Welcome Fall!

Rumor has it that today is the first official day of FALL! I somehow missed that memo until now. I think it may have something to do with the fact that I live in Florida, and the current temperature is hovering somewhere in the mid-80's.

Regardless, it's now perfectly acceptable to pull out the stops on all things FALL!

Here are a few of the things that I'm looking forward to this week:

+ Doing all sorts of pumpkin crafts, like this one from Lilacs and Longhorns.

+ Making my "famous" Pumpkin & Black Bean Chili for dinner on Tuesday night. (Recipe to come!)

+ Digging out my FALL decor from the dark depths of the office closet (...or was it the garage?)

+ The RETURN of all of my favorite FALL TV shows! (Castle, anyone?!)

+ Painting my nails in beautiful FALL colors. (Thanks for the ideas, Nails and Sales!)

+ Wearing ORANGE as often as possible.

+ Making grand plans, perhaps for a Thanksgiving adventure!

+ Starting my Christmas shopping.

And last, but certainly not least...

+ Getting my new A/C installed tomorrow! (Listen, if it doesn't feel like FALL outside, the least I can do is crank down the air inside and pretend!)

What are you most looking forward to about the FALL season?

Great Songs to Start Your Day Off Right!

I'm not gonna lie... I used to be a MySpace fanatic. There are a LOT of things that I don't miss about MySpace. However, I do miss the cool little music player you could put on your page to bombard your friends with your favorite music every time they viewed your page.

I recently found myself with a little bit of extra iTunes money. (Isn't that just the best?) After much debate about whether to buy myself some new camera apps or some fun new music, the idea of new music won out. I've been listening to the radio for days and searching the internet to find just the right songs with an upbeat tempo and positive lyrics, and I think I finally figured it out!

If you're looking for some new music for your iThingamabob (or if you just want something fun to listen to while you work or clean) here are 10 of my new favorite songs! Click the underlined hyperlinks to check them out on YouTube!

1. Good Morning - Mandisa
2. God's Great Dance Floor - Chris Tomlin
3. Nothing's Gonna Stop Us - Sidewalk Prophets
4. We Are The Free - Matt Redman
5. Make Some Noise - Krystal Meyers
6.  That's How We Roll - Britt Nicole
7. Overcomer - Mandisa
8. Burning in My Soul - Matt Maher
9. Steal My Show - TobyMac
10. Lord, I Need You - Matt Maher

Let's hear it friends - what are YOUR favorite songs for starting the day off right?! Leave a comment and let us know!

Friday Freebie Alert!

(Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links with Tyndale Rewards. I promise not to make sales pitches and affiliate links my norm, but this one was too good NOT to share... Read on to see why!)

I don't know about you, but I love books... Especially FREE books!

So, how do you get free books, you ask?

I recently learned about the Tyndale Rewards program, which enables you to earn points towards free books and Bibles! How cool is that?

After joining their website, you can earn points by inviting friends to join, subscribing to their newsletters, posting reviews, and participating in focus groups. Each activity earns you 10-25 points, which can in turn be redeemed for books and Bibles that start at just 30 points!

You can learn more about the program by watching this little video:

I haven't ordered anything off the site yet, but from my friends who have already joined, I understand that it really is FREE and there really isn't a "catch" or any hidden fees. (Just as you would hope to find from a well-known Christian publishing company, lol!)

So, what are you waiting for? Come join me on the Tyndale Rewards website - click here to join! (By the way, new members typically receive 10 points in their account, but by using my referral link, you'll start out with 25 points in your account... That's almost a free book!)

On Being a Mess

There are some days that I'd rather not admit that my chosen profession is writing. 

After all, I studied writing in college. I teach writing classes. I write homeschool curriculum.

Still, sometimes I forget to write on my blog for weeks in a row. I frequently make spelling mistakes on the board in front of my students. I submit drafts of my books only to find out that I made a bajillion grammar mistakes. 

My life is a lot like that, too. 

I make an awful lot of mistakes. There are some days that my temper is short, my attitude is negative, and I just want to be selfish. I've made more than my fair share of bad decisions.

On those days, I would rather not admit that I am a Christ Follower.

Thankfully, being a Christ Follower doesn't mean that I have to be perfect 100% of the time... Being a Christ Follower means that I am forgiven.

When I make mistakes, when I react too quickly out of my frustrations and anger, and when I make poor decisions... His forgiveness is always there. All I have to do is admit that I need Him and ask his forgiveness and healing. How beautiful is that?

But honestly, friends, that's not the best part. The best part is that God takes those broken and messy places and after he heals them, he uses them for His Glory. 

Romans 8:28 says "And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to His purpose."* I especially love the way that it is written in The Message: "we can be sure that every detail in our lives of love for God is worked into something good."

Or, as Lysa TerKeurst states in What Happens When Women Say Yes to God, "a MESS, when touched by the MESSIAH, can become a beautiful MESSAGE."

Can I get an AMEN?!

I am so thankful that God doesn't give up on me. I am so thankful for God's mercy and forgiveness. But most of all, I am so thankful that He doesn't let a single moment of my life go to waste.

Lord, I make so many mistakes! I am so thankful for your amazing forgiveness, mercy, and grace. Thank you for your promise that you will take the broken and messy places in my life, touch them, and turn them around to be used for your glory. Help me to be a shining light for you, even in my messy moments. Amen.

*English Standard Version

Easy Cashew Chicken

I must confess, I'm not much of a fan of Chinese food. I much prefer Thai or Japanese cuisine! However, Prince Charming is a big fan of Chinese food, and in general, pretty much anything "outside the ordinary." So, when I stumbled across a recipe for cashew chicken that I could prepare with a few ingredients I already had, plus the aid of my slow cooker and my trusty kitchen sidekick, the rice cooker, I was in. :)

Ingredients:

1 lb (approx.) Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts
1 Can Campbell's Golden Mushroom Soup
3 Tbsp Soy Sauce
1 1/2 Tsp Ground Ginger
1 Small Jar (4 oz) Sliced Mushrooms
1 Bag Asian Style Frozen Veggies

Directions:

1. Place the chicken breasts in your slow cooker, and top with soy sauce, ground ginger, and golden mushroom soup.

2. Cook on high until chicken is fully cooked (4-6 hours)

3. Add in your bag of frozen vegetables, stir, and cook on low for 1 more hour. (For faster prep, you can cook the vegetables in the microwave or on the stove, then stir them in before serving!)

4. Serve over rice, with cashews sprinkled on top.

5. Enjoy!

Monday Makeover: Mini Makeover Edition

Sometimes in the midst of major home makeovers, you have to stop and work on some smaller tasks to keep yourself from going crazy.

... Or, at least I do!

I thought I'd dedicate today's blog to two of the mini-makeovers I've worked on over the last couple of weeks. These were relatively simple afternoon projects I completed that had a tremendous impact on the way I feel about my house. Hopefully they will inspire you to do the same.

The first project I worked on was my laundry room. I'm fortunate to have a large laundry room, but to be honest, it used to end up being a "junk room" that I tossed things into when company came over. Those days are OVER now! 

The shelf you see in the picture was a white shelf that used to be in my apartment's entryway. It had seen better days, so when we moved into this house, I relegated it to the laundry room. On a rainy afternoon, I shelf-papered the shelves with cute chevron striped paper I found on clearance (thank you T.J. Maxx) and added some Sterilite plastic drawers to serve as junk drawers. I try to keep the drawers relatively organized by giving each of them a "theme" (i.e. kitchen, office, craft, first aid, etc.) 

Once the bulk of the work was done, I bought some inexpensive decorations and a few bargain priced baskets at Hobby Lobby to finish the look! I also threw a large gray bathmat (found on clearance at Target) onto the floor to keep my feet "comfy" while doing laundry. 

Quick and CHEAP! (My second favorite word, right after FREE!)

I'm not even sure if this next project technically counts as a makeover, since it was so easy, but I'm still claiming it! Here's one important principle I've discovered in home decor:

When you get bored with a room, mix it up! 

Seriously, what's the fun in furniture if you don't rearrange it once in a while?!

The wall above used to house my computer on a high "pub" table. It looked lovely for a while, but I noticed that it was catching a lot of clutter and wasn't the style I was going for anymore. Because I use my laptop more often, I moved the desktop computer to my desk in the "guest" bedroom, and asked Prince Charming and my Dad to move the table into our "bonus" room for use in a future makeover. Then, we slid my piano over a few feet into it's new home! I pulled in a lamp from across the room, and gathered a few pictures from around the house to spruce the area up. This was an easy fix and changed the entire room - my living room feels so much larger now!

So there you have it - makeovers don't have to be major and time consuming. Mix up your furniture, artwork, and trinkets once in a while. Little changes can make a big difference!

5 Tips for Vacation Survival!

I've never considered myself much of a traveler, and I don't frequently find myself struck with wanderlust. However, after our May trip to Seattle, I've been bitten by the travel bug! Over the weekend, we took a short road trip to the not-so-distant city of St. Augustine, and on the way home, I put together these 5 quick tips that I learned this summer. Hopefully they'll be of help to you, too!

1. Check Groupon for deals and steals on local attractions.
This tip never dawned on me, until I made a quick little purchase on Groupon a few weeks before our trip to Seattle. I started searching Groupon Seattle on a weekly basis to see what I could find and scored some half-price tour tickets! I did the same for our trip to St. Augustine and was able to get some discounted museum tickets. You never know what you'll find!

2. Make a travel itinerary, but don't be afraid to ditch it.
I hate to say it, but my Prince Charming and I are some of the most indecisive people I know. A few days before our trip, we sat down and picked out 1-2 museums or tours to do each day... and then ditched most of them when we got to our destination in favor of more exciting adventures! Pre-planning was vital, though. If we hadn't chosen anything, we most likely would have spent half the day in our hotel room trying to decide what to do!

3. Find hotels you're comfy with, and stick with them.
If you're an adventurous traveler, you can go ahead and ditch this tip - but for me, it's key! If you aren't comfortable in your hotel room, you aren't going to get good sleep... and if you don't get good sleep, it's gonna be a rough trip! To be entirely honest, I'm a fancy resort kinda gal, but that's just not practical most of the time. I've never been dissatisfied with a Courtyard Marriott or La Quinta, so I usually try to seek those out!

4. Stay hydrated!
Travel adds a lot of extra stress to your body, so combat some of it by staying hydrated! When we travel by car, we usually grab a case of bottled water on our way out of town. When traveling by plane, you can either pick one up once you arrive at your destination, or use our preferred method, which is to carry one of these awesome Brita soft-sided water bottles that contain a handy filter!

5. Eat well!
I used to be a "stick with the chains" girl, but where's the fun in that?! Ask around and find out some of the popular places, remembering that your tour guides, the front desk staff at your hotel, etc. are all locals! I've discovered, though, that you may have to ask twice! Listen to the places that they are forced to recommend due to partnerships, etc... and then ask where THEY would go for a nice meal. I usually take these results and filter them through websites like Urban Spoon, Zagat, or Trip Advisor. After all of this feedback, you're bound to end up someplace great!

Now it's your turn! I'd love to hear some of your tried and true vacation tips. Share them in the comments, or leave a link to your blog! :)