Feature Yourself Friday

Why hello there you! I hope you're having a wonderful week and getting pumped for this weekend, I sure am! I'm ready to not get up at 6 every day that's for sure. :) How am I going to do this for 12 more years? Someone tell me that! haha.

So I have some fun things coming to FOTF that I wanted to give you a heads up on. I'm working with a lovely designer and getting ready to have some things tweaked around here. So next week should have a whole fresh new look for you! Yay! I'm really excited.

I'm also changing things up on the sponsor end and I'll be offering two different sizes for ads. 

125x250 

125x125

I have a few slots left for October so If you have a shop or blog that you think would be a good fit here at FOTF send me an email with the subject Advertising and we'll set something up, we'd love to have you!

{FOTFBlog@aol.com}

Oh! And, Giveaway Saturdays are coming back! Yay! :) You're going to love the shops I have lined up for you, I might be a little jealous that I can't win..Just sayin'.
If you have a shop and would like to get some exposure now is that time! It's gettin' close to Christmas shopping time! As always it's free to sponsor a giveaway at FOTF. Shoot me an email with the subject Giveaway and we'll make it happen!

Enough with the business end, time for the party end right? Yes. 

Gorgeous Mantel goin' on here!

Love this ode to fall and the pretty outfits!

SOCK MONKEYS! 

Lovely lovely! Alright, your turn. You know the deal, link up--feature yourself--mingle--have fun!

Fall Pumpkin Wreath

I know I've said it once or twice before, but I truly love fall. I just love it. It's the one season that Michigan really wins with. The leaves are amazing, it's so pretty to drive around in. Not to mention the breeze! Pumpkin patches, apple orchards..mmm.. Love it all!

So I thought hey, let's make that William Sonoma inspired pumpkin wreath that's all over pinterest floating around. Melissa made one recently and I actually liked hers better so I should say, her's is my inspiration. But with a twist..White pumpkins.

Yeah, don't look so surprised.

I actually loved the contrast of the orange to the green but none of my stores had pretty enough pumpkins. They looked way too cheap and fugly.. Whoops.. Sorry Mom. Ugly. They looked freakin ugly. So white it is. I also looked around for this moss and let me tell you something, they had bags of this moss in the back of Michaels for 5.99 a bag. BUT, if you look in the Halloween isle they have the same bags for 2.99. Steals I tell you, you just have to look. Which I usually don't so that's why I had to tell you. Ha!

Just rip sections of the moss apart and glue it on, I wont lie it's kind of a pain in the butt. Moss was flying everywhere and when the pizza guy came I'm pretty sure he thought I had tons and tons of illegal drugs on my table. Not that I would know, but I do watch Weeds a lot. Hate me.

So anyways you take your illegal looking moss and glue it on and strategically place the pumpkins on. It's as easy as that. If I were smart then I would have used a foam wreath form and left the picks of the pumpkins on so I could change it out and move them if I wanted. But, I'm cheap and already had the straw one. Live and learn, and save a buck or two on glue sticks.

These pictures are pretty bad but it's been raining like crazy here so I didn't have good lighting on the front porch, not to mention I was getting rained on while taking these pictures. :)

Dun dun dun..

 Thar she blows.

Lovely, just the right amount of fall for the door eh?

Did you miss my 2011 Fall Mantel? Well check her out too while you're at it! 

Make sure you hop on over to Rhoda's Door Decor party!

Tatertots and jello's weekend wrap up party! 
Julia's Fall Decorating party

Blog Sugar 2011

When you buy your ticket the day that registration opens...and wait..and wait for the day to come.. then bam life happens and you can't make it.

You know what you do then?

Or, I should say..what your bff does then?

Makes a flat-Stanley Flat-Rachelle and brings you along for the ride. No airfare needed!

Oh look, we're driving in the car. Hey Kimmie! Stop for some Pumpkin Spice lattes.. You don't like them, so I'll take yours too.. Extra whhhip please. *Slurp*

Let's get a seat up front. My foots been acting up, I can't walk far. But I sure am ready for some bear hugs.

Kimmie Es, Jacqui, Casey

Seriously who has the prettiest friends? Flat-Rachelle. 

flat Rachelle flat Rachelle flat Rachelle you'd think someone was making a horrible joke about my boobs or something, wouldn't you? I bet I get some awesome google search stats from that one. ha!

Feature Yourself Friday

Everyone ready for Fall, isn't it official tomorrow? I sure hope so because I'm 100% ready.

But, in other news. . . Woowee did we have some great link ups last week 'ch-yall. 


Just guess what this mirror is made out of.. Awesome.

Gorgeous playroom reveal 

Pretty paper wreath.. swoon.

Great work ladies.. fabulous! Now, lets get this party started!

Lots of words

Alright ya'll I've tried to write this about three million times so I'm warning you right now this could get lengthy, and it might not make sense..In this silly brain it does though.. Let's go with it. 

In the past 16 weeks this is what I've learned.

• When something devastating happens I'm not the strong woman I thought I'd be. More like, crawl in a hole and wear the one Tshirt that was left here and never wash it so his smell wont go away type. Gross. I know. 
• It took 10 weeks for me to cry it out. Literally, randomly all day long.
• My family is amazing. Especially those who sat around with me when I wasn't exactly glamorous. (Nasty old tshirt anyone? Yeah..sorry.) Not to mention my house was a wreck.
• My children are wise, wise wise beyond their years.
• Having a true friend to call all day long helps. Especially when she knows how you feel. Let's encourage her to come chat it up with us. She's seriously the scorned wife whisperer. Ha. That'll be her book title when it comes out, just you wait. 
• I'm going to get a little spiritual here so if that isn't your cup o' tea bear with me. The Lord, help me prayer is about the only one I said for 10 weeks. Just that. "Help Me!" And you know what? He did. If this little bump in the road was my test and taught me anything it was to let go of control! Rachelle, knock it off! You can't control what someone else does. You control yourself and yourself only, let the big guy deal with the rest. It works out.
• Follow your gut. If your intuition is telling you something is off, it probably is. 
• Nothing, nothing is too broken to be fixed. Sometimes it takes the leap of faith and saying, okay. I'm giving it up. I'm giving it to God. You fix it. It takes (me) 10 weeks to cry, another week to get angry and another to be at peace and do what YOU have to do to give it up, and let the person go. If it's meant to be they'll come back. God's got your back. Jump off the crazy train, make the drastic change and let go.
• I'm a closeted Country song fan. Seriously they speak to me. Don't judge. 

So that's where it's at. Right now I'm happy, good things are happening. It took some drastic moves. It took some really really bad things to happen. It took some serious strength and forgiveness, it took faith that all those words that were spoken, all the hurt that was dealt, it had a meaning. Still working on that meaning but, I'm getting there.

Feature Yourself Friday

Hey ya'll.

It's baaaack

Did you say it in your head like in the Poltergeist? I sure did. Anyway I'm so glad to be back to share some awesome Feature Yourself Friday with you. :) It was a much needed break but I'm happy to be back to partying that's for sure!

Since it's been so long I don't have any past features to share but..let's see what I have on the computer that's some eye candy..

My recent library chic mantel..er..fantel.

This little chick started preschool..Gosh she's cute.

My first grader's best friend started kindy this year.. She's super excited to have her be in the same school and sent this in the first day. be still my heart, it's too cute

Want to see just how cute they are? Here's a fuzzy iphone picture of them dancing and the best friend's parent's wedding. The older girls have some moves, seriously but look at little miss and her boyfriend...Oh my gosh. I die.

Sleeping buddies.

Okay enough cute for the night, I wouldn't want you to get a cavity or anything ;) Let's party on! You know the rules..link up..be nice..visit..comment..have fun.

Fall Mantel 2011

Here goes.

You might recall last years mantel (fantel, if you will) it's also seen here {squeel!} I had an idea to do something a little more glitzy this year and really work the glitter but, I'm on a tight spending freeze and had to work with what I had. Which is a lot of old books and broken frames. Oh, and three pumpkins. Yes three. Where the heck did the rest go? The pumpkin fairy must have stolen them.

So, it's simple. Super simple and I liked it even more because there's no orange. Don't get me wrong I love me some orange for Halloween but since that's a while away it's nice to have something a little more subtle, but still looks warm and cozy.

It's cozy right? Library chic.
Not to be confused with..Poor girl has nothing else to work with.

Hopefully I can get everything else out and find the missing pumpkins before it's Halloweens turn to take over and I switch it all. :)

Not to mention figure out something cute for the shelving next to the giant ugly box smack dab in the middle of the wall. Wait, I mean giant ugly box full of fingerprints and smudges. Yeah, that one. Someone come clean for me while I sprinkle some fall around the house, will ya?

P.S! Check out the Michaels Ad on the blog right now! You can get yourself some white pumpkins just like the ones I used for 50% off..Woohoo! Click and print buddies, click and print.

Layla and the girls are having their Fall 2011 party! Woohoo!

Go party on with Melissa and the crew for the Fall Nesting Party 
And Kimmie's What I Whipped up

Hi.

Why hello.

I'm back. 

I've missed you so, and I have so much to share with you but for now..I'm back. Let's all meet back here tomorrow for the nitty gritty of the last 13 weeks of my life.. Okay not really but maybe I'll have a fun profound thought or two. But for now, this is my to do list.