It's Fantel Time!

What is a fantel you ask?!  Why a mix of the words "fall" and "mantel" of course.  I am not the originator of this fantastic word, The Nester is.  Y'all know how much I love a good nickname or made up word.

While Christmas is my favorite time of year (minus the cold), fall is a really busy time of year at our house.  The anniversary of my 29th birthday and Philip's birthday are both in October as well as CCB's birthday in November.  Throw in our wedding anniversary and Thanksgiving at the end of the month and the Auburn/Alabama game and you have a busy season!  I'm not a big Halloween decorator as much as a fall/harvest time decorator.  It is my "practice time" as I figure out what I want to do for Christmas decorating. Here is what I came up with this year with the aid of my oh so expensive glassware.

 I'm "borrowing" my father's fancy schmancy camera and I'm learning how to use it.  I discovered it is hard to take a good picture of my mantle.

I found some faux (sounds fancier than fake, right?!) pumpkins, pinecones, parsimmons, and leaves at several different craft stores and filled the containers with them.  

I added a few of the glitterfied acorns to several of the containers.

How fun is this pumpkin?!  I found it at Hobby Lobby.  The scrollwork on the top matches our rug in our living room well without being too matchy/matchy.  I'm really loving the bling that seems to be everywhere this fall.  As long as you don't overdo it and look like a sparklepants, you are ok. 

I added a couple of candles for some texture and light and there you go!  The wick is so burned down on these that I ended up putting one of the battery operated votive down in each candle.  No one can tell and it is so darn easy to switch on and off.  And, no wax on the mantel!  That college education of mine is paying off! 

I've had a great time this year putting this together.  I also love that I can change it and move things around pretty easily.

It is my first link party!  If you don't visit DaNita's Blog, Delightful Order, (go now I'll wait...), you need to!  One of my favorites.

In which I discover the meaning of "well ventilated area"

You know those expensive hurricane-type vases you see all over Pottery Barn and Crate and Barrel?

Yes, those.

So you know all of the tutorials that have been around on the blogs for awhile?  Like, here and here..


Well....

I decided to try them today.  The kids and I went and picked up some oh so expensive glass vases at the Dollar Store.  I take them to the nicest places you know.

And then we went to JoAnn's and found some candle stick holders because apparently there was a run on them at the Dollar Store today.

 

  Meet my friend E6000.  Many other tutorials tell you to use Gorilla Glue.  And that is all fine and dandy, but I do love my E6000. Add a bit of glue to the top of the candle stick and there you have it!  Inexpensive hurricane lamps fit for decorating!

 You will see these the next few days as I post about my fall decorations.  I'm pleased how everything is turning out, but I'm still moving things around a bit.  A little sneak peak of what is to come...

What house doesn't need a glitterfied acorn?!

Just in case you were wondering - a well ventilated area is a must.  We found that out the hard way.

Ribbit!

And now, back to 52 Bites.  I decided to start at the beginning with the very first project - eat your frog.

Tsh says that we need to do one of the things we dislike to do at the beginning o the day and get it out of the way. That way, you can focus on the rest of your day and not dread the inevitable.

What is my frog you ask?! It is a big fat toad.

The laundry.

I detest the laundry, especially the putting away and ironing process. In Gracieland, there are these magical creatures called laundry fairies. Kind of like Tinkerbell and her posse, but they wash, dry, fold and put away your laundry. It is just like magic.

When I was in grad school in Auburn and newly married, I was getting used to doing laundry for a man who created massive amounts of laundry. Being the busy student that I was, the laundry would pile up and we wouldn't have a thing to wear. Well, instead of schlepping to the laundry mat, I would pile the laundry in the car and take it to the magical laundry place where they would do your laundry for you. Yes, laundry by the pound. The best part?! Philip never knew. A real life laundry fairy existed in Auburn, Alabama. I did have to retrain myself on how to fold his tshirts so he would think I did it. No, I shouldn't have "lied" to my new husband. But a busy girl has got to do what a girl has got to do.

Since laundry fairies do not exist in Southern Indiana, I must eat this frog.

My solution? Take the laundry one bite at a time. This week, once we are up and ready for the day, progress will be made on the laundry. My other goal is to get CCB involved so she can put away some of her laundry. She is short, but not too short to put things in drawers. I think the key to this particular toad is to take the laundry one day, one load at a time. 

Mary Kay Monday

Ta da!  It's Mary Kay Monday!  I'm going to feature a new product or favorite Mary Kay product on Mondays.  The first one is one of my personal favorites.

Eye Primer

I do not know how I ever lived without this product.  I adore it and it is a "must have" in my makeup bag. You apply it to the top of your eyelid instead of foundation.  It helps to "set" your eye makeup.  Ever put on your eye makeup in the morning and about 3 PM wonder what happened to it?!  Well, wonder no more!  This stuff keeps it on so well.  My eyelids crease and I wear contacts so that means for a great decline in eye makeup as the day goes on.  So, I LOVE this product. 

One of my customers wrote this on my Facebook wall after she tried the eye primer out. 

"I heart the Mary Kay eye primer I got from you last night too! I used [another brand] before and really liked it so I thought I wouldn't like this one as well, but I like it better!!! Thanks!"

Since this is my first Mary Kay Monday, I'm offering a 1 week special on the eye primer!  Order this product from me this week and receive a 10% discount.  Place your order on my Mary Kay  website.  Discounts are taken when I process your card and shipping is always free!  

 

Ducks in a row

My dear friend Melissa is going to be a Mimi, and a fantastic one at that.  We were having lunch one day several months ago and she was telling me about how she was throwing her daughter a shower and it was a duck theme.  She also said she was having trouble thinking of things to go along with the theme. My heart began to beat a little bit faster and my mind began to swirl with ideas of what she could do.

Before I knew it, I was co-hostessing the shower and I was honored to do it. I can highly recommend helping plan and shop for a shower when it isn't your money. 

I LOVE a good theme.  I theme out any committee I am chairing, party I am planning, or room my kid is sleeping. 

Melissa had 3 requirements for the decor.

1.  It has to be cute.  Really cute.

2.  It has to be cost effective.

3 And, it had to involve ducks.  Lots of rubber ducks.

Here are a few ideas we came up with and I hope they inspire you.

 Melissa found these rubber duckies online and wanted to use them in the centerpieces.  We used some large bowls and floating candles that were leftover from Megan's wedding.  We colored some water blue, added some tulle and clear Christmas ornaments to give the suggestion of bubbles. Voila!  An easy and inexpensive centerpiece.

How cute does his name look like this?!  It was a simple decoration done with a Cricut and strung on twine.  Megan has a cute keepsake to hang in Ryker's room.  Even better, he will be working on learning how to spell his name from birth.  And his teachers will know how brilliant he is right from the start.

No matter where you live, go and find your wholesale florist!  We have one in town that sells to the public and it is the cheapest place for fabulous flowers in town.  But, I am warning you.  Bring a jacket!  Even if it is hot out - the coolers where they keep the flowers are cold!  I put the flowers in clear glass vases and added clear and blue stones in them.  We added some of Megan's maternity pictures and had one great looking food table.

   
These cupcakes and cake were made by another super talented co-hostess, Lisa.  I do believe they were the hit of the party.  How cute are they?!

Last, but not least, the favors.  Melissa and I lucked out and found some ribbon with little duckies on them to wrap around chocolate suckers to finish the theme out.  

The cohostesses and adorable Megan.

Ellen, Melissa, Megan the mama to be, Lisa and me!

One bite at a time

Do the laundry.

Make a meal plan and try and stick to it.  (Don't forget they need to be healthy meals too!)

Call customers and deliver orders.

Prepare a Sunday school lesson.

Go to a Junior League meeting.

Conduct a Junior League meeting.

Spend one on one time with my children.

Have my own quiet time.

Have an adult conversation with my husband.

Switch the wardrobes from summer to fall.

Christmas shop.

Oh yeah, and solve the world peace problem.

And, I know I'm not the only one whose to-do list looks similar to this.  If you google in Blogland, for simplifying your life, you will find a whole host of suggestions, project ideas and such to make your life easier.  And it is all oh. so. overwhelming. 

I recently found (ok, like 2 days ago) Tsh Oxenreider of Simple Mom's book - One Bite at A Time - 52 Projects for Making Life Simple I heart her blog and I LOVE a good checklist.  I'm going to give this book a try.  The beauty of this book is that it is done in a workbook format so you can check off the projects as you do them.  And, it is broken down into categories, so you can do a category or skip around if you are having a beat to the sound of your own drummer moment.

So, I'll be taking this little journey for the next several months (or year!) as I strive to simplify my life.

And then I'll get on that world peace thing.

Our little corner

I've been thinking about what to write in my first post for days.  So think no more, I am jumping in with both feet!

This is my family 

And these are my adorable kids

My big girl, CCB, is almost 5 and VAB just turned 2, and they keep me on my toes every minute of every day!  I am so thankful to be able to stay at home with my kids.  

I love to read blogs and I love to write, so I am excited about this new creative outlet of mine!

We live in Southern Indiana, but my husband and I are both from Atlanta.  After an undergrad career at Vanderbilt, grad school at Auburn, and a brief time in Mobile, we moved up here.  We may be the only family with an Auburn flag flying and a future Auburn quarterback and cheerleader, but we love our home here.

I have my Master's degree in Child Development from Auburn, but I have started my own business as a Mary Kay Independent Beauty Consultant.

No, I do not have a pink Cadillac (yet!) - this was taken at Seminar 2011 in Dallas this summer.

I love my job as a consultant.  I love that it is my business and I have so much flexibility.  I also love our products.  But most of all, I love making women feel fantastic about themselves.  

Welcome to my little corner of the world!