A few months ago a stumbled upon a beauty and skincare company that I was willing to give a try (I am so happy I did) and I decided to join the mission for safer skincare for everyone.

If you are interested in learning more click here or feel free to reach out to me.  I am so excited for this opportunity to learn more about the cosmetic industry.

Happy Monday, friends!
Enjoy the last of summer.