The 5th Annual Great Pumpkin Swap {Reveal!}

First of all, I want to thank everyone who joined Kristin and I this year for the 5th Annual Great Pumpkin Swap!  It really is so much fun to connect with others across the country, and I hope you've all enjoyed your swap treats!

I was partnered with Kara from Ramblings of a Marine Wife.  I had a lot of fun shopping for fall and Halloween-themed goodies to send her way, and I was so excited when I got my box from her, too!

My opening view!

These towels are adorable!  We never feel like we have enough kitchen towels around here, and I particularly love the one with the piece of pie that says "Whip It Good!"  

This candle smells amazing!  We love candles around here so I can't wait to use it!

She also included this adorable little lip balm!

While I can't say that I'm a hug fan of Candy Corn, I DO enjoy a Golden Oreo.  So I'm thinking that these are going to be pretty good.  (Are you jealous, Kristin??)

Finally, there was this set of 4 decorative pumpkins.  I actually have the perfect plan for them for next year!

I am so happy to conclude another successful swap year!  I can't wait to see all of your swap goodies, and I hope you'll all join us again next year! :)

Stuff and Things 10/6

Fall is truly in full swing.

I can't decide if it's because it was such a hot summer or if it really is this chilly.

I feel like we went from hot, humid, and miserable to gee, it's cold.

I will take this moment to remind you to join Kristin and I for The 5th Annual Great Pumpkin Swap!  Sign ups end TOMORROW (at 11:59 P,M. EST)!  If you haven't signed up yet, come join us!  It's so much fun!  (Click the swap link to fill out the sign up form.)

In other news, I've decided that I want a new handbag.  When my Shoedazzle.com showroom updated for October, I thought I'd actually check out their handbags for a change.

I didn't like the ones in my showroom, so I decided to browse the shop.  I went ahead and filtered by color and selected brown and black.

Can I admit, though, that I'm not really a brown and blag hand bag person?  I know that it's certainly more practical to have a handbag in one of these colors, but I'm just drawn to bags in other colors....

I used to do direct sales with Celebrating Home (a company that has since closed its doors), and they had a line of handbags and accessories called Penelope Ann.  There was one bag I particularly like and ended up with it in three colors: black, red, and turquoise.  My black one ripped inside after lots of use.  And now I'm left with just the two colors.

But I digress...I came across this bag from Shoedazzle:

Amir handbag- ShoeDazzle

I actually do like this color, but then I saw this....

Amir Handbag- Shoedazzle

I mean, purple is my color.

And, of course, it's sold out in this color.

I also feel like this is a great handbag color for fall.

Alas, I skipped the month for my VIP account.  I'll keep an eye out for this bag to come back.  Because I really think I need it.

Anyone else have an aversion to neutral colored handbags?

The 5th Annual Great Pumpkin Swap

Fall is here, and it's time again for a swap!!

Once again, Kristin and I are hosting the Great Pumpkin Swap!  It's insane that this is the 5th year for the swap!  I have been so fortunate to connect with some great people across the country through this swap, and I really look forward to it each year.

Remember, you don't have to have a BLOG to swap with us!  You can share your swap goodies via any social media platforms you use, and/or your partner can share for you on her blog!

Here's the timeline for this year's swap:

1. Fill out the form to sign up for the swap! Sign-ups end on Friday, October 7th at 11:59 PM (EST)

2. By Monday, October 10th, you will get an e-mail from me with your swap partner.

3. Once you know your partner, please make contact within 48 hours (by Wednesday, October 12th) to get to know a bit more about each other.

4. Spend $15-$20 (excluding shipping) to put together a fun fall themed package for your partner.

5. Mail your package on or before Tuesday, October 25th.

6. Link up with us on Tuesday, November 8th to share your swap goodies!

I can't wait to start shopping for my partner!  I hope you'll join us!  You can fill out the form with the link in the timeline OR right below:

Stuff and Things 9/22

Have I mentioned that I love that this link up is back?  It gives me a purpose to at least blog once a week.

*Starting the school year has been rough.  I'm hoping to get back into the swing of things soon.  Right now, I'm just plain exhausted.

*I can't decide if I should be angry that Big Brother is doing a fall season, but it's exclusively on CBS All Access.  I'm a fan, but I'm NOT paying extra money just to get stressed out about finding time to watch another show.

*Tomorrow, two of my fellow September birthday friends and I are heading out for a birthday dinner and to a local high school football game.  My Alma Mater and the school in which I teach are playing each other!  There may or may not be a bet involved.  But luckily, it's pretty low stakes...loser has to display the score as their FB cover photo for the week and buy the winner a drink the next time we go out.

*It's cooled off here lately, and it was a welcome change.  While I don't like being cold, I find that it's WAY easier to add clothing to warm up than it is to take off clothing when you're too hot.  As an educator, there's a limit to how little clothing I'm allowed to be wearing.  HAHA

*If you haven't joined The Balanced Life Sisterhood with Robin yet, you totally should.  The September work out is tough but amazing!  I feel so great when I'm done with it.  And I love that most days, I only need to find 10 minutes (or less) to work out!

*Tune in on MONDAY to sign up for The 5th Annual Great Pumpkin Swap with Kristin and me!  I can't wait to see who joins us!