Soup Sundays & Other Shenanigans

We were outside as much as possible this past weekend since the weather was so beautiful! Saturday we went pumpkin picking & maybe stole picked a few apples along the way. I found the prettiest greenish/blue pumpkin & a mini white pumpkin to complete our fall decorations. They're gems. Absolute GEMS! We took Joey to the park on Sunday to run off some of his energy & so we could soak up the end of summer.

Although it was quite warm out we were eager to start our new fall/winter tradition: Soup Sundays. We kicked it off with Sweet Potato Chowder. It is super easy to make & really delicious. It may be my favorite soup. You can find the recipe below. :)

Ingredients:
1 celery rib, chopped
2 tbsp. butter
2 cans chicken broth
2 cups water
2 tsp. chicken bouillon granules
4 medium potatoes, peeled & cubed
1 large sweet potato, peeled & cubed
2 cups ham, cubed
2 tbsp. minced onion
1/2 tsp. each garlic powder, dried oregano & parsley flakes
1/4 tsp. each pepper & crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups milk

Directions:
In a large saucepan, saute celery in butter until tender. Stir in broth, water and chicken bouillon. Add potatoes, sweet potato, ham & seasonings. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover & simmer for 12 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Combine flour & milk until smooth; gradually stir into soup. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened and bubbly.

Happy Fall to you all! (at 10:29 p.m...)

Another Glorious Day

This cooler weather has been so nice! It makes running slightly more bearable, we can keep our windows open to bring in the fresh air & it makes pumpkin spice pudding that much more yummy!

If you follow me on Instagram (@meggie.ann) you may have seen a sneak peek of the newest prints in my shop! It is still a little early for Fall decorations, but with pumpkins & mums popping up all over it's got me feeling festive! The chalkboard below may be one of my favorites! Please go take a look. :) 

Wishing you all a great week! 

Fall Favorites + A Shop Opening

Fall is probably my favorite season, but then I think well, so is summer & spring & winter... maybe I'm a wee bit indecisive.  It's made up of pretty colors, crisp air, football on Sundays, (& Mondays & Thursdays & Fridays & Saturdays), & who can forget apple cider & pumpkins! 

In honor of the cooler weather ahead, I have rounded up a few of my favorite finds.

Sweater | Bag | Garland | Belt | Hat | Jacket | Candle | Shirt | Sprinkles | Cocoa

What is on your Fall wishlist? :)

Also, I am so excited to announce that my Etsy shop, August Ann Creations is now OPEN! It is full of my hand drawn chalkboards that have been turned into digital art prints. So, please, please, please take a peek! There is a link at the top of this page to my shop. :) Next week I will be adding a few Fall inspired prints! :)

Thank you for looking! I'm so happy to be sharing these with everyone! 

 Happy Hump Day! 

Birthday Festivities!

My birthday was this past weekend. :)
Saturday morning Nate made me french toast with fruit & topped it off with dinosaur sprinkles. Mmmmm. We then got around because he had a surprise! The surprise was a trip to the National Zoo in Washington D.C. It was such a great time! It is pretty wild how amazing animals are. The gorillas are almost eerie to look at with their human like qualities, the lions were b-e-a-utiful! (of course all I think of is The Lion King the entire time) & I have acquired a new favorite animal: the sloth bear. I have so kindly included a picture of that cutie below.

 (THE sloth bear)

 (the humidity wreaked havoc on my hair!)

The zoo may have been the perfect surprise & it made me feel like a kid (I may have acted like a child as well each time I saw a new animal). Because truly, who wants to act like a grown up anyway? It really is a blessing that I do not look my age!

Sunday was my actual birthday. It was a really nice, relaxing day spent with my boys. We went for a run & made chicken & spinach pizza for dinner with our new pizza stone! Nate made me a triple chocolate chunk cake & it was delicious (this was the reason for running on my birthday...).

 (My birthday gifts. I've wanted these for a while! All white everything. Butter & eggs were not included) ;)

Next years birthday may not be as cheerful. I may even ignore it all together (it's the dirty thirty).

Happy Wednesday all!