Fall Feels

It is supposedly fall but Louisiana did not get the memo. The weather app says it is 82 and feels like 85 but I think that's a lie. It feels way hotter outside. The cats are mad at me because I refuse to open the window--they LOVE sitting in the windowsill--but it's just too hot. 

I thought it would be cute and fun to do a post where I share my photos that feel like fall. But... I only have like 5. Because it does not feel like fall. 

Still, I've had a soup on the menu every week for the past month. Tonight I'm making homemade chicken noodle soup. Next week is chili. Casey says that it's supposed to get down to 40 next week. We shall see.

Anyways, here's my fall photos. Maybe it will finally feel like fall in December. Except we'll be in Singapore in December and its summer year-round there. Guess I won't pack away my sandals.

We love to make a seasonal bucket list! We had a date night at a local coffee shop and made our fall list.

First day of fall tradition: build a scarecrow! We were sweating.

These things can be found at Walmart and I'm obsessed.

The reality of the scarecrow. The cats decapitate Christian Bale daily. 

Just finished some Pumpkin Spice Cookies today!

I started making this pinafore two years ago and was soooo excited about it. But I wasn't feeling it as I worked on it. Pulled it back out again this year, decided I like it, and hemmed it. 

A varieTEA of photos

 Nope, I'm not done making tea puns, apparently. But here are some photos of tea being enjoyed.

2020 Valentine's Day Cookies

My husband and I have a little side business making decorated cookies. Here are some of the Valentine's Day cookies we made this year!

Book Photography

I've always enjoyed photography and started getting into it when I ran my style blog for several years. But I always used automatic settings because the photos turned out really well that way! It wasn't until I started joining book photography challenges that I begin to experiment shooting in manual. Books were the perfect subject because they were patient with me as I tried one setting and another and another. Though I don't shoot as much anymore, I still enjoy shooting manual. Here are a few book photos I took over the years!

Meet our new kitten!

Meet our new kitten--Tigger! Aptly named for his color and stripes and tendency to bounce everywhere he goes. 

Casey found him at a job and the man there was on the phone with the pound trying to get them to come pick up the cat. He was meowing like crazy (it was seriously annoying) but he was just so cute. So Casey told the man he'd take him and find him a home. 

Several weeks later... and he's still here. In his home. We couldn't bear to send him elsewhere.

Tigger is currently staring at me and I can't get over how adorable he is. Except he's a little less adorable when he wakes me up around 4:00 every morning. 

Everyone always asks how Oxford feels about the situation and he pretty much hates it. By pretty much I mean completely. Oxford is not playful at all and he doesn't understand that the cat is playing and not being mean by attacking him. Because of that, he's completely wary of the cat. Sometimes Tigger will try to cuddle up next to Oxford and he only puts up with it for about 30 seconds before moving away.

Tigger's new favorite thing is outside time. Unfortunately, he loves to get under the house. We had dinner with Casey's parents this week and had to bribe the cat out from under the house before we could go eat. He's getting super sneaky about sneaking past us when we open the door, so we're having to be extra careful when we get home and let Oxford in and out.

Seeing that I've never had a kitten, it's definitely been an interesting experience, but we are loving (most of) it. He's an adorable little furball!

And here's the best part... PHOTOS!

A Day in NOLA

A few weeks ago, my bestie Julianne called and asked if I wanted to go to New Orleans with her to deliver some vintage clothes to a few of the vintage shops. Of course I said yes!

Which is how we found ourselves in Century Girl for several hours. Obviously, this is my kind of shop, since the outside is my favorite color--PINK! It's just too cute. It was so fun to sit in on the buying appointment as Julianne pulled out an entire trunk worth full of vintage clothes for the shop owner to look through. Thankfully I'd already pulled out a hot pink loungewear set to keep for myself!

After the appointment, we walked down the block to Grandmother's Button, where I bought a pair of pink sunglasses. "I would have tried to talk her out of them but they were perfect for her," Julianne later told Casey. (Not really sure why we needed to defend my purchase--I only buy cheap sunglasses!) I definitely didn't need them... but I have an affinity to acquire cheap sunglasses and probably have like 12 pairs in my car. You'd think I keep so many because they break or I lose them. Nope! I can keep a pair of sunglasses from Target's dollar bin alive for years. But I really enjoy choosing different colors based on my mood that day.

Then we had some time to waste so we popped into Deville Coffee House and Creperie. I got a hot chocolate (I try to avoid caffeine in the afternoon) and a caramel apple crepe. Oh, the crepe was divine! Now I want to convince Courtyard Cafe to add it to the menu!

After snacks/coffee, Julianne went to another buying appointment and Casey met up with me! He found a New Orleans tour app and led me on a tour of the Garden District. We popped into Garden District Books because I can't resist a book store. It was so cute!

I enjoyed taking photos of the houses along our self-guided walking tour. We both love old houses. (Which is why we love the house we're in now!)

I'm truly blessed to be married to a guy who finds the absolute best restaurants in the entire world. He found this little hole in the wall place that had PIZZA MAC AND CHEESE. Yes, the caps were necessary. It was truly one of the most delicious things I've ever eaten in my entire life. Man, I want some right now.

After the PIZZA MAC AND CHEESE, we went to Angelo Brocato for dessert, and I got my fave⸺the cream horn. I also sampled the almond pistachio gelato and that's what I'll be getting next time!

We finished off the evening with a game of putt putt in New Orleans City Park. And... I won! (This is the second time I've beaten Casey. Yes, I'm keeping a record.)

Clark Creek

Casey and I recently decided to take a day trip to Clark Creek in Mississippi. It was about a two hour drive, so we woke up early and hit the road. Casey has an amazing knack for finding awesome restaurants, so before we left he picked a new breakfast place for us, Birdman Coffee and Books. We had the sweet potato pancakes and they were delicious! 

After breakfast we headed to Clark Creek! I was expecting it to be simple walking trails in the woods. I had no idea there would be large hills and rocks to climb! Thankfully, Casey held Oxford during the difficult parts and I just did my best to not fall and bust it. As it turned out, my favorite part of the day was climbing across all the huge rocks to get to the waterfall. 

We only spent a few hours there because Casey wanted to check out a nearby golf course that afternoon. I'm always down for chilling in the golf cart with a book!

We're already planning another trip to Clark Creek with some friends! Can't wait to go back!