Hydrangeas

Where but the South can you find beautiful hydrangeas like this in the fall?! Maybe everywhere - I really am not a flower expert :) But I do know that these gorgeous stems make my home feel homey-er and put a smile on my face every time I walk through my door!

So beautiful they look fake!

Check out Bella Bad Girl in the background... ready to pounce!

Flowers. So impractical and such a waste of valuable grocery dollars... but I'm a sucker and can't pass up these beauties at Whole Foods - sorry hubbs ;)

Scents of the Season

Today in Atlanta it was about 80 degrees and extremely humid (I'm talking... humid as in my glasses fogged up when I walked to my car at 8 a.m. <-- nerd) even though it is almost NOVEMBER! That is craziness to this Midwestern girl. Up in Ohio, I would already be donning my Uggs and fleeces and scarves! Oh wait, I already wear scarves year-round - pure insanity if you ask my hubbs :)

So in hopes of bringing a little bit of fall flavor to our home, I've sprinkled our apartment with some little/easy/inexpensive flares of fall to make it at least feel and smell like fall in our house!

These Yankee Beanswax Candles are my latest obsession! Soo fragrant, even when they're not lit!

"The Great Pumpkin" scent = to die for!

I know candles aren't everyone's thing. Especially for people with ornery kitties who think flickering flames make fun toys! So for decor that can be enjoyed 24/7, I have developed a new-found affinity for potpourri! {Sidebar: I hate how that word is spelled.} I have found that a bag of $12.99 potpourri from Marshall's or HomeGoods can make such a difference in a room! This is my newest "batch" that I have used to liven up our coffee table and guest bathroom - and surprisingly I catch a whiff of it every time I walk past... almost a month, still going strong!

One bag of potpourri, a hurricane vase and a candle make for a simple, fragrant centerpiece!

This is a little nicer than sitting out a can of air freshener next to the potty ;)

And just because I share a breezeway with 3 other lovely apartment-dwellers, does not mean that my entryway can't be accessorized! This fall-colored ribbon wreath was a DIY creation made by moi! Thanks to Sheila, who organizes a fun, crafty "Girls Night In" every couple of weeks, my little door now has a homemade decoration of its very own! Ya, ya, I know wreaths don't fit in my "scents of the season" theme - but I just feel like bragging because I love it.

Ribbon Wreath: $10 of ribbon + $5 foam wreath + 30 fun minutes of tying knots at GNI

TA DAAA! {I think the security alarm sticker detracts from its beauty... but I can deal}

And what would fall be without the scents of warm, gooey, pumpkin-y baked goods?! These sweet treats have been my favorite scents of this season by far!

Pumpkin muffins and Pecan Braids from Panera

Pumpkin Pecan Cheesecake fresh outta the oven... mmm

Until fall decides to officially arrive in Atlanta, I'll just keep adding my own unofficial touches of autumn to our little abode!

**Click the links for ribbon wreath instructions and cheesecake recipe**

Fall Break

It was fall break for me and my sissys this past weekend, so they continued the tradition of venturing south to spend the weekend with me in Atlanta! Last year it was just my mom and Erika, but this year it was the entire family! Needless to say, we had a very full house... but it was so much fun :) In addition to a full house, we also had a very full weekend! The only time we spent in our apartment was to shower between plans or to sleep!

Atlanta Fish Market

We mostly just shopped and went out to eat haha but somewhere in between stores and restaurants Erika and I baked my dad a bday cake (his real bday wasn't until Monday) and we all spent an afternoon at the Georgia Aquarium. It was Mere's first time really exploring the city so we were excited to play tour guide!

Excuse my awkward lean...

Andrew was such a trooper all weekend!

The weather was AMAZING in Atlanta all weekend! We had the most beautiful blue skies and just perfectly comfortable temperatures. It was so nice that we took a little stroll around Olympic Park on our way to/from the aquarium.

Beautiful day downtown

Mere's paparazzi shot

We also got to celebrate my dad's 53rd bday on Saturday at an amazing little Italian restaurant in Buckhead and then went home to eat the delish Pumpkin Pecan Cheesecake that my sister and I baked for him! I don't profess to be an expert baker by any means but this cake tasted like it could legit be sold at Cheesecake Factory! In my opinion anyway :) But I won't take all the credit - I was not responsible for making the crust!

The little bakers

Cutting into my masterpiece... anxious to see if the middle was cooked!

The cake was a success! And so was the weekend. As always, it went way too fast. The only thing that made saying goodbye on Sunday a little less sad was knowing that we will be home for Thanksgiving in just 5 short weeks! All I can think of that would have made the weekend even more perfect --- Buckeye and Browns wins! Oh well, such is the life of a Cleveland sports fan. Maybe next fall break!

Neglect...

Law school has really been crampin' my style the past several weeks. After 3:15 this afternoon though, I am making a (public) vow to stop neglecting the things that have been shoved to the back burner over the course of the last month. These poor neglected little things include: 

Health. Dear Lord have I neglected my health - this includes proper sleep (what sleep?), diet (mostly sugar and caffeine these days), exercise (what is that again? I forget), hygiene (TMI? sorry), and the like.
Beauty. My hair dryer, flat iron and make up have been seriously neglected. My wardrobe has also fallen victim to some grave neglect.
My kitty. Poor little thing wants brushed and pet and loved, and I have hardly been home! So she snuggles up extra close at night, as soon as my head hits the pillow, and just purrs her little heart out til she falls asleep. So cute, I could cry.
My husband. Another little creature who just wants to be loved haha. I haven't watched a TV show or shared a meal with Andrew in what feels like days! And quite honestly I don't know how long its been since I crawled into bed when he wasn't already dead asleep. Bad wife.
Our house. My strict cleaning regimen has not been followed. This past Saturday, it took every ounce of self-control in my body to prioritize school ahead of toilet scrubbing, vacuuming, and dusting. And I have hated every moment of this week because of it!
Laundry. It is looking very scary. Thankfully, my shopping addiction (once again) comes in very handy at times like these. Most families would be out of clean socks, underwear and tshirts - not us :) Go me!
Friends/Family. I haven't talked to my best friends on the real telephone in weeks. My mother-in-law, a week. My sisters, days. And my own mother, well... she gets calls every day but they have been distracted, whiny conversations I'm sure!

So this is my very public, very lofty pledge: I will change ALL of this in the next 48 hours!!! I already have a to-do list made for myself and plan to attack it the second I march out of my bankruptcy midterm moot court competition! All except for the exercise, of course... gotta be realistic here, people ;)

Punkin Patch

This weekend we went on the most perfect little fall outing! I have been dying to go to a pumpkin patch, so when Sheila and I were sitting in class last Monday and saw a Groupon email pop up with a coupon to Jaemor Farms we had to buy it! For those of you who live in cities without Groupon - you're missing out!

With my cute hubbs... he was still a little skeptical of our adventure at this point.

With Sheila - my unofficial tour guide to the South :)

So on Saturday evening we ventured an hour north to this cute little farm with Sheila and Daniel to get pumpkins, go on a hayride, make our way through a corn maze and just partake in something Southern and fall-ish :) The weather was perfect - we got to the farm just as the sun was going down and it was just cool enough to feel like fall without being too cold. We started our adventure at the Jaemor Farm Market where we loaded up on old fashion apple butter, peach salsa, and other fun stuff. Then we hurried over to the pumpkin patch because they were about to close...

Unfortunately... all of the pumpkins still on the vine (because we were of course too stubborn to choose from the already picked, washed, and stacked pumpkins outside of the market) were GIANT and misshapen! It would have taken days to carve the goop out of most of them. Sadly, we didn't end up taking any pumpkins home to our itty bitty city patios, but the scenery made for some cute photo ops!

Thanks, Sheila for the awkward candids haha

Looking really hard to find just one pumpkin to take home!

Ignore the beef jerky in Andrew's cheek

After our failed attempt at getting pumpkins, we headed over to the CORN MAZE - I kid you not, I was pretty sure that these things were fake until I saw one in real life - where we failed again :) After about 30 minutes of navigating the maze in the dark, even with the boys' (ok, Daniel's) most valiant efforts, we didn't make much progress and decided to just backtrack and leave through the entrance haha. Maybe next year??

At the entrance (and exit, in our case) of the patriotic corn maze :)

Then, we went on a "hayride." I don't know if you can really call it a hayride because there was actually no hay... just a tractor pulling a cage of people through a farm. But it was fun! After a year and a half of living in Georgia I can finally say that I saw peach trees! And pumpkins, and blackberries, and apple trees, and a few questionable hillbillies Georgians who had some even more questionable parenting tactics!  Another "first" for us that night - boiled peanuts... who knew?! Strange, but true... and pretty tasty!

It was such a fun, Southern fall night in Georgia and while I'm not sure how long I'll have to wait before I can successfully drag talk Andrew into going on an "adventure" with me again, I'm SO glad we went! And thanks to scoring some amazing Jaemor Farms cheese dip and peach salsa I think my hubbs is pretty glad we did too ;)

Thanks to Sheila and D for making it their mission to introduce us to all things Southern!

NEVER a dull moment!

I was reminded this morning of just how entertaining Bella is.

Blackberry photo. Blurry, but worth it!

Some people wake up to alarm clocks. Some wake up to ringing cell phones. Others wake up to screaming children...

Today we woke up to the sound of our cat's tongue lapping up what was left of the water on our nightstand! Instead of waking up cranky and lethargic, most mornings we get to wake up laughing at the early morning antics (mostly stupid, but still hilarious) of our little kitty. This morning, we laid in bed and giggled in anticipation of her head being stuck :) It wasn't, but close!

So call me the crazy cat lady if you want, but with Bella around there is never a dull moment! When she got her head out after the first drink, she realized she could escape the tall glass and went in for another round... Not the smartest little thing, but we like her that way!

Yes, of course she has her OWN water, but for whatever reason she prefers drinking ours.

Scarves!

Who doesn't love scarves?! I do... even though I've been (affectionately) reminded by my sister that I have a short neck, and that when I wear scarves and turtlenecks it looks like I'm being "choked." Thank you, Erika ;) Nonetheless, scarves are still my FAVORITE fall/winter accessory. Other favorites include boots, leggings, Uggs, etc. etc. but those are not important right now because no one is giving those other fave things away for *free!* If you're a scarf-lover, or know a scarf lover, or just simply like entering to win things... click here:

WWW.SCARVES.NET

You can enter to win a *free* scarf! It takes 2 seconds, might as well! Just like it only took 2 seconds for me to post this, so if no one bothers to read this silly thing for weeks and weeks I won't feel like I've wasted too much time :)

Patio Season

There are few things in life I enjoy more than crisp, cool fall weather. Atlanta temperatures have finally dipped down into the 70's and the evenings are perfect for patio-sitting! I've been making a mental list of all my favorite patio weather restaurants (it is long) and can't wait to start outdoor dining on the weekends :)
But for week nights, movie nights, and late night chatting - I have been hard at work trying to turn our balcony into a cozier place to hang. Who would have thunk that outdoor furniture/decor could be so expensive? Not me! But I still had hope that I could make it cute on a budget. I have spent a few lot of afternoons bargain hunting to turn our balcony into a quaint little sitting area without having to hide my receipts from Andrew! (I totally don't do that. Not often anyway...)

This side of our apartment gets lots of morning sunshine

The chairs were a cheap find that I stumbled upon earlier this year at Target. They were originally $40 each, and I just couldn't justify it. So after looking elsewhere and finding nothing, I went back to Target a few weeks later and got them 50% off! Two for the price of one? I could deal with that. I thought I was finally off to a good start. However, for months and months, the bare brown chairs were the only thing on our balcony! Then came summer clearance season...

Still needs a few living touches... maybe some cooking herbs?

Target had that itty bitty table (but slightly darker brown) displayed with my new chairs for $80. I absolutely refused to spend that much money on a table that you can't even eat a meal off of. As I was roaming through Ross some random July afternoon, looking for literally nothing in particular, this replica caught my eye - but really it was the price tag ($35!) that got my attention! I didn't have a cart, and I underestimated its weight, but I awkwardly carried it to the check out (back corner of the store to the front... waddling) and hurried home to see if it really did match. Well... close enough! Its a lighter brown, but I figured some cushions on the chairs would break up the obvious color mismatch. Off to find some cushions!

Most days you can see Bella sitting in this window :)

No one told me that TJ, Marshall's, Target, etc. etc. run out of patio decorations (decent looking ones anyway) by Memorial Day. All of the cutsie little things I had my eye on, waiting for a sale... gone. Luckily, I stumbled upon the seasonal decorations at World Market - which is usually hit or miss for me - and discovered that they had adorable patio cushions. Unfortunately, I didn't see the point in spending $30/cushion! True to form, I checked back 3 more times and eventually snagged the last two matching cushions (ok, so solid green wasn't my FIRST choice but they totally grew on me) at 75% off! Also picked up some fun paper lantern green/blue/red/purple lights for half off while I was there. I was so excited!

Too bad I killed my hanging baskets... those would have looked so cute right about now!

The watering can is actually a citronella candle (TJ Maxx) and I am still working on finding some hanging baskets that will survive when I forget to water them the cool weather. I'm hoping that stores will be slashing prices on flowers to make room for their pumpkins soon :) And I'm sure I'll be picking up nick nacks to add while I'm out and about. In the meantime, I'll be enjoying the view of my cuter-by-the-day little balcony through the windows and spending cool autumn nights out there sipping wine and catching up on life with my hubby <3