Halloween is one of my favorite times of the year. I think it has a lot to do with pleasant memories from when I was a kid. I loved dressing up on Halloween. I was never very popular in school. So getting to dress up and pretend to be a princess or another magical character was something that made me feel like I was as special as the kids that were popular. Halloween was also a lot of fun. I got to stay out past dark, which my parents never let me do, and eat tons of candy, which my parents also

I love Halloween. It is my second favorite holiday. I don’t love it for the typical reasons. I love that kids get to be kids on this day. They get to use their imaginations and pretend to be anyone they want to be. My youngest is dressing up as Elsa from Disney’s Frozen this year and she insisted that I paint her fingernails “ice-blue" last night. What can I say? She’s a bit of a diva. Besides the nail polish, she had to save her sister from a frozen heart about fifteen times before bed. That is

This morning as I drove my girls to school, the sky was a cool iron-grey. You know that weird blue-grey color where the clouds are heavy and there’s a light drizzle. This color only appears in this area when its cold. During the summer, rain clouds are dark and come on suddenly. When its cold they seem to creep in almost like fog. I hope it doesn’t affect the game tomorrow. Tomorrow is Arkansas State University’s homecoming game. Its kind of a big deal around here. ASU is one of the biggest coll

Everyone has a different memory of their hometown. For me the memories are of driving around and laughing and joking. Of Friday night football games and Saturday afternoon movies. For some their memories surround their school and the activities that they were in. Everyone is going to have something different that inspires nostalgia. No matter what your memories are about or what inspires you to remember them, your hometown will always have a special place in your heart. And of course, the home t

You’ve probably heard somewhere before that the South is serious about football. Well, its true. Many of my memories from high school revolved directly around the game. Now that I am older, I don’t get into the whole experience as much, but I still get nostalgic about those days. This week is Arkansas State University’s homecoming week and that got me to thinking about what makes me love my hometown. It’s not something that can be just rattled off in a couple of sentences. It’s the whole experie

This is the time of year when people start traveling more. Or at least it seems that way to me. Summer may be the traditional time to travel with the kids being out of school, but my family always did the longer trips in the fall and early winter. It was just easier to travel then. Remember, the South has that awful oppressive heat until mid-October most of the time. So, when the weather starts cooling down is when we actually want to get out and about. This time of year is also when we start pl

One of my favorite parts of fall is the colors that the leaves turn this time of year. We usually go to a pumpkin patch or farm this time of year and we end up spending at least a few hours in the car traveling. This is when we really get to enjoy the beauty of the fall foliage. Arkansas may not be known for it’s landscape, but in the area we live, it is absolutely gorgeous. On one side of us is the Delta with its rolling fields of cotton and wheat. The cotton looks like fields of snow and the w

One of the best things about fall is the leaves turning. It is always something that seems to start slow and then suddenly every tree is covered in this crown of gold, orange, and red. It always amazes me. I may be a grownup but the changing leaves and the piles of them in the yards just make me feel like a kid again. I love being able to look out the rear of my home and see the fall foliage in all of its glory. I have a lovely little deck on the back of my house and it is just perfect for sitt

The last week or so it seems that fall has really hit the mid-south. Last week we were battling temperatures in the high 90’s. This week its only going to get up to the high 80’s right before it plunges again. I’m not a huge fan of colder weather, but I love curling up on the couch and watching tv with my family. (Anyone else obsessing over The Masked Singer?) Having a comfortable great room is a must for me and my family. We love to gather up and watch tv together. We aren’t that family that ju

So, the promised cold front came through this weekend. And, oh my goodness, it is nice! My kid is saying that she’s freezing, but I’m loving it! Now time to break out the hot chocolate mix, the scarves, gloves, and get all cozy and comfy. What? It’s going to get back up in the 80’s by the end of the week?! Crap! Well I can at least pretend while its nice. So, let’s look at some comfy, cozy things for your dream home. Cozy Additions to Great House Plans So, one of the things that I love to do th

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The other night we indulged in a little bit of a fall tradition in our house. We sat down together and watched “Hocus Pocus". I love that movie. It makes me so nostalgic for my childhood and just gets me in the mood for fall and trick or treating. (The same thing with “White Christmas" for December.) One thing that I am super envious of in the movie is the fall foliage and what seems to be nice cool weather for Halloween. Here in the South we are more likely to get tornadoes and thunderstorms th

Fall is here and the temperatures are dropping, thank goodness. I don’t know how much longer I could have taken all of that heat. Here in the south, fall is when the rain starts coming in. And when it starts turning colder, we get freezing rain. So, we know about mud. We know about the muckiness that trails you in like a hungry cat and collects on the bottoms of your shoes. So how do you deal with this situation? How do you keep your home looking fresh and beautiful when half the yard just came

Bleary eyed, you fumble for the button on your phone that cuts off your alarm. You emerge from your warm cocoon of blankets and stumble into the kitchen to make your daily brew. For over 63% of Americans, this is how their mornings begin. With a cup of delicious, energy giving coffee. I’m no different. I absolutely cannot start my day without at least one cup of coffee. There are those days where the number is closer to three before the day actually begins. In that, I’m not alone either. The usu

I stepped outside to a pleasant surprise this morning. It was actually cool! Like, not cold, but just cool enough that it felt great as we got loaded into the car. The littlest one started talking about how she was going to need her jacket soon and how the leaves on the trees were turning yellow. It was a good way to start the day and a great morning for the first official week of fall. I love fall. It’s my favorite time of year. It’s not too cold so that I feel like I’m freezing all the time, b