Go JORD or Go Home- It's Fall!

 I received a Jord watch in order to share my opinion about their products. All opinions contained herein are my own.

My new watch, just asking to be worn

North Texas. My home. Typically, this evokes images of heat, eternal summer, and humidity. But today, all that changed!

With a single storm sweeping in, temperatures plummeted from a balmy 90 to 40 in virtually minutes. What does that mean for me? It means that today, in spite of the Halloween decor I've had up for weeks, it is our FIRST official fall day in the Talley household- simply because it feels like fall. FINALLY.

Just shouts 'autumn!'

Now that it's fall, my wardrobe changes almost instantly. I pull out my sweaters, lovingly touching their soft knits that I have been so missing, find my favorite fleece leggings, and start evaluating what accessories call out 'autumn is here!'

And today? That meant my new Jord watch (pronounced YODE- it's Norse!). I received my watch a week or so ago, took it out and marveled at its inherent beauty. I chose a Cora Polaris watch, which has a Swarovski crystal and a constellation design, so that every time I look at the watch, I can see the Big Dipper on my watch, pointing me North.

My hand-stitched quilt

This particular design spoke to me because of an experience I had several years ago. Pregnant with my second child, I wanted to hand stitch a quilt of my own design, something that would mean something to my future offspring. Now, because I chose to hand stitch it, this quilt wasn't finished until my third child came- but I digress. I created a modified compass rose, with the hopes that it would remind my child to always know who they are (my beloved child) and where they are headed. For, if you can always find North, you're never lost, right? Naturally, when I saw this beautiful watch with its constellation design, I knew it was for me.

I'll be honest... I made myself two cups of cocoa!

So, with a chilly breeze, light rain, and a deep desire to make hot cocoa, I put my watch on for the first time. I'm not a watch designer. I have many talents- but watch design isn't one of them. If I COULD make a watch, though- I feel like this is what I would have created. I feel like Jord took everything that I loved and put it into a single product. Sustainable woods. Classic (and classy!) rose gold. Something meaningful. A timeless design that I can wear with almost anything. I don't like to purchase a lot of cheap, brassy jewelry. I'd rather spend a little more on something
long lasting that I can wear for years. And Jord has delivered on that for me.

If you have any interest in your own Jord product- check them out here! If, however, you'd like to spin your wheel of chance, feel free to enter our FREE product giveaway! Enter HERE! to win a FREE Jord watch band that fits an Apple watch!

Wooden Wrist Watch

5-Ingredient Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie

Just starting out

Perfect for a fall treat!

This week, find yourself in a rich, creamy, peanut buttery chocolate heaven. Reminiscent of T.G.I. Friday's peanut butter pie, this dessert takes just a few minutes to prep and a freezer.

Ingredient List:
1 cup smooth peanut butter
1 cup chocolate chips
1 8 oz container of whipped topping
1 can of sweetened condensed milk
4 oz (1/2 block) cream cheese

Spreading melted chocolate

AND

of course. 1 graham cracker crust.




*Melt the chocolate chips in the microwave, stopping to stir every 20 seconds or so

-spread 3/4 of the melted chocolate on the bottom of the graham cracker crust

Mixing the filling...

*Soften the cream cheese and peanut butter in the microwave (think warm, gooey, but not hot)

*Mix the peanut butter, whipped topping, sweetened condensed milk, and cream cheese in a bowl until smooth

Swirled chocolate

*Pour into graham cracker crust

*Swirl the remaining chocolate on the top of the pie

*Add Reese's mini peanut butter cups to garnish if you so choose

*Throw this bad boy in the freezer for at least 1 hour and pull out 10-15 minutes before you want to dig in. (Note: Because there will be a layer of solid chocolate at the bottom, cutting it will take a little bit of force.)

Makes a creamy, crazy-satisfying dessert. After all, if you are going to splurge your calories, why not make it something that will actually satisfy your sweet tooth?

***If you prefer to make your crust from scratch, rather than use a ready-made one from the store, just follow the simple instructions in this 2-minute video. Making a Graham Cracker Crust

How to Keep Your Lettuce Fresh Longer

This is a tip shared with me by a dear friend of mine (you know who you are!) on how to keep your lettuce fresh for weeks at a time. Simple and effective. What more do you need?

Simply line a plastic container with aluminum foil, put your lettuce inside, cover the top of the container with aluminum foil, and finish it by putting the container's lid on.

Shazam.

Keeps your lettuce fresh in the fridge far longer than just a plastic baggie or zip container.

Looking for MORE ways to use aluminum foil? Check out Top 10 Uses for Aluminum Foil!

Perfect Hamburger Patties Using Mason Jar Lid

Can you EVER have too many ideas for your mason jars?

Maybe.

But what about mason jar LIDS?

Well, how about using a mason jar lid for perfect hamburger patties? Use the regular size for small patties, like burger sliders, and wide mouth lids for larger patties. Just make sure that the lid is clean, then form the patty by pressing it into the mason jar lid form and then removing it. Boom.

Perfect patties that will cook evenly and all be finished at the same time- no unevenly cooked patties this way.

To the Death of Mom Guilt

I might just lose my temper here. This topic gets me so fired up, I have a hard time controlling my tone when I talk about it and even when I think about it, I feel my blood start to boil.

Mom Guilt.

Our society is a perfect storm for mothers. And I mean the literal definition, "a particularly violent storm arising from a rare combination of adverse....factors".

Now, I believe that all mothers have struggled with different issues over the course of humanity, but our current society has a rare combination of adverse factors, which work against motherhood, to make it seem impossible to be a 'good' mother.

It makes me furious. The number of good, caring, loving women who constantly ask themselves, "Am I enough?", only to answer themselves 'No....' I just can't handle it. Too many good women have guilted and shamed themselves into a corner of frustration where they feel there is no way out.

And if you're a mother? I don't have to tell you this. You already know it. You've felt it. Your kids had too much screen time yesterday.... You shouted at your kids for not listening..... You slept in..... Breakfast was a handful of sugary cereal and a donut.... Just examples, here. What causes shame is different for each mother. Whatever it was that that made you feel guilty, as if you had somehow wronged your child(ren), you've felt the shame and unavoidable guilt after any of these scenarios or others like them.

But.

It doesn't have to be unavoidable.

Let me talk to you a bit about Satan.

Satan, the great deceiver, WANTS you to fail in your pursuits in motherhood. Wants, so badly, for you to hate yourself for your weaknesses. So, he takes a very crucial part of personal improvement and twists it.

That improvement?

Contrition.

Contrition is when you've done wrong, feel badly, and want to change for the better. It's motivating. It can be hurtful, but it results in positive changes in your life.

Guilt is when you've done wrong and feel badly. The end.

God wants you to feel contrition. To feel badly about something but also uplifted to improve. Not to do impossible things. Just a few, small things.

Satan's twist, guilt, is where you feel sick and awful and terrible and there are a million things you've done wrong and you'll never be enough.

So, let's talk about how to make that unavoidable guilt actually AVOIDABLE.

When you start to feel badly about something as a mother, stop and ask yourself:

Is this contrition? Or guilt?

If it's contrition, you still have a bad feeling about what you've done, but along with it comes a motivating desire to change. And you'll feel it sometimes. Not every day. About manageable things. That you CAN change and control. God doesn't ask any of us to change 3,495 things in our lives at once. Just one or two.

And if it's guilt? You'll feel awful. Which will lead to feeling worse. And somehow, you'll remember 3,495 other things that you are somehow failing at and want to curl up in a ball and give up.

God can still use imperfect tools to be wonderful mothers. He only asks that we be willing.

Slow improvements. That's where contrition leads.

This is very different from guilt, where we somehow expect perfection of ourselves.

I get it. I understand. Our children are wonderful, good, perfectly innocent (at times!) babes that we love so dearly that we don't want to short-change them in any way. But guilt will never lead me to be the mom I dream of being and it won't lead you there, either.

The bottom line?

If your children are safe, if they know they are loved, and if you are working to improve in those one or two areas where you have felt contrition....

That's it. You're a good mom. You don't need to feel guilt. I'll repeat. That's IT. You are a good mom.

So, please, for my own blood pressure's sake. Take a DEEEEEEEEEEP breath, tell yourself that you ARE a good mother, your children ARE lucky to have you and you will just so NO to mom guilt!

Please. Don't suffer for the sake of suffering. See mom guilt for what it is- a counterfeit from Satan- and see yourself for who you really are, not the warped sense you'll get from Satan's tricks.