Happy Monday!

Whew! What a busy weekend it was! After sleeping on a dorm floor Friday night, that extra hour on Saturday couldn't have come at a better time! We had a great weekend but unfortunately I didn't take any pictures! I did notice when we got home how pretty and orange the tree in our backyard had gotten! I love this tree! The orange color reflects into our dining room. So pretty!

The Big Daddy Weave, Aaron Shust & Andy Kirk show Saturday night was really fun! I especially liked Aaron Shust's set. By the time Big Daddy Weave came out the weekend started catching up to me. I ended up sitting down half of their set. I still enjoyed it though! Big Daddy Weave even retweeted my tweet after the show! :)

This is totally random but it was too funny not to share. Sometimes when Seth takes off his socks for the night he will throw them across the room so they are at least near the hamper. A few nights ago he had done this not paying any attention to where it landed. A few minutes later I got out of the bed and saw that we had some new wall decor. I couldn't stop laughing and when Seth saw what I was laughing at we grabbed the camera to take a picture to prove that it had in fact attached itself to the wall! I left it there for a day until I needed to get the laundry done. I couldn't leave his other sock without a match!

Autumn

Guest Post: Meg (Twisted Tree) - Halloween Inspiration

Hello there That Is Charming readers!

My name is Meg, from the blog Twisted Tree where you can read the ramblings of my life as a stay at home mom to three perfect children and the wife to the most amazing man( at least I think so)!

Carol asked some of her blog friends to help her out with a guest post while she moved into her new adorable home, that I love by the way, so I jumped at the opportunity!

Since it's October, what better to talk about than Halloween!

I have to admit, I was never a fan of the holiday until I had children of my own and now I look forward to it every year...not to mention I have a husband who decorates more than anyone I know for Halloween, he's a dork, but that's why I love him!!

Do you still dress up for Halloween? Hey, it's one time a year when you can dress up as a bunny rabbit, princess or sock monkey and no one will look at you like you are crazy...so go for it!!

Here are some "spooky" images that I found to get everyone in the Halloween Spirit...

Trick or Treat!

Thank you Carol for letting me guest post on your awesome blog, I hope you get all settled into your new home and make it your own with all of your lovely creations and goodies! Home is definitely where the heart is!

xoxo~Meg

Guest Post: Kyla (The Fiction We Live) - Autumn Patterned Fortune Cookie "Crackers" Tutorial

Hello everyone!

I’m Kyla also known as OneLateNight from The Fiction We Live. Carol is currently on the move to her new fantastic home!
While she is away she asked if I would do a quick post to give you all something to read while she is moving and unpacking. I decided to do a quick DIY for autumn.

During Autumn I have my very specific go to decor items; Pinecones, Leaves and Cinnamon Sticks. This time I thought I would show a really cute addition to your table, or family gathering. On Christmas specifically my family will open crackers before we eat, and wear the silly crowns and laugh at the ridiculous toys inside. This time why not grab some great scrapbooking paper and goodies from your craft room and throw together a really fun addition to any table.

Autumn Patterned Fortune Cookie "Crackers"


1) For Supplies you will need:
Preferred colors of paper
Scissors, or cutting tool
A perfect Circle to trace (I used 3 inches for the small cookies, and 5 inches for the large)
Glue or Glue Dots
Additional paper to make fortunes, or fun buttons

2) Cut up your paper into the amount of circles you would like to make into paper cookies

3) Follow the picture below to fold your cookies. Fold your circle in half without creating a crease; have the open end facing to your left. To begin the bending of the paper cookie place your thumb and middle finger on each end. While still holding the opening closed with the other hand place your pointer finger in the middle of the folded circle and start pinching with your thumb and middle finger.

As you start to “pinch” you will see the paper to all of the work and a paper cookie will form.

4) Once you have folded your cookie place a dab of glue, or a glue dot into the newly folded crease and hold your cookie together until dry. If you want to add in a paper fortune, buttons or charms do so before gluing.

5) Place a bunch in a bowl, or on individual plates for a fun dinner party addition. You can add in your own fortunes, Jokes, notes, charms, or even buttons. I think buttons would be a great after dinner game!
Place all of the same color buttons in each paper cookie. Place 2 different coloured buttons among the group. Those who open the cookies with the different coloured buttons are on Dish Duty! Easy as Pie

Thank you so much to Carol for letting me guest post to share this DIY!
Carol I wish you a happy and easy move and I’m sure I’m not alone in being excited about seeing pictures of your house when you’re all settled.

Happy Autumn everyone!
XO. Kyla

Olde Tyme Apple Festival & 5K

One thing I love about Fall is the festivals. The Olde Tyme Apple Festival in a town near us was today and had a 5K race and a parade. This morning we woke up suuuuper early (4:30 for me... yuck!) so Seth could run in the 5K.

even Kizzy doesn't function well this early in the morning!

He achieved a PR in this race. 26 minutes 9 seconds.

He also placed 3rd in his age division. Again I'm so proud! I love that he is doing these races. He enjoys them so much!

The parade was a lot of fun! I was really disappointed though that the marching bands started farther down the road. Who skips part of a parade like that!?

But the few random cars pulling out of the Walmart parking lot not realizing they were entering in the middle of the parade line made up for it! It was hilarious seeing their shocked faces when they realized they were stuck awkwardly driving slowly down the road while kids yelled at them to throw candy! :)

Here are a few of my favorites from the parade.
The coolest cop car ever!

These kids were so cute! They were skipping down the road while the guy behind them sang the song from Mary Poppins! By far my favorite part of the entire parade!

After the parade we tried to fight the crazy crowds to find a parking spot closer to all the vendors and booths. It took us forever to find a spot! And we still had to walk a good distance. I scored a few awesome things but I will have to try to take a picture of them tomorrow to show you.

Do you have any interesting festivals where you live?

Itty Bitty Pumpkin

Today Seth & I are hanging out at Starbucks. Mocha Frappe. My favorite. Yum!

I wanted to show you an itty bitty pumpkin I made last night. I couldn't show you until today because it was almost dark when I finished it and my camera just wasn't going to take a decent picture. So I snapped a picture right before we left. Isn't it just too cute? It's so little!

I found this easy tutorial from Wee Folk Art.

I also want to show you this pretty hairtie that I am wearing today. It's actually a headband but I thought it looked cute as a side ponytail. I won it a few weeks ago on Chelsea's blog. It's by Rachel of Cucuco. She also sent me an adorable yellow hair clip with the same type of flower as the headband and a notebook with some fabric flowers on it. Her shop & blog is full of cuteness! Be sure to check them out!

Cucuco Shop

Cucuco Blog

Urban Jungle Hat wip

Last winter I bought Vickie Howell's book Pop Goes Crochet. I have been a fan of hers ever since! I love her work! I used some of her patterns for Christmas gifts last year.

When I saw the pattern for the Urban Jungle Hat, I knew I needed to put it on my list of things to make soon. I love all the puffs & the slouchiness!

The other night I started on it. The pattern is really easy to follow and I'm having fun making this so far! I can see myself making this hat in many different colors! We'll see how this one turns out though :)

What projects are you all working on?

Pumpkin Spice Muffins

I don't really like to do much in the kitchen but when there is a recipe as easy as this one I can't help but try it! Stacy told me about this recipe last year so I tried it. They were a huge hit with us!

All you need is a box of spice cake mix & 15 oz. can of pumpkin. Mix well together and spoon into a lined cupcake pan. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 22-24 minutes & let cool. Couldn't be easier, right!?

Note: recipe found on cooks.com

Hey Mom, Remember This?

This morning we went to a few garage sales around town. I found this Magic School Bus book for 25 cents. It is funny to me because in kindergarten, I was scared to death of this book. My teacher read it to us and I started crying. I remember my friend hugging me while I was crying through the whole book. I think my teacher asked my mom to take the book home and read it to me to help me get over my fear of it. I was a pretty strange kid ha!

Last night I started working on an idea I had. I can't show you the final project yet but here is a sneak peek! I'm thinking a tutorial is in the works :)

Welcome Autumn!

I love how the weather seemed to have shifted to more fall-ish weather while we were on vacation. I have enjoyed the cooler days with the windows open. Kizzy is enjoying it too. She loves sitting in the window sill which she can't do when the windows are shut.

Fall is my favorite season because not only is my birthday this month, but I love the colors & scents too. I am looking forward to wearing my scarves and hats again! I'm looking forward to burning spice scented candles. I'm looking forward to the pumpkin spice lattes & baking some of these super easy pumpkin spice muffins!

Yesterday I decided I need some fall decor in my living room. The living room has been pretty bare since we have moved in with just the couch, a chair and tv stand. I pulled out the bookshelf from my craft room and placed it in the living room so I could display some of my fall decoration. I plan on creating some cute fall decoration this season!

What do you enjoy about fall?

Finger Knit Feather Headband Tutorial & Giveaway

Hello! I am Amber from A.Darling. Carol asked me to give you guys a little tutorial today! If you have never been to my blog before, you'll see that I am way into knitting and today I am going to show you one of my favorite things for the fall season, headbands! This headband is so cute and easy to make, you don't even have to know how to knit, awesome right?

supplies needed:
bulky yarn , feathers, buttons, tapestry needle, measureing tape
-------------------------------------------------------------------
directions:

I just wanted to make a little note that I did not measure around my head, I just kind of winged it until it fit, but you can measure around your head and finger knit the lenght of it, totally up to you!

To start, tie a loose knot at the end of your yarn and loop it around your pointer finger.

Start at your pointer finger and weave it in and out of your fingers until you get to your pinky.

Loop your yarn around the front of your pinky, and weave it back to your pointer.

Reapeat these two steps until you have two loops on each of your fingers

Here comes the fun part, take the bottom loop and pull it up and over the top loop on your fingers and let it slide to the back of your hand.

Now repeat the first two steps, weaving the yarn through your fingers until you have two loops, again pull the bottom loop over the top loop.

Now if you look at the back of your hand, it should look like this

And this is ok! Don't worry about it. As you go along, make sure to tug your headband every now and then to make it tight and even things out.

Keep repeating steps one and two until your headband is the length you want it to be

Be sure to loosen your loops around your fingers so you can slide them out easy.

Cut your yarn and leave about six inches of tail so you can thread it through the loops

If you have a big loop at the end like I did, just thread your yarn back through and tighten it up.

Now you are going to want to "try" on your headband so you can figure out where you want to sew your button onto. Take an extra piece of yarn, or some embroidery thread and sew your button into place.

After that you can now try it on and just wiggle the button through the yarn.

Take your feathers, I used two and slide them down into your yarn and grab another button and sew it on top of your feathers.

I kinda went under the button to secure my feathers more. Trim the bottoms of your feathers and enjoy your headband!!!

----------------------------------------------------------

Thank you so much Amber for that tutorial! This is a perfect autumn accesory!

Amber has offered you all the chance to win one of her cute knitted headbands in your choice of either mustard yellow or gray.

Here's how to enter:

*EDIT* New rules for the mandatory entry. Sorry about that! Those that have entered already will still be counted.

-To enter you must go over to Amber's blog & leave a nice comment on any of her posts. Come back here & tell me something you love about her blog.

-For extra entries you can blog or tweet it. Just leave a separate comment with the link(s).

-Contest ends September 14!

Good Luck!!