Weekend Rewind: The twins turn 6!

Look who turned six!  These two cuties are growing up fast.  Saturday, my sister Holly had family and friends over for a cook-out, pool party.  She also surprised the girls with a small petting zoo.  They had a blast.

 

A quick pic with two of my sisters. (Jessica and Holly)

The twins were on the run but I managed to grab one picture with Taylor.

The girls had family and classmates over and my sister and Holly's MIL did face painting.  

Two of my nieces, Marlei and Karmi

Auntie and Karmi

We kept two of the kids on Saturday night to give my sis a morning to sleep in.  Sunday was filled with house cleaning and relaxing after we dropped the kiddos off.  It has been raining here non stop for a couple weeks so I am hoping we get a break in the rain.  It's still way to early for cooler temps here in Central Florida but with the time change approaching, it has been nice to have cooler evenings.  

Hope y'all have a super week!

Deals and Steals from West Elm

The season is changing and I am back in the mood for sprucing up my closet and my home.  I got an email from West Elm and did a little browsing.  They have some super deals right now and at nearly 70% off, they are worth a look.

This pretty mocha bedding looks super luxe and would be so pretty with some soft white pillows.  

Looking for a feminine option?  This is so pretty.  Maybe for a teenage young lady or single gal.  I have dogs so I could just see them digging around and pulling the pleats.  

Can you use some new throw pillows?  These are a steal at $15.

This rug is such a pretty pattern.  Lots of sizes available too.

Who couldn't use some bedside seats.  These would be good for slipping on shoes or extra seating with a full house of guests.

These frames are so pretty with delicate touches of gold.  

Oh what I would do with this gorg pendant.  I would buy this in a second if I had a spot for it.

This serving board + dip bowl is perfect for football season and is less than $20.  

What have you been spying as we transition into fall?  Unfortunately, we won't have cool temps for a while but with the time change coming, we will get a little taste of the season change.

Recipe: 5 minute fruit salsa

I have the perfect, tasty treat for you.  This fruit salsa recipe is healthy, simple, quick to prepare and can be completely modified to your liking.  It's only called salsa because of it's texture.  There are no "salsa" ingredients in it at all.  

I was talked into attending a Tupperware party a few years back by a friend at work.  I really didn't want to go but you know how those hosting parties are.  It was interesting, the selling approach they take is very modern.  I was imagining a lady holding each product and trying to sell that way.  They take a DIY approach and show you a few simple recipes, meanwhile, demonstrating how to use the products.  

Well, I got sold!  

I bought this super handy (but a little pricey) food chopper.  It is well-made and is nearly in perfect condition so I guess it's hard to knock the price.  There may be other alternatives out there but this does the trick.  

We learned to make a tasty fruit salsa at the party I attended.  

It's all fresh fruit plus a touch of jelly for sweetness and is so delish!  

Here goes:

Buy whatever fruits you like.  I like pears, apples, kiwi, strawberries and nectarines.  I didn't have good luck with pineapple (shredded instead of chopped when I tried), grapes were a little runny and star fruit seemed to be loved or no love at all so I usually skip them too. 

This little chopper makes a lot of salsa so start with just one piece of each fruit.  The quantity really surprised me.  I found it is best to start with the hardest textures first.  Since there is a lot of chopping, you want to have the softest fruit in last.  I sliced in rectangle shapes holding the fruit up and skipping the seeds and stem.

I like to add a small amount of strawberry preserves as one of the last ingredients to give it a little sweetness.  

It is a beautiful presentation, especially in a glass bowl.  You will be tempted to eat this stuff by the spoonful but trust me, it's worth the extra step to scoop some up using cinnamon chips.  I learned how to make them homemade (also at the party) but it's very time consuming.  I love Stacy's brand cinnamon pita chips.  

Have any creative ways to serve this salsa?  Let's hear it!

  

Fall Fashion Wish List: Cozy Capes

Fall Fashion: Cape by eporter-217 featuring a hooded cape

Weekend Rewind: Tuscaloosa

Roooollllll Tide!

We headed up to T-Town for the weekend with eight friends for the Alabama vs Florida game.  It was so much fun!  We took off work Friday and headed to Tuscaloosa.  Our friends in Mobile handled our accommodations through Game Day Housing.  Local families move out for the weekend and rent their homes to guests in town for the game.  What a neat concept.

Friday night we went to the strip and hung out at the house so we could be up early for game day!  We hit several tailgates before heading into the game.

Me, Annie and Tiffany

Simon and I

After the game, we went to visit my father-in-law's best friends.  My FIL passed away a little more than a year ago so it was bittersweet visiting with his best friends.  My husband did pretty good but it was a little emotional for him.  Their family has an awesome condo one block from the stadium.  It is decorated in school colors and has a great balcony looking at to the stadium and all the fun going on nearby.  There are several former players that also have units in the same complex.  So fun!

I am happy to be home.  I was travelling all of last week and I only slept in my bed Thursday night.  Phew!

Home sweet home.  Hope you have a super week!  

Fall style buys

Hey y'all!  Although cooler temps are nowhere near Florida yet, I am feeling the urge to switch gears into some new fall fashion.  I ordered a few things way outside my norm and I am hoping that once these arrive, I am feeling just as confident to actually wear them!  I have read about lots of fun buys lately and here are a few of mine.  Most of these were from the Loft sale last weekend but a couple weeks before that, I snagged this adorable embroidered dress.

I have seen this chiffon dress styled many times on Pinterest and although I wouldn't normally pick something so attention getting, once I clicked thru the link and saw how amazingly cheap it is, I went ahead and stuck this bad body in my cart.  The shipping tracking showed it left China, is in Jamaica now and headed to me soon.  I hope to have as many adventures in this once it arrives.  :)

I ordered this coated cotton moto jacket to toughen up my sweet chiffon dress and also to throw over a white tee and jeans for a casual date night.  I am hoping the cotton is a little cooler than leather would be.  

I also grabbed a couple pairs of jeans to spruce up my pickings.  I have been on dark blue for a while so I grabbed a lighter rinse with a little destruction and darker rinse to experiment a little.  I am not feeling as confident about the dark coated pair but decided to try since they were on sale.  

 

I am on the hunt for a pretty plaid scarf for the fall.  I am thinking either lighter Burberry-like shades or black-based plaid.  We shall see.  I haven't been to the mall much lately but need to take a couple lunches at the food court and take a quick stroll to see what I can find.  

What do you have on your fall-fashion radar?  Can't wait to read all about it.  

Hope your week is off to a great start!

Weekend Rewind

Last week was a whirlwind.  Work has been busy and add my wife, auntie, daughter duties to that and the days fly by.  Friday night, Simon and I grabbed a dinner and called it a night early.  Saturday was filled with two soccer games and a night of racing.  I left at 8:00am Saturday and got home just before 10:00pm.

Three of my nieces play soccer together and they are so cute.  I didn't start playing quite as young as they did and it's amazing at the determination they have at just five years old.  It was pouring rain at the start of their game and they played like they didn't even notice.  My Dad and I took shelter in our cars and watched the first half-from the parking lot.

 The little kids' game ended and next up was my oldest niece, Payton's game at 11:30.  She is u10 competitive and I am one of her coaches.  We are in our first season of competitive and it's the first time that we are playing to win every game and they keep scores and team rankings.  We won our first game 11-2 and won last weekend's game 4-3.  It was a nail biter with the score being so close.  I was so glad my girls didn't give up and we got the game winning goal in the last quarter.  

 After two soccer games, we grabbed some lunch and headed to my Dad's house to get ready for a night of racing.  My Dad and I both race and three of my nieces do too.

 My youngest little racer, Taylor.  She has my same number.

My mini-me, Payton.  I got so sunburned from being outside all day.  She also happen to run a 5k before her game AND racing.  #supastar 

That's a wrap!  Simon and I relaxed on Sunday.  He had a couple friends over to watch the game and I had the race on.  I have another action-packed week ahead.  I am on the road a few days for work and then head to Tuscaloosa for the Florida vs Alabama game with friends.  

On the rooaaddd again! :)  Have a super week friends!

I spy end of summer sales

Oh my goodness, my inbox is totally packed with sale announcements.  I have been so busy that I haven't had much time to peek but I have picked up a few deals, too good to miss.

I grabbed some towels from J.Crew.  As you can see, these are very genorously sized towels and they are really soft.  I didn't see these exact ones online now but there are options <HERE> and <HERE>

We still have lots of warm temps in Florida, so I grabbed some new MK sandals.  I have a couple pairs and they are so comfy and have worn really well.  Check out a few colors <HERE> and <HERE>

I don't own many cropped bottoms but I got these from Banana Republic and they have been good for days I don't want to wear shorts.  They are cute with flats and sandals.  

C.Wonder has been having sales all summer.  Their home section has a huge selection of everything you need for hosting friends for cocktails.  We got this adorable lobster bottle opener on our last visit.  

Check out all their home goods <HERE>

What goodies have you grabbed for seasonal sales?  

Weekend Rewind: Soccer Saturday

Fall soccer is underway.  This is my seventh season coaching and I have had four of the girls since my first season.  We are in our first competitive season (travelling team) and started off the season with a win!  We have been practicing all summer and the girls did great.  We won 11-2.
I especially love it because I too, played soccer as a youngin and still treasure the memories and friendships from those years.  I hope some of these girls get to experience the same thing.

Coin toss

Go Strikers!

 

They either figured out my iphone code or my niece told them.  I found these on my phone after the game.  

 We won!  That is Coach James.  We have been playing and coaching together since high school.

Little ladies.

Have a great week!