Halloween PJ party linkup

Today, I'm linking up with Darci, Ashley, Natasha, and AP for the Halloween PJ party. I participated last year and it was too cute so I had to do it again. This year I was on point with picking up some PJ's for him. last year- not so much. My son has really been into the fall festivities this year which has been really fun for us. I can't wait for his Halloween Parade on Friday!

Five on Friday: Anniversary edition

Today, Hubby and I celebrate 6 years of marriage. 6 years!! I honestly cannot believe it's been that long. This past summer we celebrated our 10th dating anniversary- whoa! I mean when someone says 10 years ago, you think "that was a long time ago!"

Anyway, for the past 3 of those 6 years I haven't done much of a anniversary post here on this little space of mine. Until now!!!!

For our first anniversary we celebrated by taking a cruise. I remember this trip so well! I was excited to get away and have some fun in the sun! We flew from Jersey to Miami and cruised out of Miami. This was my first cruise and I didn't know what to expect. Initially, I was inappropriately dressed for the occasion because it was cool back in Jersey. No one told me that

Five on Friday: Party edition

I'm so glad this is back! These types of posts allow me to get out all sorts of random ideas I have floating around in my head.

My son turned 3 last month. And as I have always maintained we don't do big parties every year but rather small, intimate celebrations for the birthday person and I kind of like them that way. But alas, the party planner in me have some sort of idea of what I would do if I would've thrown him a party!

The cake most often seems to be the show piece of the party. If someone can't stay for the whole party they will likely say "I have to go after they cut the cake". No? Am I the only person who know people who does that? Cake has evolved so much from decorated sheet cakes to show stopping 3D structures. It makes me wonder if some of these cakes actually taste good. When I got married, I was actually more concerned with the taste of the cake and ask the baker to do a separate sheet cake so I could have the type of frosting that I wanted because you can't decorate with whipped cream. We didn't actually do it (cause it would've been way too much cake left over) but I gave it serious thought. I wanted something nicely decorated but I don't quite care for the taste of fondant. Anyway, we took cupcakes to my son's school but I still wanted it to look like a cake. The top collage is my inspiration photos and the bottom pics is the outcome. I was pleased with it and my son LOVED the decorations.

Friday

Sorry, but I have another fluff post today- you know sometimes you need that. I am going to link the post up to Five on Friday cause well- I like meeting new bloggers and what better way to do that then with a link-up!

First, I really wanna talk woman to woman with you guys. I doubt that there are any men (beside family) who read this whatsoever and it's time for some girl talk. But you know how long winded I can be so I feel like it's going to take too long to write it all down then I get discouraged and then I go two weeks without saying anything an then I'm back where I started... sigh

I'm a little angry at myself for missing this opportunity this year. I have a picture from 1/9/2014 but it's not anything comparable to the two years prior. And this disappoints me. I know in the grand scheme of things it's not that big of a deal- but it kind of sort of is to me. I didn't set up either of those shots so it's no big 'light bulb' moment that I don't have one for this year but it's too late to recreate it cause that date is long gone!

My blogiversary is coming up next month and I've been reflecting on that.  Should I take a hiatus? Should I revamp? Should I not worry about it and keep doing what I'm doing? I see so many successful blogs take off in no time and it gets me thinking- what defines a successful blog, why haven't I obtained "that", do I even want "that"? I do know that I want my Wordless Wednesday's posts to be more about my photography. I lost the battery to my big girl camera back in October and I finally gave up hope that I would find it 2 two days before my son's first Christmas play and went out a spent a fortune on another. I haven't picked up my camera since Christmas day, so we see how that plan is going.

Then it got me thinking about what type of goals I wanted to achieve. I attempted to make a 30x30 list and not only could I not think of 30 things but I done think I finished half my list. Is there anything wrong with that? I mean aren't we always a work in progress?

I have two parties to attend next month (one of which I probably won't actually be able to attend) and the host from both the parties asked me for some party planning help. I was honored and excited to help! Which brings me to two more points- I started writing a post of party planning tips (because I love it that much) but never finished it. I miss my days as a wedding planner intern (why have I never shared this with you guys?!) Sadly, I don't think I could ever make a full fledged career of it mostly because I don't like working weekends and I don't know that anyone would fully trust me to plan an entire event for them start to finish.

I know I really need to have more Faith in myself and find some confidence from somewhere.

I am committing to doing this in 2014. But I'm doing mine in reverse. I am going to start with week 52 and work my way up (or down depending on how you look at it). I think my money will gain more interest this way.


Hope you guys have an amazing weekend!!!

Christmas PJ party!

I'm way, way behind on this but I had a rough two weeks. I mean obviously- 'cause I accidentally published this last week with NO pictures. Well here' why: It seems as though the stores near me are Christmas PJ scrooges. Not one single store in a 20 miles radius had Christmas PJ's for boys. Not even Target. I don't know what gives but I've never seen anything like it. If I had known that I would have gotten some while we were visiting with our families back in New Jersey over the Thanksgiving break. So this is officially becoming a throwback Tuesday post. I'm throwing it back a whole year, ha!

I'm kind of disappointed because I have been dressing this little guy up in Santa gear since his very first Christmas back in 2011. Boy how time flies!

Actually I think I'm going to make it a mission to find this kid some Santa PJ's for Christmas Eve. Bonus points if I can find him a festive outfit for Christmas Day. Double bonus if I can find a Santa hat for our annual Candlelight service at church.

Alright guys, I'm off on a mission to get this child some festive Christmas gear this year- I can't let my streak be broken!!!

This post is being included in the Christmas Pajama Party link-up with Darci, Natasha, Ashley, Jenny, and Julie!

Raindrops on roses and...

Eeep! I'm not exactly sure why I'm so excited about this but I am. Today I am sharing with you a few of my favorite things. It's just like the Oprah special but not.... And with the Christmas season in full swing why not share a few things that I like.


1. I love this t-shirt! It fits my personality so well. I love taking pictures especially of my little guy and this t-shirt tells that story all too well.

Where to buy

2. This has got to be the most amazing memory card ever!

Five on Friday

Happy November!!!

{First}
I can't believe there are only two months left in 2013. Yep, let that sink in....

I guess time really does fly when you're having fun, huh?

{Second}

WW: Halloween Pajama Party

This week I'm linking up with Darci & Meredith for their Little Ghosts and Goblins Halloween Pajama Party Link-up

Meaning of Marriage

How fitting is it that Becky chose this topic only day's after our 5th wedding anniversary?! So, I thought. Once again I'm a week behind but whatevs. I'm posting it anyway. Now about that meaning of marriage. I sure enough don't know all the answers but I've learned a lot in the past 5 years. So without further ado- I'm linking up with Becky once again for her 52 weeks of blogging with a purpose.

In honor of this 5th year milestone I have 5 things about what marriage means to me.

Marriage means

July 1st, 2018

Today marks the exact middle of the year. I honestly am not sure why time seems to be flying so fast.

MY LIFE 5 YEARS FROM NOW

As long as I can remember I have always had hopes and dreams for myself.

Living for...

When I first sat down to right this post, the first thing that came to my mind is "What was Becky thinking?!" I mean, I know what Becky was thinking because she's deep like that. But when I really thought about it- I had no way to answer this question! It took me a few days but I am proud of what I came up with. it wasn't 'easy' and by no means the finished product but it definitely got me to redefine some of my priorities and whenever I get stuck- I can look back at this "starting point" and keep going.

*****************************************************

Let's define "live".

Who I am

Today, I'm linking up with Becky over at From Mrs to Mama. I really like her idea of blogging with a purpose so I decided to join in. I hope to be able to keep up with the prompts. I'm no stranger to trying and failing- but we don't get a grade for this so what the heck, right?? If you are here from the link up please let me know you stopped by in the comments. I'd love to meet you!

********************************

Hi there!

I'm Autumn. At least that's what I call myself. She's my alter ego of sorts.

TGIF!!!

Guys, it's Friday and I couldn't be happier!! This weekend I'm heading back "home" for some celebrating. First up I have a bridal shower to go to and then it's onto to Celebrating Father's Day with two of the important Father's in my life: my Dad and my son's Dad. And how lucky is my husband for getting two celebrations in less than a week?!

Mind Right Monday: March

Is it me or does it seem like the year is moving by at the speed of light? It's already March... MARCH!! At first I said that I wasn't going to publish this if Dani didn't do her link-up but then I changed my mind. This monthly check-in is keeping me on track for my 30 before 30. So, it'll stick around at least until I'm 30 :)

Goals for this month:

- Make some additional progress on the little guy's baby books.
- 3 a week blog posts. I hate falling behind and losing information.
-Clean windows in Master Bedroom
-Get Easter outfits prior to the night before Easter. Last year it was bad.
- Safe travels. (more on this later).
- Make 4 new recipes and document it.
-Start a plan for a guest post. I was invited by a momtographer blogger to do a guest post and I am oh so excited!! Ebs invited me to do one and I failed miserably so I want to follow through with this.

I'm grateful for:

- My new job. I am hoping the income will give us more discretionary fun spending and help us reach a few financial goals a little faster. It may be time for me to have the full time hours talk soon.

- Haagen- Dazs pineapple coconut ice cream. I just finished off the last of my little pint container. However, I'm going to wait to re-up. I got some pounds to shed! And in researching pictures for this post I found out they have bananas foster...must.find.now!

- DVR. I've been catching up on the Real Husbands of Hollywood and it's just the laugh I need sometimes.

-The love of my parents. They did thee most amazing thing for us last months and I am soooo grateful.

-My husbands cooking skills. Wait until I tell you about my Valentine's Day!!!

source

Accountability:

- Go back to work. I did it. We survived. I'm grateful. My employer has been extremely generous and I have been working part-time. 4 hours a day, 5 days a week. And in my short three week employment tenure I must have changed my schedule once per week. These people are a godsend! The little guy still hates to see me walk out the door and it freaking breaks my heart. Twice I sat in my car and cried before putting on my big girl panties and high stepping it to work. His tears, his screams, his hurt- hurts me.

- Try 4 new recipes.  You know- I have no idea! I'm pretty sure I didn't do one per week or 4 overall though. I need to keep better track of this.

- Keep up my 3 a week schedule. Uh uh. I normally blog in the evening after baby goes to bed, but it seems like hubby had a crazy busy after work schedule this month, plus my parents came to visit for an extended weekend so I had zero time to write. I can;t even blame my new work schedule.

-Get more camera practice in. Yes!!! But I want more. I need more. I long for the days of warm weather where I can take my boy to the park, let him loose, and shoot in manual.

-Clean the window and mirrors in the guest bedroom. Yes. My parents were coming over y'all and small steps went out the window- fast! Company does it every time. Well, at least it whips me into shape.

-Make some additional progress on the little guy's baby books. Done! I finished, ordered, and received one more book.

Consistency is key. 4 out of 6 this month! My YTD percentage hasn't change at all. Maybe I need to shoot high this month.

She Rocks: Red

Today, I'm linking up with TOI. I'm loving her new project and can't wait to participate.

Toi is an amazing mommy/lifestyle blogger with whom I happen to have a few things in common with. I enjoy her writing, photography, and her take on life. She isn't from America (unlike my self) and reading her blog is such a refreshing take on the international life. The best part is: she has a beautiful baby girl just a bit over two months younger than my little boy. I love sharing our sentiments on interracial marriage, raising a biracial child(ren), and our loving for baking :)

So, now that you have been formally introduced... lol... here's more about her project. Last year she started the "She Rocks" movement in which she invited her fellow women to write an essay in which the shared what keeps their individuality alive. Unfortunately  I never submitted an essay, well, because my writing kind of sucks. Plus, I'm not a good inspirational person period. But...Never fear! This year it's all about OUR interpretation of the theme. Once a month she provides a theme and then we (participants) can submit our interpretation of it via photos!

Now this is my cup of tea. I've already shared with you my love for photography and my desire to be my children's momtographer. These prompts are sure to get me moving and allow me to get some practice in. It isn't as intensive as the 356 challenge (fail!) so I'm on board!

Too much jabbering?? Yea, I tend to do that. This month's assignment was "Red and/or Love". This goes great with Valentine's Day and how we make it a special point to share and celebrate our love with others. So, without further ado, I present to you my interpretation of this month's theme! Okay, first let me say- these pictures were my second choice. My first choice picture needs lots of editing which I never seem to have the time for. Either way- be gentle :)

One of my Loves on a red bike. He's obsessed with forms of transportation.

 

 

I'm a totally foodie. Seafood is my favorite :)

 

 

 

 

If you have a minute you should hope on over to TOI's blog and check out hers :) Let me know what you think!

Mind Right Moday: February

Welcome to the February edition of....

Goals for this month:

- Go back to work. Yea, you read that right. I can't find the words on how I feel about this. It's been an emotional roller coaster for me. Not the 'goingback to work' but finding childcare.

- Try 4 new recipes. That's one per week. Shouldn't be that hard... right?!

-Keep up my 3 a week schedule. Unless of course work gets in the way.

- get more camera practice in. If you follow me on Instagram you know that I received an awesome camera for Christmas (which I am going to bother to blog about one day). I have been using it to death since then but more so to capture our adventures. I want to get some practice in using manual mode and getting more beautiful lifestyle shots of my little guy and the awesome things around us.

- Clean the window and mirrors in the guest bedroom. Small steps.

- Make some additional progress on the little guy's baby books.

I'm grateful for:

- My iPad. It has been instrumental in keeping my blogging on track. I used the blogger app to start posts when I can't be at my computer and this helps.

- Having heat. It's been crazy cold lately- like 1 degree cold.

-The unveiled wife. I have no idea how I found her but she came into my life for a reason. Being away from family, friends, and everything that I've been used to and PLUS be a SAHM with very little "me" time could certainly be a recipe for a strained relationship. She's very encouraging and mindful and I love seeing her prayers pop up in my news feed. I snuck into my mom's phone and liked her facebook page from my mom's account and even she's liking her (I think)!


-Ellen. Yes, Ellen Degeneres. My little guys LOVES this show. I'm not sure if its the dancing or what but he claps when the audience claps, laughs at her jokes, and dances to the music. He doesn't sit in front of the TV and just watch but she usually distracts him for a few moments while I try to put together some seblance of a dinner.

Accountability:

- Clean the guest bedroom from top to bottom. Last month's carry over. I'm just going to walk the hall of shame now- and break down this goal into smaller little goals.

- Walk 2 miles 3 times per week. It's a little cold out and its been snowing like crazy so this may be over ambitious! Eh, not so much. The wather has been bananas! I don't think I've ever experiencedso much snow before. It snows about 4 times per week here. And while the actual snow isn't the problem- the unshoveled sidewalk is. I once went out to brave the cold after it had stopped snowing and my usual 3 mile less than an hour walk took about an hour and a half. Hubby and I have decided to invst in a jogging stroller in the coming months. On the upside we have a freakishly warm weather day that melted a great deal of the snow and I was back out there!

- Do a blog post 3 times per week for the remainder of January. Yep! I'm actually glad I made that goal. I was able to focus and bang out some posts that probably would have never gotten done- especially with the fun we've been having!


2.5 out of 3 isn't too shabby. Last month I was 5 out of 6... at least I'm consistent!

Mind Right Monday: January

I haven't done this since the begining of Dec. I think it's fitting to do only once per month, perferably the first Monday.

Goals for this week month:

- Clean the guest bedroom from top to bottom. This is a carry over from last month.

- Walk 2 miles 3 times per week. It's a little cold out and its been snowing like crazy so this may be over ambitious.

-Do a blog post 3 times per week for the remainder of January. *Sigh*

I'm grateful for:

- My husband. He's amazing! I thank God everyday that God chose me to be his helpmate.

- My parents. They're amazing too! I had the best Christmas vacation and I owe some of that to them.

- My phone. I know this is super materialistic but it really does keep me on track with some things. The smart phone in general has been something I've always appreciated. I have apps that remind me to drink water, log my excerising (helps keep me accountable) and read my bible daily. Without it my mind is just a jumbled mess of good intentions.

-The crockpot.'Nuff said.

Accountability:

- Clean the guest bedroom from top to bottom. I never got to do the cleaning that I would have liked to because our move was kind of pieced together. Since this room has the least amount of items in it I think it will be easier to start here. I definitely did not. I didn't realize how much time holiday prep was going to take me, but I have no excuses now.

- Walk 1 mile in 18 minutes or less. My current record is 18 minutes 59 seconds. The longest its ever taken me to walk one mile while pushing a stroller is 31 minutes 17 seconds and that was just last week- I'm on a get fit mission! I did, I did, I did!! In fact this was the first thing I completed. I didn't walk as much as I would have liked over the Christmas break and once we got back there was so much snow on the ground I couldn't push the stroller through it. But it's melting no and I'm getting back out there!


- Read at least 2 pages in my current book. Even if this means I have to hide in the bathroom while my husband and son tough it out. I kid! It's not that bad. But I would rather read blogs or browse pinterest/facebook. I've had this book for a week now and I'm on page 30. Done! Although this was a pretty low blow. I'm going to stop underaiming goals- I mean really. I don't know exactly how much I read, I think a chaptr and a half. I want to be done with this book soon so that I can move on to another.

- Start the post of my son's first birthday recap. I have no idea why in Sam hell it's taking me so long!
Done! And it's coming along nicely :) It's still going to tgake me a while to complete maybe it will be up before he's two.


- Participate in 'Mind Right Mondays' again.
He, he :) Clearly this postis published so there. Dani hasn't posted her own in a while so I don't know if we will be seeing this again.

- Apply for just one job.
Done! and maybe I regret it. I have this amazing story to share plus my reservations with going back to work.



5 out of 6 isn't bad although there was one cheat built in there. NOw, I need to get started on this month's goals!

S+T Monday: Christmas

1. Tell us what your favorite thing about Christmas is.
Food, fun, and family. Christmas is probably my favorite holiday!

2. Tell us what your plans are for Christmas this year.

Since we recently moved 200 miles away from our families we have a lot of rounds to make. However, our most concrete plans right now is spending Christmas Eve with my husband's family and Christmas Day with my family. I hope to make it a tradition of doing Christmas Eve-y things with hubby's fam and Christmas Day things with my fam. And then one day I hope to have everyone celebrate with us in our home!

Here's how it goes in my head. The day before Christmas Eve we will head to my sister-in-law's. We will probably get there late afternoon then have dinner, hang out and watch the Polar Express about 15 times. Then Christmas Eve morning I want to make these:

Source: cookingwithjax.com via The Mrs. on Pinterest

Doesn't that just scream Christmas?! Then I would like to head out to something holiday-ish like have pictures taken of my son, his cousin, and Santa. Or, go sledding or something... whatever is festive. Then head home and do some really cute Christmas crafts with the kids and just hang out.


3. Show us a picture of Christmas in the past. Or present.

Christmas 2009: I love my parents Christmas tree, (top right) I like to wear really festive Christmas attire. That year my shirt was a Christmas gift and I gave myself to my husband- clearly he was unimpressed, (bottom right) The tag on this read "to my sister, from fail" I think he ordered me some Uggs offline and clearly did not check the size before clicking 'buy now' we still laugh about that to this very day.

4. Do you wrap your presents all in one box, or do you like wrap each present separately?
Each present is wrapped separately! It's funner that way :)

5. Tell us about any special traditions that you or you and your family like to do.

My family has a big Christmas dinner every year. Because there is so many of us (anywhere from 11-13) we started a grab bag about 5 or so years ago. At Thanksgiving dinner we out every ones name in the bread basket (okay not really but that would be funny) and draw then on Christmas after dinner we exchange gifts. We always try to come up with new ways to reveal who we had. I remember one year laughing so hard until it hurt.

Mind Right Monday

Today I'm linking up with Dani over at OkDani.com. Every week I always think I'm going to join her and then I never do :( I'm so excited that I'm finally in on it!

Goals for this week:

- Clean the guest bedroom from top to bottom. I never got to do the cleaning that I would have liked to because our move was kind of pieced together. Since this room has the least amount of items in it I think it will be easier to start here.

- Walk 1 mile in 18 minutes or less. My current record is 18 minutes 59 seconds. The longest its ever taken me to walk one mile while pushing a stroller is 31 minutes 17 seconds and that was just last week- I'm on a get fit mission!

- Read at least 2 pages in my current book. Even if this means I have to hide in the bathroom while my husband and son tough it out. I kid! It's not that bad. But I would rather read blogs or browse pinterest/facebook. I've had this book for a week now and I'm on page 30.

- Start the post of my son's first birthday recap. I have no idea why in Sam hell it's taking me so long!

- Participate in 'Mind Right Mondays' again.

- Apply for just one job.

I'm grateful for:

- Heat. As of writing this (Wed 11/28 @ 9:30 pm) it's 34 degrees outside. Tonight's low it supposed to be 28. Oy!

- My son. He really does give me joy. Earlier today he found a closed box of Christmas lights. He walked over to our tree holding the box, pointed to the box, then pointed to the tree. I. AM. AMAZED.

-My family. My extended family has been going through some very rough times and I'm not sure everyone involved is handling it the best way possible. For the first time that I can EVER remember Thanksgiving was rocky. Not everyone showed up and people left early to go shopping- really folks??I am still thankful for them. Keep us in your prayers- please!

-Ice Cream

Accountability:

Since this is the first week I'm participating I don't have anything to add here. Let's see what happens next week.

If you are visiting from Dani's blog hop- please let me know you stopped by in the comments!