20 Things I Love About Fall

Dear Fall,

I love you. I live for you.

I adore your cool air, color, taste, and smell. You bring me Halloween and Thanksgiving. 

All your pretty pictures drew me back to Pinterest. 

Then, The Inspired Room encouraged me to list 20 things I love about you. So, I guess you could say, I'm falling back into blogging. (see what I just did there?) 

Enjoy! 

Candy Corn

Yummy!

Carving Pumpkins & Trick or Treat

Halloween Oreos

Orange cream tastes better, no?

Colorful Leaves

Living in PA has its perks!

Apple Goodies

cake, upside-down cake, crisp

Jumping in the Leaves

Printable Coloring Page

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Fall Mums

Love, Love, Love

Pumpkin Goodies

bars, streusel pie, torte

Fall TV Season

what I'm watching

Pumpkin Patches & Hay Rides

Hearty Soups

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Fall Decor

Brisk Air

Sitting by the Fire

Fall Fashion

Jeans, Sweaters, and Boots, Oh My!

red, orange, brown

Fall Scents

Thanksgiving

turkey, sweet potatoes

Black Friday Shopping

Honorable Mention

Football

Not my thing, but it makes my husband happy!

Super Cute Fall Bucket List

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Pinned on Halloween, Thanksgiving, Shades of Autumn, Good Eats, Fashion, Funnies, Printables, I Love This Stuff, and Yum, Yum, Gimme Some. 

What is your favorite season?

Melissa

Five Favorite Finds

1.  Chocolate caramel bars with coffee-spiked chocolate ganache on top.  Pinned on Bars and Brownies.

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2.  I have absolutely NO place for something this cool in my house, but, OMG, I love this clock SO much.  In fact, I love the entire display.  Sadly, my house isn't fabulous enough for something like this.  Pinned on Living Spaces.

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3.  Just... funny.  Kids these days.  Pinned on Furries, Funnies, Feel Goods.  

 4.  Office decor from Target.  I have a room in my house that I'd eventually like to be my office, so I'm constantly mentally decorating it.  I like the colors and design of this office space.  And Target fits my budget.  Pinned on Office Spaces.

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5.  Zoku Quick Pop Characters.  This kit comes with 14 mix and match stencils to make these adorable popsicles made with fresh fruit.  Pinned on Fun Food for Kids.

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Melissa

Five Favorite Finds

1.  Isn't this the cutest peanut butter and jelly sandwich ever?!  Pinned on Fun Food for Kids.

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2.  If you like The Vampire Diaries, you'll definitely appreciate this poster.  Not only just because, duh!, but the text is unexpected and funny!  Pinned on The Vampire Diaries.

3.  Watermelon cutting instructions - worth a try!  My kids love watermelon.  I hate cutting watermelon.  Not a good summer combo!

Also, source link offers tips on how to choose the BEST watermelon.  Recently, my always verbally helpful daughter and I were talking about watermelon at the grocery store. She asks, "How do you know which one is the BEST one?"  I say, "I don't know.  I just pick one."  She says, "When I'm a grown up and I buy watermelon, I'm going to know how to pick one so it's the best."  Well, smarty pants, get off my back!  NOW mama knows how to pick a watermelon.  Pinned on Clever. 

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4.  Hello, my name is Melissa and I'm an introvert.  I love this poster!  Pinned on Furries, Funnies, Feel Goods.

5.  What could potentially make fruit salad better?  Vanilla pudding, that's what!  Pudding is one of my favorite food groups.  I'm looking forward to making this fruit salad very soon. Pinned on Yum, Yum, Gimme Some.  

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Like these picks?  Check out my past Five Favorite Finds!

Melissa

Reality TV and Consciously Parenting

My Weird - But Oddly Balanced - Life

Remember the "long time, no blogs" post?  I promised to give you the details about what's keeping me too busy to Pinterest for 14 hours a day.  Ahh, the good old days.

Sadly, no Pinterest means very little Totally Pinteresting blog.  I'm working on finding a balance.  

However, as soon as I find it, our summer activities will begin.  Then, once I find a summer balance, the kids will go back to school.  Life is so tricky.

The craziness started in March.  I started recapping Dancing with the Stars for a Reality TV website.  Then my kids tag teamed me with ear infections, pink eye, stomach viruses, and more ear infections.  Then I came down with pneumonia.  While Dancing with the Stars was a volunteer gig, I kept chugging along through it all.  It was complete chaos.  

Random fact - The post I put together while under the influence of pneumonia went viral on the internet, so now I'm wondering if I should always blog in a drug-induced state. Again, life is so tricky.

I explored the planet looking for someone who will pay me to Pinterest.  I came up empty, but I think I found the very next-best thing!  

Writing those Dancing with the Stars recaps happened on a whim.  Writing gives me anxiety, and I sure as heck never expected to write for an audience.  But, I love TV and I love talking about TV, so it just kind of happened in an "email sent in the middle of the night without any forethought" kind of way.

It turns out that was the best middle of the night split-second decision I ever made.  I'm now writing for two other Reality TV websites, Reality Tea and Reality TV Magazine. They actually PAY ME to watch TV and share my thoughts about what I watch.  I also write daily "breaking news" type of articles.  

If I'm dreaming, please do NOT wake me up. 

Next, I also work for The Consciously Parenting Project. Rebecca Thompson just wrote her first book, Consciously Parenting: What it Really Takes to Raise Emotionally Healthy Families.  

The book is for parents who want to reach beyond the traditional views about children and their behaviors, focusing on the importance of relationships and emotional connections.The book is grounded in science, includes personal stories and examples from real families, and supports parents to help their children grow into well-balanced individuals. Parents who already practice attachment parenting will appreciate the scientific information Consciously Parenting provides.

If you're a "mommy blogger" and you are willing to read a digital copy of Consciously Parenting, review it, and share it with your readers, please email me at melissa@consciouslyparenting.com.  

So, there it is.  

Wholesome parenting greatness and trashy reality TV are keeping me too busy to spring clean and play on Pinterest!

Every day I'm bustling, bustling...  

Here's where you can find me!

Melissa

To Spring Clean or Not To Spring Clean?

So, May is over, school is out, and Spring has just about sprung.  And my house still needs a spring clean. Badly.

The mere thought overwhelms me.

Where to start?  Where to end?  Because I know when I get to the "end," the "start" will be trashed again, so I will have to decide when enough is enough.

How high?  How low?

Eye-infection inducing chemicals that may or may not kill my cats or play chemist to make all natural cleaning products?  I hated chemistry in high school but I'm kind of fond of my eyes and my cats, so that's a tough one.  A real tough one.

I went to Pinterest, of course, to search for a starting point.  I will never search Spring Cleaning on Pinterest again.  Information overload!!  There were checklists, recipes, tips, and more checklists.

Massive checklist!

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Chemistry crap.

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A nifty idea.

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A list only fit for over-achievers.

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One idea that I can do!

I'll just sweep it all under the rug while wearing slutty clothes.  Hopefully my husband will be distracted enough he won't notice the house, buying me more time to make a plan.   

Pinned on Clever, Organization, and Furries, Funnies, Feel Goods.

Melissa

21 Unique Smoothies for Summer

If you live in a multi-seasonal area, summer is fast approaching.  If you live in a pleasant all year area, smoldering hot is on its way.  And, by smoldering hot, I don't mean Shemar Moore. (this time)

( Melissa )  

Instead, I mean sweaty boobs, melted makeup, and bugs the size of popcorn balls. I really don't understand the mad love for summer.  To each their own, I guess.

There are only a few things that make my summers more bearable.  First and foremost, central air. Second, no mad dash to the bus stop five mornings a week. Third, the pool in my backyard.  Lastly, fresh fruit, summery treats, and cold drinks.  One of those treats is smoothies.

If I can't have Shemar Moore for the summer, smoothies are the next best thing.

21 Unique Smoothies

CLICK ON GREEN FONT FOR RECIPES

Cherry Vanilla

Pineapple Coconut Banana

Berry Kiwi

Banana Caramel Blueberry

Apple Pie

Apple, Strawberry, Mango

Spinach Banana

Peanut Butter Banana

Mixed Berry Banana with Spinach

Kiwi and Honeydew

Strawberry Banana

Orange Push Up

Green Energy

Watermelon Kiwi

Mango, Strawberry, Banana

Pineapple Crush

Watermelon

Kiwi Mango

Peach

Key Lime Pie

Wild Blueberry Kick-Start

(with ginger and cayenne)

Smoothie Tips

Blending order matters.  Liquid (go easy), frozen fruit, powders, ice, fresh fruit.

Use coconut water or green tea ice cubes for added potassium, magnesium, and electrolytes.  

Add greens.  Kale or spinach are good options.

Unusual add ins - chia seeds (fiber), bee pollen (energy, vit C, protein), cacao (vit C, natural aphrodisiac), maca (endurance, circulation).  

Skip the sugar.  Choose sweet fruits.  If you need extra sweet, use agave, nectar, or stevia.  

Use frozen bananas.  Freeze your over-ripe bananas.

Make-ahead smoothies to freeze.

Not all blenders are created equally.  Vitamix rocks.

VERY GOOD

Vitamix CIA Professional Series Ruby Red Blender

NOT GOOD

Pinned on Yummy Drinks.

If you like your drinks a little more "adult," check out Happy Hour.

Melissa