Abby’s Saturday // One Hundred Seventy-Seven

Highlight of the Week

Last night we bundled up in as many layers as we could and headed over to Kennywood for their Holiday Lights. Some of us looked like walking marshmallows with the added accessories of hats & gloves. I just started to write that “it wasn’t as cold as it was last year”, but I have to take that back! I wanted to state how cold it was last year compared to this year, so I looked up the Abby’s Saturday from last year at this time & I said that the starting temp was around 27º. Last night the starting temp was only 29º! So, not far off at all. We kept telling ourselves that it wasn’t as cold as it was last year, but I guess we were lying to ourselves!

No matter how cold it was, we had such a good time! And the Park was better this year!! More lights, more rides open, more food options – it was awesome! We froze and were literally shivering & teeth-chattering by the time we were leaving, but it was wonderful & we’ll definitely be going back next year!

Yes, This Happened

• Last weekend, my Mom took all of her girls (me & Braelynn, Ellen & baby, Amy, Emma, Ruby) and we went away to Berlin, Ohio. We left early Saturday morning and didn’t come back until Monday night. She found the most adorable & perfect house for us to stay in and we had such a wonderful time together. We shopped on Saturday (and visited the puppy store where my parent’s dog Buster is from) and went to church in a coffee shop on Sunday. Since Berlin is a predominantly Amish community, very little is open on Sundays – and when I say “very little”, I mean nothing – nothing is open. We spent the whole afternoon at the house, playing games, napping, reading, and relaxing. Monday was spent going to a few more shops that we missed on Saturday and then the drive home.
• Potty Training Update: Braelynn has been doing SO good going on the potty this week!! I’m afraid to actually say it, but I’m hopeful that we’ve turned the corner! She still won’t actually tell me that she needs to go to the potty, but as long as I take her – she’s good! She was so good on our trip too (only had one accident!) I don’t think she’s had any accidents while we’ve been home this week (and this is me over here, knocking on all the wood). Fingers crossed!!
• Yes, I’m still loving my new haircut. It’s perfect and fabulous and I feel like I have a new head of hair. It’s wonderful!
• Okay you guys: I found the perfect cami. I’m not sure about y’all, but I’m super picky about the camis I wear. I stumbled across the perfect camis at an outlet store a few years ago & have literally worn them thru. They have holes in multiple places and are starting to simply deteriorate. I tried to find the same brand online, but they don’t really exist anymore (of course). So, that set me on the hunt for a new one. I tried Kohl’s & Target – and came up with nothing. I like to layer with my camis, so I like them long. Not too long though – I don’t want them to cover my butt. Remember: I said I was picky! Anyways, not really wanting to go to the mall and spend all day in every store trying on camis, I turned to Amazon. I read all the reviews & finally picked one that had the option of free returns so I could send it back if I didn’t like it. It came on Friday & I LOVE it. It’s the perfect length, the perfect stretch, the perfect soft, and a really good price!! I will definitely be ordering a few more and saying goodbye to my worn-out ones!
• When we first got Abby, she was just a 6-month-old pup and she was definitely a chewer. So much so, that was had to crate her every time we left the house (we learned that lesson the hard way – after she ate multiple pillows & 2 of our couches)! When we moved & lived temporarily with my parents, we left her with Buster and had no chewing problems. She had grown out of the chewing stage at our old house, but we still just crated her out of habit (and fear of coming home to something destroyed). We haven’t crated her since we moved though & have never had any problems. Well, for some freaky reason, this week, she’s chewed up 2 of Braelynn’s small plastic toys – an alligator and Elsa (yep, from Frozen). WHY?!

Feeling Blessed

Today is the last wedding of 2017. It’s not my wedding – I’m second-shooting for Ellen today (so no sneak peeks on Facebook tonight or highlight blog on Tuesday). But it’s our last wedding of the year. And it’s SO exciting!

It seems kind of anti-climatic though, because there are only a few weeks left in the year! And my 2018 wedding season is one of the earliest seasons ever (my first wedding will be in February – what?!) But it’s still nice to know that today wraps up the 2017 season & I can officially consider myself in the “off-season” starting tomorrow! I have so many tasks I want to accomplish in the off-season & I’m so excited to tackle that list! But first: today is going to be a fabulous wedding day!!