The Adventures of Julie and Bella 2025

Today was one of those lovely, creative days where everything just flows. 🎨💫 I spent the afternoon working on some new Fall door hangings — and I’m obsessed with how they turned out! 🍁🎃 I made pumpkins for both my front and side doors. Most of my supplies came from Dollar Tree (which has seriously stepped up its craft game lately!) 🛒✂️ and I love being able to create something cute on a budget. 💸❤️

Candle-making was also on today’s agenda! 🕯️🔥 I had to do a second pour on a couple because of some pesky little “sink holes” in the wax 😩🕳️ but round two was a success! ✅ Everything smoothed out beautifully, and the new wax blend and wicks are working much better than I expected. 🙌 Honestly, who knew candle-making was such a science?! 😅🧪 But I’m loving the journey — and the bonus? My whole house smells incredible! 😍🏠🌸

I also took some time today to prep my Roma tomatoes for the freezer. 🍅🧊 🥣🛍️ It’s a little bit of work up front, but future me will definitely thank present me when it’s time to make sauce later this month! 🍝❄️ There’s just something so satisfying about preserving what you’ve grown. 🌿💪

Later in the day, Bella and I curled up on the front porch for some quiet reading time. 📚🐾🪑 It was peaceful and grounding, especially while we waited to hear from my mom about my dad’s surgery time. 📞❤️‍🩹 He’s getting a knee replacement tomorrow morning — scheduled for 9:30am with check-in at 7. ⏰🦵 My brother’s taking them in 🚗 and I’ll head to the hospital a bit later (hopefully dodging the worst of rush hour traffic 🤞🚧).

This evening’s garden check-in didn’t include any harvesting, unfortunately. 😞🌱 A few of my sweet peppers are so close — one is almost fully red but still has a hint of green. 🌶️🍃 The Little Finger eggplants are growing steadily, just not quite ready to pick yet. 🍆🕰️ I’m a little bummed that the new bean plants I started from seed have stalled out — maybe it’s the heat? 🫘🌡️🥵 Still, the season isn’t over yet, and I’ve already got big plans for next year. ✨🌼📝 I even requested a few seed and plant catalogs because, yes, I’m that excited to start planning! 🌻📬

But for now… it’s time to pack my hospital bag for tomorrow:
✔️ Book 📖
✔️ Snacks 🍿
✔️ Deep breaths 🧘‍♀️

Here’s hoping for a smooth surgery and a speedy recovery for Dad. 💙🙏