Fall Home Tour 2016 - Kitchen

Welcome to our fall kitchen. It is great to get back in the kitchen after a summer spent outdoors and cook some yummy meals for my family. Our family spends lot of time gathered around our small kitchen island. And, of course, Dax needs to get in on the action by begging for a piece of apple.

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Fall Home Tour 2016 - Dining Room

Happy Monday! We are finally enjoying some cooler temperatures in NJ and it has been delightful to be outside. We added some fall decor to the outside of our house and I will be sharing that later this week. Today for the fall tour, we are upstairs in the in the dining area of our home. I mentioned a few weeks back that we switched our dining and living areas around. You see, I was very anxious about my husband's upcoming surgery and moving furniture is my therapy. Fortunately, the surgery is now behind us so the rest of the house is safe...for now.

I like how this set-up gives us more room in the dining room at this time of year. After lots of BBQ-ing and eating outside, it is enjoyable to have a "real" meal at the table again. There's nothing like some comfort food on that first cool Sunday evening of the season when we light the candles and sit down to dinner together.

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My Perfect Mess, Kids & Pets Included (& Giveaway!)

It probably doesn't come as a surprise to anyone that my house doesn't always look like the pretty pictures I usually post on this blog. In fact, I sometimes look at this very blog that I myself publish just to remember what our house can actually look like when I tidy everything up. But the truth of the matter is, we actually live here and it would be sad if we all weren't able to make our messes everyday. First and foremost, like most parents, I want my kids to have the best childhood we can give them. I want them to remember a mother who was present, not one who was always worried about the tidiness of our house. I want them to have space to be creative. To be themselves. And let's not forget our two beloved dogs that are such an important part of our family. I want them to be comfortable too. :) And so I present for your viewing, my perfect mess.

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Fall Home Tour 2016 - Family Room

Welcome to our family room, always my favorite spot to add some touches for fall. This year, especially, we are nesting at home as my husband recuperates from surgery (it went well thank goodness!). There is nothing like a health scare to force you to slow down and count your blessings. That is definitely what we are doing this fall.

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Fall Home Tour 2016 - Entryway

Hello and Happy (Almost) Fall! We are settling in back at home after Billy's surgery. Everything went extremely well and he is recovering slowly but surely. Today, I thought I would share a couple of pictures of our front entryway.

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DIY Wood Shelving

I am always itching to start a new project in the fall. I guess it is hardwired into me from the school calendar but I definitely crave new beginnings at this time of year. With Billy's upcoming surgery, we can't plan anything big just yet so we completed this small project in a day. It made a big impact on freshening up the kitchen/dining level in our house.

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Apple Picking Fun with Fujifilm Instax & Giveaway

My family's very favorite early fall tradition is our annual trip to pick apples on a farm in Vermont. The beautiful mountain and Lake Champlain views, together with fresh and delicious crisp apples make for a great day. It is also a great opportunity to take pictures. This year, I used some of the pictures taken with a Fujifilm INSTAX mini 70 camera to create an apple picking themed mantel display in our living room. We are having so much fun with the Fujifilm INSTAX camera. I just love the retro feel of this camera. Even more importantly, I appreciate that I immediately have prints to use in my home decor and for crafts.

The Fujifilm INSTAX camera provides instant photos anytime anywhere. It is easy to carry everywhere, which is a great advantage to me. I find that always toting around my bulky and expensive DSLR camera to be cumbersome when we are enjoying an activity like apple picking. The INSTAX is a good size to fit in a purse of small tote bag. Fujifilm INSTAX makes it easy to capture the perfect photo every time.

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