Painted Pumpkins

Who has carved or painted their pumpkins already for Halloween this year? Most years we carve them, but a couple of years ago, we drilled designs in them for a little change. Here's a look back at our pumpkins throughout the years to jog your memory. This year, I decided to just paint a couple. Trent hasn't done anything with his. Party pooper. :p

Here are my lovely little painted pumpkins:

A realistic looking tree and of course an owl, just because who doesn't like orange colored leaves on trees, or cartoon owls?

I had to be cheesy and take a picture with my pumpkins. And I'm all by my lonesome. Maybe Trent will get into the Halloween spirit and carve one tomorrow night. We'll see!

And here are a couple of close-ups of each. I can't seem to move them back outside and out of the house. I think they'll be staying in the living room for a while. :)

Can't believe it's Halloween on Saturday! Trent and I watched the entire Scream movie franchise in 2 nights to commemorate the holiday. All 4 Scream movies. Good times!

We're headed up to Chicagoland to visit Haley and Dan this weekend. It will be nice for a break from the usual day-in, day-out! 

Happy Halloween, folks! :)

Fall Colors Galore

Fall is in the air in our small town! There is every possible color of tree on our street right now.

We took a walk with Sandy and Brennan tonight with all of the dogs, and I admired the pretty colors of the leaves changing on the trees the whole way. This month has been one of the nicest fall months, weather-wise I can remember.

It's been in the mid-sixties to lower-seventies this week. All you need is a fall jacket, and a bonfire.

Tomorrow after work, we are tailgating at the hockey game. It's the home opener for the Mallards. We're hoping the weather stays nice, though there is a chance of rain. Trent's really excited about the tailgate party, though, so our fingers are crossed! Hope you're enjoying the fall weather where you're at!

P.S. - Cubs lost last night, and are done for the season! They had one of the best seasons they've had in a long time though, so I have a feeling they will be even better next year. There is still hope, as always. :)

Back to the Future Day: 80's Nostalgia

Happy Back to the Future Day everyone! It seems that's all everyone is talking about. Today is officially the day that Marty McFly travels into the future in Back to the Future 2. So let's get 80's up in here.

Image from here

It's time to go Back to the Eighties. Here's a few things that may jog your memory. I didn't exactly grow up in the eighties, but I was born in them. And you might say they're totally awesome. How many of these iconic things do you recognize?

Thanks to an 80's search on Pinterest for all of the images. Also, I have to throw this in there. Did you know that while Marty's in the future, he discovers that the Cubs have won the World Series? Yes, folks, this is a historic year! Will the Cubs win it? It's not looking good so far..(They lost their third game in a row to the Mets last night) But that doesn't mean they still can't. We will still be watching the game tonight, and the rest of the series if they go on. Let's go Cubs!

A Busy Weekend of Special Events

Anyone else watching the Cubs / Mets game tonight? It's got us on the edge of our seats over here. Come on Cubs, let's do this!

This weekend was very busy, and full of memorable events. Friday night was the rehearsal dinner for the wedding of our friends, Justin and Elizabeth. We went to their house for the rehearsal, then to Barrel House, where we ate and visited for a while. Then Saturday was the Big day! Trent was a groomsman in the wedding. He looked pretty sharp. Check out the neon green tux accents...Definitely unique!

Trent has known Justin, the groom, for about 10 years or so. It's always fun when the whole group of us gets together, and the wedding was no exception. It was a long day, though! We had to be up there at noon for the guys to get ready. The wedding was at 2:00, we took a bus ride to Van Der Veer Park for some wedding party pictures in between, and then enjoyed the reception that evening.

Lots of fun and hijinks ensued that night!

Leo and baby Liam definitely stole the show in this one. :)

By the end of the night, we were pretty tired and got home around midnight. The next morning though, I got back up bright and early and got ready for another event, a baby shower for a family friend, Amanda. I grew up with her husband Matt, whose mom is best friends with mine. 

She is due December 14 with their first child. Doesn't she look adorable, too?! (These photos are all courtesy of Diane!)

They aren't finding out the gender beforehand, so all of the gifts were gender-neutral. The shower was jungle-themed, and all of the snacks fit in well with the theme. The names were all so cute and creative.

Cheetos were "Tiger Tails," and the apple licorice was "Monkey Vines."

Then there were animal cupcakes, animal crackers, "Snake Bites" for sandwiches, and the punch was "Orangutan Juice." 

It was fun visiting with their family, and we played a couple of cute games, too. After the shower, we headed back to my parents house, then I picked out a couple of pumpkins at the pumpkin patch and headed home. What a weekend!

Meanwhile, back to the game...The Cubs are making us sweat, and I'm a little scared, guys. Not going to lie. This better end well! 

Living Room, October 2015

This past Sunday, we finally had a day to stay home, so I spent some time cleaning while Trent worked more on the walkway outside. It's so nice to get all of the furniture dusted and clutter picked up. I snapped a few photos of the living room in the meantime...ready for a short little tour?

It was afternoon, so the sun was shining in! And we've been binging on Netflix since we got it last month! I've been watching new movies, and Trent has discovered a couple of new TV shows.

Here's a better shot of my new quilt rack that I scored for $25 at a yard sale. The quilt in front was a wedding gift, which was finished by Trent's aunt. His grandma had started it, and his mom had also worked on this quilt before she passed. It has our wedding date sewn in.

And here our are new Mr. and Mrs. pillows again, also made by Trent's aunt. They've moved from the couch to the side chairs. We may have too many pillows to count in here...

My little plastic pumpkins are making an appearance again this October. Which reminds me, is Halloween really just a couple of weeks away now? This year went by so fast.

This weekend is our friends Justin and Elizabeth's wedding, and Trent is a groomsman. Tonight is the rehearsal/dinner, and tomorrow's the big day! Then Sunday I have a baby shower to attend. It should be a busy weekend again. Who has time to think about Halloween?!

Go Cubs, Go!

I'd like to take a little detour for a moment to say how great this year has been for my Cubbies! Cubs vs. Cards are playing for the Wildcard, and it's been an awesome post season series. We've been watching every game this past week, and tonight's game at Wrigley has been the best yet!

It's not too often for us Cubs fans that we're in the post season, and this rookie team has the potential to go all the way this year, so we're ready to see it. We have such a great team this year, and I have a feeling they'll take the Cubs far for the next few years, too.

Image from here

If you want to know where I am tonight and tomorrow night...I'm watching the Cubs/ Cards game.

LET'S GO CUBBIES! 

Fall Front Porch

I hope you all are enjoying the fall season. It's taken me a little while, but I'm starting to come around. Must be the pumpkin coffee and the fact that it's now sweater and boot season. :)

I'm sharing my fall porch today. Fall decor is the best. Mums and pumpkins galore! Here are a few shots of our porch this year. 

I've incorporated some elements from falls past, along with some new items. There are also plenty of DIY projects in the mix. I made my new burlap wreath this past weekend. You'd be surprised how easy that project was!

The new welcome mat is from Joss and Main, and so is my new burlap garden flag. Cute, right? I love the big white mums! They're from Walnut Grove Farm in Knoxville - A Scenic Drive find.

Ol' Scaredy the scarecrow is back again for another year.

My welcome pumpkin is also back again! I painted a craft pumpkin a couple of years ago - see this post for more info. The basket it's sitting in was made by Trent's aunt and was a wedding gift. There are landscaping bricks inside to fill space, along with a fall leaf garland. Those glass votives on top of the wooden crate were old fruit jars that I just painted yellow at the bottom.

I threw in a chalkboard this year - one that I DIY'ed from a picture frame last summer. The apple and hydrangea arrangement was a Scenic Drive find from years' past. So was the old green shutter. This shutter was used in our wedding. :)

Our door, and the porch floor, are both eyesores at the moment - so I guess the fall decor is my way of making it look a little easier on the eyes, until we can fix up the rest of it!

It's not much, but it makes things feel a little more festive around here. The leaves are slowly changing too! They create the perfect fall backdrop, that's for sure.

Have you decorated your porch for fall yet? I'd love to see it!


Linked to: Grace at Home, The Winthrop Chronicles, The Pin Junkie, Home Matters Link Party, Tatertots & Jello, Weekend Retreat Party, Blooming Homestead, Natasha in Oz

DIY Burlap Wreath

Today I have a fun little craft to share. I've been wanting to make one of these for a while, so over the weekend I finally did it. I made my very own burlap wreath. It's perfect for fall, and was so easy to make. Here's the finished product:

Here are my supplies I used to make it:

• 18-inch wire wreath frame
• 4 rolls of burlap (each roll was 15 inches long)
• Some wire
• Scissors
• Some embellishments - faux flowers, letter "K".
• Glue gun (not pictured)

Note that I ended up needing 4 rolls of burlap instead of just the 2 pictured. I also used a glue gun to glue on the "K." 

I was surprised at how fast and easy it was to make the wreath, despite running out of burlap half way through and having to get two more rolls!

You just pull the burlap through each section of your wreath frame, one at a time so that you form "loops" or "bubbles" with the burlap. You can make them as big or as full as you want. Once you're done with one row of 3 loops, you move down to the next one.

Here's how far I got on two 15" burlap rolls. It took me about a half-hour to complete this much of the wreath. I ended up attaching the flowers to the already-finished section with some wire.

Once I was able to go back to the store and get a couple more rolls of burlap, I just started again where I left off, then glued on the "K" with a glue gun. Then I attached a wire loop to the back of the wreath to hang it.

  

And my fall wreath is now complete! I added a couple little faux hydrangea blooms I already had, too, for a little color.  I just wish we had a pretty door to hang it on. Our door has seen a few years, that's for sure...maybe we'll get a new door someday. :)

I'll be sharing my fall porch on the blog tomorrow...stay tuned!

Linked up at: Tip Me Tuesday, Tweak It Tuesday, The DIY Dreamer, Wow Me Wednesday, Grace at Home, The Winthrop Chronicles, The Pin Junkie, Home Matters Link Party, Tatertots & Jello, Weekend Retreat Party, Blooming Homestead, Natasha in Oz

Scenic Drive and The Butter Churn

Hello all! Are you seeing any fall colors where you're at yet? The leaves are starting to turn here. Not quite in full force yet, but I would imagine by next week they'll be quite colorful!

This past weekend Trent and I participated in one of my favorite fall activities. Along with our nephew's birthday party, and a bonfire at our friends' house, we also went to a couple of stops along the Knox County Scenic Drive. We like to go every year. It's the first two weekends in October, and there are flea markets, yard sales, and historic stops in little towns in the area.

This year we went downtown Knoxville and had lunch in the square. They had craft and food vendors set up, and we listened to a live band play while we ate.

We stopped by a few yard sales in the area, then went to Walnut Grove Farm, right outside of Knoxville.

There was a big barn there with tons of craft vendors, and they had mums, pumpkins, and veggies for sale, along with horse back rides for the kids. A pretty cool place out in the country.

Check out the abundance of apples and gourds! We took home a couple of big baskets of mums.

Last year at the Scenic Drive, I was on the hunt for vintage decor for the wedding and had a successful trip. This year, I wasn't really on the hunt for much, though I was looking for a quilt rack. And guess what? I found one at a yard sale for $25.

It's wood, and I haven't decided yet if I want to paint or stain it. Right now I kind of like it the way it is. It's nothing fancy, and it holds the quilt Trent's aunt made us for a wedding gift, along with the quilt from my childhood bedroom.

Besides the quilt rack, I also picked up a little flower arrangement for $1, a set of 2 blue coffee mugs for $1, and a huge, heavy gold-framed mirror for $5. (I have yet to find a place for that one, but I'm pretty excited about it!) All in all it was another fun year. I would like to go this weekend, too, but who knows what else we'll have going on.

We did finally stop by the new health food store in town over the weekend, too. It just opened this summer, and we've been really excited to check it out. It's called The Butter Churn, and they sell all locally made, natural, organic, and fresh foods. We can literally walk there from our house. It costs a little more than conventional food from the grocery store, but this food is healthier, and when you buy it, you support local business, which is always a plus.

We got a bottle of some locally made wine, and Trent got some organic pumpkin honey wine and some meat from the Buffalo Prairie meat locker. They sell meat from there - the little town where I grew up. Pretty cool! 

We plan on stopping there at least once a month to support local business in town. We want to keep this place around, since these kinds of places don't come by too often. Excited to try more things from the store, like the bread and the organic coconut oil.

Another busy but successful weekend! And I have a fun fall craft to share with you soon. Get excited!