5 on Friday

{one}
Wine colored clothing.
Deep burgundy must be super hot this Fall season as I have picked up a cardigan, 2 blouses, and a pair of skinny trousers.

{two}
This song. 

I'm embarrassed to admit it but I have been singing it all week! 

{three}
Fall Photo Shoots. 
This weekend kicks off a string of photo shoots that I have scheduled for the Fall.  2 this weekend, 2 more the weekend of the 11th and 2 more before the end of the month.  Fall is such a great time to do photo shoots.  I still have some free time - email me if you interested!

{four}
What's for dinner?  Venison. 
Brad got his first deer last weekend!  With the deep freezer stocked, I'm in venison-recipe mode.  So far, we've had chili, salami, and tostadas.  So good!


{five}
Eloise's Halloween Costume. 
I'm losing my mind over here trying to come up with an idea.  I've looked at everything from Tinkerbell to Blueberries to Rainbow Bright.  You are probably thinking that this is not a big deal but they do a parade at the daycare at the hospital.  I can't be the mom with the lame costume.  Help!

Here is her costume last year.  She was an owl to match her forest-themed nursery.  

5 on Friday

{one}
Chili
As Autumn turns into Fall, I couldn't be more excited that it is Chili season!  This past Sunday I made my first batch of Chili in the Crock pot and it was great.  My recipe is a mash up of various chili recipes but the key is it is super easy!

Mandy's Chili
1 jar of Salsa
2 cans of diced tomatoes
2 cans black beans
2 cans kidney beans
1 chili seasoning packet
1 lb of ground meat - beef, turkey, chicken, or our favorite - Venison!

Brown the meat.  Stir in seasoning.  Dump meat & everything else in the crock pot for 4 hours. Enjoy!
Favorite toppings: Fritos, Doritos, Shredded cheese/Avocado/Tortilla Strips, or Oyster Crackers

{two}
Family Dinner Recipes
I don't know what has gotten into me but I'm a recipe printing freak lately!  My email is continuously getting flooded with links to Pillsbury, Kraft, and Betty Crocker.  I've always been obsessed with collecting recipes so I'm loving that there are so many yummy new dishes out there.

{three}
Fall TV premiers!
Last Fall, we were in a newborn baby haze and watching our favorite shows was the furthest things from our minds.  Now that our little baby is 1 and goes to bed like a champ, we can enjoy our shows again.  Here's to watching Modern Family, Big Bang Theory, Glee, Dancing with the Stars, Survivor, Bones, and whatever Bravo has to offer!

{four}
Gallery Wall is a go!
My personal handyman Brad is on board with my latest project!  As part of our date night last Saturday, we went to IKEA before dinner and our movie to get all the frames.  We decided to go with a combination of black and white frames with white mats in various sizes.  We even mapped out the layout the frames.  Some may think the hard part will be hanging all of these frames but I think it is going to be picking out the photos.  Thankfully we just had a photo shoot for Eloise's birthday with the amazing Chantel Ferraro so we have some great photos to pick from!

{five}
Eloise's 1 year Photo Shoot.
"The best that a photographer can do is have someone else take their family photos" - Chantel Ferraro.  We got to see some sneak peaks this week from Eloise's 1 year photo shoot and they were amazing.  We can't wait to see the rest!

5 on Friday

{one}
Market Salad
Right now I'm obsessed with this salad.  Easy pantry ingredients and so simple to throw together.  Mixed Greens, Dried Cranberries, Bleu Cheese crumbles, Walnuts & Balsamic Dressing.
Balsamic Dressing suggestion:

{two}
Gallery Wall

With the new interior paint, I find myself bored with most of my decor.  I've been sniffing around Pinterest for ideas and keep coming back to the concept of a Gallery wall.  I have the perfect place for it and everything.  Now to get Brad on board.  He loves a good project!

{three}
5 things you could live on
One of my favorite authors Shauna Niequist posed a random questions on Facebook - What are your 5 things that you could or do live on?  She said peanut butter, cheese, bread, wine, and coffee.  Me? Peanut Butter, Hummus, Red Bell Peppers, Cheese & Bread.  Runners up would be Diet Pepsi, Cold Milk, and Chips & Salsa.  How about you? 

{four}
Fall Decor
I've said a ton of times on this blog that Fall is my favorite season.  I love the food, colors, weather, holidays/celebrations, clothes, and decor.  Fall/Halloween is probably my favorite holiday/season to decorate for - more so than Christmas.  I love seeing pumpkins in the obvious and not so obvious areas of the house.  With a curious toddler on my hands now, I will have to do some serious thinking when it comes what I can do for Fall Decor this year.  I see a Hobby Lobby trip in my future...

{five}
And just like that...I'm done nursing.

I stopped pumping a few weeks ago and was just nursing in the morning and night. This past weekend, I dropped the morning feeding with no problem.  I figured that I would keep the evening feeding for another week or so.  Wrong.  Come Tuesday, I could tell that she was done.  If I would have known that Tuesday night was going to be the last night, I would have cherished it more.  Instead of playing on my phone or looking at the clock, I would have just stared at her.  Eloise & I have come so far in this Breastfeeding journey and I'm so glad that I was able to do this for her.  Here's to putting away the nursing bras, tanks, pads and all other nursing gear! 

Would you like a cocktail with dinner, you ask.  Why, yes.  Yes, I will.

2 Orions are better than 1

Back in July, I had the pleasure of doing Gabby's maternity photo shoot.  So when Orion John Kevil, Jr. made his debut on August 21st, I immediately looked at my calendar and carved out some space to do his newborn photos.  When doing newborn photo shoots, some of my favorites shots are the ones that just "happen." The moments when the new parents sneak a kiss between them or their new baby is priceless.  Baby Orion or OAK as his parents are calling him was the perfect subject.  He was awake and alert for most of the shoot but was truly mesmerized by his parents' loving faces.  As we moved outside for a few photos, his eye lids got heavy and he dozed off in Gabby's arms.  When I was editing the photos, I couldn't help but smile when I noticed Gabby & Orion holding hands in some of the shots.  I never told them to do it - it just happened.  Just one of those moments that speaks volumes to the love they have for each other and their new son.  Congrats again to our dear friends!

5 on Friday

  

I took last week off from 5 on Friday as I was in the midst of some serious birthday party prep, but I'm back in action this week! This week's 5 on Friday is mash up of last week and this week.

{one}
Devin Jay Thakur
On 8.29.13, my bestie Sarah gave birth to her second child, a sweet little baby boy named Devin Jay Thakur.  Dev was 7lbs and 18.5 inches.  A few weeks before he was born, I made him a name banner for his room.  I've been dying to share it but I was sworn to secrecy when it came to the name.  Name banners are by far one of my favorite things to make for kiddos.

{two}
Toddler.
And with the passing of August 31st, all of the sudden my inbox is filled with everything Toddler.  "3 amazing facts about your Toddler," "Getting your Toddler to eat," and the best so far, "How to raise a patient and kind toddler."  I feel like I'm a contestant in a spelling bee and I was just informed that my word to spell is Toddler.  Use it in a sentence? Sure - I'm the parent of a Toddler.  Provide a definition? Sure - Toddler: what happens after a sweet baby starts to walk and turns 1.  Over on The Littlest Kalins blog, I did a Baby Face Friday post every week.  With this whole Toddler thing staring us in the face, I will have to come up with something else...

{three}
Do you remember my last post about looking for my reward, award, or medal for nursing for a year?  Well, my sister surprised me last Friday with a one of a kind trophy commemorating my year of nursing.  Seriously, sisters rule! I really want to display this next to my diplomas and professional licenses.  Heck, it may need it's own trophy cabinet.

{four}
Iced Pumpkin Mocha Latte
I'm a freak for Fall and all things pumpkin-flavored.  When I heard a commercial that Dunkin Donuts was debuting all their pumpkin menu items this week, I was eager to give something a try.  This drink definitely did not disappoint.

{five}
Donnie Wahlberg & Jenny McCarthy.
It's official.  They are a couple.  That's all.