words of wisdom wednesday.....

small spaces.

after living in my.....well....i can't even think what you would call it. 

i don't know if there is even a name for what i lived in. 

it was an old two story house with the top split into two separate halves, each equipped with it's own kitchen and living space, and of course a bedroom. 

it was separated from the downstairs and the other side of the upstairs. 

and it was lovely. 

(even though sometimes lonely).

 but it has made me quite fond of smaller spaces. 

you do not need a grand house (i will probably regret saying that later) in order to have a fabulous home. a house is a structure. a home is what you do with that structure. 

i'm not sure the story behind this beautifully done small space because the website i found it on offers no explanation really. but isn't it lovely? 

swoozies!

i love swoozies. more like i am in love with swoozies. their store has the best stuff for hostess gifts, birthday presents, everything! they are literally perfect for any occasion. check at their website for more: SWOOZIES

chalk paint wine glass:

serving tray - one of my favorites!

set of cards:

monogrammed iphone covers:

monogrammed silver box:

lilly pulitzer pens:

Friday! Friday! Friday!

TGIF friends!

i am sooooo RIDICULOUSLY excited for this weekend!! 

there is lots to celebrate!

chad and allison's wedding....

and mere's dad's birthday, which = big celebration at the mcdonald house!

and a big reunion with some of my favorite girls!

success.

hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!

it is just simply one of those days.

all images HERE

trial run, done!

okay there's good and bad news. the bad news is....the cake mix was only 15.25 oz. and the recipe calls for 18.5 oz. ya. i know. i was not about to go BACK to the grocery store so i just made them anyways. the good news is they turned out decent (just very pumpkin-y)...they're not omg i need to eat 8 right this second, but they will definitely satisfy a sweet tooth. i'm definitely going to make them again with the right amount of cake mix. i think next time they will be perf!

all the ingredients for cake mix and frosting

cake mix + pumpkin spice

mixing up!

the final product. not as beautiful as the ones below but hey, what can ya do?

recipe HERE

once on the lips, please don't expand my hips.

today i pulled out my trusty brown corduroy pants from j.crew that i love so much. well. it seems that whatever exercising i'm doing just isn't quite cutting it. they do not fit anymore. and when i say "do not fit" i don't mean that there were lines pulling from the crotch area that made the zipper look like it was about to bust (i know yall know what i'm talking about!)...no the "do not fit" i'm talking about is that i could literally not get the button and button hole anywhere near each other. i'm sorry since when did my hips expand 3 inches? is this a joke? alright so maybe i knew my ice cream habits were getting a little out of control but COME ON! and the worst part is....it's winter. that means pumpkin spice everything and let's be honest who is going to say no to that? not i. so i did some looking around on pinterest for a blog, website, something that had yummy treats that weren't going to go straight to my rear end. obviously i had some luck (because let's be honest if every resource in the world disappeared i'm pretty sure pinterest would save us all). SKINNY TASTE is the cooking website of all cooking websites. there is everything you can ever imagine. if it all tastes as good as it looks i'm going to die. tonight i will be making these:

pumpkin spice cupcakes with pumpkin creme cheese frosting

i'll keep yall posted on the outcome!

but for now can we agree gina homolka is a genius? i am slightly obsessed.

wall art.

a touch of gold for the door.

today i'm on a gold kick. 

 and then i got on a crafty kick. 

and that equals a gold craft!

instead of being smart and documenting the whole process, i just got caught up in the pretty, sparkly, festive wreath that was about to adorn our front door and forgot to grab my camera as i headed outside...(glitter = messy)!

here is a picture of the finished product...it really was quite easy...

hobby lobby was having a 50% off thanksgiving and christmas decorations

so i bought two clusters of the mini pine cones, two of the cluster of branches

behind the cones, and two clusters of the gold glittery sticks behind the branches

(can you tell i really don't even know what these things are called...haha).

first i just modge podged the branches on the wreath that wrap around it

diagonally, and poured glitter over them. once that

dried i just added the decorations. easy as pie.

that's our little scarecrow man. isn't he cute? i got him on sale at hobby lobby last year.

he was definitely the cutest in the bunch.

i love the fall!

a touch of gold.

chair

wall paper

mirror/walls/bathtub/tile

window molding

tj maxx (duh.) (with better pics)

this morning i realized that the goods looked a lot better from the pics i took on my cell phone when i sent them to my sis for approval.

the vest looks way better with a white shirt underneath...especially with the brown boots. 

but i think a black 3-quarter length shirt with black skinny jeans and some heels would look fab too.

what i tried on:

what i got: 

i must confess. i am quite jealous of these "maxxinistas" who live in cities where their local TJ's carry swanky diggs and real designer duds marked way off. i love auburn and everything about it, and i give kudos to the top dogs at the Maxx firm who decided to give our store a face lift, but i sure hope they're planning on adding The Runway soon....and getting more shoes in a size 10. does anyone else out there have this problem? sometimes i feel like women who wear size 10 and up get the short end of the stick in the shoe department (everywhere, not just TJ). sorry i'm not sorry i was born with long toes and skinny long feet, but whoever decided that any woman with a size 10 foot loves 80's style grandma shoes needs to be punched in the face corrected about their incorrect way of thinking. well complaining aside...i hit up TJ Maxx tonight. while i really wanted to leave with the 4 awesome sweaters i found, i could only bring myself to purchase one (fur vest)...because i found a great black purse and i had to get that too. duh. if a money tree sprouts in my yard overnight i'll be returning in the morning to gather the rest. until then i will hope that no one finds where i stashed the unpurchased sweaters in the middle of the boys section. hehe.

bookshelves.

i love not only these rooms but the bookshelves that accompany them.

aren't they beautiful?