Today's Etsy!

If you know me you know I love cats, so when I saw these on Etsy, I knew I had to show you. I will be getting one very soon!

I can't resist this one.

But this one is so cute too!

Or maybe this one?

I just don't know how people can be so talented. If I could do something like this, I'd wallpaper my house in them. I can't even draw a stick figure...

-Stacy

Today's Etsy!

For the love of frames!

I love, love, love this frame. I can see it with a picture of someone you love sitting on your nightstand, can't you? At only $14 (YUP!) you can buy two!

The colors are so great together...I would do a whole room around just this frame!

-Stacy

Amazing Architecture!

Okay, I know...it's been almost a month since I posted last and I promised a continuation of my Sunday Drive post. I'm finally back and I've decided to do a post every day this whole week. EVERY SINGLE DAY. You don't believe me? Watch me! In my defense I must tell you that I did break my foot and am wearing a cast. Life has been a bit challenging lately and while that is no excuse, I hope it's reason to at least check back this week and see what I have for you! I've missed you!

Back to the architecture! My husband went to a Lutheran college in Minnesota called St. Olaf. We drove through while we were out last month to look at the Fall color. In theory this was a great idea but the wind had blown most of the leaves off of the trees and I ended up being glad because it made me notice the amazing architecture! What I saw follows.

They even plant beautiful mums all over campus. I guess the hefty price tag pays for a few perks like this.

So while Jason sat in the car with Tinkerbell in tow, I went off to take some pictures.

The buildings are fantastic! 

More colorful mums planted at the other entrance. I loved the combination of colors.

Did Jason have ANY idea how lucky he was that he got to see things like this everyday? I doubt it!

Can I live here?

Look at these fantastic light fixtures! They are huge. I would love a house with these outside.

The detail on these buildings is incredible. They don't build things like this anymore.

The entrance is grand and the fixtures on each side are, again, gorgeous!

This one is my favorite. Do you see this design in everything these days? From iPhone covers to wall stencils. All those years ago they were really onto something.

Beautiful!

So we drove around the neighborhood a bit and I took a few pictures of some of the homes and shops.

I love this one! The colors they chose are wonderful!

And who doesn't like the classic white with black shutters and red door? 

The town is quite charming and I wish we'd had more time to shop. 

This garden store was so cute. They were all decorated for Fall and I would love to drive down and see what they do for Christmas. 

After all of that, we took our dog, our apples, and ourselves and went back to the city.

See you tomorrow with something new!

Thanks for hanging in there with us; we didn't forget about you!

-Stacy

A Sunday Drive.

If you live in Minnesota, you know that Fall is a very big deal. With the leaves changing, the apple orchards in busy mode, and preparation for Winter, Minnesotans tend to make the most of this beautiful season. Especially since we all know that when Fall is over comes...SNOW! So in true Fall mode Jason and I woke up a couple of Sundays ago and decided to go on a drive. Yes, we're ninety. We enjoy these sorts of things and it was a good alternative to doing housework! 

So where should we go? We decided to head to Jason's Alma Mater, St. Olaf College in Northfield. It's a short 40 minutes from the cities, they have a great apple orchard just off the highway, and the St. Olaf campus is beautiful. So off we went...first stopping at "our" coffee shop that we love for some coffee and sandwiches and then we headed out with Tinkerbell in the back seat!

Here's our girl! She's in love with Jason so she's smiling because she gets to go with.

If you're ever in Northfield, I hope you will consider stopping in at Fireside Orchard. It's exactly the way an orchard should be...very small town-like and simple. That said, this place offers EVERYTHING! 

Want pumpkins? They've got em! We got two huge pumpkins for twelve bucks! I almost had a heart attack when I saw how cheap they were! These were some beautiful pumpkins.

The hugest pumpkin in this group was only seven dollars. Um, HELLO! We're not in the city anymore!

Since we had made a bunch of our own jam, we skipped buying any. However, I couldn't resist pumpkin and apple butter. 

They had cheese too! We didn't get any because we didn't have a cooler with us, but I wish we had.

Of course there were apples!

All varieties perfectly sorted! We bought Honeycrisps and Haralsons. YUM!

And look at this great little seating area they had for you to sit and enjoy an apple, some cider, mini donuts or fudge. Loved this.

Then there was the orchard. Next year we will leave Tinkerbell home so we can walk through and pick our own apples. We've already decided that this will be our Sunday drive many, many more times in the future.

What have you done to welcome Fall into your life? Did you go to an orchard and buy two pumpkins, two 5 pound bags of apples, a dozen mini donuts, a gallon and a half of apple cider, apple butter, and pumpkin butter like we did?

I will post part two of our Sunday drive in the next few days so watch for it! Oh, and thanks for hanging in there for our month long break! It's been a crazy month and we appreciate you stopping by to see what we've got going on. We don't want to lose you so we'll get moving on the posts STAT!

Have a fabulous Fall!

-Stacy

Some of my current favorites!

I try to share with you some things that I try, use frequently, and love. I'm sort of a product junkie and won't tell people about anything unless I really love it and it works for me, makes me happy, or makes my life easier. Here are some of my favorites right now!

I swear by Nivea Kiss of Moisture. I have it in every purse and use it all winter long. The air is much drier here these days and I am already using it. At just over two bucks a tube, it's super affordable and never lets you down!

I love a good pop of color on my nails when the summer is ending. Pretty soon I'll start using Essie's Geranium. It runs about $8 a bottle and it's a perfect red-orange. You can get it anywhere these days...even Target!

Have you smelled the Ikea Vanilla Candles? Alyssa started me on these and I have no less than six of them in my house at all times. I am not an artificial vanilla person, but I am in love with these candles. I don't know what it is, but it's a very CHEAP indulgence! The small is $1.99 and the large is $4.99.

If you have lots of fine, straight hair like mine I am about to tell you the biggest secret ever. I have found volume in a bottle. After trying (at least) hundreds of products on my hair, I have found one that works and it is completely natural and food grade organic! Go figure. It is Intelligent Nutrients Volumizing Spray and I have no idea how much it costs. I decided ignorance was bliss when she charged my debit card. I bought it and have never looked back. I'm thinking it's $25 or so and I am officially addicted.

I am also loving the new Marimekko socks that I just bought. I'm not going to lie, they set me back almost $20. I NEVER spend that kind of money on socks, but I had to have these and I love them!

Last, but not least, is my all time favorite winter hand lotion. It is made by Avon and is called Moisture Therapy. It is cheap at about $4 for a large tube or 99 cents for a small tube that you can throw in your purse. It is the best I've used! I always give it for gifts. It has saved my hands time and time again.

I hope you've enjoyed my favorites. Please feel free to tell me some of yours too. I'm always looking for great new things to try! 

I'll be back soon with some fun home updates.

-Stacy

Today's Etsy!

I'm sort of getting excited for Halloween and Fall decorating this year for some reason! I have to keep reminding myself that it's not October yet! When I found this, I just knew I had to share it! I think it's a great price for only $35 considering the work that probably went into it and the cost of the supplies. 

Isn't it cute? I would probably remove the bow or change it, but I really like this. If I had a front porch, it would be mine! What do you think?

-Stacy

It's the little things. Right???

It's been a while since I've posted because I've been a bit busy with home projects that need to be finished before winter. My apologies for that! If you live in Minnesota, you know that we have very little time to get outdoor projects done. I thought I'd share a quick little thing that I did a couple of weekends ago just to tide you over.

I was really sick of the LACE (not a fan) curtain with hearts all over it that I had hanging on the garage window. I didn't look at it often, but I knew it was there and had been for 13 years. It was getting old, old, old! So I whipped up a quick curtain with some Amy Butler fabric I had for another project that I decided not to do. Here's how it turned out!

Old, ugly, heart curtains with lace:

Hotstuff!!!

Here's the new lime green with cream polka dots! Goes great with the new grey I chose for the shutters.

It's the smallest change, but it really is the little things in life! Now I need to paint the frame inside the window white. Have you discovered how one project always leads to another? I have!

How are your projects going? I have a few more to go and then I'll be sharing the rest of my home adventures with you. Check back often!

-Stacy

Today's Etsy!

These need to be mine! They are some of the cutest boots I have seen in forever so if you buy them don't tell me...I'll be too jealous!

I told you!

-Stacy

The wait is over! Finally...my front door reveal!

I guess I could've put this up a few weeks ago, but I wanted to get the whole front of the house done before I revealed the front door. I painted it a few weeks ago and then (slowly) the rest of the front came together. The awning went up, I spray painted the mailbox and the house number sign black, and Jason finished the shutters. Once we painted those and put them up I decided it was time to show you!

So you'll remember that the front of the house looked like this...

It was pretty plain Jane with a white door and forest green accents. I was SOOOOOO sick of that look so now the front looks like this....

Don't you love it?! See the front door? Oh wait, I'm sneaky...I saved that till last. So what color do you think I went with? What do you think would look the best with my cute new black awning, dark grey shutters and white house? And, by the way, did you notice the cute topiary cut-outs that my husband created in the shutters? I love a talented guy like that!

So the wait is over! I chose Benjmain Moore's Yellow Rain Coat and I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it so much! It makes me happy when skies are grey...

See the cute topiaries?

And, finally, the "Hello" on the bottom of my door.

Did you guess right? I'm so glad I chose this color rather than the green, and I can't wait until February when winter is really depressing but I have this beautiful, happy yellow door!

Thanks for hanging in there with me while I got it all done! I'll be posting Fall pictures soon with all of my mums and pumpkins planted up in the front pots. I can't wait for that!

-Stacy

Cutest Wall Finish Ideas - Found in Eureka Springs, Arkansas

These can all be found in this cute little restaurant named Local Flavor...  kind of at the entrance to the historic part of Eureka Springs,  Arkansas historic area.

 

 Paper collage ceiling nook.... Love. 

 Who doesn't drink a lot of wine these days... I bet you could have enough corks to fill up a message board like this in 6 months or so. :) Just stay away from those screw tops and waxy corks for a bit. 

 

This last one is a mural of a pear.. it was on a wall in a narrow passage way and the restaurant was busy.. so sorry for the weird angle... Who needs art when you can paint it directly on the wall! Love the colors and textures of this. 

PS... this is a cute little restaurant and a yummy restaurant! 

Alyssa