Glorious Fall

A family outing this weekend to take in a little fall, and oh it is breathtaking!

She loves the mountains, especially when there's water involved.

Have a lovely week!

Mixed Metals & White Fall Decor

I'm finally back with something that doesn't involve my weight or my clutter.  HOORAY!  The weather has been cool, the grey clouds have been hanging low over our now red mountains, and I've had my Oatmeal Cookie candle burning: Fall has hit my house! {In true Jenn fashion, it's just in time to take it all down soon and put up Halloween. Such is life.}   I always think I'm sad to say goodbye to summer, until I get that first taste of fall and I get giddy about trading in the shorts and flip flops for my boots and scarves.

It doesn't take a lot to create that fall feeling, a few touches here & there and a few fall colors and textures mixed in.  So here's how I did up fall in my kitchen.

The beautiful thing about being known as a hoarder collector, is that people start giving you cool stuff.  My boss gave me about 20 of these pine cone candle holders, a few of which I spray painted cream and copper for fall.  Of course, this could be done with any real pine cone as well.  For height, a silver vase turned over for a "stand."

Mixed metals, tarnished silver, and white make my heart happy.  My love of fall may be directly correlated to my love of gold--this time of year practically SCREAMS gold!

I originally made yarn balls for a garland like this, but I set them in a jar on the shelf to keep them out of my daughter's reach, and there they'll stay, because I love looking at them in that little Mason jar.

And there you have fall, subtly gracing my kitchen.

Linking At:

The 36th Ave / My Repurposed Life / French Country Cottage / Liz Marie Blog / 30 Handmade Days / Design, Dining & Diapers / Craftberry Bush / Crafty, Scrappy, Happy / Tatertots&Jello / Too Much Time / Live.Laugh.Rowe

My New Love Affair With Antique Red

One upon a time, I found a perfect end table for my living room.  Perfect because I love the detail and it provides TONS of awesome storage for toys and blankets.  Then I painted her a not so perfect shade of avocado green that made her sort of stand out in my living room like a sore thumb.

So after over a year of staring at the green and hating it, I finally decided to do something about it and repaint it.  I was originally going to go yellow, until my husband, almost angrily said, "Why does everything have to be so boring?  Can't we have color?!"  I guess to him, in the sea of white and grey that is our home, yellow isn't bright enough to count as a color.  So in an effort to please him, I decided to go with red and I'm so glad I did.  

You should probably know that I had a red phase and have been long over it. Like in college I had the red bedroom, bamboo blinds, black furniture-Asian feel thing goin' on.  Red was O-V-E-R for me!  I was sure that basically nothing in my house would ever be red again until I found Sherwin Williams Antique Red.  It's actually sort of a rosy red so it's almost pink, but just red enough that it's not--make sense?  No?  Well, just trust me and if you're looking for a really awesome red, go check it out!

I added some aqua knobs from Hobby Lobby and she's complete.  I've been wavering on glazing, and now looking at the pictures, I think my decision is yes on glaze.

Primitive & Proper

Weigh-In Wednesday: The 10lb. Mark

Well, it was a better week this week, not wonderful, but I'm happy to report that I've officially lost the first 10 lbs.  Last time around that took me about a week and a half, this time, post-child {that's what I'm attributing it to at least} it's much more of a process.  Translation: I actually have to stick, hardcore, to what I'm supposed to eat.  And it's football season--enough said.  I'm also thinking that I don't have a whole lot to talk about weekly and things may get boring and redundant, so I've decided I'll be checking in monthly--maybe bi-weekly if I've really got something to say.

And instead of Kardashian-style {I'm still embarrassed about admitting that} Peaks & Pits like last time, I'm going Three Things this week.

1.  Cheating ain't what it used to be
In all honesty, I used to be able to get away with a little rule bending.  But now that I'm a mom and pushing 30, my body isn't as forgiving of that.  I have to be SERIOUS with this stuff.  Cheating these days either means more time at the gym or more pounds on the scale.  And I'm not even talking serious cheating--I'm talking like a little chips and salsa when I've already had my points for the day.  I love carbs so much, why do they have to do me so wrong?

2.  I'm finally not hungry eating out of boredom  
I mentioned the "I want everything in sight" syndrome last time, and this is the week where I finally overcome.  I get to certain points in my day where I would normally be snacking and realize that I'm just fine and don't really need anything.  I am healthy snacking, just not over snacking and my body has finally realized it's not going to shut down because I'm not stuffed.

                2a.  In my humble opinion, I think the deprived stage is where a lot of us give up, but if you can make it to this point, you start to realize that feeling stuffed really doesn't feel all that great.  And cutting out some of your favorite fattening foods, isn't the end of the world.  I haven't had greasy fast food in three weeks and I'm just fine.  I knew this from the last time around, but I guess just forgot how great it feels to be satisfied, but not stuffed and lethargic.  I have so much more energy and feel thinner because I'm not bloated!

3.  I ran
I have always said I will never be the person that loves running.  In my heyday of fitness, I ran regularly but always hated it with a passion, it was simply a means to an end.  I don't know if it's because the gym has now become one of those mini-vacations where I get to be alone, but I am actually enjoying it this time.  The feeling of accomplishment and that I kicked those calories in the ass is a really good feeling.  And it is SO much more effective on the scale than the elliptical.  Not that you have to run, after all, any exercise is better than NONE.

Source: Uploaded by user via Diana on Pinterest

Is it just me, or does that girl totally look like Honey Boo Boo? {The jury is out on how I feel about that show.  What a train wreck.}

DINING OUT BONUS:
Some days eating out really is just a reality.  So two of my favorite choices for eating out responsibly:

Jimmy Johns Beach Club with no mayo and no cheese (it pains me to say no cheese, but I really don't even notice it's missing) {11 pts+}
Arby's French Dip {this is really the only thing I like at Arby's anyway} I order without cheese and put Horsey Sauce on instead {another sign I'm aging--I love Horseradish these days}.  The only point calculation I can find is with cheese {11pts+} so I would have to imagine that the points would be slightly less.

A DON'T of eating out: Applebee's WW Creamy Parmesan Chicken {I NEVER eat there but everywhere else we went this particular night had a long wait and we were with child}
I was SO good and ordered something off of the Weight Watchers menu {like I really fought ordering something bad} and if they had brought this out, it would have been great {especially if that chunk of cheese came with it}:

But Applebee's, here's a few tips:
1.  Don't put an elf sized portion on an oversized plate.  I kid you not, the meal took up like a quarter of the plate.  From the moment it came out, I was sure I was still going to be starving at the end {I wasn't, but I was still annoyed}.
2.  Rice pilaf does not mean some shriveled up mushrooms on some white rice.
3.  Your spinach was actually tasty, so a portion size larger than a Quarter would have been greatly appreciated and made my plate look a little less sparse.  Just sayin'!

I Blame My Absence on The Landfill, Hoarders, and A Move

What do those three things have in common you ask?  A whole lot of junk and my absence from the blog world. I don't know if anyone is actually wondering where I've been, but in case you were, I thought I'd drop by and inform you that yes, I am still alive and I do actually have quite the project list to post about, but as of late, blogging and big projects have taken a back seat to a home purge thanks to a kick in the butt inspiration from the landfill, Hoarders-watching, and helping my dad and his wife with a move.

If it seems like every time I write lately I talk about my clutter, it's because I do.  I have been feeling really overwhelmed by all my stuff.  I think it all started with a trip to the landfill.  If you follow me on Instagram {you should, I am an Insta-addict}, or Facebook, you know that I gave up on The Couch {more over lack of motivation than failure} and took it to the landfill, where might I add, this awesome {and a half} sign resides:

A few other furniture pieces (upon the husband's insistence) that have just been collecting dust in the garage for the last four years went too.  We had words about taking perfectly good furniture to the dump--believe me!  But....want to know a secret? That one little trip to the dump was like beyond liberating!  After I got over the initial pain of killing good furniture {it was just an end table and some scrap wood really}, I wanted to do a sweep and find more things I could take!  None of those old projects {that I never really wanted to do anyway} were looming over me anymore and I could actually focus on the one I wanted to get done!  It was like a thrifter bra-burning!

Then, the night after the dump, I found myself watching an episode of Hoarders where all I kept hearing was "That goes in the keep pile.  I'm going to use it for _____ eventually..." and all the while, I'm hearing that scary movie stabbing music in the background because, holy crap, how often do I say that!!!!  I have SO MUCH stuff that I'm going to "eventually get to or use" and I just don't need it.

I'm not saying that I'm ever going to rise to the level of an A&E caliber hoarder, if for no other reason than my husband promises, "I will burn this bitch {read house} down  if you ever do that"--that's a direct quote people.  But I just have a lot of stuff I've kept for the sake of "doing something with it later."

On top of everything else, my dad and his wife are moving, so some of my time has been devoted to helping them sort through stuff and get ready for a yard sale.  By the way, I now know why I only shop yard sales and never have one--what a TON of work!

This was the only picture I got of the actual yard sale, but this guy was awesome.  I call him The Sale Hunter.  He was camo-ed and coffeed up and on the prowl for a deal!

Aside from time being devoted to the yard sale though, it was another realization of how much junk we accumulate over the years because we don't want to get rid of things we spent good money on, or we want to find another use for it, whatever...I'm OVER IT!

So I'm here to tell you that I've been knee deep in scenes like this...

...and I'm starting to feel a less consumed by the clutter.  The better part of it should be done by this weekend and it will be back to life as normal--only cleaner and happier!

Did I Just OFFICIALLY Enter the Mommy-World?

So, my daughter started ballet class last week.  Holy cuteness!  I really can't get enough of this:

Multiply it by 10 other little three to five year olds and it really is the epitome of sweetness.

But can I tell you the funny thing that happened?  I'm sort of anti-social in the mommy world.  Not that I don't want to be social, but most of my friends are actually single and/or don't have children yet.  So my mommy world is limited to hanging out with my sister and my new neighbor-BFF (who I just met after living there five years--another story), and story-time, where, if I'm not with my sister, I just keep to myself and don't talk to anyone.  None of the three things I just mentioned really require me to get looking publicly presentable--which is something I usually reserve for right before my husband comes home so he doesn't walk in and go whoa, what did I marry?!  Even story time, despite being in a public place, seems to be pretty relaxed and a lot of moms just show up in some casual, you know, whatever.  Some even wear {gasp} sweats.

So..I'm thinking dance is going to be the same thing, right?  Or really I'm thinking nothing at all about wardrobe, because why would I? We're just bringing our kids for 45 minutes and then going about our day.  Last week I throw on whatever, pull up my hair, rush out the door and think nothing of what I'm wearing to her dance class.  I see a mom walk in in sweats and I think, "Oh I want to be that mom who looks that cute in sweats."  Then I walk in....

Holy hell where do you women get this time?  I have never felt so fat or lazy in my life.  Here stand all of these women with more than one child, completely dressed and ready for the day {and what feels like at least half my size} at 10:00 a.m.  I rarely care what other people think about what I'm wearing or look like, but OH MY GOSH, what is it about your daughter's dance class that makes you feel like all of a sudden everyone is looking at you and judging?  I'm sure they're really not, and maybe it had something to do with standing in front of a wall of mirrors during a crappy WW week, or the fact that her teacher is the cutest, sweetest little twig of a thing I've ever seen, but there was something about the vibe that made me feel like this morning I needed to get up, wash and dry my hair (I have long hair, so this takes some time), and wear "my most capable looking outfit," so I did.  Then...I realized my makeup was in the husband's car.  I was having anxiety about seeing all of these other moms with no makeup!  Like, seriously!  And moms: why are we all so shy?  Or are we really just rude?  There's one mom I talked to last week and we talked again today, but I feel like I always try to strike up a conversation with a mom and get this like why are you talking to me vibe?  In fact, it feels exactly like this (it's hilarious really, you HAVE to read it). 

There's no real point to this, just one of those moments in motherhood that made me sort of laugh and cringe all at the same time. My husband will probably be thanking the dance moms for being able to count on me looking totally fab at least one day a week now and I'll be thanking them {and the wall of mirrors} for some serious WW motivation.

Weigh-In Wednesday: A Kick in the Booty

A couple of weeks ago, I got sucked into the Kardashian world--I swore I'd never do that, but holy hell I can't get myself to turn that crap off.  Anyway, now that they've warped my brain, I thought the best way to sum up this week would be some Kardashian-style "peaks and pits", because quite honestly, it was sort of a pitty kind of week in Weight Watcher's Land.