Change of Seasons....Change of Luck?

Fall has begun in the our household.

It is cold (90 degrees), rainy (drizzling) and cloudy (partly), but it's the closest to fall in Arizona gets. I've spent most the morning placing things here and there, absolutely my favorite time of year.

My annual "Yahooo! Fall is here" gift is on it's way to my mom. I hope you enjoy it mom!

Some amazing things took place this week. The first being that the doctor finally called with some good news. He said, your ejection fraction has come up 2% since starting the medications! Now I know that's not much, but it's not much in the right direction. Certainly something to celebrate.

I woke up Friday to find that I won something, and not just something, but a gift certificate to Single Stone Studios! Yahoooooo! Already have ideas of what I would like. I know it must have killed Shelly to post my anti Ohio State comment on her blog, but she did, and I'm proud of her. That's the first step to realizing she has been brain washed by her husband (he's brain washed too). Michigan kicks off the season on September 5th ya'll! Mark it on your calender.

This is one possibility:

My friend called to ask if we would like to join them for the first Cardinals home game (pre-season). A date night?! When? Where? What time? I'm all over that! Remember my favorite pair of heels I showed you before? I got them out of the closet (they were the perfect cardinal red), dusted them off and put them on for the first time since March, the back surgery. My girls: I've missed you. I felt my sexy coming back.....until I noticed the excruciating blisters you were causing. Check out these two hotties!
Dinner time! Some amazing things have happened this week. I pray our luck is turning around. If this week is any indication, I'd say it has.

In celebration of the beginning of my favorite time of year and returning heart function, I'm holding a give-away! Here's the deal: I love the holidays; fall, Christmas, New Years etc.... Share with me your family traditions, big or small. I'm always looking to add new traditions to our holidays. So, send me your favorite family traditions! I will choose one that I want to add to our families traditions........And what will you get in exchange? The winner will receive a large jar candle from Yankee in my new favoirte fall scent!

Leave me a comment here on the blog or e-mail me at: waterford@cox.net

You have until Friday 5pm EST.

Good Luck!

Can't wait to read your ideas!!!

Preparing for Easter

Leila received this beautiful hair bow holder as an early Easter present. I ordered it off of ETSY http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5350642

What I loved about this gal is that I explained Leila's bedroom color scheme and she ran with it.........I love it! We hung it on her door, and now finding hair bows is no longer an issue:) Yes, I have an obsession.

***POST EDIT***

If you would like to order one of these bow holders for your daughter or as a gift you simply need to mention my name and you will receive FREE SHIPPING!

(Kelli Al-Mutawa) if you didn't already know:)

It's a dress and the bodess is personalized with her name.


Well here you have it, this was my grand entrance back into the place in my home which I love the most.....my kitchen. I only prepared the batter, then supervised the rest of the way.

Having both parents that love to cook, how could he have NOT gotten this gene???



He was so proud wearing his Easter apron and making them all by himself. What a guy. Boy do I love him. Is it wrong to eat your children?! They look so delicious!

Staying true to one of my many resolutions, I bought this adorable knit hat for Leila from Cite Fuze on Etsy. Hello, my name is Kelli and I'm addicted to Etsy.

I know what you must be thinking......does it even get cold enough in Arizona for a hat like that? Come on people! A girl can use her imagination!!!

Jalyn and I made it back home safely from our trip to Michigan. While I was cooking and taking care of my mom, Jalyn went sledding, skating and built five snowmen! I don't think that kid would have a problem living in snow, he had a blast.

This week I will be featuring our three dogs. I will write a piece on each of them and their unique personalities. I talk so much about my human children that I have neglected my furry ones.

Oh, and if you haven't read Marley and Me do so.........and grab the Kleenex. If Marley was the "Worlds Worst Dog", than I've got the worlds second, third and fourth:)

If you haven't read The Shack, I highly recommend it. What a great read. Gave me much to think about. I will be posting some quotes from the book and my own personal thoughts on them in the future.

Stay tuned.............

Update on mom: She is doing wonderfully and everyday gets a little better. She plans to return to work next week. Thank you for all your prayers as I'm certain they were heard.

Homemade

My other New Year's resolution was a pledge to buy and make more homemade.

What better place than to start with these adorable shoes for Leila?

I found them on Esty from a company called Small Beans.

Only I went with Cherry Red........

There is something about a feeling you get from an item that was made with someone's two hands, no machines.

Something about the feeling you get when you've put hard work into cooking from scratch.

Something about a vintage apron and a glass of wine.

Homemade = Love, = good intent, = attention to detail.

Tariq said to me the other night "whatcha think about going organic?"

To that I promptly replied "maybe next year honey."

A gal has a hard enough time being positive.......