{weekend in photos}

Despite the fact that I'm in the middle of a super busy day, I can't help but be giddy over the fact that today is the first day of my absolute favorite month of the year...OCTOBER!

Goodness I love this month. Fall festivals, changing leaves, pumpkins, apple cider, orchard trips, and my wedding anniversary. SO much to love about October. And we filled this past weekend to the brim with fun stuff.

On Saturday morning Mom #2 and I took the boys to our local Oktoberfest. The weather was perfect and there were so many vendors with amazing handmade items. I was totally bummed when I realized that I had forgotten to take cash with me...most of them didn't take credit cards. BUT it was good news for our checkbook. ;)

The boys weren't too thrilled with being there...what...no toy stores? But they made up for it by looking really cute...

I tried to get a family photo on a cool set of theater seats, but thanks to a cranky Ben and too many onlookers, this is what we ended up with...

#1....

#2....

#3...

To be honest I wasn't in my best mom mode during this outing and this photo op gone bad was the beginning of the my end..sometimes I forget that these fun fall traditions aren't just about me anymore. But thanks to a few pep talks from Mom #2, cookies she bought for the boys, and a vanilla latte from a fun new coffee shop we made it through.

my vanilla savior ;)

Later on Saturday we made a fun Halloween craft with the boys...pumpkin lanterns!

I'll share a little DIY post about these soon!

On Sunday morning while the hubby slept in, the boys and I went to our favorite coffee shop for breakfast.

Muffins as big as your head!

Bagel and a latte for me, and fun leaf sprinkles for Ben...

And then on Sunday afternoon we enjoyed a big family meal and I snapped these pics of the boys...

They are looking SO grown up. *sigh*

All in all, it was a really great weekend, my crappy mood aside.

I'm looking forward to filling this next weekend with more fall fun, and a better attitude. ;)

Did your weekend involve any fall activities?

{scarf tutorial}

 
Now that the weather has cooled down and my scarves have come out to play, I thought it would be fun to share a little video tutorial of my favorite, simple ways to wear my scarves. If you can fold and tie, you can do all of these. :)

More great ideas...

Source: scarves.net via Mandy on Pinterest

Source: scarves.net via Colleen on Pinterest

What's your favorite way to wear a scarf?

{Shabby Apple Giveaway!}

You read that right friends!

I'm SO excited to be partnering with Shabby Apple for a giveaway!

Shabby Apple offers so many beautiful and figure flattering dresses, separates and accessories, and the winner of this giveaway will receive a $75 gift certificate!

Here are a few of my favorite pieces from their current lines...

Headliner Dress

Da Vinci Dress

Pont Neuf Dress

I could show you so many more of my favorites, but let's just get on to the giveaway, shall we?

Mandatory entry:
Leave a comment telling me what you would buy from Shabby Apple with your $75 gift card.

Extra entries: {be sure to leave a separate comment for each!}

• Follow This Girl's Life via GFC or in your favorite reader
• Like This Girl's Life on Facebook
• Like Shabby Apple on Facebook
• Follow me on Pinterest
• Pin the giveaway
• Tweet about the giveaway
• Blog about the giveaway and leave the link

The giveaway will be open until midnight EST on Friday, October 5th. Good luck friends!

{fall fashion wish list...tights}

So far I've shared with you my fall fashion wish lists for scarves and comfy, oversized sweaters. Today is devoted to one of my absolute favorite fall fashion items....tights!

I love nothing more than pulling on a cute pair of patterned or colored tights with a skirt and boots for work. It is my ultimate work wardrobe. But for some reason, my tights collection right now is really dismal. I have one dark green pair, and the rest are black, gray and brown. So I put together a little wish list of tights that I would love to have in my closet.

I love everything about this picture...from the cabled tights to the fall hues...

Source: browneyedbellejulie.blogspot.com via Mandy on Pinterest

These polka dot tights are fun and quirky...
 

Source: teenvogue.tumblr.com via Mandy on Pinterest

LOVE these peacock feather tights from Kohl's in a bold turquoise...

Source: kohls.com via Mandy on Pinterest

It is hard to see the pattern on these but I love how they were paired with a flowy dress and boots...

Source: offofbroadwayblog.blogspot.com via Mandy on Pinterest

Lisa Leonard proves here that off white tights can totally work if you accessorize them well...

Source: lisaleonardonline.com via Mandy on Pinterest

This mustard and navy combo is really lovely...

Source: dee-construction.blogspot.com via Kelly on Pinterest

And I love these bold tights mixed with more neutral clothing and accessories...

Source: sundaycrossbow.blogspot.com via Abby on Pinterest

Do you love to wear tights? Have you ventured out into bold colors or do you stick with the neutrals?

{necklace giveaway winner}

I'm a few days late with this...announcing the winner of the mini bubble statement necklace!

The winner is...

Congratulations Melissa!! And thanks to everyone that entered!

{our fall dining table}

Happy Monday friends! I hope you all had a great weekend!

Mine was filled with meetings for work, but I did manage to sneak in some good time with family and a few photos of my dining room table all dressed up for fall.

Of course it includes some of my favorite things...acorns and owls!

 I love how it looks in front of our fall mantel...

And I couldn't help but include this adorable photo of Landon taking his own pictures of the centerpiece with his itty bitty camera. Future blogger for sure. ;)

Have you pulled out your fall decorations? What are your favorite pieces and colors to use to decorate for the season?

Linking up with...

{Diamond Candles Giveaway}

One of the fun perks of being a blog sponsor is participating in giveaways! 

{and a big hello to my new friends that have already joined because of the giveaway!}

This week I'm teaming up with Kimberly from A Night Owl Blog to give one lucky reader a Diamond Candle! Read about them below and enter via the Rafflecopter widget...good luck friends!

Welcome to the A Night Owl September Sponsor Giveaway!

Today the sponsors and friends of A Night Owl are joining up to bring you a fabulous Diamond Candle! These candles are Earth friendly, all natural soy candles made in the USA! Not only do they smell fantastic, but each candle has a ring inside worth $10 to $5,000! So what are you waiting for? Enter today via the Rafflecopter form below!

Open in the USA and Canada.

Ends at 11:59pm EST on September 30th, 2012.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

{fall fashion wish list...scarves}

If you follow me on Instagram or check out my WIWW posts, it will be NO surprise to you that I love a good scarf.

I'm sooo insanely happy that the weather has cooled off so I can pull all of my cozy neck wrapping goodness out of my closet. And despite what my hubby might say, I could definitely add a few more to my wardrobe. ;)

This past week I wore this fun new patterned one I picked up at Charming Charlie...

And yesterday I wore one that I made last year {it is so soft and cozy for chilly fall mornings}...

Here are a few that have caught my eye recently...

Hearts! So.Cute.

Source: shopconversationpieces.com via Mandy on Pinterest

Fun polka dots...

Source: spottedmoth.com via Mandy on Pinterest

A neutral tan to go with everything...

Source: lotuslives.blogspot.com via Mandy on Pinterest

A great pattern in autumn hues...

Source: fashionworship.com via Mandy on Pinterest

This one looks super comfy...

Source: chelseawate.polyvore.com via Mandy on Pinterest

Do you love scarves? What pattern/style are you wanting to add to your fall wardrobe?

And I thought it would be fun to do a little video showing you my favorite ways to wear my scarves...are you all game? Hopefully I can put it together in the next few days, so stay tuned!

Ooh and don't forget to enter my bubble necklace giveaway! You can enter until midnight EST tonight!!

Linking up with...

{our fall mantel}

Is it just me, or is there a defining moment between when you can't stand the sight of fall decorations to the moment when you want to throw pumpkins on every surface in the house?

Well, there is for me, and it hit over the weekend. :) 

I only decorate a few areas of our house for holidays...usually the front porch, entryway, the dining room table, and the fireplace mantel. Today I want to share what I came up with this yesterday for our fireplace mantel...

I added a few fall colored accessories to spruce up my chevron art...some yarn flowers that I whipped up Sunday while the boys were napping, a cute new owl that I picked up at TJ Maxx, a simple burlap pennant banner, and some fall colored berries. 

I thought my new owl might want a little yarn accessory of his own...

The yarn flowers were super simple...

 Just some yarn pom poms, sticks from our yard, and hot glue!

And the garland supplies included burlap, scrapbooking letters, glue and yarn. Easy peasy!

I'll share our dining room table centerpiece and my other decorations in another post. Did you do any fall decorating over the weekend? I'd love to see it!

Linking up with...