Friday Five & Five on Friday :)

I'm linking up with two link-ups on this Fall Friday!

 1. {Homemade} I have recently begun thinking a lot about processed foods and their impact on our health. I guess it stems from a combination of my sister and her battle with digestive issues, brother in law and his battle with Crohn's disease and now having LG's diet to think about. It also has do to with my weekly grocery budget. (So often my latest Pinterest recipe calls for a packet of Hidden Valley ranch dressing mix or Italian dressing mix and these mixes are around $2 a packet with lots of yucky hard to pronounce ingredients.) This week I made my own mixes!! I ended up having most of the spices I needed on hand and only had to buy one or two. Not only did this save me from having to buy the packets this week, but the recipes I used made enough to equal several packets! I stored the extra in mason jars and will now have it ready the next time I make a Mississippi Roast (Daniel's favorite!) or Pesto Ranch Chicken (a newly added (and super yummy!) item on our menu!)

2. {Big Girl Carseat} We had planned to wait until after the party to buy Londyn Grace's new carseat, but when we received a mailer about a promotion that Babies R Us had going on, we decided to get it now! With any purchase of $150 or more, you could get a video monitor for free! We used a 20% off coupon on the $169.99 seat making it $135.99 so we grabbed two pairs of pajamas and a package of drawer locks to get us to the $150 mark! Unfortunately they were sold out of the monitor so they gave us a raincheck and will call us when they get the shipment in! Daniel installed the seat today and she tried it out for the first time! She wasn't too sure of it and neither is mama! She is getting too big too fast!

3. {My other Blog} After much nudging from the Holy Spirit, I have finally resurrected my first blog! I wrote devotionals at Loving my Lord on a daily basis for around 5 years, but had neglected it since LG's birth. I plan to make time for writing again at least a few days a week! I'd love it if you'd follow me there as well!

4. {Almost Party Time} Lovey Lou turns one three weeks from yesterday! Her BIG party at home in Maryland is two weeks from tonight!! I've gotten a lot done, but still have several projects to tackle in the next fourteen days! I can't believe it is almost here!

How cute is this mason jar stamp?!

5. {Saying Goodbye} We went to Maryland on Monday to say goodbye to my Aunt Mary Ellen. The first of my Daddy's nine siblings (he is the baby of ten!) to pass away, she left an incredible legacy. I was blessed to spend 3 years with her when we worked together and carpooled each morning. She was only 57, but the Lord knew her body was too weak to face the cancer treatments ahead. She always put others first and served so selflessly. I'll think of her often, every time I use a coupon as she would typically finish a grocery trip with bags of groceries and the store owing her money, eat a chocolate chip cookie, she knew they were my favorite and always saved me some or watch a Christmas movie, she loved the 25 days of Christmas specials on ABC. I'll miss calling her every once and awhile, just to talk. I'll miss her sweet spirit. I am grateful that she knew Jesus as her Savior and is no more bound by this body of clay. Heaven is a little sweeter with her there and I have the assurance of seeing her again.

What are your Friday Five? Head over to The Sowell Life or to The Good Life Blog and link up!