The past weekend was spent with D's older sister, Mandy, and her beautiful little girl, Faith!  Even though some of us had colds, we still managed to have a great weekend!  Friday was spent at the Texas State Fair.  It just so happened to be the First day of this month long Texas tradition.  If you're heading to the fair this year be sure to check out the list of discounts that are available for admission.  Admission is typically $17 for an adult, but we were able to get in for only $6 with the donation of a bottle of water!  = SAVINGS!



We saw some amazing animals, including a 1,723 lb. pig.  Yep, he was as big as a cow.  And we indulged in some Texas treats, including deep fried banana pudding and funnel cake ale (complete with a powder sugar rimmed glass of course).


Saturday was a kid friendly day spent at the pool and watching Monster's University.  It might look like we're having fun in the pool, but the water was cold.  Really, really cold.  We had just enough time to stop at the Dallas Arboretum on Sunday before Mandy and Faith had to head back to Pennsylvania.  Thanks for coming guys!

I'm so excited to be the blogger to announce this!  Kristen, the creator of Southerndoe, has launched a personal blog to document her journey as she "hikes" the Southerndoe "trail".  Befittingly titled Doe Prints, you can expect inspiration with every post.  Kristen launched Southerndoe on New Year's Day of this year and is already spreading the confidence Southerndoe brings in fifteen states across the US!
So what is a Southerndoe you ask?


You can tell the world you're a Southerndoe by rocking a comfy tee marked with one of her famous sayings... "keep your soul clean and your boots dirty" ... "she can hold her own" ... or my favorite, "time to drink beer and dance on the tailgate".


I recently picked up some items from Southerndoe's fall line.  In all honestly I wear a one of my Southerndoe tees everyday, they're THAT comfy!  So go check out Doe Prints and follow Kristen as she spreads the word of Southerndoe!

This might seem like a random DIY project but I'm always on the search for cheap decor.  And with fall starting tomorrow I've been adding pieces to my home that make you feel warm and cozy.  What's more cozy than some wool yarn!  I've always loved the yarn balls they sell at Target but the price was ridiculous.  $4 for a yarn ball.  So I put the Target yarn ball back on the shelf and headed to Michaels to grab the supplies to Taylor them myself.

Most of the projects I share on here are either tool-less or use just the basics.  I'm lucky to have a boyfriend who has a stockpile of tools in our closet, but if he wasn't around these are the tools that I would purchase, as they can be used for almost every DIY.  Bonus:  No power saws, because if you don't know how to use one, myself included, you might lose a finger!


Since power saws are a no-go for me, the handsaw and miter-box are a must.  The Miter-box keeps your cut straight and will even help you cut an angle!  And after you saw through a piece of wood you feel strong!  And your muscles are tired...


A power drill will cut down the time it takes you to place a screw to just seconds.  And its perfect for drilling holes into your projects.  My make-up brush stand required about 40 holes, and there is no way I could of took on that project without a drill! The drill we have is cordless which makes awkward angles easier.

If you decide to forgo screws and a drill a simple hammer and nails can get almost anything done.  Just use more nails than you would screws to make sure whatever you're putting together is secure.  Before I knew how to use a drill I was able to conquer the crate coffee table using only nails and guess what?  Its still the one we use today!


To measure of course!


This is a bonus tool, but is probably my favorite we have in the house.  You use the Kreg Jig to drill pocket holes,these kind of parallel holes. You can drill your screw into another piece of wood, so much easier!  I used this when making my single board serving tray!

Skipping the power tools may make your DIY projects take a little more time, but safety first!  If you don't know how to use it, DON'T use it!  Believe me, I've already cut my thumb in half trying to make a mason jar soap dispenser... eek, I still can feel the pain!

Was it just me or did this work week seem extra long?  Yesterday definitely felt like Friday... but anyway here's the round up from the week!


{one} sally hansen gel polish:  I don't get my nails done.  I've gotten a manicure once and have never had a pedicure.  So I didn't really have a chance to try out the gel craze.  But when I saw this set at Target (of course), I decided to pick it up.  With this gel polish you don't need any UV light, which is awesome!  I've even been using the top coat over regular nail polish as well and it really makes it stay on longer! I've been able to go about three days without a chip!
a Rafflecopter giveaway {two} giveaway:  Have you entered the Vine Vera giveaway yet!?  The prize is a thermic face mask that is worth some big bucks!  Get the deets over here.


{three} desktop backgrounds: I am so happy with how my fall desktop backgrounds came out!  I have the tree on my phone and the pumpkin is adoring my macbook.  If you didn't see these guys, I posted them over here!


{four} Dallas Beer Festival:  We had such a great time at one of these a few months ago we signed up for another one and are going on Saturday night!  Its only about 1/2 mile from our house so we plan on carb loading before we go to sample all the tasty beers!


{five} Skinny Pumpkin Frappuccino: I found this recipe last night on Pintrest... omg doesn't it look delicious!  And guess how many calories... 67!

Hope you have a wonderful weekend lovelies!

So these aren't printables, but they will look great on your computer desktop or iphone!  I created these three prints just for y'all while I sipped on a Pumpkin Cider!  Yep, Woodchuck has a special cider out for fall!  But anyway, these desktops are sure to get you in the fall spirit!  AND the use of these pretties is completely free!  Be sure to share them with your friends!

First off, what you probably came here for... I'm giving away this awesome Thermic Face Mask from Vine Vera.  This mask heats up when applied and helps clear out that dirt in your pores to help give you smooth as a baby's bottom skin!  a Rafflecopter giveaway
Every summer the skin on my face seems to take a beating from the sun and weather.  I know, I know I should take better care of it.  The wrinkles on my forehead seem to be coming more prominent so when I got a chance to try Vine Vera, I jumped at it.  Vine Vera contains Resveratrol, is the antioxidant found in red grapes... yep, wine! I tested out the Chianti Relaxoline collection, used to reduce wrinkles.  I tested out the products for one month, night cream at night, morning recovery in the morning as well as the serum.   So what did I think?  Well...it was pretty great!  I typically slather on Garnier Fructis lotion day and night, fancy I know, so this stuff was definitely a step up.  After about two weeks of use I felt confident to walk outside with only a bit of make-up on and I'm hoping with continued use I'll be able to go make-up free.  I loved that the morning after I used the night cream, my face didn't feel dry!  With all wrinkle creams I've used in the past my skin immediately dries up and peels, I didn't experience any of those with these lotions.  The consistency of these lotions is thicker than your drugstore brand, but it didn't leave a "thick" feeling on my skin.  After a few minutes it had all but absorbed into my wrinkly forehead.  There wasn't much scent to the serum or day cream which was nice, but the night cream did have a scent.  It smelled mildly musky but with a hint of floral, I liked the scent and didn't think it was overpowering.   So the real question, how are my wrinkles?  Honestly, I don't think there is any quick fix to wrinkles and I probably won't have as smooth of a forehead as the Kardashians anytime soon, but I did notice my wrinkles didn't look as deep.  They're still there, but less noticeable, was all I could ask for!  So why not give Vine Vera some love and enter to wine WIN the the Thermic Mask!  
Find out what other folks have to say about Vine Vera HERE or on their Facebook! 
*Thanks to Vine Vera for sponsoring today's post, all thoughts expressed are 100% my own*

The wood on our stairs and in our loft is ancient.  It lacked any depth in color and had no shine.  The color was dry and dusty looking and any imperfections in the wood were hidden by the dryness.  I tried out a wood polish that I bought at target, but after it dried the color was back to that dusty gray.  So I turned to the internet for a safe home-made recipe.  A lot of folks suggested olive oil, but I didn't like the idea of rubbing olive oil into my wood, psh I need that for recipes y'all, so instead I went with coconut oil.

Here we go!


{one} fall:  Are you as excited for Fall as I am?  I am trying so hard to hold back on going all fall in my loft with decorations!  So this chalkboard art should hold me over...

{two} bottles in boots:  I also pulled out my boots and put away my summer shoes.  My boots normally stay in a big bin, but I wanted to find a way to make them stand up without spending any money... answer?  Solo cups and wine bottles!  They work perfectly and it gets some of the bottles off the top of my fridge.


[three} PSL:  If you didn't snag the recipe to make an iced PSL yesterday, go get it now!  This is the perfect drink for us gals wanted to get into fall, but are still stuck in the south heat!


{four} dame's dinner: I had dinner with the girls on Wednesday night and I just want to say Wow!  The soup, ok.  The dinner, ok.  The dessert!  It was the best dessert ever!  It was a chocolate tart on a salted caramel crust.  I didn't take a picture, because I ate it too fast, but I believe the recipe would be similar to this one... Chocolate Caramel Tart 


{five} Joan Rivers: I was so saddened by this news yesterday.  I remember growing up watching Joan on the red carpet with my mom whenever there was an award show on.  My prayers go out to her family.

I hope you all have a great weekend that somehow seems really long!