Touches of Fall

So I know I am WAY behind on posting my fall decorations, but better late than never. I have actually had them up since September, but I still had some tweaking to do. I finally decided that they were just going to have to do. Aside from buying some mums and pumpkins, I mostly wanted to use things I already had.

I removed a wooden scarecrow from an old wreath and added it to the burlap one I already had on my door.

I just love pumpkins and mums!

The cushions in my rocking chairs were starting to look a little faded, so I made some covers for them out of burlap that was left over from another project.

I'm so happy to have a table between my rocking chairs now. I actually found this one over a year ago, when we still lived in Alabama. It was a roadside find. After I "rescued" it, I realized that the top is a little damaged and I wasn't sure how to fix it. I decided to just give it a coat of white spray paint and put it on the porch. It's perfect!

I thought about making a banner to hang along the full length of the mantle, but I decided to just keep things easy and make a little one to hang in an empty frame.

Happy Fall Y'all!

 

 

Trunk or Treat

Last night, we participated in the Trunk or Treat at our church. Before this year, I had only been to a Trunk or Treat once, and people didn't really decorate much for that. I wasn't really sure what to expect. I wanted my trunk to be cute and unique, but I'll be honest, I really didn't go all out. I mostly just used things I already had. Here is what I came up with...

The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything

a Veggie Tales Movie

My son had a pirate party for his birthday this summer, so I already had the pirate pool, flag, and parrot. The lantern and treasure chest (trunk) are items I had around my house, and I also already had the inflatable Bob and Larry (they are sprinklers). I bought a couple of plastic table cloths from the Dollar Tree to use as water and sand.

Also from the Dollar Tree, I bought 2 over-sized fuzzy mustaches. I used one as an actual mustache for Larry the Cucumber and the other I cut to make a beard. I also found a pirate play set that had an eye patch. I just used a piece of fabric from my stash for his bandanna. I don't think Bob the Tomato is actually in the movie, but since he is one of the main Veggie Tales characters, I went ahead and stuck him in the boat too.

For our treats, we handed out "Pirate Booty" popcorn.

(Please excuse my phone that I accidentally left on the bumper.)

Our trunk was kind of plain. My husband sketched out a beach scene, like the one in the movie, on a piece of cardboard and I painted it. I printed out a little sign from the movie and glued it on.

There were some people who really went all out. I was pretty impressed.

I think it's fun to dress up in costumes and get candy, but there are a lot of things about Halloween that I'm not crazy about. I want whatever we choose to participate in to bring glory to God. Veggie Tales always has a great Biblical message and my kids love all the movies.

Now, back to eating my kids' candy. I'm glad they don't mind sharing :)

New Favorites

Over the past few weeks, I have seen a few of my favorite bloggers wear this leopard print cardigan from Target. You can see their outfits here and here. I thought it would be a great layering piece for fall, so I patiently waited for it to go on sale. Last week, I finally found it on sale for $15. I had a coupon for $5 off any women's clothing purchase of $20 or more so I had no problem finding one (or a few) extra things to get me above the $20 mark. My Target has a lot of really cute clothes on clearance right now. The dress I'm wearing is one of the items I found on clearance. You can't really tell from the picture, but it has a pattern woven into the fabric that kind of looks like lace. It think it will be very versatile.

Cardigan: Target $15

Dress: Target $12.48

Necklace: jane.com $14.99

Boots: gift

Total: $42.47

 

This is not a great picture of my necklace, but you may have noticed that it looks very similar to the one Emily from The Sweetest Thing has on with her leopard print cardigan (here is another picture). It is definitely my favorite necklace right now. I ordered it from a website called jane.com. Everyday, boutiques will post an item that they have on special and each one usually lasts 2 days. You have to pay separate shipping for each item, but it is usually pretty reasonable. It's a great place to get statement jewelry.

 

Tonight at church, we sang the song "How Deep the Father's Love For Us" by Phillips Craig and Dean (I think other people have also recorded it). I have sung this song many times before, but the words are so powerful I would like to share them with you. Here is a youtube video with the song. I hope you are as touched by this song as I am.

 

"How deep the Father's love for us
How vast beyond all measure
That He should give His only Son
And make a wretch His treasure
How great the pain of searing loss
The Father turns His face away
As wounds which mar the Chosen One
Bring many sons to glory

Behold the man upon the cross
My sin upon His shoulder
Ashamed I hear my mocking voice
Call out among the scoffers
It was my sin that held Him there
Until it was accomplished
His dying breath has brought me life
I know that it is finished

I will not boast in anything
No gifts, no power, no wisdom
But I will boast in Jesus Christ
His death and resurrection
Why should I gain from His reward
I cannot give an answer
But this I know with all my heart
His wounds have paid my ransom

Why should I gain from His reward
I cannot give an answer
But this I know with all my heart
His wounds have paid my ransom"

Running Late

Usually on Sunday mornings (and every other morning for that matter), we are rushing to get out the door on time. I try to have all of our clothes ironed and ready to go the night before. I lay out everything (jewelry, belts, socks, shoes, hair bows, etc.) so we don't have a wardrobe crisis in the morning. Well, despite my efforts last night, I still managed to have a little bit of a wardrobe crisis this morning. At the last minute, I had to change clothes and just throw something on really quickly. When I left the house, I really wasn't even sure if my outfit looked OK or not, but time was up and we had to go. This is what I came up with...

Shirt: TJ Maxx (clearance) $5

Skirt: Goodwill (Target) $3.99

Necklace: Forever 21 $1.80

Earrings: Old Navy $4.50

Bracelets: TJ Maxx (gift) and super old (?)

Purse: Charming Charlie (gift- picked out by my wonderful husband)

Shoes: Target (gift)

Total: $15.29

Once I got home from church and actually had a chance to look in the mirror, I kind of thought my outfit looked like it was missing something. I thought maybe a belt would help, so I tried on like 5 different ones. None of them looked right. Should I add something or do you think it is fine the way it is?

On a side note, we went to the pumpkin patch and corn maze yesterday. You can see part of our goodies in the background. I will try to post more on that this week.

I wanted to share a few verses from today's message:

"The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth. He fulfills the desire of those who fear him; he also hears their cry and saves them. The Lord preserves all who love him, but all the wicked he will destroy." Psalm 145:18-20

I hope everyone is having a great Sunday!

eBay Necklace

I was so excited when my new necklace arrived in the mail yesterday. I have seen a bunch of my favorite bloggers wear necklaces like this, so when I found one on eBay for $5, I had to get it. It definitely adds some excitement to any outfit.

 

Necklace: eBay $5

Shirt: TJ Maxx $14.99

Skirt: Belk $14.99

Shoes: Chinese Laundry (Goodwill) $7

Total: $41.98

 

I hope everyone has a great week!

 

A New Way to Wear It

I got this dress on clearance at Target about 2 years ago. I like the color and pattern, but lately, I have been feeling like the top part shows a little too much skin. I saw a blog post (The Goodwillista) a few days ago that gave me the idea to put a simple t-shirt over the top of my dress. You can check it out here. In her outfit, she is wearing a skirt, not a dress, but I think it has the same look.

I realize that you can't actually see my shoes in either of these pictures (they were taken by my 4 year old. I think he is doing a great job!), but I just wore gold sandals. It's probably a good thing my feet aren't showing because my sandals seriously need to be replaced. They have seen better days.

 

 

Dress: Target (old) $17

Shirt: H&M (Hand-me-down)

Shoes: Old Navy (old)$14

Necklace: Old Navy $1.31

Bracelet: Target $5.35

Bag: Nicole Lee (Target) $22

Total: $59.66

Free Closet Organizing

I have started to prepare our closets for fall weather (even though it's still in the 90s) and I thought today would be a good day to do a little organizing. A few months ago, one of my neighbors was throwing away an old drop side crib and she agreed to let me have it for a project. I wasn't sure what I was going to do with it, but I knew I could come up with something. I did a little research online and got the idea to use the spring to organize all my necklaces.

All I had to do was remove some hardware and spray paint it white. I'm so glad to have my necklaces organized now because they were a big tangled mess.

 

 As I pull out my boots for fall, I am putting a paper towel roll in each one to keep them from flopping over. It should help with wear and tear on the boots. I can't remember where I heard this trick, but I did not come up with it on my own.

 

 

On a serious note, I want to thank all those who have sacrificed so much due to the attacks on 9/11/01.

We live close to a large military base and as I was driving during rush hour, I saw a family standing by a major intersection waving American flags and holding signs that said "We will never forget." It was touching to me that this family took time out of their day to make sure they showed their support for our great nation. May we never forget...