High Five for Friday!

I started out this week pretty tired and thought that Friday would never get here.  Luckily, this week went by pretty quickly, considering it was a weird week that was kind of out of the norm.  Here's a recap of the best parts!

1. We got back from our trip to Pennsylvania on Sunday evening.  It was a great time!  I got the chance to see almost all of my aunts, uncles and cousins and that was great since we haven't all been in the same room together in about ten years.  It was especially wonderful because both of my Grandpap's turn 80 this year and we were there for very close to their birthdays.  My Grandma turned 77 on Saturday when we were down there!  Triple birthdays?  Yes please!  And, how sweet are they? I am so thankful that they are all still in my life :)

2.  Joey is back home!  He had to do his last trip to Erie, PA this week and he's finally back now!  So glad to have him back so we can enjoy the weekend together.  When he is gone, weeks go by S-L-O-W-L-Y.

3.  My cousin is getting married on Saturday, so we are going to his wedding.  He is marrying a wonderful girl and we are so happy for them.  It will be great to have a night out with hubby and my sisters and be able to get dressed up and dance!

4.  I am continuing to use our new washer and dryer and luhving it!  That thing is the best.  Also?  I would pick doing laundry over dishes any day.

5.  I busted out the Halloween decorations!  The house is looking pretty seasonal around here, and it's such a nice change.  If you follow me on Instagram, I snapped this picture of these slippers I forgot I had in one of my Halloween boxes and I was pretty excited about it.

I hope you have a great weekend, friends!  October is such a lovely month.  The air is cooler and crisp, but it's not in that awful cold weather yet.  I hope to get some cornstalks and pumpkins for outside on the porch sometime this week...hopefully we have some time to do so!

Don't forget to link up with Lauren below!

High Five for Friday!

Once again, Friday rolls around.  It has been quite an exciting and hectic week!  Let's get to it:

1. My beautiful best friend Kim had her baby yesterday!  Mr. Vincenzo Thomas Hunter (seriously...what an awesome name) was born at 12:08 weighing 7 lbs, 12 oz and 21.5 inches long.  He is just ADORABLE and I want to snuggle on him all.day.long.  Can't wait to spend more time with him in the coming week when they're all home!  I will post pictures as soon as I get permission from them to put them on the blog!

2. My grandfather is turning 80 next week, so we are making an impromptu weekend trip to PA to see him!  I can't wait...most of our family from both sides will be there, so it will be a great time to catch up!

3. I started the dreaded summer/fall clothing swap.  This year I am vowing to get rid of a lot of things I have not worn in the past few years.  I tend to get sentimental attachments to clothing, so it's very hard for me to part with things.  I'm super nostalgic and love fashion, so it's a hoarding combo. ;)

4. I am getting really excited for October to roll around.  I will start putting out my Halloween decorations!  I usually reserve September for fall decorations and then add in the Halloween stuff soon after.  October is one of my favorite months of the year!  Bring on apple cider and donuts all day, erry day.

5. I have just discovered Sole Society.  WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN ALL MY LIFE?!  The best part?  They actually have lovely shoes and boots in size 5 to fit my tiny feet!  I will definitely be shopping there through fall.  The scarves are just delicious looking as well.

Adorbs. Want.

I hope you all have a great weekend, friends!  See you Monday!

P.S.  Link up with Lauren below!

Apple Oatmeal Crisp

I'm not a huge fan of apples by themselves, but I love apples when they are cooked down and in a hot dessert.  They are delicious coated in some cinnamon and sugar and reduced and caramelized a bit!  My number one apple dessert is my mom's apple pie with crumble topping, but a close second is apple crisp.

When my inlaws came over, they had just been to the apple orchard and brought us two bushels of fresh apples!  I was so excited to use them that I quickly whipped up an apple crisp from a recipe I got online here.  It was super simple, super easy and it fed about 8 people.

It. was. delicious.  I haven't had this in so long and it was so so yummy!  I brewed some coffee while it baked and it was the perfect complement to this simple dessert.

Sometimes simple is the way to go!  I love dishes that are quick and flavorful with minimum cleanup.  It leaves more time for chit chat with friends and family.

What's your favorite quick dessert?  Happy Tuesday!

Creating an Oasis

Ever since we moved into the new house, I have become a bit obsessed with decorating.  With so much more space in this house, we have a lot of new areas to fill with color and comfort.  I am excited about this, because since the house is a blank slate, I can start from the ground up with wall colors, furniture and texture.  Sure, I have done little projects, like buying wall hangings and cute little end tables and knickknacks, but we haven't jumped into painting just yet.  More space = a lot more walls to paint!

The obsession with decorating has also turned into an obsession with home decorating blogs and Pinterest.  Oh, Pinterest.  Have you ever searched "master bedrooms" or "home decor" on Pinterest?  It's pretty much a never-ending onslaught of gorgeous rooms that DO NOT look like anything I have goin' on up in here right now.

I have really wanted to start with the master bedroom, because that is the one room that I so look forward to relaxing in every night.  I want it to be cozy and lovely and soft and fluffy!  (When did all of the accent pillows become a thing?  Regardless, I want all of them.)  I want texture and pattern and statement pieces...I just need to get my brain to put together a cohesive look.  I have stumbled across quite a few pictures that give me some great inspiration.

Take this one for example:

BHG

I adore the color scheme, and the subtlety of it all.  There's a large print, but it's monochromatic, so it's not too loud.  The fluffy ottoman's at the foot of the bed add lovely texture and I just adore that chandelier.  It's so feminine and soft, but keeping the neutral color palette makes it perfect for a couple.  Not to mention, I would love to have a headboard like that in my bedroom!

And then there's this room:

BHG

Totally different!  Although I love neutrals, I picked this room because of the wall color.  I wouldn't necessarily pick this exact color, but I like that it definitely adds interest without making the room closed in.  I like the eclectic mix in here.  Nothing seems too match-matchy, which I have been liking lately.  That end table?  Adorable.

And the big thing I have been thinking about doing in the master?  Something like this:

source

That gorgeous, painted tray ceiling.  YOU GUYS.  I am dying to do something like this.  Add in a fabulous chandelier and some fluffy pillows and I am in Heaven. 

I can't wait to get started on the master bedroom project!  Until then, I guess I will just keep adding all of these lovely rooms to my Pinterest boards ;)