I heart fall

And it's slowly coming to the Semi-Homemade House! With all the rain we got the weekend before last, I decided to make a big batch of chili (okay, who am I kidding? Most of you know I'll make chili in the heat of the TX summer!) and start decorating for fall. I say start because I've got several awesome semi-homemade ideas for fall.... which means I should be able to get around to 1 or 2 of them!

The only sign of fall outside so far is this:

I've got a witchy sign to add, but so far, even in the mecca of Halloween neighborhoods, no graveyards or empty coffins or witches and their cauldrons have made an appearance yet. I'm hoping to get a little something for our yard this year so we can fit in!

I love orange! My mom-in-law got me this cute berry garland and I love how it transforms our dining room. In the past, I've filled that hurricane with candy corns.... trying to decide if I'll put them somewhere else this year!

More orange, but now we're in the living room!

G-man's spider TOT tote and Big Sister's pumpkin tote are all ready for action! They're from PBK, and they run them every year - check them out here. Now we just need to decide on costumes - what are the monsters in your house dressing up as?

I'm working on something for the mantel to be ready before our Halloween party... but for now, we've got pumpkins and more pumkins. And our Countdown to the Pumpkin Patch (Big Sis is enjoying that so much!!)

See, I told you I love orange! Orange blooms and a couple little jack o lanterns and my nook has changed seasons, too!


I'm home with a sick baby today.... G-man has bronchitis! Sat night was awful, with his painful, barking cough, his restlessness, and his breathing... I had to hold him upright all.thru.the.night. Poor baby! But he was much better this morning and even played for a whole hour in his crib before finally taking a nap after lunch. Must be feeling better! And if he is.... we might run to Michael's for some supplies for a Semi-Homemade Halloween project. Boo! :)

Live from your All Pirate Network....

LOL! Y'all, G-man's pirate nursery is in the news again! And before you tell me how tired you are of seeing it (although I never get tired of hanging out in that room!), I just want to take the opportunity to continue to introduce you to the coolest websites for moms, for decorating, for inspiration!

Meet: Design Dazzle. If y'all like decorating (ooh, me, me!!), you've got to get to know Toni and Design Dazzle. It's 'decorating ideas and design inspiration for babies, kids, teens.' One stop shop! She's had some of THE cutest rooms! (She did another pirate room, and they had the cutest treasure map painted on the wall. Isn't that a cool idea? I'll have to get Mr. Fix-It right on it!)

So please visit Toni, check out G-man's room, and be sure to email me with your latest decorating achievement - I'd love to see them! (After all, we'll be moving next summer and I'll be on to my next set of decorating adventures!) TGIF!

Where You Live Friday: Entry Ways

This week on WYLF over at Kelly's Korner is Entry ways! I think ours is beautiful and - as always - full of a few special memories!

This is the view from the living room, which is how I most often seen our entryway (I rarely come in the front door!) Doesn't it just look peaceful? Or maybe it seems that way, after the chaos of the family room! ;)

This is what you see as you walk in the door.... (this pic is from moving day, obviously, since there is no furniture!)

Here's a recent one that shows the view to the right...
And a view from the gameroom upstairs....

Here you can see our double staircase - one comes down to the front door, the other to the family room. I LOVE having it this way! (And Big Sis likes to race me upstairs at bedtime - we each get our own staircase!)

Some of our special memories that we keep in the entryway.... this is our wedding picture, which we finally (after 7+ yrs of marriage!) had custom framed. And I love it!

Can you see the frame detail? It's not the best shot, but I tried....

On the console table, we've got G-man's newborn pic (watch for his 1 year pics soon - Kristie and I have been brainstorming his photo shoot!), a family pic from last summer about a week before I had G (from yet another Kristie photo session!), and a candid from our wedding day.

There's generally not much action in the entryway, seems like... but last summer, every Monday, it was the home of my weekly belly shots! (I've never followed thru on something like this before and I'm so glad I did! I have a weekly pic from 3 months pregnant until 3 days before I had G!)

Thanks for viewing our entryway! For more of our house tour, visit here.

Where You Live Friday - Yard & Garages

Wow, it's only Sunday and I'm already doing Where You Live Friday at Kelly's Korner! What an improvement! ;) This week is yards & garages.... This is the 2nd house that my hubby has built us - and my, how we love it!

We lost a beautiful crape myrtle tree during a storm this year, and replaced it with a gorgeous magnolia tree (don't you know you're in the South, now?!) It's looking a little sad right now, with the temps around 105 lately... but we're giving her a little more tlc going fwd so she'll recover!


I love begonias..... you can see our O-state stone here.... We are THE hugest fans and totally bleed orange & black...

Here is our garage! Inside, it's filled with strollers, a bow flex, my car, bikes, and lots and lots of tools (they don't call him Mr. Fix-It for nothing!)

Moving on to the back yard!

It's the typical suburban back yard, huh? ;) That's Big Sister's weeee (that's Big Sis-speak for playset!) And G-man's is to the right... although they have the most fun when he's on the red baby swing next to her big girl swing.... and now that she can pump herself, it's even more enjoyable for momma. ;)
We've never had a back yard that I've enjoyed as much as this one....There's plenty for the kiddos to do, a huge covered area for dinners and entertaining, a patio for bike riding, a fireplace for s'mores making... you name it!


That patio furniture was our gift to ourselves for our 5th wedding anniversary! And I love the pair of outdoor wall hanging we have on that far wall (you can only see one in the pic)..


Do you see the bird flying over the fireplace? I hadn't noticed him and I guess my camera scared him into flight! That was a project after we moved in.... and if we get around to it, we're going to build a matching outdoor kitchen on the other side of the patio.


My patriotic cuties in front of the (unlit) fireplace on the 4th of July! No s'more making lately... it has been way TOO hot!

We're not going to build a pool until the kiddos get a bit older (and until we plan to stay in a house for longer than a couple yrs!) So, until then, we're living in a neighborhood with great amenities! This is the beach club, which is pretty cool when you live landlocked in the middle of TX! This is Big Sis last June.... I haven't managed to get the camera there yet this year! (And probably won't until G-man's 1st birthday party there!)

Big Sis loves the splash pad.... and G-man is learning to tolerate it. ;)


And another pic from last summer, this time the aquatic center.... the kiddie pool has a beach enrtrance with fountains which is great for the mommas...

Thanks for checking out our outdoor living! If you're interested in seeing the rest of the house - my husband is THE best builder and I love to decorate! - check it out here.

Where You Live Friday: Master Bedroom

Y'all, it seems I'm just getting worse at these as we go along. It's almost time for the next Where you Live Friday and I'm just now doing last week's. Oops! At least this week is yards and I think I can handle to get that one up in a more timely fashion. (But I'm not gonna promise...)

For those of you who don't know, my hubby Mr. Fix-It is a builder and homes are our biggest hobby. We move often and we love, love picking out new floorplans, granite countertops, flooring, you name it. And I love to decorate!

This is the entry into our room....


One day I'm going to learn to sew.... like my mom, who made these amazing brown velevet curtains that pool on the floor.

I'd prob spend more time in my room, if I had the time... to relax and watch tv:

... or read... this is what's on my nightstand! Kimmie recommended Jen Lancaster's book and I'm starting with Bitter is the New Black and I love it! I just finished the next book, The Sweet Potato Queens Big Ass Novel. If you've never read any of the SPQ books by Jill Connor Browne, you don't know what you're missing! The next book is one of my child's Birthday Books. I love these! It's a way to document what you do to celebrate each birthday for your child. You know how much I love entertaining... this is perfect to document all those details! Also has room for funny interviews of your kiddo. Then my new Semi-Homemade Cookbook by Sandra Lee (all healthy recipes!) and my collection of InStyle mags...

Right above our dresser, you can start to see our beautiful ceiling...


And - of course - some special pictures hang out on our dresser... oldies but goodies... the top one is one of Mr. Fix-It and I's engagement pics from 2001 during my former life as a blonde. The bottom right is a wedding photo... and the left is a family pic with my parents and sibs.


It's also where I keep my amazing photo album from my maternity photo session with Kristie. Check out her work here! Funny, Big Sis is wearing this same top today...

Man, I got HUGE with baby G-man.... but these are a few of my fav shots in the album:

I pictured the master bath in the Bathroom Tour, so check it out!

And on to the master closet. In our last house, we had his & hers closets off the master bathroom.... so you can imagine my hesitation when I was told this floorplan had us sharing closets again. ;) But there's a divider down the middle (where my dresses are hanging) that keeps us separated. And it houses the full length mirror that Big Sis uses every morning to inspect her outfit and her 'do before school.

As a huge shoe fan (and someone who was formerly in the shoe business), Mr. Fix-It knows by now how to make me happy when it comes to closet space.... he and I worked on this shoe storage in our closet, and it's perfect! At least for displaying all my in season shoes. ;)

One thing on my agenda at home is to CLEAN this crazy closet. I can tell you that I don't wear 1/2 the things in here.... I have a huge range of sizes in here, from 6-16 (yep, I was a 16 when I went back to work after having Big Sis!) But I maintain the same size (when not pg)... so why do I need all these clothes?! I don't!

Thanks for visiting! In 2 short days, we'll be touring yards and garages! I love our backyard in this house - room for lots of fun.

Be sure to check out the rest of the house here! Happy 4th, y'all!

Where you Live Friday: Media Room, Playroom, Laundry Room

This week on Where You Live Friday over at Kelly's Korner.... it's Playrooms (what room isn't a playroom?!), Bonus Rooms (we call ours the movie room!), and Laundry Rooms (check out how this working momma gets everyone out the door in the morning!)

My hubby Mr. Fix-It is a builder and homes are our biggest hobby! In this house, we knew we were going to do a media room and we couldn't wait to start having Family Movie Nights! (We're having one tonight to celebrate Father's Day - Madagascar 2, anyone?)

The double door entrance to the theater, with our personalized wooden theater sign hanging overhead:



We've been dreaming of getting actual theater room furniture ever since we moved in a year and a half ago. But this damn recession... ;) Luckily, we've still got this furniture from early in our marriage and it's working just fine!

Warning: you could get too cozy in this chair to ever get up!

You can see one of the sconces... they're on dimmers so we can have just the right amount of light for kiddos to see snacks or in case anyone is getting scared. ;)

We've got 3 pictures hanging of old movie theaters... this is an old Hollywood theater.

And what movie room doesn't have a few framed movie posters up? Mr. Fix-It insisted on The Godfather (what manly man doesn't love that one?) ;) and we both love Walk The Line... with Reese Witherspoon and Joaquin Phoenix and that cutie Ginnifer Goodwin!

And that's the couch I got right out of college.... when I was still living like a poor college kid!

We've been talking about hanging thick, nice, velvet curtains (my mom was gonna make them) on this wall with the tv.... making it more like a theater.... but it hasn't happened yet either!

This is our official playroom (although more actual playing goes on in our Living Room!) There is a tv and baskets full of toys in the black armoire, and tons of crayons and other craft supplies in the kids' desk.

But it's more than just a playroom! It's also where I have worked through the Couch to 5k up to jogging 3 miles now!

I should be up their now.... but I hurt myself being graceful this morning (it's a regular occurrence, I'm clumsy!) and I think I broke 2 of my toes. Seriously. I can't move them and they've been swelling up for an hour now.... I hope I feel better soon, because I don't stay sane if I don't jog regularly!

And for the laundry room.... Some of you will remember the Semi-Homemade Organizational System I showed y'all back in March. But, for those of you who haven't seen it, here you go!

I got these great canvas organizers at One Step Ahead (they're only $20/ea if you order 2 or more!), and then had my friend Mrs. Everything embroider the kiddos' (actual) names on them! Then I photoshopped some of my fav pics of them into Days of the Week cards!

As an example, here is Big Sis on Tuesday - hers have the English, Spanish (hello, we live in Texas!) and French days of the week on them, so we can all learn it!

Here is G-man's Thursday:

And a close up.... These organizers hang in the laundry room. I lay out EVERYTHING on Sundays. I put their outfit (down to socks and undies), and their PJs for the night, all in that day's compartment. Helps us get out of the house in the mornings big time!! (And since they hang in the laundry room, I can put stuff straight from the dryer to the organizer!)


Next week is Master Bedrooms - yea! I love mine (Mr. Fix-It did a good job in there), although I'm not sure it's as exciting as Big Sister's Preppy Bedroom and G-man' Pirate Nursery! Happy weekend, y'all!