Fall Tablescape

I have a bit of a dilemma. All of my fall decorations are being held hostage in the garage. The boxes above and below all threaten to fall if I dare remove them from our lovely pile. I'm not gonna lie and say that I'm okay with this. It really makes my stomach hurt just a little bit knowing that I can't decorate this year. Ok, I guess I should rephrase that....I will be decorating, just not how I would have.

There they are....just staring at me through their clear plastic sides.

I couldn't not decorate for this lovely season so I did what any Hobby Lobby deprived lady would do. I took a trip to the world's largest garage sale and my only real option in town: Wall's Bargain Center. Don't knock it til you try it folks. I left after ten minutes with my purchases in tow feeling very happy and content with what I had found. For $19.50 we now have a festive, fall-colored tablescape. I found the orange, tan and yellow place mats in the kitchen section for $0.79 each! I spotted the black three-tiered candle holder for $6.00 in the home decor aisle and thought it would be the perfect place to set the three square pumpkin candle holders I'd found in the holiday section for $1.50 each. I grabbed some small orange tea light candles to place in the pumpkin tins. After risking my life and the paint job on Riley's 1960 show truck, I had snatched out a few fall berry picks from the top of my fall storage container in the garage. Here is how it all turned out......

I think I could get used to this whole speed decorating stuff. First you've got to hunt down the items while trying to occupy a very tired baby in the shopping cart...then the next challenge is getting these items in the house and in place before your husband can say "babe, why did you buy more decorations when you have boxes out in the garage?"




GOT MOTIVATION?

What's up with that?

Ok, first let's get past the fact that I look like a man in this picture. K? Are we past it yet?

Alright. So onto the next most obvious problem with this picture.....

WHAT'S UP WITH THAT???

One of my favorite things to tell my husband is "you get what you pay for." I guess you could say he is the more thrifty of the two of us. I constantly find myself trying to convince him that this statement has some truth to it. I'm not so sure anymore though. My two month old pair of Fossil sunglasses has decided to give up on me despite my consistent effort to protect them, not sit on them, keep them away from the dog and not let Hallie use them as a teething toy. I mention all of those things above because all of that is what happened to my last pair. The same exact pair. They met a terrible death one day when my dog finally put them out of their misery by chewing them up nice and good. Grrrrrr. I had gotten attached to them so I got this replacement pair very soon after that fatal day. I've been spoiling this pair and treating them right. And how do they go and repay me??? Anybody have any sunny suggestions for me?? I need a new pair yet again!

Lesson learned: don't buy Fossil. They are neither dog proof nor life proof.

The Candy Corn Tree

Watch out people!

I’m packin’ heat.

And I'm not afraid to use it.....

Things are getting serious folks. I’ve got my very own glue gun. I’m used to just borrowing my mom’s. I guess this means I’ve got to use it more than once a year now. Well, what better time to start than the beautiful season of autumn? This was by far one of the most fun and easiest creations I’ve ever worked on. It only took 45 minutes to complete from beginning to end. Here’s how you can make one:

If you have a craft closet you may find that you already have some of the supplies needed. But if you are like me and your crafty stuff is packed away in a box that sits somewhere in a pile of boxes stacked to the ceiling in the garage then you probably will have to start from scratch like I did. If I wanted to be frugal I would’ve dug out one of the twenty glass vases I have lying around but I convinced myself I needed a taller one. So a taller one I got. Once I had gathered my bag o' supplies from Walmart, I wandered the backyard and sifted through the pile of old tree limbs. Bingo! I found what I needed.

 **Make sure to find ones that fan outward so that your tree will look fuller**

Arrange your limbs in the vase....

*Fill with three value size bags of candy corn. If you're like me you will be tempted to eat it in the process..

*Stuff some filler behind the limbs to add more color....

*I glued some orange ribbon on top of the plaid patterned green and black ribbon....

*I picked up the wooden frame from the craft aisle and slapped some orange paint on it. The chalkboard look is simply a piece of black paper and a white paint pen. I tacked on some black jewels and VUALA!!

*Bow tied and glued around the vase....

*Here's the fun part: gluing the candy to the tree!!

*I added just a few little extras. The shiny metallic green pumpkins and mini pinecones from Walmart....

Wouldn't this be the perfect centerpiece for Halloween or fall parties?!?!

HAPPY FALL!!!!

GOT MOTIVATION?

Way Back Wednesday

WAY BACK WHEN..........


I used to exercise my dog.

October 2010

In a perfect world I would get in a good workout while my daughter stayed content, my dog would go for a run with me and the baby, my husband would have a meal on the table, I would have hours to spend sitting on the floor giving every bit of my attention to my daughter, the laundry would be washed and folded, the counters spotless, the floors without a smudge of dirt on them and I'd be ready for bed no later than 9:30 and get plenty of beauty rest. In a perfect world......


Ok, if there is anybody out there who says this is a reality for them needs to come teach me a thing or two. And while you're here I may have to sock you one. ;) So I'm trying to get motivated, blah, blah, blah...that's obvious. While blogstorming (my new term for brainstorming) the other day it occurred to me that so far I've included my husband and daughter into my self-improvement crusade. I've been leaving a certain someone out of the picture though. What about my girl Emmi?

"Yeah, good question. What about me?"

I think if Emmi could talk to me she'd probably say something like this: "you are worried about your weight mom?!?!" Are you kidding me? Have you seen the weight I've packed on over the past 11 months?! I do still exist ya know! With these hips and thighs I'll never get a boyfriend."


11 months exactly since the day I stopped walking/running her regularly. Don't ask me how I remember this but I do. In the grand scheme of things I realize that not exercising my dog everyday is not the end of the world. But I started to ask myself why I stopped in the first place. Two reasons: #1 she's hyperactive and crazy when let out of the house and #2 she's hyperactive and crazy when let out of the house. I basically decided one day to quit taking her when she almost ripped my arm off while chasing a squirrel while I was pushing the stroller (rolling my eyes). BB (before baby) she was walked daily without fail and got to chase her tennis ball nightly in the backyard. Ok, so the tennis ball thing is easy to keep up with, right? Um, no. Not when the duplex you are renting has a yard 1/100 of the size of your old backyard. Her physical activity went from running/walking daily to walking occassionally to chasing balls in the backyard to running by herself in the backyard to NOTHING on the one square inch patch of grass and slab of concrete when we moved. I watched her day after day become more depressed and cooped up. While it broke my heart I really didn't have time or energy to do anything about it. After being dethroned as the golden child when Hallie was born, I'm sure she started to develop some emotional eating habits and packed on several extra pounds around the belly area. She was probably just worried her mom with a newly transformed "mommy brain" would forget to feed her or bathe her. My chubby Puggle is now about seven pounds overweight and in need of some serious physical activity and attention. It's so easy to forget about our canines well-being but here are some facts that I found about the benefits of exercise for dogs:


*An active dog will be less susceptible to depression and will live longer.
*An active dog is less likely to manifest destructive behaviors.
*An active dog has healthier bones, joints, lungs and heart function overall.
*An active dog rests more calmly.


When you really stop and think about it, a dog is the perfect exercise partner. I mean HELLO!?!? Don't we all want that exercise partner who is always raring to go and motivating us to get off the couch and out the door? Well look no further than your dog. :)


Guilt set it and I was feeling like a horrible canine mother. Why can't my dog get the opportunity to exercise everyday like I get to decide to? Emmi got the surprise of her life yesterday when I told her that we were going for a walk. Jumping and panting ensued as she reached a new vertical leap world record while waiting on me to strap Hallie into the stroller. We took off at full speed (I'm not joking) and didn't slow down for about ten minutes (again, not joking). She must've been releasing all of that pent up energy she'd been storing up lounging around on her behind all day everyday.

"This. Is. Awesome."

No arm jerking or running off to chase squirrels this time. She also managed to run the trails without getting her hind legs run over by the stroller ten times like usual. My furry baby is growing up I guess. As we rounded the last corner for home I could tell she was starting to look like me during a run on a hot day. She looked a hot mess so we stopped and she quickly made her way under the bench for some shade and some serious panting. I positioned the stroller facing me so that Hallie could see all of the action. She looked at me with the most content little eyes. It was like she was saying "thanks for bringing my friend with us." I swear, you can't make this stuff up people. ;)


It looks like Hallie and I just added another runner to our trail posse.

Carmen's Crib

I guess you could call this my version of MTV's show Cribs....but with a little twist. Ya see, I didn't pay a visit to Kimora Lee Simmons' or Mariah Carey's crib. Instead I want to show you my niece Carmen's "crib". I got this idea while paying a visit to my sweet niece yesterday. I don't know about you but I LOVE when people post pictures of their baby nurseries for me to "ooooo" and "awwww" over. Picture surfing is usually the only way I start any type of decorating or creative process. Ideas! I need ideas!! Seeing the progress from picking the furniture to the paint color to putting the final touches together...I just can't get enough!!! There is just something about Carmen's nursery that is so serene and peaceful.


Hello cuteness!!!!!!!!!! Attention mommies-to-be with baby girls on the way: if you don't feel inspired after taking a tour through her precious nursery, I'd be surprised. Miss C is livin' it up in her owl-themed hideaway surrounded by plenty of natural light, pink and green hydrangeas and enough owls to keep her whooooing all night long!

Hayley bedding from Pottery Barn found here:

http://www.potterybarnkids.com/products/hayley-nursery-bedding/

No painting necessary in this room. The walls were already the perfect color. They picked out a dark wood for the crib to match the wrap-around desk....which I can't get enough of by the way!

Aren't these windows to die for?! I love the white next to the dark wood wrap-around desk

Owl wall decal found here:

http://www.jomoval.com/product/scroll_tree_wall_stickers_rmk1439slm/

 Tree coat rack - Hobby Lobby 

Owl bow clips - owls from Hobby Lobby and attach a piece of ribbon to bottom of owl

Personalized quilt to match bedding - Pottery Barn

I love the idea of hanging her pretty blankets on a quilt rack!

Polka dot cork board/frame/bulletin board from Hobby Lobby

Changing pad cover made by Carmen's Nanny out of a Pottery Barn pillow case and some pink satin

Greenery balls with flowers from Hobby Lobby

Sign handmade by a friend

Owl bookends found here:

http://www.potterybarnkids.com/products/owl-bookends/?pkey=droom-accessories

I forgot to snap a picture of the huge pink, green and white rug bordered with polka dots (Pottery Barn) in the center of her room. It just brightens up the space even more and makes the room seem even larger than it already is.

Find it here!

http://www.potterybarnkids.com/products/pink-polka-dot-border-rug/?pkey=dgirls-rugs

I'd say momma Katie did a fabulous job thoughtfully creating the perfect place to lay her sweet girl down to sleep at night. :)

As they say on Cribs, "you ain't gotta go home, but you can't stay here!"

GOT MOTIVATION?

Who's motivated out there???

I got a text today from my sis-in-law, Katie, telling me that the blog is working. She felt the urge to cook something! She was my sounding board before I put this new blog idea into action. We both are in the same boat as far as cooking on a consistent basis...we just don't enjoy it. So when I heard that she had the cooking bug today it put a huge smile on my face. Several other texts and messages from motivated readers have left me even more motivated. :) So as all this motivation was swirling around I noticed a picture posted on my Facebook wall. Here it is:

My friend Cristen was home baking her own pineapple upside down cake! Woohoo!!!!

So it got me to thinking.....

Let me see what you make. If you get the urge to use a recipe from here send me a pic or post it on my Facebook wall and I'll share it on here! Thanks Cristen for sharing back with me!

GOT MOTIVATION?

The Shopping Cart

 ***CHEETAH ROCKET DOG FLATS***

$40.00

Ok, how could I not buy these?! They weigh approximately nothing. Light as air and so comfy. Hello, it's a flat. What flat isn't comfy? And don't even get me started on the shiny cheetah print. I found them at The Buckle but here they are on Zappos at the same price (free shipping): http://www.zappos.com/rocket-dog-memories-black-bundy-cheetah

***GOURMET BASICS by Mikasa***

$67.00 originally

Walls Bargain Center price $21.00

Did I need this big bowl? Probably not. But this is how I justified it in my head: "Ashley, you need some new cute and stylish serving dishes if you are going to start cooking more and posting pictures." I didn't have to do much convincing because it was too good of a deal to pass up. I also bought the rectangular platter to match the bowl.

***EMI-JAY Headbands***

$5.00 each

I'm so excited to share this awesome find!!! This is the headband that doesn't move or drive you crazy by constantly slipping off! I haven't taken it off my head since I bought it on three days ago. I found mine at Posh in Enid. You can by them online at http://emi-jay.com/.  Lots of colors and patterns! It even got a comment from my husband...."babe that's a cute headband." SCORE!

Pineapple Upside Down Cake

It's my new favorite day of the week (and hopefully yours too)!!!

TREAT YOUR SWEET TOOTH TUESDAY!!!

Wait, what am I thinking? If I make something delish on a Tuesday then I get to enjoy it the rest of the week, right?

RIGHT!

My inspiration for the first week of Sweet Tooth Tuesday is my mother. My favorite dessert that she made was pineapple upside down cake. I can taste it now just thinking about it. I won't even begin to compare our baking skills so we won't go there. Let's just say that I gave it a try. This was my first attempt at an upside down cake and the name alone scared me. After all, I was going to have to successfully bake and turn something upside down. Hmmmm. Sounds like a huge potential for disappointment to me.

Ingredients:

*1/4 cup butter

*1/2 cup brown sugar

*1 cup cake flour

*1/2 cup sugar

*1 tsp baking powder

*1/4 tsp salt

*1/4 cup butter, softened

*1/2 cup milk

*1 egg

*1/2 tsp vanilla

*1 can pineapple slices in syrup

*maraschino cherries

1) Drain can of pineapple, saving the syrup

2) Place butter in 8" square or round pan, melt in the oven while preheating at 375 degrees

3) Sprinkle brown sugar over melted butter.

4) Arrange pineapple slices and cherries (with cherries in center of pineapple slices) over the brown sugar.

Isn't it so colorful and fun?!

5) Cut some of remaining pineapple slices in half circles, then line the sides of the pan with them (standing up) - I skipped this part because I ran out of pineapple slices....I guess the recipe should call for 2 cans

6) In a bowl, combine cake flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, softened butter, milk, egg, vanilla and 2 tbsp of the pineapple syrup.

7) Pour batter into the pan being careful not to disturb the pineapples and cherries

8) Bake at 375 for 30 - 35 minutes or until cake is golden and has pulled away from the edges slightly.

9) Remove from oven and allow to stand for a few minutes to set

Smelling scrumptious!

10) Turn it upside down onto a serving dish.

11) Serve while still warm.


I had a minor issue after I flipped the cake. I expected to have to shake it out but it was ready to slide out onto the plate....guess the butter kept things pretty slippery. I had to do some quick repair and slide it all the way on the plate. Despite my hiccup I must say it turned out pretty. I think I made momma proud! :)

Oh yeah, one more thing!

...........

ENJOY!!!

Is your mouth watering yet?

The best part about this treat is that it looks fancy but it's super duper easy!

Go! Go make it now! Or better yet, come over to my house and eat this cake so that I don't inhale it all by myself! I'm thinking ice cream would taste really good alongside this piece of deliciousness!

GOT MOTIVATION?

New Recipe Night: BBQ Chicken Pizza

 Here we go! My cooking adventures begin now. Well, actually they began yesterday but I'm just now getting around to blogging about it.


Ok, so you are probably thinking "Seriously? She chose BBQ chicken pizza?" Well folks, I think my best bet is to build confidence slowly....very slowly. I warned you that I am not good in the kitchen. Clumsy, you might say. I'd call this a level 1 meal. Maybe in a year I will be showing off a level 10 meal....but please don't hold your breath. :)


Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 11-13 minutes


Ingredients:
*1 premade pizza crust
*Hickory flavored BBQ sauce
*1 can diced green chiles
*2 cooked chicken breasts
*1 cup shredded cheddar and monterey jack cheese


Ok, the prep time is a little deceiving. I didn't include the time it took to cook the chicken. I took two organic chicken breasts, covered them with hickory BBQ sauce and popped them in the oven for thirty minutes to begin with.

Spread BBQ sauce evenly over crust and top with chicken

Spread chopped green chiles over chicken

Sprinkle (or cover) with cheese

Bake for 11-13 minutes at 450 degrees

Enjoy!

Add a fresh spinach salad to the mix and you are all set!


Did I get husband approval? I'm happy to say "YES!" His words were "no more carry out pizza for us!" Sorry Pizza Hut.






GOT MOTIVATION?

Bows, frills and lace? I've found a new place!!!

I'm always on the hunt for adorable duds and must have bows for my little girl. Every once in a while I find a place that I fall in love with. The first place I stumbled upon was a children's clothing/gift boutique called The Tulip Tree in Norman. It was totally out of my way then (now it's really, really, really out of my way) but I used to find myself there every weekend collecting bows and outfits that were ridiculously overpriced. Not to say that I won't shop there again, because I most likely will, but I've found a new place!! The clothes are to die for and the prices are very reasonable. Some of their items are things you've probably seen at other boutiques BUT the prices are so much better! And they also had stuff I'd never come across before. Oh my!!!!! I'm in heaven!!!

You have to go shop at Maddiebugs.com!!!!!!! I picked up a few things at their booth at the state fair on Friday and cannot wait to see my baby girl in them! I had to restrain myself from buying everything in site. Literally.

Everything. Was. Super. Stinkin'. Cute.

Pink zebra mini dress with black ruching trim

Zebra pants with red ruching trim

One-piece lacy coral romper

See what I mean!?!?!?!

Ok, so I have to warn you though. The asthetics of the website are a little less than to be desired. But I was able to find the three pieces that I bought but they didn't have everything for sale online that I remember seeing at their booth. Keep your eyes peeled for Maddiebugs at an Affair of the Heart.

Top 10 Things I'd Do With a Weekend All To Myself

I just hung up the phone with my husband who has spent a rare weekend minus Hallie and I. My first question for him was "what have you done to occupy all of your time?" What I was really thinking but not saying was this: "I'm extremely jealous of your weekend of alone time and I'm living vicariously through you." He didn't give details but said that he had a productive weekend. It got me to thinking about all of the things that I would do with a weekend alone. Hmmmm....here's just a few.

**10**

Shop for jeans....but end up depressed and in line at Sonic ordering a Butterfinger blast.

**9**

Clean my car....remove all Cheerios and puffs from carseat, milk spots from leather and pick up the fallen M&Ms below my seat that sadly never made it to my mouth.

**8**

Plan to organize my closet but instead waste two hours on Facebook stalking people

**7**

Update my Itunes library and find a new favorite song that will end up on repeat the rest of the day

**6**

Eat a bowl of Schwan's parmesan shrimp and rice while my seafood-hatin' family is gone.

**5**

Run alone without pushing a stroller in pure silence without bending down to pick up a cup or binky

**4**

Scrapbook-a-thon!!!!! - catch up on the past two years

**3**

Mop, dust, sweep, scrub....actually clean my house.

**2**

Get a pedicure and massage

**1**

Watch three consecutive chick flicks with no guilt, an afternoon full of football and an evening full of Real Housewives of New Jersey.

When Riley called to tell me goodnight I read my finished list to him. After listening to me rattle each one off his comment was: "your list is very relaxation oriented." My response: "Um...duh." For a second I actually started to feel lazy when I took another look at my list of activities. Does having children make you feel guilty for doing something for yourself every now and then? I'm beginning to think so. Why is this? What would your list look like? I'm curious........

Would you be a go-getter or a couch potato if given the chance?

GOT MOTIVATION? (sure I do, motivation to relax)

 

How to say "I love you"

Four less-than-perfectly folded piles of freshly cleaned laundry before momma hen leaves town for the weekend. Now my husband won't have to be seen in wrinkled clothing that has been left in the dryer for three days. Baby steps people, I'm taking baby steps. ;)

That's one way to say "I love you."

GOT MOTIVATION?

What the heck is PINTEREST?

Pinterest? Before thirty minutes ago, all I knew about Pinterest was that a lot of my Facebook friends are addicted to it. Do I need one more thing to be addicted to? No, probably not. But for the sake of those out there who don't have to time to explore this trendy website, let me be your guide. First of all, this is part of the whole "self-improvement" scheme. Ya see, I hate to read instructions, learn "how to's" or stumble my way around before I figure out how to do something. Hence my hesitancy about getting involved with this obviously delicious new site. I forced myself to sit down and learn about Pinterest so that I can share with you. Now those of you who are already Pinterest whizzes, bare with me and my novice description. ;)


Here it goes. The idiots guide to Pinterest:


It's like a big giant grown-up wishlist.


In a nutshell, it is a website that allows you to organize and share things that you are interested in. It emphasizes pictures over text which makes it visually stimulating and almost sucks you through the computer screen into a fairytale land of wants and must haves. So where do these pins come from and how do you share them?


There are pins and pinboards. A pin is an image from the web that you or someone has posted. You add pins (images) to your pinboard. Just in the way of Twitter, there is "following" involved. You can "follow" other users and their pinboards as they can follow you.

Ok, still confused?? So was I. So I delved a bit deeper. What is the point of it? According to the site's "help" section, it is to help connect people with shared interests and tastes. After taking a quick tutorial, it was time to get to pinning. About five minutes into my pin browsing I had a full understanding of why people love this site. Seriously addicting. This is how I see it:

Pinterest : Crafty female

as

Cocaine : Drug Addict

You have the choice of narrowing down your search by selecting a specific topic. For example, you can choose gift ideas, design, photography, etc. Or just browse all. This is what I did. Here are just a few of the pins that struck my fancy in my quick browse:

• How to take better pictures
• Rice crispy pumpkin treats
• Cozy toes slippers
• Cookie dough brownies
• Freezer meals
• Rhinestone studded baby converse kicks
• Cheesy chicken enchilada pasta

So when you find a pin you like, you can do one or all of three things:

• Repin it
• Like it
• Comment on it

Now we're getting into some Facebook territory here. I'm waiting patiently for Pinterest to send me an email invite....the suspense is killing me! I need to pin things, I need to like things and I sure as heck need my own pinboard now. It appears that I've created a new addiction and I haven't even begun yet. ATTENTION EVERYONE!!!! Get to "Pinteresting".....aren't you just a little bit Pinterested now? ;)

Inspiring

Crafty

Yummy

GOT MOTIVATION?