Thursday, September 27, 2012
Alabama Game Day Dresses
Football season is in full swing and so are those adorable game day dresses! Here are a few on my wish-list. Have a great day and thanks for stopping by!!
Monday, September 24, 2012
Tailgating with the Tide
Down here in the land of sweet tea and BBQ, Saturdays mean one thing, FOOTBALL. If you've never been to a football game in the SEC, you should know that we take our football seriously. We dress up in our "Sunday best", put on some heels, grab a shaker, and tailgate from dawn till dusk. For women, this is a time to show off your team colors in the most fashionable way you can come up with, and compete for tailgate dish of the week.
My husband and I are both graduates of The University of Alabama (maybe you've heard of us, we're a pretty big deal in football ;) ) This is how we tailgate:
Fall Mantle - Decorating around a mounted TV
I almost didn't post my mantle this year. I get super jealous of all your cute fall mantles because have to decorate around a tv, soundbar, xbox, and satellite box We don't have a formal living room, so our family room is very much "lived in" which makes it hard to pull off that straight out of Better Homes and Gardens look. I decided to post it anyway because I know how many times I've googled the Internet and browsed blogs for ideas for decorating around a mounted TV so just maybe someone else out there will appreciate my example. (Sorry for the yellow tent to the pics, it was night by the time I finished but I wanted to get my post up today)
I started by covering the length of the mantle with a leaf garland, taping as I went to make sure it doesn't fall off. (Don't judge the wires, we are working on it..) Then I filled my Lenox French Perle Pitcher (a wedding present) with leftover leaves and berries.
What's even worse than decorating around a TV is decorating around a TV that isn't centered over the fireplace. Sometimes I don't know what the people that built our house were thinking. Our fireplace is not centered on this wall. When we went to mount the TV we found out that the studs where where we could center the TV to the wall, but not to the fireplace.
.JPG)
I've found the best way to deal with this is by balancing the weight on the sides of the TV with anchoring objects like these candle holders. These normally hold candles but I've replaced them with white pumpkins for fall. The big pumpkin is real, I picked it up at Publix for $3. The small one is from a set at Pottery Barn. I also have one from this set on my coffee table.
In Advertising school, you learn to always work with odd numbers in design, so I have incorporated this in with my decorating also.
.JPG)
Here's a view from the other side where you can definitely tell the TV isn't centered.
Next to our fireplace, we have a small wooden bookshelf that holds the Xbox, and the satellite box. I love this glass carafe with the wheat stalks in it, it could be my favorite fall addition this year.
The wire pumpkin was a gift from my mom last year.
Since our house is already decorated in a harvest yellow and red, Fall is really my favorite season to decorate. If we ever change our house to more neutral tones, I would love to decorate with burlap and cotton for the fall. Wouldn't that be lovely??!
Come back next week to see my fall dining table!
<3,
Amanda
Linked up at I Heart Naptime, Nifty Thrifty Things, Skip to My Lou, Making the World Cuter
What's even worse than decorating around a TV is decorating around a TV that isn't centered over the fireplace. Sometimes I don't know what the people that built our house were thinking. Our fireplace is not centered on this wall. When we went to mount the TV we found out that the studs where where we could center the TV to the wall, but not to the fireplace.
.JPG)
I've found the best way to deal with this is by balancing the weight on the sides of the TV with anchoring objects like these candle holders. These normally hold candles but I've replaced them with white pumpkins for fall. The big pumpkin is real, I picked it up at Publix for $3. The small one is from a set at Pottery Barn. I also have one from this set on my coffee table.
In Advertising school, you learn to always work with odd numbers in design, so I have incorporated this in with my decorating also.
.JPG)
Next to our fireplace, we have a small wooden bookshelf that holds the Xbox, and the satellite box. I love this glass carafe with the wheat stalks in it, it could be my favorite fall addition this year.
The wire pumpkin was a gift from my mom last year.
Since our house is already decorated in a harvest yellow and red, Fall is really my favorite season to decorate. If we ever change our house to more neutral tones, I would love to decorate with burlap and cotton for the fall. Wouldn't that be lovely??!
If you have to decorate around a TV like I do, I would LOVE to see your examples. Seriously, I am CONSTANTLY looking for ideas.
You can check out other cute pumpkin items here:
Come back next week to see my fall dining table!
<3,Amanda
Linked up at I Heart Naptime, Nifty Thrifty Things, Skip to My Lou, Making the World Cuter
Wednesday, September 19, 2012
6 Fabulous Fall Wreaths
I LOVE a good wreath. Fall is one of my favorite seasons to decorate for because there are SO many ways to use wreaths. You can have a wreath for your favorite football team. Halloween, or harvest. In preparation for my fall decorating, I have gathered some super cute fall wreaths for you to enjoy!
Mesh Halloween Wreath on Amazon
Burlap wreath tutorial from Craftaholics Anonymous
Great wreath for football season from Simply Living
I love a good yarn wreath! This one is perfect for fall from ItzFitz
Another super cute wreath from Tatertots and Jello
Ahhh, I think I'm going to need more doors in my house!
Thanks for stopping by!
Amanda
Tuesday, September 18, 2012
Early Birthday Present = More DIY projects!
This weekend I got an early birthday present from my mom. I got this!
My husband pokes fun at me sometimes because I had rather use power tools than a sewing machine. Maybe I'm a tomboy at heart, or maybe it's because I've fallen in love with http://www.ana-white.com (or maybe it's because I STINK at sewing) but none the less, I love the smell of sawdust and I love the end product.
I have been wanting some power tools ever since my FIL and I built a bench for my back patio (I have yet to post about it...slacker, I know) I really went back and forth between a circular saw and a jigsaw but finally settled on a circular saw. The drawback with a circular saw is that you can only cut a straight line which rules out making those cute decorative picture frames, but the drawback with a jig saw is that you can only cut to a depth of 1 inch.
I have so many projects that I want to do that I don't even know where to start!
I am thinking about starting with this one from Country Girl Home
My husband pokes fun at me sometimes because I had rather use power tools than a sewing machine. Maybe I'm a tomboy at heart, or maybe it's because I've fallen in love with http://www.ana-white.com (or maybe it's because I STINK at sewing) but none the less, I love the smell of sawdust and I love the end product.
I have been wanting some power tools ever since my FIL and I built a bench for my back patio (I have yet to post about it...slacker, I know) I really went back and forth between a circular saw and a jigsaw but finally settled on a circular saw. The drawback with a circular saw is that you can only cut a straight line which rules out making those cute decorative picture frames, but the drawback with a jig saw is that you can only cut to a depth of 1 inch.
I have so many projects that I want to do that I don't even know where to start!
I am thinking about starting with this one from Country Girl Home
Or maybe with this coffee table from Pink and Polka Dot that I've had my eye on.
Hers is a refinished one but I could do this Ana-White.com plan and add decorative legs and paint it with these colors to match the desk I refinished.
Hopefully in the next couple of weekends I'll be able to start one of these! I can't wait!
Do you have any favorite power tool projects? I'd love to hear about them! I'm always looking for ideas!
Monday, September 10, 2012
Disney Trip - Port Orleans French Quarter Review
We are back from vacation and back to reality. I've spent a few days trying to decide how I wanted to organize my posts about the most magical place on Earth, Disney World.
Dave and I spent last week at Disney in celebration of our first wedding anniversary. We decided that we wanted to experience it as adults before we have children and have to stand in line to see Mickey :) Dave hadn't been since he was 8 and I hadn't been since I was in high school so it was a great adventure for both of us. It truly is a different experience as an adult, so if you haven't been since you were a kid, or if you haven't been with out kids, I suggest giving it a try!
I HAD to do a post about our resort, Port Orleans - French Quarter. If we were to do it all over again, we would choose the exact same resort. We LOVED it.
Port Orleans is made up of two resorts, French Quarter and Riverside. Riverside is a larger resort with 4 sections that are all themed after life on the Mississippi Delta while French Quarter is the smallest of all the Disney resorts and is themed after (you guessed it!) the French Quarter in New Orleans. Dave and I may be a little partial to the French Quarter because we both spent a good bit of time in college on road trips to the Big Easy, but none the less this may be one of Disney's best kept secrets.
From the moment you walk in the main lobby, you are transported to New Orleans, Louisiana and the ambiance of Mardi Gras. I hear this resort is the least "Disney Themed" of them all but that definitely does not mean it lacks theme.
.JPG)
The streets are lined with beautiful lamp posts and colorful buildings just like the real French Quarter. Jazz music and the smell of beignets fill the air, and the cobblestone pathways with ornate fountains are breathtaking.
The rooms are pretty standard, we had a king room that looked just like a hotel room I have had in the French Quarter in college. The theme is consistent and the amenities are comparable to a Holiday Inn Express or a Hampton Inn.
One of the best things about this resort is the size. Because it is the smallest, you are super conveniently close to all the amenities. There is only one bus stop so we never had to ride around to other bus stops to pick up more people. I never quite figured out how the buses work, but we were always picked up by an empty bus from our resort and always let off before Riverside on the way back. While other resorts' guests were waiting in super long lines after Fantasmic, Wishes, and Illuminations, we were able to hop right on our bus.
.JPG)
If you decide to go to Downtown Disney, there is a super cute pontoon boat that will pick you up from the river along the back side of the resort and take you to a landing at DD. It will also take you to Riverside if you want to eat at the Table Service restaurant, Boatwrights,which I HIGHLY recommend.
Boatwrights was one of our favorite meals all week, (behind 'Ohana, which I will write about later) We both love Cajun food so when we went on the first night, I was all ready to order the crawfish ettouffe. After talking to the waitress, she talked me into the steak medallions and holy cow, it was amazing! Definitely go with the bread pudding for dessert. We actually ended up canceling our dinner one night and came back to Boatrights again, yes, it was THAT good!
As far as the French Quarter goes, there is a food court that takes quick service meals. On our last day, I had a really really good shrimp po-boy but we didn't eat here much because we were generally in the parks for our quick service meals. I do recommend saving a snack credit for beignets! After a long day at the park, we came back for beignets and a hurricane at Scat Cat's lounge and it was a great way to unwind.
Once again, we couldn't be happier with Port Orleans French Quarter. I definitely hope we get to go back one day. Stay tuned for more posts on our Disney Vacation! I know when we were planning our trip, we scoured blogs with reviews for months so I hope I can help others like they helped me!
Dave and I spent last week at Disney in celebration of our first wedding anniversary. We decided that we wanted to experience it as adults before we have children and have to stand in line to see Mickey :) Dave hadn't been since he was 8 and I hadn't been since I was in high school so it was a great adventure for both of us. It truly is a different experience as an adult, so if you haven't been since you were a kid, or if you haven't been with out kids, I suggest giving it a try!
I HAD to do a post about our resort, Port Orleans - French Quarter. If we were to do it all over again, we would choose the exact same resort. We LOVED it.
Port Orleans is made up of two resorts, French Quarter and Riverside. Riverside is a larger resort with 4 sections that are all themed after life on the Mississippi Delta while French Quarter is the smallest of all the Disney resorts and is themed after (you guessed it!) the French Quarter in New Orleans. Dave and I may be a little partial to the French Quarter because we both spent a good bit of time in college on road trips to the Big Easy, but none the less this may be one of Disney's best kept secrets.
From the moment you walk in the main lobby, you are transported to New Orleans, Louisiana and the ambiance of Mardi Gras. I hear this resort is the least "Disney Themed" of them all but that definitely does not mean it lacks theme.
.JPG)
The streets are lined with beautiful lamp posts and colorful buildings just like the real French Quarter. Jazz music and the smell of beignets fill the air, and the cobblestone pathways with ornate fountains are breathtaking. The rooms are pretty standard, we had a king room that looked just like a hotel room I have had in the French Quarter in college. The theme is consistent and the amenities are comparable to a Holiday Inn Express or a Hampton Inn.
One of the best things about this resort is the size. Because it is the smallest, you are super conveniently close to all the amenities. There is only one bus stop so we never had to ride around to other bus stops to pick up more people. I never quite figured out how the buses work, but we were always picked up by an empty bus from our resort and always let off before Riverside on the way back. While other resorts' guests were waiting in super long lines after Fantasmic, Wishes, and Illuminations, we were able to hop right on our bus.
.JPG)
If you decide to go to Downtown Disney, there is a super cute pontoon boat that will pick you up from the river along the back side of the resort and take you to a landing at DD. It will also take you to Riverside if you want to eat at the Table Service restaurant, Boatwrights,which I HIGHLY recommend. Boatwrights was one of our favorite meals all week, (behind 'Ohana, which I will write about later) We both love Cajun food so when we went on the first night, I was all ready to order the crawfish ettouffe. After talking to the waitress, she talked me into the steak medallions and holy cow, it was amazing! Definitely go with the bread pudding for dessert. We actually ended up canceling our dinner one night and came back to Boatrights again, yes, it was THAT good!
As far as the French Quarter goes, there is a food court that takes quick service meals. On our last day, I had a really really good shrimp po-boy but we didn't eat here much because we were generally in the parks for our quick service meals. I do recommend saving a snack credit for beignets! After a long day at the park, we came back for beignets and a hurricane at Scat Cat's lounge and it was a great way to unwind.
Once again, we couldn't be happier with Port Orleans French Quarter. I definitely hope we get to go back one day. Stay tuned for more posts on our Disney Vacation! I know when we were planning our trip, we scoured blogs with reviews for months so I hope I can help others like they helped me!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)