These pictures are at the apple orchard where we kicked off the first day of October. You can see more pictures on my "Perfect Fall Day" post HERE.

I made about 8 dozen Pumpkin Spice cookies in one day... I found a bunch of Betty Crocker cookie mixes I had purchased last year that were going to expire if I didn't make them asap. The result.... I got fat and my neighbors were happy because I shared.  :)

We took a hike to some falls at a local park with some friends from church. The fall view was gorgeous!

This historic building is a block from my house. I love living in an old, small town.

Columbus Day shopping spree!

So excited that floral / patterned leggings are "the thing" right now. I am obsessed with this trend!

This is right before we left for my very first music concert! Yes, that's right - I'm 26 and this is just just happened. It was worth the wait though. We had front row seats and Kip Moore, Justin Moore, and Eric Church were amazing. I even saw Eric Church backstage and said "hi" to him. He said "hi" back. I fainted. Ok, not really, but it felt like I could have fainted.  :)

Hubby and I took a Sunday afternoon stroll on the railroad tracks by the river down the road from our house.

Cookie Dough Blizzard from Dairy Queen. Party in my mouth.

I decided to finally try to get back in shape. I kind of let myself go a little bit after the miscarriage. It's been so long since I worked out that Simba is staring at the elliptical like "What is THIS?".

Post workout snack.  :)  Hehehe.

Croptoberfest was this month! My mother-in-law and another local Creative Memories consultant host an annual scrapbooking "marathon" in October.

Indian Summer. Sigh... I miss you already warm weather!

Some healthy food for once! I LOVE this stuff in fact. So yummy.

A box of the new solid colored Baker's Twine arrived! So exciting!

Oh Starbucks.... how I love you.

We ended the month with a cookout which included one of my favorite things ever... S'mores!

So long, October! You were lovely to me this year.



New Today at Bahana Splits Boutique!

I am pleased to announce that Bahana Splits Boutique now offers a large variety of Stripey Paper Straws! I have been in love with these novelties for awhile now and I'm so happy that I am finally able to offer them in my Etsy shop! They are so fun and can be used in so many different ways and for any event or party. Check out the current selection HERE.

I am also happy to say that Bahana Splits Boutique now offers Solid Colored Baker's Twine as well! It is just as beautiful as the classic Baker's Twine and I'm already personally smitten! You can find these Solid Colored Baker's Twines and more HERE.

Things I'm Loving Thursday : Mason Jars

Mason jars are no longer just reserved for Grandma's root cellar! I am absolutely in love with this current trend. Check out some of the ways people have turned them from simple to chic and then try it out for yourself!



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Fall Mantel Decor

I FINALLY got my fireplace mantel decked out for Fall this week. I know, I should have had this done a long time ago, but I needed to do a little shopping to get it finished and I just hadn't had the time to do that until this week. My favorite finds when I finally went to the store was the Acorn Vase I found at Target on clearance and the Vine Pumpkin that was in the dollar bin. The good thing about me procrastinating was that all the Fall stuff has already been marked down since they are setting up for Christmas in the retail world. The wreath was made by me.... it's my very first homemade wreath by the way! I think it turned out pretty good considering I had no clue what I was doing.

I love having a mantel to decorate in my house! There are so many ways you can mix it up and since it's not a huge area to decorate you can fill it up with smaller items that aren't budget busters. Love that.

Fall

I am really enjoying this Fall this year. It is more refreshing to me than usual because of the intense heat and drought we've had over the past several months. These shots I took of my front porch last week really capture the season. I just wanted to share and say "Happy Fall!" Soak it up, people!

Things I'm Loving Thursday - Chevron

Today's Things I'm Loving Thursday is a no-brainer. Anyone that follows me on Pinterest knows that I have had a huge crush on Chevron for awhile now. I pretty much like anything in this pattern, but here are a few of my favorites. Enjoy!



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DIY Laundry Detergent and Fabric Softener

Hello, lovelies! I hope you all are having a beautiful Tuesday! Today I want to share how I have embarked on a "Make Your Own" journey. I have nothing against the store bought versions of laundry detergent, cleaning supplies, and personal care items..... except for the prices. If you think about how much money you spend every year on just these few things it would probably blow your mind. In fact, let me just go ahead and do that for you. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, a family of 5 in America spent an average of $2,400 on household supplies and personal care items in 2010 (2 years ago). Crazy?! Yes.

I had never even thought about making my own supplies until a couple weeks ago when I came across some tutorials on Pinterest that actually looked really easy. So I decided to give it a shot. What could it hurt? So far my favorite website for "recipes" has been One Good Thing by Jillee. Jillee is a blogger such as myself and she is all about simple and easy ways to make your own anything.

As of now I have attempted the laundry detergent and fabric softener. I used Jillee's Rosemary Mint Fabric Softener recipe and I used Living on a Dime's recipe for the laundry detergent. I have used them for 2 weeks now and I love them both! In fact, I think I like the fabric softener better than Downy. Not kidding. So would you like to know how much money I saved? Here is the breakdown:

Laundry Detergent:
(Yield = 2 gallons / 64 loads)

Price for store bought detergent = $12.00
Price for homemade detergent = $.75
Percent of Savings = 94%

Fabric Softener:
(Yield = 88 ounces / 105 loads)

Price for store bought softener = $10.00
Price for homemade softener = $3.00
Percent of Savings = 70%

Umm, how cool is that?! Let's just say I'm hooked. I mean who doesn't like to save that much money? This is almost better than couponing! I can't wait to try more recipes. Jillee has everything on her blog from homemade Oxi-Clean to body wash, and there are tons of other blogs or websites out there with recipes for every kind of household cleaner you can think of.

So I'll plan on being the guinee pig for all you people that are still afraid to take the leap. Hehe! Let me know if there is something specific you want me to try to make! I would love your feedback on this especially if you have already made any of your own supplies and have a recipe to share. If you are one of the brave ones and want to give it a shot then you should check out my "Make Your Own" Pinterest board HERE. I have lots of stuff pinned on there that I plan to try myself.

-Hannah-