Hollywood by Michael Buble

Here's a little inspiration for your day.

Fall Love

It's about time I show you our fall decorations for this year!

Let's take it from the outside in, shall we?

First off, this tree is about ready to lose all its leaves, especially with the cold, rainy, snowy weather we've been having the past few days. But those golden leaves sure are pretty!

Our front door.
Simple and welcoming.

Cute pumpkins. The itty bitty one was grown in our garden.
The cyclops we just carved on Saturday night with some friends.

(We think he looks like "Mike Wasowski" from Monsters, inc.)

What do you think?

Pretty fall door plaque from Tai Pan. Got a great deal on it during the Girl's night sale while all the men were in Priesthood Meeting for General Conference.

Tissue paper ghosts and paper strip pumpkins for the stairs.
I still need to add about 4 more pumpkins...

Isn't that just the cutest thing you've ever seen?

Larger paper strip pumpkins for extra decoration. I love 'em.

And so easy (and cheap) to make! I think I spent about $2.00 total on the supplies.

Creepy little bat potholder in our kitchen. He's hanging there keeping an eye on us throughout the season. Glows in the dark too, talk about scary!

And lastly, Michael and I went to our first USU Football game of the season together. One Saturday I didn't have to work during, so we went...in the freezing rain. Only stayed until just before halftime, then left because we were soaked. USU got stomped on by Hawai'i. 45-7. Ouch.

No matter, fall is still beautiful and it reminds us what we should be thankful for, and what blessings we have. Gotta love that.

{père} French Word of the Week

père = father, dad, daddy

This may not be the happiest WOTW post, but I'm taking an opportunity to mention someone very special to me. My father.

Now, what is not quite happy about this post is that I just found out that my father has lung cancer. He is in Stage 4 and it has most likely traveled to his lymph nodes and bone.

Considering his age and current health status, there is nothing much the doctors can do for him. So, in all reality, my dad will not be on this earth much longer.

This has been a really hard week for me. I've been reminiscing over old memories involving him and wishing I had more time. I wish that I was there in Louisiana to be with him right now and to be with my brother Michael while we're all trying to accept such a harsh reality.

My dad is a loving parent who really cares for his children, especially his girls. I've always known that he wouldn't live to see my children fully grow up to adulthood, but I always hoped that he would be around to at least see my children be born. He'd be so proud to see his baby have babies. Now there is a very small chance for that to ever happen seeing as his prognosis is pretty grim.

Why do I share this with all you? Because I love my father and I ask for your prayers of comfort for me and my family in this time. I am especially grateful for the promise of eternal families in times like these.

Jim's Pancakes

This guy is one of the coolest dads I've ever seen. He designs all sorts of pancake wonders for his daughter's breakfast.

Such creations are...

3D T-Rex,

a carousel,

a ferris wheel,

and some quite realistic looking bacon and eggs!

He uses squirt bottles in order to create such detailed pancakes that are works of art. Much thought and planning go into the execution of each and every pancake. Inspires me to try my hand at "jazzing" up breakfast pancakes, like this piano inspired creation...


Super fun, huh?

Check out his blog here.

Birthday Card

Today, I received a card in the mail from my Grandma Mary and Grandpa Eddie for my birthday.

Something I love about my grandma is that she always send me a birthday card each year. It's so sweet. She never forgets. The card is always made by hand, which makes it incredibly special. Tiny imperfections are always present in the card, such as the type or line, but the imperfections are what make each card unique and more real.

I love her taking the time to put her feelings into a card just for me. The art of letter writing and sending cards is practically lost now. It seems that the older generations are the only ones who continue that tradition. Guess our days of e-mail and the internet have contributed to that. I, for one, am an advocate for the older and "antiquated" way of doing things. There's nothing more special and exciting than receiving a handwritten letter in the mail. I love it.

Anyway, coming back from the tangent...my grandma also included a little slip within the card that contained $5 and a note that simply says, "Buy you something pretty from me". I can just hear her voice saying those exact words. So simple, so sweet, so loving.

Now all I have to do is to figure out what to buy with this gift. A necklace? A shirt? Earrings?

Whatever I decide, I'm going to take a picture of it and send it, in old-fashioned style, with a handwritten letter attached. Perfect way of expressing my gratitude for the wonderful grandparents I have (and the only ones I've ever known). They have been the absolute best and have loved me every second of my life. There's no doubt about that. What a blessing it is to have those who love and care about you.
And to KNOW it.

DownEast Favorites

I love to see what new clothes and styles come into the stores for Fall. As I was browsing DownEast tonight, I noticed these pieces which I just love.

Seems like lighter colors such as whites, creams, and grays are very "in" this season. I'm enjoying the lighter and more airy feel to it all. Course, who doesn't love some nice warm colors too, such as the plum cardi below?

All beautiful I say. So, here's some eye candy for you.

Enjoy.
I know I sure am!

Frosted Flowers Cardigan

Infatuation Cardigan

Dozen Roses Top

Sweet Nectar Top

Rosy Cheeks Skirt

Pin Dot Skirt

Now doesn't that just make you feel happy?
Nothing like a little retail therapy to lighten the heart...

{l'automne} French Word of the Week

l'automne = Autumn

It's that time of year again. The time when the world is bathed in colors of red, yellow, orange.

I love this time of year. Now, unlike the picture above, we've yet to acquire some serious snow on our mountains. But that's totally fine with me. I'm content to just enjoy the crisp and cool mornings and evenings with some color thrown in. And maybe a little rain, because that's what we've been experiencing in Logan this week.

I'm loving it. Michael's loving it. We're all happy.

Nous aimons l'automne!

Goal for Fall/Winter 2010

As some of you may know, I've made a personal goal for myself this fall/winter. Why? For starters, I believe goals are important. They help us to grow as we are working toward something. They push us to our limits and out of our "box". Goals give us a greater sense of worth.

That's why I like to make them.

So, this particular goal I have made is to perfect my pie making this winter.

Not what you were thinking, right?

Probably going to contradict my goal to eat healthier, but I'm restricting the pie making to a small amount. Mostly, I want to try out this amazing pastry recipe I discovered while making these, only in pie form. It is, by far, the best pastry crust I've ever tasted.


With that being said, my first pie that I would like to tackle and perfect would be this Pecan Pie by Pioneer Woman. I LOVE a good Pecan Pie. It's always been my favorite, from the time I was a little child and we would go to the Natchitoches Festival of Lights each year around Christmas, buying one from Grayson's BBQ (the best BBQ in Louisiana, nay the South, in my opinion). The crunch of the pecans, the chewy sweetness of the filling, the light buttery-ness of the crust. It's all good.

Besides, Pioneer Woman boasts that this is "The Pie That'll Make You Cry". How can I go wrong with that description?

I'm excited to begin my preparations for the best pecan pie and many others, which will follow soon, I assure you!

{rentrer} French Word of the Week

rentrer = to come home

For my first French WOTW post, I figured it was only appropriate to share a verb which perfectly describes a recent Black family event.

Michael's brother Leland just returned from his LDS mission to Leeds, England, as of last night!

I'd never met him in person until last night's return, only skyping on Christmas and Mother's Day. I'm really enjoying getting to know him, listening to his British accent, and look forward to much fun in the future.

It's kinda neat to feel the family be "whole" again. You can tell that everyone is happy to have him back and that his being home really completes the family :)

Bienvenue a la maison, Leland!