Color.

Do you dream of Christmas Cards all year....like me? 

well things like this inspire me.

A wall of color! 

all these are envelopes, papers, cards etc from 

Paper Source

this store is lovely! 

pumpkin patch with my little pumpkin.

 I love that we get to wander through the lettuce, beet, turnip and green bean rows to get to our pumpkins.

This has to be one of the blessings of living where we do.

we road the hay bale tractor over to the patch... did I mention it was the same day as my #1 birthday & daddy was outta town & I was running solo all day? And about 15 minutes behind on everything. So we missed a little bit of the fun :(

 off they ran to find their pumpkin... don't you just love that! they hop & jump over the vines...

this is why we love pumpkin patch pictures. well. pictures. 

my camera took a furlough day I guess. so bummed. 

but THEN

I remembered I have my handy dandy iphone equipt with hipsmatic. I love love love this app!!

then we suddenly had to go. can you guess why?

Feeling Fall....

It has finally started. 

I am usually more on the "ball" but I just didn't feel it yet. 

I know, weird.

But I finally feel & am in love with Fall.....

oh, the cozy time of year!

so here is a bit of inside Fall decor

I swiped the chalkboard from my chef. 

He had it at The Kitchen from restaurant decor...

 I thought it would be too big, but I actually like it's "over size ness". 

Added a very cool oak twig wreath a friend gave me :)

 then I drew on it with chalk

BOO

and a spider creeping down....but not creepy.

 Little orange....not too much so its Fall ish not Goulish.

 Bit of tulle hung on chandelier and a kiddos craft from school 

Sparkly Spider!

 Boo! Made from 3 pieces of paper into pennant shapes

 love these orange snacks....

Good Ol Popcorn Balls!

 Pedestal with pumpkin & last years Pottery Barn "F" Christmas ornament with cupcake papers from Michaels & Paper Tissue banner just bunched together under my cloche. 

last little bit. We have such a small house, there is hardly anywhere with room for "just because" surface

But I made this spot look like a dining room buffet I like in PB catalog...

find inspiration anywhere & make it with what you have

btw the pic of B isn't suppose to be there. 

its placed there because it fell off the wall & I don't want it distressed "on accident".

Happy Fall!!

follow up

well. Its been funny thinking about how I will merge my need for consistency & streamline. 

I went out & look at my stack of calendars. 

silly me put some inside my "tax boxes" as if IRS would be convinced of our honesty by looking through my calendar archives. 

ha!

I'm sure instead they'd laugh in my face. 

but here you go.

feel free to laugh at your screen.

 a stack. OH my. But if you wonder why I kept em......

 honestly. That was 1994. And I had forgotten we had to change the day of our wedding... 

ol la la, night at the marriott. ;}

 one of my busiest months. check out '05.....

  a note. from '92!!! we had been dating for couple months....and yet I knew to save a little (probably huge back then!) love note. See, not wondering why I have these saved so much now?!

Oh and this marks today. 14 years ago. My baby girl was born. Tuesday morning 5:54 am after 2 days labor. 

Am I crazy? 

yes, thank goodness.

calendar debacle.

I may need professional help on this one. 

It all started with the Sierra Club calendar in high school my step mother got me. 

I loved it & used it to keep me organized. Everything was in there!! 

except addresses. 

had to have another place for that....

My best friend on the other-hand had organizer after organizer after organizer. REally!!

I honestly sat her down one day & told her she had a problem. 

She'd get as far as filling out the "emergency information sheet" & 1 week full...then that was the end. 

repeat. 

(like +85x!)

I on the other hand stuck to my week by week calendar. It had lists in the back, kept track of  "you know" and

homework etc. 

Then I moved on to Mary Engelbreit (sp?) loved those. Kinda cute, now I was married, very fun. 

Stayed true to what worked. 

Added in Dr. appts, milestones, hubby work schedule (obscene back then, still is) and who to add to the ever growing CCL 

(Christmas Card List)

Then all of a sudden I needed a wall calendar, but oh I need one to carry with me too..ugh! I couldn't break my habit so I added in a wall calendar not instead of week by week. 

Great for me & as family grew so did need to color coordinate per person, label ages on birthdays so not to embarrass oneself in getting a 2 yr old gift for 4 yr old. Etc. 

System still working, one on wall- sit down before end of year & transfer all necessary info to new year. Then sync wall & week by week calendar that stays with me and only gets written in pencil. OK. 

Did I mention I have used the same week calendar for a decade? My friend Laura (SUPER ORGAniZer!) gave me one & it made my heart sing...

anyway

THEN. 

suddenly with no warning 2 weren't keeping me on my toes. There was no where for addresses I needed constantly & whos info was trapped at home in a drawer. 

I tried to keep lists in it, forgotten in the car, etc etc. 

enter 

iphone. 

It has it all, it does it all, it doesn't get left in car, it won't accidently put brother in laws birthday on the wrong day for 3 years in a row, it is handy dandy. 

but alas. 

I am devoted to paper. 

(no, really I am. I just can't let go)

So last year I screwed up. I had both wall & week by week & then added in iphone. 

Organization overload.

So this year I did what anyone in my shoes would do. 

Procrastinated.

Until I had to order my week by week well after the new year. And I let go the wall calendar. 

guess what I've been missing in my life. 

my wall calendar! The visual helped every single day. Guess what doesn't get synced as often as I should, my in iphone w/ week by week. But my lists are there. My addresses are in iphone. My reminders are in my iphone. My kids can't look for themselves. Im a wreck.

So...I already ordered my wall calendar. I can hardly WAIT. 

I've missed it. 

But what to do about my week by week???

I'll miss it?.

I won't need it?.

These things honestly keep me up. Its a commitment for a year!!!

And as you can see, its been over 20 years, I'm kinda dedicated. 

Did I mention I've also saved all those calendars? 

They really are something to behold, 

or at least roll my eyes at myself for thinking I was so busy, what did I know!!

maybe I should pull em out just to peek back at myself?

do ya think??

wanta see??

watching.

some days when busy defines me, all I want to do is watch. 

Watch them become who they are before my eyes. 

See them shine, risk, and relish their childhood. 

It brings me back to how much I love it & why it is all worth it.

handwritten words.

I highly recommend adding a bit of hand writing into your home. It is something that is so individual & shows growth in your child as well. And as it seems, gives them a sense of pride. 

+

its darn cute.

Kenzie made this recipe, Cheese Danish from Back to Basics

(you have heard I'm a Ina fan ;)

she decided after making it, 

to make adjustments to the recipe. 

These notes are inside the book...for whomever makes it next.

Abbie's words of love to her momma...

So sweet & so Abbie. She LOVES to write notes to me & I hope she never stops. This one was so cute, folded in half with one side writen & one not. It seemed artfull, so I put it behind glass, just to love her back a bit. 

 

Behind this book on the counter is a list of each of the kids 

First Day of School Lunch Wish's

on first day of school their lunch is anything they wish

(somehow they always are quite sensible!)

and I especially love that I have all 4 of their handwriting in one place. This will be a keeper for always...