This is what started it all....

It was this time of year, four years ago that I ran across this magazine while on a Starbucks run. Something about the cover photo caught my eye, and that was it...I was in L-O-V-E. I was actually an avid fan of modern furnishings, but something about this photo turned my heart around. Life was never the same.

Ok, maybe I'm being a bit dramatic. Is it dramatic to say that at the time I thought this kitchen was to DIE for? I still like it, alot...though I'm not quite sure I would die for it. I might die for the chandelier though...

Four years later, the magazine has changed some, though I'm still an avid reader. Four years later, I no longer have to memorize every page to teach myself what cottage "is", but I still get this first edition out every once in awhile to remind myself how this love affair started. Aaaahhh...love, sweet love!

TTYL,

Angela

LUVS it!

I'm sooo getting ahead of myself since I haven't even gotten around to posting any fall decor pics. However, I'm sooo in love with this Halloween wreath I couldn't wait to share it. I MADE THIS!! FOR LESS THAN $12.00!!

I found these wooden signs at the Dollar Store and bought the wreath at Hobby Lobby for $4.99. I attached them with wire and made a hook in the back for hanging. I can't wait to hang this on my front door for our Halloween Party!

Our wonderful friend, Vanessa brought Arden this dress from California.

She looked perfect in it at Church a few Sunday's ago...

TTYL,

Angela

My new "fall" Favorite Place

Bloggers Kari & Kijsa have asked people to display their favorite places around their homes. This is my new favorite place to be, since I just got this sofa sectional last week. I don't consider myself a "sectional kinda girl", but after 3 years of not having enough comfy seating in this little room, I realized that maybe I needed to become a "sectional kinda girl". Sofa sectionals usually say MONDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL to me, but this one said cozy, comfy, cottage. I also changed my curtains from blue and white to "red currant", which I like to do every fall through winter and these are also my 'fall' pillows. I've now realized how wonderful it is to have these colors in this room at this time of year!

I've recently found out that this little room off of our kitchen is called a "keeping room", it's common in houses in the south. Not sure why they call it a "keeping room"...I guess in this house we are "keeping" toys? As you can see, during the day I have a great view of my backyard garden when I sit on the sectional. I'm just loving it, and I never would have thought I could love a sectional, OR a room that has TOYS in it. Guess you learn something new about yourself everyday.... ;)

Arden had her first haircut today. She was a little scared at first (ok, alot scared), but I coaxed her with some juice and that seemed to help.

The lady cut her bangs a little to short for my taste, but it's ok because Arden's hair is growing so fast these days, I know soon they will be long again.

Still can't believe I'm in love with a sectional. Don't judge!

TTYL,

Angela

Farewell Birdie Friends

It usually takes me awhile to bring out my fall decor and put away all my little birds and their nests. In Texas it's just to hot to get into the spirit of fall when the temperature is still in the 90's! But this week has brought (finally) a change in the weather (somewhat), giving us a glimpse of what hopefully will be soon to come.

So goodbye to all my little birds and their lovely nests! Fall is coming and soon it will be HALLOWEEN!!

We have finally discovered a way to enjoy dinner...although it's a little messy, it works for us!

A necklace and a shoulder bag...what a Girly-Girl!

My mom is babysitting tonight so Andy and I can go to the movies...woohoo! Have a great weekend, Everyone!!

TTYL,

Angela

"Sprucing Up II"

This table in my entry way really needed some "sprucing", so I used decorator boxes to add height and depth to the display of family photos.

Before:

I'm really happy with the way it turned out and it was so easy to arrange once I found the perfect sized boxes.

Do you like this "antique white" mirror?

It used to be a TACKY GOLD mirror! I changed it's color by painting it "antique white" with acrylic craft paint. I made sure to use soft strokes, so as not to paint the entire frame one color; in order to keep it a little shabby, and dimensional. Oh, and I used a cheap brush--which I have found is really helpful when distressing things of this nature. This mirror was so happy it was no longer TACKY GOLD, I swear it almost hugged me when I was done :)

Our litttle doll, Arden has been quite a handful lately. Do the terrible 2's ever come early? Sure feels like they do! Oh well, we love her so much anyway...and she's always such a big help when I'm vacuuming the furniture.

TTYL,

Angela

Recipe Wednesday

Pan Roasted Tilapia


These tilapia loins are roasted over "beds" of red tomatoes and black olives. I'm pretty sure you can use any kind of olives you like. I usually buy frozen tilapia loins in the frozen seafood section of the grocery store, and they taste GREAT. We love this low-fat and healthy recipe, even though fish is usually considered a spring or summer dish, we eat it all year round. I hope you like it too...

ingredients:
-4 tilapia loins
-red tomatoes
-olives (sliced)
-olive oil
-mayonnaise
-1 medium lemon
-grated parmesan

Pre-heat the oven to 450 degrees, in a pyrex baking dish arrange sliced tomatoes in "beds" and scatter olives to your liking over tomatoes. Spread zest from 1 medium lemon over beds, season with salt and pepper, then drizzle with olive oil. Lay tilapia loins over tomato beds and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

In a small bowl combine mayonaisse (4 teaspoons per filet), 1 tablespoon parm. cheese, and the juice from half a lemon--mix together. Spread generously over tilapia loins.

Place in oven and cook for 20-30 minutes until browned.


As you can see below, this Tilapia is so good someone couldn't wait for me to take a picture before they took a bite...

Have a great Wednesday!

TTYL,

Angela

Labor of Love

I hope everyone had a wonderful Labor Day! We spent the holiday weekend in Houston. We stayed at hotel a block away from the Galleria and dined at The Grand Lux Cafe (sister restaurant to The Cheesecake Factory), and the world famous TAN-TAN family style vietnamese food. If you didn't know, Houston is the be-all, end-all, best-place-to-be-for Asian food in Texas.

Arden had a blast, but we quickly discovered traveling with a toddler is no easy feat. There was alot of this...

But not nearly enough of this...

I will say it was a RESTLESS weekend and simply leave it at that. I will also share that Arden got a hold of the hotel room phone and called security--several times. We didn't discover this until hotel security came knocking on our door and informed us that they had been paged to our room. When we checked out the next day, everyone at the front desk knew exactly who we were and who Arden was. Not exactly the kind of thing we would choose to be famous for...but I guess it will make for a funny story when she is older.

Let's just say this little family vacation was a Labor of Love.

TTYL,

Angela