I’ve got a real hankering for colder weather, soups, boots, sweaters, and warm blankets. Wanting to keep those cozy fall vibes I’ve got running through me right now, I decided to pick up a children’s book I’ve never read before: Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery. After three pages I read a line out loud to a coworker early one morning before school had started. She had read the book before (all of them, actually) and knew exactly what this fascination was all about. I don’t know that I would have appreciated it as a child and been so mesmerized by the prose, but I am positively delighted every time I open this book.
Continue reading “Is It Fall Yet?”Tag: Fall
Seven on a Saturday- Fall/Halloween Doormat Ideas
Happy Saturday! I’ve got all the fall decor on my mind today. We’ve nearly reached the end of September and we’ve officially entered fall, so we should all be longing for cooler temps, those changing leaves, and duh, the pumpkin spice EVERYTHING! But if you’re looking for a fun new fall decor addition, why not start with a fun doormat? Everyone that darkens your door will love it, and it’ll likely be a conversation piece upon arrival. Each photo is linked to it’s purchasing source to make it easy for you.
Continue reading “Seven on a Saturday- Fall/Halloween Doormat Ideas”Seven on a Saturday- Fall Fashion Inspiration
Lately, I’ve been dressing for the season and not the weather. It gets a little old when I break a sweat walking from my car to my classroom because October in Alabama is still in the 90s, but we’ve gotten a tad bit of relief in temperature this week, so I feel it’s the right time to share a little fall outfit inspiration. Continue reading “Seven on a Saturday- Fall Fashion Inspiration”
Seven on a Saturday- Fall Pretties
I’m gonna go ahead a throw it out there that I don’t like summer. It’s my least favorite season because I hate to be hot. And when you live in the south, it’s flipping hot! Naturally, when fall rolls around, I embrace it like it’s my long lost best friend. Continue reading “Seven on a Saturday- Fall Pretties”
My Favorite Fall Accessory
Some of you might say, “Elizabeth, I know your favorite fall accessory is definitely a scarf.” And you’d be making a pretty valid point, but fall in the south is still pretty warm, and the accessory I always pull out first will not make you hot. Continue reading “My Favorite Fall Accessory”
Currently Loving- October 2017
CURRENTLY LOVING- OCTOBER 2017
Hi everyone! October is coming to a close and it’s officially holiday season! Hooray! It really is the most wonderful time of the year.
I have to take a minute to talk about that front stoop up there. Isn’t it dreamy? As much as I love the Christmas season and decor, this fall decor is giving me all the feels. It’s from one of my favorite bloggers, Alaina Kaczmarski of The Elizabeth Street Post. I’ll talk more about her later in this post.
But we’re not here to talk about the holidays, we’re here to talk about October. I’d like to share some of the things that came across my path that I loved during this gorgeous month.
Some Cooler Weather
Time for more of those outfits, amiright? About midway through the month it got a little chilly, left for a bit, then on the 28th there was that glorious cold front that came through. It was rainy and cold, and I stayed in and watched Hallmark Christmas movies all day while I worked on Beautycounter business and wrote several blog posts. It was one of those perfect fall days. Only thing that would have made it better was an unnecessary fire in a fireplace I don’t have. Ha! 🙂
I’m a Beautycounter Consultant
That brings me to my second favorite thing about October- Beautycounter. I’ve shared with you some of the products that I’d been using from them before, but this was the month that I signed on to become a consultant. I have a full post on why I joined that I’d love for you to read here. Here are some of my favorite products that I’ve been using from the very beginning of my journey with this wonderful company.
These were the original products that I started with from the brand, and I’ve not turned back. I love them so much, and they’re a safer option for your skin care routine. For more of my favorites read the original post here. You can also check out my right sidebar and choose the Safer Beauty tab to learn more. You can also visit my website with Beautycounter directly right here.
Tip Time
I was listening to Young House Love has a Podcast a while back, and Sherry was saying that one way they keep paper clutter out of their house was to take pictures on your phone of the pages that you like in a magazine and then upload them to a secret Pinterest board so that you don’t have a million magazines lying around your house. And I was like, duh!!! Why didn’t I think of that?! Thanks, Sherry! I just wanted to share that with y’all because it really is that easy! I got rid of SO MANY magazines because I did this and was able to pass the magazines along to friends and the local hospital waiting rooms.
Lighting
As always, I’m trying to find ways to improve my home and make it more “me”. Well, I’ve recently discovered the wonder of the world of lighting. Light fixtures are some of the most brilliant works of art out there. Although, I’m more of a traditionalist when it comes to lighting, there are some really fun and funky options that could totally make your space. Here’s a few that I really love.
I’ve saved the best for last. The is a photo of one of my very favorite bloggers that lives in one of my very favorite homes I’ve ever seen. Her style is impeccable, and I find myself wanting to copy her decor every time I see a new photo of her home. Look at this chandelier. 
Look at her whole apartment! It’s seriously one of the most beautiful homes. Remember the front stoop at the top of this post? Same blogger. Her style…ah! I love it! Check out her full home tour here. Trust me, you want to! And then you’ll be mad at me because you’ll immediately want to change everything about your home because her home is perfection.
Music
Every morning when I have my quiet time I listen to instrumental praise music. That’s the name of the Pandora station I listen to, actually. It has introduced me to so many new artists that I wouldn’t have known because I typically don’t listen to instrumental music. But in the mornings with Jesus, it’s nice. This song stopped me in my tracks the first time I heard it, and it still does even though I’ve heard it probably 30 times. I posted about it on my Instagram a while back, but I’m going to share it again here. Have a listen, won’t you?
One more, and DON’T judge ok? 
I am a big fan of Leslie Odom Jr. He plays Aaron Burr in Hamilton and is starring in the upcoming Murder on the Orient Express. The man has a beautiful voice, and it’s very unique. Last year he came out with a Christmas album, but I didn’t get it for whatever reason. Well, this year he announced he’s re-releasing a deluxe edition of the album. And, well, I caved. And I’m so glad I did! It’s SO GOOD! It was worth the $10 on itunes and will be great to play when I put up the tree. I’m more of a Rat Pack Christmas kind of girl than a Mariah Carey Christmas kind of girl anyway, so Leslie Odom Jr. fits right in with what I like.
Countdown to Christmas
The only other thing I’m loving during October is the Hallmark Channel. The harvest movies were fantastic, of course, and October was the kick-off for Countdown to Christmas. Like I said, it’s the most wonderful time of the year!
I hope everyone has had a lovely October, and I wish you a very Happy November!
XO,
Elizabeth
Fall Recipe- Pumpkin Oatmeal
PUMPKIN OATMEAL
I’m still on a fall food kick, and I’ve found another yummy one. Pumpkin Oatmeal, y’all! I am a fan of oatmeal in bursts. Sometimes I get really into it, and I’ll stay into it for a few weeks or so, but then I don’t want it for about six months.
I was in one of those six month stretches when I came across this recipe on Pinterest. (Seriously, what did we do before Pinterest?) I’m a sucker for just about anything with pumpkin, so I decided to give it a go.
The Recipe
As is my pattern, I cannot take credit for this recipe, so I’d like to link to the original post where I found it. Click here to go to Damn Delicious. Yep, that’s the name of her site. Ha! Well, the oatmeal was just that, so her content lives up to her site name.
I cooked the oatmeal (Old Fashioned Oats) in almond milk, and once it was done (ten-ish minutes), I added canned pumpkin, nutmeg, and cinnamon. Something about cinnamon screams fall and simply warms my heart.
Your kitchen will begin to smell like some serious fall goodness, and you’ll want to eat the entire pot even though it makes about four servings.
Let’s Eat!
Chungah, the author of Damn Delicious, serves hers with pecans on top. (YUM!) But I didn’t have any pecans, and it didn’t make that much of a difference to me to have them, so I omitted them this time.
But you should for sure drizzle on a little maple syrup before serving the oatmeal for just a hint of sweetness. So tasty!
Then pour yourself a coffee with your favorite pumpkin spice creamer and you’ve got yourself a bona fide fall breakfast. 
It keeps well in the fridge and warms up pretty well in the microwave. I recommend pouring a bit more almond milk over it before microwaving since it can dry out the longer it sits in the fridge.
Don’t forget to head over to Damn Delicious to get this DELICOUS recipe. I hope you get a chance to make it and enjoy it as much as I do.
Happy Wednesday, friends! See you soon with some September favorites. (There’s quite a few!) 🙂 Have a great rest of the week.
XO,
Elizabeth
Fall Recipe- Cheesy Potato Soup
FALL RECIPE-CHEESY POTATO SOUP
Have y’all ever been to O’Charley’s? Have you ever ordered the potato soup while there? Did you ever go back to O’Charley’s and order that soup every single time you went? Guilty.
In my fall state of mind over here I went to Pinterest to look for some yummy fall recipes. Okay, let’s be honest, I went there looking for pumpkin recipes because I’m a basic white girl that loves her #psl (psl=pumpkin spice latte for those of you living under a rock) and I ain’t ashamed to admit it! (I’ve tested one recipe already, and I’ll be reporting back next week with that treasure.) Anyway, as one often does on a Pinterest binge, I found myself heading down the soup-hole that is so enormous on that site, and I landed right on THIS ONE. I immediately wanted to try it, so I set out for the grocery store. I didn’t get a good picture of all the ingredients, but I will link the original website that was linked to the pin here at The Chunky Chef and she will give you all the information you need.
It calls for three pounds of red potatoes, so here’s a picture of those yummy potatoes post boil. 
While the potatoes were boiling, I was chopping green onions, making a roux (Louisiana friends don’t hate on the looks of my roux-I didn’t burn it, so I’m proud!),
and cooking the bacon to be crumbled on top. I don’t know about y’all, but I just about don’t cook bacon any other way than in my oven. I don’t like being popped by hot grease nor do I like cleaning it up. So this is my favorite way.
I need to say that it’s not a healthy soup. It has half and half, whole milk, Velveeta, and cans of cheddar cheese soup to name a few unhealthy ingredients. But sometimes you just want some comfort food, and when those temperatures dropped a week or so ago, the fall feels were all over me, and I needed some soup dang it.
And of course I served it with more bread because No Carb Left Behind!
It’s super delicious. It does call for a lot of garlic, so if you’re garlic-sensitive like my dad, you will need to scale down on the amount you put in. It really makes it taste so good, and I don’t recommend leaving it out entirely, but maybe you could use only half the amount it calls for (2 tsp, I think) and it would still be tasty. The other thing that makes it so good is the little kick you get from adding a touch of hot sauce. It’s the magic ingredient for sure.
One more thing-it makes a very large pot. So share with someone! Paul and I don’t mind leftovers, but it was still too much for the two of us. Needless to say, we shared. 
I cannot take credit for this recipe, so I won’t list the actual written recipe here on my post, but if you click HERE you’ll go right to it on The Chunky Chef’s blog. Her pictures are way gorgeous, and her tomato soup looks to die for. I don’t even like tomato soup and I want to make it!
I hope you give this one a go. I know the temperatures have gone back up to the low 90s lately but just bump your air down a bit before dinner. 🙂 It’s worth it!
Happy Friday, friends!
XO,
Elizabeth
Currently Loving- August 2017
CURRENTLY LOVING-AUGUST
I feel like I say this every month, but how in the world is August over already?
I wouldn’t necessarily say that this is a bad thing. Because it leads me to my first favorite of August:
Fall
Okay, so I know it’s not fall yet, but August has notoriously been the month where I start really itching to wear scarves, boots, and sweaters. Unfortunately, living in the southern portion of Alabama is just not conducive to those things in August. However, a girl can dream, no?
Let’s start with fall decor. I don’t exactly have a front door to decorate, but Pinterest lets me see what I could do one day when I’m not in an apartment. This front porch is perfection. I’m obsessed.
I think I mostly love the buffalo check pillow in the picture below. But the hay, the rustic bench, pumpkins, and lanterns are so charming.
Something else I don’t have is a fireplace, but how great is that garland? I also love when there’s something in the fireplace that isn’t ashes from a leftover fire. I love this container of wood. And that “Thankful” sign. 
Next up for fall is, of course, fall fashion. If you’ve known me for any amount of time, you probably know that I love a scarf. I have too many to count; it’s shameful, really. Anyway, I found a few more I’d like to add to my collection. 
I actually like both of the entire outfits, but I especially love those scarves.
Next is a poncho (maybe not a poncho-I can’t quite tell if it has arm holes. I think it does, but maybe it’s a blanket scarf or just an oversize cardigan). Again with the buffalo check. I can’t get enough.
TV Show(s)
Any Game of Thrones fans out there? Paul and I just recently binged the series. We were caught up in real time by about episode three of this season (7). And we, like most of you, are wondering how in the heck we are going to wait until the next season! It definitely left us wanting so much more, so I’ll be excited for that one to come back.
We are mostly ready for September to bring our regular shows back that we love so much: NCIS, Bull, Big Bang, and so.many.more. We have a show or two most every night that we watch. We love us some TV.
Podcasts
Do y’all listen to podcasts? I am fairly new to this realm of entertainment, but I have to say, I really like it. I have three that I’m really loving lately. All, of course, are right up my alley from home decor to Broadway.
- Young House Love Has a Podcast– If you’ve never heard of Young House Love, they are a married couple who started a blog many years ago, and are so knowledgeable about so many things regarding home decor and renovation. They are renovating a beach house right now and it’s PINK! It’s so stinking cute. I’ve linked to their website in their title, you should check it out. All of it. Their blog is the one that really got me interested in blogging myself.
- Sorta Awesome– I’m new to this one (only about 4 episodes in and there are over 100), but I am really enjoying it. They talk about Netflix a lot, so they’re basically my soulmates. They also talk about life in general. I like them. They seem like nice girls. 🙂
- Little Known Facts– The is the Broadway one. Ilana Levine interviews all sorts of people from the Broadway community. They sing a good bit and share behind the scenes information. And Ilana’s speaking voice is so calming and almost child-like. She is just wonderful to listen to. She played Lucy in You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown, if anyone remembers that musical several years ago.
A Vegan
Yes, that’s right, a vegan. I subscribe to several channels on YouTube. And often times, YouTube will suggest videos that you might be interested in. Well, one day I saw this before and after picture of a girl who had lost a lot of weight and the title of the video was something to the effect of “How I lost 70 pounds”. So I clicked on her, and she just sat explaining herself and was so real about everything. Usually there’s a gimmick or a fitness program attached to these types of videos, but this girl just said, nope, nothing did this for me, but me. She began eating a high carb diet. Yep, HIGH carb. Hmm…my skeptic ears perked straight up. But I kept listening. Turns out, she’s a vegan and her YouTube name is High Carb Hannah. She makes the most delicious looking meals-all plant based and vegan-friendly. She is very passionate about the way she lost weight. She said it took her two years, but it was because she was transforming the way she ate. I’m not turning into a vegan by any means, but I do love these plant based meals she shows you how to make on her videos. I’ve got plans for a burrito bowl, and I can’t wait. I’ll share with you when I make it.
She gave me the idea to make these black bean burgers. I found the recipe on Pinterest and gave it a try with my dad a few weeks ago while my mom and Paul were out of town. (High Carb Hannah just posted this week about a black bean, sweet potato burger, and it looks AMAZING!)
Forgive my bad, unedited photos from that night, but this is how it went down.
They were seriously amazing, y’all. I want to eat them again but not as a burger. I sort of want an avocado type sandwich with the black bean patty. If anyone wants to know any tips about making these, let me know and I’ll do a quick post about them. And if you’re looking to clean up your diet, check out High Carb Hannah. I like what she’s doing for people by spreading the news that plants are good and good for you!
Now, let’s gear up for some football!! We’ll be yelling War Eagle here in the Norman house. I hope y’all have a safe Labor Day Weekend. Enjoy that extra day off! I know I will.
XO and War Eagle,
Elizabeth