Pumpkin M&M Cookies!

Happy day before Halloween, everyone! Can you believe that I received a KitchenAid Stand Mixer for my Birthday (in JULY!) and haven't used it once?! I think I've been a little intimidated by it, and having a brand new baby made baking seem like such a hassle. I finally decided to use it today to make these delicious Pumpkin M&M Cookies!

I used my Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe that I shared with you all last year (it's our favorite!). I just substituted M&Ms because we seriously have a bunch left over from our huge Costco sized variety pack. I figured you could use any kind of leftover candy you had! I was tempted to use peanut butter cups, but those are just too delicious by themselves :)

These are very cakey cookies, which is a nice change sometimes. They aren't super pumpkin-y, so if you're not a huge fan of pumpkin, you might still like these. Give them a try! They're super easy, I promise- especially if you use a stand mixer ;)

Have a great day! And have a fun & safe Halloween tomorrow.

The Easiest DIY Baby and Toddler Leggings in 10 Minutes

I am so excited about this project! This is seriously the easiest sewing project and so incredibly practical. We're talking about taking a pair of women's knee high socks, and turning them into baby/toddler leggings. Say what? No joke. How am I just now finding this out? The best part of this project is that socks come in so many different colors and can have some really fun patterns and designs. I got all of my socks at Target in the women's department. Most of them were on clearance for $1.75 (originally $2.50). The pair below was $4.00, but they are a nice knitted pair with the cute buttons! Alright, let's get started...

DIY Leggings paired with Freshly Picked Camo Moccasins

Supplies Needed:

-Pair of adult size knee high socks (could use kid knee high socks for baby leggings)

-3/4" Non-Roll Elastic

-Scissors

-Sewing Machine

-Coordinating color thread

Directions:

Step 1- Take your socks and cut the "toe" part off of each sock (in a straight line)

Step 2- Cut a straight light along the bottom of the sock, toward the heal and stop about the middle of the heal (about six inches) on each sock.

Step 3- Turn one sock tube inside-out and put the other sock (right side out) tube in that sock and match it up (which will leave you with both "right" sides together)

Step 4- Pin the open part like pictured above and using a zig-zag stitch, sew along the pins (which sews the legs together) I sewed over these piece twice, to ensure it was secure.

Step 5- Now we will work on the waistband. Measure your toddler's waist with your non roll elastic and put it around your opening of the pants, wrap it around the waist part of the pants and overlap a small piece of the elastic and 

Step 6- Cover the elastic with the top of the pants by folding over the top of the pants with a tiny bit extra which is what you will sew. Overlap a small portion of the elastic and zig-zag stitch it together (be sure to do this part at one of the seams already created at the front or back of the waist)

Step 7- Using the zig-zag stich again, sew along the entire waist. I went around twice, again, just to make sure it doesn't come undone. Pictured below is what the finished waistband should look like. 

That's it, you're all done, and have created your own leggings out of a pair of socks! Good Job :) My first pair took me closer to 20 minutes, but after you do it once or twice, and get familiar with it, you can do it in half that time. Here are a few pictures of them on Adeline.

I've made a handful of these already, and plan to be on the hunt for socks with some fun designs on them, to make even more! Give this super easy DIY a try, and if you do, let me know how they turn out. Feel free to ask any questions down below in the comment section and I will do my best to answer them. Have a great evening!

Linking up to these parties HERE!

October 2014 IKEA Haul!

Hey everyone! So last time I went to visit my family is the Seattle area, we hit up IKEA! It's pretty much the one place we have to go whenever we get a chance to head that direction. We picked up a few things and I decided to share with you guys. No furniture items, just decorative. They have some really nice new stuff out though, so maybe someday soon we can replace a few older pieces of furniture!

First off, I picked up 2 sets of their Matilda curtains. Kayla had a set of these curtains in Simon's nursery, and I really liked them! We had some cheaper sheer white curtains before, but these ones add more interest with the delicate detail.

We recently removed the fluorescent lighting in our kitchen. We've been needing some new lighting, and found some really nice pendants (Renarp pendant lamp). Unfortunately, they didn't have have any more in stock, so we had to order them online which was a pain in the booty. Their shipping is pretty expensive. I just love the hardware on these.

I've been wanting a clock for Ben's nursery. I usually feed Benjamin in there, and I often find myself looking for the time so I know when to next feed him. I picked up this cute black framed clock.

Next are just a few smaller things I saw and liked. Some silicon baking cups (which I can't find online), teacup (without handles) candles, and white planters. 

Last but not least is a fail item. We purchased a king size Honsbar down comforter for our bed. We actually own a queen size bed, but the full/queen comforters are just a tad too small. Anyway, we finally splurged for a king size and are so disappointed. This thing stinks. Like literally stinks. We had it in our bedroom and I thought something smelled off. Then Adam came in and said "it smells like something is rotting in here." It was the comforter! So I took it off and washed it 2 more times (exactly as the instructions direct) and it still smells bad. We will be taking it back. Not that you can see anything, but here is was while it was on our bed.

And that's it! Have you picked up any new items from IKEA recently? Anything you are eyeing for next time?

Hope you all have a nice weekend! I think we are just staying home, which sounds wonderful. We've been doing things every weekend for the last little bit, and I think we all need some good R&R together. Talk to you soon!

Simon's 5 Month Update

Good Evening! Today my sweet Simon is 5 months old. He continues to grow, if fact, he is getting to be quite the little chubster, and I love it. I don't have any new stats, until his 6 month doctor appointment. I will just have to update you on how he is doing and whats new. As far as breastfeeding he is doing fantastic, things couldn't be better. He has been pretty flexible with eating if he need's to be. However, most often he eats every 3 hours during the day and is only eating once during the night. I have tried to feed him some baby food (applesauce) with rice cereal and he does okay. He's not quite sure about it all just yet, which is totally fine. We will just keep trying to introduce him baby food once a day until he gets the hang of things. I am not in any rush, so I am not too worried about it.

Sleeping has been great, too. He is pretty regularly taking 3 naps a day. A morning nap, long afternoon nap, and a shorter evening nap. He usually falls asleep around 8:45pm and I feed him at 10:00pm (he usually stays asleep) and he will sleep until 4 or 4:30am, fall back asleep until 8am. It has been working really well for us, and I love getting set-up into some sort of routine. 

The Adeline/Simon brother-sister duo is so much fun. They are starting to interact more and Adeline continues to be such a helpful big sister. She will walk up to him if he is fussing and attempt to say, "was wong" (what's wrong) and try to give him his blanket, binky, or a toy.

Milestones:

-As you can see, Simon is on his way to sitting up. He can only sit up for about as long as it took me to take these pictures, and he was leaning against the wall, but a huge milestone nonetheless. 

-Started with baby food (applesauce baby food with rice cereal) he does okay.

-Still only rolling from back to tummy, not the other way around yet.

-He is wearing some 3-6 month clothing, but 6 month clothes are fitting him perfect. He is also fitting into most 9 month clothes as well, which is crazy to me, I remember Addie fitting into 3 month clothing until she was 9 months old. Lol.

Well, that is all I have for now. Have a great rest of the week! Before I go, if YOU do monthly updates for YOUR little one, I would love to check them out. Comment below! :)

October IPSY vs. BIRCHBOX!

Hey guys! It's been a while since we've shown you what we've gotten in our IPSY and Birchbox monthly subscriptions. I thought I'd show you what I received this month! If you didn't know IPSY and Birchbox are both $10.00 a month. You receive beauty samples, and sometimes full size products. They tailor what you get based on a quiz you take when signing up! I think it's a lot of fun, and I end up purchasing way less beauty products this way! Also, you get a chance to try things out that you never would have on your own.

Here's what I received in my IPSY:

First of all, the bag this month is really cute! It's a quilted teal bag, with really durable fabric! This will go great in the diaper bag. As for the products,

1. Epice Purifying Exfoliant. This is really nice. The texture of the "exfoliating" cream is pretty smooth. The granules that do the exfoliating are super fine, so they don't irritate the skin.

2. Kiss Premium Human Hair Eyelashes. I've said before that I like receiving fake eyelashes in these boxes. I don't ever buy eyelashes, but I like having a couple of pairs on hand for special occasions. These ones look really nice and natural.

3. Ayres Body Butter. I feel like I've gotten this before. I'm sure I still have the whole one, since I don't really like the smell of this. Maybe I need to give them away!

4. MICA Beauty Eyeshadow. This is a dark green loose eyeshadow with glitter in it. I'm not sure how much I will use this. I more of a neutrals girl, but I might use this wet as an eyeliner. 

5. Starlooks lip gloss. This is a really pretty natural looking lip gloss. I've already worn it several times and enjoyed it.

Now for Birchbox:

The card on the right is for a giveaway they're doing. If you post your picture to Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram you could win $100 dollars in their store. You just write in your current obsession! Right now, ours is the show Blacklist! Love it! Here are the products,

1. Amika Dry Shampoo. Really love this. It's a small size, but I'm sure I can get enough uses out of it to know if I like it. Which I do.

2. Benefit the Porefessional Primer. I've always wanted to try this, so I'm glad I got a sample. So far I like it, but we will have to wait and see if it breaks me out- which a lot of primers do.

3. Dr. Brandt pores no more vacuum cleaner mask. I'm super excited to try this! I have a problem with clogged pores, so we will see if this helps! I believe these products are pretty expensive, so to get a sample is really nice.

4. Lord & Berry eyeliner pencil. This is a black with chunky glitter in it. Not sure how much I like it, but I'm sure I will use it. I get kind of tired of all the black eyeliners I get in my boxes. I wish they would be different colors. How many black eyeliners does one girl need?

5. Ellovi Butter in Vanilla. I really like this body butter. The texture is kind of like a balm and it smells really nice. It only has 6 ingredients, which are all natural.

So, there you have it! As for a winner, I think Birchbox wins. I really like everything except the eyeliner. It helps that some of the products are from more expensive brands.

I hope you all are having a great Monday! Talk to you soon,

The Easiest Pumpkin Apple Muffins!

If any of you are familiar with fall baking, you probably already know this recipe! It's one of the easiest things you can bake- especially if you leave out the apple! I decided to share it since there might be someone out there who doesn't know this trick!

What you'll need:

-Spice Cake Mix

-16oz can of Pumpkin

-1 apple (I used Braeburn, but you could really use any kind you like or have handy!)

What you do:

1. Mix the cake mix and pumpkin into a large bowl. (You could just bake it like this if you didn't want the apple!)

2. Peel your apple. Using a shredder, shred your apple right into the bowl. Mix it up!

3. Scoop into regular sized muffin tin & bake at 350 degrees for around 25 minutes. This recipe makes a dozen.

4. Enjoy! They're super moist and not too sweet, so you don't have to feel guilty for having one three for breakfast.

Hope you all had a great week!

Hello Fall Free Printable

I hope you're having a great week. Today I have a quick post that includes a FREE printable. The weather today makes me believe that fall is officially here, and no more sneaky summer appearances. With that in mind, I made this simple fall printable to share! We still haven't made a trip to the pumpkin patch, and I'd really like to, I'm hoping we can make it happen this weekend at some point. What is your favorite part about fall? OH and if you're looking for more fall fun and decorating ideas you going to want to check out our post Top 12 Fall Decorating Ideas!

Yellow "Hello Fall" FREE Printable PDF Download

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Black and White "Hello Fall" FREE Printable PDF Download

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These are both suited to be printed on a standard piece of printer paper with a little extra room and perfect for 8x10 print as well. Have a fabulous fall!

Pregnancy Photoshoot & Gender Reveal Announcement!

First of all, no I'm not pregnant again, but my beautiful sister Rachel is, and I couldn't be happier for her and her little family!! My Dad, sister, brother-in-law, and nephew were able to come visit us this past weekend. I always LOVE when my family makes it this way and visits us, we always have a great time. This time was no different. Saturday Rachel and I were able to take the kids out and have some fun, while the guys played in a golf tournament. Then on Sunday we, of course, watched the Seahawks game (which was painful and a definite disappointment). BUT I was also able to shoot some pregnancy photos for my sister, and that was so much fun! I thought I would share some of them with you, enjoy!

Thanks for stopping by! If you're looking for more gender reveal fun check out

Kayla's Baby Gender Reveal and Kenzie's Baby Gender Reveal posts. 

Have a wonderful day,