I'm Alive!

Hello all! I know, I know - I've been pretty non-existent for the past few weeks. You know those times during summer when life just... HAPPENS? And you start to not remember what spare time was? That's been my last few months. Now, I'm not complaining, because I've been doing some pretty great stuff and have been having some very quality family time. The downside to that was that I had to put the blog on the back burner. BUT! I have been thinking of you all and have tried to keep a photo diary of the big stuff...

 

I think we left off here, at Niagara Falls.

Then, I took a very long run in 94 degree (F) weather with a sweet bib on. It was dumb and it was hot, but it happened and my time for 3.5 miles was a good 10 minutes shorter than it was last year. It's a "one and done" kind of activity, so I won't do that again for another year. Thank God. I'm okay with that.

Then we had storms. Lots and lots of storms. And our power went out. A lot. And our gutters were clogged. A lot. And we called gutter companies to come clean them who charged for that service. A lot. So, my husband bought this contraption that worked but was also hysterical and made me laugh. A lot.

 

Marry an engineer, friends.

 

I'm also not going to lie - I did a lot of shopping, and not at the cheap places I prefer frequent. I went big, and then I went home to hide my wallet. This was my last Sephora haul...

I also spent some time gardening. Some of it was super unsuccessful because of the storms. For example, this basil that I managed to drown within a day.

However, the garden that I had planted/showed you during my video is looking pretty good. And by "pretty good", I mean it is gorgeous and I'm fantastic.

Even my hydrangea bush has come back this year. It may or may not have been butchered last year by a overly-happy shearer named: my husband.

Although my goal was blue...

 

It hasn't all been great though. I did serve this dinner...

How 'bout them sprouts, eh?

So, long story short - it's been a great summer. Now, I'm back... I hope. I hope to pick up again with some exciting turns to keep ya'll readers interested. Here's a couple of the ideas that I have been known to be thrown around in my head:

1. I've been pinning again on Pinterest and am playing with the idea of a mid-week Pinterest test.
2. I'm also thinking of having you, my readers, send me challenges: see what I can re-make, re-do or, most likely, what I can mess up.
3. Contests? Do y'all want to be winners of something?

So shout it from the rooftops, friends - what are your thoughts on these? Leave them down below in the comments or, as always, feel free to sounds off to me at my e-mail thriftysew@gmail.com. Help me make this blog something you can't wait to read :)