Friday, October 31, 2014

Boo to You! and Friday Favorites

Happy Halloween!


This year, I DIYed Z's costume. She's been obsessed with the tutu I made for her first birthday, so I made her a little witchy tutu that's nice and long so she can play dress up for a couple of years. Her b-day tutu looks a bit like Ace Ventura at this point.  And we'll see how long the witch's hat headband stays on. I'm guessing we won't make it out the door. LOL! 

We don't get many trick-or-treaters since most of the kids head to the church down the block. They throw a big fall festival on Halloween, which I guess is better than knocking on a stranger's door and getting free candy? Anyway, since Z isn't quite ready for the whole door-to-door thing, we've decided to walk over and see what the fuss is about. Not sure what to expect, especially with a kid under 2, but we'll see how it goes. 

The weather has been so gorgeous lately, we spend most of our days outside: long morning walks, fun with the water table, and collecting coconuts around the backyard.




But a cold front is coming thru tonight, so we may need to put the water table on hold for a bit. I'm really looking forward to temps in the 70's for a few days. Planning on the first pot of chili for Saturday night. May even have to bust out the fuzzy socks! 


And here are the latest favorites:

I don't know if you guys have seen it all yet, but the holiday stuff is out at Target and it's all so cute! We're hosting Christmas this year, so I'm super excited to start decorating the minute Thanksgiving is over. And I feel the urgent need to head to Target and stock up before all the cutest stuff is gone! 

Have you seen the GapKids/Kate & jack Spade collab? Y'all know I'm a big fan of the Gap, and most of Z's clothes come from there (usually with a really great coupon code!). I'm dying over this bow tie dress with these candy stripe tights. So freaking cute!! A wee bit more than I would spend on toddler clothes, especially since we celebrate the holidays in pretty low-key fashion. But if we were a bit more fabulous, you can bet the kiddo would be decked out in that outfit! 

The Hubs and I enjoy a nice bowl of froyo from time to time, after the kid has gone to bed. These bowls are perfect for a scoop of deliciousness! I've been swooning over them for ages and have visions of the different shades of blue stacked on open shelving in my beautiful spacious white kitchen.  Perhaps I need to spend less time on Pinterest?!

Never have many trick-or-treaters, but we always grab a bag of candy just in case. I sometimes send leftovers to work with the Hubs, but this year, I'm thinking of trying something like these candy bar cookies. There's a ton of ideas for leftover candy on Pinterest (of course). I like the idea of getting to eat a bunch of it all at once!

And as for a post-Halloween breakfast, these apple cider donut holes just might hit the spot. Are they not the most addicting thing in the world? 

And in the spirit of spookiness, have you guys been watching Stalker? Holy cow, is it terrifying! Obviously, you get some great eye candy with Dylan McDermott, but this is the kind of show that I can't watch without the Hubs. It's good, but seriously disturbing. And how about How to Get Away With Murder!!!??? So good! Just when you think you know where it's going, the last line of each episode completely throws it all in another direction. We were so worried that waiting for season 3 of OITNB would be torture, but these new shows are filling the void pretty well.

One more shot of the littlest which before we go...


Hope you all have a spooky and festive Halloween!!!



Tuesday, October 21, 2014

Pumpkin Patching

Monday's weather was super sunny, clear and warm. I know what you're thinking. You're thinking that I just described perfect pumpkin patch weather. Well, yes actually. While I'll admit that the eternal summer we've been experiencing this last year has made me pretty grouchy, it actually was a beautiful day for a visit to the pumpkin patch.

bat shirt (on sale!!) | sparkly Toms (I purchased for $12 at a local consignment shop. Jackpot!)

So we headed out to a local church, fully expecting it to be a hot morning and slim pickins in the patch, but we had such a fun time chasing Z around the church yard. Tons of pumpkins were laid out underneath a huge beautiful oak tree, which made it so wonderful in the shade.


Z had a ball running around patting all the pumpkins, and even picked out two
little ones for herself. There was a random milk crate in the middle of the sea of orange, so naturally the kiddo put her pumpkins in it and carried them around for a minute.





It's always been so hard to get a really great pic of Z since she is always in motion, and this day was no exception. I usually end up with a million photos of her back...maybe I'll end up doing an album of just those! I was totally that mom. I kept trying to hop in front of her to snap something with her smiling, but only managed to get a bunch of blurry pics and even backed over a pumpkin or two, practically falling on my ass. 



In the end, we came home with two toddler-size pumpkins and one for carving. It wasn't quite as amazing as our pumpkin patch adventures last year up in Georgia, but we had such a great time following Z around as she checked out each and every pumpkin! 

This weekend was also Zoey's 20 month b-day and we did her monthly photo shoot on Monday before our pumpkin patch adventure. Last month it was a nightmare trying to get a good shot and most of the outtakes feature a red face and teary eyes. But this month some of the outtakes were so hilarious, I had to share a few of my favorites...


This really is the best age, isn't it?!

Any great pumpkin patch adventures this October for you guys?


Thursday, October 2, 2014

Happy October!

felted ball garland - similar here | multi-color bunting - DIY

In my mind, fall officially begins on October 1. Living in Florida, September is still so so summery, but October is a whole different ball game. (Not today, though. Today it was well over 90 degrees!) The sun starts setting earlier and there something a little different about the sun's light. And word on the street is that the first cold front (and by cold front I clearly mean "not-as-hot-but-still-technically-warm front") is on it's way this weekend. So it may not be crisp air, fallen leaves, and apple picking down here in SoFlo, but we probably won't sweat ourselves into a puddle for a few days at least. And while I have yet to taste my first PSL of the season, I'm still pretty psyched about the free iced white mocha I scored today in Target, thanks to a computer meltdown. Nothing ushers in fall better than free Starbucks! 

Around here, we've started decorating (keepin' it simple this year thanks to our table-clearing toddler), thinking about what Z will be for Halloween (a ladybug? strawberry?), the kid has mastered the word "Boo!", and I've found a yummy sounding recipe for homemade skinny pumpkin spice latte (I'll let ya know how it tastes!).  The Halloween books have made their way to the bookshelf, and a certain cutie is already sporting her festive glow-in-the-dark pjs.


As for fall style, well, for me (and my mini), it's all about cute jeans, long sleeve tees, and cozy sweatshirts (most of which we won't be wearing until it's technically winter). So here are some of our favorites so far this season:






 I'm really looking forward to the days when I can cozy up in some fuzzy socks and that red sweatshirt for a viewing of Hocus Pocus with the kiddo. Ok. So maybe we'll wait another year or two for Hocus Pocus, but surely there's a Halloween episode of Doc McStuffins we can snuggle up and watch together!

So, what are your fall favorites this year?