Pretty Room.

I am digging this bedroom.  I love the reddish coral and turquoise combo.  And how great is that headboard and the wallpaper behind the headboard? 

(photo: decorpad)

Living Water Gala.

Last weekend we volunteered at the Living Water International Gala along with some friends.  If you haven't heard of Living Water, it is a great organization that, among other things, drills and fixes wells around the world in places where there is no clean water.  Along with helping people get water, they also share the gospel.  Living Water's website describes it much better here.  It is amazing to think that many people lack something as fundamental as clean water and what a big impact on society it really has (read here).

We were just thrilled to be a part of such a fantastic organization and event.  There were about 1,000 people in attendance at the Gala.  They had tons of cool exhibits (created by Josh, below in the blue suspenders) demonstrating what people have done to raise money for Living Water (one guy actually ran from the Pacific Coast to the Atlantic Coast -- amazing, right?).  In addition, they had a fun photo "booth" set up through Smilebooth.  We definitely took advantage of it!

Here we are after the night's festivities being goofy. 

Justin and I thought it would be funny to reenact the typical homecoming pose.  We are pros, if I do say so myself, but we did have 3 years of worth of practice plus our senior prom.

Last, but not least, we did a cheesy "family" portrait of sorts with our adopted "child," Kevin.  It was nice that we all wore purple -- totally unplanned.  Awesome.

During the program, Justin and Kevin changed from their suits and put on coveralls, boots, and helmets and demonstrated using one of Living Water's drills.  Sadly, I didn't get a good picture of them onstage.  We had a blast both volunteering at and attending the Gala (and playing around in the photo booth too).  

Fall.

In honor of today being the first day of fall (yippee!), I thought I would share some of the things I am looking forward to about the season.

Cooler weather (yeah, that should go without saying). 

(www.weather.com) 

It has still been in the 90's in Houston, so it doesn't feel like fall yet, but there are rumblings that a cool front this weekend could keep the highs in the mid 80's!

Jackets

(photo: jcrew)

I tried this jacket on (in black) a couple of weekends ago and absolutely loved it.  However, it was a little hard to purchase a coat when it was 98 degrees outside.  But I am really digging the plum color now that I see it online.

Scarves

(photo: nordstrom)

And what makes a cute jacket even cuter?  A cute scarf peeking out!  And they make you feel nice and cozy when wrapped around you (especially at my office, which is always way too cold).  Hey, it's either that or a snuggie! 

Socks

(photo: kate spade)

I love wearing fun socks in the fall and winter.  Other than when I work out, it's the only time I ever wear socks.  But I don't wear them a boldly as the girl in the picture.  Besides me, Justin is generally the only one who knows how fun my socks are. 

Hot Chocolate

(photo: my recipes)

I'll gladly take a cup of hot chocolate with marshmallows or whipped cream.  It sounds so delicious . . . if only it wasn't so darn hot outside!

Soup and Chili

This is my go to chili recipe.  It's super easy to make and so tasty.  We substitute ground turkey for the beef and serve it with some jiffy corn bread.   It's easily one of my favorite fall and winter meals.  I came across this chicken chili recipe today on Annie's Eats and will have to try it out as well.  We also love her Brazilian shrimp soup.

(photo: annie's eats)

And for the record, another favorite of mine is tortilla soup.  I just love crunching tortilla chips on top, generously sprinkling on the cheese, and topping it with chunks of avocado.  Yum! 

Oatmeal

(photo: here)

I prefer mine with banana slices and just a little bit of milk poured on top. 

Anything pumpkin (well except for Starbuck's pumpkin spiced lattes and pumpkin pie.)

(photo: the way the cookie crumbles)

I love me some pumpkin bread, pumpkin muffins (seriously, try these), and pumpkin pancakes.  I also had a dish similar to this recipe with pumpkin, sage, and butter and it was amazing.  I may also have to try out these pumpkin scones.

And, I like to mix a little canned pumpkin into my oatmeal.  Riley likes a little canned pumpkin mixed into his food too!

What part of fall are you looking forward to?

Pretty Spaces.

I need to go pack for a trip to Dallas, but I wanted to leave with you some of my favorite spaces (some I am sure you've seen before, but beautiful nonetheless!).

(all photos: decorpad)

5 things . . .

Since it's been a while, here are 5 of the things I have been doing instead of blogging . . .

1.  Going to Austin.  I'll have a full recap, but we had a blast last weekend!  

2.  Watching UT football.  I picked up this shirt yesterday because I am always looking for cute burnt orange and white attire, and this shirt was perfect!    

(photo: j crew)

3.  Watching Mad Men.  We never watched it when it first came on, and after hearing all the great reviews, we decided we should.  Better late than never, right?  We ordered the old seasons from Amazon and are on Season 2.

I could watch the show just to ogle over the clothes!

(photo: here)

And it's not just the clothes . . . the Draper's headboard is fabulous!  I love the color and the tufting.  But, in full disclosure, sometimes all I can think about is how much it must smell like cigarette smoke!     

  (photo: here)

4.  Cleaning out and organizing the closets in our downstairs bedroom.  It was a sad day today -- I finally donated the television I won at our after-prom party (and a bunch of other stuff) to Goodwill!  After 10 years, it was time to say goodbye to the tv!  Why all the cleaning/donating?  Besides just needing it, see number 5.

5.  Switching around the office and main guest room.  Our office is currently on the third floor, and our main guest room is on the first floor.  We decided to switch the two rooms around.  We have started using the downstairs room as a workout room and thought having the office down there instead may work better.  And, we rarely spend time in the office as it is now.

Getting the rooms looking nice will certainly be an ongoing process. So stayed tuned for updates.  Speaking of headboards, I am thinking about making one for the guest bed following Jesse's tutorial.  In the meantime, here are some office inspiration pics:

(photo: emily a. clark)

(photo: little green notebook)

Hope you all had a wonderful weekend!

Wallpapered Bookshelves.

I previously blogged about the wallpaper panels in our master bedroom.  Well we had some leftover wallpaper that I couldn't let go to waste, so I decided to "wallpaper" the bookshelves in our living room (they needed a little sprucing up).  I put the word wallpaper in quotes because I didn't actually use wallpaper paste.  Instead, I just used double-stick tape to adhere the paper to the bookshelves.  I wanted a more temporary solution and, so far, it has done the trick.   

Here's the before:

And the afters:

Taking a closer peek, I received these super cute owl banks/vases from my in-laws for my birthday.  I am using them as bookends for my fun penguin classics.  And thanks to a birthday present from my friend Lauren, my collection drastically increased!         

Also, a while back, I posted about a great bookshelf here and mentioned how I loved the ginger jar.  The very next day, my mom spotted one at HomeGoods and picked it up for me!  Thanks, mom!  I was originally planning on putting it in our master bedroom, but decided I liked it better in the living room.    

Now the bookshelves aren't quite so boring.  I definitely feel like I got my money's worth with just the one roll!  What do you think?