Easy Circle garland and more Autumn goodness

The lighting is not good in my kitchen this time of day, so this picture came out really bad...sorry! I wanted to show you this very cute and simple garland. I can't take credit for making it. I bought it for $7.50 at an antique store. I could make it, but would have spent more than that buying all this yummy fabric that this talented lady used. I also found these brown paper leaves there too and hung them from the garland with a brown gingham ribbon.

Here is a closer look. She just cut the fabric into circles and sewed them all together with a simple stitch.

She did two layers of fabric and put wrong sides together. The fabric on the other side was a different fabric.

Very simple! Even I could do this one and I love the variety of fabrics!

Here is a fun touch of fall outside my front door. My kids just love scrarecrows and they each like to have one that is "them". This is Bryce and Makenna and the baby one is on the porch. I got this cart last year for $10 at my favorite store. Not bad huh! It usually lives out back under the tree by the patio. I just set some mums on it and two little scarecrows. I would love to do an old box piled high with pumpkins and bittersweet, but pumpkins can be expensive!

I just got this "R" flag at Kirklands on sale for $9.99. I have been eyeing them for awhile. I love the simplicity of it. It adds some "cottage" character to our home. I don't love garden flags usually, but I love this one!

Here is one of my favorite things dressed up for fall on top of my entertainment center....my bunny weathervane. She is sitting on top of the bread box I used as a kid. I painted it red and use it for display now. I also just adore white pumpkins! They are my favorite!

Just One Year Ago...

we brought home "our little pumpkin" Brayden. He was born on Sept. 30th 2008 and was
8 lbs.3 oz. of sheer sweet smelling baby.

One year later, he is a healthy, very active, bundle of fun and we all have enjoyed watching him grow and learn new things this year. He has been my most active, least sleeping baby, but a blessing just the same! He is starting to walk now, but still prefers to crawl because it is faster. He just started coming and grabbing my hand so he can walk around with me, then he points to this grocery cart we have and he wants to walk behind it while I steer him clear of walls, furniture and doorways. He says mama, dada, and loves waving night night and bye. He loves to play with my hair and does it when he is ready for bed. I love it! His biggest goal is to get into the sunroom if the door is not closed and empty out the dog bowls. Mama does not like this game! He now is starting to give out slobbery kisses. Those just melt my heart!

The Birthday Boy...

His big brother and sister still think he is really neat and fun. Mommy LOVES that they love him so much. It does my heart good. They help me so much with him.

After some trial and lots of error, here is the cake. It was two layers all done and iced until it started to slide off. I then had to remove the top layer (icing and all), take off the bottom layer and replace the top layer as it began to crack....nothing a little (or a lot) of icing couldn't fix. Here is the pumpkin cake for our "little pumpkin". It's far from perfect, but that is my style (thank goodness)!
I use this website for all my birthday cakes. They have such neat ideas and they are "easy" for amateur cake makers. Check it out.

http://www.coolest-birthday-cakes.com/

I made these spiders with baby food jars, large black pom poms, pipe cleaners, googly eyes and some hot glue. Then I wrote the kids names with a paint pen on the outside of the jar and filled it with candy pumpkins and candy corn. I got this idea from my friend Elise. They were a big hit!

Brayden with his brother, sister, and two cousins...his party guests for the evening. Don't you just love when they don't have an opinion??! (the one year old that is)

His first taste of chocolate icing. "Hmmm, this is nothing like my usual meal choices."

Brayden's Great Grandma Jean was here all the way from Texas for the big event. She is 81 years old. It made the day even more special! My sweet hubs is holding the little guy. I think he was about done partying.

Our little baby is growing up...so bittersweet! Thank you Brayden for blessing our lives so much this year! We look forward to many more fun birthdays with you and I promise I will let you help me plan your parties in the future!