Our Fabled Nest

Ooh wee! Where to start!? Since hubs is working further away, we aren’t seeing each other as much… as we are a close-knit crew, this has been tough on the kiddos. To make up for lost time, weekends are now our time for snuggles, lazy adventures, easy meals and really enjoying our time together! I appreciate all of his hard work and am beyond proud of him reaching his goals! Go Hubby!

Fridays are our movie or tv night! I’m a bit weird – I don’t watch a lot of movies. I barely turn on the tv during the week other than the PBS channel for the kiddos… Dinosaur Train is the main request and at least three out of the four will hop on the couches and seem to watch it. Forrest is one of the ones with assisted hopping! I am also one of those people who despise the news. There is too much political drama, violence and heartbreak. Weather is half right some of the time too… No thanks! This leads to movie nights being more exciting in a way. There is nothing better than snuggling up with hubs, plus a fur kid or four, a table full of our favorite treats and a really good show! When I say movie, nine times out of ten it is television show – guilty pleasure of Ghost Adventures, Kinder Spirits or anything along those lines! We don’t have cable but rather a subscription for both Discovery Plus and Netflix. During the autumn months, we usually add a few other subscriptions because of me, and my love of not so scary Halloween inspired movies!

Our snack table is probably my favorite part to throw together. I love picking out everyone’s favorite goodies – this movie night was more of a dinner with a show. Every table always includes chicken nuggets. Even though, I limit Atticus’ chicken intake since, it seems to cause itchies. Chicken nuggets in small amounts are worth it. It makes him happy and are a crowd favorite. I even found gluten free mozzarella sticks. Literally happy dancing in the freezer aisle! We also enjoyed chips and veggies with a fun assortment of dips. Kroger has leveled up rice cakes. With several flavor options and under three dollars a bag, we give these four paws up! Plus, they are from the Simple Truth brand so no chemicals additives or preservatives! As you all know by now, fur kids are never left out. Safe, delicious and gluten free animal crackers are always a win! Hubs and I are a huge fan of peppermint patties, but you know what makes them so much better??? Freeze them! Refreshing and perfect for a summer movie night! Classic popcorn with salt and butter is an Atticus thing – I swear he would be the kid to have butter with a side of popcorn, if I’d let him.

What started as a Saturday for adventures turned into a different kind of adventure that we have not so patiently been waiting for! First off, let’s face it – house hunting is a nightmare. From it being a seller’s market, to the outrageous interest rates, to the slim pickings and then the price for value is nonexistent, we knew we were looking for a needle in a haystack, so to speak. We had two agents in two completely different areas working their tails off in hopes of finding the illusive home. We realized every time we headed to the Shenandoah Valley for our home search, it was kind of like a come home calling. Since then, we shifted our search to focus on that beautiful mountainous area. There is something rather compelling about the mountains of Virginia. It’s an awe-struck feeling, a calling or a welcoming of being home that we cannot get enough of. Appalachia has a way of calling folks back.

Our original plans we to look at two properties, then head to Winchester to hike. There are so many gorgeous options, and we can’t wait to explore! After the first property, we were heading to number two but still looking for other places in the area that we could maybe swing by. A beautiful little blue cabin popped up. Being only thirty minutes from property two, we added it as number three for the day. We then realized our picnic and hike were out the window. Hubs needs to rest at some point! House one was a no, house two (I think we are actually close to 12 at this point) had some weird off vibes. Absolutely no, I would have been more than happy to just keep driving. House three was somethin’ special. Goosebumps when we pulled on the property. I’ll keep that a bit more of a secret for the time being but just know it’s magical….

Cheers to our next adventure!