{playing dress up}

Happy What I Wore Wednesday!

Is it just me, or does today feel more like a Monday?

This whole week has actually felt like Mondays to me. I have a major case of the blahs. I'm going to blame it on the fact that it is dark when I get up for work now...it is so hard to get out of bed in the dark, right? I've felt very uninspired with my outfits the past few days too, but I think they still came out pretty well {except for Monday...that one was so blah that I'm going to spare you from its blah-ness}.

Thursday...

Gray top: Kohl's
Cardigan: Dillards
Skirt: Walmart
Tights: Kohl's
Boots: ??? {for the life of me I can't remember where I bought these}
Necklace: Kohl's

Friday...

Black lace tank: Kohl's
Cardigan: Kohl's
Pants: Gap
Flats: Maurices
Necklace and brooch: Kohl's

Monday...{removed for it's overall blah-ness}

Tuesday...

Dress: Target
Cardigan: Target
Belt: TJ Maxx
Flats: Maurices
Earrings: Kohl's

Today...

Gray top: Kohl's
Sweater: Dillards
Skirt: Sears
Tights: Target
Boots: Target
Necklace: Sariejune

Linking up with The Pleated Poppy, Momma Go Round, and No Model Lady {links in my link list}.

Happy Wednesday and hopefully goodbye to the blahs!

{hello fall}

 Our front door definitely says hello fall!

Simple pumpkins in the window ledges and a handmade wreath on the door...

A cozy arrangement on the table...

And I love how it looks from inside the entryway as well. 

I don't waste one minute of the season...even if it is still technically summer.

Have you decorated yet for fall?

{family vacation recap}

Over a week later and I'm finally getting to a recap of our family trip to the suburbs of Chicago. I'm know...I'm such a slacker.

The trip was very low key...lots of time with the boys and with family. Nothing too fancy...maybe next time we'll venture downtown to see the sights but this time around we enjoyed relaxing and doing lots of shopping, eating, Wii playing and catching up.

On the way there...

Can you tell where we stopped for lunch?

There are a gazillion {OK...more like 300 or so}of these wind turbines outside of Lafayette, Indiana...

The boys thought they were really cool. {OK...and so did I. I'm such a nerd ;) }

The first night I surprised the boys with new Cars PJ's...

Basically a bribe to get them to go to bed. You parents know you've all done it. :)

The first night of sleep was a challenge, but it got better after that.

One of the fun outings we had on Sunday was a trip to the Illinois Railway Museum. The boys were so excited to see the trains...

Aren't they so cute in their conductor hats?

They both couldn't wait to ride one of the many trains they had running. That is, until we went to climb aboard one of the smaller electric cars. Landon freaked out. Poor little guy. But Ben was super excited so I rode it with him while Dan hung out with Landon on solid ground.

Ben's facial expressions were priceless...

And apparently I need to work on my self portrait skills...

I think their favorite parts were the model trains...

And exploring the unused tracks...

On another day we took them to a local playground and had our own little game of baseball...

Look at that form!

Dirty shorts = sign of a game well played.

But by far the best part of the trip was hanging out with family...

Silly boys and their typical picture poses...

The boys adjusted so well and had a lot of fun playing with their "aunts and uncles" {the hubby's cousins}...
 

And the food...oh the food. We were spoiled with huge breakfasts every morning {lots of bacon!} and chicken parm and enchiladas...I should have taken more food photos but I did get one of the Giordano's pizza we had for dinner our last night there...

Soooo yummy.

So that was our trip in a {rather large} nutshell.  

And I can't believe I edited all of those pictures. What was I thinking? Just for you my friends, just for you. ;)

{the little things}

One of my favorites finds on our Chicago trip this past weekend was also the smallest.

We took a shopping trip to Joann {the largest I've ever been in!} and I was drooling over their huge scrapbooking and yarn selection. But then I saw the cutest little blue ceramic knob...

And I knew it would be perfect for our mid-century credenza turned TV stand in the family room. The cabinet came with a little metal knob, which wasn't offensive, but just didn't have any character or flair. You can barely see it here...

So I unscrewed the little metal guy and added the new ceramic beauty. And voila...

I absolutely love it! It adds so much life to the piece, like the perfect little accessory. And it was only $2.50 which makes me even happier.

And do you see my little fall touch?

I added three white pumpkins to the empty space next to our cable box. I'm so excited to be getting out my fall decorations...my favorite time of the year!

Do you have any little decorative touches around your house that make you smile?

{saturday morning}

 Playing with their new dominoes...

Happy Saturday friends! The boys slept until 10 this morning and I'm one happy momma. Ready to get some house projects done and throw in some time to relax as well. What do you have planned for the weekend?

{love list}

Fall is definitely in the air here and I'm loving it!

The temps have been in the 60's and 70's so my sweaters, boots and scarves are finally coming out of hibernation. So how about a little fall inspired love list to kick off September?

1. Fall decorating...

I can't wait to put little pumpkins in our front door ledges like I did last year. I bought some faux ones from Hobby Lobby yesterday but I'm worried they are too orange. We shall see once I get them all set up in their perches. I may have to go the real route again.

And I can't wait to decorate our hutch again. I loved it last year...

Oh and I want to make a new wreath. I've been pinning lovely yarn wreaths like this one for inspiration...

Source: etsy.com via Mandy on Pinterest

I have a plain white yarn wreath I made last year just waiting for some felt flowers.

2. These boots from Target...

My brown boots finally bit the dust, so I have my eye on this pair. I haven't tried them on, but I saw them in the store and for $35 they are pretty darn cute.

3. Gray walls...

Source: decorpad.com via Mandy on Pinterest

I'm dying to paint our entryway walls a nice rich shade of gray. And I wouldn't mind that starburst mirror either.

4. Family...

{Our cousin Erica, Aunt Debi, and me}

We had such a wonderful time on our first family vacation over the holiday weekend. Words can't express how much I love spending time with my husband's family. His aunt and uncle were so welcoming and we had a blast. {recap of our trip to come...promise!}

5. This blog post from Brene Brown...

"once you are real, you can't be ugly."

Brene is one of my favorite authors and I was pretty blown away by this quote from The Velveteen Rabbit that she posted on her blog. I've been trying to appreciate my "flaws" more, as well as those of others. We are all flawed and that is what makes us beautiful and worthy of love, right?

What are you loving today?