Sweet Girl {Full of Words Wednesday}

Isabella.

She loves with all of her might. 

Her compassion for others is on another level.

She loves to text her Aunt Kristi.

She is always my assistant baker.

She has a love for nail polish.

She is a 4 year old fashionista.

She's an amazing big sister to Brynlie.

She's an amazing big sister to Madelyn when they aren't fighting.

Love my little girl...hard to believe she's grown so much since this cute post...

Post #377 on Fall Love...

Just when you thought that I couldn't talk about fall any more than I already do, I bust out another fall post.

I can't help it--I just arrived back to Mississippi from my home state of Missouri.

It was a gorgeous trip (pictures to come once I'm done editing) filled with changing leaves, meeting my new 2 year old brother adopted from China, and celebrating my mom's birthday by her side which has not happened in years. We collected fall leaves, ate homemade pies, watched scary movies and just had a great time all around. Missouri? I heart you and everything that you have.

So with so much fall, I want to share a couple of things that I'm currently crushing on:

1) This candle from Bath and Body Works. It? Is amazingness with three wicks. I love it and promise you will, too.


2) My yummy banana bread recipe. Try it. Love it. Try it some more.


3) Scary movies. Halloween, The Strangers, Gothika. So fall, so fun.


4) LMN's scary movie weekend coming up. My DVR will probably be full come Monday, but that's okay with me!


5) Mums of all colors. I want to overflow my porch with fall loveliness. Hoping to slip away this weekend to go and buy some fall pretties for my front porch.


6) Warm recipes. I've been cooking, baking, you name it. Leo's in heaven, the girls are so happy. Fall is definitely a good time over here to eat.


7) And last, but not least, pumpkin spice coffee creamer. It's back and I bought some today--I almost did a happy dance right there--I was ecstatic.


What's making fall amazing for you this week? Share below and I'll have to check it out.

Fall Love...

Can you believe that tomorrow is the first true day of fall? I know-I can't either, although I have been in fall mode since September 1st.

Fall is time for warm, cozy blankets.

Pumpkin spice lattes with whipped cream on top.

Pumpkin breads and banana breads.

My favorite Gap Long & Lean jeans.

Sweaters.

Warm socks.

Chili.

Chicken noodle soup.

Red, yellow and orange leaves.

Or just brown leaves like we get down south.

Lots of good books to read.

Halloween.

Thanksgiving.

Cute boots for the girls. And me.

Fall television lineup.

Scary movies.

It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown.

There we have it. My list of fall...what makes fall turn into fall for you?

Best Apple Crisp in the WORLD...{A Recipe}

Saturday nite I dreamed of baking. I know-for someone trying to lose the baby weight you would think that just dreaming of food would satisfy me.


Ha! Yeah, right...I woke up and had to make what I made in my dream: my Grandma's recipe for apple crisp. {which has totally made me want fall to arrive asap...}


Being the sharer of all things amazing, I decided to share this amazing recipe with you. I hope you run out, get the short list of ingredients and make it as quickly as possible...

a picture of the yumminess...yum.

Cast of characters:

The amount of ingredients will make a 9x9 pan.

Be like me and double it for a 9x13...

4-6 apples peeled and sliced                                                     1/4 cup butter

1/2 cup brown sugar                                                                   2 tsp lemon juice

1/2 cup white sugar                                                                     1/4 cup water

3/4 cup flour                                                                                 cinnamon

Blend {I use my hands} brown sugar, white sugar, flour and butter until crumbly. This will be your topping--set aside.

Spread your peeled and sliced apples in your greased pan. Glass pans seem to work best for me.

Mix the water and lemon juice together. Pour evenly over apples. Make sure that you have enough water to cover the entire bottom of the pan.

Sprinkle a generous amount of cinnamon on top of apples.

Spread the sugar/flour/butter mixture on top.

Bake uncovered for 50-60 minutes @ 350. It will be done once it's bubbling, light brown and your apples are soft.


That's it! Super easy and sooo good.

Happy Day Indeed...

Today we made a Halloween card for Daddy...

Played outside for a couple of hours...

Had our windows open for fresh air...

And ordered pizza for three.

A happy, smile filled day.

Just what this momma needed.

Because We Had a Bad Day...

With fall's big debut arriving the girls and I had a plan. The type of plan that can instantly turn a day of tears, yelling and disobeying better.

We had some oh so fabulous waffles for dinner. Complete with tall glasses of ice cold milk for all of us.

We then said to heck with baths tonite--we're getting our jammies on! 

I folded up the three loads of clothes while the girls played happily together in their kitchen.

I then searched high and low for the best fall movie ever.

After organizing the DVD's with not much luck in finding said DVD I then decided to go and search the car.

Bingo!

 I popped up some Homestyle popcorn.

Got our bowls overflowing with our favorite popcorn.

And settled in for an evening at home. A fall evening.

Because even though it's just the three of us?

We are determined to still have fall fun...

Fall, Pumpkin Spiced Lattes, and a Sick Husband...

Dear Lord I am one random chick tonite. I honestly don't even know where to start with this post, it's sort of all over the place in my brain, just trying to figure out where each piece of the post will go...

I guess it's safe to say that I am 100% officially over summer. Seriously. I am tired of the heat warnings. Tired of hurricane season. Tired of the air conditioner running non-stop. I want opened windows. Jeans. New fall clothes. Cute fall shoes. Pumpkin spiced lattes from Starbucks or any other coffee shop that has them.

Okay. Now that I have all of that off my chest I feel SO much better!

I know I've been MIA for a few days and that's because the husband is sick. Like fever, miserable sick. He got some meds on Thursday, but was still running a fever as of last nite. Ugh! Seriously--I've been busy with the girls, the house, paying the bills...I was sad thinking that with him holed up in our room away from us is eerily similar to what we'll be going through here in a few weeks.

It was quiet and a little lonely--be happy that I don't have your phone numbers, because poor you would be getting calls a lot. My poor Mom--she'll probably be annoyed with me!

And last, but certainly not least, I cut my hair and darkened it. I loved it yesterday when I got it done. But when I woke up this morning I was a little bummed that I cut off a few inches and went for a new color. I think once I fix it myself tomorrow I'll be happier. I hope.

The main thing about my hair appointment was that my new stylist charges $40 more than my old hairdresser at the same salon. They also don't carry my Moroccan Oil anymore. I'm thinking I'll find another place now...what would you do? Would you fork over the extra money or find someone else that does great hair for a better price?

Okay, that's all I have for rambling...hoping that the new week will bring fresh ideas to my stressed out brain!

A Fall(ish) Day...Part {1}

The (mostly) happy fam...


Sweet and happy Madelyn

The farm rules

Lovin' the attitude from Isabella...haha!

Her first pony ride!


I see horseback lessons in her future...she loved her pony sooo much

The wild flowers that were everywhere...so breathtaking

Isabella finally getting happier

Love this pic of Bella and me

She adored the flowers

Best Banana Bread Ever {A Recipe}

I remember promising my lovely readers the best banana bread ever recipe.

And I want all of you to enjoy it just as much as I do!

Here ya go--and don't blame me if you find yourself eating an entire loaf....

******

Best Banana Bread. Ever.

Mix together:

1/2 c oil
1 c sugar
2 eggs
3 mashed bananas

Mix together and add to ingredients above:

1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
2 c flour
salt

1 c nuts (optional)

Grease and flour loaf pan(s)

You can use {2} loaf pans with this recipe, however, I only use {1}

Bake for:

30 min at 250
30 min at 350

And a note from my Mom:

If you divide the recipe into two loaves, this cook time may be right, but if you do one bigger loaf it usually needs to cook longer. I think I cook a little longer at the lower temp, and then just keep testing it after 30+ minutes at 350.

******

So there you have it! This recipe was passed on from my Grandma to my Mom and now to me.

It's that good!

Leo has been begging for me to make this for days...so I think I'll be nice and make him some this weekend.

Enjoy!

Super Cute Fall Giveaway!

Amber from ae filkins--who is also the host of Friend Makin' Monday--is hosting a fabulous giveaway!

Not only is it all things fall...

But she is also a TARGET lover!

Here are here goodies she wants to give a lucky reader:

So head over to her blog and enter! It end on September 15th @ 7pm EST!

Fall Giveaway!

Okay loyal followers and readers....

I have found THE cutest Halloween giveaway!

Go ahead and enter at

The Polka Dot Pig--and hurry because this giveaway ends on Monday!

So Ready For Fall...

I don't know about you....

But I am so ready for fall.

After reading what she is looking forward to, I decided...

Hey! What a brilliant idea!

So, here's my whatIcan'tforinfall list:

*Hello, fall decorations at Hobby Lobby! How I wait for your big debut all summer long...

*Nothing says fall like a delish pumpkin spice latte from Starbucks. Non-fat, por favor!

*Cooler weather...no more it's so hot I'm going to die weather...

*Sweaters, jeans, long sleeve shirts. I love it all!

*Isabella's birthday--by far my favorite fall day!

*Halloween...the trick or treaters, handing out candy, dressing up Isabella....

*Watching my huge collection of scary movies that I don't watch the rest of the year. Cheesy? Maybe. But I love it nonetheless.

*Thanksgiving. Food. Parades. Leftovers. Need I say more?

*New fall shows and the return of all of my faves that sooo left me hanging with their season finale.

*Clothes shopping! I love getting new clothes for fall/winter. I can smell the new clothes smell now...

*Going darker on my hair, wearing the new fall nail/toe colors. Just read that grays are really big this season--I may have to test out this revelation...

*Candy corn. By far my favorite fall candy. Ever.

*Cool mornings...ahhh...I'm so ready to turn off the ac...

*Making my lists of Christmas gifts, planning my Christmas card and this year I'll be taking the girls' picture for the card myself...so excited!

*Oranges, yellows, reds and browns. Some of my favorite colors. So warm. So inviting. So beautiful!

*What are some of your favorite things about fall? Anything in particular that you can't wait for?

Dear Fall...

Dear Fall,

Where are you?

Have you forgotten about me? Down here in Mississippi?

I have read about people turning on their heat.

I have seen people bundled up in their warm, comfy fall clothes.

What about us?

I am still cranking down my air conditioning like it's summertime.

I sweat (only sometimes) when I drink my fave Starbucks drink....a nice, hot pumpkin spice latte. Topped with a mountain of whipped cream. Yum.

I put on jeans yearning for a cold--or even a cool--front to come blowing in. Instead I am greeted with sweaty legs stuck to my jeans. Classy, no?

You are my favorite season. Ever.

Not too warm....not too cold.....just right.

So, Fall, if you are reading this?

Please come my way. I will not complain about cool, crisp mornings. I will not complain when I have to turn on my heat.

Instead I will embrace you with a warm cup of homemade hot chocolate, a warm pot of chilli, and if you're extra nice and come earlier?

I may treat myself to that warm, fuzzy pair of slippers.

All my love and dedication to you,
Chelle
Your #1 Fan