Real Simple

I absolutely love all three of these Real Simple magazine covers. It is so interesting to me how a picture can totally "pull you in" and speak to you. In the first photo, I love the use of the different colors. The red and turquoise color combo is one of my favorites and the colors of my business, Start Living Simple. The second photo makes me want to lay on my hammock with a great book. I love that in the third photo they took a vintage bench and put it next to a wall with gorgeous wallpaper. What do you think? Do you have any pictures that speak to you?

Fabulous Site

Check it out here!

Taking Advantage

Here are a few more pictures of Tucker from yesterday. The weather is so Gorgeous. It would be crazy not to be outside!

Got STATIC?

Tucker playing today under the hammock!

Ty's hopes for the Future

Ty got a new book from the book fair at school. It is called, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Do It Yourself Book. I think it is probably for fifth graders but is is cute none the less. It is like a journal where you can fill out questions and make your own comics. Last night before bed I was reading it with him. There is a page called Predict the Future.

These are Ty's 5 bold predictions for the future:

1. Cars will be solar powered.
2. Solar powered alarm clocks.
3. No Brocolli!
4. Bad people will be erased by pencils.
5. All clothes will be made out of organic cotton.

I particularly like #5.

True Talent

Anna Maria Horner is one of my favorite fabric designers. I love all of her work and would love to have her new book. Check out her blog.

A Little Sass

I decided to make this bag using black and white fabric that I had. I love the way it turned out and I can't wait to give it away.

Craft-O-Rama

Last night I took another bag class at Craft-O-Rama which is a super cute store located on South Congress. We made the "patchwork" bag and I love the way it turned out. You only need 5 different fat quarters and half a yard of different fabric for the lining and handles. I am going to make 2 more for Christmas gifts. I highly recommend taking a class from Hailey. She is great!

Early Morning

This morning before Tucker and I left for church I took a couple of pictures of him. He is such a doll!!!

What's Been Cooking

So, last year for my birthday Amy made me a fantastic cook book. In it is a staples list and 12 weeks of menus. Each week is broken down by 5 days. For each day, the directions are written for each menu. Also, in the back of the book she made a laminated grocery list for each week. So, all I have to do is decide which week I want to use and then take the grocery list to the store. So AWESOME! I had been wanting her to do this for me since she is such a great cook. All of the meals are super easy and kid friendly. Having this cookbook has also been great for my budget. I had just about everything already for this weeks menu so my grocery bill on Monday was LOW!!! I know that some of you have seen the book but I am going to put some pictures up. She made the cookbook like a scrapbook in hot pink, my favorite color. I totally think she needs to publish this!!! Thanks girl! Love you!

This weeks menu:
Monday - Chicken & Dumplings with steamed vegetables
Tuesday - Spaghetti and Meatballs
Wednesday - Lemon Baked Chicken with Rice
Thursday - Twice Baked Potatoes
Friday - Fajitas

Pumpkin Patch

Ty and Tucker went to Honey and Grand-dads for the weekend. They went to the pumpkin patch in Boerne and had a blast. I will be adding more pictures later.

Tag, Your It

Here's the rules:

Grab the nearest book.
Open the book to page 56.
Find the fifth sentence.

Post the text of the next two to five sentences in your blog along with these instructions.
Don’t dig for your favorite book, the cool book, or the intellectual one: pick the CLOSEST.

Tag five other people to do the same.

Here is my quote from, Mom to Mom, Growing Together.

"Discipline begins with positive teaching, training, and modeling".
1. Discipline=an instruction given to disciples
2. "Deuteronomy 6 Lifestyle" - Deuteronomy 6:4-9
3. Deuteronomy 6 in operation - 2 Timothy 1:5, 3:14-15
4. If we do our teaching job well, the rest will be much easier.

I am really enjoying Mom to Mom. Linda Anderson has such great suggestions and tips.

I saw this game of tag on Kim Pollard's blog and thought it was neat. Let's keep it going!

I tag, Jonna, Raegan, Christy Mc, Kim and Amy

Love Love Love

I have fallen in love with this designer and her work. This precious pillow says, "I don't have a heart because you stole it." Too Sweet.

Felties

I love these new little felties that are on my header. They are fun and easy to make and can be used in so many different ways. I do believe they will make great little gifts this season. Check out this book to learn more about using felt for different projects. The possibilities are endless!

Flower Power

I LOVE this hat for the winter. Too Cute!

Neat Site

This is a cool site for you with kids that are old enough to have a few chores. All of the chores, points, etc. are kept online which I think is fabulous since I won't have to make any charts! HA! Check it Out!

Birthday Wish List

Today I was in James Avery and saw these rings. They are beautiful! (The picture does not do them justice). I would love to have the Sapphire for Ty's birthstone and the Citrine for Tucker's birthstone with their names and birthdate's engraved on the inside.

A Little Obsessed

My OCD is definitely showing. As you can see I am slightly obsessed with changing out my header on my blog. I love taking pictures of my fabric, finding fabric online, etc... and playing with them to see what they would look like. I love this current one because it reminds me of the gorgeous colors of fall. I may have to put a limit on myself!!!

Summer Nights Dream

I love the colors of this painting!

CouponMom

I have decided to start using coupons from CouponMom when I do my grocery shopping. I saw this lady yesterday on Oprah and if she can do it I can do it! I have never been into cutting coupons but I am going to try now. I will let you know how it is going. Wish me luck. Let me know if you start to use coupons from here. Maybe we could start a CouponMom Club!!! HA!

Speedy

Speedy the Roadrunner is an often visitor to our backyard. We love watching him because he is so fast and this morning he (or she) let me get close enough to take a couple of pictures. A couple of weeks ago, we watched him eat a lizard. That was an interesting process!!!

Just Watch

I found this video from another blog that I look at daily. It is a little bit long but definitely worth watching! The video was made by Amy Krouse Rosenthal. Amazing!!!

Great Gift Idea

This would be a great little gift for the earring lover. Check it out here. Only $14.00.

Who will it be?

With the election getting closer and closer, I am hoping that each of them will "step up" and answer the questions tomorrow night. We will wait and see!!!

Chase

Tucker had a blast chasing Ty around the living room today. They probably did this for 15 minutes. It is so nice to have built in entertainment! I love the last picture!!!

Tag, Your It

1. How many kids do you have? 2

2.What are their ages? Ty is 6 and Tucker is 9 months.

3.What time do you start your day? I usually start my day around 6:45-7:00. I make Ty's breakfast and then feed Tucker.

4.What do you eat for breakfast? Coffee!!!

5.Do your kids watch TV? Yes. Ty may watch the Discovery Channel, PBS, TLC. Tucker watches a few Baby Einstein dvd's.

6.What are their favorite activities? Ty loves to play outside, play his Nintendo DS, and read! Tucker loves to annoy Ty!

7.Do you get a break during the day for some down time? Yes! Tucker takes two naps and Ty is at school from 7:45-3:15. I will sometimes take a nap when Tucker does in the morning. I also watch Young and the Restless, (I know I am crazy), usually everyday!

8. How do you end your day? Tucker is in bed by 7:00 and Ty is in bed by 7:30. Then I will usually visit with Kris then blog, read and take a bubble bath!!!

9. What is your best parenting advice? It is OK to say "no" to things. You can't do everything. Also, love and kiss all over them, because they grow so FAST!

I tag Christy McD. and Jessica H.

Must Haves

These are super cute! They would look great with a fitted plum sweater and trouser jeans. Also, available in black.

Women's Mossimo® Vira Fringe Pumps $27.99

What's Purple, Orange and Black all Over?

Ty and I had such a fun time putting out our Halloween decorations. Halloween is one of my favorites! Fall is near!