It’s still Friday (barely!) on the west coast. Cutting it close with my Friday Favs. :) How is everyone doing? I’m good! Thanks for asking. ;) Feeling especially happy tonight that I made it through this week. My husband has been in New York all week for work (traveling back this very minute.. YEA) so I’ve been flying solo around here and I made an interesting discovery.
My 3 kids are a lot of work.
:) Seriously though. They are. I love them. And they’re worth it. Most of the time. ;) But wow. There was a lot going on this week and I felt pulled in so many different directions. As my girls are getting older the evenings have become nothing short of crazy. (Those of you with older kids.. why didn’t you warn me!?) Not having back up to pick up El at her late dance classes or help Ad with homework while I get Kole showered and do reading with him and make dinner.. I felt it! I was seriously out numbered this week and missed my husband immensely.
I think he missed us too. :) He has such small pockets of time to call me in-between meetings and dinner with clients, etc on these trips. Most of the time I wasn’t able to talk to him because I was in a meeting or busy with the kids so we send each other a lot of text messages throughout the day. And bitmojis. Because we live with two pre-teens so we’re nerdy like that. Can’t wait to see him!
Ok.. on to a few of my recent favorite things! Lots to love right now.
First of all.. are you all watching This is Us? I’m sure you are, but if not – START! Oh my word. Kenny and I are really loving this show. If you haven’t been watching it, you have to go back and see the first few episodes. Start from the beginning! I don’t want to give anything away to those who haven’t seen it. I’ll just say that it feels so good to finally have something on TV again that I can’t wait to watch! There has been a lot of hype about this show and so far it’s living up to the hype. Good stuff! Check it out if you haven’t already.
This is actually my kids’ favorite thing right now. To be honest I usually forget about this, but my kids never do. Every October they remember and get so excited for me to pull out the countdown. It’s full of candy right now (hanging in our pantry) and they love eating a piece every day and counting down to Halloween. I count down to Halloween too. Because that means it’s closer to November/December. :) This was from PB kids years ago. They have darling count down calendars for the holidays. This cute pumpkin count down is on sale for just over $25 right now! I’m thinking of ordering this Thankful countdown for November because my kids love these so much.
A couple of weeks ago we had rain! Still hot and humid but it made it feel like Fall and I loved it.
So did Kole. :) Rainy days always inspire my three favorite things – organizing, decorating and pajamas. I guess sunshine inspires those things too because they happen a lot around here. But rainy days are seldom for us so we cherish them.
Alright friends. I try really hard this time of year to not skip all things Fall and jump to Christmas but I’ll be honest.. November and December are my favorite months of the year and about this time I can’t help starting to plan for them! We decorate for Christmas early at our house (you can read my opinion on that in this post – to each his own!) and I’ve already started thinking a bit about my Christmas decor. It’s too fun not to! I have a cozy red throw from PB that I ordered years ago and every Nov/Dec when I pull it out our whole family fights over it! So this year I knew I wanted a couple more really nice heavy throws. These pom pom knitted throws were love at first sight!
I absolutely adore the faux fur poms on them and aside from looking great for decor draped over a chair or couch, I knew they’d be perfect for snuggling in to watch a movie.
I laid them out in a few places thinking about where to put them but as soon as my kids saw them..
They were off the chair and on the couch. They are still on our couch! Looking oh so lovely with my neutral fall decor. ;) Guess these are keepers!
Last year all of the cute PB Christmas pillows sold out SO fast. There were a couple I loved that I didn’t get in time so this year I ordered early. I waited for one of their 20% off weekend sales (they are doing it again this weekend!) and got the throws and several pillow covers. This “merry” pillow and “Hamilton plaid” pillow have come but the rest are back ordered a bit. I’m sharing the pillows I’ve ordered with you now because I have a feeling they will be gone when I finally get around to decorating with them! (Btw.. quick tip to save money. I almost always just order the pillow covers at PB. Then I buy inserts at the craft store for less or just use some I already have from every day pillows I’m not using.)
Aren’t they all so fun!? Love them! PB Christmas pillows are always my favorite. And you can never have too many Christmas pillows in your life. You can quote me on that one.
One last thing and then I’ll leave December and come back to October! For today anyway. :) Remember my “It’s the most WONDERFUL time of the year” sign that I put on my range shelf every year? It’s back in stock!! I bought this about 5 years ago and I haven’t seen it since! I get so many questions about this every December so for those of you who love it and want one I’d act fast. It already says “limited availability” and I have no doubt this will be gone soon. You all know how much I love this sign. It’s a favorite Christmas staple at our house! PB also has a similar sign in gray and some other really fun options if you are looking for something larger like this to decorate with. I especially love large signs like this on my console tables. As you all know. :)
Most of PB’s pumpkin pillows are also marked way down plus 20% off this weekend. Woot woot! Happy time for holiday decor shopping. See? I told you I’d come back to October. ;)
Ok – on to some fashion!
Wore this a couple of weeks ago to church. Loving my new black Ugg boots I got during the Nordstrom Anniversary sale! They are so soft and warm. Too warm for our Fall weather for now so I have to wear them with short sleeves. This top I’ve had for years. The skirt was from BR (similar here or here).
We had family pictures taken last Saturday and I woke up that morning with NO clue what we were all going to wear. I made a mad dash to the mall to find something.. anything for us to wear for pictures and instead came back with a few new tops and jackets for me.. ha! Never fails. We threw together outfits we all already had (the most unprepapred I’ve ever been for family pics!) so we’ll see how they turn out. At this point I’m just happy they’re done!
This Hanna split neck top is so cute and cozy! Love the material. (My favorite AG jeans I’m wearing in these pics are on sale too!)
I bought the green but it comes in six colors. I like it tucked in a bit in the front. (True to size.. this is an xs.)
I also loved and came home with this plaid flannel boyfriend shirt. It’s such a great fit.. really light weight and comfortable. Not as big and boxy as some flannels.
I’m wearing an xs and it’s long in the back. It comes in lots of fun patterns/colors. The red would be fun for the holidays for those of you who look good in red! I live in cargo jackets during our mild winters so I also came home with two new jackets. (This green stretch cargo from Vince Camuto and this gray cargo utility jacket.) I’ll include the pics of them below and share pics of what they look like on in my next fashion post because this is becoming a novel!
One last favorite for the week. This Sweet Cinnamon Pumpkin candle smells absolutely heavenly! You can find it at Bath and Body Works. It’s got a hint of a Christmas smell with that cinnamon which is probably why I love it so much. But the pumpkin is there too! I bought several and then went back and bought more to give to friends. I’m like the cinnamon pumpkin candle fairy lately because I want everyone to enjoy this as much as I do!
So your assignment for next week (if you choose to accept it) is to watch This is Us with your cinnamon pumpkin candle burning while you do some early on-line Christmas pillow shopping.
And you can thank me later.
;)
Happy weekend everyone!
Such great stuff! I love that you appreciate/miss your hubby when he’s gone. I’m going to check out the pillows and sign and see about getting “This is Us.” Thanks for the ideas! Maybe your weekend be cozy. ;)
MAY your weekend be cozy…clearly I need more coffee. ;)
I knew exactly what you meant Jillian! I read it that way even with the mistake! We are totally in sync. :) Thanks cutie! Happy weekend and sending some coziness your way as well. ;) xo
Delightful post, Erin! So happy to hear your back up is coming home. I definitely feel for you trying to wrangle three kids and their activities. I only have two and it gets hard sometimes. Good luck as you get through the year. Yay for a little rain. Kole looks adorable. We had some here the other day and they are starting to talk about snow around my neck of the woods. Your house decor looks great. Those blankets look super cozy. I might have to pull out the afghan I was crocheting last year and finish it up! LOL I’m sure your family photos came out wonderful. You all are so photogenic. I really like that plaid shirt you got. This is Us…I meant to start watching it and now I can’t remember why I haven’t. Might just have to fix that! :) Thanks for the recommendation. I personally don’t burn candles (too worried I will forget to blow it out), but I do have an apple cinnamon pumpkin type of scent thing in my car that makes me think of cozy nights by the fire. Will that work?? Happy Weekend to you, Sweetie! Hugs. :)
Jeanne! You always make me laugh! I don’t know that the scent thing in your car is going to cut it. Ha! ;) But a homemade crocheted afghan!? YES! My grandma taught me to crochet and I wish I could make time for it! Such a calming hobby and I love throws. I can’t believe you are getting close to snow time in your area! I’m jealous! I need to visit you in the Fall and then you can visit me in February when you’re over the snow.. deal? :) Thanks as always for such a thoughtful and kind comment. Happy weekend sweet friend! xo
Where did you get the beautiful wood bowl that’s holding your ghost pumpkins??Just ordered 2 throws and am debating which sign I want😀. Thanks for all the great tips!
Yea! So fun Kelly! That wood bowl was from Target! Thanks cutie and enjoy your weekend! xo
Erin- my hubs was gone all week too and I have three littles about your kids age. I feel you!!! It DOES get hard when they have so many places to be, Thurs we had three different practices at once in 3 diff places, ummm I’m only one person! Hugs! Ready for the weekend!
I love This Is Us too! I missed it this week though, was it on?
This post made me happy, thanks for all the inspiration for Christmas.
Lynnsey! It really is crazy when there is one of us and three of them! Big pats on the back to both of us this week. We deserve a spa day. ;) I don’t think This is Us was on last week because of the presidential debate stuff so you didn’t miss anything! Can’t wait to watch it this week! Happy weekend cutie! xo
I can’t see your new jackets in the widget. Any chance you can add links when you have a spare minute. I need new fall jackets and you always have good taste.
Thank you Karen! I just added them for you. Those widgets can be so finicky! Happy weekend! xo
I love this Erin!! Love the PB pillows! And I’m with you on decorating for Christmas early, my request is to do it for my birthday every year (which is Nov 7th!) and I absolutely love seeing the stores start putting their Christmas decorations out! Serious destresser to go to Costco or Target and do some early Christmas retail therapy 😀 Love all of your inspiration!
Oh I LOVE that Lacey! That would totally be my birthday wish too! I’m with you.. some people complain about seeing Christmas pop up too early but I’m not one of them! I would keep Christmas up for six months if I could! And YES to Costco and Target retail therapy. We clearly need to hang out! :) Happy weekend cutie! xo
I’m new to your blog and love it.. You have a beautiful home!
Thank you Karyn! I’m so happy you found me. Nice to “meet” you! :) xo
Hi Erin love your blogs… I also love to change my pillows for every season.. When do you start decorating for Christmas.. I also can hardly wait.. I enjoy reds at Christmas and of course many plaid throws and pillows… you are so thin and lovely .. how do you stay in such amazing shape. of course I am much older then you my daughter is a crown attorney other is a teacher like I told you before.. so I have been having trouble keeping skim and trim ike you… I also love candles burn them every night.. hope to hear from you you are amazing and lovely children. does your son play hockey I teach power skating…
Thank you so much Shelley! What a kind comment! You made my day. :) I have to really watch what I eat and I exercise 4-5 days a week, but I’m not as thin as I used to be either! The struggle is real for us all.. ha! ;) But thank you! So sweet of you to say that. I usually start decorating for Christmas soon after Halloween. I need to for the blog so that I have time to get pictures taken and posted early in Dec. but also I just LOVE having Christmas up as long as possible! :) xo
Haven’t found any show that I love since Parenthood! Now we have This Is Us and I’m in love again!!!!!!
YESSSSS!!! That’s what I just said to my husband last week! Finally a show as good as Parenthood! E-mailing you shelf info. soon! xo
I love your favorites posts! I also love love Pottery Barn Christmas pillows and the friends and family event. And candles. I have the Anthro Volcano one burning all year long. And I love your flannel!
K we have A LOT in common Jill! Ha! Wish you lived close.. I think we’d be hanging out a lot. ;) Thanks cutie! xo
I love all of your new clothing finds! You’re too cute Erin! I, too, have been watching “This is us.” LOVE that show! Have you tried the “Pumpkin Pecan Waffle” candle from Bath and Body? That one is my favorite! Although I have just the one child (13 year old daughter), it can be challenging at times. I’m thankful that my husband doesn’t have to travel for work and can be here to help her with math homework. Not my strong suit :-)
Oh my word.. I was good until 6th grade math and now I’m out too. Ha! Glad I’m not the only one. ;) I haven’t tried that candle but it’s next on my list! Sounds heavenly! Thanks Shari! xo
Hi Erin,
Can you tell me what brand of jeans you are wearing? I’ve been on the hunt for the perfect pair of skinnys that don’t stretch out and that are comfortable to wear. Yours look like so soft and comfortable and stylish! Thanks so much!
Hi Lynn! AG! I just added the link to the exact pair I’m wearing (they are my all time favorite and I looked them up for you and they are on sale!). Look under the picture of me in the green shirt. :) xo
I’m also really loving This Is Us – definitely my favorite new show I’ve watched this fall. I haven’t smelled that particular candle, but I LOVE the three-wick Bath and Body Works candles. Not only do they smell amazing (I’ve had 4 different scents and loved them all), but they burn so evenly. Really great!
I agree Amy! They are great candles. And yea for This is Us! SO loving that show! Happy Fall! :) xo
Super Mom! Way to get through the week. It is always a nice reminder how much we appreciate our husbands and how much they appreciate us too. I love THIS IS US!! I cannot wait for the next episode. The first one blew me away. It is such a neat story and I cannot wait to see how the season plays out. A huge favorite for sure. Your blankets and pillows are darling. I just bought two candles from BBW too! I got the LEAVES scent and it is heavenly. Have a great week and glad Kenny is back to tag team with you!
Totally counting down to tonight’s episode! Wasn’t that first one the best! So cool how it all came together at the end. Thanks cutie! xo
Erin,
I love your blog and absolutely love your home! I was wondering if you could help me out… or even the other readers? We are in the process of building our “dream” home on a large lake – so this is it! My husband has always wanted beige/taupe/neutral trim. However, I love white inside. The problem here is to stay within budget, we have to choose between white windows or sandstone (kinda beige). The windows will be same color inside and out – to stay within budget! I just LOVE your gray and white. But I’m thinking I can’t paint gray inside with beige trimmed windows. We will have white blinds at most windows – but not the ones facing the lake. So…. what other colors for walls in the great room and kitchen can I use? I can use white… but I think gray is out since the windows might end up being sandstone. Thoughts? Do you guys think I should say no way to the sandstone and use white windows?
Any help and thoughts would be greatly appreciated… this is a huge decision and we have to finalize it within a day. Oh, the house is European Craftsman… if that helps… so craftsman style columns, etc. on porch, lakeside, entrance to garage, etc.
THANK YOU!
Hi Rebecca! First of all huge congrats on your new home! How exciting! I can’t imagine being on a lake! A dream home for sure. This is a tough one.. Obviously you need to do whatever you love the most, but if it were me I’d go white windows. I’m a bit biased because white windows just make my heart skip a beat. ;) But also it makes it so you can use any paint color you want. With beige trimmed windows I think you’d want to stick with cream, white, or a lighter or darker beige paint. They are neutral so any color would work, but yes.. you wouldn’t want to use gray paint. If you love the look of the neutral trim I’d go with it, but if you love white trim.. I’d go with white windows. Sorry that probably wasn’t much help! I know these decisions are SO hard because you have to live with them forever! Good luck cutie! Send me a pic of the house when it’s finished! It sounds like it’s going to be amazing. xo
Thank you! It is quite a challenge. I do love your home and the gray and white. Hmmm…
I actually should have said desert sand. That is the true color of the windows. Oh boy, tough choices. I just wish I could do dual colors but that makes the price about triple. :(
Thanks again for taking the time to answer! I appreciate it!!
You bet! Good luck! Whatever decision you make will be the right one. :) xo
I love, love, love that sign! I just bought it, thanks for letting us know it’s for sale again! Huge steal with the F&F discount, hooray! And I also got your PB jute living room rug (also on sale!)! Did you know it comes in 10×14 now? We just moved into our new home which we built from scratch, and the living room part of our great room is 17 ft x 15.5 ft, so I hope the size of the larger rug works. We’ll find out on Friday when it arrives :) Fingers crossed for minimal shedding…
Oh my word.. I JUST told my husband that the rug comes in 10×14 and I want to buy the bigger size! I wanted that size originally but made due with one size down. Seriously LOVE that rug. And the sign! Happy you now have two of my all time favorite things. :) You will have shedding! But it won’t last forever. ;) Thanks cutie! xo