Pumpkin Spice Almonds~

Well, it's that time of year!!! Pumpkin Spice everything is back.  I do have to say however, some people/companies have taken it a bit tooooo far with some pretty unappetizing products.

I did stumble upon this recipe on Pinterest, and seeing how our household loves sugared pecans at Christmas time, I knew I had to give it a try.

Warning...they are extremely addictive!  You won't be able to eat just one, so be sure to make a double batch ;-)

Pumpkin Spice Almonds

Ingredients

Pumpkin Spice

3 TBS cinnamon
2 tsp ginger
2 tsp nutmeg
2 tsp cloves

Pumpkin Spice Almonds

1/4 C water
1/2 C sugar
1 TBS pumpkin pie spice (recipe above-you'll have extra, which will be a good thing because your gonna need it when someone eats the last one and you are craving them, just saying)
1 C whole almonds

Instructions

Pumpkin Spice
1. Combine ingredients in a small bowl.

Pumpkin Spice Almonds
1. Line a baking sheet with wax paper or parchment paper.
2. In a heavy saucepan, combine water, sugar, and pumpkin pie spice.
3. Over medium heat bring to a full boil.
4. Add the almonds.
5. Stir until the liquid turns into a syrup coating on the almonds (this happens pretty fast).
6. Pour the almonds onto the baking sheet.
7. Separate the almonds with a fork.
8. Allow to cool.
9. Before serving to the family hide a stash for yourself (you'll can thank me later).

Original recipe can be found here.

Fall Is In The Air~

It is finally starting to feel like fall around these parts.  We may even see lows in the 30s come Sunday morning.

I finally got around to adding a few more touches of fall here and there in our home, and thought I would share them with you.

I still have plans to add a few more things...cozy throws, a few new pillows, some great smelling candles.  All of those things are what make our home feel warm and inviting during the coming months.

In the kitchen, I filled our tiered stand with various miniature pumpkins and gourds.  I filled my favorite white vase I picked up at Target last year with sunflowers, perfect for this time of year.  And, the candle is a new favorite scent from Seda France-China Musk.

Bringing my giant clamshell into fall was a quick change, just swapping out my glass fishing floats for some miniature white pumpkins.  They are a favorite of mine this time of year.

A simple collection of white ceramic pumpkins I picked up at Hobby Lobby last year create a simple vignette on our sideboard.

A closer look.  The white color allows me to move them around from room to room each year.  Last year I had used them on our mantle.

My little friendly fox, that I also picked up at Target last year (and painted gold), sits atop our bar cart.

The acorn I picked up at Home Goods was a quick swap for my urchin bowl filled with starfish, to add a bit of fall to our front entry.

And, I love this little squirrel votive holder.  I believe I picked this up at Target last year as well.  Yes, hubby says I spend way too much time money at  Target.  Is it a bad thing that both of my girls first words were Target???  I kid, but close enough.

I hope everyone has a Blessed weekend.  I am looking forward to the cooler temps we have been promised!

A Simple Fall Mantle~

Now that the temperatures here in the South are finally cooling off, I am gradually adding a few fall touches around our home.  

I love fall, the cooler temps, the colors, the smells.  However, I am not a huge fan of all the Halloween stuff.  I prefer to decorate for the season, not just a one day holiday.  The  touches I add will carry us through until Thanksgiving...which I cannot believe is just two short months away!!

A fun frame with the girls picture from fall two years ago (they are begging me to have it done on canvas to replace the existing one).  Battery operated candles from Pottery Barn-I love these...you set them and then they come on each evening at the same time and stay on for 5 hours!!  The cream ones I use year round and bring out the birch ones in the fall.  My beloved dough bowl that holds succulents in the summer months has been filled with 3 small pumpkins. And lastly, my sweet owl I found last fall rounds out the grouping.

Love the little pumpkins!! And their bright orange color.

This fun frame I picked up at a local gift store called Swoozies.  Perfect Southern saying.

Just little things here and there.

Thank you for your continued prayers and sweet emails of encouragement.

Fall Wreath~

I have been adding a few touches of fall here and there around the house this past week.  I decided to spruce up our front door with a new wreath.

I purchased a grapevine wreath at Michael's along with some fall colored flowers and burlap ribbon.  I simply detached the flowers from their stems and attached them to the grapevine wreath with hot glue.  I then made a bow with the burlap ribbon for the finishing touch.

Still need to pick up a few mums and some fall flowers for the flower beds, hopefully this weekend.

Hope everyone has a fabulous weekend.  We are headed to our oldest daughter's school tonight for the tour and to watch her coach her girls for the first time.  Seems like yesterday SHE was the one on the sidelines cheering.

Fall Inspired Console Table~

Today I am sharing our foyer console table decorated for fall.  I combined my love of a few things when pulling this vignette together-rich fall colors, books and a touch of gold.

Free Autumn Essentials printable can be found here.

While the temps haven't quite cooled off enough to officially call it fall, I am enjoyed the elements of fall nonetheless.

Fall Mantel~

The past few weeks have been super busy for us.  We finished up the high school volleyball season, our youngest had her one year follow up brain scan (due to a cyst and migraines she suffers), she's sported two casts on her left foot/ankle (not at the same time mind you) and is now back in a boot awaiting an MRI for that injury, tons of college applications, she is now back coaching club volleyball and is in the midst of tryouts, big sis formally accepted her job upon graduation in December, finishing up other Senior obligations for both (baby ads, senior ads, announcements, etc), we participated in our neighborhood garage sale...

Okay, I don't know about you but I am exhausted just reading all of that.  I am ready to have all of that behind us, and just concentrate on enjoying time together as a family.  The girls are growing up waaay too fast.

I finally got around to decorating our fall mantel with the pumpkins and gourds we picked out on our trip to the pumpkin farm a couple weekends ago.  I have kept most of our fall decor to our family room.  I am not big on Halloween decorations now that our girls are older.  I like something that will last us through to Thanksgiving.

Today I have a dentist appointment, and then have to take our youngest for her MRI results...so we are still running!

Hope everyone is having a great week!!

New Fall Favorites~

I recently purchased a couple of pieces for my fall wardrobe and I thought I would share them with you.



I first spotted these boots on Lindsay's blog, Delighted Momma, when she shared some of her favorite things.  They are the Steve Madden Cadence boots in Cognac.  I purchased mine from  my local Nordstrom ($98), but I know Lindsay purchased hers online.

The jacket is from Target, Converse Collection. It can be found here.  It is a great weight, and can be dressed up or down.  And, you can't beat the under $50 price tag.

The scarf I purchased last spring from Chicos.  I love the orange color for this time of year!

Hope everyone has a great weekend!  We are participating in our neighborhood garage sale.

The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown~

First, I would like to thank everyone who left such heartfelt comments yesterday.  It meant the world to me, and it felt great to know that others had my back.  You all are the best!  I have to say that after reading the comments and having some time to think about things, I have no regrets and have put it in the past.  Time to move on.

I had promised pics of our trip to the pumpkin patch, so with out further ado...

My girls thought this sign was hilarious!

Our oldest with her beau.

No, I don't normally sport a bright orange pumpkin on my chest...I realized I had on my volleyball shirt that has the name of the school my daughter attends...so for privacy sake, I will sport a bright orange pumpkin (easy fix).

She survived despite being on crutches!!  (don't let that face fool you...she had a great time)

We had such a good time at the pumpkin patch.  The weather was gorgeous, sunny and a little cool.  The leaves are just starting to turn here, so we will probably make another trip up to the mountains soon to see all the changing colors.

So, you may have noticed dad is not in any of the pictures...he was like a kid in a candy shop, checking out all the pumpkins and such...we couldn't keep up with him.  He'd never been to a huge pumpkin patch like this one! LOL  We ended up with two wheelbarrows full of pumpkins and a basket of mini pumpkins, gourds and indian corn.  Now I have to figure out where they are all going.  Fortunately, some went home with our oldest daughter for her apartment.

Hope everyone is having a great week so far!

Touch of fall~

We have been so busy with our youngest daughter's volleyball,  I have yet to really decorate for fall.  Yes, I know, it is already October! 

It's been worth every minute of our time.  She racked up 9 aces and 31 service points for her team in the 1st round of the Area Tournament, securing them a spot in the 1st round of the State Playoffs.  Not bad for a kid who stretched her rotator cuff muscle in her hitting shoulder a week ago (one she has already had surgery on) and might be fighting a stress fracture in her foot.  Senior year...not gonna let it stop her!

On top of that we have had issues with not just our oldest daughter's car, but now mine!

I did however manage to put together one fall basket.  I had clipped the last of our hydrangeas about a month ago and let them dry out.  I placed them along with a few pinecones in a pedestal basket I had (purchased from Ikea).  I love the blue green color of the hydrangeas and the bit of brown the pine cones add.

Hopefully this weekend I can get a few more things decorated.  We have a 3 day weekend.  However, I think the youngest will have practice on Monday despite no school.

Hope everyone is having a great week!  Happy Hump Day!!

Last of Fall and a Sneak Peek~

First, I apologize for lack of posts.  We've had a couple of busy/rough weeks here at our house.  Our youngest had been sick (migraines and sinus/flu), now dad has it, and I am praying I don't get it as I am now in charge of uniforms for 120+ volleyball players at the club.  We also managed to get her room almost complete (we are still working on art/rug?) so I  will show you that soon.  We also redid our Master Closet.  We weeded out and added some great storage from Ikea.  I promise to post pictures of that as well.  But, in the meantime here's a couple fall/Thanksgiving pics and a sneak peek at Christmas (these are from last year).

The last of the fall leaves~

Our Thanksgiving Chalkboard (Hubby says the turkey looks more like the NBC Peacock!)  I never claimed to be an artist!

And, a sneak peek.  Some of the touches in our dining room last year.


Dining Room Chandelier Adorned

Glass Hurricane Filled with Ornaments and Pinecones (the pinecones were dipped in white paint to get the snow covered effect)

Dining Room Tablescape

I am super excited to start decorating the end of next week.  We will be changing some things up this year, as I am going for a  more "natural" look.  Think vines, pinecones, cinnamon sticks, burlap ribbon...

Fall Tray~

We have an iron tray with glass that we keep on our coffee table in our family room to set drinks down on and the remote controls.  I decided to add a bit of fall to it as the leaves here are FINALLY changing now that the South is cooling off.  I had some  burlap left from another project, so I just cut a piece the size of the glass, fringed the edge and placed it on the tray.  I went out into the yard and collected some fallen leaves, dried them, and placed them on top of the burlap and covered with the glass.  I love all of the beautiful colors nature  has to offer!

Hope you all have a wonderful day!  It is beautiful here.  We have been receiving some much needed rain, but expect clear  cool skies for Halloween!

Adding a little fall~

We are finally enjoying cooler temps here in the South, and with that I have slowly been changing out our summer decor with items more suited to this time of the year.  I am really trying to use things we already have this year, rather than buying new.  I figure the Christmas decor will come out soon enough!

The first  thing I changed out was the flower bucket on our front door.

Next, I traded out the seashells for some pinecones in the large bowl  that sits on  the table in our library.

I then swapped the seashells in a hurricane in the library for a grape vine wreath I loosened and placed in the bottom along with some green Spanish moss and acorns.

Once again the seashells were stored away along with the jute roping and sand, and replaced with miniature pinecones my daughter collected years ago on a trip to North Carolina.

The bird's nest with little blue eggs on my cake plate with a cloche now holds a little white pumpkin.  I love these!

The iron crow I purchased at Pottery Barn came out as well...

And lastly, as least for today, my newest love~my Willow House lantern (set of two, this is the larger), got

some of the grapevine wreath as a base for a yummy smelling vanilla candle and was placed in the center of our dining room table.

Little by little we are starting to see fall around here in the South.  A welcome reprieve after several long months of 95+ degree temperatures.