I'm SO grateful that I was finally feeling better and able to resume my normal pace this week! It felt good to jump back into life after being down and out for so long!
While everyone did so well at keeping things running while I was recovering, I did discover a few things that proved I'm still needed around here. 
For instance, I found this pan (see above picture) put away in our cupboard.
We may have a slight misunderstanding in our home as to what constitutes "clean dishes". Just possibly. And now I'm wondering if there was a whole load of dirty dishes from the dishwasher that someone put away trying to be helpful. I do not want to dwell on that thought, though.
This dirty pan discovery wasn't the worst discovery of that day, though. Nope. I had been smelling a nasty smell in my car and I decided I should investigate further… only to discover a half-eaten frappe in the back seat cup holder.
For the record, if you leave a half-eaten frappe in a hot car for half a week, it will turn green and smell like a mix between skunk and sour milk and throw up. It's really lovely… especially in your car!!
{I am nice enough not to take a picture of said moldy, green frappe ruins. I decided that might be taking the over-sharing just a little bit too far!}
It was a full week and I had trouble narrowing down the list of things I am loving this week to just 5 things. But here's what I finally decided upon:
#1: New Colored Pencils
You all were so very, very right! Cheap colored pencils just don't hold a candle to the more expensive kind.
A reader named Jennifer sent these new coloring pencils to me last week and they are AMAZING. Seriously! Watch this video here to hear me swoon over them.
You can see the ones Jennifer sent me here. Here's my first coloring project with them (see above). {You can print this free coloring page here.}
One reader suggested getting them at a craft store with a 40% off coupon. Or maybe, if you're as obsessed with coloring as I am, you could even ask for them for Christmas??
Y'all, I'm not sure what we've come to when colored pencils make me so giddy that I almost want to squeal.
#2: Loom Bands
We spent this morning cheering on Silas' baseball game and loom-banding it up.
Currently, my kids have traded in their hours spent creating with Legos for hours making loom band creations. While it means that I'm constantly finding stray loom bands in odd places around the house, I love to see them exercising their creativity, making gifts for others, and learning new patterns together.
(Thanks to YouTube for the endless supply of new loom band creation ideas!)
#3: Leggings!
I celebrated the first day of fall this week by pretending that it was crisp fall weather outside. Thus, the wearing of the leggings.
Never mind the fact that it was actually 81 degrees outside. Please let me just stay in my little fall fantasy world, okay? Because it was a l-o-n-g summer!
{Please note that I wore said leggings in compliance with The Jen Hatmaker Rules of Legging Wearing. And if you don't know what I'm referring to, please stop what you're doing and watch this video. You're welcome.}
#4: Getting Lost in a Story
I finally had a quiet afternoon to really get into reading The Bronte Plot! And I truly enjoyed it.
While I didn't feel like the plot and story engaged me quite like Dear Mr. Knightley did, it engaged me enough that I wanted to keep reading even though I'd planned to take a break and finish a few other projects.
The Bronte Plot is a story of redemption in spite of past mistakes and a story of becoming a victor instead of a victim of our circumstances. It's a lighter read and I got through it in one afternoon.
{I also enjoyed Lizzy and Jane and adored Dear Mr. Knightley - both by this same author. If you read only one book by this author, definitely read Dear Mr. Knightley.}
#5: A Girl's Day/Night Out
I may have been a wee bit excited to get to have a completely kid-free 24 hours with some of my favorite people. No, we didn't move to another country or go on a 4-week trip… I just sometimes like to channel my inner Boy Scout (i.e. "Always Be Prepared").
I brought a few different outfits and multiple pairs of shoes (for real!) because we were planning a fun night on the town and I couldn't decide what I wanted to wear. Plus, I kept finding more things to throw in my bag "just in case". That often happens to me when I'm really excited about something.
{Taylor Swift was in town that night. We didn't go to her concert - we just pretended like we were 12 and asked someone to take our picture next to her trailer! :)}
The night was filled with laughter, tears, deep conversation, and a whole lot of us being our crazy selves, too. We also stayed up entirely too late. But we just couldn't help it!
I love these four women something fierce. They are part of our weekly Monday Group and they are some of my dearest local friends. They are women who will speak truth when you need to hear it, be a safe place to honestly share about struggles and triumphs, drop everything and bring you coffee when you're having a hard day, and make you laugh so hard that you cry off all of your mascara.
What are YOU loving this week? Tell us in the comments.
