A Good Halloween

I hope y'all had a great Halloween.  We ended up trick-or-treating with our new neighbors who have a daughter James' age.  Our little DJ Lance wouldn't wear the hat and the glasses were too big- oh, well!

This was the only picture we got together- he's so busy!

  Isn't our friend's daughter adorable- she's two years old with the cutest curls.  James loved giving and receiving the candy. And he always said, "thank you." :)

I hope you had a great time too.  And I'll be bringing the leftover candy to the office tomorrow!

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Dining Room Progress {Drapes & Mirror}

We've made a little progress on the dining room over the weekend, and although it's not complete, I wanted to show you what we've accomplished so far.  As you recall, we started with this:

The curtains are hung, but they need some work.  I mistakenly gave my seamstress the wrong measurement, so they are too long and need to be hemmed.  I have them tucked under in the photo, so they don't look that bad, but they are actually about 10 inches too long.  Also, I'm going to have her line them (what was I thinking, assuming I could skip this step since they don't cover much of the window?)  

We bought a new mirror for the space too and I'm liking the clean lines.  It's the Reflection Mirror from Z Gallerie (32x48).  I also brought in our console table that was previously in the entryway (musical furniture:)  

I haven't yet decided on a chandelier, but I'm thinking we will be replacing our current one with something that fits the room better.  You can go here to see two that I've been contemplating and I've added the source information.  But, throwing a wrinkle into the mix, now I'm liking this one too!  It was on sale last week, but sadly, not anymore.  Now that we have a mirror, I'm going to keep looking to see what works best. 

The room isn't styled too well yet, but I love the leafy green stems in the vase.  I picked them up at the grocery store.  I was looking for one of those big banana leafs, but couldn't find any.

It's coming along.  And the rug is supposed to arrive tomorrow!  Now I'm pondering: 

*Something on either side of the mirror (sconces??) 

*Art for the other walls 

*Painting the walls 

*Accessories for the console table

*Table linens (runner)

*Pillows for accent chairs 

*Chandelier

Hopefully we'll pull it together in time for the holidays! And speaking of holidays, are you getting excited???  

Pumpkins

Hi all!  I hope you are enjoying your weekend.  Are you getting ready for Halloween?  We've got a big bag of candy ready to pass out to the trick-or-treaters on our street and we'll also take our little DJ Lance out for a bit.  He's been practicing his "Trick-Or-Treat!" line for days:)

Today, we'll be carving some of these!

It's wild for me to look back at how little James was last year (and how dark his hair was)!  He wasn't even walking yet- now he's running! 

GIVEAWAY {Charming Cozy Creations}

Yay for FRIDAY!! I'm excited to kick off the weekend with a giveaway from a fellow blogger!

Christy of Charming Cozy Creations has created adorable invitations, birth announcements, save-the-date cards, and more.  Check it out!

Christy also offer party packages, that come with:

• Invitation (front and back)


• Cupcake toppers


• Favor Tags


• Cupcake Wrapper


• Water Bottle Wrapper


• Birthday Banner

Or this holiday package:

*Christy is giving away one package valued at $60 to one reader.

You can also receive a 10% discount until November 30, 2011 with discount code: HONEY10OFF

To Enter, leave a separate comment on this post for each chance to win:

1. Visit Charming Cozy Creations Etsy Shop 


2. Follow Christy's Charming Cozy Cottage Blog


3. Tweet about this Giveaway


4. Post about this Giveaway on Facebook

The winner will be chosen via Random.org and announced on Saturday, November 5, 2011.

Dining Room Chandelier

I've been contemplating replacing the current chandelier in our dining room (yes, hubby, I know I chose it originally, and not that long ago) but chalk that up to one of the 'mistakes' I made when we built our house.  In my defense, I was the mom of a newborn and chose all the lighting for the entire house in about two hours (with the baby in tow and super fussy at the time).  I should have waited to choose some of our light fixtures since I wasn't "in love" with all of them, but felt pressured to decide right then.

So, I'm thinking of trying to sell our current chandy (I feel like it's too heavy and Tuscany-if that's a word) and replace it with something more like one of these below.

via

via

I'm still looking, and will wait to decide until the drapes are hung and the rug is in.  Then, I'll have a better idea of what will work.  Thoughts?  Do you think the current chandelier should be replaced? I'm sure my husband would love to hear from anyone who thinks it should stay:)

My Fit Foods

Well, life has been super busy around here lately and although I have fantasies of cooking healthy and delicious Barefoot Contessa-type meals for my family, it's not gonna happen this week.  So, My Fit Foods to the rescue!



My Fit Foods is pre-cooked packaged healthy meals that you just heat up for a couple minutes and they are ready to eat.  My husband is tying to eat healthier too, so he's game for it this week.  We bought enough for each of us for lunch and dinner.  I buy the small and he gets the medium or large (a large would be about enough for two meals for me).  Normally, I might just buy a couple a week to take to work for lunch so I don't have to go out or bring leftovers.

One of my favorite meals is the Atlantic Baked Salmon with quinoa and broccoli.  But I also really like the salmon cakes, chicken wrap, and chili.  They have breakfasts too and tons of choices.

The nutrition information is provided on each package, like this for my salmon:

All of the meals are based on a  40% low glycemic carbohydrates, 40% lean protein, and 20% healthy fat.  

I know My Fit Foods is in Texas and opening a location in Phoenix too.  I'm wondering if there's something similar where you live, and if so, have you tried it?  What do you think?  I remember before I tried it, the thought of pre-packaged foods sounded pretty bad, but they are actually good and you can't beat the convenience.   p.s.  I'm not being compensation by MFF for this post- I just wanted to share:)

Cool iPhone Cases

Are you into the iPhone or over all the hype?!  Truth be told, I'm so not the electronic-savvy kind of gal and if it weren't for my hubby, I'd probably still have my old Nokia.  I get used to what I know, and am usually reluctant to make changes.  I'm trying to learn though and now I've got my eye on the WHITE iPhone.

The phone itself is pretty amazing as far as everything it can do and how easy it is to use.  It takes pretty good photos and videos too.  I have a friend who is a complete Apple junkie and wouldn't dream of covering the iPhone with a case, but there are some really cool iPhone cases out there.

PRETTY SMITTEN $55

 

DABNEY LEE $56

And you can customize it in several colors and patters.

TOVICORRIE $50

DANI NOTES $55

JONATHAN ADLER $20

NORDSTROM $32

KATE SPADE $40

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