My friend from work's son and daughter-in-law are expecting their first baby this winter. The baby shower is going to have a garden tea party theme, and Linda requested that a tea cup and some scroll work be on the invite. Green is used as the font color because it's the color of choice for this event. Linda also choose an ivory cardstock and matching envelopes for both pieces to be printed on. 
My little red and silver tree....it always looks so much prettier in person. My tree skirt was a monogrammed aisle runner at my wedding. I love that I found a practical way to use it that will be enjoyed by me and my husband years from now!
The mantle....need one more stocking for Ginger Girl and then another one next year for my baby boy.
My good ole' trusty centerpiece now filled with sparkly Christmas balls and a huge sparkly white pillar candle.
More Shimmer, Sparkle, and Shine!
I threw my "kissing ball" and another huge glittery, red ball on top of my candle holders that held my white pumpkins during the fall. 
I love this wreath. I bought it on sale at Pier One two years ago and have been dying to use it. Finally!
Last but not least....my front porch. We added a new storm door this week because Ginger destroyed the screen in the one that came with the house. I didn't care much for it anyway, so I was happy to replace it. It kind of hides my new wreath though....
I can't help it....I love Pottery Barn. Everything.In.The.Catalog. Well, everything except the prices that is. I actually rarely purchase anything from PB and instead use the catalog/store for inspiration. Then, I find something similar at Target, TJ Maxx, Home Goods or another store that I can afford. With that being said, I have paid the PB Outlet (much better prices) a visit once or twice in the last 6 months and had very successful trips. So, my mom and I had a girls' shopping extravaganza on Saturday, and with her help, I set out to find a new rug for my family room. I love the one I purchased when I first moved into my home in May, but it was just too small for the room, and with a baby on the way that will one day be crawling, I wanted a bigger rug to cover my hardword floors. 
So, I worked on my tablescape for Thanksgiving this afternoon. It's VERY SIMPLE, but I'm pleased with the way it turned out. I'm not a tablecover type of girl so I didn't use one, which adds to the simplicity of the overall look. I also added pinecones and acorns to my centerpiece that was filled with candy corn for Halloween. You can also see my dinner menu, invitation that I sent about 2 weeks ago to my guests, and the placecards I created for each family member's seat. I just have to get started on the food now! 
I can't believe it....my nephew, Jack, will be two-years-old in late December. Where did the last two years go? He was just a baby! In any case, my sister is having a small family birthday party for him while she is visiting from Virginia over Christmas. Becky requested simple stripes using the colors lime, orange, and blue. These birthday invites will be mailed in coodinating white shimmery envelopes. I also made her address tags for the back of the envelope that I will turn into stickers using my Xyron machine. They are orange to add a punch of color to the white envelope.
My friend Kathy just had her second little boy in October, and I put together a simple baby announcement for her. I used two different colors of blue and his first initial along with all his details. Along with a solo pic of Michael, Kathy also wanted to include a picture of him with his big brother, AJ. Awwww....cute little brothers:) These were printed on white cardstock and paired with a matte white envelope. 
We work on teams in my middle school, and I am hosting a little holiday get-together for the team of teachers I teach with in early December. These are the invitations I created for the event. I have a serious obsession with chandeliers and absolutley love the look of them! I was actually planning to use them on baby related goods if I was having a girl. WELL....since I'm having a boy, I decided that I needed to find another use for my love of chandeliers. A holiday party was the perfect excuse. I added a few strings of Christmas lights to the chandelier and presto....the look was complete! I also made a little scalloped label with my last name for the back of the envelope (don't be surprised if you see these again on my Christmas cards!). These labels are basically the same template used for the cupcake toppers I made about a month ago. I love the way they turned out! These invites were paired with red envelopes to complete the festive holiday look! 
The above invitation is for a guidance counselor at my school who is retiring in December. The retirement committee asked if I could put together an invitation inviting him to his retirement dinner in early January. This will be presented to him next week. I kept this simple just using the school's colors and some different fonts to make certain words pop. 
My mom is having a little family birthday party for my grandmom's 82nd birthday in early November. When my mom asks me to make something for her, she gives me complete and total freedom to pretty much do whatever I want. Upon this request, I knew immediately that I wanted to use an old picture of my grandmom that my mom has in her living room as the backdrop of the invitation. I scanned this old photo of my mommom when she was very young and just added the party details in a small box at the bottom of the invite. I paired it with some pale lavendar envelopes. My mom is also going to place one on an easel during the party. I hope my grandmom likes it! 
I recently made birth announcements for my friend Terri's baby boy, Beau. Her mom, Irene, will soon be hosting an open house for their friends to meet Beau since he lives about two hours away. She contacted me and asked me to create some invitations for the occasion. I thought it would be cute to use the same colors on the open house invite that I used on the birth announcement, which were light blue and celery green. I also included the baby's first initial to make it more personal. I like the way these invites turned out, and I think the open house is a great idea! 
My best friend from high school, Nicole, asked me to create notecards for her using a monogram that one of her friends who is a graphic artist had created. I took the monogram and paired it with some simple designs and dark pink envelopes. These are 3.5 x 5 folded notecards printed on white shimmery paper. 
Okay....I'm biased and bragging but.....come on.....isn't he adorable? My almost 2-year-old nephew, Jack, came in with my sister and mom to visit me in school this morning. I miss my cute little shark so much....
Aren't these little Halloween/Fall framed signs adorable? My friend Alyssa made them for me as a hostess gift, and I'm LOVING the way they look in my home! Thank you Alyssa! I told her she should sell them....I would absolutely buy these if I saw them in a store. There are five total. I had three little white pumpkins sitting on this cubby/shelving unit before Alyssa gave me something much better! I did happen to find a new home for my white pumpkins. See below.... 
I found these chunky black candle stands in one of my unpacked boxes still sitting in my basement. How perfect for my little white pumpkins! They now sit atop my fridge in my kitchen. 
I bought this little bench when we first moved into our home in May. It sits in a screened-in porch (which I DO.NOT.LIKE!) off our mudroom. Hopefully this porch will be enclosed with windows soon b/c it's so useless right now. The screens are falling down and dust is constantly blowing in. Uh huh....total dirt trap....I can't keep it clean. And everytime it rains, it gets wet and yucky....ughhh! In any case, I envision it soon with windows and indoor outdoor carpet and maybe a cute little Christmas tree that can be seen with white twinkly lights from the side of the house as you drive by???? Hmmmm....we'll see. 
{Check him out! He was waving to us this morning!}
{Proof that he's a BOY! The arrow is pointing to his boy parts. It's very tough to see b/c I might be the worst.picture.taker.EVER!}
{4-D ultrasound picture. Totally amazing! You can see his hand up next to his face, his little belly, and his knee is bent to the side. I think he bears a strong resemblence to his Momma!}
Here's another cute decorating idea for all you girls that love to decorate as much as I do! My mom saw this idea in a magazine or catalog (maybe Pottery Barn???) but I love it for Halloween and fall in general. 
{Please excuse the poor lighting in the photos. They are much more adorable in person! I desperately need photography lessons!}
Tommy, my friend Carolyn's 4 1/2 month old son, is being christened this weekend. She asked me to create simple thank you cards that she can send out to family and friends who attend the christening. I used a white linen paper and envelopes and three simple designs incorporating a classic blue color. Love these!
If you've never been on Etsy, you need to check it out ASAP! It took me a little while to catch on but now that I have, I can't get off this addicting site. I've found about a dozen sellers that I regularly check in with for new products because they make, design, and sell such cute things. I imagine once I have my baby this winter, I'll add a least a dozen more sellers that make adorable baby products to my list of favorites! 
I have been having a ball decorating my home for the fall season! Technically I was done a few weeks ago; however, I have continued to add more touches as the weeks go on. Last weekend my husband and I went out for dinner at a restaurant that displayed these HUGE glass vases filled with mini pumpkins and sticks. They were sitting on a huge mantle above a fireplace and looked adorable. Well, my mantle is already full; although, I have been looking for something to replace my summer hydrangeas on my dining room buffet table with and this was it.
Tonight was Girls' Night at my house! It was such a beautiful fall day, so I decided to put together a fall meal consisting of pumpkin dip with ginger snap cookies and apples, chicken chili with the fixins', spinach/apple/cashew salad, and the dessert seen in the pictures above featuring my new cupcake toppers! The girls at my home tonight raved about these delicious, fallish brownies so I've included the recipe below! All I'm going to say is caramel ice cream topping, Recees Peanut Butter Cups, peanuts, apples, brownies....mmmmm....a perfect combo of sweet and salty! The toppers are super simple to make - I created them on my laptop and then used a 2" scallop punch (AC Moore), to create the fun, scalloped border around each. I plan on using these a lot! The colors can be customized to match the decor of any event, as well as what you see in the middle of the circle. How adorable would these be for a child's birthday party or a baby shower?!?
CANDY APPLE DESSERT SQUARES:
Ingredients:
~ 1 pkg brownie mix
~ 8 oz cream cheese, softened
~ 1/2 cup caramel ice cream topping, divided
~ 2 firm apples
~ 6 peanut butter cup candies, chopped
~ 1/4 cup peanuts, chopped
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degreens. Spray pan. Prepare brownie mix according to package directions for cake-like brownies. Remove from oven and cool completely.
2. Place cream cheese and 1/4 cup of caramel ice cream topping in bowl; whisk or beat until smooth. Spread cream cheese mixture evenly over brownies.
3. Core and slice apples into small pieces and spinkle evenly over cream cheese mixture. Coarsely chop peanut butter cup candies and peanuts. Sprinkle candies and peanuts over apples; drizzle with remaining ice cream topping.
4. Cut into squares and serve.
5. Enjoy this YUMMY fall dessert!
Here's another idea for how to use the cupcake toppers! I bought fallish looking ribbon from Michaels and using my hot glue gun, attached it to the glass jar. Then, I glued one of the cupcake toppers, minus the lollipop stick, in the center and VOILA! A cute jar to fill with your favorite Halloween candy!
