It's Fall Y'all

I think I'm part of the 99% of the world that loves the fall season! I wasn't the first one at Starbucks to grab the first PSL of the season, but I have indulged in one or two since they made their debut a few weeks ago! I have pumpkin creamer in my fridge and pumpkin waffles in my freezer! Thanks, Trader Joe's! In Hawaii, we didn't have seasons (it was always hot) and I literally got to bring one bin of fall holiday decor with me. It just didn't feel like fall at all! Now that we are back in Jacksonville, I am definitely experiencing fall and love it! It's been chilly (in the 60s in the morning) and the air is a little more crisp. We have been to the pumpkin patch and have pulled out our winter clothes and boots! So fun!

Our garage is slowly getting organized, but my fall decor still isn't accessible! :( I'm hoping that changes this weekend and I can finally get my pumpkins out! Here is what I was able to come up with so far!

Our fall decor thus far, sad I know!
$10 Mum from Costco,  a pumpkin from one of my many trips to Home Depot
and a fall wreath from Hobby Lobby that I have used for several seasons, purchased with a 40% off coupon, of course! 

We took Charlotte to the pumpkin patch on Monday and had so much fun! There was a small petting zoo, too. Charlotte loved the animals! We even went down the bounce house slide! So adventurous! Here are few pics from our fun day at the patch! 

Here is a little DIY project that you can do in your own neighborhood or with friends. When we were in Hawaii, we lived in an amazing, close-knit neighborhood. I got "Boo'd" right before Halloween and I think I cried. I obviously was a new mom and very hormonal, but I thought it was such a sweet idea! So, I am sharing my "Boo'd" ideas with you. The goal is that this little project will keeping giving and before you know it, your whole neighborhood will have been "Boo'd"! 

Check out Target or Walmart and stock up on some items for your basket or bag. Here is what I included: 

• Pumpkin container from Target
• Individual Goldfish packs 
• Seasonal Candle 
• Magnetic Notepad 
• Candy Corn 

Once you have your items, find a printable online or just write something out! Pinterest has a lot of ideas! I used this site for printables.  I would advise printing on cardstock or backing it with a thicker paper so it holds up. The "We've been Boo'd" sign will get posted on your neighbor's door, so it needs to withstand the elements. The idea is to start with 2 neighbors, then those 2 neighbors each give to 2 more neighbors. I have 3 friends in the neighborhood, so I did all 3! (I hope they aren't reading this!) I've also seen this done for other holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas! So fun! 

I got all my supplies at Target and spent less than $20!

I had thought of doing a homemade treat, but then decided against it since the recipient isn't supposed to know who sent it. If you don't know who sent it, would you really eat it?!?!
Instead, I divided candy corn into treat bags and tied with baker's twine! 

On Saturday, our neighborhood hosted a Fall Festival complete with a petting zoo, horse rides, bounce house, face painting and a balloon artist! Charlotte took a long morning nap so we got there right at the heat of the day. Charlotte absolutely loved the animals and was so excited to pet them. The animals just sat there while all the kids poked and prodded them! Charlotte even rode the horse and wasn't scared at all. She looked like a little pro with her hand on the horn and all.

Another great weekend in the books! Have a great week everyone! 

Hawaii --> Florida: An Update!

Wow, how is it already mid-October?!? Last time I posted it was mid-July and we were celebrating Charlotte's first birthday! Honestly, the past 4-5 months have been a complete blur! Here is what we have been up to:

June: We moved out of our house in Hawaii and into a hotel. We wanted to maximize our time together even though Kyle had to continue with his job in Hawaii until mid-July. I decided to come home to see family and also focus on studying for my real estate license! We stayed at an amazing hotel in Waikiki, the Ilikai! Charlotte and I explored and walked the streets and beach during the day and then Kyle would come home and we would have a nice dinner out. We rigged up the crib to fit in the shower (there was no tub) so Charlotte would go to sleep around 6:30/7:00 and we were able to enjoy  the evening and watch TV without sitting in silence and darkness. I am sure many parents can relate that hotel living usually isn't fun, but we tried to make the best of it! We celebrated my 27th birthday and a couple days later it was time to head to Florida! We had a night flight and Charlotte was an angel. I was super nervous traveling with a baby and a dog, but they did amazing. Charlotte had her own seat and was asleep before we pulled away from the gate. We made it to Florida and our first stop was Chick-fil-A! Yum! It took a few days for us to adjust, but ironically enough, Charlotte slept the latest she has ever slept (8:30am) for a couple of days. It was heavenly. Very soon she was back to her 6:30am wake-up with the sunrise!

July: I continued to study for my real estate licensing exam and my mom and I took a short weekend trip over 4th of July to Savannah. We had a great time enjoying the city and the wonderful restaurants. If you haven't been, I highly recommend it! Make sure you stay in the historic district so you can walk everywhere! Charlotte went to bed early on 4th of July and it was raining, but we did have a perfect view of the fireworks from our hotel room! I stayed busy with Charlotte visiting friends, planning her 1st birthday party, shopping and studying for my exam! We had a fun couple weeks of no real responsibilities and it was fun for Charlotte to spend time with her grandparents! Kyle finally joined us in Florida mid-July, right before Charlotte's birthday.  On July 18, we had her party. I did get a chance to post about that. You can read that here. After her birthday, we had another health scare with her seizures. She was cutting her top 2 teeth and having fevers. This was her second seizure and lasted 9 minutes. We spent a couple of days in the hospital having an EEG and MRI to rule out any other issues. That was a very stressful time, but we are happy to report that Charlotte is as healthy as they come!

August: We spent a few days up in Jacksonville getting our house ready to move in. Our tenants left quite a disaster and we wanted to do some small upgrades before we moved in. I also passed my real estate licensing exam (on the first attempt) and was so excited to have that behind me! We moved back up to Jax on August 13 and our life was complete chaos for the next month! No one told me how hard it is to unpack with a toddler in tow! And wow, I think our house shrunk or we added an extra human being and all of the stuff that she needs! We turned the dining room into a playroom and lost a guest bedroom. There were a handful of times I contemplated packing things back up and moving to a bigger house, lol! The weekend after we moved in, Charlotte had two more seizures, which threw us all for a loop. We were hospitalized again, which is so hard, because no one gets any sleep and it is hard to contain a toddler in a crib/hospital room. Thankfully, Charlotte hasn't had any additional seizures since then and has gotten an all clear from the neurologist that she will grow out her seizures and everything will be just fine! However, he did mention that the peak time for seizures is between 18-24 months and that every time you have a seizure, your chances increase of having another. So, we are bracing ourselves for the next one, which is not a fun experience, but hopefully she will stay healthy and won't run any fevers! At the end of the month, Kyle and I took a trip to Charleston to pick up our car that was being shipped from Hawaii! We had a nice, relaxing weekend!

September: I finally started to feel a little bit situated when September rolled around. Charlotte started school and I began working and we started to establish a good routine! The boxes were still everywhere and you couldn't even turn around in the garage it was so full, but we slowly started making progress. With the start of football season, I realized it was going to be hard to get anything done this fall! We spent the weekend in Gainesville for the ECU game and it was nice to see my mom and family! The kids were so cute together! At the end of the month, Kyle traveled to San Diego for a work trip and just like that the month had flown by!

October: We ventured back to Gainesville for the Ole Miss game and had fun seeing some friends and last weekend attended a friend's wedding in New Smyrna Beach! So much fun! What's up for the rest of this month?! I'm guessing a whole lot more football, everything pumpkin and enjoying this fall weather!

A few favorites from the last few months!

I am hoping to get back into a blogging routine! I really enjoy it! I'm hoping to do some more updates on Charlotte too. Not monthly, but some type of schedule. She is growing too fast!