Monday Manners: Happy Halloween and Blog Sale!

Well, we weren't one of the ones that got snow, but it sure is freezing here!  It will definitely be a chilly night for trick-or-treating!  I hope y'all had a wonderfully festive weekend.  We sure did a lot, but it was all well worth it, and we lucked out on the weather, too!  I apologize ahead of time for the flooding of photos on this post!!

Thursday, W had her Halloween Parade at school, and E had her Halloween Party (they weren't allowed to wear their costumes, because the teachers said it would be too hard to change their diapers - true).

Yes, black cupcakes!!

Friday, we attended a Halloween Party that a friend in her class was throwing, and later that afternoon, we went with Grammy and Poppy (my in-laws) to a Halloween party at the country club.

E is dressed in pink doctor scrubs, with her "Dr. E" monogrammed on the pocket,

but after she saw W, she wanted to wear her tutu too.

Loving her cool butterfly on her cheek.

Saturday, I helped throw a baby shower for a friend; while the hubs watched E, and my mother-in-law took W to a play.

The hostesses with the mommy-to-be (blond).

Yet again, Edible Art!  YUM!  And yes, I got to take some of the leftovers home with me!

While we were there, we all got to create a onesie, even choosing to iron-on something,

and then A had to choose her favorite.  She chose the Rockstar one.  Too cute!

This one was mine.

L and Me

Sunday, after church, we relaxed, watched the Panthers play, and carved pumpkins.  Actually, the girls helped their daddy for about five minutes, and then wanted to watch Dora Halloween.  He stayed busy for quite a while, but after giving him a pumpkin carving knife, and some pumpkins stencils he found on the Nick Jr. website, he created these masterpieces. ;)

Foofa (from Yo Gabba Gabba) and Molly (from W's favorite show right now, Bubble Guppies)

Mr. Grouper (from Bubble Guppies)

Tonight, our neighborhood has a parade for the kids, and then we're heading to a friends for pizza and drinks, and then it's trick-or-treating time!

Hope y'all have a great time tonight!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!

I'll announce the winner of the giveaway this evening.
My blog sale has been updated.  Click here to have a look!

Oh, and look what I got this morning...

L's first (sort of) smile.

Weekend Inspiration: 2 Corinthians 9:8

"And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times,

having all that you need, you will abound in every good work."

2 Corinthians 9:8

Photo Credit: 1

Fashion Friday: Lilly Resort is Here!

While I'll be wearing most of my fall Lilly well into April, it's still fun to see the resort collection up and running on Lilly's website.  And although most of the collection is more appropriate for warmer weather, I still managed to find some favorites from the new Resort collection, for this time of year!

Elsa Top in Snorkel Blue Greens with Envy

First off, how amazing is this Elsa top!  If you've never tried on an Elsa, you're missing out!  They're the perfect top that you can wear dressed up or down, and most of the time Lilly carries them in two kinds of fabrics - cotton or silk.  The Elsa featured here is silk, and I'd probably pair it with some jeans and heels, for a fun date night look.  Just remember to use your static spray, so the Elsa doesn't stick to you in the winter months!

 Estelle Sweater in Pink Tomato Ho Ho Ho Intarsia

Next, is the Estelle Sweater.  While you're thinking, wow, this looks like my mother's goofy Christmas sweater, I'm thinking it's fun, yet classy at the same time.  It's fitted and CASHMERE too, so it's a little bit nicer, and more fitted, than the ones my mom used to wear.  Now, if you paired it with green blinking ornament earrings and a Christmas lights necklace, then yes, it'd be tacky - but I'm thinking I'd wear mine with black leggings/skinny jeans and some black Tory Burch flats.  See...FUN!

Rebecca Sweater in Black

The Rebecca sweater is a new style sweater from their line.  I just think it's the perfect black top - that's a little different than the typical black sweater, but still classic at the same time.  I feel like anything would go with this, and you could wear it for so many occasions this winter.

Throw on a Murfee Scarf for a punch of color - and you're good to go!

Saratoga Sweater in True Navy Destination Stripe

I guess I'm on a 'tops' kick, because here's another one I'm in love with...the Saratoga sweater.  How sweet is this little gem?  Great with dark jeans now, and in the spring - when it's still cool outside - it'll be great paired with white jeans or shorts.  A perfect yachting-style top, and the ruffles on the sleeves are a nice touch too.

Jonah Dress in Shorely Blue Purring Jacquard

I feel like there are a lot of new dress styles this time around, and while I love the look of many of them, I won't really know how they'll do for me, until I can try them on.  So, I'm sure I'll be back with another post later, letting you know some of my favorite dresses from the collection!  But for now, I'm loving my go-to style Jonah dress, in this print.  Seriously, if you've never tried on a Jonah, you're missing out - it fits every body type!

And of course, the Minnies Resort Collection is darling, too!  I'm already trying to decide what E will wear for her birthday, mid-November.  I'll save my favorite Minnies outfits from the Resort collection, for another post.

Have you seen Lilly's Resort Collection yet?  What do you think?

Have you already added any of it to your Christmas list?

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I hope y'all have a wonderful weekend!  Yesterday, we saw the temps reach 79 degrees, and today it's overcast and they're not supposed to reach 60!?  We just got through with one Halloween party this morning, and we're attending another one after the girls wake up from their naps.  Whew!  I think they're serving cocktails at the one this evening, so it should add some extra entertainment to the party...especially when I'm not driving!

Please be safe over the weekend, y'all!  And have a blast!  If you're dressing up, please comment and let me know what you're going to be, especially if you have a blog.  I want to see some fun pictures!!

TGIF!

P. S. My giveaway ends tomorrow, so make sure you enter, if you haven't done so already.  Also, just a heads up, I'm going through my closet, and will hopefully have items on my blog sale sometime next week, if not earlier!

Thirsty Thursday: Cider Tea

Man, Southern Living sure had a bunch of delicious cocktail recipes this month!  It was so hard to choose the perfect one for this week.  I'm guessing I'll keep posting these Southern Living festive cocktail recipes...especially considering the holidays will be perfect to make them...with a special someone, or with friends and family!  Cheers!

This week I went with the Cider Tea recipe.  It makes 8 cups.  I'm sure you can spike it with some rum, as well, to warm you up even more!  I've heard in the Northeast they're already getting snow?!  P. S. If you've never tried hibiscus tea, you must try it sometime!  The hubs and I visited San Francisco's Chinatown a couple of years back, and went into so many tea shops...and the hibiscus tea was definitely my favorite!

Ingredients

• 6 regular-size hibiscus tea bags
• 2 1/2 cups water
• 4 whole allspice
• 4 cloves
• 2 (3-inch) cinnamon sticks
• 6 cups apple cider

Preparation

• Place tea bags and water in a medium saucepan; bring to a boil. Boil, uncovered, until liquid is reduced to 2 cups. Remove tea bags, and stir in whole allspice, cloves, and cinnamon sticks. Let cool about 1 hour; chill 1 hour. Discard solids. Cook tea mixture and apple cider in a large saucepan over medium heat until thoroughly heated.

Note:  Southern Living tested with Celestial Seasonings Red Zinger Herbal Tea.

Doesn't it make you want to start a fire, and get nice and cozy, sipping it?  Let me know if you do!  I'll be busy tonight making two breakfast casseroles for a baby shower I'm hosting for a dear friend on Saturday.

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Since I missed out on the whole Target for Missoni craze, having a newborn at home that week, I thought I wouldn't ever get my hands on any of it.  Well...every time that I've visited my Target since then, I've been lucky enough to find returns on the Missoni rack.  I wore the Missoni Infinity scarf to a neighborhood picnic last weekend...

This is NOT my house behind me...it's my next-door neighbors'.

Here's the new iMac, in all its glory, looking lovely in our bedroom...

In LOVE!

Oh yeah, and I can't believe I left out our first born!!  Boozer turned FIVE last week.  If you didn't know it, you'd seriously think he was a puppy - the little spazzo!

Hope y'all have a nice rest of your Thursday!

Photo Credit: 1

Wednesday Whereabouts

Last week, the girls and I made some Halloween cookies.  Let's just say it was very hard for the girls to resist eating their cookies, before we'd finished decorating all of them...

Four of my five sisters came in town last weekend, to celebrate Sister #3's birthday.  Which means my sweet nephew was in town too.  The girls always LOVE spending time with their cousin (he's closer to E's age).  Here are just a few of the many photos of them entertaining each other...

Kissing Cousins

Doesn't she look so OLD here?

He seriously gave little L more attention, than my girls ever do!

Such a sweetie...well, both of them!!

Happy Wednesday, Y'all!

P. S.  Who else is excited about Revenge tonight??  I've become obsessed!  I think I seriously need a house in the Hamptons...preferably understated, like Emily Thorne's.  Ha!  And is it sad to say that I'm actually watching Hart of Dixie, too.  A little on the cheese side, but Lemon's wardrobe is amazing...well, aside from her bonnet and her overdrawn Southern drawl.  I've always loved Jaime King, ever since Blow and Pearl Harbor.  She's gorgeous!  And the guys on the show are pretty nice to watch too...bonus.

Tuesday Trends: New Header & Announcement Reveal

Good Tuesday, to Y'all! Well, what do you think of my latest header? I love all the fun colors, and pretty new font.  Sweet Simplicity always does a fabulous job with all of my headers.  I also appreciate the fact that she's okay with my ever-changing, ADD mind, as I love changing the blog look more than most...probably why I could never get a tattoo!  I'd definitely be the one with tattoos everywhere, because I could never make up my mind on just one!
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A good day became GREAT today!  As I was making some returns today at the mall, I stopped to feed L his bottle and sat myself, my stroller and all my things down on a couch in the mall.  Well, after feeding L, I gathered all my things, and headed home.  As I got about halfway home I realized I had placed my sunglasses down on the couch, and definitely didn't get them when we left.  Randomly, as I was sitting on the couch, I was eying all the stores around me, and next to me was the store, Front Gate.  Well, on my way home, I phoned the store, and asked them if they didn't mind doing me a HUGE favor, and checking to see if my sunglasses were right outside their store, on a couch.  Thankfully, she was happy to do it, and came back to the phone, saying she had found them, still sitting on the couch!  Thank the Lord!  After picking the girls up from preschool, we rushed over to the mall, and got my sunglasses - giving a huge THANK YOU hug to the lady that found them!  She even said a woman was sitting near the couch, where my sunglasses were, and didn't take them...good thing she didn't know who Tory Burch was, or she may have swiped them.  Only kidding!

Speaking of little L, here's his baby announcement.  We mailed them out last week...

I was so pleased with how they turned out, and even the hubs was impressed too!  It took awhile to address them, but now I can check it off my never-ending "Things To Do" list.  The next addressing will be for our Christmas cards, but thankfully, I'll have a little break before then.  Still can't believe that November starts next week!
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This past week W was the Super Star for her class, so she got to bring home their class pet this past weekend...think Flat Stanley mixed with an inanimate class pet...meet Chester, the raccoon!  Basically, Chester came everywhere with us, and we chronicled his weekend with us.  We had a lot of fun with it.

Here's W, reading with him...

Couldn't leave the other two out!

Go Dawgs!

E, loving on her little brother.

Hope y'all have a great rest of your Tuesday!!