Tips for Decorating your Front porch!

One of the most frequently asked questions is how I decide what to do with my front porch and if I can help people with theirs!

And one of my favorite things to decorate in every season is our front porch!

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  1. Hang a wreath on your front door: This can add so much to your front porch.  if there’s one thing I recommend, it’s this.  It’s such a small detail, it can be overlooked sometimes but to me, it’s so inviting when I walk up to someone’s home and they have a beautiful wreath.  It can be DIY or store bought – just make sure it dresses up your door πŸ™‚
  2. Stick to one theme: It’s easy to grab all your fall decorations and place it all outside BUT it looks a lot more cohesive and make more sense if you stick to one theme.

front porch23. Update what you already have: I love buying at least one or two new things to put out front but other than that, I just reuse and re-purpose other items I’ve used for other seasons.  For example, this chair… I simply replace the pillow every season and bam it’s set for the new season!

4. Balance is key: If you add something to one side,  you need to add something to the other.  Seems like common sense but trust me, I used to not know what to really put on each side when we had smaller spaces.

5. Keep things simple: When you have smaller spaces, you want to make sure you keep things simple.  Sometimes I get so excited to put everything out that it just looked a bit cluttered instead of welcoming!

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6. Keep in mind the size of your porch: If you have a smaller porch like myself, you want to make sure it doesn’t look too cluttered.  If you have a bigger porch,  you want to make sure it doesn’t look too empty.  So when buying any pieces of decor (or repurposing) keep your porch size in mind!

7. Make it your own: Gaining inspiration from Pinterest or friends porches is great but make sure you add touches that truly make it your own. I love adding letters to my wreaths to represent our last name!

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I loved our front porch last year and can’t wait to see it with our new siding!

8. Make use of plants and flowers: I love adding in #allthemums to my front porch in the fall.  They go so well with fall decorations and add the perfect touches.

9. Use all sorts of colors: Traditionally, fall brings reds, yellows and oranges to decor but more low key colors like whites and silvers can really spruce up a front porch.  I try to add a small pop of color as I can if I go the neutral route.

Hopefully these tips helped you with your future front porch decorating.  Truly, make your porch how you like and what makes you happy to look at!  Most people don’t visit your home on the inside so it’s nice to have people see the cute decorations on while driving by!

As always, you are more than welcome to send me pictures of your house still to ask for ideas πŸ™‚ Can you tell I really love those front porches?!

Happy Wednesday!

heartKristi

Weekend Rewind!

Anyone else?!

This weekend flew by with a mix of busy and relaxing.  We usually visit my in-laws in October every year to celebrate my SIL’s birthday but after all the traveling we did in September (and this summer), we nixed that idea and they decided to visit us instead!

We spent some time at a corn maze and had a little visit from my other SIL and her boyfriend!

We also enjoyed a little hayride! #itwaslame

The Mr and I had an appointment on Saturday morning but enjoyed a quick trip to Mall of America after.

We all picked out a β€œsmall” bag of candy for the night!

It’s so funny – we live only about 25 minutes from MOA (and I work about 7 minutes from there) and yet we don’t go there very often.  I think Logan said “I haven’t been here in 3-4 years!” when we got there.

We carved some pumpkins that night, roasted the seeds (courtesy of Logan of course) and watched Daddy’s Home on HBO.

And tried on a few new Lipsense colors!

We watched the Packer game on Sunday and were sad to see another loss in the book – but we still have faith that Brett will pull through until we get our almighty QB back!

I ended my night with the Countdown to Christmas on Hallmark to show all the new movies debuting this year – and the first one is less than a week away!

My family will be in town this weekend so I’ll be getting our house ready for more guests and fun!

What fall things did you do this weekend?!

heartKristi

101 MarketΒ 

Happy Thursday! 

I totally planned to blog all week this week and then life happened so that didn’t happen! BUT I went to a cute little Pumpkin Patch market yesterday with a friend and had to share!


I’m such a sucker for pumpkins πŸ™‚


I had never been before but Logan actually recommended it from a coworker! I didn’t think twice when I asked Gayle and thankfully she wanted to go just as much!


We plan to carve some pumpkins or at least see carved pumpkins this weekend so I snagged a few for outside until we get to carving!


How cute is this little stand?! 


And can we talk about fall fashion?! It’s my favorite (aside from my Lilly!) and I can’t get enough of sweater dresses, boots and a good wool hat! 


My sweater dress is from last year but how cute is this one?!

The market had such cute stuff inside as well – and we all know I’m a huge fan of Christmas too so this was perfect!

There were tons of activities for kids too – I mean, tons!  This will definitely become a place I’ll make note to visit for years to come! 
Kristi

Weekending It!

Monday, you are here all too soon! #asusual Weve been home the last few weekends and seriously… it’s been so good! We don’t have any plans to leave home until Thanksgiving time and it makes me so excited! 

Even though we were home this weekend – it was such a good time! When I first started blogging, I loved that this little space was like a journal of things we’ve done and experienced – and it’s weekends like this that I love being able to look back on! 

Friday night I met up with Gayle to shop a little bit for all the fall and christmas things πŸ™‚ We stopped by the Round Barn Trading Company near my house and it’s such a fun not-so-little barn full of decorations!  I picked up just a few things before we headed to Kirklands!

Kirklands has always been a favorite of mine for home decor because A) they have great stuff and B) it’s always good prices! I used to go there all the time with my Grandma in high school when we’d visit – it’s no longer in Eau Claire so I love that they have one right up the road from us in Minnesota!

I’m not kidding when I say – going in there made me want #allthechristmasthings and it’s totally the vision I have for the holidays this year! Farmhouse Christmas! πŸ™‚

After shopping, Logan and I spent the night cooking and baking for our parties the next day; smoked turkey for Logan and those White Chocolate Pumpkin Snickerdoodle cookie for me! Oh yeah, and more of those muffins again to share at work!

We had a few parties to stop by on Saturday and while it seems like a lot – driving 45 minutes to each location before heading home – it sure makes us thankful for those people in our lives!

Our good friends, Elaine and Adam had a fun housewarming/welcome baby Beckett party a little earlier in the day!

And then we headed to Ashton and Ryan’s house for a fun “End of Summer” party!

It’s so great catching up with these wonderful people πŸ™‚

Sunday was spent relaxing while watching our Packers.  

I can’t believe Rodgers’ is out due to another broken collarbone – along with almost every other player! Trying to stay hopeful for a good season but boy does that seem hard!

Now onto work for the week and doing a few fall-inspired activities this week!

What fun* things did you do this weekend?!

*how many times can I say fun in one post?! Ha!

heartKristi

L’amour De Paris

Happy Thursday!

When we were in Paris a few weeks ago, I shared that we had professional pictures taken and y’all… I’m in love!!

Romantic Paris Portraits

I know what you’re thinking… “who hires a photographer in another country for pictures while on vacation?! Who has time for that?!” I mean, I think that when I see pictures like that from people’s vacations!  Here’s how it all happened…

A few months ago, I decided I wanted pictures taken by the Eiffel Tower but it took quite some time to convince the Mr.  I mean, we had two engagement sessions and another photography session after our wedding pictures (because of our terrible wedding photos- no joke!) so he figured he’d put his time in with those types of things πŸ™‚  Clearly, he was wrong…

Romantic Paris Portraits

After chatting with April about what were musts in Paris while preparing for our trip, she immediately said pictures! She had them done when her and her husband went to Paris a few years ago and said they’re such cherished pictures.  As if I needed any convincing?! πŸ˜‰ She gave me the contact information for L’amour De Paris and that was that. I reached out to see if it was even an option at that point since our trip was only a few weeks out – I told you it took a bit of convincing πŸ˜‰

Thankfully, there was availability one morning (sunrise) and I made sure to scoop that date up immediately!  Did I mention that only date available was Logan’s birthday?! Whoops…

Romantic Paris Portraits

Of course, the morning of our pictures the sky opened up and we had quite a bit of rain… that stuck around through our pictures.  Somehow, we picked the one time it rained in Paris (on our trip) but thankfully our photographer, Doug was prepared and even helped make us look good through the rain and frizz.  Can you tell my priorities?!  Moving on…

We met with Doug the morning of our pictures at the Trocadero and he quickly made us feel very comfortable!  He was just so personable and easy to work with!Romantic Paris Portraits

I am so glad that we did these pictures because I will truly cherish them forever.  London, Paris and Madeira was our first huge trip and one we will always remember.  Now, I just love that we have a piece of it to hang in our home.

Romantic Paris Portraits

Paris was our favorite city. There really is something magical about it and we both can’t wait to get back to discover more!

Romantic Paris Portraits

Paris, you have our hearts.

heartKristi

Turkey Dumpling Soup

Oh my… we Logan smoked a turkey this past week and clearly we had a lot of leftovers.  We debated between Turkey Pot Pies (my pick) and Turkey Dumpling Soup (Logan’s pick) and eventually the soup won out.  And I’m not mad about it…

I was a little weary  how it would turn out since neither of us had made dumplings before but I should know not to doubt my husband when it comes to cooking πŸ™‚

We liked the soup so much that I had to share it immediately with Jess (and give her some left over turkey) and guess what?! She made it the same day and loved it too!

Ingredients:

3 TBSPs butter

2 garlic cloves

2 large carrots, diced

2 celery stalks, diced

2 TBSPs all purpose flour

4 cups chicken stock

1 tsp sage rub

1 tsp dried thyme

1/2 tsp salt (see note)

1/4 tsp pepper

2 bay leaves

2 cups cooked turkey, cubed

1 cup frozen corn

8 oz heavy cream

For Dumplings

1 cup all purpose flour

2 tsps baking powder

1 tsp sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1 TBSP butter

1/2 cup skim milk

Instructions

  1. Melt the butter over medium heat in a large stock pot.
  2. Add the carrots, celery, and garlic and cook until soft, about five minutes.
  3. Whisk in the flour until fully combined. Very very slowly add the chicken stock. Begin by adding only about a tablespoon at a time, only adding more stock once the stock you just added is combined. Towards the end you will be able to add it a little more quickly. This should take about two minutes.
  4. Add the sage, thyme, salt, and pepper and bring to a simmer. Allow to simmer for five minutes.
  5. While the soup is cooking, whisk together 1 cup of flour, 2 tsps of baking powder, 1 tsp of sugar, and 1/2 tsp salt. Cut in 1 TBSP cold butter. Gently mix in 1/2 cup skim milk until just combined and there are no more streaks of flour. Gently drop about a tablespoon of the dough at a time into the soup. Boil until just cooked through over medium heat. About four minutes uncovered.
  6. Finally, gently stir in the cooked turkey, frozen corn, and heavy cream, stirring to combine and cooking about one minute more until combined.

 

I know this recipe comes a little early since it’s not Turkey Day for another month but even if you don’t make it this week (um, why wouldn’t you?!) then table it for those left overs for sure!

heartKristi

20 Questions.. Fall style!

Happy Monday!

I’ve always had plans to do a 20 questions blog post and even thought of doing a Q&A since I get emailed quite a few questions BUT when I saw this fun Fall 20 questions, I knew I had to do it!Β  I’m a little late to the game as most of my blogger friends did this last week but better late than never πŸ™‚

So here we go!

Favorite Fall Sweet Treat:

TheseΒ White Chocolate Pumpkin SnickerdoodleΒ cookies are my total favorite fall treat! Along with theseΒ muffins.

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Red, Yellow, or Green Apples?
Red all the way – Gala to be exact!
Favorite Fall Sport to Play?
I’m not much of a sport player… but my favorite sport to watch in the Fall is football!
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Best Drink for Fall?
Pumpkin Spice Latte
DUH.
Favorite Fall Activity?
Usually the pumpkin patch is my favorite fall activity to go to!Β  I have yet to find a really great one to go to (with lots of yummy caramel apples) but I keep checking every year!
Little Farmer
One year, we went to a cute little place called Little Farmer near Logan’s hometown (one of his favorite places) and I’m always ready to go back for another visit!
Must Have Fall Purchase?
A good pair of boots.Β  It doesn’t matter if you splurge on them, save on them or have a good pair of your own!Β  My favorite pair are from Target last year and they were maybe $40!Β  I own pairs that are more expensive and not as comfy.. so I’ll take comfort and style over just style!
Pumpkin-Pick Your Own or Store Bought?
Pumpkin Patch all the way if I can get Logan to go! Although, this year I bought a few from the store instead…
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Real or Fake Pumpkin?
Both?! I love real pumpkins outside but I decorate with fake ones inside?!
Favorite Halloween Costume?
I love dressing up for Halloween and I’m sad this year we won’t have a party to go to (Elaine and Adam, I’m talking to you both ;)).
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I can’t ever get Logan to agree to a Halloween costume (mainly because he hates dressing up as anything I say) so these are definitely my favorite costumes! Being Sandy from Grease as always been a dream of mine since I was 5 πŸ™‚
Although, this fun DIY costume is a pretty close second!
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College Football or NFL?
NFL all the way – as long as it’s the Packers!
Packers
Although, FSU has always been a top favorite of mine as well!
Fall or Halloween Decor?
Fall all the way.Β  Mainly because I’m a bit lazy and don’t want to decorate more than once during Fall πŸ™‚
Raking Leaves or No Leaves to Rake?
We definitely have our fair share of leaves to rake during Fall but I usually leave that up to the Mr and his leaf blower!
Raking Leaves
Favorite Soup?
If I can say a chili then White Chicken Chili – our recipe is so so good! Remind me to share it sometime πŸ™‚
But soupwise, I love me some baked potato soup!
Favorite Fall Candle Scent?
Pumpkin Apple or Leaves from Bath & Body Works.. it’s the best thing when I can start lighting them πŸ™‚
Candles

EVERY.TIME.

Love or Hate Pumpkin Spice?
Is this a serious question…?
Short Booties or Tall Boots?
Tall all the way.Β  I love short booties so much but I don’t ever think I can pull them off. So if you can, then props to you!! You look so cute!
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Favorite Halloween Candy?
I don’t know why at all but the red ones are my all time favorite! I’ve never bought them and don’t intend to but it is my favorite to pull out ofΒ  my niece’s baskets!
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Pumpkin Spice Latte-Yes or No?
YES! I have one at least once a week because it’s just good for my soul πŸ˜‰
Hayride or Corn Maze?
I love both but think I should say a hayride… I mean, have you seen children of the corn?! I think about it everytime I’m in a corn maze!
hayride
Favorite Fall TV Show?
I know it’s not theΒ  norm.. but it’s a tie between….
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OR
Survivor
What are your fall favorites?! What wins out between hayride and corn maze? Are you a Pumpkin Spice fan like me?
And now a serious question… I’m getting my hair done on Wednesday for my usual appointment but I can’t decide if I keep the blonder look or go back to all brown?! What are your thoughts?!
Have a fabulous fall day!
heartKristi

Friday Favorites!

Happy Friday!

highway ecard

I seriously want to know this every time I see something like that or a piece of clothing on the side of the road. Just tell me.

I’m linking up with some of my favorite bloggers to share a little bit of 5 on Friday (and some favorites!).

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{One}

Last weekend we got to snuggle not 1 but 2 sweet little babies! To say we love them both so incredibly much is an understatement…

I might be seeing both this weekend too again which gives me all the feels!Β  It helps to live so close πŸ˜‰

{Two}

Y’all… we have NO plans really this weekend.Β  Actually, we have NO plans really for the WHOLE month! I mean, we have a few things here and there but I’m so excited to just be home and not be living out of a suitcase!

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Sign me up!! πŸ™‚

{Three}

Fall decor.Β  I just love it and love to see inside people’s homes. I shared some of our decor here!

{Four}

Fall outfits. I just really love all things fall including, but not limited to Pumpkins, Pumpkin Patches, Pumpkin Spice Lattes, Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins, leaves changing colors and falling, chili, comfort food… you get the picture, right?! πŸ˜‰

{Five}

I saw the movie, Home Again on Wednesday starring my BFF Reese and I wasn’t sure what to expect!Β  Β I love all of her movies, of course.Β  I mean, my favorite movies EVER are Sweet Home Alabama and Four Christmases along with Grease!

home again

I thought it was sweet. It’s definitely not my favorite movie of hers but the actors in it were cute with her daughters πŸ™‚ Have any of you seen this yet?!

I’m off to work and then it’s the WEEKEND!Β  What are your plans? Anything fall related?!

heartKristi

Happy Hour… Fall Home Tour!

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Hey hey, it’s almost Friday!

I am still in disbelief that it’s October and pretty soon it’s going to be Halloween! I swear, time just flies by!

I’m linking up with Holly for our usual Thursday to share some home fall decor.  Now, usually I’m on the ball with this one… come September 1st, I’m pulling it all out BUT with our long trip and weddings we’ve had last month… I’ve been slacking!

So I’m here to share just a little bit of fall decor for your Thursday so grab your coffee, PSL or wine glass (I’m not judging!) and let’s get chatting!

Welcome to our home…

Our front porch is usually one of my favorite areas to decorate.  I figure we don’t have a lot of guests all the time but we do have a lot of people drive by!

I recently, in the last few months traded out our front table and picture collage out for this cute bench and coat rack! I love all things Magnolia so adding a few pumpkins to the wreath just made sense πŸ™‚

My wine rack is always decked out for the season!

And I just love this little Pumpkin Spice corner in the kitchen! Oh yeah… and those Pumpkin Cream Cheese Swirl muffins are so so good… definitely give them a try if you love pumpkin!

The last area I’m sharing is our TV stand… I can’t wait for the day we have a beautiful fireplace mantle to decorate but for now, I’ll settle for the TV stand (ignore all the cords! I keep telling Logan to move those but you know… men!).

I’m such a nosy person and I just love seeing other people’s homes and how they decorate/live! Anyone else like that?! Isn’t it just so fascinating?!

Hope you have a great day!! Thanks for reading along!

heartKristi

Madeira

Happy Tuesday!

It’s finally time for me to share the rest of our trip today. We ended our trip with some fun in Madeira, Portugal celebrating the wedding of a beautiful couple.  While there, we had a little bit of an “itinerary” for out of town guests, should they wish to participate which was really nice!

Day 6:

It was 2 am before we finally reached our Airbnb.  After meeting with the owner quickly for the keys, we headed to bed.  Jess and Jeff arrived around 10 am to our place (we stayed together!) and we set out for the Lava Pools!

If you ask Logan what his favorite part of Madeira was – he’d say these pools, hands down!

The Lava Pools are a natural man-made swimming pool made from lava rock with the ocean tide sweeping in.  We all were under the assumption that the pools would be almost like a hot spring… I mean, the name has lava in it BUT these were nowhere near warm!

After the pools, we headed back to the Airbnb to relax a little bit before walking down to dinner.

Day 7:

Today, we had bachelorette festivities all through Madeira!

The bride is from Madeira so it was really fun to help her with a scavenger hunt to get to know the city better!

First stop was a selfie with Christopher Columbus!  He spent a year in Madeira learning how to sail before he made his voyage to America.

Stop 1

Next, we headed to see Cristiano Ronaldo’s statue as he’s from the island as well!

Stop 2

We stopped by one of their wineries for a tour and tasting of Madeira wine.

Winery

Side note, their wine is all port wine – at 22% alcohol content, it was crazy strong! And since I really just love sweet wine – it wasn’t for me!

We made a pit stop at one of Lara’s favorite bakeries and tried her favorite; their traditional cake! While enjoying that, I also tried some gelato because #whynot

Our last stop before dinner, we headed to a little hole in the wall bar (so cool though!) and enjoyed a shot in a chocolate shot glass!  After we took the sweet shot, we got to eat the chocolate cup πŸ™‚

Shot bar

Dinner was at a cute little restaurant that had the BEST Sangria and bread!

We walked through the city and they have the cutest cobblestone roads all along the ocean that we later met the guys at and “partied” on!

Cobblestone Streat

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Dancing in the streets

Day 8:

We went back downtown Friday with Jess and Jeff and enjoyed more Sangria πŸ™‚

We also enjoyed some great pasta before heading back to the condo to get ready for the rehearsal dinner.

The rehearsal dinner was so much fun!  There were probably 50 people and not only was the food amazing…

Rehearsal dinner

but the performers were so fun as well.  We could all feel Lara’s culture through and through!​​

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Day 9:

This was our last day in Madeira (and on our trip) and the day of the wedding! Logan and I started our day late – or I should say HE started it later πŸ™‚

But we walked back downtown again to look at a few places and then grab a quick lunch.

I had Sangria one more time and this time… not so great! Turns out, not ALL Sangria there is amazing! ha!

We had to stop for some gelato before heading back to get ready for the night.

The wedding ceremony was at a church that overlooked the whole island.  I’m not kidding, it was just beautiful everywhere you looked!

After the ceremony – which was a traditional Catholic ceremony in Portuguese – we set out for the reception.

This wedding was just gorgeous – I can’t even begin to explain how beautiful and spectacular it was!  The champagne started flowing and macaroons were passed around immediately before the cocktail hour began.

How cute are the bride and groom riding up in this vintage car?!

The cocktail hour was overlooking the ocean and the drinks (and apps) were all so tasty!

At dinner, we definitely were at the table to be at; “Table 19!” right next to the bride and groom!  

We sang the night away at our table to the live music especially when the Disney songs started πŸ™‚

The dance started back on the roof top overlooking the ocean around 11-11:30 pm and even featured a fog machine, some great 90’s songs and fireworks!

We left the next morning around 7 am and headed back to the US.

This trip was truly a once in a lifetime experience and having friends along with us made it even better!

We are both still exhausted but can’t wait for our next trip!

heart