Halloween Weekend 2020

Hey friends! Did everyone have a great Hall-o-weekend? It was very low-key around here (like most weekends around here) but I thought it was great to have Halloween on a Saturday. I think we should observe Halloween on the last Saturday of October every year, anyone else with me on that?

Sophie loves her toys from her Barkbox and I love that each month the theme changes. We were of course thrilled to see Halloween themed toys and Sophie has been enjoying her Vampy-corn, Barry Bones, and Ghouly Worm. If you haven't signed up for Barkbox and you have a pup it's a great idea to get a year-long subscription as a Christmas present for them! We truly enjoy having this box come each month and I think the price is 100% worth it!

Guys, it snowed here on Friday!! My poor pumpkin and mums enduring the storm, they look so sad!

We spent a lot of the weekend cuddled up on the couch and Sophie was thrilled with all of it! I love how sweet her face is in this picture. 

I feel so lame. This is what I did for Halloween trick-or-treating. I made 30 treat bags and left them out for our neighborhood kids. We ended up with 5 leftover so it ended up being just about the perfect amount. Even though I put out a pumpkin and some little Halloween decals on the door, I didn't really do much outside decorating for Halloween. I always intended on going back out to pick up more pumpkins/gourds and make the front steps look nicer but I just never did. I felt especially bad about my decorating skills when I saw what The Blonde Abroad had done....

(This picture is a screenshot of @theblondeabroad Halloween post on Instagram)

How cute is her setup?! Her dog Bailey looked so cute as Harry Potter and I couldn't believe all the awesome decor she had. If you aren't already following her on Instagram she is one of my favorites. Normally she is traveling non-stop but has recently purchased a house in San Diego and is doing some home decor content which I love! I felt very inferior when I saw her decor versus what I had going on outside!! I always say next year....

Last week at BJs I picked up a huge box of Swiss Miss Hot Chocolate mix and I kicked off hot chocolate season on Halloween! I love fall and have enjoyed having my fall decor up inside our house but I am ready to decorate for Christmas. 

It seems like more than half the people I follow on Instagram started decorating yesterday for Christmas. I didn't start yesterday but I am planning on starting very soon. Tomorrow I have the day off from work so I will be taking down all of my fall decor and giving the house a good deep clean and I plan on decorating for Christmas maybe next weekend. Let me know when you are planning on decorating for Christmas, I would love to hear how long you are waiting this year.

Speaking of tomorrow, it's my husbands birthday!!!

Happy Birthday Tim! You are the most patient, kind, wonderful person in the world and I cannot imagine my life without you. You are my match in every way and I am so lucky to be married to you!!

S'mores Pie

 Hey friends!

How was your weekend? We kept things very low key around here, mostly just running errands and doing chores around the house. We watched a couple of scary movies on Saturday night (Ready or Not and The Invisible Man) and I liked both of them even though I'm a big scaredy cat. Have you seen Emily in Paris? I'm watching it right now and it's really cute. It reminds me a lot of Sex and the City but on a millennial scale. (Which makes sense because Darren Star...) I've been enjoying watching it when I'm getting cleaning and cooking done. It's very lighthearted and easy to follow, I recommend it if you are looking for that type of show! If you want something a little more intense definitely check out Bly Manor on Netflix. If you haven't watched it already, it's definitely creepy but I love the storyline and that you really need to be paying attention to the story. 

Anyways, on to todays recipe! This weekend I made a S'mores Pie and it was delicious. I have been looking at the recipes for this on Pinterest recently and was thinking about making it for Thanksgiving so I wanted to test it out and last night was the perfect night to do that. 

I followed this recipe so definitely go check it out but I wanted to share how the process went for me here as well. 

We only needed four ingredients: 12oz semi sweet chocolate chips, 1 cup of heavy whipping cream, 4 cups of mini marshmallows, and 1 graham cracker crust.

I purchased the pre-made graham cracker crust from the grocery store but you can definitely make your own if you are looking for more of a challenge.

The first step is to make the chocolate ganache which sounded intimidating to me but it was super simple. All you do is mix the chocolate chips and heavy whipping cream in microwavable bowl. I heated mine in 30 second increments and then whipped it until it was smooth.

Then I poured the ganache into the pie crust and put it in the fridge. The recipe recommends putting it in for at least 2 hours. Mine was in for 6 hours uncovered and did just fine. 

Now right before serving you need to add the marshmallows and toast them. I used the broiler in our oven for this. (I had no idea we had a broiler) I put the broiler on high, making sure the oven rack was as far up as possible and I only let the pie sit inside for 30 seconds or so. Make sure you are watching it because those marshmallows heat up fast! 

Here is the completed pie. I think it looks amazing!! It definitely is something that looks super enticing and I am seriously considering making it on Thanksgiving. 

I think it tastes amazing as well. It definitely is super rich chocolate, so if you aren't a chocolate fan you might not like this one. But if you like chocolate and s'mores you will love it!

My toughest critic (Tim) said it was good but agreed with me that the chocolate was very rich. He had a piece and I had two (whoops). I think this is such a fun (and easy) dessert and I can picture myself making this for my kids someday!

Have you made any new desserts lately? I would love to know what they are!

Outdoor Fall Decorating/ Life Lately

To every person who reached out to me through comments/emails/texts after my post last Friday, thank you. It means the world to me that you are here and while my world and story aren't always picture perfect  I am so thankful to have each and every one of you here for it.

On a lighter note today I'm sharing what we've been up to lately...which honestly isn't much! Are you still laying low where you are? In some ways it seems like things are a little more back to normal because I feel more comfortable going into stores, school has started in person/hybrid here, and it just feels like life is a little more normal. However, on the other end of the spectrum everyone is still in a mask all the time, I still work from home nearly all the time, and we don't have a lot of plans besides being around the house! I love being at home so I truly don't mind that part of it, but it leaves me with not too much besides house updates!

This past Saturday my papa and his girlfriend Vivian stopped by to visit us (well mostly Sophie) and it was so nice to have some visitors! Sophie was fairly well behaved and loved being fed a million treats and gaining a new toy. While they were visiting they mentioned stopping at a farm and once they left Tim and I decided to head to a local farm to pick up some outdoor fall decor. We love going to Shickasheen Farm and if you are in the South County area they are a great side of the road farm stand with awesome prices! Our friend Emma and her husband run it along with their family and we loved getting the chance to chat with Emma a bit and pick up a pumpkin and a couple of mums for our front steps. Emma mentioned that they were going to have some more pumpkins soon, so I will definitely be back for some more decor soon!

I love having a bit of fall sprinkled on my front steps. I also recently replaced my front door mat and bought a new buffalo check mat for underneath as well. Both were purchased on Amazon and I love them! Quick question for you, how often do you replace outdoor mats? I am finding that mine wear out super quick, but they are exposed to the elements (no overhang) so I suppose it makes sense. I just assumed they lasted a bit longer, but maybe I just paid no attention when I was younger and living at home!

Oh, football is back! Thanks Soph for the reminder! 

We have been busy drafting fantasy football teams and watching the first week of games. I was quite pleased that the Patriots won on Sunday afternoon and even more pleased when Tampa Bay had a terrible game. Brady and Gronk weren't looking great and I selfishly enjoyed watching those traitors suffer. If you've been around for awhile, you know I have always loved Gronk so I feel a bit betrayed by him. Brady I think all of New England is angry with but I don't know what he expected to happen.

It's nice to have football back on for another bit of normalcy since Tim and I spend most of our Sunday with football on the tv!

We are still going on a lot of walks around here! Tim said to me the other day that no other dog in the neighborhood seems to be getting two walks a day...but this girl does! I have been doing a healthy living program lately and I will talk about it soon, but it is definitely encouraging me to get out and be active every day! 

So that's what's been up around here lately. Let me know what you've been up to!

 

Fall Decorating!

Well it's officially September and you know what that means.... time for fall decorating!

This past Saturday was rainy and gross so it was the perfect day to haul my fall decor out of the basement and get it set up. I know it seems a little early but this year I was more than ready to change things up in our home since I am home pretty much 24/7 lately! Last fall was our first fall in our home and I didn't buy anything new decor-wise since I had to be so careful about what I had out with a new puppy. After I pulled out my one bin of decor I realized I had a ton of dish towels so I went through and decluttered what I didn't need anymore. Then I realized I don't really have that much decor. I know I don't have a huge space to decorate but I am going to try to start collecting some more decor. 

To see previous years fall decor:

• Fall 2018 Apartment Fall Decor
• Fall 2017 Apartment Fall Decor
• Fall 2016 Apartment Fall Decor

I unfortunately didn't do a post last year on fall decor. I think things were so hectic with moving and getting Sophie!

Here's what my decor looks like so far this year...

 

On the bathroom shelf I placed this small Hocus Pocus pumpkin which I got at The Christmas Tree Shop years ago. I didn't want to do anything too crazy in the bathroom but putting one small little pumpkin brings a tiny bit of fall to this little room.

I know I didn't use this sign last year but I thought that placing it on the kitchen counter was just too perfect. Hopefully we can keep the kitchen counter clear so this is on display all fall. Does your kitchen counter become a collection area??

These towels look SUPER wrinkled but I had just pulled them from the dryer. These are my favorite fall dish towels and I believe they came from the Target dollar spot a few years ago. I only kept a few fall dish towels because my dish towel drawer is overflowing!

The leaves candle from Bath and Body works is my absolute favorite. It smells amazing and I need to place a Bath and Body Works order to restock! I only have one back up right now and that is not enough with how much I love this candle! 

This half wall between the kitchen and the living room is both fun and challenging to decorate. I love that I can do things like this with the leaf garland but I don't always know what to do with it the rest of the year. Do you have any challenging spots to decorate in your home? 

The table by our front door always is super simple because Sophie knocks into it sometimes. I am risking my Mickey Halloween pumpkin here, fingers crossed it makes it through! This little leaf tray is something I found a few years ago (I can't remember where...) but I love little trays and having them around my home!

I placed this glass pumpkin that my mom gave me for my birthday last year (I think from HomeGoods?), more leaf garland, and my little witch on the tv stand.  

Not fall decor related but I pulled this picture of Tim and I from our wedding out of the guest room and placed it out here. Since we got married in the fall I think it is definitely appropriate and I may keep it out here full time. I am still loving my fiddle leaf fig and despite getting a bit dusty it's still going strong!

I plan on decorating outside in a few weeks once the pumpkins become available. Do you have plans for outdoor fall decorating? I am definitely grabbing some mums, I'm thinking of white and a deep wine color. I will also be grabbing a ton of white pumpkins if I can find them and then maybe some mini orange pumpkins for the walkway. I will definitely share pictures once it's completed!

Let me know what you are doing for fall decor this year and what your favorite places to shop decor are!

Life Lately

I can't believe it's already November! Where has this year gone?!

We have been so busy lately, the days are flying by and although I wish they would slow down I am enjoying every second with family and friends.

I'm going to share some pictures of what we've been up to lately. This was out front porch throughout the fall and I've been loving having outdoor decorations. I can't wait to change up the front steps for Christmas and am holding myself back because I know Tim thinks I'm crazy for putting up Christmas decor in November....I'll wait at least a couple more weeks! Anyways, back to the fall decor! I loved having mums and pumpkins out but the mums have started dying and the pumpkins will rot soon enough. Every time I'm outside I look at our gardens and think of all the changes I want to make, but it will have to wait for the spring!

Brittni's family hosted their annual trunk or treat! We picked our costumes based solely on what we could dress Sophie up as. When we found the dragon costume on Amazon and then easily found Jon Snow and Daenerys costumes we had our plan! Sophie's dragon costume was a XL (for small dogs) but didn't really fit her in length, so we put it over her head and front legs and it kind of just hung off her. We learned this past weekend that she weighs almost 10 pounds more than she did at her first vet visit so it makes sense this didn't fit her!

What a cute little family I have! We also had the best time seeing everyones trunk ideas and costumes. Sophie also loved all the attention from adults and kids alike! She is also super well behaved and we loved being able to bring her along for an event like that.

Recently we spent a Sunday morning visiting our friends Graham and Angela. They have two dogs and an almost one year old son, such a busy household! We went over for a puppy playdate and Sophie absolutely loved it! She was a little apprehensive at first, but Tucker and Jake weren't too interested in her so she liked running alongside them and playing inside their fenced in yard.

I see many puppy playdates in our future!

We also celebrated Tim's birthday with a family dinner. Sophie got to meet her cousin Attie and they were a little nervous around each other but seemed to get along with each other by the end of the night!

Sophie did so good with all the dogs and people that particular weekend, I was so proud of her! 

Did you expect me to post about anything other than my dog? Good news, on Monday I'm sharing a quick living room project that we did recently, but my dog is also in those pictures :)

If you are as obsessed with my dog as I am then you can check out her instagram SophieTheGoldendoodleGooding where I share pictures like the above one!

On Halloween we had trick or treaters! Neither of us lived in neighborhoods and really experienced trick or treaters coming when we were younger so it was a whole new experience for us! We had about 50 and I bought wayyyy too much candy but we had so much fun!

At work the other day these were the trees and they were just so beautiful I had to snap a picture!

We have been having a lot of outdoor time lately, just playing in the yard. Sophie digs holes and rolls around, while Tim and I plan out what we want the yard to be eventually.

This is a tree in our yard that I don't really love. It's a Siberian elm and I'm not a huge fan, but Sophie loves it and loves to hide underneath it. If that doesn't convince me to keep a tree I don't know what will.

Last Friday night we met up with Derek and Ally at Whalers Brewery and Sophie loved it! Dogs are allowed in the brewery and she ate up all the attention. There were a few other dogs there and it's always fun to talk to other dog owners because we are all obsessed with our babies!

I also got to see our friends Doreen, Mike, Jess and Kyle! They all gave Sophie a ton of attention and she was the happiest girl around.

She's the cutest thing, I'm not biased at all! 

She didn't feel at home at all......This dog feels at home everywhere. She's so sweet!

On Saturday we headed up to the Raduazzo's for their Halloween party! Megan was back from California and I was so happy to see her! Tim and I couldn't stop saying what a great time we were having and we wished we could've stayed and hung out with everyone longer!

Such a fun night and how cute is their basement bar? This is what Tim wants to set up in our basement someday. 

Sunday was Tim's birthday! We celebrated with a super quiet day and it was so nice to spend time at home just relaxing. I can't imagine a better gift than Sophie's kisses, right Tim?

Seriously, if you're not already convinced she's the cutest dog on the planet..... you're wrong!

Living Room Fall Decor 2018

Happy Columbus Day! I have today off which has been really nice in order to catch up with a few things- laundry in particular. I decided while everything was relatively clean I should take pictures to show you my very simple fall decor.

I still don't have a ton of decor since we are still in the apartment and honestly I wasn't feeling too into decorating this year since our apartment in currently filled with wedding stuff!

Here are the few things I did decorate (all in our living room) and I will mention where I purchased them if I can remember.

First up my leaves garland across my tv stand. I fluff it up and Tim pushes it down so he can see the tv. Priorities right? This garland was a hand me down from my mom so I'm not sure where it came from but I like having this out every year for some color.

This leaf bowl I purchased this year from At Home and I love the green. I have been loving At Home for seasonal decor I'm so glad they finally put one here in Rhode Island!

My little witch doll "Witchy Poo"  made an appearance again this year- I think she was also a hand me down from my mom. My new sign Eat, Drink & Be Cozy is from At Home and is definitely too big for the bookshelf I have it on but someday I'll have a different place for it. I also have some fresh birthday flowers from my co-workers.

This Hocus Pocus pumpkin came from Christmas Tree Shop a couple of years ago.

I love my little Mickey pumpkin that we bought in Disney World last year. I also have a scarecrow but I can't remember where he came from.

Lastly I placed another leaf garland and a leaf candle on our entryway furniture.

Super simple and easy to put up and take down all of these items and this year easy and simple is just what I need!