Happy Fall!

As I write this post I am sitting in a tank top and shorts, wishing that I could pull out my scarves and have weather that is below 80 degrees... (Who am I kidding, recently I would settle for weather under 90...)

But never the less, this weekend, while Kit was speaking in Toronto, Ryder and I busted out our fall decorations and embraced that, even though it doesn't feel like it, Fall is coming!

Side note: Our house, if listed in a real estate section of a newspaper would be listed as "quaint" or "cosy" and some would just call it small, but it is the PERFECT house for us. It's our home...It's manageable and when it comes to decorating for the holidays, a little can go a long way, and that makes it easy for me!

So I started our decorations for our living room, making the mantel our focal point.

Before:

After:

We also pulled out all of our Fall/Halloween/Thanksgiving books. It's nice to rotate them through because Ryder feels like he has new reads and I don't have to read about the "The Ugly Pumpkin" or "Frankenstein Makes a Sandwich" during the summer months...

It's a win win!

This time of year gets me so excited for all the family "get-togethers" that come with this season and I can't wait!

We have more decorating and preparations that we can't wait to share with you!

Happy Fall everyone!

Toronto

Kit is leaving today for Toronto for another speaking opportunity. I am always excited that he gets these opportunities to do something that he loves but I am always sad when he is gone. Ryder and I miss him so much.

So while kit is traveling, Ryder and I will be tackling some fall projects for the house that we can't wait to share with you. (Some projects for our mantel, front door, trick or treating, recipes... I can't wait!) So have a wonderful weekend and we will see you on Monday!

Kit Rae, we love you, we are so proud of you and we want you to hurry back!

wedding reception planning part 1

Our friends, Chris and Maxie, who were married this last June in South Africa, are having a California wedding reception here in December and I am heading up the decorations. I have this pressure to make it really beautiful and memorable with the realization that I am, um, not getting any smaller or less pregnant, so I want to work ahead.

Here is a snapshot from their wedding day that I am using for my inspiration for the decorations:

I love the turquoise and chalkboards and the rustic feel of it all together, so I am hoping to put my own spin on it. I am starting with one of my favorite things ever: oil cloth banners.

They have so many fun saturated colors that I know I can play on their rustic wedding feel.

Also, I found these chalkboards at Michaels and had used them for our fourth of July block party. Kit was telling me how chalkboards seem to be really big in South Africa and they were used all over in their wedding. So, to make the little ones that I have fit a little bit better for this event, I am spray painting them turquoise.

Before:

(I used painter's tape to cover the slate so that I could get an even paint line.)

After:

I am really excited about how things are coming together. This is the stuff about throwing a party that I love! There are more details that I am working on... I will keep you posted!

little pink presents

While Kit gets ready in the morning, we leave our bathroom door open, since he is in and out of it. I came around the corner and this is what I found:

And the culprit:

(Well you knew it wouldn't be Kit...)

Two seconds flat, our kiddo can get into more stuff! The best part was when I surprised him in the act of "rearranging" my bathroom drawers, he held one of them up to me with a face that said, "Hey mom, I found this little pink present for you!"

What a giver!

Food Network

Kit surprised me with a subscritpion to Food Network magazine and even though I have only recieved one issue, I am LOVING it. The FoodNetwork.com is a huge reference for me when I am cooking and so I know the magazine will help out so much. I have been having more and more fun in the kitchen so I can't wait to share some of our favorites with you. Kit and I have been making lists of recipes we want to try (His usually involves the grill or smoker and meat, and mine usually involves the stovetop or oven...) I can't wait to get started! Now if only I knew what we were having for dinner tonight...

Weekend recap...

We had some fun connecting with our friends this weekend. Ryder has so much fun with other kiddos, and it is always so good to be together with other friends!

With our friends the Thrashes:

And dinner with our friends the Salaffs:

(I got to be this precious little girls nurse when she was born, only a few months before Ryder was born, and by a very small world, our families have become fast friends...)

Thank you guys for sharing life with us! It was a wonderful weekend!

organizing memory books

I am our family historian. Kit is the primary photographer and movie maker but I am the writer and story teller and I keep all of our memories organized and written down. I love looking back through our life together (it's been almost 13 years now...) I started when we were in college and needless to say, I have quite a few books that document our life together. I have a journal for each of our kiddos where I write to each of them on a fairly regular basis, my own journal, and our family scrapbook that incorporates things we do as a family.

I made a book for Ryder that documented our pregnancy as well as his first year. This week I started one for our baby girl. (Oh my goodness, I still can't believe we are having a baby girl!)

I had so much fun getting pretty paper, with pinks and purples, so girly! I am loving it...