Is it fall yet???

I know that officially it's been fall since September 23, but fall never begins in our house until October 1.

Yes, I am one of those people who have been taught that you never ever wear white after Labor Day.

I don't care if that "fad" has changed over the years.

I am a southern girl and I never, ever wear white shoes, pants, or skirts after Labor day.

I just don't.

I'm also one of those people who thinks fall doesn't begin until October 1.

I'm so excited to put out my cute little pumpkins and scarecrows and work on new fall projects, but I'm telling you they will not begin until tomorrow...

October 1.

But, tomorrow is October 1, and come hell or high water, 

 I can guarantee there will be something "pumpkin" baking in my oven.

I will try my best to put out at least the first pumpkin of the season.

And, seeing that the temperature is supposed to drop 25 degrees since yesterday, I can pretty much guarantee I will be enjoying a nice, hot pumpkin spice latte.

{OK, so I did cheat there and have already had 2 over the last couple of weeks. What can I say we had a couple of cooler days.}

As my excitement boils inside of me for the beginning of fall, I'm also preparing for a yard sale.

Yup, that's right, getting rid of some of my junk.

After all, one man's junk is another man's treasure, right.

I've been trying to clean out the storage closet off our bonus room. Well, I started on Monday and made a huge mess and it's been that way ever since.

 Granted not all of this stuff is being sold. It's only a small portion of all this stuff.

Hey, a girl has to keep some stuff right?

In gearing up for the yard sale I also decided to clean out and reorganize our storage closet.

Just picture it...all of that stuff above was in this closet as well as this stuff...

boy that's a lot of stuff.

I've got baby clothes coming out the wha-zoo and I must get rid of them.

But if nothing else I need to reorganize.

It's just awful in there.

And my goal is to make enough money to buy my sweet self one of these

Silhouette thingy's that's going to make me so much craftier.

Cross your fingers my goal is met...;-)

Not to mention, do you remember these people?

That's right, my saints...oh wait, Mama and Daddy;

or as the kids like to call them Mama Suzy and Papa G.

They are coming in 2 days!!!

I'm beyond excited.

I just hope they're ready to be put to work because we have a lot of project to be accomplished while they're here.

What can I say, they must work for food around these parts. :o)

Well, off to get all my "junk" ready. Must get to work myself!

I hope y'all have a great weekend.

Oh, and...

Go Dawgs....Sic 'em! Woof, woof, woof!

Beat Miss. State

{We'll see if that shout out brings them some luck.}

The Big Reveal

OK, so here it is...the big reveal of my dining room.

I'm so excited!!!

I've been working on it since July, and it's not quite 100% finished, but it's enough to where I can finally reveal it to you.

I've been wanting a dining room for 8 years {the last 4 1/2 especially}.

When we moved here, we made the "formal living" room the kids' playroom, and made the dining room into a sitting area.

I painted the walls brown. {There used to be pictures on the wall and a little more furniture too.}

I liked the brown, although no one else in my family seemed to.

But, the room never turned into anything I wanted it to be. Never really had a complete vision for my "chocolate" brown room.

So, this summer I decided to finally turn it into a dining room.

First things first, must address the paint color.

I picked a beautiful light blue.

As my UNC friends call it Carolina Blue.

Maybe, but my kitchen is red, so I've got my bulldawgs covered there ;o).

Anyway, the color is actually "Thar she blows"....

sounds kind of beachy, huh? I just love the name of paint colors. I think it really sets a tone for a room.

So, I primed the brown walls and instantly the room became bigger.

I then painted my pretty blue walls and even did the ceiling.

You can't really tell the ceiling is blue...it's just light enough and not so WHITE.

Next, thing on the to-do list...

Get rid of that awful brass light fixture.

Do you see it? Just terrible!!!

I found a great brushed nickel fixture at home depot, and quickly hung it. Just couldn't take the brassiness any longer.

After the paint went up, I made the curtains.

I'm sure you remember them. If not you can find them here.

I did a few more projects along the way.

I transformed an old, tired, shiny contour table from this...

to this...

to finally, this!

Hello? Face lift! Love it!!!

It's amazing what some stripping {furniture, that is}, paint, and new handles can do to a table.

I also did the "Etched"Window.

I also made a piece of artwork {if you will} for the wall.

But, I think my favorite thing of all, is my new dining room table and chairs.

I've been wanting them forever, and finally convinced my husband that it was time.

I bought them and just love them.

I do have to get the end chairs...which I'm hoping to soon, but they are currently out of stock at World Market, but they will be these...

Love them!!!

But for the time being, we have the six chairs that are working just great.

That's right folks, I'm going to have seating for 8!!! How 'bout that?

So, here it is, are you ready??? The big reveal...

Let's break it down.

Remember, I did the chairs.

I scored a great wine rack from my neighbor {as they were moving}.

It still needs a plant, but that's coming.

I brought down this great bamboo tree from our bedroom.

I got the rug from World Market {on sale none-the-less}.

I hung the shelves and the artwork on the back wall.

And just look at my great new light.

The shelves still need a little work. I have pictures ordered for the frames. The price tags also need to be removed.

And I love this piece of artwork. I'll

show you details on that another day.

And then there's my table and window...

So, there you have it...my big reveal!

Whatcha think????

I'm in love with it, and catch myself walking by it all the time and checking it out!

I'm such a sucker for decorating. ;-)

Thanks for stopping by and checking out my new favorite room in my house!

Have a great day!

Slow Cooker Cilantro-Lime Chicken

This was super easy and a crowd pleaser....

3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1 (16 oz) jar salsa

1 package taco seasoning

3 Tbsp. fresh chopped Cilantro

juice from 1 lime

lime zest from 1 lime

In a slow cooker, mix the salsa, taco seasoning, cilantro, lime juice and zest.

Place in chicken (I even used frozen chicken breasts).

Cook on high 4 hours or low 6-8 hours.

Shred chicken with 2 forks and stir all together.

Serve with rice or turn into tacos.

"Etched" Window

I've been keeping this one from you for a while.

The main reason is because I wasn't too sure about the outcome.

Yes, I'm a perfectionist. And where it did turn out kind of like I wanted, it wasn't perfect.

But, we'll go with it. I'll show it to you and you can decide if you like it or not.

I love old windows and the numerous things you can do with them for decorations.

A while back I made this one for my kitchen.

I love kids in the kitchen, the messes they make {especially on their faces}. It really makes me savor the moments of their childhood.

So, I knew I wanted to do another window for my new, blue dining room.

I bought this awesome old window from a local flea market.

It was perfect.

It even had some old blue paint left on it from back in the day.

I loved it on site and new it would work perfectly.

So I purchased it and off I went.

Then, it was deciding what to do with it.

I started searching blogs for some great ideas.

I first saw this picture in another blog, Redifining C.

I really loved how she added the words.

Granted she has one of those fancy Cricuit things, and I don't.

Then I saw these great "homemade" monogram mason jar glasses over on Barefoot Daydreams.

So I thought to myself, "why can't I marry the two ideas?"

I bought myself some Etching Glass Cream at Michaels.

It seemed easy enough so I got to work.

Now, I will spare you all the details of  how it took me 2 days to decide exactly what to do and/or say on the window.

But I finally decided on "Eat, Drink, & Be Merry".

A perfect saying for a dining room I thought.

I cut out the letters on contact paper {remember I don't have a Cricuit}.

I put them on the widow and painted on the Etching Cream, following the directions on the package.

I let it sit and then washed it off and wha-la...it was done.

I love the idea of it and how it turned out.

I only wish the letters stood out more.

I put it on the wall anyway and am working with it for now.

I've gotten some good feedback from a few friends.

I'm sure that when I finally purchase a Cricuit I will be fixing and touching this bad boy up, but for now let's all

Eat, Drink, & Be Merry!

It's been a while

Hey there friends! It's been almost another week since I've last written.

It wasn't that I was super busy last week.

Well, ok, I was pretty busy. But will admit that despite the fact that I spent most of the week as a single parent I did have time to write to you at night.

B.U.T....

If I may have an excuse {or two three}...

• I was just too tired.
• I didn't have anything nice to say. {and my Mama always taught me that if "you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all.}
• I didn't have anything interesting to say.

Well, I'll be honest and say that all three apply here. Yes, I was exhausted come night fall, and I didn't really have anything interesting to talk about. There were also a few times that I just didn't have anything nice to say.

And I will admit it's my fault.

My husband was traveling for business that led into pleasure which enabled him to be out of town over the weekend.
Now let me start by saying he TOTALLY deserves a trip away. He works so hard for our family and he really deserved a weekend away. It's just so hard on me. So, I was a bit more on edge which sent the kids over the edge which led to lots of meltdowns {from all of us} and me pretty up-tight.

I know, it's my fault and I totally have mommy guilt for it, but I'm just being honest.

However, I will tell you that there were some highlights of the weekend.

For starters, my dining room is 99% finished!

I am so excited about this and will reveal it this week...I promise.

Dallas and her soccer team had an awesome game on Sunday.

But I have to say my favorite thing about the weekend was when two of my dear friends came over with their kids, brownies and wine.

We ordered pizza. The kids played so wonderfully {not one tear was shed}, and we drank our wine and laughed so hard. It was what I really needed.

I told you I'm a lucky girl with some great friends.

I did have a couple of hard days last week though.

My dear friend and neighbor and her family moved {again something not nice to say}. Granted they only moved across town. And they are close to Hunter's preschool.

But, they're not right across the street anymore. They're not that hop, skip, and a jump that I've always treasured since we moved here.

So, in the craziness of their move and dealing with the torrential downpours, I kept their youngest daughter for two days.

She was such a delight and she and Hunter played so nicely, but I'll be honest and tell you that having a 2-year old and a 3-year old for most of the day without a nap is pretty tiring...I've completely forgotten.

But look at me...

It's Monday, and I made it through last week.

I'm sitting here writing to you {which I love to do}, really trying hard not to be negative {I hope  you don't think I am}, and my favorite part - my man is sitting right here next to me!!!!

I {heart} him!

In the meantime {of my sulkiness} over the weekend,

Dallas lost her second tooth.

It just fell out Friday night while eating mac n' cheese.

And I'm so excited to tell you that she didn't freak out this time. She thought it was pretty cool.

She was super excited when the tooth fairy brought her 1 gold dollar coin!!! What a lucky girl.

Hunter started his indoor soccer last week.

He was so excited. He's such a sports kid and loves anything that has to do with balls and sports.

So, check out his number. Yes, that would be 26. When I signed him up the guy asked him which number he wanted. His choices were 4,5, &26. Hunter's eyes got as big as saucers and said, "Mommy, 26, that's Chase Utley's number. That's the one I want." And he didn't take that jersey off from Wednesday until Sunday night. He is one happy little boy to have the same number as Chase Utley...even if he is a baseball player and Hunter's playing soccer.

Last but not least I finally joined Pinterest.

Everyone was talking about it and doing it, so I had to figure this thing out.

I joined and totally did not understand it one bit.

But, instead of writing you and sulk about my being moody, I decided to figure out Pinterest. And like I've heard...I'm hooked.

Not it some crazy,"I have to do this all the time" way, but just love it.

I love the idea of it and how it works....

such a great idea.

I hope y'all had a great weekend and a good start to the week.

Thanks for listening...or reading.

I love my readers and look forward to the day I have more followers.

Only one more and I'll be double digits, baby.

In the meantime, I'm off to bed. I have a 3-year old boy I have to keep entertained tomorrow.

Before I go, I will leave you with this.

Have you ever seen a cuter pirate baseball player in your life???

Life and TV Recaps

Well, first things first...big news in the Lentz household.

Remember a couple of weeks ago I posted about

"Something old, something new..." {yada, yada, yada}?

You can find it here.

Anyway, the big day came!

Dallas lost her first tooth. I think I'm still in a bit of shock.

She was the one child I didn't think would lose her teeth so early because the poor child didn't get any teeth until she was 14 months old.

Seriously!

We never thought that poor child would get her teeth, but she did, and now they're falling out!!!

Anyway, we were playing the Wii on Sunday morning.

She was eating some goldfish and she spit something on the floor.

She said something about a seed. I looked down and knew right away there was no seed.

All of a sudden she gets this horrified look on her face and just loses it.

She was crying and carrying on, which made it a bit difficult to get the blood to stop.

Once she calmed down and realized "it" didn't hurt and "it" was no longer bleeding, she was excited.

She even deemed Sunday, "her special day."

She was even more excited to use her {my}toothfairy pillow.

She tucked her baby tooth down in the little pocket and tucked it by her head.

Monday morning, just as suspected, the toothfairy had made an appearance.

Lucky girl, she got $2.00.

I mean really, I only got coins when I was a child.

I guess that's what you call inflation!

We also had a big weekend around here.

We bought the Wii.

Yes, we are a bit behind the times, but we finally felt it was needed for our family.

And I will be honest and tell you that we {meaning the whole family} played for hours on Saturday.

What can I say...It was raining outside.

Yesterday was a big day for me...season premiers of Dancing with the Stars, Castle, and How I Met Your Mother.

Now I know there were a lot more season premiers out there, but these are three shows that I love. So I'll break it down for you:

Dancing with the Stars:

In true DWTS fashion, the night was full of sequins, spray tanning, and B list celebrities.

I am a bit impressed that they got David Arquette for the show...I would say he's a B+ lister.

I didn't know too many of them, but was very excited to see David and Hope Solo.

For me, I wouldn't say there are any initial front runners. I thought it was a typical first show of the season.

There was stiffness, missing steps, and glimpses of hip shaking and pure elegance.

I am a bit excited to see how the season goes. They all usually surprise me in some form or another.

And as for the pro dancers...

as long as Max is there, I don't care who else dances.

And that's all I have to say about that.

Castle:

At the end of last season, Kate was shot.

So of course the premier was all about her recovery and coming back.

The show as usual was filled with murder, breaking rules, and a "secret" between Castle and Kate.

I love this show and look forward to it every week. But...

I began watching the show a while back and loved it because it was filled with comedy along with drama...a little thing I like to call "drama-edy".

This also happened with Grey's Anatomy.

I use to live and breathe for that show {ok, not really}.

It was serious with hospital stuff but it was pretty witty. I would laugh through a lot of the show.

I found as the seasons went on, it became so serious. It's now so serious and has so much drama, I can't watch it anymore...I need laughter at night.

My hope is that won't happen with Castle.

I love the wittiness that Rick, Kate, and the crew bring to the show.

But after last night, it left me thinking..."this has happened before."

Meaning, man that was very serious. I just hope it doesn't turn into only trying to fight this one killer. Don't get me wrong. I would love for Kate to have closure for her mother's death, but enough with all the seriousness. I could watch the regular news for all that.

I was happy to have my show back and did enjoy it. I just hope it doesn't stay so serious all the time.

And on another note...

Kate, just give into Castle already!

How I Met Your Mother:

I watched this tonight on DVR.

I can't help but crack up at this show.

I love all the characters but hands down, Barney steals the show.

Neal Patrick Harris is so hysterical, I just love laughing at him.

And to think Doogie Howser used to be so serious.

I hope y'all had a good weekend and the start of new shows.

What are your favorite shows out there???

Grub Club

I'm a very fortunate girl in that I have a lot of friends. I have good friends whom I have met from different Moms Groups, preschool, church, and just in the neighborhood. I love all my friends and cherish each of them.

One group (3 girls), and I are pretty close. We keep each other balanced in the day-to-day life with either trips to the gym, runs in the neighborhood, or daily texts just to see how we're making it through the week in this crazy scheduled life we lead. We met basically through our kids, but have formed a solid bond. We have realized over the last few years, that we have a lot in common and that's what brings us so close. We are all from the South and similar family backgrounds. Also, we have each faced adversities - some much more extreme than others - but we have all made it through on top and are much stronger individuals.

About a year ago we started this thing we like to call "Grub Club".A few months ago I mentioned our Grub Club here.

We rotate houses where we get together for drinks, dinner, fun, and laughter. Our husbands join us; and it's a nice time to get out with couples and enjoy some adult time with good friends. We try to do it once a month, but with traveling, holidays, and crazy schedules we can sometimes only do it every two months. None-the-less, we all look forward to this time together.

Last night was Grub Club. We met over at Amy and Alan's house. The food as always was delicious. The menu included...

yummy, light appetizers,

chicken & steak kabobs, baked potatoes {including all the fixin's},

 salad,

 and dessert...

oh and of course drinks - can't forget the drinks.

I made the dessert, a Brown sugar, cinnamon peach pie with vanilla ice cream. I got the recipe from Southern Living, and it was fairly simple to make. You can find the recipe for this yummy treat here.

As usual, the night was filled with lots and lots of laughter, good food, and drinks. I absolutely love and cherish my time with these friends. It was such a great night, and I'm already looking forward to our next Grub Club.

{It will be my time to host, so I better get this dinning room finished.}