Fall Harvest Girls Night

I know i am way backed up on blogging but i have been busy/tired all week.

I Had my fall harvest girls night LAST Tuesday and i gotta say it turned out really successful! i had 7 of my friends come over and i made them all a really yummy dinner of taco soup and empanadas. i was really excited to see everyone eat the soup as well as they all LOVED the empanadas... i might have to make them again. After we all ate (sitting around my table which i loved) we made carmel apples. let me tell you i have never been able to make successful carmel apples! the carmel always seems to slide off the apple! we all enjoyed then still the same. Also during caramel apples we were carving and painting pumpkins. It was all so much fun! everyone's pumpkin turned out really great! I'm pretty sure everyone had a good time and I'm so glad it all turned out successful and i was able to hang out with friends!

Laura painted on stewie to her pumpkin

Crystal choose quite a difficult pattern so she was the last to finish but it turned out great

Tiffany did a great job painting her babies names onto her pumpkin

Linnea did a whole ghost family in anticipation of her new bundle of joy (tony was there to pick her up)

Tara won the prize for the most original pumpkin carved. it really is quite amazing. Kristin did the mud flap girl which looked great too but for some reason i don't have any pictures of it

Fall Brunch

Friday i had my mom and gramz over for a nice fall brunch! i made the most yummy Blueberry delight in the crock pot. It is kinda like a bread pudding with blueberries and cream cheese! (i'll share the recipe in a bit. They cam over for brunch and once my mom was in my house she nearly started crying. She was so impressed with my house and it made her think of me all grown up. It was too cute! we sat down to brunch and everyone loved the food. It was the blueberry delight along with thick sliced bacon backed with brown sugar sprinkled on top and mimosas! After eating and chatting it up a bit we watch the episode of "curb your enthusiasm" that had the Seinfeld reunion. They were too excited to be able to watch it because neither of them have HBO. The episode was pretty funny and we all had a good laugh. it was really nice to have them over and i was able to be the adult who was doing the entertaining. Also my mom brought over salmon that Jeff had caught so that night i made mat some salmon for dinner! Good eats all day long!

Five thing that have made me happy

Reading one of my blogs Expensive Mistakes and Cheap Thrills she asked what the five things that have made you happy lately... i just had to take the challenge of thinking about that one

FIRST thing to come to mind is Twitter of course! i love that i'm able to talk to all my good friends and i have made more new friends from all over the world!
SECOND would have to be Farm ville on facebook! i am so not a video game girl and i have played computer games but they never seem to hold my attention but i am fully addicted to farm ville. It is also really super fun that most all my friends are doin it too so you get to be a bit competitive!
THIRD Wearing sweaters and long sleeve shirts. I have a closest full of clothes i got last year that i absolutely LOVE and i was so excited when the weather got cold enough that i could wear them again... i love feeling like I'm getting a constant warm hug from a sweater!
FOURTH watching the eaves change colors. It is just starting and i just love seeing all the reds and oranges that are popping up all around. it makes driving to and from work so much more enjoyable!
Finally the FIFTH thing that has made me happy lately is candles. I have loved burning cinnamon and nutmeg candles all around my house filling it with a warm glowing that melts me into a puddle

so i pass on the question: What are the five things that have made you happy lately?

Fall For $40

Ok .... i confess i probably spent a little closer to $50 but still not too bad for some great decorations!

So fall hit me like a ton of bricks the first time i felt the nip in the air! i was so excited to be able to wear sweaters again. i was ready to snuggle up in a blanket in front of a warm fire. i was ready to eat a big bowl of soup! I am a girl who usually completely loves summer with all her heart but this summer had been a rough one... a bit more work and a lot less fun. More depression and less laughter. Too much sweating and not enough jumps in a cool lake. Now don't get me wrong it was a good summer but the warm fuzzy feeling fall brings me is just what i need to calm my spirit.

I went out on a mission to fill my house with that fall feeling but as always I'm on a tight budget. i headed straight to all my favorite bargain hunting stores; Marshall's, Ross and Micheal's! i went with the inspiration i had gotten from Whitney over at Glamorous Life Of a House Wife. Now i don't even have a budget like she does or have as nice of furniture as she does but i loved some of her ideas so i decided to run with them and give them my own twist.

I wanted a center piece but wasn't sure just how to go about it. i had always liked the bowl in the middle of the table idea so when i found this iron bowl with swirl pattern i just had to get it! ($7.99 at Marshall's) I got the cinnamon pine cones ($2.99) and fake leaves ($1.00 for 2 packages) at Micheal's and the pumpkins at QFC (about $2.00 for all three)





















I love how the bowl matches both my sconces and my table runner! not sure what to do with the gold vases but i thought the color was nice and warm.


I loved Whitney' s glass acorn shaped jar filled with sparkly acorns but it seems too much for me until i found a similar jar at Ross ($8.99) and fell in love with it!













I was worried about the C on the front but then i decided that if i always just had candy in it, it could stand for Candy jar!I always have to decorate my mantel but i love what i have on there right now i kind of hated to part with any of it. I found just a simple leaf garland ($2.50 at Micheal's) to lay across it along with two mini wreaths ($1.00 each at Micheal's)
Also i found this simple leaf dish ($1.99 at Ross) that i wasn't too sure what to do with it but decided it made a perfect spoon rest on top of my oven!
Finally i liked how she just had a simple dish of fall colored wrapped candy and that brought the warmth of the fall. The best part is that I didn't pay for the candy! mat got them for me for our anniversary (he knows the way to my heart!)
The candles i got at Walmart for $1.00 each. I got apple, cinnamon vanilla and pumpkin spice. Along with the candles i love to burn oils that i have from last year, Nutmeg and Cranberry. they really make the house smell good!

Over all I'm a very pleased with my fall decorations and my house feels so good now. I plan on burning my first log tonight while hangin out under a fuzzy blanket and watching a movie!

The Man I Love

October 1st. It's mine and Mat's 4 yr official anniversary!

We have really been none stop together for 6 yrs but the first two were spent getting to know each other and so nothing was really official till i laid down the law and forced him to commit lol! Our relationship has grown so much in the past few years it is amazing. We have grown so much more closer and been through so much. i don't know how we would have made it through without each other! Mat is always there for me when ever i need him. I know that he will pick me up when i fall and tell me to stop crying when i am being stupid. He is such an amazing man. he is always himself and can get along with anyone. He is a homebody but loves going out at times. He wants nothing but the best for us and tries with all his power to give it all to me! I love that he is never bored. He has so many hobbies that he is really great at. he is a hard worker at work and i can always rely on him to get his job done (i need to take a page out of his book on that one) He is an amazing writer and does it just for himself rarely showing his work to anyone. I learn something new about him all the time which keeps things exciting! I love that we are on the same page on most things like keeping the house clean and what to eat for dinner. We have such a great balance in our life that we rarely fight these days (trust me it took A LOT of fighting to get to this stage) i love the future i see for us. I can see us having an amazing and long life together. i know one day he will make a perfect husband and father. It is amazing the times when i am driving home and i will think of him and just BURS with love. every time i see him i just want to scream to the roof tops I LOVE YOU! (he even says i say it too often) My love for him can't be contained in just those 3 little words so i say it more often in hopes to some how explain just how big my love his for him! I love this man with every fiber of my being and i would NEVER do anything to hurt him.

So here's to Happily Ever After

I LOVE YOU MAT!