Fall Decor Tips

I can't wait to start decorating for fall this weekend. I'm inspired by one of our favorite blogs, Our Best Bites, and their recent post on Tips for Spooktacular Fall Decor.

I'm excited to pull out the "Fall Decor" bin that I have, but I'm also eager to switch things up a bit this year. Our Best Bites offered some great tips:

Use What You Have: You have a lot around your house already that can be transformed and with a few fun additions, you can make them fit for a season. 

Find Your Style, and then Find it Somewhere Else: Try going through catalogs and getting ideas, and then finding similar styles at places like Target, Home Goods, etc. 

Bunch o’ Pumpkins:It’s so easy to make any space a fall space when you just fill up a vase, or sprinkle them on your shelves or table top.

A Big Fail in the Kitchen

I really enjoy baking oatmeal cookies during the fall season. My mom bakes the best oatmeal cookies and I normally nail the recipe, but I quickly realized the other night that I didn't have all of the ingredients that I needed, so I improvised. Of course, it was an epic fail.

I decided to follow this Betty Crocker recipe to help improvise. I thought it would be good, but something was missing. Do you have a favorite oatmeal cookie recipe?

1 1/2

cups packed brown sugar

1

cup butter or margarine, softened

1

teaspoon vanilla

1

egg

2

cups quick-cooking oats

1 1/2

cups Gold Medal™ all-purpose or unbleached flour

1

teaspoon baking soda

1/4

teaspoon salt

1

cup semisweet chocolate chips (6 oz)

1

cup chopped nuts, if desired

Pregnancy Apps

My sister recommended a few apps to me when she learned that I was pregnant. She even recommended that my husband have them on his phone, too... and so we both clicked away! These two apps are lifesavers. I love the weekly updates and quick information at your fingertips! If you're pregnant, or know someone that's pregnant, be sure to download these apps!

App #1: What to Expect

App #2: Baby Bump

Be Sure to Taste Your Words

Words of Wisdom for my students! Words are powerful! 

The best feeling in the world.

The best feeling in the world is feeling your baby move inside of you!

 Prior to this week, I felt only flutters of movement and now I'm starting to feel like this baby is practicing martial arts inside my belly. The initial fluttering movements that I felt a few weeks ago have definitely turned into full-fledged kicks and nudges. Movement picked up as each day carried on this week and every night I'd call for my husband to run into our bedroom... "Hurry, put your hand here. Do you feel it?" and the baby would stop moving. It was really frustrating! 

We played the "hurry, come in here" game a few times yesterday afternoon and finally my husband felt the baby moving and kicking! It was the absolute best experience in the whole entire world. I will never, ever, ever forget that moment for as long as I live. Grow, baby, grow so that we can meet you soon!

Pure Joy.

I saw my niece on Friday afternoon, yesterday morning, and again today.  Since she was staying at my parent's house this weekend, I took full advantage of having Sarah and Auntie time every single day.  My sister, her husband and daughter live in Boston, which is a three hour car ride away.  We don't usually see one another very often, so when we do, we like to spend as much time together as possible before it's time to say goodbye.  

Sarah's growing rapidly.  It seems like even as just a few weeks go by, she's saying more than she did the last time.  It is pure joy to watch a 20 month old explore the world.  Every encounter with everything and anyone is new and exciting.  She never gets tired of asking, "why?" or "what's that?"  or today's famous, "where did it go?"  

It was a ball watching her with my parents as they chased one another around the front yard yelling and screaming and laughing.  She'd fall down and lay in the grass, and a few times, my mom joined her.  Her laughs are contagious and it is impossible not to laugh with her.  

Here are my top favorite things about Sarah this weekend:

1. We used sidewalk chalk to draw on the driveway.  She had an amazing way of unloading the entire carton of chalk, asking you to draw more with more colors.  

2. Pizza makes everything better.  

3. Standing on line for coffee at the Bear Mountain Inn.  I couldn't believe how patient she was!

4.  Walking through the zoo making animal noises.  The kid can say coyote.  I was impressed. ;) 

5. When my parents pulled into the driveway after a day at the zoo, she exclaims, "We're home!"

6. She has the sweetest way of saying "no" all day long.  Yes...it's that phase! haha

7. She had to count every single one of the lights in front of my parents house.  About 10 times a day. 

8. She loves dressing up and wore a tutu over her clothes all weekend.

9.  If you ask her for hugs and kisses, she'll give you one.

10.  Hearing her little voice say, "I love you" will make you melt.  After she says that, you'll basically do anything she wants. 

It was a good weekend. :)

Happy Birthday to my Sister!

Today is a very special, important day...it's my sister, Allyson's birthday!  If you don't know her, she's a beautiful woman, both inside and out.  She's got a heart of gold that she wears on her sleeve.  She's insanely independent, and will always put others before herself.  She was that sister who would be hard on me because she always wanted the best for me, but would stand up for me if I needed some back up.  She was the one who gave me endless amounts of advice on school, life, love and everything else.  She was the one who told me everything would be okay when I thought my world was going to end.  She's a hero in my eyes.

I couldn't be more thankful for her and the gift of her daughter that she has shared with my entire family.  She's raising Sarah to be a sweet, gentle, loving and happy baby.  I'm not sure that I could say that she could do anymore, because her daughter is just that happy.  

We may have our differences, but there's more about us that is the same than different.  She gets me better than anyone else, and I can't imagine my life without her.  The 3 hour traveling distance between us makes it difficult for us to see one another all the time, but when we do get back together it's like we never missed a beat.  

So today, especially, and every day, Ally, know that I love you for the woman you are.  You are the best sister anyone could have ever had, and I am so lucky to call you my best friend, too.  I hope you had an amazing weekend in the city, and I can't wait to celebrate with you, soon!