November and Holiday Craft Fair

Yay! It is November!!!
The month of Thanks! :)

And also the first month of the Holiday Craft Fair!

I am so excited to have each one of these ladies and their shops!
There is a large variety of shops...
*Jewelery
*Homegoods

*Clothing
*Art
*Baked Goods
*Candles

I will be featuring a new shop every morning.
My own personal posts will come later in the day or in the evening.
Some of the shops will be offering giveaways and also discounts to you the reader!
So make sure you check back each morning for a new featured shop!

Have a great first day of November!

Weekend...Bullet Style

Hello!
I've begun to feel like my brain only works in bullet type posts...
Anyone with me? :)
Plus I find they're sometimes the most fun and easiest to read..yes?

So...here's the weekend...


*The leaves are finally beginning to change and fall.
As they do we've discovered we'll be getting a lovely lake view off the back porch!

*My mother-in-law bought me this candle a few weeks ago.
I. Can. Not. Stop. Burning.It!

Bath and Body Works-Sweet Cinnamon Pumpkin.

Go and get yourself one!
It's the perfect mix of both fall and winter smells!

*I can't remember if I ever showed you my little "corner"?!
I love having my own little space in the living room to blog, budget, meal plan, etc.

*Above my desk is my chalkboard. :)
I love the little ledge it has...
The kids and I collect post cards...
Really, it's just my mom that sends them. :)
A few weeks ago her and her best girl friend went to the East Coast for two weeks...
Her travels added some darling post cards to our collection!

Thankyou for brightening up my corner Mom:)

*Did you know that putting a tea cup over your eye makes you a pirate?
That's what my kids think... Saturday was pirate day over here!

*This little ball of yumminess has mastered sitting up this week,
had a second bottom tooth come in,
and discovered his tongue all in one week.

AH!
Time needs to slow itself wayyyyy down...
My baby is getting big!

*As I stated in a previous post...

Saturday evening we went out for mexican to celebrate our 5 year anniversary.
What I failed to mention was that we were celebrating as a family.
Partay:)
During football season the kids rarely get to see their dad so we opted for a family night.
PLUS Travis offered to help me get the two-week groceries while we were out.
This in itself is a HUGE gift to me!!!

Was it the most romantic evening...nope.
Were my kids SUPER FUSSY before we left?? Yep.
At one point before we walked out the door all three were rolling on the floor crying :)
I was determined to get a picture of the two of us for our annual anniversary pic...
So to document the season of life we are in and what kind of date we went on here are the pics...

And... this is how we really felt ;)

Hope your weekend was great!!!
Don't forget Tuesday starts the Holiday Craft Fair on the blog!
Get your Christmas shopping lists ready!!!

Off to bed:)
Nighty night!

5 Years

Goodmorning!!!
It's almost 10 and the kids and I are all in our pj's still!
Travis has already headed back to work for the day....
Ready for him to get home so we can celebrate our 5 year anniversary with some mexican food tonight!
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Fun Wedding Facts
*We were engaged for four months
*During those four months I lived in Missouri and Travis lived in Texas

*During those four months I didn't have a job... so my job was to plan our wedding!

*I made the majority of "stuff" for the wedding....

*I made all the invitations out of cardstock...they were printed off on the computer

and handstamped with a leaf stamp. 

*The bouquets were made out of Dollar Tree flowers and toilet paper tubes.  The toilet paper tubes were wrapped in ribbon and decorated with a row of antique brads.  I think we spent around $20 on all the bouquets. True story:) And the bouquets were GORGEOUS!

*For the wedding we were married in a church.  For decorations we used old barn doors as a backdrop.
They were taken off of a barn the day before the wedding...and put back up on the barn following the wedding:)
*We also decorated around the barn doors with HUGE potted mums.
After the wedding the mums were transported to the reception site for decor there.
*Our reception was held at a state park.  It was GORGEOUS!
The leaves were at the peak of their colors changing!
*Our wedding was at 2 and ended at 3.  The reception didn't start until 5.
This gave our guests time to run home and change into casual clothes.
And also time for us to take pictures without feeling rushed.

*We catered in a delicious warm meal for everyone.
*Neither Travis or I care for cake. So we decided to have pumpkin pie and a cream puff tower!
*I made the cream puff tower the morning of the wedding. 

*There was a playground nearby for all the kids to play on while the adults visited and ate.

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I LOVED my wedding and reception!!!
Every time the leaves change and I see mums it reminds me of our special day :)

My wedding cd with all of my professional pictures is packed away...
But I pulled these ones off of facebook for a little peek :)

*everyone was getting ready to jump for a picture* :)

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I can't believe it's already been FIVE years!
Alot has happened in those five years.

We were talking about all the changes the other night...
Three babies have joined us...
Three different houses...
Four different cars...
Three different churches...
One big move...
One job change...

It's been an awesome five years with my best friend:)
I love living life with him... Can't imagine life without him!

Happy Anniversary to my best friend!!!
I love you Travis :)

2nd anniversary

Third Anniversary

Fourth Anniversary

Grandma's Banana Bread

Hello friends!
It is finally CHILLY here!
Chilly and gray today!
My favorite fall weather:)

Both boys are tucked in their beds for afternoon naps.
Emma's curled on the couch with a blanket reading.
And obviously I'm sitting by the computer!

Since I haven't posted a recipe this week I thought I'd share the BEST banana bread recipe with you!
I LOVE banana bread!
But it can't be too dry. 
And it can't be too thick.

My grandma makes the best banana bread so I asked for her recipe!
I've made it three times and each time it was absolutely delish!

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Grandma's Banana Bread

1 cup sugar
2 cups flour
1/2 t. salt
1 t. soda
3 or 4 very ripe bananas
2 eggs
1/2 cup oil
nuts (if desired)

Mash bananas. Add eggs, sugar, salt , soda, oil and blend.
Add flour and nuts.

Bake in 2 small or 1 large greased and floured bread pans. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes to one hour. (I like the smaller pans)

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This is a fun recipe for the kids to help with!
Emma is usually the banana masher and Colt is the stirrer :)

This picture is from last week... enjoying their banana bread on the back porch.
As you can see the dog has figured out if he stands below the porch they will throw him bites ;)

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The weekend is almost here!
Do you have any big plans?
Tomorrow is our fifth wedding anniversary!!! :)
Sadly I won't be seeing much of my sweet husband...between work and a football game.
We're planning on celebrating on Saturday with some mexican food! Our fav:)

Have a great Thursday night!

 

Erin Condren Discount!!

Girls!
Quick post...

I'm sure most of you have heard about Erin Condren and her fabulous planners!
And if not... from what I hear they are incredible!

Click on her name above to look at what she has to offer.
What is not so incredible is the $50 price.

That's like half of my weekly grocery budget.
Not happening over here.

So anyways...
the blog Joy's Hope gave a few great tips on how to get one for REALLY CHEAP!!!

Like... I just purchased a $50 Erin Condren gift voucher for $17.50.

Here's what you do...

Click on the following link.
Plum District

It will take you to the Plum District website.
Simply for signing up you get a $5 gift card.

Then at the checkout enter the word
FABULOUS
For an additional 15% off!

Seriously!
$17.50!

The deal on Plum District is good only through tomorrow...

 so hurry and get buy your voucher while you can!

The voucher doesn't have to be used right away....
I think mine said it was good through the end of January.

Erin Condren offers other things besides planners as well.
Address Labels, Note cards, stationary, iphone covers...etc.

This deal would also be a great way to save on some customized Christmas presents!
Just a thought :)

Hope you're having a great Wednesday!

What We Wore- Favorite Color Edition

Hey girls!!!

Linking up with Follower Fest over at Casey Wiegands blog!!!

So glad you stopped by the blog:)

You'll find a little bit of this and that over here...

Thoughts on mothering...

Recipes...

Crafts...

Tutorials...

Outfits we wore during the week...

Leave a comment and I'll head on over to your blog and follow along!

****ALSO! If you love Erin Condren and want her $50 planner for only $17.50...
Just scroll down a few posts on my blog
 The deal ends at MIDNIGHT tonight!Seriously:) get on it!!!

The deal is actually a $50 voucher for Erin Condren's website...marked down to $17.50.
You can buy ANYTHING!!!_____________________________________________________________________

My current favorite color to wear and for around the house is mustard!

Lucky for me it's a popular color this season :)

What's your current favorite color to wear?!

Sunday Edition

Emma

Jean Jacket- Thrift Store (from the GAP)

Skirt- Old Navy

Ruffled Shirt- Target

Flower Headband-Made by me

Me
Scarf- ? Can't remember? It was cheap...that I do remember.

Sweater-American Eagle

Skirt-Forever 21

Earrings- Thrifted

Boots-Kohls

Monday Edition
(Keeping it real...)Colt- Diaper courtesy of Walmart
Cade- Football tshirt courtesy of the Booster club
Emma-Outfit by me
Me- Shirt from Target and Jeans from Forever 21. I LOVE their $10 jeans!!!

Funny

This little girl CRACKS. ME. UP!

I can't get enough of her and her funny faces:)

Her favorite thing to do is wink at someone and give them a thumbs up at the same time.

She winked and gave a thumbs up to her 80 year old choir teacher in church this morning.

And her choir teacher did it right back.

Hilarious and sweet all at the same time!

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My to-do list is made for the new week.

A few of the fun ones...

*Finalize the Holiday Craft Fair.

If you have a shop are you part of it!??!

*Make a two-week menu plan

*Work on a few Christmas gifts!

My goal is to be FINISHED with Christmas shopping

and presents by December 1st. 

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Do you have any fun to-do's on your list this week!?!

Saturday Morning Randomness

Goodmorning friends!!!

We're having a lazy morning over here...

which in my opinion are the best kind of Saturday mornings!

I stayed up until 12:30 last night doing my Saturday chores.

I dont know why I don't do that more often.
It's such a treat to wake up to a clean house and your chores already done!

The big two are watching a Dora DVD we rented from the library.
It has 8 different episodes on it.
And I plan on letting them watch every. single. one. this morning.

Cause that's how I roll on Saturday mornings. Yep.

Would you believe that we don't have cable?
And would you believe that we don't even get a single tv station where we live?
Like NOTHING.

We live in the middle of the woods... zero reception out here.
So... if anything important is going on in the world I have absolutely no clue.
Unless it's on twitter or the yahoo main page.
:)

We like to pretend we're pioneers over here :)
Or the Waltons.

Same thing.

Anyways...

Cade is already down for his morning nap.
And I am still in my gigantic fluffy pink robe with my gigantic cup of coffee (as shown earlier in the week;) ).

Life is good!

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My mom gave me this book a couple years ago.
I thought I had read it.
But pretty sure I hadn't.
I picked it up this week and it has been such an encouragement to me!
It was written in 1949 and is FULL of encouragement for mothers.
I encourage you to find yourself a copy!

This week was a long week.
We're nearing the end of football season which always feels like the end of a marathon.
We're hanging in there but so ready to be done!

I don't know how single moms do it.
My hats off to them... I have the utmost respect!
I only have to endure about five months of doing it alone...with an end in sight.
Kind of puts it all into perspective that it's not that bad.

This football season has been hard... a big losing season.
No playoffs this year for us.
Which stinks.
But it's life.
And it's not over yet so the goal now is to finish strong and with a cheerful attitude:)

Anyways... I read this little excerpt this pastweek.
It had been a long day with fussy kids...
the house was a mess...

I was feeling overwhelmed...
 and then I read this :)

"Giving seems to be the very essence of motherhood.
So many calls in the night,

so many demands in the day,

so little time for oneself,

and so much to give.
There is One who gave and who gives more than any mother.
And how many mothers need that which He has to give-

For those times of weariness

 there is the gentleness of the Lord and the knowledge of His loving kindness. 

For the sense of inadequacy, there is His sufficiency,

 and for the joy of being a mother there is the delight of sharing it all with Him."

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There is a wonderful park in the neighborhood that we live in.
We usually load up in the car to get there since it's a longer walk than I care to take with three kiddos.
The park has been such a blessing this fall!

The weather this past week was divine.....

This is my usual stash of goodies I take to the park...
Dr. Pepper
Planner
Notebooks

While the kids play I work on making to-do lists, Christmas lists, menu plans, budgeting, etc.
This is seriously my idea of a GREAT time :)
Give me a new notebook and a new pen and I am on cloud nine!

My little side-kick... never far from my side :)
I adore him!!!

On this particular day somebody peed their pants.

And somebody else got stung by a bee.
But we hung in there and stayed at the park for two hours.
Pee pants and bee stings can't keep us from having a good time ;)

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About four more episodes of Dora left.
Which means just enough time for me to hop in the shower!
Have a great weekend friends!
What are your plans?!

Being Intentional- Part two

Being Intentional- Part 2 (with my husband)
Being intentional with my husband.
Let's face it...when you get married it's all about your husband.
Until the kids come.
Or until your job gets hectic.
Or until life just gets plain old busy.

Girls.
Our husbands (besides the Lord) need to be our number one priority!
My mom always gave a great little word of advice once my babies were born...

"children are a wonderful ADDITION"

Meaning...they should not be the center of our home.
Our relationship with our husband needs to come first and foremost.

I for one have been guilty of all of the above (besides a job obviously).

It's so easy to get the kids to bed at night and want to kick my feet up and zone out.
Get on the internet...read a book... then it's time for bed and that's the day.

So here's what I've decided to do to be more intentional about making Travis number one.

And obviously this is just what I personally plan on doing.
Each couple and person is different!

-Wake up when he gets up to fix him a warm breakfast.
-Pack him a yummy lunch

-Send him texts throughout the day knowing I'm thinking of him

-Have a good meal waiting for him when he gets home from practice

-Try and tidy up the house before he gets home

 (this is a BIG one... I know he really appreciates coming home to a tidy and cozy home)
-Making him cookies in the evening (store bought ones ;) )
-Closing the computer and putting my phone aside to spend one on one time with him

As you can see alot of how I can serve my husband best right now is with food :)

I know he feels loved when I think ahead to prepare good things for him to eat.

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In a society where around 50% of marriages end in divorce it is so incredibly

 important to fight for our marriages.

It's not easy.
It's definitely not easy to put someones needs above your own.
Trust me :)

What I do know is we're in it for the long haul.
Good days and bad.
For those of you girls that read the blog that aren't married...

another wonderful piece of advice from my mom...

"marry your best friend"

I couldn't agree with her more.
I'm so thankful I did :)

Anyways... I feel like these posts are very helter skelter.
Kind of a jumbled mix of thoughts I've had lately.

I want to encourage each of you that is a wife to be intentional in how you love on and serve your husband!
It seriously can be fun thinking up little ways that might brighten his day!
He doesn't need to know what you're up to...
Let's just spoil our husbands without them realizing what's going on :)

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Thanks for bearing with me and reading the chaos of thoughts!
I appreciate each and every one of you!
Have a good weekend!

Insta Friday

The cool weather has finally decided to settle in here in Texas.
The coolness has brought on longer morning snuggles, bigger cups of hot coffee

 and an extra boost of much needed energy. 

Or that could have been the bigger cups of coffee. 

 But whatever. I like to think it's the cooler weather :)

I have been indulging this week and pouring whipping cream in my coffee with a spoonful of sugar.
SO creamy and rich!
You must try it!!!

 I already posted this picture earlier in the week...
But I wanted to explain the football helmet.
Colt LOVES football.
Football and diapers.
So as an initiative to potty train every time he uses the toilet he gets a football sticker to put on his helmet.
Just like the players get a sticker when they do something good.
So far it's working!!!

 Almost every night before she goes to bed Princess Emma opens her beauty shop.
I am a faithful customer. :)
She loves doing hair... I love getting my hair played with...it's a win-win.

 Here is a picture of my gigantic cup of coffee.
I told you it was gigantic!
And also a picture of my fluffy pink robe.
It's a baby magnet... everyone love to cuddle with me when I have it on :)

 ___________________________________________________________ So that's our week in phone pics...lots of cuddling..coffee...potty training..more coffee.You get the idea.

How was your week?  

Favorite Accessories

I love accessories!
Some of my favorite accessories are...

Scarves...

Lots of bracelets...

Longer necklaces...

And headbands...

 

What are your favorite accessories?



What We Wore-Sunday and Play Edition

It's that time again for What We Wore Wednesday with The Pleated Poppy!
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Emma's Outfit

Top and Pants- Made by me
Headband- Family Dollar! They have the BEST accessories!

My Outfit
Shirt- Not sure where from? My sweet friend Melissa gave it to me!
Jean Trousers- Express

(notice my hands are blue...my hands turn blue every time I wear these pants...obviously it's the dye from the pants rubbing off..anyone else have this problem??)

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On any typical day this is what the kids outfits look like...

 There is never a dull moment over here! :)

__________________________________________________________ Just in case you missed it yesterday I will be hosting a Holiday Craft Fair here on the blog the months of November and December.
If you have your own little shop that you would like to showcase e-mail me!
Read more about the Holiday Craft Fair here! How is your week panning out?!?