November Project

I'm taking the month of November to remind myself to be thankful for all of my blessings, big and small. It's very easy for me to lose sight of all the wonderful things I have in my life right now because I'm too busy fretting about the future, or everything that's still on my to-do list, or being jealous of that person over there.

Every day this month I will be posting about something I am thankful for. Could be just a picture. Could be just a post. Maybe I might get ambitious and do a post WITH a picture. I'll probably sprinkle in some FITBF, OOTD, and miscellanous posts as life events warrant.

If you would like to play long, grab the badge above and have at it. You can do just ONE post if you don't feel like doing it every day this month. Or maybe a weekly post? Whatever you feel like. Just take some time to step back and really embrace all the wonderfulness that is your life right now. Put aside the 'If only's for right now. We are blessed and highly favored and I can't wait to re-focus myself on my blessings and see what I discover about myself this next month.

Happy Halloween

The Princess and the Witch



Casting a spell on Lola

Gathering around the Jack O'Lantern

Off they go to charm other unsuspecting adults

A 108 Bulbs

This is how we spent our Saturday morning

Don't look at my husbands poor shoes.

Everyone wanted to help. Duke and Lola loved sittting in the dirt. Lil' Mama even came around to lend a paw. She had a lot of fun batting around the bulbs.

Grow, little bulb, grow!

Fall Wreath

At the beginning of the month I went on a mini-shopping spree at the Hobby Lobby. I bought the makings for a fall wreath. Grapevine wreath, a fall-ish floral spray, and some fabric remnants. I've seen so many pins on pinterest of these fabric rosettes that I had to try my hand at them.

I spent all of a Sunday on the couch with scissors and my glue gun making a dozen fabric rosettes.

Youtube.com is so great. I just did a search for fabric rosettes and found several how-to videos to get the general idea of how these cuties are made.

I stuck the floral spray into the grapevine wreath and sort of twisted it into the position I liked. I took some leftover fabric to tie the spray exactly where I wanted it. Floral wiring would have worked great..but I didn't have any. I'm a resourceful girl.

Speaking of being resourceful. I bought a sheet of fall themed scrapbook paper to cover my 'S'. I started gluing the paper on the letter just to realize the 'S' was backwards. DOH! That's why the naked 'S' up there is looking a little ragged. Instead of buying another piece of paper (a whole $.54 I saved myself) I used more of the left over fabric to wrap the 'S'.

This is what the finished product looks like on my front door. My Mom says its shabby chic.

Fill In The Blank Friday - Jeremy Edition

Play along!

1. When I was a kid I wanted to be   an Air Force pilot  when I grew up.

2. As an adult, my dream job would be   a musician     .

3. W hen I was younger I wanted to be just like  my Dad and James Hetfield  .

4. The childhood Halloween costume that I remember most was when I was    a punk rocker. I remember having spiky hair and wearing a clip-on earring and my Mom putting make-up on me .

5. My favorite childhood toy was    Transformer, GoBots, He-Man, GI Joes, Thundercats.

6. The time I got into the biggest amount of trouble when I was a kid was when  my brothers and I went into a trailer home that the family was in the process of moving out of. The door was unlocked so we didn't technically break in but we still shouldn't have been there. Some other kids also knew about this unlocked trailer home and had stolen a few things from the family that was transitioning out of the trailer, but when we got caught in that house we all got in trouble for the stolen items.


7. I get daily inspiration from    my wife, music, my friends, and ice cold beer.

I have a serious question to ask

We have lived in our little love cottage for about nine years now. It only has one bathroom {GASP...I know. I actually have to keep my makeup put away and there is only ONE outlet}. We have adapted quite nicely. Not that we knew anything different. Our apartment only had one bathroom also. Although I do dream about the day when we will have a master bathroom for ourselves and nice, clean, clutter free, fluffy toweled guest bathroom for everyone else...I have one concern.

This is a cost that I never imagined we would have to anticipate. And so frequently, it seems.

I'm talking about our toilet seats.

We have been through three toilet seats since we've lived in this house.

I can't come up with any good reason why our toilet seats keep breaking. The left hinge breaks..every. single. time. We aren't doing crazy yoga poses while sitting on our porcelain throne, I promise.

So, I wanted to ask y'all..how long have you lived in your home and how many times have you had to replace your toilet seat?

Hey Good Lookin'...whatcha got cookin'

I tried a recipe from my new cookbook today. Some garlic-y red pepper and broccoli pasta dish. It was super easy to throw together.



First, boil some pasta.

Then, take your broccoli florets (I used a bag of steamed broccoli after a ride in the microwave), chopped red peppers, chopped chicken breast and some olive oil..put it all in a hot pan. Stir until chicken is about done.

And then throw in some of this stuff. The cookbook is geared towards this new product by Philadelphia. Its our first time using it. I just played it by sight and put in a little at a time and stirred it around until, adding until I thought it was enough (I didn't use the whole tub). Let it all get heated through and then add the pasta.

Here ya go..finished dish. We would have added some grated cheese but we didn't have any. It was good but needed more seasoning. I didn't know how seasoned the cooking creme would be so I'll adjust next time. Overall, pretty good for a first try.

Tuesday OOTD

Blazer - Thrifted from my Aunt Kathy
Striped Henley- Old Navy
Jeans - Mossimo Bootcut @ Target
Wedge - Max Studio Faviene @ Pipeline.com

Christmas Wish List

It's that time of year. Time to start thinking about Christmas and what I might want Santa to bring for me. Actually, I've had Christmas on the brain since August..which is my way. My closet is currently stuffed with presents and boxes just waiting for me to put them together with pretty paper and stick under a pretty tree. But, I haven't given a lot of thought about what I want for Christmas...until now.

I might have to add on to this list..but for now this is my Christmas wish list:

1. Hamilton Beach Ensemble Automatic Drip Coffeemaker

2. Kodak EasyShare 14MP Digital Camera

3. iPhone 4S for Sprint {I know this is a long shot..understandably..but it is still a want}

4. My iPod to get fixed.

5. Hooded Zebra Robe (L)

6. All*You magazine subscription

7. InStyle magazine subscription

Extreme Vanity Seat Makeover - Just Jinny Edition

I need a makeover!

My Mom bought me this cute little dainty vanity seat at an estate sale. It fit perfectly but needed just a little TLC to become a happy addition to our bedroom. So I got out the spray paint and staple gun.

It took me a try or two to find the right screwdriver. Handygirl I am not.

A nice coat of polished copper spray paint.

One yard of pretty fabric.

Time for a face lift.

I admit I youtubed how to recover a "bar stool" just to get an idea of how to go about this.

It ended up being pretty easy.

Face lift complete.

I'm ready for my close up.

GGGiirrrlll, you need some Nair

Last night I had a skype date with my sister. We were talking about my 'gnarly' eyebrows. I've been blessed with full eyebrows. My eyebrow hairs grow so long that if I sleep on my face wrong I wake up with a serious case of bedhead...but for my eyebrow. My sister thought this was hilarious and wanted to see so one morning when my brows were particularly 'gnarly' I sent her a picture text. Yes, we are weird like that.

Anyway! We were talking about other hair issues that us women have to deal with..on all parts of our bodies {sorry, guys..we are about to go into territory beyond the closed bathroom door}. I mentioned that lately I have noticed that my upper lip is growing hair that does NOT need to be there. And my sister looks at me askew and says 'lately?' As in, 'Seester, your upper lip has ALWAYS been hairy'. Except she has NEVER told me that my upper lip was just a little too hairy to be cute.

My Mom has mentioned it recently. Maybe that is why I have been paying more attention?

But my sister says, through her laughter mind you, that she always thought it just didn't bother me.

Stop and think about that for a minute. Why would having hair growing on my upper lip NOT bother me?

What I'm trying to say is...ladies, we have got to help each other out here. Surely we all have another female or two in our lives that we are comfortable enough with that they can tell us we need to do something about our five o'clock shadow. I'd much rather hear it from my sister or even my husband and take care of it instead of walking around letting everyone and their mom gawk at my 'stache.

So, go take a good look in the mirror and check yourself. And if you find a chin hair longer than Rapunzel's wig you should fire your sister immediately...I know I did.

{Via}

Fill in the Blank Friday +

Play Along Here!!

1. Nothing says fall like cold evenings, sunshine with a cool breeze, pumpkin spice, scarves and long sleeves.

2. My favorite autumnal tradition is  buying a cinnamon broom...which we haven't done yet. It use to be going to the pumpkin patch to buy a boat load of pumpkins but as the years go on, I find myself less and less interested in buying a whole bunch of pumpkins for my front porch. I'd much rather have my house smell like fall.

3. My favorite fall treat is my husbands chili. For real, y'all...his chili is out of this world good and he only makes it when the weather calls for it.

4. Fall makes me think of  football because I think of all the high school football games I went to {not to actually watch the game..I knew NOTHING about football} while wrapped up in sweatshirts and blankets.

5. Autumn free form word association, go!    pretty dried leaves, carved pumpkins, tall boots, leggings, pea coats, cinnamon and spice, pine cones, fleece blankets, crock pot meals, hot chocolate.

6. My go-to outfit in the fall is    nearly the same as the rest of the year. You see, I live in West Texas so it rarely gets cold enough to require a major wardrobe change. There are more long sleeves and I pull out my pea coat {which I love..its lined in purple satin} and scarves.

7. My favorite fall holiday is (Halloween or Thanksgiving) Thanksgiving. Halloween is just such a minor holiday for us since we don't have kids and no one brings their kids door to door trick-or-treating anymore.  I do love Thanksgiving and getting together with family and eating my Grandpa's fried turkey and my Aunt Kathy's chocolate pie or my Mother-in-laws sweet potatoes. Dang, now I'm hungry.

My cute Halloween wallpaper on my phone. Makes me smile.

Happy "Gotcha" Day, Duke!

Ok..so...I'm a bad doggie mom. I don't remember the exact date we adopted Duke from the humane society. I remember it was October. I remember it was rainy. I remember all the volunteers were SO excited that Duke was being adopted. I remember bringing him home and thinking 'What the HELL do we do now?'



It's been several years since we brought Duke home to live with us. And even still we can tell that he is just so grateful to have a home and a bed and food in his bowl. He is so easy going, all he needs is a walk around the block and a trip in the car every now and again. Everyone loves him, even strangers. People sometimes stop in their cars to talk to us about Duke when we are out for a walk. Besides his missing leg, which gets a lot of attention, his pretty markings seem to just draw everyone in. Our little home wouldn't be complete without him clomping around it like a mini-horse. We are so very thankful to have him as part of our family and love him so much.