Fall is Finally Here!

Fall is finally here!!!

It has been so hot here this summer,

I have been dreaming of the days starting out

cool and ending with a crisp bite in the air.

 Fall actually arrived this past Saturday,

but our weekends are pretty crazy around here,

so I didn't have time to turn around before it was over.

I couldn't resist the dried corn and cute little tiger pumpkins

at the grocery store this weekend.

I grabbed a bunch of flowers while I was there 

and decided to throw together a quick table.

And apparently when you 'throw together'

a table, you forget that you need silverware!

I had found this table cloth with a beautiful mix

of fall colors at Old Time Pottery this summer.

When it was 114 degrees outside, it was hard to think of fall

but, I am glad I grabbed it.

I just laid out the pumpkins and corn on the table..

nothing fancy...just keeping it simple.

I also found these pumpkin salad plates this past summer

at Old Time Pottery as well...

for $1.00

(score)

I also received a little package in the mail

this past week...

they are suppose to be a Christmas present...

but they had to be opened to make sure they were

not broken, right?

So, hopefully we'll be able to find a few minutes to 

sit down with the boys and have a meal together.

I just love all of the colors of fall...

I am looking forward to trips to the 

pumpkin patch...pumpkin bread...

cool nights...sweaters...

Halloween is right around the corner,

and I am looking forward to enjoying every minute of

family fun with the boys that I can squeeze in!

Come and join us...

we'd love to have you.

Hop on over to Susan's at

Between Naps on the Porch

and check out a lot more Fall Tablescapes

this week for Tablescape Thursday!

Froofing up For Fall!

We had the most beautiful weekend...

a cool snap in the air...

College Football on Saturday...

Fall is almost here and I can't wait!

This morning after my little walk on the treadmill

I decided to get a little crafty.

I can't decide if it's the change in the season

or was a lack of oxygen flowing to my brain

but I decided to whip up a little 

wreath for fall.

(sorry for the funny looking photos...

iPhone..I was.too lazy to walk upstairs 

and get my good camera...)

I had bought some burlap ribbon in natural and a deep sage green

and a wire wreath from a local floral and design store in town.

I just gathered it together and then tied the little wires around the ribbon 

and then set in to froofing....

My burlap ribbon has a wired edge so it was easy to twist and

turn and fluff into the spot I wanted it to go.

Then I added a couple of little simple fall pics from the

Dollar Tree

and there you have it!

Happy Fall Y'all!

Gettin' Organized...

One of my favorite organizing blogs is

A Bowl Full of Lemons

and starting today Toni is starting a 14 week

program to help us get our houses in tip top shape and 

get us all organized!

She has typed us up a schedule of the different areas to tackle 

around our house for the challenge.

Hop over and grab your own...

and get ready to get your organization on!

This week is the Kitchen.

She could not have picked a better place to start,

cause right now, 

my kitchen is a MESS!

So be sure to check back and see what I can get done

and check out others that are joining in the fun...

Home Organization 101

18 Years and Counting...

Eighteen year ago,

Scott and I became husband and wife!

(well...yesterday, was the actual day)

We promised to love, honor and cherish,

until death do we part...

And I told Scott that the the last line...

whether he went naturally or I killed him

was yet to be determined!

Just Kidding!

We were talking the other night

about how it did not feel like we have been married

for 18 years.  It sounds like such a long time,

but has felt like time has just flown by.

In eighteen years,

we have moved into an apartment...

into our first home...

in with my parents...

(to build our current home)

and then into our house we built.

We have had 7 different cars

that we have driven between the two of us...

Two beautiful boys

that keep us moving all the time...

One dog that tested the vow...

for better or worse...

she was an awful dog...

but she also made me realize that 

Scott really did love me!

Lots of Vacations,

never ending Honey-do lists,

some times fussing 

and a few good fights...

but in the end,

a whole lot of love

and that is all we need to see us

through just about anything.

Here's to the next 18...

may they be filled with many more wonderful memories

And may the years not pass quite so quickly...

A Summer Farewell

Well, It's official....

All school aged children in the state of Alabama

have returned to their studies,

and Summer is officially over.

Austin thought it was totally unfair that his 

school started a week ago,

but, once again we reminded him,

No one ever said life was fair.

I have one more year to keep Jackson by my side,

but he really wishes that he was big enough

to start Kindergarten.

We hope this enthusiasm keeps up 

until next year...

The weather has finally started to cool off around here.

I know it will probably turn hot again, but for now,

I am enjoying the cool evenings and the crisp breeze

 that comes in the garage

of a morning on our way to school.

I have restrained myself from pulling out

fall decor and putting pumpkins all around and about,

however, these stayed out when I was rearranging a cabinet

the other day.

Back to school for some reason always puts me in a mood to 

clean and organize and purge things...

But before I jumped head first into fall and Halloween

(Oh, how I love me some Halloween!)

I decided I would set the table with one last 

Summer inspired setting.

Won't you come and join me...

The table is set for our family of four,

but we would gladly have you pull up a chair

A simple table with one last splash of summer color.

Natural place mats hold each place setting.

The flowers were an assortment from 

our local grocery store...

for $12 you can add a lot of color and it makes

everything seem a little happier.

I pulled out my olive green chargers to top the woven placemats.

and stacked them with my white scalloped dinnerware.

A close up of the woven placemats and the olive charger.

I can't wait to use these this fall...

oh, and wouldn't they be fun with a deep burgundy for 

Christmas...

listen to me...now I have jumped past

 Halloween and straight to Christmas!!

Oh, MY!

I had found this flatware on Ebay a while back

for next to nothing.

I think they were $5.99 for 

four place settings.

I may never find any more to use with 

more than my family, but they are fun for a

family night!

Natural wood napkin rings with a simple green napkin.

I used my acrylic goblets that I had bought

at the beginning of the summer for outdoor dinners,

but then it turned 400 degrees and the thought of 

eating outside was out of the question.

These will be great for outdoor dining,

because if they fall, they won't break.

A quick shot from above...

Thanks for joining me in saying goodbye to Summer.

Looking forward to falling leaves, pumpkins and 

then Ghosts and Goblins, too!

Come back again and visit soon!

Table Details:

Woven Placemats:  Pier 1

Olive Chargers:  Design World (a local floral and home store)

White Dinnerware:  TJ Maxx

Napkins:  TJ Maxx

Napkin Rings:  Tuesday Morning

Cambridge Tortoise Flatware:  Ebay

Acrylic Stemware:  Tuesday Morning 

Woven Floral Container:  Hobby Lobby

Check out all of the other tablescapes this week at

Between Naps on the Porch

Wait...AUGUST??

OK...where did the summer go??

We just got out of school a couple of weeks ago,

and now it is already time to start back?

I am not ready for early mornings...

Nope, not at all.

But as much as I am not looking forward

to the early mornings, I am ready for some 

sort of routine.

Friday is when our routine begins...

Ugh.

So, today we set out of buy all of Austin's school

supplies and get him set up for the year.

While out shopping for supplies,

I decided that I wanted to try and make 

something that I had seen on Pinterest.

I had seen several people make Pencil Vases

and knew it was time to get my craft on...

I grabbed my supplies from the Dollar Store.

Three packs of yellow wooden pencils,

clear glass vase,

my glue gun and some ribbon that I had on hand.

It took about 40 pencils to go all the way around the vase.

I tool my glue gun and ran it down one side of the pencil from the eraser tip

to the end.  I didn't  try to be neat...I figured the more glue the better.

Then I just pressed them into the glass and worked my 

way all around the vase until ever last spot was filled in.

Pretty pencils all in a row.

The inside is not so pretty... gooey glue... 

I also ran a row of glue around the top of the inside of the vase

just to be safe.

Tied a little ribbon around and now it's done!

Ready for some flowers and a cute back to school

tablescape, maybe.

Austin even said

"Wow, That's cool!"

when I was done...

Then he asked what I made it for and when 

I replied a back to school table centerpiece,

he rolled his eyes and walked out of the room.

Gotta love the compliments of a 13 year old boy,

and then the typical reaction of a 13 year old boy...

related to anything girly...

hee hee.

One Final Hawaiian Memory

Just a few weeks before we left,

Rick decided he would like to go Deep Sea Fishing

while we were in Hawaii.

If they could get six of us to agree, 

they could have the boat all to themselves.

Rick was in...Scott and Austin were in,

Kerri and Leisa decided they wanted to go,

so Rick talked Papa into coming along and they had their six!

Now, I had absolutely no desire to go deep sea fishing at all,

so I never even considered it...

I would gladly stay home and keep Jackson

so they could enjoy their fun.

The gang left the house at 4:30 AM so they could make it

to the dock in time to head out for a day of fishing.

Their boat was the Ke Kila and there were two fishermen 

on board that were their guides for the day.

They headed out and part of the "reward" of the day was catching our dinner.

The guys told them that they would go out and make sure they caught their haul

which was about 30 pounds of fish and then once they made

sure they had caught dinner, they would go out farther and see if 

they could catch "the big one!"

Here is Leisa with one of her fish that she caught.

I think this was called a Skip Jack.

Austin's line was next and he pulled in another 

Skip Jack.

He did not stop long enough to pose for a picture with his fish.

They quickly caught their limit and then headed out for deeper water to 

find the bigger fish.  After about four hours they had still not caught any big fish...

Austin and Kerri had started to get a little sea sick and Leisa

was feeling a little panicked because one of the fishermen

told them that the water below was about 4,500 feet deep.

Leisa does not swim...

So, Rick told them that since they had caught their dinner,

they were happy and they could all head back...

but as they were heading back...

They caught the BIG ONE!!!

They were all so excited.

For about 30 minutes they all took turns

trying to reel in the fish.

They were all so excited to see what was on the end of 

the line!  The fishermen told them that as soon as it came over

 the edge of the boat to quickly get out of the way.

The fish are big...with big  fins that will take your leg off if not careful!

When he hit the deck it was a 170 lb. 

Yellow Fin Tuna!

Then a few minutes later they caught another one!

It was about 100 lb. Yellow Fin Tuna.

The haul for the day.

The little ones are the fish that they filleted 

and the gang brought home for dinner.

And the two Big fish on top

were taken to market and sold to the local restaurants.

The Mighty Fishermen of the Day!

Kerri, Pappa, Rick, Scott, Austin and Leisa.

They all had so much fun...even with some 

seasickness and a little moment of panic,

it was a great memory and great experience with

friends and family!