game changer.

during the start of our seasonal baking over the past few weeks, i kept seeing a device i hadn't seen before. in recipes online for soups and sauces, i would keep seeing this...thing.

it's not so weird, right? it looks like a milkshake maker or something. so i started looking because my baked potato soup, applesauce and apple butter have been chunky. and slopping hot portions of it into my blender and making a huge mess is not my cup of tea! so i know what i'm asking for for christmas now! a sky blue kitchenaid hand blender to match my stand mixer! i'm excited now that i know what it is! besides being easier and less messy for me, it means that genevieve could help me in the kitchen a little more. she's always asking if she can help me make something. i finally gave her a soft knife and let her cut fruit for hers and emmy's breakfast last weekend. she was so proud. maybe she'll be a more accomplished cook than i am, seeing as how i didn't discover what a freaking hand blender was till i was almost 30! ha!

so anyways, i'm adding this to my amazon wishlist ASAP. 

weekend recovery

be honest. we all need a little pick me up on a monday morning. whether you're digging your face out of your cereal bowl or trying to ignore tiny human boogers that were just wiped on your shirt. here are the happies i've found recently that gave me a merry little boost.

*best enjoyed with COFFEE.

1. lindsay letters' new fall collection.

i have SO MANY FAVORITES. i recently started following her on instagram and i just can't get enough of her pretty handwriting and dreaming of all the rooms of my house i could hang her work in.

2. a bowl of vanilla bean and a few crushed halloween oreos!

i started taking medicine a few weeks ago that has ruined my glass of red wine after the hooligans go to bed routine and last week this combination hit the spot while i was sucked into the fall season premiers. i know the seasonal oreos are silly, but they're also very happy! (sweet oreo photo from here)

3. lauren conrad's 5 ways to cozy up your home for fall.

i think i've managed to take care of most of these things now that we're almost a full week into AUTUMN (yippee!!). i've already burned through one full spiced pumpkin yankee candle, too! better stock up...


that's all i've got this week as my house is a disaster and we have a rogue mouse living between ours and the neighbors house that needs to meet his doom. there are grown up jobs to be done. peace out! ;)

it's the merriest time of my year!

it is no secret that i LOVE fall. LOVE LOVE LOVE fall. i love saying peace-out to summer, pulling out some yummy boots, picking up another round of pumpkin spice candles and enjoying the way the world fades to gold.

gorgeous print from Lindsay Letters' new fall line!

we're planning to fill the season with fun activities! last year was quite fun, but i hope this year is even better. the older the girls get, the more we can do together!

we went apple picking a few weeks ago and thoroughly enjoyed the spoils. emmy and genevieve helped make their own things. applesauce, apple pie, and apple butter, plus a enough for our little apple eaters to eat whole apples for snacks. heck, one of emmy's favorite words right now is apple! i knew fall would treat her right.

enjoying their cider donuts at the orchard

since this is our first fall up here, i've been searching for just the right activities and places for pumpkin picking. just like in charlotte, every place does something different so i'm about ready to make a pros and cons list for all the pumpkin patches! that and our bucket list for all the things we want to do this season!

next up on the list, a fall nature scavenger hunt and apple stamping with the girls. i'm trying to hold our pumpkin mania until october!

seriously, i have a crush on Lindsay Letters

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well hello there.

It has certainly been a while since I've run a blog and I have missed it. This is my attempt at jumping back in. New town, new attitude, new blog (new hair? I think that might be necessary, too).

First things first, we're in BMORE now. Baltimore or "Bawlmer" as some of the crazies up here say it. To say we miss Charlotte is quite an understatement but Baltimore has its happies, too.







The perks being that Kyle loves his new job (I guess it's new-ish now since its been 5 months) and so do I. We're living in a good school district and the area is very hilly which definitely appeals to me. And we're hitting cooler temps now, PRAIIIIISE, so I feel more keen about living here. I'm always in a little bit better mood when the weather is nice. ;)

I'm in a moms bible study at G's school and have attempted the gym a few times with E so far. We're starting to get into a routine, something else that levels me out a little bit. Now if only somebody would magically unpack the rest of these boxes for me...