Feeling like Fall

You can tell it's been a little hot for a while in Dallas, since yesterday my Facebook news feed filled up with all the posts about the rain and today it's all about how beautiful it is outside--the first weekend with clear skies and highs in the 80s is a big deal :)  I'm glad I had a fun weekend planned

Yesterday my best friend texted to finalize plans for our Saturday morning meet-up.  She asked if I'd be up for meeting for coffee even though I'm not a coffee drinker--couldn't think of a better start to this coolish day

She grabbed a Pumpkin Spice Latte and I grabbed my hot chocolate and we caught up for a few hours.

Then I had about half an hour to kill time before my next meet up, so I decided to go into Bath and Body Works just to see what they had (gets me every time!).  What they had was their big candles 2 for $22 and all of their Fall body products for $5.  So I got a new Pumpkin Candle and  Cinnamon and Clove candle for Christmastime... as well as some Blackberry body wash and lip gloss. 

I headed to meet up with a few good friends for lunch on a patio and it was a perfect day for it!

When I got home David helped me re-organize our storage closet so I can get to all of my seasonal decorations more easily.  

Then I lit my new Sweet Cinnamon Pumpkin candle and got to work decorating!

Here's the majority of the fall decor (and the Baylor game on TV--perfect fall entertainment)

I had made a burlap wreath for my Spring Decor and decided to add a few touches so I could use it in the fall (all pieces are removable so it can be altered by season).  I took some flowers I had from previous decor and cut their stems and wound them in the burlap.  Then I used this tutorial to make the bow with some ribbon I got 40% off at Hobby Lobby yesterday!

There's something so wonderful about the first hints of a new season.  The reminder that change is coming and mercies are new every day.  Grateful that God thought of seasons!

Saturday on the Go

Today was a really good and fun day.

I started the morning with grocery shopping and a little baking. Then I met up with my friends Amy and Katie to check out McKinney trade days. We had a good morning browsing. I stocked up on yummy fall scents for my scentsy. Then we ate lunch and headed home to get ready for the next activity!

This afternoon I went to a bridal shower for my friend Amy who is getting married in November. It was fun hanging out with friends and celebrating Amy's upcoming marriage to Chris!

Tonight David and I met up with a few friends for dinner and mini golf. We tried out the mini golf course at Top Golf in dallas. It was a lot of fun!

It was a busy Saturday, but so fun getting to see so many friends!

Sunday Afternoon Project

I got the itch to craft today.  David had a white board/bulletin board that we thought about hanging in our kitchen, but it was pretty old so we had decided we would just replace it and get something else at some point.

Then yesterday I was on Pinterest and saw this dry erase calendar made from paint chips and I knew I'd found my project :)

I went to Walmart today and bought poster board and perused the paint chips.  I tried to find colors that went together but that you could still read the writing over them.  Until now I didn't even realize how similar my colors are to the original one--I just liked the way these all went.

I also decided to add some scrapbook paper to the side for other notes.  We need a place for our grocery list and then I have a spot for any other notes-- an idea I got from Erin's board that she made last year.

I really like the way it turned out!  I plan to go buy a few new dry erase markers tomorrow so we can color code it for activities that are mine, David's or both of ours :)

The best part about this project is that I already had a frame I wasn't using and paint chips are free, so it cost me 30 cents.  Love it!  Great way to spend a lazy Sunday afternoon.

Dog Days

Last night Lily and I headed out to meet up with our best friends. 

Erin and I were in need of catching up so we decided we would do that over a walk with our dogs. We decided to brave the heat (I mean it was only in the 90s this week instead of the 100s!) and get them some exercise. 

We made it 1 lap around the park and our friend Sasha was over it

So we moved our catch up session to sonic. We were very amazed at how well the dogs did in the back of Erin's car- while we talked they both just laid down and napped. 

It's definitely a much calmer experience than when Allie and Sasha played as puppies!  Lily's not quite as social as Allie was (though she still likes friends) and I think Sasha is perfectly okay with that!

It was a great night catching up with my best friend- time with her is always good for me :)

And my sweet girl had a good time too (it was her first ride in the new car!)

Labor Day

3 day weekends are always wonderful.  I love Labor Day Weekend because even though it's still really hot there's the hope of Fall is around the corner.  I think Labor Day can be considered the beginning of the fall season, but I usually try to wait until the end of September to decorate

It's hard to argue with that logic :)

But with the rain coming down outside this morning I can almost convince myself that fall will be here soon.  And that makes me really excited.  I love Fall, as I think is evidenced by the years I've had this blog.  I've written more posts about Fall than Christmas.  

So here's a few things I found on pinterest to get me in the mood for the coming season...

Happy Labor Day!

Weekend Dessert

I am really enjoying this holiday weekend so far.  Friday night was a great time of fellowship at Communion Dinner with a lot of my favorite people.  I had brunch yesterday with a high school friend then took a nice nap before dinner and a movie with our friends Lucas and Yali.

Today we had church and lunch with friends, grocery shopping, and then dinner with David's mom.

Tomorrow we are planning to be home.  I planned out a fairly big breakfast and then we are grilling in the afternoon.  For breakfast, I have a hashbrown casserole recipe I got at my shower and I'm going to make biscuits and gravy for my gravy-loving husband.  But I wanted something sweet to go along with it.  

I've followed the mix and match mama's blog for a while and always wanted to try one of her recipes, so I found one of her bundt cakes to make.  She has recipes for 100 different bundt cakes and this is one she says works for breakfast too, so I'm in :)

Here's the recipe for her blueberry cake: http://www.mixandmatchmama.blogspot.com/2012/03/bundt-cake-30-fresh-blueberry.html

We had a little for dessert tonight and really liked it.  And I got to use my cake dome for it which makes it even more fun :)

Looking forward to a wonderful day off tomorrow!