Things have been splendidly chaotic both inside and outside of the Todd Nest this fall, which may explain why our blog hasn't been completely up-to-date. Here's a little glimpse into the past few weeks:

We welcomed Fall with a new wreath on our front door. The burlap ribbon was from last year's Christmas decorations; the white flower was a piece from our spring wreath; the red / orange leaves were given to us from our sweet neighbors; and the twigs were taken from a freshly clipped bush in our backyard. Cost: zero. That's what I'm talkin' about!

JD's parents bought us a living room suite as a wedding gift (we asked if we could postpone their wedding gift till we moved into our first home and decided on something we really needed). JD and I have both been beyond blessed with amazing, gracious and loving in-laws!! The night La-Z-Boy delivered it all, we fell asleep in our new recliners. :) We'll give you a more thorough tour of our family room later.

We picked out bamboo blinds for our giant windows from a sweet friend in Monroe, GA. We'll post more about those after we put them up this weekend when my parents come to town! (I'm sure we'll have A LOT to post about after this weekend - we have planned TONS of exciting things to do around the house.) It was a tough decision but we landed on the blinds to the left.

My girlfriends and I had a girls' spa weekend to celebrate the accomplishments of Kellie (in the middle). She earned her second Master's degree this summer - i.e. she's awesome and deserved a great escape! These ladies are fantastic and their friendship means the world to me.

Chase, my brother, and his wife, Jackie, got a new puppy and appropriately named him Tag (to go along with Chase's name). He's half min pin, half yorkie. We've been obsessing over every pic Chase and Jackie post on Facebook or send to us via text. I wish they would start a blog exclusively with cute pics of Tag.

We had a family vacation with JD's side of the family to Branson, Missouri. It was a precious time spent with precious people: Mr. Jim and Mrs. Josie (JD's parents), Uncle Donald and Aunt Sandy (Mr. Jim's brother and his wife), and Brandon and Theresa (JD's sister and her husband).

Most of our time was spent watching football, exercising (crossfit) and eating. Most places closed at 9 p.m. except this place: Cakes & Cream Dessert Parlor. It was pretty delicious but the atmosphere charmed my boots off. I'm a sucker for 50's music, which is why JD took me out front after dessert and danced the night away with me (actually, it was only one song but it was super romantic).

We only saw one show while we were there: Joseph. The musical was a pretty on-spot rendition of the story of Joseph but my favorite part of being there was this...

JD asked me to take a photo of him with this statue of Goliath. As I was taking it, a sweet older gentleman pointed over and said to his wife, "Take a photo of me doing like that guy!!!" As soon as JD was out of the pic, the gentleman propped his legs out for battle and put up his dukes with a big smile.

It was awesome.

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Since we've been back from Branson, I've been going turbo mode while making products for this year's Shop with a Purpose, an event to benefit For Life Ministries.

We'll have our traditional burlap products, glass etchings, chatter tiles and some new pieces like these leather bracelets...