1ST DAY OF FALL | 2016

Woo hoo! It's the first day of fall and I am so excited for all things fall. Fall is here regardless of what the weather is like outside. ;) We've been enjoying our fall decor around our home since Labor Day Weekend, and I am snuggled up under a cozy blanket with our favorite fall candle burning away...with the AC still on full blast lol we are in Tennessee after all! 

Here are some fall pins that I have been loving lately...you can find all of them on my Fall Board!

I have been obsessed with these adorable cotton wreaths...I mean how cute and fallish. 

I am hoping to share our fall decor next week with you all!

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1ST DAY OF FALL | 2016

RED, WHITE AND BLUE BBQ INSPIRATION + INVITATION

Matthew and I have decided to host another cookout next month. Our Summer Soiree was such a hit we decided to do it again. Since some of our friends will be out of town or have other commitments for July 4th weekend we are doing it a little after but we are sticking with the July 4th theme. So our theme is...Red, White & Blue BBQ! I am so excited and have been planning away. I finished up our invitations the other day and I am excited to share those with you today, as well as some inspiration that I have found on Pinterest. All pins can be found on my July 4th Pinterest board.

and now for the invitation

And here is my inspiration board

There are so many cute ideas floating around Pinterest, it is hard to narrow it down to just a couple!! 

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RED, WHITE AND BLUE BBQ INSPIRATION + INVITATION

COFFEE BAR

Last week I gave y'all a tour of our new house and today I am going to share a couple of ideas. We have the perfect little nook in our kitchen for a coffee bar. The picture below is our kitchen and the space beside the refrigerator is where we plan on putting it.

I'll be completely honest, it was one of the first things I thought of when I saw that space during our first walk through of the house but I didn't say anything. I'm not a coffee drinker and Matthew only drinks it every now and then, so I didn't want anything going to waste. A couple weeks later Matthew suggested making that space a coffee bar, again, I wasn't too keen on the idea, but the more we thought about it the more it made sense and the more I got excited to have a coffee bar. Both of our families drink coffee and all of our friends do, and we know we will be having them over often so we want to be able to offer them coffee without having to run out to Starbucks or somewhere to grab coffee when they do come over. We're looking into getting a Keurig so that there are tea and hot chocolate options as well. In the summer I'll probably add lemonade or different juices to it too since it's a pretty big space. Now that we're both on board we've been searching for ideas and I am so excited to see it eventually all come together!

Here are some pins from Pinterest that I have been looking at recently!

I NEED those canisters. They are perfect!

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Where are these mugs from?! Too cute.

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Love the idea of the drawer up under it being used for storage of extra coffee supplies. 

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We have both agreed we like the idea of storing the K-Cups on a K-Cup Carousel. We found this one and love the way it looks. 

I've also been looking for cute creamer and sugar sets, but haven't found any that I just love, except the ones in the first picture ^ there. I'm hoping to find some at Home Goods for a reasonable price.

And here are some cute coffee signs I found

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This one is just hilarious.

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Do you have a coffee bar at your house? Anything we definitely need on there or don't really need? Also, any recommendations on what Keurig we need to get? We'll take all the suggestions! 

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COFFEE BAR

ORGANIZING YOUR PINTEREST

I remember Pinterest coming out back when I was still in high school and I would spend hours "pinning" things, and still do! In the past few months I have really tried to organize my Pinterest boards for myself and I have been able to see some growth in those months. So I'll share with you some of the things that I think helped.

1 |  Label your boards with one or two words...

Nothing annoys me quicker than going to someone's Pinterest and scrolling through all of their boards trying to find something specific and having to stop and read each long title to figure out which board the pin I am looking for is on. And then I remembered, "oh wait, that's how my boards are labeled." So I did some title changing very quickly!

          - Before my food/recipes board was labeled "Good lookin' what's cookin?" I changed it to "Recipes" you could also go with "Food" or "Eat" or if you separate them into different categories you could do, "Appetizers", "Main Dishes", "Sides",  "Desserts", "Drinks", etc. 

          - My Travel board was "Take Me There" and I changed it to "TRAVEL" of course you can see the pictures and make out what the board probably is about, but when I'm in a hurry trying to find a pin I saw earlier that day I need to get to that point quickly.  

2 | Move your boards..

My first board always stays the same, it's my blog board. The next few after that I try to keep it updated with the upcoming seasons. So right now I have my fall and Christmas board. Right now people are mostly pinning fall and Christmas stuff to get ideas for the upcoming holidays. 

Just click on your board and drag it to the location you want it. Very simple!

3 | Categorize your boards .

I like to have all my boards in their own little area. All my seasons are next to each other, style, travel, food, etc. Again, just click on your board and move it to your desired area. 

4 | Cover Photo

I make sure on all of my boards that the cover picture actually represents what is on that board. 

Example... These two pictures are representing what the board consists of, and they fit pretty well too.

To change the cover picture of your board...

1. Click on the board > Top right hand corner click Edit Board

2. Once you are in there, click on Change

3. You will be able to scroll through the pictures that are on that board. Go through them and decide which represents that board the best and which one fits the best. You can adjust the picture some to have it fit in the square. 

4. Save Changes. 

5 | Description...

On each board, go through and add a short and sweet description of what is on the board.

So there you go! Just some small tips that I think can really make a big difference, for you and for your followers! Do you have any tips for organizing your Pinterest boards?

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ORGANIZING YOUR PINTEREST

Happy 5 & Friday!

1. This week has seemed a little longer than usual. It never fails I would look up at the clock at work and it seems like every single day this week when I would check it would only be 12:45...so weird!! So to say I'm so glad Friday is here is an understatement (not like it's different any other week lol)
2. I might also be a little more eager for this weekend than usual because I am (finally) going to look at dresses!!!!! I am so excited! I have put it off for as long as I can, hoping to drop a couple of pounds before I went and tried them on. I'm 8lbs down so I'll take it!! I honestly have been a little worried because when I have told people I wasn't going to look at dresses until mid to late February (I have an appt next Saturday with David's Bridal, too) they thought I was crazy for waiting so long.  I mentioned before but my aunt's mom owns and runs the dress shop we are going to this Sunday. They are open Monday-Saturdays and so she is coming in on Sunday to open the shop up just for us. I still can't believe it, we are so lucky, and I am incredibly thankful for their kindness!! I am just going with family this Sunday and next weekend Matthew's mom and some of my bridal party will go. I'm really excited and grateful that BOTH of my grandmothers are going this Sunday! I just know this will be a special day.  I decided not to let my dad go with us Sunday. Which was a little tough for me, I'm a daddy's girl through and through. I would love for my dad to be there but Matthew and I have decided not to do a first look, so I am doing a first look with my dad on our wedding day instead.  I tear up every single time I think about it. 
3. Valentine's Day is almost here! Although I completely agree that you should love on your spouse/significant other everyday, as well as show appreciation and respect, I'm not all anti celebrating Valentine's Day. We still enjoy celebrating it, but don't get too crazy. A dinner out somewhere where we don't have to make reservations is what we usually do, low key is best for us to avoid large crowds. I have always made dessert for us and I am making it again this year! In the past I have made a no bake cheesecake and Oreo balls, this year I am going to make a cookie/brownie thing and we'll pick up some ice cream at Kroger to go with it!
4. In order to save a little money we decided to just exchange cards this year! I got really excited to pick out Matthew's card and was also a little proud of myself for picking it up earlier this week instead of waiting until the day before like I did last year. I was the only one in the card aisle at Walgreens so I was able to take my time and not move around people, best thing ever! I started reading some and goodness gracious I don't know what is wrong with me but I got SO emotional. As in tearing up at almost every card. Then I saw the "husband" cards and realized that next Valentine's Day I will get to buy a husband card...had to walk out of the aisle to collect myself.  I don't know who I am anymore lol.
5. Since #4 turned into a little cry fest here are some funny things from Pinterest this week!

YES

Have a great weekend!! 

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Happy 5 & Friday!

Christmas time // Pinterest addition

I love this time of the year and I love decorating for it. I often spend too much time on Pinterest looking up gorgeous decorations I can't afford right now lol.   Here is what I'm currently pinning/day dreaming of...

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{Source}      It really is the best time of the year! Monday night we had free s'mores at the SOC house and last night we had pancakes as a study break for all the students taking finals. We had great crowds and all the food was gone very quickly!   3 days until Matthew graduates!

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Christmas time // Pinterest addition