Favorite Things- Etsy Shops

I have recently stumbled upon {or maybe seen on pinterest} so many cute things that are from Etsy. There are so many creative, talented people out there. I feel like there are sooooo many different styles and Etsy is sure to have something for everyone. There are some things that just aren't for me or my house but I'm sure they will look great in someone's. And as I am not in love with a lot of things I see but every once in a while I am just in love with all things the shop has to offer! Here are just a few of my favorites I've seen recently {click on image to go directly to their shop}:

Have a great weekend!

Top 10 Kitchen Gadgets

I just had Morgan's 9 month {how is she already 9 months??} check-up, which made me realize that Christmas is only 3 months away! My mother in law is already asking me what would be a good gift for Morgan which got me thinking of what I might want for Christmas. I started saving a list in my phone of little things I would love to have. Want a good gift idea or maybe need something to ask for? Below are my top 10 kitchen gadgets. I could not live without these and recommend that they are in everyone's kitchen!

I got my items at Target, Bloomingdales, Williams Sonoma and Crate and Barrel. In no particular order:

1. Microplane zester.

2. Lemon Juicer

3. Hand blender; great for soups, salad dressings, baby food

4. LeCruset Dutch Oven

5. Good non-stick saute pan

6. Glass mixing bowls

7. Sharp knives

8. Roasting pan

9. Big cutting board

10. Digital meat thermometer

Halloween Costumes

As I said in a previous post, I am not a huge fan of Halloween, but now that I have a little one I figured I'm going to have to dress her up. We're going with a bug theme in our household. I picked up a lady bug costume for $13 at TJ Maxx. There are so many cute costumes out there!

Pottery Barn Kids:

Amazon.Com

Bedroom Benches

I really want to find a bench that I can put at the end of my bed. I am afraid it may turn into a dumping ground for my husbands' clothes but I think they look really pretty. I'm really hoping that I can find something for a steal at Goodwill and then have my friend Brittany help me refinish it. There are so many different styles to choose from. Here are some pictures that were inspiring me today!

Baskets with some extra storage:

Source

Pop of color:

Source

Crushed Velvet:

Source

How I love my stripes:

Source

Fun geometric print:

Source

Long bench:

Source

Or how about a little loveseat??

Source

Aren't those rooms all around beautiful? I would happily sleep in any of them!

Month of Meals- October

Back to Basics would be the theme of my October meals if I had to pick a theme. After a good 4 months of searching magazines, online and cookbooks for new meals I think we are ready to return to the basics. No recipes needed, just a little of this and a little of that and you're all set for a good dinner. I think the cooler weather makes me want to make soup and pull out the old crock pot {yikes}. We have left overs on Fridays and usually go out on Saturdays. I did repeat a couple of times but overall was able to have something new every day. Here's what's on the menu:

Roast Chicken

Chicken Tacos

Lettuce Wraps

BBQ Chicken

Pork Tenderloin

Turkey Chili

Turkey Meatballs

Chicken Noodle Soup

Carrot Soup

Teriyaki Chicken

Stir Fry

Chimichuri Chicken

Taco Salad

Lemon Chicken

Taco Casserole

Fall Wardrobe

This fall weather as made me realize one thing, that I would really like some new fall clothes. This is the first time since college that I haven't been wearing work clothes in the cooler months. I am so inspired by these outfits to put together some cute outfits {all images are from polyvore.com where you can design your own outfits}:

Love the detail of the shirt and the little pop of green. If only I had some emeralds.

Red sweater with a Burberry scarf and grey toms:

Gold accessories:

A little touch of aqua:

And a little touch of yellow:

And some animal print:

Love the stripes:

A little ruffle:

For one of the colder days:

Too much like a bumble bee???

Maybe I should print these and take them with me next time I go shopping!

What we've been up to

I take way more pictures with my phone than my nice camera. I try and send family pictures as often as possible and it is just easier to send one via text than do the whole download, edit, email process. Here's just a glimpse of what we've been up to:

1. One of my random lunches, wheat thins and peanut butter, YUM!

2. 1st time at the park in the swing

3. Just my darling little girl

4. Got the stove up and running

5. Hired a handy man to fit the fridge into the kitchen

6. Thought these were my first lemon and lime from the trees out back only to find out they were an unripe orange and mandarin

7. Saturday pancakes

8. Putting together the shed out back, hardest thing we've done in a while

9. The messiest meal of her life

10. Yes mom, thats me, standing up!!

11. My husband with his molester mustache {don't worry it was shaved right off}

12. Trying to get my kid to watch t.v., yes I would just like one moment where she sits still!

Favorite Fonts

I am a firm believer that one's handwriting tells a lot about a person. The font you choose for invitations, announcements, emails, etc... can really make a print. I've been looking at Christmas cards and saw so many cute fonts out there that I needed to add to my collection. Here are a few of my favorites right now.

1942 Report

Budmo

Charlamagne std

Chopin Script

Dry Gulch

Little Days

Handwriting

Market deco

Papyrus

School House Printed

Some Weatz Swashes

When it rains

Snell roundhand

I also make it a point that I won't pay for fonts, just one more thing I don't need to spend money on. Here are some great sites for free font downloads:

fontspace.com

dafont.com

1001freefonts.com

Fonts are easy to install on a MAC. Just click "download" and open the ".ttf " file. Then click "install font" and your all set. The font will be in all your applications. It is a bit more of a process for PC users, but is really simple. Click "download" and save the file to your desktop. Then open up "my computer" and find your "fonts" folder. Copy and paste the downloaded font from your desktop into your font folder and there you go, your font is downloaded and ready to use!

German Chocolate Marshmallow Stuffed Chocolate Cookies

I saw these at Target:

and was determined to bake something with them.

It was the first time baking with this beauty:

1945 O'Keefe and Merritt

I decided a marshmallow stuffed chocolate cookie sounded like a good plan, here's the recipe {makes 16 cookies}:

1/3 c. coco powder

1 c. flour

1/2 t. baking soda

1/2 t. salt

1/2 c. butter at room temperature

1/4 c. brown sugar

1/2 c. white sugar

1 egg

1/2 t. vanilla

16 German Chocolate Marshmallows

Preheat oven to 375. Sift first 4 ingredients {through salt} in large bowl; set aside. Beat butter and sugars until well mixed; add egg and vanilla and cream together. Mix dry ingredients into sugar mixture. Take one marshmallow and cover with cookie dough. Make sure the marshmallow is sealed inside the dough. Cookies will be about 1-2 inches. Place on cookie sheet approximately 2 inches apart. Bake 10-12 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes and enjoy!

A Few Random Thoughts

A few random thoughts on this hump day...

...why don't babies like to take naps???

...why is it inevitable that you always forget that ONE thing you needed at the grocery store???

why after you clean your entire house do you feel like you need to start the process all over ...again???

...why do I have three shows I want to record all week that are all at the same time, same day and my DVR only records 2 shows???

...why can't coffee make itself???

...want it to rain, get your car washed

And while I was tying this I was watching a news story on Roger Ebert, who lost his jaw and can no longer talk or eat due to his ongoing battle with thyroid cancer and he made me think that maybe my rants above should say:

My baby takes naps, two naps, {long ones} every day...

That I can do without that ONE thing at the grocery store...

That my baby likes when there are toys on the floor...

That I don't really have time to watch those 3 shows...

That the time when I get to sit down and enjoy my coffee is well worth the time to make it...

That 95% of the year it is 72 and sunny and that I kind of enjoy a rainy day...

Fall Wreath {tutorial}

I must be in a crafty mood because I feel like I have a lot of tutorials to show you. Remember the wreath below?

Well I got around to making my own this week. I was really pleased with how it turned out.

Here's what you'll need:

1. wreath form {Michael's $5.99}

2. green moss {I had some left over but I also saw some at Michael's for $3.99}

3. pumpkin{s} or fall decor of your choice {Michael's $1.97}

4. ribbon/burlap if you would like to hang your wreath

5. and your handy glue gun/hot glue

1. Start by covering wreath base with moss. I went around the front first, then did the inside, and finally around the back. Glue, moss, glue, moss, glue, etc....

And keep going...

2. Keep going, all the way around. Fill in any empty spaces with more moss. Here's what you'll have:

3. Add pumpkin by putting a LOT of hot glue on the bottom of the pumpkin and attach to middle of inside of the wreath.

I decided that I wanted to hang mine in my kitchen so I didn't add any ribbon or burlap. Mine is just hanging from a nail which you can't see at all because there is so much moss. It is a pretty fragile wreath so I think it might be best kept indoors. Or you could use a less fragile moss than I did and it would look great on a front door. And one last thing to note, my moss had some green dye so my nice white grout and tile turned a nice shade of green. After some bleach it is as good as new but I definitely should have put down some newspaper.

And to make my Fall wreath into a Winter wreath I'm thinking of removing the pumpkin {got to love hot glue for the ease of removing} and put some ornaments up instead.