Feeling Fallish

Maybe it the shock of getting rid of so many clothes while cleaning out my closet, or the cooler mornings we have had, or that I seen this on Pinterest and my mouth started watering but I just had to make these delightful snacks.

Chocolate - Check!
Salt - Check!
Candy Corn - Check!

Sweet, salty, goodness! and oh so easy!!

First gather your ingredients. Be sure to get all of them.

Check, check, and check!

Heat your oven to 350 degrees

Line your pan with parchment paper and then lay out all the tiny pretzels. A normal bag of Hershey Kisses have about 55 kisses in it, give or take, so you can plan on laying out as many pretzels.

*Side note - I had enough pretzels and candy corn that I ended up getting another bag of kisses and made two batches. I'm a glutton for punishment but I promise you they are that good!!!

Then starts the painfully annoying job of unwrapping the kisses and placing them on the pretzels. This by far was my least favorite part.

Once you get them all "kissed", place your pan in your oven and bake for 3 minutes or just until your chocolate starts to get warm.

In my three minutes while I waited, I placed my candy corn in a dish for easy accessibility, feed Lil Hoff 3 pretzels, caught zero pretzels in my mouth that Farmboy threw at me, and had to play referee between Fluff and Lil Hoff on who got the pretzels that fell on the floor. But hey, in your three minutes you feel free to do whatever you feel like.

When that time dings you be ready with your candy corn to start placing on top of your ever so soft and melted kisses.

And then the finished product.

**Correction - Waiting for these to cool was my LEAST favorite part.

I have gave some to my hair dresser and to Lil Hoff's babysitter. Partly because I want to be nice, but partly because if I don't give them out I will eat all of them. Please make soon and enjoy!

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Addict Right Here!

I am about to admit something (and very shamefully) I.am.a.clothes.addict. I can't help it. First of all I love to shop. Secondly I have always worked for my money to be able to spend. Thirdly we waited so long to have a child that I never had a problem spending all the extra money we had on me. I know very selfish.....

So that is why right here in front of everyone I am admitting that I hoard clothes. I'm afraid to miss out on a style and I am also afraid, are you ready?? To wear the same outfit twice. Gasp!! The horror.

So I have made my mind up that I need help. I spent Wednesday cleaning out my closet in the hope to have more room and so that I can fully grasp how awful it is getting. I am showing my disgrace off to everyone so that next time you see me you can shamefully tell me how awful I am to have all these clothes to be worn once (some not even that much) while there are people less fortunate. But, please be kind about it.

Are you ready to enter my closet???

This isn't even a very good picture for you to grasp how full and out of control it is. If you can imagine there are two racks top and bottom all the around this closet and I fully control 80% of it all. (I guess that is one thing I can be thankful for that Farmboy farms, he pulls his clothes out, sniffs them and puts them on to wear another day so he needs very minimal closet space) Do you see in the top corner all the shoe boxes? Yea, it's like that all the way around too and this is approximately just half the closet space. Just to put it in prospective, I have given many, many, tours of my home including my closet and people literally gasp when they walk into my closet by how big it is. Maybe that should be my fourth point. I have a big closet, therefore I must fill it.

Let the cleaning begin.

Summer clothes first, I had no mercy. No keeping clothes because ONE day I might fit into it better than today, no that style will look better on me tomorrow than today, No just keeping it because I like the shirt even though I have never worn it. ALL must go....

I had two containers full of just summer! Oh the madness....

But on the bright side, it should be a LONG time before I have to purchase hangers again. Look at me with my optimistic attitude.

Here is where the madness doesn't stop.

Who had TEN crinkle tank tops? TEN! What am I buying stock in crinkle tank tops?? 

and all those white tank tops?? Geez, just lock me up and throw away the key, I will live the rest of my life cuddling with my tank weeping softly.

Hello Fluff, Fluff?? Are you paying attention to me?? Or are are you asleep fearfully awaiting to be hit by a hanger or stray shirt.

Back to addictions, not only is it clothes, but also shoes. Oh My Word! How do I love thee shoes??
I love shoes with heels,
I love shoes with color,
I love shoes that are impractical (which most of mine are),
I love shoes that I have never worn but were too cute to pass up,
I love shoes that make me buy a outfit just to match those shoes,
I love shoes that make me taller,
I love shoes that make a statement,
I just love shoes, but sadly all these shoes bid goodbye to my closet.
Take them! I will not cry, I.will.not.cry

The final product. Sadly the box with the fall clothes that I got rid of are not pictured. It was a heavy box and as soon as I got it hoisted up, it went to the back of my vehicle to be taken to a consignment shop. The other two boxes full of summer will be taken in the spring and the box of shoes hopefully will find all the love and attention they deserve on the feet of someone else.

So what have I learned through this process??
1. I have learned that I buy a particular style of shirt in multiple colors.
2. I am a impulse shopper.
3. I buy the same exact outfit that is on mannequins because it is cute and it has to go together with those exact pants AND shoes.
4. GAP needs to get bigger mannequins
5. Velour makes me instantly break out into a choking sweat. Not that I have ever wore velour, but the thought does.
6. I really don't need 4 different shades of Khaki capris. Surely one color would be good enough
7. I can't hold onto something just because it has a sentimental value. i.e. a skirt I wore on our honeymoon and had a picture of Farmboy and I taken with me wearing it which is STILL one of my favorite pictures. OR the dress I wore to my college graduation. Both very happy memories but I don't need the clothes to remember them.
8. I can wear the same outfit twice. (I'm working on this one)

What I am working on....
1. I still have some shoes I still might not wear in the next year
2. which means I still have a insanely amount of shoes
3. and jeans
4. and white tank tops
5. Getting rid of enough clothes to allow Farmboy a shelf to store some of excess work clothes.

The first step any in addiction is admitting you have a problem right??

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Throwback Thursday

So it's not really throw back, but since I am back to work and it's Thursday I thought I would finally get around to showing you our home sweet home while we were in Chattanooga. That seems like so long ago.......

We stayed in a Residence Inn by Marriott and when you walked into the room this is what you walked into. The sitting room with a bedroom off each side and the kitchen and dinning nook.

This is was our kitchen.

This was our room.

And this was our hallway from our bedroom to the bathroom.

And this was Lil Hoff's room. I love that we decided to get a suite with two rooms. It was nice to put Lil Hoff down for the night and still be able to sit up and watch TV and not worry about waking the baby up. He actually got the bigger room since in our room there was no where handy to put the crib. Which was the other really nice part of our trip, everywhere we stayed had a crib so we didn't have to put up our pack and play anywhere.

SO this wass our little paradise away from home, our oasis away from reality, our habitat away from the "norm"

And all too quickly reality smacks you in the head like a two by four. Welcome Home.

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Live from Music City...

We said farewell to Chattanooga with not one.....

But two loads of luggage to the vehicle.

I said "OK, you two look at me and say cheese" and then snapped this picture. At which Farmboy goes "Was I in that picture" Yes darlin', you was.

The plan for the day is to travel to Nashville and take in some sights there and then stay the night. We got all snuggled in for some traveling and then before I knew it, we were pulling into Nashville.

I had Lil Hoff situated for the long haul. We had Micky Mouse playing, and Elmo, and blankie. I envisioned a nap and a well rested boy for the day ahead. Instead Lil Hoff wanted to play. 

With stickers......

and more stickers. We had a book for the tractor stickers to go into, but he prefers to put them on himself and  I have learned on this trip, if he's happy then I am happy. Very rarely though are all three of us happy at the same time. Something else I have learned on this trip.

I am a Nashville (the show) junkie, so when Farmboy asked if there was anywhere I wanted to go in Nashville I instantly replied "The Bluebird Cafe"

It is nothing like I thought it would be. It's amazing how in the show it looks like it is in a dark remote part of town, but in reality it is on a very busy road that is populated with malls, banks, and other upscale businesses. It is in a strip mall with a child clothing store on one side and a hair salon on the other. Not the Honky Tonk setting you would imagine.

We then headed to the County Music Hall of Fame. It was a fun to walk through and see where country music originated from and who were the scene changers along the way.

This is Elvis Presley's gold Cadillac. It really is gold on the inside and out.

The set from Hee-Haw

Their featured artist exhibit was "Reba" and had a lot of her dresses she had worn from concerts, award shoes, and even some of her t.v. shows on display.

My two stars infront of the wall of Gold Records. (which at this point we realized Lil Hoff had soaked through his diaper and with no bathroom in sight we had to hunker down in a corner between exhibits to change the diaper and clothes. I think we may of offended a couple of gawkers)

They had a whole wall dedicated to the costumes that Carrie Underwood had worn on her blown away tour. It is amazing they can perform they way that they do while wearing these costumes. The heels, and spikes, and slits, and tight fitting. Geesh.....

After finding a place to eat lunch and walking around the downtown area of Nashville we ended up by the Grand Ole Opry with our motel. That night we ventured out to mall that was close by and ended up at the restaurant that Farmboy and I ate at while on our honeymoon. Two totally different experiences.

Same restaurant.

Same aquarium with probably the same fish ( I don't know what the life expectancy of a fish is?)

New person.

Same couple that said "To Have and To Hold"

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Trains and Falls

We have been gone all day and are all tired but I feel like we haven't done much. Does anyone else get that feeling on vacation? We started our day at the Lookout Mountain Incline Railway. Which is a train that runs up the side of Lookout Moutain. It is about a mile long ride and there towards the end you are looking straight down.

Up we go....

And your starting to lose the track.

At the top of Lookout Mountain there are some of the breathaking views. This is Chatanooga that you are seeing.

And the Tennessee River.

On the way down we went from Wheeee

to Zzzzzz in no time at all. (the lady in the background was having some issues of her own and I hate when I get people like that in my pictures cause now she will forever be part of my vacation)

After we left Lookout Mountain we went to Ruby Falls which is known for the "Falls" inside a cave. Before we ventured into that we ate at their cafe and let Lil Hoff play on the playground they had there.

He loved it!

He kept saying "U Ready?" before he slid down the slide and I would say "Yes" and he would come

This time he said "U Ready?" And then something caught his eye and he tumbled coming down face first. I then asked him "Was you ready for that?" and he said "Nope". Too funny!

Here we go into the cave. I know many of you have been shaking your head at my vacation with Lil Hoff. Things I was not prepared for, items I thought he would love and he did not, time allocated  that did not work out. But on this I will not be to blame. I read the brochure and there was no mention of what was to come. I really believe there needs to be a brochure printed on EVERY tourist attraction that is written by a  parent of a toddler that is impartial and you can then make a informed decision. I expierenced my biggest fear as a mother today. We are deep into a cave and Lil Hoff starts throwing a tantrum. He does not throw tantrums, he isn't that kid, but he picks today in a cave when his voice naturally echoes to throw a fit and be determined to get his way. Betwen Farmboy carrying Lil Hoff, Farmboy holding Lil Hoff's hand. Me carrying Lil Hoff, me holding Lil Hoff's hand, giving him a drink, taking the drink away, making sure he doesn't play in mud, making sure he doesn't sit in mud, making sure he didn't venture off into the cave, making sure he doesn't bonk his head on the cave, and overall making sure that we all have a very good time for the mile round trip hike, we was all exhausted by then end of the cave. Farmboy and I were both ready to split from the group and find our own way out. (NOTE: there was no mention of a mile hike to see the waterfall, that you got 1 minute to look at before the lights went out and you had to leave)

Pessimist hat off, Optimist hat on

Lil Hoff did like all the rocks.

And it is always amazing to see God's natural craftsmenship.

And my picture does not do this justice. The waterfall was breathtaking!

And like I have said before, this scene always makes me smile. (and Farmboy is carrying my Vera Bradley purse..hehehe)

And we survived.

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