jen in wonderland: October 2012

Tuesday, October 30

inspiration for a crazy life

If you're a consistent reader of this blog you might have noticed a major decrease in posts over this last week.

Basically, I've just been having one of those weeks where I feel a bit overwhelmed.

There are more tasks to perform than time to perform them in.

You know what I mean?

So many of us out there where LOTS of different hats in this crazy ride called life.

Mother. Father. Husband. Wife. Brother. Sister. Employee. Friend.

Plus, all of the other little stuff that we need/want to accomplish.

Housework. Reading. Working out. Blogging.

Life can get a little packed, am I right?

In a moment of a panic just a little while ago, over how much still needed to be accomplished this evening,

I had one of those moments.

You know, the type of moment when you realize that you just need to chill out.

The moment when logic seeps in and it hits you that freaking/stressing out will NOT make matters better,

in fact it will only make them worse.

So, I'm being logical now.

I'm taking a step back and accomplishing one thing off of my to-do list at a time.

Also, I'm not freaking out at little interruptions.

I'm calm, cool, and collected.

And I feel SO. MUCH. BETTER.

Something that brings me peace, determination, and inspiration is reading inspiring quotes.

As a matter of fact, I have a whole board of them over on Pinterest.

It might seem a bit ridiculous to some, but to each his or her own.

Here are a few of my favorites tonight.

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Hopefully this post finds you already bright eyed and bushy tailed,

but if not, then my hope is that you walk away with a renewed zeal for life!!

peace, love, and all things sparkly.

Friday, October 26

five fancies on a friday :: spooky edition

Well, Halloween is this coming Wednesday,

so I thought I'd use this last Friday before the holiday to share some of my favorite spooky fancies.

How awesomely gothic do these cheese cloth spiderwebs make this room look?

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Such a fun way to display pumpkins.

Just paint with chalkboard paint and personalize to your liking.

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Love this little lace ghost from A Beautiful Mess.

Seriously, they have some of the best DIY tutorials. :)

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Isn't this mummified wreath just gorgeous?!

I'm thinking I might need something like this for next year.

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And, just because the dancing skeletons made me smile.

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We've finally decided on (and bought) the kiddos' costumes.

Audrey will be Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz.

And Lawson will be the Cowardly Lion (post finding his courage, of course).

Are you (or your littles) dressing up this year?

peace, love, and all things sparkly.

Thursday, October 25

love and marriage

At this same time, on this same day, 9 years ago,

I had just arrived at the wedding chapel where I would become a Mrs.

Three of my bridesmaids (from out of town) were lost in the unfamiliar city and my mom was contemplating running to a local florist to find some greenery

(that didn't make it into our floral order) for the church.

The bridesmaids eventually made it and I talked my mom out of running errands an hour and a half before go time.

And let me tell you, the night was spectacular.

Before the age of Pinterest and DIY weddings, our wedding was simple and elegant.

I might look at ideas on Pinterest sometimes and wish I could have done something like it,

but when push comes to shove, I wouldn't change my wedding one iota.

Our wedding was the perfect way to begin our lives together.

Most of the pictures in the post are "unofficial" ones taken by a family friend.

One day I will spend the hours that it will take to scan all of our official photos into the computer.

Maybe in time for our 10 year anniversary?!

I guess those are the breaks of getting married before the digital era was in full swing. ;)

But for now enjoy this little homage to the day that I made the best decision that I ever have made and said, "I will!", to my best friend.

Weren't we so baby-faced?!

Happy Anniversary, Bryan!

You have given me a life and a love that I never knew possible. :)

peace, love, and all things sparkly.

Monday, October 22

Today I wanted to show a little colorLOVE to the most fantastic color of all. Turquoise!
No, seriously. This fabulous combo of blue and green is the best color out there.
I won't accept any arguments about it.

As with all colors turquoise comes in various shades and I honestly think that several other colors fall into the turquoise spectrum.
Aqua. Teal. Tiffany Blue. Robin's Egg Blue.
I think they all (for the most part) tend to fall in line with turquoise.

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If that picture above makes you swoon, be sure to check out the link under it.
Be prepared to spend awhile drooling over the many different pictures of turquoise houses that the site provides.

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Here's a bit of a lighter shade of turquoise.
Don't you just adore the flair the silver glitter nail provides?!

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Turquoise is such a bright and happy color.
I can't help but smile when I see it.
It is also super calming as well.
Think about sitting on a white sand beach looking out over the clear turquoise ocean.
Nothing stressful about that. :)

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Um, yes, I will own a piano that looks like that one day.
Perfecto.

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The above tablescape is absolutely perfect for a fairy tale party or shower.

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My belief is that it is hard to go wrong with this color.
From jewelery and clothing to home decor to nail color to food styling to a color palette for a party.
Seriously, turquoise is super multifunctional.

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I have no clue what flavor the ice cream above is, but doesn't it make your mouth water?!

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I have long been on the hunt for the perfect (and affordable) turquoise statement ring.
The southwest feeling of turquoise stones brings me back to childhood memories of road trips through
New Mexico.

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See what I mean about calming?
I really need a huge print of this to just stare at whenever I'm feeling stressed.

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I am absolutely loving the Scandinavian feel of this breakfast area.
The clean white walls with pops of bright color is fast becoming a favorite of mine.

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This little cake would be a spectacular smash cake for a first birthday party for the little princess in your life.

Now that you've seen a limited amount of photographic evidence concerning the wondrous beauty of the color turquoise, are you on board with me?
If not, what color would you color your life with?

peace, love, and all things sparkly.

note from jen :: I apologize for the inconsistency in some of the font sizing in my recent posts.
Blogger is being dumb.

Saturday, October 20

pumpkin patch

Last weekend my little family and I took a trip to a local pumpkin patch.

The patch itself wasn't huge, but it had TONS of pumpkins and even a playscape, which Audrey loved!

We got some good shots of the kids and the had a BLAST!

Lawson loved running around the patch and Audrey kept trying to hide from us behind the larger pumpkins.

Here's a little photo documentation of our time.

Uh, hello little model! We are SO going to be in trouble with her in 10 years.

His eyes always photograph amazing.

Has to be the best picture of the trip.
His face sums it all up.

Sidenote :: Audrey was too busy playing and hiding from us to get in on this shot. :(

And for posterity's sake, one of Audrey from the same patch when she was a little older than Lawson.

One of my favorite pictures of her, ever!

I'm also happy to say that taking this trip with my family helped me stick with some of the 4 simple goals that I set for myself awhile back. :)

Happy Fall!!

peace, love, and all things sparkly.

Friday, October 19

five fancies on a friday

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With the nice, cool fall weather that is finally starting to grace us with it's presence, comes the desire to grab some cozy blankets, some warm drinks and the makings of some delicious s'mores and have a bonfire.