Happy Halloween

We celebrated Halloween here yesterday. 

We had initially planned to take Morgan trick-or-treating

to a few friend's houses to show off his cute costume,

but the weather did not cooperate and it was rainy and cold. 

So, instead we hung out at Grandma's house and Morgan

helped Daddy and Uncle Brian hand out candy to all the

other little trick-or-treaters. 

We had such a good time.

And Morgan looked so darn cute dressed up as a puppy.

I hope you all have a wonderful, warm, fun, and sweet Halloween!

xoxo,

Ashley

Fall Wine Night

Thursday night several of my sorority sisters came over for a little get together at my place. 

It was an evening full of wine, sparking fondue pots, amazing feta dip, laughs, more wine, cold scallops, scary stories, chocolate dipped strawberries, nurse talk, and more wine. 

It was a good time. 

I love these girls.  

Awesome Greek Dip:

3 Roma tomatoes, chopped

1 bunch of green onions, chopped

8 oz Feta cheese, crumbled

3 tsp Greek seasoning

Olive oil

1 thinly sliced baguette

Wet platter generously with olive oil. Add everything else. Mix. Enjoy with sliced baguette. {Source}

xoxo,

Ashley

Halloween/Fall Decorating

Just wanted to share a few of my fall decorations.

The first little "vignette" sits atop a book case in my dining area. 

1. The framed Halloween printable is from Tater Tots & Jello.

2. The blocks are from the same set I used for Morgan's birthday and in his room. I simply painted them off white and used Distress Ink to give them a worn look. 

3. The framed photo is from last year, Morgan's 1st Halloween! The frame is from Target.

4. The orange pumpkin is a "Funkin" that I modge podged with photo copied fabric.

...

The second is a little shelf that sits above the TV. 
It's my wimpy excuse for a "fantle". 
I can't wait until I find a bigger shelf to replace it with. 

1. The frame is a Goodwill find (it once housed a weird cat picture). The kid in the frame is one of a kind, good luck finding a similar one.

2. The medicine bottle was also a Goodwill find and I just wrapped a little jute twine around it. 

3. The pumpkin is similar to the orange one, just with a different fabric.

4. The pot and faux plant (because faux sounds so much better than fake) is from Ikea. {Oh I heart that store}

5. And the shelf is from Hobby Lobby.

I've never been one for holiday decorating other than for Christmas, but this year I'm really into it. Probably has a lot to do with a little site that starts with a P. Maybe.


xoxo,
Ashley 

Yarn wrapped wreath for fall

I've been wanting to make one of these for awhile now. 

They're all over the blogosphere,

so I won't bother you with a lengthy tutorial.

 1. Buy wreath

2. Wrap with yarn

3. Decorate however your heart desires

.The end.

Easy enough, right?

I think so,

and I'm all about quick and easy.

xoxo,

Ashley

What I learned yesterday ...on 30 hours sans sleep

Lesson #1: Don't ever try to function that long without sleep ever again. Never. 

...

I think I can now say I have been officially initiated into the mom of a toddler club when Morgan screamed at the top of his lungs in a restaurant because I tried to take a bowl of rice and a fork away from him. Twice. {Also: Morgan loves him some rice. By the fist full.} What did I finally do to get him to give up the restaurants utensils so we could leave? Bribed him with a piece of lemon for one hand and  tortilla for the other, just as any good mom would ;) 

Maybe I should start traveling with cookies for such purposes. 

But do you want to know the funny part? I really don't think I would have been so bothered by it if I wasn't utterly and completely exhausted {from working the night before and then trying to function on no sleep after} OR if it wasn't for the completely mortified look on my two childless friends faces whom we were dining with. Yea, that was priceless. {I love you guys to the max, btw}. 

I guess that really does make it official. I'm in the club, and you know what? I don't mind it. Now just remind me of that statement the next time he decides to throw a fit in the middle of a public place again, mmmkay?

xoxo,

Ashley

DIY: Burlap covered canvas

Today I finally made use of this canvas that I purchased at Goodwill for $2.99. As I mentioned in this post, I had considered painting over it, but decided instead to cover it with some of my trusty burlap. 

So since this was kind of a spur of the moment, quick nap time project, I don't have step by step photos, but I'll give you a brief little run down of what I did. 

First, I attached the burlap to the canvas by trimming the burlap to size and then wrapping it around the frame, securing it with hot glue. I folded and glued the sides first, and then the top and bottom like a present. 

Then, I turned it over and laid out my stencils {cheap paper stencils you can buy at an office supply store} in the pattern I wanted. My inspiration was this photo I pinned onto my pinterest board for Morgan's room.

Source: potterybarnkids.com via Ashley on Pinterest

Finally, I traced the letters onto the burlap using a black sharpie and then colored them in with the sharpie as well. I considered painting them once I traced them, but I really liked the distressed look the sharpie gave to the letters and decided to leave them as is. 

What do you think? I still am not sure if I'll put it in Morgan's room or if it'll find it's home somewhere else around the house. 

xoxo,

Ashley

Wedding Wednesday: A nontraditional start

Happy Wednesday!

Today I'm sharing with you another wedding photo, of course, but I'm also opening up to you a bit. 

 Today's photo is of my little Morgan on the day of our wedding, hanging out with mama as I got ready for our very special day. 

Having a baby before we tied the knot was not the plan.

No, our little Morgan was the best surprise we could have ever asked for, but still quite the surprise. 

Your wedding day is an exciting day...and a stressful day, and when you add a baby into the mix it only becomes that much more stressful. Not only was I worried about everything going off without a hitch, and everything being perfect.

I was also worried about the baby. 

Would he be tired from all the excitement, and no nap?

Was he too hot? Was he hungry? Did he need water?

That's definitely not what you find on most brides minds on their wedding day, but it was on mine. And you know what? 

I wouldn't change it for anything.

No everything wasn't perfect. No it wasn't traditional. 

But we are a happy family.

We were a family before that day.

And that day was only a public celebration of the beautiful life we had already begun.

xoxo,

Ashley

ETA: Adorable suspenders and bow tie purchased at this Etsy shop.

My happy

  

  1.  Meeting up with one of my sorority sisters for coffee and spending half the time chasing Morgan around on the patio. I love the squeal he lets out when I catch him as he tries to out run me. Such a cute little booger.
  2.  Leaving work in the morning to come home just as everyone else is just starting their day.
  3.  Frosted animal crackers. Enough said.
  4.  Caffeine. It is a necessity right now.
  5.  Being awake to see the sun rise every morning this week {trying to be positive here!}.
  6.  Having a best friend who knows just what to say to put a smile on my face, and always does. 
  7.  Morgan bringing me a book to read to him and insisting I read it over and over again.
  8.  Peaking in on my boys before I head out to work to say good night. I'm sad to leave them, but it fills my heart with so much love watching them sleep.
  9.  Showing off pics of Morgan and hearing "What a cutie!". Yea, I know he is :)
 10. Chatting with my hubby, in the dark, on the way back from Oshkosh tonight as our little one dozed in the back seat. 

What's your happy this week?

xoxo,

Ashley

Wedding Wednesday: A special place

Happy Wednesday folks! 

...and by happy Wednesday I mean I wish it were Friday, 

but since it cannot be, I'll settle for Wednesday :)

The past few weeks have been long and busy for me.

I'm training for a new position at our local hospital, 

and though my position is part time, 

while I'm training I'm working full time to get the hang of things.

Which equals a nice paycheck, but a tired mama who misses her boys. 

Plus, this week I'm working night shift which has been quite the adjustment too {it's a wonder I actually know today is Wednesday...it is Wednesday right?}. 


...

Any who, onto the original topic of this post: Wedding Wednesday!

This weeks photo highlights the beautiful chapel we were married in.

It is the chapel on the campus of the university I graduated from which made it a really special place for us. 

We don't belong to any particular church, so we didn't want to just pick somewhere random to get married. We wanted a place that had meaning, and this was it. 

It didn't hurt that it is absolutely gorgeous and the perfect intimate setting for our small, intimate wedding. 

The pictures do not even do it justice, it truly is a gorgeous, special place.

I'm off to work my loves!

xoxo,

Ashley

Happy October!

Isn't October just fabulous? 

What's not to like about,

hot apple cider

caramel apples

leaves changing

cool breezes

orange-y sunsets 

and pumpkins.

This year I'm in love with white pumpkins.

Aren't they gorgeous and oh-so-chic? 

The perfect complement to a fall rustic chic wedding even, no?

 

Source: blogs.babble.com via Brooke on Pinterest

I hope you're having as great of a 1st day of October as I am!

xoxo,

Ashley