Thursday, October 24, 2013

Old Navy. Schmold Navy. {Looks for Less}





Have y'all been to Old Navy lately?!  I popped in the other day and was really excited about the fun, inexpensive layering pieces that they have right now. The "Hello There" and Fox sweater are too cute. And, I'm really loving the cute sequin cardi's and sweatshirts! I would actually wear the majority of these pieces layered over cute plaid or chambray shirts for the fall. 

Tuesday, October 22, 2013

Take Note Tuesday {Three Things}



1. This adorable sweatshirt with chambray trim. I think I would live in this shirt!
2. My Man would look so handsome in this chambray bow-tie.
3. Chambray dress. Belt (I would wear a skinny leopard belt!) and booties. Yeehaw.

Monday, October 21, 2013

World Market. You're My Jam.

World Market is my jam right now, y'all. Serr-us-lee. Every single time I walk through those doors or peruse their wares online. Bam. I find a treasure trove of gems.  Look and see.



Batter Bowl // Cookie Cutters // Paper Heart Mini Bundts
Kraft Spoon Gift Tags // Metal Stands // Glass Dispenser

Good schtuff, right?? Their prices are just fantastic. The designs and colors are spot on right now. I would be happy to gift (or receive!) any one of these items!!

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AND Y'ALL. I'm on an airplane to CHINA right now. Like, the REAL DEAL. China. I'm ecstatic. I have no idea what to expect, but I'm going with an open & positive attitude. I'll be working here until October 30th. Can't wait to share details of my trip!

Friday, October 18, 2013

Living Well, Gracefully

You guys know I'm not a plain jane, vanilla wall lovin' kinda girl, right?? Okay, good. Just want to make sure that we're all on the same page. I like color. I like paint. I like to paint walls with color. Buuut, we also happen to be renting a town-home/apartment at the moment. No painting allowed. For the next eight months I'm going to be living with these plain jane vanilla walls. Like them or not.

The walls and I have come to a truce of sorts. I don't dwell on them too much, they continue to protect my family from the elements (think basic truce, y'all) and we're even steven. Kindof. Because it's reeeeally hard for me to ignore them. So I've added every color in the rainbow (almost) to our space. And it makes me happy.

Funny how little things like throw pillows and window panels can liven up a room and make you FEEL cheerful. I'm living with these walls, gracefully now. Not angrily. Big difference, y'all.

I thought it would be fun to share our living area with you today. It's small, but it works for the time being! I've slowly added little things to make our space feel more like home. New window treatments. Remember this "Faux it Up" post I did awhile back? Yep. Those are faux window panels.

I've also added lots of cushy & bright throw pillows. Turquoise ceramic lamps. It is much improved now than when we moved in (think blank box, four walls, completely without character). Here's a small peek into my work in progress..






Source List:
Green & Blue Pillows- Homegoods
Solid Pink Pillow Covers- Hobby Lobby
Blue Chevron Pillow Covers- Hobby Lobby
Fabric for Panels- Hobby Lobby (Santa Maria Desert Flower)

The other items in the space have been picked up here and there over the years. My fab warehouse manager in Alabama made me the chevron wall hanging (and tons of custom + rustic frames that I will cherish forever!). I have a few projects up my sleeves so I will update you guys as I mark off my to-do list.

Thursday, October 17, 2013

Little Trendsetter {What Jonah's Wearing}


Look at that nugget.

Have I mentioned how fun it is to dress a little guy?? I mean. How stinkin' adorable is he?! Yes, I'm partial. Jonah's at the most fun age yet... (Although I've thought every stage was just THE best. Funny how that works...) I love finding fun pieces and pairing them together to make adorable outfits for him. I am pretttty partial to cute little Momma's boys!

Anytime I see affordable + fun leggings I snatch them up. I love his chunky legs in them. The leggings he's wearing above were in the girls (gasp!) section at Target for $5 bucks. I mean. Come on. Why wouldn't I buy those?! His little hoodie is my fave. It's from Baby Gap. The shoes are Converse and he pretty much wears them every single day. We love them so much I bought the next size up in a different color. Win win.

Here's a similar outfit that I plan to put Jonah in. I've already purchased the Converse High-Tops. So adorable, y'all! Sources below.



Wednesday, October 16, 2013

Zuppa Toscana {Weeknight Winner}

Last night I made Spicy Sausage, Potato & Kale Soup. It is my new favorite soup, y'all!! I've never had sausage in a soup (that I can think of?), but I'm sooo glad I took the plunge and whipped it up. Jeremy gave it two thumbs up and went back for seconds.

Here is the original recipe that I made. Pioneer Woman makes a very similar recipe.


If you've ever had the Zuppa Toscana at Olive Garden this is very similar. It's very tasty!! Definitely a weeknight winner.

Tuesday, October 15, 2013

Take Note Tuesday {Three Things}



1. Who DOESN'T already own these Anthro mugs?! They're everyone's fave!! If you don't have them, get'em. Hands down these are my go-to-every-single-mornin' kinda mug.
2. I saw these mugs the other day in person. Adorable. I promptly added them to my Christmas list. I love the animals with quirky sayings
3. You guys. Is there any better gift that one of these sets?! How adorable are they?!! The spoons are hand stamped and say "Espresso Yourself", and "Rise and Grind". Love!!

Thursday, October 10, 2013

Mushroom Measuring Spoons {Splurge vs. Steal}

You guys!! Remember when I posted this blog about my fave World Market finds?! And I picked out those cute little mushroom measuring spoons? Whilst browsing the Anthropologie website today guess what I came across....


Yep!! Spluge vs. Steal. I love the little gold dots on the Anthro measuring spoons, but I would definitely pick up the $5 set at World Market. That's a steal of a deal and would make a cute gift. Tied to a cute mug and filled with hot chocolate packets?! Perfect little gift!

Wednesday, October 9, 2013

Plaid & Foxy {What Jonah's Wearing}



I know, I know. I picked fox leggings for the previous installment of "What Jonah's Wearing". Annnd, here's another fox. I just have a thing for foxes right now. Who doesn't?!? They're pretty darn cute.

All items Baby Gap except for the Minnetonka's. You can grab those online, or at Nordstrom in infant and walker.

Monday, October 7, 2013

Sausage & Cheddar Balls

I made my guys a quick homemade breakfast this morning. Paula's (modified, of course) Sausage & Cheddar Balls. I had a package of lean sausage that I needed to cook, so I whipped these up. They were scrumptious!!


Sausage & Cheddar Balls
Ingredients:
3 cups baking mix (I quickly made my own as follows: 2.5 c flour, 1/8 c baking powder, 1Tbsp sugar, pinch of salt & 1/2 stick butter chopped and mixed in)
2 cups shredded cheddar (you can use more, original recipe calls for 4 cups, but I only had one pkg on hand and it was the perfect amount)
1 pks pork sausage

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Mix all of the ingredients above together.  Shape into balls. I ended up making 36 balls.
**Mixture will be really crumbly and difficult to form into balls. Keep working it with your hands. It starts to mesh.

Bake 10-15 mins, until golden and sausage is cooked.

Here's Paula's recipe if you want to be exact.

And, here's a recipe to make your own baking mix.

These were deeeelicious!! Another keeper recipe!

Friday, October 4, 2013

Spiced Pumpkin Biscuits

Yesterday morning I got up early and made my guys a special breakfast treat. Spiced Pumpkin Biscuits from scratch. The recipe is from Cooking Light (love their recipes!) and will definitely go in my recipe box. This one's a keeper, y'all!


Pumpkin Spiced Drop Biscuits
Cooking Light (modified by me)

Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 1/4 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1/2 tsp salt
5 Tbsp chilled butter, cut into small pieces
1/3 c fat free buttermilk (I soured plain jane fat free milk with 1 tsp vinegar)
3/4 c canned pumpkin
3 Tbsp honey

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Combine flour, baking powder, pumpkin pie spice and salt in large bowl. Cut in pieces of butter with pastry blender until it resembles coarse meal. Chill in fridge 10 mins.

Combine buttermilk and honey, stir with whisk until well blended, add canned pumpkin. Add buttermilk mixture to flour mixture, stir until just combined.

--> here's where I modified this recipe to make drop biscuits. I stuck my (clean) hands into the bowl and kneaded  for a couple of seconds to make sure the flour was mixed in well. Then, I dropped them (it made 13 biscuits for me) by Tbsp onto a greased round pan. Each biscuit almost touching.

Bake for 10-14 mins (depending on your oven) until just golden.

Original (Unmodified) Recipe from Cooking Light
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They might look a little wonky, but they were moist and delicious! I'm a huge fan of no-fuss drop biscuits. We had ours with a little salted butter. The salt + slightly sweet biscuit. Mmm!! Perfect fall breakfast treat. Plus, I love that they're made without gobs of white, processed sugar!! Jonah & Jeremy loved them. So did this Momma. At 120 calories each, you just can't go wrong!

We have fun, fall weekending plans ahead. I can't wait to share details next week. Happy Fall, y'all!

Thursday, October 3, 2013

October is Best {Monthly Meal Plan}


Whilst browsing my favorite blogger's recent posts, I came across Edie's latest post. Annnd, it stopped me in my tracks. She posted her October Menu Plan. Seriously. I kid you not. If you haven't visited Edie's blog, Life In Grace, GO NOW. It is amazing and one of my favorite blogs to read. While you're there check out her home tour. I DIE.

via LifeInGrace

Her meal plan post is chock full of delicious recipes!! I can't wait to try the Salted Caramel Pretzel Brownies, and the Shrimp and Grits, annnnd the Crock Pot Sesame Chicken. YUM!!

I loved finding this great source, and thought you guys might like it too! Pop over to Edie's blog and take a look. Happy cooking!!

Wednesday, October 2, 2013

Comfort Food

Comfort food is salve for my overwhelmed self. I know that food shouldn't be the answer. Jesus is. Duh. But meatballs and mashed potatoes help. Food for the overwhelmed Momma. I promise. Don't hate. Appreciate. And, let's be real. Has Pioneer Woman ever disappointed you?? Me either.

Boom. Get in mah'belly!!!


Recipe Here.

ps. I used 1lb ground beef, and 1lb lean turkey and doubled the sauce. They turned out scrumptious. I will be having a meatball sammich for lunch, y'all...

pss. This would also work as a meatloaf. And it would take less time to make for a weeknight...

Tuesday, October 1, 2013

Take Note Tuesday {Three Things}




1. These Chevron Pumpkin Placemats. I mean, seriously?! I know they're TRS and I'm pretttty biased, 
but still. These are THE CUTEST fall placemats that I've seen. Bam. 
2. Fun straws make water consumption more bearable. Promise.
3. A delicious pumpkin scented candle. I'm currently burning "Pumpkin Cheesecake" from Target ($10 at your local store) and it smells DIVINE!!! I've also heard really great things about this one from Anthro..