I have a weakness for lipstick...even though most days I forget to reapply it. Mom life, am I right?

Lipstick is truly the one place I feel adventurous when it comes to makeup. I like my lip to be bold without looking like I'm auditioning for clown school. I have this memory from childhood of a redheaded woman who wore bright, fire-engine red lipstick and how garish it always looked, and to this day that memory guides me in my lipstick choice.

To be fair, I don't really color-code my makeup for the seasons, so although I've named this post 4 Lipsticks for Fall, and these are all great fall options, I will wear them year-round, maybe with the exception of the last one I'm sharing because it may be too brown.

When I describe this lipstick to other people, I pull out a really dated reference. Remember in the movie The Little Giants when Becky, the tomboy who plays football, tries makeup for the first time and gets caught by her dad, so she lies and tells him she's just eaten a cherry Tootsie Pop? That's the color this lipstick is, and it's so perfect. Also, I don't know how they do it, but Milani's lipsticks smell so dang good. I think I might be addicted to that smell.

Originally this post was going to just showcase three shades, but then I picked up this one from the drugstore last week, and I couldn't not include it. It's such a nice understated brown. It's not quite nude but it's also not dark enough to feel too earthy for my skin tone.

I'm not going to lie, friends. This is a really difficult post to write. Talking about how truly out of shape and weak I got last year makes me feel all kinds of vulnerable. It also really highlights the fact that I'm now firmly in my mid-30s where getting back into shape is infinitely harder than it used to be.

I had a hysterectomy last year. My decision came after more than year of suffering (You can read more about it here). Even before I headed into the OR, my health and physical fitness had taken a pretty big hit. Then add in a months-long recovery from having major surgery, and all the physicality I had prided myself on keeping honed was basically non-existent. I had no stamina, strength, or flexibility anymore.

As soon as I was able, I started walking - the only exercise my doctor said was safe for me to do. I started with what amounted to maybe a quarter of a mile, and it was brutal. I eventually worked up to being able to jog a full mile, but although my stamina had greatly improved I needed more.

At the beginning of the year, I took on a health coach as a client with the magazine. When she asked if I'd like to try a complimentary session with her, I jumped at the opportunity. That 30 minute class was was one of the hardest things I've ever done, but when I walked out of her studio I felt so much better.

Not long after that, about mid-March, I started seeing Valerie twice a week for one-on-one yoga sessions. But if I'm being honest, calling what happens in the 60 minutes we spend together just "yoga" feels limiting. It's breathing and refocusing and strength training and physical therapy and flexibility and cardio all rolled into one.

It's been about six months, maybe longer since I don't remember the actual date we started, and the changes in my body are astounding. I've lost about two inches in my waist, I've dropped an entire dress/pant size, my stamina is up, my flexibility is rebounding, and - probably the best feeling of all - I have muscles, y'all.

Get a free consultation with Valerie here.

Exercising, in any way, is infinitely more enjoyable when you're comfortable, right? So finding the best leggings and sports bras is just part of the deal. I get my workout gear from a variety of places at all difference price points. When Starving Spirits reached out to me about giving their workout sets a try, I said what the heck and signed up.

I started out with three sets, one of which is no longer available unfortunately.

It's the most wonderful time of the year! The temps are getting lower, the humidity isn't on full blast, and the world is starting to fade into bursts of gold, orange, and deep red.

This is the perfect time of year to go on a family adventure, and I've put together a list of ten activities that are free or nearly free.

Visit a U-Pick Farm or Farmers Market - Apple picking isn't really a thing where I live, but there are plenty of u-pick farms, and many of our farmers markets have started adding fall seasons. It's a great way to add some fall produce to your table and get out of the house for a couple hours.

Have a Fall/Halloween Movie Marathon - Did you catch my movie list for October? That's a good place to start, especially if you're not into scary movies like me. And of course Freeform's got you covered with their 31 Nights of Halloween (see the full schedule here).

Outdoor Scavenger Hunt - Turn your next walk through the neighborhood or visit to a local park into a fun game. There are tons of free printables online or you can make up your own!

Visit a Pumpkin Patch/Sunflower Patch/Corn Maze - Nothing says fall more than pumpkins, sunflowers, and corn mazes. Grab your camera and head to your local patch for an afternoon of fun.

Make Fall Treats - Even if you're not much of a baker (like me), you can still have fun. Check out these 10 yummy ideas.

Go Camping - Camping in the fall is my favorite. You can build a fire, roast marshmallows, and not worry as much about mosquitoes.

Decorate a Pumpkin - Is it even fall if you don't decorate a pumpkin? This year, we're entering our library's Book Character Pumpkin Contest.

Have a Spooky Story Competition - Pop some popcorn, lower the lights, grab your flashlights, and go 'round the circle telling spooky tales. The best one wins! Bragging rights or a treat of some kind - your choice.

Host a BYOS (Bring Your Own Soup) Party - Invite your family, neighbors, coworkers, etc. to a dinner party and have them each bring their best soup to share. You can even turn it into a competition. This is something I fully intend to do this year.

Make a Fall Craft - Whether you DIY or hit up one of your local art studios for some guided instruction, a little creativity goes a long way.

If we lived in a perfect world, reading slumps wouldn't exist. But this world is a flawed place and reading slumps are a fact of life. They can last days, weeks, months, and even years.

I found myself in the mother of all reading slumps several years ago. It had gotten so bad that I started to question if I needed to give up my self-proclaimed title of bookworm. Thankfully, I pulled myself out of it before it got to that point, and today I'm going to share with you seven ways to get your reading groove back.

1. Set Goals - It doesn't matter if they're monthly or weekly or even yearly, having a goal to meet will give you a sense of accomplishment when you meet it.

It is important to make sure that your goal is reasonable. When I first set out to start reading again, I was so out of practice that my goal for an entire year was just to read one new book per month...and there were some months I didn't meet that goal.

2. Hold Yourself Accountable - What's the point of having a goal if you don't have a way to measure your progress? For me, back when I set that goal of one book per month for a year, I held myself accountable by writing a review of whatever I read each month. Obviously there are other ways you can keep on top of your reading goals. You can try a reading planner like this beautiful one on Etsy or set up a TBR list on Goodreads.

3. Schedule Time for Reading - This one is HUGE, especially for busy moms. When I intentionally made reading a part of my day, it stopped feeling like time taken away from something else I should've been doing.

Perhaps the simplest mindset is to take advantage of "reading windows." You know, like the after school car line or while you're waiting for your kids' practice to end.

4. Read Books You're Actually Interested In - This should go without saying, but once you stop worrying about what other people will think of your book choices, your life as a reader truly begins.

5. Reread An Old Favorite - This is the best way I've found to get through a reading slump. I have a collection of books that I'm constantly rereading. It's kind of like a palate cleanser.

6. Try Something New - A quick way to break out of a rut is to sample a new genre of book or even a new format like an e-reader or audiobook.

7. Join a Book Club/Reading Group - Talking with other people about books is such a great way to get excited about reading. Check with your local library for area book clubs you could join, or join a virtual one like Reese Witherspoon's Book Club. There are also tons of great groups on Facebook you can join to interact with readers who have similar tastes.

Tomorrow is the first official day of Fall (and, believe it or not, it'll actually feel like fall here - at least in the morning). Fall, and by extension Halloween, movies are some of the best, and you can bet your TV will be filled with spooky and non-scary movies for the next month or so.

Every year, I like to round up some non-scary options to get you in the spirit of the season (I am not a scary movie type of gal). So here are 13 Non-Scary Movies to Watch in October. All of these are kid-friendly and approved by my 6 year old.

Scoob! - Scooby and the gang are in a race against time to stop a plot to unleash the ghost dog, Cerberus, upon the world. This new Scooby Doo movie gives us some back-story for the gang and how they got into mystery solving in the first place.

Hocus Pocus - Undoubtedly my most favorite Halloween movie ever. The Sanderson sisters are brought back on Halloween when Max lights the black flame candle. Now it's up to Max, his little sister Dani, his girlfriend Alison, and Binx the cat to send them back.

It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown - In this classic TV movie, Charlie Brown and the gang celebrate Halloween while Linus waits for the Great Pumpkin's arrival.

Casper - Dr. Harvey and his daughter, Kat, move into a crumbling mansion that's haunted by four ghosts. Dr. Harvey has been hired to get rid of the ghosts for the new owner, who believes a treasure is hidden somewhere in the house.

The Addams Family (2019) - In this animated flick, the Addams move to the suburbs where Wednesday befriends the daughter of a local reality show host.

Halloweentown - In this Disney Channel original movie, Marnie and her siblings follow their grandmother home to Halloweentown. Marnie learns she, too, has magic and must help her grandmother save the town from the evil Kalabar.

Gnome Alone - When Chloe discovers that the garden gnomes in her new house are alive, she has to decide what's more important: being accepted by the popular girls at school or saving the world from the Troggs.

Coco - Miguel wants to be a musician, but his family has banned all music. So he enters the World of the Dead to find his great-great grandfather, a legendary singer.

Goosebumps (2015) - Zach's new neighbor is none other than the author of the Goosebumps series, R.L. Stine. Zach teams up with Stine's daughter, Hannah, after the author's imaginary monsters are set free on the town.

E.T. the Extra Terrestrial - When Elliott finds an alien, he brings him home to keep.

Hotel Transylvania - Dracula runs a high-end resort for monsters to escape the human world. When a human boy stumbles into his lobby and falls for his daughter, Dracula goes into over-protective mode.

Monsters Inc. - Monsters use the screams of children to power their city, but when one of those children manages to get into their world, Mike and Sully discover all may not be as it seems.

Descendants - Ben, the future king of Auradon, offers the children of infamous villains, Maleficent, Jafar, the Evil Queen, and Cruella DeVil, the chance to attend school with the descendants of the good fairy tales.

Happy Monday, friends! It's been a busy last several days for my family and me. My husband and I celebrated our 9th anniversary, and we celebrated his 36th birthday over the weekend. In between all that I had yoga and a hair appointment, and Alexis had gymnastics. Her grandma (my MIL) came to that so we treated her to pizza at a newer place in town that gets a little adventurous with its toppings. We've been a couple times now and really like the vibe and the food.

This week will *hopefully* be a little less hectic. I've got some deadlines for the magazine, and I feel like I'm finally caught up from our late distribution snafu.

I hope the sun comes back out at some point this week. We've had several days of rain, and that coupled with the start of peanut picking season is aggravating my allergies and sinuses. I'm actually probably going to schedule a visit with my ENT this week. Speaking of doctor's appointments, I've got a few I've been putting off so I'll probably get those scheduled, too.

Speaking of schedules, I've got a decent sized to-do list for today so I'm gonna sign off and get started. I hope you all have a great week!