Swoon Worthy

Cheers to the weekend my friends... after what seemed like the longest week ever, I couldn't be more thrilled that Saturday is upon us.

I'm hoping to use the next few days to get our home decorated for Halloween. I'm always big on decorating for fall, like as soon as September hits, but I generally lose some steam when it comes to Halloween decor.  Now that M&E are getting a little older, they're pretty fascinated by all of the fun spider webs, bats, and jack-o-lanterns that they see every time we walk through Target, so I picked up a few fun festive items, and hope to get down to it sometime over the next couple of days.

As always... In the meantime, here's what I'm swooning over this week!

1.  Iced or hot... every since my pregnancy induced coffee aversion began, I can't get enough of this stuff in its place.

2.  I love a good, festive, holiday garland.

3.  I'm only a little bit sorry (not sorry) for linking yet another pumpkin related recipe.

4.  I still swear up and down that these are the most comfortable shoes I have ever owned... This black pair is next on my my-have list.

5.  This article sums up so many of the feelings that I have about parenting.

6.  A little throw back to last year around this time, because I think it's time to make this snack mix again.

7.  I stumbled upon this sweater this past week, bought it, and see it getting A LOT of wear over the next few months.

8.  How adorable are these happy little pumpkins?!?

9.  I really need to find out whether baby #3 is a boy or a girl... but in the meantime, I'll take one of these in every color please!

10.  Officially addicted to this stuff.

Have a great weekend!

Craving Fall

I don't know if it's the fact that September is just a few days away, or that Autumn just so happens to be my favorite season, but I literally could not be more excited for fall's impending arrival!

Obviously I've been scouring the internet for everything Autumn, and wanted to share a few of my favorites from the items I've found...

grapevine pumpkins//pumpkin pillow//candle

pumpkin wine stopper//leaf wreath//pumpkin spiced mug

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

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

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

Swoon Worthy

The air is starting to feel crisp, I have started drinking more hot coffee than iced, and I have officially switched from white wine to red... this week's Swoon Worthy comes to you full of joy, that the arrival of my most favorite season is almost officially upon us.  Hope you're all feeling as exuberant as I am about the upcoming season.

Here are some things that I'm currently swooning over...

1.  Fall always reminds me of the start of a new school year, which reminds me of fresh starts.  I recently discovered Clean Mama, and let me just tell you, this lady is a genius in terms of cleaning and organizational ideas for the home.  It's time to step up my game.

2.  So... I made my own little variation of this Mexican Lasagna the other night, and let's just say it took a lot of restraint not to eat the whole pan.

3.  I need this cake stand in my life.

4.  These Story Stones from my incredibly talented friend are so well done, and such a unique gift idea.

5.  I know it's only September, but I'm already pretty stoked for Halloween movies... the non-scary ones.

6.  I am currently on a mission to collect everyone of these BabyLit books for my kids.  I'm obsessed.

7.  Comfortable and fashionable... I adore this dress.

8.  I recently added a bunch of fun new fall items to my shop, and more are on the way.

9.  Love, love, love this fall polish collection... now if only I could find the time to paint my nails.

10.  I want one of these teepees so badly... kind of for my kids, but more so for me!

Hope youre all having a great weekend!
-J

Weekend Recap

It was a pretty busy weekend around here. We kicked it all off with the most amazing overnight pumpkin cinnamon pull-apart French toast, that I had found on Pinterest. It was totally indulgent, but for the next couple of months, it's pretty much pumpkin anything and everything for me!

Saturday afternoon was Mike's annual company picnic. The past several years, it has been held at Kennywood, the local amusement park, but this was the first year that Max could really enjoy the rides.

The kid had an absolute blast, so much so that we had to drag him kicking and screaming off of rides, just to get him to the next. He loved the Little Steel Phantom (a mini roller coaster), and laughed hysterically the whole time. The S.S. Kenny (a child-like version of the pirate ship) was a big hit too, as he exclaimed "WHOA!!!" every time we went into the air.

His face while riding theses motorcycles in Kiddieland is priceless.

Saturday night Mike and I actually got some rare time to ourselves... Our friend's yearly "deck party" hosted at their beautiful home. It was a perfect early fall evening, and even though I missed Max and Ella as soon as I left them, some riesling by an outdoor fire was just what this mama needed!

Sunday was spent watching movies and football on the couch in pajamas, much needed recouperation time for Mike and I. 

In the evening we got it together and headed out for a fabulous family photo shoot, courtesy of the lovely and talented Jacquie from the Sweeter Side of Mommyhood. Max was less than cooperative in getting pictures of the 4 of us, but I'm sure she managed to get some great photos, and I can't wait to see them! If anything the photos will have perfectly captured what our life is like at this moment, crazy but beautiful.

Fall is definitely in the air, and I'm hoping to get some fall items listed in my etsy shop today, getting a jump on decorating out house for fall, and potentially pulling the trigger on getting Max potty trained this week... Wish me luck! Hope you all have a lovely week!

-J

Swoon Worthy

The last couple of days have undoubtedly felt like fall, which is why I made our favorite pumpkin mini muffin bites and indulged in one (maybe 2) of my favorite fall beers last night! It's been cool at night and early in the morning, and the air has had that certain crispness to it that can only mean one thing... Autumn is on it's way.

Fall is my absolute favorite season, I love every. single. little. thing about it, but I am in no way trying to wish this summer away too abruptly. We still have our family "summer" vacation in Maine to look forward to in about a week, so I need the season to at least stretch through that... Then I will gladly welcome fall, its pumpkin lattes, and apple crisp with wide open arms and a warm embrace.

That being said, I have decided to dedicate this week's swoon worthy post to some of my favorite fall things; a sort of "fall preview", if you will.

These are some of the things I'm swooning over for the impending arrival of autumn 2014:

1. Fall always reminds me of the start of the school year, which inspires me to learn something new. That's why I signed up for this awesome script writing class being offered by the super talented Tosha! (@hellotosha on IG).
2.  I guess the fact that I've featured Sahnda Marie Kid's shoes here multiple times is a testament to how much I truly love them. These ones are definitely swoon worthy... I'm loving mustard this fall, and pompoms... Always!
3.  Another favorite of mine, Lucky Sage Shop, is going to be releasing some new colors for fall. I've caught a glimpse on IG, and they are to die for.
4.  As soon as September arrives, you can pretty much count on me eating/drinking pumpkin everything all day every day. These pumpkin scones are on my must make list.
5.  I love these painted acorns I found on Pinterest.
6.  Bath & Body Works makes my favorite candles. Leaves and Caramel Pumpkin Latte are two of my go-to autumn scents. They are on sale right now, 2 for $22 and with the code FALLINLOVE you can get $10 off an order of $30 or more. I just purchased 4 candles for $34 plus tax... Normally this would have been $90 plus tax!
7.  My most favorite fall nail polish color of all time.
8.  I'm totally loving these boots for Max this fall.
9.  This is my most favorite pumpkin beer without question.
10.  My first thought was, Ella has to have this!!! My second was, does this come in my size???

As for the mini muffin recipe, it couldn't be easier... Mix one box of spice cake mix and one can of puréed pumpkin. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray a mini muffin tin with non stick cooking spray. Bake for 20 minutes.

Hope you're all having a great weekend, and that you're as excited for fall as I am.
-J