halloween ready

We are all ready for Halloween at our house. Things may look a little different this year, but we are still going to make it a fun night.

Our spooky night time front porch. I see someone peering through the window too:)

Shades of orange by the front door. 

Have a BOOtiful day and fun Halloween! 

touches of autumn at home

 Well hello first day of October! I feel like October officially kicks off the fall season. I have been adding a few more autumn touches around the house. I still have a few more pumpkins to buy for the front porch, but I may wait another week. The Carolinas tend to have plenty of very warm October days and in years past, my pumpkins are rotten and my mums are dead by the time Halloween rolls around. I did find this rich orange mum and could not pass it up. 

I always like when the leaves begin to change and I can just cut off a few branches to use on my mantel. The trees in our yard typically do not have bright vibrant reds, so I am the crazy lady that keeps scissors in her car this time of year and when I see a beautiful tree with branches I can reach, I pull over and collect some of nature's bounty:)

You can take all the pumpkin spice lattes, just give me all of your candy corn. Trust me, throw some peanuts in the mix. It is delicious and dangerous:)

Happy October! We made it to the 4th quarter! 

the colors of fall

image from southernliving.com

 

Are you seeing it? The foliage is starting to slowly change and I love it.  For me, seeing the season change provides a sense of normalcy. This image really highlights my favorite fall colors: red, orange, golden yellow, olive green and navy blue. I tend to be a slow seasonal decorator and add something each week. So far, I have purchased one small pumpkin and set out my faux wheat plant. As the temperature continues to grow cooler, I will begin adding more fall decor inside and outside our home.  I do love summer, but am happy to see the colors of fall grace us with it's presence. 

if i had a real office space...

Even before the world turned upside down, I mainly worked out of my car.  I did have a small office that I would pop into a few times a week, but since covid, I have been working at home a lot more just like the rest of the world. Currently, I am working in our dining room where I have been since March, but if I did ever have a true workspace, below is what I would set up in my home. 

I love this new desk from Studio McGee at Target. What a beauty with simple lines and those  drawers are so pretty. 

I am all about a comfy work chair and this one fits the budget and checks the comfort box for me. It really softens the workspace too. We have this chair in our bedroom and it currently is my husband's desk chair. He approves:)

I also would add some soothing artwork. This piece already comes in this lovely frame.

A good lamp is very important to me. This is another Studio McGee for Target item. It has a nice modern, yet warm feel to it. 

Any workspace I have ever had, I always bring in a real plant. It motivates me.  Hmmm I bet my current office plant is dead by now since I haven't watered it in months:) Anyway, I would absolutely have a real plant in my home office space. 

I love this pencil holder from World Market. I have even used cute mugs as pencil/pen holders. This one comes with a matching file holder which I might would add as well. Organization is key with any workspace, but especially when trying to separate work from home.  

Lastly, we all need a cute coffee mug! Or at least somewhere to put all that coffee that we need to make it thru each day! 

Have a wonderful, productive work week! Be sure to do something for yourself each day. Self-care is so important during this crazy time! 

chicken corn chowder

I always tend to pull out some soups as summer winds down and thoughts of school circle my mind.  Those back-to-school thoughts are really circling my mind these days and I am sure your mind too. My  go-to summer soup is corn chowder.  This time I added chicken. 

A little trick for a mess-free way of cutting the corn off of the cob is to use your bundt pan. Stabilize the corn in the center of the pan while you cut the corn off. It falls right into the pan.

bundt pan  and dish towel (similar)

I roughly followed this recipe. I added chicken from a rotisserie chicken instead of the salmon, but I would love to try the salmon next time. It is not pictured here, but I served our corn chowder with a grilled romaine salad and a french bread loaf. There are so many great recipes for grilled romaine out there, but I drizzled ours with olive oil and sprinkled them with sea salt. Once grilled, they were topped off with Parmesan cheese and Caesar dressing. 

summertime sales

Summertime sales tend to be the best sales during the year. I try to keep my eye out for things that are really good deals. I recently purchased a few winter and summer items during the JCrew sale. I highly recommend checking it out. Also, I needed another cover-up this year, but have not been able to find one that I love until recently. I found  This cover-up  and really love the fabric and length.  There are lots of other

Mud Pie cover-ups on sale for $15 too. 

Happy Shopping! I hope you are having a great week so far! 

summer frittata

The summer heat and humidity are in full swing in the Carolinas so light dinners are what I have been craving. We also continue to eat at home a little more than we used to. One meal I have been making more often is a frittata. At the beginning of quarantine, I asked my sister for some ideas and she mentioned that she makes frittatas a lot. You truly can add anything in them. We have been just adding whatever vegetables we have on hand. It is a delicious, light and tasty dinner! 

I followed this recipe, but used spinach, mushrooms, onions, cherry tomatoes and red pepper flakes in mine. I also used 8 eggs for the hungry boys in my house. I served ours with a side salad.

Eggs do not make pretty pictures, but they taste so good!