Trick-or-Treat Halloween Mantel

Happy Halloween! My kids are so excited to dress up today as a pink fairy and Iron Man for their school costume parade and then head out trick-or-treating this evening. I hope I can keep up with them! I'm 38 weeks along now, just waiting on Baby Girl to make her appearance. 

A few weeks ago, I finally got the "Halloween decorating bug" and did up our dining room mantel. Hazel and Owen had fun helping me and making their own decorations too.

Mainly, I used items we already had, decorations from previous years, and some crafts we worked on together. The only new purchases were all of the pumpkins and gourds.

Here is what we put together…

Although I MUST WARN YOU!! Before we venture ahead…

Family Vacation to North Myrtle Beach

Last week, our family had the pleasure of going on vacation to North Myrtle Beach along with my mom and sister. The drive down to South Carolina from our home (outside of Rochester, NY) took us about 15 hours including stops. Even though I was a terrified of the trip down with little ones, it wasn't as bad as I had imagined it would be. We spent a relaxing week by the beach, sight seeing and making memories.

I know that generally, people find it boring to look at other people's vacation photos, but I like to do posts like these, more for myself, to have a collection of our photos of the trip to look back on and remember the times we spent together as a family. I am not a scrapbooker, and I must confess, I rarely get a photograph printed, so blogging is sort of my "memory keeping" method. I hope you aren't too bored today if you click through to read about our trip. I tried my best to make the photos pretty for you to help keep you from yawning 🙂

Boho Woodland Animal Collage Art {Crafting with Your Kids No. 1}

This shop is part of a social shopper marketing insight campaign with Pollinate Media Group® Elmer’s and Wet Ones, but all my opinions are my own. #pmedia #CraftandCleanUp http://my-disclosur.es/OBsstV

Today, I am starting a new series called Crafting with Your Kids, which is of course, one of my favorite things to do as a mom! This series will consist of projects that parents and children can collaborate on together to make unique works of art or decor for your home.

Up first, are these "boho style" woodland animal collages that my three year old daughter, Hazel, and I made for the playroom. 

Since being a mom is busy, I don't have a lot of time to make my own art the way that I used to, but I have a deep need to be creative. Working together is a great alternative.

Gifts for Difficult to Shop for Men {and a Review}

I received the cocktail shaker featured in this post, from My 1st Years, in exchange for this review. 

All opinions are my own.*

Do you know a guy who is difficult to buy gifts for? Well, I do. That would be my husband. And not because he is picky or anything. Precisely the opposite. He is neither here nor there about gifts. Actually, he usually says he doesn't even like gifts. I can't even imagine that sort of life. I always love a present!

Well this past Father's Day, I finally got him a gift that he not only loves, but will put to good use.

Holiday Home Tour | Part Five | The Playroom

Welcome to Part Five of my Holiday Home Tour! I hope that you all had a wonderful Christmas. We certainly did and enjoyed hosting dinner on Christmas day. We crammed 14 adults and three little ones into our 1300 square foot home, which made it pretty cozy. Everyone enjoyed themselves and lots of love could be found wherever you turned.

A Cottage Style Summer Vignette {a look back to 2009}

Since I haven't had a lot of time to decorate for summer lately (other than the small bit I did on our front porch recently), I thought I would share a vignette from our former townhouse that I set up the summer of 2009. Decorating was basically my life then. I lived for creating these vignettes. Not a whole lot of time (or space) for them these days…but it is still a passion.

Life was sure easy back then. It is very different now and a lot harder in some ways, but I wouldn't go back. I love spending my days with the little ones and even though that means less time doing the things I used to do regularly, it is worth it. I hope you enjoy this "look back" at my cottage style summer vignette…

Easy Buffalo Chicken Wing Pizza with Blue Cheese {with kid friendly version}

One of our family's favorite splurges is chicken wing pizza. We love it, but it can be quite a bit pricier than regular old pepperoni, so today, I am sharing a quick and delicious "make at home" version that is easier on the budget without losing any of the flavor.

The ingredients in this recipe include cooked chicken, Ken's Steak House Chunky Blue Cheese Dressing, crumbled blue cheese, shredded mozzarella and the Original Anchor Bar Buffalo Wing Sauce.

4th of July Mantel and a Free Printable Banner!

Today I am sharing my 4th of July mantel and have a free printable patriotic banner for you! Can you believe it is already almost July? Time sure is flying by.