Gallrein Farm and Family Time

This is the second year that we've visited Gallrein Farms in Shelbyville and we loved it! My sister in law Jana and I had photographed a wedding the day prior and it was in the eighties and SO warm. It was crazy to see the temps drop so quickly Sunday while we were at the farm, and luckily for us, the rain held off until the very end. Our friends Tim and Clayton joined, and other than missing Uncle Noah [poor guy was sick at home!], we had the same crew as last year! 

Gallrein has an awesome petting zoo and we all loved seeing the different animals. You know me, my favorite animal(s) there were the horses. I'm always so jealous of these farms and wish I could just kidnap a horse or two. Or just have the owner give one to me--haha!

The kids had their faces painted, jumped in bounce houses, ate some snacks, rode the train, and last but not least, we of course went out to the pumpkin patch! 

Baby Kennedy was SUCH a trooper by the way. She's a month old now [how did this happen??] and she never fussed one bit about the wind and at one time, spitting rain droplets. In case you missed it, Tim and Clayton are in the process of adopting her and have been her guardians since the day she was born--they even stayed her last night in the hospital with her! They are two amazing dads and we are very blessed to call them friends. [Friends? Or family? Ha!] 

It started to REALLY rain as we were leaving, and Jana took her girls and Asa went with Reese to the corn maze. I took Pierson and his cousin Keats and we camped out in the car until they were finished, haha. We blared some music and had a hilarious car dance. We of course indulged in a LOT of fresh donuts before the trip ended, I swear I could have eaten a dozen by myself. 

If you haven't checked out Gallrein Farms, you're definitely missing out. Just a short thirty minute drive from Louisville, it's a quick and easy trip. Not to mention gorgeous--I passed SO many beautiful farms. I'm still just praying that one of them someday finds my blog and just offers me to take over the property. I mean, why not dream right?

Happy Fall, Y'all! This is my favorite season of all and I am SO excited that we've had these great festitivites to remember!

Halloween Treats with See's Candies

When we opened our package of See's Candies, my husband and I felt like we were children all over again. Sure we remember getting the fun sized bags of candy during the Halloween festivities, but there is something nostalgic about vintage and authentically made treats. Do you remember going into the corner store with your grandmother? The giant lollipops and colorful suckers that immediately made your mouth water? Holidays are really special in our family and making sweet memories has been at the top of our list since the moment we became parents. Enter literal sweet memories, such as this, and our kids having their own taste of Halloween. 

Halloween is of course about costumes and trick and treating and hanging out with all of our friends; but we ALL know at the end of the night, it's allllllllll about that c-a-n-d-y!! Check out some of the sweetness that can be found at See's Candies-- they've been making quality chocolate for over NINETY years, y'all. And they have over 200 shops AND an online store.

If WE as parents were oohing and aahing over the beauty that was set out in front of us, you KNOW our children were in candy and chocolate HEAVEN. It was so fun watching them pick up the many assortments and talk about what to try first and then what to eat next. We only let them have two pieces, and ever since this shoot, I've basically been ghosting the leftovers [which there was a LOT] because #momtax, y'all. 

If the images themselves haven't convinced you yet, then just see for yourself. Visit See's Candies website and I double dog dare you to choose just ONE Halloween treat. I mean really, do you think you'll be able to order JUST the Trick or Treat Lollypops and miss out on ALSO ordering those milk chocolate jack o' lanterns? Hhhmmmmmmm, I doubt it ;) 

Happy Halloweening, friends! Is that a word? No...but it works. 

Working with Havertys: Our New Living Room!

Gaaahhhh! I can't even believe this is real life, y'all! The time has come and I am SO pumped to show you this post. Havertys Furniture has literally been a dream to work with, and it is thanks to them that our new living room is as gorgeous as it is. There was a LOT of time and effort in making this happen, and if you missed the shopping post, you may want to jet back and read that.

 December will mark my husband and I's ninth year of marriage. We have been really blessed to have some beautiful second hand pieces, but this is the first time we've been able to design a room AND fill it with coordinating furniture at the same time. For the last couple of years I have dreamt of owning a blue couch. I'm not exactly sure why? And trust me, a lot of people ask, ha! I think it may have been some design ladies I follow on Instagram that sparked the idea in me? But really, from the old raggedy brown sectional that has suffered through five pets and two kids, I mainly knew I wanted something brighter and more classic [and more appealing to photograph, duh.]

Ta DA! There's our new living room! Okay, okay you know I'm kidding. Not funny? It's been a long day, y'all. Anyway, that couch has served us very well over the last MANY years, but let's face it: its' squeaky springs and slunk in seating just really isn't ideal for hosting company [or for a main living space period.] The minute we walked into this house, we knew we wanted the sectional to go upstairs in the GIANT third bedroom [aka, our new family room.] The console felt WAY too small for the grand living room wall, and speaking of the wall; IT made our 50-inch TV feel TINY. The rug is just old, and while I think it's still beautiful, I've really wanted something that blended with the space better.  

Havertys was really gracious to send their H designer Macey over TO our house, and she helped us set things up. I said it in the last post, but Macey seriously is such a gem. AND she has a beautiful eye for design! [If you're local and go the Hurstbourne location, ask for her!]

I told another H designer recently that this space has made me feel like a grownup. My friends have all asked, "Do you love your new furniture?" and I tell everyone that frankly, I just can't believe it's all OURS.

SEE THE BLUE COUCH!?!?!? When the delivery guys brought it, I almost cried. Legit. Speaking of, I wish I had THOSE photos to show you; the ones of everything being delivered and arranged? I TOOK them, but made a huge mistake and formatted the card without backing them up. Huge nightmare for a professional photographer and while I did everything to try to get them back, I'm out of luck. You'll just have to take my word for it that Havertys delivery team is as great as all the other departments! Friendly, professional, protective of our home and the furniture pieces, and FAST. 

The console is one of my favorite pieces, it is elegant and classy, and I LOVE the classic distressed white finish because it goes so well with the house. We went with the matching cocktail table, and one of the things we appreciate the most is all the newfound storage that is had with both pieces. I had no idea that having matching furniture would feel SO good, but oh my goodness, guys...my heart! 

Obviously the pets (much like our kids) aren't having a difficult time adjusting to the new furniture, but don't get me started on that...I swear Sammy [the fat black cat in the swivel chair] watched the delivery guys the entire time and then went all manic mode sprinting from piece to piece when they left! No way, Jose! I'm determined to keep these beauties at that--BEAUTIFUL! But from time to time I do allow him to take a cat nap there ;) Our old golden girl Elsa loves the plush rug as much as we do, never in my life have I stepped on a more comfortable area rug.

I have now spent all of my nights editing my photos and writing blog posts from this gorgeous velvet sofa, or else you can find me in the giant overstuffed chair you also see in above photos. We moved to this house at the end of July and it's safe to say that it finally feels like HOME SWEET HOME. 

Thank you so much, Havertys Furniture, for taking care of us and making our furniture dreams come true. Really though, it goes above the furniture aspect for me...this was a team of people who GRACIOUSLY handled my mistakes and mishaps, who laughed with me, planned with me, and who got things DONE. A lot of people have had questions about the types of companies I work with and what I feature here on this blog. Guys, I won't try to sell you something that I don't believe in, and I mean that. And it's because of great companies like this one that I get to DO what I do. 

If you have any questions about items that you see here, don't hesitate to ask! And let's all give Havertys some love in the comments below and tell them how amazing they are! 

A Day Well Spent: Apple Picking at Boyd's Orchard

One of our FAVORITE parts about fall is most definitely the festivities, and this year's apple picking outing was well worth a dedicated blog post. All you locals have heard of Huber's Farm, and while it's a beautiful farm with TONS to do, we try to avoid it this time of year because it's just SO swamped [and honestly for us, a little overdone.] We had never been to Boyd's Orchard in Versailles so when our friends Tim and Stephanie told us about it, we thought something new would be fun. 

Versailles is about an hour drive for us, and traveling there we have to go directly through horse country. The kids excitedly pointed out EVERY horse and fancy barn they saw out their windows, and as usual when I head that way, my head just spun with dreams of someday owning my own farm. Anyway, back to more Orchard talk, I know that's what you're curious about! 

Everything is really beautifully set up as soon as you arrive, and the kids obviously loved the giant chair. The store was packed with jams, and honey, and um, hello, FRESHLY BAKED CIDER DONUTS!!! I'm not going to lie, I was craving pumpkin donuts as well, but they weren't baking any the day that we went [I'm not sure if they do anyway?] One of my FAVORITE things about fall in Michigan [where I grew up] was the family market I grew up going to; they had the best cider and most delicious cake donuts in all varieties. We got a box of six cider donuts and they did not disappoint.  

We took a tractor out to the apple trees and with our bags, walked down endless rows of beautiful apples. We had to remind the kids that this was not an Easter egg hunt and that they could not pick EVERY single apple...but they almost had as much fun as Easter because finding the BEST apples became a very thrilling game. 

Who am I kidding? I basically wanted to go to the orchard with Reese's outfit in mind the ENTIRE time, and bless her heart, she endured a 70-degree morning in the sun to look cute picking apples in those overalls [sorry, I'm laughing over here.] But really, she and Pierson had a blast. We paid for the wrist bands and they went down a giant slide, jumped on inflatable trampolines, [I jumped and did my first front flip in YEARS, ssshhh], and we went through the corn maze. The corn maze was Asa's idea, and at that point, the kids were melting down with exhaustion and in need of lunch so we were RUNNING through that thing and I absolutely regretted starting it--however, by the end, everyone was laughing, and we were even MORE ready for a good lunch and some cold cider ;) 

Tim and Steph are complete troopers by the way, for doing live with us. Our kids are 4 and 5-years old, and nothing short of magical, easy to hang out with, and totally NOT demanding children. Oh wait, is that YOUR KIDS?!?! Because it ain't mine!!!!!! I'm half kidding- I LOVE our kids, duh. But doing things and outings like this takes work for everyone involved, and I'm just really grateful that these two want to be a part of the crazy. 

Anyway, here are some more fun photos from our trip, really and truly, we had a great day! 

If you live in Kentucky [or may be here visiting friends/family] I definitely recommend going to Eckert's Boyds Orchard. From Louisville to Versailles is a GORGEOUS drive, and a day spent out in the country is ALWAYS a day well spent. Period. 

If you have any questions, feel free to comment or email me! Where has been YOUR favorite orchard/pumpkin patch to go to??