For the love of Fall....

I love Fall. I have made multiple loaves of pumpkin bread, pumpkin soup and Fall snack mix. I love the cooler weather and the changing leaves. I have yet to put a fire in my fireplace, but it will happen soon.  I love nature walks, snuggling my kiddos on the sofa and drinking hot chocolate. I want to savor each moment of this Fall because it's already passing to quickly, as are the days, the weeks and the years of my children being little.

That being said, I'm also going to take a hiatus from the blog.  Yes, there are so many ideas, recipes, crafts and DIY projects I'd love to post about, but it is just too difficult for me to find the time these days. I hope you understand. And, I hope you have a wonderful Fall, full of things to be thankful for.

Truth

I'm going to put this on my girl's bathroom vanity. What beautiful Truth to start the week!

Fall Snack Mix

I think I'm going to have to make this Fall snack mix for neighbors and friends. It's too cute not to distribute. Plus, I always love a good excuse to share some love with neighborhood folk.

Fall Wreath

I saw this cute wreath (well, kind of a wreath) and think it may just solve my blah door dilemma. I have a big "C" that has been used as decoration for every one of my middles birthday parties. I think it might just be time to graduate it to a new purpose.

Prayer Pail

I made one of these prayer pails to keep on our breakfast room table. It's such a good way to guide kid's prayers, without putting words in their mouths. Plus, it teaches them to pray for others on a consistent basis. What kind of things do you do to encourage your kids to grow spiritually?

Bring on the Pumpkin

Sorry for the absence of posts lately. My mom turned 70 and took my sister's family and ours to the Hyatt Hill Country in San Antonio. I won't go on and on about how wonderful it was, but I will say this. If I have the means when my kids our grown, I'm definitely carrying on the same tradition.  My parents have taken us all on a trip for their 65th and now 70th birthdays and it has been a tremendous gift to us all. I am so thankful for their generosity and desire to be with us and our kids.  Truly special.

Now, onto pumpkin recipes. I love pumpkin treats and now that Fall is here, there are all kinds of great recipes out there. Here are a few I've found on pinterest. I've made the first one and it is as good as it is easy.  Enjoy....

You can go to my pinterest recipe page to get all the recipes. I will say there are soooo many out there that are probably far better than my selections, but I tried to stick with things that won't kill the waste line. I wait until December to do that! 

Freezer Meals, Part II

Get a load of this....I actually made a freezer meal that is good for you. I found this recipe on pinterest (slightly addicting) and it's really good. And, it makes whole lot which is great for eating some and freezing some. I love a good soup on a cool (at least not hot) Fall night.  It also happens to be a crock pot recipe which is very helpful to us on Soccer nights...tonight being one of them. 

If you make it, I'd love to know what you think. Thumbs up? Thumbs down?

(image via pinterest)

It's Fall, which means I'm starting my Christmas shopping. Yes, I start early. I do this because it keeps me from having to rush around and grab something that may not be perfect for the person in mind. I also do this so that December isn't quite such a huge hit to the wallet.  To keep track of gift giving this year, I'm using this Gift List. It's nothing fancy, but it does the job.

Have you started shopping yet?

Eating Right

As you can probably tell, I do my best to eat right and feed my family right. By "right" I do not mean it is always the most healthy. I'm sure you've also noticed that I love sweets and they are not taboo around here. My goal is to find a healthy balance between eating what benefits our bodies, while still enjoying what doesn't from time to time.  The tricky part comes in doing this, all while trying to stay within a pretty tight grocery budget.  I was fishing around for some budget friendly and healthy meal ideas and stumbled across some good information. Here is a good resource for budget friendly healthy foods. There are also so additional good links from the webpage.

Have a great weekend!

Freezer Meals, Part I

I mentioned a while ago having freezer meals on hand for those night when you have to get dinner ready in a pinch. So, I'm here with my first freezer meal recommendation.  You're going to kill me because it's cookies. I know, I know. This does not help you at all.  But wait, it just might. How great is it to have cookies in the freezer that you can pull out on whim?  Play dates, pop-in company, anew neighbor. All these things are made better by a warm batch of fresh cookies.  See, they can help. And these cookies are delicious, easy and freeze really well.

I promise that my next freezer meal post is going to be a real meal. I've already made them and they are good.  Enjoy today!!!

Fall Centerpieces

Fall is officially here and you know what that means, don't you? Pinecones, acorns, pumpkins and twigs.  It's time to start decorating with this stuff folks. Below are some inspiring images I found on Pinterest. The kiddos and I will start nature hunting soon to round up a big batch of acorns and twigs. Then I'll start scattering them around the house, baking pumpkin-laden goods, and hopefully enjoying some fall-like temperatures. Now we're talk'n!

Party Idea

I just hosted a birthday party for my sister. I love celebrating anything, much more a sister who is so fabulous. 

I used these deep teal color nail polishes for place tags and party favors combined. They were a hit with the guests, so I thought I'd pass along the idea. Now I just need to host a pedi-party!!!

The Ultimate Fake Out

See that cookie dough up there?  Dip those graham crackers in there and you're in heaven.  Give it to your kids and they are in heaven too.  But, you know what the best part is?  It's not cookie dough. It looks like cookie dough. It tastes like cookie dough. But no, it is not cookie dough.

I must say this is probably the most genius recipe I have come across. It is the ultimate fake out for your kids - and for your taste buds.  I plan on having this on had for many afternoon snacks. I'm going to serve it to the neighbor kids, my kid's friends and anyone else who steps into to my house. They will love it. And then...I will tell them what is in it and they will love it more.  

Folks, it's chickpeas, almond butter, whole grain oats and a few other ingredients to sweeten it up a bit. It is, for the most part, good for you.  Check out the recipe here.  Please make this and tell me what you think. It will get your week off to a great start!

Good friday morning to you!  I love the feeling of Fridays, especially on cooler mornings like this one.  Since you are now fully stocked with note cards for your kiddos lunches, I thought I's share a fun and free printable for you. I love this verse and the note has such a classic look. I know there is someone in my life that could use a little encouragement on one of these. Is there someone in yours?

Have a great weekend!

More lunch box love....

Here are some more darling lunch box notes.  I printed some of these on brown craft card stock and love them!  This week has been a full one for us, thus the quickie posts.  I hope you all are having a great week!

Love this....

Might need to print one of these off and hang it in our playroom.

DIY Art, Part II

I ran across another great idea for some do-it-yourself art.  I found the picture above on this blog.  I know I could pull that off! It definitely made me think outside the box on simply painting on canvas. The plates make a fun and different back drop.

Lunchbox Love

Another week begins, so here's another effort to make your kids lunches more fun and creative. This one, however, isn't about the food. If you're like me, you write little notes to put in your kiddos lunch. I either write them on a napkin or a colorful piece of paper. But now I have some something new to add to the mix. Check out this free printable for lunchbox notes.

I hope your week is off to a great start!

B is for.....

Baby? Bubba? Belly? Here is my little man in all his chubbiness. It's a wonder I get anything done with all the squeezing there is to do on this little guy. Just thought I'd pop in on Saturday to share a glimpse of this chubbalicious. I hope you all have a great weekend!

Bless the Teacher

                       
The school my girls go to is fabulous. I cannot say enough good things about it. One of the things I love is that you can sign up to "bless the teacher" one month of each school year. Who better to bless than the very teachers that bless us by pouring into our children.  The blessings have to be homemade (with the exception of plants, flowers or restaurant gift cards). That being said, I'm always on a quest to come up with something new and different that will indeed bless them. Here's the first thing that I'll be leaving in their classrooms....handmade stationery. I saw this over at this blog and was sold.

I started with 8 1/2 x 11 card stock that I cut in half and folded over to make the size of stationery. Next, I scrounged up some red and green paint, the little round sponge brush thingy (wish I new what exactly that is called), a small tip paint brush and a thin brown marker (not pictured).

Using the round sponge thingy and red paint, I make circles in the bottom left corners of the cards. The paint leaves a sort of texture that I like because of the sponge application.

Here they are with the red circles:

Then I used the brown marker to add a stem and the green paint to add a small leaf.

Here is the close-up. Perfect for teacher thank you notes, don't you think.

Finally, I wrapped up with twine and these free tags and they are ready to go! How about them apples????

Gift Idea

I was flipping through some old magazines last night and saw these cute leather purses for $15. They are goatskin {sounds fancy} and come in a variety of colors. These are definitely going to go on my list of Christmas gift ideas, but I thought I'd share in case you have any occasions coming up and are in need of a cute gift.  

I might have to get myself one of these to corral the loose gum and mints that consistently get grungy in the bottom of my purse. Or maybe it'll hold my lip glosses. Maybe pens and pencils in my Bible Study bag. Oh the possibilities....

DIY Art

We moved into our house over a year and a half ago and my walls are still blank with few exceptions.  I wouldn't call myself a minimalist, but I certainly like an open, clean feel. So, what I'm looking for are a few statement pieces of art.  Little did I know, a few statement pieces make a BIG statement on my bank statement (for some reason, I'm naive like that). So I had to come up with plan b.....doing it myself.  

Here is my first go at some abstract art. It's verrrrry amateur (although I like to think it looks a tad bit better in person). It did, however, leave me itching to do more.  

So now I have three rather large canvases that are going to hang on a large and quite empty wall. Here are pieces that inspire me and make me think surely I can do something similar.

Any artist out there will any helpful tips?  Or, anyone bold enough to try a painting of their own with me? (Looking at these again makes me realize just how pathetic mine is...ayayay.)

Favorite Things....

I have a love/hate relationship with Target. I love that they have such awesome stuff to entertain my eye while I shop for things like diapers and toilet paper. I also hate that they have such awesome stuff to entertain my eye while I shop for things like diapers and toilet paper. 

Here are a few of my favorite things from Target (no, they are not paying me to write this. I'm just hoping posting about them will give mean an iota of the satisfaction I might get from buying them).

Loving the deep teal shade of this nail polish for Fall. 

Oh what I mess I could make in the kitchen with one of these.  And, I'm loving blue these days.

I use these hand soaps, but would love the entire collection of lotions, balms, butters, etc. So yummy!

Looky here - I actually did buy this pillow and it's on my sofa. I'll post a pic at the bottom. 

This is a tiffin box. That is a fancy word of lunch box. I don't have to pack my lunch, but this sure makes me want to. I wonder if the hubs would be willing to take his lunch to work in this, so I could justify getting one?

More blue. I love these, but unfortunately, I have a ton of melamine already. 

Ditto...I have a ton of kids dishes, but these owls are just too cute. 

I saved the best for last. I can just see myself cruising around on this baby this Fall. I'd switch that basket for a baby basket and Jack and I would be high stylin' in the neighborhood. 

What 

PS - Here's the picture of our "reading room" with the above sunburst pillow.