Most Wanted List

My shopping itch is back! In my defense, I haven't shopped in a long time, for obvious home-related reasons. :) That doesn't mean I can't window shop, right? The annual Junior League Holiday Mart begins tomorrow, and yours truly will be in attendance with my sis on opening night. Crazy, I know. There will be hundreds of wide-eyed women crowding the many 1o x 10ft booths snatching up whatever they can. Most of the vendors are local businesses, and most of the deals are amazing. I can't wait!

Despite my self control to limit my spending tomorrow, I still am lusting after a few Fall pieces for my wardrobe:
1) Navy blue faux suede slouch boots: currently $30! The only thing stopping me is....hmmm...perhaps I can't find a reason? :) I love the navy trend that's happening now. I'm diving in head first.
2) Rainforest Green J.Crew coat: The cut, the color--swoon! At $298, it's wayyy out of my price range though. Adore from afar. Le sigh.
3) Cowl sweater tunic--Arden B.: The deep amethyst color is to die for. Love this, want this, like yesterday.

I guess you could say that I love color. :) The right thing to do at this point is wait it out a few days and see if I really do still "need" them. Be responsible Abbey! To the boots and sweater--Perhaps "I'll be back".

I'm way too excited about an area rug

It was delivered today, so that's my excuse to be as excited as I am, right? Now don't get me wrong I love my wood floors, they are beautiful, but everyone needs that little sense of comfort in their living room. I think Rupert needed it more than Jared or me b/c he only hung out by the couches with us when absolutely necessary before retreating back to the safe, full-of-traction carpeted dining room. Poor guy, those hard wood floors were quite an adjustment for him. The proof lies in the number of times we saw his paws slide out from underneath him while trying to take a turn a little too fast. THUD. We didn't want to laugh, really. :)

Anyway, it's here!
I took quite a risk by ordering it off of Overstock.com. Without seeing more than an image of it on a website and zero customer reviews to base my judgment off of, I was tentative to say the least. The rug is 8 x 10 approx, which is more massive than I expected, but necessary for the room and furniture. I must say though, I'm pretty happy with the result! The color is slightly different than the picture on the website, but I think it still works.
I figured I'd throw in a picture of my mantle all "fall"ed up. My birch tree painting still continues to be one of my favorite pieces to date, so I had to find a place to use it! I've painted a lot, but this is my go to piece when I want to feel proud and reassure myself that I CAN start an Etsy store. Someday Esty, hopefully sooner than later. :)

Painter's shoulder--is that a thing?

Room #3--painted. 4 weeks moved in, and 3 rooms done. Jared and I have this down to a science--he rolls, I edge out the trim/ceiling. Today, we finished the last room that absolutely HAD to be painted. The rest of the home has great colors throughout, so we are more than happy to live with them as is. Truth be told, this is actually the second attempt of a color change in this same room. So I guess you could say we have painted 4 rooms. I took a risk with my first color choice, and failed. Miserably. What I thought would be a fun lighter orange color turned out looking like a gross orange creamsicle. ICK! I didn't even want people to see it I was so horrified. It just couldn't wait any longer, we had to cover every last trace of that orange disaster. Seriously, the picture doesn't even do it justice:
So three hours of painting later--the room is much more adult looking.I chose a completely different color, although more muted, it still has some personality. It's a ocean blue/green color and I am loving the way it turned out! I'll post "after" pictures after I get some furniture and decor up in there.
Rupert enjoyed painting time too. I love when he get's this excited, he looks like he's smiling, and that makes me smile :) We love our little man! And yes, he is sporting a Halloween inspired bandanna these days. He's now 11 months old, the perfect time to start showing he's fashionable, yet still tough (scared).
In other news, Jared and I are thrilled to have a buyer for this monstrous children's playset hanging out in our backyard. The previous home owners left it here for us, so we're not too upset to make a buck off of it as the thing is a beast and in great shape. The buyer is coming by tomorrow to buy and hauling it off later this week (hopefully). No more mowing/edging around it. YAY! Although it IS tempting to take a ride down the slide myself, there are not near enough trees around to keep my neighbors from seeing, so I'll pass. :)

Have a happy rest of your weekend everyone!

It's fall, I'm sick already

Bummer dude. This is so typical of my weak-ass immune system to catch a serious cold this early on in the season. There aren't enough vitamins in the world to keep me from catching whatever may be going around. And to this day, I can still prove that whenever I make an effort to take more vitamin C is when I actually get sick. Just this weekend/week, I had eaten 2 oranges right before I got sick (it is a very uncommon occurrence for me to eat them that frequently). When I was younger, my dad had me take some horse-sized vitamin C pill, and after the first dose, I had a cold the next day. It makes no sense. Anyway, this is my life right now:
My nose is raw, I've taken whatever remaining sick days I had left for the year due to frequent migraines every other month, and currently, KSU is being schooled in the sport of football by Nebraska. Ouch. Here's hoping for a refreshing weekend. Yeah, yeah, I know....bah humbug. :)