This is how Saturdays in the fall should be

Happy October! Too busy with football today for the monthly goals... Coming soon!

Fall craft-time

Fall candy jars!

More craftiness coming soon!

Operation: Fall Decorating

Fall decorating is under way! As part of my usual Saturday morning house cleaning, I went ahead and switched out some of my normal house decor for some more fall inspired pieces.

I added in a couple of orange pillows. My sister and cousin kept telling me that I need to add more color to my house. I tend to stick to blues and greens. See my thing is this, I'm not a designer and I don't have a designer eye, so I tend to stick to what I know and try to keep a color theme constant throughout the house. But then a designer comes in and can see where I can add in accents and those other elements that us normal folk don't always think about. So they were telling me that adding in some coral and orange would be a good compliment. I was a little hesitant, but I took their advice and it really does look nice.

I also set up my fall inspired dining table! I've got my new table runner and my gold chargers and my jars set up that I plan to fill with candy - as soon as I get to the store and buy some!

I love this time of year when I have an excuse to redecorate. Eight months of the year the house is set up one way and then there are four months of fall and Halloween and Christmas to decorate again! I've had fun getting things rolling this year and I can't wait to continue setting things up over the coming weeks.

Here's what I've done so far...

Fall is here!

It's the first day of fall and it's raining, but I've got my boots and my Coach raincoat and a Pumpkin Spice latte to get me through it! I'm so excited this day is finally here. I've been stocking up on fall decorations for the past few weeks and have been dying to set some of them up, but I have this weird thing about putting out fall decorations before it's actually fall... just like I have a weird think with wearing boots or sweaters or jackets before it's actually fall.

But now the day is here and I don't have to worry anymore. Although I am very upset because I have been looking for a candelabra for my Halloween decor and I found the most absolutely fabulous one yesterday! But I get home and  find that it doesn't fit. I could've cried. But both my sister and cousin (who are both designer/decorators, by the way) say there's a way to make it work, so we'll see about that.

I am afraid, however, that fall decorating will likely have to wait until the weekend because I've got a hot date tonight. I don't live off of a credit card, but I do put most of my purchases on there and then pay them off at the end of the week, because that way I don't pay any interest, but I do get reward points. So every few months I get enough points to buy a gift card, so I always get one to a restaurant that Jarrod and I can use for a date night. Tonight, we're going to Bonefish and I am so excited to get to wear my new dress! It may be a little summery, but I ran out of options of wearing it in the summer, so tonight will have to do! I'm hoping the weather will clear up a bit so I can actually get all madeup without looking awful by the time I get to the restaurant.

So here's to a great fall and hopefully some 70-degree weather!

When Life Gets in the Way

Wow, I didn't mean for it to be so long between posts. I guess I've been busier than I thought. A combination of dress fittings, DMV visits, maid of honor duties, football games, engagement parties and doctor's appointments. Yep, I haven't stopped all month, and it's not going to end this week. But that's OK, because I am super excited about everything going on this week.

 

First of all, one of my favorite people to work with is getting married this weekend! Which is super exciting for her, but means lots of work for the rest of us! But also, it means that I get to take over her shift and actually work a normal schedule for a couple of weeks! So for the next 2 weeks I have the opportunity to have dinner with my hubby and go to bed when it's dark outside. It's a welcome change for the time being, although the work day does seem longer when you're not getting off at noon.

 

Beyond that, I picked up my bridesmaid dress this afternoon and it look so great now. I am super stoked about Sarah and Brandon's wedding this weekend! It's going to be exciting. Mani-pedis on Friday before the rehearsal dinner. Then spending the night out with the girls before a yummy bridesmaid brunch the morning of the wedding, plus getting hair and makeup done before the actual event. Sounds like 2 full days of pampering to me! I've said it before, that I've never been a part of wedding that wasn't my own, so I'm really looking forward to all of the wedding party excitement, without all of the attention (aka pressure) being on me. Plus, Jarrod's part of the wedding, too, so that makes it even more fun.

 

And then next weekend will be the first weekend that I can remember in a long while where I have nothing planned! I don't usually get excited about this sorta thing, because I like having plans for the weekend, but this could quite possibly be the first free weekend that I've had since we got engaged back in February. However, Jarrod's now telling me that he thinks he's going to be gone hunting all day Saturday, which puts a little damper on my do-nothing-weekend, but we'll make it work.

 

Then the following weekend is my favorite big sister's engagement party! and Halloween! (arguably one of my favorite holidays!... but that's not really saying much, because I'd probably say that about every holiday. I'm really just a big holiday fan in general) But then I flip my calendar over to November, and it's freakishly empty! I know we're now officially moving into the holiday season, which means things will obviously be busy, but that's a kind of busy I'm good with.

Now, I'm off to make pumpkin chocolate chip cookies. Bring on the Fall fun!

Happy October!

Funny that I found this picture, because Sarah and I actually put together this exact puzzle once!

I can't believe it's actually October. This past month has gone by so fast. I think I've just been so busy that everything's just flown by. I'm not sure how it happened, but especially the past week or so have been so busy I feel that I haven't had time to breathe. I'm hoping now for some time to relax just a little. I know it's not going to happen today or tomorrow, but maybe after that!

I am very excited to be starting off probably my favorite month of the year with beautiful cooler temperatures and lots of sun: perfect for an early fall day! I just love October! This month makes me think of Pumpkin Spice Lattes, a great color palette of red, orange, yellow and gold, the State Fair (hot dogs and funnel cakes included), light jackets and scarves, and the start of the holiday season. I asked Jarrod yesterday if he'd be OK with getting some bales of hay and pumpkins to put in the yard, and he was totally fine with it! So I'm planning on doing some Autumn decorating this weekend!

I've been disappointed with myself for not completing all that I wanted to do this month. I about had a nervous breakdown the other day because I was so upset at how little I had done. But in the end, I feel that I did a respectable job, especially considering some factors that I had not considered at the beginning of last month. I plan on going through at least a couple of these in a later blog entry, but here we go:

1. Finish writing and send out Thank You notes for the wedding. 

-I did not think I was going to get them done, but I actually did: last night! They're all addressed and just need to be dropped off at the post office, which I plan to do first thing in the morning! 2. Start reading a classic.
3. Attempt to make something from "Mastering the Art of French Cooking"

- So I haven't actually accomplished this yet, but it's OK, because I'm doing it tonight!
4. Start forming a concept for a story. 

-This is my big disappointment for the month, because I didn't start thinking about it at all. After we got Rylie, all of my free time (and all of my "me" time) got thrown out the window.

So after an interesting first month of writing down and keeping track of my goals, we're going to give this a second go!

1. I'm going to get working on the concept! I want to find a way to get myself organized enough to have the time to do that, and not let the rest of life get in the way.

2. Come up with and implement a plan for keeping the house clean. Now that Jarrod and I are finally settling into a normal swing-of-things, I want to be better at keeping the house straightened up. Nothing big here, just getting little things done every day that'll add up to a cleaner environment. 

3. Work with Rylie on some new tricks. You know, beyond just not peeing in the house.

4. Wedding picture organizing. Nancy Ray just told me yesterday that my wedding pictures are ready and should be arriving in the mail soon! I am so excited to not only get to see them, but to start some decorating with them! I've had this plan to put up a picture collage in the living room with some of the wedding and engagement pictures, so I'm ready to get some ordered and put up on the wall!

5. Bridesmaid in wedding So excited to be a bridesmaid in one my best friends' weddings! Bachelorette party this weekend and wedding festivities in 2 weeks!

6. Decorate for fall and Halloween. Can't tell you how excited I am that this is my first time of my life having a home in a neighborhood where we'll actually see some trick-or-treaters! My home growing up was on a mile long dirt road with about 10 houses on it (not ideal for little trick-or-treaters) and other than that I've always lived in apartments. I'm so ready to get the house decorated and get ready for Halloween. Not sure yet if I'll put together a costume, but we'll see. Excited regardless!

7. Start some Christmas shopping. Nothing big here, just want to get a head start so I'm not trying to do it the week leading up to Christmas.


Wow! That's kind of a lot! Especially since I'm new at this whole thing, but we're going to see how it goes. I should stop now before this becomes the longest post ever.

My September

I was going to call this post "My September Goals," but I stopped at "My September" because I thought it sounded much more poetic. That being said, I cannot believe it's already September! I can no longer say, "I got married last month." Moreover, I am excited that Fall and cooler temperatures are on their way. I have a hard time wishing away the Summer because, let's be honest, once it's Fall it's basically Halloween, which is basically Thanksgiving, which is basically Christmas, which is basically 2011, which is basically the dead of Winter! I LOVE everything about Fall... the changing leaves, wearing sweaters and boots, the relief from the heat, the start of the Holidays... except that it's much too short and eventually I'll just end up cold ALL THE TIME. However, I do have a new Coach coat that I haven't had a chance to wear, so I guess it's not all bad. But this year's super hot temperatures (which by the way, I just learned this morning that the National Weather Service has determined that this year's June-July-August are the hottest on record) have made me very tired with the Summer and ready for a change. And that's what the Fall is all about: Change. One of my favorite songs of all times, that I haven't listened to in forever is Nichole Nordeman's "Every Season." It paints a perfect picture of what's so special and beautiful about each season as it comes and goes. (I found a homemade youtube video of this song)

But my point today is to determine my goals for this coming month. I was inspired by one of my favorite people, Mrs. Nancy Ray and her blog where she is always updating her goals and what has been accomplished. I've decided to start off slow, because I can totally see myself overloading on goals that there's no way I can accomplish in 30 days.

1. Finish writing and send out Thank You notes for the wedding.

I know! I'm so behind! But Thank You notes are the bane of my existence. I hate them more than doing laundry, which or some reason is a lot. The hard part is that I am so thankful and appreciative to everyone who was a part of the wedding and who was so generous to me and my husband, and I want them to know how thankful I am... I just wish I didn't have to do it in the form of a Thank You note.

2. Start reading a classic.

I haven't read a classic in a while. Let me rephrase that: I haven't FINISHED reading a classic in a while. Just the other day, a friend of mine showed me a list of "Books to Read before You Die" she'd gotten in high school and I think I'm going to pick something off of there. I'm currently reading a much more recent publication, so that means I gotta buckle down and finish it in order to start a new one.

3. Attempt to make something from "Mastering the Art of French Cooking"

I won Julia Child's book in a drawing last month and I've wanted to go for a test run. I made dinner the other night for my parents and parents-in-law and thought about trying something out of there, but then realized I was probably being too ambitious. Even if it's the simplest entry in that whole book, I'm gonna give it a whirl this month.

4. Start forming a concept for a story.


I just want to start forming an idea in my mind. I used to do this, but I've fallen out of the habit, so I'm going to go buy a composition book and start putting down any ideas whenever they come to me. Sometimes I think I feel that I have to have some great inspiration and get swept away by these characters in my head in order to write a good story, but I know that's not how it usually happens. So I'm going to start plotting. And so it begins...