Thankful for My Favorite Time of Year

We took a long walk around the neighborhood today and even though there are houses with Christmas decorations up already, it was the most perfect fall day with leaves falling on us as we walked and a bright blue sky. It may still be a little too warm in Georgia to remind me of fall in New York but it's getting there!

It is tempting to start putting up Christmas decorations early but we have so much to be thankful for I can't let myself skip right over Thanksgiving.

Instead of rushing through my favorite time of year to get to Christmas decorating, I like to wait until the day after Thanksgiving to deck the halls and then I just leave it all up until February.

We took down most of the black and white Halloween decorations from the mantel and added some more pumpkins and pussy willows.

I finally changed our hallway flowers for fall and hung a fall wreath on the front door.

We went apple picking and drove north to a pumpkin patch.

We worked on some toddler friendly crafting including these Mod Podge leaves that I'm using in a project and a little handprint spider.

It was our first year with a little one old enough to trick or treat!

It may not be a NY fall but I'm grateful for every minute of it so far!

There's No Place Like Home: Chicago and Saratoga Springs

Travel is a huge part of who we are as a family and I love getting to know people with similar experiences so I'm thrilled to collaborate on a little 'tale of our two cities' with travel expert Kendra Thornton. Read on and we'll each tell you why our hometowns are not to be missed!

There's No Place Like Chicago - by Kendra Thornton

I consider myself to be a travel enthusiast. I have been all around the world and I travel quite often. However, when it comes to great places to see, nothing beats my hometown of Chicago, Illinois. Chicago is not only one of the most exciting cities in the United States, it is a vacation destination for people all over the world. No matter what you like to do, no matter what your interests are, there is a good chance that you will find numerous ways to entertain yourself while visiting Chicago. Since it is the third largest city in the country, the number of places to visit is enormous. 

Enjoying the Chicago Skyline

You will never run out of things to do, regardless of how long your trip is. They are so many places to enjoy entertainment and so many amazing restaurants in Chicago, I could never list them all. However, here are 4 of my Chicago favorites:

1. Shopping

If you love to shop or you are traveling with someone who has been bitten by the shopping bug, I know a place that you must visit while you are in Chicago. It is Southport Avenue, located in Lakeview. If you are looking for a place that is not extremely trendy and mainstream, Southport Avenue is a place that you must visit while you are here. The legendary Wrigley Field is just a few blocks away. Since the Chicago Cubs usually play in the afternoon, you can take in game and do some shopping afterwards. If you enjoy fashion, you will be able to find all of the most chic trends on Southport Avenue. Local Chicago designers sell their products at the Cerato Boutique, and many others. There are also a wide variety of other stores and boutiques to choose from, such as Tula and Krista K. Have fun, and shop until you drop!

2. Millennium Park

Millennium Park is considered by many to be one of the top attractions in the Windy City, and with good reason. It is interesting to note that Millennium Park used to be apiece of wasteland that was nothing more than an eyesore, but all of that changed in 1997. The Mayor of Chicago at that time, Richard Daley, originally came up with the idea to turn the land into a beautiful public park near the heart of the city. It took a few years for the idea to get off the ground, but by the early 2000s, Daley's dream had become a reality. The park offers activities for families, including tours and exhibitions. The architecture and artwork are sure to impress you enough to pull out your camera and take pictures (something that hasn’t always been as easy in the past!)

Source: bestourism.com

3. The City

The Chicago skyline ranks right up there with New York and Hong Kong as being one of the most beautiful skylines in the world. It is truly a magical sight, and an image that you will surely remember long after your trip to Chicago. The downtown area also has some of the best dining you will find anywhere. If you are planning a trip to Chicago, you should take advantage of the beauty of the skyline and the activities offered in the downtown area. You can find a wonderful hotel in the city by using Gogobot. This is a site that allows you to  search for hotels that have the best prices in downtown Chicago. Gogobot allows you to search by average price per night, hotel class, hotel type and average user rating. 

4. Food

Most people are familiar with Ralph Lauren's fashions, such as his world famous Polo line of clothes. However, many visitors to the Chicago area are surprised to find out that Ralph Lauren is also in the restaurant business. Simply called RL, Ralph Lauren's restaurant is located close to the flagship Polo store on North Michigan Avenue, which is also the largest Polo store in the world. It is in the heart of downtown, so after you grab a bite to eat, you can explore all the other things that downtown Chicago has to offer.

Enjoying a Cubs game!

Chicago might be called the Second City, but it will always be number one in my heart. I am certain that after you visit this Midwest metropolis, you will see why I am so enthusiastic about the city on the shores of Lake Michigan. Whether you have a taste for food, fashion, sports, shopping, art, music or theater, Chicago has all of these things in abundance, and so much more. 

Thanks for sharing some of your favorite things about Chicago, Kendra! Now I'll tell you why-

There's no place like Saratoga Springs:

Although we're currently getting settled in our seventh temporary 'new' home in Georgia, my hometown and favorite place to live is Saratoga Springs, NY. I was born and raised there and was lucky enough to spend the last few years living there for my husband's military assignment.

A Beautiful Congress Park afternoon

Saratoga Springs may be most well known for its summer horse racing but there is so much more to the city:

Downtown Saratoga Springs- Traveling along downtown Saratoga's main street, Broadway, you can enjoy shopping, dining, and people watching on par with more metropolitan areas, without the traffic and with twice the charm.
Downtown Saratoga is home to the beautiful Congress Park, where little ones can ride the historic carousel, families can picnic and watch the ducks, and visitors can stroll or just take a breather from shopping on Broadway.

Historic Congress Park Carousel

Each December, Broadway is closed to traffic for a night and transformed for the Victorian Streetwalk, complete with carolers in period costumes, Santa and Mrs. Claus, ballerinas performing the Nutcracker in store windows, reindeer and so much more. It's an event not to be missed that really shows the character of our wonderful city.

For Children- The Children's Museum at Saratoga at 69 Caroline St. is a fantastic way to spend the day with your little ones and has so much to offer not only with clever hands on exhibits but also with the weekly programs hosted there including Silly Science, Wiggle and Giggle, Tuesdays for Tots, and the new Busy Bees baby and toddler program. 

Playing at the Children's Museum

Food- Downtown Saratoga is just packed with options for dining with everything from brew pubs to fine dining. My favorite place to send visitors is Hattie's at 45 Phila St. for their always delicious southern food. Hattie's has been open since 1938 and Chef Jasper Alexander's fried chicken, mac and cheese, and hushpuppies are worth our drive home from Georgia for.

The most exciting thing on the horizon for the Saratoga fine dining scene, 15 Church, is set to open in December 2013. The modern, French/American concept coupled with the amazing style and creativity of Chef Jason Baker, 15 Church is sure to be the Saratoga Springs dinner reservation worth fighting over.

Saratoga Springs is a city with a genuine small town feel to it. There is no shortage of activities, shopping, food, and family friendly fun. The natural beauty and charm, history, sense of community, and energy of the city make it a great place to visit and a wonderful place to call home.

Thanks for taking this little tour of our two cities. Be sure to follow @KendraThornton to get her latest and greatest tips for travel!

Spooky Black and White Halloween Mantel

Though it's been months since moving to our new house many boxes still sit unopened in the garage so I was happy to open the one with my fall decorations knowing that they had a place to be unpacked.

Because it's still a few weeks until Halloween, and it's 86 degrees outside, and feels nothing like fall, I used black and white decorations for the mantel.  My Thanksgiving/Autumn decorations are mainly oranges and browns, and in an effort to avoid looking at those colors until Christmas, the black and white spooky mantel was born.

I love the way all of the black and white looks with the silver metallics of the decorations and the gold mirror I rescued and had restored a few years ago.

The antlers that I painted white look like bony fingers holding up the black cat.

I've used my same white painted branch for an Easter egg tree, a Christmas snowflake ornament holder, and here, as a bat tree that throws the best spooky shadow on the wall behind it at night.

After Halloween, I'll switch out some of the black and white for more of my brown, orange, and green autumn decor for Thanksgiving. I hope that by then, Georgia weather will have changed enough to make me feel just a hint of what fall in NY feels like. But for now, it's the perfect time of year to have a black and white mantel.

Playroom Progress: DIY Painted Play Sign

Since moving into the new house we've spent a lot of time staying cool at the pool. We've been trying our best to get every box unpacked and everything put in a logical place and that leaves little time for projects. Transforming the big room over the garage into a playroom is on the top of the 'to do' list.
Here is a sneak peek at some of the progress so far.

I painted some mdf letters from with red and white stripes and then coated them with a couple of coats of varnish for shine. They're mounted with hanging putty so when I'm ready to decorate the whole room or if I get tired of the crooked style, I can change it!

I found this Pottery Barn Kids bookshelf on Craigslist for $20 and love the little nook created by tucking it into the corner as you come into the room.

There are two steps down into the room and they make a little seat for reading and allow the shelf to be at a perfect height for little ones.

The Willkommen puppy sign is a souvenir from Germany and I found the Smile, Giggle, Be Silly at Homegoods. I wish it was a little bigger because it's so perfect for a playroom.

Decorating a playroom might just be more fun than decorating a nursery. I have a lot of cute things in store if I can find a little more time in the day!

What a Difference New Knobs Make: Easy Vanity Makeover

Since we're spending the next few years in a rental house, our days of painting rooms red and having a kids' bathroom that looks like this, are temporarily over.

When I first saw the upstairs bathroom in this house I knew immediately that the knobs had to go. Never mind the fact that there are two different color doors and one drawer is clearly another color. How and why does that happen?? I wasn't about to paint the vanity but knew I could ditch the knobs!

I used these red knobs for a quick and inexpensive makeover.

 These faucet style red knobs were $5.99 each but were marked 50% off so for around $25, I was able to transform a shiny, gold knobbed vanity into a much more fun and kid- style bathroom.

These cute little knobs almost make me forget there are two different colored doors.

The faucets and the light still give me a headache to look at but it's a start. When we move back to our house with the red kids' bathroom, these are going to be perfect on the vanity!

Our Kitchen Feature on Remodelaholic

Happy Weekend! I'm so excited to announce that our 'Oh-Noing to Glowing Kitchen' is being featured on Remodelaholic today!

I've been a fan of Remodelaholic for a long time and it really is an honor to be featured in the company of so many creative projects. Go check it out when you're in need of some serious DIY inspiration!

A huge thank you to Cassity for sharing with her readers how we used paint and fabric to set the stage for new counters, flooring, and appliances and completed a DIY remodel that changed the way we felt about our house.

Having recently moved, I have been so overwhelmed by the task of unpacking boxes, organizing, putting away, and decorating yet another house. I have yet to even locate the boxes with my craft supplies.

This feature is such a perfect and much needed push for me to get back into the swing of things and get to work making this new house work for us the way our last one did. We have our work cut out for us this time since we are renting and there are things I just won't be able to change so stay tuned!

Thanks for reading and many thanks again to Cassity at Remodelaholic for featuring our remodel!

'All Aboard' Party Banner

 I made a quick and easy fabric banner for the train party and loved the way it turned out.

 I bought a red ticking striped fabric and used foam board to cut out the shapes to make the train and attached them with double sided tape.

I printed out a photo of the 'conductor' on a carousel so his hands were in the right position and then cut him out. It was really cute how amused he was seeing himself driving the 'choo-choo'

The "smoke" billowing from the stack was styrofoam balls attached with tacks.

I probably would have left the banner up for way too long like I did with the first birthday party banner if the movers hadn't come days after the party!

Two Two Train Cake

I'm surrounded by boxes that need unpacking and have no energy to get that done so I'm going through photos from the train party. Here are the details on how we made the cake!

The two-two train party ended up being red and blue just like our puppy dog tails first birthday party. What can I say, I love the combo. Instead of decorating a white fondant cake like last year, my sister and I used red and blue as the base and I'm so happy with how it turned out!

We drew a sketch of the cake a couple of months ago and it helped keep the project from getting lost in the idea shuffle. (A side effect from spending too much time on Pinterest)

 I baked two six inch rounds for the top layer and two eight inch rounds for the base. Rather than make things easy I colored white fondant to make the red and royal blue but I'll buy colored fondant in the future!

My sister smoothing the fondant

Here is the chaos on the island after the cake was covered with fondant.

We decorated it with a train puffing clouds of smoke with 2s in them and then made a paper ticket for the top to finish it off.

We made the train and the clouds out of sugar sheets and it ended up being a time saver and adhered really well to the cake.
They also held up well in the heat because they were so thin. If I'd used fondant to make the shapes, I think they may have slid off the cake in the 90 degree heat!