Monday Morning Weekend Round Up

Well, there is one positive thing to this Monday- short work week! Time to gear up for the REAL Thanksgiving! For now, let's recap.

Friday:

• Make Apple Cranberry Sauce
• Make Ginger Pumpkin Tart
• Clean Master Bath
• Clean all the dishes for the Mock Thanksgiving
• Iron the tablecloth
• Reset the table
• Crash.

Saturday:

• Cook turkey and stuffing
• Dust house
• Vacuum house
• Prep the beverages
• Set the dessert and after dinner drinks table
• Enjoy the party!!!
• Tidy up the party mess a bit...err all of it!

Sunday:

• Finish cleaning up the party mess- Didn't have to- it was already done!
• Put away all the china- Done again!
• Attend our third youngest nephew's birthday party
• We actually started getting out the Christmas decor last night...oh boy!
• THEN Relax :)

This weekend was perfect. I loved it! So now I'm already looking forward to the dinner we are hosting closer to Christmas with another group of friends. Time to get my brain working on that one! How was your weekend? Blog about any projects or events? Link me in the comments!

And I'll leave you with this...and let you guess as to what's on my mind this week.






(Images courtesy of BHG)

Halloween Round Up & Master Bath Revisit

It seems like every year we debate on whether or not to put together a costume. Should we? Shouldn't we? We should. Oh crap. What are we going to do? However, this year, I got a little clever. After trying to think of great couples from movies and television this year, it dawned on me. One of our favorite shows. One I've mentioned on here a few times. The Biggest Loser! We could go as Biggest Loser contestants. Not too expensive to put together. Perfect. Done.

So we got to work, and pieced together this little ditty. And the party loved it!
*please note- that is Carl's cheesy jolly grin...not his normal little shit grin. ;)


But just like in the show, we had some work to do! So about half way through the night, we ran to the car for a planned quick change and came back as new people!




It was a huge hit! Success!

Gibson also got in on the fun. He was a pumpkin, I guess that's obvious. ;)



And he had so much fun watching for the kids! I knew there were trick or treaters because his tail would smack the closet and ottoman. He loved it!


And while I was creating and applying the iron-ons for our shirts, Carl had other plans. He decided the bathroom wasn't quite done. 1. He didn't like the faucet we originally bought. 2. He wanted to install hardware on the cabinets. So, here is a quick revisit with a little better natural light.

OK, time to get moving for the day! I've got a few purchases to put away, and I've got some cleaning to do! How about you? I bet you are doing something productive today! Don't feel like doing physical work? How about working on your Christmas list and budget? Or perhaps a holiday schedule. What? It's November now. I can totally talk about the holidays now! And just for that, I'll leave you with some more inspiration pics. Hope your Sunday morning is enjoyable!



*Photo credit BHG & Martha Stewart

My Mums Are Here....

Probably not for long, but I think today was one of my best chances to get a good photo of them. Plus, I thought I could show you the rest of our outdoor decor- what little there is! I keep it simple with orange and white pumpkins and our burnt orange mums. Then this year I added the autumn berry wreath- love it! I don't do anything special for Halloween, other than carving the pumpkins, and we might not even do that this year :(

Oh and Dear Japanese Maple Tree- if there is anyway you could hold on to those leaves for just a few more weeks, I'd love you dearly...well even more than I already do. Thanks!

And then I thought I'd share a few more inspiration pics with you! They make me want to eat a big bowl of chili next to the fire!



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*Pics courtesy of Pottery Barn and Martha Stewart

Monday Weekend Round Up

Alright! A new week! A fresh start. Let's get moving! (Was that motivational enough for you?) First, let's take a look and see just how motivated my weekend was.

Friday:
Change bedding, clean and put away extra sheets
Start laundry
Clean my pitiful laundry room
Pack

Saturday:
Halloweekends! This was all we anticipated and more! If you live anywhere near Cedar Point, I highly suggest you make the trip there if you haven't already!

Sunday:
Finish laundry
Make Broccoli Cheese Soup for dinner (We actually had broccoli cheese soup out on Friday...it seemed redundant)
Continue looking for holiday inspiration photos (I'll throw one of my favorites at the bottom!)
Remove the little fencing from the garden Carl said not to...I love when I think I have to do something, but then I find out I don't!
Unpack- Kind of forgot about that part!

So on to the fun part- photos! First, the laundry room. Remember the mess it was on Friday? Blech. It's much better now!


I keep our laundry room very simple because well, 1. it's a laundry room and 2. the simpler it is, the easier it is to keep clean. A few things that I do in our laundry room to keep it organized and functional:

1. I like to keep a laundry basket on top of the dryer for dirty towels, blankets, etc. This way, they have a place to go rather than just a mess on top of the dryer.
2. A simple rack is really all I need in there for the cleaning products. I also have a tote on the right side for smaller, less used products.
3. Notice the open door on the washer? That's done on purpose. With front loader washers, mildew can be an issue. One way to fight it is to leave the door open a crack at all times. It allows the inside to dry out properly.

And as promised, my favorite fall inspiration pic I found yesterday. I love the mix of the branches with the berries and gourds, and you can't leave out candles! And how adorable are the mini pumpkins hanging from the branches? Love it!

pic courtesy of www.bhg.com

How was your weekend? It was great I'm sure! I've got a REALLY busy week ahead, including a hair appointment, babysitting and a birthday party. Plus, I need to go do an exciting errand that I'm hoping I can talk about in the near future...better get moving.

Transformation Thursday: Shedding a Tear

This Transformation Thursday makes me just a little bit sad. It is really the end of warm weather around these parts, and with that comes some (brace yourself) winterizing. With the harsh weather we get, leaving all our patio furniture outside is just not acceptable. So to maximize the life, we move most of it inside, into the basement. However, it is just not feasible, nor necessary to move the large table inside for the winter. So, instead, we tarp it and use bungee cords to secure it. It keeps the table safe from the elements all winter long until the snow melts and we can once again bask in the sun.

Before, look how bright and sunny and shiny it all is!
(at least one perk is that nasty dead tree over there on the right is no longer there, yippeeee!)

And....after.
At least...sniff sniff....she's safe. Sniff sniff.

But on to the positive, with the close of this warm season comes my favorite time of the year (next to that whole basking in the sun thing I was talking about up there). The HOLIDAY SEASON! Woo hoo! Bring it on, I'm ready!









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What? Too early for Christmas inspiration? Nah...never!

Do you have any winterizing projects on your list? We've still got a few to do including the sprinkler system. Guess it's really time to get moving on it all!

Pics courtesy of BHG