{Home Decor} Fall 2013

Somehow I managed to get my fall decorations down from the attic and put up a few things this year. I have always been a huge fan of summer, but this year I'm surprisingly ready for leaves to crunch beneath my feet and cool outdoors to make me pull my cardigan on a little tighter. I'm ready to wear my comfy boots and dress all the kids in adorable pants and long-sleeve tunic tops with leggings. I'm down for some chili, the sounds of football on Sunday (and Monday and Thursday) and open windows beckoning in fresh air. It's like a cleansing and renewal to kick-off the last half of the year, sort of whatever might be the opposite of spring cleaning. Fall freshening? Either way, this year I'm ready. And though it felt a little odd to be unpacking pumpkin muffin-scented plug-ins and lighting apple ale candles—both new faves from Bath & Body Works—while it was 100 degrees outside, it soon felt oh-so-right.

I also must confess it's taken nearly eight weeks just to get around to cleaning the bathrooms in my house. Which basically means I hadn't cleaned them once since we moved in. Thus I'll be hiring a once-monthly cleaning service to come sanitize my commodes and scrub my dirty floors very soon. Until then, the floors will proudly sport their scuffs and well-earned dirt. While I'm confessing, I didn't bother to clean much house before I took these photos. (Really, I just moved a bunch of stuff around since I didn't think car seats and strollers and boxes went well with fall foliage and pumpkins. Just sayin'.) So here's a little bit of fall with some lived-in-casa on the side. ;)

front porch

entry way

kitchen

play room

dining room

living room

guest bath

There you have it! I didn't put much in the main living room since I got tired by that point and I did have three cute metallic ceramic pumpkins on the coffee table...but little man who shall not be named decided to snatch one when I wasn't looking and once I came after him to get it back, well, he decided it looked better in smithereens on the floor. Harrison 1, Pumpkins 0.

Happy fall, y'all :)

Next up: pumpkin spice bread and one nifty little loaf pan.

{Daily Pics} Easy Greek Salad, New Accessories & More

daddy leading the kiddies up the stairs (in a supervised climb!) to their rooms for bed

new accessories from sam moon - the hat is perfect for cowboys football!

trystan trying out a new toy mommy got for the crew

the babies also love their new fisher-price piano

super easy greek salad - pasta with sliced olives and marinated garlic cloves,
feta cheese, greek dressing and rotisserie chicken

Happy Friday!

{DIY} How to Clean Glass Candle Jars

Typically, I'm not one to save every little thing and try to reuse it. Honestly, sometimes it takes up more space and energy trying to figure out ways to recycle some stuff then to just toss it in the trash. Or recycling bin. ;)

But I always wished I could clean those nice big glass jars that the Bath & Body Works candles come in and reuse them. Then I found a couple cleaning ideas on Pinterest and put one to the test. It worked like a charm so I share it with you now.

Put the candle in the freezer for about an hour. Or just toss it in there and forget about it for a couple days until you can get back to it, like I did. Take a dull knife and poke at the wax a couple times to break it up then pry it out.

I saved my wax pieces in a ziploc and just wrote the scent on the bag then stuck it back in the freezer. Now I'll have my own wax melts when next summer rolls around, likewise for my fall and winter scented candles when I'm done with those, too. Perfect for any size wax warmer and a good lil money saver!

Peel off the labels. If the bottom label doesn't comply, stick the jar in a little bit of warm soapy water for a few minutes and it'll then peel right off.

Squirt some baby oil in the jar and use a paper towel to wipe off most of the soot and wax. I did this twice, I think, it be sure it was all clean.

Do a quick rinse with soap and water then dry. It's ready to use now! I used mine for Q-tips and cotton balls in our bathroom, but I also thought they'd make great gift jars filled with candy and wrapped with a bow or stacked full of small cookies. What would you do with these jars?

For fun, here's some of my favorite gift-in-a-jar ideas.

{My Recipes} White Bean Chicken Chili + Easy Bonus Recipe

It's been a busy week around here. My BFF is here with her kiddo for the week and we've been having little adventures every day, the sort that come with having five babies all 15 months in one house. And I say that with love and a twinkle in my eye. ;)

Crock pot meals can definitely be the way to go when you've got a minimum amount of time on your hands. So I'm all about dumping a bunch of ingredients in to make a yummy meal. I sort of kept adding things to this one until I felt it was right. And, boy, was it.

2 tbsp olive oil

2 cups chicken stock
1 tbsp corn starch
1 medium onion chopped OR 2 tbsp dried minced onion
2 cobs fresh corn (slice corn off cob)
2 cans white beans (drained)
2 tsp cumin
2 tsp chili powder
2-3 chicken breasts
2-3 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper

Add all ingredients to your crock pot and cook on warm for four hours. I used cannellini beans for the chili and served mine with Bisquick drop biscuits (they took about 10 minutes to make and bake), but this would be great with regular biscuits, cornbread or toast. I ended up needing to add a little more salt to mine and I loved the fresh corn in the recipe. You could also add fresh tomatoes, peppers, Rotel or more! I strained out chicken, beans and corn for my babies to eat with the biscuits and they gobbled it up.

Bonus recipe: place 3 chicken breasts in crock pot and coat with an entire 16-ounce jar of BBQ sauce. I'd highly suggest Jack Daniels brand sauce. Cook on low for around four hours then shred chicken and serve with guacamole and cheese on corn tortillas. Easy peasy!

Happy eating :)

{Daily Pics} Fall, Y'all?

I finally decided it was fall. It's still 98 degrees outside here in Dallas, but a few leaves are starting to flutter to the ground and the weather man promises 92 as a high later this week. So maybe the season is tilting slightly toward the autumn time, as much of a tilt as can be provided by hot Texas temps. Which I love, by the way. I'm a warm weather gal through and through. I'd love to spend all my days slathered in tanning oil by a pool smelling coconut and drinking something cold. Something about having quadruplets, though, means that's no longer your daily reality. Ha! Here's some sneak peeks of some fall decor I managed to stick up around the house yesterday (with a post in more detail hopefully next week). Plus a photo of our whole fam at my cousin's wedding earlier this afternoon.

fun fall sunflowers & carnations

my pumpkin-y front porch

love my wax burner! got this one for $15 at target and am using glade's pumpkin spice wax melts

my entry table with white, gold and blue fall accents

our family!

Up next: in the spirit of fall, a yummy (easy) chicken chili recipe!