Family Photographs

A few weeks ago we had photographs of our family taken by a dear {semi-retired} friend of mine.

I'm.In.Love.

Warning - picture overload is about to occur.

I can't wait to turn some of these into canvas!

Silly.Beatuiful.Life {a happy Monday giveaway!}

I'm so excited to bring you today's giveaway!

Let me introduce you to Fallon, of Silly.Beautiful.Life.

  

Hello to all you girlys over at Alexandra Rose! I have been blessed enough to know this amazing woman for... gosh, about 15 years. (We're not really thaaaat old, we were just really young!) I would have never thought that here we would be, making handmade and getting our blog on!! But here we are, and here is a little about me!

I am the luckiest mama and wife! I have two little boys 3.5 years and 16 months.

They keep me on my toes and very VERY busy.

Not too long ago, I was struggling with post partum depression, and needed an out for myself. That is how Silly.Beautiful.Life came to be. I started crafting when I was pregnant with my first son, Braxton, so I had all the materials I could need for a while, and started taking a little "me" time. I was new to shopping on etsy, but fell in love with {just.lovely.things} as so many of us have, and then came the profound thought. "I can open a shop. Yup, I think I can do it... but wait.." (this is where you insert a million doubts!) Hubby was/is so extremely supportive, that I decided to give it a shot. Its all still very new, and I am slowly learning my way, but I am loving every minute of it! I love all things sparkly, shiny, and anything that makes me feel pretty, so that is exactly what you will find in the shop!!!

Beautiful items, right?

Wanna know my other favorite thing about Fallon and her shop?

{rhetorical question}

Each month she donates a portion of her proceeds to a new charity!

This month, Fallon is making donations to Operation Christmas Child...talk about feeling good about your purchase!

And, you can do more than just help donate to a great cause...

Fallon is giving you all the chance to win a store credit to the Silly.Beautiful.Life shop!

Here's how to get in on it:

There are 7 ways to enter!

{please leave a separate comment for each item you complete}

{this one is mandatory} be a public follower of the Alexandra Rose Blog

Become a fan of Silly.Beautiful.Life on facebook and tell her I sent you

Become a public follower of the Silly.Beautful.Life blog

Become a fan of Alexandra Rose on facebook

Follow Alexandra Rose on twitter

Re blog {tweet or facebook} about the giveaway with a link back to this post

Tell me who your favorite housewife is from any of the Real Housewives show

{please tell me you watch that?!}

Plus,

Fallon is giving all of you the chance to save 20% on your entire order

by using the code

BEAUTIFULALEX

at checkout!

Head to the Silly.Beautiful.Life shop now!

Giveaway and discount code will be open until Saturday, November 19th at 11:59pm

Winner will be announced Sunday, November 20th.

Veggie Pot Pie {and a giveaway winner!}

This is one of those recipes that makes you feel all warm and tingly inside.
Perfect for making on a cool fall evening.

I make this dish vegetarian, but you could easily add chicken and make this a regular 'ol chicken pot pie.

 The filling is normally thicker, but I was super hungry and in a bit of a rush to cut a piece of this bad boy :)

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 3 cloves of garlic
• mushrooms {I used an entire 8oz package}
• 2 carrots
• 1 can of corn
• 4 small red potatoes
• 2 cups broccoli florets
• 1 cup frozen edamame, thawed
• 3 cups vegetable broth
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 5 tablespoons cornstarch
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• frozen pie crust {one for the top, and one for the bottom}

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees
2. Heat oil in a large skillet or saucepan. Cook onions, mushrooms, and garlic in oil for 3 to 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Stir in carrots, potatoes, and mushrooms. Stir in broccoli, edamame, and vegetable broth. Bring to a boil, then turn heat down to a simmer. Cook until vegetables are barely tender, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
3. In a small bowl, mix the cornstarch, soy sauce, and 1/4 cup water until cornstarch is completely dissolved. Stir into vegetables, and cook until sauce thickens, about 3 minutes.
4. Roll out 1/2 of the dough to line an 11x7 inch baking dish. Pour the filling into the pastry lined dish. Roll out remaining dough, arrange over the filling, and seal and flute the edges.
5. Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes, or until the crust is brown.

 recipe via, adapted by me

I know you all loved the giveaway from Enticing Treats

but there can only be one winner.

True Random Number Generator

Min:

 Max:

  Result: 51

 Powered by RANDOM.ORG

Congratulations:

Breaking Free From Old Ways

said...I follow Alexandra Rose

I'll get you in touch with Tempestt so you can claim your prize!

For the rest of you, don't be sad you didn't win

{ok, be a little sad}

check out enticing treats and grab some goods for the holidays!

shop/facebook

Hope everyone had a great weekend!

We're off to enjoy Sunday dinner :)

Our Week {in cell phone photos}

I'm not sure why, but there's something fun about documenting a week in pictures

{even if they are from my cell phone}

This week wasn't anything out of the ordinary...

There was some shopping, treats, walks, thrifting, a Christmas bazaar and some crafting.

1. Check out that receipt. Yep, that's right. My total was $1.98 for 2 pairs of leggings. Booya.

2. Not-so-hot while grocery shopping

3. Rockin' mom's shades in the car

4. Our local fabric store

My favorite things from the Christmas Bazaar:

1. A plant growing out of a boot. I was tempted to buy this. Seriously.

2. Braided rugs

3. Fresh made kettle corn

1. Gorgeous fall tree we saw on our walk

2. The dahlias I finally had to toss from our family photo shoot

We stopped by our favorite furniture store

They have AMAZING pieces

I drool.

website/facebook

1. Made some burp rags from cloth diapers {big and super absorbent!}

2. Had a happy lunch

3. Cuddled with my lavender aromatherapy heat pack

It was a good week :)

I'm linking up with {just.lovely.things} and a good life

Enticing Treats {a giveaway!}

 Something that comes in a package this cute:

only gets better when you open it :)

One of my newest sponsors,

is offering up a gigantic giveaway today!

Let's learn more about Tempestt, the creator and designer behind Enticing Treats!

"EnticingTreats was started after my amazing friends and family encouraged me enough to take the step and bring my handmade treats to the world!
I love mixing my materials and techniques to come up with cute new goodies.
I love yarn, fabric, ribbon, lace, buttons and beads."

I LOVE my headbands

Want one too?

Well it's your lucky day!

Tempestt is offering up a

$30 shop credit

for one lucky reader!

Here's how to get in on it:

There are 6 ways to enter!

{please leave a separate comment for each item you complete}

{this one is mandatory} be a public follower of the Alexandra Rose Blog

Become a fan of Enticing Treats on facebook

Become a fan of Alexandra Rose on facebook

Follow Alexandra Rose on twitter

Re blog {tweet or facebook} about the giveaway with a link back to this post

Tell me something you're thankful for

 

Plus,

Tempestt is giving all of you the chance to save 45% on your entire order

buy using the code

ALEX45

at checkout!

Did you read that?! 45%...like, as in almost 1/2 off!

If you haven't started your holiday shopping, I'm thinking now is the perfect time!

So get to shopping now!

Giveaway and discount code will be open until Saturday, November 12th at 11:59pm

Winner will be announced Sunday, November 13th.

Give Thanks {a linky party!}

I know it's that time of year.

You know, where everyone is more aware of giving thanks.

Taking inventory of what we have, and being grateful.

We tend to be in the holiday spirit,

 more inclined to help those in need,

sponsor a great cause,

give a donation to charity,

or even help give a family a meal.

And, while those are all great things,

{please don't think I'm saying that they're not}

I have a challenge.

Instead of 30 days of thanks,

 or doing a kind deed for someone out of holiday spirit,

Let's make a movement.

A conscious effort to

 be thankful

and give

more.

No matter the time of year,

no matter the circumstance.

Every Thursday I'll hold a Give Thanks link party.

I'd love to hear some things you're thankful for,

something you've done for someone else,

a way you have positively impacted another person.

I'm reading One Thousand Gifts, by Ann Voskamp and to say that it's life changing is truly an understatement.

Here is one of my favorite quotes so far:

“The brave who focus on all things good and all things beautiful and all things true, even in the small, who give thanks for it and discover joy even in the here and now, they are the change agents who bring fullest Light to all the world.”

How beautiful and true is that?!

7 things I'm thankful for this week

• The pitter patter of tiny feet {even if it is 5:30 in the morning}
• Fall leaves
• Beautiful, amazing sunshine
• Gorgeous fresh flowers
• Walks with my family in crisp, fall air
• The roof over our heads and the beds we sleep in
• Having dinner with wonderful friends

Let's be the change agents in this world!

It starts with you...link up now!

     Please include the Give Thanks button ---->
     with a link back to this post so more people can
     get in on the action :)

Happy Halloween {Part 2}

My son loves Halloween.
Not likes.
Not likes a lot.
loves.
LOVES.
We've had so much fun all month talking about pumpkins, spider webs, Dracula, Frankenstein, ghosts and everything in between.

Numerous trips to the pumpkin patch, and daily drives past festive Halloween decorated houses. October has been busy :)

Last night we had such a good time taking our sweet monster trick-or-treating, visiting friends at scary houses and eating candy.

Even if the he did get to bed 2 1/2 hours past his normal bed time, it was a night well spent and he had SO much fun.

Honestly, I'm dreading the fact that it's now November and 99% of people are going to be taking down their Halloween decorations.

{you know, there's always those random houses who have witches and tombstones up year round}

 If you love me, and understand how difficult it is to explain to a 2 year old that Halloween is over, please leave your Halloween decorations up until Christmas.

Thanks.