pic o the week.

is of the barretts in september!

because we're all smiling AND looking at the camera! holla!

no-carve pumpkins!

had to share this fun find i just stumbled upon.. i love fall, but not a huge "scary" decorating diva. hate spiders. and witches. and ghostly goblins. however.. i love me some pumpkins and harvesty items, bales of hay, even a gourd or two. click on this link from real simple to snag these adorable how-to tips for some fun pumpkin decorating! love it. happy fall y'all!

chi-town!

what fun we had on our long family weekend! so here's how it went down: months ago, mrs. crystal wright johnson asked me how close indy is to chicago and if we'd be up for meeting them there for a fun weekend.. we're just a quick 3 hours away, so of course we were in! we had an absolute blast! we finally were able to meet the darling miss savannah for the first time and o-m-g, i can't tell you how precious it was to see liv and savannah together. they were best buds from the minute they met. honestly even had to hold hands while they were in their individual strollers walking down the bustling "magnificent mile." melted our hearts and made it sooo sad to say our good-byes. thursday night we had the pleasure of having a fun-filled dinner with 2 more fellow bloggers, lauren and beth! they were simply adorable and it was awesome getting to meet them! shedd aquarium dolphin show, power shopping, fun, laughs, amazing stuffed pizza, and jump parties on the hotel beds made for a super grand weekend. (i was bad and didn't get many pics..but really didn't worry too much since i had the paparazzi by my side the entire time)...so stay tuned for pics on mrs. johnsons b-log. to be honest, i'm actually impressed i've updated before her! ha! have a happy week all! xoxoxo

there's a party in my city!

nerd alert! just take a gander at what we got in the mail today! i squealed with delight. although i swore my life with children would be full of wooden toys and no character pajamas... i could very possibly be more excited about yo gabba gabba live! coming to indy next month than i have ever been about any concert i've ever been to. liv is going to freak. i cant wait to see her face. at night when we say our prayers she seriously "god blesses dj lance wock." not so thrilled about the $130 we spent on these little goodies, but never say never right? now we just gotta plan those outfits...

sweet treat!

i got liv a cupcake after her first day of school on thursday. she hasn't stopped talking about "da cupcake wif da flower and ballareena on top." me and my darling neighbor connie had a yard sale yesterday. it rained all day but i still managed to make some moo-lah and do some major de-cluttering. felt good.. but dang those are a lot of work, huh? went to the most adorable baby shower today for this sweet gal. love her! and now i'm about to hit the hay while wishing my husband hadn't talked me into doing a fantasy football this year. i just get too worked up! my team name is blondetourage and i'm out to beat all those firefighters. also, tonite liv and i were coloring and sure enough she knows all the colors of the rainbow (including turqouise) like nobodys business. i am so stinking proud of her.. now if she'd just stay in that stinkin "big girl bed" because i'm "supernanny" ed out! there's a lil weekend wrap-up for you.have a happy happy week! full of sweet treats!

never forget.

back2school, back2school.

liv's first day of "school" was yesterday. it was a success! no tears. either one of us. i asked her to smile for me and this is what i got. a funny face. took this with my phone, the quality is terrible. on the way i asked if she was excited to go to school... she responded, "no momma, let's go to target instead. okkkaaaeee?" when i picked her up, i asked her what she did all day.. she responded, "just played with those kids."

dear babysnatcher,

i'm not quite sure when you came and snatched my "baby's" legs away and replaced them with little girl legs... but this quick switch is causing this momma to come down with a severe case of baby fever. just saying..will you please give me a heads up before you come back. sincerely, erin

a little {long} clip.

hello friends and fam. sharing a little sing-along montage with you. yes, its over 4 minutes long. yes, i realize she has on a headband that may resemble a piece of lingerie. it's not, it really is just a lacy headband she wanted to borrow for the afternoon. along with the chunky turquoise necklace. and yes, i also realize she may start to have a bit of a mullet 'do. i won't be offended if you get bored and click stop half-way through. but i know liv's grammas & great grammas will love it..so im uploading! hope you had a happy and relaxing weekend. xoxo.

the playlist includes:

1. abc's

2. you are my sunshine

3. twinkle twinkle little star

4. baa baa black sheep

5. jesus loves the little children

6. jesus loves me

7. the b-i-b-l-e

8. yo gabba gabba chant

9. counting

enjoy!

store those white pants.

lighten up on your bronzer. pack your backpacks. bust out the layers. and the boots. or at least treat yourself to a new pair & have them ready. get a few lowlights in your hair perhaps. buy some mums. get outside and enjoy this weather.

bday bash details. finally.

remember about a month ago when i turned the big 30-licious? well here's a quick re-cap on how my amazing birthday week went: my husband told me "we're having a party here at the house but you don't need to do anything." really? have you met me? i know we're going to host a party and i can't even plan coordinating napkins? so i reeeeally tried to not be the control freak i can tend to be and "go with the flow" and would secretly pray at night that there wouldn't be bags of lays chips laying around and rolls of paper towels..

the thursday night before my birthday weekend i am woken up and COMPLETELY SURPRISED by my dear bestie crystal and jennifer, who had roadtripped 14 hours from texas. they came fully loaded with party details, decorations, prepped galore. just when i think the weekend can't get any better..crystal somehow gets me out of the house for a few to go get a fresh spray tan (not hard to do, ha!) i walk back in my house to my OTHER bestie of 17 years, elizabeth that lives in south carolina sitting down reading a book to liv. UNBELIEVABLE. this was the first time she had met liv! i have never been so surprised in all my life.

the weekend continued to blossom from there. champagne lunches. shopping trips. tapas and blueberry beers outside with perfect weather. my husband, family and friends completely takeover and create the most special birthday party right before my eyes. everything was just perfect. seriously my eyes are filling up with tears just writing this..i have never been so overwhelmed with love! my dear friend danny (and amazing hairstylist) shows up to my house saturday afternoon with loads of amazing bouquets of flowers, decorates, blows out my hair, i felt like a local celeb. words can't express how much i appreciated every little detail. especially the kareoke machine and dj that brought a trunk full of costumes. one of the best weekends ever. i am so incredibly blessed and so excited to see what this next decade of my life brings. here's a few pics!