Monday, October 27, 2014

$205 Target Giveaway!

I am so excited for today's post. I have been anticipating this for weeks!  
And the day has finally come for me to share this!
Monday's can be a bit of downer so I thought it'd be fun to brighten it up a little bit with a chance to win some serious cash to the greatest store on earth.
I shop here every other day. No really, I do.
I'd probably die if I didn't have access to Target. No joke.
 Keep reading to find out how to enter! 
I have teamed up with one of my favorite bloggers and sweet friend, Pamela from Macdonald's Playland, along with 18 other awesome bloggers to bring you this $205 Target Gift Card Giveaway! 
Simply enter in the rafflecopter below for your chance to win and be sure to check out all of the wonderful ladies who have teamed up to bring you this giveaway! 
Giveaway ends next Monday, November 3rd! Best of luck!



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Saturday, October 25, 2014

Last Minute Halloween: Tassel Ghosts

Looking for a few last minute Halloween decorations for the house or party? I have this quick and easy garland that will cost you less than $3 and take you approx. 30 minutes to complete!
Things you'll need:

White yarn ( I like the skinny yarn)
1 packet of small googly eyes
super glue
piece of cardboard
scissors

I was going to do a whole tutorial on how to make tassels for these ghosts but I found someone that already did it, and did it 100x's better than what I could have produced. 
So head on over here to learn how to make your tassels. 
Once you've made however many you want, it's now time to turn them into little ghosts. 
This is where it gets super tricky, you ready for this? 
Take one googly eye and place a tiny dot of super glue to the back.
 Carefully, without getting your fingers stuck, place the eye on the rounded part of your tassel. 
Now take a second googly eye and do the same thing.
 Repeat this process for every tassel.
 Once your ghosts are complete, string them on to a long piece of yarn, I used a plastic embroidery needle to do this. 
Super complicated, right? 

And if you're needing a few more ideas for an upcoming Halloween party, check out my post on our black and white Halloween party
 

Monday, October 20, 2014

The Pumpkin Patch

Is anyone sick of seeing pumpkin patch pictures?
 If so, look away. 
Recap: Last years pumpkin patch excursion was a huge disappointment. 
I didn't have high expectations at all, seeing as how pumpkin growing is non existent in the state of Florida, but I had hopes that it would have been a little picturesque. It wasn't.
It started off bad and quickly turned to worse. 
It was so bloody hot and my child, who was 2 at the time, was a nightmare. I pretty much just wanted cry and curl up in a corner.
Lets fast forward to now. And then rewind to 2 days ago. We decided to try a new "pumpkin patch" this year in hopes that it would be better than last years failure. 
One of my friends mentioned one held at a church that they went to last year and had a good review of it. 
We tried that out and it was 10x better than what we experienced the previous year. 
The weather was decent and they had a pretty good selection of overly priced pumpkins. 
I didn't realize how cheap pumpkins were in Utah until I had to pay double out here. 
Evan was so excited to pick out his pumpkin. 
He's been watching Curious George: Halloween and all he can talk about is No-Noggin and how he kicks people's hats. 
You'll only know what I'm talking about if you have young child that watches that show on repeat. 
As soon as we entered, he had to pick up almost every "pun" he saw. It was pretty cute to see him rummage through the piles of pumpkins looking for the right one. 
And well, he never did find the perfect one, so I chose one for him and told him it was perfect. He gladly accepted it and carried it to the car all by himself. 
So far, he's had to show me the pumpkin sitting on our table and tell me how we need 3 more. 
Ain't gonna happen.
He is also so excited to carve it. We haven't ever carved a pumpkin with him before, so I'm looking forward to it as well.
 I'm predicting it goes down like this; We cut it up open, he gets excited. 
I tell him to pull out the guts, he won't. I ask him again, he screams "no" and then somewhere along the road he'll end up crying. 
I'll report back to see if I've predicted correctly.


And just because I love to reminisce, here are the last 3 years at the pumpkin patch...








Wednesday, October 15, 2014

My October Favorites

I think this title is pretty self explanatory.
But because I can't just post a picture and not talk, I'll add some filler words in...
 I can't believe we're half through the month already! As much as I love this month, I am definitely looking forward to the next few weeks. 
I am ready for the humidity to die down so I can be outside and not sweat to death. 
I am ready to spend hours at the park and to drink my tea without having to turn my AC down...or up? 
I always get confused with that for some reason.
 Someone help me. 
So, in honor of the way half mark, I am going to be sharing some of my favorite things for the month of October.



1.I have never been a lipstick person, I think the only time I've ever worn it was for cheer competitions back in high school, and let me tell you, it looked gooood. I am trying new things and I'm wanting to break out of my comfort zone, so I thought what better way than to go for a bold berry lip. I love this color! It's beautiful and glides on so smooth. I think everyone should go for this color.
2-3. Tea...I was also never a tea drinker until I met my husband and his family. And I am now an avid (rooibos) tea drinker. This tea from Trader Joe's is so yummy. It's like drinking fall in a cup! And who can resist an adorable mug from Anthropologie?
4. I'm also quite obsessed with chunky knit blankets. I'm not ready to the fork out the money for these Pottery Barn beauts, but it's nice to pretend.
5. This "Autumn" scented candle is my all time favorite! I look forward to buying a new one every year. The smell of crisp apples makes my home feel so...home-y.
6. I love dark nail polish. This color is the perfect combination of red, purple, and brown. You should probably go out and buy it right now.
7. Hocus Pocus, you can't go through the month without watching this classic at least once. Am I right?

What are your October/Fall time favorites? I love adding to my list :)

Wednesday, October 8, 2014

Playing catch up and a recipe

It's been a while since my last update. 
And my only excuse is that I've started watching a new show on Netflix and that has taken priority. I wish there were another, less sad excuse for the neglect, but alas there is not. 
Once I get hooked on a show, I can't stop. I
'm sure everyone else can relate?

The end of September was pretty uneventful. 
Our only major happening was taking Ev to see Disney on Ice. It started off magical. 
There was loud music, hundreds of little kids beaming with joy, Disney memorabilia every where and workers trying to get you to spend every penny you have saved in your bank account on overly priced light up toys and cups. 
But I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a sucker for all of that. 
If it wasn't for Conryd being with us, you better believe we would have walked out there will every piece of junk they were selling. 
Evan didn't last for the whole thing. And to be honest, I felt it was a bit long and dare I say...boring. The opening scene was fun. 
It was Cars, which is Ev's favorite, and it was then followed by The Little Mermaid. Which was totally adorable and captivating.
But after that, I felt it went downhill. It was slow and dragged on and I didn't care too much for it. And neither did my husband or Evan so we left about 15 minutes after the intermission. 
We must be the only human beings on the face of the planet that has ever left a Disney event early for being bored. 
Shame on us, right?
And I don't mean to brag, but I think my child is ridiculously good looking.

Then October 1st happened.
 October has got be one of, if not THE best month of the year! 
I get so excited for this month to come around.
 If you're not living in the sweltering humidity and heat of Florida, it marks the beginning of cooler temps, in most places. 
It's when the leaves really start to change colors, in most places.
 It's when you get to wear adorable outfits, in most places. 
It's acceptable to eat everything pumpkin spice related!
And it's the beginning of the best time of the year!
Surprisingly enough, October has brought some nice weather to our area. We've had some crazy storms and it's rained most days. That is obviously nothing new, but with the rain storms comes clouds and wind. And that makes it wonderful to be outdoors in.

Another thing I love about fall is the nail polish colors. 
Does anyone else get excited about this? 
I feel like these rich, dark colors go better with my skin tone, than the bright neon's of summer color, not that I don't still love them.
 I attempted to give myself a gold tipped manicure, but by my third mess-up I gave up...mostly. 
This was my finished product. I'll try again another time.
I also felt the need to document this. 
As a baby, Evan was not much of a cuddler. We would maybe get a 2 second hug or head rest on the shoulder, but nothing more than that.
 Now that Ev's getting older, he will actually come up to me and say "mom, I cud (cuddle) you?" 
He will then climb on me and cuddle with me for sometimes up to 5 minuets! 
Its magical, and one of my most favorite things in world.
He also asks to take pictures of me, and I agree if only he can be in them with me.
The other day, we were stuck inside all day and started to get bored. 
I was feeling a little guilty for letting my child watch hours of Curious George so I decided that I'd start teaching him some gymnastics. 
I taught him how to stretch and "warm up." 
I then showed him how to handstands up against the wall and how to do bridges, back bends and kick overs. 
Obviously I did all of the work for him because he's just a little guy and has no strength to hold himself up. 
But it was still fun and he LOVED IT. It kept us occupied for all of 15 minutes...
And with the slightly bearable temperatures outside, it has really put me in the mood to actually cook and enjoy it. 
The other night for dinner I made (almost from scratch) chicken pot pie. 
And it was delicious. 
It's one of our favorites.
 I've always been afraid to make one for some reason, but now that I have, I won't stop. It was actually pretty easy to make and doesn't take too much time either. 
I'll share my recipe below because I know I'm going to need it again.
Ingredients
Serves 6-8, 1 9 x 13 dish

1 rotisserie chicken, shredded
6 TBS butter
6 TBS flour
2 1/2 cup chicken stock
3/4 cup milk
1/4 cup half and half
2-3 large potatoes, diced
1 1/2 cups frozen or fresh, peas and carrots
1 tsp onion powder (or 1 whole onion, diced)
salt and pepper to taste
2 sheets frozen puff pastry, thawed according to directions
1 egg + 1 TBS water

Preheat oven to 425
In a large pot, melt your butter. Add your diced potatoes and cook for about 10 min (until fork tender) stirring occasionally. If you are using a fresh onion instead of onion powder, cook your onions with the potatoes. Add 1/2 cup of chicken broth and cook for about 2 minutes. Next, stir in your flour and cook for about 1 minute, stirring constantly. Slowly add in the remaining 2 cups of chicken stock, along with your milk and half/half. Bring to a simmer to thicken, about 3-5 minutes, stirring constantly.  Once it has thickened, toss in your peas, carrots, and shredded chicken. Season with salt and pepper. Let it simmer together for about 5 minutes. If your mixture is too thick, add a splash of milk until you reach your desired consistency.

While your mixture is simmering, grease a 9 x 13 dish. Lay one layer of the thawed puff pastry on the bottom of the dish. Carefully stretch it out so it covers the bottom completely. Evenly ladle in your chicken mixture. Carefully stretch your second sheet of puff pastry, and lay it on top. Then cut or poke a few vent holes. In a small bowl, whisk together your egg and TBS of water. Brush the egg wash on the top layer of puff pastry (you won't use all of it). Bake until puff pastry is a deep golden brown and filling is bubbling, 20-30minutes.


Well, that is all of my catching up for now. Until next time.