Time: please just slow down. 

I swear he grows up exponentially by the second. 

I want to soak up every minute and never forget these times.

1. Seeing who can name all 50 states the fastest {I forgot 5 of them, Frank forgot 6}.  2. The waitress at lunch the other day that kept calling Morgan "she" and "her". We didn't correct her and it just got funnier every time she said it. Poor kid gets that a lot though with those gorgeous locks of his!  3. Unpacking the Christmas decorations.  4.  Pulling off Thanksgiving dinner! The turkey was delicious even though it was so much more of a disgusting process preparing it than I ever realized.  5. Buying Morgan's play kitchen for Christmas and not being able to fit the box in the car. And then having to take it out of the box to get it in the car.  6. Morgan becoming even more of a flirt these days. You should see the grins he has for cashiers and waitresses.  7. Morgan reaching up to the counter and pulling a bag of cheetos onto the floor and then proceeding to plop down next to them and pop them in his mouth.  8. Getting some craft inspiration back this weekend.  9. My husband's inability to keep gifts a secret or wait until Christmas for them.  10. My husband.

xoxo,

Ashley

my happy

Broom hijacking at Great-Grandma's and running away from mama when she's trying to change me!

Cake eating at a baby shower.

Look at that boys face. Clearly he enjoys a piece of cake like his mama does!

1. Catching up with a pal over margaritas and fajitas.  2. Turning back the covers about to climb into bed after a long night at work and finding a love note from my hubby. Such a lucky lady, I am.  3. Noticing changes in my body from working out and feeling stronger.  4. Driving through the country to a restaurant we've never been to and making a wrong turn because the street signs had been turned. It was pretty funny. Guess you would have to have been there though.  5. Camping out on my Grandma's floor with Morgan because he wouldn't sleep in the pack-n-play. My bones were aching and I've definitely had better nights of sleep, but it was sweet cuddling up with my little man.  6.  Anticipating a visit from my bestie this week, no matter how short it may be. :)  7.  Thankfulness for family and food to share around my kitchen table for Thanksgiving this week.  8.  Morgan's ability to find a broom in any house or location we may be at. Little man is OBSESSED with them.  9. Google reader on my phone. I always have reading material handy.  10. Only two nights of work this week! Woo hoo!

xoxo,

Ashley

My happy

My mischievous little man. Raiding the desk drawers and chillin' in baskets. Just another day around here :)

1. A much overdue phone conversation with my bestie. Love that girl <3 2. Brownies made with olive oil and chocolate chips. Such chewy goodness.  3. Morgan doing head stands and peaking at me upside down between his legs.  4. Working out everyday. It feels really good.  5. Finding a fun little bowling set for Morgan at Goodwill for $3! And it looks almost brand new too!  6. Chopping off over 10 inches of my hair. It was liberating in a weird kind of way. That hair has been my security blanket for quite some time.  7. The squeals of pure delight Morgan let out in the bathroom as he splashed around and soaked mama and the floor in the process.  8. Sharing days off with the hubby this week.  9. A beautiful fall day in November {even after snow a few days ago...eww}.  10. The walk we have planned for this beautiful fall day after the little one's nap.

xoxo,

Ashley

Fantle updated for Thanksgiving

I'm still on the hunt for a "real" faux fantle {oxymoron?}, but until I find one, 

the top of the bookcase in my dining room will have to suffice. 

I updated it a couple of days ago, replacing the Halloween decor with

more fall/Thanksgiving decor. 

I swapped out the Halloween printable for framed burlap which I wrote on with a dry erase marker. Then, I swapped out the black candle stick for a different wooden one I picked up at Target {3 bucks!!} And I added in the vintage books I picked up at a local thrift store for 70 cents each! I had originally planned to "de-spine" {is that a word?} and use them as part of my White Christmas decor I have planned, but I fell in love with the mustardy yellow colors of their covers and decided to keep them.

I also found this orange berry garland in the Halloween clearance at target for $3:

And last but not least, I set out this gorgeous white cake plate I found for $2.80.

I think we might be in love.

xoxo,

Ashley

Thrifty Find: Re-upholstered Chair

So we made our weekly trip to Goodwill today. It's become a fun little weekly ritual for Frank, Morgan, and I. I love that Frank loves thrifting too, and can't wait for my little Morgan to be just as pumped for the trips one of these days too. 

I've been trying to make a point of buying things that need a little more work. I love seeing cool before and afters of furniture, but I'm always a little too timid to take the risk myself. It's a lot easier to buy a $2 candlestick with potential, than say a $20 piece of furniture. 

Well, today I found this $3.99 chair with a less than desirable cushion. I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to try to re-upholster a piece of furniture without having to "splurge" {yes 20 bucks is a splurge in thrifting world}. So I scooped it right up and we headed to Walmart to get the tools for re-upholster my new chair, because we had not a one. 

- Staple gun and staples
- Fabric
- Foam padding

First things first, I unscrewed the seat from the bottom of the chair.  Then I pried the nails off of the bottom with my screwdriver.  Next, I scrapped the old fabric and padding, replacing it with new padding, cut to size.  Then, I stapled my new fabric around the seat {kind of like a present}.  Lastly, I screwed the seat back onto the bottom of the chair. 

Voila! That's it! It was super easy {like less than a half hour easy}. Now I'm excited to tackle my next big project!

xoxo,

Ashley

My happy

1. Halloween Peanut Butter Kisses.  2. After holiday shopping. Is there anything better?  3. Hitting the thrift store on a 30% off store wide sale day.  4. My little refrigerator thief. He likes to sneak up when I have it open and snatch something. In the pic above it was an apple.  5. Switching out Halloween decorations for fall/Thanksgiving decorations.  6. My newest game with Morgan. Calling the phone he's holding from our other phone and seeing his reaction. It went from being totally freaked out the first time to dancing to the ringtone. Too funny.  7. American Horror Story on FX. Super weird, but strangely fascinating show.  8. A ice cold glass of Moscato.  9. Snuggles on the couch with blankets now that it's cooling off.  10. Planning for the upcoming holiday season festivities. I'm so excited for Thanksgiving and Christmas. 

xoxo,

Ashley

Easy, delicious cake

Try it.

It's easy.

And delicious.

And did I mention easy?

So I just realized that I spelled bake as "back".

Oh, dear lord. 

How embarrassing.

Oh well, you all know what I mean.

Go ye forth and "back" cakes. 

xoxo,

Ashley