yum.

Although I accomplished making my seasoned pretzels and easy sugar cookies, in all my excitement for Charlie Brown I somehow forgot my cup of cider in the microwave.

I wonder if it's still warm? Zoinks... TGIF everyone!

oh, charlie brown!

If there's one thing you should know about me by now, it's that I not only adore Fall but also, everything about Halloween. This has taken some getting used to for D so I have been "breaking him in" with baby steps. I've kept the decorations to a minimum...at least for now! Yes, this means there are no spider webs at a five foot level...much to my Mama and old college roommate J's dismay, I am sure!

I just love the crunch of leaves, carving pumpkins, eating apples and going to the orchard, brainstorming for costume ideas, decorating and most of all, listening to little footsteps outside turn into whispers just before that knock on the door and a sweet little "trick-or-treat" spurts out of their candy-eager mouths...seriously...what's not to ADORE?

In addition to this, I am an avid Charlie Brown and Peanuts fan. One of the things I look forward to most are holiday specials around Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas when one special television station decides to make my day and air my lovable, irresistible Charlie!

Well folks, that just so happens to be tonight! A big THANKS to my Mom who told me about this but at 7pm ABC will be airing none other than It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown! I am so excited I can hardly stand it.

Since D will be heading to Valley City to scout Viterbo University, whom they play at 12:00pm on Saturday, I will be snuggling up with some warm apple cider and some fresh seasoned pretzels [thanks for the recipe, L!] and indulging in a classic favorite. Perfection!

right up my alley.

I have several blogs that I check periodically...multiple times a day. Mostly I am looking for updates on free samples, coupons or one-heck-of-a-deal, but the other day, to my surprise, I came across a post for a DIY autumn wreath.

Now a few weekends ago, my good friend A [and former boss while I was working at The Forum] gave D and I our wedding gift. A is an Uppercase Living representative and has been struggling to find a frame to fit our names but finally found the perfect one and gave it to us. We absolutely LOVE it! So much in fact, that I changed where I had originally thought I wanted to hang it and decided rather to make it a focal point in our "entryway" right when you come into the apartment.

Well, after looking at it, I realized that what I currently had hanging on the wall wasn't going to work at all. So I took an old cupboard door that I bought at Habitat for Humanity Restore [in Moorhead] about two years ago, and decided to make a chalkboard to hang underneath it. I completed that little project and found myself with another empty space on the wall. And that's when I remembered the blog post I had read...and I knew right away it would be the perfect piece to my entryway puzzle.

The end result? An arrangement I am not only in love with, but also rather proud of how well it turned out. Not to mention, it cost me next to nothing to put together. The picture is a little fuzzy but you get the general idea!


If you are interested in creating your own wreath, check out the original post with step by step directions at Centsible Savings. I made mine pretty "fluffy" but you can do it any way want - so fun and easy!

boots = love

So after finishing my last post, I checked my email for approximately the 63rd time today. To my surprise [not really] I had a couple email blasts I hadn't seen yet, one of which was from Nike. Now because of my fanaticism with free samples and coupons, I have found myself receiving TONS of email. But the stuff I really take the time to read comes right to my gmail account, which is where the Nike emails just so happen to land. Although I choose not to buy regular priced Nike clothing or shoes [or anything else regular price, for that matter], these winter boots were too cute to resist posting. They come with a rather hefty price tag but perhaps an end-of-the-season-super-duper-clearance will emerge in June and they just may make the $15-or-less rule I tend to stick to with purchases. Who knows! But if you aren't as 'frugal' as me, perhaps you'd like to add these to your Christmas Wish List. These are my two favorites:

These beauties appear to be very warm,

but I'm not sure they can handle a true
MN/ND winter. You can find them here.

These are cute as a button if you ask me!
They come in black or brown - check them out.

a perfect day to post.

It seems dear Mother Nature has issued us a bit of a wake-up call today so since we are bundled up inside our apartment [still putting off turning on the heat] it's a perfect time to get this baby updated. Instead of offering a futile attempt at an explanation as to why I haven't posted, I decided that I'm just going to jump right back in with what's been going on with us over the last several months. Enjoy the photos and a bit of a rewind...

In June, D and I celebrated our one year anniversary! It's hard to believe how quickly the past year [and then some] has gone by, but we were able to take a weekend getaway to Bemidji. The hotel was fantastic [RIGHT on the lake] and we spent our time enjoying canoeing, hiking/trail walking, sight-seeing, soaking in the indoor/outdoor hot tub and eating some yummy food! It was only a few hours away but it was a really special weekend basking in our growing love!

The view from our room.

The trail we explored.

We thoroughly enjoyed the statues before heading back to Mayville [and before the rain hit!]


D + Chief Bemidji

A trip to Bemidji wouldn't be complete without Paul and Babe. Fun!

My "little" cousin marked a big milestone in her life: high school graduation! I made the trip down to Big Lake, slowly crawling through 5mph traffic, hail and torrential rains, but eventually got there in one piece. It was a fun day with family, but boy was it sticky and hot!

The graduate

Releasing balloons for the grad's future

I let loose the final three.

My good friend J got married at the end of July and I was lucky enough to share in the special day. Unfortunately, I had to miss out on good friends J+S who got married that same day, so Dave and I split up and I headed south and he went a little north so at least half of our duo could be present at both special events!

M + S + L

J and S

D's basketball season got going last weekend with the first home opener. There was lots of excitement, anticipation and perhaps a little bit of nervousness, but even though they ended up in a 91-93 loss, it's exciting to see the talent and potential on this year's team! I'm so proud of my hubby; it's truly where he belongs and hopefully that is evident in the next few photos [try to ignore the lack of skill from the photographer!],