it's a french kinda morning

This morning, I woke before Joel (but not before Cora). I decided to make breakfast for both of us. Only happens maybe a couple times a week. But I made some french toast. I think I was dreaming about it because I woke up starving only for french toast. So I pulled out my electric griddle (which I love!) and toasted up some toast. I also made me some coffee and of course orange juice for the hubby who will not drink coffee. Even Cora got to taste some cinnamon greatness!

I really wish I had some Vermont maple syrup left...

Forget the fork I gave him, he just used his hands.

She really liked it and ate all of it.

Candy Corn!

As Halloween approaches and I go through my decorations, I realize that I don't have any. Sure I have a fall wreath and a few other fallish items, but nothing for Halloween. So I decided I would try and make a few things for the holiday. I don't like to go all out, but maybe just a few things here and there. Like today I made some candy corn! It was a very simple project. All I needed was some yarn, foam cones, and some candy corn (for reference and maybe a snack). :) I wrapped the yarn around the cone a few times and got these cool decorations for Halloween!

the last days of summer

Summer is coming to an end and fall is quickly approaching. I love it! I love the cool breeze after a long hot summer. And the warm colors of the leaves, the holidays, peppermint mocha's, pumpkin bread, I could go on. But the memories of summer will be in the back of my mind after a brutal winter. Here's a few snapshots of my summer this year:

Nolan at the zoo over looking a river.

My youngest brother, Nathan, graduates high school.

A nice day at the plaza.

Destin, Fl. Can't wait to go back here...

Snacks from my birthday.

Dad's 50th Harley birthday party.

A squirrel in Lawrence, KS.

toy basket

My living room is really Cora's play room. Therefore, all her toys are scattered on the floor. I get tired of taking them out of her toy box from her room to put in the living room all the time, so I decided to find a box or basket to put in the living room with a few of her favorite toys. I went to a few thrift stores the other day, and found a basket the perfect size. Only the color was worn, but it was $4 so I went ahead and got it. Nothing a can of spray paint can't fix! So I took it home and found some left over brown spray paint and sprayed with two coats. I love that it looks newer and matches my furniture! Not to mention Cora can easily get into it and I can easily pick up. :)

Before

 

After!

Looks shiny and new!

Going on a mini vacay

Ok so we aren't going for another month but I'm really excited! Joel hasn't had a vacation yet this year with him starting a new job at the beginning of summer. He unfortunately had to miss out on our trip to Florida. But he will be able to take an extended weekend in October! So I get to do one of my favorite things, and research for a place to go and stay. Don't ask me why I like planning vacations, but I just do. We only have about 4 1/2 days so we can't go too far.

Some places on the list were: Lawrence, St. Louis, Ozarks, Branson, and Eureka Springs. We've been to all these places before and so we just started thinking about what we wanted to do. I really wanted to go to Eureka Springs since we didn't get to do everything we wanted to while we were there on our honeymoon a few years ago. And I hear it's beautiful down there in the fall! Joel wanted to go to Branson because he wanted to go to Silver Dollar City, neither of us have been and also hear it's good. So to accommodate both of our wants, we're going to both. I mean Branson and Eureka are only less than an hour away from each other, so why not?!

We'll spend a couple days in Eureka and a couple in Branson. Hopefully a couple of our friends will join us in Branson so we can all go to Silver Dollar City. We're bringing Cora, and it would be easier to ride some rides together with another couple. But what I'm really excited for is our lodging in Eureka Springs. It's right downtown so we don't have to pay for parking, and we get to see the beauty of the city and wooded hills where it's located. (If you haven't been before you're missing out. It really is beautiful and serene.) I'm looking forward to the quiet, relaxing time we'll spend together. Anyways here are some pictures of the place we're staying in at Eureka Springs.

Oh yeah , gonna be using this!

http://www.redwoodcottage.com/

Love the vintage!