Happy Halloween one and all! 

(next year I'm totally going to learn how to make these sweet velvet pumpkins! Now I know why the ladies at the pumpkin patch were gathering them up like they were worth their weight in gold!)

thinkin holiday cardz!

Now that our fall family photos are safely behind us and were incredibly successful might I add, I'm ready to start researching the next step. The ever important Christmas Card! The cards are especially special this year due to little L's arrival. I've found in years past that the earlier the jump I get on things the more likely I am to get them out on time. I've used Shutterfly several times in the past and I was always happy with the quality as well as the quick shipping. After reviewing their 2010 line of cards, invites, and gift tags I was excited by the variety this year. There seems to be something for everyone wether your taste be classic, modern, cute, or elegant. 

Fun and playful.

sweet and modern

patterns galore!

graphic and punchy

folded cards with the option for even more photos inside

layouts to accommodate all the great shots

are you hosting thanksgiving this year? Shutterfly has great invites for that too here!

throwing an new years party? find invites here

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Disclosure Statement:
This post is part of a series sponsored by Shutterfly, a Clever Girls Collective client. Participating bloggers are reviewing the new Shutterfly cards and sharing their faves, and have been compensated with coupon codes for 50 free cards. Clever Girls Collective endorses Blog with Integrity, blog transparency and full disclosure, as I do.

if i ever have a boy...

I would love to deck out his room like this one! I'm in love with the birch branch mobile.... On an unrelated note I'm considering retiling our fireplace myself. Is it super hard? I've tiled before but I'm mostly nervous about removing the old tile and prepping the area. 

loving martha hardware

I recently stopped by home depot to grab a few drawer knobs and pulls for a dresser I'm redoing for the lil and was pleased as punch to find this fantastic assortment from good ole' Martha Stewart. They remind me very much of Restoration Hardwares collection but at a fraction of the price. The other cool thing I noticed under the pulls it has four holes to fit two different widths of pre-drilled holes if that makes sense- nice touch!

nighty night

Tuckered out. More family photos today. I can't wait to show them off to you soon.

painted wallpaper

I came across this awesome tutorial not too long ago on Emily's fabulous blog. As soon as I saw her painted wallpaper I knew I had to have it somewhere in my house. Our playroom also doubles as a space for our computer and craft storage and I thought that a wall in there could use some "jazzing up" (do people still say that?).

I followed her toot to a T with the exception of eyeballing them to line them up, instead I used a yard stick to make sure they didn't go all willy-nilly. The tracing and measuring took the longest. Once I began to paint things moved pretty quick. I did start with seed pearl by pratt & lambert but it proved to be too light against the light walls and not give me enough contrast so I switched to some leftover paint from the 4 seasons room. After all was said and done I was pleased as punch and it didn't cost me a dime. Thanks for the inspiration Emily!

table love

Here she is! We rolled her through the front door last night and stood her upright and that was about it. The spool was it great shape and didn't require any more than a minor once over with a damp cloth. I think it's so cool, I can't stop stealing little glimpses of it when I pass by the living room. Yes I'm that weird. It was free for crying out loud. You should have seen the look on the nice man's face at the waste transfer station when I told him what I was going to do with it. He said if I hadn't come and gotten it, they would have just put it in the landfill. I told him he's got a cottage industry on his hands! I'm anticipating seeing them at pottery barn in 3, 2, 1...

meanwhile elsewhere around the table...

oh and Lucy wanted to stop by and say "hi!"

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coffee table upcycle & new friends

I ran across the first awesome photo last week and almost died. I've been trying to come up with just the right piece for our living room coffee table and this was perfect. I immediately emailed my good ol' momma who is ever resourceful and BAM just like that I got the call today to go and pick up not one but TWO of them. Oh and did I mention they cost me nadda! Life is good. As soon as I get them in place I'll update you with new photos. 

On another high note today I had the pleasure of having coffee with Jen and Shannan and little L this morning. I enjoyed our time so much and it's funny I've only met Jen once before in person and this was first time meeting Shannan but I felt like I knew them both so well through the magic bloggy world. As Ice Cube would say Today was a good day.

fall around our house

                                  

there is a brick path under there somewhere

across the way- it's so pretty in the early morning because it sits in a valley and is filled with fog and shadowy outlines of horses. 

the couch matches the baby! or does the baby match the couch? 

i love you Martha. (BTW this mirror will get it's own post soon.)

i'm up to knitting again- tis the season! i was surprised how easily it came back to me. i get to whoop it up with this fun chick at the local knitting joint on Thursdays. 

I will take them all please mommy.

easy door update

before

after

Our front door was so huge, plain and down right institutional looking. I went to Lowes yesterday and picked up 3 pre made moldings. They are with the other trim rectangles and run about $12 a piece. They are supposed to be for walls but they were exactly what I was looking for, for the door. I used liquid nails to put them up but they kept popping out of place so I fired up the old trusty glue gun. I used the gun to keep them in place while the "nails" dried and it worked like a charm. I'm very happy with the results.  Easy peasy!

10.10.10 on 10.11.10

I was going to do this post yesterday but things were a little busy around here so I didn't get to it. I thought in honor of 10.10.10 I'd share 10 things about myself. So with out further adieux here goes...

10. I have always read magazines backwards to front. I'm not sure why I think it might have to do with me being a lefty.

9. I've never ever been pulled over for speeding or gotten any sort of ticket for that matter. Ever. (no, I'm not afraid that I will today now that I've gone and jinxed myself)

8. I don't have so much of a sweet tooth as I do a "carb tooth."

7. I get serious joy out of cleaning a messy room or pulling a bed full of weeds.

6. Flower: PEONIES

5. I love the idea of a big family and being part of one. Very Norman Rockwell.

4. Speaking of family my momma is my BFF- always has been. I hope it's the same way with Lucy and I someday.

3. I love staying at home with little L. It's not always easy but I feel like it's my most important job ever and I feel blessed that it's worked out so far.

2. I still have about 15 lbs of baby weight to shed. I won't eat so many Christmas cookies and cupcakes next time.

1. I have the best guy in the world. Yep I do.

 sidekicks for life

 peyton also enjoys a good cupcake

 the arkanoff fam

 daddy's girl

 momma/daughter bff's

trixie checks out her new arch rival

best boss ever