Sophia Grace & Rosie

I know these videos are everywhere, and if you are a Pink Lou Lou follower like I am, you've already seen them on her blog, but I just had to post these.  These girls are absolutely adorable.  Guaranteed to put a smile on your face. 

Sidenote: if I start speaking in a British accent (which I do quite well, if I do say so myself), do you think Izzy would pick it up eventually?  She's got adorable, she's got pink, she's got princess....all that she needs is that accent, and she's set. ;-)

"I'm the next Nicki Minaj!"  L.O.V.E.

That Sophia Grace knows how to shop.  I kind of feel like I would act the exact same way if someone were to treat me to a Target shopping spree.  I've actually seen my sister running through Target in a very similar fashion on Black Friday.  Who says shopping isn't a sport? 

Pinterest: It's What's For Dinner

I've tried quite a few recipes from Pinterest lately, and surprisingly enough, I haven't struck out with any of them yet.  Easy is the theme with these recipes, which is the number one quality I look for when trying out new dishes.  These have my stamp of approval, and they will definitely be added to the normal rotation around here.  If you try them and don't like them, don't come crying to me I hope we'll still be friends.

*Please note all photos were found via Pinterest.  If it ain't broke, don't fix it, right?


1. Crockpot Italian Chicken - So simple.  I've already made this one three times.  Lovin' it!

Click here for recipe

2. Slow Cooker Potato Soup - Great for hanging out in your fat pants on a rainy day.  Hypothetically speaking, of course.

Click here for recipe

3. Crockpot Lasagna - My cousin mentioned making a crockpot lasagna on Facebook a few weeks ago, so I thought I'd check Pinterest for a recipe.  This stuff is the bomb.com.  I seriously didn't expect it to be so delicious.  We had this for dinner two nights in a row this week, and hubs and I may or may not have helped ourselves to seconds both nights.  It's even Izzy-approved.  Can I get an amen?

Click here for recipe

( I used 2 jars of Bertolli Olive Oil and Garlic pasta sauce, and I used ground beef instead of sausage.)

4. Lime Infused, Honey Crusted Chicken - I made kabobs with this recipe, and hubs grilled them up.  Served them over brown rice.  Pretty tasty.

Click here for recipe

(I used chipotle chili pepper instead of cayenne pepper)

5. Easy Cheesy Zucchini Bake - I liked this one more than hubs did, but he doesn't get too excited about veggies.

  Click here for recipe

6. Peanut Butter and Chocolate Filled Crescent Rolls - I've also tried these with nutella, and as you can imagine...ah-mazing.

Pretty self-explanatory, but click here for recipe

7. S'mores Cookie Bars - You might remember me drooling over these little puppies in this post, but I thought it couldn't hurt to give them another shout-out.  Delish!

Click here for the recipe

8. Mini Pumpkin Pies - So cute and so tasty!  These would be perfect for a holiday party or any sort of shower.  You make them the same way you make your regular pumpkin pie, but you just cut the dough in little circles and fit them in the muffin tin cups.  The best thing about these little babies is that they are small, so if you have two or three of them, you've technically only eaten one slice of pie.  No?  Crap.

Click here for recipe

My super complicated (heavy sarcasm) pumpkin pie recipe:



Follow the recipe on the back of the can, and double the cinnamon and ginger
 (a tip from the mother-in-law)

If you try any of the recipes, I'd love to hear from you.













Weekend Update

We had ourselves a busy little weekend, so I thought I'd catch you up. 

Friday night, the bestie and her ball and chain came over for dinner, and after baby girl went to bed, we got started on the wine and pumpkin pie crafting.   We were set to make some burlap wreaths like this one (which, by the way, is for sale on Etsy for $59 - that's crazy talk).

Unfortunately, we got off to a bit of a bumpy start, what with the wrong size wire wreath and a bad YouTube tutorial.  But whaddaya gonna do?  That may or may not have been where the wine and pie came into play.  No worries though, the night ended with both of us having a clear plan on how to move forward, and now this little beauty has found a home over my mantel mirror.

What you need: wire wreath and 2 yards of burlap (or really any fabric)

Directions: Cut burlap into strips (approximately 1"x7"ish) and tie them to the wreath.  Repeat a million times, and you've got yourself a burlap wreath.  My wreath was made of 4 little wires, and I tied the burlap to all four wires.  Easy cheesy, but a little time consuming and the burlap sheds everywhere!

We started Saturday off with a little family 5k action.  Our friend organized her 2nd annual charity race benefiting her church, and we were happy to participate.  Izzy had a great time on the playground after the run.  After that, we went home to relax for a bit before we dropped Izzy off with my parents for the night. 

Hubs and I went our separate ways Saturday night.  He went to a Halloween party his boss was hosting, and I was off to see Taylor Swift.  I just love T. Swift.  She seems like such a nice girl, is incredibly talented, a great role model for little girls, and let's not forget that the girl is absolutely adorable.  I have never seen so many teenage girls in dresses and cowboy boots in one place before.  I'm not going to lie, attending a T. Swift concert can make a girl feel old, but the great thing about her concert is that all the little girls are in line to buy t-shirts, leaving the bar line wide open for us older ladies. 

Here's me and Janean after we found our seats.  I'm a dork, and accidentally took a video of us instead of a picture, but it makes me laugh, so here ya go.

We had a great time.  She put on a great show, and looked like she was having so much fun.  I was totally wishing I was her before the night was over.  The only camera I had was my phone, so these pictures are awful, but they're all I've got. 

So pretty - not just anyone can pull off red lipstick ya know

B.O.B. came out and sang Airplanes with her - a nice little surprise

finale

Janean's husband was supposed to pick us up from the concert, but he was next door at the Ranger game, which was running late because of rain delays.  So, I texted Griff (remember, he's at the Halloween party).  He and a co-worker came to our rescue.  Sort of.  Traffic was a nightmare, and they were completely stuck, so we basically walked 2 miles to find them.  And I was one of those girls wearing a dress and cowboy boots.  Major blisters, and major beatdown.  Oh, and did I mention that hubs was still in full costume?  Imagine this guy sticking his head out of the car, in bumper to bumper traffic on Division, screaming your name at the top of his lungs as you approach his truck.  Super classy, right? 

So, we still needed to get Janean to her husband at the ball park, but all the streets were shut down, so she rode off into the night in a rickshaw.  Completely normal. 

We had tickets for the Ranger game on Sunday, so we met Izzy and my parents (and some more of our family) for lunch, and then we took Izzy to stay with Griff's parents for the night.  Poor baby girl just gets passed from one set of grandparents to another.  Well, if you think she is upset about that, you would be wrong.  Well, pretty much as soon as we drop her off, stop at the store for some tailgating snacks, and make it back home, they've cancelled the game due to rain.  I didn't really know what to do with myself.  Homegirl gone and no plans??  That NEVER happens.  So, I put some potato soup in the crockpot, put my fat pants on, and cleared out some space on the DVR.  It was pretty heavenly.  By the way, I think I'm pretty much done with The Office.  It's almost painful to watch now.  So sad. 

Anywho, we had a nice little evening at home Sunday, and we were able to go to the rescheduled game on Monday.  Not exactly the best seats in the house.  Upper deck, last row, backs against the chain link fence.  But we were there, and it was a great game.  Go Rangers!

And that's all folks. 

Fall Home Tour

Hubs used to tease me about all of my fall decorations.  Around September, he'd always ask if I was getting ready to harvest.  For the past few years, I really haven't put any of it out, but this year, I made him bring all my fall goodies down from the attic. 

 He wasn't too happy to harvest. If I'm being honest, he had a little bit of an attitude about having to get in the attic, and this poor plate took the brunt of that attitude.

All the other decorations made it down unharmed, and I had fun cozying up the casa. 

Not a lot going on outside.  I think I'm going to make a fall wreath this weekend.  I planted that little mum in the planter yesterday.  It's sure to be dead by next weekend under my care. 

The mantel

This candelabra used to be on my dining room table, and I recently moved it to the mantel.  I love it because you can dress it up for different holidays.

Got these little pumpkins at Hobby Lobby (I think) a few years ago.  First year to put them on the candlesticks, but I think I dig it. 

The only indoor decoration I bought this year was the flowers for this vase.  I'm not good at floral arrangements - I need to get my dad over to help me perfect it.  Yes, my dad.  He's a Jack of all trades.  You're welcome, Dad. 

The kitchen decor 

Apothecary jars made by gluing glass jars from Hobby Lobby to candle holders from Tarjay.  Both current purchases - go getcha some!  This little presentation is less impressive when the jars are empty, which is funny because the fit of my pants is also less impressive when the jars are empty.  Weird.

Don't remember where this came from, but I like it on the easel.

Entryway Table

Sign in hallway - I think I got it at Canton last year or the year before.

Gotta have some pumpkins in the playroom.

There ya have it.  Not a ton of stuff, but it makes the house feel cozy. And I have to admit, I'm already a little giddy at the thought of Christmas decorations!

Interview with the Toddler

Master Bedroom Makeover - Part 2

I guess this post is more a tease than anything.  Just wanted to let you know that my master bedroom has been painted (I know you will sleep better now).  We went with Comfort Gray by Sherwin Williams.  It's actually not gray at all, more of a very muted soft blue, but I really like it. 

New lamps for the nightstands and a mirror to hang above the bed have been purchased, and bedding should arrive this week.  Get excited!  Oh, and get this...talk of adding crown molding and replacing the carpet has been thrown around lately, and only one of those ideas was mine.  I knew he would come around to my way of thinking! 

Playroom Additions

We recently completed two little projects for Izzy's playroom. Both ideas came from Pinterest. I actually don't even remember the last time I had an original idea, but why bother when other people are willing to share?  The best thing about these projects is that they are cheap and easy - my two favorite qualities...ahem, in projects, of course.

The first is this oil drip pan I picked up at Wal-Mart for 10 bucks.  Hubs hung it on the wall, and voila - a magnet board for homegirl.  I need to get her some more magnetic stuff, but this little alphabet set is keeping her occupied for the moment, and she's learning her letters, which is always fun.  Her favorite so far is "double-woo."

She is obsessed with these boots.  Last weekend, she begged to wear them to church.  We were able to get out of the house without them, but as soon as we got home, she sure did ask for them. "My boots! My boots!"

Kickin' it in her boots.

You gotta admit, the boots are pretty darn cute.  Thanks, Aunt Delma!

The second little project is her art display.  The original pin used vinyl lettering that spelled out, "Masterpieces," but I didn't know how well that would stick to the painted siding (keep in mind this used to be our covered porch), and obviously, we didn't have room to spell that out with the wooden letters, so I kept it simple and went with "ART."  I'm kind of in love with it.   

Boards cut to size at Lowes, clips from sis-in-law - think she got them at an office supply store, letters from Hob Lob. 

Her sweet little works of art from home, Wee School, and church.

The artist at work

And, am I crazy, or do Izzy and Shiloh Pitt sort of resemble one another? I think it's the lips. It should come as no surprise that my daughter looks like Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie's child.  I mean, it's pretty obvious that they are mine and Griff's doppelgangers. Why are you laughing?