Happy Birthday "not so" Baby Girl~

It seems like just yesterday we were dreading being parents of a teenager.  Two actually.  Well, come 12:55 PM today, that is all about to change.

For you see, our baby girl is turning 20! 20 people!!  And, while she is the baby in the family, she sure as heck no longer looks like one (poor dad...this being a father of two grown girls is not for the faint of heart).

20 years ago, she was welcomed into this family and joined her "not so big" sister (baby girl is almost 5'10", big sis 5'4") in bringing joy to our lives each and every day.

Her smile can light up a room, she has a hug for everyone, and a heart the size to match.  She is a light that shines bright each and every day for the God she loves so much.

We are now very proud parents of two, what we now refer to as our "twentysomethings". Gulp.

Happy Birthday Baby Girl!  We are so very very proud of you, and all of your accomplishments.

Love, Mom and Dad

P.S.  Sissy, Kylee, and Toby too!! xoxo

Organized Makeup Drawer~

Yes, I am still here.  Took some time off to catch up on things around the house, read a few of the many books that I have been meaning to get to, hang out with my little ones on Wednesday mornings and squeezing in doctors appointments.

I usually keep most things fairly organized.  I just function better when everything is neat and tidy, and in its place.

However, recently my makeup drawer had become a disaster.

A jumbled up mess!

There were several things that just needed to be pitched, things that had either seen their day or that I no longer used.  But, the biggest problem was all the little pots of Mac eyeshadow I had acquired.  I was tired of searching through the jumbled pile to find the shade I was looking for.

So after thinking about it, and searching on Pinterest for some ideas, I came across the perfect solution...a very inexpensive ice cube tray.  I have used these in the past for things.  My youngest actually uses one in a shallow dresser drawer at school to store her earrings.  Each section is the perfect size for the Mac eye shadow pots.

No more searching!  And, my favorite color corrector and concealer fit too.

So much better!

Perfect solution.

Have you organized anything lately with a cheap quick fix???

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.

Eating Gluten Free~

First, let me apologize for the lack of posts.  Where does the time go?

Since dropping baby girl off at the university, we have been working toward establishing a new routine back here at home.   Part of which includes my teaching my little ones again on Wednesday mornings.

Yesterday was their first day.  A few tears, but most subsided quickly once they saw all the great toys we had for them to play with.  They loved listening to the Bible story, marching around the room playing instruments, crafting and music time with the "bigger" kids.

One was a bit of a handful.  New baby at home, big sister just started Kindergarten...lots of changes.  Hoping he settles down soon.  We were exhausted by the end of our 3 hours with them!!!

As I mentioned in my last post, baby girl and I have gone gluten free.  While at first we were a bit intimidated by the whole idea (especially me since I was also told to eliminate cow's dairy and peanuts as well), it is going quite well actually.  The bonus is we both feel so much better already!!

So, I thought I would share one of my new favorite cookbooks.  I have always been a fan of Cooking Light, and I was thrilled to see a Cooking Light Gluten Free cookbook at Barnes and Noble.

We have enjoyed several recipes already.  Really not missing out on anything with these.  And, the proof...hubby loves them too!!!

I love that most are also dairy free (or dairy free with a few adjustments).  For instance, I used Buffalo mozzarella on the pizza.  We also used Bob's Red Mill GF Pizza Dough mix, rather than the recipe for the crust they gave.  We had used it before and it was delicious.  Again, we didn't feel like we were losing out on taste at all with ANY of these recipes.

Hope to be back on a more regular blogging schedule next week now that we have settled in.  Enjoy your weekend!!!