Saturday, September 22, 2012

Fall in love with Fall

It is always bitter sweet for me when Fall arrives. I LOVE summer, so saying goodbye is hard, but welcoming the beauty and crispness of the Fall makes it all the more easier. 

I've never decorated our fire mantel for the Fall, but this year is different. 
Seeing all the cute mantel's my friends have decorated has been inspiring. 

I found some cute free Fall printables online for my decorations. 
[pictures below]

Here is the website I found mine at & a few other websites you can choose from!

:: The two printables I used ::

:: Some others to use ::

And this one I thought was extra neat. 
This blogger used linen on card stock to print her Fall printable.

Here's a tour of the Fall decor sprinkled around our house this year. 


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Mantel BEFORE : So boring!
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Mantel AFTER : So much more cheery! Photobucket Photobucket Photobucket Photobucket 
Found this guy at Michael's, along with some of the other Fall decor on the mantel. Photobucket 
Frames from Ikea
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I added this fabric that I found at a yard sale & hot glued the gourd to the frame. Photobucket Photobucket Photobucket 

Pumpkin candelabra from Wal-Mart. 

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Fall hand towels from Wal-Mart. Photobucket Photobucket Photobucket


HAPPY FALL! 

Tuesday, September 18, 2012

St. Thomas

Vacation was bliss. 
This year was 5 years for Kevin and I. We decided to rock it out with a big-bang-of-a-vacation. So St. Thomas it was. It came with high recommendations from friends who had already been there and Kevin used his mad skills to find an awesome deal on the trip. We hadn't taken a honeymoon when we got married, so we figured now would be good since we are better established, and before we start (Lord willing) creating little humans.

This trip was full of love, spiritual growth, relational growth, fun, relaxation, beauty, food, adventure, excitement, surprises, and so much more.

*Most pics are grainy since I took them with my iPhone.

On our way to DC.
We drove through a lot of rain to get there.
Made it to our hotel after our trip to IKEA.
We didn't get much, just a few items for Kevin's office. 
On the plane ready to get there. We had one layover in Charlotte NC.
The Island.
We have arrived!
Obviously we were happy to finally be there. 
The room was great!

Ready to start exploring!

First meal on the Island.

These lil/big guys are intimidating at first, but then you get used to them.
Especially intimidating when they are sitting above you in the tree you are laying under. ;)
St. Thomas was truly beautiful.
I have to admit, I had a hard time relaxing the first two days we were there. 
It's hard to from 60 to 0 all at once. Island life is different, that's for sure. 
It was SO nice once my mind and body caught up with the relaxation I desired. :)



Our first full day there was cloudy, but thankfully the rest of the week cleared up.
Dunks about to take his first dip.

From the pool to the ocean.

Kev's first found treasure.
A boy, a ship, and the sea. 
Dunks absolutely LOVES water. It was fun to see him enjoying it so much.
Just relaxing in our room.
It's become tradition that we MUST get pizza on a trip you wouldn't normally get pizza. 
So the first night we were there, we discovered that Domino's would deliver to our resort.
So in honor of Dunks and his LOVE for pizza we gorged and enjoyed!
Since it felt like this was HIS night, 
I decided it would be good to give him his anniversary gift. 
I had saved up for it, and was SO excited to give it to him.
 I wasn't sure how much he would like it though.
To my surprise, he LOVED it! 
This years traditional gift was "wood" - so I found Kevin this wooden watch from 
We-Wood. When I was searching for a gift for him, I just KNEW that this was the one when I read the description. In some ways it described our 5 years of marriage and our hopes for the future. 
So I gave him the watch with a card explaining the meaning behind the watch and how it symbolizes our marriage.
About to open his gift.
Another day on the Island.
This pool was awesome.

Ready to play!
I love sailboats. They are so pretty.
What a hunk!
Beautiful water. Beautiful scene.

This lil guy was in our bathroom. He was TINY! 
Kev caught him and put in him this cup. 
It gives an idea of how small he actually was. 
So cute!!

First fancy date night. 
LOVED the lighting around our bathroom mirror.
It made you feel pretty. Every girl needs to feel pretty on date night. :)

Havana Blue, our favorite place to eat. We ate here 3 or 4 times. 
The restaurant was just a few steps away from our room, which was very convenient!

The food was amazing!

The atmosphere was really neat too!
We took a trip to Magen's Bay. Gorgeous!


Relaxing with the Kindle. 
I was reading, Choosing Joy by Kay Warren. 
I can't say enough good things about this book. 
It was been a HUGE blessing in my life.



Nice tan lines huh?
Lots of hugs.
Lots of kisses.









So beautiful.
These shots were on our way to Magen's Bay.

Magen's Bay.




Our car. We called it the turtle. It was cute, small, and green.
Just hanging out.
Sweet card Dunks had laying on the pillow for me. Funny that it's on his iPad.



Enjoyed some reading on the trip. 
Also, you can't go anywhere without fuzzy socks, you never know when you will need them. :)


Ready for the day. It's so nice to just throw on bathing suit, a sun dress and be done. 
The water was crystal clear this day.




Obligatory vacation beach feet shot.
Laying out was a must. So relaxing.
Love this view and this guy.
This hat worked out good on this trip.
Hey hot stuff.
It was neat to watch the ships sail in and out.
Dinner at our favorite place again.


Morning coffee & good conversations.
Sun-burnt.

Kev's model pose.

The earth is filled with His glory.







Pedicure at the resort.











Last shots on the Island before heading home.

The clouds were so fluffy and beautiful when we left.

Here's a shot of Dunks wearing his new watch :)