I love the cooler days, the changing leaves, the return of pumpkin spice lattes 😀

But...I can't forget that I live in Texas...Southern Texas y'all...and it sure doesn't feel like Fall yet!

This is what lies just 12 minutes down the road from our home...


Beautiful, isn't it? Unfortunately, hurricanes and tropical storms threaten this coastline every few years.

Hurricane Prep

Here on the Texas Gulf Coast we are anxiously waiting for Hurricane Harvey. At the moment, we are in its direct path and are being told to expect up to 30" of rain and definitely some crazy wind!! The storm surge is expected to be up to 10 feet and flooding is a major concern, especially since it's expected to stall out and dump heavy rain for several days.

Preparing for a possible hurricane is a little like taking a deep breath...and holding it!

I've stocked up on groceries and water, Mr DIY has dismantled the trampoline and moved everything on the patio into the garage. School has been canceled. I'm desperately hoping we won't need to put the hurricane shutters up because it's a little like living in a cave and it makes me so claustrophobic. When we lived in Florida we were threatened by Hurricanes Wilma, Katrina and Ike and had to live with the hurricane shutters up for a couple days until the threat passed.

While it's tempting to give in to fear and panic, I am reminded that God is still in control. He made the seas and the winds and the weather after all. My faith brings peace when things are out of my control!

I took advantage of Kroger's clicklist for the first time today and ordered all my hurricane groceries with the click of a button. I love the convenience...and avoiding the crowds is always a bonus!

Free Printable

I had prepared a little goodbye to summer and hello to fall with this printable.


I created this in PicMonkey. and am making it available as a free printable for your personal use. Shoot me a comment with your email address if you'd like the quote and I'll send it to you. It would be pretty displayed in a 4x6 frame, wouldn't it?

Fiddle Leaf Figs Update

I've had a couple of you ask for updates on the status of my fiddle leaf figs. You might remember when it appeared I'd killed one by leaving it outside overnight during a frost last winter...and how happy I was when Mr DIY scored a sad-looking freebie from the discard pile at Home Depot. Here's how the little freebie looked when we brought it home. A lot of the leaves had to go.

bringing beauty to the ordinary,