Little Black Book

This is a book I'm looking forward to checking out. I LOVE Project Runway and, unlike the judges on America's Next Top Model, I actually agree with their decisions a vast majority of the time! I'm excited to hear Nina's advice on cleaning out your closet and staple pieces you need in your wardrobe. Even though my budget doesn't call for designer labels, I still think it sounds like a helpful and enjoyable fashion read! Plus, I admit I'm one of those people who judge books by their covers, and I really like this cover! ;)

Simply Silhouettes

I am really liking the fact that silhouettes are back in style right now. I remember my silhouette that was done at Disneyland when I was a little girl with its black oval frame. There is something so old fashioned and appealing and simple about them. Here are some pretty things I've seen around the internet using silhouettes. Top to Bottom: Silhouette necklace from the Etsy shop Lucky Me Beads, wedding announcements from Style Me Pretty, and gift tags from Jordan Ferney's Etsy shop.

Functional Meets Attractive

I love this idea to put a frame around your bulletin board and make it look nice in your work space. I like the idea of making functional things look attractive too. The ribbon to hang it with is also a very nice touch.

ABC Me

I love this "ABC Me" personalized art from TskTsk. It would look so cute in the girl's room!

Baby Creation Boutique

I am so excited! The article that I put in a couple of posts ago about Halloween traditions just got published in a new online magazine called Baby Creation Boutique. It is so fun to be writing again! I'm doing it for free, but it's giving me some good practice with my somewhat rusty writing skills, and I am loving it! Here's the link (even though you can read it here too) http://www.babycreationboutique.com/familytraditions.html

Cute Idea

I loved this idea from Megan. I think it's such a darling way to decorate your porch for fall! When your summer flowers die, you can reuse the pots and make them look festive for all the fall and winter holidays. Read the "how to" at her blog.

Crib Recall

Okay, so I just read about this and it's scary - especially since I was about to buy a Simplicity crib for Olivia. I'm glad they're off the market! The recall goes back to models made almost 10 years ago, so make sure and check it out to be sure your child or friend's child isn't in one of these cribs!!

Halloween Traditions

So I wrote the following article on Halloween traditions and it got me wondering if anyone else has fun family Halloween traditions. If you do, please share! I'd love to hear them.

Halloween is one of my all-time favorite holidays, and I know I’m not alone in this! But, it certainly isn’t the first holiday to come to mind when thinking about family traditions. Especially when competing with such heavy weights as Christmas and birthdays. Even though this seems to be true, I can’t deny the fact that some of my fondest childhood memories come from Halloween. There is something so enchanting about the face makeup, the delicious choice of what to be every year, the anticipation of Halloween parties with all that candy and dry-ice smoke, and the excitement of trick-or-treating on Halloween night. And the decorations…oh, the delightful decorations.
In honor of this Halloween, seeing as it is my daughter’s first Halloween, I would like to list some Halloween traditions that we had in my family growing up, and also some fun traditions that I hope to start with our children.
1. Carving pumpkins a few days before Halloween. There is so much childish delight in scooping out the “guts” of the pumpkin and carving a creative face. Afterwards, you have to line the pumpkins up on the table, light a candle in each one, and turn out all the lights. Pure magic.
2. Being creative with the costume creation. Even if you don’t sew (like me!) and have to buy a lot of the costume, be sure and get creative and crafty with the details. I’ll never forget the year I wanted to be Maleficent from Sleeping Beauty and my parents and I made the staff she carries out of a wooden rod with a tennis ball on top. I got to cover every inch of that ball with glue and green glitter and I loved it!
3. Having a “Halloween dinner”, either before or after trick-or-treating. In recent years, my mom has started making pumpkin stew that’s nice and hot when those who have gone out to gather their candy come home cold and hungry. Grilled cheese sandwiches with apple cider and glazed doughnuts also appeal to me!
4. Making Halloween sugar cookies about a week out from Halloween. I LOVED doing this as a child. We would mix up orange and black frosting (Mom was a wiz with the food coloring) and then we would take the witch, the ghost, and the pumpkin cookie cutters and go nuts! It was so much fun to be your own boss on frosting.
5. Halloween Party. We only had one when I was a kid, but it sure was memorable! We bobbed for apples, played “pin the nose on the ghost,” and even had a mini haunted house set up in the basement.
The main thing is to make traditions something that brings your family together and to create lasting memories that children carry with them into their own families when they’re grown. That’s what I hope to create for my daughter starting this year. And Halloween should not be overlooked as a holiday for creating fun traditions and memories!

More Pink 'N White

I've posted before about pink and white. I love this combination and just found another picture to add to the collection!

Peek-A-Boo Baby

I'm so getting one of these for when Olivia comes. Maybe I won't have to lock myself in a room for 30 min. at a time to nurse this time around!! Here's to hoping. You can check out the fun patterns here.

Love This

I really love this picture....can't really define why, I just do. I'm not one for really busy patterns most of the time, especially on wallpaper, but all the elements in this picture really come together and make it something enjoyable to look at.

Rebecca Thuss

Speaking of running low on inspiration, if you ever need a visual boost, Rebecca Thuss rocks!

Confetti Cakes

I was running dry on inspiration today and stumbled upon the most amazing cakes by Elisa Strauss who is the designer for Confetti Cakes. SO COOL! There are some really fun specialty cakes, and the wedding cakes are amazing too. A lot of these don't even look like cakes they're so well-done!

Best Yet

Michael and I were out shopping and running errands all day yesterday. For lunch, we decided to stop at Carl's Jr. in Covington (the only Carl's we've found around here). Can I just tell you how much I have missed their chocolate shakes? In my personal opinion, Carl's Jr. chocolate shakes are the best yet!! The best I've ever tasted anyway. I'm sure the other flavors are good, but I always want chocolate! Yum. If you haven't tried one yet, I think you must.

Picture This

I've been looking around for inspiration on grouping pictures together on a wall. Here are some good ideas that I found on other blogs and online mags that appealed to me. I should add that the second to last picture comes from Christie, who writes the delightful blog These Are a Few of My Favorite Things. You can find out more about how these pictures got hung so perfectly by reading her post on it. It almost made me wish I was better at math. Thanks for the inspiration Christie!

Runner's Mix

It seems like a lot of people have been asking for a good play list for running and working out lately. I HAVE to listen to music to keep my energy up when I work out, so I have been through a lot of play lists. The songs that motivate me change from workout to workout, so switching it up is essential. Here is a play list with a lot of songs that can be switched up and used depending on the day!
1. "Butterfly" (Edited) CrazyTown
2. "Sand In My Shoes" Dido
3. "Everybody's Got Their Something" Nikka Costa
4. "Too Far" Kylie Minogue
5. "Club Foot" Kasabian
6. "Silence" Delirium feat. Sarah McLachlan
7. "First Time" Lifehouse
8. "In the Shadows" The Rasmus
9. "White Flag" Dido
10. "Anything But Ordinary" Avril Lavigne
11. "L.O.V.E." Ashlee Simpson
12. "Stop the Rock" Apollo 440
13. "Crazy In Love" Beyonce feat. Jay Z
14. "Rescue Me" Madonna
15. "Can't Get You Out of My Head" Kylie Minogue
16. "Stronger" Britney Spears (yeah yeah, I know)
17. "Breathe" Michelle Branch
18. "Float On" Modest Mouse
19. "Maneater" Nelly Furtado
20. "Boyfriend" Ashlee Simpson
21. "You Get What You Give" New Radicals
22. "Vertigo" U2
23. "Say It Right" Nelly Furtado
24. "Song 2" Blur
Cool Down:
1. "Edge of the Ocean" Ivy
2. "Porcelain" Moby
3. "This Woman's Work" Kate Bush
4. "The District Sleeps Alone" The Postal Service
5. "Bubbly" Colbie Caillat
6. "Almost Lover" A Fine Frenzy
7. "Return to Innocence" Enigma
8. "Rushing" Moby
9. "Ice Cream" Sarah McLachlan
10. "Lose Your Way" Sophie B. Hawkins
11. "China" Tori Amos
12. "Somewhere Over the Rainbow/What A Wonderful World" Isreal Kamakawiwo'ole
13. "Like Lovers Do" Heather Nova

Keep Your Head

Since everything is in our heads, we had better not lose them.

-Coco Chanel

Celine!

Here's another reason to look forward to fall!! Another album from Celine Dion comes out in November. I was wondering when she would be coming out with something new!! Hooray! My husband once asked if we had the choice to go to a Celine concert, or U2, which would I choose? I couldn't really decide because I love them both, but I know which one he would rather see! Every time I picture making him go with me to a Celine Dion concert, I see that scene from How To Lose A Guy in 10 Days in my mind where they come out wearing pink shirts and he looks completely stunned.

Right Down the Middle!

This made me smile with gratification. Now Michael can't say that Katie looks more like me!!

All Things Autumn

On the 23rd of this month Fall is officially on, and I am so ready!! I so love the crisp and spicy air, the rich, beautiful colors, the fall fashions, Halloween, and the feeling of settling in for winter. There's a sort of tragic beauty about it that I anticipate every year. Gone are the warm summer evenings where you hear children playing until the last of the sun goes down. Night time comes quickly now with an early dusk, and people hurry to get inside and away from the cold air. Everyone seems to turn a bit more inward. Fall is a time for reflection, and lately I've been thinking of all the different things that remind me of this season. Here's my "All Things Autumn" List:

1. Vibrant reds, oranges, and yellows

2. Time to break out the small coffee table book Autumn by Jean Mulatier - gorgeous pics!!!

3. Apples & Pumpkins
4. Cider

5. Costumes

6. Halloween decorations

7. Cozy sweaters and stylin' jackets

8. The song Time Enough For Tears by The Corrs - such a perfect autumn song!

9. The book Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury

10. Disney's Halloween Treat (the version where the magic mirror is your host) and The Legend of Sleepy Hollow - true childhood classic cartoons that I'm lucky enough to have. I watch them every Halloween night without fail!! Preferably with some glazed doughnuts....

11. Hot chocolate in cute, big mugs

12. All the Halloween special edition magazines!
13. Autumn walks and drives to see the leaves

14. College football games

15. Thanksgiving

16. Fresh school supplies in all varieties

17. Soup and stew with fresh, warm bread & butter

18. Pumpkin-spice candles

19. Plaid wool blankets (even though I hate wool blankets)
20. Lanterns and lights that shine as beacons through misty air and invite you in from the cold.

Stopping By?

A big Thank You for the comments and feedback to those of you who have left them!!!! For all of you who stop by, please feel free to leave a comment here and there so I know you've been here and what you think!

Reminded Me

This picture totally brought me back to a particular afternoon experience I had in Brazil. We were looking for a certain address and couldn't find it. (which is a very common occurrence in Brazil where it sometimes seems that everyone just picked their favorite number and slapped it on the front of their home) So, we stopped at the gate of a home where a man was outside washing his car and asked if he knew where this particular address was. Her didn't (which is also very common - I'll never forget the day we asked a woman what her house number was and she had to stop and look) but, he was very nice and invited us in to meet his mother. She very graciously offered us an afternoon snack. I adore how so many Brazilians love to feed anyone who stops by their door! So, she brought us into a room that looked a lot like this one and brought us a tray of juice, cookies, bread, and jam. She then proceeded to tell us all about herself, and it was fascinating. She was in the process of learning a foreign language - I forget which - and she loved to read which was obvious from the shelves piled with books, and she was also learning to play the piano at the ripe old age of seventy-something! She sat down and played us several pieces on the piano and she was quite good. I remember thinking that I still want to be learning new things when I'm that age. I never want to stop learning, and that woman inspired me to never forget that goal. The really strange part was, when we went to visit her again, we could never find the house! We looked and looked, and it was like it had disappeared, which made that afternoon even more vivid in my memory forever afterward. Here's to those who never stop learning!!

Image via World of Interiors

1st Dibs

I found the link for 1st Dibs while perusing Katiedid's blog. This site features vintage, unique items that are sometimes downright wacky. I loved looking through what they have. It was such fun seeing what would pop up next. Here are some of the things that intrigued me. From top to bottom: Resin Orange Slice End Tables, Life size Horse Lamp, Hand-carved Hand Table & Chairs, and a Mini Greenhouse Lamp.

First Halloween

I'm starting to think about Katie's first Halloween costume. I don't want to do the ever- popular "baby's first Halloween pumpkin costume", but there's a lot out there to choose from. Times like these make me wish I could sew (and I NEVER thought I'd say that after Beginning Sewing in high school!) But I have found some pretty funny costumes out there. Here are a few that amuse me. Especially the Princess Leia! Anyone have any great suggestions or ideas they're using or have used for their kids???

Lovely Light

There is something so magical about the atmosphere created by lanterns and candles. Whether it's a warm, colorful glow, or just a cool design, this is a form of lighting that will never go out of style. Lately, I've spotted some excellent pics around the web that demonstrate my point, so I've rounded them up here. I only wish I'd taken them!

Majority of photos courtesy of Flickr excpet for bottom picture via Absolutely Beautiful Things

Profit, Experience, Reward

To get profit without risk, experience without danger, and reward without work is as impossible as it is to live without being born.

-A.P. Gouthey

Nursery Decorating This Time Around

Well, I am back in baby decorating mode. Now that I know we are having another girl, it makes color choices a whole lot easier since Katie and Olivia will be sharing a room. I did Katie's nursery in pink and sage green a year ago, and I have decided to keep that color scheme up on the other side of the room since it would probably look weird to do it any other way. I have to admit that I love some of the pink and brown girl's bedding I've seen, but I'd like the whole room to coordinate somewhat. On the other hand, having two babies so close together is also a fun opportunity to choose the stuff that lost out the first time around (sometimes only marginally). For example, I was torn between two bedding sets for the crib the first time around, and now, since Katie still needs her crib and we'll be getting another one, I can go back and get the other set too!! Now that's what I call a win-win situation ;) I was also trying to choose between a white crib and a black crib and decided on white for Katie. So this time, Olivia will have the black crib. I'm trying to picture the whole room coming together and hope it doesn't look odd, but I just can't bring myself to get TWO white cribs just so they match really well. Anyway, it is fun to be able to go back and choose my second favorites this time around. Here's a picture of the bedding I've decided on for Olivia's half of the room.

Ophelia

I really enjoyed this re-telling of Hamlet from Ophelia's point of view. It was well written, and the story was much more intriguing as Ophelia fakes her death to escape the danger at court rather than committing suicide. I like how Lisa Klein made Ophelia a much more dynamic and complex character. Very good read.

Blue Poppy

Design Mom is having a giveaway for Blue Poppy jewelry. I love the simplicity of the designs and would wear most of the pieces they make.

Happy Weekend

Hope the weekend is fabulous!!

Who Lightens the Burden

No one is useless in this world who lightens the burden of it to anyone else.

-Charles Dickens

Lovely Lavender

I think lavender is such a chic color that isn't used enough. It's been fun to see it used more and more in decorating. I've seen some cool pics in Cottage Living and other decorating mags, and it's just so fun as an accent color! Here are a few pretty pictures in lavender.

New Wedding Blog

I have mentioned here before how much I love wedding stuff (even though my wedding came and went two years ago!) and I have found a great new blog with beautiful wedding things to look at brought to you by the editors of Martha Stewart Weddings. Click here to see for yourself!

Fun Giveaway

The Hostess with the Mostess blog is offering an awesome giveaway right now for a Rosanna dishware set. I think all the different patterns are so fun together, and I love a lot of the dishes on Rosanna's site. Head on over to the hostess blog and leave a comment to try your chances at winning!

Speaking of Paper

Here are some other paper products that I really like from AnnaBella Stationery and Elum.

Cards

I've had so much fun making cards since I discovered Stampin' Up. It goes right along with scrapbooking in my opinion! Here's some of the cards I've made so far.

Olivia's Profile

Here she is! Isn't she cute? ;)

Bust Out The Pink

It's a girl!!!! We can quit debating boy names, thank goodness. Olivia currently weighs approximately 2 pounds, 7 ounces and, according to her measurements, her due date has now moved up to the 27th of November. We're going to have a crazy ride ahead of us, but we're so excited! Hopefully, they'll be best friends since they're being born practically as close together as they can be without being twins!

Hooray!! Fall Is On Its Way!!!

AUTUMN POEM

Honied yellow dripping gold,
Leaf of autumn
in the cold
Dancing on
in crisp despair
Whirling on
enchanted air
Falling silently to
earthen tomb
Away from tree's
rooted arm
Perhaps the silence
broken then
By hollow cries
of autumn grief
Synchronized with
the falling leaf

- S.K.Lindeman

Moonrock Paper

I love the paper products they have at Moonrock Paper Company!! Too fun, and so many varieties!!

Boy or Girl?

What will it be? I am so excited to have my ultrasound today and find out whether we'll be having another little girl, who will be named Olivia, or a little boy, whose name is yet to be determined! (We can't agree on a boy's name, which is funny because I always thought girl's names would be harder!) Anyway, stay tuned to find out whether Katie Grace will get a little brother or sister in December!!