Monday Musings | 6

Happy Halloween Party People! Am I the only one that sees these suckers and is automatically thrown back in the 4th grade during a fall festival? I swear these are caramel covered nostalgia.

Did you dress up today? Trick or Treating tonight?

We have a costume contest at work today, to which I have seen not one single costume. Maybe everyone has the same game plan as I do and is waiting until lunch time to transform. Into the bathroom I go as an (almost) 30 year old professional and out I come as an 80 year old grandma. I cannot wait to show you pictures. Like any good student, I have been watching youtube videos on "old age makeup" for a solid week now. Fingers crossed the idea in my head can come to life. Otherwise, I will look like I got drunk and passed out in college and someone drew on my face.

On our evening walk last night I moaned and groaned about how I felt like I couldn't keep friendships alive. Like I was the only one in the world that had "situational" friendships that all revolved around a common thing... like work or school or league. I know I can't be the only one who feels like friends come and go. The difference is I feel like I am the reason they go. Maybe I am too judgemental or not fun enough. Maybe I said something that upset them or should have called them more. After a solid 20 minutes of complaining, I came to the realization that it isn't about me or what I can or should have done. Instead its this constant entrenching of social media. Seeing other people out and about or going to do things in large groups and feeling inadequate. Feeling left out, when if I stopped and really thought about it I didn't want to actually be included in the first place.

All of this to say... I am taking a social media break. I have no idea how long it will last but this blog is the only thing that will stay alive. No facebook or instagram. Shutter. No Snapchat.... serious withdrawals, y'all. No Pinterest. No.Social.Media.

My hope is that the removal of all these outside noises will give me more time to invest in the people around me. Help clear away all the FOMO (it means fear of missing out, mom) cobwebs and start fresh.

In full disclosure, there might be a contest going on behind the scenes. Who can last longer... me without social media or my boyfriend without sugar. I have full faith that I can withstand longer.

Okay, thats about all I've got for the moment. There is some old lady make up and garb calling my name!

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Birth Photography | Eliza

Every time I tell someone I am off to shoot a birth I get this wide eyed stare. I can see the thoughts tossing and turning in their heads wondering what am I actually taking pictures of. My response is almost always the same, "No I don't take pictures of THAT"... instead my goal is to capture the feeling and anticipation that comes with birth. To capture that special moment when a Mom and Dad see their baby for the first time. To give a family the opportunity to relive a special day in their lives over and over.

Birth photography is my absolute favorite. I've done it quite a few times now and every one is still so special and so awe inspiring. As a photographer I get invited into some of the most intimate moments in a couples life and this one, watching life come into the world, is the most rewarding.

Sweet Eliza came into this world a short three weeks ago and told everyone exactly how she felt about it. That hair, those rolls, that sweet baby cry. Oh man.

Congrats Brittany and Kyle on your gorgeous new addition.

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Monday Musings | 5

This last week was one for the record books. I've always been one to pack things in and burn the candle at both ends but wow. 

I have been planning an event for work/our customers for a few months now and it all came to a head on Wednesday. The day consisted of golf/drinks/lunch at Flying Tee (Tulsa's version of Top Golf) back to the hotel for a quick email check/rest and then a "Social Networking Hour" aka Happy Hour before heading out to Oktoberfest Corporate Night. We had such a good group of people come to town to join in on the fun and overall it was such a success. My boss sent me this gem from Flying Tee... his caption was "Samsung Galaxy makes a great coaster"... I guess I got a little excited when it was my turn. I will say I obviously have mad balancing skills.

Oktoberfest in Tulsa never fails to be an exciting weekend with corporate night kicking the whole thing off. Picture huge tents, tons of wood picnic tables, live German music, and huge steins - thats Oktoberfest. The only difference between corporate night and any other night are the "table sponsors". So to attend on Wednesday you have to "sponsor" a table to get tickets... individual tickets are sold any other night. 

After wrapping up a great event I took off my corporate event planning hat and put on my garage sale planning hat. I'm not sure why I decided it was a good idea to have a garage sale on the tail end of a big work week but go big or go home, I guess.

I have been wanting to clean out my shed for a while now, hey its even on my 30 before 30! It was so needed, especially if I want to make that space functional. The sale went off without a hitch at 7am - we even had a few early risers show up with flashlights at 6:45. I guess they didn't get the memo that Saturday mornings are for slow starts. 

I always try to get a walk in with Murphy every day to wear him out... turns out all he needs to do is greet customers all morning and hes a tired pooch!

The sale went well and by 9 am all the items I wasn't sure I wanted to sell were gone. Funny how that happens. I scheduled a local rehabilitation organization to come around 4 pm and get the rest of the items that didn't sell. That was a fantastic idea until they showed up at 1 pm. All in all though it was a good sale and a great way to spend a morning and make a little bit of cash. 

After the sale wrapped up I took a few of the nicer items that didn't sell to a consignment store and ran a few errands. Dinner with a sweet friend and next thing you know its Sunday morning!

Church with my sweet babes in the morning and afternoon tennis before community group.

Again, I must have failed to pull out a calendar but I volunteered to bring dinner to my community group on Sunday night. When in doubt... order pizza.

I wrapped up the evening like this..

and what do you know, its already Monday again.

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Monday Musings

Here we are again, another Monday has quickly approached!

It never fails that I will be getting coffee in the office kitchen on a Monday morning and someone will ask how my weekend was and if I "did anything fun". Simple enough question that I can never seem to provide an answer to. Its like in the moment I completely forget everything I did for the last 48 hours. Plus, who wants to hear "I woke up early Saturday morning, went to breakfast, did some laundry, took the dog for a walk, picked up all the random things that find themselves on my kitchen table, and then decided that 4 day old hair was enough and took a shower"... yea I guess my "it was good but not long enough" response will have to suffice.

Just a little public service announcement. I saw this on the good ole facebook and about choked. Man oh Man this year has flown by!

On Saturday afternoon we headed to a friends Halloween party and I knew I didn't want to show up empty handed but wine/beer didn't seem to fit. I mulled on it awhile and we even talked about taking some food but then in a moment of clarity I came up with a great gift that didn't cost me a dime.

I grabbed two varieties of basil (purple and regular) and put them in a ziplock with some water, added a Japanese eggplant, two varieties of jalapeno peppers, and some sweet peppers wrapped all that up in a paper sack I had on hand and BOOM! hostess gift! Oh, that cute black and white ribbon was an after Christmas clearance find. Gotta love a good homegrown gift.

What else?

1. Saw THIS movie this weekend. How they turned 208 seconds into a feature film is beyond me but it was so good!

2. I need new jeans... what are your favorite brands? I recently got a pair from Nordstrom Rack but they are so long and need to be taken up. It seems as though all my (cheap) pairs loose their shape and start to fall down half way through the day. So annoying!

 
3. Halloween costume? I'm thinking so...

4. Dream Kitchen

Happy Monday friends!

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Fall Decorating

Insert all the praise hands!

I finally got around the decorating for fall last week and it was glorious. I'm not one that goes all out and has themed decor in every room but I do think the common gathering areas deserve a little spice of life.

Murphy wanted to make sure and give you a warm greeting. Oh, and don't mind that chippy paint on the front porch... one day it will get removed... or so I have been telling myself for a year now.

Who doesn't love a new front door rug? Home Sweet Home - from Target - which could be classified as my home sweet home away from home.

Those cute black/white/gold pumpkins are from Hobby Lobby and are such a good transitional fall item. I'm not really into the decorate for Halloween and then turn around and decorate for Thanksgiving mentality, so anything that can serve dual purposes is a win in my book! The cute pumpkin/flower arrangement was 50% off at Michaels. I added a few extra silk flowers to create a bit of a fuller look and love how it turned out.

Oh, have you jumped on the bath & body works candle train yet? I obviously did, as pictured above, and can say they live up to the hype. Let me be clear, nothing will ever replace my beloved Capri Blue (Anthropologie) candle but these are great seasonal smells. So far I have only burned Spiced Pomegranate Cider but I have Sweet Cinnamon Pumpkin, Marshmallow Fireside, and Leaves all ready for their turn. I burn a candle anytime I am home and the current one I have from BBW has lasted me about a month.

The dining room table is my most favorite thing to decorate for various seasons/occasions. I love pulling things from around the house and seeing how they all come together. For fall I grabbed a few mini white, multi, and orange (real) pumpkins from Sprouts/Walmart and paired those with some fake pumpkins from Hobby Lobby. I set those cute mercury glass hurricanes in the center - which I grabbed for a whopping $10 at Joann's after Christmas last year - and added a candle. The "floating beads", antlers, and decorative balls were all also from around the house. I love how this came together and, in all reality, took maybe 20 minutes.

Another great find were these HUGE mums from Costco for $20. A mum half this size anywhere else around town runs around $16 so I made sure and grabbed two for the front porch. Now to just keep them alive!

Okay, your turn! Whats your favorite item to decorate with for fall? 

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Monday Musings | 4

It's officially Monday, again. Did you have a great weekend? Relax much?

This was the first weekend in probably 6 weeks that I wasn't traveling in some form or fashion and the slow pace was much appreciated. There are a lot of things on the to-do list in the upcoming weeks... especially with the holidays right around the corner. For the next two weeks I am spending a lot of my extra time preparing for a garage sale (I'm looking at you 30 before 30) and we all know how fun that can be!

1. I did have a few things that fell into the "must" category and capturing this sweet things newborns was at the top of the list. Two years ago I was privileged to capture her brothers birth/newborns and now I'm doing the same for her. Being able to come along side your friends as they enter into new phases of life is just so rewarding.

2. I finally got around to grabbing a few new fall decorations and getting the house all ready for the new season. As if falls arrival is dependent on my pumpkin decor and new wreath...

3. This is Us. Have you seen it? Totally worth the watch. I was a huge parenthood fan - as in I never watched it when it originally aired but binge watched the heck out of it on Netflix. This is a Parenthood-esque show but with a little more twists and turns plus it will get you through the wait until Scandal returns!

4. The Tulsa Fair has officially arrived in all its fervor, leaving me contemplating selling my house STAT. My neighborhood is directly south of the Tulsa Fairgrounds and thus becomes a makeshift parking lot, which isn't terrible until you have to take your dog for a walk. Cars for miles and even getting to the point of people selling space in their driveways for parking. I am so ready for this show to pack up and leave town. 

5. Last but not least lets talk eyebrows! I have fallen victim to the nail salon wax job one too many times and decided the extra $10 it takes to get my brows waxed professionally was worth it. Benefit has a brow bar inside Ulta stores and has since been my saving grace. I've yet to fully jump in and buy their brow products but having a professional shape them its a game changer. I currently use NYX brow cream with a brow brush to fill them out but tried the benefit volumizer this weekend and might have to snag that soon. Filled vs unfilled brows... I'm telling you its worth the extra few minutes in the morning. 

Well friends, that's all she wrote! Enjoy your Monday!

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Chunky Knit

Fall is coming in fast to Oklahoma, as a matter of fact, tomorrow the high is in the low 60's. Just for clarification, last night at tennis it was 91 degrees. This ship can turn on a dime!

All the talk about cooler weather has me yearning to start knitting again. You'll remember the baby blanket I knit a solid 3 years ago. Wow. I've since knit a few other things but these chunky knit blankets have me busting out all the heart eyes!

1.2.3.4.

I'm telling you, they are just gorgeous! The only downfall to the really chunky knits is all the yard it takes to create such fullness. If you are looking for a super soft wool its going to get a little on the pricey side.

I rather enjoy knitting when the weather turns rainy or cool but if you arent into knitting in general there are lots of adorable knits on Etsy!

1.2.3.4.

Tell me those aren't to die for? I mean how could you not want to cuddle up under that soft heavy blanket and binge watch all the netflix humanly possible?

I'm typically such a vintage quilt junkie but I am starting to think about changing my tune. Tell me, whats your favorite blanket?

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