{No-Carve Pumpkins}

Happy Monday, and welcome back to the blog!!  I hope you all had a lovely weekend!  My family and I spent our days outdoors enjoying the beautiful Fall weather, and I continued prepping for Halloween.  We finally decided on our sweet girl's costume, and next we'll be working on our pumpkins.  In addition to carving our pumpkins this year {you can find some pumpkin carving tips here}, I'm also going to try out some no-carve designs on the pumpkins that I'm using to decorate the inside of our house.  I found so many pretty and fun designs on the web, and I can't wait to try some of them out.

Here are some of my favorites:

{Melted Crayon Pumpkins via The Swede Records}

{Jack-O'-Totem via HGTV}

{Metallic Herringbone Pumpkin via Lacquer & Linen}

{Color Block Pumpkins via illi style}

{Washi Tape Pumpkins via Real Simple}

{Glittered Pumpkins via Martha Stewart}

{Swarm of Bats Pumpkin via Spoonful}

{Metallic Pumpkins via Real Simple}

{Candy Corn Painted Pumpkins via BHG}

{Chalkboard Paint Pumpkins via Real Simple}

{String Pumpkins via P.S. I Made This}

Have fun decorating your pumpkins...I'd love to hear which designs you choose! :)
xoxo, Katherine

{Five Favorites}

Happy Friday, sweet friends!!  How has your week been?  Mine was pretty great, and I think this cool, Fall weather made it so much more pleasant.  I can't wait to pull out my cozy sweaters, fun scarves, and comfy knee boots this weekend, and I'm looking forward to showing you more of my fun Fall-inspired projects next week.

In the meantime, here are some things that made me happy this week...

{Starting Monday with a happy attitude & a little fun with my pictures}

{Loving this picture of our favorite Carolina Girl}

{Savoring every sip of my Pumpkin Spice Latte}

{Shipping packages is fun when your tape looks like this!}

{Soaking up the sunset with my family and loving this view}

I hope you all have a great weekend, and I'll see you back here on Monday! :)

xoxo,
Katherine

{Learning to Love iOS 7}

I'm not a fan of change.  Once I'm comfortable with something, I get quite attached and want it to stay the same forever.  That goes for most things in my life...My home, my daily routine, my hair color, my holiday traditions, my nail color, my cell phone...The list goes on and on, but today I'm going to focus on the latter.

I felt little pangs of anxiety when I heard that Apple was releasing the iOS 7 software upgrade last week, and I immediately went into panic mode...Tons of questions started running through my head, and I got stressed!  Have I saved all of my pictures?  Are my contacts on the cloud?  Am I going to lose all of my favorite apps?  How will I get used to the new screen design?  Again, I love for things to stay the same, and that definitely goes for my cell phone.

Well, I finally got the guts to take the plunge a few days ago, and I must say, I'm starting to like this new look.  Maybe change isn't so bad after all.

Here are a few things that I'm loving about iOS 7:

• Control Center - Apple has put all those things you may constantly need in an easily accessible command center...All you have to do is swipe up from the bottom of your screen to open this convenient panel. There you will find the flashlight, photo button, calculator, alarms, volume controls, lighting controls, etc.  I've loved this feature!
  
• Lock Screen - I gotta admit...Even the cool look of the new lock screen has grown on me.
  
• iTunes Radio - Now this is awesome!  My husband and I were running errands the other night, and I just plugged my phone into the car to play some songs from my iTunes radio stations.  It's like Pandora, but better.  Now you can have your favorite music with you at all times!
  
• Weather App - I love a good weather app, and this new one definitely stepped up its game.  I was tickled the other day when I first opened it and discovered that the backgrounds change based on the weather in each location.  When I checked my Murrells Inlet weather, there were actually raindrops falling on the screen...Super cool!
  
• Camera & Photos - The new camera is so fast!!  It takes a picture literally as soon as your finger touches the shutter button, and this has been awesome for me since I'm always trying to capture a squirmy 8 month-old in photos.  Also, you can hold your camera button down, and it will capture multiple photos until you release the button.  That's so helpful when taking action shots.  Other fun features - There are filters to choose from for your photos, and it's nice to see that the photo library now categorizes your pictures by year and place.
  
• Multitasking - With the new multitasking features, you can swipe left and right to browse open apps or you can swipe upward to close an app.
  
• Message Time Stamps - I was always so annoyed when I couldn't see the time stamp on ALL of my text messages...Not anymore! Now, all you have to do is swipe to the left in your Messages window to see each individual time stamp.
  
  I hope these tips help as you navigate your way through the new operating system.
  
  
  xoxo,
  Katherine

{DIY: Balloon-Dipped Mason Jars}

I love mason jars...Always have, always will.  I love drinking out of them, storing things in them, decorating them, etc. {You can check out how my parents and I used them at my sister's nautical-inspired baby shower here.}

Since I love them so much, I have accumulated crates of them, and they are begging for some attention.  I've been toying with the idea of painting them, but I couldn't quite figure out which technique I wanted to use.  And then I came across this.  Amazing discovery...So simple and super cute. I immediately pulled out my mason jars and balloons and tested it out...Here is the first one I threw together in less than one minute.  It looks painted, right? :) Painted look without the mess AND a stripy straw to accompany them?  Yes please!! Materials:
- mason jars - balloons

- scissors1. Fold your balloon in half lengthwise, and snip about a quarter inch off the top.

2. Cut off the skinny “stem” of the balloons.

3. Pull over the bottom of your jar and up the sides.

4. That’s all!

I love how mine turned out, and I'll definitely be doing this at my girl's first birthday party.  Aren't they so cute?!

I hope you enjoy this simple DIY tip, and have a great day!

xoxo,

Katherine

{White Chocolate Candy Bark}

I'm all about easy when it comes to cooking and baking, and when I saw this simple recipe, I knew it was right up my alley. :)  As a stay-at-home mom, my days are packed full and almost every second is dedicated to my little one.  I have been trying to find a sweet treat I could make for my husband's work staff that's easy enough to do while my baby naps, and this one is a clear winner.  Simple, delicious, festive, and cute!

Ingredients:

- 2 cups white chocolate chips

- peanuts

- candy corn

- Reese’s Pieces

Instructions:

1. Place chocolate chips in a microwave safe bowl. Microwave for 1 minute. Stir. Continue to microwave in 30-second intervals until completely melted. If needed, add 1 tablespoon of coconut oil to the chocolate chips to make the mixture smoother.

2. Pour melted chocolate onto a cookie sheet lined with wax paper. Spread to an even thickness.

3. Sprinkle peanuts, candy corn, and Reese’s Pieces onto the chocolate. Set the bark aside to firm at room temperature or in the refrigerator.

4. Once the bark is completely set, break into chunks.

I hope you all enjoy this yummy treat! :)
xoxo, Katherine

** All photos courtesy of Brit + Co.

{Happy Fall, Y'all! + Pumpkin Carving Tips}

We had a low-key weekend around our house, and I must say I enjoyed every second of it.  We started the day yesterday rocking on our front porch with our sweet girl, and the crisp, cool air got me so excited for Fall.  I love this season, and I can't wait to decorate our house, prep for Halloween, and pick out our baby's first costume.  How fun!!

I have so many cute and easy DIY projects coming up, and I have been busy pinning my top picks for Fall.  Are you on Pinterest?  If so, let's follow each other.  You can follow me here, and I'd love to follow you back. :) One of the many crafts that I have seen that I'd like to try is this burlap door hanger...

Isn't that the cutest?  I saw this picture on Pinterest, and I found a simple tutorial here.  This is definitely going to be one of my projects for the week, and I can't wait to see how it turns out.

Another project on my to-do list: Pumpkin Carving!

{Our 2012 Pumpkins}

Over the weekend, my hubby and little Kate went on their weekly Home Depot run, and this time they came back with pumpkins.  I love seeing the goodies that they find, and I can't wait to carve pumpkins with our girl this year.  Forrest and I carved these last year, and I'm excited to try out some new designs this year.

{Pumpkin Carving Tips}

Do you need a little help carving your pumpkins?  Check out these tips and free printables!  Have fun!! xoxo, Katherine