Weekend Recap | a photo post

It was a pretty uneventful weekend around here... I'm not complaining one bit, because next weekend we are super busy, so I am totally content with our lazy, didn't-get-much-accomplished, couple of days.  It's nice to have nothing on the agenda every once in awhile, and to spend the weekend bumming around in pajamas and yoga pants (who am I kidding, I wear yoga pants most days.)

We did some shopping and maple latte sipping in Pittsburgh's Strip District, I got some knitting/crocheting in, we played outside and enjoyed the beautiful fall weather, and we consumed and collected more pumpkin goods... suffice to say, I'm probably going to be going through pumpkin withdrawals post Thanksgiving.

I'm still dreaming about the fresh pumpkin sage pasta that we picked up in The Strip.  I topped it with brown butter, dried cranberries, and toasted pecans. AH-maz-ing.

If you love pumpkin as much as I do, I'm pretty sure TJ's has you covered. Have a great week!
-J

Swoon Worthy

Kicking off another weekend with a list of things I'm loving this week...

1.  I am seriously obsessed with buffalo plaid this year.

2.  Run... don't walk, to Target right now, and buy this yogurt.  It tastes like pie.

3.  My most favorite sneakers in the whole wide world are on sale right now.  I bought these awhile back, in this color, and I couldn't love them more if I tried.

4.  Ella seems to be teething right now, so we're loving this teether that's keeping her from gnawing her fingers off.

5.  While I love the pricey Dior version of these amazing pearl earrings, the Target version is just fine by me for the price.

6.  Do you remember the adorable Goody barrettes we used to wear back in the day?  One of my favorite artists has created this super cute print, and I think I have to have it for Ella's room.

7.  These donuts are on my must-make list for this weekend!

8.  I'm still working on our Halloween book collection, this latest addition arrived the other day.

9.  I am intrigued by this new free service from Shutterfly.  We're big Shutterfly fans around here!

10.  I love these baby marled sweats, I want them for M, E, and myself!

Have a lovely weekend!
-J

Fall Favorites | Round Up

In case you hadn't already noticed, I can't get enough of fall.  I'm pretty much obsessed with holiday seasons in general, but currently, I am on a BIG autumn kick.

I've been spending lots of WAY too much time on Pinterest, scouring the September & October issues of some of my favorite magazines, and searching stores, for new and fun fall decor, ideas, recipes... you name it.  With that being said, I decided to do a round up of sorts, with the links to all of my favorite fall things that I have discovered.  I hope it provides the same ideas and inspiration for you as it has for me.

Grab your pumpkin latte and enjoy!

Pictured, from top, left to right

candy corn pops | leaf pumpkin 

apple cider sangria | painted acorns | pumpkin donuts

pumpkin votives | canning ring pumpkin

Not Pictured:

Halloween Nutella Puppy Chow

Autumn Pumpkins Dishtowel

Apple Pecan & Feta Salad with Honey Apple Dressing

Pumkpkin Whoopie Pies

Acorn Picture Frame

Pumpkin Spice Playdough

Oak Leaf Bowl

Candy Corn Rice Krispie Treats

Leafy Monogram Wreath

Polka Dot Pumpkins

Apple Crisp Pizza

Emrbroidered Pumpkin Pillow

Roasted Vanilla Applesauce

Kid's Fall Handprint Tree

Jute Pumpkin

Pumpkin Spice Latte

Pumpkin Spice Energy Bites

Pushpin Pumpkins

Ultimate Apple Snicker Nachos

Felt Mask Pumpkins

Autumn Log Centerpiece

Pumpkin Sprinkles

Apple Stamping

Stay tuned for a list of my Halloween Favorites... Coming Soon!

-J

Ella Rose | 5 Months

Our sweet Ella turned 5 months old yesterday, and I am honestly mind-blown that it has already been 5 months since we welcomed her into our crazy world. It just doesn't even seem possible that so much time has passed so quickly.

Ella, or Ellie Belly, or Ella Bella Boo, or Ells, as we lovingly refer to her, weighed in at 15 pounds and measured 25.10 inches long during our super accurate at home check-up. She is just starting to wear size 6 month clothing, which has me feeling slightly depressed that I can no longer squeeze her into some of her super cute 3 month sized outfits.

She loves sitting in her Bumbo seat to see what's going on, and has become increasingly interested in her toys. She particularly likes snuggling her bunny, sucking on her security blanket, and playing with her toy keys.

I am fairly certain we are in the early stages of teething, due to the overwhelming amount of drool this girl produces and because she seems to enjoy gnawing on her tiny fingers and even occasionally tries to stuff her entire chubby hand into her mouth.

Her baby mullet is incredible, I'll be surprised if her hair isn't halfway down her back by her first birthday. Her eyes are still bright blue, and I recently read an article that stated at around 6 months the color of a baby's eyes will likely be the color they remain... Not sure how accurate that is, but we shall see.

She's still a good sleeper at night for the most part, she's still digging the baby oatmeal too, although I'm gearing up to start making her baby food to freeze, I don't want her to miss out on apple season, so perhaps some homemade applesauce!

We are looking so forward to her experiencing her first holiday season along with Max. It should be so much fun this year!

Here's to reaching more milestones and to enjoying watching these babes grow (way too fast).

-J

Fall Kick-Off Weekend

It seems it's becoming a bit of a habit, that every Monday I end up posting a little recap of what our weekend entailed. Lately our Saturdays and Sunday's have been heavily autumn themed, but this past weekend was a legit, official, fall kick-off. I am no longer "jumping the gun", the season of beautiful warm colored leaves, apple cider, and pumpkin everything is upon us!

Per usual, this past weekend didn't entail anything super exciting, but it was a good one.

As you already know from my previous post, Saturday morning started off with homemade "pop-tarts", a healthy satisfying breakfast to prepare us for some fall festival going.

The festival induced a full out craving for anything and everything apple, so we enjoyed some apple nachos and apple cider sangria.

Sunday was much more laid back and in all honesty, a complete waste of a day in terms of productivity... Just the way a Sunday should be! We lounged, we played, we ate, we read books and of course, we watched football. That about sums it up.

Cheers to the week ahead. Hope it's a good one!

-J

Swoon Worthy

This week's edition of Swoon Worthy is brought to you with a side of homemade, fresh out of the oven, cinnamon brown sugar "pop tarts", with maple icing... so naturally they are first on the list of things I am loving this week.

1.  Cinnamon Brown Sugar "Pop Tarts" with Maple Icing
Ingredients:
2 pie crusts (either homemade, or if you're like me, take the help, and buy the store bought kind)
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/3 cup confectioners sugar
2 Tbs Maple Syrup
1 Tbs milk
1 egg white (beaten)

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Unroll pie crusts and cut into shapes, squares, circles, whatever you'd like.  I'm obsessed with seasonal/holiday themes, so I used a large pumpkin shaped cookie cutter, and ended up with 6 good sized tarts.  Arrange half of your shapes on a parchment or Silpat lined baking sheet.  In a small bowl, mix brown sugar and cinnamon.  Spoon a heaping tablespoon, or 2 (there's no rules here), onto each pie crust shape.  Using a pastry brush, go around the edge of each shape with your beaten egg white.  Now place the remaining shapes on top, sealing closed with the tines of a fork.  you will also want to use the fork to poke some holes in the top of each shape.  Bake for 12-14 minutes, or until golden brown.  While tarts bake, mix powdered sugar, maple syrup, and milk. When tarts are done baking, remove them from oven, and allow to cool about 5 minutes, before frosting with icing.
Enjoy... and try not to eat them all in one sitting!

2.  This new app might be the most life saving invention ever for parents of little artists.

3.  Simply because I think you need more festive indulgences in your life.

4.  I am seriously obsessed with this Etsy shop.

5.  I love plaid, therefor I love these pants.

6.  Pretty sure I need to find a place for this awesome pumpkin on my mantle.

7.  I adore everything from this lovely shop, but I'm particularly swooning over the closet dividers.

8.  I am fairly certain that I need this T shirt.

9.  Because I obviously need this garland for Halloween.

10.  For any of you who have bottle drinking slobbery babies these bibs are a new favorite of ours.  Gotta protect those little neck rolls.

Hope you all have a lovely weekend.
-J

TGIF

I was just thinking, thank God it's Friday... Then I was thinking TGIF... Random I know, but seriously who wouldn't be up for a little Full House and Step by Step watching tonight? I know I would.

Anyhow, we made it through the week, and it's almost time to indulge in the sweet relief that washes over me the second that Mike walks through the door and I can embrace the fact that at least for a couple of days, taking on M & E will be a tag-team effort.

These last few days have been crazy. We battled the sniffles, dealt with a nap strike, made several more (failed) attempts at potty training, and still somehow managed to accomplish some projects around the house.

It is supposed to be beautiful this weekend, and there are about a million and one fall festivals kicking off, so hopefully that is on the agenda in addition to some more autumn decorating.

I felt our autumn mantle was still lacking something, so with a little twig gathering assistance from Max, some gold spray paint, some battery operated candles, faux leaves, and twine... I'm feeling much more satisfied. I would spray paint everything gold if I could... I won't, but it will take some restraint.

It might still need a little something more, perhaps a wreath, but for now I'm thinking about whipping up some autumn sangria, kicking back, and relaxing.

Happy Friday!

-J

Halloween Style

'Tis the season... Halloween is just around the corner, and while I've already been preparing for the sky high blood sugar that comes along with candy corn overindulgence, as well as honing in on my jack-o-lantern carving skills, I'm always a sucker for anything holiday themed and cute for my kiddos.

Here are some of the items I've been eyeing lately (some may or may not have already been purchased in addition to some pretty stinkin' cute costumes!)...

one | two | three | four

five | six | seven | eight

nine | ten | eleven | twelve

Our Fall-like Weekend

It was another busy weekend around here, and one with very little sleep on top of it all.

Friday kicked off with Mike waking me up to tell me that he had a flat tire, and would need to take my car to work, leaving me car-less with 2 kiddos and a long list of errands that needed to be done.

Thank goodness for AAA, within 30 minutes, a nice gentleman arrived in our driveway and changed the tire. 

With that we were off to check some things off of our to-do list.

Rarely do we eat fast food, but I opted to grab Max a quick lunch from the food court while we were at the mall, and despite my best efforts to make his meal at least somewhat healthy by ordering fruit as a side, they screwed up and gave him fries anyways. Low and behold, Max was more interested in the cow on the placemat, than the deep-fried  goodness, so it worked itself out!

During nap time, I decided it was time to bust out our fall decor... Instantly making our home feel more festive and cozy. I'm nowhere near done yet, but I got a good start on things.

Those lit grapevine pumpkins are one of my most favorite decorations. After eyeing some in a Pottery Barn catalog a couple of years ago, and deciding that they were much too pricey to splurge on, I bought our pumpkins at Joann's with coupons, and filled them with string lights myself. 

Saturday morning's chilly weather totally put me in the mood to bake, so I whipped up some of these chocolate chip scones. Along with my cup of pumpkin coffee and my favorite slippers, I was totally in my happy place.

Once it finally warmed up, we got M & E dressed and ready for the day, and headed off to check out a local Hatch Chile Festival.

Max was in love with all of the farm-ish things, as well as the fall decorations. He has a total obsession with scarecrows and pumpkins.

We ate some amazing food, watched people suffer through eating some seriously spicy peppers, and picked up some roasted hatch chile peppers of our own to bring home.

Sunday was supposed to be full of plans for us, but Max woke up a little under the weather, and I swear Ella is either teething or going through a 4 month sleep regression, so we opted to lay low and spend the day snuggling and watching Disney movies.

While Max napped in the afternoon, Ella and I made a quick run to the yarn store to pick up supplies for all of the orders I've had coming in! I couldn't resist putting Max's first pair of Halloween pajamas on Ella. How cute is my little pumpkin in her big brother's hand-me-downs?

This week I'm busy stocking the shop with fun fall/Halloween items and working on fulfilling orders.

Happy Monday to all!

-J