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+I always look forward to reading other families menus. It gives me some great ideas, especially when you get used to the same ole dinners each week.

Monday - grilled chicken salad

Tuesday - salisbury steak served with mashed potatoes and gravy

Wednesday - spaghetti

Thursday - fish sticks (because sometimes you just have to keep it simple!)

+If you have a Facebook then I'm sure you've heard of Facebook memories. It's where it shows you what you were doing or posting about on this day years back. Well this week last year we were in Disney. So each FB memory from this week has been Disney related and it has me counting down the days until we can be back again!

I get to make our Disney dining reservations in the next couple weeks. I hope to snag every reservation we want. I'll be sure and post all about it :)

+I'm loving all of our fall decor in our yard and home. Every day when I pull in the yard I see pumpkins and hay and scarecrows and mums, and then when I walk in my house I smell pumpkin scented wax warmers and immediately get greeted by all our interior decorations. 

(if I get this excited about pumpkins, you should see me at Christmas!)

+It seems as though this answer repeats itself every month, but when school is in not much changes. Work, school, homework. However, this weekend we have our annual fall festival in town and Cadence is in the parade this year since she won the pageant last month. She's won pageants before but has always opted to watch the parade rather than be in it. This year she wants to be in it for the first time, so we were happy to oblige. 

+I'm dreading making our Disney reservations. Don't get me wrong. I love Disney and I love being able to get right into a restaurant by having a reservation, but a lot of times with Disney if you don't have a reservation you don't get in to eat, especially at the big ticket restaurants. Last year I got all the reservations we wanted. I hope to do the same this year. You just have to be persistent and get up early. Like 5:30am early because the reservation website opens at 6am. In this case, the early bird truly does get the worm.

+I've been working on Cadence's Halloween costume. I made Cadence's costume a few Halloween's ago rather than buy it. She wanted to be a witch and we just didn't care for any of the store bought ones, so I made one for her and she loved it! This year she wants to be a super hero, but all of the super hero costumes for girls just didn't really catch her eye. She told me what she was looking for and I started on it Monday night, I can't wait to see the final product!

+I'm so excited for Halloween! Annually we play fun games and eat dinner at my sisters house. Then we all go out trick-or-treating. Just a ton of fun! I actually started buying items for the scavenger hunt this week...can't wait!

+I've been loving Chasing Life. I started watching it from the very first season and the finale was actually on Monday. I also love Scandal, but then again I haven't met someone who doesn't.

I've been reading Food Network Magazine's October edition. I love all of the Halloween treats inside.

+I've been listening to old school stuff this week. Hanson. Britney. N'Sync. Backstreet Boys. 

Yeah, Tarl hates it :)

+In my opinion transitioning from Summer to Fall is difficult. Mornings here are crisp, but afternoons are still brutal so what do you wear without freezing in the morning and burning up by 2pm? I've been keeping it simple. Dresses with my fall boots. If it's chilly I'll throw on a cardigan and by the afternoon I can take it off and just wear the dress as is. It's simple and I love it, but I'm beyond ready for sweater weather!

+This weekend is my towns fall festival. I'm ready to see Cadence in the parade!

+Tomorrow is the start to my 2nd favorite holiday, Halloween. I'm ready to see decorations outside of peoples homes, snack on candy like they're vegetables and spend time with my little family.

+Not much around here. Other than preparing for Fall it's been the usual, work, school, homework, etc.

+My favorite Halloween tradition is going to my sisters house. We've done this since before Cadence was even born. I always host it, but we just do it at my sisters. I prepare scavenger hunts. We play games. We cook a big dinner for her family and mine. If my mom is felling up to it she'll tag a long and of course, she's always a hoot to be around. After dinner we go trick-or-treating and then we head back to their home. While we snack on candy we also hand it out to trick-or-treaters who come to the door. I love love love it! Even Tarl, a grown man looks forward to it and seeing Cadence enjoy it is great!

xo

weekend 70s style

Friday, after I got home from work, we got dressed and headed to the game. 

Couldn't help but snap this right before we left the house...

He is always hiding behind somewhere peeking through at us. Creeper cat!

It was 70s dress up day at school, and she wanted to wear it to the game too, so cute!

Can you believe I got that cute top she's wearing from Walmart? I wanted one in my size!

On Saturday we enjoyed a great date night at our favorite, The Melting Pot. 

This was us attempting to take a cute selfie...

I love that we are always making each other laugh. Seriously though, blurry pic and all, such a candid snapshot that I will hold dear in my heart forever. Love this man!

Gotta document a good hair night...

(this was before the humidity got to it!)

After dinner we rode around Savannah and spotted Savannah's tiniest house.

It truly is Savannah's tiniest house, isn't it just precious?

Yesterday we worked around the yard and decorated for Halloween both outside and inside.

I put up our fall decorations a couple weeks back, but as of yesterday we are officially ready for Halloween. Once we cleaned the house and yard, we got cleaned up ourselves and headed to Target to just enjoy a Starbucks and "window" shop.

Cadence loved the cotton candy frap...I mean loved it!

At first I thought she only liked it because of it's color, because let's be honest, what six year old girl doesn't like a pink drink? To my surprise though she drank that entire frap in no time. I tried it. It's a mixture of both vanilla and raspberry, but in all honesty it tasted just like a frozen mint drink. Too much mint for my taste but she loved it.

My new favorite is the java chip frappucino with caramel drizzle! I tried it for the first time yesterday after my sister told me about it and I cannot wait to go there for lunch today to get another one!

I may have to get the Vente size, it's that good!

If you like chocolate, do yourself a favor and try it!

That's basically it for the weekend. They always go by so quickly, don't they?

This week I am working on some more fall/halloween crafts. I'll be sure to share here.

I also plan to hand make Cadence's Halloween costume this year so I hope to start working on that as well. Back to work for me...

friday five

With fall now officially upon us, these are perfect (and free) to frame and display.

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Did you miss my New York City trip recap?

Girl go read that thing (click the pic to take you to the post)!

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I have a love-hate relationship with booties. I purchased my first pair two years ago from Target and love the way they looked while sitting on their little shelf display. I adore all the booties I constantly see on websites, in stores and even on blogs, however, I hate the way they look on me.

Does anyone else have this issue?

Am I not wearing them properly?

Are my ankles too thin? Too big? I don't get it. 

I've paired them with boyfriend jeans. Standard jeans rolled up a bit. Skirts. Dresses. You name it, I've tried it and still it just doesn't suit me. 

Maybe I just purchased a pair that doesn't suit me. I may bite the bullet and try another pair, these are post worthy!

zipped to the top chunky booties  (on sale)

xoxo aldenson western ankle booties

report marko women's booties

liliana zipper chunky heel ankle bootie 

steve madden jannyce bootie  (on sale)

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Lately I've been wanting to change our front door. It's your typical plain white entry door and quite frankly I'm over it. Front doors can be quite pricey, and that's not something that is in our budget right now. With that being said I've heard wonders about gel stain and after seeing this picture...

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...I may have to take the plunge. 

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It's Friday and I'm so happy that the weekend is here. We didn't get home last Sunday until almost 9pm from New York and than I had to un-pack and get up at 6:30 the next morning for work. I need to catch up on some much needed sleep so bring on the cozy jammies and turn off that alarm!



xo

Floppy Hats & PJs

If you're like me and have been swooning over a floppy hat for Fall, then now is the time to buy!

At less than half the cost, Jane posted them this morning from Fancy Frills Boutique for only $13.99! My favorite is the cranberry...

They also have black, taupe, navy and charcoal, but c'mon, nothing says Fall like a warm cranberry color.

Today was PJ day at school. How cute is she?!

Cat and dog PJs, with cat slippers and a stuffed animal pup, naturally we had to add the bows.

xo

Spaces.

The older I get, the more neutral my taste in decor gets. 

Years ago I gave up colorful paint choices and have slowly transitioned into light grays and cream colored hues. With talk lately of buying a home, the decorative side of my mind keeps racing with thoughts of crisp white walls, chic furniture adorned with cozy pillows and blankets, 

and sleek, but southern touches all throughout.

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If you are anything like me and am constantly scrolling through countless pictures of interior design and exterior architecture, than do yourself a favor and follow my 'decor' board on Pinterest. I post lovely things daily. When the time comes (prayefully soon!) for us to buy another home, I'm going to have a plethora of pictures to show our contractor. Bless his heart...

Follow Miranda | Life in the Lowcountry's board Decor on Pinterest. 

Speaking of Pinterest boards, here is my Fall board. It's got tons of yummy recipes, treats, crafts, games, decor, halloween costumes and more!

Follow Miranda | Life in the Lowcountry's board It's Fall Y'all! on Pinterest. 

Last but most certainly not least, my most favorite board of all...

Follow Miranda | Life in the Lowcountry's board Christmas <3 data-blogger-escaped-a="" data-blogger-escaped-on="" data-blogger-escaped-pinterest.="">

I've already started pinning some great things for the Christmas season, but once Halloween is come and gone, keep posted because it's going to be a freaking winter wonderland on my Christmas pinterest page!

xo

Facts.

+I despise tomatoes, absolutely despise them. I don't want them anywhere on anything I eat. If tomato sauce has touched anything, I simply cannot eat it.

With that being said, I love pizza and spaghetti, weird right?

+Discipline your kids. I'm not saying beat your kids, slap your kids, or hurt your kids, I'm saying, in my opinion, it's okay to give your kids a soft pat on the butt to teach them right from wrong. I was raised that way, as were my siblings and we raise our children that way, and I can honestly say I have had countless people comment on how well behaved Cadence is. 

While waiting in the airport to depart JFK and head back to Savannah there was a couple with a little girl around 3 years old or so. She was eating a bag of Dorito's and was throwing them on the floor, at her dad, at her mom, on the airport chairs, basically every where but where they should go, her mouth. Her mom asked her to politely stop, then again, then again. Then her dad asked her to stop. 

Just to clarify, two grown adults ASKED their child to stop. Um...NOPE! You tell your child to stop, you don't make a request. If I asked Cadence to clean her room, verses telling Cadence to clean her room, imagine how dirty her room would be!

Mind you, after the Dorito incident, she had nacho chip flakes all over her hands, so her mom grabbed a wipe to wipe her mouth, then the child squabbled around on the nasty airport carpet, screaming. So the mom took the wipe away and never wiped her face. After the child's tantrum was over, the child stood up off the floor and smacked her mom in the face. 

Angela and I were appalled.

At that moment I thanked the Good Lord for blessing me with stern parents. They never once abused me, but because of their strictness and the way they raised me, I learned right from wrong, and I am instilling those same values with Cadence. I couldn't imagine having a child act the way that one did yesterday.

Don't get me wrong, all children at some point in time will act like a child. Cadence has her whiny days, bratty days and down right bad attitude at times, but those days are few and very far between. 

Thank you Lord, mom and dad!

+I'm addicted to shirts. I only have 3 pairs of jeans to my name, but when it comes to clothes shopping, I always need new shirts. I bought two shirts last week, and just last night told Tarl, I really need some new shirts.

When Tarl buys me clothes for a special occasion like Christmas or birthday, it's never jeans, a coat, a hat, a scarf, it's always a shirt. 

+I love makeup. I wish I could afford high end products like Mac or Bobbi Brown, but truth is, Maybelline and Covergirl are sometimes a price struggle. My most favorite makeup item is lipstick, but truth is, I cannot go without mascara. Even when I'm sick in bed, I'll have to throw on some mascara. 

+I'm a nail biter.

+I cheer on the SC Gamecocks but I know nothing about the game of Football.

+I'd rather go to a baseball game.

+Fall is my favorite season, but Christmas is my favorite holiday.

+I prefer cool weather over hot weather any day of the week.

+I curse. It's a terrible filthy habit that no one should do, but damn I love emphasizing stories with curse words. 

+I prefer Pepsi over Coke. In fact, unless it's carbonated, I don't like Coke.

+I don't like designer brands unless it's handbags or shoes. A pair of shoes you can wear daily. A handbag you can tote on your arm for months at a time, so spending a little extra for something you can get use of all the time makes sense to me. Paying over $40 for an article of clothing, particularly hundreds of dollars, for something that you can't wear daily is just not for me, but I don't pay your bills, so you do you if that's what floats your boat.

+I'm already thinking about my next NYC trip.

+About a week or so before I start my period, my left breast hurts so bad it's almost to the point of tears. I also feel a really bad lump on the upper part. I've had the lump checked by both a ultrasound and a breast specialist and it's nothing, but thank you Flo for causing that pain once a damn month!

(See, sometimes cursing is needed to emphasize a situation!)

+I thought Cadence was going to be a boy.

All my sisters have boys. My brother has a son, so naturally I thought, well we're going to be a boy family. Boy was I wrong...#punintended #sogladIgotagirl

+ #ilovehashtags

+Pink is my most favorite color, but when it comes to clothes (shirts) I stick to white. My wardrobe consists of about 90% white, 5% pink and then 5% of just random colors.

+I don't get the pumpkin spice latte hype. I've tried it, twice, and I don't like them.

+Without picture filters, I would hate photos of myself.

+Junk mail gets on my last nerves. I have to unsubscribe from some crap junk mail daily!

xo

Big Apple Recap

This weekend was absolutely amazing.

As a 'wannabe' journalist/writer, you'd think I'd have a better use of words to describe New York, but I just can't. Amazing pretty much sums it up.

Our flight took off Friday morning at around 11:30am. We flew JetBlue and it got us into JFK within only an hour and a half. Can't beat that!

I got strapped into my window seat as tight as possible. Prayed to the Good Lord to let our plane make it safely to the city, all the while thinking to myself, what in the heck is a seat belt and life vest going to do for me if we plummet to the earth at 600 miles per hour, 35,000 feet in the air?

Thankfully we made it safely, and the clouds were beautiful - I still hate flying though!

I did a little research and found out that you could take the AirTrain from JFK to the subway and ride the subway directly into Manhattan. It only costs $5, compared to a $60 cab ride and absolutely no traffic! This was definitely the way to go and something I will do from now on when we go. 

We dropped our bags at the hotel and took a straight shot to Saks!

I couldn't contain my excitement!

We went straight to their own zip code floor, which is the shoe floor! 10022SHOE - holla!

As you can tell, we were pretty excited :)

I was hell bent to try on a pair of red bottoms (Christian Louboutin's). 

They were gorgeous. They were expensive ($2,000). They were sparkly and perfect. They hurt my feet. 

Being a Sex and the City lover for all these years, my #1 thing to try on though was a Manolo Blahnik, and then I saw her, the most perfect shoe you ever did see. Almost like she was made just for me!

These gorgeous babies were only $695, yeah, only - haha!

Of course, I had to pass. Wish I would have had an extra $700 lying around.

The Blahniks were definitely more comfortable than the Loubs in my opinion, and they were pink, and they were sparkly. Pure perfection!

I texted Tarl after trying on the girls. I asked if I could just swipe his credit card and it could be my birthday gift/Christmas gift/anniversary gift all in one. He said no. I have to admit, I contemplated swiping it regardless...but I didn't want to have to sleep at my parents once I got home, so I sadly put them back, with tears stinging my eyes...maybe next time Saks, maybe next time.

After Saks we walked around on the East Side for a while, checking out the sights and seeing some of the "must-sees".

Rockefeller Center

Chrysler Building

Versace

Trump Tower

Last time in New York when Tarl and I went, I did go into Tiffany's, but not their signature store on 5th. I only went into the one in the Financial District. This time I was dead set to visit the original Tiffany's. The one Audrey Hepburn visited all the time, staring into glass windows with a croissant in her hand.

St. Patrick's Cathedral

Dylan's Candy Bar is one of the most amazing candy stores, ever!

Three stories of pure sweetness, literally.

After Dylan's, we were starving, so we decided to get a little snack before our dinner reservations at Tavern on the Green. Seeing as how Serendipity was just a few doors down from Dylan's, we headed there. Angela and I each got something different so we could share and try more things. Frozen Hot Chocolate and Pineapple Lime...they were so delicious, but our favorite was the pineapple lime, we actually had three over the course of our stay, because yeah, they were that good!

After our tasty treats, we decided to knock one of our Gossip Girl things off the list, Constance Billiard. If you're not familiar with GG, it's where they went to school.

Granted there isn't a real Constance Billiard, there is a real location, and it's the Museum of New York on the upper east side.

How many times did Dan and Serena walk up those steps, along with Chuck Bass, Nate and Blair?

Swoon!

After seeing Constance, we took a stroll through Central Park.

Our dinner reservations at Tavern on the Green weren't until 8pm, so we took our time, walked slow and just enjoyed it. It is stunning!

Bow Bridge

Bethesda Fountain

Around this time my phone died. As in completely drained, turned off on it's own, dead, so no pics from Tavern on the Green. I will tell you, the ambiance is incredible. We sat outside and had beautiful views of Central Park, the food however, wasn't anything to write home about. It's wasn't nasty, but for the price, it wasn't that great either. Glad to say I ate there, however I wouldn't do it again. 

After dinner, we headed back to the hotel, freshened up (and charged our phones)!

It was time for dessert. We honestly contemplated about going back to Serendipity, but both agree'd we would just wait until Saturday and go back, so next best thing, cheesecake! 

Particularly, Juniors Cheesecake.

While eating our cheesecake, across from Broadway, we noticed a lot of people swarmed around getting autographs. Turned out it was Keira Knightly (Pirates of the Caribbean). I snapped a pic, granted it's not the best quality, but that's her in the fedora.

After dessert we called it a night, went to the hotel and unpacked, and that's when I found this...

love that man!

On Saturday we got up bright and early and started our day.

Last time I had the opportunity to take a picture with a true NYPD cop, this time I wanted to get a picture with an FDNY firefighter, so that's just what I did :)

I've always been partial to firefighters anyways - hah!

We headed to Soho and had Balthazar's world famous croissants.

...and it was every bit as good as it looks.

Next on the list was Herald Square!

China Town, and a little something for Cadence :)

Flatiron building

If you watch Million Dollar Listing New York like I do, than you know all about Fredrick, well Fredrick lives in the apartment building above, isn't it so pretty?!

Washington Square Park

Remember 432 Park, New York's tallest apartment building I told you about last week. Well above is 432 Park...I'll take the penthouse please!

By this time, we were hungry, so we wanted to try Serendipity's food, instead of just their frozen treats. Angela and I shared the meatloaf and mashed potatos and this will now be a must for me every trip. We may or may not have gotten another Frozen Pineapple Lime, but I'll let you decide...

We headed to the financial district after lunch, and of course saw Freedom Tower.

It still took my breath away even knowing what it looked like already.

After going into Brooklyn, seeing a lot of goodies at Macy's, visiting the "Friends" building in the West Village and spending an hour in E.L.F. we were beat, tired and our feet were hurting, so we decided to get dinner to go. We got the infamous Shake Shack burgers and took them back to our hotel. They were every bit as delicious as they look!

Yum!

We stayed in our room for an hour. Laughing, eating, talking about our days. It was just nice having that down time together chatting about sisterly things. 

I took a much needed shower and washed some of the city off of me, took my contacts out, got comfy and refreshed and headed for dessert. Guess where?!

Serendipity! I know it seems this is all we did, but I promise you, we ate, and a lot!

But this, was our favorite.

Just look at that pink ceiling and sparkly chandelier, I know one little girl who would love to have her room like this :)

one last frozen hot chocolate

On Sunday, we got up, got dressed and ventured out into the city one last time before our flight left that afternoon.

The Palace Hotel - where Serena Van Der Woodsen lived

We rode the Subway one last time, and saw a few other things we wanted to see and then headed to JFK to board our flight home. 

we were ready to see our families!

Got off in Savannah and saw this sweet little thing waiting on me!

Look at that precious girl holding the sign she made for me!

Until next time New York...