random urge to craft

Pinterest is awesome for inspiration. I can't even come close to doing most of the amazing projects that I've seen on there, but there was one that seemed doable. I'm sure you've seen the yarn/felt wreaths making the rounds. There are a bunch of different colors and themes out there. Saturday while wandering around a new Hobby Lobby near by I was bitten by the crafting bug.

I just had a STRONG desire to make the wreath. The best part was because it was a grand opening, they had some amazing deals, it was just meant to be! I got the wreath form for 1/2 price ($2.50), waaaay too much yarn for $2.99 and all the felt I needed plus some extra just in case I messed some up for $1. Total project price $6.50!!

I am in LOVE with my front porch now! I also picked up some fall floral stems for some sconces in my foyer. I still need to get some sort of filler to hide the stems for those, but I love the look! I'm so happy with  my purchases and the finished look.

pining for pie

Leading up to Thanksgiving I can't help but think about pie. We never stray from our basic pies on Thanksgiving. Nothing new, no changes and you definitely have to make all of them! We make 2 apple, a cherry, 2 chocolate, 2 pecan and 2 pumpkin pies. That is A LOT of pie. I mean I have a huge family and we usually manage to eat it all over the course of the weekend, but it is a lot of pie! I love pumpkin pie. My sister has always joked that I think it is it's own food group. I love to eat it breakfast on Friday and Saturday morning. At least it is full of fiber so I can pretend the calories are healthy ones.
So for this week's Oh How Pinteresting Wednesday I'm going with pie. Thanksgiving at it's best!

Source: pauladeen.com via Natalie on Pinterest

Chocolate pecan pie. Sounds perfectly delicious. At Christmas I make chocolate/pecan/caramel/whiskey bark and this reminds me of that a bit. 

Source: marthastewart.com via Clair on Pinterest

Pear and cranberry pie. I think I'll have to make this, maybe for our cookies and cocoa party in December. There is something about this that is making me salivate. 

Source: bakersroyale.com via Danielle on Pinterest

Frozen chocolate and peanut butter pie. The oreo crust is really what makes this I think. Plus the drizzle on top. Yum!

Source: theberry.com via Alaina on Pinterest

Pumpkin pie. I love you....

Source: swiss-miss.com via Jamie on Pinterest

I need this!!! So practical! This way I could cut it down to 1 1/2 of some of those pies. Not pumpkin though, I like my leftovers.

Source: etsy.com via Andrea on Pinterest

I need this pie. Really too cute for words.

Source: thelingerieparlour.tumblr.com via Meredith on Pinterest

Since I eat pie I do not look like this. But I sure would like to. 

sweet and tangy

Over the weekend I got an irresistible urge to make cranberry muffins. I make orange cranberry cookies at Christmas time and was feeling the flavor combination. So I went to the grocery store, picked up a bag of fresh cranberries and I was all set.

These muffins are delicious. They are definitely tart, as they are packed full of plump cranberries and copious amounts of fresh orange juice and zest. I'd definitely suggest them to anyone who likes tangy foods! I barely tweaked the recipe adding a little more zest, juice and flour.

With this recipe I'm once again liking up with My Baking Addiction for the Holiday Recipe Exchange! I love this link up. Come join the fun at the My Baking Addiction and GoodLife Eats Holiday Recipe Swap sponsored by Chicago Metallic!!

Cranberry Orange Muffins:
Adapted from here and here:

Ingredients:
4 1/4 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 cups fresh cranberries
2 large eggs
1 3/4 cups orange juice
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 cups sugar
zest of 3 large oranges

Mix together all the dry ingredients, once combined stir in cranberries. Make sure to coat cranberries in flour, this will stop them from sinking to the bottom of the muffins. In a separate bowl stir together all the wet ingredients and zest. Add in the dry ingredients and stir until just combined - some lumps are ok. Divide into muffin tins. I did about 1/4 cup of batter per muffin and got 22 muffins. Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes.

race recap monday

This weekend was really busy, but also a really good time. We were out and about all weekend long and when we were home, we had my sister's black lab at the house along with our pups so there was never a dull moment!
Mike, Mom and I ran another 5k yesterday. It was Mom's first one, so it was kind of a big deal. Since she plans on running Disney with me in February I keep telling her she has to get on it!!! Boy did she! There were two options at the race. You could run the 7.5 mile scenic challenge or you could run the 5k. They claimed the 5k was relatively flat, but it was definitely not flat. There were two pretty decent climbs, about 1/2 a mile each. I was so glad that I decided to run with mom and not the challenge if this is what they called "flat"! I didn't get a pr yesterday, but my pr was from a VERY flat and straight course, so I wasn't too disappointed. Mom did great though. She was right behind me for most of the race. She finished really strong! I was impressed!

Mike and I before the race. It was freezing outside. Sign next to us said 34 degrees. Yikes!

Mom getting pumped! In real life, that hoodie she has on is
NEON yellow!

My handsome Michael ready to run!

yikes. Super sweaty julie. How does one dress for these races...I need a better plan than I had yesterday!! 

My pouch is FULL. Gloves, phone, headphones...Not a good look. lol

After the race we stopped to get mom coffee then headed to the diner for some food!

I changed into that tshirt in the parking lot at the race. Sports bras
are enough coverage for getting naked in public, right??

Always that same goofy smile. Unless I do a funny dance and get a
real one with teeth! lol.

It was such a great day. I had so much fun running with mom and it just got me so much more excited for Disney!!!!

a new old fashioned way

I'm sitting here listening to "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" as I type this. It was my dad's favorite fun Christmas song and it will always make me think of him. This weekend is going to be a busy one, but I'm super excited about it! Tonight I will be heading to my Aunt Cindy's house for a Willow House and 31 Gifts party. She sells the goods and it is sure to be a great night with some fun friends and family. Then tomorrow morning I'm off to the outlets to do some Christmas shopping and then to my adorable 1 year old cousin's birthday party. Then Sunday it is yet another race day. I'm doing a 7.5 mile scenic challenge. I'm kind of nervous about it, but also pretty stoked.  It will be long and hard, but I'm all for challenging myself. The only thing that has me a little nervous is that there is a 2 hour time limit. Normally I'd just say 2 hours is more than enough time for 7.5 miles, but it is called a scenic challenge. Challenge....uh...yeah, I'm nervous.

This week for Friday's Fancies is the 50th week. I can't even believe that! Alison should be super impressed with how huge it has gotten. I love this link up and I definitely look forward to it every week. Thank you Alison for putting this together for us week after week! So the theme this week is "golden anniversary." The dress I chose was one that I found while writing the post earlier this week about holiday dresses. It was kinda similar to some others that I already included, so I left it out. When I saw this week's theme, I knew exactly what dress to use though!! The look I put together is for a "golden" holiday party!

golden anniversary by rundreamcook featuring sequin dresses

new kicks

New shiny shoes getting ready for their inaugural run.

So I've posted a bunch lately about my running shoe dilemma. The ones I love have been discontinued and I can't seem to find them anywhere. I bought a pair of Asics 2160s and I've worn them to the gym a couple times and they seem ok, except it takes a lot of effort to tie them juuuust right. I'm not sure why but they feel too loose and then I tighten them and then they hurt my feet because they're so tight. Frustrating. Yesterday I took them on my their first outdoor test run. I did about 4.5 miles and aside from when I stopped to tie them tighter at the half way point and then had to stop to loosen them a quarter mile later, I think they worked pretty well. I'm so excited to get back to outdoor training. For my race this weekend, I'm sure I'll spend a very long time trying to tie my shoes correctly...But aside from that let the training resume!!!

Probably the worst picture of myself that I've shared but I was so
excited about finishing my run!

so thankful

I can hardly believe that it is already November 9th. Thanksgiving is seriously right around the corner. I love this time of year and I'm one of those people who are totally ok with Christmas goods coming out before Halloween. I like to stretch it out for as long as possible and really enjoy every minute of it. The shopping, the crowds, the hustle and bustle, I love it all. I'm totally stalking black friday ads and making my Christmas list as well as a very detailed holiday shopping list. I'm really excited about Thanksgiving this year. I've started decorating my house with turkeys around every corner. It is just so festive. I've been pinning like crazy trying to find new ideas!!

Source: marthastewart.com via Rachel on Pinterest

Love the felt place mat leaves. They're so festive and still relatively subtle. Plus all of that food looks completely amazing. Yum!

Source: thelittlebrownhouse.us via Lisa on Pinterest

Daily reminder during this season to be thankful. Thankful for all of the blessings that surround me. The pumpkins are pretty awesome too.

Source: etsy.com via Nico on Pinterest

I love this for outside! I love the arrangement of pumpkins and gourdes surrounding it too. Very festive, fun and super inviting.

Source: paperandpigtailsparty.com via Crystal on Pinterest

More reminders to be thankful.

Source: jessicainsd.blogspot.com via Shayla on Pinterest

I think pumpkin pull apart bread is exactly what black friday morning needs. Warm, sweet and festive it will definitely put you in the holiday spirit.

Source: karaspartyideas.blogspot.com via Julie on Pinterest

I really love brown and apple green as a color combination, I usually think it is great for spring and summer but I love the way it is displayed here for fall.

Source: etsy.com via Julie on Pinterest

Could these be any cuter? I'm not even close to being awesome enough to do these, but I'm definitely awestruck by them!

Source: marthastewart.com via Julie on Pinterest

A Martha Stewart tablescape...Gorgeous. I think I'm going to try to make those mini white pumpkin candle holders for this year. I think they're so pretty! Maybe with a brushing of gold sparkle though.

Source: pier1.com via Julie on Pinterest

Another gorgeous place setting. Love the warm fall colors and the round place mat.

Source: doriegreenspan.com via Julie on Pinterest

This looks delicious. Someone come over so I can make it and not eat it all myself!!

time to celebrate

This time of year most people have some sort of holiday soiree to go to...I'm not one of those people. But with all of the gorgeous holiday fashions in stores right now, it is so hard not to swoon over them! So here's a bit of inspiration in the event you are one of the lucky ones who gets to get all dressed up and go celebrate the holiday season! I even managed to find dresses I love in every price range. They range from totally budget friendly to there is NO way I can afford this....

Found here. $98

Found here. $128

Found here. $35

Found here. $98

Found here. Shirt $56 Skirt $62

Found here. $188

Found here. $365

Found here. $76

Found here. $56

Naeem Khan dress $5600

So, since I don't have a holiday party to go to, who whats to go out for NYE??? I'm looking for something to do that would require one of these dresses!