Happy Halloween!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

FROM EVERYONE HERE AT SIMPLE AND SWEET PEA

Baby Shower #2

As I stated in an earlier post my sister is due to give birth to her first child December 23rd, which shall make for an interesting Christmas. She is having a little boy and his name is Cooper Thomas, which I think is so cute! Sis's hubby has reddish color hair, so I am hoping that little Cooper will be a red head like I was when I was little. (Since I didn't have a red head baby myself)

Any who, Mom and I threw sis a shower last weekend for our side of the family and some of her friends. It was A LOT of fun to plan, and I was so excited to be able to try my hand at some crafts that I had been eyeing for a while. Mom of course was fine with this, because that meant that she didn't have to worry about decorations. It was a very low key shower with just a few snacks and cake. We figured that since it wasn't starting until 2 o'clock people would probably eat lunch beforehand. Sis's mother in law had the cutest cake made at a local bakery. Isn't that giraffe just precious??!

I decided to make a diaper cake for the centerpiece and also made a few washcloth lollipops to put on the cake. I used the tutorial from the ladies at Our Best Bites for the cake, and just googled how to make the lollipops. The cake ended up being super easy to make and I threw it together in like literally 10 minutes. If you haven't ever made one and you know someone having a baby, you should totally try it because it was so fun! The topper on the cake was a lovey purchased from PB Kids and the rest were things found at the Dollar Tree.

I also got these cute bibs and mittens from the Dollar Tree (Love me some Dollar Tree, you never know what you may find there!) I hung them on the fireplace with string and clothes pins to make it look like a clothes line. What I loved most about the decorations was that they were all things that sis can use. I hate paying for decorations and then throwing them away!

Sis ended up getting a bunch of really nice things, and is pretty much set for Coopers arrival. There are still of course of few little odds and ends that need to be purchased, but isn't that always the case! Coopers furniture came in yesterday and is being put together tonight, so tomorrow Mom, sweet pea and I are headed over to start decorating the room. As gifts I made a few things for Coopers room. The theme of the room is transportation so I made a few things to hang on the walls. The first are knock offs of the Transportation Art from PB Kids. I knew there was no reason to spend that much on buying the artwork when I could easily make it myself. I think they turned out pretty good, don't you?

This is the 2nd thing I made. I saw something similar on etsy so I tweaked it a bit and printed it out and framed it. It ended up costing me nothing, because I just made it on the computer and mom already had the frame. FREE is always the best!

(Sorry this pic is awful, my camera sucks!)

We are hoping the Cooper is going to make his entrance into this world a little earlier than expected, so sis will not be in the hospital on Christmas. It would be nice to have him here for the holidays so we can all shower him with gifts. Hopefully he will cooperate for Auntie!!

Hopefully I will have some pics to share of my new fall flowerbeds this weekend. Until next time, BYE!

Linking to Wow us Wednesdays at Savvy Southern Style

A Beautiful Fall Morning!

Even though it is not going to be so beautiful outside today, I am still having a beautiful morning. I am enjoying a cup of pumpkin spice coffee in my Central Perk coffee mug given to me by one of my besties. (She gave me this in the 8th grade when she visited the set of Friends with her dad)

I am also enjoying the morning with my sweet pea as we watch a Halloween episode of the Backyardigans.

She LOVES this show! If you are familiar with this show, you know that they say see ya next time at the end before they go in, and sweet pea always waves to the TV and says "bye bye", it is so stinking cute!


Hopefully you are having a beautiful morning as well, no matter what you are doing. I planted some fall color in my beds out front last night, so once the weather clears I will take some pics and share.

Until then, have a great day!

Trick or Treat at the Zoo

Last Saturday night my mother and I took sweet pea to the Louisville Zoo to go trick or treating. I used to love trick or treating at the zoo when I was little, so I knew sweet pea would as well. When I brought her costume home a few weeks ago she was a little unsure about it and would cry when I tried to put in on her, so I was unsure of how she would react when we went to the zoo. (I had an alternate Halloween shirt in the bag just in case!) Surprisingly she actually put in on and even let us put the hood up, so I knew I had to get some pics of her while I had the chance! Here are a few shots of Fifi from my parents house before we headed to the zoo.

She was the cutest thing I have ever seen (I am probably a little biased since I'm her momma, but come on people look at that face!) Mom and I just cracked up watching her little tail wag as she walked :)

We made really good time getting there and didn't have to wait in line long at all. I was a little worried going on a Saturday since I had a feeling they would be busy, but getting there early made a world of difference.

Once we got inside, we were off. I decided to take the wagon instead of the stroller this time, because I thought we would have a better chance of keeping her in it. I think the stroller makes her feel confined, and she is always trying to escape. I LOVE her face in this picture!

She loved holding the candy that she would get, and every time something new was put in her bucket, she would drop what she was previously holding and pick up the new item. It was so funny. The zoo was decorated so cute with all kinds of pumpkins and mums. This is one of my favs of the two of us.

It was cute how they had all different kinds of stations set up all throughout the trick or treat route. Some of them included Toy Story, Flinstones, Alice in Wonderland, Nemo, Winnie the Pooh, Wizard of Oz, Shrek, and many more. I had to get my picture taken with Shrek and Fiona!

Here is mom (aka Nana) and sweet pea collecting candy from Dorothy's house that landed on the wicked witch of the west. They then started up the yellow brick road towards OZ.

It turned out to be such a fun night, and sweet pea was soooo good! Next year we will try to make sure to take hubby/daddy with us. Hopefully Halloween night will go as smoothly as this.

Until next time, Happy Trick or Treating!

20 Years with CFA

I am a wee bit late with getting this post written, but better late than never. This past Wednesday night, hubby and I got to celebrate his boss, Bruce, for his 20 year Anniversary with Chick-fil-A. Bruce started out his career in Fort Wayne, IN, but has been in Louisville for I think 18 years now (don't quote me on that). Hubby has been working for Bruce for 13 years now, and boy has he come a long way since started out when he was just a scrawny little 15 yr. old kid. One of the best parts of the night was that we got to dress up, which is something that I do not get the chance to do often. Don't we clean up nicely??

The anniversary event was a dinner cruise on a small yacht called the CQ Princess, named for the restaurant/bar that owns it, Captains Quarters. I had never been on a boat quite this nice before, so I was pretty excited.

The evening turned out to be beautiful and the sunset was just gorgeous! The restaurant happens to be on the Ohio River and while we were waiting to board the boat we got to watch some sailboats that are part of a boating club here in Louisville. Doesn't this picture make you want to go on vacation!!

I of course being the fatty that I am did not get any pictures inside the boat, but instead indulged myself in the delicious cuisine that was served during the night. I mean they had beef tenderloin and cocktail shrimp people, ya'll know I couldn't help myself! Once dinner was over we did get the chance to check out the upper deck. We happened to pass by the Belle of Louisville which was gorgeous all lit up at night. This boat races in the famous Steamboat Race that is held every year during the festivities leading up to the Derby.

We eventually made our way to downtown, which was the halfway point of our cruise, and then turned around and headed back towards the restaurant. I took this picture as we were heading into downtown. I just couldn't get over how pretty the sky was that night!

As we were headed back cake was served and then people were given the opportunity to say a few words about Bruce and the other operator that was also celebrating his 20th yr with CFA. Hubby and I later discussed how awesome it was that so many people had such wonderful things to say about Bruce and how neat it was that he influenced so many peoples lives without even knowing it. He will truly never know what a huge impact he has made on my husbands life and what he has done for our family. There are no words to describe the generosity and guidance that he has given to us. I truly believe that GOD placed Bruce in our lives for a reason and for that I am forever thankful.

All in all the night was a blast and I got to catch up with a good friend that is expecting triplets. (I know whoa!) Hubby and I were so glad to be a part of something so wonderful, and we wish Bruce 20 more years of success!

Spanish Moss Fall Wreath

I was never really happy with the wreath that I had made to go on our kitchen door for this fall (I would show you a pic, but since our computer died I no longer have one). So when I saw this idea for a Spanish moss wreath over at Pam's blog DIY design fanatic, I knew I wanted to copy it. She used a grapevine wreath for hers but I already had this foam wreath so I just used that instead.

First I started off by hot gluing the moss all over the wreath. I didn't really put much on the back though, because I knew you wouldn't see it, and it would have just taken more time. There are 2 different colors of moss that you can buy. I used the natural color and Pam used the green. Both are pretty.

When I was done covering the whole thing, this is what it looked like. I picked it up and shook it a little to get any excess off and then trimmed a few stray pieces. I kinda like the piecey (sp?) look though because I think it makes it look more natural.

I then stuck in a few pumpkin picks that I purchased at Hobby Lobby, and hot glued on the gourds and the largest pumpkin in the middle, which I already had on hand at home. I then tied some orange ribbon around it and hung it on the door.

This was like the simplest and quickest wreath I have ever made. It literally only took me like 20 minutes. I am very pleased with the way it turned out and it makes me happy every time I look at it.

Hopefully my post will inspire you to make a wreath of your own, like Pam's did for me. Until next time, Happy Crafting!

Linking to these blogs:

Savvy Southern Style

Busy Weekend #2

*Warning: This post is long and contains a lot of pictures :)

This past weekend my family and I were some busy little bees. Sweet pea and I kicked off the weekend Friday by going to Huber's farm in IN with my mom and sister. It has been a tradition of our family for years to go to Huber's and pick pumpkins in the fall. Now that I am a mom, I am so excited to be able to continue this tradition with my own family.

We have now come to the point in sweet peas life where she has become more independent, and no longer does what you want her to do. It has to be her way or the highway, so it was really hard to keep her in the stroller with all the fun things there is to do there.

We feed the ducks for a bit and then grabbed some lunch at the Winery. Afterwards we visited the cute little ice cream shop where they also sell homemade cheeses, YUM! Then we made a stop at the country store where they sell the most amazing homemade breads and to die for candy apples! Here is my loot plus some of moms.

All in all it was a wonderful day spent with my 3 favorite girls, and I am hoping that sweet pea and I may get to go back with hubby another weekend, but we shall see.

Saturday morning was the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure in Louisville, and my family and I have participated ever since my mom was diagnosed (She is a 4 year survivor). This year we had another reason to celebrate because it was my sister in laws first walk as a breast cancer survivor. At the beginning of this year she was diagnosed and has since completed reconstructive surgery and 6 rounds of chemo.

Sweet pea and I made it down to the race but could never find anywhere to park, so we sadly were unable to participate this year and I was very disappointed. I really felt like I let my sister in law down, but am definitely going to make it up to her next year. Here is the team shirt that everybody wore that day. Our team name was "Rowdy Dowdy" since all her friends call her Rowdy and her last name is Dowdy.

I loved the back of the shirt, it just sums it all up! Hopefully everyone out there is doing their part in the fight against breast cancer since October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

Saturday afternoon was the day that my husband looks forward to every year, the much anticipated rivalry game of the year, the Oklahoma Sooners vs. Texas Longhorns. Here is sweet pea getting ready to cheer on the Sooners!


We host a party every year, and this year was even more fun because Oklahoma beat the pants off of Texas. (Boomer Sooner!) I did a little DIY decorating this year for the party. Here is my burlap bunting, hanging over the poster of the stadium that my parents gave to hubby a few years ago.

I also made this cute little wreath for the back door. This kind of decorating hubby actually enjoys.
We always have a different type of fair food at the party, since the game takes place during the Texas State Fair, so this year we had a nacho bar, and there wasn't a bit leftover, so I think it's safe to say that it was a hit.

Sunday afternoon hubby got to do something that I don't think he could have ever dreamed that he would do in his lifetime, and that was race an actual NASCAR. He completed the Racing Experience with his boss at Kentucky Motor Speedway. Doesn't he look handsome in this pic!

He said that there was no speedometer in the car so he was unsure of how fast he was actual going, but if I had to guess I would say he got up to at least 140 mph. He looked like a natural out there, but told me later that he was pretty nervous. I think I was as nervous and excited just watching him.

As I stated earlier sweet pea no longer likes to be in her stroller, so when she had to get back in while hubby was racing so I could take pics and video she cried almost the whole time. At one point one of the workers tried to come over and pre-occupy her so she would calm down. She liked playing with daddy's helmet sort of.

I am very proud of my hubby for his accomplishment, and he told me on the drive home that he would like to do it again in a heartbeat. (Great, does that mean I have a speed demon on my hands!!)

Thank you so much to Bruce and Tana for allowing hubby this opportunity. We are so very grateful for everything that you all do for us!

Even though this weekend was so jam packed, I still enjoyed every minute of it, and LOVE all the memories that we are making as a family. It makes me feel so truly blessed as a wife, mother and friend. Here's hoping that your weekend was just as special as mine!