Baby Townsand!

We are BEYOND EXCITED to finally share that we are expecting a baby Townsand due to arrive July 2016!!!

We are feeling super blessed & thankful and truly cannot wait for our family to grow! :)

I will of course be making chalkboards to document my growing belly!

Fall Vibes

It's the middle of October & there is already snow in the forecast for those of us in Upstate New York! It's crazy to think about, but I'm oddly excited about it (Whattttt!?!?!?!) I always look forward to chilly days snuggled on the couch while reading & listening to music, even more now that we have a fireplace! We are always listening to music no matter what we are doing; cooking, cleaning, holidays, showering, relaxing... everything! I'm sharing one of our favorite playlists that creates all those cozy, fall vibes for us on crisp days! Hope you enjoy!

Happy weekend!!! XO 

:)

Love List

Wow. September has come & gone in the blink of an eye! I always feel like October is the beginning of the holiday season & I get way excited for all the fun things to come in the next few months!

I've put together a little list of things I'm loving right now!

1. Fall TV. Besides my absolute love for Game of Thrones I don't really have shows that I have to watch on a regular basis. But there are a couple that have grabbed my attention: Blindspot & American Horror Story: Hotel (I may have to wait for daylight hours to watch this one...). 

2. Sweater weather. Which can also be translated to leggings/sweatpants weather. Either way you slice it, I can't wait! I love the coziness of it all! This cardigan will hopefully make its way into my closet along with these knit overalls.

3. Festive goodies. I love making e v e r y t h i n g festive. And this Etsy shop has the cutest paper straws & packing supplies to do just that.

4. Halloween books. Last year we started a tradition of reading a holiday book each year. When we decided to do that it was already Christmas, so now we will bring that tradition to Halloween! I will never forget reading the book "The Three Little Witches" growing up & not just at Halloween, it was one of my sisters favorite books. Once we get a good little collection it'll be cute to switch the books out for each holiday! Some Halloween-ish books that I've come across are Room on the Broom, A Halloween Scare in New York, Goodnight Goon & of course any Goosebumps book. Clearly they're children's book, but they are so fun to read!

5. October. Today is finally the first day of October! Now I can officially put out Halloween decorations! Plus Nate's birthday is fast approaching in this month, along with our 2nd wedding anniversary!! 

and tomorrow is Friday! :)

Pumpkin Patch

We had our first festive Fall outing over the weekend. The weather was gorgeous with 70 degree temperatures & the sun shining! I could not wait to get my hands on all the pumpkins & ghourds. This is the first time we've really had the chance to decorate our home. Our last apartment was on the 3rd floor so there was no point in any outdoor decor, but now that we have a patio & front door I'm going to go all out for the holidays!

The pumpkin patch was great. More kid friendly than adult, but we are all kids at heart! I was probably more amazed at the 50 foot teepees decked out with carved pumpkins than all the kids around me put together. They also had a petting zoo with the most adorable farm animals & a farmers market with all the freshly baked goods you could imagine!

We went home with a bunch of pumpkins, apples & the most delicious apple cider! It was such a relaxing, low key weekend that was much needed indeed. 

Hope you all have a wonderful week! :) XO

Fall Around Here

Happy weekend!!! 

It's a rainy end of summer day here in the Upstate. We have some pretty low key plans for this weekend, but looking soooo forward to it!

The official start to Fall may not be for a few more days, but the mornings & the evenings have been in the 50's around here with really warm temperatures during the day. We are absolutely loving it! The trees are j u s t beginning to turn those pretty shades of red, orange & yellow, which will make for some super pretty runs in the coming weeks.

A few things we are looking forward to this Fall include a trip to the pumpkin patch, apple picking, a ghost walk/haunted hayride, carving pumpkins & lots of soup! Last year we started a "Soup Sunday" tradition that was fun & it made for delicious leftovers through the week! Can't wait to try out some new recipes!

I'm really looking forward to getting my hands on some new Fall scented candles + a soft, snuggly blanket to cuddle up with. We have a fireplace in our new apartment and we are so excited to use it all season long!

The weekdays can be pretty hectic with both our schedules, but it's always so nice to have things to look forward to!

Sending you fun, Autumn vibes!

Enjoy the rest of your weekend :) XO

Things That Make Me Happy

I recently started a new job here in our new city & I'm super grateful for it, but it's really got me in a funk. The hours are not ideal & it's the furthest thing from a creative job; it's frustrating to the max to say the least! I don't like to complain, but sometimes you just need to get these things off your chest. I have to continually remind myself to look on the bright side. There are many, many things in my life that bring a smile to my face on a daily basis :)

One. I have the best husband and the sweetest dog. Nate has been off of work on "vacation" for the last two weeks & although he could have vegged out entirely, he always has the house cleaned & cooks the most amazing dinners (lookin' at you Alabama shrimp bake). Not to mention he irons my clothes & makes my lunch for work the next day! And after a long day Joey always greets me with a big, jumping hug & smiles the moment I walk through the door each day. 

Two. My job may not challenge me creatively, but I have my Etsy shop to keep me plenty busy with fun projects. It's a lot of time trying to get the word out about it, but it's so worth it & something I'm really proud of. And along the lines of my shop/chalkboard prints I have some super exciting things happening soooo soon (one of them this Friday so keep your eyes peeled).

Three. Football season! I could not be more excited for both college & NFL games. College games are always a good time since they're on Friday & Saturday nights for the most part and you don't have to worry about work the next day, but this year NFL games should get pretty loud in our household. We have a fantasy football league that has basically our entire families involved! Lots of emoji text messages/snapchats/meme wars will be sent back and forth I'm sure! And I can't forget that football also means Fall is oh so very close!

Here's to being almost finished with this short work week! XO :)

House Tour

Ok, so we don't really live in a house, it's a cute little apartment, but it's where we call home! It's the perfect size for our little family & we couldn't be happier with it!

I've seen house tours on other blogs & I liked the idea to do one. We've been here a couple of months & still have a bit of work to do in the decorating department, but I wanted to get some photos up of what our home looks like before the holidays get here!

We really love our living room & most of all the couch. It was one of the home items we couldn't wait to purchase! I would still love to get a couple more pillows, but I just haven't found the perfect ones yet.

Another item on the future shopping list are a couple of bar stools. We have extra chairs in our garage for seating, but it would be so nice to have seating at the counter!

The foyer to our bedroom is one of my favorite little areas! 

Our bedroom is the one room that needs the most decorating attention. I need to hang photos, buy side table lamps & possibly do a some rearranging. Our dresser situation kind of bothers me. I don't have a photo, but our side tables are mismatched, but I kind of like it that way! They're the same height & same colors, so they go well together!

I will be sure to post more photos as I complete all the projects on my to do list. And of course I will share photos of all the holiday decorations, which I'm so excited for!

Happy Monday! :) XO

Yummy, Yummy

I've been really into baking & cooking some yummy dinners lately. One dinner I recently made took the cake. It was 3 cheese tortellini with spinach & tomatoes with a side of rosemary flatbread. The meal was really easy with minimal ingredients. Win. Win.

Rosemary Sea Salt Flatbread:

Pillsbury pizza dough
Olive Oil
Rosemary
Sea salt
Parmesan Cheese

Cut the dough into square slices
Heat about 1 Tbsp olive oil in a skillet or on a griddle on medium heat. After about a minute, add 3-4 pieces of dough (they should sizzle a little). I found it best to add the rosemary & sea salt before flipping because it allowed them to stick in the bread. Obviously, fresh rosemary would be best, but I used dried rosemary leaves & it was still delicious. Cook until golden brown. Remove from heat and sprinkle with parmesean cheese if desired.

Spinach Tomato 3 Cheese Totellini:

1 package 3 cheese tortellini
2 tbsp butter
2 cloves of garlic, minced
3 tbsp flour
1 tsp onion powder
1 1/4 cups milk
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 can diced tomatoes
1 1/2 cups spinach
3 tbsp basil
2 tsp oregano
6 tbsp freshly grated parmesan cheese, for topping as well
Red pepper flakes, for serving (optional)

Cook the tortellini according to the directions on the package.

In a large, deep skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Add minced garlic & saute briefly, then add flour & onion powder and cook, stirring constantly, about a minute. While whisking, slowly pour in milk & heavy cream, then whisk together until smooth. Cook, stirring constantly until the mixture begins to simmer. Add the can of tomatoes, spinach, basil & oregano. Cook several more minutes until the sauce begins to thicken & the spinach has wilted. Add the parmesan cheese and stirr until melted. Remove from heat & mix the tortellini into the sauce. Serve with parmesan cheese & red pepper flakes if desired.

This recipe would work really well with any type of pasta & even some sort of meat added! I didn't used fresh herbs & it still tasted delicious, but the one fresh item you should use is the fresh parmesan. It will definitely add more flavor to the dish.

Happy almost weekend! I hope you enjoy the recipe as much as we did! XO :)

Friday Randomness

It's Friday! Or FriYAY! Or whatever you'd like to call it, either way... it's the weekend! :)

I baked the most delicious, chewy, gooey, chocolatey cookies EVER! Like seriously. The best piece of baking specimen I have every come in contact with. Nate literally uttered the words "this is the best cookie I have evvveerrrrr eaten." And that guy has eaten a lot of cookies in his life... including the 10 he ate in the few hours he was home.

The recipe is insanely easy too. Win. 

I'm also sweet enough to include it for you!

Triple Chocolate Pudding Cookies

Ingredients:
3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened (1 1/12 sticks)
3/4 cup light brown sugar
1/4 granulated sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 packet instant chocolate pudding mix
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
Pinch of salt
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup white chocolate chips (obviously you can use whichever type of chocolate you prefer!)

Directions:
1. In a stand mixer (or large mixing bowl with electric mixer) combine the butter, sugars, eggs, vanilla and beat on medium-high until creamed and well combined.

2. Stop, scrape down the sides of the bowl and add the pudding mix, and beat on low speed until just combined.

3. Stop, scrape down the sides of the bowl again and add the flour, baking soda, salt and beat on low speed until just combine.

4. Stop, scrape the sides of the bowl again and add the chocolate chips and beat on low speed until just combined.

5. Using a cookie scoop form mounds of dough in balls and flatten slightly.

6. Place the mounds on a baking sheet and place in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes. This will help the dough from spreading during baking.

7. Preheat the oven to 350. Bake for about 10 minutes. I did around 13-15. They will appear "uncooked" but if you test them with a toothpick the toothpick should come out clean. They will be gooey & delicious!

Moving on.

Friday has (for God only knows what reason) been grocery shopping day in our household for the last couple of years. We love it. I've mentioned before that going really late is the perfect time to go. Sadly, all our local grocery stores actually have a closing time & Nate has not been able to go with me the last six weeks. Boo, hiss.

So, I've had to go it all alone for a while now. Let me tell you, it's just not the same! We shop at Wegmans (shout out to you East Coasters) & we really love it. It's one of the greatest grocery stores on the planet, but there are a couple things I just can't get over.

Numero uno - Their cereal selection. Nate & I are cereal whores. We would live on cereal if it were possible. But Wegmans selection is sub par & I will literally march that aisle for 15 minutes and still be empty handed.

Second - The produce section. They have a great selection! A lot of organic & local goods which is amazeballs, but gosh darn it you have to weigh & print out a sticker for every single fruit or vegetable you purchase. It's an undertaking especially when you're like us & buy every produce item there is. It takes for. ev. er. You have to tag team that shit & I have had to go it alone tooooo long now.

I'm terrified of spiders. I mean true arachnophobia up in here. This morning there was a gigantic spider in our room. Big. Huge. ENORMOUS. I stayed calm & hollered to Nate. Problem solved.

A few hours later I'm in our closet putting away my clothes when I notice a "bug" on my shoe rack. Nate was long gone so I had to take care of the situation alone. It wasn't too bad since I knew it was not a spider, but I was positive it was a worm, centipede or mini snake. Naturally I grab another shoe to get rid of the critter. I slowly lift the shoe because I didn't want to make any sudden movements & I quickly go to take a whack and then I realized...

it was a shoelace.

Weekend plans? We're hitting up the public market & one of the local breweries.

Happy weekend to you all! :) XO

Dogs Are Explorers Too.

So, recently I was outside on our patio enjoying the the b-e-a-utiful weather, painting my toes a pretty shade of hot pink & minding my own biz. Next thing I know, our neighbor walks by with her little, white, fluffy dog, prancing all queen like on one of its frequent potty breaks. She goes on by as if I'm not sitting r i g h t there & lets that little thing lift its leg on one our newly planted shrubs right outside our apartment! Ohhhh, let me tell you, I was fuming.

But, I think to myself, "That shrub is brand new, and strong & I've watered it & loved on it, it'll be alright."

I may not have done the planting & clearly we only rent the place, but by golly I want our little section of rental to look darn good.  

No joke. 5 minutes later another woman walks right on by me & lets her little dog lift its leg alllllll over that brand new, strong shrub of a plant I've been loving on.

Needless to say, there are 3 leaves left hanging on by a thread only a week after it was planted.

I'm really glad Joe pees like a gentleman, or a girl, whichever way you want to look at it.

I've been filling my time with zucchini breads & creating holiday chalkboards for my shop.

The holidays. Oh so full of fun & cheer. And daunting & slightly overwhelming at the same time. But truthfully I cannot wait! Especially since we get to deck out our new abode. But enough of that! Too soon, too soon.

With Nate's current schedule it is a rare occasion that we actually leave the house other than to go for a run or to the grocery store. Since we only have a day at a time together we always really like to find something that we can involve the dog in as well. We recently traveled to Letchworth Park, which is the #1 state park in the country! Woot woot.

Super pretty, great hiking & I would highly recommend it. 

The one negative: other humans. Rude humans. 

Do not mince my words, I like people. People are great, but clearly we are all there to see the waterfalls. You take your peek, snap your picture, admire a brief moment & move on. 

Lets just say, not everyone got the memo.

Happy Tuesday! :) 

Hot, Hot Weekend

These last few days have been the hottest ones we have had so far this summer. I'm loving it! I would take the heat, humidity & all that goes with it over the abundance of rain we've had for the last month and a half. Although, as I'm typing this, it's pouring outside...

Nate has had a really tough schedule the past few weeks. He's been working nights, so we have both had very little sleep or time with each other. But over the weekend we were able to relax & have some time together!

Saturday we went to the public market for fresh vegetables & flowers, then out for coffee at the neatest shop! Later we went out to eat & it was quite the letdown. We heard really great things about the place we went to, but we were not impressed at all. Afterwards we went to this late night light show. It wasn't at all what we expected, but we found some really awesome looking restaurants to try out, so it was a win.

Sunday we went to the lake for a picnic & to enjoy the sunny weather. Joey is kind of a wimp when it comes to the water. If you go with him he really enjoys it, but the moment you leave he runs out of the water like a mad man. So, I took him into the water & made him swim on his own; I wouldn't allow him out until he did! He really loved it & wanted to jump in every time we were near the water.

It was a great weekend indeed & I hope you all have a great week! :) XO

Summer Fun

It has been a really good summer so far & we still have a lot of fun things to check off our bucket list! One thing that was not on our bucket list however was stand-up paddle boarding. I have always wanted to do this, but we've never lived in an area that had it available or if we found a rental on vacation it was crazy expensive! 

Now we finally live in a city with water in all directions! We found a rental place & they had such good prices that we just couldn't pass it up! I was excited & a ball of nerves at the same time. I'm a pretty big chicken when it comes to any body of water that isn't a pool, so a lake definitely fits into that category. I hate not knowing what is below me because lets be real here, anything could be at the bottom of a lake... ew. But after realizing I had impeccable balance & seeing, for the most part, to the bottom of the lake I really, really enjoyed it! It's actually easier than I thought it would be & insanely relaxing, plus a great work out. It's something we hope to do a couple more times before the summer is gone. If only we could train Joey to sit on the board with us...

I've recently added some new prints to my shop. So be sure to check them out! 

Have a happy week! :) XO

Holiday Happenings

Our parents came to town for the holiday weekend & it was such a great time! We traveled to Lake Ontario on Friday to spend the afternoon in the sun & watch the boats roll in. Saturday we hiked & showed our parents around the cutest little towns before traveling into the city. We ate dinner at the neatest BBQ pit & over-stuffed our faces with all their delicious food, only to go to a brewery & over-indulge there as well! We ended our night with a walk around the city, listening to the free concert & taking in the pretty fireworks display.

Nate begins a really tough rotation this week, so we've been trying to take in as much of the city as possible. It has finally started to feel like summer this week with super hot days & zero rain, so we have plenty of outdoor activities in the near future. We have paddle boarding planned for this upcoming weekend & I couldn't be more excited! 

Have a happy ending to the work week! XO :)

Fourth of July

It's crazy to think that the biggest Summer holiday is already here! The Fourth of July is probably one of my favorite holidays; it's so patriotic & full of fun, fireworks & BBQ. It's also a little extra special this year because it is the first holiday that will be celebrated in our new home! Our families will be coming in to town for the weekend, so we're really looking forward to showing them around!

I've rounded up a few festive dresses to get the ladies in the spirit of the Fourth of July!

Stripe Maxi Dress // Printed V-neck // Eyelet Shift Dress // Tie-dye Cami Dress

I also think this cobbler looks delicious! I may have to try it out!

We will be indulging in way too much festive food, brews & fireworks!
What are your plans for the Fourth? Hope you have an amazing weekend! :) XO

Summer Bucket List

Summer is officially here! I thought it would be fun to put together a summer bucket list to explore our new city some more. So while the days get hotter, we have a fun list of things to do & many memories to make!

1. Homemade popsicles

I have been wanting to do this for a while & Pinterest is popsicle central.

2. Food Trucks

I have seen countless people go to food truck festivals & we finally live in a city that has one! I'm so excited & it will be the first thing we are checking off our list.

3. Beer Festival

Nate's obsession with craft breweries is an understatement. Naturally I had to add this to the list because there are countless breweries & wineries around us.

4. Lake

This was a no brainer. We keep mentioning to each other that it feels like we live in a beach town. Could it be because we have about 5 lakes surrounding us?

5. Baseball game

Duh.

6. Fireworks

We've heard there are fireworks throughout the summer at many of the lakes.

7. Buffalo Bills mini camp

Last year we went to the New York Jets mini camp & it was so much fun. Now we are living in Bills country & their summer camp is down the road from us.

8. Picnic

Did I mention we are surrounded by water?

Nothing makes me happier than adventures with my two guys, especially if they involve ice cream with ridiculous amounts of sprinkles & lots of laughs.

We Have A Place to Call Home!

We have an apartment! Finally! A real, true, newly constructed, pretty, pretty apartment! 

It has a garage, a fireplace, new appliances, a washer & dryer (like legit, none of that stack-able nonsense), hardwood floors; I could go on and on and on and on and on... but I won't bore you with all the glitzy details.

We couldn't be more excited. It's in a great location & did I mention it's brand new? No you say? Let me say it again, it's brand new!!!  And it's all ours! Pinch me.

We get to shop for new furniture too! You know, all the big stuff... sofa, table & chairs, bed, entertainment center. I can hardly contain myself. Literally. I might pee my pants from all this excitement!

A photo to show our enthusiasm! 

We live so close to basically everything. The city is a hop, skip & a jump, there are trails galore & any type of restaurant you could possibly dream of. It's been raining cats & dogs since we moved in, but we can hardly wait for the nice weather to come so we can explore our new city.

Side note: We saw Mumford and Sons a week ago on Coney Island & they were ah-mazing!

Another sidenote: I've added a new chalkboard print to my shop along with 2 original painting prints! 

Happy Wednesday! :) XO